Intangible Cultural Heritage of India

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage:

List by UNESCO for protection and conservation  of eminent cultural activities which are one of it’s kind, unique and intangible for the sake of saving intangible cultural heritage and creating awareness of their importance and implication in the heritage.

• Intangible cultural heritage list is published by intergovernmental committee of UN.
• The list was established in 2008
• This programme contains two seperate list one is representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity and another one is intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding

You may also see this- Dances of India

 

India’s UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list

 

Vedic chanting

• Declared in 2008 and India’s first entry in this list
• Vedas during older times were chanted during activities of performance of rituals or any sacred activities in communities
• Chanted because to pass Vedas literature content orally
• Beauty of this culture is that it’s preservation of each words sound is not altered and the practitioner are made to learn style of reciting these in a particular accents with a certain specification in speaking them
• Until now 13 of these different reciting styles have survived
• Under UNESCO programme of intangible heritage list it is indicated that four noted school among them are under threat and schools are Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa.

You should also see- Important summits in India 

Ramlila

• Declared in 2008
• Performance of Ramayana a series of scenes from the mythological epic which is a story of Rama a god’s incarnation.
• Ramilia is performed during Dushera (Diwali) a hindu religious festival organized for cleberation of Rama’s return from Exile of 14 Years
• It is performed on the basis of Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidasa
• Performed all across northern India
• Famous ramlila are from the birt city of Rama AYODHA, and areas around it Ramnagar and Banaras, vrindavan, Madubani
• It is losing touch to audience because of wide spread of mass media and other activities

Kutiyattam

• Declared part of this list in 2008
• Sanskrit theatre in Kerala
• One of oldest theatre
• Complete performance can take up to 40 days around
• Eye and hand gesture are important
• Performed in Temples

Ramman

• Declared part of this list in 2009
• From Garhwal region of Himalayas(Uttarakhand)
• A form theatre and festival
• For Bhumiyal Devta a local folk deity
• In this festival there is recitation from Ramayana and singing and dance(masked)

Mudiyettu

• Kerala
• Declared part of this list in 2010
• A combination of ritual theatre and dance
• A dance drama based on mythology a story of Godess Kaali and demon Darika performed in Temples of Godess
• After period of harvesting summer crop

Kalbelia

• Folk dance
• From Rajasthan
• Declared part of this list in 2010
• Artist are from Kalbelia tribe that represents Snake Charmer
• Dance by women wearing long black skirts and sliver color ribbon on them
• Men plays a role of snake catcher so equipped with Pungi or Khanjari and women as snakes
• Basically a dance accompanied by songs which carries mythological knowledge

Chhau

• Dance
• Declared part of this list in 2010
• From Eastern states of India like Orissa, Jharkhand
• Three type of styles in which two are performed with the use of Mask
• Performed at night with the sehnai(a pipe instrument)

Buddhist chanting

• Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir
• Declared part of this list in 2012
• Recitation of sacred Buddhist text by major sects Nyngma, Kagyud, Shakya and Geluk
• Chants are practiced daily

Sankirtana

• Singing and dancing
• From Manipur
• Declared part of this list in 2013
• stories of Krishna

Thatehras of Jandiala Guru 

• For brass and copper utensil making by hammering the metal from a thin metals plate
• From Punjab
• Declared part of this list in 2014
• Utensil are made for house use as well as for rituals

Yoga

• Declared part of this list in 2016
• Various bodily exercise or mental exercise
• Done spiritual and bodily reasons
• There are various ancient as well as modern scripture for Yoga

Nawrouz

• New year on 31 march\
• Declared part of this list in 2016
• Declared part of this list in 2016
• It is also celebrated in other countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc.

 

There are 12 cultural arts in Intangible cultural heritage list.

Note-

• India also applied for Sowa-Rigpa i.e. knowledge of healing in Tibbet or Ladakh area by Buddhist monks. Also known as Amchi- system of medicine one of the oldest and well documented medical tradition
• In 2016 Bhojpuri folk songs in Mauritius also got the status of intangible world heritage status. Also known as Geet-gawai(literal meaning is singing a song)
• Kutiyattam a Sanskrit theatresysystem in Kerala also got fund under UNESCO for preserving and managing this culture systematically

 To see classical dances of India click here

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Thank you and all the best

Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.-Malala Yousafzai