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ABSTRACT
The Indian village of Hampi, site of a medieval Hindu Empire that is now a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, was until recently inhabited by a vibrant community of farmers-turned-small entrepreneurs reliant on tourism. However, since 2011 the village has been undergoing spatial cleansing resulting in the eviction of people and the demolition of their homes and businesses. The residents, portrayed in the official discourse as “illegal encroachers” and a threat to monuments, have been subjected to power relations imposed on them by postcolonial authorities guided by a hegemonic approach to material heritage. This paper analyzes what has happened at Hampi through a theoretical framework of the anthropology of colonial legacies as an effect of mimicry. It also demonstrates how villagers have countered the state claim of Hampi as an outdoor museum with the concept of living heritage. However, perceived by authorities as neither native nor traditional enough, they have failed to win claims to this heritage site.
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank all the people of Hampi for their patience in answering my countless questions and trust they offered to me. I am also grateful to all those involved in the Hampi issue for sharing their views and knowledge with me. I also thank my colleagues from the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań for comments on this article.
Last but not least I am thankful to my family for supporting me at every stage of my research on Hampi. Without them all of this would not be possible.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Tunbridge and Ashworth Citation1996.
2 Herzfeld Citation2006.
3 Specifically the adventures of Rama and Hanuman. The monkey kingdom Kishkindha is popularly believed to have been situated where Hampi is located today.
4 Choay Citation2001.
5 de L’Estoile Citation2008.
6 Shepherd Citation2012, 92.
7 Marcus Citation1995.
8 From, inter alia, Kannada University in Kamalapur and the Department of Architectural Conservation of the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.
9 This court case was Writ Petition 29843/Citation2009, used as the legal basis for forced evictions. Official documents include, inter alia, UNESCO-ICOMOS Reports on Hampi, the site’s Management and Master Plans, and Indian state Acts and Gazette Notifications.
10 For example, Kotraiah Citation2008, Verghese Citation2000, Gollings, Fritz, and Michell Citation1991, Fritz and Michell Citation2001, Sinopoli and Morrison Citation2007.
11 But see, for example, the study of the Chariot Festival by Das Citation1996. Of particular import to this paper is Stian Krog’s thesis on local notions of space (Citation2007), based on fieldwork in Hampi before it underwent spatial cleansing, and Matthew LeDuc’s research on relations between tourism and heritage (Citation2012), which was also undertaken before evictions in the village started.
12 For example, Eriksen Citation2001, Fontein Citation2000.
13 Herzfeld Citation2006, Joy Citation2010, Owens Citation2002. See also Brumann and Berliner Citation2016.
14 Boswell and Evans Citation1999, Shepherd Citation2006, Silverman Citation2011.
15 Francis Citation1904, 259.
16 Kohli Citation1987.
17 Some were not in the records so they were not granted the plots, and some did not want to move for different personal reasons.
18 Vijayanagara Research Project Citation2014.
19 In 1982 Hampi was nominated by the Archaeological Survey of India for UNESCO World Heritage status.
20 See HWHAMA Act Citation2002 and MP Citation2006 (Master Plan – 2021 for Hampi Local Planning Area). “Core zone” and “buffer zone” are UNESCO’s terms (the latter serves to provide an additional protection to a World Heritage site), while “core zone” is also used in state legislation. “Peripheral zone” was added in the HWHAMA Act as one more layer of protection. “Core zone” covers the area of 41.80 square kilometers as notified by the Government of Karnataka. “Buffer zone” is an area extending up to one kilometer beyond the limits of the “core zone” all sides, while “peripheral zone” extends up to one kilometer beyond the limits of the “buffer zone.”
21 These terms derive from the central regulations related to the ASI. A “prohibited area” is an area up to one hundred meters from the boundaries of a “monument of national importance” where no construction is allowed. A “regulated area” extends up to 200 meters beyond the limits of the “prohibited area” and any construction within it requires permission from ASI.
22 Colors used by HWHAMA to draw the “proposed land use” on the Master Plan’s maps. Red color indicates the archaeological area, green the park and “open space,” yellow residential areas, and blue commercial space.
23 Smith Citation2006, 11.
24 Litton Citation2011, 229.
25 Minja Yang, following The Hindu Citation2000b.
26 Achala Moulik, following The Hindu Citation2000a.
27 WHC Citation2006, decision no. 30 COM 7A.24.
28 UNESCO-ICOMOS Report Citation2007, 36, 35, 39, 40.
29 UNESCO-ICOMOS Report Citation2007, 7.
30 For the UNESCO selection criteria, see: http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ and for the selection criteria for the Group of Monuments in Hampi, see: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/241 (Accessed March 14, 2016).
31 Hancock Citation2008, 12.
32 People in Hampi call this institution simply “Pradhikara” for its name in Kannada: Hampi Vishva Parampare Pradesha Nirvahana Pradhikara. “Pradhikara” means “authority.”
33 Matthew LeDuc calls it a “crowded institutional landscape” (LeDuc Citation2012, 32).
34 IMP recommended the removal of encroachments but “except Hampi Bazaar ( … )” (IMP Citation2006, 72) which should be “conserved as living heritage site” (IMP Citation2006, 114).
35 Although by that time the sixth volume titled Operationalising the IMP had already been submitted. See IMP Citation2006.
36 There were many copies of different parts of the IMP and MP circulating in the village. People pointed at various maps and were extremely confused, especially with regard to the zones’ names. Moreover, most of the documentation on Hampi WHS was produced in English. Villagers who were able to read it transmitted the news to the others. This only caused further confusion, as much was lost in translation. However, the local press published in Kannada language applied the same rhetoric (see Bloch Citationunder review).
37 Bloch Citationunder review.
38 Writ Petition 29843/2009, 6, par. 10.
39 There was a hearing on that day but it referred to procedural matters only. No binding decisions were made by the Court on July 25, 2011.
40 By ASI, HWHAMA and Karnataka State Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage.
41 People were threatened that unless they initiated construction within three years, the plots would be taken away from them.
42 Many people believe that they are still in Hampi because if they were to be displaced, they would have to be compensated “properly,” which for them implies that the government does not have enough money to pay.
43 de L’Estoile Citation2008, 268.
44 de L’Estoile Citation2008, 270.
45 Imam Citation1963, Garg Citation2014.
46 Falser and Juneja Citation2013, 3.
47 Guha-Thakurta Citation2004, 268.
48 Guha-Thakurta Citation2004, Sengupta Citation2013.
49 Stein Citation2008, 2.
50 Vijayanagara Research Project Citation2014.
51 Weiler Citation2013.
52 Stein Citation2008, 2, Guha-Thakurta Citation2004, 43–82.
53 Rao and Gopal Citation2009, 51.
54 Devakunjari Citation2007.
55 Devakunjari Citation2007, 78.
56 ASI official website, see http://asi.nic.in/asi_aboutus.asp (Accessed June 14, 2015).
57 Following UNESCO-ICOMOS Report Citation2007, 8.
58 There was of course much earlier than this Asoka’s Empire, thanks to which “discovery … India itself was revealed as more than just a geographical sum of its historically fragmented parts. Archaeology has restored its esteem as an ancient entity with a political pedigree comparable to China’s” (Keay Citation2011, 33). Asoka is considered to have been an open-minded ruler who supported all major religions of his time, therefore the postcolonial Indian state, designed by the Indian National Congress as a modern, secular republic, has adopted many of his symbols. However, Asoka’s Empire survived only an estimated forty years, did not include the whole south of the subcontinent, and was Buddhist in its origin. Thus, Vijayanagara better suits the more Hindu nationalist imagination of the Indian state’s origins.
59 Chakrabarti Citation2003, 185.
60 Roy Citation1961, following Keay Citation2011, 13.
61 Choay Citation2001, Meskell Citation2015, 6.
62 Devakunjari Citation2007, 11.
63 Following Stein Citation2008, 9.
64 Hancock Citation2008, 83.
65 Bhabha Citation1994.
66 See Falser Citation2015.
67 Fritz and Michell Citation2012b, 3.
68 Fong et al. Citation2012, 47.
69 Menon Citation1989.
70 Chakrabarty Citation2000, 8.
71 Chakrabarti Citation2003, 221–222.
72 See also The Hindu Citation2000a, The Hindu Citation2000c, “Statement of objections of the HWHAMA Commissioner. July 23, Citation2010.”
73 Krog Citation2007, 145–148, see Escobar Citation2001, 160.
74 See Shepherd Citation2012, 92, 110–112.
75 See footnote 32.
76 Following IMP Citation2007, Annexe 26, 3.
77 Mostly by the already mentioned Bangalore-based Equations and the transnational Global Heritage Fund.
78 IMP Citation2007, Annexe 3, 11.
79 Purvis and Hunt Citation1993, following Smith Citation2006, 4–5.
80 See Krog Citation2007, 30.
81 Laurajane Smith notes a similar approach to material heritage in a different geographical context: “While the sites were intrinsically important to the [Waanyi] women from Australia, it was the use of these sites that made them heritage, not the mere fact of their existence” (Smith Citation2006, 46).
82 See Krog Citation2007, 108.
83 “Portuguese traders who visited [Hampi] in the early sixteenth century wrote that it [Hampi bazaar] was stocked with food of all kinds, birds and other animals, and even precious stones, including diamonds. In contrast to the exposed ruins of much of Vijayanagara, Hampi Bazaar was a welcome respite where visitors could find shade and refreshment. Though these modern businesses were occupying the medieval site, they seemed perfectly appropriate – they recovered some of the original function and spirit of the bazaar.” Fritz and Michell Citation2012a, 56–57.
84 The most popular of Hampi’s festivals is the Chariot Festival (also called Jatra, that is procession) that marks the ritual marriage of Virupaksha and Pampa, with the divine couple held in a giant wooden chariot pulled in the procession through the bazaar, together with the temple’s elephant blessing the crowd. But the temple is visited both by pilgrims and residents on daily basis, for family fetes, full and new moon pujas and celebrations of auspicious days according to Hindu calendar. As such it is a core of religious life in a village and surrounding area.
85 ASI Citation2008; Shinde Citation2012, 328.
86 The Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List was launched in 1994, and led to UNESCO adopting The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. It should be noted that it prioritized living heritage and everyday culture “in the broad anthropological context” (Meskell Citation2015, 26–27).
87 Writ Petition 29843/Citation2009, 10, par. 22.
88 Bloch Citationunder review.
89 Decorative patterns made every morning by women with finely ground, often colored powder in front of the households’ entrances in order to ward evil off. During the day the drawings – walked or driven over by pedestrians and vehicles – slowly disappear to be replaced the next day.
90 ASI Citation2009, 2.
91 Articles, such as incenses, flowers, coconuts, or colored powder, used for an offering ritual performed by devotees, especially while visiting temples.
92 Coombe and Weiss Citation2015.
93 Tobert Citation2000; see Malkki Citation1997.
94 MP Citation2006, 81. Anegondi is currently developing “endogenous tourism” with the support of the state Tourism Department, the United Nations Development Programme and the local branch of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an NGO which works on an India-specific approach to heritage, emphasizing “living continuity of traditions” and accusing the governmental agencies of “Victorian concepts of professionalism.” However, its focus is mostly on “tribal cultures” and establishing “heritage villages”, therefore excluding those communities such as Hampi which do not fit the native frame of traditional culture (intangibleheritage.intach.org; www.intach.org, accessed August 23, 2015).
95 Bloch Citationunder review.
96 Herzfeld Citation2006, 142.
97 Herzfeld Citation2006, 132.
98 Smith Citation2006, 44.
99 See Araoz Citation2011.
100 See Brockington and Igoe (Citation2006, 425) for the same anguish of conservationists’ self-perception in the field of the wildlife preservation.
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Natalia Bloch
Natalia Bloch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. She specializes in the anthropology of mobility, including tourism, migration, and exile, particularly in the postcolonial context. She has conducted research in Tibetan refugee settlements and among workers in the tourism industry in India. She teaches courses on postcolonial theory, the anthropology of tourism, the anthropology of migration, and refugee studies.
