Importance of heritage preservation highlighted
A seminar on Intangible Cultural Heritage was organised by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, represented by the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in the Wilayat of Manah on Sunday. It was held under the auspices of Shaikh Musallam bin Mohammed al Wahshi, Wali of Manah.
Nasser bin Salim al Sawafi, Director of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, said: “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed several programmes aimed at preserving this heritage. The Sultanate has realised the importance of Omani heritage and culture since the Blessed Renaissance led by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who has preserved this heritage and used it in the country’s development plans.”
Therefore, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture has sought to take care of this cultural heritage by documenting and preserving heritage as well as collection of history of Oman and recording of folk art.
The first working paper, ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage and Oman National Inventories of Intangible Cultural Heritage’, was presented by Waleed bin Said al Busaidi, head of the inventory and documentation section.
According to him, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture has prepared national inventories with the participation of various government institutions. The second working paper, ‘Omani Khanjar’, was presented by Jamal bin Mohammed al Kindi, which dealt with the history of Omani dagger, which extends to thousands of years. The third working paper, ‘Horse and Camel Exposure’, was presented by Yunus bin Jameel al Namani, head of the culture department at the Omani National Committee for Education and Culture in Muscat. He spoke about relationship between horses and camels with humans and how Omanis took care of them. The seminar concluded with the fourth paper, ‘The Omani board and its renewed cultural role’, presented by poet Ahmed bin Hilal al Abri.
The event saw an exhibition of photographs, heritage and manuscripts. The seminar concluded with the presentation of Al Azi art.