The Saman dance from Gayo, Aceh Province, has been registered with and will soon be recognized by UNESCO, according to the culture and tourism ministry.
"The type of Saman dance which will be recognized by UNESCO soon, is the original version hailing from and developed in Gayo, and performed by male dancers only," the ministry`s director general of marketing Sapta Nirwandar said here Thursday.
The ministry had completed all requirements needed for registration for UNESCO`s recognition as a world cultural heritage in November 2011, he said.
"There have been improvisations of the Saman dance, but we will register the original version," he said.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is expected to announce the Saman dance as an intangible heritage in Bali later this year.
The ministry had proposed the Saman dance to be included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since a few years ago.
The UNESCO World Heritage List has included 890 sites consisting of 689 cultural heritages, 176 nature heritages, and 25 cultural-nature heritages.
Of the total sites, 11 are from Indonesia. They are Ujung Kulon National Park (Banten Province), Komodo National Park (East Nusa Tenggara), Lorentz National Park (Papua), Sumatra tropical forest (Mount Leuser, Kerinci Seblat, and Bukit Barisan National Parks),
Borobudur Temple complex since 1991, Prambanan Temple Complex (1991), Sangiran prehistoric site, puppet shadow (masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity, 2003), keris (masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity, 2005), batik (representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, 2009), and angklung bamboo musical instrument (representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, 18 November 2010).
