UNESCO introduced a relatively new form of protection to safeguard and preserve some of the most unique cultural heritage in the world.
The global organization’s cultural, educational, and scientific arm is known for effectively recognizing and promoting spectacular human-built and natural environments. But UNESCO formulated a new category to include some of the most distinct intangible cultural traditions from around the world — not dealing in physical places, but cultural traditions like unique art, dance, food, music, and other customs that have been passed generation after generation, for hundreds and thousands of years. Read on to explore!
During the 1970s, Cambodia was faced with genocide, resulting in the destruction of its ancient society and its exuberant tradition of performance and art. Following the genocide, only 10% of Cambodia’s classical artists could get through the terror. And only a handful of natives could perform Khmer classical dance—a form of dramatic ballet—nearly 1,300-year-old, featuring stylized poses and intricate gestures. But a new generation of performers is training more people to keep this art form alive.
Expert carvers craft intricate puppets using leather smeared with pigments, and this unique Chinese tradition is over 2,000 years old. In shadow puppetry, the puppets are created with separate pieces of cloth, stuck together with string or wire. They are attached to long rods that are held and controlled by the puppeteer, and the puppets are moved behind a translucent white screen, typically made of cloth or paper. Light is projected on the screen, enabling the audience to witness the moving shadows.
From April to November, a group of fishermen from Belgium’s Oostduinkerke (a small town) ride on the backs of their muscular Brabant horses to collect shrimps from the North Sea. The fishermen drag a chain across the sandy shore to create vibrations, stimulating the shrimps to pop into the net.
This unusual language is used in a rugged hill town of Çanakçi District, in Turkey. Locals use this whistled language to communicate with people across the valleys and peaks of the rural regions. The whistled “bird language” or kuş dili can convey a wide range of messages—from announcing death or birth to sending invitations to tea parties, without the use of words.
UNESCO is doing a brilliant job at spreading awareness regarding various distinct intangible cultural customs and protecting them from vanishing forever.
