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Terracotta toy monkeys, Mohenjo-daro
Terracotta toy monkeys, Mohenjo-daro
The rebus reading of the three-monkey figurine as an Indus Script hypertext composed of two hieroglyphs:
Combined animals: Hieroglyph: सांगड sāṅgaḍa m f (संघट्ट S) f A body formed of two or more (fruits, animals, men) linked or joined together. सांगडणें sāṅgaḍaṇēṃ v c (सांगड) To link, join, or unite together (boats, fruits, animals).Rebus: sangarh 'fortification'; सांगड sāṅgaḍa That member of a turner's apparatus by which the piece to be turned is confined and steadied. सांगडीस धरणें To take into linkedness or close connection with, lit. fig. saṁghāṭa m. ʻ fitting and joining of timber ʼ R. [√ghaṭ ]Pa. nāvā -- saṅghāṭa -- , dāru -- s˚ ʻ raft ʼ; Pk. saṁghāḍa -- , ˚ḍaga -- m., ˚ḍī -- f. ʻ pair ʼ; Ku. sĩgāṛ m. ʻ doorframe ʼ; N. saṅār, siṅhār ʻ threshold ʼ; Or. saṅghāṛi ʻ pair of fish roes, two rolls of thread for twisting into the sacred thread, quantity of fuel sufficient to maintain the cremation fire ʼ; Bi. sĩghārā ʻ triangular packet of betel ʼ; H. sĩghāṛā m. ʻ piece of cloth folded in triangular shape ʼ; G. sãghāṛɔ m. ʻ lathe ʼ; M. sãgaḍ f. ʻ a body formed of two or more fruits or animals or men &c. linked together, part of a turner's apparatus ʼ, m.f. ʻ float made of two canoes joined together ʼ (LM 417 compares saggarai at Limurike in the Periplus, Tam. śaṅgaḍam, Tu. jaṅgala ʻ double -- canoe ʼ), sã̄gāḍā m. ʻ frame of a building ʼ, ˚ḍī f. ʻ lathe ʼ; Si. san̆gaḷa ʻ pair ʼ, han̆guḷa, an̆g˚ ʻ double canoe, raft ʼ.Addenda: saṁghāṭa -- : Md. an̆goḷi ʻ junction ʼ?(CDIAL 12859)
Hieroglyph: mūhū'monkey, langur, baboon' rebus: mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end
PLUS
Hieroglyph: kolom'three' rebus; kolimi'smithy, forge'. Thus, together, the three-monkey figurine signifies iron ingot smithy
Rebus: mũh '(copper) ingot' (Santali) mũhã̄ = the quantity of iron produced at one time in a native smelting furnace of the Kolhes; iron produced by the Kolhes and formed like a four-cornered piece a little pointed at each end (Santali)
Santali
Triple monkey figurine amulet with hole in center. This miniature carved faience bead or pin ornament shows three monkeys in tight embrace with amused expressions on their faces. Possibly placed on a stick or cord. Possibly molded and carved.
Material: yellow-brown glazed faience
Dimensions: 1.6 cm height, 1.4 cm dia.
Mohenjo-daro, HR 1053
National Museum, Karachi, NMP 50.870
Marshall 1931: pl. CLVIII, 5 https://www.harappa.com/indus/64.html
Dimensions: 1.6 cm height, 1.4 cm dia.
Mohenjo-daro, HR 1053
National Museum, Karachi, NMP 50.870
Marshall 1931: pl. CLVIII, 5 https://www.harappa.com/indus/64.html
An Indus Monkey Figurine
March 31st, 2019
Of all the objects in the National Museum of Pakistan's Indus Gallery in Karachi, none quite so grabs your attention with its innate character as this tiny faience monkey from Mohenjo-daro. Just over 3 cm in height, made of blue-green faience, probably in a wooden mold according to Mark Kenoyer (Ancient Cities, p. 230), it arrests you with the richness of its persona through the glass casing. It seems to have its character pushed from the inside out, so regal is it in the surrounding space. Broken feet suggest it might have once been part of a triple monkey figurine. John Marshall wrote "The monkey is now extinct in Sind, but that it existed there in ancient times is suggested by the fact that models of it are found in Mohenjo-daro made in faience, pottery, and steatite. It is always represented in a squatting position with a hand on each knee." (Marshall 1931: 349, 351, pl. XCVI, 13).