Digital preservation of cultural heritage: Terengganu brassware craft knowledge base

Abstract

Early exposure to cultural heritage is necessary to preserve it from extinction. One form of cultural heritage that is now on the brink of extinction is the Terengganu brassware craft. Current young generations are mostly not interested in this heritage. Furthermore, intangible heritage in the form of knowledge and skills are only stored in the memory of the practitioners. Lack of documentation has led to the sole reliance on practitioners such that the knowledge is lost upon their demise. Hence, intangible heritage knowledge has to be acquired and stored in a knowledge base system to keep them in a systematic and permanent form. Manipulating and transferring the knowledge and skills will also ensure the continuity of this heritage, and ensure it can be accessed by future generations. This paper discusses the development of the knowledge base of Terengganu Brassware Craft as a digital preservation of cultural heritage. Knowledge acquisition was carried out using interview and observation techniques. Then, the knowledge is represented using ontology. This knowledge, in digital form, can be manipulated and disseminated to the community to ensure the continuity of the knowledge.