Category
67 public knowledge systems connected to this registry facet.
Tracking knowledge systems
Land-based tracking practices involving animal behaviour, environmental signs, memory and collective interpretation.
L’acupuncture et la moxibustion de la médecine traditionnelle chinoise
Acupuncture and moxibustion are forms of traditional Chinese medicine widely practised in China and also found in regions of south-east Asia, Europe and the Americas. The theories of acupuncture and moxibustion hold that the human body acts as a small universe connected by channels, and that by physically stimulating these channels the...
Saison d’alpage
In Switzerland, alpine pasture season refers to the period between May and October, when cattle, sheep and goats are driven to high-altitude pastures to take advantage of the extra forage. During this time, alpine farmers of all genders care for the animals, maintain the pastures, fences and buildings, process the milk into cheese and...
L’art de la gravure de sceaux chinois
The art of seal engraving is a cornerstone of Chinese fine arts. The seal was originally used as a signature or sign of authority, but it came to be used by all social classes and in much of Asia. The Seal Engravers’ Society of Xiling in Zhejiang Province, central China, which was founded a century ago, preserves the art of seal...
L’art de la construction en pierre sèche : savoir-faire et techniques
The art of dry stone construction refers to the practice of building with stone without using binding material. Practised in various countries in Europe, it requires an innate understanding of geometry and physics, as well as skills to handle the raw materials used. Dry stone construction is achieved through the careful selection and...
L’art de la danse xòe du peuple tai au Viet Nam
Xòe is a form of Vietnamese dancing with movements that symbolize human activities in ritual, culture, life and work. It is performed at rituals, weddings, village festivals and community events. There are three main types of xòe: ritual, circle and presentational. The ritual and presentational xòe dances are named after props used...
Les fêtes du 15 août (Dekapentavgoustos) dans deux communautés montagnardes du nord de la Grèce : Tranos Choros (la grande danse) à Vlásti et le Festival de Syrráko
The Tranos Choros (Grand Dance) and Syrrako festival are celebrated nationwide in Greece to commemorate the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Historically, these Orthodox festivities originating in Vlasti and Syrrako marked the annual reunion of pastoral communities before the sheep or cattle farmers moved to their winter pastures. Although...
Les fêtes de l’Ours dans les Pyrénées
The Bear festivities take place every winter in five villages in the Pyrenees mountain range located in Andorra and France. During the event, young men dress up as bears and run through the streets trying to catch participants. The festivities are punctuated by dances, speeches in Catalan and music. The entire local population takes...
La construction et l’utilisation des pirogues monoxyles expansées dans la région de Soomaa
The Estonian expanded dugout boat from the Soomaa region is a canoe-like boat, hollowed out from a single tree (usually aspen), with expanded sides and a shallow base. The building of a dugout boat is a complex process, beginning with the identification of a suitable tree and culminating with the boat’s launch. Dugout boatbuilding is a...
La navigation traditionnelle et la construction de pirogues des îles Carolines
Carolinian wayfinding and canoe making refers to the centuries-old tradition of building and navigating long-distance canoes. Communities in Micronesia, and particularly in the outer islands of Yap State, continue the traditions of building the ocean- voyaging sailing canoes from local materials and of navigating, or wayfinding, without...
Le ceebu jën, art culinaire du Sénégal
Ceebu jën is a dish that originated in the fishing communities on the Island of Saint-Louis in Senegal. Although recipes vary from one region to the next, the dish is typically made with fish steak, broken rice, dried fish, mollusc and seasonal vegetables such as onions, parsley, garlic, chilli pepper, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, white...
La pêche à la charfiya aux îles Kerkennah
Charfia fishing in the Kerkennah Islands is a traditional, passive fishing technique that capitalises on the hydrographic conditions, seabed contours and natural resources both at sea and on land. The ‘charfia’ is a fixed fishery system consisting of palm fronds embedded in the seabed to create a triangular barrier, blocking the path of...
La danse Chhau
Chhau dance is a tradition from eastern India that enacts episodes from epics including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, local folklore and abstract themes. Its three distinct styles hail from the regions of Seraikella, Purulia and Mayurbhanj, the first two using masks. Chhau dance is intimately connected to regional festivals, notably the...
Les processus de construction de la maison quincha et de la junta de embarre/embarra
The construction of mud or clay houses, known as quincha houses, is a traditional building practice commonly found in rural and semi-urban areas in many parts of Panama. These homes are made using a mix of clay soil, hay and natural fibres, along with wood and plants to support the structure. This construction process – called a 'junta...
La culture du corso, défilés de fleurs et de fruits aux Pays-Bas
Dating back to the late nineteenth century, a corso is an annual parade of floats or boats decorated with flowers, fruit, vegetables and, in some cases, people in costumes. Originating in the south of France and Italy, the practice spread to the Netherlands in the nineteenth century. The parade takes place in streets or on rivers, and...
Les pratiques culturelles associées au 1er Mars
Cultural Practices Associated to the 1st of March comprise traditions transmitted since ancient times to celebrate the beginning of spring. The main practice consists of making, offering and wearing a red and white thread, which is then untied when the first blossom tree, swallow or stork is seen. A few other local practices also form...
Le Dainichido Bugaku
According to legend, travelling performers of ''bugaku,'' the ritual dance and music of the imperial palace, visited Hachimantai Town in northern Japan in the early eighth century, during the reconstruction of Dainichido, the shrine pavilion. The ritual performance of Dainichido Bugaku takes its name from this story, but the art evolved...
La tournée de maison en maison des Kurenti
Door-to-door rounds of Kurenti is a Shrovetide custom practised from Candlemas (2 February) to Ash Wednesday. Kurenti practise their rounds through villages and nowadays also through the town of Ptuj. Groups consisting of Kurenti and one or more devils run from house to house, form a circle in the yard and jump around the owners....
L’art équestre au Portugal
Equestrian art in Portugal is a combination of functionality and aesthetics. It is characterized by the rider’s position on the saddle, as well as by the traditional attire and harnesses used. Equestrian art in Portugal establishes a sense of harmony and deep respect between rider and horse, with the rider communicating with the horse...
Esuwa, prières chantées en Harakbut des Wachiperi du Pérou
The Wachiperi are an indigenous ethnic group speaking the Harakbut language and living in Peru’s southern Amazon tropical forest. The Esuwa or sung prayer is an expression of Wachiperi religious myths, performed for healing or as part of traditional ceremonies such as the drinking of masato, a traditional beverage made of fermented...
Le Ganggangsullae
Ganggangsullae is a seasonal harvest and fertility ritual popular in the south-western part of the Republic of Korea, performed primarily on Korea’s Thanksgiving in the eighth lunar month. Under a bright full moon, dozens of young, unmarried village women gather in a circle, join hands and sing and dance all night under the direction of...
Le Hiragasy, art du spectacle des Hautes terres Centrales de Madagascar
Hiragasy is a performing art composed of song, dance and speech. Originating in the central highlands of Madagascar, the performance takes place in public spaces. It generally involves two troupes and lasts about one hour and thirty minutes, following a standard structure, including drumming, greetings, storytelling, dance and folk...
Le programme de pratiques de sauvegarde du PCI pour le Festival culturel et écologique des tortues marines d’Armila
For centuries, the people of Armila, Panama have lived in harmony with their natural environment and local fauna, a relationship that is embodied in oral traditions. In response to the decreasing transmission of these oral traditions, and to strengthen the artisanal practices and ritual expressions, dances and music associated with...
Le khon, théâtre masqué et dansé en Thaïlande
Khon, the Khon Masked Dance Drama in Thailand, is a performing art that combines musical, vocal, literary, dance, ritual and handicraft elements. Khon performances – which involve graceful dance movements, instrumental and vocal renditions and glittering costumes – depict the glory of Rama, the hero and incarnation of the god Vishnu,...
Le savoir-faire de la culture du mastiha à l’île de Chios
Mastic is cultivated on the island of Chios from the aromatic resin mastiha, which is extracted from the shrub pistacia lentiscus. Mastic has long been renowned for its numerous properties and its culture is a family occupation that requires laborious care throughout the year by men and women of all ages who participate on equal terms...
Le programme « Terre des légendes »pour promouvoir et redynamiser l’art du conte dans le comté de Kronoberg
The Land-of-Legends programme is aimed at promoting and revitalizing the art of storytelling in the Kronoberg region of southern Sweden. In Sweden, as elsewhere, factors such as industrialization, urbanization and television and social media have led to the disappearance of traditional venues for storytelling and modes of transmission,...
Mahadra, système communautaire de transmission des savoirs traditionnels et des expressions orales
Mahadra, sometimes called ‘the university of the desert’, is a community framework for education and socialization in which traditional knowledge and literary expressions are transmitted, mainly through listening and memorization. Dating back centuries, it has become a key feature of Mauritanian society and has led to the reproduction,...
La Fête de la Messosporitissa (Fête de la Toute-Puissante Mère de Dieu de la période des semailles), Fête de Notre-Dame des ruines antiques
The Feast of Our Lady is an important festivity in Greek Orthodox Christianity that is observed on 21 November. The night before the event, an evensong ceremony takes place in a seventeenth-century chapel that is located within the archaeological site of Eleusis. Believers bring a specially prepared sweet bread, called ‘artos’ (bread),...
La danse spirituelle mwazindika de la communauté Daida du Kenya
The Mwazindika spiritual dance is a traditional practice used to promote individual and communal well-being amongst the Daida community. It combines dance, music, ritual and storytelling, and is performed during important events such as rites of passage, harvests, coronations and times of crisis like droughts or floods. Its purpose is...
Le Nijemo Kolo, ronde dansée silencieuse de l’arrière-pays dalmate
The Nijemo Kolo is practised by communities in the Dalmatian hinterland, in southern Croatia. Nijemo Kolo is performed in a closed circle with male dancers leading female partners in energetic, spontaneous steps – the male dancer publicly testing the skills of his female partner, seemingly without defined rules. The steps and figures,...
Le nora, drame dansé dans le sud de la Thaïlande
Nora is a lively and acrobatic form of dance theatre and improvisational singing from southern Thailand. Performances normally include a long oral invocation, followed by a presentation by a lead character who dances with vigorous and elaborate movements of the legs, arms and fingers. The performances are usually based on stories about...
Les traditions nordiques des bateaux à clins
Nordic clinker boats are small, open, wooden boats between five and ten metres long. For almost two millennia, the people of the Nordic region (including the indigenous Sami peoples in Finland, Norway and Sweden and minority groups such as the Kvens in Norway, the Tornedalians in Sweden and the Swedish-speaking population in Finland)...
L’Oku-noto no Aenokoto
Oku-noto no Aenokoto is an agricultural ritual transmitted from generation to generation by the rice farmers of the Noto Peninsula, which projects from Ishikawa prefecture in the centre of Japan’s main island, Honshu. The twice-yearly ceremony is unique among the harvest rituals of Asia in that the master of the house invites the deity...
Le programme du grand voilier-école omanais pour les jeunes (Safinat Shabab Oman) pour la paix et le dialogue culturel durable
The Oman Youth Sail Training Ship programme for peace and sustainable cultural dialogue actively contributes to introducing Oman’s intangible cultural heritage to the rest of the world. To date, it has made eighteen voyages reaching more than fifty-five countries. The programme, which is financed by the State, aims to enrich the...
Le bateau Oselvar, adaptation du processus d’enseignement traditionnel de sa construction et son utilisation dans un contexte moderne
Previously western Norway’s main mode of transportation, also used for recreation, the wooden oselvar boat almost became obsolete with the introduction of modern boats in the 1940s, as well as government price restrictions forcing builders to find alternative work, and greater road transport in the 1960s. To help safeguard the...
Le pinisi, art de la construction navale en Sulawesi du sud
Pinisi, or the Art of Boatbuilding in South Sulawesi, refers to the rig and sail of the famed ‘Sulawesi schooner’. The construction and deployment of such vessels stand in the millennia-long tradition of Austronesian boatbuilding and navigation that has brought forth a broad variety of sophisticated watercrafts. For both the Indonesian...
La Caravane polyphonique, recherches, sauvegarde et promotion du chant polyphonique de l’Épire
The Polyphonic Caravan is a longstanding project aimed at researching, safeguarding and promoting the Epirus polyphonic song. Performed for centuries, the Epirus polyphonic song is performed by a group of singers with two to four distinctive roles among them, and touches on almost every aspect of life, such as childhood, marriage,...
Les pratiques et significations associées à la préparation et à la consommation du ceviche, une expression de la cuisine traditionnelle péruvienne
Ceviche is a traditional dish in Peru prepared with raw fish marinated in lemon, seasoned with chili pepper and salt and accompanied with locally grown produce. The dish is consumed both on a daily basis and during festivities. It is associated with moments of celebration and social gathering, as well as with ritual celebrations,...
La procession Za Krizen (« chemin de croix ») sur l’île de Hvar
After mass on Maundy Thursday before the Christian holiday of Easter, each of six villages on the Dalmatian island of Hvar in southern Croatia sends out a group that will proceed through the other villages in a circle, covering twenty-five kilometres in eight hours before returning home. Each party in this community-organized Za Krizen...
Un programme pour cultiver la ludodiversité : la sauvegarde des jeux traditionnels en Flandre
Ludodiversity refers to the wide diversity in games, sports, physical exercises, dances and acrobatics. The non-governmental organization Sportimonium, together with local communities and associations, has taken measures to safeguard the heritage of games and sports in Flanders, Belgium, including twenty-three types of traditional...
Le punto
Punto is the poetry and music of Cuban farmers, consisting of a tune or melody over which a person sings an improvised or learned stanza of ten octameter verse lines, with a rhyming scheme. There are two main variants of Punto: punto libre, a tune of free metre; and punto fijo, which can be in key or crossed. Throughout history, the...
Les Raiho-shin, visites rituelles de divinités masquées et costumées
Raiho-shin rituals take place annually in various regions of Japan – especially in the Tohoku, Hokuriku, Kyushu and Okinawa regions – on days that mark the beginning of the year or when the seasons change. Such rituals stem from folk beliefs that deities from the outer world – the Raiho-shin – visit communities and usher in the new year...
Le rite des Tsars de Kalyady (Tsars de Noël)
The Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars) is a ritual and festive event celebrated in the village of Semezhava in the Minsk region of Belarus. Typical Belarusian New Year celebrations take place according to the ‘old’ Julian style calendar and are combined with distinctive local performing arts. About 500 men participate annually in the...
La célébration du Sadeh/Sada
Sadeh, or Sada, is a celebration held annually on 30 January. In the folk calendar, it marks the day when farmlands are prepared for their next spring plantation and when people celebrate the end of the coldest winter days, with 50 days and 50 nights remaining to spring. Accordingly, ‘Sadeh’ means ‘one hundred’. The element enjoys...
Le concept Kodály, sauvegarde du patrimoine musical traditionnel
Over the past century, the Kodály concept of safeguarding traditional folk music has helped to promote, transmit and document local practices in Hungary and assisted communities abroad for similar purposes. Devised by researcher, composer and pedagogue Zoltán Kodály and supported by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, it advocates:...
La culture du sauna en Finlande
Sauna culture in Finland is an integral part of the lives of the majority of the Finnish population. Sauna culture, which can take place in homes or public places, involves much more than simply washing oneself. In a sauna, people cleanse their bodies and minds and embrace a sense of inner peace. Traditionally, the sauna has been...
Le séga tambour de Rodrigues
Sega Tambour of Rodrigues Island is a vibrant rhythmic performance of music, song and dance with its origins in slave communities. The leading percussion, the tambour, is banged energetically, while a triyang is hit from the side and the bwat and mayos are clapped. Sega Tambour is performed all over Rodrigues Island in the home and on...
Songkran en Thaïlande, la fête du Nouvel An thaïlandais traditionnel
In Thailand, Songkran refers to the sun’s annual passing into the Aries constellation, the first sign of the Zodiac, which marks the traditional start of the new year. Occurring in mid-April after the rice harvest, it is a time when people reunite with their families and pay their respects to older adults, ancestors and sacred Buddha...
L'Hıdrellez, fête du printemps
The Spring Celebration ‘Hidrellez’ takes place annually on 6 May, which is recognized as Spring Day, or the awakening of nature. ‘Hidrellez’ is a compound noun derived from ‘Hidir’ and ‘Ilyas’, which are believed to be the protectors of earth and water and the helpers of individuals, families and communities in need of them. To mark...
La procession de printemps des Ljelje/Kraljice (ou reines) de Gorjani
The Procession of Queens is performed by the young girls of the village of Gorjani in the Slavonia region of north-east Croatia every spring. The girls in a group are divided into ten ''kraljevi'' (kings), who wear sabres and men’s hats, and about five ''kraljice'' (queens), who wear white garlands on their heads like brides. On...
Le rite du printemps de Juraǔski Karahod
The spring rite of Juraǔski Karahod is performed by residents of the village of Pahost on St. George’s Day. For Belarusians, St. George safeguards livestock and agriculture. In Pahost, the holiday is observed through a specific ceremonial rite that encompasses various ceremonial activities, songs, games, omens and beliefs....
La réussite de la promotion des aliments traditionnels et de la sauvegarde des modes d’alimentation traditionnels au Kenya
In Kenya, traditional foodways were under threat due to historical factors and the pressure of modern lifestyles. Local foods were looked down upon and were associated with poverty and backwardness. Understanding that a decline in food diversity and knowledge would have serious ramifications on health and on food and nutrition...
L’estivage dans un fäbod et seter : connaissances, traditions et pratiques liées au pâturage des terres reculées et à la production alimentaire artisanale
In Sweden and Norway, summer farming refers to the practice of moving livestock to outlying lands in late spring. It entails knowledge concerning animal husbandry and herding, dairy production, land management and handicrafts. It also involves herding calls, songs, storytelling and rituals. The practices and expressions of summer...
La culture de la piscine en Islande
Swimming pool culture refers to the widespread use of heated outdoor pools. Despite cold climates, these spaces remain popular, welcoming people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. People visit the pools for various reasons, such as to exercise, relax or socialize. The public swimming pools are run by the community, for the...
L’art de l’élevage de l’alabay turkmène
The alabay is a breed of dog known for its physical characteristics (large head, flat forehead, small eyes, strong muscles and large size) as well as for its loyalty, guarding skills and calm demeanour. The breed has been carefully preserved by the practising communities over many centuries. People of all ages, genders and levels of...
La pratique de fabrication de l’asin tibuok, le sel de mer artisanal des Boholano de l’île de Bohol aux Philippines
Asin tibuok, or whole salt, is a traditional type of sea salt made through a long and careful process amongst the Boholano of Bohol Island. The final product looks like a white egg inside a brown shell. It is handmade using natural materials and traditional techniques that have been passed down through generations. The salt-making...
L'École des traditions vivantes
In 1995, the Sub-commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) – the lead agency mandated to preserve, promote and develop Philippine culture and the arts – affirmed the need to safeguard traditional knowledge and practices from rapid cultural devaluation brought about...
Les traditions sociales et culturelles associées aux landships à la Barbade
Landships are community-based cultural groups known for their social structure, performances and shared traditions. They are organized like naval ships, with members holding ranks such as Lord High Admiral, Commander and Kit Inspector. Members use nautical terms with localized meanings to reflect life challenges and achievements....
Le radelage
Timber rafting in Austria, Czechia, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Spain originated in the Middle Ages, when rafts were used to transport wood, goods and people using natural water flows. In the past, rafters traveling to remote destinations spent weeks living and working together on their raft. As a result, a community sharing the...
Les compétences traditionnelles de construction et de navigation des bateaux iraniens Lenj dans le golfe Persique
Iranian Lenj vessels are traditionally hand-built and are used by inhabitants of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf for sea journeys, trading, fishing and pearl diving. The traditional knowledge surrounding Lenjes includes oral literature, performing arts and festivals, in addition to the sailing and navigation techniques and...
Les rites festifs traditionnels printaniers des éleveurs de chevaux kazakhs
Traditional spring festive rites of the Kazakh horse breeders – taking place in Terisakkan Village in the Ulytau District of Karaganda Oblast – mark the end of the old and the beginning of the new yearly horse-breeding cycle. Rooted in traditional knowledge about nature and the age-old relations between man and horse, the rites involve...
Les traditions et pratiques associées aux Kayas dans les forêts sacrées des Mijikenda
The Mijikenda include nine Bantu-speaking ethnic groups in the Kaya forests of coastal Kenya. The identity of the Mijikenda is expressed through oral traditions and performing arts related to the sacred forests, which are also sources of valuable medicinal plants. These traditions and practices constitute their codes of ethics and...
La Transhumance, déplacement saisonnier de troupeaux
Transhumance refers to the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between geographical or climatic regions. Each year, in spring and autumn, men and women herders organise the movement of thousands of animals along traditional pastoral paths. They move on foot or horseback, leading with their dogs and sometimes accompanied by...
Le Vimbuza, danse de guérison
Vimbuza is a healing dance popular among the Tumbuka people living in northern Malawi. It is an important manifestation of the ng’oma, a healing tradition found throughout Bantu-speaking Africa. Ng’oma, meaning “drums of affliction”, carries considerable historical depth and, despite various attempts over the years to suppress it,...
La technique des cloisons étanches des jonques chinoises
Developed in South China’s Fujian Province, the watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks permits the construction of ocean-going vessels with watertight compartments. If one or two cabins are accidentally damaged in the course of navigation, seawater will not flood the other cabins and the vessel will remain afloat. The junks are...
Le langage sifflé de l’île de la Gomera (îles Canaries), le Silbo Gomero
The whistled language of La Gomera Island in the Canaries, the Silbo Gomero, replicates the islanders’ habitual language (Castilian Spanish) with whistling. Handed down over centuries from master to pupil, it is the only whistled language in the world that is fully developed and practised by a large community (more than 22,000...
Les fêtes de l'hiver, le carnaval de Podence
Winter festivities, Carnival of Podence is a social practice which initially functioned as a rite of passage for men. Now extended to women and children, it has been readjusted to its contemporary context. The festivity is associated with the celebration of the end of winter and the arrival of spring and takes place over three days in...
Heritage, design and Global South stories from established outlets.
