Description

Houtem Jaarmarkt, annual winter fair and livestock market at Sint-Lievens-Houtem

© 2006 by municipal council of Sint-Lievens-Houtem

Houtem Jaarmarkt is an annual trading fair taking place in the village of Sint-Lievens-Houtem in the south-east of the Belgian province of East Flanders. Every year, on 11 and 12 November, the village becomes the site of the country’s last substantial open-air market for trading cattle and purebred horses. Hundreds of dealers proudly display their animals before judges, fellow traders, farmers and thousands of enthusiastic visitors. People travel from across the country to visit the five hundred stallholders and other traders: experiencing, seeing, touching and buying agricultural machinery or animals, and witnessing transactions that still retain old negotiating techniques such as handclapping. With more than six hundred horses and twice as many cows up for sale, the fair is a crucial date in the calendar and identity of professionals in the livestock trade. Each year a different foreign region is invited to present its attractions, regional products and craftsmanship at the fair, enabling the livestock breeders, farmers and artisans of different nations to meet and interact. The fair and market have a huge impact on the local community with private houses turned into public venues where one can enjoy music, drinks and food. For these two days the whole village is transformed into one open, welcoming space.

Documents

• Nomination form: English|French
• Consent of communities: English
• ICH inventory: Dutch

Decision 5.COM 6.4

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: The nomination provides a full description of the social functions of the Houtem fair and its significance to the identity of the community that recognizes it as intangible cultural heritage;
• R.2: Inscription of the Houtem fair on the Representative List could contribute to raising awareness about the importance of similar fairs and could thereby enhance inter-cultural dialogue;
• R.3: Both ongoing and planned measures aim at safeguarding the Houtem fair according to the priorities set by the community, and they enjoy the full participation and support of the municipal authorities and the cattle breeders’ association;
• R.4: The nomination process was initiated by the community and carried out with its active participation, and key actors have granted their free, prior and informed consent;
• R.5: The Houtem fair is included in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage of Flanders/Belgium that is maintained by the Arts and Heritage Agency of the Flemish Community.

© 2009 by Municipal council of Sint-Lievens-Houtem

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