Keroncong / Krontjong: Whose heritage is it anyway?: An exploration of the concept of ‘shared intangible cultural heritage’ through keroncong music

Keroncong is a style of music that combines cultural influences of both Southeast Asian and European origin. Through the course of its history, keroncong has become a style of music that arguably, both the Indo-Dutch community in the Netherlands and the Indonesian community consider part of their intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Despite a recent surge in archival heritization activity, keroncong music has as of yet not been acknowledged by international heritage organizations such as UNESCO as ICH, likely due to problems that arise when the cultural heritage of keroncong needs to be ‘shared’ among cultural groups that engage with the genre in different ways. By analyzing the history and main characteristics of keroncong, this thesis aims to establish a more in-depth understanding of the ‘shared intangible cultural heritage’ (SICH) phenomenon and the problems that arise therein. The thesis will argue that, even though keroncong has not yet been recognized by UNESCO, it can...Show moreKeroncong is a style of music that combines cultural influences of both Southeast Asian and European origin. Through the course of its history, keroncong has become a style of music that arguably, both the Indo-Dutch community in the Netherlands and the Indonesian community consider part of their intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Despite a recent surge in archival heritization activity, keroncong music has as of yet not been acknowledged by international heritage organizations such as UNESCO as ICH, likely due to problems that arise when the cultural heritage of keroncong needs to be ‘shared’ among cultural groups that engage with the genre in different ways. By analyzing the history and main characteristics of keroncong, this thesis aims to establish a more in-depth understanding of the ‘shared intangible cultural heritage’ (SICH) phenomenon and the problems that arise therein. The thesis will argue that, even though keroncong has not yet been recognized by UNESCO, it can rightfully claim to be ICH in its different cultural manifestations. The thesis concludes that, if keroncong music is to be acknowledged as SICH, it would likely be best to do so by inscribing both its Indonesian and Indo-Dutch manifestations (i.e. keroncong and krontjong) into the Representative List as the genre came to carry and convey different meanings in the two cultural contexts, thereby suggesting a change in the way in which the ‘sharing’ of heritage takes place.Show less

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Keroncong / Krontjong: Whose heritage is it anyway? An exploration of the concept of ‘shared intangible cultural heritage’ through keroncong music