Intangible cultural heritage

Folkmusiken-ett levande och immateriellt kulturarv

by Johanna Björkholm

2008 (book review) Kulijaman Mataliwa et Éliane Camargo, Kaptëlo. L'origine du ciel de case et du roseau à flèches chez les Wayana (Guyanes), Gadepam/CTHS, Cayenne, …

by Anne-Gael Bilhaut

published in Journal de la société des américanistes, 2008, 94-2

'No more road to walk': cultures of heritage and leprosariums in Singapore and Malaysia

by Kah Seng Loh

Finding Balance in the Management of Sensitive Cultural Heritage Materials in Extant Recorded Sound Collections

by Bertram Lyons

published in 'Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals', 2008.

In the wake of NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act), museums and archives are acutely... more In the wake of NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act), museums and archives are acutely aware of cultural property issues. Cultural intellectual property remains legislatively neglected. Ethical precedent does exist, however, for museums and archives to treat intangible heritage with the same respect as tangible property. Recorded sound collections in many libraries, museums and archives in the United States hold ethnographic recordings of indigenous American cultures. These recordings are of immense value to the cultures and peoples they document as well as to those who study the history and development of humankind. Often they require special treatment or restricted access.

Through the development of collections management policies and procedures, a responsible institution can identify sensitive
recordings in its collections and isolate them for further investigation. By doing so, an institution can allow broader access to non-sensitive recordings and can begin the process of determining how to properly manage those that are culturally sensitive.

Sharing Cultures 2009 – International Conference on Intangible Heritage conference report

by Graham Busby

Pluralism and Minority Rights In Music Education: Implications of the Legal and Social Philosophical Dimension

by David Hebert

With Marja Heimonen, Visions of Research in Music Education.

Examines issues associated with minority rights in music education from the perspectives of social and legal... more Examines issues associated with minority rights in music education from the perspectives of social and legal philosophy. Specific cases are discussed, including educational policies pertaining to Native Americans in the U.S., Maori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, and Okinawans and Zainichi Koreans in Japan. The problem of children's rights in international law is discussed in relation to music activities in educational contexts. The notion of 'soft law' is explained in detail as well as specific applications to music. Concludes with discussion of how cultural heritage and rights to 'one's own music' are increasingly problematized by the phenomenon of cultural hybridity.

Perspective on falconry as a world intangible heritage and UAE's efforts to enhance international cooperation for promoting falconry

by Sulayman Khalaf

Sulayman Khalaf 2009.  Published in a Book, Beyond Borders: Plurality and Universality of Common Intangible Cultural Heritage in East Asia. Proceedings of the International Forum on Intangible Cultural Heritage in East Asia. pp. 308-318

Botanic Gardens Resources: Tangible and Intangible Aspects of Linking Biodiversity and Human Well-Being

by Victor Kuzevanov

Hiroshima Peace Science Journal, 28 (2006), pp. 113-134. Co-authored with Svetlana Sizykh

Gardens are associated with sense of peace and a peaceful life. They have been always recognized as tangible resources... more Gardens are associated with sense of peace and a peaceful life. They have been always recognized as tangible resources for the improvement of humans. Botanic gardens (BGs) are innovative institutions that can help local people in many ways via the introduction of new economically valuable plant species, a creation of friendly and secure environment, an improvement and beautification of settlements, a city greening, a restoration and a repatriation of rare plants, the “horticultural therapy,” a continuous education and public awareness, etc. Networks of about 2500 world botanic gardens in 153 countries play an important ecological role in conservation and mobilization of plant genetic resources for the regional, national and international development. BGs have a special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, and recreational importance. The numbers of botanic gardens in different regions are positively correlated with their countries human development indexes (HDI). This review emphasizes the fact that intangible aspects of BGs are as important as their tangible resources and they can not be discriminated in relation to human well-being. Both tangible (material) and intangible (not-material) resources of BGs are equally valuable for the sustainable development and linking biodiversity with public education, secure environment, nutrition, healthcare, poverty alleviation, socio-ecological and economical benefits for communities, including commercialization.

Botanic Gardens as Ecological Resources for Civilization Development. Proc. Tomsk State Univ., vol. 274, p. 218-220 (in Russian).

by Victor Kuzevanov

Author: Victor Ya. Kuzevanov

Based on comparative studies of world botanic gardens (BGs) during the period of 300 years in Russia and 152 countries... more Based on comparative studies of world botanic gardens (BGs) during the period of 300 years in Russia and 152 countries it is proposed a paradigm of the BG as a unique structure of managed tangible and intangible resources linking natural heritage (biodiversity) with a society and human well-being via science, education, plant introduction, ecological restoration, and commercialization of innovations. Contemporate network of BGs should be considered as complex ecological resources crucial for the sustainable civilization development.

На основе сравнительных исследований трендов роста и развития ботанических садов (БС) в России и мире за последние 300 лет обсуждается парадигма структуры управления ресурсами, связывающими природное наследие (биоразнообразие) и культурное наследие с благосостоянием людей и благополучием общества через науку, образование, интродукцию растений, экологическое восстановление и коммерциализацию инноваций. Обосновывается тезис, что современный БС следует рассматривать как уникальный экологический ресурс на урбанизированных территориях критически важный для устойчивого развития цивилизации.

БОТАНИЧЕСКИЕ САДЫ КАК ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ РЕСУРСЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ЦИВИЛИЗАЦИИ. Автор: В. Я. Кузеванов. — ТРУДЫ ТОМСКОГО ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА "БОТАНИЧЕСКИЕ САДЫ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИНТРОДУКЦИИ", том. 274, с. 218-220, 2010

University botanic garden as an educational resource for the Baikal region (Siberia): tangible and intangible aspects.

by Victor Kuzevanov

In: The Nature of Success: Success for Nature, Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens,10th–14th September, 2006. Oxford. Co-authored with Svetlana Sizykh

Concept of the functioning of university botanic garden as an educational resource in the Lake Baikal region... more Concept of the functioning of university botanic garden as an educational resource in the Lake Baikal region (Siberia). Comparison of value of tangible and intangible resources of the university botanic garden for education, research, production, ecological restoration and social activities.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

by Tiago de Oliveira Pinto

[Intangible Heritage] Envy of the World? Intangible Heritage in England

by Emma Waterton

Co-authored with Laurajane Smith

With the advent of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on January 20th 2006, which... more With the advent of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on January 20th 2006, which was designed to sit alongside the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, a division was implied between intangible and tangible heritage. What is problematic is that this simple binary distinction leaves us with two categories of heritage: ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’. Following this logic, ‘intangible heritage’, when it is found within literature or policy, is often set apart as something dealing with non-western or non-European cultures, or something that is ethnically, culturally, politically or socially distinct from the types of heritage associated with the category of ‘tangible’ heritage. The absence of any leading Western country from the list of the 76 State parties who have ratified, the Convention is therefore revealing. Yet, to characterise this division as a continued dichotomy between ‘us’ and ‘them’, or ‘east’ and ‘west’, merely oversimplifies the issue. Rather, the aim of this paper is to suggest that it is a problem of discourse.

Un camino abierto hacia la ciudadanía

by Albert Moncusí

This article is a reflection on the relation between culture and local development. The first can contribute to the... more This article is a reflection on the relation between culture and local development. The first can contribute to the latter through consumption, but at the same time can involve inequalities by the different acces to products and resources on the part of the professionals and cultural businesses or also for the concentration of those resources in some territories in detriment of others. The author maintains that the development through the mere cultural consumption is very circumstantial. Local development becomes structural if there is a participation and civic appropriation of the cultural initiatives. 

Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ownership, Copyrights, and Tourism

by Wanda George

Representing Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Case Study on Living Presentations in the Mekong River: Connecting Cultures Program at the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

by Tang Nguyen Duc

Master Thesis

This thesis explores and analyzes the practice of interpreting living cultural traditions, known as living cultural... more This thesis explores and analyzes the practice of interpreting living cultural traditions, known as living cultural presentation, at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Using a review of the literature, participant observation and questionnaire surveys via email as the main methods of data collection, the thesis discusses issues and challenges around the live displays at the Festival. Central to these issues are authenticity, politics of participation and politics of representation. A case study on the Vietnamese displays at the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival is employed to magnify these perspectives in further detail. This case study makes clear that although the participation at the Festival was evaluated as a success in a number of ways, delivery of the living presentations on the National Mall shows limitations inherent in the recontextualization, site restrictions, communication, as well as the Festival’s mode of presentation. However, the post-festival effects and the prospective brought about from participating in the Festival onto the lives of the tradition-bearers and the viability of their traditions, although some are challenging, are considerable. It is recommended that although source communities need to be encouraged to document, preserve and transmit their traditions, the notion of ‘performance’ is fraught with potential dangers, especially in relation to authentically ‘reproducing’ traditions for consumption. Questions of ethics, responsibility and change to traditions as a result of performance need to be considered.

Archaeological battles and triumphs: A personal reflection

by Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu

Published in Being and becoming an Indigenous Archaeologists, pp222-234

Decolonizing the Mind-set: South African Archaeology in a Postcolonial, Post-Apartheid Era

by Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu

Published in the Postcolonial Archaeologies of Africa, pp177-192

Archaeology and politics have existed together since the beginning of the discipline. This is evident in the analysis... more Archaeology and politics have existed together since the beginning of the discipline. This is evident in the analysis of earlier archaeological interpretations, which were both gendered and politicized. The interpretations of the origins of Great Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe, and southern African rock art are classic examples. The interpretations were later critiqued to correct earlier academic shortcomings. Especially in post-apartheid South Africa, however, researchers must
guard against being over apologetic about the discipline’s history and must not offer interpretations that are too politically correct. Our study of the past in South Africa must rely not only on the democratization of knowledge production but also on the fair representation of professionals from different groups coming into the discipline. There is clearly a need for archaeology to be transformed into a field that is representative of the demography of the country, which would
ensure that knowledge production is depoliticized to the extent that it would open possibilities for other voices that have been previously kept quiet. As future professionals, young African
archaeologists coming into the discipline must be properly nurtured, not discouraged by their experiences.

Besides these challenges in transforming archaeology, the deeply entrenched legacy of colonial leadership (Oliver and Atmore 2004; Painter 1999; Pakenham 1997; Reader 1988) has led many Africans in South Africa to lose the sense of pride in their culture that forms their root identity. Urbanization is not helping. It encourages people to use Western standards as their benchmarks to determine well-being. Cultural principles, arising from Western principles that are also used as the benchmarks for democratic principles, are challenged daily. This situation is manifested in clothing, music, and general day-to-day lifestyle preferences, among other things. Especially the depoliticized youth have been mentally programmed to believe that what is Western is superior.

Access to rock art sites: A right or a qualification?

by Ndukuyakhe Ndlovu

Published in the South African Archaeological Bulletin 64 (189): 61–68, 2009

Academic writing has, for many years, perpetuated the thinking that the San or Bushmen were largely extinct. The... more Academic writing has, for many years, perpetuated the thinking that the San or Bushmen were largely extinct. The dominance of this view was encouraged by historical evidence that Bushmen were hunted and killed by Europeans and Bantu-speakers over the last few centuries. There is still some element of this thinking amongst today’s academics, although recent research has also challenged this. The question of whether Bushman descendents exist in particular places is of key relevance to issues of rights of access to ancestral sacred sites, in particular rock art sites. Here I consider the case of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg. At present access to uKhahlamba Drakensberg rock art sites is granted, I argue, on one’s status as a fee-paying tourist (or affordability) rather than on group rights to cultural heritage resources (cultural rights). This is driven by a management approach that emphasizes the physical conservation and financial sustainability of a site, rather than its spiritual maintenance. There is an underlying assumption here that there are no longer any claimants to such cultural heritage resources and that all heritage therefore belongs to the state.

Keywords: South Africa, uKhahlamba Drakensberg, heritage
legislation, access rights, affordability, cultural rights, physical
conservation, spiritual conservation.

Intangible heritage in conservation management planning: the case of Robben Island

by Harriet Deacon

International Journal of Heritage Studies 10(3)