Tunisian heritage dictionary redefines national history beyond monuments

Tunisia's understanding of its heritage is undergoing a cultural revolution with the release of the "Dictionnaire du patrimoine tunisien." Directed by Professor Abdelhamid Larguèche and a multidisciplinary team, the dictionary moves beyond the traditional focus on ancient stones and coastal monuments.

For too long, Tunisia's heritage was synonymous with sites like the Bardo Museum mosaics, the El Jem Colosseum, or the ruins of Carthage. This new work, however, elevates the value of oral histories from oasis communities, the intricate weaving techniques of the South, and the ancestral hydraulic knowledge of mountain regions. It seeks to give equal weight to the living traditions and memories of the interior and popular neighborhoods as to the grand monuments.

The dictionary's structure underscores this shift: 40% of its 1,276 entries are dedicated to intangible and memorial heritage, such as festivals, tales, and know-how. Monumental heritage accounts for 27.7%, natural and ecological heritage for 26.3%, and cultural landscapes for 6.1%. This emphasis on living gestures over static stone aims to correct a historical asymmetry that favored coastal cities over inland regions, the southern ksour, oases, and Saharan areas.

To illustrate this inclusive vision, the team introduced the concept of the "heritage basin." This framework views a region, like a Tunisian oasis, not just by its physical structures but as an inseparable whole. It encompasses the traditional irrigation systems, the oral poetry of its inhabitants, palm cultivation, local fauna, and the landscape shaped by generations. The dictionary thus offers a powerful tool for understanding and preserving the totality of Tunisia's rich and diverse heritage.