Swiss yodelling joins world cultural heritage list

Yodel teacher Nadja Räss yodels in Lucerne, Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Geneva, Switzerland -- Yodelling, the traditional singing of herders in the Swiss Alps, was recognized by the United Nations on Thursday as part of the world’s cultural heritage.

Yodelling was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at a meeting in New Delhi.

“As the emblematic song of Switzerland, yodelling encompasses a wide variety of artistic expressions and is deeply rooted in the population,” the Swiss culture ministry said.

Yodelling is also sung in Austria and Germany, but while Switzerland joined forces with France to have the mechanical watchmaking tradition of the Jura mountains recognized by UNESCO in 2020, it pursued this nomination independently.

In Switzerland, yodelling is passed on in families, clubs, music schools or simply between singers.

More than 12,000 yodellers are members of one of the 711 groups of the country’s Federal Yodelling Association.

“As a characteristic vocal technique, yodelling alternates between chest and head voice and uses meaningless syllables that are often associated with local dialects,” the culture ministry explained.

Natural yodelling consists of melodies without lyrics, while the yodelling song combines verses and refrains and often touches on nature and everyday experiences, it added.

“Whether soloist, in small groups or in choirs -- sometimes accompanied by instruments such as the accordion -- the yodel is characterized by its rich sound and its presence at concerts, festivals and competitions, which are often associated with the wearing of regional costumes.”