Iran registered on UNESCO list again

Wed Nov 17, 2010

Five of Iran's diverse cultural practices have been registered on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

According to IRNA, the regional music of Khorasan, the Zurkhaneh and Sport of Heroes rituals, the Persian Passion Play, and traditional carpet weaving skills in Fars and Kashan were listed during the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Iran's Northern Khorasan Province is known for its regional music mainly played on the Dotar, a two-stringed, long-necked lute. They recount Islamic and Gnostic poems and epics in Turkish, Kurdish, Turkmen and Persian.

The Persian Passion Play or Ta'zieh is a ritual dramatic art that recounts religious events, historical and mythical stories and folk tales through poetry, music, song and motion.

Persian carpets are the best of their kind throughout the world and carpet weavers in Iran's Fars Province and the city of Kashan are among the most prominent producers of the stunning handicraft.

The wool for the carpets is usually shorn by local men in spring or autumn and women are mostly in charge of the weaving.

Zurkhaneh (house of strength) is an ancient Persian gymnasium where the Sport of Heroes, which combines pre-Islamic Persian culture with the spirituality of Sufism, is practiced.

The place is a unique sports club, where a man's physical improvement is considered vital for spiritual enlightenment.

The rituals of the Sport of Heroes date back to the Parthian era and symbolize Persian ideals about spiritual growth, masculinity, religious devotion and physical prowess.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding list is composed of intangible heritage elements that concern communities and require urgent measures to keep them alive.

Inscriptions on the list help mobilize international cooperation and assistance for stakeholders to undertake appropriate safeguarding measures.

Tradition of Persian New Year, (Nowruz) and the Radif of Iranian music, the traditional repertoire of the classical music of Iran, were also inscribed on the list during the previous meeting of the committee in Abu Dhabi.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://presstv.ir/detail/151399.html.