A Vital Matters Perspective: The Complex Tension Between Cultural Preservation and Commercial Demand
The Complex Tension Between Cultural Preservation and Commercial Demand
Eulalie Dulnuan draws from her background teaching tourism—particularly heritage tourism—to explore the complex tension between cultural preservation and commercial demand. She reflects on how the changing perception of the bulul raises important questions: is it beneficial that people are no longer afraid of the once-sacred figure, or has something meaningful been lost? She highlights the distinction between contemporary, tourist-oriented bulul carvings and traditional, ritually consecrated bululs used by culture bearers—objects believed to carry spiritual power and thus inappropriate, even harmful, for visitors to take home.

