11 Isfahan Intangible Heritage Files Sent to the National Registration Council

 11 Isfahan Intangible Heritage Files Sent to the National Registration Council

Seyed Rouhollah Seyedolasgari told the Mehr reporter: “A specialized meeting of the provincial committee for registering intangible works was held with the presence of all members, experts and researchers in the fields of anthropology and oral history, so that the proposed files would be carefully examined and scientifically analyzed based on the approved patterns and criteria of intangible heritage.”

Emphasizing the province's rich capacities in the fields of anthropology, indigenous knowledge and folk culture, he stated: “After evaluating the documents, history and necessary criteria in this committee, the files of 11 identity-bearing and ancient works of the province were able to obtain the necessary qualification for introduction to the works registration committee of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.”

The link between ritual traditions and religious mourning in the province's intangible heritage map

The deputy for cultural heritage of Isfahan Province, classifying the approved files by subject, stated: “A considerable part of this period's files is dedicated to Ashura rituals, shabih-khani (ta'zieh) ceremonies and ancient religious rites of various counties of the province, which shows the deep-rootedness of religious beliefs in the region's indigenous culture.”

Explaining these religious and ritual files, Seyedolasgari said: “The ancient rite of ‘nakhl-bandi and nakhl-gardani of the city of Tad’ in Falavarjan County, the tradition of ‘nakhl-gardani in the village of Varkan’, a dependency of Kashan County, and the ‘Shab-e Haft-e Imam’ rite in the city of Vazvan, belonging to Shahinshahr and Meymeh County, are among these cases.”

He added: “In addition, several other distinguished performance and mourning works, including ‘the shabih-khani rites of the 72 martyrs of the city of Falavarjan’, the tradition of ‘home ta'zieh in the city of Falavarjan’, the shabih-khani performances of ‘Dayr-e Raheb’ and ‘Bargah-e Sham’ in the city of Falavarjan, as well as the spiritual rite of ‘Sham-e Ghariban in the village of Hoveyzeh, Koohpayeh County’, succeeded, by obtaining the committee members' approval, in gaining the permit to enter the national judging stage.”

Registering the cooking skills and traditional breads of the land of Nesf-e Jahan

The deputy for cultural heritage of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Isfahan Province, in another part of this interview, considered the safeguarding of indigenous skills in the field of food and bread necessary and noted: “Heritage related to the cooking methods of authentic dishes, as one of the anthropological attractions, has always received special attention, and in this regard, the file of the ‘skill of cooking the traditional Isfahan dish Yakhmeh-Torsh’ has reached the final stage of national registration.”

Regarding the techniques of baking local breads in the counties, Seyedolasgari also recalled: “Two other works, including the ‘skill of preparing and baking Nan-e Geli in Khomeinishahr County’ and the traditional method of ‘baking Nan-e Maghzeh of the village of Eshaqabad, Kashan County’, were also approved in this council with sufficient documentation.”

He expressed: “All the documents, visual records and field research of these 11 works, after completing the supplementary administrative stages, will soon be sent to the Supreme Registration Council at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts for final defense and registration in the country's national intangible heritage list.”