16:44 | Lima, Dec 05 (ANDINA).
The skills and rituals related to the annual renewal of Peru's famed Q’eswachaka suspension bridge were added to the intangible cultural heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
According to UNESCO, the list is composed of “intangible heritage elements that concerned communities and State Parties consider require urgent measures to keep them alive”.
The Azerbaijani capital Baku hosted the 8th Session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage where this decision took place and 14 elements in need of being preserved were inscribed.
The renewal of the Q'eswachaka suspension bridge over the Apurimac river is annually carried out by the families of the Quechua-speaking peasant communities of Huinchiri, Chaupibanda, Choccayhua and Ccollana Quehue, which together make up a rural district called Quehue, in the province of Canas, in Peru's south eastern Cusco region.
Since pre-Columbian times, the task of renewing the bridge has fulfilled a social cohesion function as well as created a communication means between two local geographical spaces separated by a deep gorge in the Apurímac river.
The unifying nature of its renewal and its symbolism for the local communities have been kept in force throughout time. It is a clear example of the continuity of a existing cultural tradition which represents the essential element of the cultural identity of the Quehue population.
UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list covers traditional forms of art and entertainment, social customs and traditional crafts, which represent cultural diversity and human creativity.
(END) NDP/JPC/LOG
Published: 12/5/2013