Times Of Swaziland: Swazi rock paintings by Bushmen

Swazi rock paintings by Bushmen
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 Bob Forrester on 12/03/2009 00:00:00


(Guest writer)
MBABANE - The rock paintings in Swaziland were painted by the Bushmen, also know
as San.
They lived in the country for thousands of years, however, when cattle owning
people first came into southern Africa about 1 600 years ago they were gradually
pushed into the areas not suitable for cattle grazing and growing crops, like
the Highveld in Swaziland, the Drakensburg in Natal and the Kalahari desert
where this photo of a Bushman was taken. Their way of life involved hunting and
gathering, paintings were made to record trips to the spirit world. This photo
is from a travelling exhibition of African rock art heritage at the Swaziland
National Museum which is open every day from 9am to 4pm until the middle of
March. The exhibition is sponsored by the Alliance Francaise and was seen by
over 50 000 people in the first four countries it visited.
The roundhead culture
There are painting sites from all over Africa, these people here are known as
the Roundhead culture and are from Algeria. Some people believe that the large
heads are in fact turbans, much like the head wrappings that people use today to
protect them from the heat in the fierce north African sun where temperatures
can go above 50 degrees. Sometimes the paintings were up to four metres tall.
They are painted in red ochre, a form of rusted iron found throughout the
continent.