Sauna culture in FinlandSourdough in Malta, Bodima dance in Zambia, and lawn mowing competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
The entries were among the 35 added from around the world To the 2020 listIt also included the tradition of playing the fishing horn, a status jointly awarded to Italy, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the art of making glass beads.
Traditional saunas have been a mainstay of Finnish culture for thousands of years, with an estimated 3 million saunas in a country of 5.5 million. A Finnish person, on average, takes at least one sauna per week.
“The sauna culture in Finland is an integral part of the life of the majority of Finnish people,” UNESCO He said. “Sauna culture, which can occur in homes or public places, involves much more than just bathing. In saunas, people cleanse their bodies and minds and foster a sense of inner peace.”
Among the culinary art that received a special place was the making of sourdough Malta The couscous, along with the last candidate, is presented jointly by Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania.
UNESCO wrote about couscous recognition on social media: “Tradition defines us”. “Our differences do not matter, we are one. The knowledge, practices and traditions related to the preparation and consumption of couscous have just been included in the List of Intangible Heritage.”
In Kupres, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the lawn mowing competition, which takes place every July in a specific meadow called Strljanica, is the most important event on the social calendar.
“The competition includes manual mowing of the lawn with a sickle, and it is judged by time, effort and the amount that is being cut because cutting the grass at this height requires special strength and technology,” UNESCO said. “The three largest mowers are recognized, with the main mower treated as a leader ensuring that all fields are successfully mowed to collect hay for the livestock; agriculture and livestock are essential parts of the region’s economy. Men, starting at age 18, are traditionally competitors, with the element moving within families From father to son. “
Meanwhile, the women are collecting grass and preparing food for the guests.
Zambia was awarded UNESCO status for Bodima: “a warrior dance performed by the Wei people throughout the year on a number of somber and spiritual occasions”.
The century-long fishing tradition began in France before spreading across the Benelux countries and into the Piedmont region of northern Italy. UNESCO said, “Trumpet playing is a performance art open to musical creativity and is practiced on ceremonial occasions.”
The art of making glass beads was jointly awarded to Italy and France. In Italy, glass beads have been made in Venice at least since the fourteenth century. Specialty Murano, one of the islands of the Venetian Lagoon, artisans use a blowtorch in a delicate process that involves spinning beads out of glass which can then be used in jewelry.
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