Sheltered Vale

An interesting question that arises from paintings on a ceiling is: “What will the viewpoint of the spectators be?”. When are the paintings upside-down?

An upside-down eland is a metaphor for trance or going into an altered state of consciousness. Modern day San refers to the trance dance and entering altered states of consciousness as “little death” because it is so painful.

This is nowhere better illustrated than in a small rock shelter on the farm, Sheltered Vale, where there are two eland, one upside-down in relation to the other.