Abstract

FROMMING, Urte Undine. Kilimanjaro’s melting glaciers: on the colonial and postcolonial perception and appropriation of African nature. Etnográfica [online]. 2009, vol.13, n.2, pp.395-416. ISSN 0873-6561.

Over the past decade, the melting glaciers of Kilimanjaro have come to symbolise the effects of global warming. At the same time, increased tourism in the region has an ambivalent quality as the industry capitalises on the celebration of the same nature (and its western appropriation) that is threatened by tourism’s major influence on world climate. In European perceptions, Mount Kilimanjaro has, since its first discovery in the 18^th century, become an epitome of overwhelming beauty, representing - until today - wilderness and adventure to the more than 20,000 international tourists who climb the mountain each year. This paper traces how these perceptions are grounded in the foundations of aesthetic modernity that continue to shape the attraction of Mount -Kilimanjaro. Further examinations focus on the consequences for the local population as well as the relationships between local inhabitants and international visitors attracted by the scale-making projects of an industry that continues the colonial conquest.

Keywords : Kilimanjaro; scale; tourism; nature; aesthetics.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in English     · English ( pdf )