The Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran (Iran), Golda El-Khoury, presented certificates to the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the local TV channel Altyn Asyr reports. According to these documents, the UNESCO representative list of World Intangible Cultural Heritage includes such traditions as "Needlework Art", "Silk Production" and " Molla Ependi (Nasreddin Hodja) Anecdotes".
Berdimuhamedov stressed that the Turkmen people gently pass on their rich unique traditions from one generation to the next, thereby contributing to the development of universal culture.
The UNESCO website says that anecdotes about Nasreddin, despite slight differences between communities in terms of images, names of characters and stories, are a common heritage in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
"The anecdotes have an instructive and entertaining function, and communities use them to enrich conversations, reinforce arguments, persuade others or explain a situation".
As for needlework in the Turkmen style, it begins with the preparation of thin silk threads that are intertwined in three layers and twisted into a single thread, then straightened with a large needle. This unique technique gives the thread a shine.
"The embroidery is used on wedding clothes, for ritual and cultural events, and as decorative parts of ordinary clothing, such as scarves, coats, pants, shawls and accessories".
Speaking about sericulture, UNESCO notes that deeply rooted in the traditions of the Great Silk Road, the practice is an expression of cultural identity and centuries-old traditions.
From Turkmenistan, the epic "Gorogly", the Nowruz holiday, ritual dances "Kusht Depdi", the carpet-making, the manufacture of a musical instrument - dutar and the singing art of bakhshi were previously included in the Representative List.
At the same time, the UNESCO World Heritage List includes a number of unique historical sites on the territory of Turkmenistan – Ancient Merv, Kunya-Urgench and fortresses of Ancient Nisa.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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