The Eland
Hope and resilience
The Eland, the largest of the antelopes, holds immense spiritual and cultural significance for Southern Africa’s First Nations peoples. Frequently depicted in rock paintings, it symbolizes our ancient heritage, representing ancestral journeys and our role as custodians of the land. The Eland embodies hope and resilience, playing a central role in many Khoi and San rituals, further highlighting its revered cultural status.
We believe that this big, strong antelope is a symbol of God’s power. Besides the healers, there were predecessors or shamans (!gi:ten). While others performed the dance of healing, the San/Bushmen shamans went into a trance during which the power (n/um) of Huwe was received. The disease was then thrown into the darkness where //Gaua had to take it back. Illness is evil (//gau) and does not come from the Most High.
“When shamans awakened from the trance, they often drew the eland as a symbol of the healing power they had been granted. It’s especially this antelope that portrays the experience of healing power. It appears more than any other animal in our rock art, from the Drakensberg to the West Coast. Everywhere.
“Our energy, dedication and tenacity today come from the Supreme Being’s power and the eland symbolises that.”
Dr Willa Boezak
Text from Struggle of an Ancient Faith: the Khoi-San of South Africa
Cape Town: Bidvest Data, 2017
