Exploring the Unique History of Tanzania Cave Paintings : Tanzanian is a country of history and natural wonders. This is because Tanzania serves as a home to numerous historical treasures stored in areas which as both protected and preserved to ensure that even the future generations get chances to explore and enjoy these valuable treasures. Examples of these historical treasures includes Historical Sites, Cave and Rock Paintings, Museums, Port Cities like Unguja and Pemba which are reach in colonial history, and all the ones left in certain storage devices or any digital preservation. Cave paintings is among the vital historical treasures found in Tanzania. In Tanzania, there are some cave paintings from about a hundred and fifty million years that show the heritage of Tanzania. The indigenous East African Tribal Communities used these caves as places of spiritual services (worship, praying), residence, and conducting ritual practices. The caves are the main tourist attractions. For historians, you should visit painted caves such as;
Gong Cave Painting
Gong cave is in the southern part of Serengeti National park of Tanzania. It is a collection of granite rock hills with unique Maasai paintings under the rock. The Maasai of Serengeti made a cave in Gong rock which they used as a residence. The cave has three sections. The inner section was for mothers and children residents. The middle section was the elders’ residence, and the outer was for young Maasai warriors.
The paintings in Gong cave are artistic works of the Maasai young worriers. The famous Maasai of East Africa migrated from the Nile river to Tanzania in search of water and pasture for domestic cattle. They arrived in northeastern Tanzania and settled in the Serengeti area, now a famous park worldwide. They stayed in Gong Caves, where they made paintings from a collection of different materials from the plains of Moru Kopje.
The paintings are of red and white color. The red color paintings were from the tree backs, and the white was from the ashes collected from burnt trees. Today, the caves act as a good place for a game view. The animals viewed from the top of Gong cave during the day include rock climbing lions, Elephants down the plain, Black Rhino, Waterbuck, Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rock Hyrax, Impala, Buffalo, Topi, Baboon, and zebras, along with the wildebeest.
Kondoa Rock-Art Paintings
Kondoa is one of the seven districts of the Dodoma region of Tanzania, and it borders the Manyara region to the north and the Chemba districts to the south. The ancient rock paintings are in Kolo, Kondoa irangi mountain ranges. The drawings were from hunters of the Sandawe and Hadzabe tribes about 40,000 years ago. You will climb the mountains until you reach the top where the ancient paintings are. Many people come to that area to see the Cave paintings of Tanzania and Africa. There are drawings of people, hunting scenes, and animals such as elephants, antelopes, hyenas, and giraffes, Exploring the Unique History of Tanzania Cave Paintings
They are a sign of the changing tradition of the hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and agricultural communities that have lived in the region over the years. Mongani in Kolo is a central point for the regular ritual practices among the current inhabitants – the Warangi and Wasi communities. The red animal and human figure paintings are about 100 – 10000 years old.
Ambone Cave
The Amboni caves are limestone in origin. These caves are found in East Africa in the Tanga region in Tanzania. The Amboni caves are located 9 Kilometers from Tanga City. It takes about a 10-minute drive to reach the Amboni Area. The Amboni caves cover an area of about 234 square kilometers. There are a total of ten caves present in Amboni, but only one is used as a tourist destination and for spiritual reasons. The cave attracts tourists and students for their history and geography lessons. There are about 13 stations inside Amboni cave. The cave has many wonders that one can learn through visiting this attraction. The attractions include,
Rocky Drawing: The cave has drawing shapes of resting chairs, a ship, a crocodile, Mount Kilimanjaro, an elephant, a map of Africa, and the head of a male lion.
Bats: Many bats live in the Amoboni cave. They have made a leopard-like feature, but also they have made a footstep feature. Every evening at sunset, the Bats fly out of the cave through the entrance.
