Continuity and change in San belief and ritual

196 religious fundamentals) to the recently studied San, I advocate that this approach is the most productive as it reveals connections inherent in the art and San beliefs. Research no longer hinges on demonstrating the sophistication of this art and the validity of San ethnography. Rather, the concerns are to tease out the nuances and subtleties of the imagery to reveal the symbolic meanings contained in this sophistication.

Continuity and change in San belief and ritual

Published on Dec 31, 2001

Centre for Curating the Archive

About

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg, for the degree of Master of Arts. 2002, by Siyakha Mguni. From the preface: Voyage of discovery This study was motivated by a personal revelatory experience I had when, in April1995 shortly after I joined the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe asa trainee archaeologist and monuments inspector, I first encountered one of themost spectacular rock art sites in Matopo Hills (hereafter called Matopo1), and,perhaps, in southern Africa. And little did I realize that this experience heraldedmy future career. This site is Nanke Cave on the eastern part of Matobo NationalPark. Ironically, although I had read about the Drakensberg paintings as part ofmy Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Zimbabwe, I had never heard of orseen a picture of Nanke paintings.

Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.