The global inscription of Chogan, an Iranian team sport internationally known as polo, on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was celebrated on Monday at Qasr-e Firuzeh Sport Complex in Tehran.
During the ceremony, which was attended by a number of senior heritage officials, the UNESCO's inscription document was unveiled as a symbolic event, IRNA reported.
Iran's proposal for Chogan was approved at the 12th session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage, held on Jeju Island, South Korea, on Dec. 4-9, 2017.
Following the inscription, the number of Iran's intangible cultural heritage items in the global list increased to 13.
Speaking at the commemoration ceremony, Sports and Youth Minister Masoud Soltanifar described the sport as a reflection of Iranian rich culture and called on sport federations and organizations to motivate and support the youth to enter the field.
"Despite its potential for much further development, Chogan was unfairly ignored until lately, when officials started to highlight the team sport," Soltanifar noted.
The official pointed out that there are currently seven Chogan associations actively operating inside the country and five more will be established if the required facilities are prepared including playing fields, instruments and specially bred horses.
All-Out Inscription Campaign
Also speaking at the ceremony, Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said Iran is using all the possible capacities offered by UNESCO in inscription of heritage elements.
However, he added, "due to the limitations in the number of proposals by one country, we can use the option of joint nominations with the neighboring countries."
The event was spiced up with Chogan players holding a parade accompanied by special live music. Shahnameh-khani (a type of Iranian theater performance in which stories of Shahnameh, the epic poetry collection of Ferdowsi are recounted). The event also featured a symbolic battle between two Chogan teams, namely Bisotoun and Naqsh-e Jahan.
Earlier in 2013, the Republic of Azerbaijan inscribed the sport, as a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game, on the UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
However, there are differences between the Azerbaijani and Iranian versions, not in the nature and rules of the sport, but in the sideline rituals. In Azerbaijan, the game is played with Karabakh type of horses, interspersed with instrumental folk music called Jangi.
But the Iranian version includes a corresponding musical performance and storytelling. Bearers include three primary groups: the players, the storytellers and the musicians.
The game's objective is to score goals against an opposing team by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposite team’s goal using a long-handled mallet.
The game was first played in Iran in the 4th century during the rule of Persian Emperor Shapur II of Sassanid dynasty. It is accompanied by traditional music and storytelling.
Symbolically speaking, Chogan is considered an emblem of creative art and valor in Iranian culture, strongly backed by the country's rich art, including literature, miniature, painting, storytelling, poetry and mysticism.
