The Pauliteiros de Miranda: from local symbol to intangible cultural heritage?

Abstract

This text is on a Portuguese stick dance known as dança dos paulitos. The analysis is based on field research the author carried out in Paris and Portugal between 2003 and 2007. The focus lies here on the stick dancers from the concelho (municipality) of Miranda do Douro situated in North Eastern Por- tugal, the so called Pauliteiros de Miranda. The evolution from their revival to patrimonialisation processes is discussed and it is shown how the dance contributes to the promotion of a local community and how it is turning into a regional and national symbol. A distinction between the object-oriented and process-oriented type of revival is made by examining the ritual and folkloristic performance contexts