The Dusun people of Brunei Darussalam, amounting to roughly 10,000 people, are traditionally swidden rice cultivators. They used to live in longhouses called alai gayo (big house) that could accommodate three to four generations of bilateral family members, each administered by a council of elders known as tetuwo. The tetuwo were composed of both male elders (usually shaman and medicine men) and female elders called balian (Dusun religious priestesses) who are responsible for Dusun religious ceremonies referred to as temarok. Nowadays, they live in single houses distributed into small clusters of hamlets, due to the erosion of the traditional administrative system as a result of British colonialism in Brunei beginning in 1906.

The current topic of this conference is not very well studied in the Philippines. The word –shamanism- is regarded as an arbitrary umbrella-catch-all term for lack of something better because what it refers to in the Philippines is a far ranging set of practices, belief and value systems that are very specific. It is with some trepidation that these sets of practices, beliefs and value systems may not at all fit into the north-Asian concept of Shamanism, especially with reference to the structure and social organization. The latest local term used is –pagdidiwata – referring to the rituals invoking spiritual beings (diwata). The other terms used\nare bunung, baki, pagaanito, alisig, and many others depending on the culture of the some 80 different major ethno-linguistic groups in the country. Common to all is the belief in the existence of a spirit world to which the world of people should relate, through the medium of ritual specialists. There are differences, however, in the structure and social organization in the social behavior related to ethnic practice.

The title I was given in the first place was ‘Notion of Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding from the Perspective of Sustainable Development’. But later, I found that the original idea of today’s conference was not simply sustainable development; it was sustainable human development. Adding ‘human’ between sustainable and development means that we have to be triply critical or critical in at least three stages or dimensions when we think about development.

Recalling the excerpt from the 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention, "intangible cultural heritage ...is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history..." ICH is about people's values, particularly people's harmonious relations with nature. When our body is not in balance in the Philippines, healers or doctors take our pulse or pulso. \n

Since our establishment in Guam in 2004, the Håya Foundation desired to facilitate the creation of a social and cultural environment that would allow for the revitalization of traditional Chamorro culture. The cultural preservation and revitalization efforts, in the beginning, laid the necessary foundation for social re-acceptance of traditional healing practices.

Co-orgarnized by ICHCAP and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC), this year’s Asia-Pacific ICH NGO Conference was held in Hue, Vietnam under the theme of ICH NGOs towards Sustainable Development of Communities.

"Whether we call it clan, kin, family, tribe, or community, there are multiple ways of knowing and identifying ourselves in the Pacific. A few of these ways are captured here. This section explores how social relationships and their hierarchies within the Pacific islands are vital ways of understanding intangible cultural heritage. Social and spiritual rituals, religious ceremonies, and various other cultural practices reflect how Pacific islanders prioritize social cohesion as a pathway to sustainable prosperity, ensuring the transformation of skills, knowledge, and wisdom for survival. \nThe themes in this section are pivotal to ICH because relationships represent an important organizing principle of life among Pacific islanders and determine how intangible heritage can be safeguarded. Relationships are marked in ceremonial events and rituals such as the communal harvest of balolo in Fiji and other ceremonies such as the bel kol in PNG. Likewise, the omengat, the first-birth ceremony in Palau, brings unrelated clans and families together and is central to family ties and social cohesion. The essays on these and other topics collected in this section illustrate that Pacific islanders take care to mark and honor relationships important to them, as these relationships ensure family, clan, and tribal ties and help to achieve enhanced social cohesion and sustainability."

The 2003 Convention plays a major role in safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is the first international legal instrument that has focused on the traditional elements of life. To date, more than 508 elements of more than 122 countries have been registered in the UNESCO nomination list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The number has been increasing every year. It validates the value of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to the world. The Republic of Korea, which has more than fifty years of history in Intangible cultural heritage preservation, is one of the leading countries in the Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation. This paper has intended to study one of the UNESCO nominated ICH elements of traditional dance performances i.e. Ganggangsullae of Korea and see the impacts after its nomination. Ganggangsullae has been successfully safeguarded in Korea. Its inclusion in the education curriculum has made it possible to disseminate its historical significance and values to the younger generation. Despite the effort of the state, Ganggangsullae seems to lack the interest of the people. It is an important issue to understand the reasons and find ways to revive its essence rather than being confined to the documents.

When the festive activities of Lunar July ends, it is the beginning of “Tết Trung thu” (or “the Mid-Autumn festival”). It usually falls out on the 15th day of Lunar August when the weather turns a little cooler after the unpleasantly hot summer. In Vietnam, this event has many humanistic meanings such as: regarding as “family union holiday”, thanksgiving to the nature Gods for the harvest and growth of life, praying to ask the blessings for families and relatives. As time went by, it is known as the Children’s festival because of its pureness and closeness to the natural world. Moreover, watching the moon’s color on that day can predict the harvest as well as the national destiny: namely, the successful silk-making season (golden moon), natural disasters (blue moon), peaceful country (orange moon).\n\nAlthough the origin of “Tết Trung thu” is not really clear, Vietnamese people still practice it as an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) belonging to ancient wet-rice civilization. There have been several folktales about it: the story of Hằng Nga (Moon Lady), the legend about the woodcutter named Cuội, the tale of the king went to visit the moon, ect. And the oral tradition of Cuội was the most popular story and it reflects the Vietnamese folk identity. It is said that Cuội’s absent-minded wife poured dirty water on a magic tree which caused it to fly towards the moon. He failed to pull the tree back and stuck with it on the moon. Therefore, children often carry colorful lanterns on the full moon night of Lunar August to help him find the way back to Earth.\n\nVietnamese people spend whole a month preparing for the celebration. Some outstanding customs indispensable on the brightest moon night include:\n\n– Worshiping the natural Gods: This practice demonstrates knowledge concerning nature and the universe of indigenous people. The mid-autumn day is the occasion to show their respect to the natural Gods and ancestors. Besides, the worshiping tray with five kind of fruits (representing the universe’s five elements), moon-cakes with many unique shapes including two main types: “bánh dẻo” (symbol of reunion) and “bánh nướng” (meaning of life’s taste), toys which expressed the desire for a good harvest year, a happy and reunited family.\n\n– Enjoying traditional mid-autumn specialities: After the full moon rises, when the Gods and ancestors have received the devotion of living people, it will be time for everyone to enjoy the fruits and cakes together. It can be said that gathering in the moonlight is a traditional practice and also a rare time of year for everybody to gather and show the connection between family members.\n\n– Carrying lanterns: For Vietnamese children, the traditional lantern is the most meaningful gift to parade in the Mid-Autumn festival. The making lantern is considered as one of the famous traditional craftsmanship of agricultural residents as well. Traditional lanterns are made from bamboo and cellophane, going through many stages. There are many lantern shapes designed with folk symbolic meanings: the star lantern shows the purity of children, the rabbit lantern represents the moon, the toad lantern describes a desire about favorable weather for crops, the carp lantern stand for wishing peace and prosperity, ect.\n\n– Performing the unicorn dance: This performance art originated from the folk legend about the unicorn. Legendarily, unicorn was very aggressive and often caused trouble for human. Then “ông Địa” (the character incarnated by Maitreya Buddha) appeared and tamed it into a sacred animal to bless everyone in annual Mid-Autumn festival. Hence, the simulation of “ông Địa” hanging out with his unicorn among the children’s lantern lights is an unforgettable image in this festival.\n\nIn general, “Tết Trung thu” in Vietnam retains positive traditional elements in the modern time. It still has attracted the younger generation and directed them to the values of truth – goodness – beauty which are inherent to the festival. As an element that covers most of the specific domains of ICH, Vietnam’s Mid-Autumn festival has its own identity despite the great impact of globalization in its culture and the recent transformation of customs.\n\nPhoto : The worshiping tray with an identity of agricultural residents © Hoang The Phuc

Under Our SG Heritage Plan, Singapore has been stepping up its efforts to strengthen research and documentation of its ICH, increase community participation in such research and documentation work, and leverage new technologies to promote ICH and increase both public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH elements.\n\nAs part of these efforts, the National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) has partnered with source communities and use new technologies for safeguarding ICH. One such recent partnership is “A Journey of Devotion—Celebrating Thaipusam in Singapore,” where the NHB partnered the Hindu Endowments Board and Indian temples to document the festival of Thaipusam and produce digital resources related to the festival.\n\nAbout Thaipusam\n\nThaipusam is an important festival among Singapore’s Tamil Hindu community, and it is celebrated every year on the full-moon day of the Tamil month of Thai. For many believers, Thaipusam is a time of devotion, sacrifice, and thanksgiving dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Murugan, who symbolizes bravery, power and virtue.\n\nThe festival commemorates Lord Murugan’s victory over evil forces, and one of the most recognizable elements of Thaipusam is the ceremonial procession of the kavadi-bearers—men who walk carrying large metal structures known as kavadi that are fixed with spikes or hooks that pierce their bodies.\n\nDuring Thaipusam, kavadi-bearers and their supporters walk along a designated route, which starts at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road, and ends at Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road. These kavadi-bearers walk barefooted along this route while other worshippers carry offerings such as paalkudams or milk pots, fruit, and flowers.\n\nLive music forms a key part of the Thaipusam procession, and hymns are often sung by friends and family while religious songs (known as bhajans) are also performed by groups of musicians who follow the kavadi-bearers to boost their spirits as they make their arduous journey from temple to temple.\n\nAlong the route, there will also be community volunteers at various thaneer panthal or water points, and these volunteers will pour water onto the feet of kavadi-bearers to provide much-needed relief from walking barefoot on the hot tarmac and to offer food and water to the rest of the community.\n\nA Digital Campaign Journey\nWhen conceptualizing the campaign, NHB sought feedback from a younger audience (18–35 years old) and noted that most youths did not understand Thaipusam—what it represents and its associated practices. To better engage this younger and more digitally savvy audience, NHB put together a digital engagement plan to create content that would be engaging, informative, and participatory.\n\nThe title “A Journey of Devotion” was chosen with reference to two aspects of Thaipusam. First, it refers to the physical journey as devotees walk along their route. Second, it also refers to the personal journey devotees take upon themselves in the lead-up to Thaipusam, which includes making their own kavadis and adopting fasting practices that include consuming only vegetarian meals for up to forty-eight days.\n\nUnder Our SG Heritage Plan, Singapore has been stepping up its efforts to strengthen research and documentation of its ICH, increase community participation in such research and documentation work, and leverage new technologies to promote ICH and increase both public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH elements.\n\nAs part of these efforts, the National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) has partnered with source communities and use new technologies for safeguarding ICH. One such recent partnership is “A Journey of Devotion—Celebrating Thaipusam in Singapore,” where the NHB partnered the Hindu Endowments Board and Indian temples to document the festival of Thaipusam and produce digital resources related to the festival.\n\nAbout Thaipusam\nThaipusam is an important festival among Singapore’s Tamil Hindu community, and it is celebrated every year on the full-moon day of the Tamil month of Thai. For many believers, Thaipusam is a time of devotion, sacrifice, and thanksgiving dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Murugan, who symbolizes bravery, power and virtue.\n\nThe festival commemorates Lord Murugan’s victory over evil forces, and one of the most recognizable elements of Thaipusam is the ceremonial procession of the kavadi-bearers—men who walk carrying large metal structures known as kavadi that are fixed with spikes or hooks that pierce their bodies.\n\nDuring Thaipusam, kavadi-bearers and their supporters walk along a designated route, which starts at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road, and ends at Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road. These kavadi-bearers walk barefooted along this route while other worshippers carry offerings such as paalkudams or milk pots, fruit, and flowers.\n\nLive music forms a key part of the Thaipusam procession, and hymns are often sung by friends and family while religious songs (known as bhajans) are also performed by groups of musicians who follow the kavadi-bearers to boost their spirits as they make their arduous journey from temple to temple.\n\nAlong the route, there will also be community volunteers at various thaneer panthal or water points, and these volunteers will pour water onto the feet of kavadi-bearers to provide much-needed relief from walking barefoot on the hot tarmac and to offer food and water to the rest of the community.\n\nA kavadi-bearer being cheered on by friends and family near the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple © National Heritage Board, Singapore\n\nA Digital Campaign Journey\nWhen conceptualizing the campaign, NHB sought feedback from a younger audience (18–35 years old) and noted that most youths did not understand Thaipusam—what it represents and its associated practices. To better engage this younger and more digitally savvy audience, NHB put together a digital engagement plan to create content that would be engaging, informative, and participatory.\n\nThe title “A Journey of Devotion” was chosen with reference to two aspects of Thaipusam. First, it refers to the physical journey as devotees walk along their route. Second, it also refers to the personal journey devotees take upon themselves in the lead-up to Thaipusam, which includes making their own kavadis and adopting fasting practices that include consuming only vegetarian meals for up to forty-eight days.\n\nFor the campaign, NHB decided to focus on telling the story of the festival through the perspective of four practitioners: a kavadi-bearer, a piercer, a musician, and a water point volunteer. By focusing on these individuals, NHB hopes to make the content more relatable to the audience. The video interviews were then uploaded on NHB’s Facebook and Instagram platforms, and to date, have attracted more than 650,000 views.\n\nNHB also noted that Thaipusam has always been a vibrant and colorful festival that attracts photographers every year. As a result and as part of NHB’s efforts to increase community participation in ICH documentation, NHB created the hashtag #Thaipusamsg on Instagram to encourage community photo contributions. This has resulted in the collection of a wide array of photographs.\n\nFinally, NHB created a comprehensive NHB’s webpage at https://www.roots.sg/thaipusam, which includes photographs, a brief history of the festival, and how it was brought into Singapore by early migrants as well as relevant artifacts in the National Collection that are associated with the festival, such as the kavadi from the collection of the Asian Civilizations Museum and photographs of the festival from the early twentieth century from the collection of the National Museum of Singapore.\n\nMoving forward, NHB will be developing and implementing similar digital campaigns to document and promote other ICH festivals and practices from other communities such as the upcoming campaign on Ramadan, a month-long fasting period observed by Muslims in Singapore in the lead up to Hari Raya Puasa, also known as the Day of Celebration.\n\nPhoto 1 : Singapore’s digital campaign to engage the Indian community and educate the public about the practices associated with Thaipusam © National Heritage Board, Singapore\nPhoto 2 : A kavadi-bearer being cheered on by friends and family near the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple © National Heritage Board, Singapore

Pasola is a Sumba Tribe horse riding contest from Sumba Island of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is followed by Marapu groups which is the local religion of Sumba community. This festive is a peak of Nyale tradition where they plead for successful harvest as well as a thankful ceremony to ancestors. The celebration of Pasola in Marapu’s belief is considered to maintain the harmony between ancestral and humankind. They believe that ancestors can give the blessing and the prosperity for them and bring harmony.\n\nThe word of Pasola comes from “sola” or “hola”, which means Javelin woods. The affix ‘pa’ when added, the meaning changes to be wooden javelin game. So, pasola or pahola means a game throwing the wooden javelin while fast-riding horse between two opposing groups. The game of pasola is held on four settlements in West Sumba Region i.e. Kodi, Lamboya, Wonokaka, and Gaura. This game is performed between Februarys to March every year in alternation.\n\nThe Process of Ceremony\nPasola is commenced by Nyale tradition. Nyale tradition is a thanksgiving ceremony for pleasant harvest season and plenty of Eunice Fucata (a species of sea worm) on the coast is the indication innate in the festival. It is held at a full moon when the Nyale (sea worm in Sumba Language) comes out to the seashore. The ethnic chief called Rato will predict the moment once the sea worms come out when the sun is rising in the morning. When the Rato finds the first sea worm, its shape and color is examined. If the worm is fat, healthy, and colorful, it is predicted that they will influence the benefit and gain successful harvest that year. It also means that Pasola Festival can be performed. In contrast, if Nyale is thin and unhealthy, it is the believed that misfortune will occur and Pasola is forbidden to be organized.\n\nPasola is a Sumba Tribe horse riding contest from Sumba Island of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is followed by Marapu groups which is the local religion of Sumba community. This festive is a peak of Nyale tradition where they plead for successful harvest as well as a thankful ceremony to ancestors. The celebration of Pasola in Marapu’s belief is considered to maintain the harmony between ancestral and humankind. They believe that ancestors can give the blessing and the prosperity for them and bring harmony.\n\nThe word of Pasola comes from “sola” or “hola”, which means Javelin woods. The affix ‘pa’ when added, the meaning changes to be wooden javelin game. So, pasola or pahola means a game throwing the wooden javelin while fast-riding horse between two opposing groups. The game of pasola is held on four settlements in West Sumba Region i.e. Kodi, Lamboya, Wonokaka, and Gaura. This game is performed between Februarys to March every year in alternation.\n\nThe Process of Ceremony\nPasola is commenced by Nyale tradition. Nyale tradition is a thanksgiving ceremony for pleasant harvest season and plenty of Eunice Fucata (a species of sea worm) on the coast is the indication innate in the festival. It is held at a full moon when the Nyale (sea worm in Sumba Language) comes out to the seashore. The ethnic chief called Rato will predict the moment once the sea worms come out when the sun is rising in the morning. When the Rato finds the first sea worm, its shape and color is examined. If the worm is fat, healthy, and colorful, it is predicted that they will influence the benefit and gain successful harvest that year. It also means that Pasola Festival can be performed. In contrast, if Nyale is thin and unhealthy, it is the believed that misfortune will occur and Pasola is forbidden to be organized.\n\nThe arena of Pasola Festival undertakes in large terrain. It consists of two groups and each group has more than 100 spear-armed knights. The spear is created from dull-tipped wood with diameter of 1.5 cm. This game can harm the victims even though the spear is dull. According to the Marapu’s faith, if there is a victim during the contest, it is believed that the rule is broken or mistake has been made so ancestors will punish them. During the Pasola, some knights will be injured and the blood will come out from his body. This blood is opined as valuable for soil fertility and successful harvest. If death occurs during the Pasola, it is a signal that there was a custom violation carried out by society on the Pasola arena previously.\n\nPasola has become a service way and loyal acclamation to ancestors and a core of Marapu. It can be a liaison of brotherhood between two opposing groups and the community. It is a thanksgiving manifestation and happy expression of inhabitant due to abundance harvest. Today, Pasola is a milestone of Sumba tourism development because this culture attraction has been appealing number of domestic and foreign tourists.\n\nPhoto : Pasola Festival ⓒ Novie Charleen Magne_shutterstock