Thai massage gets added to UNESCO's 'cultural heritage' list

Thailand is a country known for its white sandy beaches in Phuket and Pattaya and also for its world-famous body-folding, sharp-elbowed techniques of Thai massages. The favourite thing for most tourists visiting the land of white elephants is always to get a massage first, relax and then start exploring the country. Now the world heritage body, UNESCO has added the ancient skill of traditional Thai yoga massage to its prestigious heritage list. 

UNESCO world heritage tag

Now that the Thai massage has been recognised by the UNESCO's cultural heritage list, it will be preserved for future generations. Thai massage, also known as 'nuad Thai' has its roots in India and is being practised in Thailand for centuries. The massage grabbed international eyeballs after speciality schools opened in Thailand in the early 1960s. More than 200,000 therapists have trained at nuad Thai school and now practice their trade in over 145 countries. 

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The addition of Thai massage in the world heritage list took place in Bogota where the intergovernmental Committee for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage meeting took place. The committee also added 15 other cultural practices from several countries to the list of intangible heritage. 

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According to UNESCO, "Nuad Thai, traditional Thai massage, is regarded as part of the art and science of traditional Thai healthcare. As a non-medicinal remedy and manual therapy, it involves bodily manipulation to help rebalance the patient’s body, energy, and structure to treat illnesses believed to be caused by the obstruction of energy flow along ‘sen’, lines crisscrossing the human body."

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The other cultural practices added in the list are - Traditions of Pencak Silat from Indonesia, Irish harping from Ireland, Celestinian forgiveness celebration from Italy, Silat from Malaysia, Winter festivities, Carnival of Podence from Portugal. The UNESCO committee meets every year to decide which traditional practice should be added on the list. 

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