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L’art des Meddah, conteurs publics
Meddahlik was a Turkish theatre form performed by a single storyteller called a meddah and practised throughout Turkey and Turkishspeaking countries. Through the ages, similar narrative genres have flourished due to interaction among the peoples of Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East within this wide geographical area. Historically,...
Middle EastTürkiyeNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le carnaval d’Oruro
The town of Oruro, situated at an altitude of 3,700 metres in the mountains of western Bolivia and once a pre-Columbian ceremonial site, was an important mining area in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Resettled by the Spanish in 1606, it continued to be a sacred site for the Uru people, who would often travel long distances to...
Latin America and CaribbeanBolivia, Plurinational State ofNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La tradition cérémonielle du Keşkek
Keşkek is a traditional Turkish ceremonial dish prepared for wedding ceremonies, circumcisions and religious holidays. Women and men work together to cook wheat and meat called ‘Keşkek’ in huge cauldrons, then serve it to the guests. The wheat is washed with prayers the preceding day, and then carried to a large stone mortar, to the...
Middle EastTürkiyeNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La tradition du théâtre dansé Cocolo
The Cocolo dancing drama tradition developed among descendants of British Caribbean slaves who had come to the Dominican Republic in the mid-nineteenth century to work in the sugar fields. This linguistically and culturally distinct community set up their own churches, schools, benevolent societies and mutual assistance lodges. Their...
Latin America and CaribbeanDominican RepublicNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le Daimokutate
In Yahashira Shrine of Nara City in central Japan, young men of the Kami-fukawa community stand in a semi-circle dressed in samurai clothes and carrying bows. One by one, they are called to the centre by an old man who reads the name of a character in the tales of the feud between the Genji and Heike clans. Each in turn delivers his...
East AsiaJapanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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El Güegüense
A forceful expression of protest against colonial rule, El Güegüense is a satirical drama well known throughout Nicaragua. It is performed during the feast of San Sebastián, patron saint of the city of Diriamba in Nicaragua’s Carazo province. El Güegüense, a synthesis of Spanish and indigenous cultures combining theatre, dance and...
Latin America and CaribbeanNicaraguaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le festival Danoje de Gangneung
The annual Gangneung Danoje Festival takes place in the town of Gangneung and its surroundings, situated east of the Taebaek Mountain Range on the Korean peninsula.The festival includes a shamanistic ritual on the Daegwallyeong Ridge, which pays tribute to the mountain deity and male and female tutelary deities. It encompasses...
East AsiaKorea, Republic ofNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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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,...
Southeast AsiaThailandNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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UNESCO urgent safeguarding list1 sources
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...
East AsiaChinaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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La Momoeria, fêtes du Nouvel An dans huit villages de la région de Kozani, en Macédoine occidentale (Grèce)
From December 25 to January 5 in Kozani (north-western Greece), dancers, actors and musicians can be seen performing in village streets and visiting people’s homes to celebrate the coming of the new year. The Momoeria dancers, a group made up of 30 male performers, are a special focus. They represent the priests of Momos (god of...
EuropeGreeceNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le mystère d’Elche
The mystery play of Elche is a sacred musical drama of the death, the passage into heaven (known as the Assumption) and the crowning of the Virgin Mary. Since the mid-fifteenth century it has been performed in the Basilica of Santa Maria and in the streets of the old city of Elche, situated in the region of Valencia. It is a living...
EuropeSpainNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le théâtre de marionnettes Ningyo Johruri Bunraku
Ranking with Nô and Kabuki as one of Japan’s foremost stage arts, the Ningyo Johruri Bunraku puppet theatre is a blend of sung narrative, instrumental accompaniment and puppet drama. This theatrical form emerged during the early Edo period (ca. 1600) when puppetry was coupled with Johruri, a popular fifteenth-century narrative genre....
East AsiaJapanNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le nongak, groupes de musique, danse et rituels communautaires de la République de Corée
Nongak is a popular performing art derived from communal rites and rustic entertainments. It has evolved into a representative performing art of the Republic of Korea, combining a percussion ensemble and sometimes wind instruments, parading, dancing, drama and acrobatic feats. Local Nongak performers clad in colourful costumes perform...
East AsiaKorea, Republic ofNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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L’Olonkho, épopée héroïque iakoute
One of the oldest epic arts of the Turkic peoples, the termOlonkho refers to the entire Yakut epic tradition as well as its central epic.Today, it is still incidentally performed in the Sakha Republic, situated in the far east of the Russian Federation. The poetic tales, which vary from 10 to 15,000 verses in length, are performed by...
EuropeRussian FederationNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Le rūkada nātya, théâtre traditionnel de marionnettes à fils au Sri Lanka
Rūkada Nātya is a type of drama performed using string puppets, traditionally to provide light entertainment and convey moral lessons to village communities. Rūkada Nātya is performed by family groups who belong to, or are connected with, the lineage known as Gamwari, living around the southern coastal towns of Ambalangoda, Balapitiya...
South AsiaSri LankaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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