RAD 117 – Waterdown Dam

Original Sold

The accompanying panel contains a wide variety of detailed imagery that reflects several key elements in San thought and cosmology.

The prominent red u-shaped band at the far right is almost certainly a water serpent.

The red zig-zag line running horizontally through the composition may represent the river flowing nearby or a serpent of some kind. Snakes are potent symbols in many cultures across the world. The San associated snakes with the spirit world. Snake fat as with eland fat, had both supernatural potency and transformative powers and could assist shamans in entering the spirit world.

There are at least 19 human figures in the composition that have been painted in various postures. Some clearly allude to trance behaviour. Shamans spoke of feeling very small or tall when in trance.  It was in the ‘out of body’ states that they would connect with the spirit world and amongst other things, call for rain, chase away malevolent spirits or gain power to heal the sick.

Also prominent in this composition is a yellow eland with cross hatched lines across its body.  Eland were greatly revered by the San and are the most frequently painted animal in San rock art. Great care was taken in the painting of eland and they can be seen today in a wide variety of stances on the rock face. The eland is prominent in four San rituals, the trance dance, boys first kill, young girl’s puberty and marriage.  The trance dance or healing dance was the most important of these rituals and apart from bringing together families and strengthening group bonds, it was also a time when shamans would make contact with the spirit world for the benefit of the greater community.