In the Buryat tradition (and in the Mongolian as well), “shamans” were not pure shamans in the classical sense of the word. Those involved with medical affairs were considered mediums between the lower sphere of the Eternal Blue Sky (Khukhe Monke Tengeri) and land inhabitants. Eternal Blue Sky worship was a traditional religious belief of Mongolians. Cross-cultural influences with the neighboring Tunguso-Manchurian people, whose religious traditions may be identified as classical forms of shamanism, introduced the ideas of ‘shaman’ and ‘shamanism’ to the Mongols.

It had taken a few weeks for roads to be cleared of rockfalls and to be made safe enough for vehicles carrying essential goods and supplies in the wake of the June 2013 flash floods and landslides in the western Himalayan region, in particular the mountainous state of Uttarakhand. A small team from the specialist center that I was associated with, the Centre for Environment Education Himalaya, was traveling to a few of the villages that had been affected, which were also villages in which the center had been working for some years before the natural disaster. Those in the small group were anxious. There had been no way to contact people in the villages nor even local administrators in the sub-district offices. Phone lines had yet to be restored, and mobile phone towers were being slowly replaced. Had there been casualties amongst the groups the center had trained? Were homes and school buildings still standing? No-one would know until they reached.

The Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) was launched in July 2007 to promote understanding of Laos’ ethnic diversity and advocate for the survival and transmission of Laotian cultural heritage. It is the only independent museum and cultural heritage center in Laos dedicated to the collection, preservation, and interpretation of the traditional arts and lifestyles of the country’s ethnic groups.

With the 2003 UNESCO Convention adopted as a normative tool and essentially a basis to build ICH international cooperation, further attention was driven to a question of building functioning and sustainable ICH networks. In most cases networks do have more or less defined rules of the game, to which all the members agree when joining and acting as members. In this regard, the purpose a network was created for, its mission and the objectives set are the primary considerations. We will see that some networks tend to have more clearly identified obligations and duties for the members while others are more flexible and offer higher degree of freedom. Joining a network on the other had offer certain benefits that differ depending on the nature of a network, and its objectives. Researchers identify three types of networking: operational, personal, and strategic. While operational networks are normally employed to have the job done efficiently, personal networks aim at personal and professional development through external contacts and are oriented to future potential interests. Strategic networks in turn are both external and internal and are needed to identify future priorities and challenges and making stakeholders support them. Although operational, personal, and strategic networks are not mutually exclusive, to maximize efficiency effective leaders learn employing networks for strategic purposes.

The region of Bay of Bengal has been an important part of maritime activities, including trading and fisheries from very ancient times. The significance of the region continues even at present. The massive \nwaterbody is a representation of a busy network of trade and commerce and the basis of livelihoods for thousands who surround it from all sides from various countries. Fishing as an occupation is an important \nsector of food and nutritional security and India alone, has more than nine million active fisherfolk across its coastline, who are directly dependent on fisheries for their livelihood, amidst which 80 % are small scale fishers. The sector of fisheries employs over 14 million people and contributes to 1.1 % of the Indian GDP. Though the number remains unaccounted for in most countries, but amidst the number of \nfishermen, there is a substantial number of fisherwomen, who have been contributing through generations in various ways, including supplementing the family income through alternative methods of income, as well as being the main conduits of maintaining various elements of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional methods of fishing. This research paper is an attempt to look into the contribution of the fisherwomen community around the western fringes of the Bay of Bengal, especially looking at the countries of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and the vital contributions of these womenfolk. The fisherwomen \nnot only help to sustain the families through the main profession of the family, but also helps financially through various subsidiary modes of income, like handicrafts and artwork. This is extremely helpful for sustaining the family in time of the lean seasons of fishing, as well as during periods of disaster, like the present Covid-19 pandemic situation. These attempts of the fisherwomen, thus, connects various factors to \noverall social cohesion and development, including sustaining various channels of intangible cultural heritage which directly connects to their main profession and also helps in transmission of community values \nand also redefines gender roles within the community.

Two frequently used proverbs in Korea are “like a rat caught in a jar” and “the sauce rather than the pot.” The first is used to describe someone caught in a difficult situation, like a rat that has fallen into a large onggi jar while the second means that the taste of the sauce contained within the pot is more important than what the pot looks like and is used to emphasize that content is more important than form.

Gijisi tug‐of‐war is one among many traditional Korean tug‐of‐war games. \nPlaying Gijisi tug‐of‐war forms a temporary community as well as a trans-mission community. In exploring the formed community, this article will discuss how the communities are formed, the features they have, and the meaning such temporary communities have. In addition, this article will examine how continuous and conventional communities enable the Gijisi tug‐of‐war event to take place. While doing so, different features of the tug‐of‐war communities will be discussed by comparing the characteristics of the Gijisi tug‐of‐war community with the Jul Nanjang, a special market held for the tug-of-war. Although different and both have changed, the characteristics of contemporary traditional transmission commu-nity will be clarified. Such comparative research might give Gijisi tug‐of‐war to find its unique position among traditional tug‐of‐war games.\nBased on the name, Gijisi tug‐of‐war, one may assume that the people who create such a spectacular would be residents in Gijisi‐ri or even residents of Dangjin, which includes Gijisi‐ri. However, participation in the tug‐of‐war is not restricted and is open to visitors from the whole country as well as foreigners. As such, a community for playing tug‐of‐war is temporarily formed. In other words, it is a temporary com-munity that is formed in a specific time and space.

The presence of goddesses has been a consistent feature within Korean polytheistic shamanism and traditional popular religions. These goddesses are often associated with nature or aspects of family and life. Samsin is a grandmother goddess who gives life to babies. Known as Samsin Halmeoni (Samsin grandmother), she protects the mother and newborn during the birthing process and while growing up. Youngdeung Halmeoni (Youngdeung grandmother), the goddess of wind, is a capricious goddess who reflects the stereotypical character of a mother-in-law who torments her daughter-in-law. As Korea became a male-dominant society, Sanshin (mountain god) was modified to become a male god, although Sanshin was originally a female goddess.

The Central Asian region is a unique area where centuries-old civilisations, religions, and cultures have intersected. The region’s ICH provides the basis for historical self-identification of the people that inhabit the region, and this ICH has influence on their future spiritual development. The ancestral heritage is intertwined in a vast cultural material, which reveals itself in folklore, legends, festivals, and games; in the rules and norms of social behaviour; in music, songs, and dances; and in national costumes as well as in decorative and applied arts and crafts.

Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti works with communities to address varied aspirations of the people, ranging from managing local resources, promoting traditional knowledge to issues of their livelihood with conservation concerns for biological resources. JJVS aims to improve the socio-economic status of local communities by recognizing the potential of both individuals and communities and empowering them to determine development issues and solutions through the utilization of their available resources.