ANAMED POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
I have just started my second postdoctoral fellowship in a joint KHI-Anamed program that will take me for a full academic year divided between Istanbul in autumn 2023 at the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations ANAMED and in Florence in spring 2024 at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut . So far, I have been warmly welcomed by a fantastic team at ANAMED and by a wonderful group of fellows with whom I will be spending this term.
During this academic year I will conduct research on the topic "Fish demigods in the aquatic landscapes of ancient Anatolian civilisations".
Fish as a source of animal protein has been consumed by humans since Palaeolithic times and has appeared as a symbol in prehistoric mankind's religions. Man has thus deified fish by endowing them with supernatural powers while fish, as man's first ancestor exerted a profound influence on civilization. My research looks at fish skin artistic traditions and the divine powers held by fish in both Ancient Mesopotamia and early modern Arctic societies. Both cultures believed that humans, fish and nature shared spiritual qualities, just as fish skins provided soul protection. The research analyses the origins of the Fish-Apkallu, a comparison with the fish skin robes of Indigenous Arctic Peoples and their sacred meaning follows.
In Mesopotamia, by the seventh century BC, the Neo-Assyrians devoted a significant amount of time to their relationships with the the divine owners of the universe who gave them life and civilization. Among the primordial sages (with special knowledge of the arts, including magic) were the Fish-Apkallu, part human, part animal and part divine, who possessed the healing powers of water God Enki who reigned in the apsu, the underground freshwater ocean. The Fish-Apkallu wore a cloak made from a giant carp found in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The fish skin wore on his back, was placed on the bed of patients during healing rituals. These figures are found in the clay tablets inscribed in the cuneiform script of ancient Mesopotamia. They were carved in monumental works, made in the shape of clay figurines buried underground in groups of seven to protect a household or depicted in personal items such as seals. Its purpose, as attested by the texts prescribing the rituals involved, was to ward off evil from the buildings and disease from the inhabitants.
Coming back to the present day, how we can personify all natural resources, establishing that all creatures have a spiritual meaning, worshipping natural forces, plants and animals. Wearing fish skin clothing created a connection to the animal and a tribute to it. Through rituals, it is possible to restore broken links between humans, spirits and animals, and to heal afflictions.