caa a22 4500 60544868X CHVBK 20210128100138.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150901xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4 Hollmann Jeremy Division of Archaeology and Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, Wits, South Africa aut Allusions to Agriculturist Rituals in Hunter-Gatherer Rock Art? eMkhobeni Shelter, Northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa [Elektronische Daten] [Jeremy Hollmann] Unusual and uncommon motifs at eMkhobeni Shelter, in the foothills of the northern uKhahlamba-Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal, look like Bushman hunter-gatherer paintings. However, amidst the many images at this site are motifs that apparently allude to a historic cultural practice of Bantu-speaking agriculturists—the widely performed first-fruits festival, as well as to Nguni rain-making practices. These motifs include the slaughter of a bull with an axe, depictions of figures wearing items of Nguni clothing, figures driving black-painted cattle and a black sheep. The motifs are understood here as symbols of fertility, especially rain-making, that the eMkhobeni painters (argued to be Bushman hunter-gatherers living alongside agriculturists) incorporated into their repertoire. The creation on the rock face of signal moments from first-fruit ceremonies and the painting of black cattle and sheep may be understood as a way of strengthening Bushman hunter-gatherer control over fertility and rain-making. It is argued that the imagery validated the social and economic position of local Bushman hunter-gatherer groups and their ritual practitioners, especially in the eyes of their agriculturist neighbours. Springer Science+Business Media New York, 2015 Bull sacrifice nationallicence First-fruits festival nationallicence Interaction studies nationallicence Mimesis nationallicence Nguni material culture nationallicence Rain-making nationallicence Sheep nationallicence African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/3(2015-09-01), 505-535 0263-0338 32:3<505 2015 32 10437 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9197-4 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Hollmann Jeremy Division of Archaeology and Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, 2050, Johannesburg, Wits, South Africa aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/3(2015-09-01), 505-535 0263-0338 32:3<505 2015 32 10437