list of intangible - unescounesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001883/188329e.pdflist of intangible...

List of IntangibleCultural Heritage in

Need of UrgentSafeguarding

2009IntangibleCulturalHeritage

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

2009

List of Intangible CulturalHeritage in Need of Urgent

Safeguarding

USL book text pages 3a:USL book 26/5/10 12:36 Page 1

Foreword, by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO 4

Introduction 7

1. BELARUS Rite of the Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars) 12

2. CHINA Qiang New Year festival 18

3. CHINA Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges 24

4. CHINA Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering 30

5. FRANCE The Cantu in paghjella: a secular and liturgical oral tradition of Corsica 36

6. KENYA Traditions and practices associated to the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda 42

7. LATVIA Suiti cultural space 48

8: MALI The Sanké mon: collective fishing rite of the Sanké 54

9: MONGOLIA Mongol Biyelgee: Mongolian traditional folk dance 60

10. MONGOLIA Mongol Tuuli: Mongolian epic 66

11. MONGOLIA Traditional music of the Tsuur 72

12. VIET NAM Ca trù singing 78

Contents


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UNESCO is proud to launch this much-awaited series of publications devoted to three key

components of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage:

the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, the Representative List

of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the Register of Good Safeguarding

Practices. The publication of these first three books attests to the fact that the 2003 Convention

has now reached the crucial operational phase.

The successful implementation of this ground-breaking legal instrument remains one of

UNESCO’s priority actions, and one to which I am firmly committed. In 2008, before my election

as Director-General of UNESCO, I had the privilege of chairing one of the sessions of the

Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Sofia,

Bulgaria. This enriching experience reinforced my personal convictions regarding the

significance of intangible cultural heritage, its fragility, and the urgent need to safeguard it for

future generations.

Forewordby Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO


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It is most encouraging to note that since the adoption of the Convention in 2003, the term

‘intangible cultural heritage’ has become more familiar thanks largely to the efforts of UNESCO and

its partners worldwide. However, much remains to be done. We must continue to send out clear

messages about what constitutes intangible cultural heritage, why it should be safeguarded, and

what actions need to be taken.

The present publication series, along with UNESCO’s intangible heritage website, will serve as our

principal communication tool for informing the widest possible public about all aspects of living

heritage. Moreover, we trust that the numerous examples of intangible cultural heritage

worldwide and the concrete information about community participation and effective

safeguarding practices featured in these pages will incite all those concerned – from government

officials, policy makers, teachers and youth, to NGOs and international organizations – to

appreciate the significance of their own living heritage and that of other cultures. This

heightened awareness should, in turn, spur further safeguarding measures and activities.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2010 as the International Year for the Rapprochement of

Cultures. UNESCO’s efforts to safeguard intangible cultural heritage aim to promote “reciprocal

knowledge of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity” – one of the four stated

objectives of the Year. Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage directly contributes to

UNESCO’s priority mission to safeguard the world’s cultural diversity.

Safeguarding intangible heritage requires close collaboration with local, regional and

international actors and practitioners of all ages, thus providing an excellent opportunity for

intergenerational as well as intercultural dialogue. The multinational intangible heritage

elements and multinational good safeguarding practices described in these publications

provide good examples of constructive international cooperation.

I am confident that these publications will also encourage more Member States to join the

growing ranks of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage. More than 120 have ratified the Convention to date. This unique legal

instrument will thus become a truly universal tool and the foremost reference point for

safeguarding our irreplaceable living heritage.


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UNESCO

Founded in 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),

a specialized agency of the United Nations, has a mandate in international cooperation in the

fields of education, science, culture, and communication. UNESCO functions as a laboratory of

ideas, setting standards to forge universal agreements on emerging issues. The Organization also

serves as a clearing-house for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge as it

assists its 193 Member States to build on their human and institutional capacities.

The Culture Sector, as one of the Programme Sectors of UNESCO, has over the years been

involved in the creation of seven international conventions in the field of culture1, for which the

Culture Sector assumes a Secretariat role. The Sector assists the Member States in the protection

and promotion of cultural diversity through the adoption of measures encompassing heritage

protection, rehabilitation and safeguarding, and the development and implementation of

cultural policies and sustainable cultural industries.

The Convention for Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted during the

2003 General Conference of UNESCO, and which entered into force in 2006, is one of seven

UNESCO Conventions in the field of culture. The Convention has four primary goals:

� To safeguard intangible cultural heritage.

� To ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities, groups and

individuals concerned.

� To raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of the intangible cultural heritage at

local, national and international levels.

� To provide for international cooperation and assistance.

The term ‘intangible cultural heritage’ is defined in the Convention as “the practices,

representations, expressions, knowledge and skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts

and cultural spaces, associated therewith – that communities, groups, and in some cases,

individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage” (Article 2.1). The domains covered by the

Convention include oral expressions and traditions, performing arts, rituals and festive events,

knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship.

Introduction

1. UNESCO’s seven conventions inthe field of culture includes:Protection and Promotion of theDiversity of Cultural Expressions(2005); Safeguarding of theIntangible Cultural Heritage(2003); Protection of theUnderwater Cultural Heritage(2001); Protection of the WorldCultural and Natural Heritage(1972); Prohibiting andPreventing the Illicit Import,Export and Transfer of CulturalProperty (1970); Protection ofCultural Property in the Event ofArmed Conflict (1954); andUniversal Copyright Convention(1952, 1971).


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The 2003 Convention is composed of two statutory organs: the General Assembly of the States

Parties to the Convention, made up of signatory States to the Convention that meet every two

years to provide strategic orientations for the implementation of the Convention; and twenty-

four members of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage elected by the General Assembly that meet annually to carry forward the

concrete implementation of the Convention. One of the principal responsibilities of the

Intergovernmental Committee is to inscribe intangible cultural heritage elements on the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible

Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, as well as select programmes, projects and

activities that best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention in order to create a

Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

Urgent Safeguarding List

The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding is established in

accordance with Article 17 of the Convention. Unlike the Representative List, whose objective is to

ensure visibility and raise awareness about intangible cultural heritage, the primary objective of

the Urgent Safeguarding List is to mobilize concerted efforts of various stakeholders in order to

safeguard endangered intangible cultural heritage in an urgent, yet culturally appropriate manner.

Nomination for and inscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List confirms the commitment of

the States and the concerned communities towards intensifying their safeguarding efforts. The

driving force for inscription and subsequent safeguarding is therefore apparent in the ways and

means deployed by the Parties concerned to ensure that on-going safeguarding efforts, once

elements are inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List, are consolidated such that

safeguarding measures proposed in the nomination files are met with success.

In the case of endangered elements of intangible cultural heritage nominated by developing

States Parties, inscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List may result in the mobilization by the

Committee and the international community of much needed, urgent support, whether

institutional, human or financial, with the aim of safeguarding the element in question. It is

important to emphasize, however, that the responsibility to implement safeguarding measures

ultimately lies with the nominating States Parties.


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Intangible cultural heritage is a ‘living’ being, but when inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding

List, it is considered endangered, implying the need for urgent and immediate action in order to

reverse the threat. The ongoing viability of the inscribed elements is evaluated through the

periodic reports that each State Party is required to submit for the elements inscribed on either

the Urgent Safeguarding List or the Representative List. When appropriate safeguarding efforts

have been implemented for the elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List and the

Committee determines that the endangered intangible cultural heritage in question no longer

meets one or more selection criteria, the Committee can remove it from the List. The removal

from the Urgent Safeguarding List signifies the successful operation of the involved

stakeholders, especially the concerned States Parties and the concerned community who will

be duly congratulated for fulfilling their commitment towards safeguarding.

The nomination process begins with awareness by States Parties of the presence of endangered

intangible cultural heritage in their territories. Once the element is identified and the

community concerned has provided their free, prior and informed consent to nominate their

heritage to the Urgent Safeguarding List, the submitting States must complete and submit to

UNESCO form ICH-01, available for download from the ICH Convention website

(www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/forms/). Based on recommendations provided by appointed

experts, the Committee evaluates the nominated element and decides whether or not to

inscribe the element. It should be clearly noted that unsuccessful nominations to the Urgent

Safeguarding List does not, in any way, question the validity of the element. Moreover, guided

by the experts’ appraisal, nominating States Parties may resubmit the nomination in a

subsequent year.

In order to comply with the requirements for nomination, submitting States Parties are

requested to demonstrate that the element nominated for inscription on the Urgent

Safeguarding List satisfies all five criteria (criteria 1–5), and all six in the case of an extremely

endangered element (criteria 1–6):


http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/forms

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Criterion 1 The element constitutes intangible cultural heritage as defined in Article 22 of the

Convention.

Criterion 2 a. The element is in urgent need of safeguarding because its viability is at risk

despite the efforts of the community, group or, if applicable, individuals and

State(s) Party(ies) concerned; (or)

b. The element is in extremely urgent need of safeguarding because it is facing

grave threats as a result of which it cannot be expected to survive without

immediate safeguarding.

Criterion 3 Safeguarding measures are elaborated that may enable the community, group or, if

applicable, individuals concerned to continue the practice and transmission of the

element.

Criterion 4 The element has been nominated following the widest possible participation of

the community, group or, if applicable, individuals concerned and their free, prior

and informed consent.

Criterion 5 The element is included in an inventory of the intangible cultural heritage present

in the territory(ies) of the submitting State(s) Party(ies), as defined in Article 113 and

Article 124.

Criterion 6 In cases of extreme urgency, the State(s) Party(ies) concerned has (have) been duly

consulted regarding inscription of the element in conformity with Article 17.3.

The 2003 Convention includes a provision for those intangible heritage elements in extreme

need of safeguarding (c.f. criteria 2.b and 6). In cases of extreme urgency, the Committee may

inscribe an item of the heritage concerned on the Urgent Safeguarding List in consultation with

the State Party concerned. Developing countries can request preparatory assistance in

completing the nomination file, a requisite component of which is the close consultation

between government officials and the communities concerned as well as photographic and

film documentation. Developing countries wishing to urgently safeguard endangered elements

can request international assistance by filling in and submitting to UNESCO form ICH-04,

available for download from the ICH Convention website (www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/forms/).

2. Article 2 – DefinitionsFor the purposes of thisConvention,

1. The ‘intangible culturalheritage’ means the practices,representations, expressions,knowledge, skills – as well asthe instruments, objects,artefacts and cultural spacesassociated therewith – thatcommunities, groups and, insome cases, individualsrecognize as part of theircultural heritage. Thisintangible cultural heritage,transmitted from generationto generation, is constantlyrecreated by communities andgroups in response to theirenvironment, their interactionwith nature and their history,and provides them with asense of identity andcontinuity, thus promotingrespect for cultural diversityand human creativity. For thepurposes of this Convention,consideration will be givensolely to such intangiblecultural heritage as iscompatible with existinginternational human rightsinstruments, as well as withthe requirements of mutualrespect among communities,groups and individuals, and ofsustainable development.

2. The ‘intangible culturalheritage’, as defined inparagraph 1 above, ismanifested inter alia in thefollowing domains: (a) oral traditions and

expressions, includinglanguage as a vehicle of theintangible cultural heritage;

(b) performing arts;

(c) social practices, rituals andfestive events;

(d) knowledge and practicesconcerning nature and theuniverse;

(e) traditional craftsmanship.


http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/forms

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Should assistance be needed, the request can be made in parallel with the nomination of the

element to the Urgent Safeguarding List, but it is not mandatory.

The current publication presents the 12 intangible cultural heritage elements that constitute

the first inscriptions made by the Committee on the Urgent Safeguarding List in 2009. It

provides descriptions of each element and their communities, the threats, the planned

safeguarding measures, as well as the Committee’s decisions. We hope that the publication will

offer readers insights into the determination shared by both the States and the communities in

safeguarding the inscribed endangered elements. More detailed information including the

actual nomination files, community consents, photographic and film documentation as well as

any updates are all available for consultation on UNESCO’s intangible heritage website

(www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/lists/).

While many of us demonstrate interest and commitment towards safeguarding intangible

cultural heritage practices in the hope of protecting cultural diversity for all its fascinating

aspects, it is important to note that the responsibility of guardianship and safeguarding must

always lie with the communities concerned. Regardless of the outside help extended to these

communities, if the communities cease their practices or the heritage bearers fail to transmit

their knowledge to the next generation, their intangible cultural heritage is destined to

disappear. It is equally important to remind ourselves that as a living entity, intangible cultural

heritage can cease to exist if its social function wanes.

UNESCO is aware of the intricate and complex nature of safeguarding as well as its own limited

reach at the local level. Moreover, as an intergovernmental organization, UNESCO cannot singly

safeguard the world’s living heritage. What it hopes to ensure is that it fulfils its role as a catalyst

to create international cooperation so that communities and States demonstrating

commitment and willingness to safeguard their endangered intangible heritage, but requiring

technical know-how or financial assistance, can receive the urgent assistance they need in order

to carry out their safeguarding plans.

3. ‘Safeguarding’ means measuresaimed at ensuring the viabilityof the intangible culturalheritage, including theidentification, documentation,research, preservation,protection, promotion,enhancement, transmission,particularly through formal andnon-formal education, as well asthe revitalization of the variousaspects of such heritage.

4. ‘States Parties means Stateswhich are bound by thisConvention and among whichthis Convention is in force.

5. This Convention appliesmutatis mutandis to theterritories referred to in Article33, which become Parties tothis Convention in accordancewith the conditions set out inthat Article. To that extent theexpression ‘States Parties’ alsorefers to such territories.

3. Article 11 – Role of States PartiesEach State Party shall:

(a) take the necessary measuresto ensure the safeguarding ofthe intangible culturalheritage present in its territory;

(b) among the safeguardingmeasures referred to in Article2, paragraph 3, identify anddefine the various elementsof the intangible culturalheritage present in itsterritory, with theparticipation of communities,groups and relevant non-governmental organizations.

4. Article 12 – Inventories1. To ensure identification with a

view to safeguarding, eachState Party shall draw up, in amanner geared to its ownsituation, one or moreinventories of the intangiblecultural heritage present in itsterritory. These inventoriesshall be regularly updated.

2. When each State Partyperiodically submits its reportto the Committee, inaccordance with Article 29, itshall provide relevantinformation on suchinventories.


http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/fr/lists

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12

Belarus

Every year on 13 January (New Year’s day forOrthodox Christians according to the old Juliancalendar) the villagers of Semezhava, Belarus,celebrate a ritual New Year’s procession knownas the Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars). Fivehundred members of the local community andbeyond participate. Of these, groups of sevenyoung men who act as individually-named ‘tsars’proceed through the village, enacting atraditional play, and receive gifts and goodwishes from the inhabitants. The play, ‘TsarMaximilian’, recounts the conflict between apagan Tsar and his Christian son, Adolf. Thecomic performance depicts the Tsars’ meetingand consequent fight, while the characters ofthe elderly dzad and baba (played by a youngboy and girl) interact with the audience. Plentifulallusions to contemporary life create a vividblend of old and new.

The Tsars’ visits are the village’s main traditionalevent and are seen as a good omen and sign ofprosperity. The ‘Kalyady’ festival itself predatesthe arrival of Christianity and has its origins in apagan masked carnival. The original ‘Tsars’ weresoldiers from a neighbouring garrison whowould visit houses to offer New Year greetings.Today, the ‘Kalyady Tsars’ ritual is a synthesis ofthese performances with the traditionalBelarusian New Year’s carnival. The original ritehas survived almost intact and constitutes acentral part of the outlook and culture of thelocal population.

Semezhava (formerly known as ‘Semezhevo’) islocated in the Kapyl (Kopyl) district of the Minsk

region of central Belarus, with a population ofmore than 1200 people. The local young menconstitute, along with senior residents, theprinciple transmitters and propagators of thetradition. Other women and men of all ages alsoparticipate, performing certain parts in theChristmas and New Year’s carnivals and thetraditional drama. The rite is supported by local,district and regional executive councils. Localteachers, doctors and the staff of the culturaland handicraft centres are among the activeinitiators of rite events.

Although actively performed from theseventeenth to eighteenth centuries up untilthe 1960s, the Kalyady Tsars ritual was graduallyabandoned over subsequent years, untilattempts to revive it began in the 1980s.Although these were successful, and providedthe rite with a new impetus of life accountingfor its current vitality, it now faces distinct threatsin the form of emigration of Semezhavaresidents and lack of interest on the part of theyounger generation whose numbers are alsodeclining. Such threats may result in a gap in thetransmission of the rite.

In concrete terms, this would mean a lack ofleaders and participants in the rite ceremonies,the loss of craftspeople for the production ofcostumes, objects, musical instruments andinterior decorations for the festive events, andthe loss of associated knowledge and practicessuch as the preparation of traditional dishes. Asa result, this form of intangible heritage couldendure as a social practice only during the

Rite of the Kalyady Tsars(Christmas Tsars)

Tsar Maximilian, inwhite, is followed by TsarMamai, as spectators tryto stay warm in theBelarus winter.


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lifetime of the present generation of Semezhavaresidents. It is therefore vital to emphasize theimportance of the shared values the ritualrepresents for the practising community.Otherwise the rite could well lose its distinctcharacteristics in the face of globalization andurbanization and become a routine New Yearfeast.

Local researchers have studied the origins andevolution of the rite. This documentationconstituted an essential component of thenomination file that Belarus submitted toUNESCO for the inscription of the Rite of theKalyady Tsars on the Urgent Safeguarding List.Letters were also received from the communityin support of the nomination. Following localcommunity requests, the element has beeninscribed on the State List of Historical andCultural Values of the Republic of Belarus. Thecommunity is currently working with nationalbodies to develop a strategy to safeguard therite. A film that showcases the rite has beenproduced and made available for copying anddistribution.

Following on from the inscription of the ‘KalyadyTsars’ rite on the Historical and Cultural HeritageList of the Republic of Belarus, the localcommunity and the authorities have proposed aseries of measures to help safeguard theelement. These aim to increase awarenessamong all members of the community of therite’s status as a part of local intangible culturalheritage. The measures include the introductionof an annual award for the protection oftraditions of Semezhava, the aim of which is toencourage detailed study of the ritual, todiversify it, and to expand the circle ofparticipants. Several measures concern thedissemination of information about the ritual –via the production of a series of programmes onthe rite by national mass media, the publication

The village procession ofthe Kalyady Tsars, led byTsar Maximilian, inwhite, and Tsar Mamai,in red, followed by otherTsars, a doctor in armyuniform, and musicians.


of special print and electronic materials to helpensure its popularity and continuity, and thecreation of a dedicated website.

On the educational front, the Belarusian StateUniversity of Culture and Arts has plans tointroduce a special training course for natives ofSemezhava. The aim is to develop culturaltourism to spread information and knowledgeabout the ritual, thereby helping to embed itwithin modern forms of culture. This will beaccompanied by the creation of an associatedinfrastructure with the subsidiary aim of creatingemployment opportunities for local youngpeople. A course on the ‘Protection of localfolklore and oral tradition’ is due to beintroduced into the curricula of nearby schools.Meanwhile, at the professional level, training oflocal specialists on the protection of intangiblecultural heritage will be undertaken. Crucially,the bearers of the ‘Kalyady Tsars’ ceremony willbe invited to participate in master classes,

folklore schools and different national, regionaland international meetings and festivals. Thevillage of Semezhava will also host folklorefestivals on the basis of local traditions wherethe ‘Kalyady Tsars’ ritual will form thecentrepiece. Finally, a system of annualmonitoring will be created to observe theongoing viability of the element.

The fight between TsarMaximilian and TsarMamai, in inside thehouse of a villager inSemezhava.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Rite of the Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars) on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination filesatisfied all the selection criteria, as follows:

The Rite of the Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars) embraces several domains ofintangible cultural heritage such as performing arts, rituals and festiveevents and traditional craftsmanship. Combining features typical to the‘Kalyady’ rituals in a number of Slavic cultures with locally-based traditions,its annual performance plays an important role in the social cultural life ofthe Semezhava rural community, providing it with a sense of identity andcontinuity and helping to maintain the links between generations.

The viability of the element is at risk, in spite of the best efforts of a group ofenthusiastic practitioners, due to the fact that the bulk of the community,while enjoying the festivities, takes little part in the preparation orperformance of the ritual. This lack of broader interest is due to recent socialtransformations leading, among other things, to an increased rural-urbanmigration of the population, and in particular, the youth.

Several safeguarding measures, focusing particularly on education andraising awareness, have been implemented and proposed by the nationaland local authorities to ensure the viability of the element, but it isnecessary to review certain other measures so as to enable the continuedpractice and transmission of the element.

The nomination clearly demonstrates that the local community ofSemezhava, as well as the village and district authorities, activelyparticipated in the preparation of the nomination file and gave their free,prior and informed consent to it.

The element was given the status of a historical and cultural value by a2008 resolution of the Council of Ministers and inscribed on the State Listof Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus.

Definition ofintangible culturalheritage

State of viability

Safeguardingmeasures

Communityparticipation

Inventory


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2

The Qiang New Year Festival takes place on the firstday of the tenth lunar month in China’s SichuanProvince. Celebrated for two millennia, the festivalconstitutes a sacred expression for the Qiangpeople of their ideal of harmony.

It begins in the early morning, in the fortressvillages where the Qiang traditionally lived. Theshibi (a priest) converses with the gods of the holymountain, offering thanks and presentingpetitions. At daybreak, he is joined by villagers fromneighbouring fortress communities, clad in fineceremonial costumes, who perform a ritualsacrifice of a goat. Festivities follow includingtraditional sheepskin-drum and salang dances,singing and the drinking of zajiu (wine). Amid therejoicing the shibi chants traditional epics thatencompass the soul of Qiang history and culture.At dusk, before eating the New Year meal, the headof each family offers sacrifices to the family gods,the god of fire and the ancestors to seek theirprotection in the coming year.

The Qiang New Year Festival is an occasion for theQiang people to offer thanksgiving and prayers forthe fertility of the land and prosperity. Traditionsdistilling history and cultural knowledge arerenewed and diffused, and social cohesion andfamily harmony are reinforced. The festival is acompendium of their folk traditional culture and avital channel for the transmission of Qiang culture.

The Qiang New Year Festival is celebrated inapproximately twenty fortress villages, towns,townships and villages located in SichuanProvince. These include the fortress villages of

Luobo and Baduo as well as Qiangfeng and Buwavillages in Wenchuan County; the townships ofPuxi and Taoping and the town of Xuecheng in LiCounty; the townships of Heihu, Qugu andSanlong, and the towns of Diexi and Fengyi in MaoCounty; the township of Xiaoxing and Jin’an Townin Songpan County; the townships of Qingpianand Yuli in Beichuan County; the township ofSuojiang and Doukou Town in Pingwu County. TheQiang people are concentrated in thesecommunities.

The traditional New Year Festival was onceperformed by more than a hundred Qiang fortressvillages. Despite a revival in the 1980s, numbershave decreased dramatically due to a number offactors. Globalization and external culturalinfluences have dramatically altered Qiang sociallife with increased out-migration of workers anddeclining interest among young people intraditional rituals. The continuity of the shibiculture, which is restricted to male members, hasbeen considerably weakened as a result. An evenmore severe blow was dealt in 2008 by the 8.0magnitude Wenchuan earthquake. Social andcultural venues used for the ritual sacrifice sufferedconsiderable damage with the consequent loss ofmany objects, implements and costumes centralto the ceremony. Archived material collected byinheritors and researchers was also lost. Worse,many of the key community practitioners of thefestival’s traditions died in the earthquake.

Following the development of a tourism industryin recent decades, certain villages had attemptedto revive the traditions. However, in these cases,

Qiang New Year festivalChina

A sacrifice to themountain performed bythe shibi priest is anessential component ofthe Qiang New Yearfestival.


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understanding of traditional meanings and thelevel of participation has changed significantly. As aresult transmission of the traditional New YearFestival is now severely threatened. Today, itsurvives in only about twenty fortress villages,which struggle to safeguard the traditions, venues,customs and language.

The Qiang New Year Festival was first inscribed onthe Prefecture Intangible Cultural Heritage List in2006, then included on the Provincial IntangibleCultural Heritage List in 2007. Only a few weeksafter the earthquake, the Qiang New Year Festivalwas inscribed on the National Intangible CulturalHeritage List in June 2008. The cultural departmentof Sichuan Provincial Government organizedexperts to draft outlines for the safeguarding ofQiang Culture’s living environment in anexperimental area (inaugurated later that year) andfor post-earthquake safeguarding andreconstruction of intangible cultural heritage.Qiang people with local government supportundertook restoration and reconstruction ofdamaged sites and objects in time for the festivalthat year. In early 2009, the cultural departments ofthe counties of Wenchuan, Li, Mao and Beichuandrafted working plans for the reconstruction ofvenues for learning and transmitting Qiang NewYear Festival traditions from 2010 to 2012.

Qiang communities, in cooperation with localcultural departments, also petitioned for theinclusion of the element on the UrgentSafeguarding List. Local Qiang populationssupported the preparation of the nomination fileby providing the necessary information andresponding to interviews and surveys. Their effortsto ensure the continuation of the New Year Festivalin 2008 also provided further documentation forthe application. The work on the applicationreceived the support and approval of all the maininheritors and residents in the communities wherethe celebration of the festival is prevalent.

The Qiang perform thesheepskin-drum danceto pray for a fertile land,a prosperous populationand a harmoniousworld.


A wide range of safeguarding measures isproposed, including annual subventions tosupport twenty representative inheritorsnominated by the Qiang public. Reconstruction ofthe venues that are essential for the celebrationwill be undertaken by Qiang people skilled intraditional construction, in consultation withrepresentative inheritors. Shibi priests will beinvited to redecorate and restore the venues intraditional ways.

At the same time, local cultural departments willcarry out field surveys using photography andvideo recordings to undertake a baselineregistration and documentation of the festival andits major inheritors, so as to better understand itscurrent viability situation. On the basis of this, theSichuan Music and Dance Institute will set-up adatabase. The Intangible Cultural HeritageSafeguarding Centre of Sichuan Province will

gather papers, pictures and video and audiodocumentation from inheritors, the public andorganizations. The materials collected will be keptin a Museum of Qiang New Year, to bettercommunicate festival activities. A series of studieson the festival will be published by experts onQiang culture.

Efforts will be undertaken to build up museumsand venues for the transmitting of Qiang New Yeartraditions in the villages of Weizhou, Mianchi,Yanmen, Longxi, Keku, and Caopo in WenchuanCounty; Puxi, Taoping and Xuecheng in Li County;Hehu, Qugu, Sanlong, Diexi, and Fengyi in MaoCounty and in the new site of Beichuan County.Training sessions will be periodically held foraudiences of different ages with shibi priests andmajor inheritors invited to lecture. Livingperformances will also be organized, both fortourist audiences and for the Qiang themselves.

Qiang people dance thesalang (round dance) ina village plaza – themoment of communalrejoicing and convivialityto thank heaven for itsblessings and to imploreits protection.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Qiang New Year festival on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all theselection criteria, as follows:

The Qiang New Year festival provides a crucial venue for communitymembers to express respect and appreciation for the core transmitters ofQiang traditional culture, family elders and shibi, and for them in turn toteach youth about the central features of Qiang heritage; the collectivefeasting, music making, dancing and singing are ways for communities todevelop solidarity and share common values.

Despite the importance of this ritual as a symbol of Qiang identity, thefestival’s viability is seriously threatened by modernization andglobalization of rural areas that has generated a large youth migration,aggravated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake where many shibis passedaway, the stone villages and stone towers essential to the festival weredestroyed or seriously damaged, and community life was severelydisrupted.

Safeguarding measures designed to sustain the festival include Statefinancial assistance to representative inheritors, the shibis, to make itpossible for them to transmit their traditional knowledge to young people,and the reconstruction of stone villages, stone towers and other traditionalsites associated with the festival, linked to the transmission of the historyand cultural heritage of the Qiang.

National and provincial authorities have committed themselves to createfavourable conditions to revitalize the Qiang New Year festival and havegained the enthusiastic support of Qiang communities, whoserepresentatives provided free, prior and informed consent to the presentnomination.

In June 2008, upon approval of China’s State Council, the Qiang New Yearfestival was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritageadministered by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of theMinistry of Culture, following its inclusion on the Prefectural CulturalIntangible Heritage List in 2006 and the Intangible Cultural Heritage List ofSichuan Province in 2007.


State of viability



Inventory


3

24

The art of constructing Chinese wooden archbridges dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE). Found in Fujian Province andZhejiang Province along China’s south-east coast,these bridges exist in a variety of different archedstructures, each designed according to localrequirements. Many were built over streamsflowing from villages or over valleys unreachableby road. The passageways can be of various stylesincluding single eave, double eave, two-column, orfour-column, in order to meet daily traffic needs.The bridges are also important gathering places forlocal residents – to meet, exchange informationand reinforce relationships. They act as venues fortraditional folk activities and a variety of culturaland religious ceremonies, with shrines forming adistinct part of every bridge.

Construction is entirely by hand, employingtraditional architectural tools and craftsmanship.The distinctive core technology is ‘beam-weaving’,comprising two layers of beams. In the lower layer,three rows of wood are joined longitudinally into a⎠⎝-shaped arch. In the upper layer, five shorterrows of wood are joined longitudinally thenintertwined with upper arch supports. Each beamis fixed in place using mortise and tenon joints. Thecarpentry is carried out by woodworkers directedby a woodworking master, who traditionally passes

on his knowledge through the teaching ofapprentices or relatives within a clan. These clansplay an irreplaceable role in building, maintainingand protecting the bridges.

The locations in which wooden arched bridges arefound include Pingnan, Shouning, and ZhouningCounties of Ningde City in Fujian Province; andQingyuan and Taishun Counties in ZhejiangProvince.

The old craft of arch bridge building is traditionallypassed on from woodworking masters to heirswho are willing and motivated to maintain thetradition. However, the social need for the craft isweakening, with the result that traditional heirs arenow making their living as general carpenters. Onereason is diminishing demand for the bridges,which are unable to carry vehicles or meet thedemands of modern traffic. Secondly, the timberrequired for construction – thirty-year-old Chinesefir – is increasingly scarce. As such, localcommunities lack the motivation and the need tobuild such bridges. Moreover, advancement inbridge architecture has decreased the need fortraditional arch bridge technology. The craft hasthus become unattractive to new generations ofwoodworkers, threatening its survival.

Traditional design andpractices for buildingChinese wooden archbridges

China


25

An even more pressing problem is dearth ofknowledge. At present, there are only fourwoodworking masters, the average age of whomis 75 years old. The number of active participants inthe craft numbers only twenty. The craftsmanshipnecessary to build such bridges is traditionallypassed on orally within a clan, and fewwoodworkers master the skill. As thesewoodworking masters disappear thecraftsmanship risks becoming extinct.

Recognizing the importance of their unique localtradition, people in Pingnan and ShouningCounties have undertaken a number ofsafeguarding activities since 2006. Following aninvestigation into the status of existing bridges, tenwere rebuilt and six were repaired. Evaluation andpublication of artefacts in need of preservation willcontinue as part of an on-going five-year process.

Historical artefacts, tools records, clan trees, bridgecontracts and so on relating to the craft have beencollected, and file rooms established in fourcounties: Pingnan, Shouning, Qingyuan andTaishun. A number of dedicated exhibition spaceshave been opened free of charge to the public inFujian, Zhejiang and Pingnan Provinces. These willbe used to display pictures, physical models,traditional tools, and the craftsmanship process. In

2008, five craftsmen were appointed as provincialrepresentative practitioners. Meanwhile, traditionaldesign and practices for building Chinese woodenarch bridges were entered on the inventory ofprotected intangible cultural heritage of theChinese government.

Three international symposia on Chinese woodenarch bridges were held in 2005, 2007 and 2009 toprovide theoretical instruction and academicsupport for protecting and perpetuating the craft,and a platform for exchanging craftsmanship andinformation. Publicity and promotion of the crafthave been undertaken through mainstreammedia, as well as in schools through theproduction of a do-it-yourself model for teachingand practise.

When the time came to prepare the nominationfor inscription of the element on the UrgentSafeguarding List, the local people cooperatedenthusiastically. The heirs gave their full consent,and members of the inheriting clans provided clanrecords, arrangements for protecting the bridges,photos and traditional tools. They also cooperatedin the production of a video.

Residents of the towns of Changqiao andShuangxi and the village of Tangkou in Pingnan

Wan’an bridge inPingnan County,registered as protectedcultural heritage,demonstrates thetraditional design andpractices for buildingwooden arch bridges.


County, and the villages of Xiadang and Kengdi inShouning County provided heirs and researcherswith useful information and materials. Ciyun villagein Changqiao town, Pingnan County went evenfurther, collecting money to rebuild Shijin Bridge inorder to demonstrate the entire bridge-buildingprocess. They also provided vital drawings, photosand videos for the inscription application, andproduced a scale model of the arch bridge for theapplication.

The heirs and concerned communities arededicated to hosting a variety of activitiesbeneficial to perpetuating, protecting, promotingand publicizing the craft and its practices. The heirsintend to fulfil their vital roles by setting uppractising sites, enrolling apprentices and teachingthe craftsmanship involved. Plans also exist torebuild Baixiang Bridge in Pingnan County andmaintain Wan’an Bridge in Pingnan County andYangmeizhou Bridge in Shouning County.

The coveredpassageway of thebridge will be used as ameeting place forentertainment andceremonial events.

Carpenters lay the mainpassageway beam. The names of thewoodworking mastersand of highly-respectedmembers of thecommunity are writtenon the beams.


28

Thematic museums will be built in Pingnan andShouning Counties in Fujian Province, while anexhibition room will be provided in the NingdeMunicipal Museum. Funding proposals have beenput forward for a dedicated archive room,database and website at the Ningde Municipal ArtMuseum and the Ningde Municipal IntangibleCultural Protection Centre.

An Association for the Traditional Design andPractices of Building Chinese Wooden Arch Bridgeswill be formed in Pingnan and Shouning Counties,

to exchange experiences, regulate techniques,protect the craftsmanship and promote itsperpetuation. A protective fund for relatedtraditional design and practices will be set up inNingde city in Fujian Province, with increases infinancial and medical assistance to the inheritors.

Lastly, research on design and the practices forbuilding arch bridges will be compiled to provide asolid theoretical foundation for their protectionand future maintenance.

Builders lay the walkingboards along the lengthof the bridge in anentirely handmadeeffort.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges on the UrgentSafeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selection criteria, as follows:

The traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden archbridges involve a unique handwork technique to build wooden bridgeswhose social and cultural functions continue to be cherished by localresidents, who have engaged themselves in preserving this example oftheir cultural identity, even as the bridges’ practical traffic-bearingfunctions diminish.

Although the craftsmen have regained esteem among communitymembers who have awakened their interest for covered wooden bridgesin the last decade, this exceptional technology is at risk of disappearingsince the transmission process relies on few master bridge-buildingartisans who are aged, with little opportunity to pass on their ‘secretknowledge’ and experience to young carpenters orally and throughapprenticeship.

The safeguarding plan proposed, reflecting collaboration of localauthorities, communities and the woodworking masters, is crucial toensure the skill’s revitalization by investing intensively in the education ofyoung trainees to strengthen transmission from generation to generation.

The nomination reveals that there was a wide involvement in thenomination by national authorities as well as local officials of Pingnan,Shouning, and Zhouning Counties in Fujian Province, Qingyuan andTaishun Counties in Zhejiang Province, and by local communities and therepresentatives of the clans that are heirs of the craft, whose free, prior andinformed consent is demonstrated.

After having been included in the heritage inventories of the variouscounties in which this tradition remains active, the design and practices ofbridge building were included on the National List of Intangible CulturalHeritage administered by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritageof the Ministry of Culture.


State of viability



Inventory


30

4

The renowned textile techniques of the Li ethnicgroup of Hainan Island, China, have a long history.In the days before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE),Li women developed an entire system oftechniques comprising spinning, weaving, dyeingand embroidering. These were based on first-handknowledge and experience of plants and naturaldyestuffs, and were used to make cotton, hempand other fibres into clothing and fabrics for dailynecessities. Li women developed singulartechniques such as warp ikat, double-faceembroidery and single-face supplementary warpweaving, which were passed on from mother todaughter, along with traditional knowledge ofdesigns and styles. In the absence of a writtenlanguage, these patterns imaginatively record thehistory, legends, beliefs and traditions of Li culture,as well as distinguishing the island’s five majorspoken dialects.

Dragon quilts are the most elaborate example ofLi textile techniques. Richly decorated andrequiring great skill to produce, they embody asynthesis of Li textile techniques. Li textiles alsoplay an indispensible part in religious rituals,festivals, funerals and weddings. Traditionally, aLi girl is married in a wedding dress made by herown hand, demonstrating her craft and skill inmastering local textile techniques. Suchtechniques and textiles are the carriers of Liculture, and constitute the basis of Li ethnicidentification. As such they are an indispensablepart of Li cultural heritage.

The traditional spinning, dyeing, weaving andembroidering techniques of Li women wereformerly widely practised, with about 50,000practitioners recorded in the 1950s. However, thisfigure had halved by the 1970s and dramaticallydecreased thereafter. Today, fewer than athousand know the basic techniques, most ofwhom are over 70. Rarer still are the specializedskills: fewer than two hundred women havemastered the craft of warp ikat and no more thanfive still possess double-face embroidery skills.Currently, no one grasps the completetechniques for making dragon quilts.

Several factors are to blame. The development ofmodern agriculture and land use has increasinglyreplaced wild vegetation. Raw materials neededfor dyeing hand-spun yarns are thus in shortsupply. Industrial chemical dyestuffs are replacingnatural dyes, while manufactured textiles aresupplanting hand-made Li textiles. Once dailynecessities, traditional textiles are now seen mostlyon ceremonial occasions, as people prefer to wearinternational dress. This shift is influenced byglobalization, in particular, the arrival of tourism.The most significant threat, however, is the drop intransmission. Universal school education meansthat girls can no longer devote time to traditionalcrafts. Today, parts of Li textile techniques aremastered only by those living in mountain areas. Litextile techniques are transmitted through oralinstruction and personal demonstration, so norecords exist of patterns. With the passing of each

Traditional Li textiletechniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering

China

Li women work with askein of indigo-dyedhemp. Dyestuffs mainlycome from the roots,stems, bark and leaves ofcertain wild plants.


32

skilled practitioner, techniques handed down forcenturies are increasingly at risk of disappearingcompletely.

In response to the decline in Li textile techniques,representatives of the Li ethnic group contactedthe National People’s Congress in 2000 to ask forstate-level protection for traditional Li textiletechniques. In 2006, they petitioned to includetraditional Li textile techniques on the UrgentSafeguarding List. The main practitioners of thisheritage and the village committees of thefollowing communities supported thisnomination: Nankai village, Nankai town, LiAutonomous County of Baisha; Fanmao village,Chongshan town, Wuzhishan city; Xifang village,Donghe town, Dongfang city; Hongnei village,Zhizhong town, Li Autonomous County ofLedong; and Fandao village, Baocheng town, Li-Miao Autonomous County of Baoting.

Following a local survey to establish the currentstatus of the element, the communities – incooperation with the Hainan Provincial Associationof Ethnic Affairs, the Hainan Provincial Associationof Intangible Cultural Heritage, the HainanProvincial Research Institute of Ethnic Affairs andother related organizations – drafted a five-yearplan for its protection. The communities also tookon the tasks of building training centres, setting upcraft villages to train practitioners to transmit theirknowledge, and establishing raw material bases.

In 2006, following inscription of Li textiletechniques among the first group of nationalintangible cultural heritage in China, the Hainan

Many of the womenskilled at Li textiletechniques are now overseventy years old, like thiswoman spinning on afoot-treadle wheel.

Rong Yamei (centre) is amaster craftswomanrecognized by China as atransmitter of the Librocade technique.


Provincial Centre for SafeguardingIntangible Cultural Heritage was founded to

supervise transmission and protection of theelement. A state-level representative practitionerwas appointed, whose duty was to receivegovernment subsidies and offer courses on Litextile techniques at newly-established trainingcentres. In the follow-up to several majorexhibitions on the element, many museums inHainan Province set up permanent exhibitionsdedicated to Li textile techniques. Competitions onLi textile techniques are regularly held, while somevillagers have organized to manufacture Li textilesand impart the techniques involved.

A number of safeguarding measures are plannedfor the future. On the educational front, fivetraining centres on Li textile techniques will be setup, with each of the five related counties or citieshosting an annual self-funded programme todisseminate the traditional knowledge onspinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering. Topromote the element among youngergenerations, primary and secondary schools in therelated counties and cities will provide courses onLi textile knowledge.

On the professional front, the provincialgovernment will provide financial aid to improvepractitioners’ living and working conditions.Villages renowned for specific skills will bedesignated ‘Villages of Li Textiles’, while theindividuals concerned will receive systematictraining to ensure their proficiency in thetechniques specific to their locality. The first groupof villages will comprise Nankai village (to transmitdouble-face embroidery techniques); Xifangvillage (warp ikat techniques); Fanmao village(dress and adornment-making techniques);Hongnei village (hemp-spinning techniques); andFandao village (cotton-spinning techniques).Governmental and non-governmental funding willbe provided for the building-up of raw material

bases consisting of cotton, hemp and indigoplants to provide raw materials for Li textileproduction.

On the promotional front, an archive and databankof Li textile techniques will be set up to collectrelevant information about the element. An officialwebsite, research institutes and exhibition venueswill also be established to publicize the element,publish academic works and host academicconferences. Local laws and regulations will beintroduced to protect this form of intangiblecultural heritage.

Li woman prepare thehemp yarn beforeweaving, Hainan Island.

The distinctive patternsand designs of double-face embroidery reflectthe culture and beliefs ofthe Li ethnic group. Onlyfive Li women masterthe craft today.


35

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedtraditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering on the UrgentSafeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selection criteria, as follows:

Traditional Li textile techniques, transmitted from mothers to daughters,are skills essential to the personal identity of Li women and to the culturalidentity of the Li ethnic group, employed to create cloth that is bothpractical and richly imbued with symbolic meaning.

Widely practised as recently as three decades ago, the Li textile techniquesare today mastered by fewer than a thousand women, mostly elderly, andcertain techniques such as the double-face embroidery count only a handfulof experts; industrialization brings mass-produced goods that displace thetraditional textiles, tourism introduces new styles and tastes, and universalchildhood education leaves little time for learning traditional skills.

The State and textile artisans have together elaborated a set ofsafeguarding measures giving first priority to the transmission of textileskills, but including as well efforts to provide raw materials, to introducelegal protections, to raise awareness and to document the rich diversity oftextile techniques and designs.

Li artisans and civic leaders have taken the initiative to propose inscriptionon the Urgent Safeguarding List and have participated actively in thepreparation of the nomination, enlisting the support of national and localauthorities for the nomination effort, and giving it their free, prior andinformed consent.

In response to initiatives from the authorities of Hainan Province, and bydecision of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Li textiletechniques were included on the National List of Intangible CulturalHeritage administered by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritageof the Ministry of Culture.


State of viability



Inventory


37

5

The Cantu in paghjella is the traditionalunaccompanied chant of Corsican men. Sung in avariety of languages including Corsican, Sardinian,Latin and Greek, it has a distinctive harmonicprocess characterized by three overlapping vocalregisters. Each chant commences with theprinciple voice, a segonda, that defines the pitchand carries the melody. The second, lower voice, ubassu, enters next and is followed by the highest, aterza. The voices shift scales continuously, withpractitioners employing personalized forms of ariccucata ornament, a melodious inflexion thatallows the other voices to enter into the chant.Each interpretation is known as a versu, withvarious versi being linked to specific places orfamilies of cantors. Singers conform to a precisebehavioural code: in place of metronomes or sheetmusic, for instance, the eye, ear and mouthfunction in close coordination. Singers chant in acircle – the shape most conducive to harmonies.

As an emblem of Corsican identity deeply rootedin its agro-pastoral culture, the Cantu in paghjella isessential to the transmission of local culturalknowledge, and is an integral part of the localsocial fabric. It forms part of both secular andliturgical oral traditions – secular versi areperformed in bars, village squares and at fairs andgatherings, while liturgical versi are sung duringchurch services, processions and at saint’s dayfeasts. The principle mode of transmission isthrough observation, listening, imitation andimmersion. Young boys are traditionally educated‘by ear’ at secular feasts and weekly liturgical

services, then encouraged to join the Church choirat adolescence.

The Cantu in paghjella is traditionally found in ruraland pastoral areas of northern Corsica: the regionsof Bozziu, Castagniccia and of Tagliu Isulacciu.However, since the 1970s, the practice hasextended to all regions of the island with certainversi spreading throughout the island territory. Atpresent, thirty practitioners participate regularly insecular and religious Cantu in paghjella.

The number of practitioners of the Cantu inpaghjella has diminished by two-thirds over twogenerations, a 2008 survey revealed. Very fewpractitioners have mastered its technique andcurrently practice the form, and most are between45 and 80 years old. The principle cause of thisreduced viability is a decrease in intergenerationalcontact, created by distance: half of thepopulation, and four-fifths of those under 40, nowlive in the two principal towns located on thecoast, Ajaccio and Bastia. This exodus from ruralareas and small towns is largely a result of rapidurbanization. The majority of young singersbecome casual practitioners, while the rarepractitioners aged between 18 and 45 only knowat most two versi. This restricted knowledgeweakens their performances and the acuity of theirear, and leads to a simplified technique of theCantu in paghjella. The commercialization ofCorsican music is accompanied by deformationsapparent in the studio and in concert. Localparticipation and attendance have also decreased.

The Cantu in paghjella: a secular and liturgical oral tradition of Corsica

France

Petru Santu Guelfucci (R)and Filippu Rocchi (L),provide the u bassu(base voice), in Sermanuchurch, Corsica, France.


39

Sunday services are attended less and less often,while fairs coincide with the tourist period andschool term. Today, only the secular versi of twovillages (Rusiu and Orezz) are regularly performed,while only the liturgical repertory of Rusiu andSermanu remain complete. In total, fivepractitioners remain who know how to lead all thesecular and sacred versi. The Cantu in paghjella is indanger of disappearing in its present form,surviving only as a tourist attraction devoid ofmeaning.

Following a symposium in 2006 organized on thetheme ‘Can Traditional Corsican PolyphonyDisappear?’, practitioners and anthropologistsnative to Corsica proposed the creation of anassociation to ensure the safeguarding andtransmission of the Cantu in paghjella. This wasestablished and in 2008 a research team of fivepersons, together with community practitioners,established an inventory of active practices, notingthe significant reduction in practitioners and theimpoverishment of its repertory.

The request for the nomination of the Cantu inpaghjella to the Urgent Safeguarding List waspresented to the members of the Economic, Socialand Cultural Council of Corsica (CESC) in 2008. Atevery stage of the nomination preparation(identification of communities, state of the threatsand risks, safeguarding measures), the Association‘Cantu in Paghjella’ involved the participation of thepractitioner community. Thirty practitionersdeclared their approval of the principal ofinscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List andthe associated safeguarding plan.

Cantu in paghjella of Corsica performed at Sermanuchurch: (left to right) the bassu Petru Santu Guelfucciand Filippu Rocchi, the seconda, Petru Guelfucci, andthe terza, Dumè Leschi.


40

Even prior to the 2006 symposium and thecreation of the Association ‘Cantu in Paghjella’, anumber of younger practitioners began revivingthe saint’s day feasts and two fairs. A websitewww.paghjella.com was also launched todisseminate the heritage and allow listeners accessto recordings. A number of future safeguardingmeasures have been proposed, focussingespecially on the younger generation.

First, a ‘paghjellaghji’ network is proposed to furtherencourage the younger generation to practise andtransmit the heritage. Members would receive anannual allocation in addition to their professionalincome, and be exonerated from income tax.Revival and maintenance of the transmissionprocess would prioritize in situ performances,including listening and practical workshops inschools and colleges. The ‘paghjellaghji’ would alsoparticipate in activities to measure the state ofdegradation or improvement of transmission.

Second, five a segonda voices, five u bassu voicesand five a terza voices would each train one voicein each category, over a two-year period. The asegonda voices who are the leaders should betrained in all versi, with the u bassu and a terzavoices trained to follow the versi. Thirty apprentices

(fifteen every two years) should be selected andremunerated, and at the end of four years, couldbenefit from the statute of ‘paghjellaghji’.

In addition, the newly created Association shouldbuild upon its previous research, which establishedclose working relationships between practitioners,researchers and collectors, by establishing a jointly-prepared protocol agreement. Four researcherswould be appointed to collect and analyse theevolution of the secular and liturgical repertory oflay brotherhoods over a four-year period. Theircollections would be entrusted to the recordlibrary of the Museum of Corsica. Intellectualproperty protections should be adapted to ensuretransmission of the heritage by facilitating accessto existing recordings.

Special attention should be given to increasingpublic awareness of the Cantu tradition andappreciation of its importance. A partnership withthe Education nationale should be initiated to raiseawareness among pupils of the need to safeguardthe heritage. Pupils would participate in eveninggatherings and fairs and meet with practitioners,and a documentary should be filmed for thepublic at large. A partnership between theMuseum of Anthropology of Corsica, Associationresearchers and the ‘paghjellaghi’ could create apermanent and an itinerant exhibition.

Paul Mariani, descendedfrom a family of singersin Sermanu village,Corsica, France.


http://www.paghjella.com

41

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Cantu in paghjella on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selectioncriteria, as follows:

An emblem of Corsican identity deeply rooted in its agro-pastoral culture,the Cantu in paghjella is essential to the transmission of local culturalknowledge, an integral part of the social fabric of communities.

While continuing to retain its character as an oral tradition and musicalpractice, and despite the persistence of traditional modes of transmission,the Cantu in paghjella is threatened by changes in the contexts of itsperformance and oral transmission, musical standardization and animpoverishment of its repertoire following commercialization andpopularization, and the continuing demand for novelty from the touristindustry.

An urgent safeguarding plan has been elaborated that underlines thepriority of transmission, as well as activities of research, protection,promotion and raising awareness, demonstrating the will for an integratedintervention to benefit the viability of the Cantu in paghjella.

The element has been nominated thanks to an active commitment andlarge participation of the community of practitioners, local officials andcivil society during the process of elaborating the nomination file, basedon the knowledge of several families of singers and supported by theawareness-raising of local media, and many practitioners have offeredevidence of their free, prior and informed consent.

The Cantu in paghjella is inscribed in the inventory of intangible culturalheritage present on the territory of France, managed and updated by theDirection for Architecture and Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.


State of viability



Inventory


6

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In the early sixteenth century the ancestors of theMijikenda communities migrated to the south ofpresent Kenya to escape ethnic conflict in what isnow Somalia. They built fortified settlements, orKayas, in the forests located along the Kenya coast.Today the Mijikenda are made up of nine Bantu-speaking ethnic groups of Kenya. Their identity isexpressed through oral traditions and performingarts related to the sacred forests, which are alsosources of valuable medicinal plants. The use ofnatural resources within the Kaya settlements isregulated by traditional knowledge and practicesthat have contributed to the conservation of theirbiodiversity.

The nine ethnic groups of the Mijikenda people(the Chonyi, Duruma, Digo, Giriama, Jibana,Kambe, Kauma, Rabai and Ribe) inhabit coastalforests found in southeastern Kenya along a stripstretching from the Tanzanian border to north ofthe Sabaki River. Over fifty Kaya settlements havebeen identified.

The Mijikenda established codes of ethics andgovernance systems, traditions, rituals andpractices that sustained peaceful coexistenceamong all the communities in the Kayas. Thesepractices include Kuhasa Koma (praying), KuzikaLulu/Nyulu (burial rites), Kurya chiraho (oath-taking),

fingo (talismans), naming of the newly born,initiation, reconciliation, marriages and coronationrituals. The highest social and political organ in thecommunity is the Kambi, a Council of Elders thatformulates and regulates rules, taboos and mythsby consensus and ensures indigenous knowledgetransfer to young members of the community.These councils act as custodians of the Kayas andthe cultural expressions that underscore theidentity, continuity and cohesion of the Mijikendacommunities.

There is a strong desire among the Mijikenda tosafeguard their practices together with theassociated cultural spaces. However, several factorshave led to the diminished enactment oftraditional practices related to the Kayas, makingthe communities vulnerable to social conflicts andthe environment vulnerable to degradation. Overrecent decades, a number of Kayas settlementshave become part of private land holdings. SomeMijikenda have left the settlements to look foremployment on commercial plantations, wherethey live as squatters cut off from their traditions,customs and cultural life.

Exposure to western lifestyles through formaleducation, travel and migration have led manyyoung members of the community to consider

Traditions and practicesassociated to the Kayas inthe sacred forests of theMijikenda

Kenya

Kadzumba with spiritofferings at KayaGiriama. The Kadzumbaka Mulungu or ‘house ofthe spirits’ is usuallyplaced at a spot knownas a Kiza or place ofsacrifice, with offeringsto ward off malevolentspirits.


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traditions and beliefs associated with Kayas asoutdated or irrelevant. Moreover, some membersof the community have converted to Christianityand Islam, causing them to discard formerpractices. Recruitment of younger elders into theCouncils of Elders has correspondingly declined. Asmany of those who lead traditional ceremoniesand rituals are elderly, there is a risk that theirknowledge will be lost. Moreover, many of thematerials necessary for ceremonial practices weretraditionally contributed by the inhabitants. Manyare presently unable to offer such contributions,partly because of increased living costs. Together,these social trends place the Mijikenda heritage,particularly its transmission to future generations,under serious threat.

In the 1990s, following the request of localcommunities, the Kenyan government startedgazetting Kayas. By 2001, forty-two Kayas hadbecome national monuments and forest reserves,offering opportunities for the protection andpromotion of traditions and practices associatedwith these cultural spaces. Concerned communitymembers soon realized that efforts to safeguardthe intangible heritage required equal attention.Consultation meetings and workshops involvingthe Councils of Elders, Kaya conservation groups,women’s groups and youth groups wereorganized to discuss safeguarding measures forthe traditions and practices of the Mijikenda andthe conservation of the Kaya forests.

National authorities recognized the role of theCouncils of Elders and involved them inconsultations pertaining to security and socio-cultural issues in Kaya communities. The Councilsagreed to participate fully in activities related to thesafeguarding of traditional practices and theconservation of the Kaya forests, strengthen theirCouncils by including new and youngerpractitioners, and report to local authorities anydestructive activities occurring within the forests.

A dance drama at aburial site in KayaGiriama, marked withcarved wooden komaplaced on the graves.


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Representing the communities, the Council ofElders gave their full consent for elements of theirtraditional practices to be nominated for inclusionon the Urgent Safeguarding List.

Community Conservation and DevelopmentGroups have been formed to safeguard tangibleand intangible heritage. Both the groups and theCouncils of Elders have adopted traditional taboosand practices. Young community members havevolunteered to undergo apprenticeship to gainknowledge and understanding of traditionalpractices in preparation to become futuremembers of the Council of Elders. Several havealso been pro-active in conserving the culturalspace of the Kaya through the formation ofenvironmental watch groups, providing alertswhen these spaces are invaded.

Recently, the Kenya Music and Cultural Festivaldeveloped a category to promote the songs,narratives and dances of the MijikendaCommunity. Community cultural centres in Chonyiand Kwale will be focal points for thedevelopment, promotion and protection of thesetraditions and practices. The Mijikenda people willbe encouraged to organize more gatherings andcultural festivals to promote their traditions andpractices to a wider audience.

Future safeguarding measures, including income-generating activities such as bee-keeping, eco-tourism and crafts, may be launched to providecommunities with alternative income resourcescompatible with the operation of the Kayas. Sucheconomic incentives will enable the Mijikendapeople to continue living near the Kayas – aprerequisite for the viability and transmission oftraditions and practices. Representatives ofMijikenda communities will be encouraged andfacilitated to visit other’s Kayas. Such visits providean opportunity to discuss common challengesand ways to safeguard traditions and practices.

Youth and school-going children will beencouraged to learn the relevance andsignificance of Kaya traditions and practices.School visits to the Kayas will enable children toacquaint themselves with traditional practices,rituals, knowledge and festivals. Schools andcolleges will also be encouraged to includecultural days within their calendar.

Lastly, practices and traditions associated with theKayas of the Mijikenda should be documented toprevent their disappearance. Recording of varioussongs and dances would also give such culturalpractices more visibility and contribute to thelikelihood that they would continue to beperformed in years to come.

A burial site at KayaGiriama marked bywooden memorialstakes called koma.Praying or KuhasaKoma helps maintainthe close relationshipbetween the living, thedead and nature.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe traditions and practices associated to the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda on theUrgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selection criteria, as follows:

A set of rituals, ceremonials, social practices, cultural values and traditionalknowledge about nature, transmitted orally among the various ethnicgroups in the Kaya cultural landscape in Mijikenda forest, strengthenscommunity ties and reinforces their common identity, while promotingmutual respect and social justice and ensuring balanced protection oftheir forest environment.

Despite legislation classifying the Kayas as national monuments andcreating the forest reserve, leading to their inscription as culturallandscapes on the World Heritage List, and despite the continuingimportance of the Kayas for burial and ritual practices, complex forcesincluding modernization, emigration of community members to urbanareas and changing land-use practices around the forest are putting theviability of the traditions and practices associated to the Kayas at risk.

A safeguarding plan favours the interaction between the natural landscapeand its associated socio-cultural traditions and practices, involves Mijikendacommunities in all levels of its preparation and implementation, andpromotes their social and economic development, thus strengtheningenvironmental management and raising interest among young generationsin order to secure the transmission of these traditions and practices.

The nomination was prepared with due respect for customary practicesgoverning the element and has resulted from a broad consultation withinMijikenda communities, represented by different social groups includingwomen and youth, Kaya conservation groups and councils of elders whoserepresentatives have given their prior and free consent to the project.

The element is inventoried by the Kenyan Department of Culture underthe Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture.


State of viability



Inventory


7

48

The Suiti are a small Catholic community in theProtestant part of western Latvia. While some ofthe traditions that characterize the Suiti culturepredate the advent of Christianity in the region, foralmost four centuries the Catholic Church hasserved as the main pillar of local identity. Thissynthesis of pre-Christian traditions and religiousrituals has created a unique blend of intangiblecultural heritage.

The vocal drone singing performed by Suitiwomen is a performance tradition thought to dateback more than a millennium. The smallcommunity of two thousand people has produceda phenomenal number of folk songs – 52,000including interpretations – while local folk groups

are in demand across Latvia to help enact smallscenes from Suiti wedding rituals. Distinctive andbright traditional costumes are another hallmark ofSuiti culture, with some articles of clothing beingpassed on through several generations. The Suiti cultural space has been preserved andconstantly recreated by generations of Catholics inpredominantly Protestant surroundings, for whommaintaining their unique intangible heritage andconfessional distinctiveness provides a profoundsense of shared identity. Many isolated, old farmshave existed for centuries, commonly remaining inthe same family. These represent cradles of Suiticultural heritage where skills are transmitted fromgeneration to generation. The Suiti havesucceeded in preserving their identity in a smallcommunity closely interknit by family ties.

During the Soviet era (1940–1991), emigration,collectivization, deportation and nationalization ofland and property all affected the Suiti community,while the role of the Church was severely reduced.The Suiti lifestyle was portrayed as backward andthe numbers who actively practised Suiti customsdecreased dramatically. Although the post-Sovietperiod saw the restoration of the Church andassociated Suiti practices, lack of competitiveemployment and the need for further educationcaused a steady migration of young people tourban centres where they became disconnectedfrom their traditions and cultural identity. Thecurrent population is only one fifth of what it wasat the beginning of the twentieth century.

Today, only ten people possess substantialknowledge of one or more elements of Suiti

Suiti cultural spaceLatvia

Carrying the small altarof the Gudenieki churchis a task solely performedby women. The Suiti area small Catholic groupin predominantlyProtestant westernLatvia.


4949

Suiti children play therecorder and the koklezither, under thewatchful eye of theirteacher.


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intangible cultural heritage, and barely six goodvocal drone singers survive. All are over 60.Artisanal skills such as the making of candles,jewellery, pottery and traditional musicalinstruments have disappeared. Although there isnow a strong interest in recovering these skillsthrough education, training and public events,urgent efforts are needed, as the loss of anysenior member often means an irreversible lossof knowledge.

The Suiti language (a dialect of Latvian) is themost endangered element, facing extinctionwithin twenty years. The language is passed onorally and the seven remaining speakers, allelderly, are hesitant to use it. Every year fewerfamilies follow formerly traditional practices.Constant efforts and material resources areneeded to enable this small community towithstand the pressures of assimilation posed bypopular culture in order to safeguard its richcultural heritage.

In 2001, some members of the Suiti community,together with municipalities, established theEthnic Culture Centre Suiti Foundation toincrease self-awareness among the Suiticommunity, and transmit, protect and developSuiti intangible cultural heritage. In 2007, theSuitu Novads Foundation was established toraise the Suiti community’s public profile andcreate an accessible online digital library aboutthe Suiti Cultural Space.

Together, these two organizations begandiscussing a nomination of the Suiti culturalspace for inclusion on the UNESCO UrgentSafeguarding List as early as 2007. To broadenparticipation, they organized a series of studytrips with local opinion leaders, representativesof municipalities, and the local media. To involveother members of the Suiti community in thedecision-making process, the Ethnic CultureCentre Suiti Foundation organized a special

Transmission oftraditions in the Alsungaweaving workshop.Traditionally, it is duringweaving that young girlssing and learn aboutSuiti culture from olderwomen.


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community meeting in August 2008. Aboutseventy people from the community joined themeeting and unanimously agreed to thenomination process.

From the time it was established, the Foundationinitiated educational and research activities topromote collection, preservation and transmissionof Suiti intangible cultural heritage. Summerschools for schoolchildren involving practitionersand local artisans were organized, focusing onvocal drone singing and playing the kokle pluckedzither, and a small workshop was set up in 2008 torevive traditional weaving skills in the Suiticommunity of Alsunga. Two drone singing festivalstook place featuring practitioners from the Suiticommunity. Seminars and presentationsconcerning Suiti and other traditions were alsoorganized.

The Suiti community website developed a digitallibrary containing articles on the Suiti community,its life, history and intangible cultural heritage. Ashorter English version is planned. And the LatvianNational Commission for UNESCO, together withexperts in education and intangible culturalheritage, developed a study guide to assistschoolchildren. Alsunga Secondary School is nowstudying Suiti intangible cultural heritage over athree-year period.

A number of other safeguarding measures are alsoplanned. On the educational front, the kokle zitherwill be introduced at preschools, with a newcurriculum introducing traditional musicalinstruments such as the bagpipe and horns atAlsunga Music School. Suiti culture will beintegrated into existing curricula at communityschools alongside a curriculum focusing on locallife and intangible cultural heritage.

Suiti children folk and dance groups will continue,with support for the activities of adult folk anddance groups. A band of traditional Suiti musicianswill be created and supported, and an annual SuitiFolk Festival organized. Other proposed activitiesinclude training courses in local artisanal skills, therestoration of Midsummer and wedding traditions,and the making and wearing of Suiti traditionalcostumes.

Studies and research to publicize the heritage willtake place, and manifestations and practitionerswill be inventoried. Data from old Suiti churchregisters and recorded Suiti folk songs will bedigitized, and Suiti place names will be recorded,compiled and mapped. On the media front, booksin the Suiti language and on Suiti grammar will beprepared and published, alongside a monthlySuiti-language publication. A televisiondocumentary will also be produced todemonstrate aspects of Suiti intangible heritage.

In terms of tangible heritage, plans exist to restoreAlsunga medieval castle to host a Suiti CultureResearch Centre, and to convert the farmbirthplace of Suiti writer Pēteris Upenieks into anopen-air museum. Plans are also afoot to restorecultural centres and Suiti religious buildings. Finally,there are proposals to develop a state-supportedprogramme for the safeguarding of the SuitiCultural Space.

Joy and merry-makingmark Midsummer – animportant celebration inthe annual Suiticalendar.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Suiti cultural space on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all theselection criteria, as follows:

The Suiti cultural space has been preserved and constantly recreated bygenerations of Catholics in predominantly Protestant surroundings, forwhom maintaining their unique intangible heritage and confessionaldistinctiveness provides the two-thousand-strong Suiti community with aprofound sense of valued identity.

Although Suiti rituals and practices remain important in the life of thecommunity, their viability is at risk due to the limited economicopportunities for generating income and sustaining the cohesion of thecommunity, shrinking opportunities and resources for their practice andtransmission, as well as their lack of prestige among the youth.

Recent safeguarding measures include the establishment of the SuitiEthnic Cultural Centre and creation of the community’s website, while thesafeguarding plan to ensure the viability of the element, developed jointlyby community members and the relevant authorities, involves adjustingschool curricula, supporting informal education and extra-curricularactivities, revitalizing certain rituals, training to acquire traditional skills,promoting the Suiti language and inventorying manifestations of Suitiintangible heritage.

Adequate documentation is provided to demonstrate that the three localcommunity councils, as well as the active cultural organizations (SuituNovads and the Suiti Ethnic Cultural Centre), gave their consent andwholehearted support to the nomination.

The Suiti Cultural Space has been included by the State Party in 2008 in a‘List of Most Important Values of Latvian Culture’ as one of thirteendistinctive expressions of intangible cultural heritage.


State of viability



Inventory


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8

The Sanké mon is a festive ritual in San in theregion of Ségou, Mali, celebrated annually onthe second Thursday of the seventh lunarmonth. The Malinké, Bambara and Buwa groups participate in the collective fishing rite, which commemorates the foundation of the town more than six centuries ago andtraditionally marks the beginning of the rainy season.

The day before the festival, a secret ritual takesplace at the Sanké pond as the ‘Priest of theWater Spirits’ sacrifices cocks and goats andoffers cowries contributed by neighbouringvillages, begging the indulgence of the waterspirits for the success of the fishing. Thecollective rite then begins in the afternoon ascommunities fish together using large and small mesh nets, demonstrating theirknowledge and skills in the domain of fishing.The rite is followed by a masked dance on thepublic square where Buwa dancers from Sanand neighbouring villages dance to differentdrumbeats, wearing traditional costumes andhats decorated with cowrie shells and feathersand holding the tails of wild animals.

Traditional fishing is widespread in the region,however, during Sanké mon the differentcommunities and their diasporas come togetherto take part in this extraordinary collectivepractice. The Sanké mon rite thus strengthenssocial cohesion, demonstrating the religioustolerance of the region, and constitutes acelebration of communal unity through ethnicdiversity.

The city of San has some 50,000 inhabitants. TheSanké pond where the Sanké mon ritual takesplace is located 2 km outside the city, and is fedduring the rainy season by floodwaters of theBani, a tributary of the Niger River. The landoccupied by the Malinkés, Bambara and Buwacommunities that practise the rite is situated inthe heart of the Bendougou, a cultural area atthe crossroads of north and south Mali.

Two families assume the customaryresponsibilities for the Sanké mon collectivefishing rite. The Traoré are the original foundersof San and own the Sanké pond. The Daou arethe holders of the Sanké Ritual; priests of thewater spirits are traditionally drawn from thisfamily.

Although the Sanké mon collective fishing ritecontinues to take place every year at the sametime, the event is diminishing in intensity. Therehas been a progressive reduction in the level ofinterest from the inhabitants of San, combinedwith a lack of knowledge of the history of theevent and its importance for the local economyand social cohesion. Various founding mythshave been abandoned, and newer practiceshave been substituted by the youngergeneration and strangers – such as theorganization of wild races the day before thefeast. Inadequate attention to the older aspectsof Sanké mon means that traditions surroundingthe collective fishing rite are now at risk.

Another factor is the state of the Sanké itself. Arecent diagnosis revealed threats to the pond, in

The Sanké mon:collective fishing rite of the Sanké

Mali

Allaye Daou, the ‘Priest ofthe Water Spirits’ of theSanké pond. On the eveof the collective fishing,the priest makessacrifices to the pond tobeg the indulgence andbenevolence of thewater spirits.


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particular, decreased water level. This is a resultof both natural and human factors: the urbandevelopment of the town of San combined withlack of rain has resulted in insufficient watersupply to the pond that is now silting up.

The threats to the Sanké mon collective fishingrite are manageable if short and mid-termsafeguarding and revitalization measures aretaken to counter them. Hence, the importanceof the inscription of Sanké mon on the UrgentSafeguarding List.

On 7 May 2001, Mali inscribed the collectivefishing rite of Sanké mon on its national heritageinventory. Each year, the National Directorate forCultural Heritage provides financial support tothe town of San to support the organization ofSanké mon festivities.

Sanké mon benefits from cooperativeframeworks between the National Directoratefor Cultural Heritage, guardian communities andSan inhabitants in Bamako. Following diagnosisof threats to its continuity, local communitiesand professional groups for the promotion ofSan and its culture requested the Ministry forCulture to increase efforts to safeguard the ritual. The communities also demonstrated their commitment to implementing awareness-raising activities to ensure the continuity of the rite.

In July 2008, fifty community representatives,comprising families, custodians of the Sankémon rite, the village council of San and othernotables, requested the establishment of a localmanagement committee to ensure theperpetuation and transmission of Sanké mon.They also proposed its nomination forinscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List.Both proposals were unanimously accepted.

Collective fishing at theSanké pond bringstogether all of the diversepeoples of the north-east region of Mali.


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A number of activities have been proposed torevitalize and safeguard the rite. Therehabilitation of Sanké pond is a priority and canbe effected by clearing waterways obstructedby the impacts of human settlements. Theongoing construction of the Talo Dam couldcontribute towards this rehabilitation andprovide the framework for implementingincome-generating activities, such as thecreation of a fish farm and market gardeninground the pond.

The key to the survival of the Sanké mon ritual isits placement within a dynamic framework. Thiscould be engendered through the creation andpromotion of folklore (chants and dances) linkedto the rite, but also through the promotion ofcultural tourism.

Specific safeguarding measures to improve theviability of Sanké mon have been programmedover a four-year period beginning withinscription. These include the establishment of astructured management system, equipped withmaterial and supplies, to bring together thevarious stakeholders. The objective is to ensurethe enhancement and sustainable safeguardingof Sanké mon by collecting, conserving,promoting and diffusing cultural heritage linkedto the ritual practices.

A database will be created to compile existingdocumentation on Sanké mon from librariesand document centres, followed by collection offield data in communities and grass-root culturalassociations. The database will be madeavailable to all actors concerned, along with aninventory report.

Awareness-raising sessions will be held toinform the populations of San of the importanceof safeguarding and transmitting the practicesand knowledge linked to the rite. Particularemphasis will be placed on educating theyounger generation. A range of publicitymaterials relating to the festival will also beproduced and distributed to local actors andtourist agencies.

The media will play an important part, with localradio stations and other media broadcastinginformation on activities and the importance ofconserving and promoting the rite. Music anddances of different communities recordedduring the festivities will also be disseminated,and photographic records of the festivals will beexhibited at educational establishments, to raiseawareness among young pupils of theimportance of safeguarding their culturaltraditions.

Buwa dancers at thefestival that follows thecollective fishing at theSanké pond.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Sanké mon on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selectioncriteria, as follows:

The Sanké mon, recognized by people of San as an important part of theircultural heritage, is a significant expression of traditional worldview thatdemonstrates the religious tolerance of the region and contributes to thetransmission of traditional knowledge and practices; it celebrates the unityof this community through its ethnic diversity by bringing togetherdifferent groups living within San to celebrate a shared history.

Despite ongoing efforts of the traditional authorities to involve youngpeople in the preparation of the festival as a means to pass on knowledgeabout the history of the community and promote respect for traditionalcultural practices, and despite the efforts of local and national officials thatled to the recognition of the festival as an important element of nationalcultural heritage, the transmission process is threatened by the loss ofinterest among young generations, their migration to urban areas andabroad, and environmental conditions that put the fragile ecosystem ofthe marsh at risk.

Safeguarding measures including documentation and education of localresidents and authorities will facilitate the transmission to young people ofthe community and encourage best practices that could contribute toprotect the environmental health of the pond in the future.

State authorities have worked closely with traditional authorities, localofficials and the community at large to prepare the nomination project,which contains evidence of their free, prior and informed consent.

The Sanké mon: collective fishing rite of the Sanké is inscribed in Mali’sInventory of Natural, Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage.


State of viability



Inventory


9

60

Bearers and performers of the Mongolian folkdance Biyelgee typically live in remote areas ofwestern Mongolia. The dance originated from thenomadic way of life and is regarded as the root andwellspring of all Mongolian national dances.Biyelgee is tightly linked to traditional Mongoliancustoms and expresses the mentality, lifestyle andlanguages of its various ethnic groups. Bearers andperformers of Biyelgee are found among theTorguud, Zakhchin, Ould, Uriankhai and Myangadgroups in Khovd Province and the Bayad, Durvedand Khoton ethnic groups in Uvs Province. Eachgroup has its own diverse cultural and customarycharacteristics, such as dialects, costumes andcustoms.

The movements found in Biyelgee were definedby the small living space of the ger nomadic house. Shrugging and shaking of the chest andshoulders is combined with swift and stiffmovements of the arms and legs, hand gesturesand facial expressions. Some dances are performedhalf-sitting or cross-legged. The dance isaccompanied by instrumentation performed onthe morin khuur (horse-head fiddle), ikel khuur (two-stringed fiddle), tovshuur (lute) and tsuur (end-blown flute). The clothing and accessories ofBiyelgee dancers feature traditional craftsmanship,including embroidery, knitting and quiltingtechniques, leather and skin arts, and gold andsilver jewellery. The combination of colours andpatterns identifies the ethnic group andcommunity of the dancer.

Biyelgee is performed at festive events includingweddings, naadam festivities, and family and

community celebrations. It constitutes apeaceful expression of ethnicity and identityand promotes and strengthens mutualunderstanding among different Mongolianethnic groups. Traditionally, Mongol Biyelgee istransmitted to younger generations throughapprenticeships or home-tutoring within thefamily, clan or neighbourhood.

During most of the last century, traditionalculture and arts, particularly folklore andperforming arts, were suppressed in Mongoliabecause of their association with nationalidentity. This had a substantial impact on theexistence and survival of traditions such asBiyelgee. The number of bearers and performerswere severely reduced, jeopardizing both thedance’s core characteristics and the quality ofperformance.

Even after the political transformations at theend of the twentieth century, transmission ofthe traditional elements of Biyelgee continues toface a number of further challenges.Urbanization and globalization have wroughtsignificant changes to the country, leading tothe intensification of internal migration. Almosthalf the population now lives in the capital cityUlaanbaatar.

Biyelgee survives only among a small group ofpeople in remote areas of the westward end ofMongolia. Bearers are isolated in distance fromthose interested in learning and maintaining thetradition. Furthermore, the current generation ofheritage bearers is getting old, and the tradition

Mongol Biyelgee: Mongolian traditional folk dance

Mongolia

D. Usnee dressed in therichly coulouredcostume from Khoton inUvs Province, performingthe Khovoq dance.

G. Tsend-Ayushdemonstrating theTorguud Biyelgee dance‘Ereen Khavirga’. Inaddition to their bodygestures, dancers expressemotion through facialexpression.


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has to compete for the attention of practitionerswith worldwide pop culture and arts.

Biyelgee is in danger of disappearing altogether.Just over twenty people from different ethnicgroups can reproduce and display all its distinctiveaspects. Its specific forms are becoming intermixedand elements are being forgotten. Unless action istaken to ensure its survival in its original state,natural environment and social settings, newgenerations will lose the opportunity to inherit andmaintain the tradition.

In recent years, academic research on MongolBiyelgee and its bearers was undertaken byscholars and researchers in the rural areas ofMongolia with the support of the MongolianNational Commission for UNESCO, the MongolianCultural Studies Association and the Association ofMongolian National Arts and Folk Dance.Researchers undertook extensive measures todocument and digitize the intangible culturalheritage and its bearers, and map the spread of theheritage. Bearers voluntarily participated inregistration and freely offered their consent, as wellas their opinions, aspirations, proposals and advice.The principle opinion expressed by practitionerswas the need for organized training, publicawareness campaigns, research studies, and thestrengthening of existing legal frameworks, andfinancial and administrative supports.

Reflecting this broad input from those concerned,the ‘National Programme for Protection andDevelopment of Mongol Biyelgee: MongolianTraditional Folk Dance’ has been approved by theGovernment of Mongolia. Its four-year trainingplan aims at teaching and ensuring thetransmission of Biyelgee to at least eightyindividuals over the next four years; enrollingBiyelgee bearers, dancers and dance instructorsunder relevant training to improve their skills;strengthening research and public-awareness

Accompanied by themorin khuur horse-head fiddle, M. Jalkhperforms the BayadBiyelgee dance‘Elkendeg’.


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activities; and encouraging bearers and improvingthe efficiency of related initiatives and activities.

Planned activities to achieve these goals includethe creation of teams incorporating heritagebearers; the setting-up of monitoring schemes;and the development of draft legal frameworksand strengthening of existing legal frameworks.Researchers will carry out regional multi-ethnicsurveys to identify the location of heritage bearers,and will create a database of Biyelgee dancers. Thiswill be complemented by the organization ofinternational academic conferences and thepublication of proceedings, academic publicationsand articles.

Training plans and subject curricula will bedeveloped, training and production centres will beestablished in local communities to specialize inthe transmission of Biyelgee, and training manualsand guidelines will be published. Ethnic Biyelgeetraditions will also be incorporated into thecurricula of professional arts colleges, universitiesand general education schools.

A series of public-awareness campaigns will beinstituted including television documentaries andthe distribution of CDs and DVDs focusing on theBiyelgee of each ethnic group. Public meetingsand events related to Biyelgee will be organized,including local and national Biyelgee festivals,open seminars and exhibitions featuring heritagebearers. Contacts and cooperation withinternational institutions, counterparts andscholars will be established, and heritage bearerswill be encouraged to participate in internationalevents.

Activities to support and encourage heritagebearers will include state awards and recognitionfor prominent senior Biyelgee bearers, support foryoung aspiring dancers to encourage them toenter professional arts schools, and incentives tobearers who actively transfer and learn originalBiyelgee traditions. Assistance will be provided tosenior Biyelgee masters to access social welfareservices, and allowances provided to those whooffer home-based training or apprenticeships.

T. Khorloo performingthe Zakhchin Biyelgeedance ‘Khudulmur’.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Mongol Biyelgee on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selectioncriteria, as follows:

The Mongol Biyelgee includes a variety of dances performed by men andwomen of different Mongolian ethnic groups during important events oftheir communities, and reflecting in their movements the activities ofnomadic life; it is passed on from generation to generation whileconstantly being re-imagined and recreated, its participatory aspectreinforcing social cohesion and promoting distinct local identities.

Despite the importance of this traditional dance as a manifestation of thestrong relationship of the Mongolians with their environment, socio-historical changes of the last decades, including migration and a shift incultural values, have led to a weakening of the transmission cycle, and theBiyelgee finds itself threatened by the reduced number and advanced ageof its practitioners as well as diminished interest among younggenerations.

The safeguarding measures proposed not only include research and newlegal protections, but also attempt to change people’s perception of theBiyelgee and to support its primary tradition-bearers; by trying to changeyoung people’s attitudes towards the Biyelgee, the safeguarding plan canencourage them to embrace it and to recreate it as a marker of identity.

Comments, recommendations and suggestions of Biyelgee bearers,individuals, organizations and researchers have been reflected in thenomination and safeguarding plan, which were prepared with theinvolvement and consent of a broad range of communal and individualtradition bearers.

Biyelgee is listed on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritagein the territory of Mongolia and prioritized as Intangible Cultural Heritagein Need of Urgent Safeguarding.


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Inventory


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10

The Mongolian Tuuli oral tradition recountsheroic epics from Mongolian history. Evolvingover a span of many centuries to eulogize andimmortalize Mongolian heroes, these epicsconstitute an oral encyclopaedia of nationalhistories, myths, legends and folk songs. Epicscan run from hundreds to thousands of lines, andcombine different poetic narrative techniquesand vocal improvisation. Epics are learnt by roteand transmitted from fathers to sons withinkinship circles. Currently, there are only about tenepic performers living in the remote westernregion of Mongolia who maintain and transmitthese Tuuli performing traditions.

Epic singers are renowned for their remarkablememory, imagination and commitment.Professional singers traditionally perform specificepics during social and public events, such asstate affairs, wedding ceremonies, the naadam(a wrestling, archery and horseracing festival), achild’s first haircut, hunting expeditions and theworship of sacred sites. In ordinary households,epics are traditionally performed at night-time.The singer performs by burning butter-candle:‘Erkh Nachin Khartsaga’ for a family wishing tohave a child; ‘Bayan Tsagaan Uvgun’ for wealthand long life. Mongolian heroic epics can lastseveral hours and some are performed overseveral nights.

During the seventy years of the MongolianPeople’s Republic, traditional nomadic lifestylesand national culture were suppressed. In itsaftermath, Mongolia experienced continuedrapid urbanization against a backdrop of

increasing globalization. As a consequence, theMongolian Tuuli epic lost its traditional place inthe culture, and interest decreasedcorrespondingly among the general public. Thenumber and distribution of epic performancesdiminished drastically as a result. MongolianTuuli epics were once found across Mongolia.Today, they survive only in the western region,specifically Duut County in Khovd Province,Malchin and Naranbulag Counties in UvsProvince and in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

In today’s Mongolia, traditional nomadiclifestyles continue to face pressure fromincreased internal migration andindustrialization. Young people have less freetime and increasingly prefer modern culture tothe lengthy performances of heroic epics. Anadditional barrier is lack of understanding of theUriankhai dialect and archaic lyrics common toheroic epics. Trained professional epic mastershave decreased in number and the repertory ofexisting performers has diminished, with the fewremaining epic performers increasinglyperforming only parts of epics, largely onspecific social and ceremonial occasions.

While a recent expert study confirmed that theskills and talents of existing Tuuli performers arediminished compared to the singers of the past,safeguarding measures, if taken quickly, couldrevive the Mongolian epic. There isconsequently an urgent need to strengthen andtransmit the skills and techniques of the fewexisting traditional epic bearers to prevent itspermanent loss.

Mongol Tuuli: Mongolian epicMongolia

Ya. Tsegeen, an ethnicBayad epic performer,recites the ‘Dunun nasthuleg erdene’ epicaccompanied by themorin khuur, aMongolian horse-headfiddle.


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In recent years there have been a number ofactivities to promote and safeguard MongolianTuuli. Measures to identify and support epicbearers were initiated as part of a Mongolian‘Living Human Treasures’ programme, while theInstitute of Language and Literature of Mongoliahas organized academic meetings andworkshops on the safeguarding of traditionalepics, and made available the texts of epics in itsserial publication Mongolian Folklore Session. Aninternational symposium on the ‘Central AsianEpic’ was organized in 1998, which not onlyenhanced public awareness, but alsoencouraged epic performers to exchangeexperiences and improve their skills. Meanwhile,on the educational front, certain popular epicshave been incorporated into secondary andhigh-school curricula, and two Uriankhai epicsingers are working as schoolteachers andtraining apprentices.

The nomination of Mongolian epic for theUrgent Safeguarding List received thewidespread support and consent of thecommunities, groups and individualsconcerned. They actively engaged withspecialists from the Ministry of Education,Culture and Science, scholars and experts, localadministrative bodies and NGOs to identify thespread of the epic and register survivingperformers. They provided logistics andguidance for meetings between researchers andepic bearers in rural areas; appointed an expertfor the field research team; supplied information,photography, audio and audio-visual recordings;and assisted with the elaboration of nominationdocuments.

Two epic singers from Duut County providedthe field research team with importantinformation on the current situation and futuresafeguarding, as well as facts on rituals andcustoms related to epic and learning traditions.

Khovd Province and Uvs Province providedtransport and local herders and epic performersguided the team through areas during harshwinter weather. Epic singers gave their supportby reciting epics and recounting stories on theorigin and meaning of customs and rituals. Theygave their consent for the usage of their epicsfor the publicity and development of theMongol epic worldwide.

Further safeguarding measures and activities areplanned as part of a four-year project to create asocio-cultural environment capable of ensuringthe survival and viability of Mongoliantraditional epics.

To ensure transmission, the traditional epichome-tutoring and apprenticeship method willbe restored and developed. Each home-tutoringcentre is to train two to three learners andtransmit one to two epics along with thetechniques of transmission. Mongolian epictraining centres will be established at schoolsand theatres, involving the participation ofpractitioners and expert scholars, as well as theuse of audio recordings to restore forgottenepics. Rituals and customs related to epicperformance will also be restored – primarily,the tradition of reciting epics during public andfamily festive events and rituals.

The local dialects that function as the mainvehicle for transmission of epic performancesneed to be safeguarded. Attempts will thereforebe made to revive and recreate these withoutlosing their unique features.

The legal and economic framework for thetransmission and development of Mongolianepics needs to be improved to ensure themaintenance of bearers’ livelihoods and tocreate an incentive system for bearers andlearners.

A Western Mongoliantwo-stringed lute calledthe tovshuur.

Twenty-nine year old A. Baldandorj, an ethnicUriankhai epicperformer, playing atovshuur (two-stringedlute) while reciting the‘Narankhuu Khaan’ epic.


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Public awareness of Mongolian traditional epicswill be increased through publications, radioand television, CDs, cassettes and otherphotographic, sound and audiovisual materials,as well as the promotion of Tuuli through formaland non-formal education systems. Furtherevents related to Tuuli will be organized,including joint symposiums, workshops, epicperformances, shows and exhibitions.

Throughout all of these efforts, local people inthe current territory of the Mongolian traditionalepic, including epic performers, trainers,descendants of old epic singers, folk artists,cultural heritage activists, governmental andnon-governmental experts and researchers, willall be fully involved in activities for safeguardingMongolian epics.

Young students recitingthe ‘Altain Maqtaal’ epic.A good memory is oneof the prerequisites oflearning as Mongolianepics contain hundredsto thousands of lines.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe Mongolian Tuuli on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selectioncriteria, as follows:

A living oral expression that is crucial for the cultural identity of theMongolian people and for the historical continuity of their nomadiclifestyle, the Mongol Tuuli epic plays an important role in the traditionaleducation of younger people living in the communities where it isperformed.

Although Mongolian singers continue to attach great importance toperforming the epic within traditional contexts and in sacred settings, andendeavour to transmit performing techniques to the younger generationin the manner learned from their ancestors, the epic is today at severe riskbecause of its shrinking social sphere, changing socioeconomic conditionsand the weakening of nomadic practices, the difficulties for youngerpeople to master the complex poetic language, and the increasingpopularity of mass entertainment media.

A safeguarding plan, developed from a careful analysis of urgent needsand long-term goals, emphasizes training young performers in order tosustain intergenerational transmission, while strengthening the statusaccorded to epics and their singers and revitalizing the traditional ritualcontexts of performance.

The nomination resulted from a wide-reaching consultative process thatinvolved local communities and epic performers, whose views andaspirations are clearly reflected in the safeguarding measures proposedand whose free, prior and informed consent is demonstrated throughletters.

Mongolian Tuuli is listed in the National Inventory of Intangible CulturalHeritage in the Territory of Mongolia, where it is prioritized as IntangibleCultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.


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Tsuur music, a combination of instrumental andvocal performance, is an ancient form ofMongolian music with a unique sound.Practitioners touch the mouthpiece of thewooden Tsuur flute to their front teeth andapply their throat, producing a clear whistlingsound and an accompanying drone. The clearand gentle whistling sounds created areintended to imitate those found in the wild,such as waterfalls and streams, and wereoriginally a form of nature worship.

Since the Hun dynasty, the UriankhaiMongolians of the Altai Region in westernMongolia have related Tsuur music to the spiritof the Altai Mountains, and revered it as a forceto ward off evil from a household. Althoughonce performed at state occasions, Tsuur istoday traditionally played on occasions such asweddings, hunts and other festivities, or toappeal for benign weather or safe journeys.

The Tsuur itself is a wooden end-blown flutewith three finger holes. The first instrumentswere fashioned from plants, but these brokeeasily or wore out quickly. Nowadays, Tsuur aremade from larch tree branches or the trunk of awhite bush.

The forty known folk melodies and tunes thatconstitute the Tsuur repertoire are transmittedby memory and are currently preserved bydescendants and apprentices of the ancientnomads that populated the northern andsouthern slopes of the Mongolian AltaiMountains. The traditional music of the Tsuur

forms an important part of the UriankhaiMongolian’s relationship with their naturalenvironment and a critical element in assuringtheir survival within it. It accompanies dailyactivities and animal herding as well as religiousceremonies and rituals.

During the long period of Soviet rule, forms ofnational heritage were suppressed. But eveninto the 1950s, every Uriankhai family had aTsuur of its own and the vast majority ofUriankhai Mongolian men could play theinstrument. The numbers of practitioners andperformances have since declined dramatically,causing an interruption in transmission of thisintangible heritage. Ongoing processes ofurbanization, industrialization andwesternization have resulted in the irreversiblebreakdown of nomadic ways of life, with theyounger generation increasingly attractedtowards mass culture at the cost of traditionalforms of heritage.

The last prominent Tsuur performer, the latePaarain Narantsogt of the Tsagaan Tug clan,passed away in 2003 at the age of 81, leavingthe tradition at the brink of extinction. He wasable to pass elements of the techniques of Tsuurand its performance to his offspring andapprentices, and at present, his followers arediligently learning to grasp the secrets ofperformance and the rich repertoire of theirformer master. However, the small number ofapprentices, their incomplete emulation of Tsuurperformance methods and techniques, andtheir limited repertoire mean that hope for the

Traditional music of the Tsuur

Mongolia

Young Tsuur performer,B. Nemekhjargal, is thegrandson of eminentperformer, PaarainNarantsogt.


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revival of Mongolian Tsuur remains faint and thethreat of extinction is ever-present.

Traditionally found among members of theUriankhai ethnic group of the Altai Region, theTsuur and its traditions are preserved todaylargely by the descendants and apprentices ofthe late Paarain Narantsogt in Duut District,Khovd Province, in westernmost Mongolia. In2007, members of this group, along with anumber of art scholars and cultural activists,founded an NGO entitled the Hunnic TsuurPerformers’ Association, aimed at preserving andreviving the traditions of Mongolian Tsuur. Ledby Buyandelgeriin Naranbat, grandson of thelate Narantsogt, this organization is dedicated tothe cause of revival and promotion of thisperforming art. In addition to performinginternationally, Naranbat has taught in a Tsuurcourse at the National Centre for IntangibleCultural Heritage and organized a short-termbasic Tsuur skills course in neighbouring BayanUlgiy province.

The descendants of Narantsogt and the HunnicTsuur Performers’ Association constitute, atpresent, the primary Tsuur community.Members have been active teaching pilotworkshops on Tsuur preservation andinheritance and have vigorously promotedpublic awareness campaigns on Tsuurpreservation, especially through broadcastingand mass media. The community also madeenormous contributions to field surveys and thedrafting of the nomination bid for inclusion ofMongolian Tsuur on the Urgent SafeguardingList.

The National Centre for Intangible CulturalHeritage has recorded the repertoire of the latePaarain Narantsogt, thereby establishing animportant database and indispensable learningmaterial for future generations. The Centre also

conducted a field study of the state of the Tsuurtradition. The survey aimed to trace Tsuurtraditions remaining extant, identify willing andpotentially talented learners, and establishcontact with local administrations andinstitutions, to explore the possibility oflaunching Tsuur training courses. Subsequently,experimental Tsuur courses were set up inBuyant Soum county of Bayan Ulgiy province,Jargalant county of Khovd Province andUlaanbaatar.

A series of further safeguarding measures havebeen proposed to revive Tsuur performance,repertoire and related popular customs, and setthe basis for a systematic study of the art. Thesetake the form of a nationwide five-yearprogramme, in participation with thedescendants and apprentices of Narantsogt andthe Hunnic Tsuur Performers Association. In2001, the Parliament of Mongolia adopted theLaw on Cultural Heritage Protection, providing alegal foundation for researching, identifying,documenting, registering, reviving andpromoting elements of intangible culturalheritage. This Law constitutes the legal basis andnational commitment for Tsuur protection andpromotion.

Concerts and festivals will be organized at thelocal and national level, and a system ofallowances will be established for existing Tsuurpractitioners. Training courses will beestablished to ensure the continuation of theheritage. Teacher training courses will be set upfor the descendants of Narantsogt, andpotentially talented youth will be enrolled inregional training centres, with the mostpromising selected for professional musicalschools. Efforts will aim at reviving Tsuurtraditions at the local level, in particular inhouseholds, so as to re-establish its connectionto its livelihood and traditional customs.

Performer Kh. Chuluun isthe grandson of eminentTsuur master, PaarainNarantsogt of theTsagaan Tug clan,whose members arekeeping the musictradition alive.


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Measures will also be undertaken to promotethe revival of the traditional Mongolian Tsuurrepertoire, through the recording and notationof known melodies, and research for forgottenmelodies. Promotional activities will include thepreparation and dissemination of study guides

based on video and audio documentation ofthe performance and repertoire of Narantsogt.Documentary series and CDs featuring Tsuurperformances will be promoted on radio andtelevision broadcasts. Academic conferences onTsuur will also be organized.

Paarain Narantsogt, theeminent Tsuurperformer, with hisfamily.


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The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedthe traditional music of the Tsuur on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied allthe selection criteria, as follows:

Deeply rooted in the nomadic ways of life of the Uriankhai ethnic group ofthe Altai Mountains in north-western Mongolia, the traditional music ofthe Tsuur is an important part of the people’s relationship with their naturalenvironment and a critical element in assuring their survival within it, as itaccompanies daily activities and animal herding as well as religiousceremonies and rituals.

Despite a growing awareness and concern about local and regionaltraditional cultural forms, and the willingness and active commitment ofapprentices to preserving the element, the tradition of the Tsuur isthreatened by developments such as an ever-growing appeal ofcosmopolitan lifestyles, migration to urban areas, processes of urbanizationand industrialization, the loss of the cultural contexts for its practice andthe passing of Tsuur performers.

An ambitious set of safeguarding measures, including the support ofperformers and teachers, the identification of aspiring players, or thepreparation of audio-visual training materials, while raising the legal statusof the Tsuur, addresses essential needs and can be expected to have alasting impact on the element’s viability.

The nomination has been elaborated with the active involvement of theTsuur-playing community, in particular the Hunnic Tsuur Performers’Association, key Tsuur performers, and communities in several countiesthat have shown their willingness to safeguard Tsuur playing and havegiven their free, prior and informed consent to its nomination.

The Uriankhai Mongolian Tsuur is inscribed on the National UrgentSafeguarding List of Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage and theNational Registrar of the Elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage kept bythe Cultural Heritage Center under the Ministry of Education, Culture andScience of Mongolia.


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Ca trù is a sophisticated form of sung poetryfound in the villages and urban areas of fourteenprovinces and cities in the north of Viet Nam, aswell as in Hô Chí Minh city in the south. Itemerged in the fifteenth century, and wasoriginally performed as an accompaniment toworship (hát thò). With time, highly skilfulperformances were also given at the royalpalace on ceremonial occasions (chúc hô),competitions were held (hát thi), and the artbecame a form of upper and middle classentertainment (hát choi).

Ca trù groups are made up of three performers.The female singer employs a high register and aunique form of ornamentation known as nayhat. She guides herself on phách wooden orbamboo clappers, while two other musiciansplay the đàn đáy three-stringed lute and thetrông châ praise drum. The drummer usesparticular drum patterns to express hisappreciation or criticism of the performance. Ca trù has fifty-six different musical forms ormelodies, each of which is known as thê cách.Some Ca trù performances also include hát cuađình singing in communal houses accompaniedby different forms of dances such as bo bô, túlinh, and bài bông, although this has declinedwith the loss of communal houses.

Ca trù singing embodies a range of musical anddance practices, as well as expertise andknowledge of poetry, constituting an identitymarker of Vietnamese communities. It istransmitted by musicians and devoteesdedicated to performing, teaching and

developing the tradition. Transmission formerlyoccurred within families, however, folk artistsnow teach any who wish to learn.

From 1945 to 1975, Ca trù cultural heritage fell intooblivion, largely because of insufficient awarenessand partly because of a succession of wars. Since1990, Ca trù has undergone a modest process ofrevival, as the government and society at largehave become more aware of its value andimportance. However, despite this renewal ofinterest, the survival of Ca trù remains under threat.

One factor is the loss of dedicated performancespaces. Those in royal palaces no longer exist. Thesame can be said for village communal houses.Furthermore, in spite of attempts at restoration, oldCa trù songs remain incomplete and few cancompose new lyrics in the traditional pattern, ormaster the difficult Han Nom ideographic script.

Furthermore, research in 2008 revealed that of thetwenty-one folk artists registered in 2004, four hadpassed away and five were so weak that they wereunable to perform or teach Ca trù. Of those thatremain, the youngest was in his late 70s and theoldest was 100 at the time of the survey. Despiteefforts undertaken by these folk artists to transmitthe Ca trù repertoire, the entire heritage may belost within a few years unless they are given thenecessary support and better conditions.

Since the late 1990s, a series of scientificconferences, workshops and discussionsconcerning Ca trù have taken place, featuring theparticipation of folk artists, musicologists,

Ca trù singingViet Nam

Thái Hà Ca trù club, Hà Nôi.

Folk artist Nguyên PhúĐe teaching the đànđáy three-stringed luteto Pham Thi Huê who isa teacher of traditionalinstruments at the VietNam Conservatory ofMusic.

‘

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,

.

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.


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researchers and cultural managers. The aim ofthese events has been to assess the situation of Catrù, promote its value, establish plans for research,documentation, restoration, transmission andpreservation, and increase awareness anddissemination of the heritage.

Following the Vietnamese government’s decisionto submit a nomination file on Ca trù singing forthe Urgent Safeguarding List, many localcommunities participated voluntarily inpreparatory activities. They assisted with theinventory of Ca trù cultural heritage in theirlocalities, while many Ca trù folk artists and familylines provided valuable documents andinformation relating to the appearance andspecific characteristics of Ca trù heritage.Practitioners also enthusiastically re-performed Catrù musical forms so that the Vietnamese Institutefor Musicology could make audio and videorecordings.

During the preparation of the nomination file, localcommunities participated in conferences andworkshops to present their viewpoints, helped toanalyse and select priorities for urgentsafeguarding, and proposed measures forrevitalizing, safeguarding and disseminating theheritage. Recognizing the urgent situation and thechallenges at hand, the communities committedthemselves to carrying out short and long-termaction plans for the preservation anddissemination of Ca trù. Finally, the communitiesundertook the final review of the nomination file.

An inventory of Ca trù singers was undertakenbetween 2004 and 2008, which influenced thefounding of twenty-two Ca trù clubs established topreserve, perform and transmit the heritage toyoung performers. The revitalization andtransmission of Ca trù are an on-going concern.Currently, introductory and specialized courses arebeing taught by folk artists in Ca trù clubs of

Ca trù Hát Chúc hô(singing in the royalpalace) was performedon celebratoryoccasions, with only themost gifted singers andinstrumentalists chosento perform.

Folk artist Nguyên ThiVuon transmitting Ca trùto young people inChanh Thôn village, PhúXuyên district, Hà Nôi.


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fourteen cities and provinces. In the specialized Catrù classes practitioners transmit thirty musicalforms and eight dances to younger singers. Theintroductory classes teach Ca trù songs anddances, as well as lute-playing.

The dissemination and popularization of Ca trù willspread to high schools and universities in 2010,through the organization of extra-curricular

activities. The aim is to encourage familiarizationand study of the heritage. Materials on Ca trùsuitable for all levels from high school to universitywill be compiled and printed.

Another current project concerns research andpublication of books on Ca trù. Specific activitiesinclude the production of a training textbook forthe National Academy of Music andConservatories in Viet Nam, the translation andpublication of 4,000 papers of Ca trù-related Han-Nom materials, and the production of a DVD.Earlier research is complemented by an inventoryand systematization of Ca trù documentationincluding audio and video recordings – a three-year programme that will culminate in theestablishment of a database at the VietnameseInstitute for Musicology.

Five festivals have also been organized to createnew opportunities for the community to promoteand disseminate Ca trù. These will continue withthe creation of two national Ca trù festivals andone local Ca trù festival, alternating betweenregions.

Lastly, efforts will be undertaken as part of a ten-year programme to restore places of worshiprelated to Ca trù. In the past, every year or in Springand Autumn, those who practised Ca trù gatheredin such places to perform ceremonies praising theancestors.

Folk artist Ngô TrongBình, born in 1927,Thanh Hóa city.


The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribedCa trù singing on the Urgent Safeguarding List as the nomination file satisfied all the selectioncriteria, as follows:

Ca trù singing embodies a range of musical and dance practices, as well asexpertise and knowledge of poetry, constituting an identity marker ofVietnamese communities that is transmitted today by musicians anddevotees dedicated to performing, teaching and developing the tradition.

Ca trù has seen a revival of interest in recent years, creating an importantbase for developing a sustainable Ca trù culture in a modern context, yetthe element’s viability is still at risk due to the small number of musicianswith sufficient competence, knowledge and skill to perform and teach Catrù, a lack of financial resources necessary to sustain and develop the form,the loss of traditional performing places, and rapid processes of economic,social and cultural change.

The proposed safeguarding measures are coherent and wide-ranging,supported by an ambitious and well-funded plan to safeguard Ca trù thatcan be expected to have a significant impact on the sustainability of thepractice and transmission of Ca trù singing, while relying on the deepknowledge still existing in the participating communities.

The element has been nominated with the free, prior and informedconsent of communities, groups of musicians, their families, Ca trù clubs,and with the support of relevant Government departments, while theinscription and the proposed safeguarding measures will pay adequaterespect for the customary practices and rules concerning various rituals,local beliefs and associated family matters.

Ca trù singing is included in the inventory of Vietnamese musical heritageand performing arts held by the Vietnamese Institute for Musicologywithin the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.


State of viability



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Photographic credits

1. Belarus Rite of the Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars) © Norito Kunisue

2. China Qiang New Year festival © 2005, Wan Yuchuan

3. China Traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges © 2009, Ruisheng Rao© 2009, Minhui Huang© 2009, Nianzu Gao© 2009, Daoju Zheng

4. China Traditional Li textile techniques: spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidering © 2005, Hainan Provincial Mass Art Center

5. France The Cantu in paghjella: a secular and liturgical oral tradition of Corsica © 2009, Michèle Guelfucci-Glinatsis

6. Kenya Traditions and practices associated to the Kayas in the sacred forests of the Mijikenda © 2007, National Museums of Kenya

7. Latvia Suiti cultural space © 2008, Juris Lipsnis

8. Mali The Sanké mon: collective fishing rite of the Sanké © Direction nationale du patrimoine culturel, Ministère de la culture du Mali

9. Mongolia Mongol Biyelgee: Mongolian traditional folk dance © 2008, A. Duurenjargal

10. Mongolia Mongol Tuuli: Mongolian epic © 2008, A. Duurenjargal

11. Mongolia Traditional music of the Tsuur © 2007, B. Naranbat

12. Viet Nam Ca trù singing © 2006, Vietnamese Institute for Musicology. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam


CLT-2010/WS/9

IntangibleHeritage of HumanityList of Intangible CulturalHeritage in Need of UrgentSafeguarding

The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need ofUrgent Safeguarding is established in accordance withArticle 17 of the Convention for the Safeguarding ofthe Intangible Cultural Heritage. Its primary objectiveis to mobilize concerted efforts of various stakeholdersin order to safeguard particularly endangeredintangible cultural heritage.

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