TALK: Vibeka Viestad (University of Oslo/University of the Witwatersrand)

TITLE: The Kaross and the Hunter: the initiation of San Hunter-Gatherers and the role of dressing the part. Examples from rock paintings in Western Cape, South Africa

ABSTRACT: In  South African rock art research, the kaross has often been a point of  interest, highlighted in interpretations of imagery associated with  shamanic  experiences evoked by trance and altered states of consciousness as  well as the possible representations of communal initiation rites of  young hunters. This  paper is meant as a response and support to the initiation hypotheses;  that "'initiation camps' for young men did...take place in the Cape and  were  recorded in painted form" (Parkington and Paterson 2021), by further  adding to the understanding of the kaross and its place in San life and  culture, as well as introducing a different set of imagery, from the  often overlooked rock art of the Klein Karoo in  the Western Cape, that we find highly relevant to the discussion.

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