The Committee
- Takes note that Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire have nominated Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, described as follows:
The balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire is a pentatonic xylophone, known locally as the ncegele. The ncegele is composed of eleven to twenty-one keys of varying lengths, made of wood, and arranged on a trapezoidal frame, also made of wood or bamboo. The instrument has calabash gourd resonators of varying sizes, arranged beneath the frame proportionally to the keys. The gourds are perforated and the holes are covered with spider’s egg-sac filaments to enhance the sound. The tuning of the ncegele is based on a division of the octave into five equal intervals, and the sounds are produced by striking the keys with wooden sticks with a rubber beater fitted to the end. Played solo or as part of an ensemble, the musical discourse of the balafon is based on a range of multiple rhythmic melodies. The ncegele provides entertainment during festivities, accompanies prayers in the parishes and in sacred woods, stimulates enthusiasm for work, punctuates funerary music and supports the teaching of value systems, traditions, beliefs, customary law, and rules of ethics governing society and the individual in day-to-day activities. The player first learns to play a children’s balafon, later moving on to full-size balafons, under the instruction of a teacher.
- Decides that, from the information provided in nomination file 00568, Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire satisfy the criteria for inscription on the Representative List, as follows:
R.1: Setting the life rhythm of the Senufo communities, the balafon accompanies significant events such as agricultural rites or initiation ceremonies, while providing the members of the community, from the youngest to the oldest, with a sense of identity and continuity;
R.2: Inscription of the balafon of the Senufo and its associated cultural practices and expressions on the Representative List would encourage intercultural dialogue and testify to human creativity, as a symbol of cooperation among residents of three countries;
R.3: A range of safeguarding measures from audiovisual documentation to awareness-raising initiatives rely on the participation of the Senufo communities, among whom they provoked great interest;
R.4: The Senufo communities in Mali and Burkina Faso have been involved in preparing the nomination through a series of consultations and have given their free, prior and informed consent through their traditional and customary leaders, musicians, dancers and other relevant resource persons, but Côte d’Ivoire should demonstrate that those communities living in its territory have also provided theirs;
R.5: The balafon of the Senufo is included in an inventory of the intangible cultural heritage present in the territory of Burkina Faso and Mali, but Côte d’Ivoire is requested to provide further information to demonstrate that the element is included in an inventory of the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory, as defined in Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention, as required in criterion R.5 of paragraph 2 of the Operational Directives.
- Inscribes Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Mali and Burkina Faso on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity;
- Decides to refer the nomination of Cultural practices and expressions linked to the balafon of the Senufo communities of Côte d’Ivoire to Côte d’Ivoire due to the lack of information as regards criteria R.4 and R.5 and invites the submitting States Parties to resubmit the nomination in a subsequent cycle, providing the additional information specified.