“A Weekly Mäshräp to Tackle Extremism”: Music-making in Uyghur Communities and Intangible Cultural Heritage in China

Harris, Rachel

Abstract

This article provides an in-depth study and critique of the nomination and inscription of an item on UNESCO’s lists of intangible cultural heritage, and the developments following its acceptance. China is now a major partner in UNESCO’s heritage projects, but the application and experience of heritage initiatives across China has been highly uneven. I discuss the particular challenges presented in the contested, predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. I focus on the question of community, a term that lies at the heart of the UNESCO literature. What do we mean by community, and why do we think it matters? How does socially embedded music-making facilitate community, and how do heritage initiatives change that?

Citation

Harris, R. (2020). “A Weekly Mäshräp to Tackle Extremism”: Music-making in Uyghur Communities and Intangible Cultural Heritage in China. Ethnomusicology, 64(1), 23-55. https://doi.org/10.5406/ethnomusicology.64.1.0023

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 14, 2020
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Oct 8, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 8, 2018
• Journal: Ethnomusicology
• Print ISSN: 0014-1836
• Electronic ISSN: 2156-7417
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 23-55
• Book Title: “Develop the West”: Chinese State Development and Uyghur Cultural Resilience, Adaptation, and Cooptation in Xinjiang
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5406/ethnomusicology.64.1.0023
• Keywords: intangible cultural heritage – music – community – Uyghur – Xinjiang – China