Algeria: Metal engraving listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
This week, at the 18th ordinary meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, to be held from 4 to 10 December 2023 in Kasane (Botswana), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) registered “metal engraving: gold, silver and copper, know-how, arts and practices” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on behalf of Algeria and 9 other countries, according to a press release from the Ministry of Communication and the Arts.
Under the «metal engraving» classification, Algeria has 10 items inscribed on the list of humanity’s world heritage, namely: the traditional «Ahlil» song of Guerrara, the Tlemcenienne Chedda wedding costume, the “Seboua” celebration of the Ennabaoui mawlid in Timimoune, the Ouled Sidi Cheikh procession, the Sbiba festival, Raï singing and the traditional “Fougara” irrigation and water distribution system, in addition to three elements shared with neighbouring countries: “imzad”, “cuscous” and “Arabic calligraphy”.
The Algerian dossier, drawn up by the Ministry of Culture and the Arts, through the National Centre for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research, highlights the skills, artistic processes and techniques of engraving on gold, silver and copper in Algerian towns, and their uses as elements embodying an identity and a living memory with artistic, craft and economic dimensions.
Metal engraving is widespread in several Algerian towns, including silver engraving in Tamanrasset, Kabylia and Djelfa, gold engraving in Batna and copper engraving in Constantin, Blida, Algiers and Tlemcen.
This registration is part of the Algerian government’s efforts to preserve these age-old crafts and traditions, which symbolise Algeria, its culture, its identity and its history, as a guide to identity and the embodiment of memory, traditions and customs, and to support joint Arab cultural action by strengthening the components and practices linked to Arab culture, in addition to promoting them as part of the culture and cultural heritage of mankind.
