An Anthropological Heritage Study on Human Towers in Catalunya, Spain

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01178
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 04030:Cultural anthropology and folklore-related
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Takenaka Hiroko 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 教授 (30376967)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 人間の塔（Castells） / カタルーニャ / バルセロナ / 文化遺産 / アソシエーション / LPP論 / アッサンブラージュ(Assemblage) / 実践コミュニティ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Human towers (“Castells”), Catalan popular culture, have appeared not only in traditional events, but also in political settings such as the Catalan independence movement. This research examines the historical changes and the present of the cultural heritage in Catalonia, concentrating on human towers. They are a plastic culture that people mount in a sanding position and the highest ones reach 10m; it is an activity with danger, so it is necessary to collaborate and maintain harmony between the participants in beyond diversity in all aspects, such as social background and thoughts. In this research, through carrying out anthropological fieldworks in a group of human towers, “Sants” (Castellers de Sants), we take more importance in the social aspect than in the technical one to understand their way of syncronising different people and maintaining diversity. The theory of LPP (Legitimate Peripheral Participation) is also reconsidered, especially on full participation.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

カタルーニャ独立運動等の場面によく登場するので、人間の塔は政治的な活動に見られがちだが、本研究では塔を建てる人びとの多様な伝統文化との関わり方を捉え、イメージとは異なる人びとの考えや生き方を考察した。そこでは多様性を担保しながらも協調・同調できる創意工夫を抽出し、また、一見不真面目に見える参加者（「潜在的成員」）に備わる重要性も提示した。これらはダイバーシティを実現する上で重要な視点となる。