Rock Art Research Institute (RARI)
University of the Witwatersrand
In the well-known painting from the Drakensberg shown on the next page, a partly transformed shaman holds the tail of a dying eland. Its head is lowered and it has exaggerated, erect hairs. The man's hoofed legs are crossed in imitation of the eland's legs. Not shown, but on the right, another shaman with erect hair is also partly transformed into an antelope. Near him is a cloaked figure with an antelope head. In the centre, a shaman dances in the bending forward, arms-back posture. A short skin cloak hangs down in front of him.
By juxtaposing a number of figures, the painting shows how shamans are transformed by the n/om that they have obtained from the dying eland. That n/om changes them partially into eland.
One of the San shaman's tasks was to make rain. The San thought of the rain as an animal. The shamans would capture this imaginary animal, lead it to the place where they wanted rain and kill it. Its blood and milk would then become rain. This painting, from the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, shows a group of trancers in the process of capturing the "rain-bull".
Moving away from Drakensberg, to other areas of South Africa images of the dance remain common. This painting from the Eastern Free State is one example. The central figures are dancing, supported by dancing sticks. The dancer often bends forward during the dance as his potency begins to 'boil' in his stomach. In this position he supports his weight on one or two dancing sticks. The women on the left hand side are depicted in a characteristic clapping posture.
