Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of East Anglia
Le secret exposé: Révélation et reconnaissance d’un patrimoine immatériel au Sénégal
In 2005 UNESCO declared the Kankurang and Manding initiation ritual Masterpieces of Oral and Immaterial Heritage. This article examines the increased commodification of these traditions as a result of its recognition as World Heritage. Rejecting the idea of an ‘original’ culture, the article posits that cultural continuity and commodification are not necessarily antagonistic, but may mutually reinforce each other. Demonstrating that the participants themselves have adopted another visual regime in order to achieve recognition for their art, this article rejects pessimist readings that presuppose that commodification can only lead to cultural loss.