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Indwe
BT Eastern Cape
Indwe
765 Images & Collections results for Indwe
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LEE LEE-RARI-LEE-RSA-WEG3-20.jpg
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Part of Lee, Neil
Rhebuck is one of the antelope that are most frequently depicted, after the eland. The rhebuck is comparable to the eland because it is often painted in shaded polychrome. Both eland and rhebuck are depicted in two colours, mainly red and white, even though they are more grey than red. Depictions of men with rhebuck heads are shamans. It is known that shamans with rhebuck heads controlled eland and harnessed their power to enter trance and to perform their various tasks, including rain-making. Welgevonden III 121
LEE LEE-RARI-LEE-RSA-WEG3-17.jpg
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Item
Part of Lee, Neil
Depictions of felines in rock art are common.
Lions in general were believed to have some of the shaman’s accomplishments: they knew things that ordinary people could not possibly know, they could become invisible, and they could cause things to happen by supernatural means. They could also transform themselves into hartebeest and then, when the hunters appeared, revert to their feline form.
Not surprisingly, Bushmen believe shamans can turn themselves into lions. It was also believed that shamans obtained lion-power by eating a lion’s gall, which is believed to be the seat of its potency. When malevolent shamans roam in feline form, the shamans in the camp enter trance and chase them off. Welgevonden III 121
