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.

Jeju Yeongdeunggut is a shamanic ritual performed during the second lunar month to greet and see off the goddess Yeongdeung. Yeongdeung, the goddess of wind, is typically recognized in the form of Yeongdeunghalmang (Grandmother Yeongdeung). In winter, when the cold wind blows from the northwest, she brings prosperity to the land and sea. It was the custom for the Yeongdeung Welcoming Ritual to be performed to celebrate her arrival and the Yeongdeung Farewell Ritual to be performed fifteen days later to mark her departure.

The ships of Joseon Tongsinsa (diplomatic mission to Japan), a symbol of cultural exchange between Joseon and Japan, became the subject of a study as part of an academic restoration project that examines government-built ships as a means to unveil the original form of Joseon warships, including the panok ship and turtle ship.

The tug-of-war is one of the most well-known intangible cultural heritage elements that represent the Republic of Korea. Tug-of-war games were widely enjoyed by people across the country before the 1930s and 1940s. During the 1960s, the tug-of-war came under the protection of the Cultural Heritage Conservation Policy and has been appointed and is being managed by local and national governments. Locally, eight tug-of-war traditions have been inscribed on the national inventory list. Moreover, compared to other ICH element studies, of the element has been significantly researched.\n\nTug-of-war is a cultural heritage element of many East Asian nations, and these nations are preparing to nominate the element to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In this context, the goal of this paper is to discover universal traits in tug-of-war traditions in East Asia. However, besides the Republic of Korea and Japan, there is insufficient research on tug-of-war traditions in the region, which limits the scope of this presentation. In case of China, despite the existence of various records on tug-of-war in literature, the tradition as it exists in China today seems to be more of a sports match than a ritual event. I would also like to mention that this paper is a draft based on document records, the Internet, and the academic symposium hosted by Gijisi Tug-of-War Conservation Institute.

Throughout the years, I have been researching Korean recreational activ-ities, and among them, the tug-of-war was definitely the most central theme. According to my research, the Korean tug-of-war has many different fea-tures following the different regional characteristics, but they also have similar patterns. Although it is possible to speculate that the diverse characteristics of each region’s tug-of-war is due to the area’s geo-ecological, sociocultural, and magi-co-religious factors and culture exchange, it is difficult to prove these factors in depth. Thus, this paper examines the diverse features present in the tug-of-war through studies completed up to now. Also I would like to add that the only intent for the tug-of-war studies was to compile and examine them in this report. Despite many methods in examining the diversity of tug-of-war, this paper sets a few standards to reveal the present features, and with these standards, the meaning of Korean tug-of-war can be understood.

In the historical books and folk beliefs of the Việt, there have been many stories and legends of Thánh Gióng - the Saint of the ancient Việt who was considered as one of the four immortal gods by the Vietnamese nationwide. The monarchic dynasties of the Great Việt in Vietnam bequeathed him as a Heavenly King. Legend has it that he was born as the result of a magical union between a girl from Gióng village and the giant footprint of the rain god in the Việt’s myths. At the age of three, he grew miraculously into a giant after hearing the King’s appeal to find gifted people to save the country and its people. After defeating the foreign invaders, the hero went to Sóc mountain and flew into the heaven.

Inventories are a fundamental tool for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). In its “Guidance Note\nfor Inventorying ICH,” UNESCO reiterates the importance of community participation in the inventorying\nprocess. In other words, ICH inventories must go beyond mere documentation of specific elements by experts and instead enable a collaborative process whereby the information gathered assists with keeping the ICH meaningful and viable for associated communities. Digital media offers exciting opportunities for engaging communities in ICH inventory processes, as well as in modeling information in ways that help heritage professionals, advocates, and practitioners gain a more nuanced view of an element’s viability. In this paper I present two digital tools, Photovoice and Arches, that can assist community-based inventories to identify and document the complex cultural “ecosystem” that ICH lives through.

The harp is one of the earliest musical instruments of the world. World musicologists believe that the Harp was a musical instrument used by ancient man who hunted with bows and arrows. Harps now being used by people of the contemporary world fall into two types the bow shaped type and the trangle shape type. Of the two the bow shaped harps are said to be the earlier type.\nIn Myanmar, ancient chronicles say that harps were being played as early as in the Pyu Period. In February of 802 A.D. Sri Khettra despatched a Pyumusic and dance ensemble to Chan-ann the city of the Tang Dynasity of China. Tang Dynasty chronicles say that the Pyumusicians had with them two harps with pheasant’s head shapes, two harps with corcodile’s head shapes, one flat harp in the shape of a dragon’s head, one flat harp in the shape of rain clouds, two flat harps of big gourds, one flat gourd-harp with a single string and one small flat gourd-harp. \nAmong rock relief sculptures found on the walls of the Ananda pagoda built by king Kyansittha in A.D 1084- 1113 is a harp which indicates that the harp was in general use in those days. \nSome historical researchers say that Myanmar harp began with 7 strings and is used 13 strings until the down of Konbaung period. And then the harpist U Nyein added one more string in the late of Konbaung period and the harpist U Ba Than added two more strings in the year of 1960s. So Myanmar harp has played with16 strings from that time to now. \nMyanmar harp strings are strung and fastened to the arm of the harp by means of fastening cords or by means of pegs pushed through the arm it is called Let yone. In the old days, fastening cords were tied to the arm in a special kind of knot to prevent the cords slowly slipping down. The present way of making such a knot is of a reef-knot method. \nThe strings of the harp are raw silk twisted to different thicknesses. They are tuned not with pegs but by adjusting the tautness of the strings through loosening or tightening the tassels round the neck. \nThe part where the neck joins the sound box is shaped like a leaf of the saga: (champac) while the stern is shaped like bowl. The tip of the nek is shaped like the leaf of the banyan tree. The neck is made of sha: (acaciacatechu) wood. The sound box is covered with a membrane of deer skin. \nHoles are perforated along the ridge to hold the ends of the strings. The intervals between the holes need to be of correct proportion, otherwise, the harp tends to be out of tune and also lacks proper form. \nHence, the ridge is a critical component of the harp. Today Myanmar harp is being used not merely as musical instruments they are also being used as artifacts to decorate the top room of dwellings. This is being done by way of honouring a musical instrument that has played an important role in development of Myanmar Culture. More sophisticated musical gaegets may emerge time passes, but the harp will ever remain as a heritage of Myanmar musical traditions.

The culture in the East Coast of Malay Peninsula are rich in visual and performing arts inherited over time immemorial. The art is also found to have similarities in three different states, despite their geographical gap. The similarities are shared in dialects, languages, presentations, builds, and past legacy artifacts. The Malay craftsmanship is also dominated by the Malay community in the East Coast and it is also produced in the form of art and fashion. Artifacts such as boats, houses, and furniture are still visible until now and they have high artistic value. This paper is aimed at displaying the various type of Malay traditional boats and symbols produced by the Malay community on the craft of the boat. There are several name of the boats produced by local craftsmen based on their function and usability. For example, a small line boat is used in river and coastal areas, the payang boat used by deep-sea fishermen, and the jokong boat is used to transport heavy goods. The art can be seen in the carvings and paintings produced on traditional Malay boats craftsmen in the East Coast. This art does not only serve as an ornament and for its aesthetics, but also has its own symbolism. The decorative art produced shows that the three main aspects necessary in Malay art are function, aesthetics, and ethics. The belief in the existence of supernatural powers – which preserve and safeguard their safety at sea and their ability to get income from marine products – underpins the craft of this decoration art.

Based on a common geographical environment, the people of East Asia share a similar sense of the seasons and have been sharing the seasonal festival traditions for many years, which to a certain degree has brought commonality to their experience of heritage. The seasonal festival traditions in East Asia have a localized form of expression and common features.2) They all attach importance to seasonal nodes such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Half of July, April Eight, and the Twenty-four Solar Terms. They value family ethics in the practice of festivals and share Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist cultural traditions, with emphasis on “red-hot sociality.” As they collectively enjoy seasonal festivities, they continue creating arts-related activities around these festivals and transmitting their heritage values to the younger generation. East Asia's practices of seasonal festival traditions are both a manifestation of cultural diversity and cultural sharing. This presentation will discuss the sharing, sustaining, and collaborative safeguarding f East Asian Seasonal Festivals as ICH.

"The Cau Ngu Festival Ngu Loc is one of five coastal communes of Hau Loc District in Thanh Hoa Province, located in the Northern Central Coast region of Vietnam. This is the most densely populated place in Vietnam, with traditional fishing and seafood processing pro- viding work. Daily life is shaped by long-standing customs and traditions with coastal characteristics. This culminates in the unique cau ngu (cau means “worship” and ngu means “sacred whale”) festival, held annually from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth day in the second month of the lunar calendar."

Singapore is a culturally diverse society and one of the most religiously diverse nations of the world, and the understanding of cultural practices aids in fostering dialogue and social cohesion in such a social context. This paper discusses the important role of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in fostering a deeper appreciation of the commonalities and differences among people, particularly in an era where societies around the world are facing complex effects of social diversity, movements of people and the effects of globalisation. It highlights the efforts to safeguard ICH in Singapore through partnerships between government agencies, educational institutions and the community.