Namibia – Aixan/Gana/Ob#ANS TSI //Khasigu, ancestral musical sound knowledge and skills. Aixan/Gana/Ob#ANS TSI //Khasigu ancestral musical sound, knowledge and skills relates to the specific traditional music of the Nama people. Nama ancestral music involves the use of traditional instruments and is characterized by a specific sound, texture and rhythm, consisting of a leading melody and rhythm accompanied by a systematic harmony. The music is also complemented by dances known as Nama-stap. In the past, the music connected entire communities and villages, but it now faces many threats and only a few elders still practise the tradition and possess the related knowledge and skills.

The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding features elements of living heritage whose viability is under threat. It mobilizes international cooperation and assistance to strengthen the transmission of these cultural practices, in agreement with the concerned communities. The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding now numbers 67 elements.

 

Additions to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in order of inscription

Republic of Korea – Yeondeunghoe, lantern lighting festival in the Republic of Korea. Yeondeunghoe, lantern lighting festival, takes place throughout the Republic of Korea. As the eighth day of the fourth lunar month (Buddha’s birthday) approaches, streets are hung with colourful lanterns and crowds holding handmade lanterns gather for a celebratory parade. The annual festival starts with the sacred ritual of bathing an image of the baby Buddha. This is followed by a public procession, after which participants gather for recreational events and collective games. The festival plays a key role in integrating society and is a time of joy in which social boundaries are temporarily erased.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait – Traditional weaving of Al Sadu. Traditional weaving of Al Sadu refers to the traditional woven textile made by Bedouin women: in Arabic, ‘Al Sadu’ means weaving in a horizontal style. It is a form of warp-faced plain weave made on a ground loom using natural fibres. The cloth forms a tightly woven, durable textile, with patterns that reflect the desert environment. The primary bearers of Al Sadu are older Bedouin women, who play a key role in transmitting their skills to others. Nowadays, Al Sadu has become less of a functional product than a bearer of deep tradition and culture.

Serbia - Zlakusa pottery making, hand-wheel pottery making in the village of Zlakusa. Zlakusa pottery making, hand-wheel pottery making in the village of Zlakusa, relates to the practice of making unglazed vessels for thermic food processing. Used in households and restaurants across Serbia, Zlakusa pottery is made of clay and calcite and the wheel is run exclusively by hand. The finished vessels are decorated with geometrical ornaments. It is claimed that some dishes prepared in Zlakusa earthenware have a unique taste, and the pottery’s close association with the village of Zlakusa and its environs reflects its close link with the natural environment.

Singapore – Hawker culture in Singapore, community dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban context. Hawker culture is present throughout Singapore. Hawkers prepare a variety of food for people who dine and mingle at hawker centres. These centres serve as ‘community dining rooms’ where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining together. Activities such as chess-playing, busking and art-jamming also take place. Having evolved from street food culture, hawker centres have become markers of Singapore as a multicultural city-state. Hawkers often specialize in a particular dish refined over many years and transmit their recipes, knowledge and skills to younger family members or apprentices.

Spain - Wine Horses. Los Caballos del Vino is an equestrian ritual that takes place each year from 1to 3 May in Caravaca de la Cruz, involving a series of events. First, the horses are dressed in richly embroidered cloaks and various parades are held to showcase them. The most awaited moment is a race up the hill to the castle, when prizes are awarded to the best racers and finest cloaks. Wine-growing and horse-breeding form an inherent part of the economy, history and culture of the area and the festival showcases values such as comradeship and the relationship between humans and horses.

Switzerland, France - Craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics. The skills related to the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics are used to create objects designed to measure and indicate time, art automata and mechanical androids, sculptures and animated paintings, music boxes and songbirds. These technical and artistic objects all feature a mechanical device that generates movements or emits sounds. While serving an economic function, these skills have also shaped the architecture, urban landscape and everyday social reality of the regions concerned, where craftsmanship remains particularly dynamic.

Tunisia - Charfia fishing in the Kerkennah Islands. Charfia fishing in the Kerkennah Islands is a traditional, passive fishing technique that capitalizes on local hydrographic conditions, seabed contours and natural resources at sea and on land. The ‘charfia’ is a fixed fishery system usually operated only between the autumn equinox and June, to give the marine wildlife a biological rest period. The annual rebuildiing of the charfias involves communities’ social practices. Charfia fishing requires extensive knowledge of underwater topography and marine currents and is the main fishing technique used in the islands, making it a unifying element for all Kerkennians.

United Arab Emirates - Al Aflaj, traditional irrigation network system in the UAE, oral traditions, knowledge and skills of construction, maintenance and equitable water distribution. Al Aflaj and the related oral traditions, knowledge and skills of construction, maintenance and equitable water distribution relate to the irrigation system used to conduct water over long distances from an underground source to a basin. The water flows by gradual gradient, while underground tunnels reduce evaporation. Al Aflaj also includes a network of surface channels to distribute water to local farms. For centuries, the Al Aflaj system served to provide drinking water and irrigate farms, demonstrating the community’s creativity in the face of water scarcity in a desert environment.