Visit Historical Bushman Paintings

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Visit historical Bushman Paintings in Namibia to have a glimpse of a magical world of ritualistic dances; of shamans (medicine men) that invoked the rain gods to bring relief to the oldest desert on earth and of Stone Age people that believed animals were once human, invoked with certain powers. Visit historical Bushman Paintings in Namibia to peer through a window into 5 000 years of history. Over 350 sites with bushman paintings await exploration.

The most famous area for bushman paintings is the Brandberg Mountain; the tallest mountain in Namibia. Over 47 000 paintings may be found at the Brandberg, the most famous of which is the White Lady of Brandberg, a 5 and a half metre painting depicting a central white person. Marvel at this painting and decide for yourself whether you agree with one of two main theories suggested for this white figure: the theory that argues that the White Lady is part of a group of Eastern Mediterranean people that made their way into this far-off, remote corner of Africa thousands of years ago, or the theory that suggests the White Lady is a shaman (medicine man) doing a ritualistic dance to invoke the rain gods to drench the land with rain.

The paintings are truly inspiring and mystical, depicting animals with human limbs and showing belief in giraffes as the rain animal, of lions, cheetahs and leopards as animals with the power to revoke evil and of a people in harmony with the natural surroundings. While hiking up the Brandberg, take advantage of spotting the desert animals that inspired and awed the San people: elephant, kudu, springbok, rhino, giraffe and lion.