Pub Date : 2010-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.002
A. McLaren
The folk epics of the Han people of the lower Yangzi delta in China have been entered into the national register of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). These lengthy verse narratives were sung by labouring people toiling in paddy fields or working the waterways of the delta before the establishment of socialist China in 1949. Repressed during the Maoist period, the process of their re-discovery, identification and revitalisation as valued examples of China’s heritage has been a difficult one, and their transmission to future generations as a living and valued folk art is by no means assured. As argued here, the case of the folk epics illustrates the cultural and political complexities of the preservation of intangible cultural heritage in economically advanced areas of China. Anne E. McLaren Associate Professor, Chinese literature and Culture studies Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia
{"title":"Revitalisation of the folk epics of the Lower Yangzi Delta: an example of China's intangible cultural Heritage","authors":"A. McLaren","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.002","url":null,"abstract":"The folk epics of the Han people of the lower Yangzi delta in China have been entered into the national register of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). These lengthy verse narratives were sung by labouring people toiling in paddy fields or working the waterways of the delta before the establishment of socialist China in 1949. Repressed during the Maoist period, the process of their re-discovery, identification and revitalisation as valued examples of China’s heritage has been a difficult one, and their transmission to future generations as a living and valued folk art is by no means assured. As argued here, the case of the folk epics illustrates the cultural and political complexities of the preservation of intangible cultural heritage in economically advanced areas of China. Anne E. McLaren Associate Professor, Chinese literature and Culture studies Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69904959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2010-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.004
D. Hoekstra
Alamos, Sonora, Mexico contains world-class heritage and is on the tentative list for World Heritage status. The colonial architecture in the town centre has been declared a National Historic Monument and a unique eco-system of incomparable biodiversity and is protected under UNESCO’s network of biosphere reserves. Local indigenous groups keep alive a wealth of information about practical and medicinal uses of plant species. External forces threaten the natural, cultural and intangible heritage of the region. The UNESCO guidelines for identifying and clarifying biocultural diversity call for multiple regimes of credibility and an interdisciplinary,holistic approach. This paper explores links between biological and cultural diversity seen through the lens of the global intangible tradition called fresco painting. An artist’s perspective identifies previously unnoticed connections as well as economic alternatives to destructive land-use patterns, resulting in concrete proposals for the conservation of natural, cultural and intangible heritage in Alamos. Fresco is an ideal model for explaining how an intangible tradition expresses itself and positively impacts on biocultural diversity at global, regional and local levels. The model answers UNESCO’s call for frameworks and methodologies for recognising and describing the interdependence of nature and culture, and leads to an understanding of the quantitative value of diversity. Daan Hoekstra Visual artist and independent researcher, Fondo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes de Sonora, Mexico
{"title":"Fresco: intangible heritage as a key to unlocking the links between the conservation of biological and cultural diversity in Alamos.","authors":"D. Hoekstra","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.004","url":null,"abstract":"Alamos, Sonora, Mexico contains world-class heritage and is on the tentative list for World Heritage status. The colonial architecture in the town centre has been declared a National Historic Monument and a unique eco-system of incomparable biodiversity and is protected under UNESCO’s network of biosphere reserves. Local indigenous groups keep alive a wealth of information about practical and medicinal uses of plant species. External forces threaten the natural, cultural and intangible heritage of the region. The UNESCO guidelines for identifying and clarifying biocultural diversity call for multiple regimes of credibility and an interdisciplinary,holistic approach. This paper explores links between biological and cultural diversity seen through the lens of the global intangible tradition called fresco painting. An artist’s perspective identifies previously unnoticed connections as well as economic alternatives to destructive land-use patterns, resulting in concrete proposals for the conservation of natural, cultural and intangible heritage in Alamos. Fresco is an ideal model for explaining how an intangible tradition expresses itself and positively impacts on biocultural diversity at global, regional and local levels. The model answers UNESCO’s call for frameworks and methodologies for recognising and describing the interdependence of nature and culture, and leads to an understanding of the quantitative value of diversity. Daan Hoekstra Visual artist and independent researcher, Fondo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes de Sonora, Mexico","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2010-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.003
C. Grant
Like other forms of intangible heritage, traditional music cultures have been adversely affected by the major economic, social, and technological shifts of recent decades. The resultant changes in musical contexts, function, prestige, and modes of transmission have jeopardised the vitality and viability of many musical genres. Efforts to actively support the sustainability of endangered music heritage are developing, often in the context of the emerging field of 'applied ethnomusicology'. The more established field of language maintenance has conceptual, theoretical, and pragmatic parallels with safeguarding music, and these synergies are arguably of great importance to the swift development of effective mechanisms to support viable and vibrant music cultures. This paper identifies areas where language maintenance holds potential to inform pathways towards sustaining endangered musical heritage, and explores one of them in depth - the tension between documenting endangered languages and attempting to revitalise them.
{"title":"The links between safeguarding language and safeguarding musical heritage","authors":"C. Grant","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.003","url":null,"abstract":"Like other forms of intangible heritage, traditional music cultures have been adversely affected by the major economic, social, and technological shifts of recent decades. The resultant changes in musical contexts, function, prestige, and modes of transmission have jeopardised the vitality and viability of many musical genres. Efforts to actively support the sustainability of endangered music heritage are developing, often in the context of the emerging field of 'applied ethnomusicology'. The more established field of language maintenance has conceptual, theoretical, and pragmatic parallels with safeguarding music, and these synergies are arguably of great importance to the swift development of effective mechanisms to support viable and vibrant music cultures. This paper identifies areas where language maintenance holds potential to inform pathways towards sustaining endangered musical heritage, and explores one of them in depth - the tension between documenting endangered languages and attempting to revitalise them.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2010-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.001
G. Shankar
{"title":"From subject to producer: reframing the indigenous heritage through cultural documentation training.","authors":"G. Shankar","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2010..5.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2010-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69904936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.006
Yang Jongsung
Shamanic rituals taking place in Aegissidang, Mount Bonghwa Dodang, and Bamseom Bugundang, were thoroughly investigated by three experts appointed by the Board of Cultural Properties of Seoul Metropolitan Government. This religious belief and its related practices is still carried on by many shamans, religious specialists and their followers with the doctrines being handed down orally rather than in the form of written scriptures. Nonetheless, it is still a struggle to convince many Koreans of the cultural worth of shamanism. Owing to a deeply ingrained and stereotypical definition of what constitute religious doctrines and practices, its value as cultural heritage is often rejected. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and its Board have taken the initiative in designating these rites as ‘intangible cultural properties’ and hope this will lead to a more positive understanding of shamanism as a significant and valuable part of Korean traditional culture.
{"title":"Investigative research towards the designation of shamanic village rituals as ‘intangible cultural properties’ of the Seoul Metropolitan Governmen","authors":"Yang Jongsung","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.006","url":null,"abstract":"Shamanic rituals taking place in Aegissidang, Mount Bonghwa Dodang, and Bamseom Bugundang, were thoroughly investigated by three experts appointed by the Board of Cultural Properties of Seoul Metropolitan Government. This religious belief and its related practices is still carried on by many shamans, religious specialists and their followers with the doctrines being handed down orally rather than in the form of written scriptures. Nonetheless, it is still a struggle to convince many Koreans of the cultural worth of shamanism. Owing to a deeply ingrained and stereotypical definition of what constitute religious doctrines and practices, its value as cultural heritage is often rejected. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and its Board have taken the initiative in designating these rites as ‘intangible cultural properties’ and hope this will lead to a more positive understanding of shamanism as a significant and valuable part of Korean traditional culture.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.001
Rhianedd Smith
This paper is an attempt to explore the challenges of defining intangible heritage and ‘community’ in England. It uses as its case study the Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading: an urban museum with a rural theme. The paper examines current theoretical discourse around the concept of the ‘first voice’ and debate about the role of museums in the preservation of intangible heritage. It then examines the relevance of these concepts to the identification of ‘rural’ intangible heritage stake holders in England. In this way, it shows the potential for concepts of intangible heritage to influence national museums. However, by applying theory and practice which is designed to support work with well-defined ‘originating communities’ to a national museum, it also highlights the challenges of initiating community engagement in a multicultural society.
{"title":"Finding the 'first voice' in rural England: the challenges of safeguarding intangible heritage in a national museum","authors":"Rhianedd Smith","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.001","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is an attempt to explore the challenges of defining intangible heritage and ‘community’ in England. It uses as its case study the Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading: an urban museum with a rural theme. The paper examines current theoretical discourse around the concept of the ‘first voice’ and debate about the role of museums in the preservation of intangible heritage. It then examines the relevance of these concepts to the identification of ‘rural’ intangible heritage stake holders in England. In this way, it shows the potential for concepts of intangible heritage to influence national museums. However, by applying theory and practice which is designed to support work with well-defined ‘originating communities’ to a national museum, it also highlights the challenges of initiating community engagement in a multicultural society.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.003
K. Labi
The intangible aspects of Akan art give it content that has to be ‘read’ in order for it to fulfil its purpose and be enjoyed. Hence there is an inextricable link between the intangible and tangible parts of an artwork, with the tangible explaining the subject matter. It is the interpretation, and the meanings given to Akan art that makes it function effectively as an integral part of Akan culture. In some situations, art functions as a form of coded language representing the Akan world view, values, proverbs and aesthetics, in other words, the intangible aspects of their culture. Their art is thus made up of two components, the invisible and visible parts. Akan artworks are not only works of aesthetic value, they provide cultural and historical evidence of the time and period in which they were made. They reveal the technology, materials, beliefs, cultural practices and the circumstances under which they were made as well as their relations with other cultures and peoples. They are a valid source of evidence for people studying the Akan. Their art has the status of legible documents, the tangible aspects of their intangible culture. This article seeks to establish the link between the unseen components of Akan art and its visible, physical components, and to show how these dual but complementary aspects can be understood and appreciated. Kwame Amoah Labi Senior Research Fellow, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
{"title":"Reading the intangible heritage in tangible Akan art.","authors":"K. Labi","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.003","url":null,"abstract":"The intangible aspects of Akan art give it content that has to be ‘read’ in order for it to fulfil its purpose and be enjoyed. Hence there is an inextricable link between the intangible and tangible parts of an artwork, with the tangible explaining the subject matter. It is the interpretation, and the meanings given to Akan art that makes it function effectively as an integral part of Akan culture. In some situations, art functions as a form of coded language representing the Akan world view, values, proverbs and aesthetics, in other words, the intangible aspects of their culture. Their art is thus made up of two components, the invisible and visible parts. Akan artworks are not only works of aesthetic value, they provide cultural and historical evidence of the time and period in which they were made. They reveal the technology, materials, beliefs, cultural practices and the circumstances under which they were made as well as their relations with other cultures and peoples. They are a valid source of evidence for people studying the Akan. Their art has the status of legible documents, the tangible aspects of their intangible culture. This article seeks to establish the link between the unseen components of Akan art and its visible, physical components, and to show how these dual but complementary aspects can be understood and appreciated. Kwame Amoah Labi Senior Research Fellow, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.005
Ngo Dŭc Thinh
Len dong (going into a trance) is a ritual whereby a medium incarnates the souls of gods and spirits. It is associated with the religions and belief systems of various ethnic groups. This paper describes Len Dong as it is practiced as part of the cult of the Holy Mothers to minister to the needs of the population and bring good health and prosperity. This form of Len Dong originated in rural agricultural society, however, as society has changed and a market economy has developed, the ritual has become urbanised and is particularly popular today among small businessmen and tradesmen. It has now become a familiar phenomenon in urban society in Vietnam. The medium’s trance provides individuals and groups with a way to relieve the stresses and strains that are features of urban, industrial society, it helps them achieve a sense of balance, gives them an idea of how to behave and gives them a way of integrating with their community. Some people also find in Len Dong a sense of security and trust in the spiritual life that brings them success and good fortune. There are also people who simply see it as a form of entertainment.
{"title":"Len Dong- spirit journeys in contemporary urban Vietnam","authors":"Ngo Dŭc Thinh","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.005","url":null,"abstract":"Len dong (going into a trance) is a ritual whereby a medium incarnates the souls of gods and spirits. It is associated with the religions and belief systems of various ethnic groups. This paper describes Len Dong as it is practiced as part of the cult of the Holy Mothers to minister to the needs of the population and bring good health and prosperity. This form of Len Dong originated in rural agricultural society, however, as society has changed and a market economy has developed, the ritual has become urbanised and is particularly popular today among small businessmen and tradesmen. It has now become a familiar phenomenon in urban society in Vietnam. The medium’s trance provides individuals and groups with a way to relieve the stresses and strains that are features of urban, industrial society, it helps them achieve a sense of balance, gives them an idea of how to behave and gives them a way of integrating with their community. Some people also find in Len Dong a sense of security and trust in the spiritual life that brings them success and good fortune. There are also people who simply see it as a form of entertainment.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.008
W. Wendland
Culture is a tool for development as well as part of the process of development. Taking this proposition as its starting point, WIPO’s Creative Heritage Project provides practical training to local communities and museums and archives in developing countries on recording, digitizing and disseminating their creative cultural expressions and in managing IP issues. In partnership with the American Folklife Center/Library of Congress and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, WIPO ran a pilot training programme for the Maasai community of Laikipia, Kenya and the National Museums of Kenya in September 2008. The intensive, hands-on curriculum included project planning, research ethics, photography, sound and audio-visual recording techniques, digital archiving methods and database and website development. In cooperation with the US Copyright Office, WIPO staff provided the IP component of the training. WIPO will purchase a basic kit of recording equipment and knowledge management software for the community, help the community and museum to develop their own IP protocols, continue to foster a mutually beneficial working relationship between the community and the museum and further develop links established between the community, the museum and the national IP offices in Kenya. Lying at the interface between the safeguarding of living heritage and its legal protection, the programme seeks to advance a range of valuable policy goals - promoting cultural diversity, fostering economic development, using culture as a communications tool in development, bridging the ‘digital divide’, promoting responsible tourism and creating local cultural content. Early results from evaluation of the pilot are encouraging, and WIPO and its partners have received several requests from other communities and museums and archives to participate in such a programme. However, something so ambitious presents many challenges and it remains an unpredictable cultural and legal experiment. This article will describe how and why the programme was conceived, its various objectives, the challenges, expected results and lessons learned so far.
{"title":"Seeking tangible benefits from linking culture, development and intellectual property.","authors":"W. Wendland","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.008","url":null,"abstract":"Culture is a tool for development as well as part of the process of development. Taking this proposition as its starting point, WIPO’s Creative Heritage Project provides practical training to local communities and museums and archives in developing countries on recording, digitizing and disseminating their creative cultural expressions and in managing IP issues. In partnership with the American Folklife Center/Library of Congress and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, WIPO ran a pilot training programme for the Maasai community of Laikipia, Kenya and the National Museums of Kenya in September 2008. The intensive, hands-on curriculum included project planning, research ethics, photography, sound and audio-visual recording techniques, digital archiving methods and database and website development. In cooperation with the US Copyright Office, WIPO staff provided the IP component of the training. WIPO will purchase a basic kit of recording equipment and knowledge management software for the community, help the community and museum to develop their own IP protocols, continue to foster a mutually beneficial working relationship between the community and the museum and further develop links established between the community, the museum and the national IP offices in Kenya. Lying at the interface between the safeguarding of living heritage and its legal protection, the programme seeks to advance a range of valuable policy goals - promoting cultural diversity, fostering economic development, using culture as a communications tool in development, bridging the ‘digital divide’, promoting responsible tourism and creating local cultural content. Early results from evaluation of the pilot are encouraging, and WIPO and its partners have received several requests from other communities and museums and archives to participate in such a programme. However, something so ambitious presents many challenges and it remains an unpredictable cultural and legal experiment. This article will describe how and why the programme was conceived, its various objectives, the challenges, expected results and lessons learned so far.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69905378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.002
S. Boonstra
The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, was founded as a colonial museum in the 19th century in which experts ('outsiders') presented their view of other cultures. In the 20th century the Netherlands became a multicultural society. As a result, the museum had to redefine its function in society. In an attempt to rethink the relation between the content of its exhibitions and its audience, the Tropenmuseum refurbished all the museum galleries between 1990 and 2008. During the refurbishment the museum started to experiment with intangible heritage for which the story of Layla and Majnun was chosen as a case study. The museum collected four separate contemporary cultural expressions of the story, accompanied by audiovisual recordings of performances. The experiment was so succesful that it functioned as a catalyst for the final refurbished gallery, entitled Travelling Tales, which is entirely devoted to intangible heritage. Based on research into the Layla and Majnun collection, I argue that the voices and views of the artists mirror the manifold perspectives that people have to various forms of intangible and tangible culture. The presentation of this multitude of views in the exhibition reflects the complexity of identification processes and therefore goes beyond notions of 'self' and 'other'. In this respect, the Tropenmuseum functions as a forum where various opinions meet and as a space for intercultural encounters.
{"title":"Conceptualising Intanigble Heritage in the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam: The Layla and Majnun story as a case study","authors":"S. Boonstra","doi":"10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.35638/IJIH.2009..4.002","url":null,"abstract":"The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, was founded as a colonial museum in the 19th century in which experts ('outsiders') presented their view of other cultures. In the 20th century the Netherlands became a multicultural society. As a result, the museum had to redefine its function in society. In an attempt to rethink the relation between the content of its exhibitions and its audience, the Tropenmuseum refurbished all the museum galleries between 1990 and 2008. During the refurbishment the museum started to experiment with intangible heritage for which the story of Layla and Majnun was chosen as a case study. The museum collected four separate contemporary cultural expressions of the story, accompanied by audiovisual recordings of performances. The experiment was so succesful that it functioned as a catalyst for the final refurbished gallery, entitled Travelling Tales, which is entirely devoted to intangible heritage. Based on research into the Layla and Majnun collection, I argue that the voices and views of the artists mirror the manifold perspectives that people have to various forms of intangible and tangible culture. The presentation of this multitude of views in the exhibition reflects the complexity of identification processes and therefore goes beyond notions of 'self' and 'other'. In this respect, the Tropenmuseum functions as a forum where various opinions meet and as a space for intercultural encounters.","PeriodicalId":42289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Intangible Heritage","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69904980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：