During the months of August and September 2006, one of the primary tasks of the Government of Mauritius will be to complete the Nomination Dossier of Le Morne Brabant mountain which will be submitted to Unesco?s World Heritage Centre with the objective of having it inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites. The success of this inscription process is one of the most cherished wishes of the Mauritian nation, after all it is widely known that during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Le Morne Brabant mountain and its surroundings served as a refuge for some of the maroons or fugitive slaves of Mauritius.

At the same time, Le Morne is considered to be the most famous slave site in Mauritius and forms an integral part of the history of the maroons and their long struggle for freedom in this former British colony. However, it should be noted that the submission of a well-researched, well-organized and well-written Nomination dossier for Le Morne Brabant mountain, with a credible Management Plan, by 30th September of this year, is an extremely difficult and daunting task.

● Unesco & Le Morne

The long process to have Le Morne inscribed on the prestigious list of World Heritage Sites started more than three years ago. Between 26th March and 5th April 2003, a two-person mission from Unesco was in Mauritius to prepare ?la Liste indicative de l?île Maurice? or a tentative list of sites to be considered as candidates for World Heritage Site status.

The two representatives were Dr Elizabeth Wangari, Chief of the Africa Unit at Unesco?s World Heritage Centre, and Mr. Hadi Saliba, a consultant of Unesco?s World Heritage Centre. On 28th July 2003, Le Morne was placed on the tentative list based on four of the ten criteria which are used by the World Heritage Committee of Unesco to inscribe proposed sites on the World Heritage List. The specific criteria selected for Le Morne were Criteria (ii), (iii), (v), (vi) which focus exclusively on the cultural value, historical importance and universal significance of a site.

● Strategy for the dossier

In order for the Government of Mauritius to submit a solid and credible Nomination dossier for Le Morne Brabant mountain, a well-planned and multi-pronged strategy will have to be adopted immediately. It should include such things as the setting up a technical team of professional historians, archaeologists, heritage and cave experts to work on the dossier on a full-time basis, under the aegis of the Le Morne Trust Fund, as well as a comprehensive archaeological survey of Le Morne Brabant mountain and its surroundings. A detailed documentation of the site is essential and a special focus will have to be given to the numerous caves found on the mountain.

At the same time, the artifacts discovered in the three overhang caves on Le Morne in 2002, which show evidence of human presence, must also be further examined and this data be included in the Nomination dossier. In addition, the land located around the base of the mountain should also be well-documented and, if need be, excavated to find evidence of human occupation.

The historical information which was uncovered at the Mauritius Archives on Le Morne Brabant during the Maroon Archaeology Project in 2002 and 2003 is extremely meager. It should be mentioned that only twelve archival documents, from the period between mid-1700s and early 1800s, have been found which mention that maroons or fugitive slaves were captured in the vicinity of Le Morne.

● Further study of Le Morne

It is evident that further research should be undertaken by a team of historians with the collaboration of the Mauritius Archives in order to locate additional archival documents. This type of archival research should focus a great deal on the period between 1810 and 1839 and specifically on the volumes in the JB series for the early British period. In addition, some of the concepts and ideas which were put forward in the Maroon Archaeology Report can also be used when looking at the significance of Le Morne mountain.

After all, when writing on the historical importance of Le Morne Brabant mountain, it is essential to show that it is the most important slave site and maroon refuge in Mauritius which is intimately tied with universal ideals such as individual freedom and resistance to oppression. Therefore, it is imperative to place a lot of emphasis on the fact that slavery, slave resistance, maroonage and the slave trade have helped to shape the colonial history of Mauritius and Le Morne played an integral part in this process.

A lot of emphasis should be placed on the fact that the maroons of Mauritius and those captured near Le Morne mountain were not only Africans, but also Malagasies, Indians, and some even Mauritian creole slaves. These facts will send a clear signal to the Unesco World Heritage Centre that this famous Mauritian mountain belongs to the entire Mauritian nation.

In addition, it is imperative to situate Le Morne Brabant mountain as well as slavery, the slave trade and maroonage in Mauritius within a regional and global perspective. A lot of emphasis should be placed on the fact that maroonage and slave resistance occurred in all the modern European colonies where slavery existed, such as Mauritius, and the importance of Le Morne must be shown within this specific context in modern world history.

● Importance of Le Morne

This strategy can be achieved by comparing and linking Le Morne, as a national maroon heritage site, with other national maroon heritage sites around the world such as Nanny Town, Marshall?s Hall, Old Accompong and Seaman?s Valley in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, the caves of Cape Hangklip near Cape Town in South Africa, and Kumako, Tuido, Bakakum, Sentea in the highlands of central Surinam in South America.

This scholarly approach can be accomplished by seeking the expertise of the Maroonage Heritage Research Project (MHRP) which is based in the United States and is coordinated by Professor Dr Kofi Agorsah, a world famous maroon archaeologist. Ever since 1990, the Maroonage Heritage Research Project has studied and published numerous academic studies on the national maroon heritage sites in Jamaica and Suriname.

It is evident that the views and advice of scholars of the MHRP will be a valuable contribution in pushing forward arguments which will clearly show the importance of Le Morne Brabant within a global perspective and in the African diaspora in the Indian Ocean. It is also essential to demonstrate that Le Morne can form the basis for a local Mauritian Slave Route Project which can be linked with Unesco?s International Slave Route Project.

Another key component for the nomination dossier will be the intangible importance of Le Morne as territoire marron through oral history and oral tradition as well as its symbolism for the descendants of Mauritian slaves. For them, this mountain lives in their popular imagination and culture. This is clearly seen in their songs, stories, and social tradition/practice, and commemoration ceremonies such as on 1st February each year.

These facts are clearly emphasized by Professor E. Kofi Agorsah who recently explained:

?It is the availability of historical records from the Mauritius Archives as well as oral traditions about maroon sites, such as Le Morne, that make them even more important for both their symbolical and cultural values, particularly, for the Mauritian population of African descent. Mauritius stands out as one of the few areas in the Indian Ocean with some documentation and evidence of Maroon activities and there is no reason why considerable effort should not be made to save and preserve those sites. Maroons sites represent freedom. They represent a highly priced symbol of the history of the people of Mauritius.?

Central to Le Morne Brabant mountain?s Nomination Dossier will be its Management Plan and buffer zone. It is imperative to draft a well-written and well-planned Management Plan which will carry a firm government commitment in controlling and limiting the forthcoming Intergrated Scheme Project on the Le Morne peninsula. The fauna and flora located within the buffer zone or the zone of delimitation around the Le Morne will also have to be preserved.

Another important component of the Nomination dossier is the submission of an effective and feasible Visitor Management Plan as well as a proposal for the establishment of a micro-slave museum or Interpretation Centre related to slavery and maroonage.

At the same time, it is crucial to address the question of how will the descendants of Mauritian slaves, other Mauritians, and tourists have access to the base, slopes and summit of Le Morne mountain and its impact on the mountain?s natural environment? In addition, what will a future museum or Interpretation Centre contain to illustrate and honor the history, achievements and memories of the Mauritian slaves and maroons? These are some of the key questions which will have to be addressed during the coming weeks when the Nomination dossier of Le Morne Brabant mountain will be finalized by the Government of Mauritius.

Satyendra PEERTHUM