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This paper examines the rock art of the nyau secret society of eastern Zambia and central Malaŵi. The art dates principally from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It has been known to researchers since the 1970s but has given up few of its secrets. I examine the questions of why the art was made and why the tradition ceased. Key to answering these is the realization that the art belonged to a specific historical and geographic context: the era and area where nyau was forced to become an underground movement because of its suppression by Ngoni invaders, missions, and the later colonial government. The art provides us with detailed insights into the way nyau has served in the process of overcoming and manipulating the traumatic social changes faced by Cheŵa society in the last few centuries.

Cet article examine l'art rupestre de la société secrète de nyau au est du Zambia et Malaŵi centrale. L'art …