Anegundi Rock Paintings -II

By Meera

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Thank you for joining me from Part I 

For thousands of years, the Tungabhadra River Valley has been a repository of human endeavor and we see this manifestation in the Anegundi rock paintings. How the pre-historic colors of Anegundi cave paintings have managed to survive on open rock faces for thousands of years is a mystery. They seem to have used red laterite clay for the painting which is easily available in this part of the world.

The Cave shelters from the Iron Age in Anegundi

The first cave which we visited has a rhombic indent on the front portion. It has a few sketches on the lower part of the mouth of the cave. These include – men and women in various poses, bulls, and other animals. Deer, sheep, and dogs are visible in the rock art along with birds and one can make out peacocks.

 

Bulls, other animals, circular diagram on top (a megalithic burial preparation)

However, in this cave front at the upper level, one can see a circular diagram depicting most likely a megalithic burial. This big circle has another circle inside and is divided by a ladder-like structure. Further, there are six small circles on either side of the circle. In the central part, one can also see the sketch of a human. This particular piece of rock art has found different interpretations and historians say it is to do with burial preparations.

 

Mid portion of the Paintings have a row of men in a formation

However, further down if you tunnel down the cave, there is a sketch of a very long Cobra and for this, one has to lie down on the floor of the cave to observe it. Now, why was such a long snake drawn, and did such long snakes exist during those days? To take a full view, you have to slither across the cave and you may even see some living creatures in these moist and cool caves.

 

Another view of the paintings of animals

Walking across to the second cave front, we found many paintings of hunting with people carrying bows and arrows to hunt different animals. Here, we can see one person with a javelin, another with bow and arrow, and a third human riding a horse. To see some of the pictographs, it was very difficult as they were underneath hanging boulders.

 

A closer view of a couple inside a rectangle on left (maybe, a house)

Apart from animal and bird motifs, we also see a couple – a man and woman enclosed in a rectangle, maybe trying to depict a family inside a shelter. Even as we explored the place, we could see human pictographs on big rocks hanging at a height of 15-20 feet and why should people lie down and draw paintings at such levels, it is a mystery.

 

          Mid portion of the Paintings have a row of men in a formation

Another painting which attracted my attention was that of a tall man maybe, 10-feet long. At his feet was an Ox while the entire painting had been drawn upside down. Now, how and why was this drawn during those days? But one thing that comes out of our visit is – prehistoric humans lived in these caves and in Anegundi, a land that is said to be very ancient.

 

Some pictographs have disappeared due to weathering

And prehistoric rock art is considered to be the earliest expression of humans and we are lucky to see these expressions even today. Added to this, one of my friends, a history professor says Anegundi is as old as our planet while Onake Kindi is a rare human settlement with traces of different ages from microlithic to megalithic to Neolithic – imagine, all at one single place.

 

Well, it is not just Anegundi, prehistoric rock art is found in Hampi too at some 9-10 places and we are going to explore them in our next visit.