Wednesday, November 17, 2010

World Heritage - Wrestling?


The United Nations culture and education agency, UNESCO, has unveiled a list of what it describes as "intangible world heritages" that must be preserved.

The 42-new items added this year include French gourmet cooking, Croatian ginger bread, and Turkey's Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival where big, muscular guys are oiled up and go at it, apparently often putting their hands down their opponent's pants.

Other entries include the Peking Opera, Belgium's winter fair and its end-of-winter bread and fire feast, Alencon lace making from France, no less than three Indian dance forms.   Even Lithuania and Luxembourg got the nod as did Mexican cuisine.  Canada?   No, nothing.

UNESCO's list comprises traditions that must be deemed to spread knowledge of intangible cultural heritage and require that protective measures be taken to promote them.  Well then, what about this one?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What would they take from Canada? Poutine?