Tourism and the management of cultural resources in the Pays Dogon, Mali

The Pays Dogon, designated a joint Natural/Cultural World Heritage Site in 1989, is Mali's leading tourist attraction receiving 6,000 visitors per year with an annual growth of 10% which may increase when a new access road is constructed. Tourism is the major source of income for the Dogon who have lived in picturesque villages clinging to the sides of the 600m cliffs of the Bandiagara escarpment since the 15th century. The Dogon are best known to Europeans for their masked dances and powerful woodcarvings, much prized by collectors. Loss of cultural property by illicit trading combined with alteration of the traditional masked dances for visitor preference is contributing to cultural change within Dogon communities. The harmony and cohesion which enabled the Dogon to resist the colonial power is being threatened by a new set of historical constructs and priorities indicating that Dogon culture is more fragile when confronted with the 20th century.