UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists

WHS closely connected with an entry on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. I.e: the WHS is a major or the sole location for the occurrence/performance of an entry and/or is closely associated culturally with it. https://ich.unesco.org/

Connected Sites

Site Rationale Link
Ahwar of Southern Iraq Traditional craft skills and arts of Al-Mudhif building
Aksum Ethiopian Epiphany (2019) has been celebrated historically in Axum, Lalibela, Gondar where world heritage sites of Ethiopia are found.
Al Ain Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices (2019) - Al Ain named in nomination among UAE representatives; Al Aflaj, traditional irrigation network system in the UAE, oral traditions, knowledge and skills of construction, maintenance and equitable water distribution (2020)
Aleppo 2021: "Al-Qudoud al-Halabiya is a form of traditional music from Aleppo with a fixed melody. ...Aleppans continue to perform the music in the alleyways and souks of the old city."
Ancient Nara Daimokutate - In Yahashira Shrine of Nara City
Angkor Royal ballet of Cambodia - closely associated with the Khmer court (2008); Bokator (2022)
Armenian Monastic Ensembles Pilgrimage to the St. Thaddeus Apostle Monastery (2020, Iran + Armenia)
Blue and John Crow Mountains The Maroon Heritage of Moore Town was listed in 2003 as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and then relisted in 2008 on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (AB ev)
Borobudur Gamelan (2021): "Gamelan is an integral part of Indonesian identity dating back centuries; archaeological evidence of the practice has been found in the relief sculptures of the eighth-century Borobudur temple."
Brugge Holy Blood Procession
Changdeokgung Palace Complex Daemokjang, traditional wooden architecture - "Wooden architecture has a long history in Korea. Among the best examples are Changdeokgung Palace and Bulguksa Temple, which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. These architectural treasures were constructed under the command of daemokjang. In this sense, traditional Korean wooden architecture, built and restored with the skills and knowledge of daemokjang, are appreciated not as mere buildings, but as works of art." - Intangible Heritage Nomination File
Chongoni Rock Art Gule Wamkulu
Cordoba Fiesta of the patios in Cordova
Dolomites Alpinism (2019)
Dubrovnik The festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik
El Tajin Location for regular performance by Totenacs of the Ritual Ceremony of the Voladores
Fasil Ghebbi Ethiopian Epiphany (2019) has been celebrated historically in Axum, Lalibela, Gondar where world heritage sites of Ethiopia are found.
Grand Place, Brussels Ommegang of Brussels, an annual historical procession and popular festival (2019) "The procession follows a 1.5 km route through the city to the Grand-Place"
Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain Mongolian traditional practices of worshipping the sacred sites (2017): "State’s support for initiatives to revive Mountain worship" and "Any activity on Burkhan Khaldun Mountain itself, other than worshipping rituals, is traditionally forbidden" (AB ev)
Harar Jugol Shuwalid festival
Historic Cairo Coptic Cairo, Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church: Festivals related to the Journey of the Holy family in Egypt (2022)
Island of Saint-Louis Ceebu Jën, a culinary art of Senegal (2021): "a dish that originated in the fishing communities on the Island of Saint-Louis in Senegal"
Jeju Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (women divers)
Jongmyo Shrine The Royal Ancestral Ritual in the Jongmyo Shrine and its Music
Kinderdijk Craft of the miller operating windmills and watermills (2017)
Kotor Cultural Heritage of Boka Navy Kotor (2021); Festivity of Saint Tryphon and the Kolo (chain dance) of Saint Tryphon (2022)
La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle Craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics (2020)
Lalibela Ethiopian Epiphany (2019) has been celebrated historically in Axum, Lalibela, Gondar where world heritage sites of Ethiopia are found.
Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces Winegrowers Festival in Vevey
Loire Valley Equitation in the French tradition
Medina of Essaouira Gnawa (2019): The Gnawa are also found in large numbers in imperial cities, often within the historic old urban fabric (the medinas), particularly in Essaouira and Marrakesh. These two cities are home to a significant number of Gnawa musicians and followers of Gnawa culture.
Medina of Marrakesh The Cultural Space of Jemaa el-Fna Square (2008) & Gnawa (2019): The Gnawa are also found in large numbers in imperial cities, often within the historic old urban fabric (the medinas), particularly in Essaouira and Marrakesh. These two cities are home to a significant number of Gnawa musicians and followers of Gnawa culture.
Mexico City and Xochimilco Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead: "Míxquic es un pueblo que forma parte del polígono de la zona chinampera declarada como Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO."
Mijikenda Kaya Forests 2009
Naples Neapolitan pizza, for example to be had at Pizzeria Da Michele
Osun-Osogbo Oral heritage of Gelede (2008); The Ifa Divination System (2008)
Pearling Fjiri (2021): "Fjiri originated on the Island of Muharraq, where, up until the mid-twentieth century, most of the population formed part of the pearling community."
Petra The Cultural Space of the Bedu in Petra and Wadi Rum
Potosi Ch'utillos, the Festival of San Bartolomé and San Ignacio de Loyola, the meeting of cultures in Potosí
Provins Falconry, a living human heritage (2012)
Puebla Artisanal talavera of Puebla and Tlaxcala (Mexico) and ceramics of Talavera de la Reina and El Puente del Arzobispo (Spain) making process (2019)
Qhapaq Ñan Knowledge, skills and rituals related to the annual renewal of the Q'eswachaka bridge (2013)
Quanzhou Nanyin, a musical performing art
Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras The Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao
Sambor Prei Kuk Bokator (2022)
Sana'a The Song of Sana'a
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple Daemokjang, traditional wooden architecture - "Wooden architecture has a long history in Korea. Among the best examples are Changdeokgung Palace and Bulguksa Temple, which are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. These architectural treasures were constructed under the command of daemokjang. In this sense, traditional Korean wooden architecture, built and restored with the skills and knowledge of daemokjang, are appreciated not as mere buildings, but as works of art." - Intangible Heritage Nomination File
Stari Grad Plain Procession Za Krizen ("following the cross") on the island of Hvar
Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Alpinism (2019)
São Luis Cultural Complex of Bumba-meu-boi from Maranhão (2019)
Tombs of Buganda Kings "Bark cloth making is an ancient craft performed by the Baganda people who live in the Buganda kingdom in south Uganda"
Upper Svaneti Georgian Polyphonic Singing
Val di Noto Catania, Opera dei Pupi, Sicilian Puppet Theatre
Vienna Classical horsemanship and the High School of the Spanish Riding School Vienna (2015): The Spanish Riding School in the Vienna’s Imperial Palace (A-1010 Vienna, Michaelerplatz 1, Hofburg) in the city center of Vienna, where training sessions and regular performances are open for the wider public.
Wadi Rum The Cultural Space of the Bedu in Petra and Wadi Rum

Suggestions?

Do you know of another WHS we could connect to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists?

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A connection should:

  1. Not be "self evident"
  2. Link at least 3 different sites
  3. Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
  4. Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
  5. Be explained, with reference to a source