Brukshästkörning som immateriellt kulturarv

Abstract

This study is about the knowledge of driving and working with working horses and how this knowledge could be considered as an intangible cultural heritage. Today, the knowledge on how to work with horses, as well as the number of Swedish work horses, are decreasing and needs to be protected for the future. The convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was formed and confirmed in 2003 by UNESCO. The purpose of the convention is to protect and raise awareness of the importance of the listed intangible cultural heritage. In Sweden, the convention was confirmed in 2011 and is now coordinated by the government agency the Institute for Language and Folklore, where anyone can suggest new subjects to be part of the Swedish list of its intangible cultural heritage. By looking at horse driving and its history, present and future, this study has evaluated in which way it can be considered as intangible cultural heritage. Two methods were used: interviews and documentation. Four professional horse drivers were interviewed. The purpose was to explain how these people work with their horses, how they have learned to drive horses, if they use traditional or modern methods and tools and why they would consider horse driving to be an intangible cultural heritage. To further the understanding of horse driving a documentation was made with the horse driver Siri Berg, who works at the cultural reserve Gunnebo slott. Photos and text were used to document the craftmanship and knowledge of horse driving. There is an ignorance and preconception about horse driving, as it is said to be uneconomic, time consuming and outdated compared to mechanical methods. The results show the opposite, that horse driving is both traditional, modern, in some cases more economical and fits into society's requirements as a sustainable method when it comes to climate change and ecological solutions that promote biodiversity