Teyyam is a divine dance that is prevalent in the northern districts of Kerala, such as Kannur and Kasargod. The name teyyam is derived from daivam, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘god’ or ‘deity’. Performed in shrines, sacred groves, houses, and open places, teyyam represents mythological, divine, ancestral, animal, and heroic characters, each with its own distinct shape and form of origin. There are over 350 of these teyyams.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the most populated city in the country. It is also one of the most populated cities in the world with a density of 23,234 people per square kilometer within a total area of 300 square kilometers. The Greater Dhaka Area has a population of over 18 million as of 2016 (World Population Review, 2017). According to the UN World Urbanization Prospects (2014), the population of Dhaka was only 336,000 in 1950. Dhaka has always been a center of cultural vibrancy and has a long history and tradition of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The cultural vibrancy and heritage that have given glory to Dhaka for centuries often get buried under different modern-day civic problems. As an ever-expanding mega city, Dhaka is losing its cultural spaces to religious and ruling coteries. Many of the city’s prime spaces are now earmarked for various public and private business, commercial, or military purposes. The situation was not so deplorable even during the Pakistan era from 1947 to 1971.

Folkland, International Centre for Folklore and Culture is an institution that was first registered on December 20, 1989 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, vide No. 406/89. Over the last 16 years, it has passed through various stages of growth, especially in the fields of performance, production, documentation, and research, besides the preservation of folk art and culture.Since its inception in 1989, Folkland has passed through various phases of growth into a cultural organization with a global presence. As stated above, Folkland has delved deep into the fields of stage performance, production, documentation, and research, besides the preservation of folk art and culture. It has strived hard and treads the untrodden path with a clear motto of preservation and inculcation of old folk and cultural values in our society. Folkland has a veritable collection of folk songs, folk art forms, riddles, fables, myths, etc. that are on the verge of extinction. This collection has been recorded and archived well for scholastic endeavors and posterity. As such, Folkland defines itself as follows

"Before starting this project, it was necessary to agree upon some definitions and concepts. Without understanding these concepts, it might have become difficult to create a suitable structure for the fieldwork. With this in mind, at the beginning of the project, which is based on a theoretical framework, we discussed the concept of agriculture.\n\n“To what we call culture in pre-established way is nothing but agriculture,” says Dr. Saheb Khandare in his 2012 book Krushi Sanskruti (Indian Agriculture), written in the Marathi language. Elaborating on this statement, he says, “in prehistoric times the word ‘clan’ was derived from kus. Kus means tilling, in the "

Documentation of heritage is one of the important tools for both tangible and intangible heritage, not only for recovery in case of loss but also for transmission of knowledge. In the case of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), documentation has been stressed as the starting point of safeguarding. Article 12 of the 2003 Convention clearly mentions that each state party should maintain the inventories of the Intangible Cultural present within the territory. Also, while sending the application for nominating ICH elements to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, or to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, the application file should also contain the inventories of each nominated element. From this, therefore, we can understand the significance of documentation in ICH.

Dance has been an inseparable element of Persian culture for thousands of years. Dance depictions on pottery excavated from prehistoric sites attest to the antiquity of this art. However, ritual dance, the precursor to Iranian royal court dances, can be traced back to the cult of Mithra (third century BCE).

Kalaripayat is considered one of the earlier martial art systems in Asia. Even though it had a larger geographic range at the time of its origin in South India, it is now restricted to the state of Kerala.Many terms are used in the literature to refer to Kalari including “Kalarippayattu,” “Kalaripayattu,” “Kalaripayat,” and so on. The term “Kalaripayat” will be used in this chapter. There are different theories regarding the origin of the word kalari. It is variously said to originate from the Sanskrit word khaloorika (“training ground”), the Tamil word kalam (“storage place for paddy”), or the Malayalam word kalari (“place where Kalaripayat is practiced”). Payatt or Payat may have originated from the Tamil word payil (“to become trained, accustomed, practice”) or the Malayalam words payiluka (“to learn, speak”), payttuka (“to exercise in arms, practice”), or payattu (“fencing exercise, a trick”). It may be noted that the original name of the martial style was “Payattu Kalari” and that the word “Kalaripayat” has only been used since the 20th century.

The Sundarbans, consisting of 10,200 km2 of mangrove forest across India and Bangladesh, is the world’s largest delta and mangrove ecosystem. Transected with rivers and creeks, the landscape is home to diverse and endangered flora and fauna, most famously the Royal Bengal Tiger. Because of its unique cosystem, the Sundarbans enjoy the status of a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is also home to millions of forest-dependent people. The colonial period witnessed large-scale deforestation of the mangroves and in-migration, starting from the late eighteenth century, driven by the desire for more farmlands to generate revenue, development of a port township in Canning, and other factors. There was also a substantial inflow of refugees during partition at the time of India’s independence.

Traditional Indonesian batik was listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 2 October 2009. The unique and exquisite designs created by the artistic minds of citizens centuries ago, express their reverence to life and nature by painting cloth with symbols and characters bearing the philosophies of life.

Taumako, one of the Duff Islands, is a Polynesian island within the Santa Cruz group in Temotu Province to the southeast of the Solomon Islands, in the southwestern Pacific. Taumakoans speak the Veakau-Taumako language, which comes from the Samoic branch of Polynesian languages. Taumakoans still practice ancient navigational techniques and are known for building a type of proa sailing canoe, the Tepuke, using local materials. They maintain traditional ways of living, relying heavily on subsistence farming and fishing.

Folkland, International Centre for Folklore and Culture is an institution that was first registered on December 20, 1989 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, vide No. 406/89. Over the last 16 years, it has passed through various stages of growth, especially in the fields of performance, production, documentation, and research, besides the preservation of folk art and culture.

As India is surrounded by Arabian Sea in the west, Bay of Bengal in the east, and the Indian Ocean in the south, the fishing tradition had its roots in Indian civilization from ancient past. Moreover, India is also considered the land of rivers as there are several rivers flowing across the country. The origin of fishing traditions can be traced back to the ancient Harappan civilization. The earliest available records on the life of the fishermen of the Southern region of Indian is from the Sangam literature, such as Ahananuru and Kuruntogai Anuru, which have literary references of the fishermen communities, including their cultural, economic, and social history. Sangam literature, though it was written in Tamil, sheds light into early Kerala life and dates back to the first five centuries of the Christian era. The physiographic divisions of the Sangam period were termed as tinais or five eco zones. The neythal(coastal) region was occupied by people like Minavar, Parathavar, Parthavas, Nulayars, and Turaivans. In Thiruvilayadalpuranam, a collection of epic stories written by Paranjothi Munivar, described the fishermen as neyther, parathavar, valayar, karayar, arayar, and pattanavar. The term valayar was derived from the Tamil term valai, meaning net. The term karayar was derived from the Tamil world karai, meaning shore. The term pattanavar, was derived from the Tamil word pattanam meaning town with the natural advantage of coastal region as the people engaged in fishing and salt making as their livelihood.