Patrimonialization, Defilement & The Zombification Of Cultural Heritage

Abstract

In a world in which patrimonialization efforts have become global and omnipresent, the Yanesha of Peruvian Amazonia have remained strangely unaffected by this powerful trend. Through an analysis of the historical trajectories of three ancient landmarks, this paper aims at understanding why Yanesha people have opted to relegate to oblivion certain elements of their cultural heritage, as well as why they have been so reticent in the face of past attempts at patrimonialization. I argue that Yanesha reluctance to the mise en patrimoine of some of these sites is associated to the notions of a’tsepeñets, failure in the completion of ritual undertakings leading to defilement, and a’mchecheñets, the desoulment or loss of the power/vitality contained in ritual objects, places, and specialists as a consequence of defilement. Any patrimonialization effort in relation to failed/defiled sites is thus perceived as a ‘zombification’ of cultural heritage, that is, a futile attempt to bestow a semblance of life to something long dead and deprived of mystical power. I propose that Western proclivity and Yanesha reticence towards patrimonialization express not only contrasting regimes of historicity but, above all, opposite cultural strategies for the building of collective identities – one based on an ‘omnivorous memory,’ the other on ‘selective amnesia.’ A greater openness to patrimonialization ventures in recent years could be a sign, however, of an impending shift in Yanesha modes of conceiving and dealing with the past.

Keywords

• ritual
• cultural heritage
• Yanesha
• defilement
• desoulment