Indigenous perspective on the collection of traditional Bongainville culture and art; past, present and future
Creators: name: Havini, Moses
Publisher: name: International Committee for University Museums and Collections (UMAC)
Year: 2003
Subjects: subject: 060 Organisationen, Museumswissenschaft

description: In this paper issues of ownership and protection of intellectual property of traditional art and culture are scrutinised. In particular, it addresses issues surrounding the historical lifting and acquisition of huge volumes of traditional art and treasures within the last 200 years by various collectors, including traders, colonial officials, missionaries and private collectors. Access to traditional art and artifacts now preserved in western museums is of critical concern to indigenous peoples. Today, many cultures that are threatened in their survival are unaware where significant collections are kept and how to access them. Westernisation has both eroded indigenous culture and stored its material evidence in inaccessible places. Indigenous peoples around the world are wondering what has happened to collections, which are often not on display. Our attempt with the Yumi Yet exhibition to examine today's Bougainville culture in the light of the never before exhibited Bougainville art from the Australian Museum raises a discussion between past and present. We wish to open up a meaningful dialogue between institutions and various cultural bodies and peoples to facilitate the future return of significant art to their rightful owners. Bodies such as UMAC and ICOM and the curators of university and public collections could become vital facilitators in the establishment of such dialogues and negotiations. Under what safeguards and conditions should these collections be managed and returned? From an indigenous perspective, arguments within countries as to who are the rightful owners and custodians for the return of such treasures emerge. Is it for the state or cultural bodies within the indigenous culture to take on the responsibility for the preservation, acculturation and future of the collections, or will the works be claimed by clans and tribes or individuals? Whilst traditional societies are rich in art and culture, knowledge of preservation and curatorial skills lag behind western institutions. For the preservation and development of art and culture now and in the future, how can knowledge transfer from more advanced countries be made accessible to indigenous peoples such as Bougainville?
description: Este artigo discute diversos assuntos relacionados com a posse e a protecçâo da propriedade intelectual de obras de arte e cultura tradicionais. Em particular, a aquisiçâo e saque histórico de grandes quantidades de tesouros e de obras de arte tradicional levados a cabo nos ûltimos duzentos anos por coleccionadores privados, comerciantes, entidades coloniais e missionaries. O actual acesso a estas obras, na sua maioria preservadas nos museus ocidentais constitui um factor de grande preocupaçâo para os povos indigenas. Muitas culturas hoje ameaçadas de extinçâo ignoram os locais onde as colecçôes se encontram e comò Ihes aceder. Com efeito, o processo de 'ocidentalizaçâo' nâo se limitou apenas a desgastar as culturas indigenas, tendo igualmente armazenado em locais inacessiveis (nem sempre em exposiçâo) os seus vestigios materiais. A exposiçâo Yumi Yet [apresentada na Galeria de Arte da Universidade de Macquarie, Nova Gales do Sul, Australia] baseou-se em objectas da arte e cultura tradicionais da ilha de Bougainville para construir um discurso expositivo que estabelecesse o dialogo entre o passado e o presente. As peças pertenciam ao Museu Australiano (Sydney) e nunca tinham sido expostas anteriormente. Esperamos ter suscitado um dialogo frutuoso entre diversas instituiçôes, entidades culturais e povos, por forma a facilitar a futura restituiçâo de muitas peças aos seus legitimos proprietaries. Neste tipo de negociaçôes complexas, as associaçôes profissionais corno o ICOM e o UMAC, beni corno os conservadores das colecçôes universitârias e de outras colecçôes pûblicas, têm um papel muito relevante. Do ponto de vista das comunidades indigenas, a questâo dos legitimos proprietârios é problematica. Sob que condiçôes deverà o processo de restituiçâo ser gerido? A quem deverâo as peças ser devolvidas? Deverâo ser os estados e as instituiçôes culturais a assumir a responsabilidade ou, pelo contrario, poderâo estas ser reclamadas por clâs, tribos ou inclusivamente a titulo individuai? Apesar das sociedades tradicionais serein prospéras do ponto de vista artistico e cultural, é igualmente verdade que as suas instituiçôes culturais fìcam frequentemente atrâs das suas congénères ocidentais no que diz respeito a conhecimentos e padrôes de preservaçâo e conservaçâo dos objectas. De que forma se poderâ materializar uma transferêneia de know how que possibilité a preservaçâo e o desenvolvimento das artes e das culturas dos povos indigenas, comò por exemplo o de Bougainville?