Dinorben Farm, Eastern Cape

Dinorben is a farm and is located in Joe Gqabi District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The estimate terrain elevation above seal level is 1942 metres. This 40m-long site is easy to access from the road that runs between Barkly East and Elliot. It is just above the notorious Barkly Pass, which is often covered in ice or snow in winter and susceptible to rain and mist in summer. Dinorben makes for a wonderful visit for a few hours if one is driving through this remote part of South Africa. It is one of the most easily accessible rock art sites in the Eastern Cape. Usually one would have to hike across steep and rough terrain for some hours before getting to see a site of this size and quality. Paintings that are mostly very clear are distributed through a good part of this shelter. In particular, the shelter wall is covered with innumerable tiny white flecks. At other sites such flecks are often painted around ‘fight scenes’. They are thought to be a depiction of the supernatural potency that San people believe can be used in fighting. The association of the imagery with supernatural potency is further strengthened by an image of an upside-down eland, which is thought to represent the animal dying. Eland are considered to be the most supernaturally potent animals, releasing this energy in death. Close to the dying eland are figures in arms-back postures. This posture is adopted by dancers at the ‘great dance’ when they ask their god to put supernatural potency into them. Another particularly interesting image at Dinorben, is a red meandering line, outlined in white, which connects many of the images. Such thin lines are found throughout the Drakensberg. Often, they weave in and out of the rock and connect various images. Until recently, such lines were only partially understood. However, new ethnographic work came out of the Kalahari in the 1990s, where San people still perform the ‘great dance’ but do not paint. The work portrayed these thin red lines as depictions of the threads of light that connect the spirit world to this one in San beliefs. It is essential to book in advance to visit the site!