New Perspectives for Living Traditions: Intangible Cultural Heritage in North-East Hungary

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1972) was originally focused on nature conservation and built heritage. The immaterial aspect of the worldwide heritage discourse arrived at a turning point in 2003, when the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted. The definition of the intangible cultural heritage provides essential frames for a wide range of interpretations. The UNESCO concept focuses on inclusive, representative and community-based traditions which are contemporary and living at the same time. In this sense, the intangible cultural heritage conception is based on the fundamental dichotomy of tradition and modernity. For the communities concerned, a new perspective for living traditions is the process from tradition to heritage. There are four essential features of this process: participation, consciousness, organization and valorization. They can make a difference between tradition and heritage. The Hungarian model for the implementation of the UNESCO Convention is based on a bottom-up system, where the heritage bearers themselves initiate the nomination process for the National Inventory. It is based on their strong commitment to their heritage and it relies on their involvement and participation. In this paper, three case studies from North-East Hungary (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County) represent different ways of “creating a heritage.” The various patterns are closely related to the ideas of identity, community cohesion, tourism, local economy and the preservation of living traditions.