Tsodilo Hill
2.5″ x 3.5″
Acrylic on paper
Tsodilo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in northwestern Botswana.It was inscribed in 2001 due to its unique religious and spiritual significance to local peoples, as well as its unique record of human settlement over many millennia. Tsodilo is a site that has witnessed visits and settlement by successive human communities for many millennia.
It contains over 4,500 rock paintings in an area of approximately 10 km² within the Kalahari Desert. A recent discovery of 70,000-year-old artifacts and a python’s head carved of stone appears to represent the first known human rituals.
There are four chief hills. The highest is 1400 metres. The four hills are commonly described as the “Male”, this is the highest, the “Female”, “Child” and an un-named knoll.These hills are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the San peoples of the Kalahari.
It is believed that the caves and caverns of the “Female” hill are the resting places of the deceased and various gods who rule the world from here. The most sacred place is near the top of the “Male” hill, where it is said that the First Spirit knelt and prayed after creating the world. The San believe that you may still see the impression of the First Spirits’ knees in the rock.
This is definitely one the places to visit in Africa or while holidaying in Botswana. It encompasses a spiritual richness that is unmistakable.
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