Belize Krismus Bram and Sambai Dance Up for UNESCO Cultural Heritage Listing

Belize is celebrating a major cultural milestone as the Belize Krismus Bram and Sambai Dance have been officially nominated for inscription on UNESCO’s World Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nomination will be formally considered tomorrow at 5am local time, during UNESCO’s ongoing evaluation session in Asunción, Paraguay.  Should the nomination be approved, Belize’s Krismus Bram and Sambai Dance would join the ranks of globally recognized traditions deemed essential to humanity’s cultural legacy.  Minister of Culture Francis Fonseca hailed the nomination as a moment of national pride and international recognition for Belize’s cultural bearers.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Anytime we can celebrate our culture and at the global level there is a recognition of the importance of that culture and the intangibility of that culture I think it’s an important event. So we certainly welcome that from NICH, the Ministry of Culture. We celebrate that because it represents our rich diversity here in Belize.”

Rooted in long-standing community practices, the Krismus Bram and Sambai Dance traditions are closely associated with seasonal celebrations, storytelling through movement, and the preservation of Belize Kriol identity. These art forms are passed down orally and through practice across generations, making them a powerful example of “living heritage” as recognized by UNESCO.  The nomination process forms part of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which aims to recognize traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events that contribute to cultural diversity worldwide. In anticipation of Tuesday’s review, cultural advocates are encouraging Belizeans, particularly members of the Belize Kriol community, to log on to the UNESCO livestream./