Macedonia, UNESCO, and Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Challenging Fate of Teškoto

In Macedonia debates about heritage are played out along the fault lines of ethnic and religious conflict as well as a faltering economy and threats from neighbors about interpretations of history. The country’s 2002 and 2004 failed applications for a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Cultural Heritage and its ongoing submissions of representative lists provide a valuable case study of how rural folklore symbols are selectively adopted into heritage discourse and elevated to iconic status. This essay analyzes Teškoto (the Heavy/Difficult Dance) as featured in two UNESCO Masterpiece applications as well as in village contexts, ensemble performances, an annual staged ritual, and tourist appropriations. The story of how Teškoto became a national symbol but failed to achieve UNESCO status as ICH illuminates the manner in which nationalist discourse shapes performance practices.