As a form of performing arts, Xoan singing includes singing, dancing, drumming and clapper beating. It is closely attached to the Worship of the Hùng Kings, founders of the country. Phú Thọ people created Xoan singing and performed it at the village communal houses, temples and shrines worshipping the Hùng Kings in springs. “Xoan” means “spring”. Bearers and practitioners form four guilds, in which the male and female Trum play the most important role; they preserve the songs, select students, transmit the singing styles and repertoires and organize practices. They are also active in introducing and teaching Xoan singing at the four Xoan guilds, and in clubs and guilds. A full Xoan performance cycle includes 3 phases: Worship singing (Hát thờ) with songs praising the virtues of the Hùng Kings and the village guardian deities; Invocation for good health and fortune (Quả cách) with 14 repertoires praising nature, humankind, and the daily life of the community; Festive singing (hát Hội) with songs featuring the couple love. The special characteristic of Xoan is the modulation between singers and instrumentalists at the perfect fourth interval, and it has a simple structure with few ornamental notes. Xoan dance's movements have a sense of imitativeness, illustrating people's daily life activities. After singing at their communal houses from the 2nd - 5th day of the Lunar New Year, the Xoan guilds travel to other communities venerating Hùng Kings to take part in convivial cultural exchanges. Xoan practitioners are organized into music guilds called Phường. The Leader of each guild is called “Trùm”. In the past, only men could be “Trùm”, but nowadays women could also be leaders. The Leaders are in charge of transmission and organization of activities of the guilds. At present, each guild comprises of 30 - 100 members. Men are called “kép”, women are “đào”. As a community performing art, Xoan singing fosters cultural understanding, community cohesion and mutual respect. The Vietnamese Institute for Musicology has collected 31 Xoan songs, and thanks to the efforts of several Xoan artists four guilds have been established. 33 dedicated clubs also exist, and seminars are held to expand knowledge of Xoan.

Viet Nam 2017

The Việt people in Phú Thọ province have been practicing and trasmitting the worship of Hùng Kings whose father named Lạc Long Quân and mother named Âu Cơ for a very long time. The legend has become a strong belief of the country’s origin in the Việt people’s mentality for centuries. Dynasties of Great Việt attached great importance to the worship of Hùng Kings and offerred imperial conferments to villages worshiping Hùng Kings in temples and shrines. The worship of Hùng Kings has created many legends of wharves, rivers, fields, rice plants, land and other unique cultural creativity. Part of cultural creativity is reenacted in annual worship performed at communal houses, temples and shrines in villages. Communities make offerings of rice – based delicacies such as square cakes and glutinous cakes dedicated to Hùng Kings. Legend has it that, Lang Liêu who later became the seventh Hùng King made these two types of cakes by himself. They represent the heaven and the earth as well as the filial piety of the children for the parents. These two offerings are indispensable in the worship of Hùng Kings. Offerings dedicated to Hùng Kings at temples and shrines by villagers usually last for a few days: offerings by families first and then by the whole community. The tablets of Hùng Kings are proccessed throughout the villages and the rice fields, which implies that Hùng Kings may witness today’s lives of villagers and offer good weather, abundant harvests, good luck and good health to villagers, plants and animals. Offerings conducted by villagers at temples, communal houses, and shrines is supposed to be the most sacred moments when the respect and gratitude of communities dedicated to Hùng Kings are expressed.

Viet Nam 2012

Held from August 15 to 17 at Ong Thuy General's mausoleum to commemorate the merits of "Mr" fish - the god who patronizes fisheries and marine occupations in general. On the 16th, at Lang Ong, a procession was held to process the South Sea General's palanquin onto the dragon boat to the sea. Along with the dragon boat carrying the water general, there were hundreds of large and small boats, splendidly decorated, with colorful flags and flowers accompanying him to the sea to welcome him. In front of the boat are incense and offering trays. On these large and small boats, there are thousands of tourists and relatives participating in the procession. When the Spirit is brought into the mausoleum, the ceremonies of praying for peace, building adoration of the great boi, and singing boi take place at the mausoleum of Mr. Thuy General. On the 17th, there was a ceremony to honor the king of Thuy Prime by ordination. The worshiping ceremony includes singing.

Truong Lam Communal House Festival (in Viet Hung Ward, Long Bien District) is held annually from the 9th to the 11th of the second lunar month, to pray for favorable weather, good crops, and people's prosperity and health. The traditional festival is associated with the historical relic of Truong Lam Communal House - Pagoda, which is a place to worship three deities: Linh Lang Dai Vuong, Princess Dao Hoa and Princess Phu Nuong. Among them, Linh Lang Dai Vuong is the first Saint, also one of the gods of Thang Long Tu Tran - Hanoi. The relic complex of Truong Lam Communal House - Pagoda was recognized as a National Monument in 1992. According to the legend, Linh Lang Dai Vuong's name is Hoang Chan, the fourth son of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054 -1072), his mother is Hao Nuong, the 9th concubine, from Dong Doai - Bong Lai Commune - Dan Phuong District - Son Tay Town. In 1075, the country was invaded by foreign forces. Prince Hoang Chan asked the king and Prince Chieu Van to command a fleet to cross Vinh An estuary to attack and destroy the enemy's outposts along the border. He coordinated with General Ton Dan's army to capture the strategic bases and the supply base of the Song enemy in Ung Chau citadel. Our army won a great victory, and the country was at peace. In the year Dinh Ty (1077), the Song enemy sent troops to invade our country again. Once again, Prince Hoang Chan, together with Prince Chieu Van and Grand Chancellor Ly Thuong Kiet, commanded a fleet from Van Xuan upstream on the Khao Tuc River to suddenly attack the enemy's eastern defense line on the banks of the Nhu Nguyet River, contributing greatly to driving the Song enemy out of the Dai Viet border, opening an era of national independence. Considering the merits of Prince Hoang Chan, King Ly Nhan Tong granted the title of Linh Lang Dai Vuong Thuong Dang Phuc Than to 269 villages nationwide. The rituals in the traditional festival of Truong Lam village include: incense offering ceremony, water procession ceremony, literature procession, horse procession, Saint worship ceremony, etc. In particular, the Snake Shedding dance is an extremely unique and important dance in the festival, depicting the shedding of the body, becoming a Saint, expressing the villagers' respect and remembrance of the merits of the saints and ancestors. According to legend, the snake shedding dance and the Truong Lam village festival have existed since around the 15th century, along with the formation of the village communal house. Among the 269 villages nationwide worshiping Linh Lang Dai Vuong, only Truong Lam communal house has the snake shedding dance. This dance has the participation of 15 young men, this is a form of performance praising the merits of Saint Linh Lang. The festival also features folk activities and games such as: Dragon dance, Cheo singing, Chinese chess, catching ducks in the pond, tug of war, Cheo singing... serving the entertainment and experience needs of locals and tourists. The festival is an opportunity to promote the beauty of the locality to people across the country, as well as to pay tribute to the contributions and sacrifices of previous generations. With its unique values, the Truong Lam Communal House Festival was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2018.

Truong Ba Temple is located on a fairly flat piece of land in Tra Xuan town, about 1km from the center of Tra Bong district. Truong Ba Temple is a religious and spiritual establishment established by the Vietnamese and Chinese, becoming a pilgrimage site for the Cham, Kinh, Hoa, Cor and other ethnic groups. In addition to worshiping the Holy Mother Thien Y A Na, Truong Ba Temple also worships two human gods, Bùi Tá Hán và Mai Đình Dõng, two human gods who have contributed to the development, stability and pacification of the mountainous region in the West of Quang Ngai. In 2014, Truong Ba Temple was recognized as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The lopsided banyan tree in front of the temple is recognized as a heritage tree. Truong Ba Temple Festival is an annual festival held at Truong Ba Temple in Tra Xuan town - Tra Bong Quang Ngai to pay tribute to the Holy Mother Thien Y A Na and other gods who have contributed to the development and protection of this land. The festival is held from April 15 to 16 of the lunar calendar. The ceremonial committee of about 17 to 21 people is carefully selected to perform many rituals: the procession of the royal decree, the bathing ceremony, the offering ceremony at the outer altar, the main hall ceremony, the flower lantern ceremony, the buffalo eating ceremony of the Co people, the incense offering ceremony... The festival features unique folk cultural activities such as: singing, lion and dragon dance, singing Ba Trao, Bai Choi, Cà Đáo dance, gong performance of the Co people... The festival demonstrates solidarity and the strong cultural exchange between the ethnic groups living in the area: Cham, Hoa, Cor, Kinh. Through the festival, local people and tourists will have a deeper understanding of the meaning of Dien Truong Ba as well as the cultural characteristics, people, and land here. In 2017, Dien Truong Ba Festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Dien Truong Ba Festival is a unique cultural highlight of Tra Bong highland district, which has been opening up a direction for tourism and service development in the locality.

This ancient theatre form created by Malaysia’s Malay communities combines acting, vocal and instrumental music, gestures and elaborate costumes. Specific to the villages of Kelantan in northwest Malaysia, where the tradition originated, Mak Yong is performed mainly as entertainment or for ritual purposes related to healing practices. Experts believe that Mak Yong appeared well before the Islamization of the country. It was performed as a royal theatre under the direct patronage of the Kelantan Sultanate until the 1920s. Hence, the tradition was perpetuated in a rural context without forsaking the numerous refinements acquired at court, such as sophisticated costume design. A typical Mak Yong performance opens with an offering followed by dances, acting and music as well as improvised monologues and dialogues. A single story can be presented over several consecutive nights in a series of three-hour performances. In the traditional village setting, the performances are held on a temporary open stage built of wood and palm leaves. The audience sits on three sides of the stage, the fourth side being reserved for the orchestra consisting of a three-stringed spiked fiddle (rebab), a pair of doubleheaded barrel drums (gendang) and hanging knobbed gongs (tetawak). Most roles are performed by women, and the stories are based on ancient Malay folk tales peopled with royal characters, divinities and clowns. Mak Yong is also associated with rituals in which shamans attempt to heal through song, trance-dance and spirit possession.

Malaysia 2008

According to tradition, every year the Mother Goddess Festival is held on the 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th days of the 4th lunar month, the main day is the 25th. On the night of the 23rd, the ritual of bathing Mother Goddess is performed (llitting two large candles in front of Mother Goddess statue; the elders chant incense, offer wine and tea; women clean the statue's bones, applied perfume, change her clothes and put on her hat behind a curtain with letters and patterns. colorful). On the afternoon of the 24th, the ceremony invited Thoại Ngọc Hầu from Sơn Mausoleum to Bà Temple. On the night of the 25th and the morning of the 26th, Túc Yết ceremony, offers a live white pig (cleaned of hair, gutted), a tray of raspberries, a tray of thick cakes, a plate of rice, salt, a plate of blood, a bowl of water, a tray of fruit. After the offering ceremony, there is the adoration ceremony (theater troupes perform traditional operas and shadow dances). At 4:00 a.m. on the 26th, the chief worshiping ceremony takes place, with rituals and offerings similar to the Túc Yết ceremony. On the afternoon of the 27th is the ceremony to return Thoại Ngọc Hầu to the mausoleum. The festival part takes place interwoven with the ceremony part, with many folk performances such as lion and dragon dance, tray dance, and plate and cup dance.

Viet Nam 2024

Shadow puppetry is a kind of performing art. It uses music and operatic singing, to accompany silhouette figures made from leather or paper. These figures are manipulated by performers to create the illusion of moving images in front of an illuminated backdrop. The inheritors, props, scripts, and musical instruments decide the survival of shadow play groups. A silhouette figure has from 12 to 24 moveable joints, head, hands and so on, and is controlled by 3 poles or sticks. The music and songs of shadow puppetry have distinctive regional characteristics. There are many unique tunes which have come down from generation to generation. Shadow plays are performed by bigger troupes with 7 to 9 performers and smaller troupes with 2 to 5 performers. And 2-person troupes with one person performing and the other playing the instruments now exist in Shandong, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces. Most performers make a living from shadow plays, which are mainly performed for entertainments or for religious rituals, weddings and funerals and other special occasions. The manufacturing of puppets may require 10 different carving processes, the tools often being home-made. Many shadow puppetry performers can carve the puppets, sing and perform by themselves. And there are two types of scripts, that is, oral-transmitted scripts and written ones. Some shadow puppetry performers are professional, while many play as amateurs during slack farming seasons. The relevant skills are handed down in families, in the troupes, and from master to pupil. Shadow puppetry has been handed down for over one thousand years. With the evolution of history, the plays, puppets, types of lighting and performance, and the related crafts have developed with regular innovation. Shadow puppetry is a traditional folk drama that is created by and for the community and contains a thousand years of cultural deposits, as well as passing on diverse cultural information such as cultural history, social beliefs, folklore, and local customs. It spreads knowledge, improves cultural development, and entertains the community, especially the youth. Chinese Shadow Puppetry has significant historic and cultural importance, and should be protected and set on a footing of sustainable development.

China 2011

The Lion Dancing of the Tày and Nùng people in Lang Son takes place during the Lunar New Year and some special occasions such as the rice-growing festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, groundbreaking ceremony, moving into a new house... The Lion Dancing has many meanings, not only expressing the spirit of martial arts, but also to ward off evil spirits and pray for a prosperous and happy life. The Lion Dancing in Lang Son has many different names suitable for the language and tone of each region such as: Ky Lan, Phu, Loong Phu, Phu Meo... The common name that is still used quite commonly today is the lion-cat dance. This is a unique folk art form of the Tay and Nung people (two ethnic groups accounting for over 80% of Lang Son's population) in the districts of Cao Loc, Loc Binh, Van Lang, Van Quan... According to the concept of the Tay and Nung people, the lion-cat is a sacred animal with both the characteristics of being strong like the king of the jungle and gentle and tame like a cat. To make a cat lion prop or head, from an available mold, the craftsman needs to skillfully apply glue to 2-3 layers of paper, then press it tightly into the mold. The dough is made from cassava so it is very durable and more durable than other types of glue. The round lion head, about 50cm in radius, is made of clay and then baked. Then, it is painted and decorated colorfully with fabric with the main colors being blue, red, black, yellow, white to make it stand out and create flexibility when dancing. Cat Lion Dance is a synthetic art form containing many elements: music, fine arts, dance... in which dance is the main one, but it is not separate from music and performance. The lion welcoming and returning ceremony takes place before and after the teams go dancing. A Lion Dance team has about 12 to 14 people, dancing lions and performing martial arts, acrobatics, high jumps... Props include: colorfully decorated lions, masks; drums, gongs or cymbals, cymbals; weapons: sticks, rulers, clubs, tridents, machetes... When dancing, the person wearing the lion head must perform "pounce" moves, undulating to the beat. The martial arts dance movements are both fast and flexible, combined with the bustling sound of drums and gongs, making the audience extremely excited and enthusiastic. Depending on the space, location, purpose, and requirements of the lion dance, there are many suitable dances such as: dance to greet the gods, worship ancestors, pray for luck, dance at the festival to go down to the fields, somersault through the ring of fire... The rituals, performances, and props in the Lion Dance express the feelings, aspirations, and talents of the indigenous Tay and Nung people, bringing profound aesthetic and humanistic values towards community cohesion to build a good life. With those characteristics and values, the Lion Dancing of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in Lang Son province was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The ceremony takes place on the 6th day of the first lunar month every year. The ceremony, in the Yao language, is "Tịu siằng thun boaù lỉu". The Yao Tien people's New Year and harvest festival is usually held on the first day of the Dragon or the first day of the Ox in January, with the purpose of praying for the gods to bless the people in the village for a well-being, prosperity new year, new bumper harvest. The ceremony is run by a master of ceremonies (elected by the villagers, highly virtuous and knowledgeable of worship rituals). The place where the festival is held is the house of the master of ceremonies. The master of ceremonies and his assistants set up the altar, pasted Tam Thanh paintings, placed two bamboo trees on both sides and cut colored paper to decorate the altar. On two bamboo trees, hang fish shapes made of red paper, bundles of sticky rice seeds, corn balls, and sticky rice flour stuck on strings tied around the bamboo trees. The altar displays 1 bottle of wine, 1 boiled rooster, 2 plates of leaf cakes, 2 plates of fruit, 5 cups, and a bowl of incense. After the master of the ceremony reads the prayer inviting the Jade Emperor, the gods, and ancestors to attend the festival is the ritual dance - the bell dance. The bell dancing team consists of 8 people wearing traditional costumes, wearing hats with pictures of saints, shaking bells in harmony with the sounds of gongs and drums, and dancing in a circle. The festival takes place with many games and folk art forms such as tickling, còn tossing, love singing, etc.

Every year, during the months of September to April, the festivals of Tshechu, Rabney, Mani, Me-wang, Choed-pa, Due-choed, Yak-choed, Drub and Drub-chen are conducted simultaneously at various heritage sites; Dzongs (fortresses), monasteries and temples in Bhutan. This event transforms the sites into decorated places filled with offerings in the shrines and the surroundings filled with the resonance of religious musical instruments. It also brings together monks and local communities to jointly perform propitiation and affirmation rituals for the patron deities, along with the presentation of various sacred mask dances. People gather with most enchanting dresses to receive the blessings, say prayers and enjoy the much-awaited festive event. These sensational dances are generally called Gar-chham which derived from Buddhist terminology. The term gar-chham is composed of two verbs: gar and chham. The various gestures exhibited by the hands are called Gar, whereas the manner of the legs is called Chham. Gar\u0002chham is considered one of the means of liberation called thong-drol (liberation through seeing), as it helps to mature and realize the primordial Buddha-nature, and reminds one to engage in wholesome activities. In the 8th century, Guru Padmasambava, a great Buddhist tantric master introduced the Gar-chham concept in Bhutan and also into the Buddhist tradition in 737 AD. This concept was further popularized by Terton (The Treasurer Revealer) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521) by introducing many sacred mask dances, mostly performed by laymen (community members). These performances are called Boe-chham. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) also placed more emphasis on the importance of these dances and included them in the curricula of the central monastery under the title Gar-thig-yang-sum (Mask Dances, Proportions Mandala Drawing and Ritual Intonation) to embed them in the realm of cultural heritage. The gar-chhams performed by monks are called Tsun-chham. Whether Tsun-chham or Boe-chham, gar-chhams are generally divided into three broad categories: Trul-pai zu-thrul gi gar-chham (manifested mask dances), Ka-ter dag-nang gi gar-chham (visualized mask dances), and Nam-thar zhi-chol gi gar-chham (biography-based mask dances). The subjugation of evil spirits and the liberation of their impure soul into the realm of Buddhahood through manifestation into pacifying, enriching, magnetizing, and wrathful forms are called trul-pai zu-thrul gi gar-chham. An example of this dance is the dance of the Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambava. Similarly, ka-ter dag-nang gi gar-chham are the profound performances of the guardian deities witnessed during the intermediate state of all the sentient beings. Some examples of such performances are the mask dances introduced by Terton Pema Lingpa. Finally, Nam-thar zhi-chol gi gar-chham are performances identical to plays based on well-known biographies. These performances convey the righteous human values that lead to a harmonious life. One of the most popular plays is the mask dance of the Intermediate State after death. Tsun-chham or Boe-chham can be easily distinguished from the masked dance costumes. The Tsun-chham usually wears a brocade tunic with long and wide sleeves, while the boe-chham performers wear more colorful garments made of brocade and silk. In addition to the central monastic institutions, there are indigenous gar-chhams in communities and private temples and monasteries throughout the country, where community members are usually involved in organizing the event, performing the mask dance and presenting folk dances to safeguard their tradition.

The Lum Medicinal Bathing of Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan Medicine) has been developed by the Tibetan people within a life view based on Jungwa-nga (five elements) – i.e., Sa (earth), Chu (water), Me (fire), Lung (wind) and Namkha (space) – and a view about health and illness based on Nyepa-sum (three dynamics) – i.e., Lung, Tripa and Pekan. In Tibetan, “Lum” indicates the traditional knowledge and practices of bathing in natural hot springs, herbal water or steam to adjust the balance of mind and body, to ensure health and treat illnesses. Influenced by the Bon religion and Tibetan Buddhism, Lum embodies folk experiences in illness prevention and treatment, and reflects the transmission and development of traditional knowledge represented by the treatise Gyud zhi (the Four Tantras) in present-day health practice. Lum is practiced under the guidance of a Manpa (traditional physician) in two ways. One is bathing in Five Types of Hot Springs containing different minerals. The other, bathing with Five Medicinal Nectars, includes three methods: immersion, steam-bathing and applications with sachets. In this process, Manpa, in collaboration with Lum Jorkhan (pharmacist) and Manyok (Lum assistant), conducts symptom differentiation based on observation, questions and pulse palpation. Then preparation of medicines includes herb compound, boiling, fermentation and addition of extra herbs. The element has been transmitted over generations through daily life, religious rituals, folkloric activities and medical practices on account of its safety and accessibility. While providing Tibetans with a sense of identity and continuity, the element reflects cultural diversity and human creativity.

China 2018