Thai massage to be added to Unesco heritage list

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The traditional Thai massage is to be added to a list of Unesco-protected cultural practices.

The massage, which traditionally uses no oils or lotions, relies on the body being compressed, pulled, stretched and rocked rather than rubbing on muscles, like in other types of massage.

The massage, known as Nuad Thai, will be added to the prestigious Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which features traditions and practices passed across the generations.

Similarly to Unesco world heritage sites, which offer protection to landmarks or areas deemed to have cultural, historical or scientific significance to the world, this means Thai massage has been recognised as something that needs preservation.

There are 550 items on the cultural heritage list - split into three categories - from 127 countries.

The new additions for 2019 were decided at this year's committee meeting in Bogota, Colombia.

Other practices added to this year’s list include Irish harping, Celestian forgiveness (a religious practice taking place in Italy that sees thousands of pilgrims come together), the Carnival of Podence in Portugal and Silat, a Malaysian form of martial arts.

According to Unesco, the traditional Thai massage is “regarded as part of the art, science and culture of traditional Thai healthcare”.

“As a non-medicinal remedy and manual therapy, it involves bodily manipulation in which the practitioner helps rebalance the patient’s body, energy and structure to treat illnesses believed to be caused by the obstruction of energy flow along ‘sen’ lines understood to crisscross the human body.”

Unlike other types of massage, Thai massage involves a lot of movement and manipulation into different positions to balance the four body elements: Earth, water, wind and fire.

Therapists sometimes use their forearms and knees to apply pressure, as well as hands.

Unesco says it recognises Thai massage has “roots in self-care in Thai peasant society of the past”, explaining that historically every village would have had a massage healer.

In 1985, the Project for the Revitalization of Thai Massage was launched to revitalize and maximize knowledge of Nuad Thai, and an initiative has also been taken to form an alliance of Nuad Thai practitioners who come together annually.

Unesco is the United Nations' agency for education, culture, and science