Garba, the famed traditional dance form of Gujarat has been declared as an Intangible Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, UNESCO posted, “New inscription on the Intangible Heritage List: Garba of Gujarat, India. Congratulations!”
The decision was made during the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, underway at the Cresta Mowana Resort in Kasane, Botswana. The session, which began on December 4 is scheduled to go on till December 9, according to UNESCO.
Garba is a ritualistic and devotional dance that is performed on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Navaratri.
The dance takes place around a perforated earthenware pot lit with an oil lamp, or an image of the mother goddess Amba. Participating dancers move around the centre in a counter-clockwise circle, using simple movements while singing and clapping their hands in unison.
The Gujarati dance starts with slow circular movements and the tempo slowly builds up to a frenzied whirling.
The practitioners and bearers of Garba include from the dancers to the musicians, social groups, craftspeople and religious figures involved in the festivities and preparations, according to a citation by UNESCO.
Garba is transmitted across generations in urban and rural areas through practice, performance, imitation, and observation, it said. Apart from Garba, the Rickshaws and rickshaw painting in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Jamu wellness culture of Indonesia, Songkran in Thailand, the traditional Thai New Year festival, have also become new inscriptions on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage List, amongst many others. There are some other elements from India on the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
As of January 2022, a total of 14 Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) elements are inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
These include the traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making of the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru in Punjab, the Nawrouz festival, the Kumbh Mela, the Durga Puja of Kolkata, Ramlila and Vedic Chants.
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