Matsieng Footprints
The Matsieng Footprints are a slab of sandstone north of Gaborone pierced by deep natural holes and carved with over a hundred engravings of human and animal feet, dating between roughly 3,000 and 10,000 years old. In Tswana tradition this is a creation site, where the ancestor Matsieng emerged from the waterhole followed by his people and animals, leaving prints in soft earth that hardened into stone. It remains an active ritual site and a national monument.
The Site Itself
What is physically here is simpler than the story attached to it, and worth describing plainly.
A flat expanse of sandstone lies in a dry riverbed, pierced by two or three deep natural holes. Accounts of their depth vary, with one describing a shaft nine to twelve feet deep.
The holes are thought to have formed as volcanic vents. They collect rainwater and hold it, which in this country is what makes a place matter.
Around them, carved into the rock, are the engravings. Counts vary between sources, with one giving 117 and another around 170, and the general description is over a hundred.
The carvings depict human feet, both gigantic and ordinary in scale, alongside animal feet that are frequently feline. One print points toward the hole.
Many have been worn down by exposure and by generations of livestock being watered here, a practice only recently discontinued.
That wear is the site’s main conservation problem. Sandstone is soft, the engravings are shallow, and centuries of hooves and boots on an unfenced open slab have taken a steady toll. Stopping the watering of livestock helps, though weathering continues regardless, and the carvings visible today are noticeably fainter than early records describe. It is one reason visitors are asked to keep off the rock surface itself rather than walking across it for a closer look.
People have come to this rock for water for more than a thousand years, filling vessels and watering livestock. The wear on the engravings is itself a record of that use.
The Creation Story
Matsieng is one of the best-known creation sites in southern Africa, and the story has several versions.
The common thread is this. A powerful hunter named Matsieng emerged from the waterhole. He was followed first by animals and then by his people, and as they walked out to settle the surrounding lands they sank their feet into the soft, unformed early earth, which hardened over time into the rock you see.
Most versions describe Matsieng as a one-legged giant, though others give him two legs. He is regarded as the first ancestor of the Batswana.
Other versions complicate the picture. In some, Lowe was the creator god and Matsieng his servant, ordered to open the hole and make the first creatures, later imprisoned in it by Lowe who became the first Tswana chief. In another, Matsieng was god and Thobega the one-legged servant.
One account holds that the print pointing toward the hole is Matsieng’s own, made as he retired back into it, disappointed with what he had created.
Matsieng is considered one of four creation sites recognised by Batswana.
Creation sites of this kind occur across southern Africa, and several share the same core elements: a hole in rock, footprints in stone, and a first ancestor who came up out of the ground rather than down from the sky. Whether the engravings inspired the story or the story grew around older carvings is unresolved and probably unresolvable, which is part of what makes the site interesting rather than a problem with it.
What Archaeologists Say
The academic reading differs from the traditional one, and both are worth having.
Archaeologists interpret the engravings as rock art, or petroglyphs, created by ancestors of the modern San during the Late Stone Age. That places them within the wider southern African rock engraving tradition rather than treating them as records of a creation event.
Dating is given as between 3,000 and 10,000 years before present, which is a wide bracket and reflects the genuine difficulty of dating engravings precisely.
The site has been the subject of published archaeological research, including work examining it as a creation site and comparing it with engravings and cupules elsewhere in Botswana.
Local communities favour the Matsieng account, and the two readings coexist rather than competing. The engravings are simultaneously an archaeological record and a living cultural narrative.
Interestingly, research into human origins has pointed to northern Botswana as a candidate homeland for modern humans, which gives the local claim about creation an unexpected resonance.
A Living Ritual Site
This is the part that most distinguishes Matsieng from a heritage attraction, and it changes how a visitor should behave.
Matsieng remains an important ritual site. People continue to collect water from the holes for ritual purposes, particularly for rain-making ceremonies.
In a country where the currency is named after rain and drought is a recurring national event, rain-making is not a curiosity. It is a serious practice tied to survival.
That means visitors are guests at a place of active religious use rather than tourists at a ruin.
Practical courtesies follow. Do not walk on or touch the engravings, which are already badly worn. Do not remove anything or disturb the water. Keep noise down. Ask before photographing anyone using the site.
Taking a local guide is worth doing both for what they will tell you and as a matter of respect.
What you see. A flat sandstone expanse in a dry riverbed with two or three deep natural holes and over a hundred engraved footprints, human and animal, many worn by weather and livestock use.
What it means locally. A creation site where the ancestor Matsieng emerged from the waterhole followed by his people and animals, still used for ritual purposes including rain-making ceremonies.
What archaeology says. Late Stone Age petroglyphs made by ancestors of the modern San, dated between roughly 3,000 and 10,000 years ago, within the wider southern African engraving tradition.
Visiting Matsieng Footprints
This is among the most accessible historic sites in Botswana, which makes it an easy addition to time in the capital.
The site sits roughly 30 minutes north of Gaborone on the A1, around ten kilometres past the village of Rasesa. A signposted dirt track of about a kilometre leads from the main road to the site.
Taxis from Gaborone take around 30 to 45 minutes.
The setting is natural and undeveloped, with no facilities, so bring water and wear sturdy footwear for uneven ground.
Early morning or late afternoon suit both the temperature and the light, since the site is fully exposed. The cooler months from May to August are more comfortable.
A local guide adds considerably, since without one the engravings are easy to walk past and the story is not written anywhere on site.
Combining Matsieng With Other Sites
Matsieng works best as part of a short cultural circuit around the capital rather than a destination in itself.
Mochudi lies nearby and holds the Phuthadikobo Museum, which covers the history and culture of the Bakgatla and is the natural companion visit.
Kgale Hill on the southwestern edge of Gaborone gives a walk and a view over the city, and Mokolodi Nature Reserve south of the capital holds white rhino as part of a national breeding programme.
Further out, Manyana holds rock paintings, and the eastern corridor toward Palapye and Serowe carries Old Palapye and the Khama III Memorial Museum.
For travellers whose Botswana trip is otherwise entirely northern safari, a day around Gaborone taking in Matsieng and a museum gives a completely different sense of the country.
Go with a guide who can tell the Matsieng story properly. The site is a sandstone slab with worn carvings and nothing explaining them, and without the account attached it is genuinely underwhelming. With it, it becomes one of the more interesting places in southern Botswana.
Frequently Asked Questions About Matsieng Footprints
What are the Matsieng Footprints?
A flat sandstone slab in a dry riverbed north of Gaborone, pierced by two or three deep natural holes and carved with over a hundred engravings of human and animal footprints. Sources give counts of 117 or around 170. The engravings date between roughly 3,000 and 10,000 years old. The holes are thought to have formed as volcanic vents and collect rainwater, which is why people have used the site for millennia.
What is the legend of Matsieng?
Tswana tradition holds that a powerful hunter named Matsieng emerged from the waterhole, followed first by animals and then by his people, and that as they walked out to settle the surrounding lands they sank their feet into the soft, unformed early earth, which hardened into rock. Most versions describe him as a one-legged giant and the first ancestor of the Batswana. Other versions cast him as servant to the creator god Lowe.
How old are the Matsieng engravings?
Between roughly 3,000 and 10,000 years, which is a wide bracket reflecting the genuine difficulty of dating rock engravings precisely. Archaeologists interpret them as Late Stone Age petroglyphs created by ancestors of the modern San, placing them within the wider southern African engraving tradition. Local communities favour the Matsieng creation account, and the two readings coexist rather than competing with one another.
How do you get to Matsieng Footprints?
The site lies roughly 30 minutes north of Gaborone on the A1, about ten kilometres beyond the village of Rasesa, with a signposted dirt track of around a kilometre leading from the main road. Taxis from Gaborone take approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The setting is natural and undeveloped with no facilities, so bring water and wear sturdy footwear for the uneven ground.
Is Matsieng still used for ceremonies?
Yes. It remains an important ritual site, with people continuing to collect water from the holes for ritual purposes including rain-making ceremonies. That matters in a country where the currency is named after rain and drought is a recurring national event. Visitors should treat it as a place of active religious use: do not walk on or touch the worn engravings, do not disturb the water, and ask before photographing anyone using the site.
Is Matsieng worth visiting?
With a guide, yes. Without one it is a sandstone slab with worn carvings and no interpretation on site, and many visitors find it underwhelming as a result. With the story attached and someone to point out the engravings, it becomes one of the more interesting places in southern Botswana. It pairs naturally with the Phuthadikobo Museum in nearby Mochudi as a half-day cultural outing from Gaborone.
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