Materials
traditional craftsmanship
ICH Materials 465
Videos
(28)-
Kazakh Jeweler Art
The video shows how jewelry making differs from making other crafts in Kazakhstan, as it has a professional nature and is predetermined by the specifics of production, including the purchase and use of certain metals, of which silver has sacral value. Historical examples of Kazakh jewelers and traditional techniques of minting metal are shown as are jewelry-making processes. Symmetrical ornaments and patterns dominate jewelry designs and they emphasize the historical heritage.
Kazakhstan 2017 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Beth varam ganima
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nBeth varam ganima.\nPractitioners believe that they should get the permission from divine forces before initiate preparing medicine and they offer oblations for the sake of protection and better efficacy of the medicine. For this ritual they select an auspicious day and a time for offering the oblations with special recitations. These kinds of ICH practices significantly show the connection of nature with culture.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Lime cutting ritual
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nLime cutting ritual.\nLime cutting, a healing ritual practice, is performed if the disease is not manageable only by medicine. Lime is considered as a sacred item that had been originated in heaven and gifted by divine beings to humans to be used in healing rituals. This rituals claims the expelling the evil-eye or evil-word or any other evil force that can cause health problems. Lime cutting is a commonly practiced healing ritual that is prescribed for the health problems caused by demonic forces too.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Reciting medicine
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nReciting medicine.\nReciting a mantra intended for a specific disease before giving medicines to a patient is famed among indigenous practitioners curing chronic diseases that are under influence of demonic forces. Practitioners are capable of selecting specific ritual and mantras according to the patient's condition by going trough the horoscope. Also this kind of practice symbolizes the holistic approach of indigenous medicine that accepts the cosmic aspect of healing and curing diseases.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Auspicious uprooting of medicine
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nAuspicious uprooting of medicine.\nIndigenous medical practitioners respect nature’s healing properties embedded in the plants with the blessings of divine forces dwelling in the trees. They believe that harvesting of such parts from a plant should be done after performing a special ritual. This ritual claims to gain the permission from the deities dwelling in tree.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Ritual submission of medicine
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nRitual submission of medicine.\nRituals in medicinal preparations are believed to increase the potent of the medicine and will have a supra-natural effect. They perform a ritual on the night before the roots of a medicinal tree are removed to get the permission of the deity abiding in that tree. This ritual symbolizes the cultural value system that supports the conservation of natural resources through propagating the divine healing power of nature as a living entity.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Eye glasses
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nEye glasses.\nMaking eye glasses with lens made up of quartz called Diyatharippu is a diminishing craft. It is preserved only by one family and, for obvious reasons, needs urgent safeguarding. Diyatharippu mineral is used as its raw material. This industry is not as popular as other crafts like brass or lace, but, like other craft industries, it also has a history as old as 14th century when Buwanekabahi IV, the first king of Gampola Kingdom, own a pair of Diyatharippu eye glasses.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Ritual for earthly guardians
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nRitual for earthly guardians.\nSome medicinal oils with supra-medical uses under the influence of malicious forces should be prepared with special ritualistic oblations to protect the oil from bad spirits and enhance its healing power. It is an overnight ritual to install the divine powers upon the site of manufacturing to safeguard the medicine. The ritual is performed by the practitioner assisted by his pupils or family members who should be observed special routines mannered according to restrictions and taboos.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Eye glasses
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nEye glasses.\nIn the 14th century, spectacle lenses referred to as Diyatharippu made by hereditary workers in Uda Dumbara. This industry was started, it is said, during the time of Bhuwaneka Bahu IV (1344-1353).The most fascinating craftsman, Mr.Gunasoma in Kahambe, is an eighth generation craftsman (and probably the last) of the Diyatharippu paramparaawa—the first in the world to have made spectacles as it is claimed.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
Wisdom of Mongolian Bow Makers
Traditional Knowledge and Technique of Making a Bow and Arrow\nIn many countries, people craft bows and arrows, but practitioners in Mongolia are the only ones who still make a bow with bamboo or birch for the medial part; with the sinew of camels, bovine, and equine animals for the outer back part; and with the horn of a wild buffalo or ibex for the inner part. Currently there are five different forms of archery practiced in Mongolia: khalkh, buriad, uriankhai, morin, and sarampai archery. The need to revitalize and develop adequate craftsmanship for each is becoming increasingly important.
Mongolia 2017 -
Hela Weda Mahima: The Glory of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka_Ritual protection of medicine
Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nRitual protection of medicine.\nPractitioners perform rituals to protect the medicinal preparations from malicious or demonic forces. They recite mantras and pirith to create positive energy and attract benefactor divine forces to protect the medicine. It is believed that the chanting pirith and reciting mantras will be providing healing powers too. Reciting pirith is a traditional cultural heritage of Buddhist society and indigenous medical lore has incorporated same etho into healing practices.
Sri Lanka 2018-02-19 -
School at the Lake
In a small lakeside village in central Kazakhstan, a former history teacher and journalist, Togaybay Nurmuratuly, has dedicated his life to reviving the lost traditions of Kazakh craftsmanship. Disturbed by the decline of authentic handmade wooden goods and the disappearance of ancestral knowledge, he left a successful career in the capital to found a free school of traditional crafts in the village of Ozernoye.\n\nWorking primarily with birch, Togaybay carves dishes, trays, and cultural items adorned with ancient Kazakh ornaments like qoshqar muyuz (ram’s horns), a symbol of vitality and prosperity. Despite having no formal training, he taught himself the techniques of woodworking and has since passed on his knowledge to over a hundred students across Kazakhstan.\n\nAlongside him, his wife Gulbarshyn Zaitzhankyzy—an ethno-designer and expert in felting—teaches women to sew traditional Kazakh clothing and accessories using ancient materials and motifs. Together, they have created a community that reconnects Kazakhs to their cultural roots while helping learners build sustainable livelihoods.\n\nTheir school offers not only craft training but also guidance on entrepreneurship, production, and promotion—helping modern artisans blend tradition with technology. With ambitions to expand into blacksmithing, build an ethnographic village, and establish a Kazakh national brand of handmade products, the couple’s vision is reshaping cultural preservation in Kazakhstan.\n\nThis is more than a story about wood and wool—it's about identity, resilience, and the belief that tradition, when nurtured with passion, can forge a future as strong as its past.
Kazakhstan 2023