Conceptualization of Sacred Light and Tracing of Its Evolution in Inner Asian Archaeology, Religious Texts, and Modern K-Pop Imagination
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | Widely used motif of light belongs to the most important universals in human culture and mythology. This paper had focus on mapping the evolution of this motif and on tracing its development during three stages: I) Inner Asian religious artefacts including rock art for preliterary level, where this motif starts mostly in non-abstract form as the depiction of heavenly planets with rays. II) In the second literary stage and after full diffusion of this motif into Inner Asian cultures, the motif of light also appears in abstract form in written texts of various religious systems. Here the two special features are II.1) metaphorical expressions and II.2) direct anthropomorphism, when also newly a person (deity, ruler, hero) becomes asource of light. III) Finally modern (audio)visual art is depicting the light in natural form. It is interesting that in the third stage, the light itself does not have any special value as it had for ancient populations and to reach its symbolical function, it must be depicted in additional religious or cultural contexts of other religious symbols or in a special scene. Special means are characteristic also on both previous levels, i.e., ordinary words for “light” usually have metaphorical connotations or are connected to important persons and deities. And on preliterary level on the rock art, there is usually a vertical orientation or other ways how the ordinary sign is conceptualized as a sacred one. Above mentioned stages are documented I) by Inner Asian preliterary petroglyphs and archaeological artefacts with astral symbols and heavenly planets, II) by examples of religious texts of Buddhist and Manicheian origin as well as important chronicles, III) by the presence and use of this motif in music videos of contemporary Korean pop music. Although it may seem that there is a great distance between classical symbolism of Inner Asia and modern K-Pop, surprisingly it is not true. On the contrary it can be clearly shown that the motifs in the K-pop preserve highly traditional connotations and visualize them in relatively orthodox way, since the reproduction of the motif of light must be simply understandable to international audience. |
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