The Rock Art Paintings of Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe
Geotourism, as a typology of the hospitality industry, denotes that authentic art can be found visually in caves. It’s justifiable to say we have our certified galleries and Picassos at numerous tourist destinations. Exclusively, Matobo Hills always reigns supreme and tells its own story regarding rock art painting. We call it an outstanding form of indigenous graffiti, a phenomenon.
Rock art, in this case, acts as the icing on top for both the granite kopjes and Matopos recreational park. Tourists stare in awe at these jaw-dropping works of art because they want to understand our history in line with the exhibited graphics. Let me assure you that Bulawayo has the highest concentration of rock art painting centres when compared to other destinations in southern Africa in general. We are a blessed geo-tourism cynosure naturally endowed. In reference, rock art was practised in the Stone Age period by the Bushman or Khoisan. It is rhetorical to say they were hunters and gatherers, for the paintings say it all in a splash of artistry. Inarguably, we have hardcore evidence of images holding arrows to assuage that thirst and quest for knowledge about humankind’s evolution.
Accordingly, these accomplishments should be preserved and held with high esteem because our predecessors left us a legacy of masterpieces that we are proud to relate and show to others. We can now interpret their way of living, for we know where we came from and that it all started in the caves.
Matobo Hills in Matabeleland province continues to live up to expectations because the art is still vivid despite the unforgiving weather conditions. A vote of thanks to the indigenous knowledge systems practised in areas around the attraction, namely Silunguzi, for they have managed to conserve the paintings for decades. Furthermore, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the attraction a cultural and heritage site; thus, it is guarded jealously. Rock art serves its purpose, for it symbolises our history and unites us as a people when considering the upcoming Africa Day on the 25th of this month.
Suffice it to say that tourists from around the world trickle into Matobo and try to decipher and discern everything brilliantly communicated through the paintings. For treasured readers, Bulawayo, or the City of Kings, is the place to be regarding royalty. Undisputed examples reconnoitre Ndebele kings such as Mzlikazi and Lobengula, descendants of Shaka the Great. Matabeleland Tourism hosts Khami Ruins, Bushman Safaris, and the Natural History Museum. Rock art brings out the best in tourism, and it will never run its course, not in a million years. Visit Matobo National Park, and all the aforementioned will come to pass.
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