'ENIGMATIC' QUADRUPEDS IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN PETROGLYPH ART

Maarten van Hoek April 2005
THE 'NOSE-LINE': HYBRIDS

Hybrid zoomorphs, conflations of two or more animals, are rather common in southern African rock art. In the study area, fusions of, amongst others, hartebeest and buffalo, buffalo and gnu, eland and oryx, snake and giraffe, oryx and kudu, and antelope and lion have been reported. Interestingly, hybrid figures frequently resulted from the addition of certain elements. If this addition occurred at a later stage, it possibly indicates a re-appreciation or re-use of the image/rock/site or a change in perception.
At Site 8 there is a petroglyph of a 'hippopotamus' that has been turned into a 'rhinopotamus' by adding two grooves that may be interpreted as rhinoceros horns. Ouzman suggests that this accretion makes a familiar animal of the Ordinary world into an unfamiliar animal of the Spirit World (2001: 248). By creating this specific hybrid animal one simultaneously created a visual link between the two realms of San cosmology that could be recognised by the San. It has been suggested (Ouzman 1995b: 61) that such a (general) revaluation of the rhinoceros occurred at Site 10 as well. Also at Site 8 the changing of a hippo into a 'rhinopotamus' may indicate an increasing importance of the rhinoceros in the San world. Interestingly, at Site 8 there is another instance of the possible revaluation of the rhino. A petroglyph of a quadruped (antelope?) has an oversized (rhino?) head with one large, triangular (rhino?) horn (Figure 4.A). It seems that these 'rhino' parts were all added later; creating a weird-looking 'anteloceros' (terms like 'weird-looking' and 'anteloceros' are, of course, subjective).
At Site 7 there is a petroglyph of an 'eland' with a trunk-like groove from the nose reaching down to a sun-like figure (Figure 4.B). Because of the combination with sun-shaped designs on the same panel, this image may also relate to the metaphorical 'death-of-an-eland', but simultaneously it may represent a hybrid figure, notably an 'eland with an elephant trunk'. This specific elephant element may offer one of the possible explanations of the enigmatic 'nose-line'.
Indeed, in southern African rock art, zoomorphs or anthropomorphs with trunks occur rather frequently. A painting removed from Ebusingata rock shelter, South Africa, features an interesting theriantrope depicting a clearly anthropomorphous figure (most likely a shaman according to Lewis-Williams & Blundell 1998: 191) with a distinct elephant's head and a long trunk. Site 9 features a petroglyph of a 'rhinoceros' that is said to have been turned into an 'elephant' (Fock & Fock 1984: 32). At Site 12 there is an image that at first sight seems to be an elephant; it seems to have a long 'trunk'. However, the quadruped apparently lacks the two tusks, has long slender legs and internal parallel stripes and thus looks more like a 'zebraphant' (Figure 4.C).
Even more convincing are the three grooves that extend from the head of an incomplete 'elandphant' at Site 2 (Figure 4.D). The configuration of the three lines is almost identical to many petroglyphs of 'real' elephants with a trunk (the longest groove) flanked by two tusks in twisted perspective (the two shorter grooves). Earlier I suggested that the line from a 'giraffe' at Site 15 might represent the trunk of an elephant (Van Hoek 2003a: 58). Based on the instances described in this paper I argue again that it is rather likely that especially hybrids incorporating apparent elephant elements may offer an explanation for the enigmatic 'nose-line' of certain quadrupeds. They might be trunks added to non-elephant zoomorphs to create specific Spirit World creatures.
Figure 4.
Southern African petroglyphs of hybrid zoomorphs. A. Site 8; B. Site 7. Based on Fock & Fock 1989: Abb. 61; C. Site 12; D. Site 2. Based on Fock & Fock 1989: Abb. Tafel 124.3.
Figure 5.
Southern African petroglyphs of quadrupeds with 'nose-line'. A. Site 6. Based on Fock & Fock 1989: Abb. 63; B. Site 4. Based on Fock 1979: Abb. 57; C. Site 8.

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