Bell-Ringers of the Northern Adriatic: Local Croatian Tradition as World Heritage

Abstract

This essay describes the importance of a popular Carnival
ritual ― bell-ringing ― as a contemporary symbol of local culture, visible
at a time when many other markers of identity have vanished. Since the
tradition’s inscription on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity changes have begun to occur in which
it has gained visibility, but also an unwelcome notoriety. A ritual that
has historically served primarily to tighten the bonds of community has
been transformed into a global cultural asset, and the bell-ringers’ activities
are portrayed and interpreted by individuals and groups outside
their