Skin whitening in contemporary tewahdo iconography

Abstract

In this thesis the influence of Caucasian religious imagery, particularly ofItalian origin on the representation of race in Tewahdo iconography in Eritrea hasbeen studied. Indigenous Christian iconographs which have been in use in theTewahdo (Orthodox) church since the 8th century AD are commonly characterizedwith black skinned holy figures and traditional costume and environment. The studyhighlights the effects of Caucasian Catholic images that have influenced the cultureof iconographic depiction, as iconographers use the imported images as models fortheir copied iconographs. The main focus is shed on the post colonial significance ofthe resulting whitening of iconographs in relation to their function in rendering thedehistoricization and depoliticization of the realities of colonial subjugation anddiscrimination. Further, the notion of colorism in the iconographs (skin colourdistinctions within the black people) which has been reinforced during Italiancolonization is discussed as symptomatic of pre-colonial hierarchies and claims ofgenealogical purity in association with Semitic descent. The thesis also discusses theuse of racial body signifiers in the creation of dichotomous meanings of good andevil. Using a semiotic framework, it is argued that regardless of the intentions of theiconographers, the depicted representations yield a myth that legitimizes the existingpower order of colonial hierarchy and subjugation.