%0 Journal Article
%T Stealing the sacred: Why ¡®global heritage¡¯ discourse is perceived as a frontal attack on local heritage-making in Madagascar
%A SJT Evers
%A C Seagle
%J Madagascar Conservation & Development
%D 2012
%I Madagascar Wildlife Conservation, Jane Goodall Institute Switzerland
%X This article analyses Malagasy notions of land as heritage through the concept of fomba gasy, known as ¡®Malagasy customs¡¯, within the context of foreign land acquisitions for mineral extraction. Fomba gasy is a concept intimately tied to land ¨C as it provides a social, economic, existential, cultural, and ontological web, which ties past, present and future generations. Global or ¡®western¡¯ conceptualizations of heritage generally adopt a more static definition of land as their point of departure, wherein biodiversity or clearly demarcated ¡®heritage sites¡¯ become objects of frontier conservation. This vision directly conflicts with Malagasy conceptions and ontologies of fomba gasy ¨C a concept inherently anchored in dynamic, material and intangible uses of land. The model of heritage as universal patrimony does not sit easily with beliefs held by local (land - based) groups within Madagascar. On the contrary, it challenges a core tenet of Malagasy power and belief: their sovereign right to define fomba gasy and heritage through land, and to harness the powers of the sacred. The contested nature of heritage claims in Madagascar is discussed using a case study concerning a mining/biodiversity protection project where international and local stakeholders are vying for the same land. R¨¦SUM¨¦ Cet article analyse la notion des terres malgaches en tant que patrimoine ¨¤ travers le concept de fomba gasy (¡®coutumes malgaches¡¯), dans le cadre de l¡¯acquisition de terres par des compagnies ¨¦trang¨¨res pour les extractions de min¨¦raux. Fomba gasy est un concept ¨¦troitement li¨¦ ¨¤ la terre car il fournit une toile environnementale, sociale, ¨¦conomique, existentielle, culturelle et ontologique, qui relie les g¨¦n¨¦rations pass¨¦es, pr¨¦sentes et futures. Les conceptualisations globales ou occidentales du patrimoine tendent g¨¦n¨¦ralement ¨¤ adopter une d¨¦finition plus statique de la terre comme point de d¨¦part. Cette vision se heurte n¨¦cessairement ¨¤ celle de fomba gasy : un concept fondamentalement ancr¨¦ dans la dynamique mat¨¦rielle et immat¨¦rielle d¡¯exploitation des terres. Au contraire, il remet en cause un principe fondamental et sacr¨¦ du pouvoir malgache : le droit souverain de d¨¦finir le fomba gasy et le patrimoine ¨¤ travers la terre. Cet article discute un diff¨¦rend foncier ¨¤ Madagascar o¨´ un projet minier et de protection de la biodiversit¨¦ locale met en opposition divers intervenants revendiquant tous des int¨¦r¨ºts dans les m¨ºmes terres.
%U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/mcd/article/view/83474