Yoga an ‘intangible treasure’ — Unesco
THE ancient Indian philosophy behind yoga, the mind-body discipline now practised the world over, joined Unesco’s list of “intangible” world heritage this week.
The discipline was added to the list on Thursday in recognition of its influence on Indian society, “from health and medicine to education and the arts”, the World Heritage Committee said in a statement.
Unesco added in a tweet: “Designed to help individuals build selfrealisation, ease any suffering they may be experiencing and allow for a state of liberation, yoga is practised by the young and old without discriminating against gender, class or religion.”
The list of “intangible” cultural treasures was created 10 years ago, mainly to increase awareness about them. Unesco also sometimes offers financial or technical support to countries struggling to protect them.
On Wednesday, the Paris-based UN body meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, added Cuba’s rumba dance and Belgium’s beer culture to the list, which also includes the Mediterranean diet, Peking opera and the Peruvian scissors dance.
On Tuesday, Unesco designated Ugandan traditional music, which is dying out partly because it requires materials from endangered species, as intangible heritage “in urgent need of safeguarding”.
Unesco began compiling a list for cultural and natural world heritage — physical properties such as Cambodia’s Angkor Wat or the Grand Canyon in the US — in 1972.
The list now comprises 814 cultural sites, 203 natural ones and 35 with both natural and cultural qualities such as Australia’s Uluru National Park, formerly known as Ayer’s Rock. South Africa has eight sites, including Robben Island and the Cradle of Humankind.
The committee wound up its review of nominations to the list of Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Friday. — AFP