Traditional dances, foods and medicines added to UN list of intangible heritage

Spanish Flamenco, traditional Mexican cuisine and Chinese acupuncture are among the 46 new elements added today to the United Nations-endorsed list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

They were inscribed on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, after being chosen by a 24-member committee that is meeting in Nairobi.

To be inscribed by the committee, elements must comply with a series of criteria, including contributing to spreading the knowledge of intangible cultural heritage and promoting awareness of its importance.

The List was inaugurated in November 2008 in accordance with UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which seeks to protect the world’s oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, craftsmanship and knowledge of nature. Prior to today’s additions, it had 166 elements from 77 countries.

Among the other elements added today are the traditional carpet-weaving skills in the Iranian cities of Fars and Kashan; falconry; the Mediterranean diet; and the craft of gingerbread making in northern Croatia.

Yesterday the committee, which concludes its fifth session on Friday, inscribed three cultural elements in China and one in Croatia on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, which comprises cultural elements whose viability is at risk despite the efforts of the communities and groups that practice them.