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

A triad of spring festive rites—biye baylau, ayghyr kosu, and kymyz murundyk, identified and documented in Terisakkan Village in the northern outskirts of Ulytau District, Central Kazakhstan—is a testimony to nomadic culture surviving up to today. Regarded by its bearers as the most important annual festive event, it starts in early May with first spring warmth, new grass, flowers, and foals, opening a new year-round cycle of life reproduction and a new season of making koumiss, an ancient sacred drink.

Cultural heritage in Vietnam is a valuable property of the Vietnamese people and the foundation for national traditions that have formed over many generations. With more than 40,000 cultural heritage elements and sites, Vietnam has highly respected treasures to be introduced to the rest of the world whenever possible. Taking care of cultural heritage means regarding what the past, present, and imaginable future have engendered to improve national identity.\n\nAfter Vietnam’s independence in 1945, and on behalf of provisional government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No 65 on 23 November 1945. The decree formally mandates conserving antique vestiges, or what will later be known as cultural heritage. Based on the concept of conservation and to promote tradition and Vietnamese cultural heritage, the Prime Minister approved Decision No 36/2005/QD-TTg on 24 January 2005 to officially set 23 November as Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day. The November holiday is festive with many educational events that explain what it means to be responsible for protecting cultural heritage and why it is important to do so.\n\nTo celebrate this year’s Cultural Heritage Day, events are being prepared by relevant institutions. In the Ho Guom Cultural Information Centre, a photo exhibition on Vietnamese heritage will be held, featuring the winning photos of the 2017 Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards. The exhibition will take place in front of the center in Hanoi and will then move to other cities through March 2018. In the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts,Green Heritage Culture and Tourism Week will be organized under the theme “The Convergence of Human and Nature”, gathering nationwide communities together to exchange and introduce their lasting cultural values.

Among fifteen national festivals celebrated in Bhutan, Thruebab or Thrübab is considered a grand event observed not only by the Bhutanese but also by Tibetans. It is a spiritual event that roughly falls between 20 and 25 September coinciding the early date of the eighth month of the Bhutanese calendar. Based on the etymology of Thruebab (thrue—wash, bath, holy water; bab—descend), the Buddhist term literally means “holy water descending”. Due to climate change, however, there is an unexpected shower and sometimes not a single drop of rain (or holy water as it were) from the sky. Regardless, the day of Thruebab is widely known as Blessed Rainy Day. The significance of the day is well connected to the view of both astrological and philosophical texts of Tibetan Buddhism. A special star, believed to be Rishi, is formed by crystal (chu-shel) and a gemstone (ketaka). With similar precious stones, an image of Vairocana Buddha was said to be erected by the great yogis with prayers to fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings. While the star Rishi revolves around the mythological mount Meru, it’s calculated that the star reaches directly above the Buddha’s figure exactly on the early date of the eighth lunar month emitting divine water drops from the collusion of rays from the star and from the Buddha’s crest. Both the rays and water drops permeate the streams and rivers of the world with immense healing power and blessings.\n\nThruebab, as an officially declared holiday, is observed by the whole of Bhutan. Various media platforms predict the beginning of the descent of the holy water and cover the entire event. However, the descent may happen early morning, after dawn, or sometimes even at noon. If it happens early in the morning, people would fill a container of flowers with the water falling down and keep it outside their house to receive the light of Rishi. As the descent happens, people use the water in taking a bath and drinking. Although Thruebab is primarily a spiritual event, people also take advantage of it to celebrate. They would take shower in open streams, ponds, or water taps and wash their clothes. Elderlies merrily shout Thrue! Thrue! Thrue! It means “cleanse us of sins and diseases”. Taking a bath is certainly the highlight of the day.\n\nThe program is then followed by making offerings and prayers. After supplication, family members gather in the dining room to eat rice porridge called thugpa as served either by the mother or eldest daughter. After this, families either visit temples and monasteries or go out for a picnic with relatives, friends, and neighbors. While men often play traditional games like archery, women sing and dance to give the game more elements of entertainment. Thruebab is considered as an integral part of intangible cultural heritage of Bhutan, fortifying social cohesion among the people. It engages people with religious activities and connects them to natural resources.\n\nPhoto : CONTRIBUTED BY YESHI LENDHUP

For thousands of years, Nowruz has been celebrated by the Persians. This ancient ceremony is celebrated every year on 1 Farvardin (the first month in Persian Calendar), roughly 20 April, to welcome the new year and the spring, which brings life back to Earth for a new beginning. However, preparations begin a few weeks before, and the actions and performances continue for almost two weeks.\n\nPreparing for New Spring\nNowruz preparations begin a few weeks prior to the new year, with a traditional spring cleaning called khaneh yekani. It is also customary to purchase new clothing for the family and maybe new furniture for the home as a way of welcoming the new year and spring.\n\nHaft Seen Table\nWhile preparing for Nowruz, the people create the Haft Seen Table, a special family activity that begins by spreading a special family cloth on a table and setting the table with the seven S (seen) items including:\n\nSumac: The crushed spice of berries for the sunrise and the spice of life\nSenjed: Sweet dry fruit of the lotus tree for love and affection\nSerkeh: Vinegar for patient and age\nSeeb: Apple for health and beauty\nSir: Garlic for good health\nSamanu: wheat pudding for fertility and sweetness of life\nSabzeh: sprouted wheat grass for rebirth and renewal of nature\nBesides these items, other symbolic items go on the Haft Seen Table, depending on the tradition of each family. For example, a mirror symbolizes a reflection on the past year, an orange in a bowl of water symbolizes Earth, colored eggs represent fertility, and coins for prosperity in the new year. Special flowers called Hyacinths symbolize spring, and candles radiate light and happiness. Families also put Qur’an or Shahnameh, an epic Persian story of colorful kings and princes written around 1000 CE by the great Persian poet, Ferdowsi.\n\nChahar Shanbe Suri\nIt is also a tradition to celebrate the last Wednesday of the old year, Chahar Shanbe Suri by lighting small bonfire in the streets and jump over the flame shouting “Zardie to az man, sorkhie man az to” which means “May my sickly pallor be yours and your red glow be mine” with which, the flame symbolically removes all the unpleasant and unwelcomed things of the previous year.\n\nQashoq Zani\nWhile others are jumping over the bonfire, others are busy performing Qashoq Zani, which is very much like Halloween. Children—with some of the adults—wander around the alleys making sounds by tapping a pan or pot to bring out the neighbors. The neighbors open their doors and give the children treats.\n\nFalgoosh\nA group of unmarried woman and teenagers huddled in the corners of dark alleys and stand falgoosh, listening to the conversations of passersby. The content of the first sentence of a conversation is regarded as an omen (fal) or portent for the future. This continues until there is no more wood to burn.\n\nTraditions\nIt is also a custom to make ash (a kind of soup) and serve it after the ceremony to end the Chahar Shanbe Suri program. After ending the ceremony, in a few days, all people around the country wait for the exact time of changing seasons, when the new year comes, the tahvil moment.\n\nThe Moment of Tahvil\nThe exact time of the new year is calculated by astrologists and occurs during the venereal equinox; this is tahvil. Throughout history, people have been informed when they hear “Haji Firooz” being sung. A special person crossing through their neighborhood and the singing and dancing would spread the news of Nowruz. He is dressed in a red satin outfit and has his face painted as a disguise. A few minutes left to tahvil, families and friends gather around the Haft Seen Table.\n\nTo Visit Elderly\nThe joyful moment of tahvil is delightful for people, and they want to share the good feeling with those beloved and close friends and relatives. The priority is to visit with the elderly on the new year, where they serve fruit, sweets, and nuts, and children receive small gifts or an amount of money called eidi from their grandparents. This is why children are so passionate for these visits. These visits continue depending on how busy the adults are or until the last day of the Nowruz holiday.\n\nSizdah Bedar\nOn 13 Farvardin, the last day of the Nowruz holiday, people will leave their places to spend the day in the countryside. It is called sizdah (thirteen) bedar (out) to accompany nature through the change of the seasons. They bring their sabzeh and get to tie grass and make wishes like making a wonderful spouse or wishing for money, and after that they throw it into running water.\n\nPhoto : Celebratory foods for Nowruz © Mohammad Shirkavand

Many countries all over the world celebrate Mother’s Day, which is a way to thank mothers and show respect for her unconditional love. This day of celebration is new in many countries. But in Nepal this special day has a special traditional significance that goes beyond the physical presence of mothers in the world, so calling this day just mother’s day doesn’t do justice for the significance it carries to the people of Nepal. This day is known as aama ko mukh herne din in Nepali, which could be literally translated as “the day to see mother’s face.”\n\nThis day is celebrated on new moon day in the month of Baisakh (first month of Nepali Calendar). This year its fall on 4 May 2019. People pay gratitude to their mother by presenting her with fruits, sweets, and gifts. Especially, daughters who are married and are far the parents go to visit their mothers on this special day and makes the special preparations for the visits. Likewise, there is also a day for father, which is celebrated on new moon day of Bhadra (fifth month of Nepali Calendar).\n\nParents hold a high status in the family and are respected and given the status almost equivalent to a god. So even when they pass on, they will still have a place in daily life and festivities. So on this day, the people who have lost their mother go to temples and holy sites in the morning to donate rice, fruit, and money to the priests and beggars. People believe that the parents who have died will receive the offerings made to priests and others. People also take holy dips in rivers and holy ponds. Ancient beliefs indicate that people could see the reflection of their deceased mother in the water. They also perform a special ritual known as shradha on the riverbanks in the name of the deceased mother.\n\nA few days before aama ko mukh herne din, the streets and markets are busy with people buying things for their mother, creating a vibrant and festive atmosphere with fruit sellers and sweet shops making special arrangements.\n\nPhoto 1 : People taking a holy dip in the matatirtha (holy place) on aama ko mukh herne din ⓒ Monalisa Maharjan\nPhoto 2 : Sweet shops in Kathmandu busy making traditional sweets ⓒ Monalisa Maharjan

Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked country the territory of which is more than 94 percent mountainous, is among the most attractive lands located at the heart of Asia on the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The cultural heritage of the Kyrgyz people has been greatly influenced by their nomadic history. Kyrgyz people occupy a unique cultural environment and have a rich ICH. The vitality of this cultural heritage is safeguarded and transmitted from generation to generation as collective memory, orally or through practice and expression.

Two festivals of ak-elechek (or elechek) took place in Kyrgyzstan in March 2017. One of them was held at the national scale; one thousand women from all provinces wearing ak-elechek participated in the event in the nation’s capital, Bishkek. The second event took place in Talas, a small northern province, where women made eighty-six elechek models.\n\nAk-elechek is a traditional white Kyrgyz female turban, made of many layers of a single piece of cloth. The material (silk, wool, or cotton), number of turban layers, and its model depend on the age, social, and marital status of women.\n\nIn the past, a young woman would put on an ak-elechek for the first time when going to a prospective husband’s house, and then, after the marriage ceremony, the woman had to wear ak-elechek at all public events. In emergencies, Kyrgyz women would sometimes use ak-elechek during unexpected births or for wounds or trauma. A widespread traditional blessing, “Don’t let your white ak-elechek fall down from a head,” is a wish for lifelong family happiness.\n\nOne thousand women in ak-elechek in Bishkek and eighty-six women in Talas impressively gathered to promote Kyrgyz traditional values and recall the important roles women in society. Women of different ages and social statuses from all regions of the country participated in the national and regional festivals. Events were organized by the public association Kyrgyz Tilekteshtigi (the Kyrgyz Cooperation) and by the Kiyiyz-Duino – Kochmon Rukhu (Felt World – Spirit of Nomadism) Fund.\n\nPhoto : Women wearing Ak-elechek© Kiyiyz-Duino – Kochmon Rukhu

Marking the beginning of spring, Navruz (meaning March equinox) is one of the largest traditional holidays in Central Asia. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has been celebrating Navruz (Nooruz in Kyrgyz) for a long time as its national holiday. When the Navruz holiday comes, Kyrgyz families gather to make holiday desserts: sumolok and boorsok.\n\nIn the old times, sumolok was a ritual dish prepared before the start of spring sowing. Sumolok is a sweet paste made from germinated wheat and stir cooked in a kazan, a large traditional pot in Central Asia. Sumolok has become an important cuisine in Kyrgyz culture since almost all of Kyrgyzstan celebrates the holiday by making it. In villages and towns, families gather around a kazan full of sumolok and take turns to stirring the sumolok. Usually it takes a whole day and night to finish the cuisine, which is why a typical Navruz scene in Kyrgyzstan is pictured as a group of families sitting around a Kazan while singing and stirring sumolok.\n\nBoorsok, on the other hand, is cooked faster than sumolok. Also a traditional sweet in Central Asia, boorsok is a type of fried dough in various shapes. Kyrgyz boorsok is typically shaped like a pressed doughnut.\n\nThis year, Boorsok National Record was held in the Arashan village near the capital city, Bishkek. The event was organized by Ethnographic Complex Kyrgyz Aiyli (meaning Kyrgyz village), successfully attracting an estimated 1,500 local residents and tourists. The main programs included making boorsok, singing songs, and competing in horse riding and other national games. The participants in the boorsok cooking competition used about a ton of flour and made more than 800 kg of boorsok. Later, boxes of boorsok were sent to nearby orphanages and the elderly in Arashan Village.\n\nMarking the beginning of spring, Navruz (meaning March equinox) is one of the largest traditional holidays in Central Asia. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has been celebrating Navruz (Nooruz in Kyrgyz) for a long time as its national holiday. When the Navruz holiday comes, Kyrgyz families gather to make holiday desserts: sumolok and boorsok.\n\nIn the old times, sumolok was a ritual dish prepared before the start of spring sowing. Sumolok is a sweet paste made from germinated wheat and stir cooked in a kazan, a large traditional pot in Central Asia. Sumolok has become an important cuisine in Kyrgyz culture since almost all of Kyrgyzstan celebrates the holiday by making it. In villages and towns, families gather around a kazan full of sumolok and take turns to stirring the sumolok. Usually it takes a whole day and night to finish the cuisine, which is why a typical Navruz scene in Kyrgyzstan is pictured as a group of families sitting around a Kazan while singing and stirring sumolok.\n\nBoorsok, on the other hand, is cooked faster than sumolok. Also a traditional sweet in Central Asia, boorsok is a type of fried dough in various shapes. Kyrgyz boorsok is typically shaped like a pressed doughnut.\n\nThis year, Boorsok National Record was held in the Arashan village near the capital city, Bishkek. The event was organized by Ethnographic Complex Kyrgyz Aiyli (meaning Kyrgyz village), successfully attracting an estimated 1,500 local residents and tourists. The main programs included making boorsok, singing songs, and competing in horse riding and other national games. The participants in the boorsok cooking competition used about a ton of flour and made more than 800 kg of boorsok. Later, boxes of boorsok were sent to nearby orphanages and the elderly in Arashan Village.\n\nMore information about Navruz is available in ICHCAP’s e-Knowledge Center.\n\nWatch Other Navruz Videos\nNavruz is celebrated throughout Central Asia, with each ethnic group having its own take on the holiday. The videos of Tajik and Uzbek celebrations below are from ICHCAP’s Central Asia ICH Collection.

Mongols have practiced pastoral nomadism for centuries within the vast steppe that stretches throughout Central Asia, which has led to the creation of a nomadic civilization, a distinct civilization accepted worldwide. Within the context of this residing landscape, the main features of spirituality, and oral and intangible cultures practiced by Mongols have been crafted and determined.

Fifteen years ago, nobody used the term ‘intangible cultural heritage’ (ICH) in Vietnam. It was only used in the official context of the 2001 Law on Cultural Heritage. The Cultural Heritage Law of Vietnam is conforming with other international documents regarding wording for safeguarding ICH and inventories. Although inventory-making is one of the important measures used in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, the term ‘ICH inventory making’ was not included in the law. At that time, inventory making meant surveying and collecting. In 2003, as an international legal tool, the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage helped enlighten the understanding of ICH inventory making in Vietnam. Six years later, this term, as well as other contents compatible with the Convention were included in the 2009 amended Law on Cultural Heritage. This illustrates the fact that, despite starting late, understanding and awareness of ICH inventory-making in Vietnam has developed rapidly and thoroughly.

In 2013, the UNESCO Office in Bangkok, in collaboration with the Islamabad, Hanoi, Apia, and Tashkent offices, undertook a project to experiment how intangible cultural heritage (ICH) could be used as part of a pedagogical approach to raise awareness about sustainable development. Activities, implemented thanks to the generous support of the Japanese government, were framed around the themes of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The pilot project produced guidelines and sample lesson plans for teachers to guide them into developing educational materials grounded in local knowledge and practices. Seventeen schools in four countries—Pakistan, Palau, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam— participated in the pilot. The emphasis was not on teaching pure cultural content, but rather on using ICH as a vehicle to enrich the teaching of existing school subjects.