Cameroon
Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape
The Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains comprises archaeological ruins and agricultural terraces.
The 16 dry stone structures (walls, platforms) date from the 12th to 17th centuries. They were not constructed by the contemporary inhabitants of the region, the Mafa, but by people whom the Mafa consider to be their ancestors. The structures have probably fulfilled different functions (ceremonial, residential, agricultural) in the communities of the builders.
Community Perspective: No reviews yet! According to the ICOMOS evaluation, visitors are sporadic due to the security situation in the region.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains (ID: 1745)
- Country
- Cameroon
- Status
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Inscribed 2025
Site history
History of Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape
- 2025: Inscribed
- Meets criterion iii
- 2023: Requested by State Party to not be examined
- 2021: Preparatory Assistance
- Finalization of the management plan for the Cultural Landscape of Diy-GidBiy
- 2020: Revision
- Successor to Le paysage Culturel de Diy-Gid-Biy (2018)
- 2020: Revision
- Successor to Le paysage Culturel de Diy-Gid-Biy (2018)
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org
Community Information
- Community Category
- Cultural Landscape: Relict
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
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Built in the 12th century
"These dry-stone architectural structur… -
Tumuli
"The tombs reserved for dignitaries con… -
Tombs
"There are also tombs, associated with …
Connections of Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape
- Geography
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Sahel
"(...) the Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains provides a unique testimony to cultural and technical knowledge and know-how, combining monumental dry-stone architecture and a socio-political and religious organisation adapted to the challenges of a difficult mountain environment, climate change in the Sudano-Sahel area, and regional insecurity." (Ab Ev)
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- Architecture
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Dry Stone Construction
"The Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains is a unique testament to a now-vanished civilisation, which created a remarkable dry-stone architecture, organised into terraces, that is very rare in sub-Saharan Africa." – "The ruins are dry-stone architectural structures (i.e. without mortar) built with stones of various types (granite, basalt, quartz, etc.) taken from their immediate surroundings." (Ab Ev)
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- Religion and Belief
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Taboo
"The property is also subject to a set of traditional protections and taboos prohibiting access to the Diy-Gid-Biy ruins outside of rituals." (Ab Ev) -
Ancestor Worship
"The DGB ruins are actively used by the Mafa, who regard them as sanctuaries inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors and use them as sacrificial and ritual sites." – "There are also tombs, associated with a specific ceremony that testifies to the attachment of the communities to ancestor worship, which are shaped according to the status of the deceased." (Ab Ev)
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- Human Activity
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Man-made Terraces
"The Diy-Gid-Biy Cultural Landscape of the Mandara Mountains (...) is organised, in the form of terraces, around a group of sixteen archaeological ruins, or Diy-Gid-Biy, spread across seven villages associated with agricultural terraces." – "According to the additional information from February 2025, the DGBs are also associated with agricultural terraces (...)." (Ab Ev)
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- Constructions
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Tombs
"There are also tombs, associated with a specific ceremony that testifies to the attachment of the communities to ancestor worship, which are shaped according to the status of the deceased. The tombs reserved for dignitaries consist of a cylindrical well, closed with a large stone slab and topped by a low tumulus delimited by a stone wall. They are four-sided in shape. "Ordinary" people's tombs are marked with a simple stone slab, or a cylindrical tumulus for men who have been able to sacrifice a bull during their lives." (Ab Ev) -
Tumuli
"The tombs reserved for dignitaries consist of a cylindrical well, closed with a large stone slab and topped by a low tumulus delimited by a stone wall. They are four-sided in shape. "Ordinary" people's tombs are marked with a simple stone slab, or a cylindrical tumulus for men who have been able to sacrifice a bull during their lives." (Ab Ev)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 12th century
"These dry-stone architectural structures were probably built between the 12th and 17th centuries." (AB Ev)
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News
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