ISBN 978-86-7587-048-7 Dragana Rusalić MAKING the INTANGIBLE
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ISBN 978-86-7587-048-7 Dragana Rusalić MAKING THE INTANGIBLE TANGIBLE ЕТНОГРАФСКИ ИНСТИТУТ САНУ ПОСЕБНА ИЗДАЊА Књига 63 Драгана Русалић НЕМАТЕРИЈАЛНО НАСЛЕЂЕ: НОВА РЕАЛНОСТ И ИЗАЗОВ КУЛТУРНЕ БАШТИНЕ Уредник Драгана Радојичић БЕОГРАД 2009 INSTITUTE OF ETHNOGRAPHY SASA SPECIAL EDITIONS Volume 63 Dragana Rusalić MAKING THE INTANGIBLE TANGIBLE: THE NEW INTERFACE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE Editor Dragana Radojičić BELGRADE 2009 Издавач: ЕТНОГРАФСКИ ИНСТИТУТ САНУ Кнез Михајлова 36/IV, Београд, тел. 011 26 36 804 [email protected] www.etno-institut.co.rs За издавача: Драгана Радојичић Рецензенти: академик Гојко Суботић проф др Милена Драгићевић-Шешић др Љиљана Гавриловић Секретар издања и коректор: Марија Ђокић Корице и техничка припрема: Љиљана Гавриловић Слика на корицама: Sben Thom, Khmer Shadow Theatre CAMBODIA UNESCO Proclamation 2005 Штампа: Академска издања Београд, Тираж: 500 примерака Штампање публикације финансирано је из средстава Министарства за науку и технолошки развој Републике Србије Примљено на седници Одељења друштвених наука САНУ одржаној новембра 2008. године, на основу реферата академика Гојка Суботића In order this book to be published, my deepest, sincere gratitudes go to my dear friends Ana Alimpić and Nataša Drašković. Special thanks, for being both friendly and patient, I feel for Ms. Marija Đokić and Ljiljana Gavrilović, PhD. I would also like to thank to Prof. Milena Dragićević Šešić, PhD, for her support and advices. And without my dears Zorica, Pera and Tijana, nothing would be the same. 5 FOREWORD Emotion, wisdom and technique Passed down by our great ancestors from hand to hand, from heart to heart, Since time immemorial! These precious intangible cultural properties will be lost permanently if we fail to learn, practice, and protect them immediately Important Intangible Cultural Properties of South Korea Cultural Property Administration, Seo-gu, Daejon, South Korea, 2004 I personally consider the Intangible Cultural Heritage being very complex, but in the very same time rather simple. Immaterial1 heritage basically means those things we tend not to see, or to touch, but the things that we may feel. And it certainly includes memory. It is rather important the way people memorize or how do they think about the past, and things that influence them currently – things without physical presence. They are mostly about our system of knowledge. There have also been the other categories like language, that is not possible to see, but to hear. 1 Within the frame of this book, the expressions ‘intangible’ and ‘immaterial’ I would treat as of synonims. 7 D. Rusalić, Making the Intangible Tangible There are music, performances, dances, rites, beliefs, various social practices.., that are not permanent. All these are immaterial. The most of the people consider intangible as the opposite of tangible, that is, by my opinion, totally incorrect. I consider these two very closely related and the main issue has always been that intangible provides the meaning for the tangible. If we talk of a building, we do not talk about its bricks and walls, stones and marble, wood and concrete, doors and windows, we actually talk about the meanings that are embedded in the building and that symbolize it. Unfortunately, intangible has become considered as the opposite of tangible. And within our Western civilization, focus and accent have always been on tangible things that people can feel and touch, that they appreciate as something unique. But what gives the genuine uniqueness is the immaterial. And if we try to define the intangible – does it really mean everything? We do not think so. But we believe that intangible actually relates to everything that is tangible. There are meanings, there are symbols, there are things that people connect to those not physically present in the form possible to be seen, but they are mentally present, so it helps one to understand what one sees in front of him/her. And therefore, immaterial heritage is a very potent part of human understanding of their surroundings. But on the other hand, we have always somehow assumed that things which are material are things that actually matter. We consider as of high importance that it is moved forward from the thinking of immaterial as heritage of the uneducated persons, heritage of the developing world (Fourth World, or First People, no matter what is the expression used to define these people), heritage of those small people, where the word folklore has been used in rather pejorative manner and to comprehend that there is an intangible heritage in each society. The understanding of this immaterial heritage significantly helps us to understand people, and this is how it can be valued why someone is doing things they are doing. But without that, it becomes a problem. 8 Foreword The initial idea of this book was to explore and to identify potentials, obstacles and perspectives of the development of awareness-raising strategies regarding intangible heritage issue, and thus, suggesting and formulating policies and strategies for preservation and enhancement of Intangible Cultural Heritage. One of the issues this book, hopefully, recognizes has been the importance of reinventing traditional “heritage schools” which are in the great need of being incorporated into a wider framework of cultural heritage definition. And in one of book`s chapters, it has been underlined the need for coping with ever-growing demands of far from being culture-sensitive tourism industry. As the vital part of these objectives obtaining process, I consider as the crucial the adoption of national level policy in Serbia aimed at promotion of the intangible cultural heritage in society, as well as integrating the safeguarding of this heritage into planning programmes. As of great importance I also consider designing and establishing one or more competent bodies for the safeguarding of such heritage present on Serbia`s territory, as it is stated in Art. 13 – Other measures for safeguarding, 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. I strongly believe that the concrete measures for saving from harm this heritage is our common must. And bearing in mind how fragile and sensitive this heritage could be, I do consider these measures as being the must more than ever before. I believe that immaterial heritage can contribute to defining our future in more holistic and integrated mode, and in this way, to become the very bridge connecting significant and meaningful pasts with our desirable futures. 9 INTRODUCTION A culture survives when it has enough confidence in its past and enough say in its future to maintain its spirit and essence through all changes it will inevitably undergo. Wade Davis UNESCO’s definition on Intangible Heritage2 has been limited to what has been seen and what is called the treasures of the world. Yet the UNESCO categorization and the UNESCO Convention that protects the immaterial heritage are important because it is looked at it as the sort of heritage and because of the recognition of both indigenous knowledge and indigenous systems that had not been seen as part of human heritage before. This heritage has been accepted and recognized now. It brings in and introduces people who have been on the margins so far. While working on this book, I was feeling as a kind of challenge to present the immaterial heritage in a world which is controlled so much by material in museums. It looks as necessary to move back and to introduce the meanings, the importance and the symbolism, and use that as part of collective human heritage of memory that will create understanding. Museums, as a possible place for a dialogue, have a roll to play in the immaterial. They are assumed to be able to go behind the meanings, behind the importance of what people do. It is so since the immaterial has already been present in the museums` materials. But however, it is desirable to go that one step further to reach those meanings 2 The UNESCO definition on Intangible Cultural Heritage will be closely introduced in the next Chapter of the book. 11 D. Rusalić, Making the Intangible Tangible behind. It has been the question of discovering, rediscovering, recontexting and revisiting what we already have. It is the matter of recognition that there are those important elements which have been ignored before. I also tried to focus on current important issues on ICH such as cultural rights issue and digitization processes. We are all witnesses of the phenomenon of globalization and impressive rise of intellectual property rights (IPR) as a matter of global controversy. By its nature, the Information Society undermines social norms and set institutions, magnifying the importance of culture but defined as only as a set of values and moral commitments. Cultural identity itself may transform to another form of property, either personal or collective. And if we make culture become as same as property, its uses will be defined and governed by the law, the instrument that helps states to enforce order on chaotic world. If such, culture will become the focus of legal action, legislation and other forms of bureaucratic power. Concerning both the enormous richness and diversity of its intangible cultural heritage, I considered as importante to also incorporate South-Eastern Europe (SEE), the Balkans, Western Balkans... These are all the variations of different names that define the crossroads of cultures and civilizations, where Illyrians, old Celts, ancient Greeks, Romans, Slavic nations, Byzantiums, Venetians, the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires, even Russian, have marked their influence by both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and where Catholicism, Islam, Judaism and Orthodoxy have co-existed over centuries. This colossal richness of the cultural heritage and knowledge resources forms the collective and evolving memory of our various societies. It is therefore necessary demands to pay the highest attention to its valorization, preservation and promotion.