The
ǀXam and
ǂKhomani heartland tentative
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
consists of regions located to the South and North of
Upington
Upington ( Nama: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of ...
, respectively, in the
Northern Cape Province
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The ǀXam and ǂKhomani (more correctly
Nǁnǂe) people were linguistically related groups of
San (
Bushman) people, their respective languages (
ǀXam and
ǂKhomani) being part of the
ǃKwi language group. Descendants of both the ǀXam and Nǁnǂe include Afrikaans-speaking ‘
Coloured’ people on farms or in towns in the region amongst whom the precolonial languages are either entirely extinct (in the case of ǀXam) or can be spoken by but a very few people (in the case of Nǁnǂe).
Site description
The two areas consist of semi-arid to arid tracts of the Upper
Karoo (to the south) and the Southern
Kalahari
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coasta ...
(to the north). Both areas are rich in archaeological traces inter alia of the
Later Stone Age, while rocky hills and outcrops in the southern area (which has been referred to as ǀXam-ka ǃxau, meaning home of the ǀXam) have a wealth of
rock art sites, preponderantly in the form of
rock engravings. In the ǂKhomani area to the north (where the sandy desert topography precludes rock art) a
cultural mapping project contributes to a revival of interest in cultural traditions in the younger generation.
[The ǃXam Khomani Heartland - UNESCO World Heritage Centre]
/ref>
History
With the official proclamation of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in 1931, the majority of the Khomani, as well as the Mier people who lived in that area, were forced to move to other areas.
World Heritage Status
The ǀXam and ǂKhomani heartland site was added to the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
Tentative List on May 15, 2004 in the Cultural category.[ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape inscribed as World Heritage https://www.environment.gov.za/mediastatement/khomaniculturallandscape_aworldheritagesite]
External links
*http://www.khomanisan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/khomani-san-press-compilation.pdf
*http://www.khomanisan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sahrcreport-final.pdf
Notes
References
The ǃXam Khomani Heartland - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Accessed 2009-03-04.
* Deacon, H.J. & Deacon, J (1999), ''Human beginnings in South Africa: uncovering the secrets of the Stone Age'', Rowman Altamira.
{{DEFAULTSORT:xam And khomani Heartland
World Heritage Sites in South Africa
Karoo
Geography of the Northern Cape
Ethnic groups in South Africa
Indigenous peoples of Southern Africa