TY - JOUR KW - Social conflicts (THE\_65396) AU - Carol Silverman AB - In Macedonia debates about heritage are played out along the fault lines of ethnic and religious conflict as well as a faltering economy and threats from neighbors about interpretations of history. The country’s 2002 and 2004 failed applications for a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Cultural Heritage and its ongoing submissions of representative lists provide a valuable case study of how rural folklore symbols are selectively adopted into heritage discourse and elevated to iconic status. This essay analyzes Teškoto (the Heavy/Difficult Dance) as featured in two UNESCO Masterpiece applications as well as in village contexts, ensemble performances, an annual staged ritual, and tourist appropriations. The story of how Teškoto became a national symbol but failed to achieve UNESCO status as ICH illuminates the manner in which nationalist discourse shapes performance practices. DO - 10.2979/jfolkrese.52.2-3.233 M1 - 2 N1 - Publisher: Indiana University N2 - In Macedonia debates about heritage are played out along the fault lines of ethnic and religious conflict as well as a faltering economy and threats from neighbors about interpretations of history. The country’s 2002 and 2004 failed applications for a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Cultural Heritage and its ongoing submissions of representative lists provide a valuable case study of how rural folklore symbols are selectively adopted into heritage discourse and elevated to iconic status. This essay analyzes Teškoto (the Heavy/Difficult Dance) as featured in two UNESCO Masterpiece applications as well as in village contexts, ensemble performances, an annual staged ritual, and tourist appropriations. The story of how Teškoto became a national symbol but failed to achieve UNESCO status as ICH illuminates the manner in which nationalist discourse shapes performance practices. SP - 233 EP - 251 TI - Macedonia, UNESCO, and Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Challenging Fate of Teskoto UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84938836299&doi=10.2979%2fjfolkrese.52.2-3.233&partnerID=40&md5=d4f7086961eca9f95978c63ba7c1ba23 VL - 52 SN - 07377037 (ISSN) ER -