UNESCO adds new entries to 'intangible heritage' list

Envoys picked the new listings at a meeting in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, UNESCO said in a statement late Wednesday.

They include the traditional use of the abacus for counting in China and a Christian festival in the French region of Limousin that involves holy relics being paraded before worshipers once every seven years.

Other additions are Belgian horseback shrimp fishing; the annual pilgrimage to the mausoleum of Sidi Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed in Algeria; Taureg Imzad music; Jamdani weaving in Bangladesh; the Cirio de Nazare religious festival in Brazil; Sankirtana music from the Vaishnava people in India; a central Italian Catholic procession; an Orthodox holiday in Ethiopia and a Kyrgyz epic poem.

A naming tradition common amongst the people of Western Uganda and Mongolian calligraphy also made the list earlier Wednesday.

Established in 2008, the Intangible Cultural Heritage list comprises some 100 traditional events from around the globe and is designed to "help demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance," according to UNESCO.