The lost history of South Africa's /Xam people
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
By Paul Steyn
AFRICA---The San people of southern Africa are the oldest continuous population of people on earth. The Sam did not write and record their seminal history using words and books. Instead, they painted their expressions on the rocks, caves and shelters of the sandstone mountains that curl round the southwestern tip of Africa. Writers and poets have dubbed these mountains “The Louvre of Africa” because of the magnificent gallery of artistic heritage. To me, exploring these expressions is as important as reading about Nelson Mandela, Jan Smuts, and the story of South Africa, or visiting Robben Island, or the Apartheid museum. Of the many and diverse peoples in South Africa, the San (more accurately known as /Xam) is probably the least appreciated or understood. [link]
By Paul Steyn
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| Thousands of years ago, a person sat in a shallow rock shelter in the remote Cape Fold mountains at the southern tip of Africa, and painted what he had seen. |
