eMkhobeni Shelter, Northern uKhahlamba

Allusions to Agriculturist Rituals in Hunter-Gatherer Rock Art? eMkhobeni Shelter, Northern uKhahlambaDrakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Jeremy C. Hollmann

African Archaeological Review ISSN 0263-0338 Volume 32 Number 3 Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) 32:505-535 DOI 10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4

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Author's personal copy Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) 32:505–535 DOI 10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4 O R I G I N A L A RT I C L E

Allusions to Agriculturist Rituals in Hunter-Gatherer Rock Art? eMkhobeni Shelter, Northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Jeremy C. Hollmann 1

Published online: 4 September 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Unusual and uncommon motifs at eMkhobeni Shelter, in the foothills of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal, look like Bushman huntergatherer paintings. However, amidst the many images at this site are motifs that apparently allude to a historic cultural practice of Bantu-speaking agriculturists—the widely performed first-fruits festival, as well as to Nguni rain-making practices. These motifs include the slaughter of a bull with an axe, depictions of figures wearing items of Nguni clothing, figures driving black-painted cattle and a black sheep. The motifs are understood here as symbols of fertility, especially rain-making, that the eMkhobeni painters (argued to be Bushman hunter-gatherers living alongside agriculturists) incorporated into their repertoire. The creation on the rock face of signal moments from firstfruit ceremonies and the painting of black cattle and sheep may be understood as a way of strengthening Bushman hunter-gatherer control over fertility and rain-making. It is argued that the imagery validated the social and economic position of local Bushman hunter-gatherer groups and their ritual practitioners, especially in the eyes of their agriculturist neighbours. Résumé L’abri eMkhobeni est situé sur les contreforts de la partie nord du DrakensberguKhalamba, au Kwazulu-Natal. Il est décoré de motifs peu communs qui, au premier regard, semblent renvoyer à la tradition picturale des chasseurs et cueilleurs nomades bochimans. Pourtant, parmi ces très nombreuses images, certains motifs semblent être des allusions à des pratiques culturelles de pasteurs et agriculteurs bantus, telle que la cérémonie, largement célébrée, des premiers fruits ou les rituels des faiseurs de pluie

* Jeremy C. Hollmann [email protected] 1

Division of Archaeology and Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa

Author's personal copy 506

Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) 32:505–535

Nguni. Sont également représentés le sacrifice d’un taureau effectué à l’aide d’une hache, des personnages portant des vêtements Nguni, d’autres qui conduisent des vaches noires, ainsi qu’un mouton, lui aussi de couleur noire. Ces motifs sont interprétés comme étant des symboles de fertilité, en particulier les cérémonies de pluie que les peintres de l’abri eMkhobeni—dont nous avançons qu’il s’agit de chasseurs-cueilleurs bochimans vivant parmi les pasteurs et agriculteurs Nguni—ont incorporés à leur répertoire. La représentation sur les parois de cet abri d’aspects essentiels de la cérémonie des premiers fruits, ainsi que celle d’un mouton et de vaches noirs, peuvent être comprises comme le moyen, pour les chasseurs-cueilleurs bochimans, de renforcer leur contrôle sur la fertilité et la pluie. Nous avançons que ces images valident la position sociale et économique de clans locaux de chasseurs et cueilleurs bochimans, à travers leur spécialistes des rituels, notamment aux yeux de leurs voisins dont l’économie est pastorale et agricole. Keywords Bull sacrifice . First-fruits festival . Interaction studies . Mimesis . Nguni material culture . Rain-making . Sheep

Introduction Fieldwork conducted recently by Meridy Pfotenhauer and community members in the amaNgwane Traditional Authority Area, near Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal, has located several rock art sites with great research and heritage value. eMkhobeni Shelter is one such “discovery” (Fig. 1). The site has several images that relate to interaction between huntergatherers and agriculturist groups in the area; these include paintings of domesticated animals, items of agriculturist material culture and depictions of ceremonial practices. eMkhobeni Shelter is located on the eastern banks of the Indunwane River, a few kilometres from its headwaters in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg (Fig. 2). This river is part of the upper Thukela river system and drains into the Thukela basin, a landscape rich in hunter-gatherer and agriculturist sites (see discussion below). eMkhobeni Shelter comprises three distinct painted areas along about 70 m of sandstone overhang that runs roughly in a northwest–southeast direction. I focus here on the paintings at the northwest end of the overhang; there are about 200 images spread out along some 20 m of rock face (Fig. 3).

Fig. 1 eMkhobeni Shelter in its immediate environment. The site is in the centre of the picture, in the cliffs behind the patch of forest. (photo: by author)

Author's personal copy Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) 32:505–535

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Mgoduyanuka

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Bergville

Msululuzi confluence

Colenso

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Lesotho

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Fig. 2 eMkhobeni Shelter adds to the known concentration of Bushman hunter-gatherer paintings of domestic animals and agriculturist weapons in the Northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. These painting sites are all within a few days’ walking distance of Early and Late Iron Age (EIA and LIA) settlements downstream, to the east. (photo: by author)

Archaeological and Historical Context The scheme of colours used includes bichrome, red and white figures, as well as yellow and white; the pigments are bright and may resemble pigments that are associated with more recent rock art (the last 800 years or so), what Flett and Letley (2013, p. 12) categorise as the “Late Period” of rock painting. Given that current archaeological information (see below) suggests that Bushman hunter-gatherers returned to the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg about 600 years ago (c. AD 1350), however, it is unlikely that the paintings are as old as 800 years. In addition, there are many motifs in



Fig. 3 Overview of the approximately 20-m-long rock surface at eMkhobeni that features images of cattle, sheep, axes, spears, agriculturist clothing and ceremonial activities. (photo: by author) (image in full colour online)

black pigment. Paintings in black are less common than red images in the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg (see definition below); black is often the colour used to depict cattle, and the increased use of black paint seems to be characteristic of rock art that postdates the arrival of agriculturist groups (Pager 1971, p. 326). The documentation of eMkhobeni Shelter adds to a small concentration of huntergatherer images of agriculturists, domestic animals (cattle, sheep and dogs) and agriculturist weapons in the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal. Including this most recent record, 24 sites with such paintings have been recorded (Table 1). eMkhobeni is comparatively rich in agriculturist-inspired imagery: it includes paintings of all the categories just mentioned and the most detailed depictions of agriculturist-style clothing recorded to date. In addition, the site is unique in that some of the imagery may allude to agriculturist ceremonies and ceremonial objects. Archaeological data show that, from the outset, hunter-gatherer bands in what is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal engaged with Bantu-speaking agriculturist groups and that this association persisted until the early nineteenth century (Maggs 1980; Maggs and Ward 1980; Mazel 1982, 1984a, b, 1986a, b, 1989a, b, 1990, 1992a, b, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999; Wright and Mazel 2007. See Blundell 2004 for interaction further south). Essentially, hunter-gatherers organised themselves around the edges of the first agriculturist settlements in the central Thukela basin; this association persisted even as agriculturists started to settle in the high-altitude grasslands adjacent to the foothills of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg (Fig. 2). I follow Mazel’s (1982, p. 67) definition of this area as stretching from latitude 29°15′ S northwards up to the northern boundary of the Royal Natal National Park. The closest Early Iron Age (EIA) settlement in the Thukela Basin is the Msuluzi Confluence site, dated to AD 450–700 (Maggs 1980; Mazel 1982, p. 73). It is about 89 km from eMkhobeni, a few days’ walk (Fig. 2). There is evidence at Msuluzi Confluence—in the form of flaked stone assemblages, bone points and the smelting of comparatively large amounts of iron, possibly produced for hunter-gather consumption— to suggest interaction between hunter-gatherers and agriculturists (Maggs 1980, pp. 136, 138–139, 1989, p. 32). However, subsequent excavations by Mazel (1989a, b, 1990, 1992a, b, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999; Wright and Mazel 2007) suggest that the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg was largely devoid of Bushman hunter-gatherers between


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Table 1 Hunter-gatherer depictions of agriculturists, domestic animals and agriculturist weapons recorded in the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal. The asterisk * denotes seven painted sites listed in Pager (1971, p. 54) as containing BCattle, sheep or Bantu weapons^ and for which more detailed information regarding the contents is not currently available Name and national site number

Description

1

Vemvaan 1 2828DB 040

Depiction of agriculturists and a dog (Mazel pers. comm.)

2

Sigubudu 4 2828DB 036

One sheep (Lander 2014, fig. 5.4)

3

Mhwabane 2829CA 009

Cattle (Hollmann and Msimanga 2008, figs. 10b, 12, 14, 16)

4

Nyosini 2829CA 072

Men with spears, men with shields (KZN Museum records)

5

Boschman’s Klip 2829CD 005

Sheep (Pager 1975, p. 17)

6*

Bemani Shelter 2829CC 056

Mentioned in Pager (1971, p. 53), but no further details about the paintings are supplied

7

Procession Shelter 2829CC 033

… a fight between Bantu [axe and spear] (Pager 1971, p. 326, fig. 364)

8*

Sanga Shelter (no site number)


9*

Hyaena Shelter (no site number)


10* Magangangozi Shelter (no site number) Mentioned in Pager (1971 p. 52), but no further details about the paintings are supplied 11* Rainbow Shelter 2829CC 010


12

Esikolweni Shelter

Clash between Bantu and Bushmen? (Pager 1971, p. 326)

13

Erasmus Shelter 2829CD 066

Hunter with shield and spears (Pager 1971, fig. 17, p. 326)

14

esiBayeni Shelter 2929AB 023

Figure with axe pursuing a zoomorph (Pager 1971, fig. 137)

15

Elephant Shelter 2929AB 024

Figure hamstringing elephant with axe (Pager 1971, figs. 152, 153)

16

Botha’s Shelter 2929AB 026

Figure with axe (Pager 1971, p. 189)

17

Junction Shelter 2829CD 050

Cattle, sheep, dogs (Pager 1971, figs. 330, 332, 336, 337, 338)

18

Elisabeth Rock 2929AB 029

Single bovid (Pager 1971, fig. 363)

19

Zunckel’s Cave 2829CD 069

One sheep (Pager 1971, fig. 363)

20* Raiders’ Shelter (no site number)

Paintings not verified. Cattle raid? (Pager 1971, p. 326)

21* Girls’ Shelter (no site number)

Mentioned in Pager (1971, fig. 363)

22

Ox Shelter 2829CD 027

Single bovid (Pager 1971, fig. 363)

23

Battle Cave

Fighting figures with axes (Campbell 1986); sheep (Lander 2014, figs. 5.25, 5.27)

AD 350 and 1350. These data thus militate against concluding that there was contact between the eMkhobeni hunter-gatherers and EIA agriculturists. The appearance of Bantu-speaking agriculturists even closer to eMkhobeni (and the foothills of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg) dates to around AD 1300 (Davies 1974) and is considered to form part of the Late Iron Age (LIA). The settlement at Moor Park, a stone-walled hilltop site, is within 60 km of the eMkhobeni rock art site. Similar sites (Davies 1974; Whitelaw 2004) occur near the present-day town of Estcourt (Whitelaw 2009, p. 140). These sites represent the first evidence of farming



communities in the grasslands that had, until then, been more or less exclusively the domain of hunter-gatherers (Maggs 1989, p. 35; Mazel 1982, p. 73; Whitelaw 2009; see also Davies 1974; Whitelaw 2004). Aerial surveys of the interior grasslands east of eMkhobeni Shelter and excavations of distinctive stone and stone-faced earthworks settlements (e.g., the site Mgoduyanuka) suggest the arrival between AD 1500 and 1700 of agriculturist groups who were distinct from the Moor Park people (Huffman 2004, p. 98; Maggs 1982, 1989, pp. 41–43; Whitelaw 2009, p. 158). These latest arrivals—known historically as the amaZizi (Maggs 1982, p. 113)—organised their homesteads differently: on a circular plan, with the cattle kraal (byre) in the centre. They also had a distinctive ceramic style (Maggs 1982, p. 100–102). Huffman (2004) cites oral tradition recorded by Bryant (1929) to argue that these later arrivals were descendants of the chief Langa, in turn descended from Dlamini, who came from what is now northern KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland. Clans claiming descent from Langa include the amaZizi, amaBhele, amaTolo, amaPhetla, amaPolane and abaPhuthi. Bryant mentions the names of some individual Zizi chiefs: Dweba, Henqwa, Makaluza and Mkuli (Bryant 1929, p. 353). The amaZizi are known to have occupied the grasslands to the east of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg from Mont aux Sources to Giant’s Castle (Pager 1971, p. 22)—the region in which eMkhobeni Shelter is situated. The eMkhobeni paintings have not been directly dated yet, nor have any archaeological deposits been identified and excavated. If and when initiatives are taken to directly date the paintings and to excavate the site, it may be possible to narrow the time range within which the paintings under discussion were manufactured. It might then be possible to decide how the date ranges of the eMkhobeni rock art compare with those of other painted sites in the area and with EIA and LIA settlements. In the almost total absence of colonial-type motifs (e.g., horses, waggons and rifles) in the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg (Mazel 1982, pp. 73–75) and based on current archaeological knowledge, I therefore tentatively propose an age range for the eMkhobeni paintings of between AD 1350 and 1800. Importantly for understanding the eMkhobeni paintings, there is no evidence so far to suggest that Bushman hunter-gatherers in the area became agriculturists or were absorbed into agriculturist society en masse (see Lander 2014 for a review of the literature). Rather, it seems that Bushman hunter-gatherers in the Thukela Basin may have acted as client herders and ritual specialists, especially in rain-making (Wright 1971, cited in Lander 2014, p. 103, and many others).

Rationale and Method The quality and focus of rock art research depend on fresh data to keep this archaeological subdiscipline vital. “New” and “under-researched” motifs raise questions about contemporary understandings of rock art by testing their relevance and their capacity to account for newly discovered data; recently recorded paintings promise to throw fresh light on aspects of archaeology and history. Interaction studies by southern African archaeologists face the problem of recovering data suitable to explore the dynamics of this prolonged co-existence. Certain types of


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archaeological evidence of interaction—in the form of beads, stone tools and potsherds, for example—provide evidence of residence, contact and exchange (e.g., Mazel 1989a; Thorp 2000; Van Doornum 2007). Rock art that depicts artefacts, domesticated animals and Bantu-speaking agriculturists is potentially excellent data for such research (Campbell 1986, 1987; Dowson 1994, 1998; Hall 1986, 1994; Jolly 1996, 2007; Loubser and Laurens 1994; Manhire et al. 1986; Ouzman 2003). This is because hunter-gatherer (and most other) rock art is generally understood as an ideological expression of core beliefs about the world, not merely as historical narrative—as Hall (1994, p. 72) observes, “painting cattle, or sheep for that matter, is not done simply because they were there.” The process of studying rock art images resembles the excavation of an artefact in the ground; the images need to be studied and interpreted as a component of the overall image-assemblage and the topography of the rock face on which it is placed. Photography, as well as subsequent post-processing of the images produced, is an integral part of the process. Digital photography in conjunction with subsequent processing techniques is a powerful method for improving the resolution and visibility of the paintings; in some cases, enhancement algorithms make it possible to see image details that are invisible to the naked eye (see Jon Harman’s DStretch website, www. dstretch.com; Hollmann and Crause 2011; Mark and Billo 1999, 2002; Stoll and Stoll 2013). Where necessary, I present a colour-balanced image alongside a version in which I have either selected the image manually, adjusting its saturation and/or lightness values (using Adobe Photoshop), or used lab colour and/or DStretch. The entire painted surface at eMkhobeni may be understood as a dynamic, openended web of images or “spiritual panorama” (Lewis-Williams and Pearce 2009, p. 41) that the painters built up over an unknown period of time. Lewis-Williams and Pearce (2009, pp. 53–57) propose a “syntax” for such aggregations of imagery. The rock face itself—its dimensions and topography, including cracks and areas of rock defined by these cracks and other features—is an integral part of the panorama. The surface provides the context, a “spiritual” dimension in which the images reside. Dynamic relationships between the images in the “world” defined by the rock face are created by means of the following practices (Lewis-Williams and Pearce 2009, pp. 53–57): & &

&

Scenic/narrative relationships: These are compositions in which the images engage in common action. Examples from eMkhobeni include groups of dancing figures, etc. Juxtaposition and conceptual relationships: Juxtaposed relationships are created by placing images in proximity to each another. Conceptual relationships are links, or associations, between iconographic elements. These have to be “discovered” by researchers; their significance often resides in details of the imagery and may be overlooked or mistakenly identified. This paper focuses on investigating the agriculturist-inspired motifs at eMkhobeni to elucidate their conceptual relationships with the more traditional-looking imagery. Superpositioning: The overlapping of images is a means of relating them. Research has shown that practice of superpositioning involves the deliberate selection of certain images as “initial elements;” the choice of the overlying image was constrained by the underlying image (Lewis-Williams 1972, 1974, 1992; Pager 1975, pp. 72–74).



These principles operate in a complementary manner; scenic/narrative relationships may also incorporate juxtaposition, conceptual relationships and superpositioning. I argue that the eMkhobeni images have an overall unity that can be analysed despite the possibly episodic nature of the construction of the overall “panorama.” This approach aims to understand how the eMkhobeni painters created a complex of new conceptual relationships by creating images inspired by contact with agriculturists and more specifically with practices concerning fertility and rain-making.

Selected Motifs I begin by identifying and describing particular images that are most relevant to this discussion of agriculturist-inspired motifs. Painting of a Black Sheep A painting of a large, black, fat-tailed sheep (Fig. 4) can easily be identified by its relatively small head, large and characteristically shaped jaws, thin legs, large rump and fat tail. There is another caprid image at eMkhobeni, but it is less well preserved and I do not discuss it here. The sheep image has been decorated along the dorsal region with closely spaced, paired sets of yellow spots and a series of short, white strokes. At the tail end are about seven rows of yellow spots that extend from the rump down to the top of the sheep’s legs. There is a painting of a sheep decorated with designs from Battle Cave, a rock art site about 35 km southeast of eMkhobeni (Lander 2014, fig. 5.26), but such decorated images are apparently very rare. Do they depict actual markings, or did the artists imagine them (Lander 2014, pp.188–190)? The tongue is depicted in a yellow-orange pigment. The black colour of the sheep is of great importance in understanding the significance of the eMkhobeni imagery, as I discuss later. Procession of Figures A section of the rock surface is dominated by paintings made in black (Fig. 5). The images extend from about 2 m up on the rock face, down to the bottom edge, about 0.3 m above ground level. It is a movement of about 12 figures and six images of cattle across the rock surface from right to left. They overlie smaller paintings of figures in red, most of which are running in the same split-leg, 180-degree fashion, all heading to the right, some decorated with black. The larger, overlying figures in black—at least nine figures arranged in single file (a common motif in the rock art of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg)—are silhouettes that show details about their dress, decoration and the things that they are carrying. A single figure, painted immediately above the procession, has a triangular object hanging from its penis; it is one of four figures that have similar penis “additaments” (Willcox 1978). The depiction of penis attachments is a widespread and well-known feature of southern African hunter-gatherer rock art although its significance is not well understood (Willcox 1978). Some of the other figures may also wear headdresses. Some carry a quiver on the back and the outlines of arrows are painted protruding. One carries a short, curved,


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Fig. 4 Painting of a black sheep, c. 100 mm in length. There is a row of paired yellow dots along its back, as well as some flecks of white paint. Several rows of similar yellow dots were made on the back leg of the sheep. a Colour-balanced image. b Enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)

sticklike object, most probably a hunting bow. Another two figures each carry a long stick (or spear?), but no depictions of iron spearpoints are visible. These figures in the left-facing procession are in the midst of the cattle. Not all the cattle are black, but several are; it is possible that one or two red cattle were over-painted with black. Subsequently, the rock surface was daubed with a very light brown, clay-like substance, two clear sets of crossed finger smears, as well as with what remains of other smears in close proximity, all at the lowest level of the surface. Red ochre has also been placed on top of some of the black paintings. Possible Ritual Objects: The Inkatha Just below the procession of figures is a large black bovid with widespread, twisted horns—the sign, apparently, of a mature animal (Fig. 6; Poland et al. 2003, p. 132). An enormous hump and equally impressive dewlap, thick neck and stocky front legs confirm the bovid’s stature as a mature bull. In front of the bull, a figure, facing left, kneels with one knee on the ground. It probably has either an antelope head, or a skin cap with ears. A stick with one end forked lies next to him (Fig. 6, ‘1’), as well as two smaller, unidentified



Fig. 5 A procession of figures and images of cattle in black paint. Painted area is c. 0.8 m wide and 0.5 m high. a Colour-balanced image. b Enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)

shapes (Fig. 6, ‘2’). He reaches down towards the objects painted immediately to his left. The circular shape (Fig. 6, ‘3’) may depict an inkatha, a circular form made of grass that is a symbol of group unity (Lugg 1927, p. 359, see discussion below). Lugg (1927, p. 359) explains that to make an inkatha, “straws are collected from the entrance of several huts where they bear evidence of having been soiled by people passing in and out. Soil is also collected from foot-prints; and a pit is dug, lined with straw upon which members of the royal family are required to vomit after taking specially prepared emetics.” The inkatha is thus an important ritual object and its possible depiction here is intriguing. I shall argue later that it is implicated in a conceptual relationship between Bushman hunter-gatherer beliefs and those of their agriculturist neighbours. Figures Wearing Nguni-Style Men’s Clothing A figure wears a front and back apron, painted in black and white, which resembles those worn by Nguni men (Fig. 7). The front apron (isinene in Zulu; see http://hdl. handle.net/10210/2800 for an historic example from the area) is triangular and has four roughly painted white stripes on the black background. These stripes might depict animal tails or other ornamentation. The back apron (ibheshu in Zulu, see http://hdl. handle.net/10210/2795 for an historic example) extends from the waist to the backs of


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Fig. 6 A figure with either an antelope head, or an eared skin cap, kneels on one knee. Next to him are a stick (1) and two smaller, unidentified shapes (2). Note the circular shape, c. 20 mm in diameter (3): it may depict an Nguni inkatha (a grass coil that symbolizes the unity of the group). At right is a depiction of a large black bovid, probably a mature bull. (photo: by author) (image in full colour online)

the knees. It appears to have a white border on either side. This may represent fur trim or beadwork. The figure wears black bands around the upper arms, elbows, knees and ankles. Research has shown that the depiction in rock paintings of figures wearing exotic cultural items does not necessarily mean that the figures belong to that culture. Thus, Challis (2008, pp. 32, 288–292) points out that paintings of horse-riders with rifles and broad-brimmed hats are not necessarily intended to be depictions of European colonists Fig. 7 These figures resemble typical depictions of Bushman people, except they are wearing Nguni-style men’s front and back aprons (isinene and ibheshu, respectively, in Zulu). Left-hand figure is c. 100 mm tall. (photo: by author) (image in full colour online)



but rather amaTola raiders. Similarly, the fact that some of the eMkhobeni figures wear Nguni-style men and women’s clothing does not necessarily signify Nguni people. The point is, rather, that artists manipulate images of clothing, etc., as symbols to fit their purpose—they do not merely paint what they see. The question is thus, why did the eMkhobeni artists choose only to depict particular figures sporting Zulu accoutrements? Why are these figures being differentiated? Bear in mind too that depictions of Nguni clothing are not common in the area under discussion and are therefore noteworthy and demand explanation. Depictions of Ceremonial Activities Below two large depictions of eland and a gathering of about six hartebeest, is a cluster of images that, I argue, depicts two conceptually and temporally linked sets of activities that allude to aspects of ethnographically known agriculturist rituals (Fig. 8). I discuss these in detail. Killing a Bull with an Axe Towards the right-hand end of the rock surface, below a painting of an eland with a large dewlap, is an extraordinary and apparently unique composition (Fig. 9). It depicts, at left, a figure painted in black, in profile, with an axe raised above its

Fig. 8 Painted below two large paintings of eland is a cluster of images that I argue depict two conceptually and temporally related activities: a bull sacrifice (1) and a gathering of dancing figures around a bovid (2). Painted area is c. 1 m wide and 0.45 m high. I suggest the two activities are aspects of a single, overarching ceremonial occasion, although the events may not necessarily be occurring simultaneously. a Colour-balanced image. b Enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)


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Fig. 9 A possibly unique depiction of a figure slaughtering a black bull with an axe (1). Note the bloodstained axe blade and the blood from the bull’s wounds. Bull is c. 300 mm in length. Sitting figure above bull’s rump, c. 20 mm tall (2). Dancing woman (c. 150 mm tall) wearing large front skirt (3). Her pendulous breasts suggest that she is a married woman who has given birth. a Colour-balanced image. b Enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)

head (Fig. 9, ‘1’). A red shape painted on the head could be its open mouth. The figure may also have a bearded chin. It is depicted wearing Nguni clothing—an ibheshu, as well as a long animal tail and an isinene. The animated manner in which these items of clothing are depicted flying upwards, suggests the momentum of bringing the axe down for another blow. The painted axe generally resembles the other rock paintings of axes in this part of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, which is known for the local concentration of axe paintings (Table 1; Maggs 1993; see http://hdl.handle.net/10210/2117 for a photograph of two Zulu axes). In addition to this axe-wielding figure and the bull, there are also paintings of two men fighting each other with axes at eMkhobeni (not illustrated). The axe head is tanged and attached to an axe handle; the axe blade is disproportionately large (in comparison with the blades of axes in museum collections), but this



is apparently also the case with the few other painted depictions of axes known to exist (Maggs 1993, p. 177). Partly superimposed on the figure’s body is a large, black, left-facing bovid. Enhancement techniques can distinguish the bovid’s apparently hornless head from the background black paint of the figure. It has a red eye and tongue. The bovid is massive in comparison with most of the other bovid images; it is bulky, has prominent withers and a dewlap. These characteristics suggest that it depicts a bull. Parts of the front legs and the neck of the bull painting have been over-painted with streaks and blotches of red paint that look similar to the red paint on the blade of the axe painting. I interpret these as blood issuing from the bull’s wounds. The images therefore depict a figure killing a bull with an axe. Painted a few millimetres above the bull’s rump is a small image, about 20 mm high, painted in the same pigment as the bull (Fig. 9, ‘2’). The details are not very clear, but the image seems to depict an anthropomorphic figure with an antelope’s head (without horns), and on its back a bag containing at least one bow and possibly arrows. This depiction is reminiscent of another widespread and common motif, the therianthropic “trance buck” described by Lewis-Williams (see, e.g., 1981a, pp. 93, 95, 97). To the right of the black bull is an image in black of a female figure viewed from the front (Fig 9, ‘3’). The figure stands with arms widespread and raised; her long breasts swing to one side. She waves an object, perhaps an item such as a skin cloak. Her lower body is triangular-shaped and resembles a long skirt like those the Nguni make from pleated cow skin and colour black (isidwaba [sing.] in Zulu, see http://hdl. handle.net/10210/1930, http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1896 for photographs of izidwaba [pl.] from near the region under discussion). Zulu women wore this skirt from the time of engagement (ingodusi) throughout married life (Samuelson 1929, p. 358). There is probably another female figure depicted a few centimetres away, but it is not as clear because the tuft of the bull’s tail is painted either on top of or underneath the skirt. Group of Figures Gathered Around a Large Zoomorph This group of images is placed immediately right of the bull sacrifice imagery just mentioned (Fig. 10). At least 25 figures are arranged around a greyish-coloured animal, painted in profile and displaying only one front and one back leg. The animal image was probably black when it was made. Its species identity is uncertain; its size and bulk suggest that it is a bovid, although the resemblance is not as clear as it is with the other bovid paintings. Depictions of two animals with long ears, sharp snouts, relatively short legs and long, bushy tails resemble canids and may depict dogs (there are dogs painted at Junction Cave about 14 km directly southeast of eMkhobeni [Pager 1971, fig. 332]; for dogs in southern African hunter-gatherer archaeology see Mitchell 2008; Woodhouse 1990). The artists painted the figures in red. Details, such as parts of the head (hair?), armbands and front and rear aprons (Nguni-style) are rendered in black paint that has also weathered in some instances. Three seated figures are shown in strenuous-looking attitudes (Fig. 10, ‘1’). Viewed from left to right, the first figure is depicted face-on with both legs raised while bending to one side and, possibly, holding the fully extended leg. The middle figure bends


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Fig. 10 A group of about 25 figures gathered around a large black zoomorph, probably a bovid. Two black zoomorphs may depict dogs. Three figures contorting themselves in strenuous-looking attitudes (1), perhaps an indication of trance states. Another holds its hand to its nose (2), another indication of shamanic powers. Two standing figures immediately left of the bovid (3) wear Nguni-style clothing. One of the figures is clapping. Painted area is c. 0.5 m wide and 0.35 m high. a Colour-balanced image. b Enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)

forward from the waist with arms widespread. The right-hand figure sits on its buttocks but raises both straightened legs above the ground at an angle of about 45°. To the left (Fig. 10, ‘2’) is a seated figure with one leg extended and the other drawn up and bent at the knee. It grasps the bent leg with one hand while holding its other hand to its nose. The raising of the hand to nose or face is a common motif in northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg rock paintings and is argued to refer to Bushman huntergatherer beliefs about shamanic healing, in which Bushman shamans sniff out illness (Lewis-Williams and Dowson 1989, p. 48). The figure is painted in close proximity to a number of other figures, some seated, others standing. One of the standing figures shown wearing a skin cloak has its arms in front, raised and bent at the elbow; it is probably clapping (Fig. 10, ‘3’). The depiction of clapping is another widely used motif that refers to hunter-gatherer healing dances; it is said to connote the clapping of medicine songs (Lewis-Williams 1987, pp. 233–234). Lastly, I draw attention to what appears to be a couple of figures beneath an incomplete semi-circular line that may represent a shelter, or hut (Fig. 10, ‘4’). This motif resembles paintings from Lonyana Rock nearby in the northern uKhahlambaDrakensberg and which have been interpreted as the depiction of a shaman healing a sick person (Lewis-Williams 1981a, p. 76, fig. 18). In sum, then, this cluster of figures around a bovid-like creature has many painted associations that link them with hunter-gatherer healing practices. However, the spatial



association of overtly hunter-gatherer-looking motifs with apparently agriculturistinspired paintings and the adoption by figures in healing postures of agriculturist material culture (in the form of aprons), makes it difficult to support the idea that the eMkhobeni motifs were created in isolation from each other. Densely Painted Surface with a “Band” of Red Paint The final set of images that I discuss is painted on a large surface, about 2 m long and 1 m high, to the left of the areas mentioned above (Fig. 11). It features a complex of images in red, black, yellow and white in which cattle paintings are prominent. An approximately 20-mm-wide band of red paint about 1 m long is arranged in an oval outline that roughly follows the outline of the rock; it is much thicker than the finely painted “thin red lines” that are often fringed with minute white dots and which are painted throughout the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg and Maloti and beyond (Lewis-Williams 1981b; Lewis-Williams et al. 2000). This “band” of paint looks as if it were painted on quite dry with a large, coarse brush—the paint has not touched areas of rock with a deeper relief and so looks patchy. On-site inspection and

Fig. 11 This densely painted area has a number of interesting features. A wide band of red paint may depict a cattle kraal. There are several paintings of cattle in red at left (1). At right are two instances in which a yellowand-red hartebeest painting is superimposed on a black bovid (2). At top right is a cluster of red figures (3). The surface is c. 2 m wide and 1.25 m high. a Colour-balanced image. b Lab colour and DStretch enhanced image. (photos: by author) (image in full colour online)


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enhancement of the images with DStretch (not shown here) suggests that the red band lies underneath all of the other images with which it intersects. For example, the black bovid at bottom right is painted over the red band, as are the two red anthropomorphs at top right. The red band is an unusual element. It is unlikely to be a landscape feature, such as cliffs surrounding a valley, as these are virtually unknown in Bushman hunter-gatherer rock art; none of the surrounding images interact with the band in a way that supports this interpretation. Another possibility is that the band depicts a rock shelter; there is a convincing example of a curved line that could represent a rock shelter elsewhere in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg (Bamboo Mountain, Vinnicombe 1976, p. 41) and in the Cederberg, Western Cape Province (Yates et al. 1985, p. 78, fig. 10a). However, the red band at eMkhobeni is not the same shape as the examples referred to here and it also lacks any additional painted details that would convincingly identify it as a rock shelter. I advance an alternative interpretation of the red band below. Cattle Paintings On the left-hand side of the rock surface is a concentration of at least eight cattle paintings in red (Fig. 11, ‘1’). There are also cattle in black paint; in three instances, these have been painted over by images of hartebeest in yellow, one with a red dorsal line, similar to those painted further along the rock face (Fig. 11, ‘2’). It appears therefore that the artists were painting wild animals such as hartebeest, as well as cattle, contemporaneously. Cluster of Anthropomorphic Figures At top right of the surface is a cluster of anthropomorphic figures painted in red and decorated with white and grey-black pigments (Fig. 11, ‘3’). Many of them are depicted in postures which are repeated elsewhere on the same surface at eMkhobeni and with which researchers are familiar from many other uKhahlamba-Drakensberg huntergatherer painting sites. For example, a group of three figures (only partially preserved), with overlapping legs decorated with white stripes, strides/dances concertedly (Fig. 12, ‘2’). Another figure sits with one leg raised and bent at the knee, the other lowered, one arm extended (Fig. 12, ‘4’). Figures with arrow-filled quivers—each with arms arranged in a unique configuration—are shown standing and/or walking (e.g., Fig. 12, ‘3’). One such figure is clapping with fingers widespread in front of another figure. Below these is another clapping figure that may be directing its attention towards two figures to its right (Fig. 12, ‘5’). One is a smaller, standing figure with one visible arm held out at about a 45-degree angle from its side—the other arm is not visible. Immediately above it is a much larger figure with attenuated upper legs, that inclines slightly forward from the waist. In addition to these more familiar motifs, there are also a number of figures depicted in less common and unusual attitudes. These include sitting and squatting postures (Fig. 12, ‘6’), some of which are also found amongst the group of figures gathered around the bovid (see Fig. 10). Although there are no overt postures of trancing shamans (such as those mentioned above), the clapping figures suggest that these figures also have shamanistic connotations.



Fig. 12 Detail of the upper right surface that shows widespread hunter-gatherer motifs (2, 3, 4, 5), unusual postures (1, 6) and motifs that are repeated elsewhere on the rock surface (5, 6). a Colourbalanced image. b DStretch enhanced image. (photos: by author) (images in full colour online)

Two figures, both painted on top of the thick red line (Fig. 12, ‘1’, Fig. 13), stand facing each other. Both grasp an object that looks like a cloak. The figure at left may depict a female because it appears to have breasts, is shorter than the figure at right and has a small belly. She wears a short cloak and is wearing a tasselled apron comprised of thin, black paint strokes. The figure on the right is probably male because of its stature and larger size (no penis is depicted, however). He is also wearing a cloak and an apron. In his hand, he holds what could be a pair of spears; thin painted lines that connect with the longer red lines are visible on close inspection of an enhanced image.


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Fig. 13 Two figures (c. 100–120 mm high) stand facing each other, both holding onto an object (perhaps a cloak). The figure at left depicts a young woman. The other, taller and more robust figure holding two spears is probably a man. I argue that this motif may depict a practice like ukundanda, “gift-giving,” which takes place during some agriculturist first-fruits ceremonies. a Colour-balanced image. b Lab colour and DStretch enhanced image. (photos: by author) (images in full colour online)



Most of these figures face to the right, in the direction of the several metres of painted rock surface described above. I suggest that they are oriented towards the various groupings that I have described (a couple are actually looking in the direction of the other motifs) and are an element of the overall panorama (Lewis-Williams and Pearce 2009). The figures resemble those gathered around the bovid in style (except there are no Nguni-style aprons) and colour. Both of these compositions feature the distinctive and unusual squatting figures. The impression is of a unity across the length of the rock surface. I have identified a great deal of painted detail. Although I focussed on paintings that represent agriculturist-inspired motifs (sheep, cattle) and material culture (clothing, weapons), it should be clear from the analysis that hunter-gatherer elements are nonetheless prominent, even predominant, at this site. If the paintings are indeed authored by Bushman hunter-gatherer painters, what is the significance of the images inspired by Nguni material culture?

Iconographic References to Agriculturist Rites? I begin by examining the significance of the painted Nguni-derived items in terms of Nguni ethnography. It is crucial to understand the significance of the painted details selected by the artists in terms of Nguni beliefs before exploring why the Bushman hunter-gatherer painters may have chosen them. It seems reasonable to suggest that part (but not all) of the artists’ motivation in choosing to depict these exotic items would be the significance these held in the Nguni societies with which they were in contact. It may also be assumed, I suggest, that the Bushman hunter-gatherers were familiar with many of the public ceremonies held by their Nguni neighbours and with the rationale for holding such events and may indeed have participated in some of them or at least observed them. I do not propose, however, that the eMkhobeni paintings be interpreted as ethnographic illustrations of such Nguni ceremonies or that Bushman huntergatherer groupings performed these rituals themselves. As Hammond-Tooke (1998, p. 9) points out, “the highly symbolic nature of Bushman art poses traps for the unwary” and can result in “dubious conclusions” about the nature of interaction between hunter-gatherers and farmers. The borrowing of motifs is selective and limited (Hammond-Tooke 1998). My intention is, rather, to locate these iconographic details in terms of Nguni cosmology in order to understand why the eMkhobeni painters found them attractive. Bull Slaughter Motif and the First-Fruits Festival The motif of the bull being slaughtered is so distinctive and specific in detail that I am convinced that it refers to a signal moment in the first-fruits festival, “perhaps the most important episodes in the annual ritual cycle” held by the Nguni and other southern African agriculturist groups (Hammond-Tooke 1993, p. 82). I am indebted to Gavin Whitelaw for pointing this out. The choice by the eMkhobeni painters to create a distinctive axe-wielding figure is highly significant because it establishes the ritual context in which the axe motif is located. Axes in sub-Saharan Africa have widespread and ancient symbolic and ritual


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significance (Maggs 1993, p. 179). Maggs points out that “in many cases…[the axe]… was more significant as a symbol than as functional tool or weapon” (1993, p. 179); he observes that “the ancestral axe” of the nineteenth-century Zulu was kept inside at the back of the chief’s hut in the umsamo, the area in which the presence of the ancestral spirits was strongest (Maggs 1993, p. 180; also Lugg 1927, p. 359). This axe was used in the performance of the first-fruits festival to slaughter a black bull (see below). Other “men of importance” such as household heads and councillors also carried axes (Maggs 1993, p. 180). First-fruits rituals had two main functions: to protect the chief and his people against “the power of the new growth” of their crops, and to purify the people so that they did not “spoil” the crops (Hammond-Tooke 1993, p. 81). The chief and his ancestors were responsible for the fertility of the land; therefore, no one was permitted to eat of the new crops until the chief had, first, been strengthened by medicines before “tasting” (ukushwama, in Zulu) them. To partake prematurely was “treasonable” as well as “a sin against the tribal ancestors” (Hammond-Tooke 1993, p. 82). The performance of the first-fruits rituals was a manifestation of political power and associated prestige and stature. Only an inkosi yohlanga—literally, in Zulu, a “chief of the ‘reed,’” that is, a chief descended from what Callaway (1884, p. 412) translates as “the race of primitive chiefs”—had the authority to hold the rites of the first-fruits festival. Control over the first-fruits rituals was “an unambiguous statement of relative political status between chiefs of related tribes and between chiefs and their local administrative officers” (Hammond-Tooke 1993, p. 82). The specific details of first-fruits ceremonies vary between groups, but the sacrifice of a black bull is at the “centre of the ritual” (Hammond-Tooke 1993, p. 83) in all the references I consulted (Bryant 1949, pp. 288, 511–513; Callaway 1884; Cook 1930; Gluckmann 1938; Hammond-Tooke 1953, 1993, pp. 81–83; Krige 1957, pp. 248–258; Lugg 1927; Samuelson 1929, pp. 380–387; de Webb and Wright 1976, 1982, 1986). In these accounts, the bull is captured barehanded by a regiment of soldiers. Thereafter, the bull might either be killed by having its neck twisted (e.g., Lugg 1927, p. 361) or by the chief with an axe (e.g., de Webb and Wright 1976, p. 341, 1982, p. 104, 1986, pp. 25, 115). Parts of the sacrificed bull, including the gall, are used as ingredients of “black” (strengthening) “medicines” that the “king” took (Krige 1957, p. 254). The strength of the bull is said to enter the king (via the “medicine”) and so to “prolong his health and strength” (Krige 1957, p. 254). These details emphasise the power associated with this special animal and how it was ingested as an ingredient of medicine. I think it is reasonable to assume that the eMkhobeni painters were aware of the significance of axes in Nguni cultures and the role of the ancestral axe in the first-fruits ceremonies that were probably held by their Nguni neighbours. This awareness, I argue, informed the painters’ decision to depict the axe-wielding figure; they were impressed by the status and utility of iron axes and especially their role in the first-fruits ceremony, a ritual context that emphasised fertility (see below). That the painted axewielding figure is itself so distinctive and dressed in Nguni garb is surely no coincidence. The clothing is detailed and comparatively elaborate and the figure is larger than the immediately surrounding anthropomorphic figures; these details may suggest that this figure is of a stature commensurate with his role as the wielder of the axe.



Having argued for the bull-killing motif as an allusion to a crucial moment of the first-fruits ceremony, several of the other intriguing and unusual painted mentions that I have already identified seem to fall into place. Kraal of the First-Fruits Ceremony? The curious “red band” referred to earlier may be explained in the context of a firstfruits ceremony as an enclosure. For example, in the Bhaca first-fruit ceremonies (ingcube), a temporary kraal, the isibaya sengcube (ingcube kraal), is constructed especially for the occasion (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 78). It is in this kraal that the black bull is sacrificed (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 84). Given the possibility that the bull sacrifice motif at eMkhobeni refers to an important first-fruits ritual, one possible interpretation for the painted band that I pointed out above is that it represents the kraal in which the sacrificial bull is slaughtered. Other cattle of the chief, to be slaughtered for feasting, were also kept in the kraal. Role of the Inkatha The inkatha that I described earlier plays a role in the first-fruits ceremonies of the Amabaso (Lugg 1927, p. 359; see Gluckmann 1938, p. 28 for mention of the inkatha amongst other groups). A special earthenware pot that contains the remains of past feasts, together with other articles required to prepare mixtures, are all stored within the inkatha (Lugg 1927, pp. 371, 377). The possible depiction of an inkatha at eMkhobeni, and next to the painting of a large bull, might therefore be another iconographic reference to first-fruits ceremonies (Fig. 6). Women, Skirts, Gift-Giving and Marriage Aspects of particular first-fruits ceremonies provide an explanatory context for the possible depiction of pleated cow-skin skirts (izidwaba) (Fig. 9). Amongst the Bhaca (who live to the south of the region under discussion), the announcement of the impending first-fruit ceremonies was a signal for “the common people” to begin preparations by slaughtering cattle and goats to make new aprons (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 77). Bhaca women participate actively in the ceremonies: Hammond-Tooke (1953, p. 79) describes how women wearing “beadwork, freshly worked skin skirts and dyed ostrich plumes, with large leather rattles filled with pebbles tied to their ankles” perform “a slow, heavy-footed, shuffling dance (ukutshekisa, in Xhosa) across the area between the isibaya sengcube and the semi-circle of warriors accompanied by a high-pitched ululation … and the slapping of small, round, hide shields against their thighs to accentuate the rhythm.” The Bhaca first-fruits ceremonies were apparently held from Wednesday to Friday (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 78); on Thursday, sometimes called “the day of the women,” groups of women from different villages competed in dancing and singing (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 82). The Bhaca first-fruits ceremonies included the practice of ukundanda, “the exchange of gifts between lovers” (Hammond-Tooke 1953, p. 82); girls gave tobacco to their lovers and received “handkerchiefs, sweets and lengths of


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salampore cloth in exchange.” I suggest that a composition at eMkhobeni might depict such gift-giving (Fig. 13); these images are painted in close proximity to the possible “cattle kraal” I have already described. The two figures hold an object, perhaps a cloak, between them (the image of the dancing woman I pointed out earlier is holding a similar object). The figure at left probably depicts a girl or young woman because she is slender, with small breasts—older women who have given birth typically are stouter and have larger, more pendulous breasts (see Eastwood 2005; Eastwood and Eastwood 2006, p. 133 for examples). The figure at the right is probably male because it is taller than the figure at left. I suggest that the composition may be understood in the context of first-fruit ceremonies, as a couple of lovers exchanging a gift of a cloak. Interestingly, amongst the nineteenth-century Zulu, the first-fruits ceremonies also provided the occasion for the chief to grant permission for certain regiments to marry and to allocate groups of girls to these regiments (Lugg 1927, pp. 362–363). These men and women were allowed to grow their hair in preparation for changes in hairstyles and headdresses that accompanied marriage. This ethnography enables the tentative identification of certain paintings at eMkhobeni as depicting aspects of Nguni gender relations, specifically those of courtship and marriage. Dancing, Trancing and Feasting Associated with First-Fruits Ceremonies? I now return to the paintings of people gathered around the bovid, wearing Nguni-style aprons but dancing and trancing (Fig. 10). I argued earlier that these paintings are intentionally associated with the bull sacrifice motif (see Fig. 8) because of their proximity, yet subsequently, I identified much of the imagery as related to huntergatherer shamanic healing practices. How can the same set of images refer to two separate domains (hunter-gatherer healing dances and agriculturist ceremonies)? The ways in which the eMkhobeni paintings integrate and juxtapose hunter-gatherer with agriculturist-inspired motifs are initially puzzling. But this juxtaposition is, at most, paradoxical, not incredible or inconceivable. The performance of the sacrifice alongside depictions of dancing and hunter-gatherer type healing (see Hammond-Tooke 1998, p. 13 for discussion of the fundamental differences between agriculturist and huntergatherer beliefs about healing) is possible because of creative and imaginative adjustments that the eMkhobeni artists made concerning form and meaning. The arrangement of the dancers and other figures around a bovid and not, say, an eland, is an example of this kind of manipulation. Twentieth-century hunter-gatherers have stated that they enjoy dancing around a dead eland (Lewis-Williams 1983, p. 47). The death of an eland is the occasion not only for feasting on the abundant meat but also for performing healing dances. The similarities between eland and cattle for Bushman hunter-gatherers have been pointed out elsewhere (e.g., Lewis-Williams 1981a, p. 106; Jolly 1996, 2007). In this particular instance, at eMkhobeni, it is a bovid that is the focus of power, not an eland, at least partly because in the first-fruits ceremonies, cattle have a central role. Dancing, and the consumption of beer, oxen and sheep occur at various occasions during the period of the first-fruits ceremonies (e.g., Gluckmann 1938, pp. 27, 35, 37; Hammond-Tooke 1953, pp. 80, 85; Lugg 1927, p. 366). Even if the depictions of the juxtaposed sacrifice, healing and feasting are entirely imaginary, with no actual counterpart in history, the artists are suggesting that there is no inherent conflict of values.



The depiction at eMkhobeni of figures gathered around a bovid comfortably accommodates aspects of both cultures. The same reasoning applies for the juxtaposition of the hunter-gatherer figures, (including the couple exchanging gifts) with what I have suggested is the cattle kraal constructed for the celebration of the first-fruits (Fig. 11). The acknowledgement of the role of hunter-gatherers in rain-making by agriculturists is recorded by Barry (1883, p. 409): Bushmen are believed to have the power of rain from the heavens, and cattle are often sent to them as an application to rain. They also have the right of collecting a small share of the crops after harvest is over, which is a thanksgiving for the rain they bring from the heavens, which enables the people to reap plenty of grain. This association is recorded amongst the Mpondomise to the south, although Hammond-Tooke argues that this arrangement was by no means “general practice” (1998, p. 14). However, the paintings create the impression, at very least, of a seemingly synergistic relationship between hunter-gatherers and agriculturists. Painted Procession of People with Black Cattle and Black Sheep The procession motif at eMkhobeni—of black-painted human figures and cattle (Fig. 5)—may also allude to Nguni beliefs about rain-making. Black animals (cattle and sheep) are associated with beliefs about the weather and rain in particular. Describing the umkhosi during the time of Chief Mpande, an informant (Mshayankomo, in de Webb and Wright 1982, p. 115) relates that after the conclusion of the umkhosi, there …followed the ceremony of asking for rain at the place of the kings … there where they were buried. A small herd of royal oxen, black in colour, without markings, and which were not to be touched, was driven along. These cattle would be driven by the regiments.… The men who drove them went dressed in their finery which they wore at the time of the umkosi [sic]. Black animals in general (cattle, sheep and rams) were slaughtered in order to bring rain; “the black cattle are chosen because they [the chiefs] wish black clouds, which usually pour down much rain, to cover the heavens” (Callaway 1884, p. 92). These are the “cattle of Umzimu,” that is, cattle “especially dedicated to the Itongo” (Callaway 1884, p. 93) who is, “the up-bearer of the earth, which supports men and cattle” (1884, pp. 94–95). Samuelson mentions that after the initial rite of the umkhosi, it was these cattle (imizimu, the plural of umzimu) that were slaughtered and eaten (1929, p. 381). The mention here of black animals, their “resemblance” to rain-clouds and their role in bringing rain may be pertinent to an understanding of the images at eMkhobeni of predominantly black cattle and a black sheep. They could depict animals selected for their potential to influence the heavens and, specifically, to bring rain. The painting of the black sheep at eMkhobeni brings to mind the role of black sheep in contemporary Zulu rain-making ceremonies; the animal must be black, but it must also be fat (Berglund 1976, p. 59). The rainmaker with whom Berglund spoke (in the mid-twentieth century) praised the qualities of sheep fat in rain-making: the snake relishes it, and because a sheep is “steady” (unlike a goat), its fat “brings about steady


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rain” (Berglund 1976, p. 59). The importance of a black sheep is mentioned in Callaway (1884, p. 405) in connection with the work of “heaven-herds” (abalusi [sic] bezulu, Zulu [Callaway 1884, p. 375]): They [the inhabitants of the village that was struck by lightning] are treated with a black sheep, that the heaven may be dark and not wish to strike there again; for if they kill a white sheep it will again strike in that homestead. They wish to work with a black sheep, that the lightning may not strike that homestead again. The doctor who treats the heaven goes with a black sheep; if he has not a black sheep, they cannot treat the heaven; for they require a black sheep. The black sheep at eMkhobeni may be explicable in terms of such beliefs. The significance of black animals in Zulu beliefs (shared with other Nguni groups) thus provides a context within which to locate the eMkhobeni images of black-coloured livestock. Creating New Conceptual Relationships The eMkhobeni painters created new conceptual relationships between Bushman hunter-gatherer ritual practices (healing and rain-making), and Nguni beliefs and practices about fertility, by painting distinctive moments and objects drawn from Nguni first-fruits ceremonies, across a 20-m-long section of rock surface. This assemblage is an extended web of integrated graphic metaphors; there is the sacrifice of a black bull, the possible depiction of a cattle kraal and the inkatha, as well as what are arguably painted references to feasting, dancing and gift-giving. Many of the eMkhobeni paintings discussed here were made in black paint, a choice that could suggest that the artists deliberately incorporated aspects of colour symbolism that were linked to agriculturist beliefs, including practices in which black animals are sacrificed to influence the weather. Archaeological and historical research suggests that the eMkhobeni painters and the communities of which they were part were not acculturated agriculturists and continued to follow their hunter-gatherer lifestyle but not in isolation from adjacent agriculturist communities. The paintings at eMkhobeni therefore probably do not depict a historical reality—what we see on the rock face did not actually “happen”; but the images are a reality on the rock face that extended the ambit of Bushman hunter-gatherer control over fertility and rain-making into the realm of their powerful Nguni neighbours’ beliefs. Through the mimetic faculty, in Taussig’s words (1993, p. xiii), the eMkhobeni artists drew “on the character and power of the original, to the point whereby the representation may even assume that character and that power” (cf. Kinahan 1999; Vinnicombe 2010 for explorations of mimesis and southern African rock art). The presentation of signal moments from first-fruit ceremonies and the painting of black cattle and sheep may be understood as a way of obtaining endorsement of their (Bushman hunter-gatherer) control over fertility and rain-making, thereby validating and strengthening the social and economic position of local Bushman hunter-gatherer groups and their ritual practitioners as “men of importance.” In this way, the eMkhobeni Bushman hunter-gatherers enhanced and strengthened their rain-



making prowess and status. Possibly, this took place within a social context in which local Bushman hunter-gatherers in this part of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg were associated by Nguni with rain and fertility as the Mpondomise did (see references above). eMkhobeni may have been a locus for Bushman hunter-gatherer rain-making rituals. The existence of such detailed and focussed imagery is significant for the debate in southern African archaeology about the nature and extent of “cultural borrowing” between Khoe-San hunter-gatherer groups and Bantu-speaking agriculturists (Hammond-Tooke 1998, p. 9; see e.g., Campbell 1986, 1987; Dowson 1994, 1998; Hall 1986, 1994; Jolly 1986, 1995, 1996, 2005, 2007; Loubser and Laurens 1994; Manhire et al. 1986; Ouzman 2003; Prins 1990, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009; Prins and Lewis 1992). The role of rock paintings in this debate is crucial. The symbolic and ideological character of rock art can potentially inform researchers how hunter-gatherer artists conceptualised their co-existence with agriculturists.

eMkhobeni Shelter in Context Although the imagery at eMkhobeni is unusual and uncommon, it is neither isolated or out of context. As already mentioned, the site is part of a nexus in northern UKhahlamba-Drakensberg of painting sites that include images of items originally derived from farmers: cattle, sheep, axe, and men and women’s clothing (Fig. 2). Cultural items of farmer origin appear to be seamlessly integrated with what otherwise looks like Bushman hunter-gatherer imagery. These are not strange, unfamiliar items: the people “own” them, in the sense that the Ju/’hoansi Bushman hunter-gatherers speak of “ownership” as meaning not only the possession of a thing but also skill in its use (e.g., Marshall 1999, p. 47). For example, the well-known “battle scene” at Battle Cave shows several figures that carry axes alongside other figures that carry bows and arrows that are depicted with tanged, probably metal, arrowheads. The axe-carrying figures resemble the other figures in all other respects and are depicted in joint activities with the other painted figures that comprise the battle scene. They look to all intents and purposes like Bushman hunter-gatherers who have adopted the new technology available from farmers, but who are still located within a shamanistic cosmos—alongside familiar motifs like bleeding from the nose, pointing and restraint. Another example of the visually seamless integration of farmer weapons occurs at Inyosini Shelter, 28 km northwest of eMkhobeni; here, anthropomorphs wearing arm and leg bands similar to those at eMkhobeni are seen holding pairs of short spears. There is a painting of at least one sheep, highly decorated with geometric patterns and superimposed on a procession of therianthropes at Battle Cave; the inclusion here of a domestic animal that blends in stylistically with the surrounding images is another example of the manner in which painters assimilated farmer-inspired motifs in the northern UKhahlamba-Drakensberg. At Mhwabane Shelter (also known as eBusingatha, or Cinyati), paintings of cattle co-occur (but not on the same surface) with the painting of a fantastic serpent that has been incorporated into contemporary local lore about a large snake (Hollmann and Msimanga 2008). This same serpent, whose name is Mhwabane, was believed to have lived, until quite recently, in a water pool in front of the overhang. Its eggs—said to be


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kept inside the shelter—could be seen sometimes at night as they glowed faintly. Even though the cattle motifs and that of the serpent and surrounding figures may not have been painted together, on a single occasion, the point is that there was traffic in ideas between Bushman hunter-gatherers and agriculturists in the northern UKhahlambaDrakensberg. Bushman hunter-gatherers incorporated cattle into their cosmology, and agriculturists and Bushman hunter-gatherers had beliefs about the presence in the landscape of a large serpent that lived in rivers and manifested itself in the clouds. Another aspect of hunter-gatherer and agriculturist co-existence is implied at Elephant Shelter in the Didima Gorge, which is about 13 km south of eMkhobeni. Here, an anthropomorph with an axe is painted in the act of chasing after an elephant (Pager 1971, figs. 152, 153); interestingly, they are in black paint. It is well known that the hunting of elephants and the trade and exchange of ivory between hunter-gatherers and farmers was widespread (Vinnicombe 1976; Wright 1971; Wright and Mazel 2007), though, undoubtedly, this historical and economic perspective on the significance of the images is only one aspect to be considered in any interpretation. Similarly, sheep paintings are concentrated in the region; they occur at Battle Cave, Junction Shelter, Zunckels Cave, eMkhobeni, Boschmansklip and Sigubudu (Lander 2014; Pager 1971, 1975). The eMkhobeni paintings are therefore part of a wider system of rock art in the region, in which painters chose to depict create motifs inspired by aspects of farmer culture. It seems likely that this situation was the result of close ties between specific, historical, hunter-gatherers and farmers. These sites in the northern UKhahlamba-Drakensberg are thus a specific and particular response to contact between hunter-gatherers and agriculturists. Acknowledgments Research on the eMkhobeni paintings was carried out on an Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship from the South African National Research Foundation. Marthina Mössmer gave loving editorial assistance. I gratefully acknowledge Karim Sadr for his support, as well as staff in the University of the Witwatersrand Research Office and the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies. The KwaZulu-Natal Museum kindly allowed me access to their site records. I thank Meridy Pfotenhauer and the members of the Ngoba rock art community group for informing me about eMkhobeni Shelter. In particular, I thank Mqambuleni and Chalisi Hlongwane for their assistance during fieldwork. I am especially grateful to Gavin Whitelaw for his suggestion that the bull-killing sacrifice motif at eMkhobeni may allude to first-fruits ceremonies and for many other suggestions and information. I am also obliged to Khumbulani Ndaba, Lawrence Msimanga, Thembi Russell, Carolyn Thorp and Valerie Ward for comment and discussions. Finally, I thank the reviewers of this paper for their comments and suggestions; these have greatly improved the paper.

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