Learning oral epic traditions means learning people’s lifestyle, traditions, customs and history, their present and future, their way of thinking and their spirit. Specifically, it means understanding the originality of a nation, its qualities, wishes, way of living and outlook or, in other words, learning the oral traditions of a nation means to study the nation itself. The process of modernising our present morals depends on how we have studied literary heritage, including the originality and degree of mythology in oral epic traditions. For this, initially we need to learn, investigate and research ancient mythological imaginations of our people and their oral narrative traditions, which are the base for art and literature. Oral epic works present the literary history of any nation.

"About the Centre for Intangible Heritage Studies (CIHS) The Centre for Intangible Heritage Studies (CIHS) is an academic center based at the Sree San- karacharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady (SSUSK) in the state of Kerala in India. It is the first academic center in India established exclusively for the study of intangible heritage. It should be noted here that the discipline or subject of intangible heritage is relatively new, coming into existence only with the launch of the 2003 UN Convention for the Safeguard- ing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Up to then, all discussions on heritage were restricted to its tangible aspects. More than a decade since the 2003 Convention, there remains a lack of awareness about."

The island of Madagascar is among the last, if not the last, large coastal region where openocean, sailing vessels remain the predominant crafts being used for both fishing and transport of goods and people. A rich diversity of sailing vessels and associated cultural heritage exists that are fundamental to the daily life of coastal communities. Awareness and knowledge of this heritage is largely unknown outside of the local communities and even here, it is not clear that it is highly appreciated. Development pressure to adopt “modern” boats and methods of propulsion are intense, but this would result in large dependencies and negative consequence for the sustainability and wellbeing of these communities. There is an urgent need for concerted efforts and programs to foster and safeguard this sailing heritage that will motivate preference for its continued utilization. This work needs to include a large element of local participation and involvement. Its focus needs to be on documenting the role and value of these vessels in terms of their economic and social importance as well as recording the skills involved in building, sailing, navigating and maintaining them. Such documentation should aim to foster a pride and appreciation in their vessels, skills and knowledge. This information needs to be distributed and presented widely within the coastal communities as well as those involved with management and development in Madagascar and beyond. Without such efforts, this highly valuable cultural heritage will likely be lost with devastating local consequences.

Darshey is a traditional practice where a man holding a khadar (auspicious white scarf ) in his outstretched hands faces the seated crowd, and makes auspicious speeches at a ceremonial function, usually during religious and social occasions. (The origin of the tradition is attributed to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) when he introduced this practice during the consecration ceremony of Punakha Dzong in 1639.) The tradition, however, may vary slightly from village to village in the use of language and presentation such as making speeches decked with maxims or simply narratives. The worldly tradition of Darshey does not require to be sung like Gurma (Religious songs), Lu or Tsammo (Songs without choreographies) but is expressed more or less like a recitation. \n\nDarshey is usually performed during auspicious occasions. Atsara (masked clown) also makes similar speeches during Tshechus (Annual Mask Dance Festivals). Generally, ordinary people perceive Atsara as a comedian that appears during tshechus in the midst of mask dancers wearing a funny mask, usually holding a phallus and a rattle in his hands to entertain the audience. However, the word came from the Sanskrit term achāriya; a title attached to a great spiritual teacher, who can claim his place among the 84 Mahasiddhas, representing all those who have within one lifetime attained direct realisation of the Buddha’s teachings. Their appearance as clowns represents our ignorance through which we fail to see the ultimate truth. That is why our forefathers had regarded the senior atsaras as the embodiment of guardian deities and sublime beings.\n\nDuring such gatherings as tshechu all the dignitaries such as spiritual masters and monks, ministers, secretaries, merchants and the laities give them money as a mark of their appreciation. In return, the atsara also gives auspicious narration in the form of concluding words, which is a unique aspect of Bhutanese culture. Unfortunately, this good aspect of the atsara’s auspicious narration is now on the verge of disappearing.

The festival of Diwali in India is celebrated by different communities in different ways, performing different rituals. It is a festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, and usually lasts for five days.\nThe Sindhi community in India celebrates Diwali for just three days. One of the distinctive features of their celebration is the worshipping of a haatdi. Haatdi is also worshipped by a few Gujarati communities.\n“Haatdi” comes from the word haat and symbolizes a shop. People worship it mainly to invoke the blessings of Lakshmi (the goddess of abundance and auspiciousness) for work or business, praying for their business to prosper. A haatdi is a colorful representation of a shop. There are some who believe it used to represent the male members of the family who were the breadwinners. The number of haatdis bought was equal to the number of male members in the family, with one being for the female child. Nowadays they are usually bought in pairs of two, four, six. After Diwali, the haatdi is immersed in water.\nThe making of clay haatdi begins on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, which is regarded as auspicious and usually falls in August or September. The people of a particular community in Ahmedabad are involved in the making of haatdis, with the whole family taking part. They even travel out of Gujarat to states like Maharashtra to make and sell their wares. Haatdis are made and sold until Kaali Chaudas (the second day of the five-day festival of Diwali).\nA demonstration of the process of making a haatdi was given by Mr. Chaturbhai, Mr. Varshrambhai, Mr. Bharatbhai, and their families at their place in the lane opposite APS International School in Ahmedabad. Even I enjoyed trying my hand at making a haatdi during this experience organized by India Heritage Walks and led by Mr. Keyur Shah.

I arrived in Hue City by the Perfume River (Sông Hương) on a rainy afternoon in September 2019 to spend about a month gathering materials and data related to the preservation of the Hue Imperial Complex. One of my friends was waiting for me at a local bar together with his Bach Ho (White Tiger) master, a man in his sixties wearing a black martial arts shirt. After greeting one another, we began our conversation by taking about Hue’s recent conservation projects and local landscapes, before my friend’s master touched upon the history and the heyday of Bach Ho martial arts (the 1960s to the early 2000s). Indeed, Vietnamese people have created their own martial arts to boost their health and protect their homeland against aggressive and more powerful foreign invaders for a few thousand years. As Van Dung highlight: “martial arts contributed glorious pages to the history, appeared as a proof for resolute spirit, inexhaustible struggle, fearless of death, difficulty or danger and as a creative mind of people” (2017, p. 27). The Vietnamese philosophy of martial arts is “the Truth—the Goodness—the Beauty”; it attempts to advance Vietnamese culture and characters by forging a sturdy body, enduring health, and a strong spirit that provides support in dealing with difficulties and hardship (Van Dung ., 2017, p. 28). Viet Nam has some of its own styles of martial arts, but due to being located at a crossroads of civilizations, various martial arts from China, Korea, and Japan have been brought into and mixed with native ones, including kung fu, karate, judo, aikido, and taekwondo (Van Dung , 2016, p. 69). With the tremendous growth of this industry, martial arts have become an integral part of sports and physical activity culture, conveying not only lifestyles but also educational value and entertainment (Ko ., 2010, p. 3).\nHue became one of the biggest centers of martial arts in Viet Nam because it was home to the Nguyen dynasty, the final feudal society of Viet Nam (1802–45). The Nguyen dynasty fought against local rivals and also stood against Western colonialism, particularly the French invasion (Odell and Castillo, 2008, p. 82). Therefore, the practice of martial arts was very much encouraged and was stimulated through the organization of a number of nationwide martial arts competitions to select the best talents in the country (Le, 2020). Several temples were constructed, at which the masters’ skills and teaching were honored by the carving of their names on the stone columns.\nThe Hue Association of Traditional Martial Arts confirms that there are around 15 types of martial art within Hue, including Viet Vo dao, Bach Ho, Nga My, Thien Muc Son, Thieu Bao, Nam Son, Hau Quyen dao, Thieu Lam Dai Tam, and Kinh Van An. Other Vietnamese martial arts had their origins elsewhere, as noted, in countries such as China, Japan, and Korea, but Bach Ho (a genuine Vietnamese martial art) remained one of the most prevalent types of martial art in Hue City. Unfortunately, the stature of Bach Ho is fading significantly in comparison with other martial arts. This study thus aims to explore the relevance of Bach Ho in contemporary contexts and the primary impediments to its transmission. It will then propose recommendations for safeguarding and promoting Bach Ho as intangible cultural heritage for future generations. These are the primary objectives behind the selection of Bach Ho as our research topic.\nTo conduct our study, we worked closely with representatives from the Association of Traditional Martial Arts of Thua Thien Hue and different groups from the martial arts. In

Once upon a time, a beautiful young woman wandered into a jungle carrying her little baby girl in search of food. She was very tired, so she made a soft bed from the petals of flowers and laid the baby on it. Then she left to search for fruits to satisfy her immense hunger. Two great birds who had no babies of their own found the little human baby in its nest of flowers and carried it away on their backs to their own nest. Their nest was very large; many strange birds lived together there in harmony. There was a parrot, a myna, a hen, a stork, a kingfisher, and a tailorbird in their nest.

Numerous ritual ceremonies are under the theme of rite de passage among the Balinese Hindu community. One of the most complicated and exotic is the ritual death ceremony known as ngaben or pelebon (cremation ceremony).

Cultural Space of Gong in Central Highlands covers all the fertility red soil in the territory of 5 provinces including Kông Tum, Gia Lai, Đắc Lắc, Đắc Nông, and Lâm Đồng. \nIt is the place where the Ba Na, the Gia Rai, the Ê Đê, the Xê Đăng, the Jẻ Triêng, the Mạ, the M’Nông, the Cơ Ho, the Brâu, the Rơ Măm,… have been residing for a long time. These ethnic groups live in small villages named pơ lây, buôn, bon and living mainly by agricultural cultivation, animal husbandry and benefitial resources of the nature.\n

This paper looks at the current situation for intangible cultural heritage in Australia, a place of great cultural diversity. Australia is a continent, a vast country, with a migration story 65,000 years old, when the first humans arrived, after homo sapiens sapiens left Africa. Since then, migrants from around the world have come to this continent, particularly since British colonization in 1788, resulting in many ethnic and cultural groups settling.

Relative to the creative economy of South Korea, the importance of the Eurasian Turkic states is growing. The reorganized resource-rich countries of the Eurasian continent, ancient nations belonging to the Silk Road, have established themselves from the beginning of the 21st century as political and economic powers in the international arena. CIS countries such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan were protagonists of the great Silk Road that linked the East and the West that had been cut off from each other in ancient times.

Newar culture has different lifecycle rituals, performed at different stages of life from birth to death. These rituals are complex and embedded in the socio-cultural environment. With every lifecycle ritual, a person gains certain rights, responsibilities, and maturity within the society.