The culture and the heritage are divided into two components for easy reference as tangible and intangible. This categorization which was taken place very recently has a huge impact on the ancient civilization. We Sri Lankans are heir to a grandeur tangible and intangible heritage.

As per the  UNESCO convention of 2003, Intangible Cultural Heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.

Intangible Culture of Sri Lanka includes folksongs and poems, folk games, traditional art and crafts, martial art, native medicine, astrology, traditional handcrafts and weaving, traditional arts, and skills and the other parts of culture that can be recorded but cannot be touched.

Intangible culture is the main component of our identity and to safeguard this sector the Department of Cultural Affairs has incorporated activities into its mission statement for the propagation and promotion of this component.