Kyrgyzstan's national hat tops Unesco intangible heritage list

Tops: Traditional clothes and Kalpak in the Song Kol Lake area of Kyrgyzstan. Photo / Eric Lafforgue, Getty Images

Kyrgyzstan's has placed high hopes on using its national headgear to get ahead in the international tourism market.

The Kalpak – a distinctive piqued cap worn by Kyrgyzstani men – has been awarded the status of Unesco intangible heritage item.

"This gives the international community a chance to get to know our mountainous country," Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Tourism Minister Maksat Uulu Damir told AFP.

The bell-shaped hat, which is normally adorned with black and white motifs has an upturned black rim.

The white hats symbolise the snow-capped mountains of the central Asian country and has a national holiday in its honour.

The folk dress is very striking, but the Kyrgyzstanis take the hat very seriously.

In 2017 a scandal involving one of the hats being placed on a dog prompted international outrage.

The country's parliament is currently tabling a law that will make disrespecting the beloved cap a crime.

In 2017, about 1.3 million tourists visited Kyrgyzstan according to export.gov.

Old Men wear Kalpak hats on a bench in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan. Photo / Eric Lafforgue

Unesco defines the special award of "intangible cultural item" as things that are "important to preserve for future generations... [such as] songs sung and stories told".

Unesco recognises its work as the preservation of these artefacts that require "active effort to safeguard".

Unesco: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Since 2008 States Parties to the Unesco convention have brought items and rituals to add to the list which are of intangible cultural significance and in need of urgent safeguarding.

This year items added to the list include Samoan woven mats, Irish harping and Serpu folk dancing from Botswana. The latter is on the list of 'urgent need' of safeguarding.

ich.unesco.org/en/lists