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| Bantu Rock Art, Limpopo (Northern) Province, South Africa | |||
| Top: Row of white giraffes | |||
| Bottom: Train painted by Northern Sotho artist at the beginning of the 20th Century. | |||
| Discussion: Rock art of the Bantu-speaking farmers did not have shaministic origins. These thick, white finger-paintings were often painted over earlier San art. The earlier Bantu art depicted wild animals, mostly giraffes, that played a role in boy's initiation instruction. This phase first appeared about 1,000 years ago and lasted into the 20th Century. Much of their later art poked fun at the new European arrivals. You could even look at this as an early form of protest art against destruction of traditions and culture and for land and self-determination. Trains stood as a symbol for white expansion for they brought settlers who appropriated the land. | |||
| Top Photo by R. McLean, Bottom Photo by Benjamin Smith, © Rock Art Research Institute | |||