The region, made up mainly of Portuguese descendants with roots in the territory, had also already registered Portuguese folk dance and local pastéis de nata, inspired by Portuguese pastel.
This Wednesday, the Macau Cultural Heritage Council supported the protection of the local version of bifana as Intangible Cultural Heritage, along with the procession of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and the Catholic All Souls’ Day.
A representative of the Council, Wu Chou Kit, said that members “agreed on the content of the list” of proposed demonstrations for the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the semi-autonomous Chinese region.
At a press conference, the president of the body and leader of the Macau Cultural Institute, Leong Wai Man, said that the list discussed at today’s meeting includes 28 demonstrations.
Leong gave as an example “Fain of Macaua”.a fried pork chop served on a Portuguese-style bread and very popular in restaurants and cafes in the territory, often served with the bone.
The list includes the procession of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, and the rituals of Catholic All Souls’ Day, also celebrated on November 1st, but which in Portugal is known as All Saints’ Day. The Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage already includes the Chinese All Souls’ Day, known as ‘Cheng Ming’, on the 15th day after the spring solstice, in early April, and ‘Chong Yeong’, the day of Ancestor Worship, on September 9th.
Fat tea, Tuna Macaense, patuá, baté skirt
The list of new cultural manifestations to be protected also includes four proposals by Macanese, a Eurasian community composed mainly of Portuguese descendants with roots in the territory.
They are fat tea, a festive snack with dozens of delicacies, Tuna Macaense, which plays songs in the Macanese Creole dialect, patuá, and batê skirt, a decorative art of cutting out tissue paper or lace paper.
“There are many demonstrations because Macau is a meeting point for Chinese and Western cultures. We have several ethnic communities and resources [culturais] rich”, defended Leong Wai Man.
In addition to an inventory, Macau also has a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which includes “the manifestations of greatest value, including those that are representative of relevant social traditions, (…) and enjoy a greater degree of protection”.
Folkcore, custard tarts and Fátima
On October 13, the region added 12 new demonstrations to the list, including the Portuguese folk dance and the local cream puffsinspired by Portuguese pastel.
In 2019, Macau had already registered as intangible cultural heritage the Catholic processions of Nosso Senhor Bom Jesus dos Passos and Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Macanese gastronomy and theater in Patuá.
In 2021, Macanese gastronomy and theater in Patuá were also included by China on the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
