The syntax of symbolism in an African religion

My investigations into the symbolism of African religion, published in several monographs and papers, allow me to draw the following tentative conclusions: (1) Symbols, which may be described as the molecules of ritual, have great semantic richness and depth and possess a specific structure. (2) Symbols have three major dimensions of significance— (a) the exegetic, (b) the operational, and (c) the positional. (3) The exegetic dimension consists of the w hole corpus of explanations of a particular symbol’s meaning offered by indigenous informants— the informants must of course be classified according to their social characteristics (age, sex, status, religious role, degree of esoteric knowledge, etc.). (4) In The operational dimension a symbol’s meaning is equated with its use— here we observe what the ritual participants do with it and not only what they say about it. Here, too, we consider not only the symbol but also the structure and composition of the group which handles it or performs mimetic acts with direct reference to it. We further note the affective qualities of these acts, whether they are aggressive, sad, joyful, penitent, derisive, and so forth, in terms of the culture’s interpretations of these expressive acts. We also inquire why certain persons and groups are absent on given ritual occasions, and whether this absence represents deliberate exclusion. (5) In the positional dimension we see the meaning of a symbol as deriving from its relationship to other symbols in a specific cluster or gestalt of symbols whose elements acquire much of their significance from their position in its structure ; (6) In the exegetic dimension the meaning of a symbol is built up by analogy and association on three semantic foundations, which we may call its (a) nominal, (b) substantial, and (c) artifactual semantic bases. (7) The nominal basis consists in the name assigned to the symbol in ritual contexts, in non-ritual contexts, or in both sets of contexts. (8) The substantial basis, in the case of objects used as symbols, consists in their culturally selected natural and material properties. (9) The artifactual basis is represented by the symbolic object after it has been worked upon, fashioned or treated by purposive human activity; in short, when it becomes a cultural artifact.