User Perceptions on Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ancient Bini Kingdom and the Acceptance of Extended Reality (XR) in Its Recreation and Representation

Abstract

Current study sought to measure the perception of intangible cultural heritage and systems of the ancient Bini kingdom, as well as the acceptance of users when extended reality (XR) is used for its recreation and representation. Four aspects of intangible cultural heritage were identified and used for the study—stories, music, festivals and dance. The stories were recreated from folklore using the comic book storyboard technique with the Adobe Photoshop software, while three dimensional (3D) characters were generated and positioned within the virtual environment using commercially available Unity3D and Blender softwares; dance was simulated using non-immersive virtual reality, with created characters responding to sourced traditional music; festivals remain as celebrated yearly. With semi-structured questionnaires administered on a sample size of forty-two (42) consisting of palace/museum staff and local tourists (young and old) in Bini city, Edo State, Nigeria, several findings were generated and measured on the Likert scale. Although most respondents could remember some stories, they could not recall the names of key characters, implying that some names associated with oral tradition are lost as they pass between generations. For the application of XR in the reconstruction and restoration of intangible cultural heritage, most of the respondents agreed it was a fun and interesting way to learn about the cultural heritage of the Bini kingdom. However, youths were undecided on the issue of dance and music, showing the strong influence of Hip life and Afro Hip hop music and dances.