The traditional horseback game of kok-boru has been included in the representative list of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage. This decision was made at the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is taking place from December 4 to 9 on Jeju Island (South Korea).
In addition to Kyrgyzstan, 33-34 new applications for popular customs and forms of creativity will be considered at the meeting: Armenia's proposal to include the collective male dance Rочари in the cultural heritage list will be reviewed. Azerbaijan has submitted an application to include the recipe for preparing Azerbaijani dolma in this list.
The authorities of Kazakhstan propose to add the traditional game Aсык to the list. Tajikistan has called for the inclusion of its popular national songs Фалак, while Turkmenistan has proposed the ancient dance Куштдепди.
Intangible cultural heritage includes customs and forms of creativity passed down from generation to generation. Among them are oral traditions, performing arts, social ceremonies, festive and ritual practices, knowledge and beliefs related to nature and the universe, as well as techniques of traditional crafts.
Let us remind you that earlier the following were included in the list: the trilogy of the epic "Manas," "Semetey," "Seitek," the art of akyns (storytellers), the art of making traditional felt carpets ala-kiyiz and shyrdak, etc.
