Comparing Conviviality by Tilmann Heil

Author:Tilmann Heil
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030347178
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

The Liminal in Ethnic Performance

In both Casamance and Catalonia, staged events that were termed cultural politically manufactured equality between residents and their cultural difference. More unintentional than not, this left room for liminal interludes of sensuous diversion. In Catalonia, the local town halls and neighbourhood associations organised events during which everyone was invited to share and present ‘their culture’ alongside others, showcasing the local diversity. Both the Mostra d’Entitats de Cerdanyola, a presentation made by the neighbourhood associations registered in Cerdanyola, and the individual performances of Casamançais masks in Granollers, introduced in the opening excerpt, are useful examples of such events. Albeit on a bigger scale, ZigFest, organised by the Ziguinchor town hall, was similarly conceived. At two of this festival’s main events, a carnival and an opening parade, ethnic and other associations of Casamance and adjacent regions displayed ‘tradition and culture’ and some paraded in support of civic and social interests. Although the intended political message of celebrating diversity was clear, it is worth examining how the events and the interplay of staging and sensing difference unfolded.

The intentions of organisers, participants, and boycotters of cultural events varied as they interpreted the staging of diversity at these events differently. Politically, the events embraced local difference and were intended to signal cohabitation and convivència, key political goals on a local, regional, and national level. On the ground, staging cultural diversity for some quite simply attested to the successful negotiations among local residents and encouraged future engagement with difference. Others objected to the events, perceiving them as a political masquerade of postcolonial or other regimes of subordination (Mbembe 2001, p. 101). Paralleling such discursive evaluations, the events provided sensuous stimulations which led participants to embrace difference in movement, sound, and skill. Excitement, exuberance, and appreciation, as well as insecurity, awkwardness, and guardedness mixed together. In Catalonia and in Casamance, this complex sentiment varied in intensity and were felt unevenly across those involved in the events. Why, then, did ZigFest and the cultural performances in Catalonia explored below become key occurrences for discussing conviviality?

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