UNESCO unveils new inscriptions to Intangible Cultural Heritage list including yodelling and Italian cooking UNESCO unveils new inscriptions to Intangible Cultural Heritage list including yodelling and Italian cooking

UNESCO has just unveiled the new inscriptions to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

First established in 2008, there are now nearly 800 cultural practices on the list, including the tango in Argentina and Uruguay, China’s Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mongolian traditional festival of Nadaam.

This year’s list, unveiled at the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi, includes traditions such as yodelling in Switzerland, Arabic Kohl, India’s Diwali, and Italian cooking.

Additions to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, which details cultural practices that need urgent intervention to keep alive, sadly includes elements including the art of playing the Kobyz in Uzbekistan and the Negliubka textile tradition of Belarus.

The new inscriptions on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are as follows:

Africa

• Guruna, a practice of pastoral, socio-cultural and artistic retreats centered on livestock among the Massa, Chad and Cameroon
• The zaffa in the traditional wedding, Djibouti, Comoros, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania and Somalia
• Koshary, daily life dish and practices associated with it, Egypt
• Gifaataa, Wolaita people New Year festival, Ethiopia
• Mvet Oyeng, musical art, practices and skills associated with the Ekang community, Gabon, Cameroon and Congo
• Highlife music and dance, Ghana
• Tsapiky, rhythm and musical style characteristic of the South-West region of Madagascar, Madagascar
• Moroccan Caftan: art, traditions and skills, Morocco
• Tchiloli, living theatre of Sao Tome and Principe in the quest of justice, Sao Tome and Principe
• Al-Jertiq: practices, rituals and expressions for preservation, protection, abundance and fertility, Sudan
• The bearing of the sacred stone or the rites of the New Year in the Guin country, Togo

Asia

• Behzad’s style of miniature art, Afghanistan
• Traditional Saree weaving art of Tangail, Bangladesh
• Georgian wheat culture: traditions and rituals, Georgia
• Diwali, India
• Traditional knowledge and cultural contexts of making Maksym, a traditional Kyrgyz beverage, Kyrgyzstan
• Kithul Madeema/Kithul Kapeema, an ancient Indigenous technology for tapping Kithul, Sri Lanka
• Culture of Sumanak/Sumalak cooking, Tajikistan
• The art of breeding Turkmen alabay, Turkmenistan

Caribbean, Central & South America

• Cuarteto: music, dance and lyrics in the city of Córdoba, Argentina
• Christmas Bram and Sambai of Gales Point Manatee, Belize
• Festivity of the Virgen of Guadalupe – Patroness of Sucre, Bolivia
• Family tradition circus, Chile
• The practice of Cuban Son, Cuba
• The Confraternity of flowers and palms, El Salvador
• The Compas of Haiti
• Sarawja, Aimara music and dance of Moquegua, Peru
• Joropo, Venezuela

Europe

• Brussels’ rod marionette tradition, Belgium
• Bagpipes and bagpipe playing in Bulgaria: transmission of knowledge and skills, Bulgaria
• Amateur theatre acting, Czechia
• Commandaria wine, Cyprus
• Swimming pool culture, Iceland
• Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity, Italy
• Basketry traditions, Poland
• Cobza, traditional knowledge, skills and music, Romania and Republic of Moldova
• Yodelling, Switzerland
• Antep İşi, drawn thread embroidery of Gaziantep, Türkiye

Middle East

• Ayeneh-Kari, the art of mirror-work in Persian architecture, Iran
• Al-Muhaibis: social practices and traditions associated with it, Iraq
• Al-Mihrass tree: knowledge, skills and rituals associated with it, Jordan
• The Diwaniya, a unifying cultural practice, Kuwait
• Bisht (men’s Abaa): skills and practices – Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic and United Arab Emirates
• Arabic Kohl, Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Oman, State of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates
• Al Ahalla, a living performing art, United Arab Emirates
• Hadrami Dan gathering, Yemen

North America

• Representation of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ in Iztapalapa, Mexico

The new inscriptions to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Africa

• Mwazindika spiritual dance of the Daida community, Kenya

Asia

• Boreendo, Bhorindo: ancient dying folk musical instrument, its melodies, knowledge, and skills, Pakistan
• The practice of making Asin Tibuok, the artisanal sea salt of the Boholano of Bohol Island, Philippines
• Art of crafting and playing Kobyz, Uzbekistan
• Craft of making Đông Hồ Folk woodblock printings, Vietnam

Caribbean, Central & South America

• The social and cultural traditions associated with landships in Barbados, Barbados
• Construction processes of the quincha house and the junta de embarre / embarra, Panama
• Ñai’ũpo art, ancestral ceramic craftsmanship, Paraguay

Europe

• Art of playing, singing and making the lahuta, Albania
• Negliubka textile tradition of Vetka District Gomel Region, Belarus
• Moliceiro boat: naval carpentry art of the Aveiro region, Portugal

More information: ich.unesco.org

Read next: Everything you need to know about Mongolia’s Naadam Festival