Rock art tourism is for people of all ages who enjoy walking in the fresh mountain air and through the unique and unspoiled flora of the Western Cape. Here they can discover fascinating paintings on the walls of caves and rock shelters far from crowded cities.

Some of these paintings are thousands of years old and are a vivid reminder of the remarkable artistic skills, social customs and religious beliefs of South Africa's early inhabitants.

Rock paintings and rock engravings, made by hunter-gatherers, herders and early farmers, can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are the best evidence we have that people expressed their thoughts and ideas graphically long before the introduction of writing.

Each rock art tradition uses a different range of images and symbols, but all have social, spiritual and ritual meaning important to the people who made them. Thinking in concepts like those expressed in rock art is of such fundamental importance to the development of human consciousness and culture that rock art sites have been placed on the World Heritage List in many countries.

In South Africa the World Heritage Sites that include rock art are Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu Natal, Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo and some of the reserves included in the Cape Floral Region in the Western Cape.

We do not know for certain how many rock art sites there are in South Africa, but there are at least 5000 on record in museums throughout the country. The total almost certainly exceeds 20 000. Combined with neighbouring countries, the region rivals Australia with the highest de

Responsible tourism

Having seen the damage that visitors can cause at rock art sites, the Western Cape Rock Art Tourism Forum and South African heritage authorities agree that public access should be allowed by private land owners only if there is a guide available and entrance is controlled. Responsible tourism means small guided groups of visitors who are made aware of the significance of the paintings and are told that they must not touch or wet the paintings, stir up dust, leave litter or make fires in painted rock shelters.

Who were the artists?

Before European colonisation in the 17th century, the Western Cape was occupied by San hunter-gatherers (who the colonists called Bushmen) and Khoekhoe herders (who the colonists called Hottentots). They are sometimes referred to collectively as Khoisan or Khoe-San.

The people responsible for most of the Western Cape rock paintings were the ancestors of the San (pronounced Saan) who lived throughout South Africa for tens of thousands of years before European colonisation. Not only did they make paint that has lasted thousands of years, but they were also gifted artists who expressed complex ideas in elegantly simple ways.

The Khoekhoe (pronounced "Que-que" as in "question"), who migrated from Botswana into South Africa with sheep and cattle that they acquired from Iron Age farmers further north about 2000 years ago, introduced a different style of painting.

When were the paintings made?

The oldest dated rock paintings in the Western Cape were made with fine brush lines and are about 7000 years old. This tradition, which may have started long before 7000 years ago, persisted until about 500-1000 years ago.

Within the last 2000 years, the subject matter changed and so did the technique. Fat-tailed sheep introduced by the Khoekhoe were illustrated for the first time, geometric patterns and handprints were more common, and paint was applied with a finger rather than with a fine brush. The Khoekhoe were probably responsible for most of these finger paintings. As the herders moved onto land formerly occupied by hunter-gatherers, the San gradually stopped painting as their numbers and cultural activities declined.

Similarly, as European colonists expanded into the Western Cape the Khoekhoe painting tradition persisted for a while but gradually died out by the middle of the 19th century. The most recent finger paintings show people in European dress with guns, horses and wagons. There are even three paintings of ships, although at least one was most probably painted by a sailor.

What subjects were painted?

Rock paintings played an important role in religious customs and beliefs and reflect the social order and world view of the people who made them.

People are the most common subject in the rock paintings of the Western Cape. Many painted panels show processions of dancing people, usually men, sometimes wearing karosses (cloaks), sometimes carrying bows, sticks or fly-whisks made from animal tails. Women are often shown dancing too, or clapping their hands. In other processions, the gender of the people is unclear. Bags with tassels, shown next to the dancers or processions, were used to carry medicine or herbs such as buchu that helped them to enter a trance state and could be used to heal the sick.

Dancing was one of the most important social rituals in San society, and still is in the Kalahari today. Dances were held regularly to heal the sick and ailing, initiate boys and girls, promote togetherness and settle arguments, and make rain. Supernatural power was accessed during dancing to assist trained medicine people or shamans. They learned how to control it by entering a trance-like state that allowed the spirit to leave the body and enter the spirit world. Mood-altering drugs were not generally used.

A few paintings show people with animal heads, or animals with human legs. These part-human, part-animal therianthropes are a multi-layered metaphor that illustrate the sensation experienced by shamans in trance when they feel as if they are becoming the animals that give them supernatural power. Sometimes animals or people are shown bleeding from the nose. This can be induced by hyperventilation during trance and the blood is used for healing. Animals bleed from the nose or mouth when they are dying. Death is the metaphor that shamans use for trance because they feel as if they die when they visit the spirit world, and then come alive again. Other sensations experienced during trance, such as the feeling that one is flying, or underwater or underground, are expressed in paintings in different ways. Patterns of light, called entoptics, that are "seen" in the early stage of trance in the form of dots, zigzag lines, nested u-shapes, crenulations, grids and shining paths or "ropes to God", are also illustrated in the paintings.

Animals feature prominently in rock art and were very important in San beliefs in much the same way as the lamb is a symbol in Christian beliefs and cows are important to Hindus. The eland, the largest and fattest of the African antelope, was believed by the San to give them access to supernatural power. Other animals, such as the elephant in the Western Cape, also had powerful connotations. Occasionally, the animals in rock paintings cannot be identified because they represent visions seen during trance.

How can you visit rock paintings?

About 80 sites at more than 15 places in the Western Cape are open to the public along guided trails. Some paintings are within two hours drive of Cape Town, but many of the better preserved sites are 3-4 hours drive away and require an hour or more of hiking. The majestic Cederberg mountains are very rugged with stony ground in places. Good hiking boots are recommended if you intend visiting such places off the beaten track. The best times of year are in the spring and autumn.

It is well worth taking time to examine the paintings in detail. The longer you stay to look around you, the more you will get a feel for the place and the more you will see and understand.

There are a number of options available to visitors at rock art sites. Some are open to self-guided day visitors, others only with a guide, and others only if you overnight on the property. Some are free of charge and others require a fee. In all cases it is recommended that you contact the property owner first to obtain directions and relevant information, and to ensure that you will not be disappointed. To promote responsible tourism and to protect the paintings it is recommended that you always go with a qualified guide or tour operator when visiting rock art sites.

How can you contribute to conserving and promoting rock art?

There are several organisations that are currently involved in assisting people of San descent to learn more about their ancestry and to obtain qualifications that will enable them to find jobs in the heritage sector and particularly rock art. If you would like to contribute to these initiatives, contact one of the organisations mentioned below.

All visitors are urged to leave the rock paintings as they find them. Wetting them causes permanent damage that cannot be reversed. Avoid touching, rubbing or brushing against the paintings and do not stir up dust when you visit a site. Never camp or make a fire in a painted rock shelter, and never remove any stone artefacts or other objects from a site. Anyone damaging rock art or removing artefacts without a permit cab be fined.

Many of the following places are also listed on the African Dream web site under the heading West Coast Rock Art Route.