Rock Art – gateways to the spirit world

Why these paintings?  And what are they doing in deep caves?

The San, or first people in southern Africa, were hunters. Along the coast they lived off fish, shellfish, seals, marine birds and whales that were washed ashore, while those in the interior hunted antelope and wild animals.  Both groups used caves or overhanging rock ledges as their shelters against the weather. Amongst the San hunters, when an eland was killed the place where it fell was believed to be filled with power.  The power of the eland was then captured by mixing some of its blood into coloured pigments and the image of the animal was painted onto a rock surface. The potency-filled paint created some sort of bond with the animal. In this way the actual act of painting became part of the spiritual process, and the power coming from the painting could enter into the artist.  This helped them move into the spirit world. 

The fact that the paintings were often done very deep inside a cave suggests they weren’t just representations of a hunt.  The paintings weren’t really meant to be seen. There was some secret element to them. And the fact that only certain animals were represented and not others, tells us the artists weren’t trying to represent the real world, but rather, that by drawing a certain animal, they were trying to gain power over that particular animal.

But the paintings were more than just ‘hunting magic’.  They were the medium the artist or shaman, used to reach the spirit world. The rock surface, on which they were painted, was seen as the barrier between the normal world and the spirit world.  The paintings helped the artist move through the barrier into the spirit world and beyond. Often snakes and birds were painted to suggest journeys under the earth or through the sky to the other world.  Sometimes images were painted disappearing through cracks in the rock, or handprints were made on the surface, which show the artist’s attempt at reaching out to connect with the spirit world on the other side of the rock

Rock paintings are gateways to the spirit world.  In Fish Notes and Star Songs, Fish’s watery paintings of storms and fish souls are, in the same way, gateways to the world where she believes her mother to be.

Rock Art facts and extra ideas

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