The National Board of Antiquities is accepting new proposals until mid-March. The current list includes festive traditions, the fish cock and the Laihian frog.
What links the Turku Declaration of Christmas Peace to dance?
The National Board of Antiquities considers these customs to be such a valuable part of our cultural heritage that they have been listed on the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The purpose of the list is to highlight and preserve traditions that Finns consider important.
Currently, there are 64 traditions that are considered important on the list of intangible cultural heritage in Finland. The National Board of Antiquities is currently looking for new candidates. Nominations can be submitted to the Agency until mid-March.
Fish cock, tango and Lusatian spices
The national list includes several festive traditions, such as taking candles to the cemetery on Christmas Eve.
In addition, the list includes traditions related to nature, such as mushroom picking.
Traditions related to the arts have also been brought up (tango, etc. The stories and jokes related to Laihia nuuktu are an essential part of this tradition related to saitu.
In addition to the national list, intangible heritage is also collected in the Wikilist. The open wiki-based catalog offers various communities the opportunity to present their own intangible cultural heritage.
Among the more than 180 traditions in the wiki list, you can find, among others, Matti and Teppo. According to Turkuseura, which made the proposal, the Matti and Teppo jokes have become a part of the Finnish joke tradition, and many jokes have remained evergreen and have been told for decades.
In addition to the violin, should the harmonica tradition be included in the list?
The collection of living cultural heritage is related to the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, which Finland joined ten years ago. Among our traditions, three traditional Finnish hobbies have entered the international list kept by UNESCO.
In 2020, the Finnish sauna tradition opened the track.
There is also a pending multinational application related to handmade glass, the fate of which will be sealed in December 2023.
But in order to get on UNESCO’s international list, Finns must first feel that the tradition is worth preserving here in Finland. At least, Mäntyharju’s harmonica players think now is the time to add Pelimann-style harmonica playing to the national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Harmonica playing came to Finland already at the end of the 19th century, but the instrument was not really appreciated in fiddle-driven pelimanni circles. Still, the harmonica has been played for a long time on every cape and bend in Finland. For example, during the war, when it was forbidden to organize dances, a pocket-sized instrument played in the background of many corner dances.
The special technique of Pelimann-style harmonica playing is presented in the accompanying Puoli sevent story.
*Should kalsarikänni and goodbye tags become part of the national intangible cultural heritage? Tell us your own candidate for the list of Finnish intangible cultural heritage in the comments. You can discuss the topic until Wednesday 22.2. until 11 p.m.*