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UNESCO has included “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

On December 10, the 20th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was held in New Delhi (India), where a decision was made to include “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The member states of the Committee unanimously supported Georgia’s nomination.

The nomination “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” was submitted to UNESCO for consideration in March 2024. Its preparation was carried out through interagency coordination and broad public involvement. The process was led by a working group under the Agrarian Issues Committee of the Parliament, which included members of Parliament, the Ministry of Culture of Georgia, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the Association “Georgian Wheat”, scientific institutions and community representatives.

A Georgian delegation led by the Permanent Representative of Georgia to UNESCO, Irakli Kurashvili, is participating in the work of the Intergovernmental Committee currently underway in New Delhi. The delegation includes the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Nino Tsilosani, members of the Parliament, and representatives of those agencies that have made a significant contribution to the preparatory process of the nomination.

LEPL Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture made a significant contribution to the preparation of the nomination dossier. The Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture has been working for many years to restore endemic species and varieties of Georgian wheat to production, as well as to conserve them in the genetic bank. The goal of the center is for Georgian wheat to occupy a strong position in all regions of the country, and for the secular and church rituals, cultural heritage, traditions and knowledge related to it to be passed on to future generations.

According to UNESCO, Georgian wheat culture encompasses the full cycle that Georgians have preserved for centuries: preparing the soil with a plough, harvesting with a sickle and threshing the grain from the ears using a flail. All of this goes beyond just agricultural activities and represents an important part of Georgian life, social relations and generational experience. Its integral element is also the tradition of bread baking - a variety of ancient and ritual breads made in bakeries, ovens, hearths, in a clay hearth and on a clay pan, which are considered symbols of prosperity, unity and purity in Georgian culture. Continuous traditions from sowing to baking bread create an archaic, living heritage, the protection and transmission of which UNESCO attaches special importance.

An official ceremony will be held on December 11, as part of the session. At the ceremony, the Georgian delegation will be presented with a certificate signed by the Director-General of UNESCO, confirming that the “Georgian Wheat Culture, Traditions and Rituals” are part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

By UNESCO's decision, "Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals" becomes the fifth Georgian culture to be included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage - after "Georgian Polyphony", "Traditional Method of Making Qvevri Wine", "Living Culture of the Three Writing Systems of the Georgian Alphabet" and "Georgian Wrestling".