Lalit Gupta
In contrast to the tangible cultural heritage comprising of ancient monuments, palaces, havelies, saries, temples, mosques and collection of objects etc., which speak of artistic and architectural achievements, the world of the Intangible heritage, manifesting itself in rituals, rites, customs, belief systems, socio- cultural practices, cuisine, traditional knowledge, human skills etc., not only gives identity and distinction to any region, community, but also acts as markers of the very character and individuality of these races and ethnic groups. Jammu, a conglomerate of number of ethnic groups till recently collectively called as Dogras, has a hoary legacy of rich and inclusive intangible heritage, which informs day to day actions of its inhabitants. Right from the important events from the birth to death, to beliefs and other actions ranging from mundane to the sacred, all members of communities be it Dogras, Paharis, Gujjars—Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs— follow them as matter of social convention and habit.
But this happy world of intangible heritage—where man has through ages woven an organic relationship with the environment; marked with the intimacy of flora and fauna, understanding of variety of materials and skills, fashioned along with unquestioned old world belief in umpteen nature spirits and many other presences of benign and malefic kinds—is in peril.
The process of globalization and social transformation has given rise to the phenomena of gross intolerance and rash change; leading to threats, deterioration, disappearance and destruction of this age old intangible cultural heritage (ICH).
Since ICH and living culture are synonyms, it is not surprising that it includes traditions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
All this encompassing world of living expressions which we take for granted, includes the Folklore and Language, Mythology, Customs and Rituals, Worship, Medicine and Local Health Practices, Wisdom Keepers and Knowledge Holders, Human Treasures—Master Craftsmen, Ancient Education Traditions, Relationship with Nature and Environment , Oral traditions, Music and Dance, Musical Instruments, Paintings and Murals, Body Painting and Tattooing, Folk /Tribal art, Crafts and Skills (Traditional craftsmanship: 1.Traditional textiles, 2. Handicrafts from Wood, Stone, Papier Mache, or Metal Works, 3. Basketry, House Decoration, Vernacular Architecture, Building Patterns, Food and Drinks, Costumes and Jewelry, Hair Styles, Pottery and Utensils, Traditional forms of Greetings and Hospitality, Life Cycle Rituals of Birth, Death, Marriage, Traditional Games and Sports, Magic, Witch craft, Occult Practices, Shamanism, Cosmology and Philosophy, Festivals and Fairs etc,.
The great treasure of traditional knowledge, transmitted by word of mouth rather than written texts from one generation to another –which was taken granted as part of living culture, today stands at the danger of being relegated as irrelevant. For intangible to be kept alive, it must remain relevant to culture and regularly practiced and learned within communities and between generations. But the juggernaut of fast changing socio-cultural realities of the so-called modern ways of life, the increasingly closeted and in-door existence where virtual reality of internet is far emerging as the readymade reference for everything outside one’s home and hearth, seemingly has pushed this living culture to the periphery.
Today the new generations, especially those born and bred in controlled urban landscape, caught up in the grind of upward mobility, are fast drifting away from their immediate environment and hardly have any idea about their surroundings, land, customs, rituals, the shared legacy of fairs and festivals and other cultural expressions. Unlike their counterparts in rural and hilly and highland areas of Jammu, they are blank about wide varieties of forest products, medicinal properties of ordinary looking shrubs in one’s courtyard or vicinity, a time-honored dance performance, a song, music instrument or a craft.
Unlike the efforts to safeguard their Intangible Cultural Heritage by other traditional societies, we, here in Jammu and Kashmir seem to be blissfully ignorant about its importance and the role it plays in intercultural dialogue and encouragement of mutual respect for other ways of life.
In our state the showcasing of folk music and crafts in cultural shows and craft melas, tantamount to haphazard measures to safeguard and manage intangible heritage. Such an approach to constantly changing ‘living culture’ amounts to freezing and trivializing it. The focus is on production of its concrete manifestations such as dances, songs music and crafts, rather than ensuring the continuance of the processes involved in transmission or communicating ICH from generation to generation.
Safeguarding means making sure that ICH remains an active part of life for today’s generation that they can hand over to tomorrow’s. For that we need to ensure its viability, its continuous recreation and transmission. Initiatives for safeguarding ICH might include identifying and documenting such heritage, research, preservation, promotion enhancement or transmission of it – particularly through formal and non-formal education.
Protecting ICH is also an important source of economical development, though not necessarily through tourism- the much touted but misplaced policy nowadays, which may damage living heritage.
Instead the focus should be on enhancing the functions of intangible cultural heritage within society and promoting its mainstreaming in economic policy planning. Just as monuments and works of art are identified and collected, intangible cultural heritage should also be gathered and recorded. In fact, for a State, the first step in safeguarding is to identify those expressions and manifestation that can be considered intangible cultural heritage and making a record, or inventory of them. These inventories may then serve as basis for developing safeguarding measures for the manifestations and expressions of the intangible cultural heritage included, and described, in the inventory. The communities themselves must take part in identifying and defining their intangible cultural heritage- they are the one who decide which practices are part of their cultural heritage.
It is high time that the state Department of Culture along with various Government agencies and departments chalks out a comprehensive plan to identify and define such heritage with participation of communities, groups and relevant non-Governmental organizations so as to make a list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the state. This List is most important, since it aims at taking appropriate safeguarding measures for those intangible cultural heritage expressions or manifestations whose viability – that is whose continuous recreation and transmission – is threatened.
The ongoing project of J&K Cultural Academy to publish first ever compendium of Intangible Heritage of the three regions of the state is a welcome initiative but a comprehensive audio- visual field documentation of ICH by teams of trained heritage professionals is the need of the hour before the fragile expressions of our living culture vanish in thin air for good and survive only as memories of some bygone practices.
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