Abstract

To protect, collect, and perpetuate the heritage of traditional,ethnic folk cultures is a cultural mechanism of (re)establishing ethnical and regional identities. Yet, what kinds of considerations, logics and dynamics may be hidden behind the collecting and editing activities? This paper introduces the analytical framework of “cultural intimacy”, developed by Michael Herzfeld, and the case study about the Uhygur Muqam song in Xinjiang investigated by Nathan Light, to argue that the so-called representative cultural products are in fact the results of multilayered negotiations. The concrete processes, motivations and logics shaping these negotiations are worthy to be taken into consideration by social and cultural anthropology. Moreover, the issue of “protection of cultural heritage” is a promising interdisciplinary area that allows integrating disciplines like folk literature studies, folklore studies and anthropology.