São Paulo – The new Intangible Cultural Heritage list released this Thursday (12) by the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) includes four newly added Arab expressions.
The 14th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is underway in Bogota, Colombia since last Monday (9) to discuss new entries. The meeting is set to end on Saturday (14).
Intangible Cultural Heritage items are expressions of life and tradition passed on by ancestors to descendant communities, groups and individuals around the world.
Morocco’s Gnawa culture (pictured) has made the list. It is a group of musical events, performances, fraternal practices and therapeutic rituals combining the secular and the sacred. Gnawa is a musical genre from the Sufi brotherhood combined with usually religious lyrics invoking ancestors and spirits. Performed by enslaved individuals and groups since the 16th century, Gnawa culture is now considered part of Morocco’s multifaceted culture and identity.
The practices and craftsmanship associated with the Damascene Rose in Al-Mrah, Syria are another addition to the list. These are mainly practiced by “farmers and families in Al-Mrah village, in rural Damascus, who possess expert knowledge of producing essential oils and traditional medicine from the Damask Rose, among other things, as well as the village community and families who organize the yearly Damascene Rose Festival,” according to the UNESCO website.
The newly released list also includes provision of services and hospitality during the Arba’in visitation. This is “a social practice performed across the central and southern regions of Iraq, from where processions of visitors and pilgrims converge towards the Holy City of Karbala. The tradition – a social practice with deep roots in the Iraqi and Arab tradition of hospitality – is an immense display of charity through volunteering and social mobilization and considered to be a defining element of Iraq’s cultural identity.” Arba’in is a pilgrimage to sanctuary of Imam Hussein, in Kerbala, taking place 40 days after the Ashura – the date on which Shia Muslims rememorate the martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson to prophet Muhammad. ‘Arba’in’ is Arabic for ‘forty.’
Also included are “date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices,” present in multiple Arab countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
“The date palm has been connected to the regional population of the submitting States for centuries, serving both as the source of numerous associated crafts, professions and social and cultural traditions, customs and practices, and as a key form of nutrition. The date palm is an evergreen plant typically associated with dry climates, where the roots of the plant penetrate deeply into the earth in search of humidity. Bearers and practitioners include date palm farm owners, farmers who plant, nurture and irrigate the date palm offshoots, craftspeople who produce traditional products using various parts of the palm tree, date traders, creative individuals and performers of associated folkloric tales and poems.”
Maranhão, Brazil’s Bumba Meu Boi tradition has also made the list, amid 42 new additions. Check out the full list.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
