A Cultural Appraisal of Sacred Sites of the Eastern Free State Adjunct to African Traditional Religion and Belief Systems

Sacred sites are the preferred space for ritual performances and identity construction from which the issue of sensitive structures, distinctive features, individual interpretations and symbol, and meaning emanates. The importance of Motouleng, Mautse, and Mantsopa caves (Eastern Free State, SA) for different religious persuasions, indigenous knowledge, and ancestral veneration of Africans and traditional healers will be investigated amongst the following: namely, how sacred sites are exemplifications of African indigenous religion; why they form locations of cultural and spiritual expression, and why they may be regarded as pertinent nodes of identity construction in a vibrant changing South African society. This paper explores the way in which interpersonal experiences of the cave dwellers shape their sense of self and the conflict they encounter in the context of interaction, where identities are constructed and deconstructed in various ways. This paper provides a detailed personal experience and examination of the participant’s life world on various issues pertaining to contestation and identity construction at the sacred space of the Eastern Free State. The existence of these sites poses a number of challenges to cave dwellers, land owners, and heritage practitioners and to continued preservation, management, and its restoration. Crucial to this debate is how these sites could be protected both physically and legally.