Ouagadougou: The inhabitants of the Royal Court of Tiébélé, in the province of Nahouri, are in ‘immense joy’ 72 hours after the announcement of the inscription of the palace on the world heritage list of UNESCO, July 26, 2024 in New Delhi, India.
July 26, 2024 was a day of jubilation in the province of Nahouri, particularly in Tiébélé, within the royal palace which brought together more than 400 people divided into 54 families.
On Monday July 29, 2024, three days after the inclusion of the Royal Court on the UNESCO World Heritage List, in New Delhi, India, hearts are still overflowing with joy.
‘It was on the national radio news that I learned the news. I really welcomed her with great satisfaction and immense joy,’ confided the representative of the chief of Tiébélé, Aboungou Aneyan.
‘We were in the field when they called us to give us the information. On the spot, I let out a loud cry of joy and other women who were next to me did the same,’ explained Kalira Alice Nion, the head of the Pêbatchoga group,
a female structure within the royal court which works on the regular restoration of mural paintings.
The drawings and various representations which line most of the walls and 126 squares of the palace, as well as the defensive features of the architecture and the use of local materials for construction, are, among other things, their works which make the originality of the royal court around 500 years old.
However, the high expenses for the acquisition of construction materials, the perverse effects of climatic hazards on the durability of buildings, the problem of the transmission of know-how due to the abandonment of traditional practice to the detriment of modern tools and techniques are today among the difficulties that arise in safeguarding the authenticity of the royal court.
A glimmer of hope
For the representative of the chief of Tiébélé, the inclusion of the Court on the UNESCO World Heritage shortlist gives a glimmer of hope.
‘We really expect significant support from UNESCO to be able to conti
nue to maintain this jewel which is no longer only a heritage of Tiébélé nor of Burkina Faso, but of the whole world,’ said Aboungou Aneyan.
Kalira Alice Nion, too, launched the same cry of heart, believing that by supporting them for this purpose, this could, in turn, encourage, in several Kassena families, a return to their sources.
‘It will no longer be just in the royal court but almost everywhere that we will now see authentic architecture as in time,’ she hoped.
For the guide and member of the Royal Court, Bayeidiena Abdou, the new status of the palace is, undoubtedly, a window of opportunities for the inhabitants of the commune and the whole of Burkina Faso in general.
‘In just three days after the announcement of the registration we can already sense the growing interest in the site. Over time, we assume that people will come from all four corners of the world and this will benefit the development of several sectors of activity at the local and national level,’ he stressed.
He was delighted, more
over, to know that beyond these advantages linked to tourism, the investment efforts for the maintenance of the royal court of Tiébélé in the state will make it possible to safeguard a centuries-old cultural heritage which is threatened with extinction.
Source: Burkina Information Agency