ABSTRACT
A critical, comparative approach to the implementation of the Intangible Heritage Convention brings to light the dominance of certain expressive genres in the activities called safeguarding: lists, competitions, prizes, documentaries and especially the festival. The dolma culinary tradition is widespread throughout the Mediterranean and the Caucasus into Central Asia, and as festive food, it is associated with a variety of ceremonies, rituals, holidays, weddings and festive events. Festivals are ‘geared toward deliberate display’, offering a ‘boastful’ reflection of the community to locals and visitors alike. As a genre of display characteristic of intangible heritage, the festival provides a stage for performing this reflexive modernity. Ethnologists, folklorists, anthropologists, heritage professionals and cultural administrators co-author the script and help set the stage. When festivals come under the sign of intangible heritage, they fit like a glove on the hand of the safeguarding project.
