Khoisan creation beliefs feature underground emergence through sacred trees

April 18, 2026Theory

Source: 70kya "Oldest Ritual Site" Beliefs Spread with Out of Africa? by Timeless with Fred Snyder

San bushmen describe their ancestors living underground until they climbed up through the roots of a great tree, emerging into sunlight with the animals. The trickster Kaggen made this escape possible. Remarkably, the Hopi have an almost identical myth of emerging from a previous world through a great tree, with their portal said to be in the Grand Canyon. Researchers suggest this same story may have been preserved for tens of thousands of years as humans migrated from Africa to North America. 🌳🕳️

Key facts

The San bushmen say people lived underground until they climbed up through the roots of a great tree
A hole opened in the earth and the first people emerged followed by animals into new sunlight
The trickster deity Kaggen made this escape possible by creating the hole or lifting up the tree
The Hopi have an almost identical myth of climbing up from a previous world through a great tree
The Hopi portal is said to be in what is now called the Grand Canyon
The theory suggests this same story may have been preserved tens of thousands of years as humans migrated from Africa to North America
70,000-year-old continuity is hypothesized with the python site at Sadillo Hills