Day was breaking over the ancient Motouleng cave, located in the Free State. Granting its golden shine on the time-worn stone. Motouleng also known as "Mahaheng" is a spiritual place, used by church goers and sangoma's.
We walked quietly, along its narrow path just to be inside the mesmerizing dwellings. Birds flew over us as the beating of the drums began to sound. Below – the narrow path leading down to the river – figures began to move: bathing, stretching, lost in prayer. No need to be Christian. Nor Catholic, Apostolic or Hindu. Once you're chosen you're chosen.
The serene scene, with its drums, birds, whistles and offerings. The open cave welcomed a warm sunset glow which got under the skin. There was a sense of a place greater than the sum of its colourful, crumbling parts. The centuries of worship practised at this, most sacred cave, seemed scored into the slabs, resounding down the paths, soaked into the river itself and mountains tops.
But spiritual places can do that. They have the power to seep in somehow, regardless of the faith or feeling you might bring to them. Indeed, “spiritual” means different things to different people. For some, it’s joining the African faith of our forefathers at the cave to pray and bathe. Gaining comfort from the presence of thousands of likeminded souls.
For others it’s the opposite; it’s escaping the crowds somewhere such as negative energy and where pain resides. Mythology is rooted not in manmade churches or shrines but in the caves and the trees, and Mother Nature herself is the miracle.
You might find your own salvation or contentedness at either extreme. Despite the current rise of “wellness” holidays offering mindfulness and meditation, the greatest balm may be found in simply sitting amid the cave and the waterfall which is located ontop of the mountain. Being hypnotised by the voices of your ancestors.
Religious travel is certainly enriching for many. To seek out others who share your beliefs, in a location central to your faith, can be a once-in-a-lifetime high. But even if you have no faith at all, there is something affecting, even soothing, about experiencing the faith of others.
It’s essential to remain respectful when visiting spiritual places – you may need to cover your head, make an offering, leave no trace. But, assuming you obey any rules, watching devotees interact with their sacred tombs, waterfalls or rivera can not only give you a greater insight into other cultures, it may just make you question your own.
No matter where you travel, you’ll discover that humans have long constructed their own ways of interpreting this marvellous world of ours – whether it’s the Ancient Greeks locating their gods atop Mount Olympus, the Maori developing a mythology to fit New Zealand’s fizz-banging terrain or the Easter Islanders moving massive rocks to safeguard their far-flung Pacific outcrop.
