The National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) recently published the first issue of a two-part series of MUSE SG that focuses solely on Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH). MUSE SG is NHB’s outreach magazine that features museum and heritage related articles and is distributed to museums, schools, libraries, and public institutions free-of-charge.\n\nFor the two-part series on Singapore’s ICH, NHB has partnered with History Society students from the National University of Singapore (NUS HISSOC) to conduct research and co-create content. The partnership is part of NHB’s youth engagement efforts to interest the younger generation in different aspects of Singapore’s heritage.\n\nThe first ICH issue of MUSE SG introduces readers to the different categories of ICH as defined by UNESCO and explains how the ICH elements in these categories have become an integral part of Singapore’s multicultural identity. The issue is part of NHB’s continuing efforts to promote greater public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH.\n\nThe National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) recently published the first issue of a two-part series of MUSE SG that focuses solely on Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH). MUSE SG is NHB’s outreach magazine that features museum and heritage related articles and is distributed to museums, schools, libraries, and public institutions free-of-charge.\n\nFor the two-part series on Singapore’s ICH, NHB has partnered with History Society students from the National University of Singapore (NUS HISSOC) to conduct research and co-create content. The partnership is part of NHB’s youth engagement efforts to interest the younger generation in different aspects of Singapore’s heritage.\n\nThe first ICH issue of MUSE SG introduces readers to the different categories of ICH as defined by UNESCO and explains how the ICH elements in these categories have become an integral part of Singapore’s multicultural identity. The issue is part of NHB’s continuing efforts to promote greater public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH.\n\nVats containing soy beans undergoing fermentation in the production of soya sauce at Tai Hua Food Industries, 2020. Image courtesy of National Heritage Board, Singapore\nIt also features articles on selected ICH elements including traditional Malay dance, traditional Eurasian cuisine, traditional crafts such as effigy making, the production of soya sauce, the practice of rearing songbirds, the ancient healing practice of Ayurveda, and local practices in the commemoration of Easter.\n\nThe second ICH issue of MUSE SG, to be published in January 2021, will focus on the practices and rituals of Jewish Passover by the local Jewish community and the Zoroastrian faith as practiced by the Parsi community in Singapore.\n\nIt will also cover dondang sayang (a poetic art form associated with the Malay and Straits Chinese communities in this region), traditional Chinese music, traditional Nanyang breakfast (comprising toast with kaya spread, half-boiled eggs and a cup of hot tea or coffee) and the craft of Indian goldsmithing.\n\nTo access the first ICH issue of MUSE SG, please click on the following link: https://www.roots.sg/learn/resources/publications/education-and-community-outreach/MUSE-SG-Volume-13-Issue-01\n\nPhoto 1 : Muse Cover © NHB\nPhoto 2 : Vats containing soy beans undergoing fermentation in the production of soya sauce at Tai Hua Food Industries, 2020. Image courtesy of National Heritage Board, Singapore

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) as defined by the 2003 UNESCO Convention encompasses the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills, which communities recognize as part of their cultural heritage. In the case of Singapore, ICH is important as it represents the diverse practices, knowledge, and living traditions of Singapore’s multicultural society.\n\nIn recent years, the National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) has embarked on a concerted drive to document and safeguard Singapore’s ICH elements as well as to work with public and private sector partners to facilitate the transmission of ICH elements.\n\nPrior to these efforts, NHB studied the best ICH safeguarding practices in various countries, including Hong Kong, South Korea, France, Japan, and Malaysia (Penang). NHB noted that effective ICH safeguarding requires the community involvement and that ICH elements should be allowed to evolve or even disappear with time.\n\nNHB also noted that effective ICH safeguarding involves measures such as research and documentation efforts, recognition schemes for ICH practitioners, the creation of a national inventory, education, and outreach programs, as well as financial grants.\n\nIn November 2016, NHB launched its first nationwide ICH survey to identify key elements of Singapore’s ICH. The survey will be completed by the end of 2018. It will document more than a hundred ICH elements through oral history interviews, research, photography, and videography.\n\nMore recently, NHB announced the development of Our SG Heritage Plan, which is the first masterplan for Singapore’s heritage and museum sector. The masterplan outlines the broad strategies and initiatives for the sector over the next five years (2018 to 2022) and beyond.\n\nOne of the key strategic pillars for Our SG Heritage Plan focuses on ICH and presents the following recommendations:\n\nNHB will develop an ICH inventory to promote public awareness and facilitate public access to ICH information. The inventory will be updated with input from heritage experts and community groups.\nNHB will introduce a new scheme to recognize ICH practitioners who are dedicated to promoting and transmitting different aspects of Singapore’s ICH.\nNHB will step up efforts to research and document Singapore’s ICH and continue to promote research in ICH through research grants.\nNHB will leverage on museum exhibitions, festivals, and programs such as talks, workshops, and showcases to create greater public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH and ICH practitioners.\nNHB will work with the relevant agencies to ratify the 2003 UNESCO Convention in 2018 and explore possible ICH inscription onto the UNESCO Representative List.\nIn developing the ICH strategies and initiatives, NHB conducted eight engagement sessions involving close to 190 ICH practitioners between November 2016 and September 2017 to solicit views and seek feedback.\n\nAs part of NHB’s public engagement efforts for Our SG Heritage Plan,1. the institution is presently consulting the wider public about the ICH strategies and initiatives through a dedicated website (oursgheritage.sg) and traveling exhibitions.\n\nFrom December 2017 to February 2018, close to 20,000 people have visited the exhibition, and the website has received more than 14,000 visitors. In addition, more than 5,500 people have submitted their views through onsite and online polls.\n\nThrough its efforts to document, safeguard, and facilitate the transmission of Singapore’s ICH, NHB hopes to strengthen the Singaporean identity because it believes that ICH provides links to Singapore’s past, facilitates community involvement, and fosters cultural understanding within and across ethnic communities.\n\nPhoto : The NHB’s traveling exhibition on Our SG Heritage Plan © National Heritage Board of Singapore

Kampong Gelam is an historical precinct that was originally conceived by Sir. Stamford Raffles to be a settlement area for the Malay, Arab, and Bugis communities in Singapore. In 1989, the core area of Kampong Gelam was gazetted for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Today, the historical precinct continues to retain a strong Malay and Muslim identity with both traditional and modern trades attracting locals and foreign tourists alike.\n\nLocated at the heart of Kampong Gelam is the Malay Heritage Centre, a heritage institution managed by the National Heritage Board. The center serves as a showcase of Malay heritage and culture in Singapore, as a focal point for the Malay community in Singapore and a place-maker for the historical precinct. It also presents exhibitions and programs that showcase the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the various sub-communities within the wider Malay community.\n\nIn 2011, the Malay Heritage Centre conceptualized and introduced its signature program known as Neighbourhood Sketches. Neighbourhood Sketches is a series of regular outdoor performances held within Kampong Gelam. The program brings the rich and diverse ICH art forms of the Malay community closer to the public through regular street performances outside the walls of the center.\n\nSince the introduction of the program in 2011, the Malay Heritage Centre has presented a total of 126 performances that have attracted more than 23,000 participants. The different types of ICH art forms showcased in these performances included Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet theater), Dondang Sayang (performance involving the exchange of Malay quatrains set to music), Angklung (ensemble performance using instruments made from bamboo), Gamelan Melayu (ensemble performance using predominantly percussive instruments), Dikir Barat (Malay choral singing), Silat (Malay martial arts), and Kuda-Kepang (Javanese horse dance).\n\nWhen curating performances for Neighbourhood Sketches, the Malay Heritage Centre makes a conscious effort to showcase a broad range of ICH art forms practiced by and associated with the Malay community. In addition to staging performances, the center ensures that key characteristics of each art form are shared with the audience during every performance and, where applicable, interactive segments involving audience participation are also included.\n\nIn addition, the Malay Heritage Centre records performances staged as part of Neighbourhood Sketches as a means of documenting the ICH art forms presented. The centre also leverages on technology to promote the performances to raise public awareness and uses social media platforms such as Facebook Live to broadcast these performances so that they are able to reach out to a wider audience.\n\nThus far, Neighbourhood Sketches has received an overwhelmingly positive response, and the majority of the audience members surveyed requested more performances as well as certain other ICH art forms to be presented. In addition, 95 percent of the audience members agreed that watching the performances contributed to a better understanding and appreciation of Malay arts, culture, and heritage.\n\nIt is worth noting that the ICH practitioners who participated in Neighbourhood Sketches have also enjoyed being part of the program. In fact, many of these ICH practitioners were grateful for the opportunity to showcase their craft to a wider audience and informed the Malay Heritage Centre that they felt a stronger sense of pride as ICH bearers after participating.\n\nBesides showcasing the cultural expressions, practices, and art forms of the Malay community, the performances of Neighbourhood Sketches also serve to educate and entertain visitors to Kampong Gelam. In doing so, they contribute to the overall cultural vibrancy of the historical precinct by activating its streets by presenting performances that are engaging and reflective and respectful of the precinct’s identity, culture, and heritage.\n\nPhoto : Wayang Wong (traditional Javanese theatre) performance by Kesenian Tedja Timur in the historical Kampong Gelam precinct. ⓒ Malay Heritage Centre

Owing to its Catholic traditions, the Philippines is perhaps one of the few countries in the world that celebrates Christmas the earliest and the longest. The country marks the Christmas holidays starting from 1 September. Shopping malls and shops will start displaying Christmas decorations; families will start to put up Christmas trees in their houses; and Christmas songs will be heard almost everywhere.\n\nSan Fernando, a city located in the province of Pampanga, is known as the Philippine Christmas capital. The city is famous for its colorful and handcrafted lanterns that had been part of the province’s Christmas traditions since the 1900s. The Christmas lantern is called parul sampernandu in Kapampangan, the local language of the Pampanga province or parol in Filipino. The origin of the word parol came from the Spanish farol, which means lantern or light. The lanterns symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, thus most lantern designs from San Fernando incorporate a star caricature. In the Catholic tradition, the Three Kings are believed to have followed the Star of Bethlehem that led them to find the Child Jesus in a manger.\n\nEvery December, the Giant Lantern Festival (Ligligan Parul in Kapampangan) is held in San Fernando. The lanterns are transformed like gigantic glowing stars with rotors that synchronize thousands of dancing lights and the sound of Christmas melodies. Usually the giant lanterns are about six meters tall and hung up in the air. Decorated with thousands of light bulbs, capiz shells, and fiberglass, the giant lanterns are stuck to polyvinyl plastic. It is a festival for the eyes; people flock at night to witness the grand salvo of lights and sound.\n\nThe Giant Lantern Festival is also a competition where various barangays in Pampanga compete to win for the most beautiful giant lantern in the province. The locals take pride in their province’s competition as it is where they showcase their creativity and knowledge in crafting the intricate designs of giant lanterns. Tracing back to the country’s colonial history, the lantern-making tradition in San Fernando Province is influenced by the Spanish. The Spanish encouraged the local people to have lantern processions in honor of Our Lady of La Naval or the blessed Virgin Mary. In the past, the people would have a nine-day novena called lubenas, which was usually held before Christmas. The religious tradition has evolved to become the Giant Lantern Festival where people flock to witness the spectacular yuletide festival.\n\nPhoto : 2012 "Ligligan Parul" Giant Lantern Festival CCBYSA3.0 Ramon FVelasquez / WikiMedia

Whang-od Oggay, a 102-year-old woman from a mountain tribe in the Philippines, is a living instrument in the continuity of pambabatok, an endangered ancient tattooing technique that chiefly constitutes hand-tapping to create figures on the skin. Believed to be the oldest tattoo artist and the last linkage of her tribe to pambabatok, Whang-od became famous in the internationally when she was featured by Dr. Lars Krutak, an American anthropologist who was the host of Discovery Channel’s Tattoo Hunter in 2009. Pambabatok is argued to be at least a thousand year old intangible cultural heritage (ICH) element.\n\nWhang-od is called a mambabatok, derived from the root word batok that means “to hit”. For her hand-tapping tools, she uses a lemon thorn needle or siit that is attached to the end of a small bamboo stick and another shorter stick for tapping the thorn into the skin. The ink she uses is a mixture of water and soot. Pambabatok, compared to other conventional tattooing techniques, is relatively painful. It is done by applying rhythmic and repetitive pricks on the skin using her traditional hand tools. During my personal visit in Buscalan in 2015 to see Whang-od, I noticed that she will begin tattooing the tourists in the first light of dawn and she will only finish at dusk. There would be days when almost fifty people lined up to get tattooed by her. Sometimes she could not eat because of the blood and flesh that she had been tapping all day.\n\nThe traditional designs of her tattoos come from the symbols of nature and geometric figures significant to the Butbut tribe, an indigenous community living in the village of Buscalan, nestled in the lush terraces of the Cordillera Mountains of Kalinga, a province in the northern part of the Philippines. In the olden days, the tribe was known for their headhunting culture. Warriors battled for land and honor to protect their tribe and village. They would cut off their enemies’ heads and as a reward they would be inked with magnificent tattoos that exude valiance when they return triumphantly to their village. The females also received tattoos as a rite of passage and symbol of beauty. Their tattoos transform girls into women; the women thereafter become eligible for marriage and bearing children. The more tattoos women had, the more attractive they were to the men in the village. Some elders believed that the tattoos could also cure infertility and various illnesses. The culture of headhunting and combat slowly disappeared due to modernization and religious influences. Consequently, protecting the vitality of their ritualistic and performance-based practices never occurred to be a social agenda.\n\nWhen a journalist named Grace, niece of Whang-od, realized that the tattooing heritage will be completely lost when her aunt dies, the transmission of pambabatok. Recently, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) awarder her with the 2018 Dangal ng Haraya Award for Intangible Cultural Heritage to honor her contribution in raising awareness about the Butbut tribe and safeguarding an ICH element of the Philippines.\n\nPhoto : Whang-od Oggay © Royce Lyssah Malabonga

September marks the celebration of one of the most famous and oldest festivals in the Philippines, the Peñafrancia where thousands of people flock to Naga City and show their fervent devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the patroness of Naga City in the Bicol Region. For more than three hundred years, religious devotees and pilgrims have attended the religious rites for the Peñafrancia Festival.\n\nThe Peñafrancia Festival involves two festivities. The celebration for the Divino Rostro or the Divine Face, usually held in the second week of September, is to pay homage to the image of Jesus Christ. People’s devotion to the Divino Rostro may have begun in 1882 during a sudden spread of cholera from Manila that reached Naga City. During that period, there was no cure for the epidemic, but according to the locals, when the image of the Divino Rostro was placed at the altar of the town’s cathedral, the epidemic astonishingly vanished. The weekend following the celebration of the Divino Rostro are the festivities for Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Due to the popularity of the Peñafrancia Festival, Naga has been dubbed the “pilgrim city” in the Philippines.\n\nDue to the 333-year Spanish colonization in the Philippines, various cultural traditions have been hemmed and blended into the country’s heritage particularly on religion. At present, almost 85 percent of the Philippines’ population are Roman Catholic. Thus, most festivals in the Philippines are associated with Catholic beliefs and traditions. The devotion of millions of Roman Catholics to Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City every year is one of the most intense religious rites in the country. During the festival, a nine-day novena is dedicated to Our Lady of Peñafrancia. A ceremony called Translación marks the first day of the novena through a land procession to transfer the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia to Naga Cathedral. The most awaited part of the festival is the ninth day of the novena when the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is returned to Basilica Minore in a fluvial procession along the Naga river.\n\nDuring the fluvial procession, images of Our Lady of Peñafrancia and Divino Rostro are boarded in a gazebo on a boat with Catholic clergies. The barge with the religious images is then followed by long canoes paddled by young men in colorful shirts. They paddle as fast as they can as though in a boat race. Only men are allowed to paddle the canoes, according to the beliefs of locals from the Bicol region, as women could trigger disaster. However, only chosen devotees (voyadores) can ride the canoes while the remaining devotees watch the procession on the shores of the river as they cheer “viva la Virgen.” A religious mass is held once the religious images arrive at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.\n\nPhoto 1 : A scene of Peñafrancia ⓒ Gregory Ian Nicerio Opeña\nPhoto 2 : A scene of Peñafrancia ⓒ Gregory Ian Nicerio Opeña

"The Cultural Heritage Administration has a new listing on the national intangible heritage list: the traditional Korean alcoholic beverage makgeolli and its associated culture. It incorporates the skill of making this milky and lightly effervescent rice wine and the cultural practices associated with sharing it. Makgeolli is conventionally brewed by cooking rice, mixing it with water and nuruk (a fermentation starter that contains sacchrogenic enzymes and natural yeast), and running the mash through a sieve after a few days of fermentation. Mak in makgeolli means ‘right now’ or ‘just then’ and geolli mean ‘to filter.’ Not only is the word pure Korean, but the name itself reveals the method of making the beverage and its characteristics.\n\nMakgeolli is an alcoholic beverage made from rice or other grains that is purported to date back to the introduction of farming on the Korean Peninsula. Histories on the Three Kingdoms period, such as Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms) and Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) include terms such as mion, jiju, and ryoye that presumably refer to what is known as makgeolli today. Baekju and other terms purported to denote makgeolli appear in Dongguk Isanggukjip (Collected Work by Minister Yi of the Eastern State) and other literary compilations from the Goryeo Dynasty. Books from the Joseon period, such as the novel Chunhyangjeon (The Story of Chunhyang) and the encyclopedia Gwangjaemulbo (Information on Comprehensive Things) contain mentions of mok-geolli or mak-geolli. Joseon-era cookbooks, such as Gyuhap Chongseo and Eumsik Dimibang, contain recipes for alcoholic beverages that would have been enjoyed as a cloudy makgeolli.\n\nMakgeolli can be made easily and at low cost simply with rice and nuruk. As a result, it was easily affordable, and it became the alcohol to sooth the sorrows of ordinary people. Makgeolli quenched the thirst of farmers throughout the working season. Korean farm laborers used to say, “If it all pays the same, I’d rather offer a hand to the farmhouse serving the most delicious makgeolli.”\n\nMakgeolli was also an indispensable element in ritual ceremonies and celebrations or mourning. Many traditions featuring makgeolli as a ritual drink have been transmitted to the present. The milky rice wine is still presented as an offering in many modern ceremonies commemorating, for example, the completion of a building, purchase of a new car, or opening of shops.\n\nIn a nutshell, the tradition of making and sharing makgeolli has been evaluated as a worth entry onto the national intangible heritage list for the following reasons: its transmission across the Korean Peninsula for ages; its historicity is supported by documents; it serves as an interesting subject of study in diverse academic fields such as history, food sciences, and folklore studies; and its association with a wide range of farmers’ songs, folkloric sayings, and literary work; among other reasons."\n\nPhoto : Makgeolli in a bowl. Public domain image.

Dao Mau, the Mother Goddess ritual, is an ancient Vietnamese ritual that has been around since the sixteenth century. For the first time, Dao Mau ritual was performed on 18 August 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The performance was organized by the Embassy of Vietnam in Sofia in collaboration with the State Cultural Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The ritual pays tribute to three spheres of the universe: heaven, water, and earth (mountains and forests).\n\nLieu Hạnh is a leading Mother Goddess figure in Vietnam. Referred to as the Mother of the World, she is a nymph who descended to Earth, lived as a human, and became a Buddhist nun. The biggest annual festival celebrated is held in Phu Day Temple, Nam Dinh Province. The Mother Goddess ritual includes music, songs, dance performances; performers are dressed in traditional Vietnamese costumes.\n\nIt is believed that practicing this ritual maintains culture, history, and heritage as communally shared richness. The ritual encourages good nature in each individual and enhances the connection among community members. Worshipping the Mother Goddess is also a sign of appreciation to the role and contribution of women in society. Recognized by UNESCO, this Vietnamese ritual was inscribed on Representative List in December 2016.\n\nPhoto : Practices related to the Viet’s beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms © UNESCO

Held in the twelfth lunar month of Thai Buddhist calendar, Salak Yom Festival is a tradition of the Yong people in the northern province of Lamphun, Thailand. It used to be a merit-making rite of passage for young Thai women of marriage-ready age, but by mid-twentieth century it started to fade away due to the high cost of individual donations. Starting 2004, however, as a result of collaboration between many local enthusiasts and the Buddhist temple Wat Hariphunchai Committee, the festival was re-established on slightly different grounds. What was too much of a burden for the young brides-to-be was transformed into a communal activity. In the present time, tall and neatly decorated Salak Yom trees are the hallmark objects of the festival as they are prepared and donated by the members of local communities working together. A competition was initiated when the festival was reintroduced. Through provincial sponsorship, prizes were awarded to those who created the tallest and most beautiful trees. This increased the number of participating villages; and the trees have grown way taller compared to their original form.\n\nThe merit-making aspect of the contemporary version of the festival takes quite a peculiar form. Since the trees are decorated not only with colorful paper leaves and flowers, but also with various objects quite useful for everyday life—clothes, packaged food, household products, and even bank notes—as donations to the monks of the local monasteries. The monks, however, are not expected to keep all of those items but share them with those in need. Lottery decided which community’s donations are received by which monks. So during the last day of the festival, each community’s representatives are waiting in the tents erected precisely for this purpose while numerous monks are wondering around with papers saying whom exactly they are getting donations from this year. Despite the religious idea underlying this entire activity, its atmosphere resembles more that of a fair.\n\nThis year’s Salak Yom Festival was held from 3 to 5 September. The display of Salak Yom trees in Wat Hariphunchai was complemented by a parade, traditional crafts market, and traditional dance performances. The traditional dance performances, however, were unfortunately accompanied by pre-recorded music and lit by colorful projectors as the current organizers believed that the use of technology could help the festival become up-to-date.\n\nPhoto : Salak Yom trees being erected. © Eva Rapoport

Singapore is a tiny Southeast Asian nation-state located in a region with many ethnic groups, of which the Chinese comprise only a small percentage of the overall population. Yet, the Chinese form the majority in Singapore, living alongside a significant proportion of non-Chinese. Over many years, this has led to a Chinese Singaporean identity that is complex and ever-changing.\n\nIn 2020, the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre launched a permanent exhibition to encourage greater appreciation of the distinctiveness of Chinese culture in Singapore through examples of food, festivals, and languages. For the exhibition title to reflect Singapore’s linguistic diversity, the curators invented a word by combining English and Mandarin—the two most widely spoken languages in Singapore. The first element of the title “Singapo” is drawn from the country’s English name while the “人” element is the Chinese character for “person” (pronounced as “ren” in Mandarin). Hence, by reading the two elements together, the exhibition title “ SINGAPO人” sounds like “Singaporean!”\n\nTo provide the context, the exhibition begins with an examination of five key historical socio-geographical aspects about Singapore that led the local Chinese community to develop differently. They comprised the legacy of 150 years of British colonial rule, its location in tropical Southeast Asia, heritage of early Chinese migrants who were mostly from the southern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, the co-existence of a relatively large proportion of non-Chinese minorities, and Singapore’s reliance on global trade and connectivity for its economic survival.\n\nThese five aspects may be summarized into three basic driving forces that have shaped and continue to shape the Chinese culture in Singapore today. Firstly, there is Chinese heritage, which the early migrants brought to Singapore. These include their values (as reflected in festivals and practices), belief systems, language, customs, and food dishes that originated from China. Secondly, there are the cultural interactions among the different southern Chinese sub-groups (dialect groups) and between the Chinese community and the other ethnic groups in Singapore. These interactions ranged from the casual, such as attending to daily chores, to deeper levels of engagement, such as inter-marriage. These led to changes and adaptations to the way of life of the local Chinese. Thirdly, the Chinese community was also affected by how Singapore was governed. Whether during the colonial period or post-independence, all governments seek to shape society to achieve certain objectives. Hence, the impact of public policies and laws on cultural development is significant.\n\nIn other words, these are the three underlying key ingredients that give the Chinese Singaporean ‘recipe’ its distinct flavor. For instance, this is reflected in the way Chinese New Year is celebrated in Singapore. Firstly, the festival is a tradition that originated in China, and as such, is part of Chinese heritage (first ingredient). Although Chinese New Year does not coincide with the new year of the Gregorian calendar used in Singapore, it is nevertheless a public holiday and held in high regard by the local Chinese because it is a festival that emphasizes family togetherness and filial piety. Secondly, Singaporeans love to eat pineapple tarts and love letters during Chinese New Year. However, these snacks did not originate from China. Rather, they were made popular by the Peranakan (local-born) Chinese who often adopted Western techniques like the baking oven, and Western ingredients such as butter in their cuisine. This type of hybrid food is an example of cultural interaction (second ingredient) at work. Thirdly, during Chinese New Year, Singaporeans enjoy attending local festive events like Chingay and River Hongbao. These are large-scale public events organized by the state or state-sponsored organizations. This is an example of public policies (third ingredient) shaping the way in which Chinese New Year is celebrated in Singapore.\n\nHence, these three ingredients, found in many overseas Chinese communities, were present in the past and continue to exist in Singapore today. The influence of each ingredient varies with time, creating complex outcomes that shape Chinese Singaporean culture.\n\nFor more information about the exhibition SINGAPO 人, please refer to the SCCC website at: https://singaporeccc.org.sg/permanent-exhibition/\n\nPhotos 1~4 : The exhibition uses both physical and digital media content to engage visitors. © Low Sze Wee

The Awa Dance Festival, also known as the Awa Odori Dance Festival, is the largest traditional festival in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, and has over four hundred years of history. It is held in mid-August every year. Awa is the old administration name for Tokushima, and odori means dance. As a folk dance in the region, Awa odori originated from a Buddhist practice. It is generally believed that a collective dance style was added to a priestly dance to honor the spirits of ancestors, leading to today’s Awa odori.\n\nThe Awa Dance Festival is held as part of the Obon Festival, a major Japanese holiday. This year, festival will be held for four days, from 12 to 15 August. The main celebration starts around 6:00 p.m. in city centers and continues until 10:30 p.m. People dance in parks and stage areas and parade through the streets. Large crowds come from around the country to see and enjoy Awa Odori, which is also called “dance of fools” after old Tokushima saying:\n\nThe dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance?\n\nAt this time of year, over a thousand groups of choreographed dancers (ren) from around Japan register for the festival. Other non-ren dancers also gather to present voluntary performances. Spectators are also free to join the festivities. As such, Awa Odori can be better enjoyed through collective dance steps. Typically, men dance in a powerful style while women dance in a more graceful fashion.\n\nTo spur the excitement, ren dancers play hayashi, an essential part of the festival, with traditional musical instruments, such as with flutes, drums, kane gongs, and three-stringed shamisen lutes. This combination of flute and percussion instruments is called norimono. The kane player leads the group; flutes produce melody; drums provide a rhythmic base, signaling the start of the festival.\n\nDuring the festival, visitors can enjoy Awa Odori performances on stages in city centers. The Awa Odori Kaikan is one of the main indoor stages, where outstanding groups present Awa Odori demonstrations. The most notable feature of the festival is that it encourages all people, not just ren dancers, to participate in the festival; people voluntarily establish and join related associations and promote the festival themselves, which have led to the festival’s success. To take part in the festival and have a chance to dance on stage, one can join the Niwaka Ren to learn choreography.\n\nPhoto : Group of female dancers at the Awa Odori Matsuri in Tokushima. CCBY3.0 Stemu2000 (Wikimedia Commons)

Traditional houses (uma-lulik in the local language) are considered cultural centers and roots for Timorese people and a symbol of national identity that defines who we are. These houses are also considered sacred by the local community and places for generations of families to gather and communicate with their ancestors. Ritual ceremonies, which consist of ICH elements, are associated with uma-lulik. The traditional houses are known as a main pillar in regard to social interaction, with each individual integrated into the sacred houses since birth.\n\nTimor-Leste’s traditional houses play an important role that embraces various ICH elements, for instance sau-batar (corn harvesting, a ritual celebration usually conducted every six months) and finadu (soul day, a ritual celebrating death, which is usually held on 2 November every year). Two perspectives can be used to describe aspects of the uma-lulik: first, as a material construction, usually recognized as tangible heritage. If we are specifically looking into a piece of material/tangible heritage itself, it’s the same as other traditional houses around the world—that is to say, the overall physical shaping with local materials such as timber, bamboo, rope, and grasses. However, from another perspective, if we look into the intangible cultural elements associated with uma-lulik, then we can see that the traditional houses of Timor-Leste are totally different from others. Usually, constructing a uma-lulik takes a long time due to the various ritual ceremonies that are conducted at every stage of the build.\n\nCauses of Uma-Lulik Endangerment\nThe existence of traditional houses has been endangered due to conflict and the negative effects of globalization and human interference. The current economic expansion and infrastructure development displace local communities, who maintain cultural value. As a new country in Southeast Asia, Timor-Leste is currently facing huge challenges, and most traditional houses have been destroyed and abandoned by local communities.\n\nThe long process of conflict has had effects on the cultural heritage value, specifically of traditional houses themselves. Many uma-lulik were destroyed and abandoned during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999). The existence of the uma-lulik was dramatically reduced due to most people being classed as suspect and ritual ceremonies being prohibited by the Indonesian military. In 1999, many traditional houses were destroyed during the final period of Indonesian occupation. The long-running background of conflict also includes the Japanese attacks between 1942 and 1945 and the Portuguese colonialism period for almost five centuries (1512–1975). The overall stages of occupation and turmoil has put Timor-Leste’s traditional houses at risk.\n\nSafeguarding Local Knowledge\nTransmitting local knowledge (the construction technique) should be considered a priority and must be safeguarded before it is lost (the Lia-Na’in are the oldest community leading ritual ceremonies). Local knowledge is a crucial indicator, meaning that people are vital resources and significant actors. The Lia-Na’in have high competence related to cultural decision making, including the overall house construction process.\n\nIt is important for the main ICH elements and concepts to be transmitted for future generations to safeguard traditional houses will have a positive impact in maintaining other ICH elements such as sau-batar and finadu. This could be achieved through networking cooperation to enhance advocacy, documentation, and research.\n\nPhoto : The formation of traditional houses in the Atu-Aben Clan, Bobonaro Municipality, Timor-Leste. Site abandoned by the local community. ⓒ Abraão Mendonça, Timor-Leste National Commission for UNESCO