Description

Namsadang Nori

© 2000, by Cultural Heritage Administration

Namsadang Nori, literally the ‘all-male vagabond clown theatre’, is a multifaceted folk performance tradition originally practised widely by travelling entertainers and now kept alive by professional troupes in the Republic of Korea. The performance is made up of six components: a segment of ‘farmers’ music’ emphasizes the percussive sounds of metal gongs and animal-hide drums; a mask dance presents four comic scenes depicting people from different social classes; a tightrope walking act sees an acrobat on a high-wire engaged in witty exchanges with a clown below; in a puppet play, more than fifty puppets act out seven scenes together with a narrator and musicians; an acrobatic segment combines physical feats performed on the ground with comic dialogue and music; and an intricate display of hoop spinning with a wooden stick rounds out the performance. In addition to entertaining rural audiences that would surround the performers in outdoor arenas, Namsadang Nori carried an important social message. The mask dance and puppet plays in particular enacted the oppression of the lower classes as well as women in a male-dominated society. Through satire, these performances raised issues on behalf of those with no political voice and manifested ideals of equality and freedom, sustaining and inspiring the poor.

Documents

• Nomination form: English|French
• Consent of communities: English

Decision 4.COM 13.67

The Committee (…) decides that [this element] satisfies the criteria for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as follows:

• R.1: Namsadang Nori is popular among grassroots people and has been transmitted from generation to generation and recognized by the community concerned as a part of its heritage;
• R.2: Inscription on the Representative List would encourage young people to learn Namsadang Nori, raising visibility as well as awareness about the importance of intangible cultural heritage at the national and international levels, and promoting respect for the diversity of cultural expressions worldwide;
• R.3: The nomination describes a series of feasible interventions that could ensure practical safeguarding of the element;
• R.4: The nomination includes the free, prior and informed consent of the community concerned;
• R.5: The element is designated as Important Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division of the Cultural Heritage Administration

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