01200nas a2200181 4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003260000800044653001500052100001800067245007700085856015300162300001200315490000700327520066400334022002000998 2015 d cdec10aIndia (IN)1 aLeah Lowthorp00aVoices on the ground: : Kutiyattam, unesco, and the heritage of humanity uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84938823341&doi=10.2979%2fjfolkrese.52.2-3.157&partnerID=40&md5=22fd4a5bcd6e68de9ca6e38d4a9ad77d a157-1800 v523 aKutiyattam Sanskrit theater of Kerala state was recognized as India s first UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001. Looking back a decade later, how has UNESCO recognition impacted both the art and the lives of its artists? Based upon two years of ethnographic research from 2008-10 among Kutiyattam artists in Kerala, India, this essay follows the art s postrecognition trajectory through its increasing mediatization, institutionalization, and liberalization. Drawing on extended interviews with over fifty Kutiyattam actors, actresses, and drummers, it focuses on reclaiming the voices of affected artists on the ground. a07377037 (ISSN)