Indonesian Music Instrument Angklung is officially declared as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), inscribed on the ‘Representative List of the Intagible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.’ In the recent meeting on Tuesday, November 16th, in Nairobi (Kenya), the Inter-Governmental Committee of UNESCO evaluated the instrument and decided that Angklung meets the criteria for inscription on the Representative List, as follows:
- R1: Indonesian Angklung and its music are central to the cultural identity of communities in West Java and Banten, where playing the Angklung promotes the values of teamwork, mutual respect and social harmony;
- R2: Inscription of Indonesian Angklung on the Representative List could contribute to greater awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage and promote the values of cooperation, discipline and mutual respect that are at its core;
- R3: Safeguarding measures are proposed that include cooperation between performers and authorities at various levels to stimulate transmission in formal and non-formal settings, to organize performances, and to encourage the craftsmanship of making Angklungs and sustainable cultivation of the bamboo needed for its manufacture;
- R4: The nomination clearly demonstrates the broad participation of the communities both in safeguarding efforts and, through formal consultations, in the process of elaborating the nomination;
- R5: Indonesian Angklung is included in a national inventory maintained by the Centre for Research and Development of Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and in several specialized inventories maintained by universities and Angklung associations.
[published by Vanda]