This article examines the implementation of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It discusses the gradual introduction of intangible culture in the Croatian legal framework and the on-going efforts of professionals who are involved in its preservation. The theoretical and practical questions that led to inclusion in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are illustrated by the example of the nijemo kolo [silent circle dance] of the Dalmatian hinterland.