Published: 20th Dec, 2021
Context
Recently, UNESCO announced that the Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the agency's list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'.
- In total, 14 Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from the country have now been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List.
About
Important facts about Durga Puja
- Durga Puja is a five-day festival which begins on the fifth night of the nine-day Navratri festival and ends on the tenth day, which is Dashami.
- During this time, people collectively worship and invoke Goddess Durga, who is regarded as the feminine energy of the cosmos, also known as ‘Shakti’.
- Originating in West Bengal, which has the largest Bengali community in the country, the festival is celebrated in many other parts of India, and also the world.
- During this time, intricately-designed clay models of the Goddess are worshipped in ‘pandals’ and pavilions where people get together.
- Folk music, culinary, craft, and performing arts traditions are a part of the celebration.
What is Intangible Cultural Heritage?
- The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity has 492 elements currently.
- It includes “forms of expression that testifies to the diversity of intangible heritage and raises awareness of its importance”.
- UNESCO intends to enhance the “visibility of communities’ cultural practices and know-how”, aiming to “safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of communities globally”.
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UNESCO's 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' list
- Apart from the Kolkata Durga Puja, these were also included in UNESCO's list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity'.
- The Saint John celebrations in Venezuela
- The Corpus Christi festival is celebrated in Panama
- The Bolivian Grand Festival of Tarija
- Nora, an acrobatic form of dance theatre from southern Thailand
- Al-Qudoud al-Halabiya, a form of traditional music from Aleppo (Syria)
- Congolese rumba and Xòe, a Vietnamese dance form
- Ceebu Jën, a Sengalese culinary art form
- Pasillo, a type of music and dance that emerged in Ecuador
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