Egar-jabduq (saddle and harness) making is a traditional form of craftsmanship in Uzbekistan closely linked to the country's long-standing equestrian culture. This craft includes the design and handmade production of saddles (egar), bridles, stirrups, reins, and other horse tack used in everyday riding and ceremonial contexts. Master craftsmen (egarsozlar or jabduqchilar) use leather, wood, felt, metal, and decorative elements to create durable and aesthetically rich riding equipment. Items are often adorned with national patterns, embossing, stitching, and metal ornaments to reflect social status, regional identity, and ritual importance. The tradition is especially valued in rural and nomadic communities where horses remain central to daily life, transport, farming, sport (such as buzkashi and chovgan), and cultural ceremonies like weddings and festivals.

Thuong Liet village festival, also known as Gieng festival, is held from the 10th to the 12th of January (lunar calendar), at the communal house - pagoda - mausoleum complex of the village, to commemorate the merits of Princess Tran Thi Quy Minh. On the morning of the 10th, Thuong Liet village festival begins with the ceremony of carrying Buddha's offerings from Thien Duc Tu pagoda, going around the village, and finally returning to the communal house. In the afternoon, the female worshiping delegation performs the incense offering and proclamation ceremony. The most special is the procession of the teacher, the female worker and the flag and fan spear dance. The teacher and the female worker are selected according to traditional regulations. On the morning of the 11th and 12th, the villagers organize the procession of the female worker of the two villages of Dong Thuong Liet and Tay Thuong Liet. Previously, Thuong Liet organized the procession of the teacher, but in recent years, the teacher has not organized the procession, only the female worker. The teacher has the responsibility of welcoming the ceremony, the ceremony, the female worker used to teach the children to dance, but now she does not have to teach the dance, she only supervises the children's dance. According to the village rules, a person can be a teacher many times, but a worker can only be a worker once in a lifetime. The master of ceremonies performs the Saint ceremony and starts the Spear-flag-and-fan dance. During these 2 days, there is also a ceremony to bring offerings from the villages and hamlets in the commune to the Saint. At the same time, the Spear-flag-and-fan dance team is selected - "Miss Len". The Spear-flag-and-fan dance is an ancient dance, associated with traditional rituals that appeared in Giang village since the Tran Dynasty. During the ceremony, the two ladies wear ceremonial costumes, sit in hammocks, and command and supervise the dance groups on the East and West sides of the communal house. This is a form of collective folk dance combined with a couple dance. The content describes the princess's mood before going far away to say goodbye to her father. The dance team consists of 40 - 50 people. Each of the Miss Len (dancers) holds a small flag and a paper fan to fold during the dance. In some dance classes, there is also a rông reader and a troupe leader. There are about 36 different dance levels. The dance movements focus on depicting rural life. When dancing, the flag and fan hands are sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, changing the flag hand to the fan hand, often called "trao co, trao fan", the local pronunciation is "giao". Besides the rituals, procession and dancing with flags, spears and fans, the festival also has folk games and entertainment such as cockfighting, chess, tug of war, wrestling... Thuong Liet village festival has profound historical value, associated with the story of Mrs. Tran Qui Minh, who reclaimed the land, established the hamlet to create today's Giang village. With its typical value, Thuong Liet village festival was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2018.

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

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.

Felt making is a traditional form of textile craftsmanship in Uzbekistan, practiced for centuries by nomadic and rural communities. It involves processing wool from sheep, cleaning, carding, and then manually felting it through rolling, pressing, and wetting techniques to produce dense, warm, and durable fabric used for carpets, clothing, yurts, and ceremonial items. This ancient craft combines utilitarian knowledge with cultural aesthetics, as felt products are often decorated with colorful, symbolic patterns representing protection, nature, or family values. The creation of felt is typically a communal activity, especially among women, where skills, stories, and songs are shared in the process. Felt making is not only an economic activity but also a symbol of identity, reflecting the pastoral heritage and sustainable lifestyle of many Uzbek regions.

Inscribed in 2008 (3.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed in 2003) Pansori is a genre of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and a drummer.This popular tradition, characterized by expressive singing, stylized speech, a repertory of narratives and gesture, embraces both elite and folk culture. During performances lasting up to eight hours, a male or female singer, accompanied by a single barrel drum, improvises on texts that combine rural and erudite literary expressions. The term Pansori is derived from the Korean words pan, meaning “a place where many people gather”, and sori meaning “song”. Pansori originated in south-west Korea in the seventeenth century, probably as a new expression of the narrative songs of shamans. It remained an oral tradition among the common people until the late nineteenth century, by which time it acquired more sophisticated literary content and enjoyed considerable popularity among the urban elite. The settings, characters and situations that make up the Pansori universe are rooted in the Korea of the Joseon period (1392-1910). Pansori singers undergo long and rigorous training to master the wide range of distinct vocal timbres and to memorize the complex repertories. Many virtuosos have developed personal interpretive styles and are renowned for their particular manner of performing specific episodes.

South Korea 2003

Inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Korea and the rest of East Asia, engaged in rice farming for several millennia, have formed a rice culture that can be compared to the wheat culture of Europe. Ganggangsullae is one of the most representative seasonal rituals of Korea’s rice farming culture, which permeates nearly every aspect of life among Koreans. Ganggangsullae gives hints about the origins of recreational music and dance emblematic of the Korean peninsula, as it used to be widely performed in the southwestern coastal region of the peninsula and is closely linked to inland circle dances accompanying music, including Notdari Bapgi (Walking Over a Human Bridge) and Wolwoli Cheongcheong (Moon, Moon, Radiant Moon). A combination of various recreational elements based on the basic form of holding hands to form a circle while singing and dancing, Ganggangsullae has been named as such since the refrain “ganggangsullae,” whose exact meaning is unknown, is repeated with every bar. It was originally performed by unmarried youngsters aged between 15 and 20, and sometimes allowing the participation of recently married youngsters. But, when it was designated as a state cultural heritage the community members, largely women in their 40s or 50s, rendered the performance. Since then, Ganggangsullae has been handed down by middle-aged female members of the community, displaying proficient skills, rather than the creative vividness and dynamics of youngsters when they perform it. Traditionally, Ganggangsullae was performed on Korea’s representative seasonal occasions, including Seol (the lunar New Year), Daeboreum (the first full moon day of the year), Dano (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), Baekjung (the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month), Chuseok (the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month), and Junggu (the ninth day of the ninth lunar month), with the one on Chuseok being the largest. As such, Ganggangsullae has been developed into a performance most commonly conducted on Chuseok (Korea’s Thanksgiving). Under the bright full moon, dozens of young village women hold hands to form a circle and sing and dance. While the sun symbolizes men, and the moon, women, and women’s physical features are represented by a round shape, Ganggangsullae assumes the characteristics of the law of imitation, one of the laws of magic, reflecting primitive aesthetics. Because the dancing is strenuous, only young women are allowed to perform, but it is also their privilege as women of child-bearing age. Ganggangsullae is a ballad dance unique to Korea. The songs are poems written by ordinary people and a lead singer set the pace. Fellow performers follow the lead with the next lines in a song. Besides folklore and folk dance, folk music is also incorporated in the performance as traditional Korean music instruments such as a drum and an hour-glass shaped drum accompany the dance, adding to the entertainment. Ganggangsullae is so exciting and dynamic that participants often lose themselves and end up performing from the early evening when the moon rises until the moon sets. Depending on the tempo set by the lead singer, the music is categorized into gin (slow) Ganggangsullae, jung (middle) Ganggangsullae, and jajeun (quick) Ganggangsullae. The tempo of the dancers’ movement also varies according to the music. During interludes, games reflecting life in farm or fishing village are played. They include imitating the Korean terrapin (one person goes into the circle to dance and the next comes in and imitates her), gathering brackens, tying herrings, treading on roof tiles, rolling and unrolling straw mats, catching a mouse (picking the tail), playing gatekeepers, riding palanquins, and looking for a handkerchief. The archetype of Ganggangsullae is found from agricultural folk customs of Mahan, a Korean state that existed 2,000 years ago, according to ancient Chinese historical texts. In the history of man, it is not common to see an intangible cultural heritage handed down for such a long time. This long transmission of Ganggangsullae implies that expectations for the role of women both in the society and in the family have continued for such a long time as well. Traditional Korean society was male centered, and young women were not allowed to sing aloud or go out at night. On Chuseok, however, women could freely sing and enjoy outdoor amusements under the full moon, venting their long-suppressed emotions through Ganggangsullae. The festival guaranteed women a chance to break away from usual restrictions and enjoy the festive mood. Throughout its history, Ganggangsullae also had other functions. It is said that in 1592, Admiral Lee Sun-sin had women perform Ganggangsullae at night around a fire. The flickering shadows fooled the invading Japanese into overestimating the size of Lee’s forces, who ultimately prevailed. Also, listening carefully to the song verses, one can notice that there are many lines criticizing the society. In particular, the words written under the Japanese colonial rule reflect the Koreans’ resistance to the occupation forces. Ganggangsullae is rarely performed in today’s rural villages since most young women have left for cities. But thanks to its national designation as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage and state-level cultural and educational policies, Ganggangsullae has spread outside its traditional base in the southwestern region of the Korean peninsula. Today, Ganggangsullae is part of the music curriculum of elementary schools and is performed at many secondary schools and universities as well as public festivals across the country. In recent years, research has been conducted regarding the application of Ganggangsullae in the field of art therapy. Ganggangsullae is expected to help those suffering from psychological problems such as depression. Also, new possibilities are being explored as an alternative therapy to help obese women lose their weight and as a means to enhance the well-being of lonely senior citizens.

South Korea 2009