the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 77
testimony to and a valuable example of the ability of humans to utilize their natural
resources in a sustainable manner so as not to adversely affect the environment.
The history of the Nama’s existence in the Conservancy area and their traditional
management of the Conservancy land is proof of this.
Additionally, the |haru oms is a form of architecture not reproduced by any other
group of people except the Nama. Recognized as one of 100 endangered sites by
World Monuments Watch, the |haru oms requires an intricate construction process
and indigenous knowledge which has been largely lost in other Nama areas outside
of the Richtersveld. The |haru oms in the Richtersveld Community Conservancy
remain a part of the semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Nama pastoralists. Being
constructed out of reed mats and light crafted poles, materials of which are only
found in the Nama region, the |haru oms was designed to be easily disassembled,
transported and erected again. This mobile design was necessary to support their
transhumance lifestyle of the movement of family, home and livestock according to
the seasons.
Cultural criterion (v)
The culture and transhumance of the Nama represents one of humanity’s oldest
forms of land use. The Nama people are the last of the KhoiKhoi people (offshoots
of the original KhoiSan), once a widespread nomadic pastoral group, to continue
living in nomadic pastoral tradition. As ancestors of the earliest inhabitants of
southern Africa, the Nama of the Richtersveld have maintained a cultural tradition
that is wholly unique in its customs and lifestyle. The Nama traditional
transhumance land use of pastoralism has been lost amongst other Nama people
outside of the Richtersveld Communal Lands and also has been lost by all other
South African peoples. The Nama of the Richtersveld bear the only surviving
testimony to a way of life that formerly spanned amongst their KhoiKhoi ancestors
from the Cape of Good Hope to current day Namibia and amongst other African
peoples throughout the country. Despite the survival of this land use and age-old
relationship with the environment, the Nama have faced and continue to face
enormous pressure. Colonialism and institutionalized racism of Apartheid sought to
eradicate cultural identity and tradition, often denouncing Nama ways as primitive