Customs gain UNESCO protection

Two Czech traditions were added to UNESCO's list of protected Intangible Cultural Heritage at the body's annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 16.

The first of the newly protected traditions are the Masopust celebrations (masked pre-Lenten parades similar to Carnivale or Mardi Gras processions elsewhere) in the town of Hlinsko and six nearby east Bohemian villages. The second is falconry, the art of keeping and training falcons for hunting, with the Czech Republic joining Belgium, France, South Korea, Mongolia, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Spain as countries where this tradition will now be preserved.

Under a convention adopted in 2003, UNESCO not only protects historical sites and cities but also oral traditions, rituals, festive events and other activities. In addition to the prestige of having these traditions protected by the United Nations, listed traditions are eligible to receive funding to help maintain their cultural legacy.

"This is a huge success for us," said Ilona Vojancová, director of the Vysočina Open-Air Museum, about Masopust being added to the list. "The competition is stiff and getting tougher every year. Only one-third of the [suggested traditions] managed to get on the representative list. UNESCO helps to promote not only Masopust as such, but also the region itself. The conditions are created for preserving Masopust in the third millennium, despite the change of lifestyle in villages."

Vojancová said one of the most unique parts of the east Bohemian Masopust procession is its spontaneous nature. The festivities take place during Shrovetide, the period immediately preceding the Easter Lenten season. Village males disguised in masks go from door to door accompanied by brass bands, and women provide treats. The practice was banned by the 20th-century communist government.

Prior to the UNESCO nomination, the National Heritage Institute had to present plans for maintaining and protecting the traditional processions and committed itself to organizing regular conferences about Masopust.

Villages now hope to receive financial assistance from UNESCO. For one thing, the costumes worn by Masopust participants, for example, are expensive - traditional leather boots can cost around 15,000 Kč ($836). However, a smart mayor may also obtain money for village development, like the renovation of a local pub, Vojancová said.

"The villages in question have signed the convention on preservation of intangible cultural heritage, and the state has committed itself to preserving the phenomena in urgent need of safeguarding," Vojancová added.

Falconry, on the other hand, is a 4,000-year-old tradition that grew close to extinction largely because of the introduction of firearms to hunting. In the Czech Republic, the creation of the Club of Falconers in 1967 helped to revive the custom.

According to UNESCO, "falconry is today identified with camaraderie and sharing rather than subsistence," and "falconers develop a strong relationship and spiritual bond with their birds." To celebrate the occasion of being inscribed in the UNESCO list, falconers plan to meet at a worldwide festival in Abu Dhabi in December 2011.

The list of Intangible Cultural Heritage already includes 166 elements from 77 countries. This November, UNESCO has added an additional 47 items, and the Czech Republic has added two more to the already-listed Verbuňk, an improvised dance from the Slovácko region that was added in 2005.

The dance's name derives from the German word Werbung, which alludes to the recruitment of men into the military. Men supposedly did such dances to prove their military might or to impress local women.

Klára Jiřičná can be reached at
kjiricna@praguepost.com