the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 82
traditional African pastoralism, are very young in their history in Tanzania and
Kenya in comparison to the Nama.
Several of the cultural sites mentioned above have been also described in regards
to the value of their traditional architecture, such as the summer settlements of the
Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley. The Richtersveld could be compared to numerous
other sites in regards to the cultural significance of the |haru oms. However, in
differing from other simple mud or traditional stone huts or structures, the |haru oms
is an intricate type of building made by no other group except the Nama. The
portable rush-mat covered domed hut is constructed in phases over several months
in a complicated and communally involved process, and is listed by World
Monuments Watch, alongside World Heritage Sites in Bam and Luxor, as one of the
one hundred most endangered monuments.
Traditional cultures often transcend current political boundaries, as demonstrated
by the sites in Hungary, Sweden, France and Spain. The Nama of the Richtersveld
are no exception. Prior to the 1884 Berlin Conference, colonialism and subsequent
Apartheid, the land of the Namas spanned the border between Namibia and South
Africa with the Orange River (!Gariep in the language of the Nama) serving as a
cultural epicentre. Despite a history of measures to sterilize cultural identity and the
historic prevention of Nama people from crossing the border, transfrontier links
remain in tact and are again strengthening. The transfrontier character of the Nama
people provides an accurate representation of the many traditional areas across the
continent disrupted by colonially designed political boundaries.
What else emerges from the comparative analysis is that four of the five sites are
located in Europe. The Namas are African, representing well a continent where
nomadic pastoralism and transhumance are deeply rooted in a multitude of
cultures. And while pastoralism is practiced throughout the continent, nowhere are
the pressures between traditional pastoral livelihood and modern society more
evident than in the Richtersveld of South Africa, a country riding a fine line between
two ways of life: the traditional and the modern. In this regard, the Richtersveld is
outstanding in its testimony to a way of life largely extinct in most places and in its
endurance to exist and thrive. In comparison between the Richtersveld and the