White Lady of Brandberg
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The White Lady Of Brandberg Tour Pt 2
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The White Lady
of Brandberg
A National Heritage Site
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The Tsisab Gorge:
On arrival at the gate you must
report to the Daureb Mountain Guides reception office. They offer a selection
of hiking tours including: Maack Shelter The White Lady, Highlights Rock Art, Archeology, Geology and
even the guided climb to the top of the Konigstein.
I found my guide, Peter, (seen below) to
be well trained. Courteous, Knowledgeable about the subject and with a friendly
disposition. Thanks mate.
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Health Warning: The best
times to visit the Tsisab Gorge are in the early mornings. The mid-day
summer temperatures can rise to over 40c. The hike to the area where
the paintings is about a 45 minute hike with an amount of soft sand
and boulder hopping, so make sure you are wearing good supportive
footwear, and take at least 1 liter of water, wear a wide brimmed hat
and a high protection factor sun screen.
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The White Lady
Of Brandberg Mural:
From the easier discernable
glyphs and characters the mural measures approx 5.5 meters in length
and 1.5 meters in depth. At central section of the mural is the 'White Lady
group'. For the record the White Lady Of Brandberg measures approx
39.5cm x 29cm. The central figure is not the only white person
depicted in the mural, some of whom are shown as being completely,
or almost completely white. The mural is both a work of
interest and beauty. The central area of the mural has suffered an
amount of 'wear'. In the past there were individuals who would spray
water onto the painting in order to enhance the colors for photography
purposes resulting in fading. There are other areas of the painting
where the original colors have survived extremely well.
The White Lady Of Brandberg
- What is it all about?
Is a painting of group of people performing a ritual dance. The central character was a medicine man (shaman) of some
importance and shows the body markings of ritual sweat as droplets and
streaks. He is wearing wrist, upper arm, knee and ankle ritual-rattle
straps and a shoulder / chest strap. He carries a bow and what could
be a rattle, fly whisk or a type of goblet. On close inspection it
can be seen that the - White Lady Of Brandberg - medicine man is also wearing a
type of penis decoration. All of the 'main' characters are wearing
some form of footwear. Note that the back legs of the Oryx above
are purposely depicted as being human. Closer inspection of the person
at 10 o'clock from the White Lady Of Brandberg is shown as having a breast. Maack's
watercolor painting of the mural depicts this more clearly and we
should take into consideration that the painting has suffered an
amount of wear damage since that time. Some of the earlier twentieth
century visitors to the site would spray the painting with water in
an attempt to 'brighten-up' the colors in order to snap a better
photograph. This type of vandalism prompted the authorities of the
day to place a heavy iron cage in front of the painting. It is only
in recent years since the National Heritage Council took control of
the site and implemented the ruling that visitors must be
accompanied by one of the trained Daures Guides that the full and
unobstructed beauty of the painting can be viewed.
The Ancient Inhabitants:
Indications of people inhabiting areas of the Brandberg go back as far
as 5000 years. Archeological finds include bone and stone tools, arrow
tips along with ostrich shell jewelry and items of leatherwork. The
hunter gatherers of the Brandberg lived mainly on small antelope,
dassies (rock hirax) and hares along with edible plant foods and wild
honey. It is considered that these people were Bushmen (San) and that the
paintings originate from this group. The Damara have a limited history
or tradition of rock art painting.
Materials Used For Painting: The bushmen artists ground iron rich rock or Hematite
for their red paint; Ochre for the
yellows; Charcoal and Manganese for black; Calcium Carbonate for white.
Blood serum, egg white and casein were used as binding agents.
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More White Men? |
The White Lady Of Brandberg
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Section Of Mural
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Beliefs and Rituals: As with
most ancient peoples their interrelationship with their environment played an
important part in the group's belief system and culture. Not all of
the frescos in the Tsisab Gorge having both animals and humans are
depicting hunting scenes. Many show of rituals that would have been of
considerable importance to the group. The medicine men (shamans) would
be called upon in times of sickness or distress to perform dances and
rituals that would bring back to normal the wellbeing of an individual
or the group as a whole. Towards the end of the dry season food and
water would become in scarce supply and the medicine men would be called
upon to invoke good rains. These earlier Bushmen are thought
to have regarded certain species of animals as having once been people
and of possessing mystical powers. They believed that certain animals
possessed mystical powers. The giraffe, being the tallest was thought to be able to reach into the heavens and help to
bring the rains. Other hoofed animals e.g. the Kudu, Oryx, Springbok and
Wildebeest were also revered for they had powers to find and even dig
for water. The felines - Lion, Leopard and Cheetah were thought
to have the powers of dispelling evil and also healing sickness. The
Desert Elephant could find water, survive for 3 days without drinking
and was capable of traveling up to 70kms in one day, and the Rhinoceros
with its' horn were also 'rain animals'.
The shamans wore various ritual
decorations. Rattles made from insect cocoons and stitched to leather
straps were secured to the wrists, and ankles. Upper arm and knee bands
were worn. They used antelope fly whisks and often a musical bow with a
resonator. The shamans are seen to be wearing a form of penis
decoration that was indicative of a man who held a high level of
responsibility within the group.
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Human Rear Legs |
Wrist & Anklet Rattles |
 Knee
Straps and Dewlap |
Fly Whisk and Tail |
 A
Decorated Shaman |
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The ritual dances performed
by the shamans would last for many hours. The effort required was so
great that it caused profuse sweating and sometimes bleeding from the
nose. A state of frenzy and trance would be entered during which the
shamans would 'take on' the spirit of the
particular animal that was critical to the ritual being performed. For
example an Oryx for rain, or a lion for healing or dispelling evil. The
above left antelope has human legs with knee straps. It
was believed that while in a state of trance the medicine men could take
on the spirit of the particular animals relevant to the ceremony.
They could also
transfer the sickness from an individual into themselves and then sweat
it out. Sweat produced while under trance was also applied to sick
people as a form of healing ointment. The Stork was associated with travel and the Shaman would
take upon the spirit of the bird when 'traveling in spirit' to far off
places. The remainder of the group, mainly females would sit around in a
circle chanting and clapping.
There were also women who practiced
shamanism. Studies of later Bushman rituals show that female members of
the group could dance with the men, but only one at a time.
There are several large rock
shelters in the Tsisab Gorge that were used as ritual centers.
Summary: Reinhardt Maack continued his interest in recording the Rock Art of
South West Africa. The rock shelter in which he 'discovered' the
painting that has become known as the White Lady of Brandberg is
referred to as the Maack Shelter.
The Abbe Breuil's understand of African rock paintings
and the culture of its ancient artists proved to be a misinterpretation. However,
his fascination with the White Lady of Brandberg and his related theories,
even though in error, should not be scorned. Were it not for his
tireless efforts the paintings of the Tsisab Gorge would not have been brought to the
attention of the world until a much later period. The White Lady
Of Brandberg Frieze should be viewed in its' entirety. It is a
beautiful and remarkable work of art. A record of events that tempts
us modern day viewers to wonder and speculate as to what was
conjured on that
magical evening so long ago during that ceremony of ritual
dancing.
Acknowledgements and further reading: A1, GV4, H12, R1, R2, R5, P1
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The White Lady of Brandberg and the Brandberg
Area Rock Art Sites
are managed by the National Heritage Council
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Local Area Attractions
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►
Spitzkoppie
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Burnt Mountain
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Organ Pipes
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Petrified Forest
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Twyfelfontein
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Did You Know ?
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- Tsisab - Means 'Leopard' in
Damara. The Tsisab Gorge is still the home to many leopard.
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