Abstract

CORTES FERREIRA, Cleyton. Genealogical analysis of intangible cultural heritage: conformation of the concept and identification of its arbitrariness. Cultura representaciones soc [online]. 2022, vol.16, n.32, e0001992.  Epub Apr 21, 2023. ISSN 2007-8110.

This article proposes a critical review of the concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) proposed by the Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH. The justification for this review is explained from the potential social effects generated by the heritagization of cultural practices. The hypothesis that guides the research is that the notion of folklore poses an alterity from the traditional/modern binomial, generating a series of theoretical arbitrariness in the understanding of that difference that the concept of intangible cultural heritage does not fully resolve. The research objective is to examine Unesco’s open access content repository on the subject to explain the arbitrariness in its historical origin, analyze its rationalization process and evaluate its validity. In order to realize this objective, Heritage Studies were used, adopting a procedural dimension of cultural heritage, understanding that heritagization is a capacity for resignification which is applied to cultures. The methodology corresponds to genealogical analysis, seeking to show the arbitrary and conventional nature of intangible heritage applied to cultures. The results of the research show that the current notion of ich is built based on its conceptual origin associated with folklore, resulting in that the notion of ich can be understood as its sophistication, since both are conceptually built under the same constitutive elements that ensure the stability of its arbitrariness.

Keywords : Intangible cultural heritage; Heritagization; Cultural difference; Alterity; Folklore.