Inventing Heritage as a Process of Exclusion and Inclusion in Nation States

Abstract (English)

In my paper, I will describe, based on observations from ethnographic and ethnohistorical research in various post-colonial and post-imperial countries (Fiji, Ireland, Jamaica, and Central Europe), how decolonization within the nation-state often reproduces forms of colonialism when it occurs on the terms of colonial logic, following colonial categories and rules of historical legitimation. One key aspect of colonialism was the "colonization of history," rooted in culturalism: emphasizing the "civilizational" superiority of the colonizer and diminishing the value of the subaltern's cultural heritage. This served to justify colonial rule and often limited the subaltern's participation in governance and representation. Under these conditions, claiming or restoring power required "reversing the edge of colonization" by demonstrating the features of the majority—defined by 19th and 20th-century notions of the nation as a historical community inhabiting a territory, possessing its own language, culture, and often religion—according to international law.
In this paper, I will focus on how these processes have influenced the situation of minorities and attitudes towards historical and contemporary migrations in these countries after decolonization. In the regimes of belonging, some minorities can be described as "autocthonous", while others are "migratory". It is precisely where rootedness becomes a key element manipulated by nationalist and populist circles, which often treat heritage as a patrimony entitling political representation and participation in the nation. Therefore it is important to reflect on the way, how the heritage has been constructed by different actors of public cultures in the countries under interest.