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Dear Friends
I am happy to announce the publication of our interview (done by me and Ilana Goldstein) with Antonio Augusto Arantes Neto, Brazilian anthropologist and former president of the the National Cultural Heritage Institute of Brazil (IPHAN). The tile is “The preservation of the intangible”. The text is in Portuguese, and since many of you do not read it, I am sending here a short summary of its content.
The interview addresses the recent request made in 2008 by the Brazilian Ayahuasca groups to be recognized as immaterial cultural heritage of Brazil (see request in English here:
www.bialabate.net/wp-conten...Brazil.pdf
It is part of a series of interviews done with several different subjects that played a central role in this process (for a summary of this request see:
www.bialabate.net/news/ayah...of-brazil.
The interview has two parts. On the first, Arantes reflects on the challenges of the new conceptions of the Brazilian national immaterial policy programme, and its recent change from the focus on the recognition of material heritage (ie the historical city of Ouro Preto) to a immaterial cultural heritage programme; and from the recognition of academic and formal cultural traces to popular and ethnic cultural traces – these changes were followed by changes in our new Constitution.
He gives several examples of cultural goods recognized by the Brazilian state, such as the candomblé and the samba, and analyses the controversial issues involving authenticity and tradition in these and other similar cases. He points out how the recognition of cultural heritage is a result of a process of negotiation between State and society and addresses the paradoxes involved in this process, ie, to recognize certain practices instead of others; to define certain practices as cultural heritage while recognizing at the same time the right for internal diversity and space for cultural change; the dangers of an essentialist view of culture on the one side, and of problem of folclorization on the other. Finally, he describes the empiric process of recognition and the practical resulting protection effects on these allegedly endangered practices.
On the seccond part, Arantes reflects about the specific case of ayahuasca, the relationship of these cultural heritage request to legal issues, the challenges to define exactly what would be recognized – the religions? the substance itself? the cooking techniques? -- and speculates on the actual chances that these religious groups come to be recognized as some sort of national symbol of Brazil, as they claim.
The interview is posted in Portuguese here: p.php.uol.com.br/tropico/h...3140,1.shl
Best wishes
Bia Labate
bialabate.net
neip.info
I am happy to announce the publication of our interview (done by me and Ilana Goldstein) with Antonio Augusto Arantes Neto, Brazilian anthropologist and former president of the the National Cultural Heritage Institute of Brazil (IPHAN). The tile is “The preservation of the intangible”. The text is in Portuguese, and since many of you do not read it, I am sending here a short summary of its content.
The interview addresses the recent request made in 2008 by the Brazilian Ayahuasca groups to be recognized as immaterial cultural heritage of Brazil (see request in English here:
www.bialabate.net/wp-conten...Brazil.pdf
It is part of a series of interviews done with several different subjects that played a central role in this process (for a summary of this request see:
www.bialabate.net/news/ayah...of-brazil.
The interview has two parts. On the first, Arantes reflects on the challenges of the new conceptions of the Brazilian national immaterial policy programme, and its recent change from the focus on the recognition of material heritage (ie the historical city of Ouro Preto) to a immaterial cultural heritage programme; and from the recognition of academic and formal cultural traces to popular and ethnic cultural traces – these changes were followed by changes in our new Constitution.
He gives several examples of cultural goods recognized by the Brazilian state, such as the candomblé and the samba, and analyses the controversial issues involving authenticity and tradition in these and other similar cases. He points out how the recognition of cultural heritage is a result of a process of negotiation between State and society and addresses the paradoxes involved in this process, ie, to recognize certain practices instead of others; to define certain practices as cultural heritage while recognizing at the same time the right for internal diversity and space for cultural change; the dangers of an essentialist view of culture on the one side, and of problem of folclorization on the other. Finally, he describes the empiric process of recognition and the practical resulting protection effects on these allegedly endangered practices.
On the seccond part, Arantes reflects about the specific case of ayahuasca, the relationship of these cultural heritage request to legal issues, the challenges to define exactly what would be recognized – the religions? the substance itself? the cooking techniques? -- and speculates on the actual chances that these religious groups come to be recognized as some sort of national symbol of Brazil, as they claim.
The interview is posted in Portuguese here: p.php.uol.com.br/tropico/h...3140,1.shl
Best wishes
Bia Labate
bialabate.net
neip.info
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Re: ayahuasca as cultural heritage of Brazil from Bia Labate
Mon, November 16, 2009 - 8:57 AMGoogle has a translation toll that can help to get the translation readable, but not perfect. Go to Google then scroll down on it's menu of options and look at "Translate". You can do some sites whole and others you can copy and paste the text. This particular site of origin won't translate from the URL, but you can do blocks of text.
I found this part particularly interesting about intangible cultural heritage,
"In relation to the safeguarding of intangible heritage, we use here the term "safeguards", the best definition I know of was given by an Indian lady at a meeting which I attended in New Delhi. She said: "The intangible heritage should be nurtured, not preserved." That is, the state's role in identifying an activity as being of interest is to contribute to it's long life, so that the conditions of its fulfillment is guaranteed and may even change over time."
In effect saying that as a strategy for supporting an intangible heritage, nurturing the well being of those performing the art is the best stance, and that this allows the art to grow and change without becoming a rigid set of practices and techniques. It shows an awareness that the art is a living and changing process that is best sponsored and guarded by sponsoring the welfare of the artists themselves.
Thanks for the post here Clancy.
