Sauna culture in Finland, sourdough making in Malta, Budima dancing in Zambia and a grass mowing competition in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s prestigious list of intangible cultural heritage.
The entries were among the 35 from around the world added to the list for 2020, and also included the tradition of playing the hunting horn, a status awarded jointly to Italy, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as the art of glass bead making.
Traditional saunas have been a mainstay of Finnish culture for thousands of years, with an estimated 3 million saunas in a country of 5.5 million people. A Finnish person, on average, takes at least one sauna a week.
“Sauna culture in Finland is an integral part of the lives of the majority of the Finnish population,” Unesco said. “Sauna culture, which can take place in homes or public places, involves much more than simply washing oneself. In a sauna, people cleanse their bodies and minds and embrace a sense of inner peace.”
Among the culinary art to receive the special status was sourdough making in Malta and couscous, with the latter candidate submitted jointly by Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania.
“Traditions define us,” Unesco wrote of the couscous recognition on social media. “Our differences don’t matter, we are one. The knowledge, practices and traditions related to the preparation and consumption of couscous have just been inscribed on the list of intangible heritage.”
In Kupres, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the grass mowing competition, which takes place each July in a specific meadow called Strljanica, is considered the most important event of the social calendar.
“The contest involves the manual mowing of grass using a scythe and is judged by the time, effort and amount mown as cutting grass at that altitude requires strength and a special technique,” Unesco said. “The top three mowers are recognised, with the chief mower treated as a leader who ensures the successful mowing of all the fields to gather hay for the cattle; agriculture and cattle breeding are essential parts of the area’s economy. Men, starting from the age of 18, are traditionally the competitors, with the element being transmitted within families from father to son.”
Women, meanwhile, rake the grass and prepare food for guests.
Zambia was awarded the Unesco status for Budima: “a warrior dance performed all year round by the Wee people on a number of sombre and spiritual occasions.”
The tradition of playing the hunting horn began in France before catching on across the Benelux countries and in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. Unesco said that “playing the horn is a performative art open to musical creativity and practised on festive occasions.”
The art of glass bead making was jointly awarded to Italy and France. In Italy, glass beads craftmanship was taking place in Venice at least as far back as the 14th century. A speciality of Murano, one of the islands of the Venice lagoon, craftspeople use a blowtorch in a delicate process that involves spinning the beads from glass which can then be used in jewellery.
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