A significant number of local residents have voiced their support for 12 new items that the Macao government hopes to include in the city’s intangible cultural heritage list.
The proposed items include: the belief and customs of the Earth God (Tou Tei), the Dragon Dance, the Lion Dance, Portuguese folk dancing, the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat Racing, Tai Chi, custard tarts, almond biscuits, traditional Chinese wedding cakes and the making of jook-sing noodles.
In a statement published yesterday, the Cultural Affairs Bureau announced the publication of a report detailing the results of last year’s public consultation for the inscription of the new items.
Held between 4 December 2024 and 2 January 2025, the 30-day public consultation gathered the opinions of 931 individuals, with close to 70 percent of them approving of the inscription of the 12 new items on the list.
The belief and customs of the Earth God (Tou Tei), Dragon Dance and Lion Dance earned the highest approval ratings, registering a score of more than 90 percent.
“This reflects the traditional cultural value of these items and the importance of regional characteristics,” the Cultural Affairs Bureau wrote in the report. “They fully showcase the unique cultural features of the community and life in Macao.”
[See more: What is ‘intangible’ heritage – and how can you experience it in Macao?]
The other nine remaining items managed to bag approval ratings of more than 50 percent, with the lowest scores belonging to traditional Chinese wedding cake, Tai Chi and custard tarts, which had approval totals of 68.4 percent, 71 percent and 72.1 percent.
Moving forward, the Cultural Affairs Bureau said it would continue to work towards the inscription of the new items in the list of intangible cultural heritage.
Participants of the consultation also shared their suggestions on the protection of Macao’s intangible cultural heritage. Some expressed hopes that more youth groups could be involved in the transmission of the city’s intangible cultural heritage, while others recommended promoting Macao’s traditional cultural items and strengthening their popularity and impact through more channels and methods.
Meanwhile, other survey participants called for the inclusion of more intangible cultural items that are unique and culturally significant, and for more attention to be paid to issues relating to the transmission of intangible cultural heritage.
Currently, there are 12 items on the intangible cultural heritage list entitled to legal protection since their inclusion in December 2019. They include Cantonese Opera, Cantonese Naamyam, Taoist Ritual Music, Patuá Theatre, the belief and customs of A-Ma, the beliefs and customs of Na Tcha, Festival of the Drunken Dragon, Procession of the Passion of Our Lord the God Jesus, herbal tea brewing, religious wood carving and Macanese gastronomy.
The government has also drawn up an inventory of intangible cultural heritage made up of 70 entries, including the 24 items that are either already on the list of intangible cultural heritage or have been nominated for inclusion.
