Rock art, material culture and living heritage: Initiation Rock Art in South-central Africa (central Malawi, eastern Zambia and central western Mozambique).

This communication deals with a painted tradition that has been termed the White Spread-eagled tradition. Recent research has linked these rock paintings to the Chinamwali girls’ initiation ceremonies of the Cheŵa in central Malaŵi, eastern Zambia and central-western Mozambique. Particularly, the results of my doctoral research involve living heritage in combination with material culture to propose the possible past uses and meanings of this rock art in relation to this sacred ceremony. Such paintings ‘speak’ about African women, their concerns and views of the world deeply rooted in fertility and social roles and I shall present the material that Cheŵa women allowed me to. The challenge for archaeology is that Cheŵa women no longer paint for initiation and they have partially forgotten the roles of these paintings for the ceremony. Fortunately, these paint ings are fairly recent and perhaps one of the last painting traditions in sub-Saharan Africa thus the oral traditions and living culture have been crucial to
gain an understanding of such painted archaeological remains captured in the rock shelters of south-central Africa.