The wall paintings in southern Africa
The wall paintings in southern Africa, di Emanuela Scarponi
spread throughout the caves and beneath the shelters of the ‘kopjes’ in most of the southern part of Africa were done by the ancient Khoisan. The style is similar to that of the prehistoric cave paintings of Africa and Europe, from Tanzania to the Sahara, from the north of Africa to Spain and France. The obvious analogy in form and style is not considered evidence enough to demonstrate an ethnic connection or even a cultural one between them. Today the Khoisan no longer produce paintings of this kind.
There are, however, reports that testify to the production of these paintings during the last century (ELA maybe you should change this to ‘during the 19th century’ the original must have been written pre 2000). The incisions seem to be older. In general they portray animals: gazelles, antelopes, elephants, ostriches. In the Sahara the wildlife painted enabled the paintings to be dated, this isn’t always possible in the south of Africa where the same animals live today.
The stratigraphy of the colours shows that the monochrome paintings precede the two-colour paintings, which precede the polychrome works. The refined reality of the animals can be, at times, surprising. The hunters are depicted either alone or in groups, there are social gatherings and ceremonies with men sitting in a circle.
The human figures are thread-like, but capture the agility of their movements. It is often possible to recognize the ethnic origin of the figures: the Khoisan are short, yellow, red and brown in colour; the Bantu are tall and black; the Europeans wear clothes and are armed with rifles.
The pre-Bantu period dates back to before the 1600’s; the European figures date back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
We don’t need to hypothesize about amazing historical and cultural references when interpreting these representations.
For example, the ‘Sumerian clothes’ of some paintings are not Sumerian at all, but show the way that the inhabitants of the mountains of Lesotho dressed.
In the same way, the unusual figure in the gorge of Tsibab in Namibia, called ‘ The white woman of Brandberg’, is, without doubt, an African man covered in white decorations and beads according to the tradition of many African peoples.
The explanation that the paintings had a motivation of magic seems plausible, but we must also recognize their style, apart from technical ability, the aesthetic sense of people used to being in touch with nature and with a high degree of social participation.
The settling of the Bantu into southern Africa is relatively recent. It dates back to the first centuries AD. However, the migratory movements, with the formation of new ethnic groups, still had not ended in the 19th century. During continuing studies, many archaeological remains have come to light regarding the most ancient movements, the most impressive and well-known are those in Zimbabwe.
The Bantu, however, pushed on further, expanding their territories to the southern extremities of Africa mixing with the Khoisan, who , finding themselves in a clear minority, moved northwards. So Namibia, which has recently achieved independence cannot be treated distinctly from South Africa from a historical, geographical and ethnic point of view.