Bassari countries

The World Heritage Site, known as the Bassari Countries, is a collection of well-preserved cultural landscapes and is located in three geographical areas in the south-eastern part of Senegal (near the border with Mali and Guinea ): Salemata, Bandafassi and Dindifello ^[3] . Despite the common name, the cultural heritage of the Bassari , Bedik and Fula peoples who inhabited these areas from the 11th to the 19th centuries differs, including as a result of adaptation of living conditions to the environment. The cultural landscape of the Salemata region, where the Bassari lived, is characterized by terraces and rice fields that are interspersed with villages, villages and archaeological sites. Bedik villages are characterized by a dense arrangement of huts, which in turn are characterized by steep thatched roofs ^[1] . Until the 20th century, villages were usually located on higher elevations, controlling lowlands with fields, but later on the Bassari settled more widely, usually near the fields, and ancient villages retain only ritual significance ^[3] .

In the territory included in the Bassari countries, a traditional rural life has been preserved with its own system of rituals and customs, formed under the influence of the environment and interaction with other peoples. In general, this region is relatively inaccessible, but rich in natural resources and serves as a habitat for numerous plant and animal species. The two main geographical landscapes in the region are floodplain floodplains and captivated in the north and mountains in the south. The northern part is a patchwork of cultivated lands, pastures and shrub groves, and the natural caves in the southern part provided opportunities for the development and defense of individual cultural groups. As a result, numerous early traces of human activity have been discovered in the Bassari Countries. In the region, such management methods as community farming, the use of manure as fertilizer and crop rotation were used ^[3] .