Many people
know of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, which include structures such as China’s
Great Wall and Tanzania’s Stone Town of Zanzibar - “places on earth that are of
outstanding universal value to humanity”; but fewer perhaps know of the UN
agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
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| A snapshot of Belgium's beer-drinking culture. (Photo: Stephane Radermacher) |
This is an
international register of cultural practices that are important for communities,
in both traditional and modern ways, and 171 UNESCO member states have ratified
a convention to safeguard such customs.
For ten years
now, since the convention came into force in 2006, UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage
Committee has met annually to choose nominees for inscription on the List, and next week members are meeting in Ethiopia to focus on traditional songs,
rituals, celebrations and, in one case, beer drinking.
According to
UNESCO, Belgium has put forward its beer-drinking culture for inscription on
the Representative List, stating that “making and appreciating beer is part of
the living heritage of a range of communities throughout” the country.
“It plays a
role in daily life, as well as festive occasions,” says the Belgian
application. “Almost 1,500 types of beer are produced in the country including
by some Trappist [monk] communities.”
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| A group of children "rumbeando". (Photo: National Council for Cultural Heritage, Cuba) |
The submission from Belgium is among 37 requests for inscription on the Representative List of
the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH), with others including rumba
in Cuba, the Tahteeb stick game in Egypt, yoga in India, merengue music and
dance in the Dominican Republic, a festival in Nigeria, and traditional wooden-boat making in Norway.
“An essential
criterion for the list is community,” said Tim Curtis, a cultural
anthropologist and chief of UNESCO’s section on ICH. “The community voice takes
precedence over the expert voice in this area.”
The
Representative List so far numbers 336 inscribed elements and aims “to enhance
the visibility of communities’ traditions and knowledge without recognizing
standards of excellence or exclusivity”, says UNESCO.
Curtis told
SWAN in an interview that another key aspect in the consideration for inclusion
on the List is the “inter-generational transmission” of the custom.
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| Artists entertaining participants at Nigeria's Argungu international fishing and cultural festival. (Photo: A. Olagunju) |
“As well as a
historical or traditional function, it should have a future role as well,” he
said. “I see it as an approach to heritage that is forward-looking, something that
tends towards continuity.”
The
Committee, meeting from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 in Addis Ababa, comprises the
representatives of 24 of the countries that have ratified the convention, and its members will equally examine five nominations for inscription on the List of
Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
Among these
are Portugal’s Bisalhães black pottery manufacturing process, whose future is
“under threat” because of waning interest; and Uganda’s Ma’di “bowl lyre music
and dance”, one of the oldest cultural practices of the country’s Ma’di people
that is considered at risk - mainly because younger people think it
“old-fashioned” and the materials used come from species that are currently
endangered.
UNESCO said
that the Committee will also examine issues concerning intangible heritage in
emergency situations caused by conflict or natural disaster. It will “envisage
safeguarding measures that can be applied in such cases and consider the role
intangible heritage can play in restoring social cohesion and supporting
reconciliation”, the agency said.
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| Merengue musicans in the Dominican Republic. (Photo: Ministry of Culture) |
Curtis
explained that the Committee will furthermore look into the creation of “a
monitoring instrument” to measure the convention’s impact and the progress achieved
over the past 10 years.
“The real
impact of the convention is whether countries are setting up programs to
protect intangible heritage,” he said.
The fact that
171 “state parties” have ratified the convention at such a fast rate does show
some commitment, according to culture experts, but there has to be action at
the national level as well, even when it is practitioners of the custom that
submit it for inclusion on the List.
Belgium’s beer-drinking
culture was submitted by its German-speaking community, on behalf of all three
of the country’s language groups, because “beer-drinking is an integral part of Belgian culture”, said spokesman Dirk Vandriessche.
“It’s really about
the culture, and not about beer, and it is important to make that distinction,”
he said in a telephone interview. “Every festivity is with beer.”
While this
culture has long had hosts of admirers and seems at no risk of being swallowed
up by modernization, other customs and practices - such as rumba - may need greater support and recognition, especially because of their traditional importance.
“Rumba in
Cuba, with its chants, movements, gestures and music, acts as an expression of
resistance and self-esteem while evoking grace, sensuality and joy to connect
people,” says the Cuban submission.
It adds that
the music and dance are associated with African heritage but also feature elements of Antillean culture and Spanish flamenco, reflecting significant historical
movements. – A.M.
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