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Traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats in the Persian Gulf

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ICH Domain	Oral traditions and representations, Performing Arts, Social practices, rituals, festive events, Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe, Urgent Safeguarding List
Name of UNESCO List	Urgent Safeguarding List
Type of UNESCO List
Incribed year in UNESCO List

Information
Local Name	dānesh-e sonnati-ye sākht va daryānavardî bā lenj-e irāni dar Khalij-e Fārs
Location (Address)	Iranian provinces of Bushehr, Hormozgān and Khuzestān, (including Iranian Islands; Abu-Musā (=Gap-sabzu), Hengām, Hormoz, Khārk, Kish, Lārak, Qeshm, Tonb-e-Bozorg, Tonb-e-Kuchak, and the Iranian ports of Ābādān, Bandar-e-Abbās, Bandar-e-Busher, Bandar-e-Dayyer, Bandar-e-Deylam, Bandar-e-Emām-Khomeyni, Bandar-e-Genāveh, Bandar-e-Khamir, Bandar-e-Khorramshahr, Bandar-e-Lenge, Bandar-e-Māh-shahr, Bandar-e-Tāheri (=Sirāf) (The geographical location and range encompasses the Iranian provinces, Islands, cities, ports, as well as the national waters between 25º up to 27º latitude and 48º to 58º longitude)
Name of National List	National Inventory of Iran
Management Organization of National List	Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO)
Summary	The inhabitants of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf make use of a local traditional knowledge, related to nature, to make their living. They build Lenj, a handmade vessel, for their sea journeys, trading, fishing and pearl hunting. The Iranian traditional knowledge of sailing includes many techniques, including Lenj building and launching, as well as navigating, among others. It includes specific traditional customs and oral literature, manifesting, for instance, as Rezif-khānî, Azva, Lîva and Nowruz-e-Sayyād. Finally, there are poems, navigational jargon in vernacular, and guide books (Rāhnāme’s). The element manifests as: - Knowledge and practices concerning the nature and the universe: weather forecasting (by studying the cloulds, the waves, the winds, the color of water and the behaviour of the sea-gulls), Lenj navigation (by studying the sun, the moon and the stars, calculating latitude and longitude, and using astrolabe, sextant and traditional compass) - Traditional handicraft techniques: Lenj-sazi (=Lenj building) - Performing arts: music, poetry, singing, dance: Rezif, Lîvā, Azvā and Sharve - Social practices and festivity events: Nowruz-e-Sayyād (fisherman’s New Year), Shushî, Bādebān-keshi (setting the sail) - Specific oral traditions and expressions, including the traditional sailing terminology, stories and poetries, in the Iranian languages and dialects of the region.
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