Libyan tribes - rebuilding the collective memory

Libyan tribes – rebuilding the collective memory

In the Temple of Seti we find the mural of the four leaders, which is very well known to all Libyans as representing the prehistoric tribes of Libya. However, this image has nothing to do with the costume of the Libyans or the four Libyan tribes. It is merely the imagination of the artist who painted it in a way that suits the imagination of the Egyptian artist at that time and this can be seen through clothing. This mural from the Temple of Seti is treated in our time as a reality from our past, which reveals the depth of the catastrophe that our collective memory has known over previous generations and the depth of the destruction of our knowledge of ourselves and our identity. Oric Bates said in his well-known book, “The Easterner Libyans” that this costume may have been a gift from the Sea Peoples to the tribal leaders, and that the tribe in the mural was only the Temehu, and he added that the clothing of the Libyans at that time was composed of animal skins. In this painting, based on studies and information about the way Libyans dress, the way they style their hair, and the tattoos on their bodies, this painting comes to reformulate the collective memory and to build a memory that represents us and to be closer to reality and our Libyan identity at that time.

265*200cm
Oil and mixed media on canvas
2023