MAHALLA is an administrative territorial unit in Uzbekistan. The way of self-management is characteristic of the traditions and values of our people. The term "Mahalla" is Arabic and means "place". A neighborhood is a small administrative area, but it is also a community of people connected by a common lifestyle, values, traditions, and customs. The main tasks of the neighborhood were to hold ceremonies together, to maintain and beautify its territory, to educate the young generation in a social spirit, to ensure order in the life of the community, to control the implementation of all traditional norms, and to observe customs. The neighborhood elder organized other public works related to neighborhood improvement. All these works were done together by hashar.\n

MAHALLA is an administrative territorial unit in Uzbekistan. The way of self-management is characteristic of the traditions and values of our people. The term "Mahalla" is Arabic and means "place". A neighborhood is a small administrative area, but it is also a community of people connected by a common lifestyle, values, traditions, and customs. The main tasks of the neighborhood were to hold ceremonies together, to maintain and beautify its territory, to educate the young generation in a social spirit, to ensure order in the life of the community, to control the implementation of all traditional norms, and to observe customs. The neighborhood elder organized other public works related to neighborhood improvement. All these works were done together by hashar.\n

MAHALLA is an administrative territorial unit in Uzbekistan. The way of self-management is characteristic of the traditions and values of our people. The term "Mahalla" is Arabic and means "place". A neighborhood is a small administrative area, but it is also a community of people connected by a common lifestyle, values, traditions, and customs. The main tasks of the neighborhood were to hold ceremonies together, to maintain and beautify its territory, to educate the young generation in a social spirit, to ensure order in the life of the community, to control the implementation of all traditional norms, and to observe customs. The neighborhood elder organized other public works related to neighborhood improvement. All these works were done together by hashar.\n

MAHALLA is an administrative territorial unit in Uzbekistan. The way of self-management is characteristic of the traditions and values of our people. The term "Mahalla" is Arabic and means "place". A neighborhood is a small administrative area, but it is also a community of people connected by a common lifestyle, values, traditions, and customs. The main tasks of the neighborhood were to hold ceremonies together, to maintain and beautify its territory, to educate the young generation in a social spirit, to ensure order in the life of the community, to control the implementation of all traditional norms, and to observe customs. The neighborhood elder organized other public works related to neighborhood improvement. All these works were done together by hashar.\n

▶ Play Video 4. A Sound for the Spirits The Buklog of the Subanons\nThis is a shortened version of the Travel Time episode “A Subanon Celebration,” which was first aired on Filipino television on March 21, 1996. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nAnimals were offered in the context of the Subanon cultural ritual.\n\nThe Subanon or Subanun people of the upstream may be found on the western Peninsula. The population core areas are in Katipunan. The known subgroups parallel the linguistic variations and micro-adaptations to social and physical environment and comprise: (1) Misamis, (2) Lapuyan, (3) Sindangan, (4) Tuboy, and (5) Salug.\n\nThe cultural and technological adaptation is upland riverine. They practice swidden cultivation on mountain slopes. The traditional settlement pattern is highly dispersed with a few residential structures on top of ridges near potable water sources. The houses are placed adjacent to cultivated fields. They favor locations near springs where water gushes out of rocks over contiguous to streams.\n\nRice is the preferred food crop, but fields are also rotated and intercropped, planted with corn, sweet potato, and cassava. Land problems and soil degradation have forced some of the people to recourse to wet rice agriculture where the topography allows. Metal craft and backstrap weaving are practiced. They have maintained trade with coastal peoples for centuries, as indicated by the presence of Asian stone and ceramic trade wares. Present-day Subanon are usually nonaggressive. There are indications that in the past, the people were required to provide a “soul companion” for an important deceased relative.\n\nUnique to the Subanon is their set of rituals, the buklog, the main feature of which is a huge dancing platform (buklogan). This structure is raised some 10 to 18 feet high and consists of a highly resilient platform supported at the corners by upright posts. A long pole is passed through the middle of the platform and extends upwards like a maypole. Below it is a short thick hollowed log that lies above a trench filled with empty jars functioning as resonating chambers. The pole rises and falls when dancers rhythmically bounce on the platform. The booming sound invites people to come and join in the ritual and festival. There is feasting, wining, and dancing lasting for days, with as many as two hundred people dancing on the buklogan continuously, day and night.\n\nThe ritual consists of a complex set of rites performed before the culminating event, usually near waterways, and which serve to propitiate spirits. The buklog is a prestige ritual that has a multitude of functions, such as celebrating well- being and a good harvest, and giving thanks to appease spirits after an illness. It may also honor personalities, welcome back homecomers, or praise a new timuay (leader). Finally, it is held to pay respects to the spirits of the dead, for the final sending of the spirit of the ancestor and the death anniversary of a grandparent.\n\nThe Subanen form a subgroup and are related to the Subanon but are concentrated in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

The UNESCO Silk Roads Program Overall Goal is in line with the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, in particular with SDG16 (Sustainable Peace and Development), advocating for intercultural dialogue and mutual understand and respect as well as social inclusion and cohesion. Interactions along the Silk Roads have played a vital role in connecting cultures and people across many borders. It is an instructive example of a long-lasting legacy of exchange, influence and cooperation. In the first phase, roads of dialogue among the people of Eurasia began in 1988 and the five expeditions along the Silk Roads collected information for analysis about shared heritage. During the second phase, the major goal was to raise awareness about the shared heritage along the Silk Roads. This occurred by empowering youth through an annual photo contest and a Silk Roads youth research grant. The third structure was to develop, compile and disseminate knowledge through a Silk Roads online platform. This work promotes interactive possibilities for an ICH Silk Roads network with ICHCAP and IICAS by identifying and promoting concrete fields and elements that have facilitated and have been generated through cultural interactions and exchanges along the Silk Roads.

▶ Play Video 2. Into the Heart of the Mandaya A Journey through the Wilds of Davao Oriental\nThis episode was first aired on Filipino television on November 16, 1995. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nAnimals were offered in the context of the Mandaya cultural ritual.\n\nThe Mandaya are a complex group that can be referred to by different terms: Mangwanga, Mangrangan, Mangosan, Magosan, Pagsupan, Divavaonon, Dibabaon, and Mansaka. Members reside in Davao Oriental. They are concentrated in the municipalities of Caraga, Manay, Cateel, Lupon, and Tarragona. The known subgroupings are: (1) Mansaka, (2) Pagsupan, (3) Mangwanga (Mangrangan, Compostela), (4) Managosan, (5) Divavaon (Dibabaon, mixed Manobo Mandaya), and (6) Karaga.\n\nThe Mandaya occupy upstream areas, practicing slash-and-burn cultivation in highly dispersed settlements. In addition to a wide range of cropping for domestic consumption, abaca is cultivated as a cash crop. Rice, various tubers, and bananas form the bulk of their diet. Communities are dispersed usually near swiddens. Two or three family units usually occupy houses, and these are usually within sight even if dispersed. Proximity of these houses constitutes a neighborhood, which is loosely organized into a larger discrete domain with all of the households related through various kin relationships. Families are either nuclear or polygynous.\n\nTraditionally, each domain has a headman, bagani, whose word is considered law and who wears distinctive red clothing. He is the recognized protector of the community. His rule is tempered by an advisory council, angtutukay, usually composed of community elders. With the disappearance of the bagani social structure at present, the civil structures of the barangay prevail. There still exists, however, a conflict between the established civil authority and the informal authorities.\n\nThe Mandaya/Mansaka women are famous for their distinctive dresses and ornaments. Their tie-dye weaving and embroidery are intertwined through a sophisticated symbolic art system that evolved design motifs that each have names. The binulanbulan motif, for instance, consists of nested circles representing the moon, and suksuk ng kasili represents fish scales. These motifs are embroidered on blouses against a contrasting red or black background. The beadwork and silver craft on body ornaments mark this group as one of the most noteworthy in terms of art. Unique among Filipino ethno-linguistic groups are the women’s large ornate silver breast ornaments (platina), their multiple fossil shell arm bracelets, and their embroidered blouses. The men wear a distinctive narrow hat constructed from the shaft of a palm frond.

▶ Play Video 1. The World of a Maguindanao Virtuoso: This episode was first aired on Filipino television on August 18, 1994. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nThe Maguindanao (Magindanaw, Maguindanaw, Magindanao, Maguindanaon, Magindanaoan, Mindanao) form one of the large ethnic groups of the country. Most of the members are concentrated in the municipalities of Dinaig, Datu Piang, Shariff Aguak, and Buluan, in the province of Maguindanao.\n\nConstant contact with the Spaniards led to naming the entire island after the Maguindanao. The people practice Islam; their culture and social structure are deeply tied to this eligion, forming a conformity without which the group would not have been able to resist the incursions of the Spanish conquistadores. One of the three Philippine sultanates is aguindanao. The Maguindanao sultanate at one period in history could claim ritual authority over southwestern Mindanao. Their socio-political system and the hierarchical structure of their society are complex and similar to that of the Sulu sultanate.\n\nThere are three royal houses: Maguindanaon in Sultan Kudarat, Buayan in Datu Piang, and Kabuntalan in Tumbao, all of which trace their lineage to Sharif Kabunsuan, one of the earliest Muslim missionaries, and Sultan Kudarat. Customary law (adat) is applied, embodied in oral traditions and in accordance with the Paluwaran code, which contains provisions for very aspect of life.\n\nThe culture is characteristically lowland with a special adaptation to marshland, and wet rice is the staple food. Arts and crafts are well developed, exhibiting sophistication in eaving. Through waste mold technology metalwork and with the double-bellows Malaysian forge, they produce a wide range of bronze artifacts including betel-nut boxes, gongs, knives, racelets, and even the Southeast Asian cannon, the lantaka. The lantaka is not used just in warfare, but also as a prestigious status symbol.\n\nTheir ornamental art employs very characteristic design motifs that show affinity with the rest of Southeast Asia while retaining a distinctive ethnic identity. Their musical nstruments include a unique crocodile-motif version of the ubiquitous two-stringed lute, the kutyapi; the kulintang, which comprises eight brass gongs of graduated sizes; and the very large and deep agong, as well as various drums and flutes. Their music is characterized by drone and permutation.

On 12 and 13 November 2020, ICHCAP and the ICH NGO Forum virtually held the 2020 ICH NGO Conference entitled “ICH and Resilience in Crisis.” The fifteen participants, including eleven selected presenters from ten countries around the world, discussed various cases and activities of each country applied under the Corona-era, and proposed solidarity for the resilience of ICH for a ‘New Normal.’\n\nSession 1: In the Vortex: COVID-19 Era, Roles of NGOs to Safeguard ICH\n\nSpecial Lecture 1: 'Resilience System Analysis' by Roberto Martinez Yllescas, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Mexico\n1. 'Uncovering the veil of immaterial cultural heritage towards and autonomous management of well-being as well as cultural and territorial preservation' by Carolina Bermúdez, Fundación Etnollano\n2. 'Holistic Development Model of Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yuen Long District in Hong Kong of China' by Kai-kwong Choi, Life Encouraging Fund \n3. 'Indigenous Knowledge System as a vector in combating COVID-19' by Allington Ndlovu, Amagugu International Heritage Centre\n4. 'Enlivening Dyeing Tradition and ICH: The initiative of ARHI in North East of India' by Dibya Jyoti Borah, President, ARHI\n\nSession 2: Homo Ludens vs. Home Ludens: Changed Features COVID-19 Brought\n\n1. 'The Popular Reaction to COVID-19 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage among Member Cities of the ICCN' by Julio Nacher, ICCN Secretariat, Algemesi, Spain\n2. 'Innovation for Arts and Cultural Education Amid a Pandemic' by Jeff M. Poulin, Creative Generation\n3. 'Promoting Heritage Education through Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kalasha Valleys of Pakistan' by Ghiasuddin Pir & Meeza Ubaid, THAAP\n4. 'Shifting to Online Activities: Digital Divide among the NGOs and ICH Communities in Korea' by Hanhee Hahm CICS\n\nSession 3: Consilience: Prototype vs. Archetype for Educational Source\n\nSpecial Lecture 2: 'Geographical imbalance: the challenge of getting a more balanced representation of accredited non-governmental organizations under the 2003 Convention' by Matti Hakamäki, Finnish Folk Music Institute\n1. 'Crafting a Post Covid-19 World: Building Greater Resilience in the Crafts Sector through Strengthening Ties with its Community’s Cultural System' by Joseph Lo, World Crafts Council International\n2. 'Arts and Influence: Untangling Corporate Engagement in the Cultural Sector' by Nicholas Pozek, Asian Legal Programs, Columbia University\n3. 'ICH in the South-Western Alps: Empowering Communities through Youth Education on Nature and Cultural Practices' by Alessio Re & Giulia Avanza, Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture\n\n

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is transnational in nature. It is necessary to spread the perception that ICH transcends geographical spaces and national borders, creating dynamic relations, connectedness, and continuity, which is why it is a timeless bearer of cultural diversity, the foundation of the heritage of humanity. However, as the modern structure of nation-state determines the boundaries of culture with national borders, forming the concept of “culture within the country”, subsequently led to the perception that the ownership of culture belongs to the state.\n\nThe concept of exclusive ownership of culture is often controversial in the UNESCO listing process, particularly in instances where cultural heritage and cultural domains have been shared for a long time by two or more nation-states. Such conflicts lead to excessive competition for nomination, overshadowing UNESCO’s fundamental purpose of contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations, as well as the very spirit of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that promotes international cooperation and assistance in the safeguarding of ICH as a matter of general interest to humanity.\n\nConsequently, UNESCO encourages multinational inscriptions of shared intangible cultural heritage to promote regional cooperation and international safeguarding activities, preventing conflicts among countries and coping with already existing ones. By emphasizing joint nominations of shared ICH, UNESCO revised its implementation guidelines three times to deal with conflicts between countries due to the cultural property rights. In addition, States Parties are encouraged to develop networks among relevant communities, experts, professional centres, and research institutes, particularly with regard to their ICH, to cooperate at the sub-regional and regional levels.\n\nAt the 13th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in the Republic of Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as the first joint designation by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea. This milestone in the life of the Convention demonstrates that ICH contributes to the peace-building, reconciliation, mutual understanding, and solidarity among peoples. Indeed, only when acknowledging that shared cultural values are empowering characteristics of ICH, the true perspective of the unifying agent of the cultural diversity can be achieved, and that it is the cornerstone of reaching peace among nations.\n\nCountries in the Asia Pacific region are deeply connected by a long history of interactions, exchanges, flows of people, goods, and ideas that have shaped shared values, practices, and traditions. Having a balanced view, advocating for cultural diversity, and recognizing the commonalities among individuals, communities, and countries as a strength are virtuous tenets in the present time.\n\nIn this regard, APHEN-ICH Secretariat, ICHCAP, and UNESCO Bangkok Office are inviting the APHEN-ICH member institutes and public to this seminar under the theme of Diversity and Distinctiveness: Looking into the Shared ICH in the Asia-Pacific, to re-assess that while fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity, connecting bounds, and enhancing international dialogue and peace.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

In 2015, ICHCAP with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO and the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan released the CD collection Melodies from Uzbekistan as part of its cooperation project to restore and digitize analogue resources on ICH.\n\nThis selection of audio resources are aged audio recordings stored at the Fine Arts Institute of the Academy of Sciences that have been restored and converted into a format suitable for storage and playback in media used today. The audio tracks in the collection consist of folk music recorded from field research conducted in Uzbekistan and border regions from the 1950s to the 1980s as well as studio recordings made from the 1930s to the 1970s. The eight CDs contain Uzbek songs related to work, animal rearing, rituals, and other important parts of day-to-day life in the region; instrumental music featuring various traditional Uzbek musical instruments, such as the dutor and g'ajir nay; and important Islamic oral traditions, such as maqoms and dostons.\n\nAlthough the traditional music of Central Asia may be unfamiliar to listeners from other parts of the world, the CDs come with information booklets in Uzbek, English, and Korean to provide an engaging experience for people from outside the region.\nThe selection represents the diverse and rich musical traditions of Uzbekistan and will be invaluable resources in the field of ICH education and promotion.

Audio and Video Materials Collected from the Onsite Survey in the Ferghana Valley_2012 Uzbekistan-ICHCAP Joint Cooperation Project of Producing Digital Contents on ICH\n\nThe glorious intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of Ferghana Valley encompassing the state of Ferghana, Andijion, and Namangan in Uzbekistan includes oral traditional, performing arts, traditional rites and festive events, and traditional crafts. However, this heritage is largely unknown to the public in the nation and abroad, and it is fading out even more rapidly due to the young generation’s lack of interest.\n\nSince 2011, the four Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, have been implementing a three-year project, Facilitating ICH Inventory-Making by Using Online Tools for ICH Safeguarding in the Central Asian Region as a Central Asia–ICHCAP cooperative project. In the framework of the project, the countries have collected ICH information and tried to build an online system for managing the collected information.\n\nIn Uzbekistan, the Republican Scientific and Methodological Centre of Folk Art, under the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with the National Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan for UNESCO, implemented the three-year project. They collected information on ICH elements in the Ferghana Valley (Andijan, Namangan, and Ferghana regions), Zarafshan Oasis and Southern Uzbekistan (Jizzakh, Samarkand, Kashkadarya, and Surkhandarya regions), and the Republic of Karakalpakstan (Navoi, Bukhara, and Khoresm regions) through onsite surveys from 2012 to 2014.\n\nIn 2012 when the first onsite survey was concluded, Uzbekistan and ICHCAP selected representative materials among collected videos, audios, and photos on ICH elements and ICH bearers, and compiled the materials as a ten-CD/DVD collection. Also, booklets in English, Uzbek, and Korean were made to spread related information to a wider audience.\n\nFerghana Valley is also home to Tajikistan, Uighers, and Turkistan. In the other words, different traditions co-exist in the same place. ‘Katta Ashula’, which integrates arts, songs, music, and epics, is one Uzbek cultural heritage representing the identities of the diverse people live in the valley\n\nThe collection could preserve the disappeared and disconnected ICH and encourage increased mutual understanding and communication by spreading the information widely from the experts to the people.

The sixth sub-regional networking meeting took place in Pacific Harbor, Fiji, in April 2015. The meeting was organized by ICHCAP and the Department of Heritage and Arts of Fiji in collaboration with the UNESCO Office in Apia.\nThis meeting report includes presentation materials from the sub-regional meeting as well as summaries of the meeting with the intent of providing information to promote international cooperation among experts and institutions in the ICH safeguarding field in the Pacific region.

Pacific islanders have been dealing with changing environmental factors for centuries. Adapting to change is part of Pacific lifestyles, and traditional knowledge, values, and practices—or intangible cultural heritage—underpins the ability of Pacific communities to live successfully and thrive in their environment. In this brief brochure, a publication by the UNESCO Office in Apia and ICHCAP, we learn how intangible cultural heritage, along with other scientific knowledge, may enhance the communities’ resilience against natural disasters and climate change. The following examples relating culture and sustainable environments are included in the brochure:\n\n- Traditional Navigation Systems\n- Environmental Resource Management\n- Vernacular Architecture\n- Social Cohesion, Networks, and Cooperation

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 20 is 'TRADITIONAL TUG-OF-WAR GAME.'

Since the beginning of 1950s, the Institute of Language and Literature at the Academy of Sciences in Mongolia has initiated sending the survey teams, 1-3 times a year, for researching and gathering data on oral literature and local dialectics. The initiation of above activities has set the groundwork for official establishment of a new archive with written documents and magnetic audio tapes, utilization for research purposes and the maintenance. Along with sending the survey teams, individuals/bearers were invited to the Institute from the local areas and their repertoire were recorded on magnetic tapes.\n\nAs a result, a rich repertoire of the epics, folk tales, folk songs, benedictions, odes, riddles, proverbs and other main elements of Mongolian oral heritage in their local dialectics and characteristics were succeeded to be recorded and collected at once as never before. The language and dialects that have already lost their distinctiveness or absorbed into the central one, now already the extinct forms of oral literary expressions and heritage are remained and preserved on magnetic tapes. This fact is raising the historic and academic values more for those original forms which were preserved on the magnetic tapes.\n\nDue to the fact that the most of the magnetic tapes being kept at the Institute are more than 60 years old, the storage period of some of the tapes has already been expired. Also, the un-proper storage conditions have caused some tapes to get dried, clung to one another or fractured. Due to above reasons, the inevitable need has risen for restoration and digitization of these magnetic tapes as well as improvement of the storage conditions and environment. Accordingly, since 2008, some efforts have been made towards restoration and digitization of these superannuated magnetic tapes within the internal capability and capacity of the Institute. Although, due to the lack of capable human resources, finance and proper tools and technical equipment, these efforts to restore and digitalize faced several obstacles and have shown un-successive results.\n\nIn 2009, the authorities of the Institute have introduced to the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage their request to cooperate. Since, the organizations have started to collaborate on the possibilities to restore and digitalize the superannuated magnetic tapes. Accordingly, the Foundation for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage proposed to ICHCAP to continue the Joint Project and take measures for restoration, digitization of the superannuated magnetic tapes, and distribution and dissemination among general public.