Global InformationIntangible Cultural Heritage of the Philippines information
Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) includes traditions and living expressions that are passed down from generation to generation within a particular community.
The Philippines, with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts[1] as the de facto Ministry of Culture,[2] ratified the 2003 Convention after its formal deposit in August 2006.[3] This implies that there is an obligation to carry out the objectives of the convention to ensure the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. This includes identifying and documenting viable ICH elements, safeguarding and promoting viable ICH, fostering scientific, technical and artistic studies, and provide technical assistance and training in the field of ICH.
Prior to the 2003 Convention, the Philippines was invited by UNESCO to nominate intangible heritage elements for the inclusion to the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This prompted the proclamation of the Hudhud chant of the Ifugao[4] in 2001 and Darangen epic chant of the Maranao[5] in 2005. After the establishment of the 2003 Convention, all entries to the Proclamation of Masterpieces were incorporated in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity[6] in 2008. A third inscription was made in 2015 through a multinational nomination between Cambodia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam for the Tugging Rituals and Games,[7] wherein the punnuk tugging ritual of the Ifugao was included.
As part of the objective of the Convention, the government of President Noynoy Aquino through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' Intangible Cultural Heritage unit and in partnership with ICHCAP,[8] published the Pinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage[9] in 2012. The publication contains an initial inventory of 335 ICH elements with elaborate discussions on 109 ICH elements. This initiative-based publication became the official basis for the government's intangible heritage programs and nominations to UNESCO. The elements listed are the first batch of continuous updating process initiated by the government, UNESCO, and other stakeholders. In 2014, the Pinagmulan was a finalist under the category of the Elfren S. Cruz Prize for Best Book in the Social Sciences in the National Book Awards organized by the National Book Development Board.[10] The Philippine inventory is currently being updated as a measure to safeguard more intangible cultural heritage elements in the country. The updating began in 2013 and results may be released in 5–10 years after the scientific process finishes the second batch of element documentations. According to UNESCO, it is not expected by a country or state party to have a completed inventory. On the contrary, the development and updating of inventories is an ongoing process that can never be finished.[11]
Between 2015 and 2017, UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Courier of Asia and the Pacific featured the darangen epic chant,[12] punnuk tugging ritual,[13] and at least three kinds of traditional healing practices in the Philippines, including the manghihilot and albularyo healing practices and belief of buhay na tubig (living water) of the Tagalog people of 20th century Quezon city,[14] the baglan and mandadawak healing practices and stone beliefs of the Itneg people in Abra,[14] and the mantatawak healing practices of the Tagalog people of Marinduque.[14]
By 2016, according to the ICH Unit, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, there were 367 elements listed under the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage (PIICH), the official ICH inventory of the Philippines. All elements under the PIICH are listed in Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP), the official cultural property inventory of the country, which includes both tangible and intangible cultural properties.[15] In April 2018, the buklog of the Subanen people was nominated by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the list for urgent safeguarding.[16]
- ^ "National Commission for Culture and the Arts - Filipino culture as the Wellspring of national and global well-being". National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
- ^ "NCCA History and Mandate". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Ratified and Non-Ratified Conventions by Country". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "UNESCO - Hudhud chants of the Ifugao". ich.unesco.org.
- ^ "UNESCO - Darangen epic of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao". ich.unesco.org.
- ^ "UNESCO - Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practices". ich.unesco.org.
- ^ "UNESCO - Tugging rituals and games". ich.unesco.org.
- ^ "ICHCAP".
- ^ "ICHCAP - e-Knowledge Center". www.ichcap.org.
- ^ "LIST: National Book Awards 2014 finalists | News Feature, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com". philstar.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ^ "Inventories: identifying for safeguarding - intangible heritage - Culture Sector - UNESCO". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ "Darangen, The Maranao Epic – ICH Courier Online". ichcourier.ichcap.org.
- ^ "Punnuk, the Tugging Ritual in Hungduan, Closing an Agricultural Cycle – ICH Courier Online". ichcourier.ichcap.org.
- ^ a b c "Experiencing Healing Rituals of the Philippines – ICH Courier Online". Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- ^ "Inventory-Making Efforts in the Philippines – ICH Courier Online". ichcourier.ichcap.org.
- ^ Sembrano, Edgar Allan M. (9 April 2018). "Subanen's 'buklog' ritual nominated to Unesco endangered world heritage list". inquirer.net.