10:01 | Lima, Sep. 17 (ANDINA).
Peru’s National Institute of Culture (INC) has said it is '99 percent certain' that two ancient national dances will be awarded Unesco World Heritage status in November this year.
Soledad Mujica, INC's Director of Registry and Study of Culture in Contemporary Peru, told Andina there are high expectations the
Danza de las Tijeras and
La Huaconada de Mito will be officially recognised by the UN's culture and education agency.
The ratifying vote is expected to take place at the Unesco’s November 14-19 meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
The INC official said at present "there are no impediments that could prevent the dances from being included on the organisation's list of 'Intangible Heritage'".
Introduced two years ago, the intangible heritage list is different to World Heritage status, which is awarded to historical monuments such as Machu Picchu and Chan Chan and outstanding natural features like the Manu National Park.
The
Danza de las Tijeras (Scissors Dance) is a colorful acrobatic indigenous ritual dance from the departments of Ayacucho, Apurimac, and Huancavelica in the southern Andes of Peru.
The scissors dance gets its name from the two independent pieces of steel the dancers hold in their right hands in the style of scissors.
These “scissors” act like percussion instruments that mark the rhythm with a metallic sound as they dance. The dancer is accompanied by a musical ensemble of harp and violin. These instruments were introduced to the Andean region by Dominican and Franciscan priests in the colonial period.
La Huaconada is a ritual dance that parodies justice in Mito, a village in the Mantaro valley, central Peru.
Locals and tourists dance to the huaynos music around the whole village. It was declared National Cultural Heritage by the National Institute of Culture (INC), through Resolution No. 925-INC-2003 on December 23, 2003.
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Video: Danza de Tijeras (Scissors Dance). Source: Youtube
Published: 9/17/2010