57-2 ROCK PAINTliNGS OF THE TRANSVAAL. 



the technical side of tlie work <,n the (grounds tluit the more 

 faithful the portrait, the more successful the charm. 



2. It is a well-known fact that the animals which were 

 hunted for food by tlie Bushmen are usually represented with 

 yreat fidelity,* whereas the human form is usually depicted by a 

 few crude strokes after the manner of the hgures drawn by a 

 child, and exceptions to this rule are generally of non-Bushman 

 ty])e. This is explained l)y the fact that the former were used 

 in the ritual ])ractised to en>ure the iood supplies, whereas the 

 representation of any individual !)>• a ])ortrait would ])robably 

 be regarded as a distinct breach of eti(|uetle. if not a penal 

 offence. t 



3. It explains the reticence of the Bushmen \o impart the 

 secrets of their art to others, and the jeak^us care they bestowed 

 upon many of their works. 



Unfortunately these interesting relics of an extinct race in 

 the Makabene are being ra])idly destroyed by the jjresent Bantu 

 inhabitants of the district, who have been daubing over them 

 with clay in the endeavour to enhance tlieir outlines or imitate 

 their fonns. and nothing, apparently, is being done to prevent 

 such acts of vandalism. 



The original eft'orts of the Bantu are easily distinguished, 

 apart from their lack oif skill, by the crude materials used for 

 paint. In some cases this is nothing but a ])aste of ashes and 

 water, and many fine specimens of Bushman work have been 

 hopelessly ruined by having their outlines "' renewed '" with this 

 material. $ The natives explain tliis practice 

 admired the pictures on tlu- rocks, and lioped 

 the earlier works to acipiirc the artists' power 

 the likeness of things seen. 



Most of the unaided eiforis of the Bantu are crude imita- 

 tions of the Bushman style, though occasionall\- tiie\- show dis- 

 tinct originalitw .Most of their work is done in wliitr. and a 

 dee;) black made from charcoal is not uncommon. 



The most interesting specimens of Bantu worl^ in tlie Maka- 

 ftene were found in a grotto scoo])c<l out ot the solid rock high 

 up on the face of a cliff, and re])resent a series of railway trains 

 — third class only — and a train of "coco-pans" (Plate 18. Fig. 

 3. and Plate 20. Fig. S). They were executed by a native who 



*Cf. Stow, p. 171. "In the course of the joiiriK} he ( liarrow ) saw 

 several thousaiul figures of animals, hul nciU' had the appearance ol 

 being monstrous; none that conhl he considered as works of the imagina- 

 tion; tliey were generally as faitliful representations of nature as the 

 talents of the artist would allow." Cf. Plate 18, l^'ig. 4. 



tA conlirmation of the theory that a i)iclure niigiu be used for 

 malignant purposes is i)rohahly afforded l)y a jiainting [ discovered on 

 the rocks overhanjring the Umciie/.aan River in Xatal. It seems to 

 represent a '.\adnt or leader, in one of tlie mystic dances so dear to 

 the heart of these pygmy folk, his body transfixed l)y tliree darts or other 

 lethal weapons. A coiiy of this heautifully executed painting may be 

 seen in the collection of tlie Transvaal Musenni. Prcfu-ia 



± Plate ig. Figs. 5 and (1. 



