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Understanding their art
Their art is a key to our understanding of the complex
symbolic rituals and ceremonies. At first glance many
paintings may be seen simply as records of everyday
occurrences, further study will reveal deeper meanings.
Symbolism and ritual played an extremely important
part in the lives of these people, who possessed no
written language. Story telling, mime and dance were
all used to express emotion and control stress, where
the trance dance was an important aspect of these activities.
The art was the only way in which mental images could
be shared, and the sharing of trance experiences increased
the unity of the group and so improved its chance of
survival. Thus the development of the various styles
of art was governed by ritual requirements and not by
a desire to create beautiful paintings both on rock
and more recently on canvas.
Rock art from Tsolido Hills, Botswana
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