he upheaval and extinction faced by traditional culture is a core issue in today’s world. It has brought us to the realization that we are living in an important transition period where the future of humanity will be determined. In particular, the advent of digital platforms has provided a communication channel to link people together; the importance of these platforms seems poised to become much greater. In this era, in which means of communication are facing remarkable qualitative changes, oral tradition is under considerable threat. In past eras where humankind created languages and memories to resolve all kinds of issues and share information, speech was a way to achieve totality. Through speech, people delivered their thoughts and opinions, created new things, and embraced differences to become one. As such, spoken language became an absolute means and solution to maximize the immense capacity of humankind. People discovered interests and meanings through conversations; they combined work and enjoyment by singing; they wore masks and gave movement-based performances accompanied by amusing anecdotes. By reciting and dedicating bonpuri, a ritual song to pray to deities and receive oracles, their creations became content passed down through oral culture.

The paper presents the status of Shamanism practice, in terms of state policy, research status and challenges for the Shaman heritage in Bhutan. The paper is based on field research and policy analysis conducted by the National Library and Archive of Bhutan under a ICHCAP project grant. An overview of shamanism in different regions of Bhutan is presented with a region-wise categorization of Shamanism in Bhutan. This is followed by a brief overview of four shamanism practices prevalent in Bhutan, three in the southern region and one in the western region. The preliminary data show that the Shamanistic practices in Bhutan, as in other parts of the world, has been deeply rooted in religion and supernatural power. The paper also presents future plans and initiatives of the National Library and Archives Division for the documentation and preservation of Shaman heritage. In absence of any written state policy regarding the preservation and promotion of Shaman heritage, the study concludes by proposing some recommendations to the government and local stakeholders for the preservation and promotion of the practice.

Dhamrai, the main center of metal casting in Bangladesh, is located about thirty-nine kilometers northwest of Dhaka, the capital city. A visitor to the quiet rural setting was once greeted by natural sounds and bustles of sounds, the clanging of metals, which made a wonderful rhythm of working melodies. This transpires the existence of metal crafts being an important part of Bengal’s rich artistic tradition that dates to before 2000 BCE on the Indian peninsula. History suggests that some of the greatest metal craft masterpieces of all times, made here by skilled artisans and sculptors, were magnificent in design, exclusivity of details, and workmanship. But over time, the cultural heritage, exceptionally rich in aesthetics and artistry, has fallen from its glory and only a few artisans are toiling to revive this millennium-old art form.

How far the objective of the Baul philosophy of secularism or religious tolerance can motivate a people calls for some investigation. Yet, in Bangladesh and in states similarly multicultural and free of racial prejudice, this has achieved unbelievable success. Here, adherence to coded instructions, manners, tradition, and action bears more significance for the people than their personal sense of values. The Baul followers, by moving away from that mindset, placed more emphasis on humanism and religious harmony and created a system where people, irrespective of race, sect, education, and socioeconomic status, get imbued with the same devotional spirit, sitting in the same platform.

The subject of this study is to find out the protection and sustenance ways of Shaman heritage among the Turks of Turkey. As it is known, Turks of Turkey are shaman community in terms of ancient religions and world-views such as Kazakhs, Uighurs, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Altai, Republic of Tuva, Sakha and other Turkish tribes constituting the Turkish World. Majority of the Turks of Turkey migrated from the middle of today’s Mongolia to the shores of Aegean Sea and Balkan Peninsula in the last 1500 years. Another factor complicating this 1500-year migration is the fact that Turks accepted Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity and some groups accepted Judaism. Normally while it was expected that they pursued various religions and dispersed in this tens of thousands kilometer square, these Oghuz tribes weren’t assimilated and they assimilated many communities whose administration they undertook within the scope of their control.

This paper explores how intangible cultural heritage is being adapted and accredited in an autonomous Higher Academic Institution. Kathmandu University Department of Music has been taken as a case study. \n\nThis Department offers Bachelors (B.Mus.), Masters (M.Mus.) and PhD in Ethnomusicology. As part of this study, information has been collected in order to understand the factors that were perceived as the main considerations for quality assurance of the programs in the department. These challenges were explored with accreditation framework following evidence based self-assessed perception methods of the faculties, staffs and the students. The parameters for accreditation were identified after study of documented information of the Department and in-depth interviews with the concerned stakeholders. The results show that there are obvious challenges that exist while accrediting the programs such as standardized reference books, appropriate location, adequate number of youths in the program, and providing support to attract foreign students and mobilizing students in national and international concerts, etc. It is noted that these challenges, however, have minor implications and can be solved at the time being addressing the problems with the structural adjustment and collaborative efforts with the community assuring quality of ICH related courses in ethnomusicology programs.

"Comprising more than 17,500 islands, 1,300 ethnici- ties, and over 500 vernacular languages, Indonesia is blessed with an incredibly diverse heritage, both nat- ural and cultural, tangible and intangible. However, this also poses a tremendous challenge, particularly when it comes to safeguarding and conserving such a colorful collection of heritage. Badan Pelestarian Pusaka Indonesia (BPPI, the Indonesian Heritage Trust) was founded to answer the challenges of safeguarding Indonesia’s diverse heritage. It is a nonprofit organization comprised of heritage practitioners and advocates who share the common goal of safeguarding the sustainability of Indonesia’s natural, cultural, as well as landscape."

Human Welfare Association aims to organize and empower the most disadvantaged sections of the society for sustainable and comprehensive development leading to improved quality of life. Registered in 1991, the organization intends to address the needs of the vulnerable minority communities (Dalits, OBCs) with focus on women and children. HWA has implemented various projects at the grassroots level with the support of international donor agencies. The knowledge base of the community is being further developed through awareness generation and information dissemination at all levels.

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.

One phenomenon that distinguishes humans from other animals is the use of music and language. Musical instruments are a major tool in making music, which is sound organized by humans. In many regions, music, singing, and dancing are used interchangeably, and musical instruments and music are inextricably closely related. The word Ngoma in Africa is the name of a drum, but it is a comprehensive term that includes all the music, songs, and dances played by the drum and has the meaning of ritual ceremonies.\n\nMusical instruments have been with humankind since the Paleolithic era. Musical instruments are among the oldest and most widespread objects made by humans. Humans began making musical instruments to imitate the sounds of nature such as wind, rain, thunder, and the sound of birds singing as well as the howling of animals. Such a tradition of using nature sound continues to this day. We can see wind chimes that dangle by the wind in Buddhist temples throughout Asia; wind bamboo tubes in Bali of Indonesia; Đan Nu’o’c, created by Sedang people in Vietnam, which is a clicking bamboo musical instrument using water; and Suikinkutsu using a bamboo tube and water pot in Japanese gardens. Since the Neolithic era, people soothed the hardships of labor with songs, learning the power of the rhythm by pounding a pestle in a mortar. Humans began to think about transcendental beings and had ritual ceremonies, and they tried to impress their existence by using music and musical instruments.

Before the discussion, we must define the term 'shamanism cultural heritage'. Shamanism cultural heritage must not be confused with shamanism itself. We should understand it to be 'intangible cultural heritage related to shamanism' or 'intangible cultural heritage related to shamans'. According to the UNESCO Agreement on Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection's definitions of intangible cultural heritage, shamanism heritage is defined as 'groups, communities, or individuals related to shamans or shamanism and their practices, representation, expressions, knowledge, and functions and related tools, objects, artifacts, and cultural spaces. The protection of shamanism must consider human rights, diversity of cultures, and sustainable development.