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African Cultural Heritage Conservation

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Osireditse Keitumetse (Auth.)
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African Cultural
Heritage Conservation
and Management
Theory and Practice from Southern Africa
African Cultural Heritage Conservation
and Management
Susan Osireditse Keitumetse

African Cultural Heritage


Conservation and
Management
Theory and Practice from Southern Africa
Susan Osireditse Keitumetse
Okavango Research Institute
University of Botswana
Maun, Botswana

ISBN 978-3-319-32015-1 ISBN 978-3-319-32017-5 (eBook)


DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32017-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938791

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made.

Cover image: by Susan Osireditse Keitumetse, taken on July 2013 in Mosolotshane/Kalamare area,
central-eastern Botswana. Courtesy of Wenner-Gren Foundation funded project led by the author.

Cover description: Showing archaeological remains of an iron smelter belonging to late iron age
communities. These sites are a common sight across most of southern Africa where several countries’
economies are to this day dependent on natural resources mining. Strategic conservation and management
of these archaeological and historical sites provides opportunities to link archaeological, historical, and
contemporary heritages of the region, and can unearth communal identities that traverse both space and
time.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature


The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
In loving memory of my mother,
BALETI KEITUMETSE, and her mother,
BASADIBOTHE KEITUMETSE
(nee Serupa-Tlale), and her father,
KEITUMETSE KEBATOGETSE—for
everything.
To my daughter, KATSO
MILLICENT KEITUMETSE
And to the development of African cultural
heritage conservation and management
Foreword

The heritage in Africa is in many ways both distinct and unique; many of its core
characteristics do not find an easy match in how heritage is supposed to be. Rather
than this leading to us all learning from Africa, there has far too often been a gap
between the international prescriptive heritage language and the varied resources,
meanings and engagements that African heritage managers deal with as a matter of
routine. In Africa, tangible and intangible heritage are intermingled, times often
warps and new additions and age-old practices co-exist in many locales.
Moreover, many of Africa’s management regimes need to use laws that were
originally formulated by colonial powers and thus by particular notions of both
property rights and authenticity. But in parallel, a strong notion of customary rights
also exits in many regions. This introduces a relationship to the past and heritage
that is formed around different rationales, and it is reflecting a way of engaging with
the past that has almost disappeared from other continents, such as Europe. This
brings excitement and a different kind of relevance to heritage but it also challenges
centralised management systems. Some of the underlying distinction may be encap-
sulated in the difference between the terms guardian and custodian. The former
refers to a person who has the legal right and responsibility of taking care of some-
one who cannot take care of himself or herself, so a guardian is someone who pro-
tects something. A custodial, in contrast, is a person with responsibility for protecting
or taking care of something or keeping something in good condition, a custodian is
someone who tries to protect particular ideas or principles. In continents such as
Europe we are left only with the concept of guardians, whereas in Africa there are
both guardians and custodians. This means – and here we have a core managerial
challenge – that in part of Africa there is parallelism between state and local prac-
tices and governance, and the reasons and notions of rights behind the caretaking
are varied.
Heritage in Africa is clearly enormously rich, varied and alive. This poses several
challenges. Critiques of the World Heritage Convention have often focussed on its
euro-centric foundation, but that critique is not sufficient. We need to positively
understand other forms of heritage – and this means moving beyond a simplistic
tangible – intangible dichotomy. Looking to Africa we may discern an engagement

vii
viii Foreword

with heritage that is not just about knowledge and the preservation of traditional
skills but rather is about heritage being embodied – and this makes heritage a matter
of being rather than merely performing. Expanding from this it is also clear that
other core categories, such as nature and culture, may in fact be unstable and that
they will be rethought if we place Africa’s heritage central in our contemplations.
Despite these important aspects of African heritage uses and the challenges that
arises from them, discussions of Africa’s heritage management have not yet taken
its rightful place in international heritage literature and debates.
This volume by Susan Keitumetse is therefore most welcomed – we need to learn
from and share in the heritage experiences that come from Africa. As a contribution
to this, her volume is both a significant stand-alone reflection based on her consider-
able personal experiences and insights. And it is also an important contribution to a
widening out of how we talk about management. Throughout her volume, Susan
Keitumetse ‘modernises’ the African heritage management debate and through that
she provides a means of considering ways of expanding its use and usefulness be it
in terms of sustainable development, heritage tourism or nature conservation. In
turns the volume is useful for anyone anywhere working with heritage management
and it shows how shared best practices can be debated while simultaneously pro-
tecting and celebrating that which is unique and distinct.

Division of Archaeology Prof Marie Louise Stig Sørensen


University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
April 2016
Preface

As a first edition, the aim of this book is to catalyse cultural and heritage scholars’
and practitioners’ thinking towards real world conservation and management chal-
lenges surrounding the use of cultural and heritage resources in everyday African
social interaction and institutional operations – i.e. beyond the excavation pit,
beyond the historical records, beyond artefacts, beyond laboratories. For Africa, this
is what will make the material and source disciplines of cultural and heritage
resources relevant to the general society.
The standpoint of cultural heritage studies as a field/discipline/subject/course,
etc. is still being crafted across the globe. However, whereas other regions have long
forged ahead, no matter how non-cohesive the line of approaches, African intellec-
tual discourse on cultural heritage conservation and management is lacking behind.
At its best it exists in a haze of isolated case studies or sub-theme studies that
illustrate, as well as nurture scattered theoretical and practical scenarios, making it
difficult to answer the question of ‘what exactly is this field/discipline/course made
of?’. The opportunity for Africa to chart its contribution is now, while the field is
still developing and evolving. This volume is a drop in the ocean labour towards a
comprehensive package of theoretical frameworks backed by practical approaches
towards conservation and management of cultural heritage resources.
The topics are all anchored within global discourses that are analysed using
African scenarios. Far too often there is a great focus on management, and a luke-
warm focus on what exactly constitutes conservation of cultural and cultural heri-
tage resources. This is risky for resources whose inclusion in various platforms of
social and economic nature is growing at a fast pace. The issues raised in this book
compel both scholars and practitioners to work towards conservation and then man-
agement of these important resources.
The same characteristics that give the field of cultural heritage management in
Africa strength of diversity found in a multi-disciplinary and/or cross-disciplinary
appear to be the cause of frustrations in charting a conservation and management
direction for the field. A scattered nature of the field across the disciplinary space
gives it an appearance of a lack of reference point in global scholarship.

ix
x Preface

As such the reader may ask: what glues the nine chapters together? Scholarly
philosophy of sustainable conservation is a dominant feature that goes without say-
ing in some chapters, and is loud and clear in others.
The chapters in this book are connected as follows: The book commences by
describing and analysing the platforms within which cultural and heritage resources
use exists; in physical, social, disciplinary and everyday life environments (Chap. 1)
influenced by national and international management ideologies (Chap. 2).
Simultaneously these same environments are populated by humans, whose con-
stantly evolving socio-political decisions determine how the platforms are engaged
(Chap. 3). Thus human beings at the core of production and consumption activities
of cultural heritage demand deliberate and focused management practices that guide
social engagements with the resources – hence Chap. 4’s COBACHREM pro-
gramme. The platforms identified in Chap. 1 (the resources), Chap. 2 (international
management framework), Chap. 3 (people) and Chap. 4 (grassroots management)
require a balancing framework to curb resources use conflicts, hence Chap. 5 on
sustainable interpretation. Since the approaches need to be standardized to provide
a consistent management direction, Chap. 6 on standard setting and certification
addresses this gap. Armed with the theoretical and practical frameworks of manage-
ment, as well as standardized approaches, heritage managers can then engage the
resource in socio-economic endeavours such as tourism (Chap. 7), and broader
social development beneficiation (Chap. 8), with confidence. Thus Chaps. 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7 and 8 represent a group of topics that though seemingly divergent are coor-
dinated by a scholarship theory of sustainable conservation and management.
As an intended handbook of theory in practice on the subject, the text of the
chapters is packaged to reflect balance between academic scholarly reading and
practitioner reference on on-ground management issues.
As outlined in the preceding section on acknowledgements, my journey to this
far is conflated with numerous collegial, professional, social, as well as personal
interactions.
I am grateful for those that have had my back, sometimes without my knowl-
edge. My family, relatives, friends and nemeses have all honed me towards this
end – I am thankful for the lessons.
Please read, enjoy and give feedback whenever you can!

Maun, Botswana Susan Osireditse Keitumetse


May 2016
Acknowledgements

This work is a product of the many academic, social and personal interactions I have
encountered throughout my life as a perpetual student of the many subjects that
drove me to a career in the field of cultural heritage.
My utmost gratitude goes to the book editor of Springer Nature, Fritz Schmuhl,
for his support during the process of producing this book as well as his patience and
understanding of my several delays encountered along the way.
I thank the two anonymous reviewers of the book proposal for their in-depth and
honest comments and suggestions that helped broaden the scope of the book and
shaped its direction as it is.
My academic path has been conflated with diverse interactions of both interna-
tional and national stature. Professor Luc Hens, editor-in-chief of the journal;
Environment, Development and Sustainability by Springer, whose appointment of
myself as an associate editor of the journal drove me to consider Springer as a
potential publisher of the then proposed book.
My postgraduate (MPhil and PhD) years at Cambridge University’s Department
of Archaeology helped me to hone and cement my research interest and focus on
linking African cultural heritage and the international concept of sustainable devel-
opment. My former ‘MPhil B’ crew and my lecturers’ (Marie-Louise Stig Sorensen,
my supervisor at Cambridge and John Carman) enthusiasm for the course in
Archaeological Heritage Management enhanced and motivated my interests in this
growing field. It is during this course that I developed a focused approach to this
field that is yet to be cemented in African academic settings. I also thank Prof David
W. Phillipson, Emeritus Professor of African Archaeology at the University of
Cambridge for his guidance during my studies.
Various international and national colleagues and institutions have been instru-
mental in my career development in the area of cultural and heritage resources man-
agement and sustainable development. While I cannot list all, the following people
and institutions have motivated my diverse approaches to the content of the chapters
in this book: my employer, the University of Botswana (UB), Okavango Research
Institute. They provided a conducive environment to undertake the researches that
fed into the contents of the book. I thank the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor

xi
xii Acknowledgements

Academic Affairs, Prof. O. Totolo (now Vice Chancellor at the Botswana


International University of Science and Technology), for giving me a 1-month
research leave to work on the book manuscript.
Amongst all I am grateful for the numerous interactions I have had with various
communities in Southern Africa and around the world that I have worked with. They
provided insights into the multiple discussions reflected in this book.
Before and after I joined the UB, I worked with several other institutions and
colleagues.
The Smithsonian Institute’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH)
where I worked directly with Diane N’diaye and James Early undertaking a
Rockefeller Fellowship titled “Theorizing cultural heritage”. It is here that I also
had full exposure to debates surrounding the UNESCO 2003 intangible cultural
heritage convention as Richard Kurin, the then director, was directly involved in its
framing from commencement to end. Among my USA colleagues I also wish to
acknowledge Prof Peter Schmidt and Prof Steve A Brandt of the University of
Florida for supporting to disseminate my work through seminars in the USA. Zoe
Crossland of Columbia University later on collaborated with me as a co-PI in a
Wenner-Gren Foundation research grant.
Brown University where I undertook the Watson International Scholars of the
Environment Program fellowship which facilitated my later application to The
Wenner-Gren Foundation for anthropological research where I secured project
funding for historical archaeology research on marginal landscapes of east-central
Botswana’s Limpopo dry valleys. Particular thanks to Nancy Jacobs and Laura
Sadovnikoff for academic hospitality during my fellowship tenure at Brown
University. I also thank Susan Alcock and Krysta Rezewski of the Joukowsky
Institute for Archaeology at Brown University for collegial support during this time.
At national level the Botswana Tourism Organisation (formerly Botswana
Tourism Board) has provided me with extensive corporate governance experience
during my tenure as a board director of the organisation for 6 years under Botswana’s
Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. The board tenure placed me in a
position to work on issues surrounding Chaps. 6 and 7 in a practical environment
involving diverse stakeholders comprising government, local community and busi-
ness enterprises, amongst others. My tenure as inaugural chairperson of the first
Botswana eco-certification system (BES) and the quality assurance committee of
the board provided insight on certification of environmental components for tourism
development. My particular gratitude goes to Kitso O. Mokaila, former Minister of
Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (current Minister of Minerals, Energy, and
Water Resources), for recognising my potential contribution within the Botswana
Tourism Organisation, and appointing me as a board director. I also thank the cur-
rent CEO of Botswana Tourism Organisation, Mr Brian Dithebe for permission to
use the Botswana Eco-Tourism Certification System logo in Chap. 6.
At international level, I have also had opportunity to work with institutions such
as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) section on various assignments as
an examiner, expert advisor, and facilitator in African countries such as Uganda,
Swaziland, and Lesotho where I garnered experience and insight into the
Acknowledgements xiii

management of cultural heritage resources. I thank Cécile Duvelle, Frank Proschan,


Damir Dijakovic, Susanne Schnuttgen and Reiko Yoshida, amongst others, for the
collegial interactions. I also thank my African colleagues with whom I continue to
interact on issues surrounding intangible cultural heritage in Africa. Of particular
mention are Harriet Deacon (South Africa), Stephen Chifunyise (Zimbabwe) and
Lovemore Mazibuko (Malawi).
Various close colleagues have challenged me to do my best in both personal and
academic spheres. Laura McAtackney of Aarhus University has been both an inspi-
ration and a sounding board. Also my colleagues from the University of Botswana
have supported me in one way. Great thanks to Oarabile Mogobe and Lesego Stone
of Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana. They always had an open
door for my endless office chats when the writing was not forthcoming. I am grate-
ful for the particular tutelage of Alinah Segobye and Alfred Tsheboeng during my
undergraduate student years at the University of Botswana. My former students’
(Olivia Nthoi-Molefe, Michelle Pampiri and Thato Moeti) high expectations about
the book have been a source of motivation. I wish to thank Mr Kwenasebele
Modukanele and Mrs Eunice Mutale-Foley, former high school teachers, for their
support when I was dropped out of school due to teenage preganancy in 1993. Their
believe in my academic success gave me courage to go on with my studies and reach
where I am at today.
My family and relatives have also been supportive. I am indebted to a lot of
people that regrettably cannot be mentioned here. My daughter Katso Millicent
Keitumetse’s encouragement and willingness to give unedited advice after reading
some of the chapters is very much appreciated given from a science major perspec-
tive. These comments helped me to shape the content for those outside the area of
cultural heritage. My sister Sarah Ramasia’s invaluable emotional and parental sup-
port in the absence of my mother is much appreciated. I thank my mother Baleti
Keitumetse and her parents for instilling the love of “heritage” things in me at a
younger age that I am just now piecing together in their absence. Other family and
relatives that I wish to acknowledge for continued support during production of this
book are Ethasetse Tlale, Andrew M Rammidi, Banyana and Christopher Thabatshe,
Motshidisi and Reginah Segolodi, Mothanyegi Kebatogetse, amongst many that are
not listed here.
Several of my friends have always been supportive. I would like to thank Tandy
and Roy Harrison, Jane Perks, Joan Morris, Molly Butler, Tsenolo Lerotholi and
Chelsea Daemon for their friendship and ladies’ soccer matches in Cambridge. Nota
Pantzou’s Greek meals made life away from home bearable. I thank Kelebogile
Disang for the early morning winter walks that sustained my momentum for the
book writing process. Many other friends, colleagues and acquaintances have been
supportive even though regrettably may not be mentioned here.
Contents

1 African Cultural Heritage Conservation


and Management: Theory and Practice.................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction: Why African Cultural Resources
Conservation and Management? ........................................................ 1
1.1.1 Developing Scholarship: African Cultural Studies’
Ideologies as Conservation Strategy ....................................... 2
1.1.2 Book Aims and Objectives ...................................................... 4
1.1.3 Basic Terms and Phrases ......................................................... 4
1.1.4 Southern Africa Region........................................................... 5
1.2 Setting the Discourse .......................................................................... 5
1.2.1 African Heritage in a Global Perspective: Brief History ........ 6
1.3 African Cultural Conservation: Concepts and Paradigms .................. 9
1.3.1 Sustainable Development and Related Issues ......................... 9
1.3.2 Evolving Paradigms of Conservation and Management ......... 14
1.3.3 Field or Discipline? ................................................................. 15
1.4 The Book in General .......................................................................... 15
1.4.1 Readership............................................................................... 16
1.4.2 Book Themes .......................................................................... 16
1.4.3 Chapters’ Highlights ............................................................... 17
1.5 Guide to the Book ............................................................................... 19
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 20
2 International Conventions as Frameworks
of Management and Identity for African Cultural Heritage ................ 23
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 23
2.2 UNESCO Conventions ....................................................................... 31
2.2.1 1954 Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property
in the Event of Armed Conflict, 1954 ..................................... 32

xv
xvi Contents

2.2.2 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and


Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and
Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property ........................... 33
2.2.3 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection
of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage ............................ 34
2.2.4 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding
of Intangible Cultural Heritage ............................................... 36
2.2.5 2005 Convention on the Protection and
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions ............... 36
2.2.6 1989 UNESCO Convention on Technical and Vocational
Education, Adopted 17 October 1989, at the Twenty-Fifth
Session of the General Assembly............................................ 36
2.3 Other Resources Conservation Conventions ...................................... 37
2.3.1 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands:
With a 1992 Chapter on ‘the Cultural
Heritage of Wetlands (Resolution VIII)’ ................................. 37
2.3.2 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ................... 38
2.4 People-Based Conventions ................................................................. 38
2.4.1 1989 International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention No. 169 Concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries ......................... 38
2.4.2 Summary and Discussion of People-Based Conventions ....... 40
2.5 Cultural Knowledge-Based Conventions............................................ 41
2.5.1 Risk of Knowledge Secession ................................................. 42
2.5.2 1967 World Intellectual Property (WIPO)
Convention and Associated Treaties ....................................... 43
2.5.3 Summary: Knowledge-Based Conventions ............................ 49
2.6 Discussion: International Conventions and
Impact on African Cultural Heritage Management ............................ 50
2.6.1 Case Study: The ‘Significant Other’
in Nature Parks: Role of International Conventions ............... 52
2.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 57
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 59
3 The Politics of the Past: Evolving Ethnic Cultural
Identities in African Traditional Governance Systems .......................... 63
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 63
3.1.1 Communal Cultural Identities and
Traditional Governance (Chiefdoms): Autochthony
and Indigeneity Concepts in African Democracies ................. 64
3.2 Case Study: Evolution of Community Identities
Within Historical Paradigms: Pre-colonial, Colonial,
Post-Colonial, Independence and Democratic Paradigms .................. 67
Contents xvii

3.2.1 Historical Paradigm Shifts and


Evolving Communities: Autochthony and
the Fight for Senior Chieftaincy by Baphaleng
and Bakaa of Shoshong Village, Botswana............................. 68
3.2.2 Baphaleng of Shoshong Village, Botswana:
The Fight for Senior Communal Chieftaincy ......................... 71
3.2.3 Bakaa of Shoshong Village:
The Fight for Senior Community Chieftaincy ........................ 75
3.2.4 Bangwato in Shoshong (1838–1890):
Migration from Molepolole Area ............................................ 76
3.3 Discussion: Overshadowed Autochthony of
Baphaleng and Bakaa by Ngwato Chieftaincy
in Pre-colonial Shoshong Village ....................................................... 79
3.3.1 Internal Conflict, 1872–1909:
Sekgoma I and Kgamanes Against Kgama III ........................ 79
3.3.2 1898 Decentralisation of Phaleng, Kaa,
Birwa, Hurutshe, Talaote, etc. by Kgama III .......................... 81
3.3.3 Ethnic Grading in Twenty-First Century
Traditional Chieftaincies: Towards Culturally
Sustainable Communities........................................................ 82
3.4 Summary and Conclusion................................................................... 84
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 85
4 Towards Sustainable Communities:
Community-Based Cultural Heritage
Resources Management (COBACHREM) Model .................................. 89
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 89
4.1.1 Sustainable Cultural Heritage
Management Using COBACHREM ....................................... 90
4.1.2 The Problem with CBNRM for Cultural and
Heritage: The Need for COBACHREM ................................. 91
4.2 Community-Based Cultural Heritage Resources
Management (COBACHREM) Model:
Guiding Frameworks .......................................................................... 95
4.2.1 Guiding Framework 1: Identifying Stakeholders’
Competency Using Noel Burch (1970)’s
Theory of Competence Learning ............................................ 95
4.2.2 Guiding Framework 2: Conceptualising
Community Participation Within COBACHREM:
Social Agency as a Cultural Reproduction Process ................ 97
4.2.3 Guiding Framework 3: Planning Process................................ 98
4.3 Results and Discussion ....................................................................... 99
4.3.1 COBACHREM: The Model and Levels of Operation ............ 99
xviii Contents

4.3.2 Examples of Identity Formation Concepts


for COBACHREM Model: Indigeneity
and Autochthony from Chap. 3 Case Studies ......................... 102
4.3.3 Examples of Phase 2, Level IV: Monitoring
Initiatives Derived from Production,
Reproduction and Consumption Levels in Fig. 4.2 ................ 107
4.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 108
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 110
5 Interpretation: Dealing with Multiple Identities.................................... 113
5.1 Introduction: Why Interpretation? ...................................................... 114
5.1.1 What Is Interpretation? ........................................................... 115
5.2 Case Study: Multiple Identities of the ‘Livingstone Memorial’
Site, Botswana .................................................................................... 118
5.2.1 Missionaries and Native Contact
in Southern African Landscapes ............................................. 118
5.2.2 David Livingstone (Missionary/European):
Heritage Attributes of ‘Livingstone Memorial’....................... 119
5.2.3 Chief Sechele and Bakwena Polity
(Local): Heritage Attributes .................................................... 121
5.3 Discussion and Conclusion: A Framework for Sustainable
Interpretation of Sites with Multiple Identities .................................. 126
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 131
6 Grading and Certification:
Implications for Cultural Heritage Management .................................. 135
6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 136
6.1.1 The Difference Between Grading and Certification ............... 137
6.1.2 The Politics of Resources Grading and Certification:
Implications for Cultural Resources
in the Developing World ......................................................... 137
6.2 Cult-Certified: Identifying Potential for Cultural
Heritage Certification ......................................................................... 140
6.2.1 World Heritage Listing Process (UNESCO 1972).................. 141
6.2.2 Safeguarding Inventory Process (UNESCO 2003) ................. 141
6.2.3 EIA/Archaeological Impact Assessment................................. 142
6.2.4 Education ................................................................................ 142
6.3 Ecotourism and Certification Process: Implications
for Cultural Heritage Resources ......................................................... 142
6.4 Case Study: Botswana Tourism Grading and Eco-certification
Programme ......................................................................................... 144
6.4.1 Grading Accommodation: Hotels and Related
Establishments: Grading Requirements
by Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOS 50:1–6, 2009)......... 145
6.4.2 Eco-labelling: Botswana Eco-certification
System (BES), 2010 ................................................................ 146
6.5 Discussion........................................................................................... 150
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 154
Contents xix

7 Heritage Enterprising: Cultural Heritage


and Sustainable Tourism in Southern Africa ......................................... 157
7.1 Introduction: Southern African Tourism
and Cultural Heritage Resources ........................................................ 157
7.1.1 Sustainable Development, Tourism
and Cultural Heritage in Southern Africa ............................... 158
7.1.2 Southern African Tourism and
Protected Areas: Safari Tourism.............................................. 158
7.2 Tourism and Cultural Heritage: Origins,
Opportunities and Challenges............................................................. 160
7.2.1 Tourism Origins in Brief ......................................................... 160
7.2.2 Tourism and Cultural Heritage Resources .............................. 161
7.3 The Sociology of Tourism (Cohen 1984):
Implications for Cultural Heritage
Resources Management ...................................................................... 162
7.3.1 Tourism as Commercialised
Hospitality (Commodification) ............................................... 163
7.3.2 As Democratised Travel .......................................................... 163
7.3.3 As Modern Leisure (Non-obligated Traveller) ....................... 164
7.3.4 As Modern Traditional Pilgrimage ......................................... 164
7.3.5 As Expression of Basic Cultural Themes ............................... 165
7.3.6 As Acculturative Process ........................................................ 165
7.3.7 As a Form of Ethnic Relations ................................................ 165
7.3.8 As Neocolonialism .................................................................. 166
7.4 New Approaches to Incorporate Cultural
Heritage in Protected Nature Reserve Tourism .................................. 167
7.4.1 Overlaying Cultural Heritage in Nature Reserves
and Game Parks: Archaeologies and Histories
of Nature Tourism Environments ............................................ 167
7.4.2 Tourism Gateway Localities and
Cultural Heritage as a Diversification Resource ..................... 168
7.4.3 International Listing of ‘Living’ African
Villages to Stimulate Sustainability in Motion ....................... 170
7.5 Case Study: Southern African Safari Tourism
and Cultural Heritage Resources Use ................................................. 171
7.5.1 Joint-Venture Partnerships for Nature Tourism:
Diversification Using Cultural Heritage ................................. 171
7.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................... 177
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 178
8 Mainstreaming African Cultural Resources:
Heritage and Development ....................................................................... 181
8.1 Introduction: What Is Mainstreaming? ............................................... 181
8.1.1 Cultural Heritage as a Common Good .................................... 182
8.1.2 Adapting Not Adopting ........................................................... 183
xx Contents

8.1.3 Conservation Contexts for Mainstreaming


Cultural Heritage Resources ................................................... 183
8.1.4 Management Contexts Where Cultural
Heritage Can Be Mainstreamed .............................................. 184
8.2 Mainstreaming Channels in African Cultural
Heritage Management ........................................................................ 185
8.2.1 Local Indigenous Knowledge as a
Component of Cultural Heritage............................................. 185
8.2.2 Youth-Elder Partnerships: Skills Transfer ............................... 187
8.2.3 Technical Vocational Education Schools
and Cultural Heritage Skills Mainstreaming........................... 189
8.2.4 Land Use Planning, Physical Planning
and Cultural Landscapes Heritage .......................................... 191
8.2.5 Pre-existing International Management Strategies ................. 192
8.2.6 Standard Setting Mechanisms: Certifications ......................... 194
8.2.7 Social Equity in Cultural Heritage Management:
Gender and Disability ............................................................. 194
8.2.8 Heritage Tourism Museums in Africa ..................................... 195
8.2.9 Funding ................................................................................... 196
8.2.10 Health and Safety in Cultural Heritage Management ............. 199
8.3 Conclusion: Possible Tensions and Opportunities
While Mainstreaming ......................................................................... 199
Further Reading (Bibiliography)................................................................. 200
9 Conclusions: Sustainable Development and African
Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management ............................... 203
9.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 203
9.2 Seeking a Vantage Point for Cultural Heritage:
Divergent Themes and Coordinated Theory ....................................... 204
9.3 Sustainability and Cultural Heritage Management in Africa ............. 205
9.4 Disconnecting Factors ........................................................................ 207
9.5 Renewability and Cultural Heritage Resources Conservation............ 208
9.6 Knowledge Production and Pathways to Sustainability ..................... 209
9.7 Chapters of the Book: Conclusion Highlights .................................... 211
9.7.1 Chapter 1: Historic Environment as Environment
in Africa: Culture-Nature Divide and
Environmental Sustainability .................................................. 211
9.7.2 Chapter 2: International Legislative Tools
and African Cultural Management .......................................... 211
9.7.3 Chapter 3: Politics and the Past .............................................. 212
9.7.4 Chapter 4: Cultural Conservation
Models, COBACHREM.......................................................... 212
9.7.5 Chapter 5: Sustainable Interpretation of Heritage .................. 213
9.7.6 Chapter 6: Standardisation ...................................................... 213
Contents xxi

9.7.7 Chapter 7: Economic Pressures:


Cultural Heritage Tourism Development
in Southern Africa ................................................................... 214
9.7.8 Chapter 8: Mainstreaming Cultural
Heritage into Development Frameworks ................................ 215
9.7.9 Chapter 9: Conclusion............................................................. 215
Further Reading (Bibliography) .................................................................. 216

Index ................................................................................................................. 219


List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Map of southern Africa showing countries in the region ................ 6
Fig. 2.1 Showing survey track taken to trace and map community
cultural value sites within the Okavango Delta world
heritage site for juxtaposition with the natural environment............ 56
Fig. 2.2 Identified sites and landscapes of cultural significance
in the Okavango delta world heritage site. Numbers
correspond to identified sites during survey..................................... 57
Fig. 2.3 Building partnerships: author with Botswana Defence
Force crew and community members during survey
research within the Okavango Delta world heritage sites.
In-country partnerships with communities, civil service, etc.
necessary to carry research forward because of lack of access
to academic funding grants for African cultural heritage................. 58
Fig. 3.1 Shoshong village in east-central Botswana
(autochthony discussion) and Kgalagadi desert areas
of indigenous Bushmen (indigeneity discussions) ........................... 69
Fig. 4.1 Showing phases 1 and 2 of the community-based
cultural heritage resources management (COBACHREM)
model with indicators of production (level 1),
reproduction (level II) and consumption (level III)
and monitoring (IV) are constituted in the
four levels of the model .................................................................... 99
Fig. 4.2 Showing expanded phases 1 and 2 of the COBACHREM model.
(a) Showing phases 1 with level I (production) level II
(reproduction) and consumption (level III); (b) Showing phase 2
of the model with level IV where monitoring indicators
for levels I–III are developed for conservation ................................ 101

xxiii
xxiv List of Figures

Fig. 4.3 Shoshong village in east-central Botswana and Kgalagadi


desert in South-West Botswana ........................................................ 103
Fig. 5.1 Road signs for ‘Livingstone Memorial’ site
in southern Botswana ....................................................................... 120
Fig. 5.2 Excerpts from local magazines publications illustrating
site’s perceived and marketed identity: 1 and 2
(From Botswana Focus 2003 and Discover Botswana 2003,
respectively, commissioned by the Department of Tourism).
Presentation 3 (From a brochure by Archaeology Unit,
Botswana National Museum, c.1998) .............................................. 124
Fig. 5.3 Remnants of partying on site............................................................ 125
Fig. 5.4 Missionary legacies (BNA, Illustration 297;
BNA Illustration 302). Left: baptising of church members
takes place at Kolobeng river. Right: LMS church at Kanye
village of the Bangwaketse (one of Tswana ethnic
groups) in 1871 ................................................................................ 125
Fig. 6.1 Preliminary consolidation of cultural heritage
components for standard setting exercise......................................... 141
Fig. 6.2 Botswana Tourism eco-certification logo showing
visual exhibit of the three levels ....................................................... 149
Fig. 7.1 Map showing an overlay of cultural sites
(represented b numbers) on the Okavango Delta Wetland,
Botswana. ......................................................................................... 168
Fig. 7.2 Team mapping cultural sites of Okavango Delta wetland,
Botswana .......................................................................................... 169
Fig. 7.3 Activities relating to Cultural initiation ceremony for women
re-enacted for tourists in Sankuyo village, gateway
to Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana ................... 173
Fig. 8.1 Youth-elder partnerships. The author with her grandparents
at a cattle-post learning about the past during a holiday break ........ 189
Fig. 8.2 Traditional methods of hide processing are some of
trades that can be offered in African conventional
schools as electives, rather than being banished
solely to vocational schools where students are sent
after failing theoretical subjects ....................................................... 190
List of Tables

Table 2.1 Historical wars from southern Africa ............................................... 33


Table 2.2 Showing southern Africa’s natural sites in danger ........................... 34
Table 2.3 Number of world heritage properties by region ............................... 35
Table 2.4 Examples of southern African wetlands that can benefit
from a combined approach of natural and cultural
resources conservation (Ramsar Bureau website)............................ 39
Table 4.1 Selected salient differences between CBNRM
and COBACHREM .......................................................................... 92
Table 4.2 Competency development framework for cultural
heritage curriculum within the (COBACHREM)
following competency-based education and training
(CBET) guidelines ........................................................................... 107
Table 4.3 Mainstreaming local community cultural competency
into environmental accreditation in tourism accommodation
establishments .................................................................................. 108
Table 5.1 Principles of site interpretation and their attributes adopted
from ICOMS Charter (2008) and applied into general
Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural
Heritage Sites (Column 3)................................................................ 128
Table 5.2 Principles of site interpretation and their attributes
adopted from ICOMS Charter (2008) and applied in the
Interpretation and Presentation of a site with multiple
identities such as Livingstone Memorial Site (column 3) ................ 129
Table 5.3 Showing general guideline to identification, selection
and interpretation of cultural indicators in a site
such as Livingstone Memorial ......................................................... 131

xxv
xxvi List of Tables

Table 6.1 Specifications for graded tourism accommodation


establishments as outlined by Botswana Bureau
of Standards (BOBS) 50:2009 ......................................................... 145
Table 6.2 Brief outline of diverse national legislative framework
used to inform contents of the Botswana Eco-certification
System, 2010 .................................................................................... 147
Table 6.3 Botswana Tourism eco-certification levels derived from
Botswana Tourism grading standards for ecotour and
accommodation facilities ................................................................. 149
Table 6.4 The in-between option: example of potential merger
of indicators from Botswana tourism grading and
eco-certification systems with cultural heritage indicators .............. 151
Table 7.1 Excerpts from 2013 WTTC tourism contribution to GDP ............... 160
Table 7.2 Some of the UNESCO listed cultural landscapes
from Africa region ............................................................................ 175
Table 7.3 Showing Exhibits of extracts from a Notarial Deed of
Trust document outlining constituents of a community
entitled to benefit financially from natural resources in a
particulr bordered environmet in central Botswana ......................... 177
About the Author

Susan Osireditse Keitumetse obtained a BA degree (Archaeology and


Environmental Sciences) and Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Geography and
History) from the University of Botswana. She went on to compete for and win two
separate Commonwealth scholarships both to University of Cambridge, UK, where
she pursued an MPhil (Archaeological Heritage Management and Museums) and
later on a PhD (African Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development). During
her postgraduate studies, she combined both environmental science and archaeol-
ogy disciplines to venture into the broader cultural and heritage management stud-
ies with a particular focus on sustainable development and cultural heritage
management at the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge. Following
on this background and with a view to catalyse a linkage between environment and
cultural heritage in Africa, Dr. Keitumetse conducted various researches and pub-
lished works that illustrate the relevance of cultural and heritage resources for the
broader environmental conservation. She is currently employed at the University of
Botswana’s Okavango Research Institute as a research scholar in cultural heritage
and tourism where she undertakes applied research in areas such as the Okavango
inland Delta World Heritage Site and the Kalahari Desert areas of Botswana. Dr.
Keitumetse continues to work towards developing a cultural heritage management
programme for Africa using experience from her work. Of particular note is her
developing a conservation model of Community-Based Cultural Heritage Resources
Management (COBACHREM) to guide local communities and practitioners’ initia-
tives towards sustainable use of cultural heritage resources for social development.
Chapter 4 provides detailed contents of the model.
Dr. Susan Keitumetse has published extensively in the field of cultural heritage
conservation and management in Africa. Her works comprise peer-reviewed articles
in international journals; peer-reviewed book chapters; refereed conference pro-
ceedings; and technical reports in international periodicals, magazines and newspa-
pers. She has presented written and oral papers in numerous international conferences
on the subject of African cultural heritage and development around the world,
including Britain, America and the wider Europe.

xxvii
xxviii About the Author

Dr. Keitumetse currently serves as an associate editor of the journal Environment,


Development and Sustainability published by Springer. She also sits on the editorial
board of the International Journal of Community Archaeology and Heritage, pub-
lished by Taylor and Francis (formerly published by Maney Publishers), as well as
the International Journal of Heritage and Sustainable Development published by
Green Lines Institute, Portugal.
Dr. Keitumetse has both national and international experience from various
African countries, as well as institutions outside Africa. In addition to competing for
and securing two international academic scholarships for her postgraduate studies at
the University of Cambridge, she has won academic grants for research fellowships
in international institutions that include the Rockefeller Fellowship at the
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA, the Watson Scholar Fellowship at
Brown University in Rhode Island, USA, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation research
grant for a historical archaeology project in Botswana.
Outside academia and in the international development arena, Dr Keitumetse has
worked and continues to work with institutions such as UNESCO where she has
been engaged as an expert advisor, examiner, facilitator and consultant within the
intangible cultural heritage section in countries such as Uganda, Swaziland, and
Lesotho.
She has corporate governance experience from African parastatal institutions
dealing with environment, heritage, tourism and land use planning. These are
derived from her tenure as a board director of Botswana Tourism Organisation
under the country’s Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MEWT) for 6
years, where she also chaired a quality assurance committee of the board dealing
with grading and certifying tourism accommodation establishments. Dr. Keitumetse
is currently a committee member of a Botswana government gazetted Physical
Planning Committee under the Ministry of Lands and Housing, operationalized by
the North-West District Council (NWDC) under the Ministry of Local Government,
Republic of Botswana. The committee deals with land planning, and Dr. Keitumetse
is instrumental in ensuring that conventional land planning tools take cognizance of
cultural landscapes and communities cultural heritage in areas earmarked for devel-
opment planning.
Her overall research interests are in the areas of sustainable development and
cultural heritage conservation, historical archaeology, environmental archaeology,
community heritage management, heritage tourism, heritage and protected areas
and international management of cultural heritage, amongst others.
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"No! Not yet!..."

Lebas, pretending not to have heard, called out—

"Héron! Hér..."

Robespierre threw himself on him, and pinning him to the wall, said
breathlessly—

"Don't call, I tell you! Don't call!"

Then lowering his voice he muttered in a dry whisper—

"Be quiet, man, I say! Be quiet! ... It is my son!"

"Ah!" and Lebas looked at him in stupefied amazement.

When he had sufficiently recovered from his surprise, he asked in a low


voice—

"Why do you not tell him so?"

Could Robespierre tell him? Tell the lad who loathed him! Would he
believe him? Olivier would say it was false, or how could he hate him so?

"Oh, no! I cannot tell him that I am his father!" he said sadly, sinking
down exhausted on a chair.

Lebas took his hand and pressed it sympathetically, deeply touched.

"You are right!" he murmured.

And turning to Olivier he said aloud—

"Then let us discover the prisoners without him!"

Olivier understood that matters were becoming very serious. However,


Robespierre looked discouraged. How was it possible to find the women,
under their assumed names, in Vendée? But Lebas remarked that they might
be in Paris. At this Olivier visibly trembled, which Lebas did not fail to
notice.

"Why," he continued—"why should he be so far from them?"

The point of this remark struck Robespierre.

"Yes, to be sure; you are right," he said, and interpreting Lebas's


thoughts he bade him take a carriage and drive to each prison and interview
every woman that had been arrested with a young girl. Lebas, who had
already put on his hat, remarked that he did not think the night would
suffice; there were so many women arrested with a daughter or a younger
sister. And what if Olivier spoke the truth, and his mother had been
inscribed on the prison-register under another name—her husband's, for
instance?

"Mauluçon," interrupted Robespierre, the name suddenly recurring to


him.

Lebas took out a note-book from his pocket. Was he a soldier, or a


magistrate, this Mauluçon? Robespierre could not say. All he knew of him
was that among the people represented as having gone into mourning for
Louis XVI. he had seen the names of Pontivy, his son-in-law Mauluçon,
and his daughter Clarisse.

"Clarisse!" repeated Lebas, stopping his note-taking.

Robespierre looked at him in surprise. In what way could that name


interest him? Lebas had now closed his note-book, deep in thought.
Clarisse? Olivier's mother was called Clarisse? But the woman who
implored Robespierre's clemency for her son, aged nineteen, the woman
whose letter he had refused to read just now ...

"Was signed Clarisse?" cried Robespierre breathlessly.

"Yes," replied Lebas.

"That is his mother!"...


And pointing to the young man, who was on the brink of swooning.

"You see, it is she! Look at him; there is no mistaking, it is she!"

"She is at the prison of La Bourbe, then," said Lebas.

Robespierre could no longer hide his joy, at last he knew where to find
them!

But he was interrupted by a cry of pain. Olivier, thinking his mother


now irretrievably lost, had fainted away. Robespierre ran to him, and
bending over tried to bring him to consciousness, gently reassuring him,
swearing he was going to give the prisoners their liberty.

But Lebas, who was also bending over the young man, reminded the
Incorruptible that Olivier no longer heard him. Then Robespierre, with
infinite precautions, assisted by Lebas, lifted him into an armchair, and
taking a bottle of scent left behind by the ladies, gently bathed Olivier's
temples with the perfume. Lebas, rather anxious lest Robespierre's paternal
solicitude should be discovered, remained on the watch, imploring him to
be prudent.

"Some one might come in!" he urged.

Robespierre, entirely taken up with Olivier, shrugged his shoulders.

"Let them come!" he said impatiently. "I have a right surely to pardon
my own son!"

Lebas recalled him to reality.

No! he had no right to pardon a chouan, who had insulted the Republic
the day before in presence of the whole nation. Robespierre's enemies
would seize the occasion to cite the example of Brutus sacrificing his son to
the interest of his country. They would exact from him a like proof of
patriotism....

Robespierre was trying to loosen Olivier's cravat, but not succeeding


asked Lebas's assistance. After all, he was right, especially as his enemies
on the Committee of Public Safety, out of hatred for him, would kill the lad
all the quicker. Opening the collar gently, he continued the while to reason
about it, saying that the only means of saving him was to throw him brutally
into prison, so as to mislead them, and to get him out secretly after three
days.

The young man heaved a sigh.

"He is coming to," said Robespierre, checking his speculations.

Lebas observed that it was high time to let others come in; they would
wonder at the length of the cross-examining. Robespierre assented, his eyes
fixed on his son, who seemed now coming to himself. As the Incorruptible
bent over him to ascertain if this was so, his lips touched the pale forehead.

But he heard steps, and had only time to pull himself up, when Héron
entered, followed by his men.

Héron looked straight at Olivier, who had now recovered his senses.

"What! Did he faint?" he asked.

Robespierre had regained possession of himself, and at once assumed a


brutal demeanour. Yes, the scoundrel had been playing a farce, and an
infamous farce too! The family now entered also, brimming with curiosity
and questions.

"Has the young man made a confession?"

"No; but he has betrayed himself, and I know all that I desired."

General satisfaction was expressed. At last, then, he was caught, and his
accomplices! At this moment Madame Lebas and Victoire discovered in
what a sad state Olivier was. Had he been ill, then? They would have come
to him; but Robespierre stopped them, assuming contempt.

"It was better," he said, "to leave the young madman alone, for he really
did not deserve that any one should take interest in him."
"Monster!" Olivier groaned.

Robespierre had heard the word. He took hold of Lebas's arm, as if for
support, and pressed it convulsively. Then, in a voice which he tried to
render harsh, he told him to conduct Olivier to the Prison de la Force.
Héron had only waited for this; and his men seized their prisoner, who at
the roughness of the police-agents gave a sharp cry.

"You brutes!" exclaimed Robespierre, in a faltering voice, taking a step


towards his son in spite of himself. But Lebas stopped him.

"Be careful!" he whispered.

Robespierre sat down, realising his imprudence.

Lebas again whispered to him—

"Don't be uneasy, I will watch over him."

And telling the men not to handle the prisoner too roughly, he went out
with them.

Robespierre watched his son disappear, and when he had gone he felt
some one take his hand. This made him tremble. It was Cornélie.

How tired he seemed! Every one was around him now. That young
madman had given him terrible trouble, hadn't he?

"Yes," he replied, wiping his temple, "it was very trying! Exceedingly
trying!"

Duplay remarked that, judging from the length of the cross-


examination, he must have learnt something very important. Robespierre
made a gesture, as if protesting. Then rising abruptly he took leave of the
company, on the pretext of urgent work.

"The lad can rest assured," said Duplay, "it is his death-warrant our
friend has gone to sign."
"What a pity!" observed Victoire; "the young fellow seemed so nice!"

But mother Duplay stopped her daughter indignantly, asking her if she
was mad. What would the Incorruptible say if he could hear her?

CHAPTER IX

HOURS OF ANGUISH

Once in his room, Robespierre sank exhausted into a chair. At last he


was alone! He could now give free vent to his long suppressed emotion.
The feeling uppermost at the moment was one of dread dismay, as the
terrible position rose before his mind, with all its fearful consequences. He
gave no thought to the insult, it was the fate of the two women which
haunted him. If he saved them it would atone for all in the eyes of his son.
They had been arrested, thrown into prison, and cast for death, but he would
set them free.

Who had arrested them? What had they done? Were they implicated in
some seditious plot which would render it difficult to deliver them? As to
Olivier's release, he would see to that. By causing things to drag a little,
Olivier's trial could be put off until Robespierre had the power in his own
hands, and could act as he liked towards his son. It was after all his concern,
for it was he whom Olivier had insulted, and not the Republic, which he
could not yet impersonate. Had he even been proclaimed dictator, and sole
representative of France, he would, he supposed, have had the right to
pardon. It would seem but natural that his first act on accession to power
should be an act of clemency! The most important thing then at present was
that Olivier should remain in prison as long as possible under the closest
supervision.
But again, why had the women been arrested? By whose orders? They
were perhaps at that very moment at the Conciergerie, on their trial, before
the Revolutionary Tribunal. He could, no doubt, secure their acquittal, but
what if the inquiry brought Olivier's name to light?

"I am wandering!" he caught himself exclaiming. How, indeed, could


the name of Olivier be mentioned during the trial? The young man had
nothing to do with it. He had insulted Robespierre, it was to him personally
he had to answer.

The Incorruptible rubbed his eyes, unable longer to follow the thread of
his own thoughts. He was suddenly reminded of the law to be submitted by
him next day to the Convention, the vindictive law which would ensure
conviction without proof, evidence, or even cross-examination. This law
would be of twofold service to him; it would rekindle the Terror, would
help Robespierre to get rid of those who were still in his way, and be the
means of reducing the two women to silence, thus saving not only Olivier's
life, but theirs also. Olivier would then see that Robespierre was not the
monster he imagined, for he would owe the lives of his mother and of his
fiancée to him, the very man he had so wantonly insulted!

Robespierre's reflections were suddenly interrupted by a knock. He


started up. Some one was calling him. He listened, and recognising Lebas's
voice, hastened to open the door.

"I saw a light through your window," said Lebas, "and knew you had
not yet gone to bed."

"Well, what have you learnt?" Robespierre asked anxiously.

"They are still at the prison of La Bourbe."

"Both of them?"

"Yes, both of them."

"Ah!" sighed Robespierre, with relief.


"And I have given strict instructions in your name, that they were not to
be allowed out, under any circumstances. I am quite satisfied on that point,
since the Concierge knows that they have been arrested by your orders."

"By my orders?"

"Yes, alas!"

And he whispered to the Incorruptible, as if fearing to be heard—

"They are the two women from Montmorency."

"The women of the forest?"

"Yes!"

Robespierre leant back against his desk for support. Lebas pulled an
armchair towards him, into which he sank quite overcome.

"You could not have prevented it!" said Lebas gently; "nowadays
surprises of that sort are common enough. How could you know?"

The Incorruptible gave no reply, but seemed lost in a dream.

"Take some rest now.... You must feel exhausted.... I feel so myself....
Au revoir till to-morrow. After all, why should you worry? Are we not the
masters?"

"That is the question!" murmured Robespierre, without lifting his eyes.

But Lebas had just closed the door, and wished him good night.

Robespierre, left alone, resumed his train of thought. He had, himself,


then, ordered the two women to be arrested. This made everything clear to
his mind! He now understood why Olivier had insulted him, and matters
were more complicated than he had imagined. But what was Clarisse doing
at Montmorency? How had she gained acquaintance with that man
Vaughan, who had proposed to him the Regency in the name of England?
For one moment he was vain enough to think that Clarisse had acted in
conjunction with the Englishman. She had perhaps an idea of winning
Robespierre over to the Royalist cause, and of rendering homage to his
exalted position and power, realising all the good he could do. If this were
indeed the fact, then she knew everything, was aware of the Englishman's
proposals, and of the forest interview! She was in possession of his secret
and could by a single word completely ruin him!

No! No! He was raving! ... Why! he was accusing the mother of his
child! For she was the mother of his son! Then he alone was in fault; ... he
who had her arrested for no reason! For no reason? Was that so certain?
And he sought about in his mind for excuses. Yes! he was the dupe of Fate,
the tool of blind Destiny! Why had Clarisse been there? Why had she been
implicated with the secret interview? Why? Ah! why?

With closed eyes, still repeating that unanswered "Why?" he fell into a
half sleep. Little by little the image of a cell in the prison of La Bourbe rose
before him; Clarisse was there. She appeared to him, as he had seen her in
her youth, at the Rue des Lions, with her sweet pale face, large blue eyes,
fair silken hair, so fair ... so fair.... He began to wonder that one so young
and frail should have a son so big as Olivier! His dream-thoughts became
more confused.... She was now Olivier's fiancée.... He was promising her to
marry them in London, through the intervention of Vaughan ... of Fox....
Fox was all powerful in England, as he, Robespierre, was in France.... His
head gradually sunk on his shoulder, and he fell asleep at last.

The lamp, turned very low, shed upon him a flickering light, pale and
subdued as the glow of a sanctuary lamp, softening as if in pity the stern
lines of his troubled countenance, which even in sleep did not relax the
painful contraction of its features. He had fallen asleep, dressed as he was,
his head aslant, his arms hanging by his sides listlessly. Now and then, his
whole frame would twitch and quiver nervously, and vague, incoherent
words escaped his lips at intervals; harsh, guttural sounds fell from him
suddenly in that silent apartment, whose curtains and drapery in the
subdued light assumed the soft and delicate tints of a young girl's chamber.

Its hangings were really of damask, with designs of white flowers on a


blue ground, cut out of an old dress by Madame Duplay. This was the one
obvious attempt at ornament. The Incorruptible's room was otherwise very
modestly furnished, containing only the armchair in which he had fallen
asleep, a few cane chairs, a very simple desk, a plain deal bookcase
overladen with books and fastened to the wall, and a bed of walnut-wood.

The room was situated, as already said, in a wing which connected the
main building occupied by the Duplay family with an outhouse opening on
the Rue Saint-Honoré. It also communicated with little Maurice's room, to
whom the Incorruptible in his leisure hours gave lessons in history, and on
the duties of a citizen. The child, who had been sent early to bed on the
arrival of the police-agents with Olivier, now slept soundly.

At about three o'clock, the boy awoke with a start. He heard a noise in
the next room, and, thinking he recognised Robespierre's voice, turned over
to sleep again. It was not the first time his good friend had talked aloud in
his sleep. But he was awakened again by the falling of a chair, and jumped
from his bed anxiously and ran to open the door. In the flickering light of
the nearly extinguished lamp he discerned the Incorruptible standing erect,
still dressed, and gesticulating wildly as if pushing some one back. The boy
advanced towards him, asking what was amiss. Robespierre stared at him
with a frightened look, then folding him in his arms, he fell on his knees
moaning. Between his groans the child could catch the words—

"My son! ... My son!"

Then the lamp went quite out.

The child gently disengaged himself. Bon ami had called him his son!
Yes, he was his son, his affectionate and dutiful son. Then with tender
solicitude he helped him to rise. The day was already peeping through the
half-closed shutters. Maurice with some difficulty succeeded in replacing
his friend on the armchair in which he had passed the night, and asked him
if he wished for anything. But Robespierre had fallen asleep again.

The boy returned to his room, walking backwards on tiptoe, fearing to


awaken him, and went to bed again.

At seven o'clock in the morning Robespierre opened his eyes. He


remembered nothing. The fact of having slept in his clothes, and in an
armchair, did not surprise him. He had often done so in the days of sore
trial. He drew aside the curtains, and the room was suddenly flooded with
daylight. Some one knocked. It was Maurice Duplay, asking if he could
come in.

The boy's early visit surprised Robespierre.

"Are you well, bon ami?"

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing ... only ... last night ... you know..."

"Last night? Well!"

"You rather frightened me!"

"Frightened you?"

"Yes, you frightened me!"

The child then told him what had taken place in the night.

"Are you quite sure?" asked Robespierre anxiously.

"Oh! quite sure, and since you called me your son it shows you
recognised me, and had not the fever so badly after all."

"Yes, you are right! It was nothing since ... as you said ... since I
recognised you; ... for it was you of course I called my son: ... you are my
good little son, are you not?"

And he patted his cheeks, adding—

"But you must not speak of it to anybody! not to anybody, mind! It is


not worth while worrying your father and mother."

"Oh no! I have never said anything!"


Robespierre began again to feel uneasy.

"How do you mean? You have never said anything?"

"Why, it is not the first time it has happened to you."

"Have you heard me before, then?"

"Oh yes! speaking loud in your sleep."

"And what did I say?"

"Oh, I never understood anything, ... disconnected words, that's all....


And then I was so accustomed, I did not pay much attention. But last night
it was too much and I got up."

"You should not have done so, it was nothing more serious than usual,
only the worry and bother that upset me so."

"It was the cross-examination of the Chouan yesterday which unstrung


you, I suppose?"

"Perhaps; ... it may be.... But, you see, now I am quite well."

As the lad was going he called after him.

"Now you know, and you won't give it another thought, will you? And
not a word, mind, not a word! Now go, child."

He was subject to such nightmares then?

"Perhaps I don't take enough exercise," he thought, and he resolved to


go out at once into the open air. A good walk to the Champs-Elysées would
completely revive him. He changed his clothes, shaved, powdered and
perfumed himself as usual, and had actually started, but went back and took
from a drawer in his desk the draft of the new law which he had prepared
the day before, and put it in his pocket. He had decided after reflection not
to submit it himself, but to confide it to Couthon, one of the most faithful of
his friends on the Committee with Lebas, Saint-Just, and Augustin. Couthon
would read the document from the tribune, and this would leave him fresh
and fit for the ensuing debate.

Having called at Couthon's house, and concluded this arrangement,


Robespierre made his way to the Champs-Elysées through the Tuileries
with his dog Blount, who gambolled joyously in his new-found freedom
after a three days' confinement in the house. The Incorruptible walked
quickly and briskly as usual, in spite of the intense heat, which was but little
diminished by the shade of the chestnuts lining the avenue. He was already
telling over in his mind those among his enemies who would be the first
victims of the new law. As to Olivier and the two women, it was quite
decided. They should remain in prison in the most absolute secrecy until the
time came for him to be master.

At the end of the avenue he turned into the Allée de Veuves and went
towards the Seine. Blount, who had scented the water, leapt and bounded
forward in high glee. On fine summer days the dog used to swim in the
river under the eyes of Robespierre. When he reached the banks of the
Seine Blount was awaiting him, and at a sign jumped in the water, and the
Incorruptible found some release from his harrowing thoughts in watching
the gambols of his dog in the river.

At the Convention the Bill read by Couthon was received with loud
protests, and the subsequent debate opened amid turbulence and uproar.
That the judgments of the Revolutionary Tribunal should be accelerated by
the suppression of evidence and cross-examinations had already frightened
not a few; but when it became a question of transmitting to the Committee
of Public Safety the right of life or death, the whole assembly was filled
with fear. Up to that time the Convention alone had the right to sit in
judgment on a representative of the people!

A voice was heard exclaiming—

"If that law is passed, nothing is left but to blow out our brains!"

Robespierre appeared in the tribune. The Bill was voted. The next day
several attempts were made in the Convention to repeal the atrocious law
which brought the Terror into their very midst, but all such efforts failed.
With so trenchant a law, a two-edged weapon which could be turned at
will either against the Committee of Public Safety or against the
Convention, according to the intricate windings of his subtle policy, with
such a weapon Robespierre could keep his enemies of the Committee at
bay. He had in future but to accuse them, and have them replaced by
creatures of his own, satellites of his will.

However, all was going well. His adversaries, blind and unwary, had
begun to tear each other to pieces in party disputes, and to split up into
factions, the very day after the passing of the atrocious law which made him
so dreaded.

The Incorruptible tried to take advantage of these cabals, but he was too
hasty. The Committee, realising their danger, united against him; and this
was the prelude to a terrible and decisive struggle, for in case of failure
there remained nothing for Robespierre but to have recourse to force.
Realising this to the full, he no longer attended the sittings of the
Committee, but worked silently in the shade, preparing the coup d'état
which was to rid him at once and for ever of all his enemies,—with Saint-
Just, whom he had sent for from the Northern Army, with Hauriot,
Commander-in-Chief of the armed force; Fleuriot-Lescot, Mayor of Paris;
Payan, Agent of the Commune; and Dumas, President; and Coffinhal, Vice-
President of the Revolutionary Tribunal. His design was very simple. He
would denounce his adversaries of the Committee of Public Safety at the
bar of the Convention and ask for their arrest and judgment. Should the
Convention resist, he would subdue them with the help of Hauriot and his
troops, and of all sections of the Commune, who on a sign from him and
from Fleuriot, Payan, Dumas, Coffinhal, and their friends, would be stirred
to insurrection, and would take the Tuileries by storm.

As to Olivier and the two women, they were always under his hand.
Olivier, at La Force Prison, was in no way disturbed. Clarisse and Thérèse
had been kept at La Bourbe by his orders. Twice the names of Olivier's
mother and fiancée had appeared on the list of the Revolutionary Tribunal,
and twice their names had been struck off by Robespierre, who, anxious and
watchful, took care that all lists should be submitted to him.
Soon the decisive hour approached. It was the 7th Thermidor. Six weeks
had elapsed since the memorable Fête of the Supreme Being, and the
passing of the horrible Prairial law, which had sent hundreds of victims to
the scaffold. The Terror was at its height, and France, prostrate before the
knife of the guillotine, was awaiting in distracted anxiety the result of the
struggle. The guillotine was also waiting, ready to devour whichever of the
two parties was vanquished—Robespierre's opponents or Robespierre
himself and his partisans.

The Incorruptible, driven to the last extremity, had fixed the battle for
the next day, the 8th Thermidor, when he would throw off his mask and
accuse his adversaries of the Committee of Public Safety in presence of the
Convention. Although he was almost certain of the issue, he deemed it none
the less prudent to take infinite precautions, and to put Olivier and the two
women in perfect safety, in case of defeat, however impossible it might
seem. They must be taken from prison, and all three placed in some secure
retreat, out of the reach of danger, from whence they could escape if
necessary.

Robespierre thought of the Hôtel de Ville, where he reigned supreme.


Behind this, in the Rue du Martroy, were some unoccupied apartments, in a
building connected with and forming part of the hotel. Clarisse might live
there with her niece and Olivier until they could with safety leave Paris. He
unfolded his projects to Lebas, who alone knew of the secret drama which
poisoned the private life of the Incorruptible at the very moment when his
public career was reaching its climax. Lebas approved the plan.

"I am entirely at your service!"

"Thanks. I was counting on your help. But don't let us be too hasty. To-
morrow will be time enough. Everything depends on the sitting. If you see
that the majority hesitate from the commencement, go immediately to La
Bourbe and take the two women out, then to La Force and see about my
son. The apartments are ready. You have only to take them there. But save
the women first. Olivier must find his mother and his fiancée when he
arrives."
Then taking two papers from his pocket, he added, "Here are the
warrants of release."

"Agreed!" said Lebas, after reading them.

Next day at the Convention, Lebas, a parliamentary expert, judged that


Robespierre would come out victorious from the contest, nor was he
mistaken. The Incorruptible had brought a general accusation, without
mentioning names, against members of the Committee of Public Safety and
General Security. This was received in anxious silence, a few only daring to
protest. But the printing of the speech, and its circulation in all the
communes of Paris, was none the less voted. It was an official accusation,
by the voice of Robespierre, of his adversaries, before the whole of France.
It was victory; and nothing was left but to name the victims.

But the implicated members of the Committee of Public Safety did not
give him time. Vadier boldly made for the tribune, followed by Cambon,
who, feeling it was a case of kill or cure, played a daring game, and replied
to the general accusation of Robespierre by a direct, personal accusation,
denouncing him openly to the astonished Assembly. The real traitor, he
declared, was this masterful Robespierre, who paralysed the will of the
National Convention!

There was a counter-wave of feeling among the members of the


Assembly at this public indictment, and censure of their slavish submission
to Robespierre. They seemed suddenly to realise their position, and the
more daring members, seeing the tide turn, prepared for the fight. Thus the
attacked were in their turn attacking.

Billaud-Varennes succeeded Cambon at the tribune.

"The mask must be torn aside, no matter whose face it covers!" he cried.
"I would rather my corpse should be the stepping-stone of the ambitious
than by my silence be an accomplice of their crimes!"

Others succeeded Billaud-Varennes, reiterating his accusations more


boldly and insultingly. Robespierre, disconcerted, tried to face the storm,
but it was too late. In confining himself to a general accusation, in
mentioning no names, he had frightened every one. The Assembly revoked
their previous decision, and amended the Bill. The speech was not to be
sent to the Communes, but to the Committee, to be examined.

"What!" cried Robespierre, "I have the courage to make before the
Convention revelations which I believe necessary to the salvation of the
country, and my speech is to be submitted for examination to the very men
whom I accuse!"

Victory had been followed by defeat; a partial defeat, it was true, for,
seeing the hesitating attitude of the Convention, Robespierre hoped to win
them back again the next day. He must, however, be prepared for every
emergency! That very evening he would take steps to organise an
insurrection of the Communes, which, in case of resistance, would
annihilate the whole set of dastardly cowards. The Incorruptible wished to
act within legal bounds as long as possible, and only to overstep them when
forced to do so.

Robespierre looked round for Lebas, but he had disappeared, and this
gave him grounds for hope that the two women, and perhaps Olivier, had
reached the private apartments chosen by him in the Rue du Martroy.

"I must go and make sure that all is well," he said to himself; "there is
not a moment to lose"—and leaving the Convention, he hastened in the
direction of the Hôtel de Ville.

CHAPTER X

THE TUMBRILS

At that very moment Lebas reached the Hôtel de Ville with Clarisse and
Thérèse. On leaving the prison of La Bourbe he had given a false address to
the coachman who drove the prisoners, and he followed them at a distance
in another carriage, accompanied by a man to superintend the luggage, who
was one of the attendants at the Hôtel de Ville, and a devoted adherent of
Robespierre. The second carriage soon overtook the first, when Lebas gave
the correct address to the driver—

"13, Rue du Martroy!"

Clarisse and Thérèse mounted the stairs more dead than alive, ushered
up respectfully by Lebas, and Urbain, the attendant, carrying their luggage.
Where were they going? Who were these people? Lebas at the prison had
scarcely spoken to Clarisse.

"For your safety," he had said simply, "for your niece's safety, do not
question me before we arrive at our destination."

For her safety? For Thérèse's safety! Then they were to be saved? Who
could save them? She would surely learn now who it was.

The two men stopped on the third floor, and Urbain opened a door.

"It is here!" said Lebas, making way for them to pass in.

The two women entered, and found themselves in a plain sitting-room


with fittings and furniture of dark grey wood. Urbain took the luggage to a
door opening on the left, through which a bedroom was visible.

"You must make yourself quite at home, here," said Lebas.

And he informed them that they were free, but from motives of
prudence he who had saved them, and for whom Lebas was acting, had
judged it advisable to offer them these apartments as a temporary residence,
where they would be entirely out of danger's reach. Clarisse and Thérèse
could not recover from their surprise, and wished to know to whom they
owed their deliverance. But Lebas would not tell them, having received no
orders to that effect. All he could say to reassure them was that their
protector was all-powerful at the Paris Commune, and that the apartments
were in direct communication, through a door which he indicated, with the
Hôtel de Ville, so that they were under his immediate care.

Clarisse started. She understood now. She owed her safety to the
Incorruptible! Her letter of the preceding month had reached Robespierre.
She knew this already, as he had acknowledged it in a few brief words three
days after receiving it—"Fear nothing, your son is safe!" And this was all
she had heard.

Lebas was still giving the women particulars of their new surroundings.
Everything had been arranged to render them as comfortable as possible.
The man who had accompanied them was entirely at their disposal, and it
was to his interest to serve them well. His wife would see also to their
wants, and take charge of their apartments, where they would be absolutely
free and unrestrained.

Only one precaution was earnestly recommended to them; to show


themselves as little as possible at the windows of their sitting or bed room,
so as not to attract the attention of neighbours. They were especially told to
avoid this in the afternoon, from four to six. The windows looked on to the
Rue du Martroy, through which the carts carrying the condemned passed.
The scaffold was now installed at the Barrière du Trône Renversé, and it
was the shortest way.

The two women shuddered.

"Unhappily we had no choice," Lebas added, seeing their repugnance,


"but you will be warned by the cries of the crowd, and you can then retire to
the dining-room which looks on to the courtyard. It lasts but a quarter of an
hour or twenty minutes, at the most."

But Clarisse scarcely listened, her whole mind occupied with one
thought, the longing to inform Olivier, whose whereabouts she hoped soon
to learn, of their release from prison.

"Could I write a few words to some one who is very dear to me?" she
asked. "I wish to set his mind at rest about our welfare."
Lebas replied in the affirmative, and she thanked him gratefully. He
politely protested; she owed him no thanks, these were solely due to him
whose orders he was executing. He then offered to take the letter himself,
saying he would return for it in a quarter of an hour, as he had another
urgent duty to fulfil. And he retired, leaving the two women with Urbain,
who busied himself arranging the furniture of the sitting-room.

Thérèse, now full of hope, gave thanks to God. They would perhaps
soon see Olivier again. What joy! But to whom did they owe their release?
She looked inquiringly at her aunt. Clarisse owned that she believed it was
to an ex-secretary of Thérèse's grandfather, now all-powerful, and to whom
she had written from the prison of La Bourbe. Thérèse seemed astonished
that her aunt had not told her of this. But Clarisse made the very plausible
excuse that she did not wish to raise her hopes, not knowing whether her
appeal would have success.

The young girl was now looking through the shutters of one of the
windows which Urbain had partly opened.

"Ah! there is a church!" she exclaimed, and immediately she thought


that if they were allowed to go out she would go and pray for their
protector, for he could not be all-powerful and not have done wrong; he
must belong also to the Government of Terror.

At the mention of a church, Clarisse approached the window. She


recognised the building; it was St. Gervais Church, on whose portal could
be read in large letters the sadly ironical inscription: "National Property, to
be let as a Warehouse."

At Clarisse's request Urbain had placed an ink-stand and blotting-paper


on the table, and Clarisse hearing it was ready turned round joyfully. "At
last I can write to Olivier!" she thought.

She then seated herself at the table and began to write, while Thérèse
was making a tour round the room, taking a survey of the furniture.
Suddenly catching sight of an illustrated paper on a sofa, she took it up to
pass the time away. It was five weeks old, and had been preserved no doubt
on account of the illustrations. Its pages gave an elaborate account of the

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