Scissors dance | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

The scissors dance is performed by inhabitants of Quechua villages and communities in the south-central Andes of Peru, and now in urban settings. This competitive ritual dance is performed during dry months coinciding with the main phases of the agricultural calendar. The scissors dance takes its name from the pair of polished iron rods, resembling scissors blades, wielded by each dancer in his right hand. Together with a violinist and a harpist, a dancer forms a ''cuadrilla'' (team) that represents a given village or community. To perform, two or more ''cuadrillas'' face each other, and the dancers must strike the blades together in time to the rhythm of the accompanying musicians, while performing a choreographed duel of step-dancing, acrobatics and increasingly demanding movements. The competition or ''atipanakuy'' may last up to ten hours, and physical ability, quality of the...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Peru
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Peru
Countries: Peru

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Food, Agriculture and Seasonal Practice Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid9310b8b3-2ada-4dbc-9a24-1cb46eb6e06b

ich_public_ref391

inscription_year2010

title_enScissors dance

title_frLa danse des ciseaux

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesPE

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00391

concepts_primary_namesAcrobatics, Ritual dance, Rituals, Scissors

concepts_secondary_namesAgricultural ritual, Bowed string instruments, Catholicism, Choreography, Contests, Costumes, Embroidery, Oral tradition, Plucked string instruments, Religious belief

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/02325-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyrightNational Institute of Culture of Peru, 2004

main_image_authorGuillaume Liauzun

videos

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Acrobatics Ritual dance Rituals Scissors Agricultural ritual Bowed string instruments Catholicism Choreography Contests Costumes Embroidery Oral tradition UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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