The Use of Tradition in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia Cover Image

УПОТРЕБА ТРАДИЦИЈЕ У НАЦИОНАЛНОМ РЕГИСТРУ НЕМАТЕРИЈАЛНОГ КУЛТУРНОГ НАСЛЕЂА СРБИЈЕ
The Use of Tradition in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia

Author(s): Teodora De Luka
Subject(s): Anthropology, Public Administration
Published by: Институт за етнологију и антропологију
Keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage; tradition; National Register of ICH; Authorized Heritage Discourse; identity; gender analysis; critical heritage studies; political anthropology

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the use of the concepts of tradition and intangible cultural heritage within the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia, with particular attention to patterns of selection and representation. Based on L. Smith,E. Hobsbawm, S. Naumović, M. Milenković and J. Ćuković's theoretical insights, the paper approaches cultural heritage as a social construct, and as an instrument of cultural and identity politics. Thematic analysis was conducted on thirty elements from the Register, based on three parameters: locality (village/town); mode of cultural transmission, with a focus on the gender component, and religious-mythical component. The analysis reveals the dominance of rural, male, and ethnoreligious patterns in the representation of cultural heritage, indicating the stabilisation of a particular model of national identity through institutional selection. It is shown that the institutional framework does not reflect the diversity of cultural expressions, and often marginalises urban, female and secular practices. The paper emphasises the need to broaden the concept of cultural heritage as a space in which diverse voices can be recognised and equally participate in shaping official cultural memory. The aim of this paper is not to reject tradition, but to reflect the conditions under which it acquires public and institutional value.

  • Issue Year: 25/2025
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 43-59
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Serbian
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