LIMA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Peru's "Scissors Dance," once banned for centuries, was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday.
When Peru was under the colonial rule of Spain, the dance had been outlawed for centuries as the colonists used the Catholic Church to condemn and punish the practice of the dance, saying it was a pagan ritual to honor indigenous gods and myths.
The colonists did it partly because they wanted to pre-empt any potential uprising of the Peruvian people.
Even after Peru became independent, the dance had remained prohibited for a long time, with local authorities insisting it was a Satanic ritual. The ban was lifted only in recent decades.
It became popular in the capital city of Lima and most of Peru between 1970 and 1974, with the support of then president Juan Velasco.
On Tuesday, a Peruvian delegation took a group of dancers to a UNESCO committee in Nairobi, Kenya, applying for an Intangible Cultural Heritage status for the dance.
The application was unanimously approved, which, as Peruvian Vice Culture Minister Jose Vilcapoma put it, "opens a window to the world to show how Peru keeps its culture and heritage alive."
He also praised Peruvian National Institute of Culture (INC) and two dance associations for their efforts to make all that happen.
