Safeguarding Sri Lanka's intangible cultural heritage

G D Amarasiri

Cultural heritage is not only the monuments and collection of objects. It also includes the traditions inherited from our ancestors. The traditions include oral tradition, performing art, rituals, festivals, knowledge, skills needed to produce traditional crafts etc. These traditions may not be tangible. They cannot be touched. This is an important part of our cultural heritage. This cultural heritage that cannot be touched is known as intangible cultural heritage.

Communities create, carry and transmit intangible cultural heritage. Each country has its own intangible cultural heritage and it shows the cultural identity of a country. Understanding the intangible cultural heritage helps to strengthen social solidarity of the people. Respecting the intangible cultural heritages of other cultures helps to improve the inter-cultural relations. Therefore, the intangible cultural heritage has a tremendous social importance.

Intangible cultural heritage

Intangible cultural heritage is continuously recreated and transmitted from one generation to another. There is a risk that certain elements of intangible cultural heritage could disappear from the community. Therefore, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage has become an urgent requirement. The communities which practice intangible cultural heritage are the people who could safeguard it. However outside parties can help with safeguarding.

The National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the United Nations specialized agency working to promote international cooperation in the field of education, social and natural sciences, culture and communication. UNESCO has been working for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for the last 60 years.

Information collection

As an important step UNESCO adopted a convention in 2003 for safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO was able to provide a legal administrative and financial framework to safeguard this heritage. The main objectives of the convention are to project intangible cultural heritage to ensure respect to it, to improve awareness about its importance and develop international cooperation in this field.

According to the convention, member states should implement several measures in national and international level. In national level member states should identify and define such heritage in their respective countries. Member states should also draw up and update inventories of intangible cultural heritage.

Sri Lanka is a rich country in intangible cultural heritage. In Sri Lanka, folklore, folksong, folk poems, folk music, beliefs, rituals, traditional festivals, practices, folk drama, performing art, traditional crafts etc can be considered as intangible cultural heritage. There are many traditional practices related to agricultural and traditional medicine. Sri Lanka has also faced the danger of dissappearing certain elements of intangible cultural heritage.

The National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) implements a project for the conservation of intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. NLDSB implements this project with the assistance of UNESCO. Under this project NLDSB has carried out a number of activities. A national committee on intangible cultural heritage has been appointed. This committee consists of experts in intangible cultural heritage and representatives of institutions which deal with activities related to intangible cultural heritage.

In additions, NLDSB has created a website on intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. This website includes information on intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. This website can be accessed through www.natlib.lk.

NLDSB conducts research studies/surveys on intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. NLDSB has set up an information collection on intangible cultural heritage in the National Library. This information collection was opened by Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena on January 27, 2012. This information includes books, manuscripts, audio visual material etc on intangible cultural heritage in Sri Lanka. In addition, the National Library of Sri Lanka has taken steps to make aware the Sri Lankan community about this project.

The writer is a Director, National Library and Documentation Services Board