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KUALA LUMPUR: The two intangible cultural heritages of the country, namely, ‘pantun’ and ‘upacara wangkang’, have been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Scientific Organization. Culture (UNESCO) through a multinational nomination.
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, said that for the first time Malaysia managed to obtain UNESCO recognition together with other countries, as the wangkang ceremony was jointly nominated with the People’s Republic of China and pantun was nominated jointly with Indonesia.
“This decision was announced on December 17 during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is ongoing until December 19.
“This prestigious inclusion has been decided by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, which comprises 24 member states of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage chaired by Jamaica,” he said last night in a statement.
He said that with the recognition, Malaysia now has five intangible cultural heritage listed on the Representative List, the first was in 2005 through the legacy of mak yong, dondang sayang (2018) and silat (2019).
The wangkang or barge festival that had existed in Melaka since 1854 is a procession of boats that invite wandering souls, evil spirits and other negative elements where they will then be sent into the unknown and it was the belief of the Chinese community that the effort it was to bring peace, prosperity and happiness to a certain place.
Pantun is an ancient Malay poem that generally consists of four lines in each stanza. The first two lines are suggestions and the other two carry the real meaning.
Nancy explained that so far 180 countries have become member states of the Convention and a total of 463 intangible cultural heritage from around the world have been recognized on the Representative List.
He said the list also showed the country’s commitment to protecting its intangible cultural heritage, which had indirectly raised Malaysia’s visibility in the eyes of the world as one of the countries with various treasures that can be national tourism products.
Nancy also recalled that recognition is a responsibility that must be assumed by all parties, including the government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the community and individuals to ensure that our cultural heritage continues to be protected and preserved. for the future. generations.-Called
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