Intangible heritage are customs and traditional celebrations that are part of the lives of certain groups of people, which we would like to preserve and pass on to generations to come. There is a Frisian movement that is committed to placing the Frisian language and culture on the world heritage list of intangible heritage. The Netherlands has signed the UNESCO list of intangible heritage. When taking stock of what could be on that list, Frisian is also included.
Festivities and customs as heritage
- Intangible heritage on the UNESCO list
- Representative list
- The Netherlands
- Friesland and the Frisian language and culture
Intangible heritage on the UNESCO list
Intangible heritage concerns language, tradition, rituals, song, theater and crafts. There is a growing awareness that some expressions of certain population groups are important for cultural diversity in the world. We are finding intangible heritage increasingly important, because many people think it is a shame that dialects are disappearing, languages are becoming extinct and crafts are no longer being practiced. Oral traditions and traditions are also in danger of being lost if we are not careful.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizatio n, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the cultural arm of the United Nations, has set itself the goal of protecting and publicizing the intangible heritage. To this end, UNESCO organizes activities that are specified in a treaty. This started in 2003. It looks at:
- folk festivals
- stories
- crafts
- dancing
- art of singing
- traditions
- languages
- dialects
- rituals
- to use
- folk knowledge
Ratification of the treaty
The Netherlands signed the treaty on intangible heritage, together with 141 other countries. This ‘Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Heritage’ is a guideline for the recognition, cherishing and conservation of intangible heritage.
Representative list
As with World Heritage, there is a list describing representative expressions of intangible heritage. A diverse range of expressions can receive recognition. Completing the list started in 2008.
Some examples:
Source: UNESCO
- Traditional weaving skills in the United Arab Emirates
- Wood carving on Madagscar
- Wayang puppet theater in Indonesia
- Royal ballet in Cambodia
- Meddah, storyteller in Turkey
- Carnival of Binche in Belgium
- Flamenco in Spain
- Doina singing in Romania
The Netherlands
Since 2013, an intangible heritage of the Netherlands has been on the list, that is the Molenaar’s craft. In April 2012, the House of Representatives of the Netherlands agreed to the treaty of the UNESCO Intangible Heritage Convention. Since then, the Netherlands can also nominate intangible heritage. The government commissioned the Dutch Center for Popular Culture and Intangible Heritage (VIE) to make a national inventory. The VIE also supervises the presentations.
King’s Day and Sinterklaas celebration
Queen’s Day/King’s Day and the Sinterklaas celebration are on the inventory list.
Friesland and the Frisian language and culture
In December 2012, a group of Frisians, united in the FNP, the Frisian nationalist party, campaigned to have the Frisian language and culture included on the intangible heritage list. The FNP is supported by their German sister party the SSW (Südschleswigscher Wählerverband). It is the party for the Danish and Frisian minority in the state that reports that Frisian is an endangered language in Germany. ,In Fryslân we must constantly do something to protect the language,, says Sybren Posthumes of the FNP (but also in Friesland we must constantly do something to promote the language) . Both Frisian parties want to register Frisian culture along the entire Wadden coast.
read more
- Frisian and Frisian – a rich language
- Frisian Press Prize
- Molenaar as intangible heritage
- Frisian Twitter Day – Fryske Twitterdei in meme language