Tibetan medicinal bathing set for UNESCO listing on China’s application

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Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa.
Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa.

(TibetanReview.net, Nov28, 2018) – With all things Tibetan having been rendered Chinese following the 1959 territorial takeover, Beijing expects that the 13th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which opened in Port Louis, capital of Mauritius, on Nov 26, will recognize Tibetan medicinal bathing as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from China.

Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa, knowledge and practices concerning life, health and illness prevention and treatment among the Tibetan people “in China”, was among 40 nominations for inscription on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, reported China’s news.cgtn.com/news Nov 26. The list already has 399 inscriptions from across the world.

The report said that during its six-day meeting, China and 23 other state attendees to the UNESCO’s Convention for Intangible Cultural Heritage will examine seven nominations for inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

It was earlier reported that India was seeking UNESCO recognition for Sowa Rigpa itself, as the traditional Tibetan medical system is referred to. Sowa Rigpa has been greatly popularized globally by the exile Tibetan set up based in India and is also practiced in the Buddhist Himalayan regions of India.

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is a UNESCO treaty adopted by the UNESCO General Conference on Oct 17, 2003 and it entered into force in 2006. It aims to safeguard traditions and living expressions handed down from generation to generation, including oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.

The report said China was among the first batch of members to join the Convention in 2004 and served three times as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee to contribute China’s wisdom in protecting the intangible cultural heritage of all mankind.

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