The Bamboo-beating Dance in Hainan, China: Authenticity and Commodification

The creation of authenticity is important to tourism since touristic consciousness is motivated by a desire for authentic experiences. Aboriginal dance performance opens a window of opportunity for tourists to appreciate its culture and traditions. This paper explores the relationship between authenticity and commodification based upon empirical research on the aboriginal bamboo-beating dance on Hainan Island, China. The findings suggest that the original ritual meaning of the aboriginal dance has been converted into a celebration. The dance acquired a new meaning and has become an important part of aboriginal cultural identity. Tourism development has created 'cultural involution' that turned the commodified dance performance into an 'authentic' aboriginal cultural expression. These changes were influenced by four key players: (1) governments; (2) tourism businesses; (3) aboriginal communities; and (4) tourists.