Intangible Cultural Heritage of Bhutan

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Building the Foundation for ICH Safeguarding in Bhutan

2014-2015 Publication Project on ICH of Bhutan

In 2015, ICHCAP, working with the Department of Home and Cultural Affairs of Bhutan, published a book on the ICH of Bhutan. The publication was part of a 2011 to 2014 cooperative project to support ICH safeguarding and research while promoting the importance of conservation, development, and transmission.

부탄 무형유산 보호의 기초를 닦다   부탄 무형유산 보호의 기초를 닦다

The book’s five chapters are titled and structured based on UNESCO’s ICH domains—Oral Traditions and Expressions; Performing Arts and Traditional Games; Traditional Customs, Rituals, Ceremonies, and Festive Events; Folk Knowledge and Technology; and Traditional Craftsmanship. Researchers in Bhutan travelled to the most isolated regions in the country to conduct interviews and field research for this book so that readers could have a better understanding of current ICH practice as well as ICH lost to history.

Published in two editions—one in English and one in Dzongkha, the official language of Bhutan—the book has been distributed UNESCO offices as well as educational institutions and libraries to be used as a foundation for safeguarding and promoting Bhutanese ICH.