The power of the ‘nuad Thai’ benefits has gained global recognition. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has designated traditional Thai massage as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, including it on its world heritage list.
The popularity of Thai massage has grown with globalisation, and Thai massage practitioners are practising their skills on almost every continent. “Nuad Thai”, the Traditional Thai Massage, is considered part of the art, science and culture of traditional Thai health care. Nuad Thai therapists perform a combination of manipulations using hands, elbows, knees and feet, UNESCO wrote on its official website. “Nuad Thai has its roots in self-care in Thai village society of the past; each community had masseurs to whom the villagers turned when they had muscle fatigue from working in the fields.
Over time, these experiences have evolved into a formal ‘knowledge’ system, UNESCO made the decision at the 14th session of its Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Bogotá, Colombia, from 9 to 14 December 2019. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul welcomed the announcement as a success for the Thai people and the Kingdom. Dr Pramote Stienrut, Deputy Director of the Thai Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, broke the news to the Thai public immediately after the UNESCO vote. He announced the UNESCO decision at Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram in Bangkok, widely known as Wat Pho and Thailand’s leading massage education centre. At Wat Pho, one of Bangkok’s oldest temples and a stone’s throw from the ancient Grand Palace.