Royal Court of Tiébélé

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Established since the 16th century at the foot of the hill of Tchébili, 172 km south of the capital Ouagadougou and approximately fifteen kilometres north of the border with Ghana, the Royal Court of Tiébélé is an earthen architectural complex that bears testimony to the social organisation and cultural values of the Kasena people.  

Its specific architecture, which combines earth, wood, cow dung and straw, is arranged according to a social and spatial distribution inside the Court based on the status of the inhabitants. A distinction is drawn between the mother houses or Dinian, the foundational structures of the domain, with a figure-of-eight floor plan, reserved for the elderly, widows, unmarried women and children; the houses of the young married people, which are quadrangular (Mangolo); and the houses of the adolescent and unmarried men, which are circular (Draa).

In addition to the houses, there are symbolic sacred elements: the pourou, the sacred tumulus where the placenta of the new-borns of the royal family are buried; the red fig tree marking the entrance to the Court, beneath which are placed the sacred stones (dala), on which sit the princes and dignitaries; the nabari, the tomb of the founder of the royal family; the nankongo, which is used as a law court and place of parley; and the bonnalè, the cemetery of the Royal Court. These elements bear eloquent testimony to the preservation of traditional practices specific to Kasena culture.

The Court is also the embodiment of practices and knowhow which help to make it an evolving and living site. The practice of mural decoration, exclusively reserved to the women of the Court, is subject to a repertory of motifs that are both ancient and constantly renewed, and passed on from generation to generation by observation and practice, and by the organisation of ceremonies and competitions. The ritual practices that are fundamental to the ancestor cult and the funeral rites are an integral part of the spiritual and temporal rituals that are specific to Kasena culture, under the authority of the Pê.

Criterion (iii): The Royal Court of Tiébélé is an outstanding example of an earthen architectural complex, which is distinctive in terms of its construction techniques, its spatial, social and functional distribution, the role of men and women in its construction, the plurality of its architectural forms, its decorative style and its specificity as a living site. It is an outstanding illustration of Kasena culture, of which the Royal Court architecture and mural decorations are representative, and of the associated social, anthropological and political aspects. These characteristics bear outstanding and living testimony to the culture and traditions of the Kasena people, which have evolved over time while preserving the identity and values of the Kasena people.

Integrity

The integrity of the Royal Court of Tiébélé is based on the set of concession huts and on the sacred symbolic elements that continue to be used today. The Royal Court has retained its original site and has been preserved from urban development up to the present day by its immediate surroundings, which are still predominantly natural. The property embodies all the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value. However, integrity continues to be threatened by a lack of maintenance, or even the ruin of certain concessions, and the use of new materials and chemicals. Furthermore, the maintenance of the concessions and their alterations lead sometimes to construction malpractices that cause problems of rising damp, erosion and water drainage. Lastly, hut construction techniques are changing, particularly with the use of the adobe technique, the making of cement brick foundations and the use of tar-based paint coatings; if these practices become widespread, they could adversely affect the integrity of the property.

Authenticity

The Royal Court of Tiébélé has successfully preserved its authenticity with regards to the conservation or evolution of traditional practices, both as concerns construction methods and the architecture that is specific to the Kasena culture and way of life, which includes the social distribution of tasks of construction and decoration. It is however important to put in place a system that ensures the preservation of ancient motifs, while enabling evolution through the creation of new motifs, thereby strengthening the living character of the property and of the practices and knowhow associated with its architecture. The development of the use of new materials, such as cement, corrugated sheet metal, metal windows and tar and other chemicals to replace the natural pigments used for the mural decorations, could adversely affect the authenticity of the property.

Protection and management requirements

The Royal Court of Tiébélé is under the administrative supervision of the General Directorate of Culture and Art. The Court is legally protected by the Law 024-2007/AN of 13 November 2007 for the protection of the cultural heritage of Burkina Faso and Decree n°2014-1019/PRES/PM/MCT/MEDD/MATS/MATDS of 28 October 2014 for the classification of cultural and natural properties and their inscription on the Tentative List of the heritage of Burkina Faso. Law n°014/96/ADP of 23 May 1996 for agricultural and land reorganisation in Burkina Faso (RAF) allows the community to dispose of its domain, that is the whole of the Court and a large proportion of the buffer zone, which is a property owned by the Pê. The intangible dimension of the Court is taken into account by the Order n°2015-0338/MCT/SG of 23 December 2015 for the proclamation of the Living Human Treasures of Burkina Faso. The management of the Royal Court of Tiébélé is traditionally the task of the Pê (the customary Chief) and of the community.

A conservation and management plan for 2022-2026 was validated in 2021. Two bodies have been set up to implement the plan: a local committee responsible for implementing the plan through conservation actions for the property, and a scientific committee whose task is to carry out specific studies of the property.

The protection and management plan will be strengthened by the incorporation in the management and conservation plan of the existence and potential impacts of land use and development projects that are ongoing or that may arise in the future, the recourse to Heritage Impact Assessments, risk management and monitoring of the implementation of the conservation plan, while defining the roles, responsibilities and modes of operation of the local committee and the scientific committee.