The Moral Economy of Cultural Identity

Abstract

The text is a facsimile of the print edition. © Tous droits réservés 65Civilisations vol. 61

The travel of a thangka: Crossing gender and cultural boundaries with Lutso's stories

“…Under the agenda of the state-led development, the local government has fostered an ethnic tourism and cultural industry centered on Tibetan thangka (Catanese, 2019: 217). Thangka art is treated as an exploitable "cultural resource" (Makley, 2018: 237) with painting as a useful skill that can boost the local economy, especially for rural Tibetans who are often disadvantaged in China's regular job markets (Catanese, 2019;Fischer, 2013;Saxer, 2012;Washul, 2018). An abundant number of painters are trained in home studios, private art schools, and governmentsponsored accelerated programs 7 for an increasingly competitive market.…”

“…Although Lutso did not form any type of collaboration with the gallery in Beijing, she has been forced to think about the question of “uniqueness” as she operates her own studio. Since the official narrative frames Rebgong thangka as an ICH and elides the religious meaning or historical context of Tibetan thangka (Catanese, 2019; Saxer, 2012), thangka painters are easily imagined as “copyists” of existing images. Some popular images like Yellow Jambhala (the “wealth god”), Four-armed Avalokiteśvara, and Green Tārā have been repeatedly shown in state-organized cultural expos, exhibits, or TV programs and become Tibetan “motifs.” These images are therefore in high demands of non-Tibetan clients who are unfamiliar with Tibetan Buddhism or Buddhist art.…”

Unveiling the Veil: Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Filipino College Students

“…Eslit (2023) states that practices, beliefs, traditions, and knowledge are contributory to a country's cultural identity. Taking this into account, UNESCO is looking forward to preserving the intangible cultural heritage of different countries through various initiatives like the identification and documentation of intangible cultural heritage, heightening awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage, provision of technical assistance to countries for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, promotion of the exchange and sharing of intangible cultural heritage, and support for the creation of a global inventory of intangible cultural heritage (Saxer, 2012). Through these initiatives, UNESCO, through its Sustainable Development Goals, was able to gather different interventions to preserve and give emphasis on the importance of living traditions.…”