Cave networks in Lesotho and its borderlands have been considered spiritual ground for millennia. Pilgrims journey from hundreds of miles around to commune with their ancestors, believing the caves serve as a portal between the living and the dead.
Cave networks in Lesotho and its borderlands have been considered spiritual ground for millennia. Pilgrims journey from hundreds of miles around to commune with their ancestors, believing the caves serve as a portal between the living and the dead.
CNN
In candle-lit processions, devotees will venture towards the most spiritual openings, deep within the caves. On the walls they will find paintings predating this pilgrim route by thousands of years, left by the San people, an ancient hunter-gatherer group believed to be among the closest descendents of the first Homo sapiens.
In candle-lit processions, devotees will venture towards the most spiritual openings, deep within the caves. On the walls they will find paintings predating this pilgrim route by thousands of years, left by the San people, an ancient hunter-gatherer group believed to be among the closest descendents of the first Homo sapiens.
CNN
Pieter Jolly, an authority on rock paintings of the San, says that the purpose of much of the art is to represent what shamans would have seen when in a trance state. The purpose of the trance was to fight evil spirits bringing discord into the community.
Pieter Jolly, an authority on rock paintings of the San, says that the purpose of much of the art is to represent what shamans would have seen when in a trance state. The purpose of the trance was to fight evil spirits bringing discord into the community.
CNN
While in a trance state shamans took on the powers of certain animals, says Jolly. In the paintings many forms of animal can be found, often with distorted proportions, a reflection of what was seen in the spiritual world.
While in a trance state shamans took on the powers of certain animals, says Jolly. In the paintings many forms of animal can be found, often with distorted proportions, a reflection of what was seen in the spiritual world.
CNN
Some families have made the caves their home. Those living in the caves today are descendents of settlers who they claim journeyed to the caves in 1824. Living in houses made of clay soil and stone, the cave dwellers live as most do in the area, keeping animals and growing maize.
Some families have made the caves their home. Those living in the caves today are descendents of settlers who they claim journeyed to the caves in 1824. Living in houses made of clay soil and stone, the cave dwellers live as most do in the area, keeping animals and growing maize.
CNN
The landlocked kingdom of Lesotho was controlled by clans of the Basotho people in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Visiting the caves today, the descendents of these people can practice both Christian and indigenous religions side by side.
The landlocked kingdom of Lesotho was controlled by clans of the Basotho people in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Visiting the caves today, the descendents of these people can practice both Christian and indigenous religions side by side.
CNN
Some cave art in the region is under threat. The elements erode exposed rock faces and cattle grazing near overhangs have been known to cause damage to the delicate artworks.
Some cave art in the region is under threat. The elements erode exposed rock faces and cattle grazing near overhangs have been known to cause damage to the delicate artworks.
CNN
Inside Lesotho's spiritual caves

Story highlights

In Lesotho, a network of caves holds important religious significance

Pilgrims visit them to commune with their ancestors

The caves are home to San rock paintings that date back thousands of years

CNN  — 

Every year, the Basotho people, who live in the southern African country of Lesotho, make a pilgrimage to a network of caves that connect countless generations with their ancestors across thousands of years.

Home of dinosaur footprints and millennia-old rock paintings, these caves harbor some incredible history.

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Explore the caves of Lesotho
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Holding candles aloft, these pilgrims file into the caves to feast, pray and commune with the dead.

“It’s the key to religion in southern Africa,” says David Coplan, emeritus professor of social anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand.

“God is very high, and he may not be able to see you looking down from such a perch. But your ancestors know who you are and they’re interested in you, and they will funnel the blessings in their direction.”

‘Everyone is free to come and pray’

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Lesotho's valley of the ancestors
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Coplan believes these pilgrimages are relatively new, probably gaining popularity around the early 20th century. The professor has visited the caves many times himself, and has even been initiated as a healer.

“There is no religious authority here,” he explains. “Everyone is free to come and pray.”

Ceremonies at the caves are a fusion of Christianity and indigenous religions. Christian ministers can be seen standing side by side with Zulu healers, coming together to serve devotees.

Some will stay for a weekend, others much longer, but all know that they are in a place with a history and significance way beyond themselves.

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The cave network has been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. The evidence is all over the walls in the form of San rock paintings, which capture a hunter-gatherer way of life that has nearly disappeared from Lesotho.

Pieter Jolly, a world expert in the rock paintings of the San, says the artwork has a spiritual dimension.

“Much of (the art) relates to trance experiences, so unrealistic-looking figures, animals, strange creatures,” he explains. “The major focus of San painting was to depict the spirit world. The paintings acted as a window into the spirit world for people who had not ‘tranced’ and had not experienced what shamans had.”

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Ancient rock paintings revealed
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“When they went into a trance, which was achieved largely through dancing and rhythm and clapping of women, they felt as if they had transformed into certain animals of power,” Jolly says.

“When you go into the spirit world – which is where you go in a trance – you go there to fight evil spirits that are bringing discord or illness or death in the community, you are safeguarded by that animal’s power.”

“Another world existed, a spiritual world, behind the rock face.”

But some rock faces are under threat, their paintings eroded by the elements and cattle still kept around some of the overhangs. What will remain however is the power of these caves to bridge the secular and the spiritual; to draw together two worlds, the living and the dead.

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