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Social Representations of Taukuka: A social knowledge approach to the preservation of Bellonese intangible cultural heritage

Solomon Islands along with other Pacific Islands nations is adopting legislation designed to protect traditional knowledge and expressions of culture from misappropriation, attrition and loss of economic opportunity for owners. These developments require the state to engage across a highly pluralistic customary and social landscape. Ethnographic studies have shown that owing to such plurality unintended consequences may arise from attempts to rationalise indigenous conceptualisations such as customary laws to render them accessible to outside interests. The preservation of intangible cultural heritage requires understanding of the communicative processes that maintain its significance and value and which are involved in its continuation, transformation and transmission. This study approaches this challenge from the perspective of social knowledge; the common-sense and empirical reality experienced by the owners of a representative aspect of the culture. The case chosen for this research is the ritual taukuka tattooing practice of the Bellonese people of Solomon Islands. Social representations theory is used to show that the field of representation of this cultural practice is heterogeneous with consensual and non-consensual features. Whilst revival of the taukuka is unlikely due to prerequisite religious ontology, its preservation as significant heritage where ownership remains with the lineages and families may best be assured through cultural education and artistic representations.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-22634
Date January 2016
CreatorsLeeming, David
PublisherMalmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), Malmö högskola/Kultur och samhälle
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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