Mariachi music, Fado songs gain Unesco listing

Chinese shadow puppetry, the doleful Fado songs of Portugal and Mexico’s Mariachi music made Unesco’s annual list of “intangible cultural heritage,” which closed on Monday.

After days of deliberation on Indonesia’s Bali island, envoys added 19 new traditions, including South Korea’s ramie weaving technique, Turkey’s keskek meat dish and French horseriding to the prestigious list. They join more than 200 practices already given the UN seal of approval, including oral traditions, performing arts, rituals and festive events.

The list, which has been updated every year since 2009, consists of “intangible heritage practices and expressions that help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance,” said Unesco.

The body recognised Mariachi music for delivering “values of respect for the natural heritage” of Mexico, while the spread of Fado songs through emigration reinforced “its image as a symbol of Portuguese identity”. French horsemanship was credited with building “harmonious relations between humans and horses”, the Unesco explained. The list aims to boost the profile of “intangible cultural heritage” and to foster a wider respect for cultural diversity, according to Unesco.

Other new entries included Tsiattista poetic duelling from Cyprus, featuring impromptu oral poetry performed with an accompaniment of violin or lute and Croatia’s Nijemo Kolo – a “silent” dance of energetic, spontaneous steps performed without music. While entrants seek the prestige of joining the list and perhaps a level of boon to their tourist industries, another category is reserved for endangered traditions in need of preservation.

The envoys in Bali placed 11 new entries ranging from Iran to Brazil in the urgent preservation category, which has listed 16 endangered traditions since 2009.

Included this year were the Al-Sadu traditional form of weaving by Bedouin women in rural communities of the United Arab Emirates and the Eshuva sung prayer which is performed for healing or as part of traditional ceremonies in Peru, added Unesco.

“There is an element of urgency on the items on the safeguarding list, otherwise it is feared they will disappear,” pointed out Unesco spokesman Rasul Samadov.