REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON -- The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated South Sulawesi's Pinisi boat-building art as the world's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) at the 12th Session of the UNESCO Unique Cultural Heritage Committee on Dec 7.

Participants at the session from various countries were enthralled by the art of Pinisi shipbuilding, Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UNESCO T. A. Fauzi Soelaiman noted in a statement received by Antara here on Friday.

Soelaiman added that UNESCO's ICH Committee held its 12th session on December 4-9, 2017, in Jeju Island, South Korea.

At the session, the 24 member countries of the committee discussed six nominations for the List of ICH in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and 35 nominations for the Representative List of the ICH of Humanity from 175 countries that have ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention.

Indonesian Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to the UNESCO Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan stated that the public has been instrumental in proposing Pinisi to be included on the list of UNESCO's ICH.

"Surely, this momentum offers an opportunity to the central government and local administrations to give greater attention to the management of ICH of their respective areas," he remarked.

Pinisi has been included as Indonesia's ICH on UNESCO's list following wayang, a traditional shadow puppet play found in the cultures of Java, Bali, and Lombok that was designated in 2008; keris, an asymmetrical dagger, with a distinctive blade pattern achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron, designated in 2009; and batik, a method of producing colored designs on textiles by dyeing them and applying wax to the parts to be left undyed in Javanese culture, designated in 2009.

The other cultural heritages are ngklung, a wooden music instrument from the Sundanese tribe, designated in 2010; Saman Dance, a traditional dance from Aceh, designated in 2011; noken, a traditional woven bag from Papua, designated in 2012; and three genres of traditional Balinese Dance acknowledged in 2015; as well as educational and training programs on batik at the Museum Batik in Pekalongan, Central Java, designated in 2009.

According to Soelaiman, UNESCO's acknowledgement of Pinisi is a form of international recognition of the knowledge and traditional shipping techniques used by the Indonesian ancestors that have been passed down generations until today.

Pinisi is Indonesia's symbol of the traditional shipping techniques from South Sulawesi.

The boat-building knowledge and technology of Pinisi have been known for at least 1,500 years. The boat-building process is based on a technology developed three thousand years ago from a canoe-type boat to an outrigger boat.

The boatbuilding process incorporates values reflected in everyday life, such as teamwork, hard work, precision, beauty, and respect for nature and the environment.

Currently, the centers for Pinisi production are located in Tana Beru, Bira, and Batu Licin in Bulukumba District, South Sulawesi Province.

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