Jeju is a volcanic island filled with stones. Previous eruptions have produced volcanic bombs (large volcanic rocks) scattered around, covering the whole island. This is why it is difficult to cultivate crops in Jeju. Since the thirteenth century, the people of Jeju have been making stone walls to secure farmlands. The total length of stone walls is estimated at 22,100 km. These stone walls look like they are heaped up randomly. However, Jeju people’s wisdom is time-tested, unassumingly sturdy, hidden in those walls. Because the island is prone to strong winds all throughout the year, taking note of typhoons in the summer, they built the stone walls like roughly-heaped stones with holes to let the wind pass through, weakening the possibility of structural collapse.\n\nTamna is Jeju’s old name. The beginning of Tamna is illustrated by Samseong myth. Legend has it that three demigods emerged from holes in the ground. The ground is called samseonghyeol, which is still considered as a sacred place. The emergence from the ground shows difference in cultural archetype from the birth myth of the mainland involving the egg from the heavens. There are 18,000 gods and goddesses in Jeju. Jeju people believe that god lives in everything. Such belief is shaped by Jeju’s naturally difficult tendencies. As people in Jeju battle with endless wind and water shortage due to the island’s barren volcanic environment, they rely on gods to adapt to the roughness of Jeju.\n\nThere are Bonhyangdang Shrines, the house of gods protecting people’s livelihoods. simbangs (shaman in Jeju dialect) act as intermediary between Jeju people and gods. They perform yeongdeunggut in the second lunar month for haenyeo (female divers) and fishermen who depend on the sea for a living. The Yeongdeung is the goddess of the wind, who can raise the waves, which is why she is deemed important for the safety of people pursuing the sea. Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, the representative yeongdeunggut in Jeju, was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO in 2009. There are many other rituals for gods and goddesses of the sea, which are held in roughly 30 areas in Jeju during the same month. There are many stories related to goddesses in Jeju. Different from goddesses in other countries, Jeju goddesses neither depend on nor belong to gods. This is a characteristic shown by Grandmother Seolmundae, the giant who created the island by carrying soil in her skirts; Grandmother Samseung, the goddess of babies; and Jacheongbi, the goddess of farming. Jeju women have high self-esteem unlike those in patriarchal East Asian societies following Confucian teachings. They also participate in the economy more actively than their counterparts in other regions in Korea. Jeju haenyeo is a representative example of women’s participation in the economy. In 2016, the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo was inscribed on the Representative the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO during the eleventh Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It shows matriarchal characteristics of Jeju. In Jeju where the soil is not fit for rice farming, many women became divers to find food from the sea and learned how to cooperate with each other.\n\nDespite the unique challenges in the island, Jeju people have used nature without destroying it, depending on 18,000 gods and neighbors. Such characteristics form the core of the Jeju culture.\n\nPhoto : Jeju haenyeo (female divers) crossing low stone walls to get to the sea © Jeju Haenyeo Museum

This paper presents an overview of the current situation of intangible maritime cultural heritage among coastal residents and fishing cooperative association members who work and live in the Matsushima Bay region of Miyagi, Japan. \n\nThe Matsushima Bay has a rich history of peoples living around and accessing the sea’s resources since at least the Middle Jomon Period (4000 to 2500 BC). The Bay, named a quasi-national park and known as \none of the three most scenic places in Japan, was made famous by the poet Basho who visited the area in 1690.\n\nToday, however, the area suffers from high population density in the surrounding mainland, intense industry along the coast, demographic change in the coastal communities, and the impacts of the tsunami generated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. \n\nWith these challenges, maritime ICH is at risk, and with it, communities and ways of life since, if ICH can help strengthen social cohesion and inclusion, the loss of ICH can weaken it. Social practices, rituals, and \nfestive events structure the lives of coastal communities, strengthening shared understandings of the local culture and environment. Two communities, maritime events, “Minato Matsuri” and “Hama O-bon”, \nwill be presented to highlight the importance of such activities.\n\nMaritime ICH also provides an opportunity for environmental sustainability and resilience. The paper thus also touches upon local concepts of “fisher-forests” and “sato-umi” and presents local examples of coastal community activities which, along with fishers’ local ecological knowledge, supports resilience and sustainability goals

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.

As one of the four major estuarine deltas in China, Liaohekou Estuary Delta enjoys a geographical environment surrounding both river and sea, a coastline constantly advancing towards the ocean and the unique estuarine natural resources, all of which have given birth to the distinctive regional culture of Liaohekou Estuary. The marine regression feature of “abundant water, no mountains and few trees, with weeds, ponds and tidal creeks spreading all over” and a system of interwoven cultural forms such as “sailing boats, wetlands, fishing-geese, influx of river and sea, fishing and gathering,” make the culture of Liaohekou Estuary region distinctive. The special geographical conditions and natural ecological environment bred the regional culture of Liaohekou Estuary, as well as a community of Guyuyan or “old fishing-geese” with very special livelihoods. Over hundreds of years, the culture and traditions of Liaohekou Estuary have developed into a special field of knowledge, and the regional food culture, which is based on the knowledge of the special marine food materials of Liaohekou Estuary, is particularly unique.

In traditional society, Jeju has blossomed an original and attractive culture based on its natural feature of being a volcanic island located between the Korean Peninsula and the South Sea. Every year in February of the lunar calendar, “Gut,” one of Korea’s seasonal customs, is held throughout Jeju to pray for the peace, good harvest, and good catch of the sea. Haenyeo (local female divers) and shipowners prepare food offering for the gods, and shamans serve as a bridge between gods and people, offering ancestral rites to the spirits of nature, such as the wind goddess, sea god, and mountain god. “Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut” is Jeju’s representative intangible cultural heritage that captures what the sea meant to the lives of the former islanders.\n\nJeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is based on the myth of Yeongdeung God, the goddess of wind (otherwise called the “yeongdeung halmang,” meaning Grandmother Yeongdeung), along with various guardian deities of the village, the dragon king and ancestrial gods. Yeongdeung God is a foreign goddess that appears in a myth in Jeju. She returns on the first day of the second lunar month and controls the weather while staying in Jeju, she sprays seeds of grain to be harvested the next year on the ground and seeds of seaweed and seafood on the sea. The goddess is also a threat to people’s lives by stirring the sea, but also a god of abundance that helps seaweed grow well by circulating seawater. This myth reflects the islanders’ perception of the sea, which is both a source of life and a dangerous place.\n\nRecords of Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut can be found in “Shinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungram”, “Tamraji”, and “Dongguk Sesigi”. Above all, however, the reason Yeongdeunggut could be transmitted for a long time was that the residents were the true owners of the heritage. While preparing food for rituals with marine resources collected from the sea, which is part of their lives, haenyeo and shipowners inherited the tradition as a subject of Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut along with a shaman leading the gut. The ritual was passed down in the lives of Jeju residents for a long time. Shaman Ahn Sa-in was designated as the ICH holder in 1980, allowing more people to learn the value and importance of the heritage.\n\nJeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is a unique tradition that can only be seen in Jeju Island, where rituals for mountain gods and rituals for Yeongdeung are combined with one shamanic ritual called Yeongdeunggut. On every February 1st of the lunar calendar, Chilmeoridang in the village, where Yeongdeung-gut is held, welcomes Yeongdeungsin with a welcoming festival. The villagers offer offerings to the god of Yeongdeung, the guardian deity of the village, and the sea god to pray for the abundant year and the well-being of the village, and on February 14, they hold a farewell ceremony to send back various gods safely. Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, which has been handed down as a folk ritual that reflects the natural view and belief of Jeju people over many years, has been recognized for its academic value as the only haenyeo-gut in Korea that shows a unique combination of haenyeo beliefs and folk beliefs. In 2009, it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.\n\nDespite the development of negative views on folk beliefs due to modernization, Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut has become an important cultural festival that fosters unity and bond among community members and a ritual that captures the lives of ancestors who shared the flow of nature. Surrounded by the sea on all sides and in the wind blowing rapidly, Jeju Islanders did not simply fear and fight the winds, but recognized them as beings that brought the blessing of abundant resources. As the voices about the environment are increasing, it is believed that this view of nature of Jeju Islanders can be a guide to living a “sustainable life” in a modern society.\n\nphoto : Jeju Island shamanic ritual to Yeongdeung, god of wind, which became a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. © Korea Open Government License Type 1, Source

Many of the cultural organizations in the Pacific are challenged by the lack of human capacity and resources to support the aims and objectives of their cultural groups or organizations. I will illustrate through examples some of the work I have been involved in since I began in the sector in 2009 as a youth volunteer in the field of ICH. My presentation is mainly focused on my work in Fiji and Vanuatu as a youth\nvolunteer worker with the Pacific Islands Museums Association, who is registered in Vanuatu as a charitable trust, and Vanua Youth Development youth organization in Fiji. I will also highlight some of the issues and challenges faced when working as a volunteer in terms of sustainability and highlight the benefits of supporting institutional strengthening. Networking with organizations and with key personalities/champions in the region to make those linkages and strengthen the sector and promote the ICH practitioners.

The life of the Bauls of Bangladesh revolves around body-centric ascetic practice termed sadhana. Bauls believe in the co-existence of every element of the endless Brahmanda, meaning universe in the human body. Thus, they make caring for the body their highest priority over anything else. They have created extensive verse about body-centric sadhana codes that they transmit through song. The verses or songs include descriptions of control over the consumption of daily necessaries, mainly food. And, they believe in the doctrine মানুষ যা খায়, সে তাই (a human is what he or she consumes). They also judge food as medicine, as the need to live a hale and hearty.

Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concern themselves with biological conservation but fewer explore the need for conservation of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Pacific Blue Foundation focuses both on biological and cultural conservation, primarily in Fiji, and recognizes fundamental linkages between the two. For example, traditional marine resource governance at the community level often created “tabu” (pronounced tamboo) on their reefs that restricted or prohibited fishing. Modern ecologists who propose marine protected areas (MPAs) recognize Fijian cultural tradition as knowledge the ancestors understood to be healthy for the ecosystem. Pacific Blue Foundation (PBF) has sought to learn the stories of ancestral tabu areas to assist creation of new MPAs. One of the most iconic elements of Fijian ICH is their more than 3,000 years of construction, and navigating double-hulled sailing canoes. Here we briefly explore the role these traditional sailing canoes had in the human migration into Oceania, and the effort PBF has made in the past 15 years to revitalize the construction of these canoes and to envision their role in providing sustainable livelihoods in the future.

Pencak Silat is an intangible cultural heritage that allows a community to express its culture and, more importantly, is a vehicle that allows practitioners to manifest the best values passed to them by their teachers for the benefit of all in society. It is practiced in countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. However, not much research has been done on the history and culture of Pencak Silat in Singapore. The project entitled “Preserving Intangible Cultural Heritage: Documenting and Recording the History, Culture and Memory of Malay Martial Arts Groups in Singapore,” led by Dr. Mohamed Effendy from the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and sponsored by the National Heritage Board of Singapore, is therefore a timely one. It aims to safeguard the history and culture of Malay martial groups of Singapore by documenting and recording their past and cultural activities. Thus, the project provides the inspiration and backdrop for this paper, which will describe how Pencak Silat connects communities in Singapore to their historical origins. The paper will also analyze how Pencak Silat has contributed to the social and cultural success of the Singapore Malay community today, and lastly, it will examine to what extent Pencak Silat values can be used to further enhance the development of a community.

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.

Traditional navigators are trained to recognize physical signals in, “sea, skies, and stars, memory signals from knowledge of star, swell, and wind compasses… and cultural knowledge recorded in chants, dances, and stories”.

Human has made great progress beyond the speed of biological evolution by using tools. First, human used stones and wood as tools for hunting and gathering, and then invented earth-baked earthenware such as bowls for food, appropriate to farming life. The defects of woodenware and earthenware, however, were obvious. It was not able to contain liquid due to their moisture absorbency, and easily damaged. Earthenware has evolved into glazed ceramic but it required a high-tech kiln with high temperature, accompanied by a technology for metal refining as a key prerequisite. In East Asia, moisture proof and insect proof techniques to coat objects were invented much earlier. That is lacquer technique.\nProduction process of lacquer is delicate and complicated such as handling lacquer sap at the risk of skin disease, creating hot and humid environment for hardening process, etc. Nevertheless, in East Asia, people have used lacquer technique in many regions from the Neolithic Age, knowing its merits earlier on. Lacquer was used for adhesive and surface protection of leather, earthenware, ceramics and metalware. In particular, it has been inextricably linked to wooden objects. Whereas in West Asia and Europe various varnishes mixed with dry oil and resin has been used, in East Asia lacquer was used as a basic varnish in common. That shows that lacquer is great material and technique to represent the commonality of Asian culture.1) This article aims to briefly look into the origin of lacquer technique in Northeast Asia and share the information on it and its current status of transmission.