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UNESCO recognizes the Armenian lavash despite the opposition of Azerbaijan

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arton105868-480x280If the last Azerbaijan’s efforts to prevent a UN agency to recognize the Armenian lavash (flat bread) as an intangible cultural heritage have failed, experts in Armenia still believe that such resistance from the neighboring country can be expected in the future.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held its 9th session at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 24 to 28 November and during the session, the Committee decided to nominate the “Lavash Armenia, the preparation, service and appearance of traditional bread an expression of culture in Armenia “on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In the wake of this decision Azerbaijan would have used different channels to ensure that UNESCO reconsiders its decision, and some media in Azerbaijan have even reported that the Armenian lavash was ultimately not included in the list.

“The lavash is part of our culture, and defend our culture,” said the ethnographer and historian Suren Hobosyan at a press conference in Yerevan. He called on colleagues in Armenia to prepare for an “organized fight and Fierce” of Azerbaijan.

According to the specialist, but there lavash bread as in all neighboring countries and such bread is also prepared in the Arab countries and even in India, the Armenian lavash is “unique.”

“Maybe that Armenians who settled in Georgia, Turkey, Iran brought that element in the culture of these countries with them,” said Hobosyan, adding that the popularity of lavash and the presence of tonirs the where lavash is traditionally baked, in all regions of the country proves “the Armenianness” bread.

“There was no house in Armenia, which has no tonir. Only Armenians have used and had 1 to 1.5 meters deep, because the Armenians did not have much energy. And, for example, Georgian tonirs are above ground level because they had more energy to burn, “said the ethnographer.

Hobosyan noted with regret that the lavash loses its popularity in Armenia today. “We are losing the battle in our own country. We are trying to prove to the world that the lavash is ours, but it’s not interesting to the world, we should use in our country, but even fast food that is sold in our streets today introduced the abroad – shaurma, khachapuri, etc. Dropoff window.

The host of a cooking show Sonia Tashchyan also believes that more efforts are needed in Armenia to popularize the local cuisine and encourage people to become “carriers” of the food culture.

“We lavash recipes that have been used for hundreds of years, but today they are no longer used,” she said.

By Sara Khojoyan

ArmeniaNow

Armenian Bread Declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO

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  • The Moscow Time
Lavash-Pascal-Dumont_MTThe lavash puts Armenia, a small, ancient South Caucasus nation of 3 million, ahead of much of the pack with a total of four entries on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The UNESCO cultural and scientific organization has decided to include Armenian flatbread on its intangible cultural heritage list, recognizing the importance of the foodstuff to the country’s inhabitants.

Lavash, a staple of Armenian cuisine, is a type of soft and very thin flatbread that can be consumed as a wrap for cheese, meat or vegetables. It is also popular throughout the South Caucasus, and in Iran and Turkey.

According to a note on the UNESCO website, preparation of lavash “requires great effort, coordination, experience and special skills” and “strengthens family, community and social ties.”

Lavash was accepted onto the list on Wednesday, with the UNESCO organization saying on its site that it acknowledged “the preparation, meaning and appearance of [the] traditional bread as an expression of culture in Armenia.”

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, a daring attempt to recognize and preserve immaterial culture, have been compiled since 2008, and entries from 103 countries are currently recognized by UNESCO.

Examples include Argentinian tango, Mongolian calligraphy, Middle Eastern falconry, Vanuatu sand paintings and even the Mediterranean diet.

The lavash puts Armenia, a small, ancient South Caucasus nation of 3 million, ahead of much of the pack with a total of four entries on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Other Armenian entries recognized by UNESCO include the reed wind instrument duduk, the performance of the medieval epic “David of Sassoon,” and the art of stone cross making.

Russia has only two items on the list: The culture of the Semeiskiye Old Believer sect, and the Yakut heroic epic “Olonkho,” which sees songs comprising up to 36,000 verses performed by singers over the course of several nights.

China is the runaway leader with 38 entries, followed by Japan (22) and Croatia (14). Neither the U.S. nor Britain have a single item of intangible heritage to contribute so far, according to UNESCO.