| Description: To
the Bushmen, the death of an eland is a metaphor for trance. The dying eland
also bleeds from its nose, its hair stands on end, it lowers its head, staggers,
and falls. The shaman harnesses the supernatural energy from the eland that
allows him to be transported into the spiritual world. This picture depicts
a dying eland, rear legs crossed, front leg bending under its weight. A
human figure with cloven hooves and crossed legs is holding the eland's
tail. To the right are three other figures; one with arms back bending forward
wearing a short cloak (kaross), upper right figure with an animal head wearing
a full kaross, lower right figure with cloven hooves and erect hair. The
tail holding and crossed legs are metaphors that illustrate the close similarity
between death and trance. The arms-back, bent forward posture is adopted
by Kalahari Bushmen at dances when "supernatural energy begins to boil"
in their stomachs. Map below shows location of Game Pass Shelter. |
