Current Issues in Tourism
Editor: C. Michael Hall (Department of Management, College of Business and Economics, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand) and Chris Cooper (Foundation Professor of Tourism, University of Queensland, Australia) Michael and Chris are joint editor of the book series Aspects of Tourism. Reviews Editor John Jenkins (University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia)
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Volume: 7 Number: 4 Page: 433–435
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Locating Global Legacies in Tana Toraja, Indonesia
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Kathleen M. Adams
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In 2001, the picturesque Toraja village of Ke' te' Kesu' was nominated for candidacy as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated in the South Sulawesi highlands in Indonesia, this hamlet is home to rice farmers, wood carvers, tourist vendors, government workers and sporadically-visiting
anthropologists. Drawing on long-term anthropological field research in the village, I suggest that while world heritage sites may entail what UNESCO terms 'genius loci', they are, rarely the unchanging embodiments of tradition they are imagined to be. The paper illustrates how heritage
landscapes such as Ke' te' Kesu' are, to some extent, products of local responses and and engagements with regional, national and global political, cultural and economic dynamics. Ultimately, I argue that the emergence of UNESCO world heritage sites is not a 'natural' process, but rather one
borne out of complex exchanges, competitions and collaborations between local groups, as well as national and international entities.
Keywords: UNESCO, WORLD HERITAGE SITE, TORAJA, INDONESIA
© 2004 Channel View Publications
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