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Digital Technology and a Community Framework for Heritage Rock Art Tourism, Makgabeng Plateau, South Africa

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Abstract

Using digital technologies in the process of collecting and documenting oral heritage allows previously marginalised voices to feed into heritage and historical narratives for rock art heritage tourism. Literary heritage narratives have tended to dominate the dissemination of information on African heritage, whereas African cosmologies and oral traditions are the intangible values of place that attract visitors to heritage sites. In the Makgabeng, oral heritage narrated through stories, songs, dances and poetry and collected using digital technologies will help preserve African values threatened by the onslaught of Western ones, especially through written European languages and social media. The Makgabeng Community Rock Art Project re-values the role of elders in sustainability of heritage tourism initiatives and the integration of a community structure as a sustainable “ready-made” framework to heritage management in Africa.

Résumé

L’utilisation des nouvelles technologies dans le champ du patrimoine immatériel et plus précisément oral permet de prendre en compte des individus / groupes d’acteurs précédemment marginalisés et d’inclure leurs perceptions de ce qui fait patrimoine, notamment dans des projets de mise en tourisme d’art rupestre. Cette démarche est d’autant plus nécessaire que les productions littéraires, autrement dit les discours produits par ceux qui maitrisent le format et les codes de l’expression littéraire, occupent encore aujourd’hui une place prédominante dans la patrimonialisation des sites africains. Cette prédominance des données écrites ne permet pas de prendre en compte les cosmologies africaines et le rôle joué par les traditions orales dans ce qui fait la valeur patrimoniale d’un site d’art rupestre. La prise en compte des dimensions intangibles et orales est une nécessité sociale à laquelle les nouvelles technologies peuvent aider. Dans la région du Makgabeng, les sites d’art rupestre font l’objet de plusieurs histoires, chants, danses et poèmes ; le recours aux nouvelles technologies permettrait de préserver les valeurs attribuées aux sites d’art rupestre lesquelles sont menacées par une manière occidentale de considérer les sites d’art rupestre, essentiellement esthétique et matérialiste. Dans cette perspective, le projet « Makgabeng Community Rock Art » vise à intégrer les communautés locales dans des projets de mise en tourisme des sites d’art rupestre et à élaborer de nouveaux cadres d’actions pour la gestion patrimoniale en Afrique.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to the Makgabeng community, the Tribal Authorities and the Blouberg Municipality; to Makgoba Kwena Sammy, Mosebedi Filix, Mochebane Mohau Josias, Denise Mokgobu, Rachomana Matome Rodden, Mpho Mojodo, Thathane Moleboge Victoria, Makaxi Sefelepelo Joel, Ngwakoana Gladys Maila and Dianah Dikeledi Manamela; to my colleagues from RARI (Benjamin Smith and Siyakha Mnguni) and DNCHM (Johnny van Schalkwyk and Gertrude Motsane), Jonas Tlouamma, Ena Mafora and Stanley Ngwetjana for the tremendous energy, insight, guidance, trust and support towards this initiative. Thanks to the National Research Foundation for the generous grant. We are all indebted to the late Edward Eastwood for his work among the Makgabeng community that laid some of the foundations that benefitted this project and made our journey an enjoyable and productive one.

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  1. Rock Art Research Institute, School of Geography Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, P/Bag 3, P.O. Wits, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Catherine Namono

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  1. Catherine Namono
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Correspondence to Catherine Namono.

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Namono, C. Digital Technology and a Community Framework for Heritage Rock Art Tourism, Makgabeng Plateau, South Africa. Afr Archaeol Rev 35, 269–284 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-018-9298-y

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