Sharing rock art treasures

A ROCK art exhibition at Wits’ Origins Centre brings together work from four countries in an attempt to improve the preservation of this “non-renewable resource”.Read More
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A rock art exhibition at Wits’ Origins Centre brings together work from four countries in an attempt to improve the preservation of this “non-renewable resource”.
THERE was a time when artistic urges were sated by sketching on rock, when spiritual and religious beliefs were played out through representations drawn on stone.

Mrs Beya Gondo praying to spirits at Chinhamapere, MacicaMrs Beya Gondu praying to spirits at Chinhamapere, ManicaBy visiting an exhibition titled Sharing our Ancient Rock Art Treasures, at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Origins Centre, you can go back to this time and learn what it was like to live in various parts of South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Mexico.

“It is a collaboration by four countries on their most important rock art sites,” says the programmes manager at the Origins Centre, Michelle Colman. “The exhibition will highlight some of the most important rock art sites and showcase important local community rock art tourism developments.”

The initiative was first envisioned in 2006/2007, explains the organiser and project co-ordinator, Siyakha Mguni. It was not until 2008, though, that workshops and meetings took place to bring the idea to life. “It was something that took a while to get off the ground,” he says.

But get off the ground it did, and Mguni says they are hoping more countries will get involved in the initiative as “it is geared to aid bilateral agreements”.

In a booklet released by the national Department of Arts and Culture, the Wits Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) and McGregor Museum about the exhibition, rock art is identified as playing a central role in celebrating cultural origins. “The art helps to foster social cohesion in a previously divided society by reminding that all people share a common humanity.”

In fact, South Africa has embraced its rock art to the extent that it even features in the national coat of arms.
The South African entries in the exhibition come from six rock art areas, which have been inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. They fall in five of the nation’s provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

KwaBhaliwe, Eastern CapeKwaBhaliwe, Eastern Cape“This heritage is a source of national pride, and it offers huge potential for social and economic development through cultural tourism,” reads the booklet. This is one of the main aims of the exhibition: to highlight the job opportunities that these sites are offering local communities.

Mguni says, “When choosing the sites, we mostly chose those that had tourism initiatives in place.” This applied to all the sites chosen except for those in Mozambique; however, Mguni explains that most of the sites in Mozambique are used for rituals and are therefore easily accessible and are already being used by local communities.

For instance, Beya Gondu is a traditional rain priestess who often uses a site in Manica province in Mozambique to perform ceremonies. She is described in the booklet as the “spirit custodian” of the site.

Spiritual meaning
Sites in Botswana, Mexico and South Africa are also regarded as holding spiritual meaning. “Like the rock art of southern Africa, the symbolism [of the art in Mexico] is profoundly spiritual,” the booklet reads. Mguni concurs: this was not just art for art’s sake; there was something more to its creation.

Mexico boasts a rich history of rock art. “The art is predominantly hunter-gatherer, but in many places the making of rock art continued into historical times,” the booklet states. Local villagers now look after the rock art of Sierra de San Francisco in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico and organise hiking trips to a selection of the best sites.

Closer to home, Botswana is regarded as having one of the greatest rock art treasures in Africa, despite the fact that it is a mostly flat and sandy country. Tsodilo Hills near the Okavango Delta feature the majority of the country’s rock art, which is known for its diversity.

Mpenya Angonia, TeteMpenya Angonia, TeteHunter-gatherers and pre-colonial pastoralist groups are represented, as well as indigenous farmer groups. Information and guides are available from a visitor centre and hiking trails allow visitors to take excursions to enjoy the art.

Heritage
The exhibition’s main theme is to mobilise these local communities, according to Mguni. It is aimed at encouraging communities to take an active role in preserving a non-renewable resource and recognise the intrinsic value of the art, he says.

“Educating and sensitising people to the value of cultural heritage” is also a priority of the initiative. In doing so, organisers are hoping that damage to the art such as graffiti will decrease. “It is human desire to touch things; it is innocent but it will damage the art,” he explains.

Natural problems, on the other hand, are not as easy to solve. “Each site has unique issues, but natural problems pose a challenge, as it is very difficult to control where water flows for example,” he says.

On the whole though, this exhibition wants to address the things that people do have the power to change. The collaboration will hopefully become the model for future international co-operation programmes, according to the exhibition’s booklet.

“Only by pooling the collective skills and resources of different nations will we be able to unlock the full social and economic potential of our ancient rock art and find long-term solutions to our common management and conservation problems,” it reads.

Photographs
The exhibition features images of the rock art in each of the four countries; it combines pictures taken by photographer Kevin Crause, RARI’s digital library, the South African Rock Art Digital Archive and the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico.

Female Hill, Tsodilo, NgamilandFemale Hill, Tsodilo, NgamilandIt will run until 29 January 2012; thereafter it will move to Botswana, then Mexico, on to Mozambique and will return to South Africa to be shown at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley.

It is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, except between Christmas and New Year. There will be four Saturday morning walkabouts with rock art experts, taking place at 10am on 12 and 26 November, 10 December and 14 January.

Booking is necessary and can be done by emailing ask@origins.co.za.

It is R45 for those who want to only see the exhibition; entry to the entire museum is R75 per person; and it is R50 for the Saturday morning walkabouts.

Wits Origins Centre is located on East Campus on the corner of Yale Road and Enoch Sontonga Avenue in Braamfontein.