Turkmen dance kustdepti nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List
The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the next meeting of which will be held next week on the South Korean island of Jeju, will consider applications for inclusion in the List of popular forms of creativity and customs of the peoples of the world.
Among them is the ancient ritual dance kushtdepti offered by Turkmenistan. Scenes of this incendiary dance, for example, are imprinted on ancient Parthian ritons discovered by archaeologists during the excavations of the monuments of Old Nisa near Ashgabat.
Information about this dance can be found in the writings of various chroniclers, travelers and historians of the past. The name "kushtdepti" is associated with the obligatory ritual of a dance, when the performers under the finishing chords of throat singing (gazal) thrust their feet thrice, loudly repeating: "kusht, kusht, kusht-depti".
There are varieties of this dance, which is associated with Sufism, echoes of pagan beliefs. In the early days, it was prevalent mainly among the coastal Turkmen, later became popular throughout Turkmenistan. At the same time the dance has features of performance in various regions of the country. Today it has become an inalienable attribute of every holiday celebrated in Turkmenistan.
In 2015, the list of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind was supplemented by the epic "Gorogly" as a tradition of oral stories and creativity.
