NETWORKS OF SUPERNATURAL POTENCY: SAN ROCKPAINTINGS OF LOINCLOTHS AND APRONS IN THE CENTRALLIMPOPO BASIN, SOUTHERN AFRICA

摘要

San rock paintings of male loincloths and female aprons in the CentralLimpopo Basin highlight the ritual concerns of the San and therelationships between men and women, and between people andanimals. The art evokes three vital aspects of hunter-gatherer life: themedicine dance, girls' puberty rites and hunting practices. Theseinterlocking contexts focus on the crucial areas of healing, sexuality,hunting, gathering, and environmental well-being, all of which areinextricably linked to and underpinned by supernatural potency. Thisstudy explores the multivocality of southern African hunter-gathererrock art and presents a shift in emphasis in the way we see and under-stand it.