Singapore shortlists Thaipusam for nomination to UNESCO's ICH list
Thaipusam, a temple festival celebrated in Singapore every year by Hindus of Tamil descent, is among the 10 elements shortlisted by the country for nomination to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) list.
The colourful festival, dedicated to Lord Subramaniam, also known as Lord Murugan, the deity of youth, power and virtue, is an occasion of repentance held between January and February, during the full moon in the 10th month of the Hindu calendar.
Also on the shortlist is the annual Chingay parade, held after the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated by the Chinese community in Singapore.
The other eight elements in the shortlist are birthing traditions, Malay musical art form dikir barat, getai (live singing drama), the making and sharing of ‘kueh’ (cake), orchid cultivation, Peranakan (people of mixed heritage with indigenous Malays) beadwork and embroidery, traditional medical practices and yusheng, and its associated food heritage and social practices for celebrating Chinese New Year.
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“The National Heritage Board (NHB) will consult the public in the coming months before deciding on the country’s second nomination for inscription to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” said Youth Low Yen Ling, the Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth on Thursday.
Low said that about 170 participants attended focus group discussions held by NHB between June last year and January, including ICH practitioners, heritage business owners and academics.
“Through these conversations, we heard a clear preference for our second nomination to be multicultural in nature, and relatable to Singaporeans,” The Straits Times quoted Low as saying.
Singapore’s first inscription to UNESCO’s ICH list, a food-court based hawker culture was announced in December 2020.
Meanwhile, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong said that the NHB is working towards gazetting the Padang a national monument on this year’s National Day.
“The move recognises the historic significance of the Padang, a field in the central business district, which witnessed the inaugural National Day Parade in 1966,” said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
“The site is an instantly recognisable, enduring testament to our history as a people,” Tong said.
A notice of intention will be served to the Padang’s occupiers, the Singapore Recreation Club and the Singapore Cricket Club, this July.
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Thereafter, the Padang will be granted legal protections similar to that of gazetted monuments.
Low said that the NHB will also call for public feedback for its second Our SG Heritage Plan later this year. The plan will guide developments in the heritage sector for five years from 2023.
(With inputs from Agencies)
