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ICH Elements 39
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Epic art of Gorogly
The entire epos includes a historical range of the legendary achievements of the ancient national hero of Gorogly and his 40 cavalrymen by recording all major events of traditional lifespan of the Turkmen people. The aspiration of the Turkmen nation for a happy life, unification, freedom and justice as well as their features such as bravery, honesty, partiotism, freindship, tolerance and fairness have been reflected in the epos. The element is a combined genre of oral traditions and performing art incorporating narrating, singing, vocal improvisation and musical composition, where a prose and poetry are alternated in its perforamnce. Its bearers and practitioners are epic performers-dessanchy bagshy specialized in the Gorogly epic. It is by tradition performed by one dessanchy bagshy playing the dutar (a two stringed, long-necked lute) in a sitting position, while narrating prose and reciting poetry in a way to deliver the characters' feelings and emotions to the accompaniment to the traditional musical instruments such as dutar and gyjak (a fiddle-like Turkmen musical instrument). It is traditionally performed at social gatherings, celebrations, national ceremonies, life rituals, national festivals and special "Folklore Festivals". The element provides related communities with a sense of social and cultural identity and it is considered as a main symbol of Turkmen people to sustain their cultural identity being as an oral encyclopedia and it remains the inexhaustible fountain-head to nurture their cultural psychology, national character, mentality, creative capacity and artistic skills.
Turkmenistan 2015 -
Aitysh/Aitys, art of improvisation
Aitys (in Kazakh language), Aitysh (in Kyrgyz) is an improvised competition of two akyns, the form of oral poetry performed in a singing manner, poetic contest of improvisations or a poetic duel of wits. The element is performed to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments: Kazakh dombra or Kyrgyz komuz. Two akyns compete with each other in improvisation of verses on topical themes in a wit-sparkling manner alternating humour and deep philosophic reflections. During the competition two akyns sitting opposite each other develop a song-like dialogue catching up the opponent’s words and performing in turn their improvisations on the spur of the moment. Songs performed during the aitysh-aitys are improvised on whatever topics which come up depending on the wish of the audience. The winner of the competition is the one considered to have demonstrated the most musical skills, rhythm, originality, resourcefulness, wisdom and wit. The element is very popular among people and is considered as a “folk tribune”. In fact, all regions of the countries have bearers and practitioners who often represent their local communities at the poetic competitions raising up topical and urgent problems of social life and criticizing all kinds of vices. The element is practiced at various events from local festivities to nation-wide events. Aitysh/Aitys presents the art of a dialogue participated not only by the performers but by their listeners as well. It is an essential part of life for the communities of tokmo-akyns and aityskers.
Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan 2015 -
Khon, masked dance drama in Thailand
Khon is a highly-refined performing art that combines multiple artistic elements: musical, vocal, literary, dance, ritual and handicraft. It may have combined features of ancient genres: court ritual, martial art, and the shadow play. It tells the story of Ramakien – the localized Thai version of the Ramayana epic. Its many episodes depict the life of Rama, his journey in the forest, his love for his wife Sita, his army of monkeys, the fights with the army of Thosakan (Ravana), king of the giants, and his final victory. The dancers wear elaborately embroidered costumes. The giants and monkeys all wear masks that cover their entire head. The colours and shape of each mask are unique to each character. The drama is enacted through dancing, accompanied by a piphat classical xylophone ensemble, singing, and narration. Each major type of characters has a distinct mode of dance expression. The dance postures and movements, the music, and the repertoire have been handed down from generations since the 15th century. The masked dance performances form part of social practices such as royal cremation, cremation of high-ranking persons or revered monks, and celebration of sacred sites and temples. Dancers, musicians, craftsmen and other members of Khon community annually perform a ceremony to honour Khon masters of the past, teachers, and deities. During this ceremony, new members are initiated into the community. Khon performance is continually evolving with new interpretations, and the adoption of modern technology for stagecraft, whilst retaining its traditional intensive dance training and ritual.
Thailand 2018 -
Art of Akyns, Kyrgyz epic tellers
The predominant form of cultural expression among the Kyrgyz nomads is the narration of epics. The art of the Akyns, the Kyrgyz epic tellers, combines singing, improvisation and musical composition. The epics are performed at religious and private festivities, seasonal ceremonies and national holidays and have survived over the centuries by oral transmission. The value of the Kyrgyz epics lies largely in their dramatic plots and philosophical underpinnings. They represent an oral encyclopedia of Kyrgyz social values, cultural knowledge and history. The pre-eminent Kyrgyz epic is the 1000-year-old Manas trilogy, which is noteworthy not only for its great length (sixteen times longer than Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey), but also for its rich content. Blending fact and legend, the Manas immortalizes important events in Kyrgyz’s history since the ninth century. The Kyrgyzs have also preserved over forty “smaller” epics. While the Manas is a solo narration, these shorter works are generally performed to the accompaniment of the komuz, the three-stringed Kyrgyz lute. Each epic possesses a distinctive theme, melody and narrative style. Akyns were once highly respected figures who toured from region to region and frequently participated in storytelling contests. They were appreciated for their proficiency in narration, expressive gestures, intonation and lively facial expressions, so well suited to the epics’ emotionally charged content.
Kyrgyzstan 2008 -
Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
Mudiyettu is a ritualistic art form of Kerala based on the mythological tale of battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika. It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagers reach the temple early in the morning on an appointed day. The traditional performers of Mudiyettu having purified themselves through fasting and prayers, proceed to draw on the temple floor a huge image of goddess Kali called 'Kalam' with coloured powder obtained from organic material. Kalam helps the performers imbue the spirit of the goddess. This is followed by an enactment of Kali-Darika myth, where Kali eventually vanquishes the demon. Mudiyettu performance which is said to herald the dawn of peaceful and prosperous new year, purifies and rejuvenates the whole community. It is performed annually in 'Bhagavati Kavus'', the temples of the goddess in different villages of Kerala along the rivers, Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar and Moovattupuzha among thenMarar and Kurup communities. Mudiyettu combines in itself the mythic, the ritual, the festive and the ecological aspects of the community. At the same time it is an expression of aesthetic and creative aspirations of the community.
India 2010 -
Ritual dramatic art of Ta‘zīye
Literally the word Ta’azyeh means “mourning”, and figuratively it refers to a kind of ritual and religious theatre based on religious events, historical and mythical stories, and Iranian folk tales, and there are four basic elements in it: poem, music, song and motion. Ta’azyeh is a type of theatre with many different characters, each of which having its own features, differences, colors, clothes, tools and requirements. It is performed in the form of symbols, conventions, codes and signs which are known by Iranian spectators, and on a stage which is placed in the centre without any lighting and decoration. The place where a Ta’azyeh is performed is called Tekyeh. Apart from some feel-good Ta’azyehs, the main subject of most of them is the conflict between “good” and “evil” and the source of Ta’azyeh scripts has often been the event of Karbala where the third Imam of Shiites, Imam Hussein, and his family were killed after a strong resistance in a battle between seventy two members of the “good” and twenty thousand members of the “evil” army in the Moharram month of the year 60 in the lunar Hegira calendar (a Muslim system of dividing the year of 354 days into 12 months and starting to count the years from the Hegira i.e. the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in AD 622). It is lunar because it is based on the movement of moon around the earth. This calendar is used in Arab countries. There is also a solar type of Hegira calendar based on the movement of earth around the sun which is officially used in Iran). Therefore, this theatre is performed in Moharram more than other months of the year in Tekyehs, streets, and in the garden of houses. Performing Ta’azyeh has a prominent role in the Iranian vulgar culture, literature and art. The concept and the performance style of Ta’azyeh leads to the maintenance of spiritual values, altruism and friendship. It motivates the religious emotions of the masses, purifies the soul, inspires the audience to ethics and a sense of resistance against oppression, and creates cooperation and sympathy among the performers and the spectators. Taazyieh preserves the old traditions, the national culture and the mythology of Iran, and plays a major role in preserving other types of art as well. Its effect on the audience is so great that many of the proverbs of ordinary people are taken from this type of theatre. Moreover, because of its flexibility, it has been able to adjust itself with different cultures of Iranian tribes; therefore, Ta’azyeh has become the common language of different tribes and has been prominent in creating “unity” among them and helping them communicate and share creativities. Ta’azyeh performers are divided into two main groups: agreeing performers (the Good forces) and disagreeing performers (the Evil forces). Agreeing characters wear green, white and blue costumes as a symbol of goodness and peace and sing Iranian folk songs. Disagreeing characters on the other hand wear red, orange and bright colors as a symbol of cruelty and brutality and speak aggressively in a declamatory style. Music is used in two forms: with songs and with musical instruments. Moeen-ol-boka, the director of Ta’azyeh, who has complete knowledge of music, poetry and all the techniques of Ta’azyeh, is actively present on the stage. Women are less involved in Taazyieh and the roles of women are also played by men drawing a veil over their faces. Each Ta’azyeh script has its own subject and requires its own special tools, costumes, conventions, symbols and music. Observing the rules of performance, the audience also cooperates in some scenes by chorusing the song or the poem. There are even some people who have taken vows of food (taking a vow to give food to people, especially poor people is very common in Iran) who serve the spectators during the play and fulfill their vows. Business people and official fraternities and small public groups called “religious groups”, the number of which reaches three thousand, attempt to perform Ta’azyeh in many areas and provide the tools and costumes, and also decorate the area where Ta’azyeh is going to be performed. In general, all the script writers, actors, spectators, and sponsors of this ritual play are from the people in the street who have different jobs during the year and perform this theatre only to reap otherworldly rewards. Taazyieh has also caused many skills to develop. For instance: calligraphy artists by writing Ta’azyeh scripts, musicians by holding classes of singing and playing instruments, painters by painting the events on large curtains, “curtain narrators” by narrating the stories painted on the curtains with a good voice for people, poets by composing new poems for the dirges in the intervals of Ta’azyeh, industrial workshops by making different tools and instruments used in Ta’azyeh, tailoring and handicraft workshops by making different costumes and masks and accessories for Ta’azyeh, cultural institutes by making films of Ta’azyeh and making them readily accessible to the public, documentarists by making documentaries about Ta’azyeh and preparing them to be shown on TV, each help develop a special skill through Ta’azyeh.
Iran 2010 -
Traditional Pottery: Labu Sayong
Sayong clay is a material for craft making of the traditional pottery in Malaysia. The pottery work crafted as a water vessel adapting the form of pumpkin/bottle gourd is called Labu Sayong. Further inspired by the nature, the decoration on Labu Sayong body used the flora and fauna as main motif. Such motifs that can be found as ornamentation on the labu sayong are designs based on local flowers (bunga tanjung, bunga pecah empat), spices (clove, star anise) and leaves (bamboo shoots). It is even believed that the drinking water stored in the labu sayong has certain health properties to cure common ailments like cough and fever. The beautiful workmanship present in each labu sayong can be attributed to the fine skill of the craftsmen as well as the high quality of clay used in the process. These days, the traditional pottery is crafted as a decoration and souvenir.
Malaysia -
Aitys – the art of improvisation
Aitys is a contest centred on improvised oral poetry spoken or sung to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments – the Kazakh dombra. Two performers (akyns) compete with one other to improvise verses on topical themes in a battle of wits that alternates between humorous ripostes and penetrating philosophical reflections. During the competition, the performers sit opposite one another improvising a dialogue on topics chosen by the audience. The winner is the performer considered to have demonstrated the best musical skills, rhythm, originality, resourcefulness, wisdom and wit. The most meaningful and witty expressions often become popular sayings. The element is practiced on a variety of occasions, ranging from local festivities to nationwide events, where practitioners often use the contest to raise important social issues. Although it was traditionally performed only by men, many women now participate in Aitys and use the contest to express women’s aspirations and viewpoints. Akyns compete with each other without any preparation, minutely composing poems mutual answers to questions of concern to society. Deep philosophical reflections in the witty, bubbly manner often turn into a form of poetic ridicule and criticism. Akyns compete in their resourcefulness and originality.
Kazakhstan 2015 -
KULOLI
Pottery, process of making pot, dish, jug, vessel, vase and other containers with special prepared clay.
Tajikistan -
Naqqāli, Iranian dramatic story-telling
Naqqāli is an Iranian traditional theatre form, having originated in ancient Iran. This dramatic performance concerns telling of a story, history or non-history based, in a variety of genres. It is done either in verse or prose and accompanied by gestures and movements appropriate to the event related. Iran enjoys a long tradition of Naqqāli. This tradition was called “Gowsān” during Parthians (3rd BC-3rd AD). “Gowsān”s (the reciters) acted as entertainers to both kings and ordinary people. Under the Sassanids (3rd-7th AD), Naqqāli was highly regarded at court, where it used to be called “Xonyāgari”. Following the collapse of the Sassanid, these reciters emmigrated to remote areas to keep the tradition alive. In ancient times, they used to recite narrative poems, play musical instruments, sing, and act. Naqqāli is the oldest form of dramatic performance in Iran. Historically, it has adopted itself with socio-political circumstances. Before the Sassanid(651 AD), Naqqāls were poets and musicians simultaneously. They recited stories along with playing instruments. Bārbad was the most renown Naqqāl of the Sassanid. During Ghaznavids(10th-12th AD), the Court banned musical Naqqāli. But the tradition survived in remote areas. Two important events occurred during the Safavid period (16th-18th AD): establishment of coffee-houses and applying “Parde”. Parde introduced a new style in Naqqāli, and coffee-houses became exclusive venues for Naqqāls for, at least, 300 years. Up to several decades ago, great coffee-houses hired Naqqāls. Unfortunately, the strong influence of western culture and break down of the old traditions caused a decline in popularity of coffee-houses; consequently, Naqqāl's lost their traditional audiences During the Islamic period, such reciters were known under various names; such names had their origin in the types of the repertory of the tales they recited. One example is, so called, “Shāhnāme-Xān”s, who were specialized in reciting tales from Shāhnāme, the great Persian epic by Ferdowsi. This naming style can still be traced. In addition to Persian literature, Naqqāls needed to be acquainted with expressions referring to the local culture, or the Iranian traditional/folk music. Thus, they functioned as both entertainers, and bearers of Persian literature and culture, while encouraging national cohesion. Nowadays, the language of recited narrations is not limited to Persian; these tales are allowed to be narrated in regional dialects or languages. Up to several years ago they were the most important guardians of folk-tales, ethnic- epics and Iranian folk music. Naqqāli requires considerable talent; no one can arrive at eminence in this line except men of cultivated taste and retentive memory. They must not only be acquainted with the best ancient and modern stories, but be able to change them in relation to new incidents, either heard or invented. They must also recollect the finest texts of poetry, which they may quote from. The audience are normally acquainted with the tale, so the Naqqāl requires the charm in his performance, an attractive voice quality, as well as skill in acting to captivate them. The Naqqāl is alone in performing a rich range of roles, such as those of kings, queens, warriors, princesses, beggars, etc, convincingly. He is even a master in producing sound effects, including horse galloping, fencing ,etc. Master Naqqāls, even, are well equipped with a knowledge of Iranian sports, while they recite skills in wrestling and fencing, among others. There are two groups of practitioners, the Professional and the Seasonal. They may perform in coffee-houses, tents of nomads, houses, and historical places like ancient caravanserais. The Professionals, who are few in number now, earn their living from Naqqāli; seasonals have other occupations, too. Nowadays, professional Naqqāls are mostly invited for official ceremonies sponsored by municipalities or governmental institutes. Seasonal Naqqāls mostly perform in regional ceremonies like wedding parties, or even mourning ceremonies. However, both groups have been invited for Iranian Ritual-Traditional Theatre Festivals since the very beginning of its establishment. Naqqāls, especially Morsheds (master Naqqāls), wear costumes reminiscent of Dervishes cloths. They may, even, use ancient helmets, or armoured jackets in the middle of the performance, to create a sense of reality for the battle scenes. Their multifunctional canes may represent a wide range of motifs, including a beautiful beloved, a horse, a sword, etc. “Parde”, used by some Naqqāls, is a painted curtain in the Coffee-House-Style. Having preserved all the logical, religious and traditional styles, it has flourished as a sign of respect for popular beliefs. The painters have been messengers of light and impossible dreams. Due to the fact that this unique theatrical performance always presents one of the deepest and genuine layers of the national Iranian culture, its protection will definitely serve to safeguard the national and historical roots of it. Besides, it can be a source of inspiration for literary figures and artists all around the world. Every form of art is a unique language faciliating peaceful communication among different cultures. In this regard, Naqqāli should be considered as an international heirtage in urgent need for safeguarding.
Iran 2011 -
Olonkho, Yakut heroic epos
One of the oldest epic arts of the Turkic peoples, the termOlonkho refers to the entire Yakut epic tradition as well as its central epic.Today, it is still incidentally performed in the Sakha Republic, situated in the far east of the Russian Federation. The poetic tales, which vary from 10 to 15,000 verses in length, are performed by the Olonkho singer and story-teller in two parts: a sung part in verse alternates with the prosaic part composed of recitatives. In addition to possessing good acting and singing skills, the narrator must be a master of eloquence and poetic improvisation. The epic consists of numerous legends about ancient warriors, deities, spirits and animals, but also addresses contemporary events, such as the disintegration of nomadic society. Given that each community had its own narrator with a rich repertoire, numerous versions of Olonkho circulated. The tradition was developed within the family context for entertainment and as a means of education. Reflecting Yakut beliefs, it also bears witness to the way of life of a small nation struggling for survival at times of political unrest and under difficult climatic and geographical conditions.
Russian Federation 2008 -
Pottery Making of the Cham
They use clay with a light yellow color, moderately smooth. They have their own traditional soil treatment techniques. The potter is a woman. They shape ceramic products without a turntable, using only simple tools according to traditional manual methods. The tool to shape the product is just a table and a small piece of rough cloth. By slightly bending down, the legs move around the table, the worker uses his hands to shape the body of the product. Finished brushing, they let it dry naturally. The product shaping and shading tool is very simple. The burning materials are straw and firewood. They are open-fired and have high technology in taking advantage of the wind direction as well as preserving heat. Products include two groups: cooking utensils and containers. Today, they create a variety of products to sell to tourists, such as statues, flower pots, so on.
Viet Nam