UNESCO Committee to examine 27 nominations for World Heritage tag

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is meeting for its 46th session in New Delhi, and the inaugural ceremony was held on July 21. The committee’s meetings started today and will continue until July 31, 2024. During this session, a total of 27 nominations from as many countries will be examined for inclusion on the World Heritage List, including the sole nomination from India—the Charaideo Maidam of Assam.

According to available information, the Committee will examine the dossiers of 27 sites proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List from July 26 to 29. The sites will be examined according to categories: natural, mixed, and cultural. Assam’s Ahom Moidam is included in the category of cultural properties, and it will be the first from the Northeast region to be included in the coveted World Heritage List.

Officials from the state Archaeology Department and several cabinet ministers are camping in Delhi in anticipation of the announcement of the Moidam as a World Heritage Site. The announcement is likely to be made at any time on or after July 26, as it meets all criteria for receiving the coveted tag.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will examine the 27 nominations of Cultural properties—Royal Court of Tiébélé (Burkina Faso); Beijing Central Axis (China); Schwerin Residence Ensemble (Germany); Moidams - the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty (India); Via Appia. Regina Viarum (Italy); Hegmataneh and Historical Centre of Hamedan (Iran); Sado Island Gold Mines (Japan); Umm Al-Jimal (Jordan); The Historic Town and Archaeological Site of Gedi (Kenya); The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex (Malaysia); The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panama (Panama); Levadas da Madeira (Portugal); Brâncusi Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu (Romania); Frontiers of the Roman Empire - Dacia (Romania); Testament of Kenozero Lake (Russian Federation); The Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area (Saudi Arabia); Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (South Africa); The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa (South Africa); and The Phu Phrabat Historical Park (Thailand).

Among the Natural properties up for examination are Vjetrenica Cave, Ravno (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Brazil); Badain Jaran Desert—Towers of Sand and Lakes (China); and The Flow Country (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

Of the Mixed properties, there is Melka Kunture and Balchit Archaeological and Paleontological Site (Ethiopia); and Te Henua Enata—The Marquesas Islands (France).

It is also likely to take place significant modifications to the boundaries of Moravian Church Settlements (Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America) and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) (China).

The backdrop to the Ahom Moidams is that the Tai-Ahom clan, upon their migration from China, established their capital in different parts of the Brahmaputra River Valley between the 12th and 18th centuries CE. Usurping the Barahi tribe, Chau-lung Siu-ka-pha established the first capital of the Ahoms at the foothills of Patkai Hills, named it Che-rai-doi or Che-tam-doi, meaning “a dazzling city above the mountain” in their language, and consecrated the site with a ritual. While the clan moved from city to city, the landscape of Choraideo continued to retain its position as the most sacred place where the departed soul of the Royals could transcend into the afterlife. Their unique system of vaulted mounds continued for 600 years, until many Tai-Ahoms converted to Buddhism while others adopted the Hindu system of cremation. Moidams are vaulted chambers (chow-chali), often double-storied, entered through an arched passage.

 Also Read: Assam: 700-Year-Old Ahom Moidams in Assam Nominated for World Heritage List (sentinelassam.com)

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