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Introduction by Loukia Loizou Hadjigavriel –
President of the Cyprus National Commission
for UNESCO
T
he activities of the local people, the dia-
lect in which they communicate, much of
what they do to earn their livelihood, the mani-
festations of their religious feelings, the oppor-
tunities for social exchange, even their recrea-
tion and diet, are elements which make up the
identity of the people and help to strengthen
the bonds which hold them together. All these
things, together or separately, make up the in-
tangible cultural heritage of a country, and it
gives me great pleasure to write the introduc-
tion for this publication, which is the result of
many years of research and the collective ef-
forts of a large team of people who worked with
great zeal to collect and record elements of the
intangible cultural heritage of Cyprus.
The intangible cultural heritage is a living herit-
age, not only because it survives over time, but
also because of its inextricable link to the lives
of the inhabitants of the island. The cycle of life
is linked to customs, traditions, songs, stories
and dances, which embellished or were con-
nected to birth, baptism, marriage and death.
This cycle of human life was linked concentri-
cally to the corresponding cycles of religious
life and of nature. This can be seen in the way
in which the people celebrated the Twelve Days
of Christmas, Sikoses, Easter, the village fairs
in celebration of the saints’ days, as well as in
Elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Cyprus
(In memory of Pavlos Pavlou)
Cyprus’ intangible cultural heritage – The book
Image by the Folklore Society of “Aradippos”