The White Lady

In a time when the majestic lands of Namibia were young, there existed an anomaly that harboured great secrets which cannot be fathomed by the common human mind, except the first rulers of the prodigious Namibian plains: The mighty Bushmen.

The rock paintings at the Brandberg do convey a plethora of knowledge, but they do not do the ancient history of Namibia’s first men any justice in conveying the past. There exists a rock painting titled The White Lady at the Brandberg Mountains whose origin is far more sinister than it appears, as The White Lady rock painting’s origin is anything but human.

One fateful evening, Sanu, the preeminent artist amongst his fellow Bushmen, had been conducting his prayers to Cagn, the supreme deity of the Bushmen when there earth beneath him suddenly began to tremble and the great dunes on which he stood rose high enough to touch the sky. What was more chilling was the fact that those dunes didn’t move of their own accord.

As Sanu readied his bow and arrow to strike down any adversary behind that nebulous sandy cloud, he found himself standing before a magnificent yet terrifying creature. It was over ten metres tall with humanoid form and a calabash-like head surrounded by long, leathery, emerald tentacle-like protrusions emerging from the base of its head. Its body was clad in a wholly unfamiliar silvery white metal Sanu had never seen before. Its head, although proportionately smaller than the rest of its body, had a myriad of unimaginable and exotic colours which moved in an amorphous manner. These colours made the rainbow look dull in comparison while its eyes were large, burning crimson diamonds.

The entity, which was surprisingly friendly and introduced itself as N’garakh, ensconced Sanu in its hands and the two darted off into the star filled sky beyond the oblivious unknown where Sanu glimpsed at the blueprints of the universe. Here he saw wonders which may never grace the human eye. He saw different life forms, of some bearing great resemblance to N’garakh while others bore perverse and ghoulish forms such as the Reptilian Men who slumber in the depths of the Namib Desert. It is also here where Sanu saw one of humanity’s greatest and unknown adversaries: the dreaded Aigamuxa. The Aigamuxa, who were creatures as black as night, were the first non humans to tread the ancient deserts of Namibia until the arrival of the Bushmen. These horrid creatures seemingly appeared humanoid but had backward feet while they stood at eye level with trees. Their faces were monstrous and deformed with large, yellow eyes, teeth forever stained by human blood and a repulsive stench reminiscent of death. As the two species came into conflict eons ago, a battle ensued with the Bushmen emerging victorious, with the aid of N’garakh.

When N’garakh and Sanu returned to earth, Sanu was horrified to discover that nearly a century had passed since his departure while N’garakh was too weak to return to wherever he came from. As a result, N’garakh assumed the form of the Welwithia mirabilis, the oldest living plant on earth in order to regain his strength and end his sojourn on earth. Sanu, however, was considered a madman as his mind had been stretched beyond its limits and was unable to convey the knowledge he possessed. The best way he could do so was painting on the rocks the extraordinary things he saw, but unfortunately theses rock paintings became lost in time, like their master. All that remains of Sanu’s account is The White Lady.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.