Cyprus’ tsiattista put on UNESCO list

2011-12-02

CYPRUS’ improvised songs known as tsiattista have been placed on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

They have been registered as “tsiattista poetic duelling”, following a decision taken at the the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage held in Bali, Indonesia from November 22 to 29.

According to UNESCO’s description, cultural heritage is not limited to material manifestations, such as monuments and objects that have been preserved over time. This notion also encompasses living expressions and the traditions that countless groups and communities worldwide have inherited from their ancestors and transmit to their descendants, in most cases orally.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.