The term ‘intangible cultural heritage’ was new to me recently. It describes:-
Oral traditions and expressions: Includes language, stories, legends, proverbs, and songs passed on by word of mouth.
Performing arts: Covers music, dance, theater, and other forms of artistic expression.
Social practices, rituals, and festive events: Encompasses community habits, rites of passage, holiday celebrations, and religious or secular ceremonies.
Knowledge and practices concerning nature: Traditional ecological knowledge, herbal medicine, and practices related to the universe.
Traditional craftsmanship: The skills and techniques required to make traditional clothing, pottery, instruments, and other handmade objects.
These all seem entirely tangible to me.
The whole concept of culture being intangible is a mystery to me. Made all the more puzzling at a live music gig that I went to this weekend.
Held in an old chapel overlooking farmland and the River Tamar.
My attendance was entirely accidental, a spare ticket landed in my lap because of life/work exhaustion and toothache.
The gig was held in Calstock, a village oozing with cultural heritage, where even the shelter at the train station is beautiful.
Tangible or intangible there is a lot of cultural heritage in this one picture.
I realise this is just me pondering an idea and the use of words but cultural heritage is not something whimsical or disposable.
I was in Calstock to hear Cara Dillon a contemporary folk singer from Ireland. By chance the man sitting next to me was of Irish heritage. He took pleasure in the performance in an entirely different way to me. He felt the music and inhabited it. There was so much joy in him, generated entirely by his innate and experienced cultural heritage. Vibrating through him when both he and the singer were so far from home. He was having an entirely tangible experience.
It is funny the things that bother me overnight. Calstock is a village where I have participated in so many varied experiences that are certainly worthy of the title ‘Cultural Heritage’ I am enriched by experiencing the things that have enhanced the lives of other humans throughout history. 5 years ago, 50 years ago or 500 years ago. All worth preserving I feel. Overnight pondering took me down the internet rabbit hole. Luckily I landed on another WordPress Blog. Far more erudite and knowledgeable than my ponderings, I will share it below.
If the UK is proud of its tangible cultural heritage, why not so when it comes to intangible heritage?
The word ‘intangible’ really doesn’t touch the importance of such things!
The link to Calstock Arts, the venue I visited is below. Somewhere that does its very best to promote the intangible culture that is so vital to us all.
Calstock Arts
Home – Calstock Arts : Calstock Arts https://share.google/1aOp1S20YIObzbN59
theoldmortuary.design 
so interesting, and i had no idea that was even a thing, is there a reason the UK doesn’t has not embraced this?
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The UK delayed ratifying the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention primarily due to a lack of a perceived “business case” that justified the administrative and resource costs. Additionally, the UK traditionally prioritized tangible, built heritage (like monuments and historic sites) and faced complex constitutional hurdles regarding how to represent unique, localized cultural identities across its devolved nations. And of course we don’t seem to be able to keep a Prime Minister in post long enough ro get jobs done!
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