Getaway May_2019

I

In this new series from his upcoming book, DAVID BRI

behind must-see places in South Africa that have spar

andimagination.Thismonth,it’sa caveintheDraken

KAMBERG

t’snotexactlytheLouvreofBushman

rockart,is it?’remarkedmy

companion,DonaldtheAstute,aswe

admiredthepaintedwallsofGame

PassShelter.

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ThatwouldbeElandCaveintheDidima

regionoftheDrakensberg.ButElandCave

involvesa three-orfour-dayhike,while

GamePassShelterinKambergNature

Reserveis a merefour-hourreturntrip.

TheimagesatKambergmightnotbe

theLouvrebuttheyjustmightbethemost

importantintheentiregalleryofNeolithic

art.Tounderstandthem,weneedtoslow

downourbusymindsandsoulsandtry

toimaginetheworldofpeoplewholived

herebeforewedid.

Inordertograspthemeaningofwhatlies

beneaththesurface,weneedsomekindof

‘app’,a keytoopenthedoorandslipthrough

thecrackbetweentheirworldandours.

ThemanwhofoundthatappwasDavid

Lewis-Williams,professorofarchaeology

atWitsUniversitybackintheday.

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transcribednotesofSanstories,songsand

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whichcomprisetheBleek-Lloydcollection.

They’dbeenstoredattheUniversityof

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gatheringdustfora century.

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gotpermissionfromtheauthoritiestotake

a fewSanprisoners(somelabouringat

CapeTownharbour),andevensomeof

theirfamilies,tolivewithhiminorderto

studytheirlanguage.

WhenBleekmarriedJemimaLloydof

Natal,hersisterLucy(unluckyinlove)came

tolivewiththematCharltonHousein

Mowbray.Lucytookanimmediateinterest

inherbrother-in-law’sworkandthuswas

borntheBleek-Lloydcollaboration.

‘Formanyyearsit wasthoughtthat

thetruemeaningofBushmanartwas

irretrievablylost,’ProfLewis-Williams

wrote.TheCapeTowncollectionwas

knowntotheexpertsofhisday,butno

onehadseriouslystudiedit orlinked

it tothepaintings.Whentheydid,at

eurekamoment(although,knowinghow

archaeologistswork,it wasprobably

morelikea eurekayear-or-two).

Centraldiscoverywasthatallrockart

wascreatedbyshamanartists– thosewho

hadgoneintoa trance(‘underwater’),

visitedtheplaceofthedeadandreturned

totelltheirtales.Thiswasnotartforart’s

sakebutartwithspiritualpurpose.When

a Sanshamanwentintoa trance,it was

akintoMosesgoingintothewildernessto

receivethewordofGod.Whenhereturned

tohisspecialcavetopaintwhathe’dseen

inhistrance,hewascreatingtheSan’sown

holyscripture.

Thehunter-gatherershadmadea

connectionbetweentheprogressionof

ananimaldyingafterbeingshotwith

a poisonarrow,anda shamangoingintoa

hallucinatorytrance:shuddering,trembling,

staggering,loweringthehead,bleedingfrom

thenose.Theseareanimalsandmenwho

havebeen‘spoiled’,havegoneunderwater

andhaveenteredgod’shouse.

In1799,theFrenchEgyptologistPierre-

FrançoisBoucharduncovereda large

fragmentfromanobelisknearthetownof

Rosetta.Whencloselystudied,it provided

thekeytoreadingtheAncientEgyptian

wallart:belowthehieroglyphicswere

correspondingtextsinEgyptianDemotic

scriptandGreek.

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toKambergis alsonamedRosetta.

rr

eerg

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k t(llthh hkkk ii h

David Bristow, Gallo Images/Getty Images

‘I

The so-called Rosetta Stone of

Kamberg is the panel named ‘The

Dying Eland’. The antelope has its

head lowered, its hair is standing

on end, its front legs seem to be

buckling and its back legs are

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(the red colour has long-since faded).

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the eland. One of the human spirits,

a therianthrope, is holding onto the

eland’s tail. Its legs are also crossed

and it has hooves, just like the eland.

This is a San shaman absorbing the

power of a dying eland as he enters

the spirit world.

24 MAY 2019