Overview

In Termites of the Gods, Siyakha Mguni narrates his personal journey, over many years, to discover the significance of a hitherto enigmatic theme in San rock paintings known as ‘formlings’. Formlings are a painting category found across the southern African region, including South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, with its densest concentration in the Matopo Hills, Zimbabwe. Generations of archaeologists and anthropologists have wrestled with the meaning of this painting theme in San cosmology without reaching consensus or a plausible explanation. Drawing on San ethnography published over the past 150 years, Mguni argues that formlings are, in fact, representations of flying termites and their underground nests, and are associated with botantical subjects and a range of larger animals considered by the San to have great power and spiritual significance. This book fills a gap in rock art studies around the interpretation and meaning of formlings. It offers an innovative methodological approach for understanding subject matter in San rock art that is not easily recognisable, and will be an invaluable reference book to students and scholars in rock art studies and archaeology.

Full Product Details

Author:   Siyakha Mguni
Publisher:   Wits University Press
Imprint:   Wits University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 19.80cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 24.00cm
Weight:   0.525kg
ISBN:  

9781868147762

ISBN 10:   1868147762
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   01 March 2015
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Reviews

This book has the potential to change the public perception of San rock art as a relatively trivial pastime and replace it with convincing evidence that many images and themes are in fact based on sophisticated religious symbolism that permeated all aspects of San life over thousands of years. It is a milestone in rock art interpretation because it focuses specifically on the complexity of one particular theme, the elusive formlings, which have challenged rock art specialists for decades. - Janette Deacon, co-author of Human Beginnings in South Africa: Uncovering the Secrets of the Stone Age.

This book has the potential to change the public perception of San rock art as a relatively trivial pastime and replace it with convincing evidence that many images and themes are in fact based on sophisticated religious symbolism that permeated all aspects of San life over thousands of years ... It is a milestone in rock art interpretation because it focuses specifi cally on the complexity of one particular theme, the elusive formlings , which have challenged rock art specialists for decades. - Janette Deacon, author of Human Beginnings in South Africa: Uncovering the Secrets of the Stone Age.

Author Information

Siyakha Mguni is project manager of the International Rock Art Collaboration coordinated from the Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

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