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Le 'ie Samoa, ou natte fine, et sa valeur culturelle
The ‘Ie Samoa is a special finely hand-woven mat fastened at the hem with two rows of green and red feathers, and a loose fringe on one end. Traditionally woven with fine strippings of the pandanus plant, the final product is silk-like. Its shiny coppery colour adds to its value as it is a testament to its age and the natural bleaching...
PacificSamoaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Al ‘azi, élégie, marche processionnelle et poésie
Al ‘azi is a genre of sung poetry performed in the northern regions of the Sultanate of Oman. It constitutes one of the major expressions of Omani cultural and musical identity. It takes the form of a poetry contest punctuated by sword and step movements and poetic exchanges between a singer poet and a choir. It may involve a large...
Middle EastOmanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
Middle EastUnited Arab EmiratesNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Al-Mansaf en Jordanie, un banquet festif et ses significations sociales et culturelles
Al-Mansaf is a festive dish that is central to Jordan’s socio-cultural events. An important and well-known symbol that evokes a deep sense of identity and social cohesion, it is associated with the agro-pastoral lifestyle in which meat and dairy are readily available. Large chunks of sheep or goat meat are boiled with spices in a yogurt...
Middle EastJordanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Al-Taghrooda, poésie chantée traditionnelle des Bédouins dans les Émirats arabes unis et le Sultanat d’Oman
Al-Taghrooda traditional Bedouin chanted poetry is composed and recited by men travelling on camelback through desert areas of the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. Bedouins believe that chanting entertains the riders and stimulates animals to walk in time. Short poems of seven lines or less are improvised and repeated...
Middle EastUnited Arab Emirates / OmanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Al-Zajal, poésie déclamée ou chantée
Al-Zajal is a form of Lebanese folk poetry declaimed or sung at social and family celebrations and in daily life. The performers, both men and women, express themselves either individually or collectively on a variety of themes including life, love, nostalgia, death, politics and daily events. During poetic jousts, troupes of poets and...
Middle EastLebanonNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le café arabe, un symbole de générosité
Arabic coffee highlights an important aspect of generosity in Arab societies and the associated traditions of hospitality. Serving and drinking Arabic coffee is a daily ritual for communities, groups and individuals. It is served at weddings and tribal gatherings (reconciliation and conflict resolution majalis) in all submitting States...
Middle EastUnited Arab Emirates / OmanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La sortie des masques et marionnettes de Markala
The coming forth of the masks and puppets is a ritual festivity practised among the Bambara, Bozo, Marka and Somono communities in Markala, and is characterized by masked dances, drums and songs featuring dancers and puppeteers. Each mask and puppet symbolizes the sacred link between man and nature, with particular animals incarnating...
AfricaMaliNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La fête de commémoration de la découverte de la Véritable Sainte-Croix du Christ
The festival of Maskel is celebrated across Ethiopia on 26 September to commemorate the unearthing of the True Holy Cross of Christ. Celebrations begin with the building of the Damera bonfire in Maskel Square in Addis Ababa – a conical pyre of poles surrounded by bundles of branches and torches, decorated with green grass and Abyssinian...
AfricaEthiopiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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L’Enkipaata, l’Eunoto et l’Olng’esherr, trois rites de passage masculins de la communauté masaï
Enkipaata, Eunoto and Olng’esherr are three interrelated male rites of passage of the Maasai community: Enkipaata is the induction of boys leading to initiation; Eunoto is the shaving of the morans paving the way to adulthood; and Olng’esherr is the meat-eating ceremony that marks the end of moranism and the beginning of eldership. The...
AfricaKenyaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le Fichee-Chambalaalla, festival du Nouvel an des Sidamas
Fichee-Chambalaalla is a New Year festival celebrated among the Sidama people. According to the oral tradition, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once a year after her marriage, bringing ''buurisame'', a meal prepared from false banana, milk and butter, which was shared with neighbours. Fichee has...
AfricaEthiopiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
AfricaEthiopiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le Gifaataa, festival du Nouvel An des Wolaitas
Gifaataa is a New Year festival celebrated by the Wolaita community between mid-September and early October. Before the festival starts, people clean their surroundings and return home to be with their families. Disputes are resolved peacefully in preparation for the new year. On the main day of the festival, families come together to...
AfricaEthiopiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Soupe au giraumon
Joumou or giraumon soup is a traditional Haitian pumpkin soup made with vegetables, plantains, meat, pasta and spices. It is a celebratory dish, deeply rooted in Haitian identity, and its preparation promotes social cohesion and belonging among communities. Originally reserved for slave owners, Haitians took ownership of the soup when...
Latin America and CaribbeanHaitiNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La danse et musique de lyre arquée ma’di
The Ma’di bowl lyre music and dance is a cultural practice of the Madi people of Uganda. Passed on by the community’s ancestors, the songs and dances involved in the tradition are performed for various purposes, including weddings, political rallies, to celebrate good harvests, educate children, resolve conflict or mourn the passing of...
AfricaUgandaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
Middle EastUnited Arab Emirates / Saudi ArabiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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L'Oshi Palav, plat traditionnel et ses contextes sociaux et culturels au Tadjikistan
Oshi palav (pilaf) is a traditional dish of communities in Tajikistan recognized as a part of their cultural heritage. Otherwise known as the ‘King of meals’, it is based on a recipe using vegetables, rice, meat and spices but up to 200 varieties of the dish exist. Considered an inclusive practice that aims to bring people of different...
Central AsiaTajikistanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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),...
Southeast AsiaIndonesia / MalaysiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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....
AfricaNigerNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
AfricaMauritiusNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La réfection septennale du toit du Kamablon, case sacrée de Kangaba
The Malinke and other peoples of the Manden region of south-west Mali gather every seven years to celebrate when a new thatch roof is installed atop the Kamablon (or House of Speech) in the village of Kangaba. Built in 1653, the distinctive circular Kamablon of Kangaba shelters objects and furniture of high symbolic value to the...
AfricaMaliNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La prise de la pierre sacrée ou les rites du nouvel an en pays Guin au Togo
The rites of the New Year are a series of around twenty rituals practised annually by the Guin People of southern Togo, over the course of seven months, to honour deities and ancestors. These rituals follow a lunar calendar and take place at the same times each year. The new year is marked by the most important rite, ‘Ekpéssosso’, which...
AfricaTogoNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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L’artisanat et les arts traditionnels de la construction liés au mudhif
Al-Mudhif is a large arched building made of reed and papyrus, both of which grow naturally in the marshes of southern Iraq. The building serves as a gathering place where members of the community can exchange, address conflicts, share experiences, tell stories and practise cultural activities and social rituals such as weddings,...
Middle EastIraqNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Les savoir-faire traditionnels liés à la fabrication et à la pratique du dotâr
The traditional skills of crafting and playing the Dotār are one of the most prominent social and cultural components of the folkloric music among the ethnic groups and communities of the Dotār regions. Bearers and practitioners are mostly farmers, including male crafters and players and female players. The Dotār is a folkloric plucked...
South AsiaIran, Islamic Republic ofNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
Latin America and CaribbeanColombiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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...
AfricaEthiopia / DjiboutiNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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