Wangkang Ceremony and Pantun Recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage

14 Jan

Wangkang Ceremony and Pantun Recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage

Two of Malaysia’s cultural heritage, the ‘pantun’ and ‘upacara wangkang’ are now listed under the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity category by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The decision was announced on 17 December during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Wangkang procession has been held in Melaka since 1854 by the Fujian or Hokkien Chinese community where a “royal barge” is used to pick up wandering ghosts and evil spirits. After this is done, the boat is then burned in a cremation ritual to send them into the netherworld and the ceremony is said to bring peace, prosperity and happiness.

Meanwhile the pantun, is a Malay twist on writing poems which has four lines with the first two lines being the hints while the last two lines are the meaning. Another characteristic of this style is that the word on the second and fourth lines would rhyme with each other and it’s the same of the first and the third lines.

https://www.facebook.com/Jabatanwarisannegara/videos/415636376299804

https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2020/12/766215/upacara-wangkang-pantun-diiktiraf-dalam-senarai-wakil-unesco