Sri Lanka, Dec. 12 -- Sri Lanka's traditional practice of Kithul Madeema/Kithul Kapeema, an ancient indigenous technology for extracting sap from the Kithul (Caryota urens), has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The announcement was made on 11 December 2025 during the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) held in New Delhi, India.
Kithul Madeema, practiced for centuries by rural communities, is a highly skilled knowledge system involving the identification of mature Kithul palms, climbing tall trees, preparing and wrapping the inflorescence, and tapping it with a sacred knife to extract sap daily wh...