Traditional Chinese tea-processing techniques, Japanese ritual dances and Vietnamese pottery-making are some of the cultural practices that made it on this year’s intangible cultural heritage list by UNESCO.
About 48 cultural practices from 61 countries were added to UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including five in urgent need of safeguarding, such as the art of pottery-making of Chăm people in Vietnam.
The United Nations’ cultural agency began deliberations on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday.
UNESCO began tweeting its decisions under the “Intangible Heritage” hashtag on Tuesday.
Other nominations from Asia include China’s traditional tea-making techniques and associated social practices, Japanese traditional “Furyu-odori” folk dances, the Kun Lbokator martial arts of Cambodia, the talchum mask dance of Korea and more.
China now has 43 items on UNESCO’s list, making it the most listed country in the world, according to CGTN.
The Yaldā/Chella festival to celebrate the winter solstice in Iran and Afghanistan also made the list.
According to UNESCO, the list consists of “priceless national treasures, which recognizes and promotes the diversity of cultural practices and know-how of enduring communities.”
“These practices and traditions have been transmitted to younger generations for centuries, through active participation in the event and preparations, as well as through the media,” it added. “The event promotes tolerance and inclusion due to the participation of people from different social groups and fosters mutual respect and appreciation among the individuals and institutions involved.”
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