Category
59 public knowledge systems connected to this registry facet.
Adinkra
Akan visual symbols used in cloth, architecture, funerary practice and public design to carry philosophical, ethical and social concepts.
Mrammuo and goldweight knowledge
Cast brass goldweights used in trade, measure, diplomacy and proverbial communication across Akan contexts.
Ubuntu
A family of southern African relational ethics emphasising personhood, reciprocity and communal responsibility.
Al aflaj, système traditionnel d’irrigation aux EAU, traditions orales, connaissances et savoir-faire liés à sa construction, à son entretien et à la distribution équitable de l’eau
Al Aflaj and the related oral traditions, knowledge and skills of construction, maintenance and equitable water distribution are a source of pride for the associated communities. Al Aflaj is a traditional irrigation system which uses an underground tunnel to conduct water over long distances from an underground source to a basin, where...
L’Al 'azi, art de la poésie, symbole de louange, de fierté et de force d’âme
Al Azi is a traditional poetry recital performed by a group of individuals without rhythmical or musical instruments. It consists of a full-rhymed poem based on traditional poetry and the lines of poetry are sometimes interposed with sayings and proverbs. Bearers and practitioners include the poet, performer, chorus and audience. The...
La cosmovision andine des Kallawaya
The Kallawaya ethnic group, based in the mountainous Bautista Saavedra region north of La Paz, traces its roots to the pre-Inca period. Like many aspects of Andean culture, the Kallawaya’s practices and values have evolved through the fusion of native and Christian religions. The principal activity of the Kallawaya involves the practice...
Le pèlerinage annuel au mausolée de Sidi ‘Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed dit « Sidi Cheikh »
Every year, nomadic and settled Sufi communities undertake a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of the Muslim mystic, Sidi ‘Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed (Sidi Cheikh), located in El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh. Beginning on the last Thursday of June, three days of religious rituals and secular festive events honour the founder of the brotherhood. The...
Le Festival international de la culture et de la pêche d'Argungu
Every year in the north-west of Nigeria, communities gather to participate in the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival near the Matan Fada River. The four day festival, which runs between late February and March, features kabanci – a series of water competitions including hand fishing, canoe racing, wild duck catching –...
L’art de fabriquer et de jouer la mbira/sanza, lamellophone traditionnel au Malawi et au Zimbabwe
The art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe, plays a key role in the communities concerned. The basic Mbira/Sansi instrument consists of a wooden board with metal keys attached on top, and the instrument is sometimes mounted on a calabash/wooden resonator. The...
L’askiya, l’art de la plaisanterie
Askiya is a genre of Uzbek verbal folk art that takes the form of a dialogue between two or more participants, who eloquently debate and exchange witticisms around a particular theme. Bearers and practitioners, mainly men, must master the peculiarities of Uzbek language, and be able to improvise and reason quickly and skilfully, using...
Le cercle de capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian cultural practice – simultaneously a fight and a dance – that can be interpreted as a tradition, a sport and even an art form. Capoeira players form a circle at the centre of which two players engage with one another. The movements require great bodily dexterity. The other players around the circle sing,...
La fête du pardon célestinien
The Celestinian forgiveness celebration was inspired by Pope Celestine V, who issued a historical ‘Bull’ as an act of partnership among local populations. Taking place in the city and province of L’Aquila, the tradition comprises a set of rituals and celebrations transmitted uninterruptedly since 1294. The practice conveys a sense of...
Le Cheoyongmu
Cheoyongmu is a court dance today performed on stage but formerly used to dispel evil spirits and pray for tranquillity at royal banquets or during exorcism rites on New Year’s Eve to promote good fortune. Based on the Korean legend of Cheoyong, a son of the dragon king Yongwang, who took human form and saved his human wife from the...
Les techniques artisanales et les pratiques coutumières des ateliers de cathédrales, ou "Bauhütten", en Europe, savoir-faire, transmission, développement des savoirs, innovation
The workshop organization, or Bauhüttenwesen, appeared in the Middle Ages on the construction sites of European cathedrals. Now, as then, these workshops are home to various trades working in close collaboration. The term Bauhüttenwesen in German refers both to the organization of a workshop network dealing with the construction or...
Le savoir-faire lié à l’incrustation de nacre
Mother of pearl inlay is the practice of inserting mother of pearl pieces into wooden objects such as Koran cases, desks, chests, chairs, mirrors, jewel cases and musical instruments. Craftspeople begin by cutting the inner shells of molluscs into different shapes. They draw motifs on a piece of wood, carve out the outlines and shape...
L’épopée Darangen des Maranao du lac Lanao
The Darangen is an ancient epic song that encompasses a wealth of knowledge of the Maranao people who live in the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao. This southernmost island of the Philippine archipelago is the traditional homeland of the Maranao, one of the country’s three main Muslim groups. Comprising 17 cycles and a total of 72,000...
La tradition de l’empaako des Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda et Banyabindi de l’ouest de l’Ouganda
Empaako is a naming system practised by the Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda and Banyabindi, whereby children are given one of twelve names shared across the communities in addition to their given and family names. Addressing a person by her or his Empaako name is a positive affirmation of social ties. It can be used as a greeting...
L’Épiphanie éthiopienne
Ethiopian epiphany is a colourful festival celebrated all over Ethiopia to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The commemoration starts on the eve of the main festival on 18 January. The eve is known as Ketera, which means blocking the flow of water for the blessing of the celebrants. On the...
La fête de saint Blaise, saint patron de Dubrovnik
The evening before the festivity of Saint Blaise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as all the church bells in the city ring and white doves are released as symbols of peace, worshippers gather for a ritual healing of the throat to preserve them against illness. On the third of February, the official day of both saint and city, parish banner...
Le Gada, système socio-politique démocratique autochtone des Oromo
Gada is a traditional system of governance used by the Oromo people in Ethiopia developed from knowledge gained by community experience over generations. The system regulates political, economic, social and religious activities of the community dealing with issues such as conflict resolution, reparation and protecting women’s rights. It...
Le gwoka : musique, chants, danses et pratique culturelle représentatifs de l’identité guadeloupéenne
Gwoka is found among all ethnic and religious groups of Guadeloupean society. It combines responsorial singing in Guadeloupean Creole, rhythms played on the Ka drums and dancing. In its traditional form, Gwoka unites these three areas of expression and emphasizes individual qualities of improvisation. The participants and public form a...
Le Hudhud, récits chantés des Ifugao
The Hudhud consists of narrative chants traditionally performed by the Ifugao community, which is well known for its rice terraces extending over the highlands of the northern island of the Philippine archipelago. It is practised during the rice sowing season, at harvest time and at funeral wakes and rituals. Thought to have originated...
La pratique de la harpe irlandaise
Irish harping is at the heart of the identity of the people of the island of Ireland. The harp is Ireland’s national symbol and has been played for more than 1,000 years; its bell-like sounds and music captivate all those who hear it and are celebrated in Irish mythology, folklore and literature. Nowadays, instead of a harp hewn from a...
Les tribunaux d’irrigants du bassin méditerranéen espagnol : le Conseil des bons hommes de la plaine de Murcie et le Tribunal des eaux de la plaine de Valence
The irrigators’ tribunals of the Spanish Mediterranean coast are traditional law courts for water management that date back to the al-Andalus period (ninth to thirteenth centuries). The two main tribunals – the Council of Wise Men of the Plain of Murcia and the Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia – are recognized under Spanish law....
La danse Isukuti des communautés Isukha et Idakho de l’ouest du Kenya
The Isukuti dance is a traditional celebratory performance practised among the Isukha and Idakho communities of Western Kenya. It takes the form of a fast-paced, energetic and passionate dance accompanied by drumming and singing. An integral tool for cultural transmission and harmonious coexistence between families and communities, it...
Le répertoire du rituel des classes d’âge de Louvain
The Leuven age set ritual repertoire is a rite of passage in a man’s life centring on the ten years leading up to his fiftieth birthday. For men living in or around Leuven, Belgium, a journey of socio-cultural and philanthropic activities and ceremonies commences at the age of forty with the forming of an age set and culminates at the...
Le Majlis, un espace culturel et social
Majlis are ‘sitting places’ where community members gather to discuss local events and issues, exchange news, receive guests, socialize and be entertained. The Majlis is where the community gathers to resolve problems, pay condolences and hold wedding receptions. It is typically a large space with carpets on the floor and cushions...
La Charte du Mandén, proclamée à Kouroukan Fouga
In the early thirteenth century, following a major military victory, the founder of the Mandingo Empire and the assembly of his wise men proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga the new Manden Charter, named after the territory situated above the upper Niger River basin, between present-day Guinea and Mali. The Charter, one of the oldest...
Le Meshrep
Found among the Uygur people concentrated largely in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Meshrep constitutes the most important cultural carrier of Uygur traditions. A complete Meshrep event includes a rich collection of traditions and performance arts, such as music, dance, drama, folk arts, acrobatics, oral literature, foodways...
Le Sema, cérémonie Mevlevi
The Mevleviye is an ascetic Sufi order founded in 1273 in Konya, from where it gradually spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. Today, the Mevleviye can be found in many Turkish communities throughout the world, but the most active and famous centres of the order’s activity are in Konya and Istanbul. The Mevleviye are renowned for their...
Le tir aux osselets mongol
Mongolians revere certain parts of bones of their domestic livestock and use them in religious rites, plays and traditional games. One such popular team-based game is knuckle-bone shooting. Teams of six to eight players flick thirty domino-like marble tablets on a smooth wooden surface towards a target of sheep knuckle-bones, aiming to...
L’épopée maure T’heydinne
The T’heydinn epic encompasses dozens of poems lauding the glorious feats of Moorish emirs and sultans. It propounds ancestral values underpinning the way of life of the Moorish community in Mauritania, and constitutes a literary and artistic manifestation of the Hassaniya language. Griots perform the epic accompanied by traditional...
La musique des Bakhshis du Khorasan
In Khorasan Province, the Bakhshis are renowned for their musical skill with the ''dotār,'' a two-stringed, long-necked lute. They recount Islamic and Gnostic poems and epics containing mythological, historical or legendary themes. Their music, known as ''Maghami,'' consists of instrumental and/or vocal pieces, performed in Turkish,...
Le Ngondo, culte des oracles de l'eau et traditions culturelles associées chez les Sawa
The Ngondo traditions are based on the worship of water oracles. Practised by the Sawa community of Cameroon, they take place annually from September to the first Sunday of December. The popular and festive part of the practice is marked by a caravan touring the traditional Sawa districts with artistic performances, traditional...
Le Nguon, rituels de gouvernance et expressions associées dans la communauté Bamoun
Nguon refers to a series of rituals between the Mfon, or monarch, and his people. Aimed at promoting dialogue, harmony and peace, the rituals are observed over a period of three days by the Bamoun community of Cameroon’s West Region. Every two years in early December, ritual chiefs consult the members of the community on the state of...
Le nsima, tradition culinaire du Malawi
Nsima, the Culinary Tradition of Malawi, is a compound name for the culinary and dietary tradition of Malawians as well as the name of a single component of this tradition, a form of thick porridge prepared with maize flour. Nsima is prepared through an elaborate process requiring specific knowledge, from pounding the maize into flour...
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 pantun
Pantun is a form of Malay verse used to express intricate ideas and emotions. It is a widespread oral form in maritime Southeast Asia. Pantun has a clear a-b-a-b rhyme scheme. The four-line variety is the most common. Pantuns may be transmitted in music, song and writing. Performances are headed by the ‘pemantun’ (the pantun narrator),...
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...
Pratiques et expressions de la parenté à plaisanterie au Niger
Joking relationships are a social practice performed among ethnolinguistic communities, groups and individuals to promote fraternity, solidarity and conviviality. They take the form of a playful taunting between two people from two communities that represent symbolically the husband and wife cross-cousin branches of the same family....
Les pratiques et savoirs liés à l’imzad des communautés touarègues de l’Algérie, du Mali et du Niger
Imzad music is a characteristic feature of Tuareg communities and is performed by women on a single-stringed bowed instrument known as the Imzad. The musician sits with the instrument on her knees and plays it with a wooden, arched bow. Imzad combines music and poetry and is frequently performed on ceremonial occasions in Tuareg camps....
Le Programme de sauvegarde des Bandos et Parrandas des Saints Innocents de Caucagua : pôles d’initiation et de transmission des connaissances et Conseils communautaires
The Bandos and Parrandas of the Holy Innocents of Caucagua, Venezuela refers to street celebrations that take place on the nights of 27 and 28 December. This Afro-descendant festivity is characterized by live music and satirical clothing mocking the styles of slave owners. A safeguarding programme was developed to address its decreasing...
Les services et l’hospitalité offerts pendant la visite de l’Arba’in
Provision of services and hospitality during the Arba’in visitation is a social practice performed across the central and southern regions of Iraq, from where processions of visitors and pilgrims converge towards the Holy City of Karbala. The tradition – a social practice with deep roots in the Iraqi and Arab tradition of hospitality –...
Stratégie de sauvegarde de l’artisanat traditionnel pour la consolidation de la paix
The safeguarding strategy of traditional crafts for peace building addresses the weakening of traditional crafts through a system of intergenerational transmission of knowledge between master and apprentice based on the non-formal ‘learning by doing’ method. The safeguarding strategy aims to train different sectors of the population,...
La Shakespeare Mas’, une composante traditionnelle du Carnaval annuel à Carriacou
In Grenada, Shakespeare Mas’ combines elements of speechmaking, costume design and public theatre. Practitioners, called ‘kings’, compete against each other, reciting passages from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, historical texts, Bible verses and rhetorical boasts meant to show their prowess with words and language. Incorrect recitations...
La fête de shuwalid
Shuwalid is an annual three-day festival celebrated by the Harari people of Ethiopia. It marks the end of six days of fasting to compensate omissions during Ramadan. The Harari people celebrate Shuwalid at the shrines of Aw Shulum Ahmed and Aw Akebara, found at the main entrance gates of the walled city of Harar. The festival starts...
Le Sinjska Alka, un tournoi de chevalerie à Sinj
The Sinjska Alka is a chivalric tournament that takes place annually, as it has since the 18th century, in the town of Sinj, in the Cetinska krajina region. During the contest, knights ride horses at full gallop along a main street, aiming lances at an iron ring hanging on a rope. The name of the tournament derives from this ''alka'' or...
Tchiloli, théâtre vivant de Sao Tomé-et-Principe dans la quête de la justice
Tchiloli is a traditional form of open-air theatre involving actors, musicians and an engaged audience. It is performed in an open space during festivals or public events, typically starting with a ritual led by women. Inspired by a traditional play, the story centres around a murder trial and involves about thirty actors. These actors...
La tchopa, danse sacrificielle des Lomwe du sud du Malawi
Tchopa is a performing art practised among Lhomwe communities in southern Malawi. The dance is usually performed during celebrations after good harvests and successful hunting trips and during offerings to ancestral spirits after calamities such as droughts and outbreaks of disease. Tchopa entails knowledge of particular dancing skills...
La tradition du récit des anecdotes de Nasreddin Hodja / Molla Nesreddin / Molla Ependi / Apendi / Afendi Kozhanasyr / Nasriddin Afandi
The Telling Tradition of Nasreddin Anecdotes refers to the social practices and festivals around the telling of anecdotes attributed to Nasreddin, a philosopher and wiseman recognized for his wisdom and humorous analyses and representations of society and life experiences. Although there are slight differences across communities in...
La diwaniya, une pratique culturelle fédératrice au Koweït
The Diwaniya is a space where men of all ages and backgrounds come together to talk, connect and share ideas. It can take place in a home, a public space, or even a tent, and serves as a key setting for family members, neighbours and friends to discuss topics such as family matters, community issues, politics and current events. While...
L'irrigation traditionnelle : connaissance, technique et organisation
Traditional irrigation uses gravity and hand-made constructions such as channels and ditches to distribute water from naturally-occurring water catchment points (such as springs, streams and glaciers) to the fields. Practitioners choose specific days and periods to manually divert the water, and the beginning or end of the watering...
Les rencontres traditionnelles Sohbet
Traditional Sohbet meetings play a crucial role in transmitting Turkish folk literature, folk dances and music, village plays as well as societal values. Turkish men meet regularly indoors, especially in winter, to discuss local social and cultural issues, safeguard traditions, and encourage solidarity, mutual respect and a sense of...
Le système traditionnel des juges de l’eau de Corongo
The Traditional System of Corongo’s Water Judges is an organizational method developed by the people of the district of Corongo in Northern Peru, embracing water management and historical memory. The system, which dates back to pre-Inca times, is primarily aimed at supplying water fairly and sustainably, which translates into proper...
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...
Le système normatif Wayuu, appliqué par le Pütchipü’üi (palabrero)
The Wayuu community inhabits the Guajira Peninsula straddling Colombia and Venezuela. Its legislative system comprises a body of principles, procedures and rites that govern the social and spiritual conduct of the community. The system, inspired by principles of reparation and compensation, is applied by the local moral authorities, the...
Le xeer ciise, droit coutumier oral des communautés somali-issa en Éthiopie, à Djibouti et en Somalie
The Xeer Ciise refers to the oral customary laws of the Somali-Issa communities in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. A highly structured and rigorously codified system of democratic governance, it has three main components: (a) a political constitution, which defines the distribution of power and decision-making processes; (b) a penal...
Xtaxkgakget Makgkaxtlawana : le Centre des arts autochtones et sa contribution à la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel du peuple totonaque de Veracruz, Mexique
The Center for Indigenous Arts was designed as a response to a long-term desire of the Totonac people to create an educational institution to transmit their teachings, art, values and culture, while also providing favourable conditions for indigenous creators to develop their art. The structure of the centre represents a traditional...
Yama, Hoko, Yatai, festivals de chars au Japon
Yama, Hoko and Yatai float festivals are held annually in various regions to pray to the gods for peace and protection from natural disasters. A traditional practice that showcases the diversity of local cultures, the festivals involve the collaborative efforts of the practising communities and are a key aspect of their cultural...
Heritage, design and Global South stories from established outlets.
