Lithuania's polyphonic folk songs sutartines on a UNESCO heritage list
Updated 2010-11-18
The United Nations has placed Lithuania's unique polyphonic folk songs called sutartines on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Sutartines are polyphonic rhythmical songs performed by two, three or four female singers who simultaneously sing different phrases, creating complex harmonies. With the root of their name in the Lithuanian word sutarti, meaning "to be in concordance", the harmonies in sutartines are completely unique although songs with some similarities can be found in the Balkans, Indonesia and African folk songs.
In the same list, the massive Baltic song and dance celebrations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as well as the Lithuanian cross-crafting traditions have been inscribed already.
