There are many aspects of maritime history and culture that correlate with UNESCO’s convention for intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself, but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted from one generation to the next.

As Harriet Deacon and Olwen Beazley note “intangible heritage is probably best described as a kind of significance or value, indicating non-material aspects of heritage that are significant, rather than a separate kind of ‘non-material’ heritage”, and includes “social and spiritual associations, symbolic meanings and memories associated with objects and places.”

ICH as defined by UNESCO and the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

The convention defines ICH as “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. For the purposes of this Convention, consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.”

In effect this means intangible cultural heritage is:

• Traditional, contemporary and living at the same time; not just inherited traditions, but also contemporary practices.

• Inclusive; certain practices do not just belong to one culture or another.

• Representative; ICH is not a cultural good, nor identified for its exclusivity or exceptional value. Communities themselves identify the value of ICH by passing the knowledge, skills and traditions on to following generations or other communities.

• Community based; ICH can only be heritage when it is recognised by communities, groups or individuals that create, maintain and transmit it.

The convention outlines 5 Domains of ICH:

• Oral Traditions and Expressions, including language

• Performing Arts

• Social Practices, Rituals and Festive Events

• Knowledge and Practices concerning nature and the universe

• Traditional craftsmanship

In Southeast Asia this means maritime related ICH can include:

• Fishing practices, including making of equipment, customs to ask for plentiful fish, cooking of seafood dishes

• Religious or spiritual ceremonies linked to the ocean - ie, Mazu temple ceremonies, whale worship in Vietnam, water spirits in Indonesia

• Folklore related to the ocean, including songs and stories passed down through generations

• Boat building, including collection of materials, craftsmanship, customs related to ensuring safe passage, designs of boats linked to cultural customs

• Community festivals or events linked to the ocean or river systems

• Communal practices linked to the ocean or environmental elements, ie. Weather patterns in parts of Indonesia - cycle of agriculture between land and ocean, practices of the Sama-Bajau peoples (Sea Nomads) of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

• Inter-generational seafaring traditions, particularly those involving celestial knowledge

Foodways that have evolved through connections to rivers and the sea, including cultural knowledge about food preparation linked to sea-based migration of groups over time

In Southeast Asia there are currently a number of examples of maritime related UNESCO listings for ICH. Significant scope exists for developing these as serial nominations involving collaborations between countries.

Some current maritime ICH inscriptions in Southeast Asia include:

Pinisi, art of boatbuilding in South Sulawesi: Pinisi, or the Art of Boatbuilding in South Sulawesi, refers to the rig and sail of the famed ‘Sulawesi schooner’. The construction and deployment of such vessels stand in the millennia-long tradition of Austronesian boatbuilding and navigation that has brought forth a broad variety of sophisticated watercrafts. For both the Indonesian and the international public, Pinisi has become the epitome of the Archipelago’s indigenous sailing craft. Today, the centres of boatbuilding are located at Tana Beru, Bira and Batu Licin, where about 70 per cent of the population make a living through work related to boatbuilding and navigation. Shipbuilding and sailing are not only the communities’ economic mainstay, however, but also the central focus of daily life and identity. The reciprocal cooperation between the communities of shipwrights and their relations with their customers strengthen mutual understanding between the parties involved. Knowledge and skills related to the element are passed down from generation to generation within the family circle, as well as to individuals outside of the family through the division of labour. The communities, groups and individuals concerned are actively involved in safeguarding efforts, for example through marketing initiatives and the publication of books on the subject.

Indonesian Batik: The techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik. Clothes with everyday designs are worn regularly in business and academic settings, while special varieties are incorporated into celebrations of marriage and pregnancy and into puppet theatre and other art forms. The garments even play the central role in certain rituals, such as the ceremonial casting of royal batik into a volcano. Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colours are desired. The wide diversity of patterns reflects a variety of influences, ranging from Arabic calligraphy, European bouquets and Chinese phoenixes to Japanese cherry blossoms and Indian or Persian peacocks. Often handed down within families for generations, the craft of batik is intertwined with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people and, through the symbolic meanings of its colours and designs, expresses their creativity and spirituality.

Ong Chun/Wangchuan/Wangkang ceremony, rituals and related practices for maintaining the sustainable connection between man and the ocean: The Ong Chun ceremony and related practices are rooted in folk customs of worshipping Ong Yah, a deity believed to protect people and their lands from disasters. Developed in China’s Minnan region between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the element is now centered in the coastal areas of Xiamen Bay and Quanzhou Bay, as well as in the Chinese communities in Melaka, Malaysia. Those who died at sea are considered as ‘good brothers’ who become lonely, wandering souls. The ceremony begins by people gathering at the seaside to welcome Ong Yah to temples or clan halls, while lamp poles are erected to summon ‘good brothers’ and deliver them from torment. In this way, the element has been celebrated as ‘doing good deeds’. Performances head the procession and clear a path for Ong Yah’s barge (wooden or paper-made models). These performances include gaojia and gezai opera, different dances, comprising dragon and lion dances, and puppet shows, among many others. The element evokes the historical memory of ancestors’ ocean-going, reshapes social connections when confronted with emergencies such as shipwrecks, and honours the harmony between man and the ocean. It also bears witness to the intercultural dialogue among communities.