The Bolivian dances of Pujllay and Ayarichi have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The dances belong to the indigenous Yampara culture of south-central Bolivia, one dance is for the rainy season to celebrate the abundance that it brings, and the other for the dry season, celebrating a number of Catholic saints. The dances are accompanied by musicians, and include the use of ornate handmade costumes and shoes.
The dances are Bolivia’s 3rd and 4th entry onto the list, following the country’s famous Oruro carnival and the eastern Bolivian celebration of Ichapekene Piesta. Ancestral dances and rituals in Bolivia are widely practiced and revered in general, and have grown in popularity in recent years.
The UNESCO process of determining which countries and customs make it to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list can at times result in conflicts. The postulation of the Peruvian Virgen de la Candelaria carnival held in the city of Puno to the UNESCO list recently sparked protests in Bolivia and an official complaint to UNESCO by representatives of the Bolivian government, which argued that some of the dances practiced in the celebration are in fact Bolivian dances, and must be recognized as such.