A sixteenth-century text by Tulsidas on the UNESCO Representative List: Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
Background
UNESCO inscribed Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, as an element from India.
This staging of the Ramayana is based on the Ramacharitmanas.
That sacred text was composed by Tulsidas in the sixteenth century in a form of Hindi.
The performance runs over several nights, and some, such as Ramnagar's, may last an entire month.
Ramnagar and Ayodhya, two of the places UNESCO names as home to the most representative Ramlilas, both lie in Uttar Pradesh.
In plain words
Intangible Cultural Heritage Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — UNESCO's category for living traditions such as performance, craft and ritual.
Ramacharitmanas Ramacharitmanas — The retelling of the Ramayana that Ramlila is staged from.