"BeezBistar Foundation (BBF), a community action-based non-governmental organization, was formed in 2009 by development workers and researchers. “BeezBistar” means prosperity in life and peaceful and joyful relations between human beings and all other life-forms. BBF works with local communities, especially farmers, weavers, fishers, adivashi, dalit, and other marginalized and socially vulnerable people for a prosperous and healthy life. Its guiding ethical principles are non-discrimination on the grounds of caste, race, class, and gender. BBF believes in people’s capacity to transform their existing situation of poverty and become pros- perous through a mediated process of interdependent, collective, and community support and actions. The notion of BEEZ is grounded in the local and indigenous culture of the peoples of Bangladesh, as well as advanced by science and life-affirming knowledge and technologies."

Co-orgarnized by ICHCAP and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC), this year’s Asia-Pacific ICH NGO Conference was held in Hue, Vietnam under the theme of ICH NGOs towards Sustainable Development of Communities.

"In this region of many “lands” surrounded by water, knowledge of the land and its harvests is tied closely to identity and heritage. This section’s themes thus offer a closer look at how the knowledge of caring for the land and harvests is a way of feeling for the Pacific islanders. This ICH, in addition to coloring people’s interactions on the land and carrying expressions of respect, is a means of ensuring sustainability and prosperity.\nPacific islanders depend largely on the land and their harvests from it for their survival, but these also hold deeper meaning for life. To the people of Vanuatu, for instance, laplap soso'ur is more than an edible delicacy: it is a feature of their cultural identity and a means to bring people together across societal levels. Similarly, in Palau, the mesei taro fields are valuable property, but they are also much more in that these pieces of land are deeply connected to the identity of the people, particularly women, and figure prominently in the colorful oral histories of the Palauans. Both of these cases, along with the other themes in this section, reflect the profound value of ICH related to the Pacific islands and their harvests."

By using Rakhine Royal Drum was found at the period of Visali of the king of Chandra.\nAt the time of king Chandra, the lyrical ode of the crown princess Saw Pyae Nyo was played with the various kinds of instruments. Long-drum and Than-Lwin-drum contained in this instruments.In the Myanmar era of 897 ( 1535 AD ) when was called Lay Myoe Age, King Min Bar built Yan Aung Zaya Chittaung stupa with a vaulted vase. \nRakhine oil lamp dance, Shawl dance, Powewar dance, the sports of Mrauk.U period such as the posture of wrestling, boxing, the stick martial art and the figures in the posture of playing the Rakhine musical instruments such as the Rakhine Duelong Harp, bamboo pipes wind instrument, melodious small drum , hand-cymbals , cymbals၊ horn, long drum , Marlakhon fiddle, the bugle , the cymbal and the flute were sculpted as the ancient supporting evidences of Rakhine long drum on the western wall of the second tunnel of Shittaung pagoda.Rakhine nationality mostly used long drum. According to the ceremony, the drum which is used to celebrate pagoda festival is called MuYoe Drum. Pan-taja drum is used for the wedding ceremony and the ceremony of propitiate nats. Khat- Ttin drum is used for the funeral ceremony. \nSi- Byaw( kind of long drum ) is used to play the novitiated ceremony. One- headed drum is used for ceremony of pulling gharry. Kyin-drum is used for the posture of wrestling. There are fourteen kinds of Rakhine drum. They are Mhyaut drum, Than Lwin drum, Mu-Yoe drum ( Si-Pyaw ), Singal headed small drum, Big drum (Shan si) , Donmin drum , Si Pataung drum, Si wun drum , Melodious small drum, One-headed drum, Pan:taya: si drum, Pat Si drum (Kyin si), Si chay drum, Si ai drum.

"While the artistic heritage of the Pacific is no doubt rich and representative of its cultures, it is more than merely something to be gazed upon and admired. Rather, Pacific art is both functional and symbolic of deeper meanings. Items as commonplace as bows and arrows, masks, and meeting halls are tangible expressions of the spirit of a culture. The themes in the final section seek to represent this spirit. In examining the Tongan kupesi traditions, for example, we see how the symbolism contained within the art, beyond its outer function, is reflective of the indirect nature of Tongan culture and somewhat akin to the practice of using heliaki in speaking. Likewise, in learning the complex process of building Palauan bai meeting houses, we can see that the structures stand not only as important functional spaces but also as carriers of cultural motifs and legends passed down over time. \nAll these themes attest to the art and technology of the Pacific societies as not only reflecting aesthetics but also serving a function. Traditional technological know-how allows the Pacific islanders to use available resources to their best advantage. Architectural designs, motifs, lashings, knots, stone walls, and pavement ensure that structures withstand the test of time while also carrying vital symbolic knowledge."

It has been used for about 1000 years ago. Jade flute is proof that is excavated in Kan Su State,at china.\nThis flute was Kachin traditional instrument.\nBamboo joint that grows from hill-side cultivation is chopped and dried. It is perforated by using drill.\nThere are a total of 8 perforated holes including 6 finger holes, two vent holes for enunciation. The flute with no reed is called flute and the flute with reed is called whirling flute. It has to be blown from air holes and the finger holes are made for opening and closing to produce traditional melody. It has to be played together with oboe, drum, gong and cymbal. Pyi Htaung flute is played for all kinds of Manao house-warming ceremony, grating party and honorable ceremony.

Ceremonial cloth known as tais (traditional handcraft) has been woven in Timor-Leste for generations. Weaving traditions are considered key social functions for strengthening familial bonds. Textiles handcrafts are an invaluable expression of traditional knowledge and East Timorese culture. The designs and techniques to produce textiles have been handed down matrilineal lines recording a woven narration of the culture, lore, paradigms, and stories of Timor-Leste’s history.\n\nTraditional textile cloths are traditionally given by one Timorese woman to another as a mark of respect or symbol of repentance. From Timorese ancestors’ time, a woman learns how to make tais so that when she gets married, she can make tais for ceremonies or to sell in the barter market. Meanwhile tais led important role for Timorese children, and the local knowledge has been transmitted across generations. In Timor-Leste, transmitting weaving knowledge from mother to daughter is interwoven within a cultural system of collaboration and respect, where women, men, and young people work together to share cultural practices in a way that benefits the entire community.\n\nTais place a significant value on the process of feto-sa and umane in Timor-Leste’s cultural context (relationships between two families having marriage, and they establish a bond of obligation between the marrying families). Tais were also used on occasions such as funerals and kore-metan ceremonies (funeral anniversaries usually held one year after death).\n\nBoth dyeing and weaving are intimate social processes, usually done by a group of women. Women who are isolated in villages both socially and economically usually work together as team to work on obtaining a common goal. This reflects a broader social structure in Timor-Leste, where people once built their societies on a system of connectedness and community, a set of values and beliefs surrounding kinship, ceremony, spirituality, and weaving. The weaving, wearing, and use of the textiles are essential to the Timorese sense of being and was a way of asserting their differences in the past.\n\nWaving Techniques\nThe designs and color used to make a tais vary. For instance, in eastern part of Timor-Leste tais is mainly woven from cotton using a combination of plain weave and ikat techniques. Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarn prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarn threads or bundles of yarn with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern (ikat means “to bind” in the Indonesian language). Long, narrow panels of cloth often take months or years to complete. Concern with the dyeing process, usually the giant pestle is used to pound leaves and bark for a new batch of natural dyes.\n\nIn the western part of the country, weavers have used a tapestry weaving technique called mnaisa to weave small sections of belts for the past four years, which is the overall process of using natural dyes.\nIn tradition, the colors chosen for any one cloth depend on the occasion and where it will be worn. In the villages, weavers use endemic plants to color hand-spun cotton; however, the lack of raw material for dyeing and increasing availability of polyester fibers and synthetic dyes are changing the way tais is made.\n\nThe practice of the weaving traditions have declined dramatically due to globalization and post-conflict isolated conditions in Timor-Leste. The lack of participation of young peoples on the weaving process and the lack of the society awareness and government support to enact ICH as a priority national action plan has created challenges on pursuing safeguarding implementation.\n\nPhoto 1 : The Kingcraft, Tais weaving in Timor-Leste Ⓒ i0.wp.com/thekindcraft.com\nPhoto 2 : Baucau weaver, East part of Timor-Leste Ⓒ Abraão Ribeiro Mendonça

For centuries, the people of the central Caroline Islands have relied heavily on their voyaging canoes as their primary means of transport. They made voyages to islands near and far to obtain food, tools, and other valuables. In some instances, following devastating natural calamities, their canoes are used to relocate to a different island as was the case for the Carolinians who now reside in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI). Today, the art of canoe building and traditional celestial navigation continues in these remote islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. Although at a smaller scale than what it used to be, the important knowledge of their ancestors is being passed on to younger generations. Waa’gey is a community-based organization working with island communities to transfer traditional skills and knowledge. Realizing the challenges brought to the shores of Micronesia by globalization and environmental issues including climate change and rising sea levels, the people of Lamotrek Atoll in Yap worked with Master Navigator Larry Reigetal and his crew to build an outrigger canoe named The Lucky Star1.. Using only traditional seafaring methods and no modern navigation technology, the eight-man crew led by master Reigetal braved storms and powerful ocean currents to travel over five hundred miles to Guam over five days to showcase the Micronesian culture at the Festival of Pacific Arts in May 2016. After the festival, the crew sailed back to Lamotrek over a period of ten days.\n\nThe crew brought along a traditional pandanus sail woven by the people of Lamotrek to use during the festival and to display the skills used to create it. The entire process of weaving the sail took more than six months, with over thirty people contributing to its construction. Due to modern seafaring technologies, the traditional weaving techniques in Lamotrek had not been in practice for over half a century. However, through this project, Waa’gey was able to enlist the help of a 95-year-old Maria Labusheilam, the last master weaver in Lamotrek. She taught the skills to twenty women apprentices, led by her daughter Maria Ilourutog, granddaughter Pualina Lairegiyalo, and daughter-in-law Esther Letalimepiy. The men of Lamotrek, led by Xavier Yarofaliyango, cut and stretched the leaves and stitched the sail together. Labusheilam died two weeks after passing on the knowledge. She did not see the final outcome of her work. The pandanus sail is woven from the Pandanus odoratissimus (screwpine) commonly grown on beaches of tropical islands. The leaves are harvested, dried under the sun, and stripped into single fibers. They are then woven into longer strips of sheets that are then strengthened by stretching and wrapping the sheets around coconut trees. The sheets are then sewn together with sennit twine ropes made from coconut fibers. Sail weaving is not the same as weaving sleeping mats, as they need to be doubled and overlapped to ensure strength and durability.\n\nThe sail was displayed at the University of Guam and the Honolulu museum. It is now in Hawaii and will make its way to New York where it will be the main art display at the UN Headquarters during the Ocean Conference. It will then travel to Europe, Asia, and Australia before making its final voyage to the Federated States of Micronesia in 2018 to sail the MicroGames torch in Yap . It is autographed by all the people from Lamotrek and the president of the FSM, H.E. Peter Christian.\n\nPhoto : Master Navigator Larry Raigetal and his crew entering Guam harbor on their canoe the Lucky Star during the opening ceremony of the 12th Festival of Pacific Art and Culture © Waa’gey