Cookie Consent by Cookie Consent by TermsFeed
 
Bradshaw Foundation Cave Art Paintings News
Bradshaw Foundation Cave Art Paintings News
Bradshaw Foundation Cave Art Paintings News
Bradshaw Foundation - Latest News
Eland rock art and echoes of thunder
Tuesday 20 January 2015

In southern Africa it is thought that ancestral San Bushmen were responsible for the majority of the rock art. This well-preserved panel of eland, located in the Drakensberg Mountains, is typical of such a painting tradition. Indeed, the Drakensberg is almost defined by the delicate and intricately painted eland.

Eland depicted in San rock art of the Drakensberg

As archaeologists, anthropologists and rock art researchers turned from a Western to a San view of the art, they realised that the eland was far more important in San culture than just a food animal. For the San, the eland was God's special animal, the one most filled with his magical power and potency. Even today, many San groups draw upon eland power in their rituals. 

In this panel, the eland are shown in a variety of postures that seem to show a magical element in the art. Many of the eland are shown with knees bent and heads lowered. This is a dying posture. San ethnography tells us that the dying posture was a metaphor. San healers describe this happening during their trance dances. They say that they die in the dance; for them trance is a form of death, even if just a temporary death. The dying eland does not therefore only represent potency; it is also a metaphor for the dying dancer. 

This panel is a fine example of a palimpsest, a canvas that is used again and again to paint and depict images, suggesting that the place and the process is as important as the painting itself. 

The panel is located in the Eland Cave in the Ndedema Gorge - a Zula word for 'echoes of thunder' - in the Cathedral Peak area of Northern Drakensberg, and protected under the Cathedral Peak Special Conservation Area status, accessible only with a guide.

Visit our South Africa Rock Art Archive and the rock art of the San:

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/south_africa/index.php

 

Comment
Cave Painting
Capturing the art of Cosquer
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 30 May 2022
Hand Stencils in Chhattisgarh
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 January 2022
New U-series dating of rock art in China
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 January 2022
New approach to research in Australia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 06 December 2021
Color begets life
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 29 November 2021
Sulawesi rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 25 October 2021
Protecting Utyetye rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 12 July 2021
A lockdown obsession with cave paintings
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 24 May 2021
What Sulawesi cave art reveals
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Cosquer cave replica underway
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 01 April 2021
Oldest date for Aboriginal rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 23 February 2021
Oldest cave painting found in Indonesia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 14 January 2021
Chauvet discovered 26 years ago today
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 18 December 2020
Response to 'discovery' claims in Colombia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Sunday 06 December 2020
Drug use and human creativity
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 26 November 2020
Cave art discovered in Thailand
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 07 October 2020
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
If you have enjoyed visiting this website
please consider adding a link © Bradshaw Foundation
 
 
ROCK ART NETWORK
Rock Art Network Bradshaw Foundation Getty Conservation Institute
CAVE PAINTINGS
Capturing the art of Cosquer
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 30 May 2022
Hand Stencils in Chhattisgarh
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 January 2022
New U-series dating of rock art in China
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 06 January 2022
New approach to research in Australia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 06 December 2021
Color begets life
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 29 November 2021
Sulawesi rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 25 October 2021
Protecting Utyetye rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 12 July 2021
A lockdown obsession with cave paintings
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 24 May 2021
What Sulawesi cave art reveals
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 20 April 2021
Cosquer cave replica underway
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 01 April 2021
Oldest date for Aboriginal rock art
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 23 February 2021
Oldest cave painting found in Indonesia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 14 January 2021
Chauvet discovered 26 years ago today
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 18 December 2020
Response to 'discovery' claims in Colombia
by Bradshaw Foundation
Sunday 06 December 2020
Drug use and human creativity
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 26 November 2020
Cave art discovered in Thailand
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 07 October 2020
Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
Support our work & become a
Friend of the Foundation
 
 
Bradshaw Foundation Facebook
 
Bradshaw Foundation YouTube
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store