The annual grand session which
met last year in Kenya was
attended by more than 500 delegates from 69 countries, as well as international
NGOs, cultural experts and both national and international media. It took place
at the Bali International Convention Centre starting 22nd November and
finishing on 25th November 2011.
This Sixth UNESCO Session was
opened on 22nd November 2011 by the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare,
Mr. Agung Laksono in the presence of dignitaries including the Director-General
of UNESCO, Mrs. Irina Bokova; Minister of Education and Culture, Mr. Mohammad
Nuh; Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mrs. Mari Elka Pangestu; Bali
Provincial Government Representative and Deputy Director-General of UNESCO's in
Culture Sector, Mr. Franceso Bandarin.
The supporting documentation to
declare the Saman culture “intangible cultural heritage” were submitted to
UNESCO in March 2010 by the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare. This
application was fully supported by the Government of Republic of Indonesia,
Provincial Government of Aceh, the Government of Gayo Lues Regency and by the
local community.
Once the supporting documents
were checked by the Secretariat of UNESCO, by NGOs and international experts,
they were then delivered to the UNESCO plenary session in Bali. The committee
deliberated and formally decided that uniqueness of the Saman culture together
with the formal documentation submitted by the authorities met the strict
Convention requirements. Therefore, the Saman culture is now officially listed
as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding”.
The Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare, Mr. Agung Laksono was grateful for the Committee’s decision.
He wished to express his sincere thanks to all those who have carried out the
extensive field research and compiled the essential documentation so that
Saman’s nomination could be submitted in time in Bali.
He reminds us that the preservation of Saman will
not end by the acceptance of the charter signed by the Director-General of
UNESCO. This is the beginning of the implementation of the Action Plan to
protect and develop the cultural heritage Saman by all stakeholders.
The “intangible cultural
heritage” means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills
– as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated
therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize
as part of their cultural heritage. (UNESCO 2003 Convention, Article 2
Paragraph 1). Intangible cultural heritage is commonly known as the “living
heritage”. In comparison with that are natural sites and cultural sites, known
as tangible heritage.
The “intangible cultural
heritage”, as defined above, is manifested inter alia in the following domains:
a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the
intangible cultural heritage; b) performing arts; c) social practices, rituals
and festive events; d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the
universe; e) traditional craftsmanship.
United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have adopted the Convention on
the Protection for intangible cultural heritage at the 32nd Session of its
General Conference in Paris, on October 17, 2003. The 2003 Convention started
its operation since April 2006. The Convention aims to increase visibility or
public awareness, encourage respect, and protection for diverse intangible
cultural heritage or living culture through cooperation between governments and
communities at national, sub-regional, regional, and international levels. To
date, the Convention has been ratified by 137 States Parties.
Indonesia became the 83rd State
Party Convention 2003 on January 15, 2008 through Presidential Regulation No.
78, July 2007. From that moment, Indonesia has actively participated. In UN
General Assembly on June 2010 in France, Indonesia was appointed as the member
of Intergovernmental Committee of 24 countries. Bali will go down in history as
the new host in series of ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the
Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention of 2003, starting from Algiers
(2006), Chengdu (2007), Tokyo (2007), Sofia (2008), UNESCO Paris (2008),
Istanbul (2008), Abu Dhabi (2009) and Nairobi (2010). This year the meeting
will take place with full session over 7 days, and becomes the longest convention
in history with 27 agendas to discuss and decide.
Saman is a cultural heritage
dance from the Gayo tribe created in the 13th century in Gayo Lues and
surrounding areas in Aceh to deliver religious messages. The male Saman dancers
are generally still in young age and the numbers of dancer always odd in number
and sit cross legged or kneeling in line.
The dancers wear traditional
cloth embroidery in traditional motifs of nature symbolism and values of the
Gayo tribe. The leader or Penangkat lead fromn the center of the dancers
singing the lyrics of religious, advice, custom, satire, humor even romantic
things.
The dancers clap their hands with
their chest, thigh and floor, snapping their fingers, wiggling their body left
and right, back and forth, twisting and rotating their heads up and down, left
and right, moving their hands, pointing their body synchronizing with the
rhythm, sometimes slow, sometimes fast and energetic, sometimes simultaneously,
sometimes twisting between odd number dancers and even number dancers. The
movements in Saman describe nature, environment, and daily lives of the Gayo
people.
Saman dances are used in contests
when one village invites another village in order to establish friendship ties.
It is also used to entertain guests and to enliven national events and
religious holidays, and Saman is also
kids games in Gayo villages.
The frequency of Saman shows and its transition to future generations is
declining, even though the society and the government have tried to preserve
it, so that the preservation efforts for this unique dance culture are urgently
needed.
Photos: samanui.wordpress.com
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