Can intangible cultural values be sustainable ? An applied ethnomusicology project

The sustainability of intangible cultural values, including traditional music and dance, has become an issue for ethnomusicological research because many such traditions are currently at risk of disappearing. However, it is only by defining and acknowledging the issues and requirements that will govern any projects or attempts to conserve traditional music and dance practices that true sustainability can be achieved.This paper reflects the results of two years of fieldwork that was conducted with the last generation to retain the memory of the traditional folk culture of Domaniç, a rural area located in western Anatolia on the north Aegean side of Turkey. Over the last fifteen years, this area’s traditional music and dance culture has largely fallen out of practice, and many elements are in danger of disappearing completely. By utilising ethnographic research methods, the paper looks at means of safeguarding and sustaining this example of intangible cultural heritage and examines the actors affecting cultural sustainability and cultural policy areas, both locally and globally. The aim of this paper is to identify the elements that have a bearing on cultural sustainability, and to offer projects that will enable the region’s traditional dance and music to be sustained for future generations