Movement is charecteristic for all living beings, but only in man it has achieved the stage of articulated expression, that enables the formation of complex gestural sign systems. The subject's gestural expression depends on his individual characteristics and on the characteristics of the groups he belongs to. Therefore gesture can be considered an indicator of the appertenance to a certain group, as a rite, or as a symbolic representation. Contrary to cultural relativism, which stresses the intercultural variability ob body expressions and the influence of the social environment on the subject's behaviour, the universalistic comprehension of gesturality is based on the research of the universal expressions of primary emotions. Certain gestures with numerous symbolic implications are used in rites and in the representation of social structures.
|
