- Thousands of fishermen fill a large muddy pond and cast their nets in the southern Mali town of San, for Snake Mon, a collective fishing ritual.
- For several hundred years, people have gathered for the event, which is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
- The marathon session of collective fishing celebrates the town’s founding and marks the beginning of the rainy season.
- Climate change and heat waves are disturbing the tradition. Heat waves in Mali in recent years have caused the pond to start drying out.
- Temperatures in the town have reached a record this year at 48.5 degrees Celsius (119 degrees Fahrenheit)
Dig Deeper: Read about India’s Intangible cultural heritage traditions on the UNESCO list.
