What is our intangible legacy today for future generations?

The calendar reminds that today, 25 Mehr, is the World Intangible Heritage Day. The brief and useful definition of intangible heritage is the same way that grandmother wears a scarf or sings a lullaby, the same custom of Nowruz and Yalda night.

Today, Mehr 25, is the World Intangible Heritage Day;

Ambassador Arjan - Rahela Abdul Hosseini: There is no doubt that we, the people of the fast-paced digital and technological age, leave an intangible legacy for our future generations. But which way of life is ours today that future generations will call it as an intangible heritage? Seyed Mohammad Beheshti, a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, considers the recognition of this permanence to be dependent on the passage of time.

A member of the Supreme Council of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts told Ambassador Arjan: "Intangible heritage is related to works that are the result of historical lived experience and exist in an immaterial form; Such as language, rituals, traditions, beliefs and legends, music, cooking skills and so on. Intangible heritage cannot be stored and displayed in a museum. This legacy will continue to exist until it is not removed from the flow of society's life.

From Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti's point of view, intangible heritage refers to the cultural characteristics of the society; That is, it refers to the aspects of a society that has stability and who the people of each land are.

He considers Nowruz as an example of intangible heritage and continues: "Nowruz has continued since thousands of years ago and is an indicator of the cultural unity of Iranian society. So, regarding the intangible heritage, talk about the continuation of that behavior for at least 2 centuries in a society, not a few years or one or two generations."

In response to the question of how long it takes for a phenomenon to last and turn it into an intangible cultural heritage, Beheshti says: "Basically, when we talk about intangible heritage, we mean long periods of time. Determines the persistence time of a phenomenon. For example, during Ferdowsi's time, it was not clear what kind of valuable work Shahnameh is in Iranian culture. If you check the books written about Ferdowsi's contemporaries, you will see that one or two centuries later, he was also prominent among others, and some were in favor and some were against him. But three centuries later, Ferdowsi becomes a stable pillar that no one can shake easily. "It takes a long time to recognize the uniqueness of a phenomenon and determine whether it is possible to continue it or not, and then call it intangible heritage."

With this in mind, what is the intangible legacy of our time for future generations? If a researcher wants to learn about the daily life of Iranians in the 1400s in a hundred years from now, what will remain for him today from our culture, behaviors, rituals, language and collective experiences? Will it only find digital documents and images, or are there living traditions that people still carry out and teach to their children?

In response to this question, Beheshti says: "Only time will determine this issue. It is natural that every society tries to add something to its cultural heritage, but what can be called intangible heritage is something that includes the time of at least 2 centuries to see if it can continue to exist."

The integration of life with virtual space has changed the way we dress and the type of reception, from holding a friendly gathering to celebrating birthdays, weddings, and mourning, and it raises the question of whether these newly arrived rituals will become a kind of intangible heritage in the future.

A member of the Rehbardi Council of Cultural Heritage says: "Now we can't say whether the common behaviors in the virtual space, sayings and new forms of mourning and the like will remain or not. All of this is done with the intention of lasting, but ultimately time will tell what lasts. In any case, intangible heritage is being formed today and we are leaving a legacy for our future generations. But the problem is its permanence and transmission, and for this reason, it is not possible to say which behavior or ritual is permanent. We have to wait for a long period of time for the intangible legacy of this period to emerge."

New family rituals from the birth of a child to weddings and mourning, ways to help people in floods, earthquakes, wars and other crises, common terms and jokes in social networks, the combination of local music with contemporary styles, ways to adapt to dehydration and dozens of other things from our lives these days can be intangible heritage that we leave for future generations.

27 elements of Iran's intangible heritage in UNESCO

Iran has 27 intangible heritage elements in UNESCO. Mali felting skills, traditions of rocking and singing lullabies, and the tradition of water and rain conservation are also being considered for global registration.