Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Mera canton: an ethnographic experience

Abstract

Objective: to identify the intangible cultural heritage that survives in the Mera canton, province of Pastaza-Ecuador.

Methodology: we articulated theoretical production with ethnographic fieldwork; we also theorized on heritage and intangible cultural heritage issues and obtained narratives on the assets through themed interviews and participatory workshops. The methodological foundation was laid on the contributions of symbolic interactionism, post-structural anthropology and Latin American action research.

Results: by registering 50 cards, according to the fields of the UNESCO Convention of 2003, we observed that in the Amazonian populations the heritage is culturally effective. However, they are not exempt from the processes of globalization and colonization, there are cultural events that are extinct and at risk of extinction. There are differences between the mestizo populations, Mera and Shell parishes and the Kichwa communities in the Mother Earth parish.

Conclusions: there is a rich interdependence between the intangible cultural heritage areas -the holidays are articulating axes and the cassava, guayusa and chicha are transversal assets. There is also a complex coexistence between Christianity, traditional practices and the modernity of the intangible cultural heritage of the region. This is a complex condition to immateriality because it has an academic interest rather than being a development priority, which is a risk of extinction for some heritage due to the cultural break manifested by new generations. There are different gender roles in the practice of heritage and differences between the Kichwa populations and the settlers, the former with a greater presence of their cultural heritage and the latter with a greater vulnerability degree.