Mesir Macunu festival | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

The Mesir Macunu festival of Manisa, Turkey, commemorates the recovery of Hafsa Sultan, mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, who was cured of a disease by the invention of a paste known as mesir macunu. The Sultan then ordered that the paste be disseminated to the public. So, every year from 21 to 24 March, the paste is prepared by a chef and apprentices from 41 fresh spices and herbs according to traditional practice. A team of 14 women wrap the paste in small pieces of paper, and 28 imams and apprentices bless it before scattering the paste from the top of the minaret and the domes of the Sultan Mosque. Thousands of people come from different regions of Turkey to compete to catch the pieces as they fall. Many believe that by so doing their wishes for marriage, work and children will come true within a year. A 45-piece orchestra dressed in traditional clothing perform historical...

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: Türkiye
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Türkiye
Countries: Türkiye

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Food, Agriculture and Seasonal Practice Health, Healing and Care 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

uuiddb0bc527-f920-406a-aef1-1490dabbdfe9

ich_public_ref642

inscription_year2012

title_enMesir Macunu festival

title_frLes festivités du Mesir Macunu

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesTR

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00642

concepts_primary_namesFestivals, Procession, Traditional medicine

concepts_secondary_namesCostumes, Dance, Food preparation, Historical reenactment, Islam, Mosques, Orchestras, Pilgrimages, Prosperity ritual

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/06808-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyrightInformation and Documentation Center of Folk Culture/Ministry of Culture and Tourism

main_image_authorResearcher of Folklore working for Ministry of Culture and Tourism

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

Festivals Procession Traditional medicine Costumes Dance Food preparation Historical reenactment Islam Mosques Orchestras Pilgrimages UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

If this record misstates authority, access, naming, language, source context or community preference, please request a review.

Suggest correction