Inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2005) The annual Gangneung Danoje Festival takes place in the town of Gangneung and its surroundings, situated east of the Taebaek Mountain Range on the Korean peninsula.The festival includes a shamanistic ritual on the Daegwallyeong Ridge, which pays tribute to the mountain deity and male and female tutelary deities. It encompasses traditional music and Odokddegi folk songs, the Gwanno mask drama, oral narrative poetry, and various popular pastimes. The Nanjang market, Korea’s largest outdoor marketplace, is today a major element of the festival, where local products and handicrafts are sold and contests, games and circus performances take place. The four-week long festival begins with the brewing of a sacred liquor and the Dano shamanistic rituals, in which a central role is played by a sacred tree, the sinmok, and the hwagae, a ritual object made of feathers, bells and bamboo wood. One of the specific features of the festival is the coexistence of Confucian, shamanistic and Buddhist rituals. Through the rituals devoted to the deities, the region is believed to remain unaffected by natural disasters, allowing all its residents to live in peace and prosperity. Every year, a large number of visitors attend the various ritual performances and actively participate in events such as making Danoje festival fans, brewing the sacred liquor, drawing masks for the Gwanno Mask Drama, preparing and eating Surichiwi rice crackers and washing their hair in Iris water. The Gangneung Danoje Festival enjoys immense popularity. However, cultural standardization and increased media coverage over the years have resulted in the loss of some traditional elements of the festival. In the traditional context of the festival, one of the functions has been to transcend social differences by allowing people of all social classes to participate.

South Korea 2008

Nooruz is the New Year by solar calendar in Central, South and SouthWest Asia countries. March 21 marks the start of the year in Kyrgyzstan. Nooruz meaning ‘new day’ when a variety of rituals, ceremonies and other cultural events take place. An important tradition practiced during this time is the gathering around ‘the Table’, decorated with objects that symbolize purity, brightness, livelihood and wealth, to enjoy a special meal with loved ones. New clothes are worn and visits given to relatives, particularly the elderly and neighbors. Gifts are exchanged, especially for children, featuring objects made by artisans. There are also street performances of music and dance, public rituals involving water and fire, traditional sports and the making of handicrafts. These practices support cultural diversity and tolerance and contribute to building community solidarity and peace.

Kyrgyzstan 2016

The Viet Belief in Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms is a form of worshiping the Mother Goddesses of the realms of the universe: sky, water, mountains and forests. From the 16th century, this belief became a religious and cultural activity that had a profound effect on the social life of the people. The Princess Liễu Hạnh and other Mother Goddesses governing the sky, water, mountains and forests, together with historical and legendary figures have been worshiped by communities. Daily worship rites are performed by custodians at the temples. Practices related to the Việt belief in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, known as lên đồng spirit mediumship, in particular at Phủ Dầy temple (Kim Thái commune, Vụ Bản district, Nam Định province) where Princess Liễu Hạnh, a leading figure in the Mother Goddess cult, is venerated. It takes place from the 3rd day to the 10th day of the third lunar month with special folk performances such as arranging letters, procession of Buddhist scriptures. Traditional cultural costumes, music, dance, folk performances of lên đồng spirit mediumship clearly show the unique cultural identity of the Viet people.

Viet Nam 2016

Terinai is an arts form that has long set in the state of Perlis usually performed at palace festivities. However, it is also performed at normal wedding ceremonies. The musical instruments are a clarinet, a pair of drums and two gongs. This gentle dance with candles on the palms is accompanied by the beating of the Terinai Drum playing the songs ‘Temang Welo’, ‘Selong’ and ‘Mak Inang’ The rythmns are such as ‘Menghadap Terinai’, ‘Ketam Bawa Anak’, ‘Dewa Raja’, and ‘Inang Cik Lang’.

Bali Kecak Dance performance. These photos are taken during my travel in Bali in 2016.

The Folk Performance of Xuan Pha (in Xuan Pha village, Xuan Truong, Tho Xuan, Thanh Hoa) is a diversity and abundant performance system which reflects the relationship between Dai Viet and other countries in the region and the world Includes 5 performances: Tu Huan, Ai Lao, Chiem Thanh, Ngo Quoc, Hoa Lang. This performance has a long history, most researchers believe that Xuan Pha was formed in the 15th century. In the process of studying this particular type of intangible cultural heritage, Researchers have found many different cultural layers, the earliest cultural layer appearing is the layer of love songs that mixed between the Viet and the Muong ethnic groups and a later cultural layer around the 16th to 17th century reflecting the integration of the Western civilization into the Vietnamese indigenous culture with the Hoa Lang performance. In the past, there was at least 43 area throughout Thanh Hoa province. Until now, only 2 places have been performing all 5 performances, including Xuan Pha. Along with the change of economy - society, Xuan Pha game is also changing gradually to survive and develop. In Xuan Pha, the show is being preserved very well by the community here and promises to develop more in the future Xuan Pha is a performance that has recorded the imprints of the relationship between Dai Viet and other foreign countries. In addition, this study also shows the important trading gateway position of Thanh Hoa province in history as well as the integration characteristics in the international relation context of Lam Kinh in particular and Dai Viet in general