Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses how the activists of the Aromanian ethnic revitalization movement utilize the notion of heritage. I want to argue that the more the “cultural heritage“ is constructed and represented as definitive and unchangeable, the less it really serves as a resource for the revitalization project.

Paper long abstract:

In my paper I would like to discuss how the activists of the Aromanian ethnic revitalization movement in Bulgaria employ the notion of "heritage". The Aromanian revitalization project is being negotiated in the dialectic between the past and the future. The past is decontextualized, simplified, idealized and linked with particular narratives (myths of origin and exodus; narratives of Aromanian character and morality etc.), places (highland pastures, seasonal dwellings, the town of Moskopolis etc.), "traditions" (songs, dances, rituals etc.) and material artefacts (objects embodying (semi)nomadic pastoralism, specific crafts or trade). The resulting image of an essentialized and conserved past is perceived and represented as "The Aromanian Heritage". A substantial part of Aromanian elites considers this heritage as the only resource and legitimization for the restoration of "the Aromanianness" in the future; its obligation rests exactly in its unchangeability. The desired outcome of the revitalization efforts could be described as a utopian vision of a "resurrected heritage".

In my presentation I would like to focus particularly on specific heritage sites (former dwelling of Bakitsa, Bulgaria, and the town of Moskopolis, Albania) and museum of Aromanian culture (Velingrad, Bulgaria) and to show the limits of the above mentioned conceptualization of heritage: the more the "cultural heritage" is being constructed and represented as definitive and unchangeable, the less it really serves as a resource for the revitalization project.

Paper short abstract:

The aim of the paper is to provide insight on how the development of tourism in some of the heritage sites in Cuba provides opportunities to Cubans to earn revenue by renting their house but at the same time generates inequalities in the host community.

Paper long abstract:

The following paper derives from the ethnographic research realised in Cuba in the years 2014 and 2015 in some heritage sites (including the ones listed as such by UNESCO), especially Havana, Matanzas and Viñales Valley. I visited numerous rent houses, private restaurants etc. in order to see how their space was constructed and what associations it was aimed to provoke.

Heritage has become one of the most important focal points of tourism in Cuba. Its development provides Cubans with an opportunity to tackle economic hardships in an subsistence economy. People involved in tourism business in Cuba will therefore strongly refer to this attribute in order to attract visitors (by underling their house was built in colonial style etc).

Babb (2011: 52) attributes the rapid rise of popularity of Cuba to it being perceived "as an amalgam of colonial architecture and traditional life; pre-revolutionary extravagance and nightlife". Nostalgia may be seen as one of the most important reasons to visit the country which is not overrun by international chains of production and consumption and feel a climate of a different, long passed epoch.

By focusing on places promoted as colonial heritage sites and their role in the tourism industry in contemporary Cuba, I aim to inquire into strategies which Cubans adopt in order to earn a decent living. It is important to bear in mind, however, that tourism development also contributes to the rise of social inequalities due to limited access to visitors for some members of the host community.

Paper short abstract:

The connection between music and Afro-descendant heritage politics in Latin America is explored through the study of an international musical production. The political struggles in this process portray intangible heritage as an arena in which national and ethnic representation is disputed.

Paper long abstract:

The album "Cantos y música Afrodescendientes de América Latina", which compiles music of Afro-descendant communities from 13 countries in Latin America, was issued in 2012. It was the first product of an intergovernmental project aimed to safeguard the intangible heritage of Afro Descendant communities in Latin America, which involves the ministries of culture of 13 countries.

The process behind the production of this album provides a privileged view of musical heritagisation processes in Latin America. First, this album is the product of an international debate about which music should be included in this compilation, involving musicians, researchers, activists, bureaucrats and politicians discussing musical aesthetics, safeguarding opportunities and political interests. Second, it involves the formal and informal political negotiations held in order to translate this debate into an actual production. And third, it shows the complex national and international bureaucratic dynamics involved in heritagisation processes.

In this paper, through the study of this musical production, I explore the relationship between music and Afro-descendant heritage politics in Latin America. I argue that musical initiatives held under the framework of intangible cultural heritage are sites in which different ideas about traditional musical aesthetics, goals of heritage safeguarding and political interests towards heritage conflate and are contested. I also argue that products like this album, rather than achieving a single safeguarding goal, are the result of complex political negotiations and therefore meet the objectives of several agents at different levels, which are not necessarily related to music.

Paper short abstract:

The study of dance heritage creation processes in contemporary Kenya led me univocally to isukuti dance that had recently been included in the UNESCO ICH List. This paper reviews some of the political, social and economic underpinnings of this pioneer endeavour and questions the latent representation issues.

Paper long abstract:

In a multi-situated inquiry into dance heritage creation processes in contemporary Kenya, I examine the content and the status of social and political practices grouped under the term "cultural dances of Kenya" and analyse variations of this heritage ensemble.

Intangible cultural heritage is a new and vaguely utilised resource in this natural resource oriented tourist destination. Although its potential developmental advantages are often referred to in political and social discourses, there is still little infrastructural, institutional or economical support for the establishment of real policies and for putting them in place.

In this context, the government nominates a cultural dance for the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding List. The "Isukuti dance of lsukha and ldakho communities of Western Kenya" nomination was accepted in November 2014, while the fieldwork research this analysis is based on was conducted in spring 2014. The political will behind safeguarding isukuti, the competing interest groups involved in the process, the significance of choice in a country with officially 42 ethnic communities, the perceptions of representativity, the question of urgency, the utopian economic and social benefits discourse that accompanied the process and the expectations of local community actors and members are some of the questions I wish to discuss in this paper.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the re-creation of a sense of place in an industrial community and questions how ethnography, through the sharing and self-interpretation of living and everyday practices, can operate a “switch of utopias” from an “imagined community” to a heritage community.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the re-creation of a sense of place in an industrial community, seen as a form of 21st-century utopia. Through the example of an aluminum model city built in Canada from 1925 to the 1960s and the "Memories of Arvida" project, it will present and analyse how the ethnographic study of the everyday living in a company town can support the construction of a narrative of transmission in times of profound urban and social changes.

Arvida can in fact be seen, historically, as one of the last great industrial utopias, and the Arvidians, whether still inhabitants or expatriated, do preserve a sense of historical distinctiveness. The question remains of how the community can sustain the sense of belonging it needs to build in order to achieve its preservation and transmission goal.

It is in this context that the "Memories of Arvida" project was designed as part of a knowledge mobilization initiative. Through the collection of personal stories, it seeks to motivate Arvidians into the sharing and self-interpretation of their existence towards what could then be called a "switch of utopias" from an "imagined community", to paraphrase Anderson, to a heritage community. This paper will question how ethnography can then help reach beyond the institution-driven heritage-making process, in this case by intertwining the individual narratives of Arvida's utopian past and the present practices and imaginaries of the urban landscape as a heritage, e.g. as a collective making of a "better society" through the reinvention of belonging.

Paper short abstract:

Koli Natural Park in Eastern Finland is famous for its’ national landscapes and intangible cultural heritage. The presentation focuses on the contemporary environmental narratives that represent the culturally constructed Koli as a place of mythic and utopian past.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation focuses on the contemporary environmental narratives of Koli National Park in Eastern Finland near the Russian border. The narratives of memories, experiences and images of Koli are written by Finns who have travelled there. The research questions are: What are the meanings of intangible cultural heritage of Koli for the travelers? How are the meanings expressed in the personal narratives? The analysis is based on texts written by authors who took part in a public writing competition in Finland 2013. Participants were asked to tell about their experiences after they had visited and hiked in the national parks of Eastern Finland.

In addition to the nature values of Koli it is considered valuable because of its intangible cultural heritage. During the era of National Romanticism and Karelianism at the turn of the 19th and 20th century the Koli landscape inspired Finnish artists. Through their works (e.g. paintings, literature, music compositions) Koli impressed itself into the minds of Finns. In consequence, Koli functioned as a spiritual symbol in the struggle for national identity. Today Koli is one of the most famous national landscapes in Finland and it still represents the mythic spirit of Kalevala (Finnish national epic) and a place of a utopian past of Finns. Retelling previous studies, the narratives are emphasizing the national significance of Koli's landscapes. Longing for a place of the romantic past and looking for Kalevala-like landscapes are present in the narratives of modern travelers as well.

Paper short abstract:

Does Scottish heritage mean bagpipes, kilts, haggis and whisky? Or is it an image created to enhance a cultural tourism product? The paper aims to investigate heritage making process in the creation of the National Trust for Scotland cruise based around Scottish coast.

Paper long abstract:

Scotland is known worldwide for its heritage. Almost 15 million overnight trips were recorded in Scotland in 2013 alone, bringing £4.6 billion to the Scottish economy (Visit Scotland). The main drivers for such a boost of the country's tourism industry have been identified to be culture and heritage. Thus, the latter can be perceived as a successful stimulus for both direct and indirect revenue. The National Trust for Scotland, a conservation charity that aims to protect and promote Scottish heritage, uses various avenues to benefit from such an increased interest in Scotland as a travel destination. Organising annual cruises based in Scotland is one of them. These trips constitute a suitable case study for this paper as they incorporate heritage potential in multiple ways; by creating an image of Scottish heritage, enabling heritage consumption through excursions, cultural experiences on board and heritage-inspired retail opportunities and, finally, by generating funds to safeguard Scottish heritage for future generations.

This pilot study aims to examine the process of heritage construction (heritagisation) in the context of the National Trust for Scotland cruise. Are there any discrepancies between the image of Scottish heritage produced as a part of cultural tourism product creation and visitors' actual impressions of it? What are passengers' motivations to visit and consume heritage? What are their consumption patterns? Is heritage purposefully used as a financial resource or does it become one as a "side-effect" of other causes, such as the need for heritage conservation or tourists' drive to self-actualisation, etc.?

Paper short abstract:

Performance of Tibetan Epic Gesar features a pervasive system of practices involving the production and dissemination of knowledge. In the modernization of Tibetan cultures, epic performances demonstrates interesting aspects when traditional cultural forms confront the economic and political changes.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates current Epic Gesar performances across different Tibetan cultural groups and the status of the transmission of this tradition. The related field researches were carried out in Tibetan-inhabited areas outside Tibetan Autonomous Region, where diversified national ethnic policies and socio-economic structures bring different elements to the modernization processes. In Kham Tibetan area inside Sichuan Province, the national propaganda of the conscious preservation of Epic Gesar causes the textualization and visualization with modern techniques of this tradition; and the best singers among the youths are invited to learn the performance for the sake of preservation and to play the role which was traditionally undertaken by the spiritualists with specific artistic and religious talents. In Amdo Tibetan area inside Gansu Province, the traditional spiritual performances of Epic Gesar are well preserved in an oral form. These performances are being carefully studied by local scholars who point out the value of this performance style as a distinct cultural form. This demonstrates an alternative reaction to modernization. In the linguistic aspect, both the textualization and the modern researches illustrate the performance contents in standard national language, and therefore clear out the stratification of languages within one performance practice. The prayer before the epic singing which is performed in classical Tibetan language is not taken in any texts and shown in any academic work; thus the important religious essence of this tradition has been eliminated as an important strategic to turn a religious practice into a cultural one in the process of modernization.

Paper short abstract:

This paper intends to look at the articulation of contemporary identity construction and heritage practices in the context of Macao’s urban and hybrid society. Special attention is given to Macanese cultural items, how they are now being preserved and promoted as heritage inherited from a colonial past.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, my paper aims to provide a diversified and critical approach to contemporary heritage discourses and practices at work in the recently established Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Macao SAR). The central subject of my research is the way local communities - with special emphasis on the Macanese Eurasian community - engage with cultural heritage construction in Macao, maintaining, forging and negotiating their collective identities and social, political and cultural experiences. I am interested in exploring the complexity of cultural policies and identity issues that can surround heritage, and in the understanding of way cultural heritage in Macao SAR turns out to be the product of wider economic, political and ideological dynamics and interests, while at the same time it makes local communities' political and cultural aspirations more obvious and apparent.

My paper shall explore how the exercise of heritage and cultural manifestations in the Macao SAR relate with its inscription within the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in particular with the political, economic and ideological project of Macao's unique identity. Is it supposed to differentiate Macao's region from the broader setting of the People's Republic of China to which it belongs, or to prove to the whole world that Macao is much more than a 'sin city' characterized by gambling addiction; and how does this relate with the identification and reproduction strategies of the Macanese community?

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores what role Kutiyattam Sanskrit theatre, recognized as India’s first ICH, plays in the construction of Kerala state as a national and international tourist destination. It thereby critically examines processes of arts commodification and utopian heritage imaginings in an Indian context.

Paper long abstract:

With its lush backwaters and tropical environs, the southwestern Indian state of Kerala is currently one of India's most popular national and international tourist destinations. The performing arts constitute a seminal component of Kerala's emergent brand image as "God's Own Country". This paper explores what role Kutiyattam Sanskrit theatre, recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2001, plays in the construction of Kerala state as a national and international tourist destination. It critically examines processes of arts commodification and utopian heritage imaginings in an Indian context, posing the following questions: how is Kutiyattam, and Keralite performing arts more generally, commodified in unexpected ways?; what does heritage preservation mean in an Indian context?; and, how do artists conceptualize heritage utopias and simultaneously navigate these imaginings in the face of pre- and post-UNESCO realities?