Performed by singers in rural areas of the greater Mymensigh region and greater Dhaka region, Pala Gaan is a theatrical experimentation using a combination of indigenous references and timely rhetoric. Typically the shows begin with Guru Bandana (an artistic expression of showing respect to God and then to the mentor from whom the Bayati learned the performance). It is followed by Ashon Bandana (an artistic expression that pays tribute to the audience).\n\nThe lead singer of Pala Gaan is called bayati, who narrates stories, tales, and legends through music incorporating dance and dialogues. After a short musical prelude, the bayati starts narrating the tale. A group of choristers helps the bayati in the entire performance. During the narration, the bayati enacts different characters such as king, queen, prince, rural maiden, ghost, and animal using limited props. Pillow and scarf are typically seen as the props used by the bayati. Dohar, a member of the choir, helps the bayati by giving cues during the act. In an open stage performance, the bayati singer takes the center of the stage while the choir sits aside.\n\nIn Pala Gaan, the narrative is thickened by improvisation to make it relatable, giving the audience a time to think through it. As a result, a tale may have multiple versions depending on the taste of who performs it. Though ancient texts are central to Pala Gaan narratives, serious issues such as love, position of women in a patriarchal society, discrimination, and oppression can also be addressed. And when a show is held for an urban audience, urban issues, even the ones taken from global politics, can also be artistically twisted. Charming narrations and realistic portrayals of characters are special features of Pala Gaan, enriching the use of dialects and folk rhythms.\n\nPhoto : Islamuddin Palakar from Mymensingh, presents a Pala Gaan © Mumit M

Mudiyettu is a ritual art form practiced in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is performed annually in different villages throughout Kerala along the rivers, Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar, and Moovattupuzha among the Marar and Kurup communities in venues known as bhagavati kavus, temples, which are dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. The temple provides as the focal point for this ritual, and all villagers, irrespective of their caste, participate and play a specific role in its organization.

Introducing rickshaws, three-wheeled non-motorized passenger carts, to the urban areas of Bangladesh in the 1940s led to a new art form, rickshaw painting.\n\nRickshaw painters learn their craftsmanship from mentors at workshops. Their passion is evident in the painted backboards and rear side panels, hood cut-outs, and flower-filled brass vases. But, the most interesting aspect of rickshaw painting is the colorful rectangular tin sheet used at the rear of rickshaws, because it represents the painter’s choice and designing skill.\n\nThe tin sheet on the back was once decorated only with portraits of famous movie stars. However, in the late 1970s, the government imposed a ban on portraying these portraits, so the artists introduced animals mimicking the activities of the movie stars in films. While the government lifted the ban in the late 1980s, the artists continue with experimentation that include animals, flowers, and other motifs.\n\nRickshaw painting themes also reflect global events. For example, following the the Gulf War, portraits of Saddam Hussein appeared on rickshaws in Dhaka.\n\nThough the rickshaw painters have no formal academic knowledge, they modify the subjects and compositions according to changes in time and sociopolitical conditions. As a result, their works combine folkloric, movie, political, and commercial imagery, depicting their heart’s desires as well as their religious devotion.\n\nBangla Academy, a state-run research institute in Bangladesh, has prepared a nomination file on behalf of the government of Bangladesh to inscribe Dhaka’s rickshaw and rickshaw painting on the UNESCO Representative List.\n\nPhoto : A painting on tin sheet to be used to decorate rear of a rickshaw © Firoz Mahmud

Last year Croatia joined the world community in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage by holding an ICH conference and festival in Dubrovnik. In the last decade, numerous activities have taken place, but the basic question of how to continue promoting and protecting sensitive intangible assets remains.

The small sun-soaked village of Molela, located approximately fifteen to twenty kilometers from the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, is home to a vibrant community of terracotta clay artists. Over the years, Molela has emerged as a focal point in the art of making attractive votive plaques or idols of gods, with terracotta. While the early creations were originally cast as standing idols of local deities and various forms of the Hindu god Vishnu, today these figures are often mounted on tiles or plaques and are hung from the walls of homes and temples. These votive figurines can be multicolored or can have a terracotta hue, as is represented in the various temples in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The Maranao are a southern Philippine ethno-linguistic group living along the fringes of Lake Lanao in the Lanao provinces of Mindanao. The Maranao are best known for their love of beauty as shown in their ukil art, poetry—the epic Darangen, inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List—and the torogan, the grandest type of Philippine architecture.

Block printing is a traditional techniques of textile design holding pride of place in the rich repository of Indian craft. Some scholars hold the view that it originated in China, and it came to India only in the twelfth century. Others cite fragments of printed cloth from Mohenjo-Daro or references in the Ramayana as evidence that it has existed in India since ancient times. The technique is unique in its ability to reflect both the creative ability of the designer and the sensibility of the printer-craftsmen. The creations of such bespoke production uniquely manifest the tiny imperfections that make it so highly prized. This singularity may never be achieved using automated machines.

The region of Bay of Bengal has been an important part of maritime activities, including trading and fisheries from very ancient times. The significance of the region continues even at present. The massive \nwaterbody is a representation of a busy network of trade and commerce and the basis of livelihoods for thousands who surround it from all sides from various countries. Fishing as an occupation is an important \nsector of food and nutritional security and India alone, has more than nine million active fisherfolk across its coastline, who are directly dependent on fisheries for their livelihood, amidst which 80 % are small scale fishers. The sector of fisheries employs over 14 million people and contributes to 1.1 % of the Indian GDP. Though the number remains unaccounted for in most countries, but amidst the number of \nfishermen, there is a substantial number of fisherwomen, who have been contributing through generations in various ways, including supplementing the family income through alternative methods of income, as well as being the main conduits of maintaining various elements of intangible cultural heritage, including traditional methods of fishing. This research paper is an attempt to look into the contribution of the fisherwomen community around the western fringes of the Bay of Bengal, especially looking at the countries of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and the vital contributions of these womenfolk. The fisherwomen \nnot only help to sustain the families through the main profession of the family, but also helps financially through various subsidiary modes of income, like handicrafts and artwork. This is extremely helpful for sustaining the family in time of the lean seasons of fishing, as well as during periods of disaster, like the present Covid-19 pandemic situation. These attempts of the fisherwomen, thus, connects various factors to \noverall social cohesion and development, including sustaining various channels of intangible cultural heritage which directly connects to their main profession and also helps in transmission of community values \nand also redefines gender roles within the community.

The 2019 Sub-Regional Meeting for Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding in South Asia: ICH in Education: Towards Joint Collaboration for Promoting ICH in Formal and Non-Formal Education jointly organized by ICHCAP and UNESCO Dhaka Office, was held from 24 to 26 June 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.\n\nThis report is composed of nineteen presentation papers delivered at the meeting by national representatives, NGOs, and UNESCO Offices in Bangkok and Dhaka. In addition, the outcome document of the meeting is also affixed to put it on record the adopted recommendations of the participants in moving forward together.

The chapter is part of a UNESCO book about intangi- ble cultural heritage (ICH) in relation to the Sustain- able Development Goal 2 (SDG2): Zero Hunger. This chapter starts with an introduction to the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), a Vietnamese organization that ran a project related to ICH and SDG2. The chapter continues with an introduction to the geographical and social context of the project, as well as three case studies describing the effect of the project activities on farmers’ lives. The chapter ends with two essays contextualizing the project in the larger issue of community resilience for climate change, and agrobiodiversity for food security.

Located in the midwestern part of the Korean Peninsula’s southern region, the Seomjingang River is the fourth largest river in the Republic of Korea. The basin area totals 4,896.5㎢, and the river is 212.3km long. \nGeographically, the river basin features the Sobaek and Jiri mountain ranges that stretch towards the southeast. As such, the region is replete with tall mountains and peaks. Historically, the Seomjingang River has served as a border between the Gyeongsang and Jeolla regions. Ecologically, the river has been home to diverse fauna and flora, including endangered species and state-designated.

유네스코아태무형유산센터는 ICHNGO FORUM #HeritageAlive와의 공동협력으로 무형유산 종목도서인 리빙 헤리티지 시리즈 <전통악기>편을 발간하였습니다.\n\n다섯 번째 출판되는 리빙헤리티지 시리즈 <전통악기> 편은 아프리카, 아시아, 유럽의 사례를 소개하는 15명의 저자들의 원고를 담고 있습니다. 특히 저자들은 전승 위기에 처한 전통 음악의 현황을 공유하고, 2003년 협약이 강조하는 활성화 방안에 관하여 서술하고 있는데요, 음악이 가진 치유의 힘을 보여주는 책이라고 할 수 있습니다.