Rocking the Cradle

The Cradle of Humankind’s official visitors’ centre, Maropeng, has launched its newest campaign – Isivivane, which means ‘leave your legacy’. Isivivane is an ancient African tradition which refers to the pile of stones often seen at the entrance of a village. These stones were placed there by travellers as they left the village. There is evidence of this at many ancient settlements and at the entrances of villages throughout the continent.

The idea behind Maropeng’s Isivivane campaign is to make it possible for visitors to leave their mark for others to see, and to show their families. Each visitor will be able to purchase a rock at the gift shop, and have their name carved into it. The rock will then be placed in a location within Maropeng that is yet to be decided. The campaign, which was launched on 15 August, is also a method of trying to increase the number of local visitors to the centre, by making it appeal to them as well as to foreign visitors.

The Cradle of Humankind is a paleo-anthropological site, and was declared a World Heritage Site (WHS) by Unesco in 1999. Significantly, it is an iconic site, of global importance – and it is one of only eight world heritage locations in the country – and Gauteng’s only World Heritage Site. Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves are two of the most prominent tourist attraction in this WHS, and the management and staff are working on ways to make these landmarks appeal to the locals, as well as the tourists.

Related articles: Building dreams in the Cradle of Humankind A different kind of leadership for Maropeng Sterkfontein Caves produce two new hominin fossils

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