Reggae music on global heritage list

This 29 November 2018 video says about itself:

Unesco adds Reggae Music to global heritage List – Special mention to Rototom Sunsplash

We are very proud to see our special mention during the Unesco session about the global cultural heritage of Reggae Music! One love and long life to reggae music!

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Reggae has been added to the Unesco list of intangible world heritage. According to the UN organization reggae music once gave a voice to the oppressed class of society, “but now it is played and loved by many people in society, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion”.

When the decision was made at a UN meeting in Mauritius, the Jamaican delegation sang Bob Marley‘s One love. “This is the heart and soul of my country”, the head of the delegation responded. “Reggae is no longer ours alone, it belongs to the whole world now.”

Reggae originated in Jamaica in the 1960s, where African, American and Caribbean influences came together. For the inhabitants of, for example, the capital Kingston, it was a way to express themselves, social criticism and express their faith.

In the years that followed, the music spread all over the world through the big Jamaican community in Britain. Musicians like Peter Tosh, Desmond Dekker and of course Bob Marley broke through internationally.

At the meeting in Mauritius, which lasts until December 1, more than twenty traditions worldwide have been added to the list, such as the Irish ball sport hurling, Austrian avalanche prevention and the Cuban Parrandas party.

Noteworthy is the addition of traditional Korean wrestling to the list; it is the first time that North and South Korea submitted a proposal together. Ssireum (written as ssirum in the north) is a popular pastime in both countries.

The joint application was made possible by the rapprochement that the South Korean president Moon was looking for with the north in recent times.

Beer and paper

The list of intangible heritage is intended to protect traditional crafts, social customs and arts worldwide. Among the 508 traditions from 121 countries, since 2008, for example, the Belgian beer culture, the Day of the Dead in Mexico and Chinese paper-cut. …

In Mauritius, the emergency bell sounded about seven traditions that are threatened with extinction. For example, the Syrian shadow play threatens to disappear due to the civil war and more modern entertainment, there is less and less room for the Maasai’s transition rites in East Africa and traditional Pakistani astronomy suffers from digital alternatives.