Tri-Finger and Birds in Afterlife Journey

Rock art motifs including birds, tri-finger symbols, water birds, and anthropomorphic figures with wings and beaks are prominently depicted in Negev Desert rock art. These symbols suggest representations of sky-dwelling divine beings and their role in facilitating the journey of souls to the afterlife. This study examines the symbolic significance of these motifs and their connection to ancient afterlife beliefs.

Birds’ symbolic significance across cultures relates to both life and death. In many cultures, bird symbols appear in afterlife scenes attached to a variety of mental tricks to soften death’s impending finality by associating it with renewal, transformation, and rebirth. Birds are awarded the symbol of transcendence due to their ability to travel freely between the underworld, earth, and heaven. This applies even more to water birds that live in the water or the underworld. As birds are capable of traversing the three realms, they have an extremely significant role in the afterlife myths.

Birds representation in Negev Desert Rock art

The depictions of birds in rock art may be partial (Fig.1), showing only the head, a mask, wings attached to anthropomorphic figures, or occasionally a complete bird. Nevertheless, these representations were sufficient to associate the symbol with a divine or godlike character. The full-bodied birds depicted in the rock art are often large species such as storks, cranes, swans, and even ostriches, implying their ability to carry heavy objects. In numerous instances of rock art, the sun is symbolized by a cross shape, which originates from the image of a bird in flight with its wings outstretched.

The Tri-Fingered symbol

Another class of rock art represents a bird by a tri-fingered symbol. It symbolizes the bird’s feet and also may be related to the three realms, which only the birds are capable of crossing. In all cases, the bird figure or their symbol advocates a connection with a divine dwelling in the sky and by this association, it acquires the same transformative powers as gods. The tri-fingers birds carry the souls to the afterlife and also help the sun to enter into its cyclic circle. Although these are supposedly different tasks they share the same journey path and hurdles on their sky crossing toward heaven (Kristiansen 2018).

The Sun divine helpers

The sun represents renewal since it dies and is reborn daily, it has the power of incarnation, immortality, and eternity. That’s the reason for its presence in burials with other symbols such as bird wings. By mythical thought, the sun and the soul had to travel vast areas, through the upper and lower waters, before entering the abode of the dead. The journey was assisted by a mythical boat, the water birds, the sun chariot, and the tri-fingered birds. They were all the divine helpers in the long afterlife journey, Fig.3 as attested by Egyptian and Indo-European myths and images2 from the Bronze age. In these cultures, birds, and especially water birds were associated with the renewal of life as can be seen in Fig.3.

According to (Kristiansen 2018) the tri-fingered symbols emerging from the sun (image 2 Fig.2) are the divine bird helpers. The same goes for the swans, in images2 1, 3, 4, 5, these divine water birds assist the sun’s or the soul’s journey in the lower waters. The task of bringing the soul to the afterworld was especially crucial when one lost his life in battle without the possibility of a proper burial. A known fact from myths in Europe and the Mediterranean from the beginning of the Iron Age as textual and iconographic evidence shows (Egeler 2009; Moreman 2014).

tri fingered divine birds and a boat

In Fig.4, we can see examples of the tri-fingered symbol combined with a celestial ship. The ship is depicted upside down, which signifies a journey through the underworld during the night. The birds are aiding the ship in navigating and guiding it to the afterlife, which is considered a “land of no return”. This integration of the bird’s symbol with a ship is a well-known concept, and there are several examples (Fig.3 scene1) that attest to its purpose

Fig.5 displays a rock art scene of a horse and its rider falling to the ground, symbolizing the common representation of death in battle. However, the presence of the tri-fingered bird symbols (4, 5, 6) suggests that the fallen rider’s soul is being carried by the birds to the afterlife realm. The depiction of the ibex under the horse, representing the fertility god, brings a sense of hope for renewal to the scene. This rock art is a testament to the belief in the transformative power of the divine helpers in facilitating the journey of the soul from this world to the afterlife

Complete Soul Journey

Rock art from the Negev Desert, Fig.6, illustrates the entire soul’s soul journey, from the underworld through the upper waters. In this task, they are assisted by the bird and the sun boat that carry them to the afterworld and back. The interpretation of this rock art with its symbols is as follows:

The soul travel begins at night, seen on the right side, as the moon below (symbol 1 blue) indicates. The large bird (symbol 4) with long legs and strong neck loads the sun boat with souls (the sticks figures in symbol 2). Then, the boat travels to the afterworld, located much above the sun and the moon, and offloads the souls into what looks like an egg (symbol 3). Now, the journey continues with the sun boat (symbol 5) that travels empty during the day, as the sun (symbol 6 red) indicates, for a renewed journey.

Fig.7 offers a compelling depiction of the sun’s nocturnal journey and the bird’s vital role in the afterlife. The rock art unfolds across two adjoining surfaces—the darker lower face and the illuminated upper part—symbolizing the soul’s passage from the underworld to the celestial realm. The lower face represents the underworld, while the upper surface conveys spiritual transformation. At the center is a bird with flat feet, identifying it as a water bird associated with the underworld. On the left, a blue-colored moon signifies the onset of night. A red-colored snake winds its way through the underworld and across a horizontal boundary that separates earth from the heavens, obstructing the sun’s path—a motif reminiscent of Egyptian solar mythology. The bird is shown carrying a baby toward an orange-colored sun, symbolizing the soul’s rebirth and ascent into the afterlife

Conclusion

We think of birds as creatures residing in heaven, the natural place befitting only the residence of gods. And, we think that their flying ability provides the bridge between the divine and earthly. Birds expedited communication with gods and also helped souls in their journey to reach the afterlife. Numerous images of birds engraved on Negev desert rock art testify to this belief.

Birds flight ability made them ideal psychopomps—guiding souls, assisting the sun, and sustaining cosmic renewal. In Negev Desert rock art, this role can be traced from the Late Epipaleolithic into the Bronze Age, from the ritual burial at Hilazon Cave (Grosman 2008; Mannermaa 2007) to broader Eurasian traditions linking water birds, boats, and afterlife travel (Chernetsov 1963; Bilic 2016; Ling & Uhnér 2014; Kristiansen 2018; Egeler 2009; Moreman 2014).

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Yehuda Rotblum