Silat is a combative art of self-defense and survival rooted from Malay archipelago. It was traced at the early of Langkasuka Kingdom (2nd century CE) till the reign of Melaka (Malaysia) Sultanate era (13th century). Silat has now evolved to become part of social culture and tradition with the appearance of a fine physical and spiritual training. There are many styles of Silat which inspired by the movements of human anatomy, nature and animal in which the name of the Silat would be known, for instance, Silat Harimau (Tiger) inspired by the movement of tiger been creatively forms the art of self-defence and attack by initiating a tiger in positioning one's hands, legs and body texture movement. The imitation in an aesthetic rhythmic motion which actually portray the art of the particular Silat. There a variety of Silat styles. In Malaysia alone, there are more than 150 known Silat styles such as "Seni Silat Gayang Lima" "Seni Silat Pukul Buah" "Silat Gayong", "Silat Bunga", "Silat Melayu", "Silat Cekak", "Silat Pulut' and so on. Silat is a martial arts that consists of bodily, spiritual, intellectual and aesthetic emotional movements. The learning of Silat fosters agility, skill, thoughtful, strategic, bold, confident, diligent, creative and courteous. The names of different types of Silat which identify each of its community is derived from the names of natural elements such as animal, plants or any existent found in the environment of Malay nature itself.

Malaysia 2018

One of the most entertaining mask dances is the Ging Tsholing Cham, where most of the audience, especially the children, are captivated by the intensifying drum beats and the fighting scene of the Cham ritual dance. The mask dance is also called Tro-ging, a local name, because it provides an entertaining presentation and performance for the audience. Ging represents the wrathful appearance of celestial beings, daka and dakinis; those dances are performed by laymen called Boecham pa. Whereas Tshogling is the emanation of guardian deities of Dharma protectors, including the Four Kings of the cardinal points and the Eight Classes of Gods and Goddesses; these roles are usually performed by Tsun cham pa monks. According to literary sources, the mask dance was introduced by Terton, treasure revealer, Pema Lingpa (1450-1521) after he saw the performance at Zangdok Pelri, the copper-colored mountain and spiritual realm of Guru Padmasambhava. Pema Lingpa, who was one of the fortunate incarnate beings of Guru Padmasambhava, met his enlightened master several times: when he predicted the future, when he gave him the list of treasures to be discovered in disguise, when he guided him to the sites to be discovered, and as he often invited him into his realm during meditation states and in dreams. On one such occasion, in the magnificent palace of Rang-jung Trulpai Phodrang, self-formed palace, he saw the Root Master manifesting in Ja-lue rainbow body or wisdom body, from which millions of his forms emerged, filling the three realms of the universe, which is beyond our imagination. Among the magical representations, the enlightened sages of India and Tibet sit in the right row and the scholars sit in the left row. In between them sit the 108 treasure discoverers, who are incarnations of Guru Padmasambhava and his 25 chief disciples. A cloud of gods and goddesses transformed into one hundred Dampa Rigja Protective Deities– forty-two peaceful forms, and fifty-eight in Ging wrathful appearance–they made various sensuous offerings, including the performance of Dorji-lugar Vajra Dances, dancing upon the air, rejoicing in the participation in the preaching of the coinage doctrine. Outside the entrance gate of the Four Directions are thousands of warriors from the Pho-jued and Mo-jued male and female classes of protecting deities, the Eight Classes of Gods and Goddesses, led by the kings of the Four Directions Tshoglings, who are getting ready to overcome obstacles to the sacred teachings. In the war scene between the Gings and the Tshoglings, the aggressive characters of the Tshoglings, and the drum beats of the Gings arouse a sense of fear in the obstacles and samaya oath breakers, guiding them to follow the righteous path of humanity. A similar performance was originally introduced by Guru Padmasambhava to aid Tibet’s King Thrisong Detsen (c. 755-797 or 804 AD). Padmasambhava used his supernatural powers at the great Samye Monastery in Tibet, he manifested in the form of Ging and Tshogling, producing an immense positive force to fight and subdue the evil spirits that hindered the construction of the monastery. With the obstacles overcome, the site became an important part of establishing the teachings of the Buddha in the region. After seeing the spectacular performance and realizing its benefits for the liberation of sentient beings, Pema Lingpa introduced the sacred mask dance to Jigten me-yul the human world, first at Korphu Temple, one of his seats in Trongsa, central Bhutan. There is still a saying that goes, "If you are not sure about the choreographies of Ging Tsholing or Tro-ging, you should visit Korphu Drub." Korphu Drub is the annual mask dance festival that coincides with the temple's dedication ceremony. Due to the importance of the dance, this mask dance was later introduced in most Tshechu, Rabney, Mewang, Mani, Drub, Drubchen (native names for the annual mask dance festival) of forts, monasteries and temples by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) who unified Bhutan as a country, the successive spiritual leaders of the Je Khenpo as well as the temporary leaders of the Druk Desi - these spiritual masters and far-sighted monarchs.

Naqqāli is an Iranian traditional theatre form, having originated in ancient Iran. This dramatic performance concerns telling of a story, history or non-history based, in a variety of genres. It is done either in verse or prose and accompanied by gestures and movements appropriate to the event related. Iran enjoys a long tradition of Naqqāli. This tradition was called “Gowsān” during Parthians (3rd BC-3rd AD). “Gowsān”s (the reciters) acted as entertainers to both kings and ordinary people. Under the Sassanids (3rd-7th AD), Naqqāli was highly regarded at court, where it used to be called “Xonyāgari”. Following the collapse of the Sassanid, these reciters emmigrated to remote areas to keep the tradition alive. In ancient times, they used to recite narrative poems, play musical instruments, sing, and act. Naqqāli is the oldest form of dramatic performance in Iran. Historically, it has adopted itself with socio-political circumstances. Before the Sassanid(651 AD), Naqqāls were poets and musicians simultaneously. They recited stories along with playing instruments. Bārbad was the most renown Naqqāl of the Sassanid. During Ghaznavids(10th-12th AD), the Court banned musical Naqqāli. But the tradition survived in remote areas. Two important events occurred during the Safavid period (16th-18th AD): establishment of coffee-houses and applying “Parde”. Parde introduced a new style in Naqqāli, and coffee-houses became exclusive venues for Naqqāls for, at least, 300 years. Up to several decades ago, great coffee-houses hired Naqqāls. Unfortunately, the strong influence of western culture and break down of the old traditions caused a decline in popularity of coffee-houses; consequently, Naqqāl's lost their traditional audiences During the Islamic period, such reciters were known under various names; such names had their origin in the types of the repertory of the tales they recited. One example is, so called, “Shāhnāme-Xān”s, who were specialized in reciting tales from Shāhnāme, the great Persian epic by Ferdowsi. This naming style can still be traced. In addition to Persian literature, Naqqāls needed to be acquainted with expressions referring to the local culture, or the Iranian traditional/folk music. Thus, they functioned as both entertainers, and bearers of Persian literature and culture, while encouraging national cohesion. Nowadays, the language of recited narrations is not limited to Persian; these tales are allowed to be narrated in regional dialects or languages. Up to several years ago they were the most important guardians of folk-tales, ethnic- epics and Iranian folk music. Naqqāli requires considerable talent; no one can arrive at eminence in this line except men of cultivated taste and retentive memory. They must not only be acquainted with the best ancient and modern stories, but be able to change them in relation to new incidents, either heard or invented. They must also recollect the finest texts of poetry, which they may quote from. The audience are normally acquainted with the tale, so the Naqqāl requires the charm in his performance, an attractive voice quality, as well as skill in acting to captivate them. The Naqqāl is alone in performing a rich range of roles, such as those of kings, queens, warriors, princesses, beggars, etc, convincingly. He is even a master in producing sound effects, including horse galloping, fencing ,etc. Master Naqqāls, even, are well equipped with a knowledge of Iranian sports, while they recite skills in wrestling and fencing, among others. There are two groups of practitioners, the Professional and the Seasonal. They may perform in coffee-houses, tents of nomads, houses, and historical places like ancient caravanserais. The Professionals, who are few in number now, earn their living from Naqqāli; seasonals have other occupations, too. Nowadays, professional Naqqāls are mostly invited for official ceremonies sponsored by municipalities or governmental institutes. Seasonal Naqqāls mostly perform in regional ceremonies like wedding parties, or even mourning ceremonies. However, both groups have been invited for Iranian Ritual-Traditional Theatre Festivals since the very beginning of its establishment. Naqqāls, especially Morsheds (master Naqqāls), wear costumes reminiscent of Dervishes cloths. They may, even, use ancient helmets, or armoured jackets in the middle of the performance, to create a sense of reality for the battle scenes. Their multifunctional canes may represent a wide range of motifs, including a beautiful beloved, a horse, a sword, etc. “Parde”, used by some Naqqāls, is a painted curtain in the Coffee-House-Style. Having preserved all the logical, religious and traditional styles, it has flourished as a sign of respect for popular beliefs. The painters have been messengers of light and impossible dreams. Due to the fact that this unique theatrical performance always presents one of the deepest and genuine layers of the national Iranian culture, its protection will definitely serve to safeguard the national and historical roots of it. Besides, it can be a source of inspiration for literary figures and artists all around the world. Every form of art is a unique language faciliating peaceful communication among different cultures. In this regard, Naqqāli should be considered as an international heirtage in urgent need for safeguarding.

Iran 2011

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 Bana people call epics "Homon", a type of epic born at the end of the primitive communal period, reflecting the history, society, indigenous knowledge, thoughts, and aspirations of the community. It is an epic song, a panorama of the past, which explains natural and social phenomena such as the formation of heaven and earth and humans, recreates wars, and describes customs and traditions of ethnics. In particular, the central theme throughout revolves around national heroes and cultural heroes of the community. Each Hơmon Epic Singing work recreates the three tasks of the hero: getting married, working in production, and fighting the enemy. Each task is not separate but linked and has a cause-and-effect relationship with each other: getting a wife, stealing a wife, and regaining a wife means enhancing strength, prestige, expanding territory, winning people's hearts, income, increasing production, creating wealth, food, gather warriors, fight to protect the village. Hơmon Epic Singing is performed by artisans in the evening, next to the fire of the communal house's fire. They can lie down or sit to sing about the characters in front of the audience. A singing session can last many nights, so Hơmon artists not only know the songs but also have to have good health, good voice, and endurance.

One of the oldest epic arts of the Turkic peoples, the termOlonkho refers to the entire Yakut epic tradition as well as its central epic.Today, it is still incidentally performed in the Sakha Republic, situated in the far east of the Russian Federation. The poetic tales, which vary from 10 to 15,000 verses in length, are performed by the Olonkho singer and story-teller in two parts: a sung part in verse alternates with the prosaic part composed of recitatives. In addition to possessing good acting and singing skills, the narrator must be a master of eloquence and poetic improvisation. The epic consists of numerous legends about ancient warriors, deities, spirits and animals, but also addresses contemporary events, such as the disintegration of nomadic society. Given that each community had its own narrator with a rich repertoire, numerous versions of Olonkho circulated. The tradition was developed within the family context for entertainment and as a means of education. Reflecting Yakut beliefs, it also bears witness to the way of life of a small nation struggling for survival at times of political unrest and under difficult climatic and geographical conditions.

Russian Federation 2008

Depending upon the quantity of anklebones, the number of players can be established. The players place a rug or quilted felt rug and scatter ankle bones over the rug and sit round the rug. The senior or honorary person starts playing. The players' play ankle bones alternate according to clockwise. There is a piece of mail imitating the armour of ancient warriors. This piece is called the "arrow" or piece of mail. The player tosses up the piece of mail toward the air. Before the fall of piece of mail, the player collects anklebones as much as possible and clenches them in the palm and receives the tossed piece of mail at its palm without letting the piece of mail fall on the ground. Each player passes its turn to the next player if touches other scattered ankle bones, ex-cept of its clenched ankle bones, anklebones slip out of the player's hand or the player does not receive the tossed piece of mail on its palm

The origin of this ethnic group dance is not known but it is strongly believed to be in existence along with the Iban ethnic group since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most significant harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses for the celebration. The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but been innovated and perform by all. The dance is arranged in straight lines and a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers. Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak’ or ‘ketebong’ assemble the music. There are in fact several types of Ngajat dances, such as Ngajat Induk, Ngajat Bebunoh, Ngajat Lesong, Ngajat Semain, Ngajat Berayah and Ngajat Ngemai Antu Pala. The ‘Ngajat Lesung’ for example is one of the famous Iban traditional Ngajat dance in Sarawak. The knees are bent and kept close together as they twist from side to side, ending with a simple tap of the heel on the ground. The arms move from left to right in front of the body. The dance is done gracefully. The hornbill, an iconic bird of Sarawak, symbolizing all the movements. The male dancer in this dance represents the warrior who shows off his strength by biting a wooden mortar called the ‘lesung kayu’ with his teeth while dancing. It weighs about seven kilogrammes.

Uzbek martial art originates from ancient times. This is evidenced by archaeological finds found in our country. Also in later times, Amir Temur also paid great attention to martial arts. His army consisted of horse and foot warriors. They used various weapons available at that time, incendiary mixtures and other devices. At the same time, it was required of the soldiers to master the art of hand-to-hand combat and delivering point blows to the enemy without weapons. Uzbek martial art has its own distinctive features in comparing the methods of combat without weapons mainly available to the peoples of the Far East.

Tseza Bongkor is a native festival of Tseza Gewog (block) in Dagana with unique lyrics and dance steps performed by what we call in local dialect the Boegarps or the Pazaabs (Male participants/warriors). It is celebrated once in every three years in six villages under Tseza Gewog namely in Zamtog, Samey, Trashigang, Jangsagang, Tsanglaykha and Kalizingkha. In every village, the festival is celebrated for three days and it is mandatory for all the households of that particular village to take part in that celebration. At Samey, the festival is always celebrated on the 14th Day of the first Bhutanese month every three years at a place called Zingkha Pangna and only then, it is celebrated at Trashigang. It is because the festival at Trashigang is also presided over by the same Male Shaman (Pawo) and the Female Shaman (Neljorm) who conducts the festival at Samey. On the last day of the Samey Bonkor i.e. on 16th day of the first Bhutanese month, the Shaman and the Yogini heads towards Trashigang for the celebration of the same. The Trashigang Bonkor begins from 16th and ends on the 18th day of the first Bhutanese month. Although the festival is celebrated for three days in all the six villages but the date of celebration differs in all the villages. For instance the date for celebration of the festival is fixed at Samey and Trashigang but in the remaining four villages the dates are not fixed. They celebrates the festival depending upon the auspicious date that is mentioned in the Bhutanese Datho (Almanic calendar). Every household must dispatch at least one or two representatives (depending upon the number of person living in that house) for the celebration. Usually all the households are represented by two members i.e. one male representative who acts as a Boegarp (male dancer) and one female representative as a dancer. If the household has just one member, that particular person has to represent his or her household. If any household fails to send the member representative/s for the festival, they have to send their substitution or else they have to pay fine. Traditionally, the festival used to be presided over by a Male shaman (Pawo) and a Female shaman (Neljorm) but since the demise of the Pawo few years back, he is replaced by one of the village Lama. There are slight differences in the way the festival is celebrated in these six villages mainly in terms of the date of the celebration, materials and the costumes used in the celebration and the persons involved in the festival. The origin of the festival is still unknown but it is believed that the festival was instituted in the region mainly by the Tseza Nyagoes (Boegarps). According to Ap Sangay Dorji, the festival was instituted mainly to appease the Dralha (deities) in order to overcome any sort of obstacles and epidemics in the region. Tseza Bongkor is still vibrantly performed in the community and there is no major transformation in the way the festival is conducted even today. Traditionally every word written in the book Dralha Pangtoed (Ritual text) was dictated upon the Boegarps by the Pawo which is today replaced by the village Lam. Similarly, the house in which the shaman and the Female shaman live during the celebration Lha chim (shrine) was build using the mated bamboo but today it is constructed using the metal sheets, wood and bamboo. According to some oral history, traditionally the people of this region were following the Bon (locally called Ban choe) religion because of which their festival came to be known as Bangkor, the Bon festival of Tseza Gewog. Some oral tradition also says that during Zhabrung's era, The Pazaabs in Punakha performed their dances in circular (kora chap di) group to celebrate their victory over the Tibetan enemies. For the same reason, the Ngagoes (strong man) or the Boegarps of Tseza Gewog also performed the same dances following the same steps. Hence, the festival came to be known as Tseza Bangkor, the dance performed by Boegarps in a circular group. Tseza Gewog is one of the important Gewog under Dagana Dzongkhag (district) since Dagana falls under Tseza gewog and is where the Dzongkhag Administration's Headquarter is located. One of the most famous and special Temple in Dagana,  Shathong Lhakhang, founded by the Buddhist Master Dupthob (Siddhi) Shawa Ripa in the 18th century is also located under Tseza Gewog. Shawa Ripa is an ancient Buddhist Master who is said to have lived for over 900 years. Oral History also mentions that there is a big tree at Pele, which is believed to be a walking stick of Zhabdrung Jigme Chogyal (1862-1904) and a house in which the Zhabdrung halt his night on the way and back from Daga Dzong.

The ‘Ngajat Lesung’ is one of the famous dances in Sarawak. This is an Iban traditional dance and is believed to have been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most important harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses. In this dance, the knees are bent and kept close together as they twist from side to side, ending with a simple tap of the heel on the ground. The arms move from left to right in front of the body. The dance is done gracefully. Apparently, the hornbill, an iconic bird of Sarawak, inspires all the movements. The male dancer in this dance represents the warrior who shows off his strength by biting a wooden mortar called the ‘lesung kayu’ with his teeth while dancing. It weighs about seven kilogrammes. The male dancers wear feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘sirat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches below their knees with intricate weaving. Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak or ketebong’ provide the music.