Subject Matter
By F.T. Masao

Humans are almost as common as mammals, but unlike the latter, they are generally depicted in highly stylised forms whereby the head is represented by a simple blob or a small circle. The trunk and limbs are always exaggerated especially in the figures executed in shades of ochre red. As M.D. Leakey has observed, nearly all of them were drawn with very elongated bodies. Usually they are depicted in small groups or pairs rather than individually. In a number of cases, they appear to be associated with some kind of activity. The techniques of execution range from a few single thin lines, perhaps drawn by the tip of a straw or quill, single thick lines drawn by a brush or finger tips, to more complex styles showing the details of the hand, feet, and headdress. The headdresses seemed to be of reeds or grasses, but there are also instances in which animal head masks are used. Humans are seldom wearing any kind of attire, but in the rare occasions encountered, the figures are clad with a loincloth. Examples of this are the human figures at Kisana Nzuni and Mjakhuda 1. In the Kondoa area M.D. Leakey has reported human figures clad in cloaks, or skin karosses, waistcloth, and a back apron, probably made of skin. In later and completely different styles, the so-called dirty white (executed in broken white), the human figures are semi-naturalistic, poorly drawn silhouettes lacking anatomical details. In this style, the outline is fuzzy and the limbs are stumpy. The different styles in which animals and humans are executed perhaps suggest different motivations.

The precise proportional relationship of the animal representations compared to those of humans has not been worked out, but zoomorphic exceed the anthropomorphic figures by far. Animals are depicted in representational naturalistic and semi-naturalistic styles, mostly in shades of red ochre paint, but also ashy or latex white. Less frequent are rock paintings in black and shades of brown. On rare occasions, there are pictographs of domesticated animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, and dogs. Mammals are by far the largest group portrayed and within it, antelopes (eland, kudu, impala, hartebeest, wildebeest, gazelle, and some unidentified ones) are the most common, with the eland significantly standing out as the most common form. However, among the mammals as a whole, the giraffe is the most common single species, a phenomenon which may have some far-reaching mythological and symbolic significance, perhaps related to fertility. Also common are elephants, and to some extent, warthogs, while on average, buffalo and rhino are rare. Among the carnivores, the most common ones are hyena, wild dog, and possibly some felines. Reptiles included snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and in rare cases, tortoises. Fish are on the whole rare, but they have been found painted together with reptiles in the Misughaa cluster of sites.

In addition to animal and human depictions, a number of symmetric and asymmetric designs were found. Suggestions are that they represent ethnographical objects such as fish weir, birds’ cages, traps, or the skeletal woodwork of a hut. In a descending order of frequency, rock faces were also seen to have lines, squares, ladders and circles. However, the most interesting are the signs and symbols such as the circle and rays, the spiral, and what, for want of a better term, we refer to as clan or individual artist's designs. These would be comparable to the pastoralists' cattle ownership signs.