ABSTRACT
In the recent postcolonial history of Mali, cultural heritage has been viewed by the State as a fundamental part of its development strategy. Alpha Oumar Konare argued that architecture was one, if not the, enduring feature of the cultural heritage and national identity of Mali. Cultural heritage in Mali is to be identified with the strengthening of collective memory, it can do so, it seems, only by reducing the latter to various generic aspects of national identity formation. The aim of restoration had been to rebuild the house to the form prior to the previous rebuilding in 1950, that is, to something like it was in about 1910. Marilyn Waldman argues that 'tradition' in Islam is not fixed or done away with but open to how well it manages change without violating religious prescription. The UNESCO committee defines a world heritage site by considering the contribution it makes to 'universal cultural value'.
