The 6th Conference of the Intergovernmental Ngo for the Safeguarding of Abstract Heritage ended in Bali today. During the week-long assembly, 11 items were added to the Identify of Intangible Heritage in Condition of Imperative safeguarding, 19 others were inscribed on the Representative Angle and phoebe Optimum safeguarding Practices were designated.
The items in need of urgent safeguarding are:
· Yaokwa, the Enawene Nawe people’s ritual for the maintenance of social and cosmic order (Brazil),
· Hezhen Yimakan storytelling (China)
· Saman dance (Indonesia)
· Traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats in the Persian Gulf (Islamic Republic of Iran)
· Naqqāli, Iranian dramatic story-telling (Islamic Republic of Iran),
· Secret society of the Kôrêdugaw, the rite of wisdom in Mali
· The Moorish Epic T’heydinn (Mauritania)
· Folk long song performance technique of Limbe performances – circular breathing (Mongolia),
· Eshuva, Harákmbut sung prayers of Peru’s Huachipaire people
· Al Sadu, traditional weaving skills in the United Arab Emirates
· Xoan singing of Phú Thọ Province (Viet Nam)
The items on the Representative List are:
· Leuven age set ritual repertoire (Belgium)
· Chinese shadow puppetry (China)
· Traditional knowledge of the jaguar shamans of Yuruparí (Colombia)
· Bećarac singing and playing from Eastern Croatia (Croatia)
· Nijemo Kolo, silent circle dance of the Dalmatian hinterland (Croatia)
· Tsiattista poetic duelling (Cyprus)
· Ride of the Kings in the south-east of the Czech Republic
· Equitation in the French tradition (France)
· Mibu no Hana Taue, ritual of transplanting rice in Mibu, Hiroshima (Japan)
· Sada Shin Noh, sacred dancing at Sada shrine, Shimane (Japan)
· Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali and Burkina Faso
· Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet (Mexico)
· Pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllurit’i (Peru)
· Fado, urban popular song of Portugal
· Jultagi, tightrope walking (Republic of Korea)
· Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art (Republic of Korea))
· Weaving of Mosi (fine ramie) in the Hansan region (Republic of Korea) )
· Festivity of ‘la Mare de Déu de la Salut’ of Algemesí (Spain
· Ceremonial Keşkek tradition (Turkey)
The five Best safeguarding Practices are :
· A programme of cultivating ludodiversity: safeguarding traditional games in Flanders (Belgium)
· Call for projects of the National Programme of Intangible Heritage (Brazil)
· Fandango’s Living Museum (Brazil)
· Táncház method: a Hungarian model for the transmission of intangible cultural heritage (Hungary)
· Revitalization of the traditional craftsmanship of lime-making in Morón de la Frontera, Seville, Andalusia (Spain)
To date, the List of Intangible Heritage in need of Urgent Safeguarding includes 27 items in 10 countries. The Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage now counts 232 items from 70 countries. Eight Best Safeguarding Practices have been registered.
The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible heritage will take place in Grenada in 2012.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in 2003. It has been ratified by 139 countries. Only those countries that have ratified the Convention are eligible to nominate items for inscription on the Intangible Heritage Lists. The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage comprises 24 UNESCO Member States, elected for a term of four years. Half the Committee is renewed every two years.
