Oman promotes its heritage on world stage

Energy Monday 23/December/2019 22:58 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman promotes its heritage on world stage

Muscat: The Ministry of Heritage and Culture is making an effort to preserve Oman’s cultural heritage at local and international levels.

The Ministry has been preparing files of many cultural events including Omani khanjar and sent to UNESCO to register it as a cultural heritage of the Sultanate. The Omani khanjar, which is made from silver, is a part of the traditional Omani attire.
Being a part of their pride, most Omani men wear it on social and special occasions.
The khanjar was made of pure silver extracted in the past from silver coins, but nowadays it’s made from pure silver ingots.
The Minister of Commerce and Industry issued a Ministerial Resolution No. 195/2017 to update the Omani khanjar standard.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry clarified that the Omani standard specifies the general requirements for the Omani dagger and its types and main parts, whether prepared for wearing or used as souvenirs and does not include khanjar not offered for sale.
“The Ministry has made a file of khanjar it’s an important part of Omani culture. Its authenticity and identity and the skills in making represent the local identity.
So the Ministry formed a file for its nomination according to the applicable international technical standards. The file includes a lot of aspects related to the geographical area of making and daily uses in the dressing.
In addition, it is considered as local slogan of the Sultanate, ” said Nasser Salim Al Sawafi, the director of Intangible cultural heritage department in the Ministry of Heritage and Cultural.
He also added: “The file also includes how the knowledge of making khanjar has been transferred across generations while maintaining the specifications.
The UNESCO has been requested to safeguard the cultural elements of khanjar and the process related in its manufacturing.” “In 2017, the work for the preparation of the file to be presented to UNESCO to register as a cultural element of the Sultanate started.
Recently, Oman got a technical approval from the secretariat of the 2003 convention for the safeguarding of cultural heritage. It was referred to the UNESCO file evaluation experts committee for the presentation of the draft of its decision to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
It will be discussed at UNESCO’s 15th session which will be held in Jamaica, during the last quarter of 2020,” Ibrahim Saif Bani Araba, the manager of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture said.