The White Lady painting in Namibia and its counterpart in Algeria (4000 ± 500 BC) (A comparative study in African rock art)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Institute of African Research and Studies and Nile Basin Countries - Aswan University-Egypt

Abstract

The White Lady is a rock art painting done in a rock shelter, known as the Maack Shelter located in Brandberg Mountain in the northwestern Namibia desert.The painting depicts a procession that includes many human figures and antelopes, in the middle of which is a white-skinned woman who is the most detailed and distinguished from the others. The painting is one of the most famous rock art paintings in Southern Africa. As a whole and attract hundreds of tourists,the painting "The White Lady" was discovered in January 1918 by German geologist Maack, R. He found it hard to believe that African cultures were able to produce such elaborate paintings, and even claimed a similarity between Brandberg's paintings and ancient Mediterranean art. he interpreted the long white woman's hair and the white paint on the lower part of the body and the legs as distinguishing characteristics of the depiction of European women in European rock art. In 1956, H. L`hott discovered the painting of The White Lady in Tassili Algeria which was named after the White Lady in Namibia. Despite the coincidence that brought together the two paintings, there are many common features between the two paintings, and the religious interpretation and symbol of the two women are the most appropriate.

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References

References
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