Oral Heritage Research Articles

Arte verbal e música na língua Gavião de Rondônia: metodologia para estudar e documentar a fala tocada com instrumentos musicais

Em uma língua com tom e prolongamento distintivos, como Gavião de Rondônia, a primeira questão sobre a fala tocada com instrumentos musicais é a relação entre as melodias e a fonologia suprassegmental das palavras correspondentes na fala cantada e na fala normal. A forma cantada serve para aprender e explicar os toques musicais. Ela é influenciada pelos recursos fonológicos da forma falada e pelos recursos musicais da forma instrumental, sendo intermediária entre as duas. Esta arte é executada com vários instrumentos musicais tradicionais na cultura Gavião de Rondônia. O papel da fala cantada instrumental é artístico, para acompanhar festas, e também prático, para ajudar a manter o patrimônio oral de uma cultura não escrita. Esta prática representa um patrimônio sociocultural do substrato tradicional das culturas da Amazônia, pouco estudado e ameaçado de extinção. Na Terra Indígena Igarapé Lourdes, usamos uma metodologia original para documentar este fenômeno nos instrumentos musicais identificados como 'falantes' ou 'cantantes' pelos colaboradores Gavião. As sessões de gravação e de transcrição necessárias para esse tipo de trabalho foram explicadas aqui. Elas revelaram a relação de iconicidade acústica que existe entre as palavras e a música. A análise linguística permite entender a natureza fonética e fonológica da iconicidade.

Non-traditional education using cultural heritage: A case study from Syria

Abstract This article explores the issue of using culture and cultural heritage as themes in non-traditional education to foster teamwork attitudes and leadership, research and presentation skills, in addition to looking at ones’ environment with a critical eye and valuing culture as an asset. It presents an educational programme where youth from Syria documented oral heritage, explored their cultures with photography as a probing tool and participated in creating public displays of their heritages. In this article, I describe the educational programme, its rationale, the employed concept of culture, faced challenges and learned lessons. Feedback from participants and host communities is discussed and questions for further enquiry are raised, including on the applicability of such programme to promote cultural diversity, the long-term effects on participants, and ways to highlight the value of cultural heritage towards the communities that own it when its continuity is threatened.

L'écriture romanesque au Maroc ou le paradigme de la diversité

The novelistic genre in Morocco is becoming a space marked by a poetics of movement and diversity. A new aesthetic and a plurality of meanings and signifiers have given Moroccan novels written in French their place in contemporary literarature. Indeed, diversity relates, in the first place, to literary genre, given the choice of auto-fiction as a veritable textual space for hybridisation, allowing, as it does, a certain degree of (con)fusion within a single genre. Diversity is then the result of the dialogue between orality and literarity present in several novels featuring a host of carnivalistic techniques intended to defend a culture's oral heritage while simultaneously preserving its popular essence. Finally, diversity is impossible in the absence of ecriture feminine, which seeks to legitimise its own identity and establish another culture, demanding equality while defending the right to difference. In short, the originality and heterogeneity of Morocco's literary and cultural scene are accentuating ...

An Exploration into Soteriology in Ifa

This article explores the concept of soteriology—the doctrine of salvation. Soteriology is central to Christian theology and is also fundamental to African indigenous religions and cultures. This article is an attempt to give theoretical and practical supports to the existence of soteriological concepts in Afri-can indigenous religion as evidenced in Ifa; an oral tradition of the Yoruba. It clarifies and reinforces the general assumptions that Ifa has certain theological ideas and that it is a principal source of African theology. The study claims that Ifa, which has been defined by UNESCO as an “oral and intangible heritage,” if studied thoroughly, reveals the underlying African theologies of salvation. The theological content of African indigenous religion has been the concern of scholars in contextual or inculturation theology. This study opines that extensive study of Ifa is essential to the understanding of the Yoruba concept of salvation. The concept of salvation for any people is fundamental to the way they seek to utilize this belief as a means of solving their deepest problems in life. Most religions give emphasis to salvation in one form or another, and, as such, have their own developed forms of soteriology.

Voices Yet to Be Heard: On Listening to the Last Speakers of Jewish Malayalam

Abstract Jewish history in Kerala, the southernmost state in modern India, goes back to as early as the tenth century CE. In the mid-twentieth century, Kerala Jews migrated en masse to Israel, leaving behind but a handful of their community members and remnants of eight communities, synagogues, and cemeteries. The paper presents a preliminary attempt to describe and analyze the language—so far left undocumented and unexplored—still spoken by Kerala Jews in Israel, based on a language documentation project carried out in 2008 and 2009. In light of the data collected and studied so far, it is clear that the language in question fits nicely into the Jewish languages spectrum, while at the same time it fits perfectly into the linguistic mosaic of castolects in Kerala. Though the linguistic database described here reflects a language in its last stages, it affords salvaging the remnants of a once rich oral heritage and opens new channels for the study of the history, society, and culture of Kerala Jews.

Vēḏa and Popular Music: A Cultural Analysis

Vēḏa is considered as the ultimate source of knowledge and the value of the Vēḏic oral tradition is reason for it being termed as masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity. This value of Vēḏic music is comprised in its antiquity as well as its continuity in the applicability of some common principles instantiated in music and language. Mankind’s earliest ideas of music and methods of protecting mantras found in Vēḏic literature are reflected even in Indian popular music; especially in catch lines of jingles sometimes unconscious of its base in Vēḏa. They are instantiated due mainly to underlying linguistic commonality in Indian and other related languages. Present is an analysis, with instances, of the manner in which principles of Vēḏic music have survived the vagaries of time and manifested in different popular Indian music genres today. In fact, these principles that have dealt with tonal, temporal, metrical, and linguistic aspects, to name a few, in Vēḏic enunciations have helped not only Indian music but also musics of the world. This universalization stems from biological, scientific, spiritual, and linguistic observations made by the Vēḏic people. Continuity is evidenced thanks to preservation techniques and formulae based on these observations. This article is a cultural study of music in Vēḏas and Indian popular music and how change and universalization have not happened at the cost of continuity in Vēḏic musical principles intertwined with linguistics.

Wayang Purwa dan Tantangan Teknologi Media Baru

The art of shadow puppets or wayang has been established as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Leathermade shadow puppets or wayang kulit purwa as one of many wayang performances has been the most hegemonic, receiving much attention nationally as well as internationally until today. Therefore, there is an assumption that “the real” wayang is wayang kulit purwa. Globalization, commercialization, and the development of communication technology of popular culture influence greatly the advancement of wayang kulit purwa performances or even other wayang shows. Every stake holder of shadow puppet art truly needs the creative adaptive ability so that wayang can still be sustainable in the future.

Debating heritage authenticity: kastom and development at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre

In October 2003, 28 cultural expressions from around the world were proclaimed Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, complementing the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. This proclamation has been part of the broader remit of the international organisation to protect the world’s cultural diversity from modernity and globalisation. Inherent in this is an underlying notion of cultural authenticity, implying that certain expressions, which are considered to be endangered and therefore in need of institutional protection, constitute ‘original’ and ‘pure’ manifestations of cultural identity. Taking forward debates on the safeguarding of intangible heritage, this paper examines cultural authenticity in the context of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, the principal cultural organisation, museum and research institution of the Melanesian archipelago. The proclamation of the practice of sandroing (sand drawing) as a masterpiece of intangible heritage, and other heritage interventions taking place in Vanuatu and recorded during fieldwork in 2007, provide an interesting perspective for examining how global cultural initiatives are negotiated by local constituencies. Here, heritage preservation is coupled with calls for development, which invites new ways for thinking about authenticity not according to predefined criteria, but with respect to local understandings.

Local Fêtes as Cultural Heritage in Provence: New Means for Local Development Policies and Tourism

Introduction In the past two decades or so, the ways of understanding cultural heritage have considerably changed as cultural heritage has been dramatically extended to intangible resources such as narratives, performances, games, rituals orfetes. This shift from fine arts and historical monuments to folk-life and living culture was specially legitimized by anthropologists who assumed that the ernie definitions for cultural heritage were more important than the etie definitions, which means that the local 'internal' claims for heritage would become as important as the institutional 'external' definitions for heritage. l Traditional cultural events and performances were seen as 'invented'2 or at least 'revitalized'3 by the people who organized them, which led to consider them as genuine cultural resources. From there, fetes would fuel commoditization and place marketing processes;4 they would have an obvious relation with the industry of tourism;5 they would draw nearer leisure and entertainment, being at the same time standardized and merchandized but still a strong source of beliefs and powering action. As they were granted labels such as 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of

Visualization Elements of Shadow Play Technique Movement and Study of Computer Graphic Imagery (CGI) In Wayang Kulit Kelantan

In the attempt to preserve and safeguard the unique heritage of Wayang Kulit (Shadow Play), UNESCO has designated it as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7th November 2003. Wayang Kulit Kelantan in Malaysia is threatened with imminent extinction. This paper reviews the critical situation of Wayang Kulit Kelantan in Malaysia. The visualization and movement of Wayang Kulit Kelantan is described in four major aspects, which are the puppets, shadows, screen for shadow projection (Kelir), and its light source. It also reviews the comparison methods and techniques between Wayang Kulit Kelantan traditional shadow play and Computer Graphics Imagery (CGI) used as a prototype design in Wayang Kulit Kelantan.

The Trinidadian Calypso as Oral Heritage: Linguistic and Cultural Issues in the Italian Translation of V.S. Naipaul’s Miguel Street

Assuming that the calypso belongs to the many-faceted field of Caribbean orature and represents a significant aspect of a cultural continuum between Africa and the New World, this paper aims at investigating its role in V.S. Naipaul’s third novel, Miguel Street (1959), where the calypso emerges as a musical genre conveying and constantly reshaping the socio-cultural identity of Indo-Caribbean people in Port of Spain. The paper also deals with some linguistic problems resulting from the translation of calypsoes into another language. Particularly, the Italian translation of the novel shows that a twofold difficulty arises. Firstly, the translator needs to decide how to reproduce the colloquial liveliness of the Creole language used for the calypso and, secondly, how to translate into Italian the manifold cultural data that all those popular ditties convey, if it is true that “calypso is a purely local form. [...]. The pure calypso, the best calypso, is incomprehensible to the outsider” (V.S. Naipaul, The Middle Passage).

Limburgse en Friese toestanden

This review article discusses the merits and demerits of Rob Belemans' dissertation “Taal of Tongval. De gespleten Limburgse kus, oraal erfgoed en taalpolitiek” [language or dialect: the split Limburgian kiss, oral heritage and language politics]. In addition to a discussion of Belemans' description of the different approaches of Belgium versus the Netherlands with regard to the recognition of Limburgian as a regional language in the Charter, this review article provides some basic background information about language politics in The Netherlands. More specifically, it is argued that a fruitful strategy of language politics should be based on the use of the harmony model (instead of the conflict model), as is evidenced by the relative success of the language policy of the province of Fryslân.

Call for Papers: Conferences-Workshops on “Engaging the Classics in Malay and Southeast Asian Studies: Where to From Here?”, 17–18 June 2010; Conference on “Historical Fragments in Southeast Asia: At the Interfaces of Oral History, Memory and Heritage”, 23–24 June 2010; Conference on “The Culture of Value and the Value of Culture: The Socio-economic Life of Southeast Asian Art”, 12 July

Call for Papers: Conferences-Workshops on “Engaging the Classics in Malay and Southeast Asian Studies: Where to From Here?”, 17–18 June 2010; Conference on “Historical Fragments in Southeast Asia: At the Interfaces of Oral History, Memory and Heritage”, 23–24 June 2010; Conference on “The Culture of Value and the Value of Culture: The Socio-economic Life of Southeast Asian Art”, 12 July

How Does One Study a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”? Ethnographic Reflections on Kerala's Kūtiyāttam

AbstractThis article presents issues encountered in ethnographic fieldwork in Kerala, south India, on a tradition of Sanskrit theatre called Kūtiyāttam. Key issues include recent changes in both the audience and performing troupes as Kerala's society has become more egalitarian, and reduced ritual activity by priests. Kūtiyāttam has been transformed from a devotional offering in temples to a cultural performance viewed as an art form. Ethnographic research on this tradition has contributed to international recognition and patronage. In this case, ethnographic fieldwork affects both the researchers and the subjects of their research.

Daleka blizina usmeni i zavičajni motivi u "Malim glagoljašima" Daniela Načinovića

Daniel Načinović (1952) istaknuti je, plodan i svestran, hrvatski književnik srednje generacije iz Istre. Od svojih književnih početaka piše i za djecu. I površna bi analiza njegova dječjega djela, uz modernost, ukazala na još tri dominantne osobitosti: zavičajnost, usmenu baštinu i svojevrsnu prigodnost ili, bolje, prigodnu inspirativnost. Za propitivanje i analizu usmenih i zavičajnih motiva najpogodnijima se čine ove tri "ilustrirane knjige": "Burrra", "Kravata Velog Jože ili vilinska svadba u pulskoj Areni" i "Mali glagoljaši". "Mali glagoljaši" priča su o dvoje zagrebačke djece, sestri i bratu Karmeli i Dubravku, koji za ljetnog raspusta dolaze u Roč (u Istri) u "Malu glagoljašku akademiju" učiti glagoljicu. Priča se sastoji od proznoga teksta u koji je umetnuto sedam pjesama naslovljenih glavnim brojevima od 1 do 7. Prozni je tekst pisan standardom, a pjesme čakavskim dijalektom. Djeca iz Zagreba u Istru i natrag putuju "Zvonimirtransom", to jest lete na konju s kraljem Zvonimirom, a u Roču dočekuje ih poznati glagoljaš žakan Juri. Prozni i pjesnički tekst obiluju usmenim i autorovim zavičajnim motivima. Kralj Zvonimir malim Zagrepčanima tumači Istru i njezinu ljepotu bogatstvom graditeljske, glazbene i usmene tradicije. Čakavski dijalekt stiha u "Malim glagoljašima" odavanje je počasti glagoljašima, "začinjavcima" hrvatske pismenosti i književnosti. Autor je naglasio likovnu ljepotu glagoljičkog pisma i "mudrost" glagoljice. Čitajući nazive slova glagoljičke azbuke, dobivamo i poruku: "Ja (koji) slova poznajem velim (da) dobro je živjeti". Učeći glagoljička slova djeca se uče potrebi za znanjem, vedrinom i životnim optimizmom. I ne samo to: iz pjesama se dade iščitati da je učenje glagoljice ravno stvaranju ili otkrivanju svijeta. Kralj Zvonimir i žakan Juri povijesne su ličnosti, ali će ih djeca doživjeti kao likove iz legende i predaje, posebno kralja Zvonimira. "Mali glagoljaši" fantastična je dječja priča. Dvojnost predaje (i povijesti) i sadašnjosti prividna je. Prošlost određuje našu duhovnost, našu pripadnost i naš identitet. S kraljem Zvonimirom i žakanom Jurjem djeca se ne mogu identificirati, jer oni nisu mitskoga podrijetla, ali s glagoljašima i Kraljem mogu razgovarati kao s nekim "iz daleke, daleke blizine".

Oral History and Hurricane Katrina: Reflections on Shouts and Silences

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, many oral historians throughout the nation began to consider the role their methodology could serve in documenting the storm and its aftermath. Interviewing so soon after such a traumatic event creates new considerations for oral history as an approach to recording experience. The problems and possibilities of oral history at such a moment initiated a vibrant discussion on H-Oralhist and at professional meetings in the fall of 2005. This article reflects on many of the topics raised in that dialogue, including issues of historical distance, objectivity, reflection, and emotional trauma. The piece also offers an early review of the work of the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi to document the impact of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

Shahrazadian Gestures in Arab Women’s Autobiographies: Political History, Personal Memory, and Oral, Matrilineal Narratives in the Works of Nawal El Saadawi and Leila Ahmed

This article examines two autobiographical works by Egyptian women, A Daughter of Isis by Nawal El Saadawi and A Border Passage: From Cairo to America—A Woman’s Journey by Leila Ahmed. In both works, the writers’ attempts to construct their identities through personal memory in autobiographical form entail a concurrent reexamination of the political history of their home societies and a feminist, postcolonial revision of Western and Middle Eastern understandings of those societies. At the same time, each writer, in her own way, inscribes a matrilineal oral heritage within the textual tradition of autobiography and creatively asserts her own identity within a transnational, historical context. This article explores the ways in which political history, autobiographical tradition, oral heritage, and the transnational reception of postcolonial texts all play a part in the construction of identity in the life narratives written by Nawal El Saadawi and Leila Ahmed.

The UNESCO Concept of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage: Its Background and Marrakchi Roots

In 1998 UNESCO started a programme for the proclamation of ‘Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity’, a pre‐project for the new UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Jemaa el Fna Square in Marrakech was one of the first Masterpieces proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001. This paper examines the genesis and history of this new UNESCO concept of safeguarding intangible heritage. The Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo gave the decisive impulse for the new UNESCO concept in 1996 in order to safeguard Jemaa el Fna Square in Marrakech. Worrying that contemporary plans of local authorities would definitely change the character of the square and destroy its cultural traditions, Goytisolo asked UNESCO to proclaim the square as ‘oral heritage of humanity’. The wish to protect Jemaa el Fna Square on the one hand, and the existing Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on the other, can be seen as two reference points for the new UNESCO concept.

Preserving intangible heritage in Japan: the role of the iemoto system.

Many forms of Japan’s intangible heritage, including its three ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’, are headed by hereditary masters called iemoto. This paper examines the iemoto system as it relates to the exclusive rights of the iemoto. Through case studies taken mainly from the traditions of the tea ceremony, Nōgaku, and Kabuki, the state of Japanese art traditions under the said system is also discussed. Although the iemoto system is shown to be authoritarian in various ways, it has also played a crucial role in the preservation of intangible heritage in Japan.

Memory, Conscience and the Museum in South Africa: The Old Langa Pass Office and Court

The old pass office and court in Langa was a site of apartheid brutality. In its day-to-day workings, the court found thousands of South Africans guilty of ‘crimes’ that were only crimes in the radically unjust society that the apartheid government cultivated. This paper explores how residents from Langa have remembered the site of the old pass office and court through the lens of oral history. In doing so, it asks how the site, now the Langa Museum, may become a space of memory, identity, and political conscience and consciousness in a post-apartheid context. What insight and wisdom lie embedded in Langa residents’ oral histories about the old pass office? And how can oral historians, Langa residents, museum and heritage practitioners, and visitors to Langa access and utilise the transformative narrative power of these site-stories in the shifting contexts of the site as an emergent social history museum? At what point does the old Langa pass office cease to be a dark space of apartheid, and begin to become a space of post-apartheid humanity and creativity? Indeed, can the Langa Museum become a ‘living’ social history museum? What would a transformation of this nature entail for oral history, Cape Town's memory communities, community-based heritage practice, citizenship, and identity in the South African postcolony?