The local deities, the dii patrii and the dii mauri Between enclosure and radiance

Abstract

Research on African religious practices has given rise to a wealth of published works, which have attempted to identify, by seeking parallels with Greco-Latin and Eastern cults, the modalities of expression of cults in Roman Africa and the mechanisms that operate them. This has resulted in a significant and, more importantly, diverse set of factors that may have shaped or reshaped a deity, as well as the place and instruments of its cult. Gods bearing local names or designated by globalizing terms such as mauri and patrii remain shrouded in mystery, although the prevailing view identifies them as minor local genii governing relatively small areas.

However, a new approach has gradually gained ground in recent decades, bringing a new perspective to African religion through a review and integration of previous research into an approach now focused on the concepts of landscapes and dynamism. This is particularly the case for monuments and ritual practices relating to the god Baal-Saturn, where the importance of the principles of encounter, continuity, but also distance and interruption, is highlighted. The diversity of scenarios has, for example, highlighted different spatial configurations relating to the sanctuaries’ location (contiguity, overlapping, distance). The rigorous contextualization of the religious landscape is another important factor in this new approach to religion, which is based on a diachronic approach, based itself on rigorous documentation of the remains in context. The slightest alterations identified on a monument, an object, or in the configuration of a place of worship (whether in the world of the living or the dead) provide clues that enable us to establish micro-chronologies and associated transformations. The concept of stagnation in African cults has already been rethought. This approach remains however mainly centered on the Punic and Roman worlds.

This article aims, through a few examples of local gods, to explore the notions of topos and restricted influence, as well as the nature of the relationship that can link the dii loci, patrii and mauri. The problem can be formulated as follows: Does the local authority of a god or a local pantheon exclude a radiance exceeding the limits of the locus that shelters them? Can we distinguish between dii patrii and mauri without dissociating them? Our corpus is mainly epigraphic but also includes all available material data and, as far as possible, tribal movements and characteristics of the territory that houses these divine entities. Given the diversity of contexts (territorial, geographical, and chronological), an analytical methodology was favored. In addressing these issues, we have come to observe that a deity venerated in a limited locality may have had a much wider influence, possibly extending to the provincial level, and that a more clearly defined relationship between dii loci, patrii, and mauri may be identified.

Key words: pantheon, patrii, mauri, Africa

Siada Salima siada.s@cnra.dz