@phdthesis{Chami2019, author = {Chami, Maximilian}, title = {Sacred Limestone Caves : Management and the use of sacred heritage places in limestone cave areas along the Swahili Coast of Indian Ocean in Tanzania}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:co1-opus4-51089}, school = {BTU Cottbus - Senftenberg}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Tanzania is the land which has extensive Limestone Caves along the Swahili Coast of East Africa. Many of these Limestone Caves believed to be formed about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic age when these areas were underwater. For a long time, Swahili communities along the coast of East Africa used the Limestone Caves as the places of worship, praying and conducting ritual practices. These Limestone Caves have been regarded as the Mosques, Churches or Temples by these Swahili communities who have been associated with the Caves for a long time before colonial time in 17th-19th Century. After independence in 1961, the Tanzanian government took over many of the Limestone Caves to manage and protect them as the national heritage under the Antiquities Divisions and other heritage governing bodies. However, in Tanzania the protection of Limestone Caves as Sacred Heritage Places have been only through modern laws which were inherited from colonial masters and are yet to produce satisfactory results on the best practice of these places, even after amendments. Other problems facing Sacred Heritage Places in Tanzania are lack of management plans, lack of freedom in worship and failure of Antiquities legislation to recognise traditional beliefs. These problems led to growing concern of different stakeholders regarding the government strategy to ensure prescriptions for best practices of the Sacred Heritage Places in Limestone Cave areas regarding the use, management and conservation. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the use and management of Sacred Heritage Places along the Swahili Coast of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. Data were obtained through focus group discussions, interviews and observations while legal documents were reviewed and analysed using thematic analysis to investigate research themes. The results indicated that there were ritual practices, strict taboos and customary laws used to control access into the Limestone Cave area but tourism and research activities have interfered with the sacred space creating a disconnect between the local communities and their heritage. This disconnection has driven people from their traditional religions into religions like Christianity and Islam. Finally, the thesis proposes MTRCC Framework for a heritage plan for best practice in Sacred Heritage Place in Limestone Cave areas; to be adopted by the Tanzanian Antiquities Divisions and other heritage management authorities to ensure that local communities have access to spaces crucial to their religious life. Also, MTRCC Framework ensures that there are no conflicts or interference from tourism, education and research activities that could result in negative effects for the heritage sites and stakeholders can have equal opportunities to experience these places.}, subject = {Limestone cave; Sacred place; Local communities; Traditional knowledge systems; Swahili Coast; Kalksteinh{\"o}hlen; Swahili K{\"u}ste; Traditionelle Wissenssysteme; Lokale Community; Heilige St{\"a}tten; Tansania; H{\"o}hle; Kalkstein; Heilige St{\"a}tte; Kulturerbe; Kulturst{\"a}tte; Management}, language = {en} }