Sheep magazine Archive 2: issues 10-17

14
Notable features of the Hill Complex included a huge boulder in a shape
similar to that of the Zimbabwe Bird, from where the king presided over
every important ritual, such as the judgment of criminals, the appeasing
of ancestors and sacrifices to rainmaker gods. The sacrifices happened
over a raised platform below the king’s seat, where oxen were burned.
If the smoke went straight up, the ancestors were appeased. If it was
crooked, they were unhappy and another sacrifice must be made.
South of the Hill Complex lies the Great Enclosure, occupied from the
13th to the 15th centuries: a spectacular circular monument made of cut
granite blocks. Its outer wall, five metres thick, extends some 250 metres
and has a maximum height of 11 metres, making it the largest ancient
structure in Africa south of the Sahara.
The most fascinating thing about the Great Enclosure walls is the absence
of sharp angles; from the air they are said to resemble a “giant grey
bracelet”. A narrow passage just inside the walls leads to a conical
tower, the use of which has been the subject of much speculation – from
symbolic grain bin to phallic symbol.
SHEEP IN THE ROAD : NUMBER 15