Abstract
ABSTRACT Ever since the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) in 2003, indigenous and minority cultural rights have enjoyed increasing recognition. At the same time, they have been exposed to public discourses and homogenising language that might detrimentally affect their right to access and participation in the creation of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and ultimately cultural life. As a consequence, respective inequalities in ICH enjoyment have come to the fore, being further reinforced by strategies of tourism, commodification and to some extent digitalisation. Calling for adaptability, submission and homogenisation, such external pressures have jeopardised right holders' voices in self-defining their very identities in new institutionalised ICH contexts. The novel ‘human dimension’ of cultural heritage inherent to ICH is explored by means of two cases, that is Andean Carnival celebrations in Oruro (Bolivia) and Barranquilla (Colombia). In the cases at hand, it is critically examined how marginalised peoples have found their way into a supposedly equalising regime facilitating celebrations of cultural life, religious identities and spiritual practice in decolonising contexts. In the following, these spaces for inclusion are assessed based on indigenous peoples', Afro-descendants' and similarly marginalised groups’ eventual share in negotiating their very identities.
Highlights
Ever since the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) in 2003, indigenous and minority cultural rights have enjoyed increasing recognition
While cultural heritage debates have primarily revolved around material heritage including respective legal regimes, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has faced difficulties in being adequately recognised in both academic and practice-oriented fields
Questions of accessing these spaces of negotiation and inherent inequalities demand extending debates beyond the surface of official heritage discourse and list mechanisms; negotiations may be limited to those informed about UNESCO programmes, those knowledgeable of its technicalities, those disposing of sufficient political leverage and those speaking the language of cultural heritage
Summary
Ever since the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) in 2003, indigenous and minority cultural rights have enjoyed increasing recognition.
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