Event Title
Parallel Session 4, Cultural Festivals and Education Track: Authenticity and Cultural Sustainability at the Osun Osogbo Festival, Nigeria
Location
Classroom 205
Start Date
13-12-2017 2:30 PM
End Date
13-12-2017 2:55 PM
Description
Purpose
Many communities in most parts of the world have increased efforts in promoting and sustaining their cultural identities through the creation of cultural festivals, as both national and international tourist markets continue to grow. Festivals are used to celebrate community values, ideologies, identities and overall community fabric (Getz, Andersson, & Carlsen, 2010). Such events provide ample opportunities for residents to showcase their rich intangible heritage, local traditions, ethnic backgrounds and cultural landscapes for tourists to experience an authentic cultural atmosphere and provide opportunities for interacting with local residents (McKercher, Mei, &Tse, 2006). Nowadays, due to the dynamic and highly competitive nature of tourism markets, destinations are continually improving their offerings to gain modest advantages in the jostle of tourists seeking authentic experiences. As such, cultural festivals are one of the complimentary activities planners and managers use to broaden the scope of tourist appeal within many emerging destinations (Herrero, Sanz, Bedate, & del Barrio, 2012).
Tourists' quest for authentic experiences and residents' desire to produce them has led to a complicated power play within destinations regarding what is authentic or not. In a cultural festival setting, the narratives are very important not only to the tourists whose primary mission is to witness the event unadulterated but also the residents who are aware and want to maintain their values and traditions. The power play among stakeholders arises when the cultural festival is being extended and marketed to an international community where some of narratives will be won and lost, as in the case of the Osun Osogbo festival being a UNESCO world heritage site (WHS). The ancient Osun Grove, where the annual Osun Osogbo Festival is held, gained WHS designation in 2005 at the UNESCO Convention in Durban, South Africa, which made it the second such WHS in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, the designation has aroused international interest in the traditional event, evident with the presence of diverse international guests. Most especially, diasporic Africans living in the United States and Caribbean countries utilize the festival to reaffirm their identities through spiritual and religious development (Murphy & Sanford, 2001).
The purpose of this present study is two-fold: 1) to investigate the impacts of authenticity from the political and cultural perspective in the pre- and post-designation of the Osun Cultural Festival by UNESCO in assessing the long-term sustainability of the festival's traditional practice and customs and to 2) examine the conflicts, tensions, and struggles among key stakeholders (e.g., government, Osun traditionalists/cultural custodians, residents, tourism agencies, and the sponsors) in the planning, organization, and evaluation of the annual festival.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study were collected in Osogbo, Nigeria in August, 2014 during the annual celebration of the Osun Osogbo Festival (OOF). The target populations for this study were residents of Osogbo, tourists to the annual OOF, and stakeholders directly involved with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the festival. Data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. For the qualitative portion of the study, some key stakeholders were identified within the community for an in-depth face-to-face interview concerning their views and perspectives about the festival. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in efforts to identify major emergent themes. Raw data was reduced and grouped into the meaningful patterns or themes using content analysis before drawing conclusions and verification. Residents and tourists were asked a series of open-ended questions within a survey instrument. As such, the qualitative data can be considered embedded within a more quantitative survey; also known as an "embedded mixed research" design (Creswell, 2013).
Of the 628 residents contacted, 147 declined to accept the questionnaire (76.6% survey acceptance rate). Of the 481 distributed, 470 questionnaires were completed by residents (97.7% survey completion rate). The overall response rate for Osogbo residents was 74.8%. Among the tourists, a total of 665 were intercepted, with 175 declining to participate (73.2% survey acceptance rate). Of the 480 distributed, 461 questionnaires were completed by tourists (96.0% survey completion rate). The overall response rate among tourists was 70.4%.
Findings
Sample descriptives for residents and tourists (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education, and attendance) are presented below in Table 1:
{Table 1 here}
Findings from the study indicated that Osogbo residents and tourists to the Grove and the Osun Osogbo Festival see each as a protected sacred place for cultural significance, creative arts, and as a unique symbol for the Yoruba people and blacks in diaspora. More importantly, both consider the UNESCO world heritage site designation as a valuable asset in the promotion, popularity and global appeal of the cultural festival. Additionally, 53.6% of the visitors agreed that the WHS designation influenced their decision to visit the festival.
A majority of the Osogbo residents (57.8%) however indicated that the WHS designation had no impact on them personally while also stressing that their opinions were not considered in the process of Osun becoming a WHS.
Overall, mixed perceptions among residents exist regarding the events occurring at the Sacred Grove and during the Festival. While some sees it as means to preserving the culture and tradition of the black race, others view it as an act of idol worshipping which, as they claim, should not be encouraged.
In addressing the main purpose of the study, findings indicated that though the locals appreciate the government effort in the funding and promotion of the festival, they are also of the opinion that they have little control in decision making and their voice is not heard nor represented in planning. Residents' concern is premised on the fact that the event is being staged for the tourists' appeal, with the government focusing more on entertainment and cultural exposition, neglecting the religious/spiritual aspect. Since the UNESCO world heritage site designation in 2005, the state government (through the Ministry of Tourism), the federal agencies, and the major sponsors have asserted greater control in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the annual festival with little to no contribution from the local residents.
Research limitations/implications
This study adopted a comprehensive approach in explaining the authenticity and cultural sustainability of the Osun festival using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies (Kim & Jamal, 2007) but the research team was limited by time constraints, lack of available key stakeholders with whom to speak, and other sundry issues in interviewing a much larger set of people. Unfortunately, the timing of the festival also coincided with the outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014, greatly impacting many international tourists' from participating in the events during the two-week festival.
Practical implications
Understandably, due to poor financial resources, the festival organizers in most developing countries rely solely on the government and sponsors for funding the events (Lentz, 2001), but in doing so, they are losing control of the originality and organization of the festival. The government markets the festival to the international community as means of displaying local culture and tradition, entertainment, and religion/spirituality but the locals believe that the religious aspect, being the most important, has been relegated to the background. Festival managers should ensure that all the stakeholders are fully involved and their views held in high esteem in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the festival (Muller & Pettersson, 2006).
Originality/value (included in pdf)
References (included in pdf)
Parallel Session 4, Cultural Festivals and Education Track: Authenticity and Cultural Sustainability at the Osun Osogbo Festival, Nigeria
Classroom 205
Purpose
Many communities in most parts of the world have increased efforts in promoting and sustaining their cultural identities through the creation of cultural festivals, as both national and international tourist markets continue to grow. Festivals are used to celebrate community values, ideologies, identities and overall community fabric (Getz, Andersson, & Carlsen, 2010). Such events provide ample opportunities for residents to showcase their rich intangible heritage, local traditions, ethnic backgrounds and cultural landscapes for tourists to experience an authentic cultural atmosphere and provide opportunities for interacting with local residents (McKercher, Mei, &Tse, 2006). Nowadays, due to the dynamic and highly competitive nature of tourism markets, destinations are continually improving their offerings to gain modest advantages in the jostle of tourists seeking authentic experiences. As such, cultural festivals are one of the complimentary activities planners and managers use to broaden the scope of tourist appeal within many emerging destinations (Herrero, Sanz, Bedate, & del Barrio, 2012).
Tourists' quest for authentic experiences and residents' desire to produce them has led to a complicated power play within destinations regarding what is authentic or not. In a cultural festival setting, the narratives are very important not only to the tourists whose primary mission is to witness the event unadulterated but also the residents who are aware and want to maintain their values and traditions. The power play among stakeholders arises when the cultural festival is being extended and marketed to an international community where some of narratives will be won and lost, as in the case of the Osun Osogbo festival being a UNESCO world heritage site (WHS). The ancient Osun Grove, where the annual Osun Osogbo Festival is held, gained WHS designation in 2005 at the UNESCO Convention in Durban, South Africa, which made it the second such WHS in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, the designation has aroused international interest in the traditional event, evident with the presence of diverse international guests. Most especially, diasporic Africans living in the United States and Caribbean countries utilize the festival to reaffirm their identities through spiritual and religious development (Murphy & Sanford, 2001).
The purpose of this present study is two-fold: 1) to investigate the impacts of authenticity from the political and cultural perspective in the pre- and post-designation of the Osun Cultural Festival by UNESCO in assessing the long-term sustainability of the festival's traditional practice and customs and to 2) examine the conflicts, tensions, and struggles among key stakeholders (e.g., government, Osun traditionalists/cultural custodians, residents, tourism agencies, and the sponsors) in the planning, organization, and evaluation of the annual festival.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study were collected in Osogbo, Nigeria in August, 2014 during the annual celebration of the Osun Osogbo Festival (OOF). The target populations for this study were residents of Osogbo, tourists to the annual OOF, and stakeholders directly involved with the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the festival. Data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. For the qualitative portion of the study, some key stakeholders were identified within the community for an in-depth face-to-face interview concerning their views and perspectives about the festival. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in efforts to identify major emergent themes. Raw data was reduced and grouped into the meaningful patterns or themes using content analysis before drawing conclusions and verification. Residents and tourists were asked a series of open-ended questions within a survey instrument. As such, the qualitative data can be considered embedded within a more quantitative survey; also known as an "embedded mixed research" design (Creswell, 2013).
Of the 628 residents contacted, 147 declined to accept the questionnaire (76.6% survey acceptance rate). Of the 481 distributed, 470 questionnaires were completed by residents (97.7% survey completion rate). The overall response rate for Osogbo residents was 74.8%. Among the tourists, a total of 665 were intercepted, with 175 declining to participate (73.2% survey acceptance rate). Of the 480 distributed, 461 questionnaires were completed by tourists (96.0% survey completion rate). The overall response rate among tourists was 70.4%.
Findings
Sample descriptives for residents and tourists (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education, and attendance) are presented below in Table 1:
{Table 1 here}
Findings from the study indicated that Osogbo residents and tourists to the Grove and the Osun Osogbo Festival see each as a protected sacred place for cultural significance, creative arts, and as a unique symbol for the Yoruba people and blacks in diaspora. More importantly, both consider the UNESCO world heritage site designation as a valuable asset in the promotion, popularity and global appeal of the cultural festival. Additionally, 53.6% of the visitors agreed that the WHS designation influenced their decision to visit the festival.
A majority of the Osogbo residents (57.8%) however indicated that the WHS designation had no impact on them personally while also stressing that their opinions were not considered in the process of Osun becoming a WHS.
Overall, mixed perceptions among residents exist regarding the events occurring at the Sacred Grove and during the Festival. While some sees it as means to preserving the culture and tradition of the black race, others view it as an act of idol worshipping which, as they claim, should not be encouraged.
In addressing the main purpose of the study, findings indicated that though the locals appreciate the government effort in the funding and promotion of the festival, they are also of the opinion that they have little control in decision making and their voice is not heard nor represented in planning. Residents' concern is premised on the fact that the event is being staged for the tourists' appeal, with the government focusing more on entertainment and cultural exposition, neglecting the religious/spiritual aspect. Since the UNESCO world heritage site designation in 2005, the state government (through the Ministry of Tourism), the federal agencies, and the major sponsors have asserted greater control in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the annual festival with little to no contribution from the local residents.
Research limitations/implications
This study adopted a comprehensive approach in explaining the authenticity and cultural sustainability of the Osun festival using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies (Kim & Jamal, 2007) but the research team was limited by time constraints, lack of available key stakeholders with whom to speak, and other sundry issues in interviewing a much larger set of people. Unfortunately, the timing of the festival also coincided with the outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014, greatly impacting many international tourists' from participating in the events during the two-week festival.
Practical implications
Understandably, due to poor financial resources, the festival organizers in most developing countries rely solely on the government and sponsors for funding the events (Lentz, 2001), but in doing so, they are losing control of the originality and organization of the festival. The government markets the festival to the international community as means of displaying local culture and tradition, entertainment, and religion/spirituality but the locals believe that the religious aspect, being the most important, has been relegated to the background. Festival managers should ensure that all the stakeholders are fully involved and their views held in high esteem in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the festival (Muller & Pettersson, 2006).
Originality/value (included in pdf)
References (included in pdf)
