IJIH

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Foreword

Author : Jingi Cheon

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Editorial

Author : Alissandra Cummins

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Museums and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage - Facilitating Participation and Strengthening their Function in Society

Author : Janet Blake

The duality of the nature of heritage - celebrated at the same time for its universal value and for its special meaning and its significance for local and bearer communities - represents a challenge for its safeguarding and its presentation by museums. Heritage as a universal, global value has been the predominant approach in international cultural policy-setting since the second half of the twentieth century, but its significance to local and bearer communities is now increasingly well understood. This duality has been particularly challenging with regard to implementing UNESCO’s International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). With the adoption of this treaty, the policy - and law-making - paradigm has shifted from valuing monuments, sites, artefacts and other objects, to safeguarding a living heritage that is primarily located in the skills, knowledge and know-how of contemporary human beings. With regard to the role of museums in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH), a document of great significance is the Recommendation concerning the Protection and Promotion of Museums and Collections, their Diversity and their Role in Society adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2015. This is an innovative document that recognises not only the great importance of the preservation, study and transmission of cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, for all societies, social cohesion and sustainable development, but also the central role that can be played by museums in helping to achieve this. Recently, the potential of cultural heritage has increasingly been acknowledged in international policy - and law-making - as a social, cultural and, at times, economic resource for communities, in particular the intangible heritage. Moreover, international law has now called for a greater democratisation of the heritage protection paradigm, in particular through community participation in its identification, safeguarding and management. This article examines the aforementioned shift from an emphasis on global to local heritage and the role museums can play in this with regard to safeguarding intangible aspects of heritage.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Grandfather Tree: Ute Horror at the Killing of a Heritage Tree

Author : Richard Stoffle, Alden Naranjo, Chris Sittler, Kelly Slivka

This paper illustrates that epistemological barriers can stand in the way of communication about, and understanding of, natural heritage resources. This common problem becomes explicit by using the 2017 killing of a living Ute ‘Grandfather Tree’ in Delta, Colorado. The 260-year-old tree, which was recognised as culturally central to the three Ute Indian Tribes and the people of the State of Colorado, was cut down while still alive by the Delta County Historical Society. Communication about this action was short, one-sided, and clouded by the contrasting beliefs of the two parties: i.e., to Euro-Americans the tree was just wood without rights, while to the Ute people the tree was a living grandfather with full rights to exist.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Deities in a Changing Igbo Society: Ndi Nsukka, 1960-2016

Author : Okonkwo C. Eze

Deities have always been an important factor in the socio-political life of the Nsukka people, defining and regulating inter-personal and inter-group relations. In other words, the institution ensured that there were cordial relationships not only at the horizontal but also at the vertical levels of society. Deities were, therefore, believed to have provided Nsukka - and the entire Igbo - with an ultimate vision of themselves and the world. This institution that hitherto promoted peace and harmony among the people through its impartiality in administrating justice and arbitration, has, in recent years, been faced with relentless attacks from organised religion–particularly from Christianity. Unfortunately, this aspect of Nsukka history has been neglected, uninvestigated and unharvested. As a result of this our knowledge of this hitherto time-honoured institution is patchy and distorted. This study explores this neglected area so as to broaden and enrich our knowledge of the history of the Nsukka people. The year 1960 is chosen as the commencement date for this study for two obvious reasons. It witnessed Nigeria’s independence which was expected to have ushered in a cultural rebirth that would encourage Nsukka people to reorganise their violated gods or battered deities. With the establishment of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1960, numerous Christian sects ‘invaded’ and drew huge numbers of converts from the indigenous people. The year 2016 marks the end of the study because of the landmark events which culminated in two young men committing suicide apparently at the instance of a deity. Apart from depleting the numbers of traditionalists, some misguided and overzealous Christian converts, under spurious guises, have blatantly destroyed and burnt some effigies of sacred deities. Ironically, some of these apostates have had recourse to return to these deities in times of challenges and troubles. Such patronage of deities would seem to have sustained their relevance in the lives of the traditionalists in the Nsukka cultural zone. Rather than disappearing, as claimed by the universal religions, deities have continued to soldier on in Nsukka, just as they have done elsewhere in Igboland. The focus of this study is to examine the continued relevance of these deities in this age of Christianity and westernisation.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Contemporising Custom: the re-imagining of the Mari Lwyd

Author : David R. Howell

Intangible forms of heritage are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to change. While evolution is inevitable for a living entity, at what point do we consider a tradition to have evolved beyond the parameters of that which made it distinctive? This article focuses on the Welsh tradition of the Mari Lwyd. This seasonal, animal head tradition is celebrated in Wales as a resistant, surviving legacy and is frequently described as a continuance of an ‘ancient tradition’. However, the legitimacy of this claim is questionable. Instead, this paper proposes that the contemporary Mari Lwyd seen in Wales today, are unique entities, distinct from the historically recorded examples. In many respects, they should be treated as a new form of intangible heritage, which have emerged only in the last few decades. Understanding how the historical variant of this tradition has evolved into the distinct modern version is of critical importance in terms of understanding how ‘elements’ of intangible heritage are altered and manipulated beyond the confines of what first made them distinctive and considered to be of importance.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Panaad and the Paril: Traditional Systems of Soil and Water Conservation in Cebu, the Philippines

Author : Zona H. Amper, Ian Dale Rios, Vincent Ace Caumeran, Ruel Rigor, Teresita Cleopolada Sarile

Agricultural heritage encompasses practices, beliefs and values related to farming and crop production passed on from generation to generation through direct experience and other informal means. This paper focuses on a type of terrace farming which uses stone walls (paril) to conserve soil and water, and is traditionally practised in the upland barangays of Argao, a well-known heritage town in Cebu, the Philippines. It examines various aspects of this agricultural heritage and its associated rituals, beliefs and legends. The knowledge of building and repairing the stone walls, as well as the performance and meanings of rituals embedded in legends, demonstrate the intangible aspects of this built agricultural heritage.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Shared Stories: Narratives Linking the Tangible and Intangible in Museums

Author : Joris van Eijnatten, Marije de Nood

This article addresses the problem of conserving the personal memories that artefacts, in collections held by traditional museums, elicit in the minds of ordinary people who recog-nise them and relate to them. The focus is specifically on art museums with religious objects. Using a museum in the Netherlands as a case study, we explore how the systematic collec-tion of intangible religious heritage can be pursued. We present the results of several exper-iments conducted between 2011 to 2016 in collecting personal narratives from visitors who attended four popular exhibitions based on religious themes: pilgrimage, religious women, charity, and sainthood. The article concludes with policy-oriented advice regarding museum strategy, including the importance of recruiting volunteers, sharing narratives in a sustaina-ble way, and putting digital technology to good use.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

In Search of Honour: Eya Ebule as a Legacy of Igbo resistance and food security from World War 2

Author : Christian Chukwuma Opata, Apex A Apeh

As a consequence of the various legislations enacted by Britain in Nigeria during World War II that were not farmer friendly, some Igbo peasant farmers devised strategies to evade them by resorting to the time-honoured means of labour conscription. Their strategy provoked competition amongst the peasant farmers and labourers who cultivated the crops. The competition gave rise to two distinct classes among Igbo peasant farmers. To date, these classes continue to exist amid notable changes; financial rewards have overtaken material and intangible rewards in encouraging productivity. This research aims to show the dynamics of the rural farmers’ resistance to colonial legislation using traditional knowledge in Igboland, and the legacy of their resistance based mainly on ethnographic surveys, focus group discussions, archival records and interviews with the sons of prominent farmers of that era who were involved in the practice.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Puha Po to Kavaicuwac: a Southern Paiute Pilgrimage in Southern Utah

Author : Kathleen Van Vlack

For many cultural groups around the world the act of pilgrimage serves as a ceremonial way of acquiring knowledge and enlightenment. For the Southern Paiutes of the American Southwest, since time immemorial the religious have used the act of pilgrimage for the purpose of gaining knowledge. Some Southern Paiute religious leaders would travel to a place known as Milk Mountain or Kavaicuwac, a large volcanic peak that rises above large Navajo sandstone ridges in South-eastern Utah. The pilgrimage to Kavaicuwac involves visiting and interacting with a series of places along the 30-mile trail. In order to conduct ceremonies at Kavaicuwac, pilgrims, or Puhahivats, followed a trail that started near their home communities and ended at the top of Kavaicuwac. This analysis provides a discussion of places visited during the pilgrimage and ways in which the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians have taken steps to protect and preserve this trail for future generations of Southern Paiute people.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Why is she naked? An Iterative Refinement of the Digitisation of ICH with the OvaHimba Tribe in Namibia

Author : Kasper Rodil, Heike Winschiers-Theophilus

The focal point for this article is to continue the discourse on the digitisation of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). We begin by providing a short recapitulation and further conceptualisation of the Tripartite Digitisation Model (TDM) originally published in Volume 10 of this journal. This model is used to show and reflect on a concrete example of digitisation of ICH with an OvaHimba community in Namibia. The point of this is to highlight how community involvement has been facilitated in an on-going research project, and to show the necessity of this community involvement when ICH becomes digital.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Sokcho Saja Noreum: Transition and Transmission of a North Korean Community's Intangible Cultural Heritage

Author : Eun Sok Bae, Yoon Ok Park

This paper aims to explore how the transmission of intangible cultural heritage contributes to the identity of a community through Saja Noreum, a folk play which has been re-created at Abai Village, Cheongho-dong, Sokcho. The play embraces the memories of the villagers’ hometown, Bukcheong, in North Korea, the Korean War, the national division and the loss of their home. People of the diaspora identify themselves as the ‘Sokcho people from Bukcheong’. This is also manifested in their changing the name of the play from Sokcho Bukcheong Saja Noreum to Sokcho Saja Noreum. This transition is analysed in terms of some of the main factors of intangible cultural heritage: self-identification, constant re-creation as a response to the historical and social evolution of the community and groups concerned, the connection of heritage to the identity of its creators and bearers, the authenticity of the heritage, and the interrelationship between intangible cultural heritage and human rights. Saja Noreum is a living expression and an important link between South and North Korea.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

ICH and 'Frugal Innovation': a Contribuition to Development through the Framework of the 2003 Convention

Author : Julio Sa Rego, Ariane Agnes Corradi

This paper endeavours to emphasise one particular vector of sustainable development from intangible cultural heritage: ‘frugal innovations’. It discusses the potential of ICH to generate frugal innovations, contributing to improving communities’ quality of life and enhancing the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. A type of innovation constrained by limited resources, frugal innovation means the development of processes, products or services reduced to core functionalities with optimised performance levels, addressing the needs of the bottom of the pyramid market. When implemented at community level, it aims to create a novel solution from the scarce resources available to respond to the needs of the communities concerned. This paper presents two case studies - the Indian Mitticool, and the Australian WALFA project - to illustrate the transformation of specific traditional knowledge into frugal innovations, and their impact on their respective communities. The analysis will build on the conceptual framework proposed by Soni and Krishnan (2014) that defines the dimensions of frugal innovation in terms of mindset, process and product. This paper then analyses the institutional framework provided by the 2003 Convention, especially its Chapter VI on ‘Sustainable Development’, to legitimise and leverage ICH-related frugal innovations, as well as to ensure that this transformation is fair and collectively beneficial.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

An Analysis of Educational Designs in Intangible Cultural Heritage Programmes: the Case of Spain

Author : Olaia Fontal Merillas, Marta Martinez Rodriguez

The goal of this paper is to analyse the approaches and categories that underpin the educational programmes related to intangible heritage in Spain, inventoried by the Spanish Heritage Education Observatory (SHEO). We need to define the question and provide guidelines concerning the main issues to be borne in mind in designing programmes for such a sensitive area as intangible heritage, the ultimate aim being to contribute towards the improvement of future designs. The study shows that the educational programmes under scrutiny belong to a broad range of typologies within intangible heritage and have several shortcomings in their educational design. This is indeed a source of concern in view of the important role played by Heritage Education in raising the awareness of people and guaranteeing unifying processes to ensure that cultural expressions become part of the community’s shared heritage.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Tide and Time: Korean Fishermen's Traditional Knowledge of Multtae in Gomso Bay

Author : Sook-Jeong Jo

The tide influences the concept of time and life style in fishermen’s culture. As the West Sea of Korea has spring tides ranging from 3 to 9 metres high, fishermen in this area are highly attuned to tidal changes. Based on ethnographic research at a fishing village on the West Sea, this paper reviews the traditional knowledge of Korean fishermen about tide and time, categorised by the concept of multtae (tide time). I develop the argument in three parts. First, I describe what multtae is, and by what time units the tidal changes are measured. Second, I explain the principles and the folk classification of the 15-day tidal cycle by analysing the native terminology of multtae. Third, I define the unique life of the fishermen both at sea and on land who rely on the tide as ‘multtae life,’ and describe how the knowledge of multtae is used in their daily life. The fishermen’s cognitive system of multtae focuses on the sari (spring tides) and the jogeum (neap tides), with more emphasis on the sari. The fishermen’s traditional knowledge of multtae provides a good example of intangible cultural heritage by showing how systematically a natural phenomenon can be recognised and become a part of local culture.

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Tase - Power - Tradition; Geographical Indications as Cultural Property, Göttingen Studies in Cultural Property, Volume 10

Author : Steven Engelsman

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Brief biographies of the Authors

Author : volume 13

IJIH volumes Vol.13

Instructions to contributors

Author : volume 13

IJIH

Volume 13

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