Summer with the Selvedge Archives: Here Comes the Sun

Representations of Solar Worship & Symbolism

Written by Sophie Vent for Selvedge Issue 107, High Summer

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In the ancient world, life was ruled by the sun. It dictated the seasons, the migratory patterns of animals, agricultural cycles and harvests. Rays from the sun brought light and heat to the ground, germinating seeds and nurturing growth. The sun created light from darkness and returned each morning, bringing with it associations of renewal and new beginnings. Dependence on the sun and its patterns allowed complex solar ideologies to develop, building an object of devotion. The sun became a symbol of protection and fertility, a powerful celestial presence to be appeased, feared, worshiped and mythologised.

Neirika yarn painting.

Archaeological evidence of sun cults are found across the world: Egypt, Iran, southern Europe, Indus Valley, China, and South Asia, dispersed by trade routes and nomadic pathways. In Ancient Egypt, the sun god Re ruled over all other gods as the creator of the sky, the earth and the underworld. As an older manifestation, Re becomes Atum, a large golden sun that sits above the horizon before it sets. Surya, the all-seeing sun god of the ancient Vedas, expelled darkness along with dreams and disease. In ancient Mexico, the Aztecs were ruled by blood thirsty sun gods that demanded sacrifice. Or in Japan, the sun goddess Amaterasu, supreme ruler of the world, is to this day represented in the symbols of the Japanese state. Ancient spiritual beliefs can be difficult to interpret through the loss of oral traditions, but we are able to find traces in the crafts and symbols left behind: carved standing stones, beaten-metal disks, fragments of ceremonial costume, or glittering pieces of mica in the embroideries of Saurashtra.

To craft an image of the sun, an object so distant and powerful that it can’t be viewed directly by the human eye, requires a poetic semiotic language or material so otherworldly that they could reflect something of its nature. The earliest depictions of the sun in Europe appear in Bronze Age metalwork and standing stones created as devotional monuments to celestial bodies. Over time these symbols were transferred into new materials: bronze, gold, mirrors, and silk thread. Solar symbols are usually found on crafted objects of high cultural value and appear on ceremonial costumes. Textiles transformed through hours of handwork and embellished with spiritual symbols take on transcendental significance. In Decoding the Divine: Kathi Embroideries of Saurashtra, Professor Victoria Rivers explores the significance of embroidery in the region: ‘Textiles are frequently filled with sacred or protective powers and imbued with the maker's soul force. Embroidery was such an important aspect of daily and ritual life... that textiles were deeply connected to all important rites of passage, religious and social aspects of life’. It is through the embroidered vocabulary of the Kathi that we can understand a little about the beliefs of this agricultural community and the people that came before them.

Design for matchboxes for the restaurant La Fonda del Sol, 1960, Alexander Girard. Estate Vitra Design Museum.

Early solar symbols are primitive, drawn from basic tools and materials. Concentric circles, rayed circles, sun disks and spoked wheels first appear in early Bronze Age metalwork and ceramics. The repetition of chosen symbols, or how they appear in relation to other images, indicates the cultural significance. A few other circular motifs are common around this period– wheels, flowers and eyes, all occasionally combined with solar forms. Although sun-like motifs are relatively common, specific dedications to worship are harder to find.

Centuries later, some of the same archaic solar symbols appear in embroideries from 17th century Saurashtra, now with added cultural complexity. Kathi embroideries from the region depict concentric and radiating suns combined with quadrants, numbers, swastikas and other more abstract expressions of astral worship. The swastika divided into four sections represents time, space and fertility and the embroidered koliphul, a repeated symbol of the Kathi, represents ancient eight-pointed star. Historically Saurashtra experienced a cultural melting pot, surrounded by coastal trade routes and nomadic pastures to the North. During this period the Kathi people settled in the region, a migrating community with a notoriety for astral worship thought to have originated from ancient Iran. The name given to Saurashtra, where they chose to settle, gives an indication of their beliefs, translating from Sanskrit as ‘saura’ meaning ‘sun’, and ‘rastra’ meaning ‘worship’.

Ceremonial cloth (mata hari), coastal southeast India, made for the Indonesian market, late 18th or 19th century. Karun Thakar Collection, London.

Kathi embroidery is unique in style and formed the basis for the distinctive Kutchi embroidery techniques still practiced in Gujarat today. Motifs were embroidered with pale or iridescent threads on a dark ground as a creative expression of light coming from darkness. Professor Rivers describes the technique: ‘Visually, Kathi textiles contrast bright against dark. The silky untwisted floss called heer, also adds luster through elongated darning stitches… touches of yellow, white and green, along with small mica rounds accent the predominantly red stitches worked into deep indigo cotton grounds. Most Kathi embroidery motifs emanate from a central focal point thereby expanding the motifs’ powers, and the most archaic of them are filled with symbols of solar character’.

The desire to capture the essence of the sun led some ancient artisans to work poetically with materials to hand. Fragments of mica, tin and polished stones allowed something of the sun’s mysterious nature to be captured in cloth. Golden or reflective qualities created a sense of duality in textiles, a cosmic polarity that has become a dominant theme in art throughout the world. The addition of mica in embroideries from nomadic sun-worshiping people allowed astral light to become part of the surface of the cloth. The use of mirrors is also thought to imitate wealth, mimicking gems or precious metals to elevate everyday dress. Although this may be the reason for the widespread adoption of the technique, the seemingly supernatural nature of mica has captivated ancient cultures from disparate regions, also linking back to celestial significance. Under the rule of sun gods in Ancient Egypt, polished circular bronze discs represented the face of the sun. These early mirrors became a symbol of regeneration and vitality, reflecting the sun’s lifegiving qualities onto people on earth. Throughout Mesoamerica, the mirror was also a powerful symbol identified with the sun. In Teotihuacan, stone mirrors were created from polished mica, obsidian and iron pyrite, functioning primarily in dress and divination, often circled with a rim of radiating markings. They appear as medallions on ceremonial costumes often worn on the brow, the chest, or the small of the back.

Door hanging or toran. Cotton embroidered with wool and silk. Gujarat, India, 20th century. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Faint reflections of solar worship can still be found today. The connection of sun and mirrors that first inspired the Ancient Mayans is still held by some indigenous communities of modern Mexico. The Sierra Totonac name for the sun is Espejo Sol, meaning ‘Mirror Sun’. The Huichol people, most known for their colourful yarn paintings and beading, continue to identify mirrors in this way. Spiritual symbolism, continues to be a key focus of folk art from this community and smiling sun faces feature frequently, drawing inspiration from sun masks that give human character to the celestial form. The Shisha embroideries of the Kathi became so widely adopted that embroidered mirrors have become an iconic representation of Indian textiles. Now often replicated and mass produced by tourist trades and fast fashion, tiny embroidered mirrors exist all over the world devoid of intention or context, but continue to glitter in the sunlight.

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Further Information:

Issue 107, High Summer, is available in print or as a digital download.

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Image Credits:

Lead: Anne Menke, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City, Mexico.

All further images as credited in captions.