Myanmar resubmits Thanaka culture for UNESCO intangible heritage recognition
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Hsu (NP News)
Daw Sandar Khin, Chairperson of the Myanmar Cultural Heritage Trust, told The Statesman that comprehensive information has been submitted to support the nomination of Myanmar's traditional Thanaka culture for inclusion in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Myanmar first submitted the nomination in 2020, but it did not meet all the requirements. This year, the application was revised and resubmitted to address the previous requirements.
In this renewed effort, the Myanmar Cultural Heritage Preservation Association collaborated with various civil society organizations and submitted the nomination through the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, the designated focal ministry.
The ministry signed the submission and passed it on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which then sent it to the Myanmar Embassy in Paris, France. From there, it was forwarded to the respective department under UNESCO for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) before the deadline of March 31.
Daw Sandar Khin explained “People involved in producing Thanaka-based consumer products, traditional medicine groups, prominent practitioners of traditional medicine in Myanmar, cultural and literary organizations of ethnic groups, researchers, teachers, students, and many other related individuals and groups have participated in preserving and promoting Thanaka culture. We included all this detailed information in our submission. Our submission meets all of UNESCO’s outlined criteria.”
UNESCO’s five key thematic areas for intangible cultural heritage are Language, Performing Arts Social Practices, Rituals, and Festive Events, Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe, Traditional Craftsmanship. Myanmar submitted Thanaka culture under the category of Social Practices.
Daw Sandar Khin added “When it comes to Thanaka, our cultural practices are exceptionally unique. We’ve documented and presented these elements in great detail.”
Thanaka is known for its universal use—across all ages, classes, ethnicities, and genders in Myanmar, not only for its cosmetic appeal but also for its benefits in health and religious practices.
She continued saying “UNESCO has a standard: the nominated cultural heritage must have been continuously practiced and passed down without interruption. It must not have disappeared or been diluted over time. Our tradition of applying Thanaka has never faded. It has been continuously and widely practiced through generations.”
In addition, it is reported that Myanmar’s traditional New Year festival, Thingyan, was added to UNESCO’s intangible heritage list for the first time in 2024. Myanmar intends to continue nominating other intangible cultural elements alongside Thanaka in the future. –