Prehistory

Swaziland has the world''s oldest mine carbon dated to 42 000 years ago. The miners were after two minerals: haematite or ochre, a form of red rust and specularite, glittering iron crystals. The people mining were in the middle stone age, we will never know exactly what they did with the minerals, but we can make an informed guess - because in Swazi culture ochre is still used.

Traditional healers use ochre to reduce the barriers between this world and the ancestral world. In shamanic rituals ochre symbolises blood and can be used instead of a sacrificial chicken. Ochre is used in traditional marriages and the most critical part of the ceremony is when the bride has her face covered in ochre. The Bushmen used ochre in their paintings, these mysterious paintings from a long lost culture can be visited in Swaziland.