Reposant sur une apparente antinomie, les champs du patrimoine et du sport suscitent une réflexion sur les liens qu'ils entretiennent en dépassant le schéma binaire classique tradition/modernité. Aussi le repérage d'expressions sportives pouvant relever du patrimoine culturel immatériel (tel que défini par l'Unesco en 2003) permet de questionner les mécanismes de production de cette nouvelle forme patrimoniale, ainsi que les enjeux politiques, scientifiques et méthodologiques qui leur sont liés. L'hypothese de cette étude repose sur le postulat que le concept de patrimoine culturel immatériel peut etre opératoire pour saisir le vivant et apprécier la valeur patrimoniale des pratiques ou expressions culturelles. Sa vérification empirique, par l'entrée ethnographique des jeux et sports traditionnels, met en perspective ce champ patrimonial en confrontant deux terrains d'enquete différents : les raquettes a neige au Québec (Canada) et les quilles de 9 en Gascogne (Aquitaine, France). En effet l'étude comparée de ces activités sportives autorise une analyse des fondements et des évolutions des cultures québécoises et gasconnes, ainsi que la maniere dont les acteurs locaux se positionnent par rapport a leur héritage culturel. Ce faisant, ils réinventent de nouveaux processus de transmission dans un syncrétisme singulier qui bouscule les définitions accordées au sport et au patrimoine. / Although at first sight they may appear diametrically opposed, the fields of heritage and sport invite us to reflect on their relationships and to look beyond the classical binary pattern of tradition/modernity. In this way, identifying of sport practices which may fall within the intangible cultural heritage (as defined by Unesco in 2003) can help to critically examine the processes of this new form of heritage, as well as the political, scientific and methodological issues associated with them. The hypothesis of this study is based on the postulate that the concept of intangible cultural heritage can be a heuristic tool to understand living cultures and appreciate the heritage value of cultural practices and manifestations. This hypothesis is empirically tested through an ethnographic study of traditional games and sports. It puts in perspective the concept of intangible cultural heritage through two different cultural practices : that of snowshoeing in Quebec (Canada) and that of the ninepins game in Gascogne (Aquitaine, France). The comparative study of these sporting activities provides a point of entry into an analysis of the production of new cultural activities from traditional practices and how local actors position themselves with relation to their cultural heritage. In so doing, they are reinventing new transmission processes in a syncretism involving both sport and heritage which questions the definitions of these practices and each fieldwork.

The dissertation analyzes and seeks to understand Samba de Coco as an expression of the immaterial cultural heritage of Arcoverde-PE, through its practices and artistic-cultural representations, during the period of 1980-2010. In order to reach this proposal, it was necessary to develop some problematizations in the perspective of how the transformations adopted during the time studied revitalized this cultural manifestation, and how the concepts of tradition, authenticity and originality were renified in the activities, knowledge and cultural practices of following groups; Coco Roots of Arcoverde, Sisters Lopes and Coco Trupé of Arcoverde. This research is inserted in the dimension of Cultural History, in the analytical perspective of microhistory, considering the local historicity as an important reference and the practitioners of Samba de Coco as sources of memories and historical information about the manifestation. The main methodological strategy was the use of Oral History, whose testimonies did not only serve as subsidiary sources to illustrate what some official document may claim. Elements such as music, photographs, festive announcements and documents from the archives of the Municipal Secretary of Culture were analyzed, which deal with the Lula Calixto festival, enshrined in the history of the city for its cultural diversity. The aim was to analyze the character of the cultural festivals of the city and to locate the historical moment in which the concepts related to the culture, exotic and tradition that came to permeate the discourses in defense of the cultural patrimony emerge. / A dissertação analisa e procura compreender o Samba de Coco como expressão do patrimônio cultural imaterial de Arcoverde-PE, por meio de suas práticas e representações artístico-culturais, durante o período de 1980-2010. Para atingir essa proposta foi necessário, o desenvolvimento de algumas problematizações na perspectiva de como as transformações adotadas ao longo do tempo estudado revitalizaram essa manifestação cultural, e como os conceitos de tradição, autenticidade e originalidade foram ressignificados nas atividades, nos saberes e nos fazeres culturais dos seguintes grupos; Coco Raízes de Arcoverde, Irmãs Lopes e Coco Trupé de Arcoverde. Esta pesquisa está inserida na dimensão da História Cultural, na perspectiva analítica da micro-história, considerando a historicidade local como importante referente e os praticantes de Samba de Coco como fontes de memórias e informações históricas sobre a manifestação. A principal estratégia metodológica foi à utilização da História Oral, cujos depoimentos não serviram apenas como fontes subsidiárias para ilustrar o que porventura algum documento oficial venha afirmar. Foram analisados elementos como: músicas, fotografias, anúncios festivos e documentos dos arquivos da Secretaria Municipal de Cultura, que tratam do festival Lula Calixto, consagrado na história da cidade pela diversidade cultural que representa. Pretendeu-se, com isso, analisar o caráter das programações dos festivais culturais da cidade e localizar o momento histórico em que emergem os conceitos relacionados à cultura, exótico e tradição, que vieram permear os discursos em defesa do patrimônio cultural. / São Cristóvão, SE

The purpose of this paper is to give suggestions for how to preserve intangible cultural heritage (ICH) towards sustainability. We will use Tibet as a case study. Understanding the importance of ICH for tourism, we scrutinize ICH through the lens of strategic sustainable development (SSD) and use tourism as a leverage point to enter into a real life situation. ICH is the root of all cultural expression. Without guarding ICH there is little meaning to the physical culture that remains and, ultimately, tourism declines. ICH is a new topic and there is little research and few ideas as to how to guide its preservation. We offer recommendations which include identifying the stakeholders, educating them, adequate marketing research especially in tourism, investing on technology of dematerialization and searching substitutions under the guidelines of the Golden Rule within the social sustainability context. Our contributions is to build a vision of success for preserving Tibetan ICH via tourism within the constraints of the four sustainability principles, and then demonstrate some prioritized actions in order to develop towards sustainability.

Ce mémoire interroge la notion de patrimoine culturel immatériel, dont l’UNESCO a proposé une définition normative et qui désigne « [des] traditions ou [des] expressions vivantes héritées de nos ancêtres et transmises à nos descendants » (UNESCO, 2003c). Il propose une exploration des modalités contemporaines de la patrimonialisation musicale. Réalisé dans la foulée d’une démarche ethnographique multisite (Marcus, 1995), qui s’est amorcée en juillet 2015 dans le cadre du festival Mémoire et Racines (Saint-Charles-Borromée, Lanaudière), il considère l’articulation entre patrimoine et musique traditionnelle du Québec comme problématique. Alors que le Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant (CQPV) accorde un statut patrimonial à la musique traditionnelle et en promeut la dimension de « richesse collective », le mémoire met l’accent sur ce qui informe sa constitution, son déploiement. Il cherche à en expliciter les enjeux sur la base d’un travail empirique et en vertu d’un point de vue pragmatique. / Questioning the notion of intangible cultural heritage, for which UNESCO proposed a normative definition, and which refers to "living traditions or expressions inherited from our ancestors and transmitted to our descendants" (UNESCO, 2003c), this thesis proposes an exploration of the contemporary modalities of musical heritagization. Launched in July 2015 as part of a multi-sited ethnographic approach (Marcus, 1995) and in the context of the Mémoire et Racines festival (Saint- Charles-Borromée, Lanaudière), it situates the articulation of Québec traditional music and heritage as a problem not to be taken for granted. While the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant (CQPV) grants heritage status to traditional music and promotes the "collective wealth" dimension, the paper seeks to clarify the issues on the basis of empirical work and through a pragmatic point of view.

La relation entre droit international des investissements et patrimoine culturel a fait l’objet de rares études et réflexions, et ce uniquement de manière récente. D’une part, le droit international des investissements a connu une croissance et un développement considérables uniquement dans les dernières trois décennies. D’autre part, comme certains auteurs l’ont souligné, le patrimoine culturel a un statut quelque peu ‘incertain’ en droit international. À la lumière des rares études sur ce sujet, qui généralement mettent en évidence les rapports conflictuels et ambigus entre droit international des investissements et patrimoine culturel, la thèse s’est proposée d’analyser la relation existant entre la réglementation internationale des investissements étrangers et le patrimoine culturel dans se multiples expressions, et cela aussi bien sur le plan des règles substantielles que du contentieux et de la résolution des différends d’investissements concernant la culture. L’idée que la relation entre les investissements étrangers et le patrimoine, réglés par le droit international de manière et amplitude différentes, puisse apporter des avantages mutuels a servi de prémisse générale pour toutes les études menées dans le cadre de la thèse. Parmi les investissements, les investissements étrangers revêtent une grande importance dans les périodes de crise économique et de difficulté à rassembler les ressources nécessaires à préserver le patrimoine. Les investissements sont donc vitaux pour la culture. Cela ne contredit pas l’idée qu’il existe des situations de ‘conflit’, quand les activités économiques peuvent potentiellement causer des dommages et/ou représenter un danger pour le patrimoine. Les recherches et les analyses effectuées ont montré que les traités en matière d’investissements contiennent souvent plusieurs dispositions concernant la culture et le patrimoine culturel. En matière de litiges, les différends d’investissement ont impliqué ou touché aux formes et expressions les plus variées de la culture : des sites UNESCO patrimoine de l’humanité aux industries culturelles, aux lieux de mémoire et au patrimoine des communautés indigènes. En outre, d’une façon quelque peu surprenante et inattendue mais significative, les règles qui protègent les investisseurs internationaux ont été invoquées par des investisseurs qui avaient réalisé des investissements dans les biens et ‘ressources’ culturelles ainsi que pour défendre les activités économiques relatives au « capital culturel » des communautés indigènes. Les diverses études conduites dans le cadre de la présente thèse ont permis de montrer plusieurs aspects et facettes de la relation entre investissements étrangers et patrimoine et de tirer diverses conclusions. Les recherches effectuées ont montré la nécessité d’investissements étrangers pour la protection, sauvegarde, conservation et valorisation de chaque expression culturelle, et les avantages d’une interaction entre régulation internationale des investissements et patrimoine culturel : la relation symbiotique entre droit international des investissements et patrimoine culturel a été démontrée. Cette première réflexion conclusive « soulève » un deuxième élément : il existe, dans le droit international de la culture et du patrimoine, un espace légitime et ample réservé au droit international des investissements. Symétriquement, l’arbitrage d’investissements peut représenter un instrument valide de résolution des différends en matière de patrimoine. Enfin, on peut soutenir que l’intersection des règles internationales en matière d’investissements étrangers avec les règles internationales en matière culturelle peut être déterminante dans la création, ou soutenir la présence, d’un système qui tienne compte – à travers des standards précis de transparence, légalité et légitimité – de l’ensemble des intérêts impliqués. / The relationship between international investment law and cultural heritage has commanded little attention and only recently. Certainly, international investment law has become one of the most prominent branches of international law. Its development has been strictly connected to the soaring growth of bilateral treaties on the promotion and protection of foreign investment and free trade agreements with foreign investment chapters. n turn, the status and place of cultural heritage under international law has grown, significantly progressing from some provisions included in international humanitarian conventions on the protection of heritage during armed conflicts. In light of the few studies existing on the subject of this thesis, which have in general concluded that conflictual and ambiguous relations exist between international investment law and cultural heritage, this thesis proposes to analyze this relation from both the substantive and dispute settlement standpoints. The idea that the relation between foreign investment and cultural heritage, regulated in different ways and ‘intensities’ by international law, could be positive was a general premise for all the research. Indeed, among investments, foreign investments have a great importance in a moment of economic crisis and difficulty in finding appropriate resources to safeguard heritage. Investments are hence vital for culture. The researches and analyses carried out for the thesis have shown that investment treaties often contain a number of provisions concerning culture and cultural heritage. With regard to international disputes, investment disputes have involved or touched upon different cultural forms and expressions: from UNESCO sites to cultural industries, to lieux de mémoire and indigenous communities’ heritage. Further, quite surprisingly, the international rules protecting foreign investors have sometimes been invoked, or resorted to, by subjects that had invested specifically in cultural ‘resources’ or to protect economic activities based on indigenous communities’ culture. The studies and researches carried out for this thesis have made it possible to reach and demonstrate a number of conclusions. First, the researches carried out have demonstrated that foreign investments are necessary to protect, safeguard, preserve and promote any form of cultural expression, and a strong interaction exists between the international regulation of foreign investments and cultural heritage. It has thus been shown that there exists a symbiotic relationship between international investment law and cultural heritage. Second, it has been possible to prove that, within international culture and cultural heritage law, there exists a ‘legitimate space’ for international investment law. Symmetrically, international investment arbitration can represent a valid cultural dispute settlement mechanism. Lastly, it is possible to assert that merging international rules on foreign investments and international rules on culture or cultural heritage can lead to create, or support the existence of, a more transparent, legitimate and rule-of-law-based system. In the light of all these considerations, the research, analysis and reflection carried out for the thesis has demonstrated how positive the relation between international investment law and cultural heritage can be fro states and the society. This, without denying any potentially negative effect. One might hope that the results obtained allow to adapt any practice in the field of culture. The protection of cultural heritage can indeed be strongly enhanced through the regulation of foreign investment.

[pt] A pesquisa se situa no recorte temporal após o Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento/Urbanização de Assentamentos Precários (PAC-UAP), programa federal de políticas de urbanização de favelas iniciado em 2007, cujo legado para a Favela da Rocinha dará forma a uma economia comum das relações sociais no que tange a maior participação comunitária e redes de assistencialismo mútuo. Como desdobramento desse episódio, surge o objeto do presente estudo, o Museu Sankofa Memória e História da Rocinha, museu comunitário fundado em 2011, como fruto do programa Pontos de Memória, contemplado em 2009. A narrativa sofre então uma radical alteração do paradigma da representação cultural, que insurge por meio da expressão local dessas comunidades, através de seus passado histórico e memória vivos, os quais constituem uma renovação de estatuto do patrimônio cultural imaterial carioca que, por sua vez, enseja um fortalecimento nos movimentos sociais em multidão. Frente às constantes formas de opressão, ao representar ditos territórios periféricos reprimidos pela força neoliberal, as favelas metropolitanas insurgem de forma musealizada a partir de 2006, de acordo com os preceitos da nova museologia, constituindo uma rede museológica comunitária tanto física quanto virtual. Por conseguinte, se desenvolve um mecanismo à revelia do modus operandi do mercado por uma rede autogovernada construída pelo esforço coletivo, que será inaugural para novas formas de resistência à apropriação do bem comum, por meio de instituições como ONGs e demais movimentos locais. Por fim, é objetivo do estudo analisar a comunalidade, ou seja, a (re)produção do bem comum em contextos marginalizados, acessado pela chave patrimonial como campo de disputa e negociação, de modo a emancipar seus sujeitos e subjetividades. / [en] This research is situated in aftereffects of Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento/Urbanização de Assentamentos Precários (PAC-UAP), a federal programme of favela s urbanization policy grounded in 2007, which legate to Favela da Rocinha would be about common s economy of social relations in reference to a reciprocal communitarianism and assistencialism s network. A direct link to that moment is this research s object Museu Sankofa Memória e História da Rocinha, a community museum based in 2011, as a product of Memory Hotspots govt s program conquered in 2009. Narrative so suffers a radical change from cultural misrepresentation paradigm, which insurge through a local expression by communities, with them historical past and memory alive, raises an intangible heritage bylaw s renewal and, on the other hand, it strengthens social movements in multitude s background. Oftenly facing different systems of oppression, frame those peripheral territories by neoliberal task, the metropolitan favelas begin insurging in shape of musealized bodies since 2006, according to new museology s theory, what creates a real and virtual museological community s network. As a matter of fact, it has developed since then a countermovement against market modus operandi by self-governance cells working collectively, what will shape new ways of resistance to common s expropriation, through institutions such as NGOs and many other local movements. Finally, it s the main goal of this research analyze commonality, i.e., the self-reproduction of commons on marginalized contexts, on heritage s field of struggle and negotiation, to emancipate its subjects and subjectivities.

La ricerca affronta il tema del crescente spazio che la considerazione del patrimonio culturale immateriale ha acquisito nel panorama mondiale a partire dagli ultimi decenni, in particolare dal 2003, quando l’UNESCO ha stilato la Convenzione per la salvaguardia del patrimonio culturale immateriale. Oltre a ripercorrere le tappe storiche che nel XX secolo hanno condotto a tale risultato, esso traccia un ancora poco esplorato parallelismo - formale e teorico - tra l’evoluzione del concetto di patrimonio immateriale e lo sviluppo delle forme dell’arte contemporanea a partire dal secondo dopoguerra fino ad oggi. Tale tematica interessa anche il museo e una lettura della sua storia più recente mette in luce le conquiste e le difficoltà conseguenti l’accoglienza di manifestazioni immateriali all’interno delle collezioni. Tale aspetto viene avvicinato anche con gli strumenti dell’estetica fenomenologica, che contribuiscono a valutare possibili future azioni museologiche e museografiche nei confronti del patrimonio immateriale, nella direzione di un maggior rispetto della collezione e di un migliore coinvolgimento dei vari pubblici. Il contributo si sofferma altresì ad approfondire alcuni aspetti dell’architettura contemporanea, della didattica museale e dell’utilizzo delle nuove tecnologie in ambito museale valutandone utilizzi positivi o al contrario poco adeguati per una seria e fruttuosa valorizzazione del patrimonio immateriale. / This PhD dissertation deals with intangible cultural heritage and museums. An increasing interest in intangible heritage has been arising in the world in these last years, especially since 2003, when UNESCO drew up the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. A detailed historical review shows the steps which brought to this attainment; a formal and theoretical parallelism between intangible heritage and contemporary art is outlined too. A study on the very recent history of museums allows to underline the difficulties museum encounters in collecting intangible heritage. It’s possible to think about new museological solutions thanks to the contribution of aesthetics: the thought of phenomenology helps in finding ways to respect the collection and to involve the publics. The dissertation also deals with the contemporary architecture of museums, with museum education and with the use of new technologies in museums: some uses are bad, others are good and useful for the communication of intangible cultural heritage.

This thesis sets out to investigate the changing social significance of the hand-block printed and resist-dyed cottons of Rajasthan. Once a vital part of the region’s everyday rural textile and dress traditions, communicating information about its wearers and demonstrating the craftsmanship of its makers, today block printed textiles are produced primarily for export and tourist markets. In the space of just a few decades the growing effects of globalisation have wrought irrevocable change upon this traditional craft. Under the pressures of new market forces, modern hand block printed textiles bear little resemblance to their traditional counterparts. Drawing on an ethnographic perspective in general, and an ethnomethodological perspective in particular, the main objective of this thesis is to develop a deeper understanding of traditional hand block printed and resist-dyed textiles – with particular focus on the modernisation of traditional forms of hand block printing in Rajasthan, and the various strategies and experiences which the craftspeople have undertaken to deal with the changes to the market for their products. Using the recent history of block printed cloth production in Rajasthan, as told by local artisans, it explores the manner in which such phenomena as modernisation and globalisation are embodied by shifts in production technology, design aesthetics, and market forces. In order to explore the rural roots and chart the dramatic recent modernisation of the craft this thesis identifies and documents the range of textiles traditionally made by the region’s hereditary communities of cloth printers and dyers, and investigates their role in the projection of identity, exploring the changing communicative function of these textiles, notably with the rise of synthetic fabrics, among the rural communities of Rajasthan. In doing so, this thesis investigates how the consumption of hand block printed textiles has changed over the past forty years and considers the impact of the growth of export and tourism on traditions of cloth printing in the region. It is a socially situated study, based on extensive firsthand fieldwork with the Chhipa community of hereditary cloth printers, making use of ethnography, photography, and personal experience of textile dyeing, printing and design. By developing methodologies based on the detailed documentation of the technologies, materials and processes involved in hand block printing this thesis seeks to update and expand upon the existing literature on the craft by providing and analysing contemporary accounts of family traditions and modern developments in use by current generations of artisans. In doing so this thesis also contributes to current discourse on the preservation of craft knowledge as a form of intangible cultural heritage. The study is primarily located within the field of Indian textile and dress studies. It contributes to contemporary ethnographies of textile crafts through the detailed analysis of print and dye technologies, and, by also considering the meanings and values of block printed cloth as clothing, adds to the literature on the social role of textiles and dress with a regionally-specific focus on the role of pattern and colour. By focussing on the communicative functions of pattern and cloth, it also enhances cross-disciplinary attentions to regional identities and intangible cultural heritage. Finally it engages with the very local processes of globalisation and the contemporary values of handcrafted cloth.

Undersökningens syfte har varit att skina ljus på porträttering och urval. Närmare bestämt inom området för den samiska musikkulturen och via mediaframställningen av en samisk artist i Jills veranda. Genom ett utvalt program ur serien där den samiska artisten Maxida Märak medverkar genomförs detta. Sett utifrån sin omnämning som samisk artist i-och i anslutning till programmet står Märak och den förmedlade bilden av henne i fokus för undersökningen av hur det samiska framhävs. Genom att undersöka både det klingande och hur man pratar om musiken förs urvalen fram. Dessa utgör innehållet för hur den samiska artisten representeras. Undersökningen har vidare genomförts utifrån teorin om immateriella kulturarv. I den immateriella kulturarvsprocessens faser beskrivs hur uppmärksammade ”företeelser väljs ut och ges särskild status som symboler för en kultur”.[1] Teorin innehåller ett stort fokus på värdetillskrivning utifrån rådande sociala normer och vad som tillskrivs symboliskt värde värderas människor emellan. Undersökningen visade att Märak i Jills veranda porträtterades på ett sätt som till viss del bekräftade tidigare normbaserade stereotyper som framkom i undersökningen, så som jojkens stora roll och den etniska sammankopplingen till musiken. Därtill påverkade artisten både genom att bekräfta såväl som motarbeta normerna genom hur hon framställde sin musik i både utövande och i dialog. Motarbetandet av normer framgick som en röd tråd i artistens intention bakom musiken. Musiken framkom också ha ett funktionellt syfte, då musiken i avsnittet tycks användas för att motarbeta och i tillägg också återta makten över definitionen av vad som är samiskt. Utifrån detta framkom den politiska kampen som ett essentiellt innehåll i hur artisten i programmet framställer sin musik. Slutligen präglades hela produktionen av olika urfolksgrupper som sammanlänkades genom sin musik vilket ytterligare framhöll musiken som en gemensam symbol över landsgränser.

O tema da valorização de alimentos tradicionais e artesanais tem recebido redobrada atenção no momento atual, em que, por um lado, há crescente demanda de consumidores por alimentos naturais, artesanais, diferenciados e, por outro lado e ao mesmo tempo, realiza-se discussão significativa no que tange a critérios de produção e avaliação desses produtos que, dadas as especificidades, têm suas características comprometidas se avaliados de acordo com os mesmos critérios que regem a produção industrial de alimentos. É nesse contexto que a presente pesquisa está inserida. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, foi tomado como objeto de estudo o Queijo Serrano, queijo tradicional feito artesanalmente a partir de leite cru nos Campos de Cima da Serra, região nordeste do Rio Grande do Sul. Os dados empíricos foram obtidos a partir de pesquisa etnográfica, que priorizou especialmente produtores e consumidores como interlocutores, mas também técnicos e comerciantes de queijo. A análise dos dados obtidos proporcionou elementos para discutir a relação entre os modos de vida dos produtores e a produção de queijo, para apreender as práticas, significados e lógicas associadas à produção, bem como aos utensílios empregados e ao próprio uso de leite cru para a elaboração do produto. No que diz respeito ao consumo de Queijo Serrano, o estudo discute as percepções de risco dos moradores da região em relação ao produto e, ainda, as relações por meio das quais os queijos são comercializados, costumeiramente fundamentadas na reputação dos produtores e em relações de proximidade. Mudanças em curso na região têm, com maior ou menor intensidade, resultado em alterações nos modos de produção, o que pode até mesmo afetar a manutenção de características que conferem singularidade ao Queijo Serrano. Evidenciando a relevância da legitimação de conhecimentos empregados na produção tradicional de alimentos, este estudo busca contribuir para a valorização e proteção desse tipo de produção, associada não apenas à manutenção da renda como também à salvaguarda dos modos de produzir esses alimentos e dos modos de vida das famílias produtoras. / The debate on the valorisation of traditional and artisanal food has been receiving increased attention recently. While there is growing consumer demand for natural, artisanal and unique foods, simultaneously, there is a significant discussion about the criteria used to assess these products which, given their singularity, can compromise their features if they are evaluated according to the same criteria which regulate industrial food production This research was conducted taking into account this context. For the development of this study, Serrano Cheese was taken as the object of research; this is a handmade traditional cheese made from raw milk and produced in Campos de Cima da Serra, a region located in the northeast area of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Empirical data were obtained from ethnographic research which prioritised information especially from producers and consumers but also from technicians and cheese sellers. The data analysis provided elements to discuss the relationship between producers’ lifestyles and cheese production; and to capture the practices, meanings and logics associated with the production and with the equipment, the tools and the raw milk employed in the production of the cheese. Regarding the consumption of Serrano Cheese, the study discusses the risk perceptions of local inhabitants in relation to the product, and the channels through which the cheeses are sold, usually based on the reputation of the producers and on close relationships. Changes in progress in the region, to varying degrees, have been resulting in alterations in the production methods, which can even affect the maintenance of those characteristics which make Serrano Cheese unique. By evidencing the significance of the knowledge legitimation employed in traditional food production, this study aims to contribute towards the enhancement and protection of this sort of production, which in turn is associated not only with the income maintenance but also with the safeguarding of the production methods and the lifestyle of producer families.