Luanda - The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, received from the Minister of Culture, Filipe Zau, the certificate of classification of the Sona as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The event took place tonight at the Manuel Rui Monteiro Cultural Center, in the city of Huambo, as part of the celebrations of January 8, national Culture Day.
The word Sona (plural of lusona) serves to designate writing in general (letters, figures and drawings) and consists of the combination of dots and strokes made in the sand.
It is done through techniques that have existed for thousands of years in the cultural context of the Lunda Cokwe peoples, in the eastern region of Angola.
This technique, in essence, aims to help the memorization process when telling stories.
Thus, the Sona are a form of cultural manifestation with great value for pure, applied mathematics and for education as a consequence of the rigor with which this writing is done.
Their knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation orally, which has contributed to the significant reduction of connoisseurs of this art.
This recognition by UNESCO allows us to lay the foundations for the promotion of cultural tourism in the eastern region of the country and in other locations.
However, first of all, the cultural richness of the ancestral knowledge that symbolizes the Sona must be transmitted from generation to generation, with a view to valuing the scientific and cultural status, which implies the rescue and enhancement of them.
The Sona becomes the first Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity inscribed by Angola in UNESCO and the second on Mathematics, taking into account that the first and, until then, the only one belongs to China.
Until its classification as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, a strategy based on three stages was developed.
Initially it was its declaration as a National Heritage, then the world dimension and, finally, with actions to safeguard it, with the aim of avoiding the extinction of the practice in the communities.
Among the measures carried out by the Angolan authorities, there are works related to studies that recognize Sona geometry as an important pedagogical and scientific resource.
In this context, actions have been developed to safeguard it by the Lueji A'Nkonde University, the National Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Dundo Regional Museum.
Among the actions developed are also the periodic holding of various activities, such as classes, lectures and other scientific events, as well as the transmission of Sona, through its masters and its incorporation into the curriculum of Angolan education.
In addition to the Sona, the country also has the city of Mbanza Kongo, capital of Zaire province, also elevated by UNESCO to the category of World Heritage Site.
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is a distinction created in 1997 by UNESCO for the protection and recognition of intangible cultural heritage, covering the cultural expressions and traditions that a group of individuals preserves, in respect of their ancestry, for future generations.
Examples of intangible heritage are: knowledge, ways of doing, forms of expression, celebrations, festivals and popular dances, legends, music, customs and other traditions. SC/DOJ
