Rock Art In The Cederberg

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Words and pictures by Steve Killick

Searching for the San man

SA4x4 reader Steve Killick took a trip to one of the Western Cape’s most popular get-awayfrom-it-all destinations, the Cederberg. Besides offering enough scenic vistas to fill a stack of coffee table books, this area also presents the perspicacious traveller with a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those who travelled this area before us. close to being the blueprint for modern man. Today, all that remains of this ancient culture is their art, and a few marginalized communities in the Kalahari. We bundled our camping gear into the Hilux one Friday afternoon and wound our way over Bain’s Kloof Pass towards Ceres. From Ceres the road north climbs steeply up the Gydo Pass, giving a spectacular view back over the valley and onto the Hex River mountains. If you decide to stop at one of the road cuttings on this pass, it won’t be long before you find fossils of sea creatures in the rock – a testimony that these rocks were formed beneath an ancient sea before being thrust up again by titanic forces to form the mountains we know today. Up over the pass the rocks themselves start to look like dinosaurs frozen on the landscape; these are sandstone rocks sculpted by weather and time to create the myriad formations for which the Cederberg is famous. The formations also created countless overhangs and caves which offered shelter and a canvas to the San for the last 8 000 years. At Op Die Berg we turned right and a few minutes later arrived at the farm Houdenbek where we were to spend the night. Sonja van der Merwe welcomed us and showed us to an old barn which has been lovingly restored and

converted into a self-catering guest house. We settled down to the warmth of the braai and watched the Hadedas come home to roost in the gum trees surrounding the homestead. The moon rose full over the Koue Bokkeveld and we drew closer around the fire, a magical African moment. The next morning we set out on a hiking trail which visits an immense natural rock arch and a few faded rock paintings – a series of half antelope figures and figures with strangely shaped heads. We later discovered that the arch is known as the Heideveld Arch, not to be confused with the better-known Wolfberg Arch. We also discovered that the paintings were nothing more than stains – the actual pigment had been washed off by centuries of exposure to the elements. Certain pigments stained the rock better than others, which explains why the antelope and figures appeared incomplete. White, black, yellows, reds, and blues can be seen at some of the better-preserved sites. We were back at the homestead for an early lunch and then took the road north to Dwarsrivier. Ten kilometres before Dwarsrivier we took the turnoff to Wupperthal. From this point to Wupperthal the road is indicated as being suitable for 4x4 vehicles only. Perhaps the road

these rocks were formed beneath an ancient sea before being thrust up again by titanic forces 87

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ome time ago I had bought a copy of Peter Slingsby’s map of the Cederberg with the intention of exploring the area further. The blurb that caught my attention reads: “Named for the Cape Cedar, the area was the home of the San. The San were tragically eliminated from the area but their legacy remains in thousands of rock paintings – the greatest legacy of rock art to be found anywhere in the world.” Upon closer inspection of the map we noticed that the majority of the rock art is concentrated in the northern Cederberg in an area called AgterPakhuis, the area lying over the Pakhuis Pass from Clanwilliam. Normally this would be a three-hour drive from Cape Town along the N7 and over the pass, but we decided to explore the route up the eastern side of the Cederberg mountains from Ceres, a route that will take the better part of a day if you’re out to enjoy the drive. The San people were the original inhabitants of Southern Africa. Archaeological evidence suggests that their way of life remained unaltered for thousands of years. Linguists determine their language as one of the oldest of any, and one which developed one of the richest varieties of sounds of any language. A study of their genetic makeup suggests that they are very

A sparkling waterfall on the Biedouw 4x4 route.

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has improved since the map was printed, but with a little patience, most vehicles except the lowest would make it to Wupperthal. We stopped briefly in Wupperthal, founded in 1830 by the Rhenish Missionary Society and thriving today as a Moravian mission. The rapid growth of the mission immediately after its formation is partly attributable to the Cape Governor at the time’s policy for the Koekoen to either seek residence and work on farms, or to “remove” themselves to the mission stations. Today their descendants are Moravian, a prerequisite for living in the town, and probably the reason why this quaint little town has remained so. The San were not so fortunate and were widely regarded as vermin and stock thieves and were actively exterminated in the area, a reward having been offered for every San pinkie brought to the castle at Cape Town. We stopped in briefly at the church, the rooibos shop and the shoe factory, which proudly claims to be the oldest in the country, then we

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took a refreshing swim in Krokodilgat, a twenty minute walk from the village. From Wupperthal we headed over the Kouberg Pass and down into the Biedouw Valley to meet our hosts for

A steep, sandy section of the trail.

the evening, Barry and Mariette Lubbe, on their farm Mertenhof. The farm was also founded in 1830 and has been in the Lubbe family for eight generations since. The farmhouse ceilings and floors are of solid cedar, worn down in places by the passage of generations of Lubbe feet. We were directed to Die Huisie, a more recent addition to the farm, where we awoke the following morning to a magnificent curtain of deep, autumn-red vine leaves framing our view. We enjoyed our breakfast while farm-life started the new day all around us, then we took a drive on the Biedouw 4x4 route which starts langs die dam agter die huise. The trail is grade 2 with a couple of grade 3 options. There are a series of pools more or less midway, the perfect place for a lunch stop and a swim in the river. Allow four to five hours to complete the route and take in all the sites at a leisurely pace. A short walk from Die Huisie near the river is a cavernous overhang full of rock art. The art was disappointing, but it is a testimony to the history of the Biedouw Valley. Layers of newer stains overlay the original work and are covered again by finger-painted images and red handprints. The handprints are thought to be those of pastoralists who arrived in the area around 2 000 years ago. It is thought that they were closely related to the San, and were possibly the descendants of San clans who had learned to keep sheep. They soon dominated the low-lying areas and forced the hunter-gatherers into the mountains. The newest of the inscriptions date back over a hundred years and were left by earlier generations of the Lubbe family who would have arrived when the Koekoen and the San were present in the area. We gazed out over irrigated fields on the flood plain and imagined the game coming down to the river in the early evening the way San must have seen it. The next morning we set off early on Mariette’s advice for Traveller’s Rest and the Sevilla Rock Art Trail. And for good reason – by 10h00 the sun

travel info Traveller’s Rest for Rock art, hiking, spring flowers Contact (027) 482 1842 or [email protected] Houdenbek Guest House for hiking, biking, rock climbing, fly-fishing and some rock art Contact (023) 317 0759 or [email protected] Wupperthal Tourist Info for village life, campsite, 4x4 route, overnighting, hiking, swimming Contact (027) 482 3410 Mertenhof for hiking, rock art, 4x4 route, biking, spring flowers Contact (027) 482 2845 Salmanslaagte has another series of beautifully painted sites in a magical setting. Ask at Traveller’s Rest for details. Acknowledgements: Factual information contained in this article was derived from John Parkington’s Cederberg Rock Paintings and Peter Slingsby’s Beyond the Cederberg.

was burning hot at our backs as we walked across the barren sandstone slabs towards the first site on the trail. It is advisable to take a sunhat and plenty to drink with you on this two or three hour walk. The trail is easy and well marked. Most of the images are of the older fine-line type painted by the San. Generally, they depict animals or people in communal scenes of sitting, fighting or dancing. Despite the focus on large game species, the scenes showing active hunting are rare. From their form and some fine detail, it is clear that whoever painted these images were skilled artists with a deep understanding of their subject. The overall impression I had was one of a series of random, disjointed images in a dream. No one really knows what the images meant to their creators although all researchers agree that they reflect some aspects of the cosmos as understood by the San. Understanding a little about how the painters saw their world definitely makes the trail a more rewarding experience. Haffie Strauss has a few

good books for sale at Traveller’s Rest. Amongst them is John Parkington’s Cederberg Rock Paintings, in which he says that, for the San, sharing was a non-negotiable value and meanness a universally discouraged behaviour. Hunting was a spiritual process where the life of the animal had to be won in fair battle from “/kaggen”, the creator. After a kill, the hunter would behave with respect and recognise his and others’ good luck. One could not own an animal or the land. I pondered on how the San had lived in harmony with their environment for thousands of years and how much we could learn from their way of life. There are thousands of paintings in these mountains and more are being discovered all the time. Many of the sites are kept a secret for their own protection. Thanks to people like Haffie Strauss, John Parkington and others involved with the Biedouw Conservancy, the paintings are being preserved and studied towards a deeper understanding of how the San understood their world.

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This is big sky country.