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Manufacture of cowbells

Portugal

    

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Inscribed in 2015 (10.COM) on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

© David Mira, 2014 :

The Portuguese cowbell is an idiophone percussion instrument with a single internal clapper, usually hung on a leather strap around an animal’s neck. It is traditionally used by shepherds to locate and control their livestock, and creates an unmistakable soundscape in rural areas. The cowbells are handmade from iron, which is cold-hammered and folded on an anvil until it is cup-shaped. Small pieces of copper or tin are set around the iron and enveloped in a mixture of clay and straw. The piece is fired, then plunged into cold water for rapid cooling. Finally, the burnt clay is removed, the copper- or tin-covered iron is polished and the tone of the bell is fine-tuned. The technical expertise involved is transmitted within the family from fathers to sons. Alcáçovas in Portugal is the main centre for manufacture of cowbells and its inhabitants take great pride in this heritage. However, this practice is increasingly becoming unsustainable due to recent socioeconomic changes. New grazing methods have largely obviated the need for shepherds and cowbells are increasingly made using cheaper industrial techniques. At present, there are only 11 surviving workshops and 13 cowbell makers, 9 of whom are over 70 years old.

© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014
© Augusto Brázio, 2014

Periodic reporting

Periodic Report (USL)

A. Cover sheet

A.1.

State Party

Name of State Party

Portugal

A.2.

Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

This information is available online.

2008-05-21

A.3.

Element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List that is the subject of this report

Name of element

Manufacture of cowbells

Inscribed in

2015

Submitting State(s)

Portugal

A.4.

Reporting period covered by this report

Please indicate the period covered by this report.

01-01-2016 - 31-07-2020

A.5.

Other elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, if any

Please list all other elements from your country inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, together with the year of inscription; for multinational elements, please indicate the other States concerned.

Bisalhães black pottery manufacturing process (2016)

A.6.

Executive summary of the report

Please provide an executive summary of the report that will allow general readers to understand the current status of the element, any positive or negative impacts of inscription, the implementation of safeguarding measures during the reporting period and their possible update for the following years.

Cowbell Making, inscribed in 2015 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, at the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Vinduque, Namibia, refers to the artisanal and traditional technique of making and tuning a metal idiophone called a cowbell.
Cowbells are mainly made by men, who are known as cowbell makers. The know-how involved has spread across the globe.
In Portugal, cowbells are mostly used by shepherds in the herding of their flocks. Serving as signaling devices and status symbols, they are hung around the animals’ necks. People also use them in religious and secular festivals, and in public protests.
Archaeological research shows that they have been in use in Portugal for over two thousand years and documental evidence proves they were being made in the country as far back as the fourteenth century.
The process of building the dossier on Cowbell Making, which started in 2010 and ended in 2013, was a truly national enterprise. All the cowbell making families were inventoried, as were all the production sites, including those on Portugal's islands.
The production sites inventoried during the 3-year long survey mentioned above are distributed across the following municipalities: one in Northern Portugal (Bragança), two in the Central Region (Tomar and Cartaxo), three in the Alentejo (Estremoz, Reguengos de Monsaraz and Viana do Alentejo) and one in the Azores archipelago (Terceira island).
Just one family or individual, whether currently working or not, was identified at each of these production sites, except in the case of Alcáçovas (Viana do Alentejo municipality). Here the four cowbell makers, active and/or inactive, belonged to two families, working out of two distinct production facilities.
Between 2010 and 2014, there were 13 active and/or inactive master cowbell makers in Portugal. Three were under 40 years old and the others were aged between 60 and 80.
All the master cowbell makers were involved in the nomination process, had prior knowledge of the dossier and supported the inscription request.
The safeguarding plan, which underpins the dossier, was drawn up on the basis of the following objectives: to dignify cowbell making; to increase and help disseminate knowledge of the element; to establish sustainability and transmission measures; to promote this know-how, as a form of heritage; to create a strategy and ethic for promoting the element economically, particularly for tourism.
Cowbell making was the first national-level element that the Portuguese State inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding,
During the period covered by this report, active cowbell makers were given every possible form of support and steps were taken to ensure the dignification and valorisation of the inscribed element and of its owners, namely:
§ implementation of a valorisation and support strategy and project for cowbell making and for its owners;
§ delivery of the museum project on cowbell making and intangible cultural heritage;
§ dissemination of information through the creation of a digital platform;
§ organisation of scientific meetings on this know-how and on the importance of the pastoral world and indigenous breeds in danger of extinction in Portugal;
§ establishment of visitor-friendly conditions, as part of the tourism strategy for the Alentejo region.
All the measures implemented and all steps taken have not yet removed the threat of extinction from this element. Despite all the efforts and the various initiatives, the element still faces a real threat of extinction. None of the work of the inactive cowbell makers has been continued. There is cowbell making in Alcáçovas (municipality of Viana do Alentejo) and in Ereira (municipality of Cartaxo). Currently, there are only two master cowbell makers and three workers actively making cowbells, at two different companies, but the latter does not possess the full skills set. All the master cowbell makers are working at the Pardalinho factory, in Alcáçovas. The other workers are employed by Curtipel. They make the cowbells but do not tune them.
It is critical that cowbell making continues in Portugal. Two cowbell makers are currently being trained at the Pardalinho factory (Alcáçovas) and this training should be completed in 2022.
UNESCO’s inscription of the element in 2014 has not impacted negatively on the element, which has not been industrialised or overly exploited for tourism.
The inscription was primarily important for the dignification of the master cowbell makers and of a know-how that is still much undervalued. Extensive dissemination through the media has clearly helped draw attention to the cultural milieu in which the element is embedded. Efforts have been made to link this know-how to gender issues, the threat of extinction of Portugal’s genetic heritage and climate change.
The inscription has also meant that cowbell makers and researchers in Spain, France and Italy have come to perceive a common heritage. Moreover, there is an intention on their part to request association with the inscription.

A.7.

Contact person for correspondence

Provide the name, address and other contact information of the person responsible for correspondence concerning the report.

Title (Ms/Mr, etc.)

Mr

Family name

Santos

Given name

José Manuel

Institution/position

Diretor Departamento de Administração Geral Entidade Regional de Turismo

Address

Rua do Infantes, nº 12 Apartado 335 - 7800-495 BEJA

Telephone number

+351 266 777 396

E-mail address

jose.santos@turismodoalentejo-ert.pt

Other relevant information


B. Status of element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List

Refer to the nomination file or to previous reports, if any, as the basis for reporting on the current status of the element, and report only on relevant changes since the date of inscription on the List or since the previous report. Nomination files, specific timetables and earlier reports, if any, are available at https://ich.unesco.org or from the Secretariat, upon request.

The State Party shall pay special attention to the role of gender and shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report, and is asked to describe how it has done so in point D below.

B.1.

Social and cultural functions

Please explain the social and cultural functions and meanings of the element today, within and for its community, the characteristics of the bearers and practitioners, and any specific roles or categories of persons with special responsibilities towards the element, among others. Attention should be given to any relevant changes related to inscription criterion U.1 (‘the element constitutes intangible cultural heritage as defined in Article 2 of the Convention’).

The inscribed element, Cowbell Making in Portugal, is the artisan’s know-how of the art of making metal idiophones. This involves metallurgical knowledge, the so-called "arts of the fire", in particular, those of the blacksmith and the boilermaker/tinsmith, as well as musical knowledge, the latter often being employed empirically. As important as the metallurgy is the fact that this hung ringing instrument is only complete once it has been tuned.
These idiophones are bought by shepherds and used as signalling devices in the herding of their flocks. Almost all the production goes to this specific market.
The working cowbell makers also supply cowbells to such northern Portugal masked festivals as the Podence Carnival, which was inscribed on the list of intangible cultural heritage in 2020.
The promotional, tourism-related market is practically non-existent.
It is still the case that most makers are men and there are few women involved in production. Nowadays, women are users of the cowbells though, particularly during the masked festivals mentioned above. This is a role that, until recently, they were excluded from.
Only two of the cowbell makers listed for 2010-2014 are still working, both of them in Alcáçovas. There are two cowbell workers in Ereira (municipality of Cartaxo), but they have not fully mastered the production process nor do they have the knowledge to tune the idiophones they make. Therefore, these two cannot be considered to be cowbell makers, although their work is still important. If it proves possible to pass on the requisite knowledge in the future, they may become cowbell makers.
The production process for the element has not changed technologically. The machinery used in production is not of great importance and all the essential steps, such as the cold-shaping, assembly of the various parts, application of the clay and tuning are all done manually and without use of any machinery. Machines are only used to cut the metal sheets.
In the period covered by this report, however, there has been a far-reaching change in transmission, in that the activity is no longer based on the family unit. Both production and teaching now take place in a company context.
The local authorities involved, particularly Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council and Alcáçovas Parish Council are important promoters of the element as intangible cultural heritage.

B.2.

Assessment of its viability and current risks

Please describe the current level of viability of the element, particularly the frequency and extent of its practice, the strength of traditional modes of transmission, the demographics of practitioners and audiences and its sustainability. Please also identify and describe the threats, if any, to the element's continued transmission and enactment and describe the severity and immediacy of such threats, giving particular attention to any strengthening or weakening of the element’s viability subsequent to inscription.

Cowbell making in Portugal continues to face an all too real threat of extinction.
Of the 13 master cowbell makers listed for 2010-2014, only two are still working and able to pass on their know-how. All the other makers have either passed from active to inactive or inactive to extinct, due to death, illness, advanced age or a change in profession.
Updated data (September 2020) on the cowbell makers listed for 2010-2014:
João Manuel dos Santos (1929), from Semil, Bragança is no longer working There is no one to carry on his work. Local institutions have not shown any interest in the element.
Manuel Antunes Cecílio (1936-2019), from Asseiceira, Tomar is no longer working. There is no one to carry on his work. Local institutions have not shown any interest in the element.
Feliciano de Jesus Sim Sim (1983), who was working in Ereira, Cartaxo, moved to Alcáçovas (Viana do Alentejo) in 2018. For a period of time, he made and sold cowbells. He stopped working on cowbells in 2019. In Ereira, he transmitted some of his know-how, albeit very partially, to the company in which he was a partner. Two workers continue to produce incomplete cowbells. Local institutions have not shown any interest in the element.
António Augusto Sim Sim (1947) and his nephew Rui Marcos Sim Sim Gonçalves (1976), in Estremoz, no longer make cowbells. One for reasons of health and the other because he changed his profession. Local institutions have not shown any interest in the element.
Joaquim José Veladas Correia (1940), from Reguengos de Monsaraz is no longer working. Although he was prepared to transmit his know-how, the right conditions for this never transpired. Local institutions have not shown any interest in the element.
José Luís Reis Maia (1944), from Alcáçovas, Viana do Alentejo is no longer working. Guilherme José Fortes Reis Maia (1974), his son, and Francisco António Maia Cardoso (1974) continue to work at the Pardalinho factory and have established a strategy for passing on their know-how. Of the various employees, Rui Miguel Picavéu (1992) is on course to complete his training in 2021.
The master cowbell makers of Alcáçovas, João Chibeles Penetra (1926-2019), Joaquim Manuel Vidazinha Sim Sim (1938) and Gregório Guerreiro Sim Sim (1935), are no longer working. There is no one to carry on their work.
The local and regional institutions, including the promoters of the request for inscription, have shown interest in the element. Unfortunately, it was not possible to arrange for the aforementioned master cowbell makers to pass on their know-how, due to their age and health.
António Ferreira da Costa (1935), from Grota do Medo, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira island is no longer working. There is no one to carry on his work. Local institutions have shown little interest in the element.
In short, there has been deficient transmission in Cartaxo, and the Pardalinho factory in Alcáçovas has taken on the task of training new cowbell makers. We would note that this is factory-based training and not the traditional form of transmission, which involved the family-based handing down of the know-how from father to sons.
After 2015, and despite the UNESCO inscription having helped to add value and dignity to the element, no local institutions, with the exception of Viana do Alentejo, have established strategies for the local valorisation of cowbell making. As a result, the activity has disappeared in practically all the abovementioned municipalities. It is clear that the substance of the cultural asset has not been understood.
It is also the case that the element has not generated any interest in the academic world.

B.3.

Implementation of safeguarding measures

Please report on the safeguarding measures described in the nomination file, and previous report, if any. Describe how they have been implemented and how they have substantially contributed to the safeguarding of the element during the reporting period, taking note of external or internal constraints such as limited resources. Include, in particular, information on the measures taken to ensure the viability of the element by enabling the community to continue to practise and transmit it. Include the following detailed information concerning the implementation of the set of safeguarding measures or safeguarding plan:

B.3.a. Objectives and results

Indicate what primary objective(s) were addressed and what concrete results were attained during the reporting period.

It has proved to be extremely difficult to put the proposed safeguarding plan into practice and to convince local, regional and national institutions of the importance of the element.
Furthermore, transmission can no longer take place via the traditional family route. The family units cannot take on responsibility for this transmission, for legal and demographic reasons.
By law, only those over the age of 16 can work. The older master cowbell makers see this as a hindrance.
TRAINING / TRANSMISSION
In the last six years, the Pardalinho factory, in Alcáçovas, has created three positions through the IEFP - The Employment and Vocational Training Institute. The training of one of these employees in cowbell making is at an advanced stage. At the end of 2019, the factory had nine employees in total.
Of these, three young workers remained in the factory’s employ until the first quarter of 2020, but, in September of this year, three employees were let go because of the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2022, one of the remaining employees will be equipped to make and tune cowbells of any size. This may alleviate the threat of extinction to some extent. It should be borne in mind that the factory’s investment in training is a direct consequence of the business opportunities opened up by UNESCO’s inscription of cowbell making.
PROMOTION OF THE ELEMENT AS AN INTANGIBLE CULTURAL ELEMENT
A permanent exhibition on cowbell making has been set up in Alcáçovas, to address the following questions: what is it? what is it for? who makes cowbells? Two other key knowledge areas are also covered by the exhibition: i. what is intangible cultural heritage and the convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage? what is UNESCO and which other Portuguese elements are inscribed?; ii. the role of recorded oral history in strengthening the community, who are invited to deposit and share their memories of heritage and identity, particularly those associated with the use of cowbells.
A number of general and specific scientific meetings on the element were held, with a focus on building networks. Thus, support was given to a MuCem (Museum of the European and Mediterranean Civilisations) initiative, the signing of a protocol on the Montado (cork oak forest) with the University of Évora.
An educational project to encourage visits to the exhibition was devised.
A digital platform for the element was set up, in which the know-how is contextualised in terms of our mobile and fixed natural heritage and our documental heritage. This can be accessed at http://pagus.pt/
The traditional Alcáçovas fair was reimagined, to take into account the new reality engendered by the inscription of cowbell making.
ECONOMIC PROMOTION OF THE ELEMENT
The regional tourism entity Turismo Alentejo, promoter of the inscription request for the element, is currently setting up a project to enhance the tourism-related value of this heritage, but in a sustainable manner.

B.3.b. Safeguarding activities

List the key activities that were carried out during this reporting period in order to achieve these expected results. Please describe the activities in detail and note their effectiveness or any problems encountered in implementing them.

The 2014 safeguarding plan covered the following five points:
1. CREATE AND IMPLEMENT AN INTERPRETATION CENTRE TO FOSTER AND DEVELOP A PARTNERSHIP NETWORK
Proposed: To create an interpretation centre for cowbell making and genetic heritage in Alcáçovas. This centre would play a key role in implementing the safeguarding plan.
Attained: Under the name PAGUS, the centre was installed in Paço dos Henriques, a building of historical and architectural interest classified as a property of public interest by the Portuguese government. In 2016, refurbishment work on the building was completed and it now houses a digital documentation centre on cowbell making, a permanent exhibition on the inscribed element and on the convention on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage as well as space for temporary exhibitions.
PAGUS grew out of a protocol signed between Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council and Turismo Alentejo - the Regional Tourism Authority.
Once community funds had been secured, the work to set it up took place between 2017 and 2019. It has been open to the public since August 2019
2. TRANSMISSION
Proposed: to create conditions aiming to the transmission of the element in the traditional manner, by establishing a strategy inspired by the Living Human Treasures Programme.
Attained: It was not possible to make progress on this for two reasons: i. the masters were unable to teach (due to their age, state of health or because they died); ii. all the master cowbell makers who might have supported such traditional transmission stopped working and, between 2014 and 2016, all the training moved to two factories, one in Ereira and the other in Alcáçovas. We have little information on the first of these. As regards the second, the Pardalinho factory, with IEFP support, set up a cowbell making training course. Three workers are on this course. One of them should finish and become a cowbell maker in 2022 and the others in 2025.
3. ENCOURAGE AND CREATE ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
Proposed: To create strategies for promoting the activity and raising the visibility of the inscribed element. This viability of this heritage asset is very much dependent on the market.
Attained: the eight proposed points were not delivered, but initiatives to create networks and transform a traditional fair into a space dedicated to cowbell making were successfully implemented.
The traditional Alcáçovas fair, now known as the Cowbell Fair, is held annually on the 4th Sunday in July. Over the years it has grown into an opportunity to reflect on Portugal's intangible cultural heritage and an exhibition space for cowbell making. It takes place over three days and, alongside the commercial country show, it offers exhibitions on Portuguese assets inscribed by UNESCO on the lists of intangible cultural heritage.
In 2018, an initial project, involving a designer that works with cork thread and a master cowbell maker and master maker of small bells, was presented during an event called PAGUS WEEK.
In 2019, an ethnographic visit to cowbell makers in Spain and France took place, with a particular focus on those based in the Pyrenees. This mission had two objectives: i. to understand the economic reality and productive context of each of these cowbell makers; ii. to lay the groundwork for a future international meeting.
5. RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATION
Proposed: To set up a multidisciplinary project that would drive a deeper understanding and dissemination of the knowledge involved in cowbell making. To set up a digital platform. To organise scientific meetings. To find an ethical way of linking the inscribed element with the tourism business.
Attained: In addition to the permanent exhibition, the PAGUS project also set up a digital platform that holds some 30,000 records. These records form an inventory that covers the natural, mobile, fixed, intangible and documental heritage associated with cowbell making. The overall aim of these records was to inventory the countryside in which cowbell making is embedded.
There were several colloquia on themes related to the landscape and soundscape, pastoralism and genetic heritage, intangible cultural heritage and safeguarding. In 2018, PAGUS Week, which benefited from the presence of a MuCem researcher, addressed the various strands of the ongoing project.
A number of artefacts pertaining to the making of cowbells in the Alentejo are on permanent display in the Mediterranean Gallery at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, thanks to the cooperation between the museum and the PAGUS project.

B.3.c. Participation of communities, groups or individuals in the safeguarding activities

Describe how communities, groups or, if appropriate, individuals as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have effectively participated, including in terms of gender roles, in the safeguarding measures. Describe the role of the implementing organization or body (name, background, etc.) and the human resources that were available for implementing safeguarding activities.

The community of Alcáçovas, including the master cowbell makers and their families and the promoting institutions, was very much present and involved in all the activities.
The exhibition on cowbell making was also shaped by initial meetings with the masters, whether these were still working, retired or had otherwise left the profession. Their families and the descendants of past cowbell makers also contributed.
This permanent exhibition involved cowbell makers from across the country, whether based in mainland Portugal or in the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.
All the objects were selected in the basis of recommendations made by the owners or their descendants.
A significant part of this exhibition was dedicated to the master cowbell makers. The names of some two hundred cowbell makers who have been based in Alcáçovas, some as far back as the eighteenth century, were displayed on a wall. This list, which is ordered alphabetically and is not subdivided by location, is supplemented by an interactive digital table where the family member or visitor can look up a listed name. Using documentary research and interviews, biographies and genealogical maps were made in order to highlight the strategies for transmitting this know-how.
The Cowbell Fair last took place in Alcáçovas in 2019, when it attracted some 2,000 visitors. Three years earlier, in 2016, all Portuguese cowbell makers had been invited to attend and make use of a free stand. In the last two years, the fair has only been able to count on the presence of the Pardalinho factory, as no other Portuguese cowbell makers were still practising their art. This presence is supplemented by a themed exhibition on a Portuguese element that has already been inscribed. In 2018, there was an exhibition on Fado, loaned by the Museum of Fado. The 2019 exhibition, loaned by Tavira Municipal Council, was on the Mediterranean Diet.
All the colloquia and PAGUS Week were well attended by the community in Alcáçovas and by the cowbell makers.
The regional tourism authority, Turismo do Alentejo, has worked with all the workshops on the development, assembly and production of tourist experiences based on the PCI of the Alentejo and Ribatejo Only the Pardalinho factory was open to receiving visitors through this initiative. It should be noted that this factory, in the peninsular context, including the French Pyrenees, is the most interesting example of dialogue between technology and tradition.
There was an ongoing dialogue with the community on all the above points and all decisions were taken in line with wishes of the master cowbell makers.

B.3.d. Timetable

Indicate in a timetable when each activity was implemented.

The timeline for the implementation of the safeguarding plan began in February 2017, when EU funds were made available, following negotiations between the Alentejo Region Coordination Commission and two of the promoters of the application, the regional tourism entity and the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council.
Between 2015 and 2019, the annual cowbell fair, organised by the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council, was held five times. It did not take place in 2020, because of the pandemic.
The refurbishment and conservation work on the historical-architectural Paço dos Henriques complex in Alcáçovas was completed in 2016. This building houses all the initiatives deriving from the safeguarding plan.
In September 2016, this space was opened to the public, in the presence of several official and governmental entities. There was a temporary exhibition on cowbell making and the importance of UNESCO’s inscription of this element, particularly as regards the space for dialogue that this inscription allowed. This relevance is closely associated with the fact that the Treaty of the Peace of Alcáçovas was signed in the building in 1479. This treaty, which established an agreement between the King of Portugal and the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon regarding of possession of the Atlantic islands and estabilishing other navigation issues, opened the way for potential future dialogue between cultures and civilisations. The PAGUS project is also housed in this building.
Between 2017 and 2018, extensive work was carried out registering information on a computerised database, gathering heritage information and video-recording.
During PAGUS Week, which was held in September 2018, a protocol was signed between ERT (the regional tourist authority) and the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council, in which the parties committed to making every effort to create sustainability in the element. Both active and/or inactive cowbell makers participated in this protocol.
At this event, which was both scientific and promotional in nature, contact was established with MUCEM and various lines of work regarding cowbell making were presented. An experience that brought together cowbell making and the work of a designer was also presented.
In 2018, an exhibition of 100 cowbells signed by different Portuguese public figures was also held. The aim of this was to raise awareness of the element.
In August 2019, following months of design and installation, the permanent exhibition on the making of cowbells was opened.
In 2019, the ERT invited local authorities to submit tourism-related projects that aimed to enhance intangible cultural heritage, in general, and cowbell making, in particular. Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council, in collaboration with the Pardalinho factory, designed a visitor programme for the general public.
Between 2014 and 2019, the Pardalinho factory, with the support of the IEFP - The Employment and Vocational Training Institute, set up a training course for young people.
In August 2019, a mission was sent to make contact with the Spanish cowbell makers and the French cowbell factory. The aim of this was to assess the state of the art, collect information and make a photographic record.

B.3.e. Budget expenditures

Provide the detailed amounts of the funds used for the implementation of each activity (if possible, in US dollars), identifying the funding source for each (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

The funds invested between 2015 and 2020 can be broken down into the following sources and amounts:

Financing of the Cowbell fair by the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council:
2016: € 41,610.79
2017: € 95,170.35
2018: € 88,326.20
2019: € 77,940.16

Community funds, negotiated between the promoters and the CCDR Alentejo, with Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council contributing the national share: € 454,485,00, of which € 340,863.75 was provided by FEDER.

We have been unable to ascertain the investment in training made by the Pardalinho factory, but we estimate this to be not less than € 150,000.

Investment by the Alentejo Regional Authority in making intangible cultural heritage a part of the tourist experience: €60,000.

The investment, which involved community, public and private funds, was, by and large, built into the safeguarding plan submitted when the promoters applied for the inscription of cowbell making.

Investment slowed after August 2019. New lines of funding are currently being sought and work is being done on finding ways of assessing the use of these funds and the extent to which they have impacted the creation of sustainability, transmission and promotion for the element inscribed in 2015.

B.3.f. Overall effectiveness of the safeguarding activities

Provide an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the activities undertaken to achieve the expected results and of the efficiency of the use of funds for implementing the activities. Please indicate how the activities contributed to achieving the results and whether other activities could have contributed better to achieving the same results. Also indicate whether the same results could have been achieved with less funding, whether the human resources available were appropriate and whether communities, groups and individuals could have been better involved.

The initiatives implemented and the financial resources invested in promoting the element economically and as intangible cultural heritage, in its transmission and in the seeking of sustainability have had generally positive outcomes.
It should be noted that the application for UNESCO inscription was made when the element was already on the verge of extinction. Its few practitioners, due to their advanced age, are interested in transmitting their skills and knowledge. Although their health and age do not allow them to do so directly, they are more than willing to share all and any information that is requested.
We should also take into account the fact that, in the last 20 years, cowbell making has suffered a lot as a commercial activity, due to the industrial production of meat, demographic decline and a reduction in pastoral activity. Nevertheless, it can still be a profitable business. We also need to bear in mind that the number of shepherds and indigenous breeds is also decreasing.
No less important is the scant valorisation of the element by society in general and, even, by the scientific community that works with the defence and valorisation of cultural heritage.
There can be no doubt that UNESCO inscription has raised the element’s profile. Running parallel to the investment, the PAGUS project has done all it can to promote the dissemination and the objectives of the application for inscription. This traditional artisanal activity is often given airtime on both public and private Portuguese TV channels and radio stations. One public TV channel is actually broadcasting images of cowbell makers for its inter-programme graphics. This communication strategy has helped boost public understanding of this craft.
The permanent exhibition on cowbell making at Paço dos Henriques has had 8,114 visitors so far. After visiting the exhibition, many visitors seek out the two commercial spaces in Alcáçovas linked to cowbell making, in order to see the process in action.
The digital platform, which is in continuous development, has also helped disseminate the element and served to receive any incoming information on the same.
Thanks to this inscription and the interest shown by the media, the Pardalinho factory has followed a strategy of economic promotion that has allowed it to expand (up to 2019, since when it is has experienced difficulties as the pandemic restricts access to fairs and markets). This has led to the hiring of more workers and, thus, the transmission of skills and knowledge.
In terms of tourism, the inscription has helped boost the value of the area, by associating this element with others that are already inscribed. The regional tourism entity has, for this reason, set up a specific programme for intangible cultural heritage that involves the owners of the same.
Both Alcáçovas and its people have experienced a significant rise in self-esteem. From an economic point of view, the thousands of visitors have helped to sustain a fragile economy, particularly in terms of restaurants, accommodation and small local businesses.
One of the most important aspects of the inscription and of the initiatives developed for the making of cowbells was that it created visibility for a heritage seen as a minor feature. Along with this increased visibility, it has influenced other parts of the country to pay more attention to the threat of extinction facing Portugal’s genetic heritage. The initiatives implemented and the financial resources invested in promoting the element economically and as intangible cultural heritage, in its transmission and in the seeking of sustainability have had generally positive outcomes.
It should be noted that the application for UNESCO inscription was made when the element was already on the verge of extinction. Its few practitioners, due to their advanced age, are interested in transmitting their skills and knowledge. Although their health and age do not allow them to do so directly, they are more than willing to share all and any information that is requested.
We should also take into account the fact that, in the last 20 years, cowbell making has suffered a lot as a commercial activity, due to the industrial production of meat, demographic decline and a reduction in pastoral activity. Nevertheless, it can still be a profitable business. We also need to bear in mind that the number of shepherds and indigenous breeds is also decreasing.
No less important is the scant valorisation of the element by society in general and, even, by the scientific community that works with the defence and valorisation of cultural heritage.
There can be no doubt that UNESCO inscription has raised the element’s profile. Running parallel to the investment, the PAGUS project has done all it can to promote the dissemination and the objectives of the application for inscription. This traditional artisanal activity is often given airtime on both public and private Portuguese TV channels and radio stations. One public TV channel is actually broadcasting images of cowbell makers for its inter-programme graphics. This communication strategy has helped boost public understanding of this craft.
The permanent exhibition on cowbell making at Paço dos Henriques has had 8,114 visitors so far. After visiting the exhibition, many visitors seek out the two commercial spaces in Alcáçovas linked to cowbell making, in order to see the process in action.
The digital platform, which is in continuous development, has also helped disseminate the element and served to receive any incoming information on the same.
Thanks to this inscription and the interest shown by the media, the Pardalinho factory has followed a strategy of economic promotion that has allowed it to expand (up to 2019, since when it is has experienced difficulties as the pandemic restricts access to fairs and markets). This has led to the hiring of more workers and, thus, the transmission of skills and knowledge.
In terms of tourism, the inscription has helped boost the value of the area, by associating this element with others that are already inscribed. The regional tourism entity has, for this reason, set up a specific programme for intangible cultural heritage that involves the owners of the same.
Both Alcáçovas and its people have experienced a significant rise in self-esteem. From an economic point of view, the thousands of visitors have helped to sustain a fragile economy, particularly in terms of restaurants, accommodation and small local businesses.
One of the most important aspects of the inscription and of the initiatives developed for the making of cowbells was that it created visibility for a heritage seen as a minor feature. Along with this increased visibility, it has influenced other parts of the country to pay more attention to the threat of extinction facing Portugal’s genetic heritage.
Finally, the inscription and the contacts that the PAGUS project has forged with entities in Spain, France and Italy have led to a greater interest in this element.
The investment was relevant and the results can be described as positive.
All the various initiatives have made provision for the involvement of communities, groups and individuals, whether owners or not.
Involvement in many of the initiatives was not greater for three reasons: i. the weak valorisation of the element as a heritage element; ii. the distancing of communities from the rural world; iii. a failure to relate this idiophone to the landscape and a lack of knowledge of the threat of extinction faced by many native races and the associated milieu.
In considering the information and facts expounded here, we may conclude that both the UNESCO inscription and the results obtained are positive, despite all the difficulties encountered.

C. Update of the safeguarding measures

C.1.

Updated safeguarding plan

Please provide an update of the safeguarding plan included in the nomination file or in the previous report. In particular provide detailed information as follows:

  1. a. What primary objective(s) will be addressed and what concrete results will be expected?
  2. b. What are the key activities to be carried out in order to achieve these expected results? Describe the activities in detail and in their best sequence, addressing their feasibility.
  3. c. How will the State(s) Party(ies) concerned support the implementation of the updated safeguarding plan?

All points in the she safeguarding plan presented in 2014, and accepted with the inscription of the element in 2015, are still considered to be valid. A number of initiatives need to be further developed and others implemented.
The main objective continues to be the sustainability of the element, in the sense of its being passed down through the generations.
The inability of the owners and the local and regional authorities to do more is striking. Thus, it is up to the Portuguese government, in the form of the Ministries of Culture, the Economy and Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development to do more. The Ministry of Culture has taken the first step by creating the Know-How Programme. Council of Ministers Resolution no. 89/2020, of 24 September, published in Diário da República, 1st Series, no. 207, on 23 October 2020, pp. 6-11, includes a pilot project for cowbell making. This will be a collaboration between the Regional Directorate of Culture for the Alentejo and the Regional Tourism Authority for the Alentejo and Ribatejo. The project will be run in association with the Pardalinho factory.
Cowbell making is dependent on the environment. Climate change, periods of drought alternating with periods of heavy rainfall, has created huge problems for cowbell makers in southern Europe. We intend to set up an observatory in Alcáçovas to monitor these changes. This observatory will be associated with international meetings, to which not only cowbell makers but all agents directly and indirectly involved in the craft will be invited.
Extend the geography of the inscription, by making an effort to strengthen cowbell making in the Iberian Peninsula, France and Spain and forge links between cowbell makers and encourage these countries to apply for the same inscription.
Encourage cowbell makers to build solid strategies with communication, design and research entities, in order to broaden the understanding of this element and, thus, create possibilities for business sustainability.
Create strategies that ensure that the initiatives generate benefits for communities, groups and individuals.
Finally, we are interested in initiating a series of contacts to promote, from 2022 onwards, meetings that will allows us to understand what experiments are being implemented in other countries to mitigate the threat of extinction and situations in which there is no gender equality and to propose strategies for the empowerment of women in the context of this craft.

C.2.

Timetable for future actitivies

Provide a timetable for the updated safeguarding plan (within a time-frame of approximately four years).

The safeguarding plan submitted in 2014, at the time of the application, will continue to be implemented over the next four years. We believe it is still valid and pertinent.
The training of new cowbell makers, under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture’s Know-How Programme. Council of Ministers Resolution no. 89/2020, of 24 September, published in Diário da República, 1st Series, no. 207, on 23 October 2020, pp. 6-11, includes a pilot project for cowbell making. This will be a collaboration between the Regional Directorate of Culture for the Alentejo and the Regional Tourism Authority for the Alentejo and Ribatejo. The project will be run in association with the Pardalinho factory and will last for five years. This means that, at the time of the next evaluation, we will be able to report the results of this project.
In 2021, the first observatory initiative will take place during the Cowbell Fair in Alcáçovas. An international meeting will be held in the town and will then take place on an annual basis. It will aim to develop all the initiatives required to extend the geography of the inscription to other countries, in particular Spain, France and Italy, and to lay the groundwork for presenting this intention to UNESCO in 2023.
We also intend to run a project with INET-MD, Lisbon Nova University, on the acoustics associated with the making of cowbells. The results of this project will be ready in 2024.
In terms of publications, a book on the making of cowbells in Portugal will be published, as well as other materials for promoting and disseminating relevant information on the element. This initiative will run between 2022 and 2024.
Given the current situation with COVID-19, we intend to develop a specific project to assess the impact that the pandemic has had on the transmission of the element. This project will run between 2021 and 2023.
Finally, we want to prepare the ground for an international meeting, to be held in 2022, on intangible cultural heritage in danger of extinction. the aim of this meeting will be to share knowledge and exchange experiences.

C.3.

Budget for future activities

Provide the estimates of the funds required for implementing the updated safeguarding plan (if possible, in US dollars), identifying any available resources (governmental sources, in-kind community inputs, etc.).

The money required to implement the abovementioned initiatives, and to continue the safeguarding plan presented in 2014, will come from community funds and public and private sources.
At the current time, it is not possible to quantify the cost of the transmission initiatives run under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture Know-How Programme. Council of Ministers Resolution no. 89/2020, of 24 September, published in Diário da República, 1st Series, no. 207, on 23 October 2020, pp. 6-11, includes a pilot project for cowbell making. This will be a collaboration between the Regional Directorate of Culture for the Alentejo and the Regional Tourism Authority for the Alentejo and Ribatejo. The project, which will be run in association with the Pardalinho factory, does not yet have a budget.
For the other initiatives, we propose the following amounts:
- continuity of the initiatives in the original safeguarding plan that have been or are yet to be implemented: €74,000;
- international meetings on the making of cowbells. - support will be sought for owner travel and accommodation costs: € 15,000 x 4;
- extension of the geography of the inscription - travel and accommodation costs: €25,000;
- project to study the acoustics of cowbell making, in collaboration with an accredited research centre: €35,000;
- publications of various content types, in different supports and formats. In addition to the brochures, the study will also be published: € 30,000;
- study of the impact of the pandemic on the making of cowbells in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy: € 25,000.
- international meting on cultural heritage in danger of extinction: € 30,000.
The funding will come from applications for European funds, the budget of the regional tourism authority, the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council and the Pardalinho factory.
This level of funding and the above entities are considered sufficient for running the proposed initiatives and attaining their objectives.

C.4.

Community participation

Please describe how communities, groups and individuals, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations have been involved, including in terms of gender roles, in updating the safeguarding plan, and how they will be involved in its implementation.

The application for the inscription of cowbell manufacture, filed in 2014 and accepted in 2015, was a complex dossier, not because of its substance but because of the difficulty of creating effective strategies for transmission, sustainability and promotion.
In the next phase of implementation, we aim to create a broader environment for the participation of public and private entities. We will make every effort to establish a network that will allow us to develop an effective strategy for safeguarding the element that is now on the verge of extinction in Portugal.
In addition to the current promoters, namely, the regional tourism authority, the Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council, the Alcáçovas Parish Council, companies making cowbells and the owners, we want to extend the plan to include the INATEL Foundation, in the field of music, and build bridges to regional conservatoires and universities and polytechnics.
Gender issues will be featured prominently in the initiatives programmed in the safeguarding plan. Through the permanent exhibition, we have addressed the importance of women in cowbell making and we now want to look for partnerships that will allow us to develop strategies to make their participation visible in both the history and the work.
In recent years, climate change has become much more of a reality. This has a direct implication for cowbell making. We are interested in linking up with entities that can help us to better understand its impact and find solutions.
Marketing, as a means of economically boosting the element, will also be a core focus over the next four years. It is very important that we find the right partnerships.
Through the Ministry of Culture’s Know-How Programme, which is still under discussion, we will be able to forge some solid partnerships.

C.5.

Institutional context

Please report on the institutional context for the local management and safeguarding of the element inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, including:

  1. a. the competent body(ies) involved in its management and/or safeguarding;
  2. b. the organization(s) of the community or group concerned with the element and its safeguarding.

The following institutions are key to the implementation of the revised safeguarding plan presented here: The Ministry of Culture and the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage; the regional tourism authority - Tourism do Alentejo; Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council; Alcáçovas Parish Council.
Companies making cowbells: Fábrica Pardalinho (Alcáçovas) and Curtipel (Ereira).
All cowbell makers, whether they are working, not working or have left the profession

D. Participation of communities in preparing this report

Describe the measures taken to ensure the widest possible participation of the communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals concerned as well as relevant non-governmental organizations during the process of preparing this report.

The manufacture of cowbells involves individuals and their families, with whom regular contact has been established. Responses were shared on the basis of both the fieldwork done and the regular discussions held. The proposals and results presented here were based on what these people have communicated to us, through ethnography and socialising developed on the ground.
This report is the result of three years of working together.
The PAGUS Museography project was a key source for the preparation of this document. The construction of the displays for the permanent exhibition relied on the contributions of the master cowbell makers. This proved to be an opportunity not only to further our understanding of cowbell making but also to bring their visions to life.
All the information that has gone into this report has taken into account the views of the master cowbell makers, whether or not they are currently working, and the experiences of the apprentices and those who mediate the market. We have also listened to shepherds, as well as to other social actors and institutions involved in the process of sustainability, transmission and heritage and economic promotion.
No non-governmental organisations were involved in this process in any way.
In summary: there were regular meetings with the promoters of the application for inscription, the regional tourism authority for the Alentejo - Turismo do Alentejo, Viana do Alentejo Municipal Council and Alcáçovas Parish Council. All cowbell makers had a say and their concerns were taken into account. The Ministry of Culture, in the form of the adviser to the minister for intangible cultural heritage, also provided important input.

E. Signature on behalf of the State Party

The report should be signed by an official empowered to do so on behalf of the State, and should include his or her name, title and the date of submission.

Name

Vitor Augusto Fernandez da Silva

Title

President

Date

11-03-2021

Signature

Vitor Augusto Fernandez da Silva

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