À partir de Iᵉʳ siècle av. J.-C.
Dahomey, southern West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Dahomeyan writing is portrayed as a graphic tradition associated with royal objects, sacred representation, and the commemoration of sovereigns. The passage compares the Recades of Dahomey with Egyptian hieroglyphs, emphasizing pictographic, ideographic, and picto-phonographic techniques. A Recade linked to King Dakodonu is dated within the seventeenth century, while later material is discussed without a complete chronology.
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Dahomeyan writing is presented through ceremonial objects and royal imagery, especially the recade, a message-carrying ceremonial axe. These objects are described as serving more than administrative purposes: they materialized thought, preserved sacred meanings, and glorified sovereigns and peoples whose achievements were intended to be remembered. The tradition is therefore situated at the intersection of political authority, ritual, and graphic communication.
The Recade of Gezo represents the Dahomey sovereign as a buffalo, a symbolic form compared with the falcon associated with the Pharaoh. The image conveys the ruler’s power and his capacity to inspire fear among enemies. The passage treats this representation as part of a wider system in which images and symbols carried political and conceptual meaning.
The older Recade of King Dakodonu, or Dokodonu, is dated to 1625–1650. Its axe blade combines a pictographic sign for silex, “da,” with signs interpreted as “ko” and “donon,” producing the king’s name through picto-phonographic combination. The account compares this technique with the use of signs on the Palette of Narmer and argues for strong formal and conceptual similarities between Dahomeyan and Egyptian graphic systems.
À partir de Iᵉʳ siècle av. J.-C.
Dahomey, southern West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Dahomeyan writing is portrayed as a graphic tradition associated with royal objects, sacred representation, and the commemoration of sovereigns. The passage compares the Recades of Dahomey with Egyptian hieroglyphs, emphasizing pictographic, ideographic, and picto-phonographic techniques. A Recade linked to King Dakodonu is dated within the seventeenth century, while later material is discussed without a complete chronology.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Dahomeyan writing is presented through ceremonial objects and royal imagery, especially the recade, a message-carrying ceremonial axe. These objects are described as serving more than administrative purposes: they materialized thought, preserved sacred meanings, and glorified sovereigns and peoples whose achievements were intended to be remembered. The tradition is therefore situated at the intersection of political authority, ritual, and graphic communication.
The Recade of Gezo represents the Dahomey sovereign as a buffalo, a symbolic form compared with the falcon associated with the Pharaoh. The image conveys the ruler’s power and his capacity to inspire fear among enemies. The passage treats this representation as part of a wider system in which images and symbols carried political and conceptual meaning.
The older Recade of King Dakodonu, or Dokodonu, is dated to 1625–1650. Its axe blade combines a pictographic sign for silex, “da,” with signs interpreted as “ko” and “donon,” producing the king’s name through picto-phonographic combination. The account compares this technique with the use of signs on the Palette of Narmer and argues for strong formal and conceptual similarities between Dahomeyan and Egyptian graphic systems.