The Telling Tradition of Nasreddin Hodja/Molla Nesreddin/Molla Ependi/Apendi/Afendi Kozhanasyr/Nasriddin Afandi Anecdotes is an intangible cultural heritage element on social practices and festivals related to the tradition of telling anecdotes. It is transmitted orally among generations and is shaped around Nasreddin who became a symbol of humor and wisdom. Although there are slight differences about images, names and anecdotes of Nasreddin in communities, the main features of the element have been shared as a common heritage in the Submitting States. Communities acknowledge that he was a wise person who analyzed the society well and gathered shared intelligence, thought and life experience of people in his own personality. The anecdotes of him are short and intensive narrations transmitted through oral tradition and written sources, attributed to Nasreddin whose reputation spread to the wide geographical area. Some of the anecdotes have become classic, and the epigrams of these anecdotes have turned into idioms and proverbs in time. His anecdotes are intensely practiced in the printed and visual media as well as in the oral tradition and especially in the programs prepared for children. In the anecdotes of Nasreddin, the components of wisdom, repartee, witticism, common sense, absurdity and surprise merged firm and these are distinguishing features of the anecdotes. Nasreddin breaks very often accepted norms and concepts, while finding an extraordinary way out of the situation, where he is always the winner, by the power of word. Anecdotes call for humor, satire, sarcasm, and cynicism, to reveal the negative traits of people. However, the anecdotes is a genre with an instructive, entertaining function, a profound meaning that ends with moral, intellectual, and logical results. His anecdotes include relations of different people and their behaviors in various situations. Through his anecdotes, all kinds of unpleasant behaviors are being criticized and judged through humor. Communities in the Submitting States enrich conversations with his anecdotes and support speeches with his witticism. His anecdotes are narrated easily by everyone to strengthen any thought by giving examples in the dailylife, to convince other people or to explain a situation. In some Submitting States, although there is no specific narrator or teller of these anecdotes, the artists of traditional theatre use the element to enrich their narratives and to entertain people. On the other hand, there are specific tellers of the anecdotes in some Submitting States (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). The anecdote tellers select words and perform with great care. In this sense, it mostly depends on knowledge, understanding, thinking, performance culture and skill of the performer to tell anecdotes in meaningful, impressive and funny way. It is important for performer to know various life situations, possess an impressive culture of speech, and make use effectively and skillfully his face, eye, hand, and body movements. In Submitting States, local administrations, municipalities, universities and NGOs which play significant roles in transmission of the element, organize various activities and festivals periodically for commemoration of Nasreddin at local, national and international levels. Public participation in these festivals and activities is considerably high.

Azerbaijan,Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan,Turkey,Uzbekistan 2022

Beyond the daily harmonic life of the Lhop’s society, there lies an undisputed belief and idea on birth and death. Lhops have their own ways of interpreting the physiological and morphological processes of birth, growth, aging and death as it unfolds to them. As the child grows, she or he crosses different stages with status and roles and responsibilities in the community. They get educated in life skills and rituals of life. Their departure or separation is also honored with elaborate rituals. It is considered as a taboo for Lhops to accept a child from a female who has no approved partner in the community or outside mates from the community. Ideally, it is the cross-cousins only who can give birth to a legitimate child in the society, though marriages between different clans are now accepted. However, marrying out of the community continues to be strongly discouraged. From the moment cross-cousins partners are born in the family, their marital and issues are thereon legitimate in the community, and so is their new born child. Lhops has well and predetermined destined relationships when it comes to the copulation between male and female. Lhops believe that the copulation between male and female produces a child in which male contributes bone and female contributes flesh, but it does not mean that any male can impregnate a female, and be the father or husband of someone else. Cross cousins are referred to as Lhir-ra and Lhi-met, laterally meaning male and female seedling (Lhi- seedling, met- female, ra-male). They believe that the human body as a combination of flesh (sa) and bone (ruish).They believe that the male is like that of a seed (lhi) and rain (wai), while the female is like that of land or soil (boh) that holds the seed and rain water together to allow germination and growth, so as in the combination of bone from a male, and flesh from the female, that give rise to an individual. Cross cousins undergo an educational process of identifying their mates and their families. They slowly start to develop a mindset and behavior towards their growing age and body. Once they reach a mature age, they are encouraged to execute the marital rules and take up roles in the community. Male partners take residence in the wife’s households, and it is a matter of pride for the female to conceive and have him in her house.

The Melanau ethnic is one of the biggest in Sarawak living in the Mukah area. Some are Muslims and some Christians. Those that still practice animism worship the Ipok ‘spirit’, the manifestation of the strength and power of nature. Ipok consists of Ipok Laut (Sea Ipok), Ipok Balau (Jungle Ipok), Ipok Sarauang (Sky Ipok) and Ipok Iyang (Soil Ipok). On the first night the faith healer is alone in his house after being told that someone has fallen ill. The faith healer bargains with the ‘spirit’ including obtaining the spirit’s requests for the Bebayoh ritual. The second day involves the sick and the faith healer at the faith healer’s house or at the sick person’s premises depending on the spirit’s request. On the night itself the faith healer informs the sick person’s family about the spirit’s requests. The preparation begins in the evening of the following day. The Seladai Dance is then performed. The substances for the Bebayoh ritual are young leaves such as the betel nut leaves, jasmine flower, incense, a drum, candle, and glass fragments on a white cloth. Incense is burnt to start the ritual with mantras recited by the faith healer in the language of the faith healer’s spirit and that of the Ipok, at the same time hitting the drum used to detect the sick person’s illness. The candle is lighted inside the drum and then placed on the faith healer’s face. Other musicians play the rest of the musical instruments such as drum, kulintangan and gongs. After detecting the illness, the faith healer swallows the candle. The betel nut leaves are then swayed on the sick person’s body. The Ipok’s spirit enters the sick person’s body to cure him. Then the sick person steps on the glass fragments. The Seladai dance is then performed by seven unmarried couples with the faith healer circling the dancers with the isem pesai (a kind of young leaves). The sick person has to undergo abcentism like he is forbidden to consume stingray and shark, as well as beans and eggs. On final evening (the seventh day) is the end of the treatment. The sick person has to prepare the ‘payment’ to the faith healer that includes gold, a small spear (made of bone – as the spirit’s food), and a live chicken.

In Eastern Bhutan, the Tsangla (Eastern Bhutanese dialect) term Serga Mathang and Khothkin which directly translates to “golden cousins” refers to consanguineous marriage with the child of a parent’s sibling. The name serga mathang uses a metaphor for cross-cousin marriage tradition gold (ser) to suggests that marrying into a consanguineous family is similar to amassing a significant amount of money. In Tsangla kinship terminologies, Mathang denotes a female cross-cousin while Khothkin denotes a male cross-cousin. On a related note, we should be aware that in Tsangla kinship terminologies, the terms Mathang and Kothkin are used to refer to one's brother's wife and sister's husband, respectively, even though they are not blood relatives. However, the absence of the prefix serga, golden, indicates that these terms are used for non-cousin relationships. There are three types of cross-cousin marriage in the Eastern districts of Bhutan. A man marries the daughter of his mother's brother (ajang) in a matrilateral cross-cousin marriage. In a patrilateral cross-cousin marriage, a man marries the daughter of his father's sister (ani). In a bilateral cross-cousin marriage, a man marries a woman who is also the daughter of his father's sister and mother's brother. As per the research done by Dorji (2003), The mother’s brother is known in the Tshangla society as Ajang ngama rinpoche, which translates to "precious maternal uncle," and his nephews (tshowo) are expected to appease him by carrying out his wishes, which are typically fulfilled by marrying his daughters. According to social custom, nephew marriages cannot go against the wishes of their maternal uncles, who are given the same respect as the couple's biological parents. Matrilocal residence laws frequently compel men to move to their uncle’s house to become the husband of the uncle’s daughter. If nephews happen to marry outsiders, this custom physically separates them from maternal uncles, depriving them of the respect and assistance they would typically receive from their nearby nephews. For that reason, it is believed that the Ajang (uncle) encourages marriages among family members. The social obligation that maternal uncles have toward their nephews fosters their mutually emotional bonds, which may account for the frequency of matrilateral cross-kin partnerships. Unlike exogamous marriage ceremonies, a cross-cousin marriage ceremony typically does not include an elaborate or formal process, the consanguineous couple simply elopes. The prevalence of informal pre-elopement interactions for cross-cousin couples, as well as social values associated with cross-cousin marriage typically results in a union that is approved by the parents. To understand the concept of pre-elopement, he idea of Chungnyen (childhood engagement) is when both sets of parents make a vow to support marriage between their children in the future in order to preserve the wealth between the two close families. Moreover, some parents would negotiate cross-cousin weddings without official demands for bridegroom payment, while others may not even arrange marriage ceremonies. Historically, cross-cousin marriages were typically permitted by the parents because of the associated social values. Despite the fact that this marriage custom predominated in the past, it is largely on the decline because of globalization. Modern legal rules start to question the taboo nature of such marriages as potential incest. Moreover, medical and educational sectors led to a diminishing of cross-cousin marriage customs in Bhutan because it is believed that a cross-cousin union enhances the likelihood that undesirable genes will be manifest in the offspring. A child’s defects in phenotypic traits are the result of a mix of potentially harmful genes received from married cousins. An offspring of married cousins may exhibit positive qualities and good health due to the pairing of favorable genes, but not to the same extent as those of unrelated spouses.

Bài Chòi is a typical cultural activity of people in the South Central region in general, and in Phu Yen in particular, taking place during holidays. The Bài Chòi Festival usually takes place from the first day of the New Year to the day the Ritual Pole is taken down, which is the seventh day of Tet. At the beginning of the festival, elders and officials in the village hold a ceremony to worship the God of agriculture, the Tutelary God, and Earth gods, etc., Bài Chòi Festival consists of 9, 11, or 13 high bamboo huts with stairs leading up for players to sit. Each hut has a bamboo tube to hold cards and a punch to type out announcements. There are many forms of building huts. First, there are nine huts constructed in the shape of an octagon, or eight trigrams. Second, construct the eleven huts in accordance with the cans. Third, construct one of the 13 huts based on the animal of the zodiac. The middle hut is reserved for elders and dignitaries; The remaining huts are chosen by the players. The bamboo stall is set up in the middle, opposite the middle hut, for the orchestra of the elders. On the stall, there is a tray inlaid with conch containing wine, betel, areca nut, and money to bring to offer whenever a hut wins. A card game will have the participation of the following characters: A signer is a person who can play a game of cards well, understands the rules, can dance and sing well, and has an improvisational flair. An individual who operates the request of the signal is known as a sign operator. The card player call the card's leg. Start, a sign distributor distributes cards to the huts; shouts the signal to shake the tube, draw a card, and shouts a sentence for the card players to guess; sign operator receives cards; The card players strike the bell; run the check mark and hand over the card to the player that guessed correctly; When a hut has three cards, the signal is given to beat the war drum and the adoring drum, and the orchestra pours in congratulations; Call to the winning hut to collect the main card and three small cards for presentation; Carrying a tray of prize money, betel and areca nuts, wine and prize flags and giving them to the player in the winning hut; shouted congratulatory songs; The signal operator collects all the cards in the remaining huts to prepare for the next play. If "Hiệu" calls a card that matches the card in the tube, the player knocks 3 times. When he reaches the game, meaning there are no cards in the tube, he knocks for a long time. The deck of playing cards includes 27 or 33 spleen cards and 9 or 11 small bamboo cards, painted or printed with simple names, such as Nhứt Nọc, Nhì Nghèo, Tam Quăng, Tứ Cẳng, Ba Gà, Bảy Thưa, etc., The deck is divided into 3 sections: the "văn" section, the "vạn" section, and the book section. Mr. "Hiệu" usually controls the game like an actor, has a strong voice, and can read or improvise witty sentences to respond to the name of the card being called. In addition to entertainment, Thai verses also have the effect of educating people about morality, personality, love for the homeland, love for couples, etc.

Viet Nam 2017

Traditional handcrafted textile rich in intangible cultural values, passed down for generations in Java and elsewhere since early 19th Century (Ref. Siksakanda, 1517AD), more widely since mid-1980s. all the steps in the making of batik are carried out by hand. The tools used to make batik are also made by hand. Firstly, the cloth must be washed, soaked and beaten with a large mallet. A pattern is drawn and dots and lines of hot wax are then applied to one or both sides of the cloth using a pen-like instrument called canthing tulis (direngsi/ngrengrengi). Alternatively there is the process of applying the hot wax to the cloth using stamps called canthing cap made of copper. The wax functions as a dye-resist. After this, the cloth is dipped in a dye bath containing the first colour. After the cloth is dry, the wax is removed by scraping or boiling the cloth (dilorod). This process is repeated as many times as the number of colours desired. For larger cloth, the wax is applied using a tool called tonyok (nemboki/mopoki). The details of the process vary between different areas. Batik patterns and motifs possess deep symbolism related to social status, local community, nature, history and cultural heritage. Expectant mothers wear batik; babies are carried in batik slings and touch batik with their feet when they first touch the ground; brides, marriage couples and family members wear batik; even corpses are covered with batik: all with appropriate patterns and motifs. Traditional dress includes batik, Batiks are collected and passed down as family heirlooms, each being a work of art with its own story. Batik craftspersons would fast and pray before making batik while meditating accompanied by traditional songs. It takes several days to make a hand-stamped batik, and at least 1 month to 1 year to complete a hand-drawn batik.

Indonesia 2009

The Sewang or also called Jenulang Dance is one of the traditional dances of the Orang Asli (Indigeneous) community of the Semai and Temiar ethnics in the state of Pahang. This dance combines the elements of dance, music and songs with 18 dancers or more of both sexes, according to the suitability of the stage area. The dance functions as entertainment, ‘opening up of love’, for marriage, appeasing the spirit of paddy and for healing. This dance is led by an elderly man called Tok Halak, who is also the main singer. The dancers repeat every line their leader sings and move in circle while stomping their feet on the floor. They are accompanied by a traditional musical instrument called ‘Buluh Cetong’ made of bamboo that is stomped on a hard wood. There are four dance formations depending on the dance function. Firstly, the dancers are dancing in one line. Secondly, the dancers are dancing in a circle while moving clockwise or anti-clockwise. Thirdly, the dance is performed in couples of both sexes that sometimes holding hands. Fourthly, in groups. For the purpose of happiness, Sewang is danced after paddy harvesting, or receiving the return of a sibling that works far away or the arrival of a new year, at wedding ceremonies and the like that has elements of bliss. For circumcision ceremony the dance is called ‘Ajok’. For healing purposes the dance is performed in the evening. Outsiders are not allowed to ascend the house where the dance is perfomed until the dance is over.

Lượn Slương Singing, also known as Lượn Thươn, is a unique form of reciprocal singing of the Tày people. There are two types of Lượn Slương Singing: free singing (love singing) and festival singing (lồng tồng singing). Love singing for young men and women, singing in pairs. Lồng tồng singing is sung on occasions such as harvest festivals, new home celebrations, and weddings. Currently, 900 stanzas of the poem Lượn Slương Love Singing and 280 stanzas of Lượn Slương Lồng tồng Singing have been collected. In Lượn Slương, the best places to hang out are by the fire, on stilt houses, by the stream, next to the market, in the fields, and on the slash fields. There are often one to fifteen singing pairings on each Lượn Slương Singing tour. It is imperative for singing couples to guarantee that their genders, areas of residence (village, commune), and bloodlines are separate. In a duet, the local performer, assuming the character of Lord, will start the song; the visitor, Xiên Lý, participates later. When we haven't sung a verse together yet, we can only address each other as friends. In group singing sessions, there must be a pair of singers first, called a pair of Cốc Lượn. Before they may name each other Cựu, or close friends, this duo must sing the first nine Lượn forms. Only then can they join the Lượn singing session. After that, the remaining pairs get to Lượn. When singing, each stanza has 4 lines, the singer begins reciting the odd line with the word "ơ"; and even sentences with the word “nô”.

Tugging is both a game and a harvest ritual in Thai agricultural beliefs. Tug of war is held on the occasion of July Tet, “Sên bản, Sên Mường”, Nàng Han festival. The places where tugging is held are dry fields, vacant lots, courtyards in the middle of villages, and lands along streams. The zipper is made from rattan, with a red cloth string tied in the middle. Before the game takes place, the priest calls on the boys to place rattan strings and rattan in front of the Then altar, with the roots facing West and the tops facing East. If the venue is near a stream, the base is at the end of the stream and the top is at the beginning of the stream. After the ceremony, the village chief chooses two couples of men and women to pull first with the meaning of good luck. When pulling, four people divide into two sides, one male side, and one female side. Men stand at the base, women stand at the top of the rope. The shaman acts as a referee. After the shaman gave the signal, the team of drums and gongs beat continuously, the men pulled first, the women pulled behind, and both sides pulled and struggled, without deciding the winner or loser. Pull three times, and in the end, the victory must belong to the female team. Because they think that if the female side wins, the village will be lucky that year. At the end of the tug-of-war ritual, everyone poured wine for the two teams. After that, everyone in the village divided into teams to compete with each other. Teams can be divided by gender, age, or neighborhood.

Viet Nam 2015

The Canggung dance is an identity of the state of Perlis, originated from the Makyung Laut dance, first introduced during the Japanese occupation around 1941. This dance was first performed by two siblings of dancers in an entertainment festival for the Japanese soldiers and public in the city of Kangar. Since then Canggung expanded to all over Perlis and becomes a famous folk dance, performed during the harvest seasons and at wedding ceremonies and festivities. The dance movements have similarities with the Ronggeng dance, but with its own values. Its traditionality lies on the songs sung in exchanges of quatrains and in this way the audiences get the entertainment. The quatrains are synicals, attracting, teasing, as well as jestering and the like, in nature. The dancers dance in couples. A female dancer holds a handkerchief, dances and sings in rotation while spontaneously exchanging quatrains with a male dancer. The female wears batik sarong, long kebaya dress and plucked flowers on the hairbun. The male wears Malay attire and songkok as headgear.

Folk songs of the Bo Y people in Quyet Tien commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang province are lyrics and verses performed in festivals, weddings, longevity celebrations and in daily life: when working in the fields, building houses, when guests come to the house, singing love songs... Folk songs of the Bo Y people have a long history of development. In Bo Y folk songs, there are many popular love songs, expressing the feelings of couples - men and women with many levels of emotions in love. Besides, love songs of the Bo Y people also cleverly use metaphors, comparisons with equal comparisons (like, is). The songs have short and long sentences, one sentence rhymes with a stressed tone, one sentence rhymes with a flat tone at the end of the sentence. The Bo Y people use repetition with high frequency, skillfully, not boring for the listener but always changing, adding new content and words. The song does not have many melodies, rhythms, is sung in a steady beat and is sung in the "voice-pulsing" style. The supporting musical instrument is the Bronze Drum. Folk Songs of the Bố Y with clear and easy-to-understand lyrics and meanings contain educational content towards the origin of the nation, towards truth - goodness - beauty, solidarity, satisfying the entertainment needs of the community, contributing to encouraging and motivating people in labor production. With its typical value, Folk Songs of the Bố Y were included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under Decision No. 266/QD-BVHTTDL dated January 30, 2018.

‘It is one of the most widespread horseback games played at various feasts and festivities. Kyz kuumai is translated as chasing a girl. ‘Kyz kuumay’ was a wedding tradition in the past, in which a groom on a horse had to pursue and catch a racing bride. The game involves several couples in national costumes, which are well acquainted with rules of the game and have perfect horse riding skills. The bride was provided with the best horse; she started the race first. The groom had to catch his bride, thus proving his love and reaffirming his right to marry her. The groom has to catch up with the bride and kiss her or to touch her with his headwear, thus declaring his victory. In case of a failure, the girl chases the young man, striking his back with a whip. Due to the worse horse, the groom often failed to capture the girl. However, this was not a reason for the bride to refuse to marry.