Tchitundu Hulu - Virei, Angola

After the 600 kilometers to Namibe from Huambo, we drove another 1.5 hours through the desert to the village of Virei. After gaining permission from the village and a police escort, we were on our way another 30 minutes through extremely rough desert terrain toward the painted rocks of Tchitundu Hulu. After only dreaming about seeing these rocks in person a year before, I was just minutes from laying my eyes on them. The last stretch we were literally driving on the bottom of a dry river bed, navigating between rocks and trees. At first we were distracted by an enormous mountainous rock that rose up before us. It had two large rock overhangs which made it look like a face with squinty eyes.

Although this mountain looked familiar from my research, I was worried for a moment because if the paintings were in those overhangs, I would have come all this way for nothing since I am not a rock climber and so did not bring rock climbing gear. But in all my research I had not read about anyone (of the two articles I found) having to climb to see the paintings.

We continued on the course which began to lead us away from the larger rocks. Thankfully and amazingly, the GPS took us within 10 yards of the opening of the rock overhang - which was at ground level!

I jumped out of the Land Cruiser immediately recognizing the shape of the rock’s opening and tried to contain my jubilance. While there was a cement wall coming out of either side of the rocks, possibly having held a gate at one point, there was nothing protecting the ancient paintings from the elements or humans. The art, up to 20,000 years old, was just sitting there - open and vulnerable.

As I walked up the dry river bed and onto the rock I noticed some Mucubal Tribal people making their way curiously over to our truck. It felt as though I had transported through time to the very moments after the paintings had been created.

The colors were vibrant, opaque brown, red and white pigment on top of a transparent white wash background. Although I had seen several pictures of the art, it wasn't until I saw it in person that I realized the entire surface of the rock had the whitewashed under-painting.  I could still see the drips from the wash covering the original color of the rock. 

There were creatures, like a sea turtle and a sand dollar, that made me think the river bed could have been salty. The browns and reds were the same colors as the dirt and sand on the ground around us.

I looked out from the rock at the Mucubal people and imagined people like them expertly mixing the crushed pigments with animal fat. Then I imagined the artist applying the paint with deliberate and controlled mark making to the smooth rock walls.

I thought about the physical distance I had come and all the red tape and obstacles I had been through to see this art. The fact that I may be one of only hundreds of people throughout the history of the world to lay eyes on this, to stand right where the artist had stood, was incredibly overwhelming.

I could have stared at the lines on that rock for hours. But the sun was high in the sky and beating down. So we packed up the Land Cruiser and began the 2 hour journey back through the desert.

Artisan Market - Lubango, Angola

 

Driving into the center of town we passed many vendors on the street selling vegetables, fruit, baskets and various other goods.

We passed an interesting catholic church with a modern twist on gothic architecture. It had beautiful teal doors and interesting window patterns that reflected the patterns in the mosaics on the walkway in the front.

Across from this church was a walled courtyard with a small group of vendors. Teague and Robert led me through the grassy yard into a small room where two men were woodworking. Along two walls were shelves filled with stone and wood carvings of iconic Angolan imagery. The most common were busts of women from the Mwila Tribe carved from purplish pink rocks of the nearby Chibia Quarry and the Pensador, (The Thinker) which is one of the most famous symbols of Angolan culture.

While Lubango is in the southwest of Angola - home to the Mwila Tribe - the Pensador originated with the Chokwe Tribe in the Northeast part of Angola. This tribe has the most famous artwork in Angola and it has been influential across the country. You can find the Pensador on everything from Angola’s currency to the bathroom doors. 

However the most fascinating was watching the craftsman carve a Pensador from start to nearly finish. I got to stand close enough to have wood shards fly into my face and hair. He masterfully hammered on different chisels until the form began to appear out of what was once a rectangular block of wood.

The ground was dirt covered with a layer of sawdust, wood scraps and rock pebbles. A chicken sat beneath the artist’s feet and the air was thick and hot. But I could have stayed there and watched him carve all day.