Colonized by the development discourse: life and living heritage in the shadow of antiquities

Purpose Tangible and intangible aspects of living heritage shape the identity of communities whose daily experience is integrated into heritage cultural spaces. Interference in this intricately woven, historically rich context may have significant sociocultural and material consequences for the people inhabiting it. Using the example of the ancient Theban Necropolis and “modern” Gurna, the paper looks at the loss of contemporary cultural heritage in favor of Pharaonic antiquities to question the model of heritage management and development practiced through violence in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach Written from a decolonial perspective, the paper is positioned within the post-development school of thought. It applies subjectivist epistemology to argue for pluriversality. Findings Focusing on the historical context of the community of Gurnawis, the paper highlights power inequalities among heritage stakeholders and discusses the violence of coloniality that challenges the freedom of human experiences and representations. Social implications Decolonial in nature, the paper has a futuristic horizon. It calls for decolonization of the discourse of development, which remains marred by the Western understanding of “civilizational advancement” seen as modernization, industrialization and economic growth. It further argues for imagining alternatives to the current social realities, which would account for the diversity of human experiences and consider a pluriverse of meanings. Originality/value The paper applies a decolonial perspective to the study of heritage to demonstrate the impact of colonial rationality on the theory and practice of the discipline of archaeology, as well as its consequences for heritage management in Egypt. Speaking from the standpoint of the marginalized population of Gurna, the paper further reveals the damage done by the colonial discourse of development to those who dare to create and live their own reality.