Sitting down to a home-cooked meal in Italy is no longer just a culinary affair. It’s a celebration of international cultural heritage. So is yodeling, taking a dip in an Icelandic pool and applying kohl makeup around the eyes.
These all are being added to UNESCO’s list of “intangible cultural heritage” this week. Being recognized by the list can bring big tourism business to countries. Nations clamor to be included and to take advantage of its benefits. This year, 77 countries applied.
But some view the heritage listing as a poisoned chalice, or “unescocide,” a term coined by the Italian journalist Marco D’Eramo, who lamented the unsustainable streams of tourists that can follow such recognition.
The recognition is a “magical” form of cultural diplomacy, Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO’S assistant director general for culture, said from New Delhi, India’s capital, where a committee met this week to decide which elements to add. The listees are being revealed in staggered announcements through Thursday.
Making the List
Every year since 2003, when the list began, the United Nations cultural and education agency has expanded the number of traditions deemed worthy of preserving. The list includes food, dance, weaving patterns, wedding traditions and other cultural touchstones.
The list has become one of the United Nations’ more popular conventions, with 185 countries signing up so far.
Countries make the case for which traditions are worthy of global recognition, and a committee of 24 members, chosen from among UNESCO’S member states, weighs the nominations.
The panel looks for gender equality and proof that the nominations have the support of community members as well as environmental sustainability. In the nominations for this year’s list, swim clubs, choirs and merchants all lent their names to their country’s entries.
More than 60 new items made the cut this year, including handmade Japanese paper; Deepavali, the mesmerizing festival of lights that originated in India; and kohl.
“Al Kohl is applied by women and men alike,” Abdurrahman Abdulrazaq Jassim, a herbal shop owner in Iraq, wrote as part of a submission for the recognition of Arabic kohl, the (usually black) eyeliner. Many women use it daily, he said, and people also use it for “medical purposes.”
To celebrate official recognition, some countries sent delegations to India.
Members of Kenya’s Daida community gave an emotional performance once they learned that their spiritual dance had been deemed worthy of safeguarding. Some member states may also be allocated U.N. funding to protect their culture.
“You can imagine how it gives us tears each time that we see those communities celebrating,” Mr. Ottone said from New Delhi.
Celebrating Cooking
In Italy, the national cuisine made this year’s list, and celebrations were planned to coincide with the announcement on Wednesday, including lighting up the Colosseum.
The committee said Italy’s culinary tradition was a “communal activity that emphasizes intimacy with food, respect for ingredients and shared moments around the table.”
Tajikistan’s Sumanak, a meal cooked for hours and seasoned with the cook’s singing, as well as the Egyptian street food koshary, also made the list.
Bringing Communities Together
Most of this year’s nominations recognized cultural practices that bring communities together.
In Iceland, where there is a heated swimming pool in every town, pools have become an important social meeting point, the country’s successful entry stated.
Many cultural practices also transcend borders, with entries bringing together countries that may otherwise be at odds.
Djibouti first nominated the Zaffa wedding procession for UNESCO recognition in 2019. Since then, Comoros, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates have signed a joint petition to support the nomination.
This year, it won recognition.
The procession takes varying forms in parts of Africa and the Middle East. In Djibouti, the family breaks an egg on the groom’s head. And in Iraq, the Zaffa involves a motorcade of guests tossing flowers, treats and well wishes.
Attracting New Generations
The aim of recognizing food, dance and other traditions as global cultural heritage is not to freeze them in time, said Mr. Ottone, the UNESCO official, but to welcome innovation from new generations.
Ghana’s High Life music and dance, which made the list, has evolved from the guitar playing of the 1920s to highly produced tracks that thump through Accra’s nightclubs today. The country’s entry was part of a rise in nominations from Africa, with 10 entrants.
In Switzerland, yodeling is practiced by about 780 clubs and groups. Still, only about 70 of those are children’s and youth yodeling groups, the entry noted.
The hope is that UNESCO recognition will attract more young people. “Through its communal and creative nature, the practice of yodeling strengthens the sense of belonging,” the entry said.
Driving Tourism
The annual list can bring prestige and tourism dollars.
Guides lead tourists to the marvels recognized by UNESCO. They take visitors to watch recognized performances. And they arrange tours of food stalls celebrating the culinary wonders on the list.
There is also merchandise to be sold and collected, like the scratch-and-sniff postage stamps of the French baguette, which made UNESCO’s list in 2022.
Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Rome.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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