Internalising Heritage

Cultural Heritage refers to the crystallization of the built and living traditions in the form of monuments and rituals that represent the journey of community in terms of reaction to the nature and challenges faced from time to time. It represents the time and space in which the community has evolved as the representative of their social and cultural moorings. Customs are the practices that are the living traditions and can be classified as the living heritage. Custodians refers to the community that is in the fore front of cultural representation of its cultural journey among other groups who are also representative of their assets. Laws refer to the guidelines that have come up by the intervention of the international bodies to seek the redressal of the preservation issues and challenges emanating both from man and nature to the heritage. Collective memory refers to the continuity of the traditions and rituals that are being practiced by the groups even today and the impressions of the events in the past taken as sacrosanct by all individuals in the group and helping in its progression. Dominant culture is the predominance of the one set of values over the others. It represents the observance of the one set of values over the others. Thus giving sanction to the observance of one predominant behavior over the less significant one. Empowerment refers to the identification of the group norms and heritage that can be utilized for the economic well being of the community with an eye on its preservation. It includes the economic viability of both tangible and intangible heritage in terms of tourism promotion to qualify as heritage tourism. Folklore is the part of the oral tradition that includes the collective memory and includes the eulogizing of the heroes and religious personalities specific to the group. It usually finds expression in both secular and religious occasions. Globalization refers to the emerging market scenario that has shrinked the distance in the present era. While defining the heritage focus is laid on the options available to address the cultural issues and present them to multitude of people who are interested in heritage. Stakeholders are the people who are concerned with the cultural heritage values and are its custodians. The primary stakeholders are the community members who represent the transmission elements of the culture that has come down to them from generations in the present form. The heritage management professionals and tourism marketers are the secondary stakeholders and can be seen as facilitators in terms of bringing economic well being with the inherent preservation priority to these groups. Oral history and oral tradition is the memory based interpretation of the cultural values and assets that define and shape the civilisational moorings of the community and places at the forefront of the public discourse. These represent the community traditions and includes the memory wise depiction of the events recorded from time to time. Treasures and Living traditions include the rich repository of heritage that includes art forms and various religious traditions peculiar to the group; requiring the preservation attention so that its cultural essence is not lost. Treasures and Living traditions include the rich repository of heritage that includes art forms and various religious traditions peculiar to the group; requiring the preservation attention so that its cultural essence is not lost.