What ‘Intangible’ May Encompass in The Egyptian Cultural Heritage Context? Legal Provisions, Sustainable Measures and Future Directions

Abstract

Over the past decades, the notion of cultural heritage has been extended to incorporate the non-tangible forms that manifest the living entity of heritage at its both types natural and cultural. Egypt is rich with unique repositories of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) that reflect our diversity and cultural identities such as traditions, lifestyles, social practices, and oral heritage. Nevertheless, most of the national efforts tended to focus only on the promotion and preservation of the tangible heritage. This places the fate of the Egyptian intangible heritage at risk, as there are certain elements of the intangible assets that have disappeared. We need to adopt a set of management and legal measures for identifying, preserving and nurturing the ICH of Egypt with emphasis on integrating the community in the safeguarding process. Hence, the aim of this paper is to examine the recognition and potentials of the Egyptian ICH as a contributor for sustainable development. The paper reviews the existing efforts and legislative provisions of the protection of the ICH within the heritage discourse of Egypt in an attempt to explore to what extent the legal system support a future for the ICH of Egypt.

Tangible and Intangible Heritage in the Age of Globalisation

“…32 As mentioned earlier, in order to understand intangible heritage, it is essential to pay attention to the continuous interaction between people and the physical environment. 33 Intangible heritage can be considered an inclusive dimension of culture derived from the meanings and values people give to the environment. Based on this understanding, intangible heritage can be reconceptualised as heritage that emerges through the continuous interaction of people with their physical environment over time.…”

“…The Egyptian government must develop practical instruments and theoretical guidelines that can contribute to protecting and supporting intangible heritage and its practitioners. 33…”

“…It hovers between being a commercial space and a residential district and represents diverse socio-economic groups. As a picnic and tourist attraction, it is a suitable place for Omani residents and visitors to hike 33 and enjoy leisure time with their families and friends.…”

“…Therefore, since Nagasaki's heritage sites-both city and prefectureare relatively well known, I shall redirect our attention to the equally fascinating fishing village of Sakitsu, which was selected as an Important Cultural Landscape by the Japanese government in 2012. 33 The first Christian communities in Amakusa were established in 1569 due to Jesuit Luis de Almeida's missionary work. During the ban, as previously mentioned, they had to be officially registered in a Buddhist temple.…”

“…The colonial legacy is embodied in Jemaa el-Fna both by the European tourist, looking for a glorious Orientalised and exotic past, and by the Moroccan authorities, who try to construct national heritage and justify its preservation via the square. 33 The locals and tourists experience and conceive the plaza in relation to specific places and spaces-imagined and real geographies-by mobilising a spatial theory of Self and Other relationships. The snake charmers, monkey dressers, storytellers, women who tattoo with 31 Claudio Minca, 'The Tourist Paradox', Social and Cultural Geography, 8:3 (2007), 443-453 (p. 444).…”