Shifting values and meanings of heritage: From cultural appropriation to tourism interpretation and back

Abstract

This chapter explores how translocal processes of heritage policymaking and management influence its values and meanings—both in times of stability and of turmoil—but also how “foreign” elements are incorporated and strategically (mis)used by local service providers in the heritage products told and sold to tourists. The case study from Central Java, Indonesia, provides unique insights because the current socioeconomic conditions have intensified existing conflicts over heritage appropriation and interpretation on local, national, regional, and global levels (cf. Salazar 2010b). An in-depth analysis of the empirical findings leads to a broader reflection on the dynamic interplay between the externally imaged (represented) and locally imagined value and meaning of world heritage in Indonesia and beyond. The ethnographic data illustrate that the significance of heritage—be it natural or cultural, tangible or intangible—is characterized by ever-changing pluriversality. However, before delving into the crux of the matter, it is essential to sketch the wider context.