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Czech Republic seeks to protect folk customs

Experts warn UNESCO status for one tradition could silence others

By Curtis M. Wong
For The Prague Post
November 14th, 2007 issue

HEATHER FAULKNER/The Prague Post
The Slovácký verbuňk dance is the only Czech item with the UNESCO recognition.
The Czech Republic may soon be able to gain official protection for its age-old folk customs, thanks to the Cabinet’s Oct. 29 approval of the country’s access to UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Final access to the convention is currently awaiting authorization from both chambers of Parliament and the president. If passed, this designation would grant the country the ability to gain UNESCO protection for its “intangible” national customs, including folk dances, music and poetry. At present, the only Czech item proclaimed by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” is the Slovácký verbuňk folk dance.
Part of an ongoing effort to safeguard native traditions, the sanction would also allow the country to participate in the international regulations for preserving intangible heritage. Furthermore, officials will have the authority to nominate preserved customs to be upgraded to a superior position on UNESCO’s International Representative List of Nonmaterial Cultural Heritage.
“Preserving traditional features of Czech village life becomes very difficult with the development of technical and cultural globalization,” says Věra Skopová, spokeswoman for the Culture Ministry’s department of regional and national culture. “Czech folk culture has many features which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. We are, of course, very aware of this issue and are interested in preserving the most important features of our cultural heritage.”
Historians and cultural experts are especially enthusiastic, saying the designation will bring with it strong political and economical benefits (such as potential tourism money). Without UNESCO protection, many native ceremonies risk being lost entirely, particularly those that are deemed financially demanding because they require traditional costumes and musical instruments.
“There is a long tradition of institutionalized state care here, and we could even say the Czech nation has fostered its intangible culture from the very beginning,” says Petr Kouřil, a folk expert and PhD candidate in sociology at Brno’s Masaryk University. “[It will legitimize] the state’s effort to preserve the unifying idea of the Czech nation through the highlighting of selected traditional cultural elements via a possible inclusion on the international heritage list. On the other hand, it’s also an orientation signal for the tourist industry, as UNESCO-labeled heritage functions as a lighthouse for tourists and cash flow.”
The Culture Ministry seeks the addition of two traditions to UNESCO’s list: the Masopustní obchůzky a masky, an annual carnival march held in February that originated in the Hlinecko region, as well as the Jízda králů, or the “Ride of Kings,” an equestrian parade in the Slovácko region.
The nomination process is often long and time-consuming for ministry officials, who must prepare a series of written documents as well as photos and audiovisual materials to present to UNESCO authorities based in Paris. Nominations are evaluated by UNESCO on the basis of formal quality, graphic design, execution and elaboration of the material.
If Parliament approves access to the convention, officials say they hope to establish a special committee of folk experts to handle nominations and ongoing documentation.
In addition to helping safeguard local customs, officials say joining the convention, established by UNESCO in 2003 and currently has 80 member states throughout Europe, will have many global benefits as well.
“The Czech Republic has a long tradition of cooperation with UNESCO,” Skopová says. “The convention [is very important] and its existence will help to preserve the cultural heritage of the whole world, not only here in the Czech Republic. It would be very unwise for our country not to participate in these activities and remain passive.”
While all agree that cultural preservation is important, some experts are concerned that placing the label on too many traditional customs has disadvantages, and that protection can often have the opposite effect. For example, a visitor might assume that a given element of folk culture is irrelevant if it lacks UNESCO protection.
“[Compared to tangible heritage], intangible heritage is often unseizable, invisible or blurred … so the bearer of intangible heritage is often an individual or community and its authenticity is much more fragile,” Kouřil says. “The fact of selection and labeling radicalizes the cultural processes. To mark some element as more important than others means to silence the unselected ones. The selected elements are stabilized, petrified and finally deadened for the lack of authenticity.”

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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