“Bistritsa Babi” at UNESCO
Minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2013 General Assembly
07/03/2013
Celebrating Francophonie and the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention (2003) through Armenian, Lithuanian and Bulgarian Cultural Expressions
19/03/2013“Bistritsa Babi” at UNESCO
On the occasion of the International Francophonie Day, Bulgaria will present one of its elements inscribed on the Representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO- “Bistritsa Babi”. The event will be held on March 18 at 18.30h local time at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, Room 1.
Armenia and Lithuania will also present part of their cultural heritage- “Duduk and its music” (Armenia) and “Sutartines” (Lithuania).
“Bistritsa Babi”, inscribed in 2008 on the Representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005), represent archaic polyphony, dances and rituals from the Shoplouk region in Bulgaria, still performed by a group of elderly women, the Bistritsa Babi. This tradition includes diaphony, or what is known as shoppe polyphony, ancient forms of the horo chain dance and the ritual practice of lazarouvane, an initiation ceremony for young women.
The participation of Bistritsa Baba at the concert is possible thanks to the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in South- Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Sofia Municipality and it is in support of the nomination of Sofia for European Capital of Culture 2019.
More information here.