Cultural Heritage is an expression of living
that is developed by a community and passed on from one generation to the next.
It includes customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and
values.
Through human activities, cultural heritage
yields tangible representations of the value systems, beliefs, traditions and
lifestyles. Cultural heritage may be manifested in the following ways: built environment (e.g., buildings, townscapes, archaeological
remains), natural environment (e.g., rural landscapes, coasts
and shorelines, agricultural heritage), and artefacts
(e.g., books & documents, objects, pictures).
Cultural Heritage is often expressed as
either Intangible or Tangible.
Having at one time referred exclusively
to the monumental remains of cultures, cultural heritage as a concept has
gradually come to include new categories. Today, we find that heritage is not
only manifested through tangible forms such as artefacts, buildings or
landscapes but also through intangible forms. Intangible heritage includes
voices, values, traditions, oral history. Popularly this is perceived through
cuisine, clothing, and forms of shelter, traditional skills and technologies,
religious ceremonies, performing arts, storytelling. Today, we consider
tangible heritage to be inextricably bound up with intangible heritage.
The Heritage Cycle diagram gives an idea
how Modern Humans can make the past part of their future.
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…
Where does
participation in the Heritage Cycle lead Modern Humans to?
Not everyone feels a
connection with their cultural heritage, but many people do. What is it about
cultural heritage that draws these people to it? Some may think traditions are
archaic and no longer relevant, and that they are unnecessary during these
modern times. Perhaps for some, they aren’t; but for others, exploring cultural
heritage offers a robust variety of benefits.
Culture can give people
a connection to certain social values, beliefs, religions and customs. It
allows them to identify with others of similar mindsets and backgrounds.
Cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within
a group and allows us to better understand previous generations and the history
of where we come from.
Nowhere this is better seen
than in the megapolises around the world. In large cities especially, it can be easy to feel lost and
alone among so many other cultures and backgrounds. New York City, for example,
is a huge melting pot of people from all over the country and the world. There
are large communities based around certain cultural heritages, including Irish,
Italian, Asian, and others.
Another benefit that comes from
preserving cultural heritage as a whole is the communal support. Those that identify
strongly with a certain heritage are often more likely to help out others in
that same community.
In primitive tribes we observe that the
old people are almost always the guardians of the mysteries and the laws, and
it is in these that the cultural heritage of the tribe is expressed. In modern
societies, for the most part old people try to compete with the young in
setting the tone of cultural heritage. Consequently, the definition of
“culture” evolves at a much rapid pace in these modern societies.
In contrast to genetic heritage,
cultural heritage may be completely evolved during the lifespan of species. The
process of accumulation and evolution of cultural information through one’s
participation in the Heritage Cycle happens in the same way as it happens to
genetic information in the process of evolution of the species. Multi-culturalism
or multiple strains of cultural heritage allow modern human to undergo
diversity similar to genetic variations in a population.
The amount of memory accumulated during
the lifespan of an animal does not change from generation to generation. This
amount is necessary and sufficient for maintaining the steady state population
number of individuals and their natural environment. The cultural heritage of
modern man increases continuously. The human population growth is the
consequence of such increase.
[SUBHODEV DAS]
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