New 2013 Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements

The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage concluded its annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan at the start of December. I was a bit busy with work, a house move, Christmas preparations, and time off, so it kind of passed me by. My belated congratulations to all the new listed elements!

More information on intangible heritage on UNESCO's site.

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Annual pilgrimage to the mausoleum of Sidi ‘Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed (Sidi Cheikh) (Algeria)
Practices and knowledge linked to the Imzad of the Tuareg communities of Algeria, Mali and Niger (Algeria – Mali – Niger)
Traditional art of Jamdani weaving (Bangladesh)
Shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke (Belgium)
Círio de Nazaré (The Taper of Our Lady of Nazareth) in the city of Belém, Pará (Brazil)
Chinese Zhusuan, knowledge and practices of mathematical calculation through the abacus (China)
Mediterranean diet (Cyprus – Croatia – Spain – Greece – Italy – Morocco – Portugal)
Commemoration feast of the finding of the True Holy Cross of Christ (Ethiopia)
Limousin septennial ostensions (France)
Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method (Georgia)
Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur (India)
Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures (Italy)
Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year (Japan)
Kyrgyz epic trilogy: Manas, Semetey, Seytek (Kyrgyzstan)
Traditional craftsmanship of the Mongol Ger and its associated customs (Mongolia)
Knowledge, skills and rituals related to the annual renewal of the Q’eswachaka bridge (Peru)
Kimjang, making and sharing kimchi (South Korea)
Men’s group Colindat, Christmas-time ritual (Moldova – Romania )
Xooy, a divination ceremony among the Serer (Senegal)
Music of Terchová (Slovakia)
Feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Štip (Macedonia)
Turkish coffee culture and tradition (Turkey)
Petrykivka decorative painting as a phenomenon of the Ukrainian ornamental folk art (Ukraine)
La Parranda de San Pedro de Guarenas y Guatire (Venezuela)
Art of Đờn ca tài tử music and song in southern Viet Nam (Viet Nam)

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Chovqan, a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan)
Paach ceremony (Guatemala)
Mongolian calligraphy (Mongolia)
Empaako tradition of the Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda and Banyabindi of western Uganda (Uganda)

Register of Best Safeguaring Practices
Methodology for inventorying intangible cultural heritage in biosphere reserves: the experience of Montseny (Spain)

Indonesia III

After my recent post about the 2012 additions to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, I can now add my fist Intangible Cultural Heritage postcard to the blog. The card shows Wayang Orang, a type of classical Javanese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the Hindu epic stories, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Performances are staged with elaborate costumes and intricate, stylised movement and are a reflection of traditional Javanese court culture.

Commemorative stamp featuring an annual bull-racing celebration held in the East Java island of Madura, called kerapan sapi.

New 2012 Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements

The UNESCO Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage wrapped up its 2012 session in Paris a few days ago and added a number of elements to the List. As yet, I don't have any postcards of intangible cultural heritage on my site, but I'm sure there are some in my archives that will come to light eventually. 

Although I don't think I'll try to collect the whole set of intangible heritage elements – many are things that would never necessarily be featured on a postcard such as ceramics craftsmanship or weaving – I feel the List is very important, however, because it publicises and gives value to unique elements of the world's cultures which might otherwise go unnoticed or be forgotten. 

The list is divided into three sections. The first is for elements that require urgent measures to keep them alive. Inscription on the List helps to mobilize international cooperation and assistance for stakeholders to undertake appropriate safeguarding measures. The second is for representative elements that help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance. The third is a register of best practices which could be adopted by other communities looking to safeguard and promote their intangible heritage.

More information on intangible heritage on UNESCO's site. Congratulations to all newly inscribed elements!

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Ala-kiyiz and Shyrdak, art of Kyrgyz traditional felt carpets (Kyrgyzstan)

Bigwala, gourd trumpet music and dance of the Busoga Kingdom in Uganda (Uganda)

Earthenware pottery-making skills in Botswana’s Kgatleng District (Botswana)

Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handcraft of the people of Papua (Indonesia)

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Al ‘azi, elegy, processional march and poetry Oman Al-Taghrooda, traditional Bedouin chanted poetry in the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman (United Arab Emirates – Oman)

Arirang, lyrical folk song in the Republic of Korea (Republic of Korea)

Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India (India)

Cherry festival in Sefrou (Morocco)

Craftsmanship and performance art of the Tar, a long-necked string musical instrument (Azerbaijan)

Craftsmanship of Horezu ceramics (Romania)

Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire (Mali – Burkina Faso – Côte d'Ivoire)

Falconry, a living human heritage (Austria and Hungary added to United Arab Emirates – Belgium – Czech Republic – France – Republic of Korea – Mongolia – Morocco – Qatar – Saudi Arabia – Spain – Syrian Arab Republic)

Fest-Noz, festive gathering based on the collective practice of traditional dances of Brittany (France)

Festival of Saint Francis of Assisi, Quidbó (Colombia)

Fiesta of the patios in Cordova (Spain)

Folk art of the Matyó, embroidery of a traditional community (Hungary)

Frevo, performing arts of the Carnival of Recife (Brazil)

Ichapekene Piesta, the biggest festival of San Ignacio de Moxos (Bolivia)

Klapa multipart singing of Dalmatia, southern Croatia (Croatia)

Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse (Belgium)

Mesir Macunu festival (Turkey)

Nachi no Dengaku, a religious performing art held at the Nachi fire festival (Japan)

Performance of the Armenian epic of “Daredevils of Sassoun” or “David of Sassoun” (Armenia)

Qālišuyān rituals of Mašhad-e Ardehāl in Kāšān (Iran)

Rites and craftsmanship associated with the wedding costume tradition of Tlemcen (Algeria)

Schemenlaufen, the carnival of Imst, Austria (Austria)

Traditional violin craftsmanship in Cremona (Italy)

Traditional weaving of the Ecuadorian toquilla straw hat (Ecuador)

Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi (Venezuela)

Worship of Hùng kings in Phú Thọ (Viet Nam)

Programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered to best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention

Strategy for training coming generations of Fujian puppetry practitioners (China)

Xtaxkgakget Makgkaxtlawana: the Centre for Indigenous Arts and its contribution to safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico (Mexico)

UNESCO

A rather death-defying emergency exit staircase on the east façade of the UNESCO Headquarters building in Paris.

First day cover of 2011 issue international rate UNESCO stamp showing a Bactrian camel, an endangered species living in the cold deserts of Central Asia.