Crowing in two voices: The cultural transformation of the Portuguese rooster in postcolonial Macau

The Barcelos Rooster, originating from a Portuguese legend, transitioned from a local symbol to a national icon under Portugal's Estado Novo regime. This study focuses on its further transformation in Macau, a former Portuguese territory. In Macau's tourist hubs, the rooster's symbolism has shifted, aligning with Chinese cultural values of honesty, bravery, and prosperity, and becoming integrated into the city's identity. The research investigates this transcultural metamorphosis, examining the rooster's role as a symbol within Macau's postcolonial tourism landscape. It draws on theories of transculturation, contact zones, and transculturality to analyze the complex dynamics of power, identity, and culture in shaping the rooster's evolving significance and its contribution to Macau's cultural synthesis.

The study reviews existing literature on the Barcelos Rooster's evolution as a Portuguese national symbol, highlighting its role in nationalistic propaganda during the Estado Novo era. It also examines scholarly work on postcolonial tourism, transculturation, and the role of cultural symbols in shaping national identity. The theoretical framework incorporates Ortiz's transculturation, Pratt's contact zones, and Welsch's transculturality, along with Appadurai's work on the social lives of things, to understand the rooster's transformation in Macau's unique postcolonial context. The literature on souvenir consumption in tourism, particularly in postcolonial settings, is also considered to analyze the rooster's role as a souvenir and its contribution to Macau's cultural heritage.

This ethnographic study employed a mixed-methods approach. Forty open-ended interviews were conducted with a diverse group of Macau residents, including business owners, souvenir merchants, tour guides, long-term residents, designers, art enthusiasts, and tourists. Interviews were conducted in Chinese, Portuguese, and English, then translated into English for analysis. Visual elicitation techniques were used to enrich responses. Data analysis involved two phases: thematic analysis to identify recurring themes and critical discourse analysis to examine the influence of discourse on the construction and representation of social identities. Visual materials, including photographs of rooster-inspired objects collected over a decade, were also analyzed using Kopytoff's 'biography of things' approach. Triangulation of data from interviews, field observations, and archival research ensured the validity of findings. Participant verification procedures and peer review further enhanced the rigor of the study. The study also investigates the historical and political context of the Estado Novo regime in Portugal and the role of the Secretariat of National Propaganda/Secretariat of National Popular Culture and Tourism Information in promoting the Barcelos Rooster as a national symbol. The study also explores Macau's historical development into a tourism-centric economy and the government's role in fostering creative industries.

The study reveals a multifaceted transformation of the Barcelos Rooster in Macau. Initially, the rooster was imported as a Portuguese souvenir, but its meaning shifted considerably. The study highlights the role of designer K.W. in creating the 'Galo Chicken' mascot, a hybridized version reflecting Macau's 'East meets West' identity. This mascot, with its Chinese name phonetically mirroring 'galo', became a widely used symbol on children's souvenirs. The study also showcases the work of K.C., who created rooster replicas incorporating Macau's architectural heritage, further integrating the rooster into the local cultural landscape. The study shows how the rooster's image is used in various businesses in Macau, such as a coconut ice cream shop, a traditional Chinese medicine company, a bakery, and even a newspaper, showcasing its role as a symbol of 'authentic Macau.' The increased prevalence of rooster-themed items in souvenir shops, especially around the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac, demonstrated its growing appeal among tourists. Tour guides actively incorporate the rooster's legend and its association with Stanley Ho into their narratives, further enhancing its popularity. The study also shows how the inscription on the rooster changed from 'Portugal' to 'Macau', highlighting the shift in its cultural affiliation, while still often using the Portuguese name in Chinese, which adds a layer of authenticity to the product.

The findings demonstrate the rooster's transformation from a symbol of Portuguese nationalism to a transcultural icon in Macau. The rooster's adaptation reflects the complex interplay of power, identity, and culture in a postcolonial context. The adoption and adaptation of the rooster by local designers and businesses showcase the active participation of Macau's creative industries in shaping its cultural identity. The findings support theories of transculturation and hybridity, demonstrating how cultural objects can be reinterpreted and imbued with new meanings within different cultural contexts. The study challenges the notion of a singular, fixed cultural identity, highlighting the fluid and dynamic nature of cultural symbols in a globalized world. The strategic use of the rooster by businesses to represent 'authentic Macau' reflects the ongoing process of negotiating and constructing postcolonial identity.

This study demonstrates the remarkable transformation of the Barcelos Rooster in Macau, evolving from a Portuguese national symbol to a transcultural icon representing the city's unique Sino-Portuguese heritage. This transformation highlights the dynamic interplay of power, identity, and culture in shaping collective memory and identity in postcolonial settings. The findings contribute to our understanding of transcultural objects as agents of cultural negotiation and identity construction. Future research could explore the economic impact of the rooster's commercialization and its role in shaping Macau's tourism industry.

The study's findings are based on a specific sample of interviews and visual data collected in Macau. The generalizability of the findings to other postcolonial contexts may be limited. Future research could expand the sample size and geographical scope to enhance the study's generalizability. The study primarily focuses on the commercial aspects of the rooster's transformation; future research could delve deeper into the social and political dimensions.