The management of knowledge of the intangible heritage in connection with traditional craftsmanship at the ethnographic museum of the University of Oslo.

Abstract

Following on from a tentative presentation I made at the ICME symposium in Seoul 2004, I would like to demonstrate how cultural diversity can be expressed through traditional knowledge related to craftsmanship, as part of an important intangible heritage that is worthy of recording and preserving. My argument is based on two different case studies: Hopi pottery and Sámi basketry. I shall concentrate on the people who manage and transmit this vital form of intangible heritage. These ethnographic case studies are founded on first-hand observations in the field. I also describe a collecting policy for ethnographic museums that is based on kin-related collecting, and narratives. Tom G. Svensson Professor, University of Oslo, Norway