the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

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Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 53 people in Namibia, although its method of construction is at least partially remembered in certain places and recently Richtersveld Community Conservancy elder hut builders travelled to //Gamaseb Communal Conservancy in Namibia with funding from the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC) through Conservation International to help revive the hut building process on the other side of the border. The |haru oms is a portable structure, perhaps typical in its basic essentials of many of the structures erected by nomadic people around the globe, being a sparse wooden frame over which a covering is thrown. In the sense that it is relatively easily moved and its frame and covering are separate entities it is in essence a tent just as is for example the yurt of Central Asia, the Tepee of the plains Indians, or the hut of the Afar nomads of the Horn of Africa. As with all such structures what is unique about it is determined by local conditions, that is the climate and materials that exist in the environment. However, the |haru oms differs from other such abodes in its extremely intricate production process and use of fine rushes found in the region. Diagram of typical |haru oms (from Hall A, Kaspar A and Whelan D. 2001. ‘'The Traditional Architecture of the Nama of the Richtersveld'. Copyright: McGregor Museum, Kimberley)
Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 54 The |haru oms is a dome shaped structure, sometimes with the highest point over the main door rather than in the centre. The frame is constructed of light, bent staves the ends of which are placed in shallow holes. Two sets of staves are used one running at a 90 o angle to the other (See diagram above). The staves are bound to one another to provide structural rigidity and are then covered with mats. Huts come in a variety of sizes up to around 4m in diameter with the size traditionally determined by the number of mats required for a single cover over the frame rather than by any estimate of physical dimension. In the Richtersveld and other areas where huts are still manufactured, the traditional mat covering is made from one of three species of rush that grow locally, with coarser, more durable rushes often being used only on the lower part of the structure where wear-and-tear is greatest. (Historically there is evidence that in areas further to the south at certain seasons of the year hides were also used to cover huts providing better shelter in areas where there was high rainfall and strong winds.) Traditionally the door is a fairly low opening that is covered by a mat that can be rolled up and secured above it. In the warmer seasons a second door is often created on the opposite side of the structure. The preparation of the rushes and mats of a |haru oms
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the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

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