Performed in villages and closely attached to water rice agriculture, water puppetry is a unique performing art and is the intangible cultural heritage of the Viet people in the Northern Delta region of Vietnam. Created in the tenth century, the first historical record on water puppetry was inscribed in an ancient stele in 1121 called the Sung Dien Dien Linh in the Long Dọi Buddhist Temple of Ha Nam Province. The inscription reads that water puppetry was performed to entertain the king on the occasion of his longevity ceremony.

In March 2019 Singapore submitted its nomination to inscribe its hawker culture onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Hawker culture in Singapore comprises hawker centers (community dining rooms), hawkers, and hawker food. It is a living heritage shared by those who prepare hawker food and those who dine and mingle over hawker food in hawker centers.\n\nAs part of the Singapore government’s ongoing efforts to safeguard Singapore’s hawker culture for future generations, the National Heritage Board (NHB), the National Environment Agency (NEA), and the Federation of Merchants’ Associations, Singapore (FMAS) have partnered with Google to document Singapore’s beloved hawker centers on Google Maps to make them discoverable to anyone looking for quality and affordable hawker food.\n\nThrough this public–private partnership, the parties involved hope to bring Singapore’s hawker culture into the digital age and help hawkers in Singapore establish their presence online through Google Maps and Search. The joint project also hopes to attract more customers and drive footfall to Singapore’s hawker centers, enabling the rest of the world to learn more about Singapore’s hawker culture.\n\nThe project comprises a collection of 360-degree imagery of Singapore’s hawker centers using Google Maps’ Street View that allows visitors to explore each hawker center to capture more accurate information about individual hawker stalls, such as name, stall number, and photographs. In addition, each hawker stall will receive a separate pin on Google Maps, showing its exact location within the hawker center, thereby allowing both local and visiting fans of Singapore’s hawker food to find their favorite stalls more easily.\n\nAccording to Mr. Lim Gek Meng, Vice-President of FMAS and Chairman of the Chinatown Complex Hawkers’ Association: “Finding your way through a hawker center can be confusing, especially at bigger centers such as Chinatown Market. This project is beneficial to the hawker community as it will help customers locate hawker stalls with ease. Hawkers will also be able to personalize their online presence to reach out to more customers, at no cost and with little effort.”\n\nAs these hawker centers are located all over Singapore, from downtown to residential estates, a team of Google operators will travel to every hawker center and use the new Street View Trekker to capture the required imagery. Mounted on a wearable backpack, the new trekker comprises a state-of-the-art 360-degree camera system that captures and produces high-resolution panoramic images every two seconds.\n\nGoogle’s team of operators will collect indoor imagery of all 114 hawker centers in Singapore, including Chinatown Complex, Geylang Serai Market, Tekka Market, Maxwell Food Centre, and Golden Mile Food Centre. The collection of imagery will be carried out in phases, and it is expected to be completed and launched on Google Maps by early 2020.\n\nPhoto : An operator carrying a Google Street View Trekker ⓒ Google, Singapore

Kathmandu Valley, the land of festivals, rituals, and celebrations all around the year, has its fair share during the spring as well. The festival of colors signifies the arrival spring and warm weather. It is celebrated on the full-moon day, which normally falls in the month of March depending on the lunar calendar. Also, several festivals and chariot processions follow afterwards and are specific to cities and towns within the valley. These festivals have continued since their inception, even when the devastating earthquake hit Kathmandu Valley in 2015.\n\nBut this year the global coronavirus pandemic threaten many festivals, which have been halted or celebrated with few participants. Holi, which used to be celebrated in huge groups were celebrated with just families and in smaller groups. The rituals associated with Holi, like raising and falling of chir—a long wooden pole with multicolor clothes hanging on it as umbrella were performed. This year Holi was celebrated on 9 March in Kathmandu Valley, and with threat of spreading Corona Virus, the government of Nepal issued notice not to have a mass gathering. So the festival of color was celebrated with just families and was not in a celebratory mode like in previous years.\n\nAfter that, most of the festival that followed were not held this year, limiting to just formal rituals. Pachare, one of the major festivals of Kathmandu, saw just family rituals and celebrations within families. The celebration with gatherings of different localities with the mother goddess in palanquins was halted. During the same time, the Nepal army used to hold a horseracing festival in Tudikhel (a large open space within Kathmandu), which also gave the festival name Ghode Jatra for the non-Newa community. This public event used to be attended by high-profile people of the country including the President and Prime Minister. This year just few days ahead of the event, the Nepal army canceled it.\n\nSimilarly, with the stress of the rapid spreading of the coronavirus all over the world, the other festivals are also being cancelled. The organizing committee of chariot procession of Seto Machindranath held a meeting and cancelled the yearly procession. Every year the festival chariot procession takes place in March or April for four days in Kathmandu with huge fanfare. This year it was supposed to take place from 30 March to 2 April.\n\nFollowing Kathmandu, the major festival of Bhaktapur “Biska Jatra,” which is celebrated for eight to nine days depending on lunar calendar was also cancelled this year. This year the festival was supposed to take place from 9 to 17 April, with the events like chariot procession, raising wooden pole called yosi, several other rituals, and so on. During this event, there used to be a mass gathering, people participating as well as spectators even from the neighboring cities. After meeting with the local government, municipalities, community leaders, and Guthi members, the decision was made not to continue the festival this year. Like in other places, the community decided to go ahead with just formal rituals.\n\nThe festivals in Nepal are not just for public gatherings, music, and dances but also for the extended family members to get together and strengthen the family ties. This is the first time that these major festivals were discontinued as people are advised to keep social distancing and in lockdown. The effect of Covid-19 also was seen in the small community rituals of Guthi. The social association used to have many community specific rituals in the springtime.\n\nPhoto : Chir which signifies the Holi festival in front of Gaddi Baithak in Kathmandu © Monalisa Maharjan

A Bonkar (refined Bon religion that doesn’t involve animal sacrificial offering) traditional rite, Yak-lai is performed in some villages in Ura and Tang Gewogs (blocks) who owns la-nor (highland cattle) esp. Yaks. Colloquially, Yak-lai means ‘yak deity’ and if translated in Dzongkha (national tongue) it is called Yak Lha. However, the ritual is not strictly practiced by the Yak owners but, those households who owns tha-nor (normal cattle) also propitiate the god for prosperity of their livestock. The rite specifically invokes the yak deity Lha Wodue Gongjan, who is considered one of the principal deities of Bon who is believed the ultimate source of any blessings possesses supreme ability to fulfill the desires of worldly beings. Residents of Bumthang who have highland cattle, or otherwise practice animal husbandry take part in the three-day Yak-lai ritual every year.

Singapore is a tiny Southeast Asian nation-state located in a region with many ethnic groups, of which the Chinese comprise only a small percentage of the overall population. Yet, the Chinese form the majority in Singapore, living alongside a significant proportion of non-Chinese. Over many years, this has led to a Chinese Singaporean identity that is complex and ever-changing.\n\nIn 2020, the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre launched a permanent exhibition to encourage greater appreciation of the distinctiveness of Chinese culture in Singapore through examples of food, festivals, and languages. For the exhibition title to reflect Singapore’s linguistic diversity, the curators invented a word by combining English and Mandarin—the two most widely spoken languages in Singapore. The first element of the title “Singapo” is drawn from the country’s English name while the “人” element is the Chinese character for “person” (pronounced as “ren” in Mandarin). Hence, by reading the two elements together, the exhibition title “ SINGAPO人” sounds like “Singaporean!”\n\nTo provide the context, the exhibition begins with an examination of five key historical socio-geographical aspects about Singapore that led the local Chinese community to develop differently. They comprised the legacy of 150 years of British colonial rule, its location in tropical Southeast Asia, heritage of early Chinese migrants who were mostly from the southern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, the co-existence of a relatively large proportion of non-Chinese minorities, and Singapore’s reliance on global trade and connectivity for its economic survival.\n\nThese five aspects may be summarized into three basic driving forces that have shaped and continue to shape the Chinese culture in Singapore today. Firstly, there is Chinese heritage, which the early migrants brought to Singapore. These include their values (as reflected in festivals and practices), belief systems, language, customs, and food dishes that originated from China. Secondly, there are the cultural interactions among the different southern Chinese sub-groups (dialect groups) and between the Chinese community and the other ethnic groups in Singapore. These interactions ranged from the casual, such as attending to daily chores, to deeper levels of engagement, such as inter-marriage. These led to changes and adaptations to the way of life of the local Chinese. Thirdly, the Chinese community was also affected by how Singapore was governed. Whether during the colonial period or post-independence, all governments seek to shape society to achieve certain objectives. Hence, the impact of public policies and laws on cultural development is significant.\n\nIn other words, these are the three underlying key ingredients that give the Chinese Singaporean ‘recipe’ its distinct flavor. For instance, this is reflected in the way Chinese New Year is celebrated in Singapore. Firstly, the festival is a tradition that originated in China, and as such, is part of Chinese heritage (first ingredient). Although Chinese New Year does not coincide with the new year of the Gregorian calendar used in Singapore, it is nevertheless a public holiday and held in high regard by the local Chinese because it is a festival that emphasizes family togetherness and filial piety. Secondly, Singaporeans love to eat pineapple tarts and love letters during Chinese New Year. However, these snacks did not originate from China. Rather, they were made popular by the Peranakan (local-born) Chinese who often adopted Western techniques like the baking oven, and Western ingredients such as butter in their cuisine. This type of hybrid food is an example of cultural interaction (second ingredient) at work. Thirdly, during Chinese New Year, Singaporeans enjoy attending local festive events like Chingay and River Hongbao. These are large-scale public events organized by the state or state-sponsored organizations. This is an example of public policies (third ingredient) shaping the way in which Chinese New Year is celebrated in Singapore.\n\nHence, these three ingredients, found in many overseas Chinese communities, were present in the past and continue to exist in Singapore today. The influence of each ingredient varies with time, creating complex outcomes that shape Chinese Singaporean culture.\n\nFor more information about the exhibition SINGAPO 人, please refer to the SCCC website at: https://singaporeccc.org.sg/permanent-exhibition/\n\nPhotos 1~4 : The exhibition uses both physical and digital media content to engage visitors. © Low Sze Wee

The National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) recently published the first issue of a two-part series of MUSE SG that focuses solely on Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH). MUSE SG is NHB’s outreach magazine that features museum and heritage related articles and is distributed to museums, schools, libraries, and public institutions free-of-charge.\n\nFor the two-part series on Singapore’s ICH, NHB has partnered with History Society students from the National University of Singapore (NUS HISSOC) to conduct research and co-create content. The partnership is part of NHB’s youth engagement efforts to interest the younger generation in different aspects of Singapore’s heritage.\n\nThe first ICH issue of MUSE SG introduces readers to the different categories of ICH as defined by UNESCO and explains how the ICH elements in these categories have become an integral part of Singapore’s multicultural identity. The issue is part of NHB’s continuing efforts to promote greater public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH.\n\nThe National Heritage Board of Singapore (NHB) recently published the first issue of a two-part series of MUSE SG that focuses solely on Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH). MUSE SG is NHB’s outreach magazine that features museum and heritage related articles and is distributed to museums, schools, libraries, and public institutions free-of-charge.\n\nFor the two-part series on Singapore’s ICH, NHB has partnered with History Society students from the National University of Singapore (NUS HISSOC) to conduct research and co-create content. The partnership is part of NHB’s youth engagement efforts to interest the younger generation in different aspects of Singapore’s heritage.\n\nThe first ICH issue of MUSE SG introduces readers to the different categories of ICH as defined by UNESCO and explains how the ICH elements in these categories have become an integral part of Singapore’s multicultural identity. The issue is part of NHB’s continuing efforts to promote greater public awareness and appreciation of Singapore’s ICH.\n\nVats containing soy beans undergoing fermentation in the production of soya sauce at Tai Hua Food Industries, 2020. Image courtesy of National Heritage Board, Singapore\nIt also features articles on selected ICH elements including traditional Malay dance, traditional Eurasian cuisine, traditional crafts such as effigy making, the production of soya sauce, the practice of rearing songbirds, the ancient healing practice of Ayurveda, and local practices in the commemoration of Easter.\n\nThe second ICH issue of MUSE SG, to be published in January 2021, will focus on the practices and rituals of Jewish Passover by the local Jewish community and the Zoroastrian faith as practiced by the Parsi community in Singapore.\n\nIt will also cover dondang sayang (a poetic art form associated with the Malay and Straits Chinese communities in this region), traditional Chinese music, traditional Nanyang breakfast (comprising toast with kaya spread, half-boiled eggs and a cup of hot tea or coffee) and the craft of Indian goldsmithing.\n\nTo access the first ICH issue of MUSE SG, please click on the following link: https://www.roots.sg/learn/resources/publications/education-and-community-outreach/MUSE-SG-Volume-13-Issue-01\n\nPhoto 1 : Muse Cover © NHB\nPhoto 2 : Vats containing soy beans undergoing fermentation in the production of soya sauce at Tai Hua Food Industries, 2020. Image courtesy of National Heritage Board, Singapore

In the morning of 14 April Bangladesh ushered in Bangla New Year 1425 on Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla calendar, by bringing out Mangal Shovajatra, a UNESCO inscribed ICH element.\n\nClad in colorful punjabis and saris, people from all levels of society took part in Mangal Shovajatra parades hoping rid themselves of past evils and begin a better future.\n\nThe biggest and most attractive Mangal Shovajatra parade was at the Dhaka University in the capital city Dhaka. Hundreds of people carried student and faculty artworks representing evil and good. Similar processions were brought out in all districts.\n\nMoreover, Baishakhi Mela (fair) displaying traditional food and artwork, cultural programs, and other events were held across the country.\n\nAt sunrise, thousands of people gathered at Ramna Batamul, the main venue of the Dhaka celebrations, where Chhayanaut, a cultural organization, has been holding an annual music soiree since 1965 to welcome the Bangla New Year.\n\nOther government and private cultural organizations held Pahela Baishakh celebration programs that included traditional music and performances along with recitations, contemporary songs, and dance.\n\nOn 14 April, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy held special programs at its open field in the afternoon and at the National Theatre Hall in the evening. The programs featured lathi khela (tricks with sticks), songs, dance, and acrobatics. The academy also held programs, in association with different organizations, at Mirpur, Uttara, and Old Dhaka in the morning.\n\nIn such events traditional troupes from Manikganj, Chapai Nawabganj, and other places displayed lathi khela and presented different folk music genres like gambhira. Renowned singers, dancers, and recitation artistes also performed at the program organized by the academy.\n\nAt the Bangbandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka, over one thousand singers performed in a chorus in an open-air concert organized by the Shurer Dhara music school.\n\nThe Bangla Academy welcomed Bangla New Year through a program featuring a discussion and cultural show at Rabindra Chattar. The Bangla Academy also organized a five-day folklore workshop for folklore experts from Bangladesh, India, and the USA.\n\nBangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation in association with Bangla Academy organized a ten-day Baishakhi fair featuring traditional sweets, books, craft items, and other culture events.\n\nSammilita Sangskritik Jote held a cultural program at Dhanmondi’s Rabindra Sarobar.\n\nThe Bangla year with its first month, Baishakh, was introduced during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (1542–c. 1605).\n\nThe day is a public holiday. All radio and TV channels air special programs while newspapers publish special supplements.\n\nWhile Bengalis celebrate Pahela Baishakh, the hill communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts celebrated Baisabi. Baisabi is a term formed by the first syllables of the Baisuk Tripura festival, Marma’s Sangrain, and the Biju Chakma festival or Tanchangya’s Bisu.\n\nPhoto : People from all levels of society participate at the Mangal Shovajatra parade on 14 April welcoming the Bangla New Year © Snaul Haque/ New Age

Nestled in the southeastern mountains of Uzbekistan, Boysun developed into a cultural hub over centuries, since the age of the ancient Silk Road. Given its long history and outside influence through the famed trade route, the region’s cultural heritage evolved to become as diverse as the flora and fauna that inhabit the region. As a way of celebrating the diverse cultural heritage that dates back to the pre-Islamic days, the Boysun Bahori Festival was first developed as an annual spring festival in the early 2000s, with some interruptions on certain years.\n\nUNESCO officially listed Boysun culture as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage, and in the following year, the first festival was held. April was chosen as the optimal time for the festival as Boysun is unusually pleasant at that time, with flowering fields and green mountains creating a perfect backdrop for a festive environment.\n\nThe locals set up a yurt camp that includes workshops and stages for ensembles to perform. In addition, they set up makeshift arenas for traditional sports like wrestling, horse-related sports, and other activities, such as tightrope walking and acrobatics.\n\nIn April 2019, with the support of the Uzbek Ministry of Culture to explain well-known cultural spaces that I wanted to visit for a long time, I went to Boysun to interview some of the locals. During these interviews, some interesting insights about cultural heritage in the Boysun area were uncovered. According to the local community, much of the younger generation, both male and female, have tendencies to pursue careers or education in larger cities. However, in spite of decreasing number of young generation, community people expressed their satisfaction with living in the heritage city. They appear proud of the many rituals and traditional games that have remained a part of daily life.\n\nSuch customary knowledge is in traditional carpet weaving, craftsmanship, games, and rituals, which are still a part of Boysun communities. Some youth activities include stick-tossing games that are similar to jachigi, a Korean children’s game and commonly played throughout the world. In Boysun, I interestingly noticed that some practices have been influenced more by Zoroastrianism than Islam.\n\nDuring my visit, many of community members were absent in the village to visit Termez to participate and observe the International Bakhshi Art Festival, which was held for first time in Uzbekistan. Nonetheless through my visit to this unique cultural place, I felt deep aspiration of the people for safeguarding their own culture and heritage inherited through generations.\n\nPhoto 1 : Boysun entrance ⓒ ICHCAP\nPhoto 2 : Local people in Boysun District ⓒ ICHCAP\nPhoto 3 : Interviewing locals in Boysun ⓒ ICHCAP\nPhoto 4 : Prayer hall in the trunk of a tree that is hundreds of years old ⓒ ICHCAP\nPhoto 5 : Overview of Boysun District (seen from the entrance hill) ⓒ ICHCAP

Tihar is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. This five-day festival has something that relates to almost every community dwelling in the country. It is both a religious and a cultural festival that reminds us about the importance of human relations and that with nature and its various components.\n\nIn Teria, the southern region of Nepal, it is celebrated as Dipawali. Houses are decorated with oil lamps to welcome Lord Rama, who is returning with his wife, Sita, to his kingdom after 14 years of exile and defeat of the demon king, Ravana. In the hilly region, it is celebrated as Tihar with the honoring of the goddess Lakshmi, and sisters bestowing blessings upon their brothers. In the Kathmandu Valley, it is known as Swanti among the Newar community and is celebrated with much fanfare. Tihar also holds special significance within the farming community. It marks the end of the harvest season and thus the filling of the granaries and store houses or rooms with ample produce to last for a year.\n\nThe five-day festival, also referred to as Panchak, honors Yama, the lord of death, and is mainly dominated with the worship of the goddess Lakshmi, the giver of wealth according to Hinduism, as well as appreciating animals that are connected closely to humans. Houses are cleaned and decorated with oil lamps and marigold garlands, in preparation for the festival. In modern times, colorful strings of flashing electric lights have begun to replace traditional oil lamps.\n\nThe festival commences with the kaag puja or tihar, which is the worship of the crow. According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, the crow was cursed as well as blessed by Lord Rama during his exiled years. The curse was that it could use only one eye at a time and the blessing was that it could see what other eyes cannot see—spirits and departed souls. In this regard the crow is seen as the connection between the living and the dead, thus it is appeased with offerings of good food placed in an open area outside the house.\n\nThe second day honors the dog, called the kukur tihar. For thousands of years, humans and dogs have shared a very special bond and the dog has often been referred to universally as “man’s best friend.” Dogs are specially venerated on this day as an appreciation for their loyalty and for guarding our homes. Red tika is applied to their forehead and a pretty garland placed around their neck. Special treats are fed to the dogs, and the best part is that, besides domestic pets, street dogs are also treated with equal reverence.\n\nThe third day begins with the worship of the cow in the morning and the goddess Lakshmi in the evening in the hope she will bless and bring fortune to the worshiper. Posters of the deity are purchased beforehand and, for the ritual, pasted in safes, lockers, or where monetary transactions take place. The ritual is then performed in the evenings, beginning with the lighting of oil lamps, chanting of mantras, and making of offerings to appease the goddess of wealth.\n\nThe fourth day celebrates the ox, the Govardhan Puja, another faithful and very useful animal in Nepali culture. Being an agrarian state, depending heavily on agriculture for sustenance, the ox has played a major role in plowing the fields and pulling carts in the absence of modern technology. This day has another very important significance to the Newar, or locally community of the Kathmandu Valley. It is the “Mha Puja,” or the day to cleanse and worship oneself. The elaborate ritual starts in the evening with the making of a mandala and lighting an oil lamp on it. All family members are seated in front of their own mandala, cleansing themselves of the sins of the past year and enriching themselves both physically and spiritually with energies for the coming year. Coincidentally, the Newari New year (Nepal Smavat) is also celebrated the same day with much fanfare, bike rallies, and traditional music.\n\nThe fifth day is the Bhai tika, a much-awaited day for both brothers and sisters. Although different communities all over Nepal celebrate it in their own way, the meaning of the ritual is for sisters to ask God for long life, good health, and prosperity for their brothers. The sister applies the tika to her brother’s forehead, and decorates him with garlands of flowers. Traditionally, she prepared a whole array of edible goodies for her brother, although today this has been replaced with attractively packaged imported treats. In return, the brother blesses his sister and gifts her cash and sometimes various other tokens. They then sit and make merry, exchanging sibling love and respect with good food and drinks. For those who do not have a sibling to celebrate with, there is a tradition of going to specific temples.\n\nIn sum, Tihar is a celebration of humans and their relations with each other. It also celebrates the relations between humans and animals, thus emphasizing the importance of a harmonious ecology for a better spiritual and social life, a tradition that we should persevere to continue and hand down to newer generations. This year, the festival falls between October 26 and 29.\n\nPhoto : Tihar Festivalⓒ Swosti Kayastha

Nestled in the cultural heartland of Singapore’s Chinatown, the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery is Singapore’s first community gallery that showcases different aspects of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the Chinese community as well as ICH elements practiced by the arts and cultural groups located in Kreta Ayer.\n\nCovering a gallery space of 1,076 square feet (100 square meters), the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery was co-curated by the National Heritage Board in partnership with the Kreta Ayer Community Centre and officially launched on 14 July 2019. The gallery features a total of 123 artifacts, of which 68 are on loan from the community and/or arts and cultural groups operating in Chinatown.\n\nThe gallery is made up of five sections covering five ICH elements comprising Chinese opera, Chinese puppetry, Nanyin music, Chinese calligraphy, and tea appreciation. It introduces visitors to the history of the precinct and showcases the aforementioned ICH elements while tracing their evolution from the days of old Chinatown to contemporary times.\n\nThe first section on Chinese opera traces its popularity as a form of local live entertainment between the late 1800s and the 1930s and showcases the different elements of the form including costumes, music, and characters. It also covers opera houses that used to operate in Chinatown and the characteristics of different types of opera according to dialects.\n\nThe second section on Chinese puppetry explores the roots of the art form and focuses on the common types of puppetry practiced in Singapore, including hokkien glove puppetry, teochew iron-stick puppetry, hainanese rod puppetry, and henghua string puppetry. The section also features a mock-up stage where puppetry performances are given, and visitors can try their hand at operating stringed puppets.\n\nThe third section on nanyin music, meaning “music of the south,” traces the origins of the art form and features nanyin performances, instruments, and musical scores on loan from Siong Leng Musical Association. It also showcases different genres of nanyin music such as Fujian nanyin and Cantonese naam-yam.\n\nThe fourth section on Chinese calligraphy focuses on the roots of Chinese calligraphy and the Chinese calligraphy scene in Singapore. It also features the first generation of calligraphers in Singapore and explores how the cultural art form is still practiced in schools, community centers, and cultural institutions today.\n\nThe final section on tea appreciation explores the long history of Chinese tea, the establishment of tea houses and the act of brewing and drinking tea as a cultural art form. It also looks at the different types of Chinese tea and how they are typically paired with different types of cuisine.\n\nThe gallery also features interactive components that allows visitors to experience the different ICH elements on show. These components include a puppetry stage where visitors can test their skills as puppeteers, multimedia stations that allow visitors to experience playing nanyin instruments, and a Chinese calligraphy station that allows visitors to practice their calligraphy using “invisible ink.”\n\nFollowing its official opening, NHB and Kreta Ayer Community Centre is partnering with various arts and cultural groups in Chinatown to present regular programs, including Chinese opera, Chinese puppetry, and Nanyin music performances and workshops as well as calligraphy and tea appreciation classes for students and members of the public to promote greater awareness of these ICH elements and, where possible, facilitate the transmission of skills.\n\nWith the opening of the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery, NHB hopes to showcase the richness and diversity of the Chinese community’s “living” ICH, provide a platform for ICH practitioners and groups to showcase their skills, and create more opportunities to collaborate with community partners to showcase the heritage of specific precincts or estates as well as the history and heritage of different ethnic communities.\n\nPhoto : An interior shot of the new Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery ⓒ National Heritage Board, Singapore

Cultural heritage in Vietnam is a valuable property of the Vietnamese people and the foundation for national traditions that have formed over many generations. With more than 40,000 cultural heritage elements and sites, Vietnam has highly respected treasures to be introduced to the rest of the world whenever possible. Taking care of cultural heritage means regarding what the past, present, and imaginable future have engendered to improve national identity.\n\nAfter Vietnam’s independence in 1945, and on behalf of provisional government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No 65 on 23 November 1945. The decree formally mandates conserving antique vestiges, or what will later be known as cultural heritage. Based on the concept of conservation and to promote tradition and Vietnamese cultural heritage, the Prime Minister approved Decision No 36/2005/QD-TTg on 24 January 2005 to officially set 23 November as Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day. The November holiday is festive with many educational events that explain what it means to be responsible for protecting cultural heritage and why it is important to do so.\n\nTo celebrate this year’s Cultural Heritage Day, events are being prepared by relevant institutions. In the Ho Guom Cultural Information Centre, a photo exhibition on Vietnamese heritage will be held, featuring the winning photos of the 2017 Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards. The exhibition will take place in front of the center in Hanoi and will then move to other cities through March 2018. In the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts,Green Heritage Culture and Tourism Week will be organized under the theme “The Convergence of Human and Nature”, gathering nationwide communities together to exchange and introduce their lasting cultural values.

Nepal was famously referred to as “the land where there are nearly as many temples as houses and as many idols as inhabitants” by Sir William Kirkpatrick in his book Account of the mission to Nepaul in 1811 CE. This quote holds testimony to the numerous festivals celebrated throughout the year until today to commemorate these idols and temples. Since the seventh century CE, one such ancient festival has had continuity to relieve Kathmandu Valley from a long drought. The god being appeased in this festival was Matsyendranath, the god of rain, from which the festival received its name Rato Matsyendranath Jatra.\n\nAccording to legend, the drought was relieved by bringing a Matsyendranath from Kamarup-Kamakhya (now in east India). The king sent his team—the priest Bandhudatta, a farmer, and the serpent king Karkotaka. The entourage returned successfully and entered the valley through Bungamati, where the locals greeted them with much adoration and built a temple for the serpent king to reside. However, being from Patan, the farmer insisted on having the residence of the deity at Patan too. Since then, the festival has been celebrated in Patan and Bugamati without interruption.\n\nThis festival is celebrated just before the monsoon season (mid-April to May) as a harbinger of the rains. The festivity extends over a month and is the longest among the many festivals Nepalis celebrate. Astrologers are consulted for the events involved in this festival. The local community constructs an elaborate eighteen-meter-tall wooden chariot, which is assembled and dismantled annually. The deity is placed in the chariot on a throne, and the indigenous inhabitants of Kathmandu Valley pull the chariot around Patan. As the chariot rests at various locations, locals venerate the deity, offering incenses, flowers, and other items. Some people light oil lamps to ask for the general well-being of their families. The priest escorting the deity inside the chariot hands out flowers and fruit to devotees. The light from the lamps makes the chariot glow. In the evening, people invite extended families and friends and indulge in a feast of traditional food and drinks and merrymaking. After completing the tour, the deity is carried in a palanquin to its second home at Bungamati.\n\nThis year, the global pandemic changed the events of this festival. The government, rightly prioritizing citizens’ health, requested the organizing communities to cancel the festival. However, the organizers were keen to celebrate at least a low-key festival because the initial processes had already begun. Furthermore, they opined that the festival was celebrated to overcome a disaster in the past, so it should continue to avoid further tragedies. The public, impatient with the chariot festival’s delay, forcefully started pulling the chariot, disregarding social-distancing measures ordered by the state. The sight of a large mob would entice the police to use force to disperse the crowd, leading to a violent clash. The organizing committee decided to make a symbolic movement of the chariot. All other festival activities were canceled, so a ritual will be conducted to ask the god for forgiveness for the mishaps of the festival.\n\nThis is a very unpleasant situation, which could be handled better by the state. A similar chariot festival in Kathmandu, Kumari Jatra, which falls around August, was not celebrated on a joint decision of the state and the organizers. However, at Patan, the situation was slightly different; the initial rituals had already commenced before COVID 19. The government should have regarded the people’s commitment to providing continuity to ICH even during such times of crisis.\n\nNepal is known for having more festivals than the number of days in a year. If the state had been more diplomatic, it could have set an example to the world by celebrating all festivals in the presence of only the concerned people and authorities while broadcasting a live telecast for people all over Nepal and globally. With such negligence by the state, festivals and other ICH of a country can be lost.\n\nPhoto : Armed Police Force stand guard in front of the chariot of Deity Rato Machindranath. Skanda Gautam/THT