intangible cultural heritage domains

172

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Intangible Cultural Heritage Domains

Intangible cultural

UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the IntangibleCultural Heritage proposes five broad ‘domains’ in which intangiblecultural heritage is manifested:

� Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicleof the intangible cultural heritage;

� Performing arts;

� Social practices, rituals and festive events;

� Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;

� Traditional craftsmanship.

Instances of intangible cultural heritage are notlimited to a single manifestation and manyinclude elements from multiple domains. Take,for example, a shamanistic rite. This mightinvolve traditional music and dance, prayers andsongs, clothing and sacred items as well as ritualand ceremonial practices and an acuteawareness and knowledge of the natural world.Similarly, festivals are complex expressions ofintangible cultural heritage that include singing,dancing, theatre, feasting, oral tradition andstorytelling, displays of craftsmanship, sports andother entertainments. The boundaries betweendomains are extremely fluid and often vary fromcommunity to community. It is difficult, if notimpossible, to impose rigid categories externally.While one community might view their chantedverse as a form of ritual, another would interpretit as song. Similarly, what one community definesas ‘theatre’ might be interpreted as ‘dance’ in adifferent cultural context. There are alsodifferences in scale and scope: one community

might make minute distinctions betweenvariations of expression while another groupconsiders them all diverse parts of a single form.

While the Convention sets out a framework foridentifying forms of intangible cultural heritage,the list of domains it provides is intended to beinclusive rather than exclusive; it is notnecessarily meant to be ‘complete’. States mayuse a different system of domains. There isalready a wide degree of variation, with somecountries dividing up the manifestations ofintangible cultural heritage differently, whileothers use broadly similar domains to those ofthe Convention with alternative names. Theymay add further domains or new sub-categoriesto existing domains. This may involveincorporating ‘sub-domains’ already in use incountries where intangible cultural heritage isrecognized, including ‘traditional play andgames’, ‘culinary traditions’, ‘animal husbandry’,‘pilgrimage’ or ‘places of memory’.

LL The Kankurang,Manding Initiatory Rite,Senegal and Gambia

L The Olonkho, Yakut HeroicEpos, Russian Federation

J The Carnival of Binche,Belgium

LL The WoodcraftingKnowledge of theZafimaniry, Madagascar

L Oral and GraphicExpressions of the Wajapi,Brazil

Phot

o ©

Fer

dina

nd d

e Jo

ngPh

oto

© A

.Bur

tsev

Phot

o ©

Con

selh

o D

as A

ldei

as W

aiap

iPh

oto

© D

epar

tmen

t of C

ultu

ral H

erita

ge,

Min

istr

y of

Cul

ture

of M

adag

asca

r

Phot

o ©

M. R

evel

ard

heritage domains

Oral traditions and expressionsThe oral traditions and expressions domainencompasses an enormous variety of spokenforms including proverbs, riddles, tales, nurseryrhymes, legends, myths, epic songs and poems,charms, prayers, chants, songs, dramaticperformances and more. Oral traditions andexpressions are used to pass on knowledge,cultural and social values and collective memory.They play a crucial part in keeping cultures alive.

Some types of oral expression are common andcan be used by entire communities while othersare limited to particular social groups, only menor women, perhaps, or only the elderly. In manysocieties, performing oral traditions is a highlyspecialized occupation and the communityholds professional performers in the highestregard as guardians of collective memory. Suchperformers can be found in communities allover the world. While poets and storytellers innon-Western societies such as the griots anddyelli from Africa are well known, there is also arich oral tradition in Europe and North America.In Germany and the USA, for example, there arehundreds of professional storytellers.

Because they are passed on by word of mouth,oral traditions and expressions often varysignificantly in their telling. Stories are acombination – differing from genre to genre,from context to context and from performer toperformer – of reproduction, improvisation andcreation. This combination makes them a vibrantand colourful form of expression, but also fragile,as their viability depends on an uninterruptedchain passing traditions from one generation ofperformers to the next.

Although language underpins the intangibleheritage of many communities, the protection andpreservation of individual languages is beyond thescope of the 2003 Convention, though they areincluded in Article 2 as a means of transmittingintangible cultural heritage. Different languagesshape how stories, poems and songs are told, aswell as affecting their content. The death of alanguage inevitably leads to the permanent loss oforal traditions and expressions. However, it is theseoral expressions themselves and their performancein public that best help to safeguard a languagerather than dictionaries, grammars and databases.Languages live in songs and stories, riddles and

4 . INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE

L The Hudhud Chants ofthe Ifugao, Philippines

K The Palestinian Hikaye

Phot

o ©

Ren

ato

S. R

astr

ollo

/ N

CCA

– IC

H /

UN

ESCO

rhymes and so the protection of languages and thetrans mission of oral traditions and expressions arevery closely linked.

Like other forms of intangible cultural heritage, oraltraditions are threatened by rapid urban isation,large-scale migration, industrialisation andenvironmental change. Books, newspapers andmagazines, radio, television and the Internet canhave an especially damaging effect on oraltraditions and expressions. Modern mass mediamay significantly alter or over replace traditionalforms of oral expression. Epic poems that once tookseveral days to recite in full may be reduced to justa few hours and traditional courtship songs thatwere sung before marriage may be replaced byCDs or digital music files.

The most important part of safeguarding oraltraditions and expressions is maintaining their everyday role in society. It is also essential thatopportunities for knowledge to be passed fromperson-to-person survive; chances for elders tointeract with young people and pass on stories inhomes and schools, for example. Oral traditionoften forms an important part of festive and culturalcelebrations and these events may need to bepromoted and new contexts, such as storytellingfestivals, encouraged to allow traditional creativityto find new means of expression. In the spirit of the2003 Convention, safeguarding measures shouldfocus on oral traditions and expressions asprocesses, where communities are free to exploretheir cultural heritage, rather than as products.

Communities, researchers and institutions may alsouse information technology to help safeguard thefull range and richness of oral traditions, includingtextual variations and different styles ofperformance. Unique expressive features, such asintonation and a much larger number of varyingstyles, can now be recorded as audio or video, ascan interactions between performers andaudiences and non-verbal story elements includinggestures and mimicry. Mass media and communi -cation technologies can be used to preserve andeven strengthen oral traditions and expressions bybroadcasting recorded performances both to theircommunities of origin and to a wider audience.

The Olonkho, the Heroic Epos of the Yakut peopleof the Russian Federation, reflects Yakut beliefsand customs, shamanistic practices, oral historyand values. The ‘Olonkhosut’ or narrator mustexcel in acting, singing, eloquence and poeticimprovisation. Like most oral traditions, there aremultiple versions of Olonkho, the longest of whichtotals over 15,000 lines of verse.

The Palestinian Hikaye is told by women to otherwomen and children, and offers an often criticalview of society from women’s perspectives. Almostevery Palestinian woman over the age of 70 is aHikaye teller, and the tradition is mainly carried onby elder women. However, it is not unusual for girlsand young boys to tell tales to one another forpractice or pleasure.

The Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao in thePhilippines are performed during the sowingseason, rice harvest and funeral wakes. A completetelling, which lasts for several days, is oftenconducted by an elderly woman, who acts as thecommunity’s historian and preacher.

To safeguard the Art of Akyns, six studios havebeen established in different regions ofKyrgyzstan where recognized epic-tellers, theAkyns, pass on their knowledge and skills to groupsof young apprentices preparing themselves tobecome modern Akyns in a few years. The teachersmay use audio-visual equipment, recordings andtexts, but the person-to-person form of learningremains intact.

DOMAINS . 5

I Urtiin DuuTraditional Folk LongSong, Mongolia andChina Ph

oto

© S

onom

-Ish

Yund

enba

t

Phot

o ©

Kyr

gyz

Nat

iona

l Com

mis

sion

for U

NES

COPh

oto

© R

enat

o S.

Ras

trol

lo /

NCC

A -I

CH

/ U

NES

COPh

oto

© R

afi S

afieh

Phot

o ©

UN

ESCO

Phot

o ©

MO

C

6 . INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE DOMAINS

I Flautist at Charouine,Algeria

Performing artsThe performing arts range from vocal andinstrumental music, dance and theatre topantomime, sung verse and beyond. Theyinclude numerous cultural expressions thatreflect human creativity and that are also found,to some extent, in many other intangiblecultural heritage domains.

Music is perhaps the most universal of theperforming arts and is found in every society,most often as an integral part of other performingart forms and other domains of intangible culturalheritage including rituals, festive events or oraltraditions. It can be found in the most diversecontexts: sacred or profane, classical or popular,closely connected to work or entertainment.There may also be a political or economicdimension to music: it can recount a community’shistory, sing the praises of a powerful person andplay a key role in economic transactions. Theoccasions on which music is performed are just asvaried: marriages, funerals, rituals and initiations,festivities, all kinds of entertainment as well asmany other social functions.

Dance, though very complex, may be describedsimply as ordered bodily movements, usuallyperformed to music. Apart form its physicalaspect, the rhythmic movements, steps andgestures of dance often express a sentiment ormood or illustrate a specific event or daily act,such as religious dances and those representinghunting, warfare or sexual activity.

Traditional theatre performances usuallycombine acting, singing, dance and music,dialogue, narration or recitation but may alsoinclude puppetry or pantomime. These arts,however, are more than simply ‘performances’for an audience; they may also play crucial rolesin culture and society such as songs sung whilecarrying out agricultural work or music that ispart of a ritual. In a more intimate setting,lullabies are often sung to help a baby sleep.

The instruments, objects, artefacts and spacesassociated with cultural expressions andpractices are all included in the Convention’sdefinition of intangible cultural heritage. In theperforming arts this includes musical

L The Mask Dance of theDrums from Drametse,Bhutan

DOMAINS . 7

The Samba de Roda of Recôncavo of Bahia(Brazil) developed from the dances andcultural traditions of slaves of African origin butalso incorporates elements of Portugueseculture, particularly the language and poeticforms. This local genre has influenced thedevelopment of the urban samba, whichbecame a symbol of Brazilian national identityin the twentieth century.

Kutiyattam, Sanskrit Theatre is one of India’smost ancient traditions, a synthesis of Sanskritclassicism and local Kerala traditions. In itsstylized and codified theatrical language,gestures and eye expressions are prominent,expressing the thoughts and feelings of thecharacters. Traditionally enacted in the sacredspace of temples, Kutiyattam performancesalways include an oil lamp on stage tosymbolise a divine presence.

Slovácko Verbuňk, Recruit Dances (CzechRepublic) are traditionally danced by men ofall ages. Rather than being bound to a precisechoreography, the dances are instead markedby spontaneity and individual expression, andby acrobatic contests. Their structuralcomplexity and variety of movements makeSlovácko Verbuňk a cultural expression of greatartistic value, expressing the cultural identityand diversity of the region.

instruments, masks, costumes and other bodydecorations used in dance, and the scenery andprops of theatre. Performing arts are oftenperformed in specific places; when these spaces are closely linked to the performance,they are considered cultural spaces by theConvention.

Many forms of performing arts are under threattoday. As cultural practices becomestandardized, many traditional practices areabandoned. Even in cases where they becomemore popular, only certain expressions maybenefit while others suffer.

Music is perhaps one of the best examples ofthis, with the recent explosion in the popularityof ‘World Music’. Though it performs animportant role in cultural exchange andencourages creativity that enriches theinternational art scene, the phenomenon canalso cause problems. Many diverse forms ofmusic may be homogenized with the goal ofdelivering a consistent product. In thesesituations, there is little place for certain musicalpractices that are vital to the process ofperformance and tradition in certaincommunities.

Music, dance and theatre are often key featuresof cultural promotion intended to attracttourists and regularly feature in the itineraries oftour operators. Although this may bring morevisitors and increased revenue to a country orcommunity and offer a window onto its culture,it may also result in the emergence of new waysof presenting the performing arts, which havebeen altered for the tourist market. Whiletourism can contribute to reviving traditionalperforming arts and give a ‘market value’ tointangible cultural heritage, it can also have adistorting effect, as the performances are oftenreduced to show adapted highlights in order tomeet tourist demands. Often, traditional artforms are turned into commodities in the nameof entertainment, with the loss of importantforms of community expression.

Phot

o ©

CN

RPA

H /

UN

ESCO

Phot

o ©

Yos

hi S

him

izu/

ww

w.y

oshi

-shi

miz

u.co

m

Phot

o ©

Lui

z Sa

ntoz

/ U

NES

COPh

oto

© N

atan

akai

rali

/ U

NES

COPh

oto

© T

he N

atio

nal I

nstit

ute

of F

olk

Culte

re

‘Master Classes’, which allow students to workclosely with master performers, may beorganised, as has already occurred in Tajikstanand Uzbekistan with Shashmaqom music, inGuinea for the Sosso Bala and in Bhutan forDrametese Ngacham, a sacred mask dance.

In Afghanistan, the Mugam use the NationalArchives to ensure that recordings provide asource of inspiration, training and knowledgeto future generations of musicians.

Transmission activities may also bestrengthened by teaching intangible culturalheritage in schools, such as in Cuba where theTumba Francesa is taught to children.

In Ethiopia an ambitious research and trainingproject is underway to collect traditional music,dance and instruments across the country, andto support the creation of a universitycurriculum in the field of ethnomusicology.

homogenised, changes to traditionalinstruments to make them more familiar oreasier to play for students, such as the additionof frets to stringed instruments, fundamentallyalter the instruments themselves.

Safeguarding measures for traditionalperforming arts should focus mainly ontransmission of knowledge and techniques, ofplaying and making instruments andstrengthening the bond between master andapprentice. The subtleties of a song, themovements of a dance and theatricalinterpretations should all be reinforced.

Performances may also be researched, recorded,documented, inventoried and archived. Thereare countless sound recordings in archives allaround the world with many dating back over acentury. These older recordings are threatenedby deterioration and may be permanently lostunless digitized. The process of digitisationallows documents to be properly identified andinventoried.

Cultural media, institutions and industries canalso play a crucial role in ensuring the viability oftraditional forms of performing arts bydeveloping audiences and raising awarenessamongst the general public. Audiences can beinformed about the various aspects of a form ofexpression, allowing it to gain a new andbroader popularity, while also promotingconnoisseurship which, in turn, encouragesinterest in local variations of an art form andmay result in active participation in theperformance itself.

Safeguarding may also involve improvements intraining and infrastructure to properly preparestaff and institutions for preserving the full rangeof performing arts. In Georgia, students aretrained in anthropological fieldwork methods aswell as how to record polyphonies, allowingthem to create the foundations of a nationalinventory by creating a database.


In other cases, wider social or environmentalfactors may have a serious impact on performingart traditions. Deforestation, for example, candeprive a community of wood to maketraditional instruments used to perform music.

Many music traditions have been adapted to fitwestern forms of notation so they may berecorded, or for the purpose of education, butthis process can be destructive. Many forms ofmusic use scales with tones and intervals thatdo not correspond to standard western formsand tonal subtleties may be lost in the processof transcription. As well as music being

L The Royal Ballet ofCambodia

Phot

o ©

Yan

nick

Joor

isPh

oto

© C

omis

ión

Nac

iona

l Cub

ana

de la

UN

ESCO

Phot

o ©

UN

ESCO

Phot

o ©

Min

istr

y of

Cul

ture

and

Fin

e A

rts

Social practices shape everyday life and arefamiliar to all members of the community, evenif not everybody participates in them. Distinctivesocial practices that are specially relevant to acommunity and help reinforce a sense ofidentity and continuity with the past are givenpriority in the 2003 Convention. For example, inmany communities greeting ceremonies areinformal while in others they are more elaborateand ritualistic, acting as a marker of identity forthe society. Similarly, practices of giving and

DOMAINS . 9

K The Royal Ancestral Ritualin the Jongmyo Shrine andits Music, Republic of Korea

The Royal Ancestral Ritual, practised at theJongmyo Shrine in Seoul (Republic of Korea),encompasses song, dance and music, all partsof a century-old ceremony worshipping theancestors and expressing filial piety.

Twice a year, at the time of seasonal migrationin the pastoral lands of the inner Niger Delta inMali, the river crossing of the cattle marks thebeginning of the Peul community’s Yaaral andDegal festivities. They include competitions forthe most beautifully decorated herd, songs andrecitations of pastoral poems.

The Carnival of Binche in Belgium, the OruroCarnival in Bolivia or the Makishi Masqueradein Zambia involve colourful pageantry, singingand dancing, and various types of costumes ormasks. In some cases these festive events are ameans of temporarily overcoming socialdifferences by assuming different identities andof commenting on social or political conditionsthrough mockery or amusement.

The Vimbuza healing ritual, widely practised inthe rural parts of northern Malawi, wasdeveloped in the mid-nineteenth century as ameans of overcoming traumatic experiencesbut has become less prevalent over the last fewdecades. Safeguarding efforts create incentivesfor young people to learn about the Vimbuzahealing dance and to foster dialogue betweenVimbuza healers and government and non-government bodies dealing with medical issuesthrough broadcasting panel discussions,training workshops and festivals.

Phot

o ©

Mod

ibo

Baga

yoko

/ D

NC

P Ph

oto

©J.P

. Tum

oine

/ U

NES

CO

Phot

o ©

Fra

ncoi

s-Xa

vier

Fre

land

/ U

NES

COPh

oto

© C

ultu

ral P

rope

rtie

s A

dmin

istr

atio

n

Social practices, rituals and festive eventsSocial practices, rituals and festive events arehabitual activities that structure the lives ofcommunities and groups and that are shared byand relevant to many of their members. They aresignificant because they reaffirm the identity ofthose who practise them as a group or a societyand, whether performed in public or private, areclosely linked to important events. Social, ritualand festive practices may help to mark thepassing of the seasons, events in the agriculturalcalendar or the stages of a person’s life. They areclosely linked to a community’s worldview andperception of its own history and memory. Theyvary from small gatherings to large-scale socialcelebrations and commemorations. Each ofthese sub-domains is vast but there is also agreat deal of overlap between them.

Rituals and festive events often take place atspecial times and places and remind acommunity of aspects of its worldview andhistory. In some cases, access to rituals may berestricted to certain members of thecommunity; initiation rites and burialceremonies are two such examples. Somefestive events, however, are a key part of publiclife and are open to all members of society;carnivals and events to mark the New Year,beginning of Spring and end of the harvest areinclusive occasions common all over the world.

Phot

o ©

Cul

tura

l Pro

pert

ies

Adm

inis

trat

ion

The rich variety of social practices performed atthe Jemaa el-Fna Square in Marrakesh(Morocco) were threatened with gradualdisappearance due to urban growth anddevelopment projects that produced heavytraffic and air pollution. In an attempt toresolve the conflict between urban planningand economic development and cultural andenvironmental concerns, authorities createdpedestrian streets converging on the Squareand reorganized motor traffic so as to decreasethe number of cars and tourist coaches, for thesafeguarding of the social practices.

To preserve the originality of and encourageparticipation in the Carnival de Barranquilla, alocal foundation has created and supports anew event, the Children’s Carnival, which hasbecome a vital element of the carnivalperformed in Colombia. Practitioners receivedfinancial support for the production ofhandcrafted objects including floats,extravagant costumes, head ornaments, musicinstruments, animal masks and other artefacts.A micro-credit program made it possible forartisans to borrow small sums of money toproduce items to sell for additional income,improving their life quality and stressing theimportance of their involvement in the carnival.

receiving gifts may range from casual events toformal arrangements with significant political,economic or social meanings.

Social practices, rituals and festive events involvea dazzling variety of forms: worship rites; rites ofpassage; birth, wedding and funeral rituals;oaths of allegiance; traditional legal systems;traditional games and sports; kinship and ritualkinship ceremonies; settlement patterns;culinary traditions; seasonal ceremonies;practices specific to men or women only;hunting, fishing and gathering practices andmany more. They also include a wide variety ofexpressions and physical elements: specialgestures and words, recitations, songs or dances,special clothing, processions, animal sacrifice,special food.

Social practices, rituals and festive events arestrongly affected by the changes communitiesundergo in modern societies because theydepend so much on the broad participation ofpractitioners and others in the communitiesthemselves. Processes such as migration,individualisation, the general introduction offormal education, the growing influence ofmajor world religions and other effects ofglobalization have a particularly marked effecton these practices.

Migration, especially of young people, may drawthose who practise forms of intangible culturalheritage away from their communities andendanger some cultural practices. At the sametime, however, social practices, rituals and festiveevents may serve as special occasions on whichpeople return home to celebrate with theirfamily and community, reaffirming their identityand link to the community’s traditions.

Many communities find that tourists areincreasingly participating in their festive eventsand while there may be positive aspects totourist involvement, the festivals often suffer inthe same way as traditional performing arts. Theviability of social practices, rituals and especiallyfestive events may also depend quite heavily ongeneral socio-economic conditions. Thepreparations, the production of costumes and

masks and providing for the participants is oftenvery expensive and may not be sustainable intimes of economic downturn.

Ensuring the continuity of social practices, ritualsor festive events often requires the mobilizationof large numbers of individuals and the social,political and legal institutions and mechanismsof a society. While respecting customarypractices that might limit participation to certaingroups, it may also be desirable to encouragethe broadest public participation possible. Insome cases, legal and formal measures need tobe taken to guarantee the access rights of thecommunity to its sacred places, crucial objects,or natural resources necessary for theperformance of social practices, rituals andfestive events.

DOMAINS . 11

J The Samba de Roda ofRecôncavo of Bahia, Brazil

L The Mbende JerusaremaDance, Zimbabwe

Phot

o ©

UN

ESCO

/ Ja

ne W

right

Phot

o ©

Min

istry

of C

ultu

re o

f the

Rep

ublic

of C

olom

bia

Phot

o ©

UN

ESCO

/ Ch

imbi

dzik

ai M

apfu

mo

Phot

o ©

Lui

z Sa

ntoz

/ U

NES

CO


flora, traditional healing systems, rituals, beliefs,initiatory rites, cosmologies, shamanism,possession rites, social organisations, festivals,languages and visual arts.

Traditional knowledge and practices lie at theheart of a community’s culture and identity butare under serious threat from globalisation. Eventhough some aspects of traditional knowledge,such as medicinal uses of local plant species,may be of interest to scientists and corporations,many traditional practices are neverthelessdisappearing. Rapid urbanisation and theextension of agricultural lands can have amarked effect on a community’s naturalenvironment and their knowledge of it; clearingland may result in the disappearance of a sacredforest or the need to find an alternative sourceof wood for building. Climate change, continued

Knowledge and practices concerningnature and the universeKnowledge and practices concerning natureand the universe include knowledge, know-how, skills, practices and representationsdeveloped by communities by interacting withthe natural environment. These ways of thinkingabout the universe are expressed throughlanguage, oral traditions, feelings of attachmenttowards a place, memories, spirituality andworldview. They also strongly influence valuesand beliefs and underlie many social practicesand cultural traditions. They, in turn, are shapedby the natural environment and thecommunity’s wider world.

This domain includes numerous areas such astraditional ecological wisdom, indigenousknowledge, knowledge about local fauna and

k Nha Nhac, VietnameseCourt Music

kk Vanuatu SandDrawings

K The Indigenous Festivitydedicated to the Dead,Mexico

Phot

o ©

Hue

Mon

umen

t Con

serv

atio

n Ce

ntre

Phot

o ©

Van

uatu

Nat

iona

l Cul

tura

l Cou

ncil

DOMAINS . 13

deforestation and the ongoing spread of desertsinevitably threaten many endangered speciesand results in the decline of traditionalcraftsmanship and herbal medicine as rawmaterials and plant species disappear.

Safeguarding a world view or system of beliefs iseven more challenging than preserving a naturalenvironment. Beyond the external challenges tothe social and natural environment, manyunderprivileged or marginalized communitiesare themselves inclined to adopt a way of life or apurely economic development model which arefar from their own traditions and customs.

Protecting the natural environment is oftenclosely linked to safeguarding a community’scosmology, as well as other examples of itsintangible cultural heritage.

In addition to a rich pharmacopeia, the priestdoctors of Kallawaya in Andrean Bolivia havedeveloped a traditional medical system based onthe knowledge of the indigenous peoples of theAndean area. Kallawaya women incorporatemotifs from their community’s view of the universe into the textiles they produce.

Nha Nhac, Vietnamese Court Music, provides ameans of communicating with and paying tributeto the gods and kings, as well as communicatingknowledge about nature and the universe.

In Senegal and Gambia, the legal protection of sacred forests as well as promoting protectedareas management through training andreplanting threatened plant species has helpedsafeguard the future of the Kankurang initiationrite of the Manding community.

In Madagascar, an action plan to safeguard the woodcrafting knowledge of the Zafimaniryincludes legal protections by establishing patentson a national and international level. This will helpto protect graphic designs and motifs that areclosely linked to the identity of the Zafiminirycommunity. Rare tree species used for craftingmaterials are being replanted.

Vanuatu Sand Drawings, Oral and GraphicExpressions of the Wajapi (Brazil) and theWoodcrafting Knowledge of the Zafimaniry(Madagascar) are diverse forms of visual ordecorative arts, each inspired by and expressingthe respective creation beliefs of their communities.New life will be given to the practice of sanddrawing in traditional communities by organizingnew festivals and other community events toallow artists to demonstrate and pass on the artform. Legal and commercial regulations are alsobeing introduced to protect sand drawing’s status.It will be included as part of the standardcurriculum taught to school children and a trustfund will be established to allow artists to generateincome from it.

Phot

o ©

Vic

e-M

inis

terio

de

Cultu

ra d

e Bo

livia

Phot

o ©

Hue

Mon

umen

t Con

serv

atio

n Ce

ntre

Phot

o ©

Dire

ctio

n du

pat

rimoi

ne c

ultu

rel,

Sene

gal

Phot

o ©

Van

uatu

Nat

iona

l Cul

tura

l Cou

ncil

Phot

o ©

© J.

Ség

ur/Z

ED

Phot

o ©

Ped

ro H

iriar

t / IN

I


Traditional CraftsmanshipTraditional craftsmanship is perhaps the mosttangible manifestation of intangible culturalheritage. However, the 2003 Convention is mainlyconcerned with the skills and knowledgeinvolved in craftsmanship rather than the craftproducts themselves. Rather than focusing onpreserving craft objects, safeguarding attemptsshould instead concentrate on encouragingartisans to continue to produce craft and to passtheir skills and knowledge onto others,particularly within their own communities.

There are numerous expressions of traditionalcraftsmanship: tools; clothing and jewellery;costumes and props for festivals and performingarts; storage containers, objects used for storage,transport and shelter; decorative art and ritualobjects; musical instruments and householdutensils, and toys, both for amusement andeducation. Many of these objects are onlyintended to be used for a short time, such asthose created for festival rites, while others maybecome heirloom that are passed fromgeneration to generation. The skills involved increating craft objects are as varied as the itemsthemselves and range from delicate, detailed worksuch as producing paper votives to robust, ruggedtasks like creating a sturdy basket or thick blanket.

Like other forms of intangible cultural heritage,globalization poses significant challenges to thesurvival of traditional forms of craftsmanship. Massproduction, whether on the level of largemultinational corporations or local cottageindustries, can often supply goods needed fordaily life at a lower cost, both in terms of currencyand time, than hand production. Manycraftspeople struggle to adapt to this competition.Environmental and climatic pressures impact ontraditional craftsmanship too, with deforestationand land clearing reducing the availability of keynatural resources. Even in cases where traditionalartisanship develops into a cottage industry, theincreased scale of production may result indamage to the environment.

As social conditions or cultural tastes change,festivals and celebrations that once requiredelaborate craft production may become more

The Indonesian Kris, both weapon and spiritualobject, is believed to have magical powers. Abladesmith, or empu, makes the blade in layers ofdifferent iron ores and meteorite nickel. Empus arehighly respected artisans who are also experts inliterature, history and occult sciences. Althoughactive and honoured empus who produce high-quality kris in the traditional way can still be foundon many islands, their number is dramaticallydecreasing, and it is more difficult for them to findpeople to whom they can pass on their skills.

The most visible emblem of the Kihnu CulturalSpace (Estonia) is the woollen handicrafts wornby the women of the community. Working in theirhomes using traditional looms and local wool,the women weave and knit mittens, stockings,skirts and blouses; many of the symbolic formsand colours adorning these striking garments arerooted in ancient legends.

Barkcloth Making in Uganda involves some ofhumankind’s oldest knowledge, a prehistorictechnique that predates the invention of weaving.Barkcloth is mainly worn at coronation andhealing ceremonies, funerals and culturalgatherings, but is also used for curtains, mosquitoscreens, bedding and storage. With theintroduction of cotton cloth by caravan traders,production slowed and barkcloth’s cultural andspiritual functions diminished, until its revival inrecent decades.

In France, the ‘Maîtres d’Art’ system recognizesdozens of exemplary craftspeople in fields asdiverse as musical instrument-making, textile artsand bookbinding. The aim of the system is tosupport the transmission of their knowledge andskills to others.

In the Lithuanian city of Prienai, a centre andworkshop have been set up to promote the area’scross-crafting traditions. Here apprentices canlearn cross-crafting from masters to meet theorders of local towns and private customers, bothdomestic and international.

Phot

o ©

Mar

c So

osaa

rPh

oto

© J.

K W

alus

imbi

Phot

o ©

JAle

xis L

ecom

te, M

inist

ère

de la

Cul

ture

, Fra

nce

Phot

o ©

Lith

uani

a Fo

lk C

ultu

re C

entre

Phot

o ©

J. K

Wal

usim

bi

Phot

o ©

Min

istr

y of

Cul

ture

and

Tou

rism

of t

he

Repu

blic

of I

ndon

esia

austere, resulting in fewer opportunities forartisans to express themselves. Young people incommunities may find the sometimes lengthyapprenticeship necessary to learn manytraditional forms of craft too demanding andinstead seek work in factories or service industrywhere the work is less exacting and the pay oftenbetter. Many craft traditions involve ‘trade secrets’that should not be taught to outsiders but iffamily members or community members are notinterested in learning it, the knowledge maydisappear because sharing it with strangersviolates tradition.

The goal of safeguarding, as with other forms ofintangible cultural heritage, is to ensure that theknowledge and skills associated with traditionalartisanry are passed on to future generations sothat crafts can continue to be produced withintheir communities, providing livelihoods to theirmakers and reflecting creativity.

Many craft traditions have age-old systems ofinstruction and apprenticeship. One proven wayof reinforcing and strengthening these systems isto offer financial incentives to students andteachers to make knowledge transfer moreattractive to both.

Local, traditional markets for craft products canalso be reinforced, while at the same timecreating new ones. In response to urbanizationand industrialization, many people around theworld enjoy handmade objects that are imbuedwith the accumulated knowledge and culturalvalues of the craftspeople and which offer a softeralternative to the numerous ‘high tech’ items thatdominate global consumer culture.

In other cases, trees can be replanted to try andoffset the damage done to traditional craftsreliant on wood for raw materials. In somesituations, legal measures may need to be takento guarantee the access rights of communities togather resources, while also ensuringenvironmental protection.

Further legal measures, such as intellectualproperty protections and patent or copyrightregistrations, can help a community to benefitfrom its traditional motifs and crafts. Sometimes,legal measures intended for other purposes canencourage craft production; for example, a localban on wasteful plastic bags can stimulate amarket for handmade paper bags and containerswoven from grass, allowing traditional craft skillsand knowledge to thrive.

K The Indonesian Kris

L Barkcloth Making inUganda

Phot

o ©

Min

istr

y of

Cul

ture

and

Tou

rism

of t

he

Repu

blic

of I

ndon

esia

Ph

oto

© M

inis

try

of C

ultu

re a

nd T

ouris

m o

f the

Re

publ

ic o

f Ind

ones

ia

Intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation togeneration, is constantly recreated by communities and groups,and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thuspromoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

KCh

ines

e te

mpl

e dr

agon

Phot

o ©

iSto

ckp

hoto

With the support of the Government of Norway

intangible cultural heritage domains

Documents