Kazakh Kuresi represents ancient form and style of Kazakh traditional wrestling, essential element of all festive events, celebrations and integral part of modern Kazakhstani national identity. Since ancient times, the beauty of this sports and strength of the hero-wrestlers “Baluans” have been reflected in folk epics, fairy legends, Kazakh literature like the poem of Iliyas Zhansugurov “Kulager” and Gabit Musrepov’s novel “Ulpan”, and archaeological findings. Wrestling of two opponents is performed on 12m.x 12m. sized mat. The opponents are matched according to their weight category ranging from 60 kg and above 90 kg. All techniques are performed above the waist – wrestlers must fight on foot, making it more difficult. Wrestling on the ground is prohibited. The purpose is to lay the opponent on shoulders. Duration of the match is 5 minutes with extra time of 3 minutes which is offered in case of even number of points. Evaluation of matches is counted by: a) “Buk” – if the opponent touches the mat with abdomen, knee or both knees; b) “Zhambas” is given for three “Buks” or when the opponent touches the mat with one side of pelvis or both; b) “Zhartylay zhenis” is awarded for the technique when the opponent touches the mat with both shoulders.

Kazakhstan 2016

The Mongolian Naadam is inseparably connected to the nomadic civilization of the Mongols who have practiced pastoralism on Central Asia’s vast steppe for centuries. Mongols’ traditional Naadam festival consisting of three manly games is considered as one of major cultural heritage elements which Mongols contributed to the nomadic civilizations. The three types of sports games – archery, horserace and wrestling – are directly linked with lifestyles and living conditions of Mongols and thus become the authentic cultural traditions among nomads. National Naadam is celebrated from July 11 to 13 throughout the country, in soums (counties), aimags (provinces), and the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Naadam represents distinct features of Mongolians’ nomadic culture and traditions, with expression of their unique cultural characteristics and images to become an identity of Mongolian people to the outside world. Thus, Mongolian Naadam has served a key factor to unite the Mongolian people and an important symbol of national solidarity. Mongolian people develop their physical strength, strong will power, patience, space and time related sensitivity and friendly hospitality from the three manly games which provides the cognitive and moral education basis. Main bearers of this cultural heritage are practitioners of the three games. i.e. those who significant part of the Mongolia population. Currently, over 100,000 people practice the traditional wrestling in various clubs and training courses, in addition to 3,000 students studying in several wrestling universities and colleges. Besides, the home schooling is considered one of most effecient forms, as it is the main traditional method to teach and learn the wrestling. Youths who practice wrestling would develop postive personalities such as being friendly, caring to the elderly and modest, besides strong will power, physical strength and courage. The main bearers of horserace appear racehorse trainers and jokey-children. Nowadays, about 400-500 horserace tournaments take place annually and altogether 200,000 horses (some recounted across tournaments) participate in them. About 100,000 racehorse trainers normally train these horses, while over 70,000 children ride and race. Besides, the audience of those tournaments would reach over 300,000 people. The Mongolian traditional home schooling provides extensive knowledge and skills, traditions and customs, culture and art elements of horserace. Compared to other two forms, relatively fewer people (about 10,000) practice and are interested in archery. Similarly, home schooling methods tend to dominate in learning and transmitting archery that family members and relatives become archers a lot. There are hundreds of thousand artisans and craftmen who make various tools and items used in the three manly games through employing meticulous skills and design to make them as collections of various art pieces. For instance, wrestling outfits – hat, boots and shorts, racehorse saddles and jokey’s outfits, and bows and arrows used in archery competitions have specific traditional technology and techniques each. These three sports games make a core blend of traditional arts and sports. Title-singing of horses and wrestlers indicate musical elements embracing songs and melodies. • Wrestling. After the wrestling site has been chosen based on the quality of the grass and the flatness of the site, the wrestling matches begin. Judges in groups of 8, 16, or 32 are divided into two groups which line up at the right and left side of the wrestling site and the wrestlers are divided into two groups at the left and right wings. To present the wrestler to the audience, judges will hold the participant's hat and sing praise songs while the wrestler performs an eagle dance before assuming the position to begin. Wrestling is not only a display of strength and bravery; it is also a competition of skill and technique. The object of the match is to make one’s competitor to fall on the ground with his elbows, knees or any other part of the body touching the ground, at which point he loses. Wrestlers who lose in each round will get eliminated from the tournament. The number of rounds differs from tournament to tournament. There are often 9 rounds at the national festival which takes place on July 11-12 annually and altogether 512 wrestlers wrestle. A half leaves after each round. From the fifth round, winning wrestlers can earn titles starting from hawk, falcon, elephant, garuda /mythical bird/, and lion, to the coveted champion. Wrestlers are divided into two groups or so-called ‘wings’ that the highest ranking wrestlers are listed at the top depending on their titles, such as first grand champions, then champions, lions, garudas, elephants, hawks, falcons etc. • Horserace. Horse-trainers choose potential race horses among horse flocks and train them meticulously, carefully adjusting their daily training and diet. Horse races are grouped in age-specific categories such as stallions, adults, 4-years old, 3-years old, 2-years old and 1-year old which race in different distance categories from 10 km to 30 km. Race horses have their mane and tails trimmed to improve their appearance while their trainers use specially crafted wooden sticks or a brush to remove the sweat from the horse after the race. These sweat-removing tools are often carved and decorated with traditional patterns and images of horses to symbolize their strength. Young riders wear special clothing including the deel and hat. Typically, children aged 6-10 years old jockey racehorses. When registration of the applicant horses is completed, the race administrator rides around the Naadam site three times, while children riding race horses sing ‘Giingoo’ to raise spirits of horses before racing. The winning horse is given the title of ‘Tumnii ekh’ (the mightiest of all), whereas the last horse in the race is given a nickname ‘Buren jargal’ “complete happiness”. The praise song is performed to congratulate winning horses and is called ‘singing titles’. • Archery. This competition is divided into two categories; Khana sur (big bow) and Khasaa sur (small bow). Men shoot from a distance of 75 meters to the target, and women from 65 meters. The target is called ‘zurkhai’, and is made of leather balls neatly lined along the flat ground in two rows. Each archer shoots 40 arrows and the one who shoots the most targets wins.

Mongolia 2010

The exact origin of the Khöömei art is unknown, but researchers suppose that it could have been developed in connection with argil (a throat timbre) epic telling vocal technique, shamanic calling and the play of the wooden tsuur flute. The history of Mongolian Khöömei dates back hundreds of years. The popularity of Khöömei among Mongolians has arisen as a result of close interaction between natural environment and human culture. Ethnomusicologists studying Khöömei mark it as an integral part in the ancient pastoralism that is still practiced today. This art has developed to mimic and imitate the sounds of animals, nature, wind and water. The wonder of the Khöömei art is its simultaneous melodies-overtone. In this way the Khöömei is a phenomenon which differentiates from other traditional arts based on human vocal organs. This is the reason of calling the Khöömei performer as “Human-Music” (Khun khugjim) which highlights its specificity from a “normal singer”. The meaning of Khöömei for its community is enormous. As the traditional art form, Khöömei is in close cohesion with the daily life of the Mongolian nomads. They perform Khöömei in the variety of social occasions ranged widely, from grand state ceremonies to the household festive events, associated with respective rituals, and customs. Khöömei is not only performed in social events, because Khöömei performance is often found during the herding, and even when lulling the baby, as well as in the evenings in the ger (Mongolian traditional yurt) in domestic context. Hence, Khöömei is an essential part of the identity, pride and continuity of Mongolian society. Therefore, it provides the concerned community with sense of unity and harmony, as well as continuous creativity. One of Khöömei’s social functions is that, it is used as a traditional pedagogic instrument in the social and art education and upbringing. This is because during the Khöömei transmission, a comprehensive knowledge, philosophy and wisdom on the correlation of human life and nature are transmitted at the same time. As an art form created and developed by the Mongolians, Tuvinians and other ethnic groups, and regarded as the classic art of nomadic civilization, Khöömei is one of the core performing arts that shape the Mongolian national arts in today’s Mongolia. Thus, it shows great influence on ensuring the visibility and enhancement of the living art of Mongolia. Khöömei is born by variety of ethnic groups as Khalkh, Bayad, Dörvöd, Uriankhai, Zakhchin, Tuva, Tsaatan in different locations, therefore there are a number of sub-classifications of Khöömei style, reflecting the special features and local flavors. This diversity is what constitutes the richness of Khöömei composition, and thus, each communities concerned are proud of their own unique styles and techniques while expressing themselves with such diversity. The governments of Mongolia, Russian Federation and PR China have been undertaking variety of measures for the effective enhancement and spread of Khöömei tradition, such as holding international meetings, workshops, competitions and performances on Khöömei. This shows the significance of Khöömei for the bearers and their will to safeguard, transmit and develop it in multinational level, which also promotes international interaction, mutual respect and intercultural dialogue. Researchers classify Khöömei’s vocalization into 2 styles: -The Kharkhiraa (deep Khöömei) vocal emission: The singer sings a drone in a normal voice, then he inhales deeply and, simultaneously pressing on his pharynx and abdomen, he produces a deep harmonic sound which vibrates one octave lower than the fundamental note produced. What you hear is in a very low-pitched register. The singer actually vibrates not only his vocal cords but also his arytenoid cartilage. It is this deep harmonic sound that is heard in the foreground and that characterizes the kharkhiraa style, although in some variants a melody of high-pitched harmonics can be heard above the fundamental sound. -The Isgeree Khöömei (whistled Khöömei) emission: Also called Nariin Khöömei, Uyangiin Khöömei, Altain shingen Khöömei. The singer sings a drone in a normal voice, then he inhales deeply and, still pressing simultaneously on his pharynx and abdomen he produces a harmonic sound, which vibrates several octaves above the fundamental sound. A melody of harmonics with a very high-pitched whistle can then be heard. In both cases, the harmonic melody is sung in the same fashion. The singer modulates his mouth cavity by opening and closing his lips or by moving his tongue backwards, sticking its tip on his palate, or else by moving the central part of his tongue from front to back, its tip against his bottom teeth. To this are added techniques aiming to enrich the tone colour and others of ornamental character. Moreover, all these techniques can be combined. Inside more than 20 techniques, we can find the Bagalzuuriin Khöömei (throat Khöömei) Tsuurai Khöömei (echo Khöömei) Khamriin Khöömei (nasal Khöömei) or Dangildakh Khöömei (syllabial Khöömei). The singers use the Shakhaa vocal emission to sing the magtaal praise songs with a throat timbre as well. It is necessary to intensifying and deepening the Khöömei research and studies particularly on the originality and authenticity of the heritage in order to identify and reveal the deeper form, techniques and specifications furthermore.

Mongolia 2010

For thousands of years, nomadic herders of Mongolia roamed across the country-side from season to season. Dry, windy areas close to rivers are best for summers while areas away from river-bank wind and close to mountains or hills are best for winter stays. In the country where pasture always was and still is a public domain, the herders moved freely to the best locations for the season. With this lifestyle of freedom of movement and pastoral animal husbandry was invented the national dwelling called the ‘Mongol ger’. It is a round structure of easily dismantle-able walls, polls and a round ceiling covered with canvas and felt, tightened with ropes. The ger was designed to be light enough for Mongolian nomads to carry, flexible enough to fold-up, pack and assemble, sturdy enough for multiple dismantling and assembling as well as easy for regulating temperatures within. Over many centuries the mongol ger was modified into a perfectly aerodynamic structure which can withstand Mongolia's fierce spring winds ranging up to 18-20 meter/sec. It can be dismantled in half an hour and assembled in an hour by a small family with 2-3 adults. The Mongol ger has many varieties. The most common “5-wall ger” consists of five lattice segments forming a circular wall, a door, a toono (round window ceiling), two bagana (columns that hold the toono), and 88 uni(long poles that connect wall lattices and toono which forms the roof of the ger). There are also several accessories attached to the ger.

Mongolia 2013

Mongolians revere certain parts of bones of their domestic livestock animals and use them in their religious rites, plays and traditional games. One such popular team-based game is knucklebone shooting. Players flick thirty domino-like marble tablets on a smooth wooden surface towards a target of sheep knuckle-bones, aiming to knock them into a target zone. Each shooter possesses their own (arrow, chair, etc.) adjusted shooting tools and instruments especially made by hand and wear costumes embossed with distinguished characteristics depending on their rank and merits. All the equipment is made by traditional craftsmen. Its technique demands high levels of endurance and accuracy. Singers communicate their opinions to the shooters by singing traditional Knucklebone Shooting melodies and songs. Each competition's opening and closing ceremony has several specific rituals. National competitions tournaments involve 400-600 shooters; there are 30 or more competitions per year. Shooters build their own communities depending on their interest and affinity. This community is recognized as part of the cultural heritage. According to established rules teams consist of six to eight men, among which one or two have to be youngsters. Team members are tied by unbreakable internal bonds and follow clear ethical rules of mutual respect and dignity. A senior member who possesses well ethical and traditional knowledge and experiences will become the team leader. The Association is the principle representatives of bearers, preserving and promoting this heritage and ensuring continuous training and transmission of knowledge from senior to younger shooters.

Mongolia 2014

Âşıklık tradition is a multi faceted art form which includes the oral tradition, music and narrative telling. Performers of this art go through a years-long apprenticeship under the guidance of master âşıks. Âşıks have formed a distinguished style in Turkish Literature through the numerous literary works both in verse and prose; which has come to be acknowledged as the tradition “Âşık Style”. This tradition encompasses saz playing, âşık tunes, improvisations, repartee, and narrative telling with love as its main theme. Although there are various views about the origin and the formation of Âşıklık Tradition, it is widely accepted that the roots of the tradition lie in pre-Islamic and early Islamic Turkish epic narrators which are called “Ozan” or “Baksı”. Âşıklık Tradition emerged as a result of the changing political, social, cultural and economic conditions in the 16th century. Most renowned representatives of the tradition are Karacaoğlan, Köroğlu, Kazak Abdal, Pir Sultan Abdal, Ercişli Emrah, Gevheri, Âşık Ömer, Levni, Kul Himmet, Dadaloğlu, Dertli, Ruhsati, Bayburtlu Zihni, Âşık Şenlik, Âşık Sümmani, Âşık Mahsunî Şerif, Âşık Veysel, Davut Sulari, Âşık Murat Çobanoğlu ve Âşık Yaşar Reyhanî. Âşıklık tradition is transmitted from masters to apprentices through training and education similar to other oral, auditory, visual and material-based fields of Turkish culture. This transmission is completely actualized through oral channels. Âşıklık Tradition has a social side to it, in the sense some of the motifs of the poems and tales told by Âşıks are the problems of the society and âşıks themselves are perceived as enlightening and guiding figures. Poems of this tradition are written in syllabic meter, blending into a unified meaning in quatrains and gaining rhythm with rhymes. Works of Âşıks are combinations of music and poetry. Saz is an integral part of the tradition. Saz instruments played by âşıks are made of chestnut and mulberry trees. They generally have six, eight or twelve strings. Saz is usually played with a kind of plectrum called “tezene”. Âşıks of our times perform their arts in festivals, festivities, weddings, âşık coffee houses and Cem rituals. In traditional weddings, as important performing venues for âşıks, they not only entertain the public but also fulfill their teaching and guiding roles through anecdotes and tales. Âşıklık tradition is still very much alive in cities like Kars, Erzurum and Kayseri, where âşıks also perform in âşık coffee houses. Alevi-Bektaşi rituals are other gatherings where âşıks, known as “zakirs”, recite poems reflecting the beliefs and world-views of Alevi-Bektaşi philosophy. In addition to their usual performing venues, various activities and festivals organized by NGOs and local governments are emerging as new occasions for âşıks to perform their arts. Some of the most essential concepts in Âşıklık Tradition are mentioned below. Master/Apprentice Discipline: Âşıklık tradition is not only based on singing, reciting or playing an instrument but it is also a training-based tradition. The âşıks are, in general, trained by a master grasping the know-how of his master’s art, utterances and poems. Once they become masters in their arts, they start training apprentices on their own and thus the tradition is preserved. Drinking Bade: A youth destined to be an âşık would have a dream in which he is offered with a goblet of bade by a wise spiritual leader (Pir) or by his beloved. From that moment on, the young man wakes up divinely inspired to make verses, sing songs and recite poems. Choosing The Mâhlas (Pseudonym): Mâhlas is the pseudonym which the poet uses instead of his real name. The âşıks utter their pseudonyms in the final quatrain, which the âşıks call “introducing oneself” or “recognition”. Riddle: Riddle is a poetry genre in which the name of a person, being or thing is concealed. The tradition of singing the favorite riddles and unraveling those has been preserved up to date among the âşıks as a masterly skill. If there is no response for the riddle, the âşık himself unravels it. Repartee/Improvisation: Repartee is acknowledged as a cultural value, a figure of speech and pun as regards to oral tradition. This art has a function of teach and delight. During the challenging performance between the âşıks, beginning with a verbal dueling part, they compete with each other on the aptness, humor and beauty of the poetry and improvisation using alternating lines and improvising witty jibes in front of an audience. Leb-değmez: Verses with a needle between the lips: This is a style of reciting poems avoiding the consonants like “B, P, M, V, F”, pronounced by teeth and lips, to perform the masterly skills of the âşıks. The âşıks put a needle between their lips in that style of reciting poems. Folk Tales: Developed and preserved thanks to the master/apprentice discipline of the âşıks, also known as “narrators”, “Folk Tale” is a genre encompassing narrative style, poetry and music.

Turkey 2009

Ensuring solidarity and collective identity, national and religious holidays, celebrations, feasts, commemorations are of great significance as regards to social values. The providers, the distribution and the consumption of the food are strictly determined on these special days. Traditional ceremonial keşkek is one of the social practices which sustain its significance from the past to our present day. Keşkek tradition is practiced at circumcisions, wedding ceremonies, religious holidays such as, Ramadans, sacrifice Aid, Muharram Month (first month of the Islamic calendar), charities, pilgrimage feast, prayers for the rain, Mevlid (Islamic poetry reading), Hıdrellez (a kind of seasonal celebration) and similar practices. Preparation and consumption process of keşkek bears a collective character. Particularly in village communities, preparation of ingredients and cooking process of keşkek are actualized through collective work. The villagers contribute to keşkek ceremony by providing the ingredients and participate in cooking process. Wheat and meat are the basic ingredients of keşkek. The main ingredients are provided by the household on special days for the family and the dwellers of the village provide the work force if needed. The wheat for keşkek, of an amount proportional with the number of participants, is washed with prayers a day before the wedding ceremony. Accompanied by davul-zurna (traditional Turkish musical instruments) the wheat is carried carefully to a large stone mortar. The wheat is hulled on the large stone mortars by two or four persons using gavels in a fixed rhythm. The rhythmic sound is a sign for the start of wedding ceremony. The hulled wheat is one of the main ingredients of keşkek to be prepared on the wedding morning. Meat is the other main ingredient for keşkek. Cooking keşkek requires specialized knowledge therefore it is carried out by experienced persons called ""keşkekçi"" (keşkek maker). Keşkekçis are trained in a master-apprentice tradition. Cooks and his assistants in charge of keşkek cooking start the preparations at early hours in the morning of the day before the ceremony. As weddings - the primary occasions for ceremonial keşkek tradition – are usually held during summer or early autumn, keşkek is usually cooked outdoors. Requiring a long-lasting source of heat, keşkek is cooked in large copper cauldrons, the bottom of which is smeared with ash to protect it before being put on a big open fire. Hulled wheat, chunks of meat on the bone, onions, spices, water and oil are all put together in the cauldron. It is important to maintain the heat at a certain temperature while cooking. Therefore, cook and the assistants take turns to maintain the cooking process as desired until morning. Watching the heat and preparation of the side dishes to be served with keşkek last all night long. This night spent around the keşkek is full of stories, friendly talks and jokes. The cook checks the keşkek cauldron in the morning of the wedding day. Towards noon, the most important phase of the keşkek tradition takes place. The strongest of the village youth, who were previously chosen for ‘keşkek dövme (keşkek beating)’, are called in to ‘beat’the keşkek with a wooden tool which can be named as ağaç kepçe (wooden ladle) tokmak (gavel), çomça or şişe. This is in a way a mashing process. The rhythm while hulling the wheat goes on during the beating process as well. The wooden tools are used in a rhythmic order. The beating process of keşkek attracts great interest among the crowds. To motivate the beating youth, the crowd cheers and sings folk songs. During the beating, one or two persons apart from the beating youth take the bones out with a special kind of tongs. The neighboring towns and villages are invited and keşkek is collectively consumed in the ceremony premises (courtyard of mosque for religious holidays, bride’s or groom’s house on wedding days, a sacred venue for charities and hıdrellez). Prayers are uttered before and after the feast. The pots and pans used during ceremony are collectively washed. A special set of equipments are necessary for the preparation of keşkek. The stone mortar, a collectively owned product of particular craftsmanship, a copper cauldron made especially for such ceremonies and tinned regularly. Hand made ladles and gavels made of wood are among the most important tangible elements of the keşkek tradition. The most significant aspect of the tradition is unifying all people in this ceremony regardless of age, ethnic origin, gender and culture even being invited or not. The hosts of the ceremony check whether all the guests are at the dining table for keşkek. Each person attending to keşkek ceremony is considered as an element of this cultural environment. All individuals within the community through participating in such a ceremonial event have a sense of belonging. This ‘sense of belonging’ reflects itself with the common expression ‘our keşkek is better’, which is a bare evidence of considering keşkek as an important element of cultural heritage. Keşkek ceremony should be practiced with all the components of the tradition or else it loses its traditional aspect for the bearers. In Zonguldak-Ereğli on the west coast of Black sea Region, there is a village named ‘Keşkek’. People from the neighboring villages go to this village, which is a developed locality among the surrounding places, in order to worship on Holy Friday and the visitors are served keşkek there. This clearly explains why the village is called ‘Keşkek’. The villagers see keşkek as a major part of their cultural identity and they are glad to have the name keşkek for their village. Today, this ceremonial tradition, through organizing keşkek festivals and festivities has been preserved by the intimate efforts of city and district municipalities and the hemşeri (locality fellowship) associations, founded by fellow citizens for creating a kind of solidarity. It is observed in these occasions unifying aspects of ceremonial keşkek tradition continues in the cities as well. Preservation of this tradition in the cities is particularly important in terms of how much this tradition is embraced by the communities concerned.

Turkey 2011

Inscribed in 2012 (7.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Nearly every Korean knows and enjoys singing Arirang, which is not just one song but a variety of local versions handed down throughout Korea. Experts estimate the total number of folk songs carrying the title ""Arirang"" at some 3,600 variations belonging to about 60 versions. Arirang is essentially a simple song, consisting of the universal refrain Arirang, arirang, arariyo, and lyrics that have developed differently from region to region. The most typical lines express a universal sentiment: Arirang, arirang, arariyo; Over the Arirang hill you go. (refrain) Leaving me, my love, you'd go lame before three miles. (lyrics) The lyrics were not created by any particular individual, but an outcome of collective contributions made by ordinary Koreans through generations. They convey joys and sorrows of common people arising from love, parting with the beloved, troublesome in-laws, or national struggle against foreign invaders. Affection for Arirang is evident throughout today's ultra-modern Korean culture, well beyond the realm of traditional music. Arirang has been rearranged into modern ballads, rock 'n roll and hip-hop, as well as symphonic pieces, appealing to a wide array of audiences and striking a chord with Koreans; it is often described as their unofficial national anthem. Olympic champion Kim Yu-na skated to an Arirang theme, ""Homage to Korea,"" at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships. Arirang is also one of the most recognized cultural symbols and is widely used as a theme for movies, dramas and soap operas, and names of commodities, restaurants, and broadcasting companies.

South Korea 2012

Inscribed in 2018 (13.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity As one of the popular Korean folk tradtion, ssireum is a type of wrestling in which two players wearing long fabric belts around their waists and one thigh grip their opponents' belt and employ various techniques to send the opponent to the ground. It is played on diverse occasions, including traditional holidays, market days, and festivals. Ssireum games occur on sand in any available space around a neighborhood, and are open to participation by community members of all ages, from children to seniors. The winner in the final game for adults is awarded an ox, which symbolises agricultural abundance, and the title of Jangsa. When the games are over, the Jangsa parades around the neighborhood riding the ox in celebration. The customary practice of providing an ox as a prize is meant to allow the winner to farm more effectively.

South Korea 2018

Fujian Puppetry is an outstanding representative of Chinese performing arts. It consists mainly of string-pulled puppetry and hand puppetry. This performing art started to spread in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and the surrounding areas in the 10th Century. In the course of its history, it has not only accumulated a considerable amount of traditional plays and changqiang (i.e. arias, vocal music in Chinese opera), but also developed rich and exquisite performing techniques, a unique performing system, as well as marvellous craftsmanship in the modelling of puppets. As a result, Fujian Puppetry has become an art cherished by the people of local communities where it is an integral part of cultural life. Since 1980s, changes in economic production and life style; economic globalisation and a diversified cultural dissemination and, on the other hand, the highly sophisticated performing techniques that require long and painstaking practice are the reasons behind young people’s reluctance to learn and inherit Fujian Puppetry. Given the above-mentioned situation, from 2006 communities, groups and representative bearers concerned formulated the 2008-2020 Strategy for the Training of Coming Generations of Fujian Puppetry Practitioners in order to promote the safeguarding of Fujian Puppetry transmission by focusing on the training of younger practitioners. The key objective of this strategy is to safeguard the transmission of Fujian Puppetry: -\tthrough systematic professional training, bringing up a new generation of puppetry practitioners and raising the self-sustainability of Fujian puppetry; -\tthrough overall safeguarding, educating coming generations of puppetry practitioners and appreciators, and improving the habitat of Fujian Puppetry.

China 2012

Art of oratory - ‘Chechendik onour’ represents a type of the oral art, which is distinguished by keenness and originality of the poetic text. Well-known masters of the word ‘chechens’ have always been treated with respect; their performances have been preserved in the popular memory, transmitted from one generation to another, growing into legends. ‘Chechendik onour’ is one of the main parts of ‘aitysh’, a poetic competition, which determines its structure built on a question-answer, on the use of riddles as well as on a rhythmic structure of the text. In the art of oratory, all types of oral folk art are used. Oratory speech exploits proverbs and sayings, intoned words, catch phrases and expressions. In some oratory poetry contests, only proverbs and sayings were used. Only the best of the best who believed in their abilities could participate in such competitions. In the manner of performance of the chechens, facial expressions, posture, turn of phrase, play with intonations, the use of riddles, tongue twisters, fables, and other expressive means of verbalising thoughts play a predominant role. They were very versed in their skills of eloquence and allegory, built their own conclusions, actively used elements of satire and humour. The speaker must be able to think deeply and have a good knowledge of folk philosophy. Through becoming a role model and by combining educational goals, their main purpose is to solve such problems as the establishment of international relations and the resolution of small strifes and conflicts. There were also many talented women-chechens among the Kyrgyz people.

There are various types of performed singing genres. Love songs is the most spread mass genre of singing art of the Kyrgyz. Love songs reflect not only moral and aesthetic worldview of the people, but love of native land as well. Their lyrics are often built on comparisons of images of nature and a loved one. They praise the beauty of surrounding world and motherland. Edification-songs represent other genre of the Kyrgyz folk singing. They reflect philosophical views about human character, family relations, society and peace, and contain catchwords and conclusions about natural phenomena. They are often sung during celebrations of important life events. Lyrical songs may be performed without accompaniment or with accompaniment of komuz or accordion. They sound more often without accompaniment during traditional and family celebrations of so called oturush, and sherine, as well as during folk song contests such as sarmerden and yr kese (singing chalice). No repertoire of folk singers (yrchy) is complete without lyrical songs. Ceremonial songs of the Kyrgyz, first of all, are connected with celebrations of various events. They have a solemn character and are performed with musical accompaniment. So, for example, toi bashtar (wedding song or feast song) marks the beginning of a wedding celebration or jubilee celebration, and jar-jar is the song of a greeting of groom and bride. There are ceremonial songs that are performed without musical accompaniment. It concerns the lamentation song performed by the bride’s mother at a dramatic moment of the wedding, when the bride leaves her parents’ house; or the lullabies that are performed during of the ceremony of encradling the newborn child. A vivid expression of the epic beginning of Kyrgyz folklore is demonstrated in lamentation songs performed at funerals. Songs of bakhshi and dervishes are other well preserved song genres of the Kyrgyz. They are performed in the form of melodic recitatives at praising and appealing to the God, and at purification rituals. Contemplation song is one of the genres of lyrical traditions of the Kyrgyz. They are built on folk philosophy, teaching, and artistic representation of the reality, which are transmitted from generation to generation. They comprise moral principles and ethno- pedagogical views of the nation in them. Similar to the other folk song traditions, contemplation songs are presented in rhythmic and poetic form.