On December 10, at the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in New Delhi, India, a decision was adopted to inscribe “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. The nomination submitted by Georgia was unanimously supported by the Committee’s member states.
Within the framework of the session, an official ceremony will be held on December 11, during which the Georgian delegation will be presented with a certificate signed by the UNESCO Director-General. The certificate confirms that “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” is part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Georgian wheat culture encompasses a complete cycle preserved by Georgians over centuries. It includes traditional techniques of land preparation and sowing; unique practices of cultivating semi-wild wheat species such as makha and zanduri; traditional methods of harvesting; and ancient forms of storing grain in granaries, wooden containers, and underground pits. This heritage goes beyond agricultural activity alone and represents an important part of Georgian identity, social relations, and intergenerational knowledge.
An integral element of this culture is also the tradition of bread baking—the wide variety of ancient and ritual breads baked in tone ovens, furnaces, hearths, and on clay or stone surfaces. In Georgian culture, bread is regarded as a symbol of abundance, unity, and sanctity. The uninterrupted traditions stretching from sowing to bread baking constitute a living, archaic heritage, the safeguarding and transmission of which UNESCO considers of special importance.
With this decision, “Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals” becomes the fifth Georgian element inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, following Georgian Polyphonic Singing, the Traditional Qvevri Wine-Making Method, the Living Culture of the Three Writing Systems of the Georgian Alphabet, and Georgian Wrestling.
