A Feast of the Archangel Michael? a New Interpretation of a Mural Painting from Old Dongola

1526-08_ECA_5(2008)_06 10-06-2009 14:51 Pagina 75 ECA 5 (2008), p. 75-85; doi: 10.2143 / ECA.5.0.2036220 A Feast of the Archangel Michael? A New Interpretation of a Mural Painting from Old Dongola Magdalena ™APTAS INTRODUCTION moneybag in his left hand and with his right hand he passes some money to his company. A young In 2004, while excavating the southwestern Annex man dressed only in a loincloth is seen standing of the monastery on Kom H in Old Dongola, behind the couch; he might be a servant assisting Sudan, the Polish archaeological mission working the two men. under the direction of Stefan Jakobielski discovered To the left of this scene, opposite the archangel, some very interesting murals. Among them there we can see a corral enclosing a flock of sheep. Below, are two scenes found in Rooms 5 and 6 of the on the ground a sitting servant kills a sheep (Pl. 5). southwestern Annex of the monastery, which the Above the corral, two figures in long, white robes are explorers date to the twelfth century1. approaching a man who is sitting cross-legged on a The first representation was found on the north pillow (Pl. 6). One of the persons is veiled, which wall of Room 5, and consists of two parts (Pl. 1). may suggest that this figure is a woman. The sitting To the right the figure of the Virgin is represented, man rests his left hand on his hip and raises his right surrounded by a rectangular painted frame. The hand towards these persons. To the left, at the same Virgin holds Christ in her left arm. Her head is level as the corral, a mounted man is approaching an slightly bent to her right, and she turns her eyes archangel on horseback (Pl. 7). The sequence of the towards the scene that takes place on her right-hand episodes is completed by the figure of a saint who is side, which depicts dancing men who play instru- featured below the scene with the couch (Pl. 8). All ments. They wear ample trousers and belted tunics. that remains of him are his haloed head and parts of Some of them have zoomorphic masks on their his hands raised in orant gesture. The saint is faces; others have scarves around their heads (Pl. 2). depicted frontally, and has the features of an elderly Ma¥gorzata Martens-Czarnecka suggests that this man, with sunken cheeks, a long grey beard and long part of the composition derives from local folklore2, hair combed with a knot on top of his head. There and points out that the scene presumably depicts a are several numerical cryptograms of the name of feast of the Virgin3. Since the inscriptions in the Archangel Michael painted on the vestment cover- Old Nubian language that accompany the represen- ing his left shoulder4. He is the second biggest tation have not been interpreted yet, this unique figure in the whole scene after the archangel. It representation is still awaiting further study. appears that the saint is linked with the representa- The second scene, being the subject of this study, tion of the two men sitting on the couch as the hair was found on the south wall of Room 6, and has a on top of his head almost reaches that image. Given layout similar to the previous one (Pl. 3). To the the fact that he is the second most important person right the huge figure of a standing archangel is in the whole composition and his link with the painted. The archangel holds a sphere in his left scenes taking place above, one may suggest that this hand and a sceptre with a spike pointing down- saint is the narrator of the events. wards in his right. A sword hanging over his back This mysterious image has drawn the attention is fastened with two straps which cross his chest. of researchers from the moment it was found. Near the right wing of the archangel a series of small scenes are shown. The first scene depicts two men sitting on a couch turned one to another, 1 Jakobielski 2006a, 30; Martens-Czarnecka 2006, 48, between curtains drawn aside (Pl. 4). The men Fig. 22. busily talk to each other. The right figure holds a 2 Martens-Czarnecka 2005, 281. 75 1526-08_ECA_5(2008)_06 10-06-2009 14:51 Pagina 76 Henryk Pietras interpreted it as a cycle of virtues just an add-on to these two most important ones. and vices of monks5, whereas Jakobielski stated that In line with the interpretation of the scene in Room this composition is ‘possibly an allegory of the 5, this image should represent the feast of the temptations lying in wait for a monk who is tied depicted archangel. This hypothesis seems to be by his hair to a rock’6. During the 11th Inter- supported by the fact that two other walls in the national Conference of Nubian Studies in Warsaw same room also show images of archangels. in 2006, Martens-Czarnecka presented an interpre- This brings us to the second point, namely the tation of this composition based on the Book of special veneration of archangels in Nubia and their Tobias, in which Archangel Raphael is the guide of prominent presence in decoration programmes. young Tobias7. The present paper aims at adding They acted as intermediaries between God and an alternative interpretation to the discussion, mankind, protectors of the faithful and guardians which is based on the striking analogies between of buildings, and also struggled against demons. the particular episodes of this cycle with the text of The faithful who brought gifts at the days of the the Coptic Encomium in Michaelem archangelum archangels’ feasts and lit lamps in front of their pic- attributed to Abba Theodosius, Archbishop of tures, could count on their help both during their Alexandria8. life on earth as well as after death10. Unfortunately, no complete synaxarion from Nubia has been found CHARACTERISTICS OF NUBIAN PAINTING yet, but one can presume that the feasts of archangels were widely celebrated11. For a better understanding of the representation, we A few instances will suffice to demonstrate the should first focus on two characteristics of Nubian importance of the cult of archangels in Nubia. church art. Firstly, Nubian painting, as is common Among the inscriptions coming from the Nubian in medieval art in general, follows the principles of territories, a graffito on the southern wall of the the ideological hierarchy, meaning that the most diakonikon from the Church of the Archangel important figure in a composition is the largest one. Raphael in Tamit has been preserved, which says A good example of this principle is the Nativity that the Deacon Philotheos, the son of Marianta scene from the Faras Cathedral, where the Virgin wrote this text on the occasion of the feast of resting on a bed is much bigger than the surround- Raphael on the third epagomenal day12. A painting ing figures (Pl. 9)9. Regarding the two previously of Archangel Raphael spearing a beast that swallows described compositions from Rooms 5 and 6 of the a man, including a model of a small church near Southwestern Annex, it is obvious that in the first the archangel’s left foot, was found in the south aisle case the Virgin is the most important figure, and of the same church13. The man coming out of the from this viewpoint it is logical to link the scene beast’s mouth raises his hands upward in orant ges- beside her with her feast. In the second case, the ture. This is probably a symbolic depiction of archangel is the biggest figure in the composition, Raphael’s protection over human souls and at the followed by the anonymous saint. Other figures are same time over the church dedicated to him. The painting is placed in a small niche, which differen- tiates it from other representations found in the 3 Martens-Czarnecka 2006, 46. church. Perhaps this is the kind of picture to which 4 Müller 2001, 323. the faithful prayed during the archangel’s feast ask- 5 This interpretation was presented during the Symposium on the Culture of the Late Antiquity and Early Christianity in ing him for protection. Kazimierz Dolny in 2004. The most important of the archangels in Nubia 6 Jakobielski 2006a, 31. was Michael, the commander of the heavenly host 7 Martens-Czarnecka, forthcoming. (archistrategos). In some regions of Egypt he was cel- 8 Geerard 1979, 353-354, no. 7152. ebrated on the twelfth day of each month14. The 9 ™aptas 2003; Micha¥owski 1967, 143-147, Figs 64-65. 10 ™aptas, forthcoming. main feast was dedicated to the installation of the 11 I have raised this issue during my speech at the 11th Polish archangel in heaven after the expulsion of Mastema, Nubian Conference in Gdansk and Gniew in 2004, how- the fallen angel, and was celebrated in November ever, this presentation has not been published. 12 Donadoni 1967, 67; ™ajtar/van der Vliet 1998, 45. (12th Athôr). The faithful who on that day would 13 Baldassare 1967, 51-52, Fig. 18. burn incense or light oil lamps and pray to Michael 14 Cf. Papaconstantinou 2001, 158-159; Zanetti 1994, 347. could count on his special protection and help on 76 1526-08_ECA_5(2008)_06 10-06-2009 14:51 Pagina 77 the day of the Last Judgement15. That this feast was A plausible solution is to link these two scenes known in Nubia is demonstrated not only from the with a story from the aforementioned encomium preserved fragments of Liber Institutionis Michaelis attributed to Abba Theodosius, which was created at in Old-Nubian and Greek versions16, but also by the occasion of the feast of Archangel Michael on a wall painting found in Room 13 of the north- the 12th Athôr26.

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