Making the Case for “Zombie Trees”: Intangible Cultural Heritage Management in Guyana

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent discoveries of substantial offshore oil and gas reserves and large-scale international development projects highlight the need to identify and preserve Guyana’s poorly documented cultural heritage. At particular risk of destruction are some of Guyana’s Silk Cotton (Ceiba pentandra) trees, which serve as tangible markers of one aspect of the country’s intangible cultural heritage. These trees are believed to be imbued with dark spirits tied to the Dutch colonial era, are described in folklore as “zombies” and home of the “Dutchman Jumbie”, and are frequently met with suspicion and fear by local residents. Given the limited legal protections and relatively few local Guyanese cultural heritage specialists, preservation of these trees based on their connection to intangible cultural heritage may rely on the responsible actions of developers and input from knowledgeable cultural resource experts from the international community. While advocating for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage tied to folklore can prove challenging, considering the project effects on these resources is equally as important as considering such effects on tangible cultural heritage (e.g. archaeological and historic structures). Yet, with limited extant cultural heritage documentation, Guyana stands to lose important resources as it undergoes significant economic development.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37208.0