An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. \n\nThe production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. \n\nThe art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. \n\nIn Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.

An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. \n\nThe production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. \n\nThe art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. \n\nIn Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.

An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. \n\nThe production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. \n\nThe art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. \n\nIn Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.

Once in a year, camel from all over Rajasthan, India gathered in a place call Pushkar to be sold. This event famously known as Pushkar Fair (Pushkar Camel Fair)\nFor photographer / travellers it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness one of the last great traditional fair. Deemed one of the world's largest camel and livestock fair.\nApart from the buying and selling of livestock, it has become an important tourist attraction.\n1. The Arrival: Camel from all Rajasthan, India gathered here at Pushkar to be sold.\n2. The Shepherd: Without their assistant, it very difficult to control the herd while avoiding the camels entering the wrong herd which could result a heavy loss for the camel merchant.\n3. The Negotiator: Camel traders and the buyers haggling for a good price. \n4. Sharing is Caring: The limited water resources forced human and camels to share the precious gift of nature\n5. Heading Home: Camel traders and their herd of camels headed to their camp to rest before starting all over again the next day.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 36 is 'Traditional Embroidery.'

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 26 is 'HEALING RITUALS AND INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE.'

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 33 is 'Village Guardian Rituals and Communities.'

Kathakali (lit. story- play) is a highly sophisticated and stylized semi-classical dance drama prevalent all over Kerala. It evolved amalgamating features from all folk and classical performing art forms of Kerala. \nKathakali as a performing art evolved from Ramanattam. The King of Kottarakkara adapted eight episodes from the Ramayana as Ramanattam. However, in the 17th century, the King of Vettathu Nadu modified Ramanattam to develop a classical dance-drama, the Kathakali.\nKathakali derives its themes from the Indian epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana. The language used for the songs in Kathakali is a mixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit (manipravalam). For theatric communication, the actor uses dance movements, a codified language of gestures and facial expressions. Kathakali displays great dexterity and potential for the actor to show his histrionic and interpretative skills through resorting to an elaborate method of acting.\nThe performance of Kathakali follows a particular sequence. At dusk, the percussionists play their instruments to announce the event (keli). The traditional lamp is lit in front of the performing area (vilakku veppu). The horizontal drum is played to signal the commencement (arangu keli or suddha manddalam), and singers recite the invocation (sloka). \nTwo performers dance a ritual invocation behind the curtain, salute the deities. \nAnother prayer dance is performed in front of the curtain, followed by the ensemble of the drums (chenda, maddalam, chengila, elathalam). The actual story (katha) begins only after these preliminaries. \nIn Kathakali, the make-up and costume represent different traits of character. The colours are symbolic; green represents satwik (pious and virtuous characters); red patch on a green face to represent rajasi’(valorous characters); and a thadi (beard) is added to represents tamasic (evil traits of a character). Elaborate costumes and intricate face make-up In Kathakali is done to mask the human face and invest it with super-human characteristics. \nKathakali has transformed over the recent years from all-night performances in temples and other sites, to three-hour presentations in contemporary settings. The plays have become abridged to suit the tastes of a new audience.