Lecture 7 - Heritage, nationalism and identity in Southeast Asia

Lecture: Heritage, nationalism and identity in Southeast Asia
Michael Hitchcock
University of Chichester

Article: Asia fights to stem loss of cultural treasures, Thomas Kean, Myanmar Times, Dec 22, 2008. (http://www.globalheritagefund.org/news/conservation_news/asia_fights_to_stem_loss_of_cultural_treasures.asp, Accessed 15 Oct. 09)
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The lecture had two main strands; a discussion of the concept of ‘heritage,’ and the relationship between heritage and identity.

‘Heritage’ was presented as an originally western concept and differences in its interpretation in the Asian context commented on. The lecture stated that the Indonesian word for heritage, ‘warisan’ means ‘inheritance,’ which has different connotations than the English word ‘heritage.’ I did a quick search with Google Translate and came up with the following translations:

• Malay to English: heritage
• Indonesian to English: (nouns) 1. inheritance, 2. heritage, 3. legacy, 4. bequest, 5. heirdom, 6. patrimony, 7. settlement, (adjectives) 1. inheritable, 2. hereditary, 3. patrimonial.

The various translations throw some light on the difficulty of translating the word ‘heritage’. The etymology of the English word was given by Online Etymology Dictionary as:
‘c.1225, "that which may be inherited," from O.Fr. eritage, from heriter "inherit," from L.L. hereditare, ult. from L. heres (gen. heredis) "heir." ’

My own personal definition of ‘heritage’ would be ‘collective memory.’

The World Heritage Convention (http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext) divides heritage into cultural and natural heritage. Cultural heritage is sub-divided into monuments, groups of buildings, and sites. Natural heritage is sub-divided into natural features, geological and physiographical formations, and natural sites. In my opinion, this focus on the tangible overlooks the intangible elements of culture; skills, crafts, lifestyles etc.

The relationship between heritage and identity was central to the lecture. Historical perspectives are fundamental to the portrayal of heritage, and history is always seen through the prism of the present, hence, that which is chosen to be stressed reflects the elements that the prevailing ruling class want to be emphasized. The lecturer noted that the contribution of the Chinese community to Indonesian development is not shown in the heritage museum Taman Mini. An example from Malaysia is that recently the grave of the founder of the British colony of Penang, Francis Light, could not be found (http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/10/6/north/4842890&sec=North). The corollary to what it is decided is to be forgotten is the decision of what is to be remembered.

The politicisation of history and heritage leads to some contradictions, for example, the traditional heritage of ‘wayang kulit’ (shadow play) has had to be changed. The ruling Islamic PAS party of Kelantan deemed that the Javanese and Hindi elements made the tradition un-Islamic and consequently banned this heritage. The stories (or should that be histories?) have had to be re-written (http://allmalaysia.info/msiaknow/arts/dance_wayang_kulit.asp?s=culture). A second Malaysian example are the archaeological findings from the Bujang valley in Kedah; they provide evidence of a Hindu-Indian civilisation that pre-dates anything that has been found for a Malay civilisation in peninsular Malaysia, which contradicts the prevailing myth of nationhood.

The coda of the lecture, in which the lecturer presented a couple of his current projects, gave a further instance of the politicisation of heritage. Jemaayah Islamiah by emphasizing Arab-Islamic heritage and downplaying the Malay-Indonesian heritage is in effect trying to re-write history to its own ends. To my mind, the basic problem is the claim of exclusivity of heritage – “my version of history and heritage is the only right one” – be it a nationalistic perspective, an ethnic perspective or a religious perspective. It should be remembered that the heritage and history of Southeast Asia are multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multi-national; Southeast Asia has multiple heritages.