Symbolism

I loved our class today on art and symbolism in Ghana. After taking Symbolic Anthropology, I became fascinated by symbols as they are one of the foundational elements of human existence. We literally could not function without symbols - even our words are merely metaphors for our imperceptible mix of thoughts, emotion, and impulse that can never be flawlessly conveyed to the external world. I love symbols like the blatant ones we encounter through art - Katie showed a spiral on the side of a religious structure in Ghana, and told us it represented eternity - like this example, symbols can convey mass meanings full of history and complexity with just one image, that sometimes abstractly relates to whatever it is representing, and is sometimes completely arbitrary, but recognized through tradition.

In my symbolic anthropology class, we discussed the extensive symbolism behind the LDS sacrament ritual. I realized how religions use so much ritualism and symbolism for highly effective purposes. Religion poses intricate theory and inspires feelings and emotions that are hard to put into words and difficult to interpret even when they occur inside of us. Symbols create a route of expression to allow a group to form a cohesive union surrounding such complex beliefs and meanings. No wonder many Mormon kids are so knowledgeable about their religion at such a young age, they are taught the doctrine largely through relatable symbolism that especially helps in conveying religious messages that might usually be thought too mature for children to process.

Like Katie said, this will be a great for us in Ghana. It will be important for me to inquire about the representations and symbolism I see - having even a limited knowledge of what deeper meaning lies behind images, words, or behaviors will allow me to have a better understanding of the culture as a whole. Symbolism in language, actions, art, etc are the very fiber of a society and its cultural makeup.