In Uganda, rock art particularly boasts of a powerful monument of priceless antiquities that afford us a window into the cultures of our distant past. In spite of the sun, wind and rain, many of these works have lasted for thousands of years on the exposed rocks.
Unfortunately for us, and in contrast with the discoveries of the Westerns and Eastern world, few people recognize this invaluable treasure that we have. Conversely, every discovery of ancient relics in the developed world has often warranted immense media publicity and publication of volumes by different profilers. This exposure has often consequently led to multitudes from across the world visiting these world heritage sites, prominent of which are cave paintings.
The Lascaeux cave paintings in southern Spain and the Chauvet cave paintings in south eastern France are classical examples of how art and humanity have been inextricably intertwined since the past 30,000 years. However, an average Ugandan hasn’t any idea about the presence of rock art in Uganda, even among those who live in areas where it is located.
It took the efforts of the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA), with support from the French Embassy to transport the East African Rock Art Exhibition from Nairobi, Kenya to the Uganda National Museum for our local audience to view and learn. TARA’s mandate is to create a permanent visual archive of Africa’s rock art before it is too late, share this priceless archive with the world community, and, to the extent possible, preserve today’s most threatened rock art sites, however remote, across the continent. TARA believes an important way to realise the value of rock art in Africa for present and future generations is to promote awareness of its richness, antiquity and importance. This may perhaps be the greatest challenge that this organisation will encounter for more reasons than one. As you read this article, natives have turned sections of the precious Nyero Rock Paintings into quarry sites. Already, many rock paintings have been despoiled by graffiti, people scrawling their names, dates and messages. One very important site has for example these words written across it in red spray paint: ‘Topama mu nyumba ya misambwa’: “Do not shit in the spirit’s house†on the shelter wall. Other people have tried to chip paintings from the rock or deliberately destroy them.
Much of the earlier rock art predates writing and even oral/remembered history, and is now all that is left to tell us of our ancestors’ views of their world, their visions of reality, their values and beliefs. The art is, in fact, a form of early visual communication and a vital part of the roots from which we have grown. These paintings and engravings are not merely symbols; many often portray great skill in their form and delineation and demonstrate the artistic goals and talents of our ancestors. The art, still visible on the rocks (the earliest may have already faded and disappeared), consists mainly of paintings on semi-protected rock surfaces, the largest concentration being found in central Tanzania. Other areas with paintings include the islands and shores of Lake Victoria, the south eastern lower slopes of Mount Elgon and isolated granite outcrops in Kenya. Engravings are much rarer than paintings, they are found in all three countries, most are geometric designs and some animal images chipped into the rock surface, and cupules (small cup-shaped depressions ground into the rock). The rock art exhibition opened on Feb. 5 and runs for two months at the Uganda Museum in Kampala. Entrance is free.
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(editors: Lascaux caves are in France, not Spain)