Belize Submits Krismos Bram, Sambai for UNESCO Intangible Heritage Recognition

Belize has officially submitted the living heritage tradition of Krismos Bram and Sambai from Gales Point “Malanti” Village for consideration to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The nomination will be examined during the 20th Session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee in New Delhi, India.

A Belizean delegation representing the Institute for Social and Cultural Research (ISCR-NICH), the National Kriol Council, and community cultural leaders from Gales Point is attending the session. The group worked directly with the village to compile the nomination file.

If approved, Krismos Bram and Sambai will become Belize’s second element inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The Garifuna Language, Music and Dance was the first.

Krismos Bram is a Christmas-time Creole celebration featuring traditional Brokdong music, dancing, drumming, and communal house-to-house visits. In Gales Point Manatee, where the tradition remains strongest, the festivities begin with the sound of the Gombay or Sambai drum, calling the community together. The celebration continues into the evening, culminating in the Sambai, a ritual dance believed to carry links to African courtship, harvest, and fertility practices.

Community leaders attribute the preservation of Bram in Gales Point to the village’s relative isolation and strong sense of cultural identity. Each year, residents, including those who have migrated, return home for Christmas and Boxing Day to participate in the Bramming.