Session 6 – Motsumi – Redefining rock art heritage interpretation

Описание: The COSMO-ART Conference on Rock Art
Rock Art Site Management in Southern Africa: Towards a Cosmopolitan Approach
30 Nov. – 5 Dec. 2025, Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, South Africa

Session 6 – 5 December 2025
Powell Motsumi (Botswana National Museum) – Redefining rock art heritage interpretation: community voices and participatory practice at Tsodilo

This paper explores the redefinition of heritage interpretive practices at the Tsodilo World Heritage Site in Botswana, under the Department of National Museum and Monuments, which is a sacred landscape shaped by the spiritual, cultural, and historical relationships of the San and Hambukushu communities. Drawing on the author’s experience as site manager from 2017 to 2023, the paper presents a series of community-based interventions that repositioned local actors as co-creators of heritage meaning and site governance while also reflecting on the institutional and epistemological barriers that shaped the process.
Tsodilo’s inscription under UNESCO World Heritage criteria brought global recognition to its rich archaeological and artistic record. It also introduced conservation frameworks that often marginalised local narratives and spiritual relationships with the land. These frameworks prioritised technical preservation and scientific interpretation while undervaluing local custodianship and oral knowledge systems. In response, three initiatives were implemented to strengthen community leadership and restore interpretive agency: the revitalisation of the Tsodilo Community Trust, the launch of an annual Heritage Walk rooted in storytelling and performance, and the reopening of a community-managed campsite to promote local economic benefit and stewardship.
Framed through African heritage theory, particularly the work of Ndoro, Abungu, and Munjeri, the paper critiques the authorised heritage discourse and argues for participatory models that recognise the interconnection of tangible, intangible, and natural heritage in African cultural landscapes. It demonstrates that when heritage is approached as a lived relationship rather than a static object, co-created interpretation and community engagement lead to more sustainable and locally relevant outcomes.
The paper also reflects critically on the challenges encountered, including organisational delays, disagreements between local groups, and professional resistance to shifting interpretive authority. Despite these tensions, the experience at Tsodilo illustrates a rational and culturally grounded alternative to top-down heritage management. By contributing to ongoing conversations on decolonisation, shared custodianship, and plural interpretation, the paper supports the COSMO-ART vision of a cosmopolitan approach to rock art heritage. It concludes that living heritage must be interpreted and sustained by those who inhabit, use, and remember it. Rock art heritage will further be given a longer conservation sustainability when it is perceived by residents as a source that adds value to their dignity and addresses bread-and-butter issues.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this talk are those of the speakers and are based on their scientific research. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the conference organisers.