The Koryo Saram living in Uzbekistan are descendants of Koreans who resettled from Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in Russia to Central Asia around 1937. However, unlike the majority of Korean diaspora communities that were formed through voluntary migration, the Koryo Saram of Central Asia were forcibly resettled as a consequence of political decisions. And as a result the Koryo Saram who settled in Central Asia faced huge challenges adapting to their new geographical and sociocultural environment, and as ethnic minorities these challenges were intensified. The establishment and growth of the Korean diaspora community of Uzbekistan took place within this context.

These are strange times in India to discuss and evolve strategies for safeguarding the genuine shamanistic heritage of India. Let me begin by narrating two isolated but weird incidents, which generated a great media backlash against shamanistic traditions and the practices in the Indian public sphere in the last two months. Describing them would outline the cultural struggles, shamanistic healing traditions face in India today. It is only a coincidence that the assassination of anti- superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar1 was followed within a fortnight by the arrest of a self styled god-man Asaram Bapu2 on charges of sexual assault on a 16-year-old schoolgirl. But both the incidents were earily connected a s if they were episodes in a novel o f Haruk i Murak ami because Asaram Bapu’s criminal misconduct closely fits some of the offences defined under anti-superstition and anti shamanistic ordinance Dabholkar was campaigning for.

As the term “martial” having its origins in the name of Mars (the Roman god of war) suggests, martial arts are often conceived as synonymous with fighting. This prevalent misconception has been intensified by the ever-growing popularity of combat sports and mixed martial arts coupled with the media and entertainment industry. Despite the common perception of martial arts as mere fighting methods, they are in fact the epitome of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Numerous martial traditions contain such non-martial elements as dances, rituals, and folk games.

Dance has been an inseparable element of Persian culture for thousands of years. Dance depictions on pottery excavated from prehistoric sites attest to the antiquity of this art. However, ritual dance, the precursor to Iranian royal court dances, can be traced back to the cult of Mithra (third century BCE).

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) refers to the non-physical aspects of cultural heritage. We can preserve tangible cultural heritage, such as buildings and artifacts, to pass them down to the next generation. It is, however, difficult to determine what specifically should be preserved when it comes to ICH. Generally, ICH elements are selected and then practitioners of the arts or skills are designated to preserve and transmit the elements. The essence of ICH preservation, therefore, is to transmit the arts and skills of ICH from people to people and from generation to generation.

The widespread outbreak of novel coronavirus infections (COVID-19) has brought rapid changes on various systems and ways of life across the world, creating an entirely new global landscape. Korea’s activities to safeguard ICH were no exception. Amidst a situation that forced the cancelation of a wide range of ICH-related events and educational programs and considerations to find new safeguarding methods, the transition to non-face-to-face methods rather broadened the scope for safeguarding and promoting intangible heritage.

The Mongolia is rich in Shamanic heritage, including both physical artifacts, ritual sites, places of cultural or historical interest and protected landscapes (‘tangible’ heritage) together with rituals, ceremonies, folklore, music, handicrafts, and traditional knowledge ( known as ‘intangible’ heritage). Under Mongolian shamanism we can understand complete science of nomadic philosophy, TNGRI worship, Sacred of peak mountains ritual, parallel psychology of Heaven, earth, fire and human life and supernatural consciousness of Nomadic. On that account we could understand Shamanism is reliable source of Nomadic culture. The Mongols, who themselves worshiped Heaven but had respect for all other religions. The Shamans are merely respected as priests of Heaven./TNGRI/ In Shamanism; the world is alive full of spirits. The plants, animals, rocks, mountains and water, all have a soul. These spirits must be respected to be in the balance with all of them. Balance is an important thing to keep harmony within you, the community, and the environment. When things get out of balance, there are harmful effects. This is when we need a shaman for help. Shamanisms believe in a concept called buyan (physical power) that is very close to the belief of karma (fate). The shaman loses buyan (buyanhishig) by violating taboos, when he has no respect for spirits or our ancestors.

Korean shamanism has two faces. One firmly preserves tradition maintaining consistency from ancient past and this is the essence of traditional shamanism. This is how shamanism retains continuity with the past and serves as an important part of cultural heritage. Meanwhile, Korean shamanism is also going through drastic changes to adapt to the changing social environments, becoming a part of modern cultural heritage. It continues in different dimensions of transition and being reborn with each new era. In this sense, Korean shamanism is constantly changing. On the other hand, some part of Korean shamanism remain constant amidst the process of change. The most pertinent modes of transmission are found in the dimensions of linguistics, oral tradition, behavior, and materials. Linguistic transmission in Korean shamanism is based on the linguistic foundation of local dialects a unified national language. It is also considered to be a result of historical transmission as it contains the legacies of certain historical eras. Oral tradition refers to the comprehensive sum of transmission through elements in muism and gut culture such as bonpuri, muga, ritualistic language and individual initiation ceremonies. Transmission through actions or behavior include ritual dances and other ritualistic acts. Material transmission refers to material elements derived from the shamanistic ritual of gut as well as the entire tradition.

Dance is not the creation of a single individual but an entire culture developed by many people through the ages, gradually changing and being polished over time. As such, it is a valuable cultural heritage that embodies the character and emotions of a people and reflects the spirit of the times. Each movement and each step in dance, therefore, impart a sense of the history and lives of people of the past. (File, 2013, pp. 9–10)\nMovement disciplines like dance and martial arts embody the cultural heritage in which they developed. This chapter aims to map part of Korea’s cultural heritage by identifying certain movement characteristics shared by both traditional Korean dance and some traditional Korean martial arts. This chapter will also show how adaptations to fit with modern trends, such as K-pop music, can cause a martial art to lose its traditional character.\nThis study employed ethnographic descriptive research, cross-referenced with written work. My findings are based on the first-hand experience of practicing Korean martial arts, dance, and percussion (hourglass drum), and are further enhanced by years of observing Korean movement disciplines such as dance performances and informal interviews with traditional choreographers, dancers, and martial artists. Through this, I have identified specific movement characteristics that are present in both Korean traditional dance and many Korean martial arts. It is important to note that there are many types of Korean traditional dance, ranging from court dances, folk dances, and religious or ritual dances. My focus has been on those movement characteristics shared by most of these dance forms, thereafter identifying similar movement characteristics found in several Korean martial arts. These characteristics are not always present in every movement; however, most of them are usually perceivable and it is their synergy that gives a Korean “flavor” to these traditional movement disciplines.

Vernacular martial arts (VMA) occupy a special niche within the diverse phenomena classified as martial arts. Cross-culturally, “Martial arts can be defined as systematic bodies of knowledge, belief, and practice that are associated with methods of attack and defense against … adversaries” (Green and Svinth, 2010, p. 331). On close examination, we learn that the behaviors we attempt to gather under this umbrella term are quite diverse, ranging from life-and-death struggles through rule-governed sporting contests to expressive forms, from globalized combat sports to localized martial culture. The systems that fall on the latter end of this spectrum I have applied the VMA label to, and among the various martial expressions these are the ones that most clearly qualify as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). The following distinctions are useful for the current discussion.

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.

This research explores the challenges faced by the government institutions in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) safeguarding and the future efforts government institutions can facilitate in involving communities in this process. The study addresses the lack of research done on ICH of the Maldives. Building on current debates regarding government and community roles, this research explores the partnership governments and communities can have in ICH safeguarding. The research is done in the context of the Maldives. \nThe study is conducted from a constructivist ontological stance coupled with an interpretivist epistemology. A set of three semi-structured interviews to senior officials were conducted in three institutions working on ICH safeguarding. Three additional interviews were conducted to gain feedback on the study’s topic from individuals who have expertise in the field of ICH. Data were analyzed using a priori and data driven coding following King’s (2004) template analysis method