Book dossier

Heritage, Memory, and Identity

by Terngu Sylvanus Nomishan

The concepts of identity and heritage long antedate the conjoined usage of these terms in the contemporary era. In the past, identity referred to likeness rather than self-consciousness, and heritage was mainly a matter of family legacies. Today, these terms swim in a self-congratulatory swamp of collective memory. Heritage is now that with which people all over the world individually or collectively identify. It is considered the rightful legacy of every distinct people. Therefore, the collection, protection, preservation, and management of the world’s heritage at all levels, as well as its presentation and dissemination for public use, are unarguably essential and also the responsibility of both present and future generations. In the preamble of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1972, this has somewhat been allotted space. This Convention consciously made provisions for the protection and preservation of cultural identities. It availed the international community with the opportunity to protect and preserve directly and sustainably its tangible and intangible heritage in the short, middle, and long terms. This is because when heritage assets are protected, cultural identities are also protected, since the cultural identities of all peoples of the world are encapsulated in their heritage. In this sense, therefore, the concept of intangible cultural heritage, within which the Swem Oath traditional justice system has found its place in heritage discussion, comes into play. The Swem Oath (contained in a small earthenware pot) that is used as an oath of justice among the Tiv people is both a tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It involves a made-up physical pot, which deploys the supernatural powers invoked into it to grant justice to the innocents. This implies that the Swem Oath is an intangible cultural heritage that manifests into a tangible cultural heritage referred to as the Swem pot. Therefore, this book presents a thorough examination of the complexity of the Swem Oath as a cultural heritage that reflects some form of collective memory and also contributes immensely to the construction of the cultural identity of the Tiv people. The policy dimension of this book also harmers the need for the establishment of a museum, which will be responsible for the collection, protection, preservation, promotion, and management of the Swem pot and other cultural heritage materials in Tivland.