Intangible Cultural Heritage and role of Museum
An approach to Safeguard Heritage of Old Delhi
“Shahjehanabad – The Walled City”

What is now called Old Delhi, one of the most fascinating part of the capital city of India. I have been visiting the city since my childhood and have been captivated by the distinct identity, culture and traditions of the area. It is perhaps this distinct identity and culture which has bound people to refer to it as "the Walled City," a city in itself.

"I asked my soul, what Delhi is" She replied: "The world is the body and Delhi its soul."

       (Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (19th century poet-                                                

The area is identified by extremely small shops, congested streets and dilapidated buildings. Thanks to the Metro rail project, which has connected the Walled City to the more modern and cosmopolitan part of Delhi. Chandni Chowk is now directly connected with the cosmopolitan section of the city congestion free at all.

         Old Delhi, Purani Delhi, Chandni Chawk or Shahjehanabad – “The Walled City” (which proof witnessed the Historical Background of the City) has always been in the center of attraction for tourist of all kinds – Local, National and International, because of its history, cultures, traditions, languages, food habits, unique building structures, indigenous art and practices etc. During last few decades many elements of the ICH of the Old Delhi are endangered and the main reasons of their disappearance are Urbanization, Globalization, Lack of means, Appreciation, Understanding and the tendency to merge their identity with others. All these shifting, changing and merging of their art, tradition, profession or even life style, directly and indirectly lead to erosion of functions and values of such intangible heritage and importance of Old Delhi. Such changes are being observed almost by all of us now days. Being a Museum and Heritage student I felt that there is urgent need of proper documentation and safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Old Delhi.

Heritage

            Heritage is a broad concept, whatever we inherit from our past can be called heritage. It is a cultural legacy or tradition passed on within a community from generation to generation. Things from the past, such as buildings, work of art and literature or the natural environment considered as an inheritance for today’s population.

 To explain the whole range covered by heritage, I use the following three – dimensional diagram.

On one axis, heritage begins with natural heritage and grows all the way to Intangible Heritage.

On another axis, heritage begins with you as an individual and grows all the way to the world.

          Intangible Cultural Heritage meant the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated there with  - that communities, groups and in same cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible heritage transmitted from generation to generation, in constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity.

Intangible Cultural Heritage in a broader sense can be categorizes into six categories:

1.      Oral expressions: Language, oral traditions, oral histories, storytelling, literature and mythology etc.

2.      Performing Arts: Music, dance, games, festivals and posture/gesture etc.

3.      Social Practices: Rituals, festive events etc

4.      Knowledge and practices: Customs, cosmology and spiritual beliefs, values, traditional systems of healing and pharmacopoeia, religion, traditional means of conflict resolution.

5.      Traditional craftsmanship: Vernacular architecture, the culinary arts and all kinds of special skills connected with the tools and habitat etc.

6.      Cultural spaces: Associated with intangible heritage practices (UNESCO 2003), or intangible values associated with sites.

     A tangible heritage makes valuable because of its intangible importance, without intangible heritage there is no value of tangible heritage. The ICH of Old Delhi comprises all the above categories. 

UNESCO Convention for safeguarding of Intangible Heritage across world

UNESCO has recently announced, on 20^th January 2006, to be precise through an official press release that since 30 states have ratified the convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in Paris on 17^th Oct. 2003. The convention will enter into force on 20^th April, 2006. The exceptionally rapid ratification of this new instrument that amply, shows the great interest in protection of Intangible Heritage all over the world.

The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage (2003)1, as well as the ICOM definition of the museum (2001) and the Shanghai Charter (Asia Pacific ICOM 2002)2, from the principal co-ordinates for this expert meeting. This meeting will focus on the (future) role of museums and similar institutions in safeguarding living heritage by considering two main questions:

1.           How can museums contribute to safeguarding living heritage, especially at the level of local communities?

2.           How can museums contribute to the visibility of forms of Intangible Heritage?

In 2004, ICOM declare “Museum and Intangible Heritage” as the theme for the International Museum Day and later on deliberated on the same theme in the 20^th ICOM Triennially in Seoul in Oct. 2004.

National Initiatives to safeguard Intangible Heritage

At the national level, much of the policy work has been done in India and has developed legislation to safeguard our heritage. But as far as Intangible Heritage is concern local as well as national government should be more aware than the Tangible Heritage, because tangible still can be reproduced if intangible is secured, if it disappeared once can’t be reproduced.

A cultural policy may promote certain cultural practices as national priorities because of their role in developing and promoting national or regional identity. Government can play an important role in validating cultural practice: If people don’t want to continue their traditions, then they won’t. But by the wider community recognizing and respecting the traditions of others and offering support, should that community want to continue those traditions, we can offer the best opportunity for such traditions to continue.

Role of Museum in safeguarding of ICH

Museum traditionally collect, conserve, research and display physical objects both natural and cultural from the past. While in recent years the museum world is experiencing one of the most noteworthy transformations with the global recognition of the urgent need to preserve both the intangible and tangible heritage resources. To identify ICH that is applicable to museum operation. We need to move beyond the dichotomy of tangibility and the view-point. Museums prefer to divide the ICH into two groups.

1.  The ICH that used to live and be practiced within original natural and social context. Because of the historical development and changes of social construction, the original functions of this kind of ICH have entirely disappeared. 

      

       2. The ICH that is still living and being practiced within its natural and social context.

   It is not that challenging for museum to safeguard heritage that won’t develop and change. Even if it is ICH without physical forms, museum can employ modern technologies to transform them into tangible presentation. Firstly, the presentation and interpretation in museum are static, while the elements of this kind of ICH is living and evolving. Secondly, museums collect, preserve and interpret material evidences and intangible values associated with them from the past. Thirdly, since the day of its interception, museum is never a place of neutral status. Every single activity within museum is about choice and judgment. As to decide what to safeguard and how to safeguard, museums face not only the content and means but also the ideas and standards which might far beyond what they are familiar of. Although with the above-mentioned challenges, many museums have already started the explorations in the safeguarding of the ICH.

We can make several general suggestions for the further practices of the safeguarding of Intangible Heritage.

Firstly, to rethink about what a museum is by revising the current museum definition. ICOM has already started by replacing the material evidence with tangible and intangible heritage in the 2005 ICOM statute draft.

Secondly, museum’s professional standards, such as ethic codes, collection management policy should not only reflect the new aspects of museums works but also balance the universal approach to safeguard intangible heritage.

Thirdly, the most effective strategy for safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage will involve the use of the intangible heritage forms as springboard for new cultural expressions that connect the past and have relevance in the contemporary world.

Here are the outlines in the form of schematic model of overall process for safeguarding of ICH in a Museum or museum like institution.