Definition of culture is considered a problematic issue that needs to be put in a contextual framework. However, products of cultre are of fixed nature and fixed fundamentals in our minds whether these products are material or non-amterial cultural products (written or verbal). Morover, the recent community concentration on written culture has been accompanied with a clear exclusion of oral culture. This oral culure is considered one of the fundamental distinctive features of our society of extended cultural and civilization roots. The foloclore heritage with its both types (material and abstact) is one of the components of the cultural environmemt in Upper Egypt. Therefore, the South of Egypt could be regarderd as a fertile land for gathering different folklore items before being dimished under other alternative methods. However, the South of Egypt has been paid enough attention and sufficient interest to collect its popular heritage through scientific means that follows means of archiving and classification applied in intrernational centres of popular (folklore) heritage.
Furthermore, the foloklore (popular) literature plays a significant rolle because of being amodel of culture hich was widespread in Upper-Egypt. The social communication has participated in demolishing the cultural role played by this model after being an entertainment practiced by different people or during doing farming tasks. All of these means of tales, folklores and popular literatre must have included a proverb, a moral lesson or an aesthetic value.
Our villages and homes in upper-Egypt must include an old man/woman. These people are not able to read or write i.e. they are illetrate, but their memories are able to memorise several tales, poems, proverbs which were recited to them when they were younger.
Through concentration on foloklore and popular literature, we save our popular culture which could be object to being demolished. This is due to the fact that this popular culture could be negatively affected by daily addition. Hence, it is the role of centre for non-material cultural heritage at faculty of Arts to play a significant role in documentation and saving of this heritage.
Centre of cultural heritage is iconsidered very vital for preserving social identity from changing and demolishing. Threfore, it is the task of concerned civil and governmental institutions to gather this heritage in general, within the framework of the works of some national institutions to preserve this cultural heritage including (evidences of scientific collecting of folklore heritage – six folders- bibliographies of Arabic production in folklore – explained bibliographical lists – experiences of teaching and scientif research in Egyptain universities). The south Valley University represented in Faculty of Arts is concerned with establishing a centre of non-material cultural heritage aiming at being a reservoir of the cultural heritage of the Egyptian community in general and the Upper-Egyptain community in particular.
