Indigo-dyeing or indigo print and its tradition has become Slovakia's sixth element on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.The members of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage took the decision on Wednesday at their 13th session held in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius.
Indigo print refers to the practice of printing a dye-resistant paste onto a cloth before dyeing over it with indigo dye. The resistant paste prevents the dye from penetrating the design, thereby ensuring the applied design remains white or undyed after the dyeing process. To apply the designs onto the cloth, practitioners use hand-crafted blocks that are up to 300 years old, featuring regionally-inspired patterns as well as generic designs or Christian motifs.
This technique came to Slovakia from the Netherlands and Germany in the course of the 18th century. First, it settled in towns and cities then entered folk clothing and textiles in the 19th century.
Slovakia was nominated for the registration in a joint candidacy with Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Five other Slovak cultural elements included on list are the fujara musical instrument and its music (included in 2005), the music of the Terchová village (2013), bagpipe culture (2015), along with the Czech Republic, puppet performances in Slovakia and the Czech Republic (2016), and Upper Hron polyphonic singing (2017).
