Yurt production includes knowledge and skills in creating a portable dwelling traditionally used by Kazakh and Kyrgyz people. Yurt has a dismountable wooden circular frame covered with felt and braided with ropes. Yurts can be easily set up and dismantled within a short period of time. Yurts are basically characterized as easily transportable, compact, ecological and practical dwellings. Bearers of yurt-making traditional knowledge are craftspeople (men and women), producing yurts and yurts’ interior decorations. Men and their apprentices make yurts’ wooden frames, traditionally by hand using special devices and instruments. Men also make wooden, leather, bone and metal details for yurts and household items. Women make yurt coverings and interior decorations. As a rule, they work in community-based groups supervised by experienced skilled women-artisans. Women-artisans use weaving, spinning, braiding, felting, embroidering, sewing, winding and other traditional handicraft technologies. Women’s work- process is usually accompanied by their singing, joking, telling stories about famous masters of the past and treating traditional meals. Clans’ wise elders are also bearers. Knowledge and skills are transmitted through generations traditionally from masters to their apprentices (oral instructions, practical classes, joint production). The element is a great value and heritage received genetically or through learning, enriched by masters and transmitted to young generations. Joint production of yurts gives craftspeople the “one-family” feeling; the use of yurts by livestock-breeders as their dwellings in everyday life and by urban citizens as their summer-houses generates the feeling of continuity of ancestors’ traditions. Yurts are an obligatory part of all national festivities, traditional events and funeral-memorial rituals; yurts are kept in the family and transmitted from parents to their children as a sacred family relic ensuring ancestors’ protection. For Kyrgyz and Kazakh people the Yurt is not only a dwelling and the Universe model; but also a symbol of their national identity. Yurt’s top crown shanyrak and tyundyuk are depicted on the state symbols of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – coat of arms and flag. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Heads of State receive honourable guests in Yurt.

Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan 2014

Today, piled weaving is vividly demonstrated in the patterned piled carpets that are distinguished by their quality and durability. Sheep, caprine or camel hair is used for base of the carpets. Piled carpets are original and colorful as are other items of the applied and decorative arts of the Kyrgyz. Kyrgyz piled carpets, are weaved on a simple horizontal machine – ‘dyukoun’. Instruments of masters also include wooden comb – ‘tokmok’, which is used to nail picks and piles, a knife – to cut piled threads, and scissors – to trim the piles. Geometrical shapes are prevailing in the Kyrgyz piled carpets. These are: squares with jogged edges or elongated endings – ‘omurtka’, triangles – ‘tumarcha’, cross shaped figures – ‘chaidosh’, simple or stepped rhombs – ‘it taman’, star shaped forms – ‘jyldyz’ as well as various octangulars and etc. Plant and horn shaped motifs are also present in the ornaments such as ‘toguz doubou’ (nine hills), ‘alma kouchout’ (apple pattern) and etc.

The yurt is a nomadic dwelling used Kyrgyz people. It has a wooden circular frame covered with felt and braided with ropes, and can be easily assembled and dismantled within a short period of time. The bearers of yurt-making knowledge are craftspeople, both men and women, who produce yurts and their interior decorations. Yurts are made from natural and renewable raw materials. Men and their apprentices make the wooden frames by hand, along with wooden, leather, bone and metal details. Women make the interior decorations and exterior coverings, ornamented with traditional zoomorphic, vegetative or geometric patterns. All festivities, ceremonies, births, weddings and funeral rituals are held in a yurt.

Kyrgyzstan 2014

Wood carving and wood product manufacture among the Kyrgyz originated in ancient times. An example is the manufacture of wooden parts of the yurt, komuz, which have become the pinnacle of the handicraft creativity of the people. Modern travelers are very familiar with the Kyrgyz yurt, construction of which is made only of wood by the true masters. Wood items decorated with carvings and paintings have been harmoniously fit into the complex of interior of the yurt. These are chests ‘sandyk’, wooden bases on which felt mats, carpets and bedding items are placed; coffrets for food, cloth and horse gear hangers ‘ala bakan’; boxes for dishes, stirrer for kymyz ‘pishkek’, biler for drinks and other liquids, wooden blocks for lamps – ‘chirak paya’. Woodworks are done by the men named as ‘jygach usta’. Materials used for different woodworks depend on elasticity or firmness of the wooden species: birch, cottonwood, sump-weed, juniper or nut-tree. They are cut easily and flexible enough to get desired shape. Instruments used in woodworks are: saw, adze, single bitted axe, knife, hewing with blade in the form of groove, hatchet with plane, wood auger, strop used to make walls of the yurt.

Chavgon is a traditional equestrian team game in Uzbekistan, historically played by skilled riders who use wooden mallets to strike a leather ball while riding horses. The game combines elements of sport, ritual, and performing art, requiring not only physical agility and horsemanship but also strategic coordination and rhythmic group movement. Known as a symbol of strength, unity, and celebration, Chavgon is traditionally held during festive gatherings, weddings, and national holidays, especially in rural and pastoral regions. It is commonly accompanied by live music, cheering crowds, and sometimes ceremonial song or narration, turning the event into a community-wide performance. While once widespread across Central Asia, the tradition of Chavgon has survived most strongly in Uzbekistan due to continued transmission within horse-breeding families, equestrian clubs, and cultural revival efforts. In recent years, it has also been reintroduced in festivals and youth sports programs, preserving its status as both a physical discipline and a living expression of cultural heritage.

The Hezhen people, once known as “Hejen,” have long inhabited the reaches of the significant “three rivers”—Amur River (Heilongjiang), Sungari River (Songhuajiang), and Ussri River (Wusulijiang)—in northeast China. With a population of approximately 4600 people, they are one of the smallest ethnic minorities in China. Yimakan storytelling is a multi-canto oral genre performed in the Hezhen language, or “Nanay” in linguistic terms, which belongs to the Manchu-Tungusic branch of the Altaic language family. It can be traced back many centuries, and is closely connected with the Hezhen people's life-world, which depends for its existence on fishing and hunting. In China, the Hezhen Yimakan Storytelling was first reported by Ling Chunsheng, an anthropologist, in his work entitled, The Hezhen People Living in the Lower Reaches of the Sungari River, in 1934. Yimakan storytelling varies in themes and story-pattern, and resembles an extended narrative tradition celebrating heroic feats and tribal alliances. The ‘mergen’ or hero is perhaps the most iconic and enduring superhero ever created, and likewise heroic narratives, centering on depicting ancient warriors, are also among the most popular tales. The basic storyline is devoted to narrating how the hero becomes the tribal chieftain after enduring many trials and tribulations, and how he finally rehabilitates the Hezhens’ homeland, leading his people to undertake a peaceful life. So far, one of the most ancient stories is the Sirdalu Mergen, which is considered “the very first heroic story since the creation of the world” by local people. Other stories take shape at later stages, such as Antu Mergen, Mandu Mergen, and Shensu Mergen. Apart from heroic narratives, other stories about hunting and fishing, beauty and bravery, love and wisdom, local knowledge and daily chores can also be found, such as Gimtekewe Anaburan and Muzhurin Mergen. Thus far about fifty cantos have been recorded, including Mandu Mergen, Yargu, Shirgu, and Princess Yingtu Flying to the Moon, etc. The episodes of Mandu Mergen may last as long as 8 to 9 hours. The Yimakan performance is a mixture of singing and narrating, and is conducted by an experienced storyteller, with no instrumental accompaniment. Generally speaking, the tradition can be roughly divided into two types: ‘sagdi jarimku’ and ‘uskuli jarimku,’ or BIG SONG and SMALL SONG, respectively, in terms of thematic content and the length of the storytelling. The Big Songs are longer, dealing primarily with heroic stories and creation myths, and they occur mostly in the form of narration; the Small Songs are shorter, depicting love stories, fishing and hunting lifestyles, and the like, and they are rendered with specific melodies. The solo voice of storytelling differs according to gender and age. For this reason, youth melodies, elderly melodies, female melodies, and similar phenomena, can be applied to particular characters and plots. Melodies of narration typically vary from place to place and continually adapt to match up with the given scene and ad hoc plots, thus producing a vivid spectrum of narrative tones in combination of the sonorous or prolonged strains, slow or quick movements. The formulaic singing and reciting can be identified as “traditional” in many facets, though improvisational elements are still quite common and vary according to the level of emotive interaction between storyteller and audience. The traditional performers of Yimakan, called ‘Yimakanqi mafa,’ are usually amateurs, trained in a master-apprentice relationship by a clan or a family. During the first half of the 20th century, master storytellers emerged in rapid succession within a clan or a family. At present, however, outsiders are more and more often accepted for apprenticeship. In the Hezhen context, Yimakanqi mafa refers to a personage with high language skills and a quick mind, who is thus highly respected by the folk. Being a small group of wordsmiths, they can smoothly improvise during the performance, while carefully following the traditional story-patterns, motifs and formulaic diction. Embedded within its society and culture, Yimakan has been the major form of entertainment in the native regions. The Hezhens always enjoy listening to this storytelling during hunting and fishing, upon wedding or house-building ceremonies, and on feast and festival occasions. In particular, the cold and long winter has traditionally ushered in a special time for storytelling. Accordingly, the oral storytelling, as a cultural complex, has been deeply ingrained in the Hezhens’ hearts. In current times, it also supplies a vehicle for younger generations to learn about their history and culture, while opening a window for outsiders to access the Hezhen communities. Since there is no writing system available for these particular communities, Yimakan plays a key role in preserving Hezhens’ past through oral means. This traditional storytelling, as an ideological form of living oral history, reflects the Hezhens’ historical development, social situatedness, and conceptual systems, along with vivid portrayals of daily life, nature worship, shamanic practice, customs, folkways, and remnants of matriarchal kinship, and to a certain extent has made up for the few written records of the Hezhens that exist. It not only manifests almost all aspects of their cultural creativities, but also plays a core function in maintaining the Hezhens’ mother tongue—a ‘severely endangered language’ as reported in ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S LANGUAGES IN DANGER (UNESCO 2010, p.54)—as well. Through practicing Yimakan, the Hezhens’ everyday language, sacred songs, and divine chants have been easier to keep intact, and the transmission and development of the mother tongue has become a more realistic possibility to cultural resurgence. By and large, Yimakan storytelling will undoubtedly have a profound influence on the Hezhens’ traditions, history, values, and ethos. Since it has long been the major carrier of the Hezhens’ historic memory and cultural expression, this time-honoured oral tradition possesses irreplaceable social functions for enhancing ethnic cohesion and identity. Furthermore, having linked the past to the present through an unbroken corpus of living memory and culture, Yimakan serves as a treasure house for the maintenance of the Hezhen language. For all of these reasons, Yimakan presents a specific example of a living and thriving cultural diversity that is under threat of extinction.

China 2011

The Dombra is a musical two-stringed instrument, which occupies a special place in Kazakhs’ hearts. The National Dombyra Day has been included in the list of national holidays since 2018 by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan. This was done in in order to further consolidate society around the idea of preserving and reviving national culture and identity. The holiday is celebrated annually on the first Sunday of July. Traditional Kazakh dombra kuy (kaz 'kuy') - instrumental play performed on dombra - a traditional pear-shaped musical instrument with two strings and a long neck. The true meaning of kuy execution dates back to the sacred relationship with the Creator and the desire to establish the internal harmony of the individual. Kazakhs say 'Kuy - Tanyrdyn sybyry' ('Kuy - a whisper of Tengri'). Dombra had been hung on the wall of each nomad house (yurta) for the play before guests and home owners. Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev established National Dombra Day on June 12th, 2018. It immediately became a favorite holiday for people and was widely celebrated nationwide with music competitions and festivals. During next celebration in 2019, President Tokayev noted that this day represents the nation’s course towards spiritual modernization and putting value on Kazakh traditions. The music of the Kazakh folk instrument dombra tells the history of its people and the centuries-old chronicle of the great steppe. “The nobility and generosity of Kazakh people are represented in music and kyuis (musical compositions). The culture and art of our people do not exist without dombra. Kyuis have always elevated the national spirit,” said Tokayev. The President also thanked musicians who worked to popularize traditional Kazakh music. In years 2020-2021 people celebrated Dombra Day from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. “This day gives us a deep appreciation of our national arts. The sacred instrument brings us its melody through symphony and opera, becoming an integral part of classical art,” Minister of Culture and Sports Aktoty Raimkulova wrote on her Instagram. The Kyui-Live online contest was held by the Department of Culture, Archives and Documentation in the Akmola Region. More than 30 performers of different ages and professions took part in the competition and posted their videos on social media. All the winners received prizes and diplomas. The Kazakh people also celebrated Dombra Day in other countries. QazAlliance, the Alliance dedicated to supporting Kazakh people living abroad, launched the World Dombra Festival project, reported the alliance on its Facebook. Dombra players from 25 countries and 36 cities took part in the project and congratulated Kazakhstan on Dombra Day.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea This element encompasses the entire process of making Korean sauces and pastes out of soybeans, including preparing the necessary ingredients, making the sauce, and fermenting it. It is known that soybean-based sauces and pastes have been made in Korea since at least the Three Kingdoms period. During the Joseon Dynasty, there was a designated place to store sauces and pastes for the royal family, and a court woman assigned to their management. This indicates how traditionally important sauces and pastes have been in Korean culinary culture. The Korean practice of sauce and paste making—spanning the steps including growing soybeans, making bricks of fermented soybeans (meju), soaking the crushed meju in brine, and fermenting it—is distinguished from soybean-based sauce-making traditions in China and Japan. Characteristics unique to the Korean practice include producing two types of sauce from the soybean base: The crushed meju soaked in brine is fermented and then separated into a solid (doenjang, or soybean paste) and a liquid (ganjang, or soybean sauce). In addition, soybean sauce from the previous year would be added to the brined meju to deepen the flavor. The sauce and paste making tradition has been designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage for its time-honored history, potential for advancing studies of cooking methods and culinary culture, and close associations with Korea's housing culture, seasonal customs, folk beliefs, and traditional science. Active inter-generational transmission and nationwide participation is another important factor contributing to its heritage value. * As sauce and paste making is being actively practiced across the nation, no particular holder or holder groups have been recognized for this element.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea This element encompasses the entire process of making Korean sauces and pastes out of soybeans, including preparing the necessary ingredients, making the sauce, and fermenting it. It is known that soybean-based sauces and pastes have been made in Korea since at least the Three Kingdoms period. During the Joseon Dynasty, there was a designated place to store sauces and pastes for the royal family, and a court woman assigned to their management. This indicates how traditionally important sauces and pastes have been in Korean culinary culture. The Korean practice of sauce and paste making—spanning the steps including growing soybeans, making bricks of fermented soybeans (meju), soaking the crushed meju in brine, and fermenting it—is distinguished from soybean-based sauce-making traditions in China and Japan. Characteristics unique to the Korean practice include producing two types of sauce from the soybean base: The crushed meju soaked in brine is fermented and then separated into a solid (doenjang, or soybean paste) and a liquid (ganjang, or soybean sauce). In addition, soybean sauce from the previous year would be added to the brined meju to deepen the flavor. The sauce and paste making tradition has been designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage for its time-honored history, potential for advancing studies of cooking methods and culinary culture, and close associations with Korea's housing culture, seasonal customs, folk beliefs, and traditional science. Active inter-generational transmission and nationwide participation is another important factor contributing to its heritage value. * As sauce and paste making is being actively practiced across the nation, no particular holder or holder groups have been recognized for this element.

Shashmaqam (means the six Maqams (modes)) is a Central Asian musical genre (typical of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) which firstly developed in Bukhara. Shashmaqom (in Farsi - "Six maqoms") is a leading musical-cyclic genre of musical heritage of Uzbek and Tajik people. It includes a cycle of complex and perfect instrumental as well as vocal compositions encompassing different types of melos, forms, usuls (rhythmic formulae) and performances. Shashmaqom is a cycle consisting of six maqoms, namely Buzruk, Rost, Navo, Dugoh, Segoh and Iroq. Each of these consists of two parts respectively, i.e. instrumental one (which is called "Mushkilot") and vocal one (which is called "Nasr"), representing more than 250 cycles of instrumental and vocal compositions in total. Shashmaqom got formed in urban environment, and its bearers of traditions were well-known musicians and singers. Its vocal part was performed in Uzbek and Tajik languages. The texts were mainly taken from the poems of classics of oriental poetry (i.e. Rudaki, Jami, Lutfi, Navoi, Babur, Khafiz, Fizuli, Amiri, Nodira, Zebuniso, Ogahiy and others) and were dedicated to love-related, lyrical, philosophical, didactic, religious themes. Folk poetry examples were also used. Most widely used musical instrument was tanbur. It is based on tuning tanbur that the tonal basis of maqoms emerged. Instrumental part of each maqom included instrumental compositions such as "Tasnif", "Tarje", "Gardun", "Mukhammas" and "Sakil", performed either solo or by instrumental ensemble. However, each part differed with its own tune, character of melody, structure and usuls of doira. Vocal parts are considered the most difficult and complete ones in terms of structure, melos and form and are divided into two cycles (shuba): the first one includes "Sarakhbor", "Talqin", "Nasr" and "Ufar", performed by leading singer - hofiz (their melodies are more developed, of great range and complex form). Between main parts "Tarona" was sung by vocal ensemble as a connecting one (it is a small vocal piece, which has its own tunes, feature and forms). The second cycle (shuba) includes five-part cycles "Moghulcha" and "Savt" (except maqom "Iroq"). In addition to main parts, each maqom incorporates additional compositions: instrumental one (naghma, peshrav, samoyi, hafif), and vocal one (uzzol, ushshoq, bayot, chorgoh, nasrullo, oraz, khusayniy, navrozi sabo, khoro and ajam), the creators of which were bastakors (creators of oral musical tradition). Shashmaqom got formed, has been preserved, mastered and transmitted from generation to generation verbally, based on "Ustoz-shogird" ("master-apprentice") method of learning.

Tajikistan,Uzbekistan 2008

The art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/kamancha (“little bow”), a bowed string instrument, has exsited for more than 1,000 years. In Iran and Azerbaijan, types of this art constitute major elements of classical and folkloric Music. Classical Iranian Music refers to the urban music with “Radif” repertoir; the Folkloric Kamantcheh Music refers to the mainly rural musical traditions of Azarbayjan, Lorestan, and Torkaman Sahra. In both countries, contemporary practitioners mainly make and use four string Kamantcheh/kamancha composed of a body (chamber, neck and pegs) and a bow with horse-hair. Some Folkloric variants with two or three strings are also popular in Lorestan, Azarbayjan, or Torkaman Sahra, Iran(also, cf.D). Craftsmanship starts with choosing wood material. Craftspeople use walnut and/or mulberry for the body, and cornel for the bow. In Azerbaijan, only ball-shaped resonating chambers are crafted. Iranian communities produce the following resonating chambers/sound-boxes: 1-Pošt-baste(""closed in the back""):A hollow oval with sheep-skin; 2-Pošt-bāz(""open in the back""):A half-cone, with sheep-skin on one end. Craftspeople create a bowl and a round fingerboard, and unite them with an iron billow that ends up with a base shaft at the bottom. The chamber’s open side is covered with sturgeon, catfish, sheep or bovine bubble skin. They very often inlay the body with mother-of-pearl or other materials to express and mark different motifs and add their personal touch to the external decoration. In Iran, calligraphy, wood carvings, or inlayed jewels and shells are also practiced. The instrument rests on the base shaft and stands vertically on performer's lap or beside them; performers move the bow horizentally on the strings, and pivote Kamantcheh round the shaft to facilitate transfers on the strings. Kamantcheh/kamancha produces strong and subtle sounds, close to human voice with the sound diapason ranging from small octave ‘A’ to the third octave ‘A’. Players perform large works and etudes using various performing techniques, individually or as part folk orchestras. Generations of performers have left invaluable heritage of Kamantcheh/kamancha works, which are reproduced by young performers, adding their own playing dynamics and colouring. Transmitted from generations to generations at professional and amateur levels, within families or professional education institutions, this art brings together a large community of Kamantcheh/kamancha music lovers and listeners and continues to be a marker of cultural belonging.

Azerbaijan,Iran 2017

Đồng Kỵ village festival, also known as the firecracker festival, held from the 3rd to the 7th of January, is a famous festival throughout the country because it maintains its unique traditions. The most common Festival custom is the firecracker procession. This ceremony seeks to reenact and remember the events of the day that troops were instructed to combat the enemy known as Xích Quỷ by Saint Thiên Cương, the general who was thereafter revered by the villagers as their tutelary god. On the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, the worship team performs a naturalization worship ceremony. On the 4th day, the villagers process the Saint: Emperor Thiên Cương, Bà Chính cung (Empress Thuần Nhã), and Concubine (Princess Nguyệt Loan), from the temple (Sinh từ quán) to the communal house to hold the festival. The most prominent is the procession of two "cannon men" around the village. The two "firecrackers" are made from wood, and lacquered with gold, each firecracker is 6m long, 0.6m in diameter, attached with dragon - unicorn - turtle - phoenix symbols and decorative firecrackers around. The procession returns to the communal house, the Saint's palanquin, two "cannons" are placed in the communal house's yard, the internal mandarins and the altar committee perform the ritual. After the 4 Quan Đám đỏ (those who reached the age of 51 in 4 different "Giáp" - symbolizing the 4 generals of the Saint), representing the 4 armors who had just finished the ceremony, were crowned by the boys with their bare bodies and red loincloths. Help carry the palanquin to the communal house yard. Hundreds of armored men cheered, lifted Mr. Đám up high, and ran around, counterclockwise, in the yard between the communal house, pagoda, and spring tower. The shirtless men are responsible for keeping Mr. Đám from falling while moving around the courtyard. Mr. Đám wears red clothes and a red scarf like a brilliant flower dancing high above. During the festival, a number of folk games and arts such as Quan Họ singing, wrestling, chess, and cockfighting are participated and cheered by many people.