Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage Through Hospitality and Friendship
By Maria T. Cannon
Maria T. Cannon is a junior associate at Amineddoleh & Associates, LLC, in Manhattan, an art and cultural heritage law firm, practicing entertainment, media, art, data protection and privacy law. in Manhattan. Maria earned her J.D. from the University of North Carolina Law School and completed her undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University in English Literature. She is admitted to the New York State Bar.
I recently met my colleague and friend Yelena for lunch in a gorgeous Soho restaurant. Surrounded by art, elegant dishware, plush cushioning and warm lighting, the rich luxuriousness of the space was orchestrated to be an oasis from the city (and it is).
Yelena came to the lunch bearing gifts: one of which was her much-sought after and notoriously hard-to-get homemade Armenian tea. Yelena is Armenian, and she is also the founder of the Armenian magazine and lifestyle brand Qami Jan. Showing absolutely zero restraint once given the tea, I tore into its stunning gold packaging right away (and, with my free hand, flagged down the waiter for hot water and a teacup, ASAP). The fixings arrived, and we all (including the waiter, our new friend) waited for the tea to steep.
In the pause, Yelena explained the Armenian tradition of welcoming guests into familial homes with a cup of hot tea. She described the gracious hospitality involved in making the simple gesture, and noted how the tradition still fits within the confines of 21st century Western culture. It’s true – nearly everyone who grew up Americanized is stanchly disciplined with how we eat, drink, work, and rest. Sharing tea – particularly this one, without added flavors or sugars – remains one safe way to welcome guests.
The tea did its magic. The restaurant, which I had never been to before, was transformed into a place I felt I had known my whole life. It was no longer a formal territory, because Yelena had welcomed me with the ancient art of an Armenian tea ritual. For a moment, I truly felt as though I was immersed in the lifestyle and culture of the Armenian highlands. I also felt accepted and that I belonged.
I came back into the present. I considered the ways that emigrates and refugees carry forth pieces of their culture into new surroundings. It begs the question: what are the pieces of intangible cultural heritage that risk being lost in times of war, terror, political upheaval, and communal strife? Not to mention the risk of irreparable damage to cultural heritage in the face of genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity.
As art attorneys, we often focus on the risk to tangible pieces of cultural heritage and art in war-torn areas. We must also remember to be aware of the need to preserve and protect intangible pieces of cultural heritage that families pass down through storytelling, ritualistic cultural practices, and learned knowledge and skill sets applied to industries and trade.
UNESCO recognizes intangible cultural heritage (and lists many examples of it, across various cultures). UNESCO’s official “stamp” on certain practices is no doubt helpful in preservation efforts across nations, but its list is limited in scope.
For example, nations that are not recognized as “nations” may not qualify for official recognition of cultural practices on the list. The list is also incomplete, listing only a few practices per recognized nation.
Furthermore, the mere existence of the list does nothing to combat the real-life threats many oppressed communities face in their daily lives. For those living in areas where an oppressive regime is presenting genocidal intent towards a specific group, the fact that some of that group’s cultural practices on a list do little – if anything – to protect humans in danger.
In those situations, the protection of human life is, of course, the first priority. Intangible cultural heritage preservation must take place alongside this in a subsequent role. Concerted efforts to truly preserve intangible cultural heritage through scholarship and sharing of practices (as Yelena modeled to me, both in her gift of tea and her work on her publication Qami Jan) are essential to retaining a clear narrative of cultures who are displaced by war or unfavorable political regimes.
For displaced Armenians, this includes ritualistic tea making, as well as other cultural and artistic practices: lacemaking, coffee-ground readings, religious observation, rug-beating, traditional music, and natural perfumes and scented paper.
Which brings me to the gorgeous Papier d’Armenie incense papers Yelena thoughtfully introduced me to. These incense papers (mine are rose-scented) are meant to be lit to purify a space.
This practice sounded right up my alley (I am an admitted candle-obsessive), so when I first received the papers, I fled to YouTube to learn how to light them (without accidentally burning down the building).
Once I did, I was astonished at the complexity of the scent, and of how the ethereal smoke seemed to physically embody the empty space. Reading about the history of the product, it dawned on me that these papers have perfumed – and continue to transform – Armenian households, all over the world, for more than one hundred years.
I lit the paper, waited, and was again, just like with the tea, transported.
I continue to light the papers and take part in this traditional practice. By lighting the papers myself, and by honoring the fragrance they produce, I’m able to step inside an authentic Armenian household and be “introduced” to an Armenian home. It’s the sense that an Armenian mother is making me a welcome guest.
It’s also a reminder to me of how I can chose to confront the horrors of the Armenian genocide, and of genocides all throughout the world. So many people currently walking the streets alongside me on the city sidewalks are themselves refugees – they have faced unimaginable physical, mental, and emotional challenges, while continuing to live with tragedy, trauma, and loss.
For Armenians living in diaspora, one way to compassionately acknowledge their loss is to respect their pieces of intangible cultural heritage.
For example, I can light the Papier d’Armenie incense papers.
By lighting the papers, I can take the call one step forward in my personal capacity. I can bring the cultural richness of the Armenian people into my western household in 2024. I can light these papers and explain, to all who experience them, that this is an ancient scent – an ancient Armenian art, an ancient experience of an intangible piece of Armenian cultural heritage – and that the Armenian cultural legacy deserves to be honored and protected.
Links:
UNSECO’s Intangible Heritage List: https://ich.unesco.org/en/home
Qami Jan Magazine: https://qamijan.com/pages/about