Routledge Handbook of Heritage in Asia

Part IV

What is the role of the past, the local and the indigenous within modernity as it is played out in Asia? In Chapter 18, Jyoti Hosagrahar interrogates the place of heritage within Indian modernity. Drawing upon examples ranging from cricket to the urban and social fabric of old Delhi and hypermodern Gurgaon, she challenges binaries of old and new, past and present in India. She argues the economic and social transformations in India today create new forms of modernity, localised in context, which represent the plurality of globalisation rather than its more typically associated homogeneity.

In Chapter 19, Denis Byrne examines the friction between the forces of modernity and the legacy of vernacular ritual practices that are still prevalent across much of Asia. In Chapter 19, he uses examples from China and Thailand to look at how aspirations of modernity by Asian elites led to the marginalisation of practices of popular religion, cast as backward superstition. He shows how ritual practices continue to be carried out, which creates a layer of ‘unofficial’ heritage spaces that are recognised at a vernacular level. This chapter deals with both the complexities of simultaneous presents, as well as the resilience of traditional practices in the face of modernisation.

In Chapter 20, Vinita Damodaran analyses the impact of globalisation upon the adivasi aboriginal communities living in forested areas in eastern India. At the heart of the issue is the conflict between the adivasi and the interests of multi-national companies attracted to the natural resources found on indigenous lands. Damodaran provides a historical context for the discourse of indigenous as it emerged under conditions of colonialism, and then through more recent reinventions of ‘tribal’ identity by the adivasi in the face of modernisation brought on by mining and forestry interests. The convergence of these factors highlights some of the ways in which cultural identities are created and re-created in response to globalising forces.

In Chapter 21, Kiran Shinde considers the tangible and intangible heritage associated with religious pilgrimage routes in India to reveal how traditional religious practices and ritual landscapes continue to evolve. He analyses the factors shifting pilgrimage routes and religious practices around the temple town Vrindavan. Custodians of ritual practices play a critical role as they facilitate travel groups, provide logistical support, and market/sell their wares outside of local markets. Shinde argues these shifting roles have affected religious heritage, as sites have been dropped from pilgrimage routes out of convenience and profit rather than faith. This poses threats to the intangible practices, and physical religious landscape, as many sites are heavily dependent upon pilgrims for their maintenance.

In Chapter 22, Aki Toyoyama probes into the importance of Japanese engagement with heritage sites across Asia over the past century. The author paints a subtle picture of how a re-working of Western art historical approaches in Japan influenced the involvement in the creation of a pan-Asian Buddhist heritage. Toyoyama frames this within the context of internal Japanese positioning of Buddhism and Shintoism within modernising Japan in the post-Meji era and within the establishment of Japanese modernity.

Finally, in Chapter 23, Patrick Daly focuses upon the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, based upon an ethnography of traditional Chinese martial arts in Malaysia. Daly’s chapter draws upon extensive interviews to bring the perspectives of the bearers of culture into the debate about the future of intangible culture. His work provides a practical look at how traditional Chinese martial arts are passed from generation to generation. He argues that mechanisms for transmitting intangible heritage are integral to the integrity and value of intangible heritage. Additionally, he outlines some of the main forces disrupting the transmission of ICH in Asia.