The Committee

1. Takes note that Colombia and Ecuador have nominated Marimba music, traditional chants and dances from the Colombian South Pacific region and Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador (No. 01099) for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

Marimba music and traditional chants and dances are musical expressions integral to the family and community fabric of people of African descent in the Colombian South Pacific region and Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador. Chanted stories and poems are performed by men and women at ritual, religious and festive events as a celebration of life, a form of worship to saints or as a farewell to the deceased, and are accompanied by rhythmic movements of the body. The marimba music is played on a palm wood xylophone with bamboo tube resonators, accompanied by drums and maracas. The element is rooted in family and daily activities and the community as a whole is considered the bearer and practitioner, irrespective of age or gender. Elderly people play a crucial role in transmitting legends and stories from oral tradition, while music teachers oversee the transmission of musical knowledge to new generations. Marimba music and traditional chants and dances promote symbolic exchanges that include food and drink. Each of these expressions facilitates family and collective integration through ancestral practices that heighten the sense of belonging to a particular group connected to a shared territory and history.

2. Decides that, from the information included in the file, the nomination satisfies the following criteria:

R.1:   Marimba music, traditional chants and dances are transmitted from generation to generation and constantly recreated by people of African descent, thus providing them with a sense of community and belonging while forging social alliances in times of hardship and celebrations;

R.2:   Inscription of an element shared by two States Parties could contribute to awareness of the role of intangible cultural heritage in consolidating cooperative relationships and strengthen the promotion of cultural diversity and human creativity which, by being integral parts of communities’ daily lives, become vehicles of their identity and well-being;

R.3:   The nomination describes ongoing safeguarding processes and plans elaborated in each of the submitting States through close collaboration between practising communities, stakeholders and officials, aiming to ensure the viability of the element, promoting cross-border integration of communities, and alleviating any unintended results of the inscription;

R.4:   The nomination is the result of the shared efforts of communities, groups and individuals whose opinions and priorities were reflected in all stages of elaboration; Afro-Colombian communities are involved primarily through a management group that they previously, on the occasion of 2010 inscription, authorized to represent their interests in further forums and their consents are provided in the form of film excerpts;

R.5:   The element has been included in inventories of both submitting States (since 2010 in Colombia and 2009 in Ecuador), elaborated in conformity with Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention.

3. Inscribes Marimba music, traditional chants and dances from the Colombian South Pacific region and Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity;
4. Takes note that the present inscription replaces the 2010 inscription of Marimba music and traditional chants from Colombia’s South Pacific region, in conformity with Chapter I.6 of the Operational Directives;
5. Commends the submitting States for preparing a high quality multinational file that testifies to the dialogical, dynamic and evolving nature of intangible cultural heritage.