The Committee

1. Takes note that Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have nominated Traditional knowledge and skills in making Kyrgyz and Kazakh yurts (Turkic nomadic dwellings) (No. 00998) for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

The yurt is a nomadic dwelling used among the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples. It has a wooden circular frame covered with felt and braided with ropes, and can be easily assembled and dismantled within a short period of time. The bearers of yurt-making knowledge are craftspeople, both men and women, who produce yurts and their interior decorations. Yurts are made from natural and renewable raw materials. Men and their apprentices make the wooden frames by hand, along with wooden, leather, bone and metal details. Women make the interior decorations and exterior coverings, ornamented with traditional zoomorphic, vegetative or geometric patterns. As a rule, they work in community-based groups supervised by experienced women artisans, and employ weaving, spinning, braiding, felting, embroidering, sewing and other traditional handicraft techniques. Yurt creation involves the whole community of craftspeople, and fosters common human values, constructive cooperation and creative imagination. Traditionally, knowledge and skills are transmitted within families or from teachers to apprentices. All festivities, ceremonies, births, weddings and funeral rituals are held in a yurt. As such, the yurt remains a symbol of family and traditional hospitality, fundamental to the identity of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples.

2. Decides that, from the information included in the file, the nomination satisfies the following criteria for inscription on the Representative List:

R.1:   Traditional yurt-making knowledge and skills are transmitted from generation to generation in families and through various formal and non-formal educational activities; part of Kyrgyz and Kazakh peoples’ everyday life, yurt-making provides its practitioners with a sense of identity and continuity and highlights a harmonious relation between nature and human creativity;

R.2:   Inscription of the element on the Representative List could contribute to increasing visibility and raising awareness of the intangible cultural heritage while promoting cultural dialogue and respect for human creativity, particularly through promoting traditional management of natural resources by nomadic peoples and awareness of the relation between human beings and their environment;

R.3:   Safeguarding measures aiming at strengthening transmission, documentation and promotion are well described and include a large list of planned events and activities devoted to yurt-making in both countries;

R.4:   Bearers, practitioners and craftspeople initiated the nomination and participated actively in the entire process, providing their free, prior and informed consent;

R.5:   The element is included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Register of Kazakhstan and the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Kyrgyzstan, both of which are regularly updated with the participation of communities.

3. Inscribes Traditional knowledge and skills in making Kyrgyz and Kazakh yurts (Turkic nomadic dwellings) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.