On 4th December 2021, the locals of Patko locality in Patan were busy decorating temple of LaxmiNarayan and arranging materials for the rituals from early morning. This was not any ordinary Saturday or ritual. Many people have never seen this kind of event. On this day the original statue of LaxmiNarayan – an androgynous statue, was going to be reinstated in its temple after nearly forty years.\n\nThis statue was stolen in 1984 and was found in the Dallas Museum of Arts. With the help of the activists, diplomats, Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign the return of this statue to Nepal and then back to the community was possible. Many statues and artifacts from the temples have been stolen from Nepal, which still continues till date. But this kind of getting back of the statue to where it belonged with this fanfare and media coverage was a first one. Even the stolen objects get back to the country then it was a normal procedure to keep that in the museum for safekeeping.\n\nWhen the statue of LaxmiNarayan was stolen, the custodians of the temple made a replica of it and stated to worship a new one. Many people didn’t even have the memory of the original ones. Some of then could not just understand why the jwelleries of the deity does not perfect fit. The original statue was returned on a palanquin with music from the Patan Museum to the temple. The custodians of the temple performed rituals to statue and welcomed back to its place. Then during the rituals the jewelries perfectly fit the real statue.\n\nFollowing the example of LaxmiNarayan statue, another statue of deity Padmapani Lokeshwor was returned to the Monastery in Naxal of Kathmandu. The heritage activist found the location of this statue that has been missing from the monastery for several years. This statue has been with the Chhauni Museum in Kathmandu.\n\nThe locals and heritage activists took back this statue to the Monastery in a carriage followed by traditional music and gurju ya paltan (traditional army band). The carriage was followed by the procession of people in traditional attire. On that monastery also the elaborate rituals were performed to welcome back the deity.\n\nIn 1980 from the stone fountain of Tanga Hiti in Patan, a statue of UmaMahesheshor.\n\nThis statue was returned back to Nepal by New York Metropolitan Museum on 2018 August. As many other stolen statues which were found and returned back were kept in the Museum, this one was with Chhauni Museum. This statue was also taken back to the place where it belonged on 7th February 2022. The locals went to bring back their deity with fanfare as in the other statues.\n\nHeritage in Nepal is a living heritage where people have everyday connection with temples, squares, platforms and waterspouts in form rituals, festivities, dances and music. When the statues or artifacts get stolen, they are not stealing the objects but also the rituals and sentiments associated with it. Finally, it seem the statues are slowly returning back to the place where it belonged in Nepal. The excitements and joy could be seen in the face of people when the statues were placed back the original place.\n\nWhen the communities are now able to take back their statues, so more statues will be going in future. So it has became urgent that the government prepare a proper guidelines on reinstalling of the statues and artifacts, as well as safety and integrity of objects.\n\nphoto 1 : Community members of the temple performing the rituals to welcome back in the stolen statue in the temple of LaxmiNarayan. © Monalisa Maharjan\nphoto 2 : Statue of UmaMaheshwor after installing it in Tanga Hiti. © Monalisa Maharjan\nphoto 3 : Locals worshipping the statue of LaxmiNarayan after reinstalling in its temple. © Monalisa Maharjan

The Rom Dance is a prominent cultural heritage originating from Ambrym Island in the Vanuatu archipelago. Ole in the Ambrym vernacular language refers to dance performances in which participants wear a rom mask. The rom, which is the mask itself, is a simpler version of the Banks Islands’ tamate mask, but it looks more similar to South Malekula masks.

In Turkmenistan, the national inventory of intangible cultural property comprises five domains: oral expression, beliefs, performing arts, craftsmanship, and traditional knowledge. Epics belong in the division of oral expression. More than ten elements have been identified in this field, including epics such as Gorogly, Shasenem and Garip, Zokhre and Takhir, Khuyrlukga and Khemra, Sayatly Khemra, Asly Kerem, Arzy-Gambar, Khatamnama, Warka-Gulsha, Kasym oglan Melike-Dilaram, Nejep oglan, and Tulum Hoja. The epic Gorogly holds an especially important position among Turkmen epics.

The legacy of Clifford Geertz’s symbolic anthropology has had a tremendous influence in critical heritage studies, particularly if we begin to think of “community” as the representation of the sociological and psychological thickness of time and people, a world in itself, or what he definitively penned in his germinal work The Interpretation of Cultures, “the strati!ed hierarchy of meaningful structures” (1973: 7). It is an imperative to honor the meaning of community in heritage work, both in its study and official protection, for without groups of people who live to de!ne and embrace and re-invent and share their cultural practices we will not be able to trace our linkages, belongingness, and identity. Traditional Food: Sharing Experiences from the Field is an evidence of the power of communities to transmit culture not merely inwardly, but also to other people across borders. This book underscores the anthropological value of unity, the appreciation of togetherness from Korea to Italy to Syria to Colombia to Mexico and the rest of the world through food.

"Ambae Island, Vanuatu: Home to more than 11,000 people, the people indige- nous to the land. In April 2017, Ambae’s Manaro volcano, Mount Lombenben, rumbled continuously, spewing torrents of volcanic matter and gas from its crater, covering the majority of the island in thick layers of ash, hampering water sources, and destroying vegetable plots and gardens. The government of Vanuatu ordered a mandatory evacuation of the island and the people of Ambae were forced to relocate to neighboring islands— Pentecost, Maewo, and Espiritu Santo—leaving their homes, animals, and crops behind. The impact was devastating. Schooling was disturbed, livelihoods perished, and many people struggled with trauma and the challenges of integrating into new communities where they didn’t have strong connections or access to land and natu- ral resources."

"BeezBistar Foundation (BBF), a community action-based non-governmental organization, was formed in 2009 by development workers and researchers. “BeezBistar” means prosperity in life and peaceful and joyful relations between human beings and all other life-forms. BBF works with local communities, especially farmers, weavers, fishers, adivashi, dalit, and other marginalized and socially vulnerable people for a prosperous and healthy life. Its guiding ethical principles are non-discrimination on the grounds of caste, race, class, and gender. BBF believes in people’s capacity to transform their existing situation of poverty and become pros- perous through a mediated process of interdependent, collective, and community support and actions. The notion of BEEZ is grounded in the local and indigenous culture of the peoples of Bangladesh, as well as advanced by science and life-affirming knowledge and technologies."

Snow avalanches pose a threat to alpine communities because they affect safety in villages and of human infrastructures such as ski pistes or traffic routes. Dealing with avalanche danger and risk has a long tradition in Alpine countries and although strategies have been adapted over the centuries, the general principles remained the same: preventing the release of avalanches or reducing their size, influencing its direction of movement or avoiding the presence of objects in endangered areas either in the long term or in the short term.

Dondang Sayang is a Malay traditional music and song that is well-known in the State of Malacca and still practised by four communities such as the Malay, Baba Nyonya, Chitty and Portuguese. The performances are accompanied by violin, rebana, gong and accordion and sing by two singers of the opposite sex, who sing in quatrains. It has received UNESCO’s recognition as a Representative List of The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 29th November 2018.

Maldives Authentic Crafts Cooperative Society (MACCS) is a cooperative marketing handicrafts produced by communities living in the atolls. Based in the capital city of Malé, MACCS was founded by a group of women to assist and promote the development of local handicrafts. Registered in 2011, MACCS primarily facilitates market access for local products. It aims to support and educate communities to revive traditional handicraft forms. The cooperative works with home-based workers and procures finished crafts directly from them.

One of the brightest folk festivities, is the Navruz spring holiday festival. Navruz, celebrated on 21 March symbolizes the universal date of birth, for when the departure of winter and arrival of spring was interpreted as the rebirth of nature. Its origin is connected to ancient astronomical observations which are based on solar and stellar motion as well as the motion of the moon. Ideas of peace, solidarity, prosperity, and mercifulness are reflected in each festive Navruz ritual.

Patachitra is a story telling tradition of the Medinipore region of West Bengal in Eastern India. In this unique art form, oral tradition meets the visual structures of a narrative. The bard presents the story with pictures and simultaneously narrates a song called “Pater Gaan”. The word pata is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word patta, which means “cloth.” Chitra means “picture.” Patachitra means “picture painted on cloth.” The painter community is called Patua. All of them bear the last name Chitrakar, meaning painter.

The rich folklore of the Kyrgyz people is an important historical and cultural phenomenon developing over many centuries and spiritually and artistically valuable. As an inexhaustible source of people’s wisdom, it reflects the history, life and social, political and spiritual ideals of the people. The oral folklore is the basis of our unique cultural heritage. Due to the harsh conditions of the nomadic life, endless clashes with enemies and invaders, and long distances of migration, the Kyrgyz people have not preserved their spiritual culture in the stone monuments of architecture, papyrus or clay writings but have preserved it in their memory for more than two thousand years of history. Memory proved to be good enough for keeping millions of lines of epic songs and works, which have been passed from generation to generation and reached the present day.