Heritagization of Tamu music—from lived culture to heritage to be safe-guarded

Abstract

This article studies the heritagization of Tamu (Nepal) music, between 1975 and 2016. It describes how some musical genres are chosen to be “heritage,” the icons of Tamu distinctiveness and pride. At the same time, traditional Tamu music loses some of its social, religious and economic groundings. The main focus here is on one village, many inhabitants of which have moved to live in diaspora for economic survival. In addition, this article examines how the Internet works as a site of presenting music heritage, expressing belonging and nostalgia. Currently, Tamu organizations work for preserving their cultural heritage. They promise to repair some of the damage caused to Sino-Tibetan (also called Mongolian) Indigenous groups by internal Hinduistic colonialism in Nepal. Heightened demands for Indigenous rights expressed by parties and organizations, such as Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, established in 2002, have also promoted the urge to safeguard Indigenous intangible heritages.

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