The Institutional Construction of Intangible Heritage Concept and Policy in Brazil, 1937–2016

Abstract

This article describes how the concept of intangible cultural heritage was developed in Brazilian public institutions and policies aimed at protecting and maintaining alive the country’s cultural traditions and heritage. This term was first imprinted in Brazilian public records dating back to the 1930s, when it was mentioned in a bill for the creation of a federal institution known as the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). This concept was only reintroduced in the late 1980s, with the adoption of the new Brazilian Federal Constitution. After providing an overview of the process of replacing the term folklore with intangible cultural heritage, this article focuses on the execution of the federal government’s safeguarding policy for intangible cultural heritage beginning in the year 2000. From the promulgation of Decree 3,551, which created the National Program of Intangible Heritage (PNPI) and established the guidelines for the official recognition of Brazilian cultural traditions as national cultural heritage. By looking closer at the measures taken by the government after a cultural tradition becomes part of their heritage, this article further explores the participatory call developed by such public policy.