As a landscape Archaeologist and reseacher (and therefore a regular visitor) at the Tsodilo hills, let me share with you the following abstract the full paper of which may be presented at the October Icomos general Assembly whose theme focuses on 'Intangible Cultural heritage'.

The reason I share this with you is so that next time when you visit Tsodilo you should take time to experience the intangible as experienced by the local community and pilgrims to the site.

"Mapping and Managing the Intangible Heritage at World Heritage sites-the case of Tsodilo"

By Phillip Segadika, Landscape Archaeologist-Botswana National Museum

"'Criterion 6' of the cultural properties of the World Heritage is one of the reasons why Tsodilo is recognised as being of 'outstanding Universal value'. This is because the Ju/hoasi and Hambukushu communities living at Tsodilo know that Tsodilo is the ancestral home to the spirits of all living creatures. As prove to this, the local shamans, guides and herbalists point to specific areas, which are testimony to the marks of the first animals, the first people, the first sex spot as well as the first and eternal water spring in the Tsodilo landscape. An ongoing study suggests that the apparent conflict on te interpretation of the history of the Tsodilo rock art by Jo/huasi and Hambukushu communities converges into a conservation plan rooted in the cosmology which supercedes and unites the politics of ownership. This paper also analyses the nomination dossier and current management plan of Tsodilo in terms of the intangible cultural heritage. Recommendations are then made for managing the intangible heritage of Tsodilo and a model proposed for managing the intangible heritage of African World heritage Sites."