Living heritage under threat: supporting, protecting and safeguarding traditional crafts (on the example of Kazakh pile carpet weaving)

Abstract

According to UNESCO officials, the Urgent Safeguarding Register currently contains 76 elements of intangible cultural heritage whose viability is threatened. Some of them are elements related to traditional crafts. According to the author's field research and interviews with craftsmen from various regions of Kazakhstan, some types of traditional Kazakh crafts are in dire need of urgent protection. Among them are tufted and lint-free carpet weaving, bone carving, production of natural strings for musical instruments, some techniques of jewellery art and others. In this regard, this article analyzes the practice of supporting, protecting and defending traditional crafts in the global context, which will allow not only to get acquainted with modern trends in this field, but also to outline the main points of the traditional crafts protection strategy in Kazakhstan. This aspect is considered by the author through the prism of the Kazakh pile carpet weaving. There is no doubt that the viability of traditional crafts depends on a set of well-designed measures for their protection, including not only financial mechanisms but also the entire promotional infrastructure: from the use of marketing technologies to the development of educational manuals for the education system. The main concentration of the article is focused on the elements included in the List of ICH in need of urgent protection and analysis of practices of support, protection and conservation of traditional crafts in the global context. Geography of the countries that have initiated inclusion of their elements in this list is quite extensive and their experience in this direction seems promising for Kazakhstan. After all, crafts are associated with deeper layers of traditional culture: the worldview, representations, rituals, etc.