Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to raise questions about the position and role of researchers and ethnographic research methods in documenting heritage performance, particularly in relation to communities, event organisers and new forms of media and documentation.

Paper long abstract:

The recent pandemic closures have put a lot of pressure on organisers of annual festivals and public rituals. While some managed to continue in reduced forms throughout the lockdowns, what seems to characterise the post pandemic period is a widespread renewed effort to maintain and strengthen the performance of such events. At the same time, the pandemic restrictions ushered in new ways of broadcasting public performances online, thus reaching communities in a different manner. Ethnographic research in Nepal, both in Patan (Kartik Naach) and in Janakpur (Ramlila), showed an increasing interest for filming, live streaming and photographing heritage performances, both from traditional media, e.g. e.g. journalists and photo journalists and social media, e.g. bloggers, youtubers and spectators holding their mobile phones. Such practices may be very useful forms of advertisement attracting new audience to traditional cultural events, but they also seem to affect and alter the way performances take place and the relationship between communities with the performances themselves. Moreover, they challenge the role of researchers in thinking how to position themselves and their research in relation to both other forms of reporting/documenting, and to communities and event organisers´ expectations and concerns. Grounded on previous research on on ICTs and social media in heritage (Kalay et at 2008, Giaccardi 2012, Liang et al 2021), this paper aims to raise both theoretical and practical questions about documenting heritage dance dramas in post pandemic times and suggest multimodal ethnography as a way forward.