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ROCK ART AT RICE
Khoekhoen
(herder) and Bantu-speakers’ (farmer) art
San art is not the
only rock art tradition in southern Africa. Recent discoveries have drawn
attention to the long-neglected herder and farmer paintings and engravings.
Several thousand
years ago, the hunter-gatherer San were living alongside Khoekhoen people
(formerly called Hottentot) who herded sheep and cattle in addition to
hunting. Herders’ animals were obtained originally from Bantu-speaking
farmer groups farther to the north. The San and Khoekhoen were genetically
related communities (linguists refer to ‘Khoisan’ languages
today), and there was interaction between the two groups.
The rock art of Khoekhoen
herders is easily distinguished from that of the San—despite the
fact that there was considerable overlap between the two cultures, even
in their art—because it is made up primarily of geometric designs,
large dots and handprints. Paint was applied to the rock face with the
finger and not a brush. See photo 3/8 in
the Image Database.
Khoekhoen ethnography
is, however, scant, and research still in its early stages. There is a
strong association between herder rock art and water, although whether
this will tell us why the Khoekhoen painted and engraved is debatable.
Preliminary findings point to a link between the art and traditional Khoekhoen
initiation sites. Certainly, the rock art was made for different reasons
from that of the San.
Thrilling new discoveries
in the north of South Africa (Limpopo Province) depict the presence of
newly arrived herders on the landscape, in direct association with the
geometric images of the herders themselves. At one site overlooking a
river, three fat-tailed sheep (herders’ animals, painted by the San)
were found in a small alcove next to a group of herder finger dots. We
cannot be sure which images were painted first, but we do know that one
set of paintings is a direct reaction by one group to the presence of
the other. A similar scenario exists at only one other site in the country.
This is an exciting and important new find. Discoveries such as this are
crucial to researchers’ understanding of the more recent rock art
traditions, both Khoekhoen herder and Bantu-speaking farmer.
At least 2,000 years
ago, Bantu-speaking black farmers crossed the Zambezi River, the geographical
boundary separating southern Africa from the north. San relations with
these farmers probably varied from place to place: many groups intermarried
with the San and sent their initiates to learn rainmaking skills from
San shamans, while others fought bitterly.
The rock art of these
Bantu-speaking farmers, like that of the Khoekhoen herders, comprises
mostly paintings; paint was always applied with the fingers, producing
a ‘rough’ appearance. At present, only 500 or so Bantu-speakers’
sites are known in South Africa (compared with the 15,000 or so San, and
several thousand Khoekhoen sites). Most of them are found in the north
of southern Africa, which abounds with deep, dry gorges, dense scrub and
legions of scorpions.
Bantu-speaking farmer
art falls into two periods. The earlier art depicts a range of wild animals
(dominated by images of giraffe) and played a part in traditional boys’
initiation instruction. It seems so have been introduced nearly 1,000
years ago, and continued into the twentieth century.
Photos: P Bass. Click to enlarge
The more recent period
brings us up to colonial times. It comprises depictions of European soldiers
and settlers, their guns and, steam trains; see page
2 of the Image Database. European settlers reached the north of South
Africa in the nineteenth century, and imposed taxes and land clearances.
We know that the San produced ‘contact’ art (such as depictions
of black farmers’ cattle, Khoekhoen herders’ sheep, and Europeans)
in order to try to influence their own fate, through the shamanistic ‘ritual’
of applying potent paint to a rock face. Bantu-speaking farmers of the
Northern Province also tried to overcome the stresses of the time, often
by poking fun at the new arrivals via the medium of rock art. In a way,
Bantu-speaking farmer art marks the origins of protest art in South Africa—ordinary
people protesting their right to land and self-determination, fighting
the destruction of their traditional structures and cultural values.
The future
In 1999, the world’s
first ‘Rapid Response: Rock Art 911’ service was established
in order to combat the pressing threat posed by weathering, vandalism
and construction work to rock art sites in southern Africa . The field
team documents such sites and advises farmers and landowners on how best
to preserve the diverse legacies of southern Africa’s past. At the
same time the team searches for undiscovered sites—there are so many
waiting to be found.
Every year, dozens
of new sites are discovered throughout southern Africa. Regardless of
whether these are small, containing only a few, poorly-preserved images,
or large, with many, well-preserved paintings and engravings, all new
finds lead to a greater understanding of southern African rock art. There
can be no closure on this colossal research enterprise. In fact, new discoveries
help researchers to understand previously documented but hitherto ambiguous
motifs, as well as to answer questions and formulate new foundations for
further research.
The Rock Art Research Institute’s website can be found here.
