Cosmopolitan authenticity: Afro-Omani heritage and the making of tradition in Oman

This article examines the relationship between cosmopolitanism, heritage, and authenticity in Oman, focusing on Afro-Omani musical and ritual traditions and in particular on the genre of lēwa. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with musicians, heritage officials, archivists, and community elders, alongside participant observation and archival analysis, it argues that cosmopolitanism has not corroded tradition in Oman. Rather, long histories of Indian Ocean mobility and cultural exchange were among the conditions through which Omani tradition took shape. The article introduces the concept of cosmopolitan authenticity to describe traditions whose legitimacy emerges through historically normalised exchange rather than through cultural purity. By tracing the origins, performance contexts, and current heritage status of lēwa, it shows how a genre shaped by East African and Baloch connections has been absorbed into Omani social life and national heritage discourse as an authoritative expression of local tradition. A further strand of the argument concerns the interaction between community practice and official heritage institutions: tradition is made neither by communities alone nor by state frameworks alone, but in the negotiated space between them. The findings bear on cosmopolitanism studies, critical heritage studies, and scholarship on the western Indian Ocean world.