Members of the Indian community in Malta on Friday part took in a traditional dance that made it to UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Garba of Gujarat is a ritualistic and devotional dance that is part of festivities surrounding an annual Hindu festival.

The dance comes from the Indian state of Gujarat.

The Garba was put on the UNESCO list on Wednesday, the same day the Maltese festa was placed on the heritage list.

Indian nationals, many dressed in traditional colourful attire, gathered at the Indian High Commission in Malta on Friday to celebrate the news.

As music played, people danced, clapped in unison and moved in an anti-clockwise circle around a traditional lamp lit with candles.

Among the dancers was Sandip Parmar, who hails from Gujarat.

“This is a dance to our goddess Amba and we celebrate this in October or November,” he said.

In India, people dance the Garba for nine consecutive nights and, on the 10th day, the goddess Amba kills the devil, said Parmar, who has lived in Malta for six years.

Some 2,000 people from Gujarat live in Malta, he said.

This is a dance to our goddess Amba and we celebrate this in October or November

India’s High Commissioner, Gloria Gangte was among those who danced yesterday. Before the music and dancing began, Gangte addressed the small crowd that had gathered at the high commission.

“Garba unites everyone who participates and gives a sense of happiness and belonging,” the high commissioner said.

She said Garba on the UNESCO list will highlight Indian culture and the country’s rich heritage to the world.

“It will also help to preserve and promote this beautiful culture of dance,” she said.

Gangte said that Indians living in Malta can celebrate for two reasons.

“The Maltese festa was also inscribed as intangible cultural heritage, so we in Malta can have a double celebration,” she said.

The festa joins the għana (Maltese folk song) and the ftira that were put on the list in 2021 and 2020.