A little-visited area of the Eastern Cape between Maclear and Mount Fletcher has yielded one of the most impressive rock paintings found in South Africa. The richly-painted polychrome images of a herd of leaping eland are well preserved and occupy a large overhang about 70 m long and 25 m high.
Local shepherds have known about the paintings for years, but only recently have they been brought to the attention of community guides and academics. Perched under a band of sandstone overlooking the Tsitsana River valley, the site is known as KwaBhaliwe, a Xhosa name meaning “˜place where it is written’.
Thabathani Tshaka, a community guide who runs the Mount Fletcher tourist information office, invited me to visit. It was a long slog up the mountain on rough goat tracks where it’s easy to twist an ankle, but I was gobsmacked at the size and clarity of the paintings when we finally got there.
It was obviously an important site, so I called Jeremy Hollmann, curator of archaeology (rock art) at the Natal Museum, who has also visited and photographed it. “˜It’s one of the most outstanding sites in the Eastern Cape, if not the country,’ he said. “˜It ranks up there along with Game Pass Shelter in the Drakensberg, in terms of conservation and imagery.’
One eland is walking into a crack in the rock, as if entering another, spirit world. White painted figures, believed to be shamans, have red lines coming from their heads, possibly representing blood, which is repeated on the heads of a number of eland.
Some researchers think that these rock overhangs were places where people such as the San or abaThwa went to make contact with the spirit world. They believed these spots were entrances into the spirit world and that shamans were able to change form, becoming eland or even lions.
Members of the public may visit the site accompanied by a community guide (R150 a head).
Tel: Thabathani Tshaka at 073 242 6952, email: [email protected].
For a homestay in the area, try Amambanguba B&B. The welcome is warm and the rooms cosy, but the bathroom is a work in progress so be prepared to use the long-drop in the yard. The B&B costs R250 a person a night sharing and you’ll be supporting grassroots hospitality, putting money directly into the community.
Tel: 078 134 9396, email: [email protected].
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