INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE
1. Context
Baguette the staple French bread was inscribed into the UN's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on November 30.
2. Key Points
- India has been elected to the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-26 cycle.
- India has served as a member of the ICH Committee twice from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018.
- Earlier Durga Puja in Kolkata was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the ICH of Humanity
3. Intangible Cultural Heritage
| UNESCO, the international body which aims at promoting peace and cooperation among nations through education, arts, sciences and culture, recognized the "Artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread" as a world cultural heritage. |
- It is the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage also called living cultural heritage.
It is usually expressed in one of the following forms:
- Oral Traditions
- Performing Arts
- Social Practices
- Rituals and Festive events
- Knowledge and Practices concerning nature and the universe
- Traditional Craftsmanship
4. Selection Criteria
There are three criteria for an intangible cultural heritage to be inscribed in the United Nations list.
- Be recognized by communities, groups and in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage.
- Be transmitted from generation to generation and be constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and
- Provide them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity
5. India's cultural symbols
- India nominated Garba, a traditional dance form that originated in the state of Gujarat, for inscription on UNESCO's ICH list.
The elements which have been on the representative list of intangible cultural heritage from India in the past decade include
- Kolkata's Durga Puja (2021),
- Kumbh Mela (2017),
- Navroz (2016),
- Yoga (2016),
- Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil-making among coppersmiths of Punjab (2014)
- Sankirtana, a ritual musical performance of Manipur (2013)
- The Buddhist chanting of Ladakh (2012).
- Before 2011, the list included Chhau dance,
- Kalbelia folk songs and dance of Rajasthan and
- Mudiyettu, a dance drama from Kerala (2010),
- Ramman, a religious festival and theatre performance of Garhwal in the Himalayas (2009) and
- Kutiyattam or Sanskrit theatre (2008)
- Vedic Chanting (2008).
- Ramlila, a traditional performance of Ramayana, was also included in 2008.
For Prelims
| For Prelims: Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO, Durga Puja, |
Source: The Indian Express
