Introduction to Heritage
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The heritage diagram (Image copyright: François LeBlanc, Conservation Architect)
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What is Heritage?
Heritage is anything that is considered important enough to be passed on to the future generations.
Heritage is broadly categorized into two main divisions.
Divisions of Heritage
- Natural Heritage
- Cultural Heritage
Natural Heritage
Natural Heritage refers to the natural aspects like the fauna and flora, landscapes, beaches, coral gardens etc that are considered important enough to be preserved for the future generations.
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| The Grand Canyon in the United States was inscribed to the World heritage List in 1979. Photo: Jim Gordon / Wikimedia Commons |
Cultural Heritage
Cultural Heritage refers to the cultural aspects like heritage sites, monuments, folklore, traditional activities and practices, language etc that are considered vital to be preserved for the future generations.
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| Giza Pyramids, Egypt. The Giza Pyramids in Egypt were inscribed to the World heritage List in 1979. Photo: Ricardo Liberato/Wikimedia Commons |
Cultural Heritage can be further divided into two main groups.
- Tangible Heritage
- Intangible Heritage
Tangible Heritage
Tangible Heritage refers to those significant places that advocate the country’s history and culture. For example monuments, mosques, shrines, monasteries etc
Intangible Heritage
Intangible Heritage refers to those aspects of a country that cannot be touched or seen. For example traditional music, folklore, language etc.
Understanding the Significance of Cultural Heritage
There are 4 main aspects to understand the significance of cultural heritage sites. These aspects help to determine the management policies and procedure pursuant to the particular site. Thus It is very important to understand and determine the significances before embarking on a heritage project.
The 4 Main aspects are:
Historical Significances
The age or relationship to historical era, person or event. Historical significance is a relatively easy and over bearing trait in heritage management.
Social Significances
Social Significance is hard to ascertain. It refers to the social, spiritual and other community oriented values attributed to a place. This maybe because the place has existed to serve a certain important role in the society for a period of time.
Eg: Olympus Theatre in Male’, Fish Market & Local Market
Aesthetic Significance
This refers to this special sense of Importance of a place. This could be in terms of architecture, scale or even the designs seen on the place.
Scientific Significance
This refers to the scope or possibility of scientific findings from a site, monument or place. Here the importance lies more in the information that may yield out of understanding and researching the place or site. This can mostly be attributed to archaeological sites or ancient monuments.
Cultural Identity
Cultural Identity refers to an understanding of yourself in relation to your culture. In short it refers to who you are but it ask to define yourself and how you have become yourself. It today’s context we refer to cultural identity which means (feeling of) identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as she or he is influenced by her belonging to a group or culture.
Cultural identity, if we refer back to culture, is nurtured by the cultural heritage of a country. It is vitalized by the understanding of the tangible heritage, a knowledge of the evaluation of the behavior patterns, values and traditions of that culture.
Heritage Cycle
The Heritage Cycle diagram gives us an idea how we can make the past part of our future (Simon Thurley, 2005). In a clockwise direction the wedges and arrows read: By understanding (cultural heritage) : people value it → By valuing it : people want to care for it → By caring for it : it will help people enjoy it → From enjoying it : comes a thirst to understand → By understanding it…
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The heritage cycle (Image copyright: Wikimedia Commons)
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In Conclusion
Include cultural heritage in our Educational syllabus.
Conduct awareness programmes specially for youth on our heritage.
The whole society should work as one to preserve our heritages to the upcoming generations.
References: Works Cited
Haris Dozz, introduction To Cultural Heritage, viewed 10 June 2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/HarisDozz/introduction-to-cultural-heritage
Heritage for Peace, What Is Cultural Heritage, viewed 10 June 2014, from http://www.heritageforpeace.org/heritage-for-peace/what-is-cultural-heritage/
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