Eland Panel

For the San, animals mean much more than just food. It is therefore indispensable that we understand San beliefs about and attitudes towards the animals they painted and engraved. The eland is chief amongst all the animals. It is the largest of southern African antelope and is much desired as a source of meat and fat. The San reaffirm its importance by saying that all other animals are like servants to the eland. As a major symbol in San thought, the eland appears in four major rituals: boys’ first kill, girls’ puberty, marriage, and the trance dance. And according to Megan Biesele, animals are ‘metaphors with strength to bridge worlds’.