Ritual Space in Pre-Colonial Farming Societies in Southern Africa

Abstract

Ritual behavior in the archaeological past is not self-evident. Understanding pre-historic ritual therefore requires access to the worldview of people at the time. This is at least partially possible for pre-colonial farming societies in Southern Africa through the settlement model known as the Central Cattle Pattern. With this model we can recognize and interpret a wide variety of artifacts, features and spaces. The most important dimensions in the ritual code include a contrast between the ‘wild bush’ and the social order of human settlements; another contrast between front — public and back — sacred localities within a settlement; and a third contrast between heavenly forces above and the ancestral world below. The roles of ancestors provided the need for ritual spaces.