Abu Dhabi sees 76 inscriptions on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible

WAM by Mahmoud Sulaiman ABU DHABI, 30th Sep. 2009 (WAM): The Tango of Argentina and Uruguay, the traditional Ainu dance of Japan and France's Aubusson tapestries are among the 76 elements inscribed on 30 September on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

These 76 inscriptions were decided by the 24 Member States of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, currently holding its 4th session in Abu Dhabi under the chairmanship of Awadh Ali Saleh Al Musabi of the United Arab Emirates.

Following are the elements which were inscribed today: Argentina; Uruguay - The Tango - The Argentinean and Uruguayan tradition of the Tango, now familiar around the world, was developed by the urban lower classes in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the Rio de la Plata basin.

Azerbaijan - The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs - The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture.

Azerbaijan; India; Iran (Islamic Republic of); Kyrgyzstan; Uzbekistan; Pakistan; Turkey - Novruz, Nowrouz, Nooruz, Navruz, Nauroz, Nevruz - Novruz, Nowrouz, Nooruz, Navruz, Nauroz or Nevruz marks the New Year and the beginning of spring across a vast geographical area covering, inter alia, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. It is celebrated on 21 March every year, a date originally determined by astronomical calculations.

Belgium - Procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges - Each spring, 30,000 to 45,000 spectators gather in the heart of the Belgian city of Bruges to watch the Procession of the Holy Blood on Ascension Day, forty days after Easter. The colourful pageant dates back to the thirteenth century.

Bulgaria - Nestinarstvo, messages from the past: the Panagyr of Saints Constantine and Helena in the village of Bulgari - The Nestinarstvo fire-dancing rite is the climax of the annual Panagyr ritual on the feast days of Saints Constantine and Helena (3 and 4 June) in the village of Bulgari, in the Mount Strandzha region of south-east Bulgaria. The ritual is held to ensure the well-being and fertility of the village.

China - The art of Chinese seal engraving - The art of seal engraving is a cornerstone of Chinese fine arts. The seal was originally used as a signature or sign of authority, but it came to be used by all social classes and in much of Asia.

China - China engraved block printing technique - The traditional China engraved block printing technique requires the collaboration of half a dozen craftspeople possessed of printing expertise, dexterity and team spirit.

China - Chinese calligraphy - Chinese calligraphy has always been more than simply a tool for communication, incorporating as it does the element of artistry for which the practice is still valued in an age of ballpoint pens and computers.

China - Chinese paper-cut - Present throughout China and in various ethnic groups, paper-cut is a popular art integral to everyday lives. A predominantly female pursuit, it is transmitted from mother to daughter over a long period of time, beginning in childhood, and is particularly common in rural areas.

China - Chinese traditional architectural craftsmanship for timber-framed structures - Standing as distinctive symbols of Chinese architectural culture, timber-framed structures are found throughout the country. The wooden components such as the columns, beams, purlins, lintel and bracket sets are connected by tenon joints in a flexible, earthquake-resistant way.

China - The craftsmanship of Nanjing Yunjin brocade - In the Chinese tradition of weaving Nanjing Yunjin brocade, two craftspeople operate the upper and lower parts of a large, complicated loom to produce textiles incorporating fine materials such as silk, gold and peacock feather yarn.

China - The Dragon Boat festival -Beginning on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people of several ethnic groups throughout China and the world celebrate the Dragon Boat festival, especially in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

China - Farmers' dance of China's Korean ethnic group Gathering in fields or villages during community festivals, members of the Korean ethnic group in Jilin and other provinces in north-eastern China offer a traditional sacrifice to the God of the Land to pay homage to nature and pray for good fortune and a plentiful harvest.

China - Gesar epic tradition - The ethnic Tibetan, Mongolian and Tu communities in western and northern China share the story of the ancient hero King Gesar, sent to heaven to vanquish monsters, depose the powerful, and aid the weak while unifying disparate tribes. The singers and storytellers who preserve the Gesar epic tradition perform episodes of the vast oral narrative (known as beads on a string') in alternating passages of prose and verse with numerous regional differences.

China - Grand song of the Dong ethnic group - A popular saying among the Dong people in Guizhou Province in southern China has it that rice nourishes the body and songs nourish the soul'. Their tradition of passing on culture and knowledge in music is exemplified in the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group, multi-part singing performed without instrumental accompaniment or a leader.

China - Hua'er - In Gansu and Qinghai Provinces and throughout north-central China, people of nine different ethnic groups share a music tradition known as Hua'er. The music is drawn from an extensive traditional repertoire named after ethnicities, towns or flowers.

China - Manas - The Kirgiz ethnic minority in China, concentrated in the Xinjiang region in the west, pride themselves on their descent from the hero Manas, whose life and progeny are celebrated in one of the best-known elements of their oral tradition: the Manas epic. Traditionally sung by a Manaschi without musical accompaniment, epic performances takes place at social gatherings, community celebrations, ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and dedicated concerts.

China - The Mazu belief and customs - As the most influential goddess of the sea in China, Mazu is at the centre of a host of beliefs and customs, including oral traditions, religious ceremonies and folk practices, throughout the country's coastal areas.

China - Mongolian art of singing: Khoomei - The Mongolian art of singing: Khoomei, or Hooliin Chor (throat harmony'), is a style of singing in which a single performer produces a diversified harmony of multiple voice parts, including a continued bass element produced in the throat.

China - Nanyin - Nanyin is a musical performing art central to the culture of the people of Minnan in southern Fujian Province along China's south-eastern coast, and to Minnan populations overseas.

China - Regong arts - In monasteries and villages along the Longwu River basin in Qinghai Province in western China, Buddhist monks and folk artists of the Tibetan and Tu ethnicity carry on the plastic arts of painting thangka and murals, crafting patchwork barbola and sculpting known collectively as the Regong arts.

China - Sericulture and silk craftsmanship of China - Sericulture and silk craftsmanship of China, based in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces near Shanghai and Chengdu in Sichuan Province, have an ancient history. Traditionally an important role for women in the economy of rural regions, silk-making encompasses planting mulberry, raising silkworms, unreeling silk, making thread, and designing and weaving fabric.

China - Tibetan opera - Tibetan opera, the most popular traditional opera of minority ethnic groups in China, is a comprehensive art combining folk song, dance, storytelling, chant, acrobatics and religious performance.

China - The traditional firing technology of Longquan celadon - The city of Longquan in the coastal Chinese province of Zhejian is known for its celadon pottery and the traditional firing technology that imparts its distinctive glaze. Compounded from violet-golden clay and a mixture of burnt feldspar, limestone, quartz and plant ash, the glaze is prepared from recipes that have often been handed down for generations by teachers or within families.

China - The traditional handicrafts of making Xuan paper - The unique water quality and mild climate of Jing County in Anhui Province in eastern China are two of the key ingredients in the craft of making Xuan paper that thrives there.

China - Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble - Xi'an wind and percussion ensemble, which has been played for more than a millennium in China's ancient capital of Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province, is a type of music integrating drums and wind instruments, sometimes with a male chorus. The content of the verses is mostly related to local life and religious belief and the music is mainly played on religious occasions such as temple, fairs or funerals.

China - Yueju opera - The Chinese tradition of Yueju opera combines Mandarin operatic traditions and Cantonese dialect. Rooted in the Cantonese-speaking provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in south-eastern China, Yueju opera is characterized by a combination of string and percussion instruments, with elaborate costumes and face painting.

Colombia - Carnaval de Negros y Blancos - Arising out of native Andean and Hispanic traditions, the Carnaval de negros y blancos (Black and White Carnival) in San Juan de Pasto in south-western Colombia is a great celebration lasting from 28 December to 6 January each year.

Colombia - Holy Week processions in Popay?n - The Holy Week processions in Popay?n are one of the oldest traditions in Colombia, practised since the colonial period. From the Tuesday to the Saturday before Easter, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., a series of processions take place. The five processions, devoted to Mary, Jesus, the Cross, the Laying in the Tomb, and the Resurrection respectively, follow a two-kilometre route through the town centre.

Croatia -Annual carnival bell ringers' pageant from the Kastav area - During the January carnival period, bell ringers march through the villages that dot the Kastav region in north-west Croatia. Clothed in sheepskin throws with bells around their waists and sporting distinctive hats embellished with sprigs of evergreen, two to more than thirty ringers swagger in groups behind a guide carrying a small evergreen tree.

Croatia - The festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik -The evening before the festivity of Saint Blaise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as all the church bells in the city ring and white doves are released as symbols of peace, worshippers gather for a ritual healing of the throat to preserve them against illness. On the third of February, the official day of both saint and city, parish banner bearers flow into the city in folk costume for the centrepiece of the festival, a procession attended by bishops, ambassadors, civic leaders, visiting notables and the people of Dubrovnik.

Croatia - Lacemaking in Croatia - At least three distinct traditions of Lacemaking in Croatia persist today, centred on the towns of Pag on the Adriatic, Lepoglava in northern Croatia and Hvar on the Dalmatian island of the same name.

Croatia - Procession Za Krizen (following the cross') on the island of Hvar - After mass on Maundy Thursday before the Christian holiday of Easter, each of six villages on the Dalmatian island of Hvar in southern Croatia sends out a group that will proceed through the other villages in a circle, covering twenty-five kilometres in eight hours before returning home. Each party in this community-organized Za Krizen (following the cross') procession is led by a cross-bearer who walks barefoot or in socks, never resting.

Croatia - Spring procession of Ljelje/Kraljice (queens) from Gorjani - The Procession of Queens is performed by the young girls of the village of Gorjani in the Slavonia region of north-east Croatia every spring.

Croatia - Traditional manufacturing of children's wooden toys in Hrvatsko Zagorje - Villagers along the pilgrimage route to the Marian shrine of Our Lady of the Snow in Marija Bistrica in Hrvatsko Zagorje in northern Croatia developed a technique for traditional manufacturing of children's wooden toys that has now been handed down for generations. The men in a family take soft willow, lime, beech and maple wood from the region and dry, hew, cut and carve it using traditional tools; the women then apply ecologically-friendly paint in improvisational floral or geometric patterns, painting from imagination'.

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