Temps de lecture : 11 minutes

The role of women in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage

28.10.2020

Written by Mathilde VO

Translated by Caroline Feldner

The gendered perspective within the field of culture involves many reflections that revolve around the same topic. The themes of representation within cultural institutions or access to cultural professions are often the most dealt with. However, the role of women is much less highlighted, especially in the transmission of culture. Thus, the aim is to examine the role of women in this cultural transmission and also to analyze the particular relationship they have with this transmission. 

An incomplete Convention

According to the Tunisian author and politician Abdelaziz Thaalbi, “the woman is the guardian of the family, the conservator of society”^[1]Abdelaziz Thaalbi. La Tunisie Martyre. Ses Revendications. Paris : Jouve, 1920.. This quote echoes what Engels called the reproductive work of women, which focuses on the family^[2]Friedrich Engels, L’origine de la famille, 1884, p.167., the education of children^[3]Ibid p.167, and what the academic Naila Kabeer identifies as the communal role of women^[4]N.Kabeer, Triples rôles, rôles selon le genre, rapports sociaux le texte politique sous-jacent de la formation à la notion de genre, Le Genre un outil nécessaire, C. Verschuur, J.Bisilliat n°1, … Continue reading, a term used for the work done by women for their community.

Therefore, as Abdelaziz Thaalbi argues, through their community role women are the “guardians of society”^[5]Abdelaziz Thaalbi. La Tunisie Martyre. Ses Revendications. Paris : Jouve, 1920.. This role refers to women’s responsibility for the transmission of customs and traditions, which UNESCO has defined as “intangible cultural heritage”^[6]This expression was formalized at the international conference on the new perspectives of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Programme in 1993..

Article 2 of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)^[7]Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, 2003. defines this broad term as the scope of “practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills – as well as the instruments, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage”^[8]Article 2, Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, 2003.. It is then transmitted from “generation to generation”^[9]Ibid. through oral expressions, language, performing arts or social practices.

However, despite the clarification of the contours of the ICH, the convention does not address transmission from a gender perspective, which seems to make it incomplete. However, it is necessary to go back to the year 1995, where in a report of the World Commission on Culture and Development^[10]UNESCO, Gender Equality: Heritage and Creativity, 2014, p.51., it is recognized that “women’s ingenuity, initiative and creativity in solving their daily problems of survival represented important local forms of organization, association and self-help”^[11]Ibid..

Prior to the adoption of the 2003 Convention, the international community therefore engaged in reflections regarding the role of women in the transmission of cultural heritage in their communities.

Women have a central role in the transmission of ICH

Following this report, in 1999, the International Symposium on the Role of Women in the Transmission of ICH took place. On this occasion, UNESCO announced the results of a programme launched two years earlier in order to better understand the role of women in ICH transmission. This programme demonstrated, as Abdelaziz Thaalbi argued, that women occupy a central place in this transmission through the role they play in the education of their children^[12]International Symposium on the role of women in transmission intangible culture heritage, Tehran 1999. Available at: https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/00157-EN.pdf. It was confirmed that: ” In most cultures, women maintain principle roles in the upbringing of children, through which the intergenerational transmission and renewal of many essential forms of intangible heritage occurs”^[13]Ibid p.2.. This finding highlights the primary role of women in the transmission of ICH within the family structure.

This role can notably be explained by the division of domestic tasks within the family as formulated by Adrien Papuchon, head of the Redistribution Studies Unit at the DRESS, in a report published in 2017^[14]Adrien Papuchon, 2017, « Rôles sociaux des femmes et des hommes : L’idée persistante d’une vocation maternelle des femmes malgré le déclin de l’adhésion aux stéréotypes de genre », in … Continue reading. This role is by definition in line with gender stereotypes: the woman is in charge of the children and transmits family practices while the husband is perceived as the breadwinner of the household. Furthermore, in the Symposium report it is stated that: “women are also custodians of intangible cultural heritable which encompasses, among other forms, the performing arts including music, culinary and medicinal knowledge and the know-how for the creation of material culture”^[15]International Symposium on the role of women in transmission intangible culture heritage, Tehran 1999. URL: https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/00157-EN.pdf, p.2.. Here, stereotypes related to women are persistent in the transmission of ICH. Indeed, the woman transmits to her children the domains that are “traditionally” attached to her (cooking, care, etc.). In the home, the man plays a secondary role in the woman’s tasks^[16]Martínez, Carmen, Consuelo Paterna, et Carmen Yago. « Le discours des femmes sur la répartition des tâches domestiques et de soins », Nouvelles Questions Féministes, vol. vol. 29, no. 1, 2010, … Continue reading, which explains the predominance of women’s responsibility over men in the transmission of heritage.

As a result of this symposium, UNESCO adopted the above-mentioned Convention without mentioning the preponderant role of women in the transmission of ICH. Their work within the ICH remains unrecognised and invisible in the same way as the domestic work identified as the invisible work of women by sociologists Camille Robert and Louise Toupin^[17]Camille Robert, Louise Toupin, Le travail invisible, 2018. Once again in this case, the role of women in culture, which is so pivotal, is not being acknowledged. This phenomenon is paradoxical since, although unrecognized as such, women continue to be the main actors in the preservation and transmission of ICH within their own community. In Nigeria, the continuity of the Gèlèdé^[18]UNESCO, Gender Equality: Heritage and Creativity, 2014, p.63., festivities, ceremonies, practiced in particular by the Yoruba-Nago community, is guaranteed by the women, thus avoiding their decline.

The transmission of heritage and cultural practices as opportunities for emancipation

In spite of this double role, both as actors in the preservation of heritage and forgotten in international texts, women have managed to find opportunities for emancipation in the transmission of ICH. First of all, this requires that men take into account the importance of women’s role and their responsibility in the transmission of the ICH, so they tolerate women taking full charge of this field^[19]Esi Sutherland-Addy, Women, Intangible Heritage and Development: Perspectives from the African Region, 2001. Available at: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/doc/src/00162-EN.pdf. As a result, women have been able to gain advantages by being involved in the transition of their culture and traditions. Eliza Griswold and Seamus Murphy^[20]Eliza Griswold et Seamus Murphy, Lan
days: poetry of Afghan women, 2013. cite the example of Afghanistan where landay, an oral poetry performed by the largely illiterate women of the Pashtun community, allows them to express themselves orally in a public space and to be socially “recognised”. Initially, they did not really belong to the public sphere.

In Iran, the theatrical performance of Naqqali has now been made accessible to women, although it was previously forbidden. Women can take on the role of storytellers and perform in front of an audience, on the condition that it is an exclusively female one. This shift grants Iranian women a special social status, as they have the opportunity to become storytellers, which is a rewarding role to play in Iranian culture^[21]Myram Jégat,UNESCO, Patrimoine culturel immatériel et genre, 2009.

Similarly, in the Malaka tribe in Indonesia^[22]Kathleen Malay, Rizky Raha, How tattoos saved these Indonesian women from sexual slavery in World War II, Vice, 2019. Available at: … Continue reading, women created a new cultural heritage during the Second World War to escape the fate of “comfort women”, i.e. sex slaves, for the Japanese army. Because the Japanese military only showed respect towards married women, they covered their bodies with tattoos, signifying that they were married, in a bid to protect themselves from the invading military. Despite the pain these tattoos caused them, they were extremely helpful in guaranteeing their freedom and survival. There, the tradition of tattooing was established as a way for these women to exert their freedom of choice. However, this tradition, which emerged in a context of extremely violent conflict against women, has not been transmitted to the younger generations of women who no longer need to submit themselves to such practices.

A gender-specific transmission

Some traditions and customs are passed on only by people of the same sex according to gender stereotypes and the division of labour within the household. For example, falconry, as mentioned by UNESCO in its report Heritage and Gender^[23]UNESCO, Egalité des genres : patrimoine et créativité, 2014, p.52., is exclusively transmitted to men by men, while the art of Mangoro pottery in Côte d’Ivoire is transmitted mainly to women by women.

Among the practices transmitted between women, culinary traditions occupy a central place due to the traditional division of labor within the household, which results in women being responsible for providing their families with the food that they need on a daily basis. Eve-Marie Lavaud^[24]Eve-Marie Lavaud, Cuisine et transmissions féminines, pouvoirs et pratiques culinaire en Méditerranée, CNRS, 2018. Available at: https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01952000/document on culinary transmission in Mediterranean culture, states that the cook “is then a woman and above all a mother”^[25]Ibid. p.18.. In the same way, Manuel Calvo maintains in his writings that “cooking is eminently and inherently feminine, as is its learning”^[26]Manuel Calvo, « Migration et alimentation ». Information (International Social Science Council) 21(3), 1982, P.383-446.. Men, on the other hand, have “no culinary know-how […] even when they manage to participate in the preparation of food, the preparation of certain dishes is reserved for women”^[27]Ibid..

However, it must be stressed that according to this analysis, the woman as cook-mother is not seen here as a subordinate, contrary to what many North American sociologists claim^[28]Ève-Marie Lavaud, Cuisine et transmissions féminines, pouvoirs et pratiques culinaire en Méditerranée, CNRS, 2018, p.26. Available at: https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01952000/document. Here, the woman within Mediterranean culture is seen in terms of the “mistress of the house” who is, according to Chatal Crenn and Séverine Mathieu, “a mother figure in charge of the kitchen, who establishes order in the society where the children reside”^[29]Chantal Crenn « Le tajine à la bouillie bordelaise. Transmission des manières de cuisine dans les familles des ouvriers agricoles immigrées dans le vignoble bordelais ». in Faire la cuisine. … Continue reading. As Eve-Marie Lavaud continues in her research, “the housewife does not submit to anybody”^[30]Eve-Marie Lavaud, Cuisine et transmissions féminines, pouvoirs et pratiques culinaire en Méditerranée, CNRS, 2018, p.20 url : https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01952000/document.

Here again, this role is gender-specific. But the progress of society and mentalities is helping to create a change as regards to these practices, with many young boys now learning to cook alongside their mothers. It is then possible to broaden this perception to include the argument defended by UNESCO: if the transmission were not gendered and therefore transmitted to the excluded sex, there would be a larger number of people practicing the traditions in question^[31]UNESCO, Gender Equality: Heritage and Creativity, 2014, p.62..

In the Middle East, the Palestinian Hiyake tradition plays an important role in the cultural heritage of this people. Hiyake is a women’s tradition based on the transmission of fictional tales inspired by everyday life in Middle Eastern societies. Through their stories, the women are able to share their vision of society^[32]Natacha BERNERD, “Solidarity among women in refugee camps in Lebanon as a form of empowerment”, 24.10.2020, Gender in Geopolitics Institute: https://igg-geo.org/?p=2796&lang=en. Embroidery is also present in Palestinian women’s culture and provides them with the opportunity to gather around shared moments between women. It therefore instills in them a “sense of community around traditional elements”. This tradition has allowed them to emancipate themselves as has been demonstrated by Inaash, an organization that allows women to develop their own income-generating activities centered around traditional embroidery^[33]Ibid.. This same idea can be found in the embroidery tradition of the Dao Tien ethnic group in northern Vietnam, where the women who carry out this tradition become financially independent by selling their creations to tourists^[34]A la découverte de la broderie des Dao Tiênn 28 février 2020, le Courrier du Vietnam. Disponible sur : https://www.lecourrier.vn/a-la-decouverte-de-la-broderie-des-dao-tien/702974.html.

We can also mention the tradition of embroidery which is present in many cultures, such as in the Amerindian tradition, where this practice is the embodiment of the creative power^[35]Marie Goyon. Brodeuses amérindiennes / Savoir-faire et cultes féminins / Fiche biographique “ Sheil Orr ”.. Dictionnaire universel des créatrices, 2013. ffhal-01993854f P.2. Although this tradition has suffered greatly from changes in social relations, today’s Amerindian embroiderers have reappropriated this tradition in order to perpetuate the intergenerational transmission. Indeed, the sociologist and anthropologist Marie Goyon^[36]Ibid. highlights the link between the weakening, or even the disappearance, of the transmission of this tradition and the process of colonization. Native American children had to conform to the norms of the American settlers and assimilate a culture and ideas that were drastically different from their traditions. The new generations then found it difficult to identify with the traditions of their origins due to this colonization.

Despite the disappearance of the embroidery tradition, it’s been possible to observe a phenomenon of reverse intergenerational filiation. ^[37]Ibid. Young girls who had not been able to learn embroidery from their mothers were able to learn the skill from a t
hird party and subsequently taught their mothers Native American embroidery techniques, thus reversing the process of transmission of ICH. These young girls from the newer generations thus embodied the image of “daughter-mistresses” who passed on traditional skills to their mothers.

On the other hand, there are traditions that challenge traditional gender roles, such as the Vietnamese practice of Châu Van^[38]Barley Norton, Songs for the Spirits – Music and Mediums in Modern Vietnam. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2009, p.21. singing where roles are reversed with female mediums playing roles with “male” gender dress while men take on behaviors usually attributed to women. This is similar to Japanese Kabuki theatre where female roles are played by men^[39]UNESCO, Gender Equality: Heritage and Creativity, 2014, p.53..

One third of women are in management positions in the cultural sphere

Although women have an important role to play in the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, this does not translate into privileged access to high positions in the field of culture. Indeed, the latest figures indicate an under-representation of women in that sector. In France, the Ministry of Culture published a report in 2019^[40]Laure Turner, Loup Wolff, Ministry of Culture, Department of Studies and Statistics, Observatory for equality between women and men in culture and communication, 2019. stating that only one third of women are in senior positions in the cultural sphere^[41]Ibid., p.9. For example, within the Ministry itself, women are still in the minority as directors, with only 33% compared to 67% of men^[42]Ibid.. The private sector is still far behind as well, with only 11% of women in the 100 largest cultural companies holding senior positions compared to 89% of men^[43]Ibid.. This comes as a paradox when we compare these figures with the ones in higher education, as the report indicates that the majority of students are women (61%)^[44]Ibid, p. 12.. Whereas in working life, women are in the minority, making up only 43% of the active workforce in 2016 in the field of culture^[45]Ibid..

Thus, it becomes necessary to make the gendered nature of ICH transmission more visible. Acknowledging the role and place of women in this field would first of all guarantee its better preservation and, above all, allow women to see their responsibility in this field fully recognized. In that sense, our research allows us to conclude that without the transmission of cultural heritage inherent to women within the majority of families and communities, certain traditions, and even the identity of communities, would be bound to disappear.

Bibliography

Books

F. Engels, The origin of the family, 1884.

E.Griswold et S. Murphy, Landays: poetry of Afghan women, 2013.

B.Norton, Songs for the Spirits – Music and Mediums in Modern Vietnam. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2009, p.21.

A.Thaalbi. La Tunisie Martyre. Ses Revendications. Paris : Jouve, 1920.

C.Robert, L.Toupin, Le travail invisible, 2018.

Press articles/newspaper articles

« À la découverte de la broderie des Dao Tiên 28 février 2020 », le Courrier du Vietnam. Available at: https://www.lecourrier.vn/a-la-decouverte-de-la-broderie-des-dao-tien/702974.html

K.Malay, R.Raha, “How tattoos saved these Indonesian women from sexual slavery in World War II”, Vice, 2019. Available at: https://www.vice.com/fr/article/3k9g8w/indonesia-comfort-women-japan-world-war-2-tattoos-vice

Publications

G.Allègre, Victor Bart, Laura Castell, Quentin Lippmann, Henri Martin, « Les couples mono-actifs : en font- ils vraiment plus ? », Économie et Statistique, no. 478-479-480, 2015.

Calvo, « Migration et alimentation ». Information (International Social Science Council, 21(3), 1982, pp.383-446.

M.Carmen, C. Paterna, et C. Yago. « Le discours des femmes sur la répartition des tâches domestiques et de soins », Nouvelles Questions Féministes, vol. vol. 29, no. 1, 2010, pp. 94-114.

Crenn, « Le tajine à la bouillie bordelaise. Transmission des manières de cuisine dans les familles des ouvriers agricoles immigrées dans le vignoble bordelais », in: Faire la cuisine. Analyses pluridisciplinaires d’un nouvel espace de modernité. under the direction of Geneviève Cazes-Valette, pp. 152-161. Paris : Cahiers de l’Ocha, 2005.

Goyon. Brodeuses amérindiennes / Savoir-faire et cultes féminins / Fiche biographique “ Sheil Orr ”. Dictionnaire universel des créatrices, 2013. ffhal-01993854f P.2

Jégat, UNESCO, Patrimoine culturel immatériel et genre, 2009.

Kabeer, Triples rôles, rôles selon le genre, rapports sociaux le texte politique sous-jacent de la formation à la notion de genre, Le Genre un outil nécessaire, C. Verschuur, J.Bisilliat n°1, 2000.

M. Lavaud, Cuisine et transmissions féminines, pouvoirs et pratiques culinaire en Méditerranée, CNRS, 2018, p.26. Available at: https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01952000/document

Papuchon, 2017, « Rôles sociaux des femmes et des hommes : L’idée persistante d’une vocation maternelle des femmes malgré le déclin de l’adhésion aux stéréotypes de genre », in Marc Collet, Émilie Pénicaud et Laurence Rioux (dir.), « Femmes et Hommes, l’égalité en question », Insee Références, p.81

Sutherland-Addy, Women, Intangible Heritage and Development: Perspectives from the African Region, 2001. Available at : http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/doc/src/00162-EN.pdf

Laure Turner, Loup Wolff, Ministry of Culture, Department of Studies and Statistics, Observatory for equality between women and men in culture and communication, 2019

UNESCO, Gender Equality: Heritage and Creativity, 2014

International documents/international instruments

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2003.

International Symposium on the role of women in transmission intangible culture heritage, Tehran, 1999.

To cite this article: Mathilde VO, “The role of women in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage”, 28.10.2020, Institut du Genre en Géopolitique