DISCUSSION •Lidia Nikočević • Culture or Heritage? etnološka tribina 35 • vol. 42, 2012. • str. 57-112 57 W hen about ffeen years ago the syntagm “intangible cultural her- itage” began replacing the word “folklore”, many ethnologists saw this as a positive development. Especially those working in museums have probably re- lated this to a signifcant contextualization when it comes to museum ethnography. Objects used in past and present everyday life frequently do not tell much if exhibit- ed without an insight into their intangible meanings. How they were made, who made them, what was their role in society, what were they used to do – these are only some of the intangible meanings every object car- ries. However, the word “heritage” in this syntagm is not unproblematic: there is a saying among anthropologists, which has an almost anecdotal undertone – “Heritage begins where culture ends”. Indeed, its an- tiquity notwithstanding, heritage is some- thing completely new. It is a new manner of cultural creation in the present which has its roots in the past (Kirschenblat-Gimblet 1998:7). It is a meta-product based on his- DIScUSSION LIDIA NIKOČEVIĆ Ethnographic Museum of Istria, Pazin culture or Heritage? The Problem of Intangibility The author advocates the use of the phrase “intangible culture” instead of “intangible cultural heritage”. The word “heritage” implies a certain fxity and immutability, and assumes that authorities have identifed and proclaimed heritage. Dealing with intangible culture would provide the opportunity for the defection of the UNESCO model of preserving intangible cultural phenomena, whose application has brought some problems. The author illustrates this in practice with the example of bell-ringers, who are included on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. [intangible heritage, UNESCO, bellmen, Intellectual Property]