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Mongolian Culture and HeritageThe culture of the Central Asian steppes expresses itself vividly in the lifestyle of traditional nomadic practices. Mongolian culture has been in practice in the nomadic life and the traditions surrounding the nomad’s home (ger). And it is present in religious celebrations, national festivals, art and crafts, music and dance, language and literature, which form the backbone of Mongolian intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia. Mongolia is filled with valuable cultural properties and intangible cultural heritage of humanity that have been kept or practiced for thousands of years.\n\nGer, Mongolian Traditional Dwelling\nThe traditional architecture of the Mongols differed strongly from that of the settled peoples of Asia and other continents. Centuries ago, there the ger, also known as a yurt, appeared. It still offers shelter to nomads in particular places in Central Asia. Its development and fundamental principles are determined by the specific features of the way of life of Mongol tribes, which made it necessary to evolve a light and collapsible structure to be used as a dwelling or for public functions.\n\nMongolian Language and Literature\nMongolian is the language of most of the Mongolian population and inner Mongolia. By origin, Mongolian is one of the Altaic family of languages, and the history of the Mongolian language is long and complicated. Significant literary work of early Mongolia includes The Secret History of the Mongols, which was published in 1228).\n\nMongolian Religion and Beliefs\nThe Mongols have practiced several religions, of which Shamanism and Buddhism were the most common. The faith in Mongolia is Buddhism, though the state and religion were separated during the socialist period, but with the transition to the parliamentary republic in the 1990s, there has been a general revival of faiths across the country\n\nMongolian Art and Crafts\nMongolian arts and crafts have been passed down across generations from the Paleolithic times to today, leaving behind deep impressions on all facets of life and conscious, aesthetic, and philosophical thinking. Highly developed Mongolian arts and crafts come from the second millennium BCE. The works included sculptured heads of wild animals with exaggerated features. Other items include knives, daggers, and other items of practical and religious use.\n\nMongolian Music and Dance\nMusic is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among Mongolia’s unique contributions to the world’s musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin khuur (the horse-headed fiddle). The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western pop and rock genres and the mass songs written by contemporary authors in the form of folk songs.\n\nHorse Culture of Mongolia\nIt is famously known that horses play a large role in the Mongols’ daily and national lives. Common sayings are, “A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings,” and “Mongols are born on horseback” these are arguably true words. Even today, horse-based culture is still practiced by nomadic Mongolians.\n\nVisit https://www.toursmongolia.com/tours for additional information about Mongolian culture.\n\nPhoto 1 : Prairie meadow grass inner Mongolia traditional clothing © Batzaya Choijiljav\nPhoto 2~7 : © Batzaya ChoijiljavYear2020NationMongolia
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Poe (Incense sticks) Production in BhutanThe burning of incense in the sacred shrines of Buddhist monasteries, temples, and also in the consecrated spaces that house the representations of the supreme spiritual beings is considered a kind of offering of sweet fragrances to the enlightened beings and also has the power to purify the impurities associated with us in any form that prevent us from realizing the innate Buddha nature and receiving the blessings. For this reason, incense is crucial in the performance of any type of ritual in the world of Buddhism. In general, burning herbs and making smoke offerings outdoors and burning incense in shrines have the same meaning and benefit; to purify defilements, pacify spirits, accumulate merit for oneself, and connect people to the spiritual world.\n\nThe production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, as the product is used exclusively for religious purposes. There are two different types of incense: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara) and Rio-sang-chod (smoke offering at the summit of ridges and mountain to attract good fortunes), rituals associated to Nagas (subterrain sentient beings), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.\n\nThe basic raw materials for both incenses are: Powder of Shug-pa (juniper), Tsen-den (weeping cypress), Balu (Rhododendron ciliatum), Sulu (Rhododendron setosum), Aru (Terminalia chebula), Baru (Terminalia bellirica), Manu (Inula racemosa Hook. f), Ruta (Saussurea lappa), Pang-poe (Valeriana officinalis) and water extracted from Zangdrug; (six valuable substances) Chu-gang (bamboo pitch), Gur-gum (saffron), Li-shi (clove), Ka-ko-la (cardamom), Za-ti (nutmeg), Sug-mel (cubeb) Ga-bur (camphor) and also Tsho (colours). When special ingredients such as Kar gsum; (three white substances) milk, curd and butter and an additional mixture of Ngar-gsum; (three sweet substances) brown sugar, molasses and honey are added to these mixed powders, the product becomes herbal incense and similarly, various ingredients of special animal meat, blood, La-tsi (musk), Gi-wang (elephant bile) and alcohols are added to make Zu-poe incense.\n\nMr. Lhundrup (80) learned the art of making incense sticks at the Government Incense Production Center in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and worked for nearly 8 years. In 1918, after his retiremen, while some friends located their incense production more promisingly in the city, Lhundrup established the present incense production named Lhundrup Poezo-khang in his remote village of Urug in Chumey Gewog (block), Bumthang Dzongkhag (district), Bhutan. Currently, he supervises the production unit while his son Sangay Tenzin (50) takes the main role and his mother Uden (67) sometimes assists her son. Two other employees help them produce a plethora of incense sticks with five different types to meet consumer demand.\n\nProduction Process: Based on the license to produce incense sticks, the raw materials, especially dried junipers, are collected from the opposite foot of Yotong la (a mountain pass in the central region at 3425 meters above sea level) and the rest of the materials are purchased from the highlanders. After collecting the raw materials, they are chopped, dried in the sun and processed into fine powder with the help of an electric grinding machine. In the meantime, a helper prepares the extraction of water from the Six Valuable Substances. During mixing in the kneading machine, 80% of the raw material powder is carefully kneaded with the extracted medicinal water. After removal from the kneading machine, the dough-like incense is formed into a palm sized shape and placed into Tsir-shing (traditional wooden compressor) hole, creating a noodle like discharge while an employee places his or her body weight on the compressor liver. These noodle-like incense sticks are rolled between two wooden boards by the incense makers, cut evenly when the bottom wooden board is full, and dried in the sun. The incense sticks are tied into bundles using thread, dried again, and finally ready for making offering.\n\nphoto 1 : Finished product © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 2 : Raw materials being dried © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 3 : Drying right after the processe © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 4 : Incense being offered in the Local Shrine © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 5 : Raising of incense smoke © Yeshi LhendupYear2022NationBhutan
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Traditional Pottery Makers of Kathmandu ValleyIn many traditional ceremonies and rituals, the use of baked clay pots and objects in Nepal is common. Even for everyday uses, these potteries include those for cooling water, cooking, flowers, curd, and many more. Until a few decades back, these potteries were more commonly used in everyday life. Pots for storing water and grains, for steaming, for carrying water, and even for washing clothes were made of various potteries. Today, many of these traditional potteries have been replaced by durable modern materials, such as plastics.\n\nBecause of the extensive use of the pottery in daily life, there used to be quarters in the cities and villages within Kathmandu Valley dedicated to pottery making. Now there are only a few places within the valley that have continued to make pottery using ancient techniques. These places are now famous due to the influx of tourists.\n\nOne of the most famous quarters for pottery in the valley is pottery square in Bhaktapur that is known to locals as Kumha Twa. Kumha are pottery makers, and twa is the quarters. Walking through this quarter we can see people making shapes out of clay on pottery wheels. Some giving finishing touches while some are busy drying pottery goods in the sun. This quarter also has communal kiln for baking. This quarter seem like an open-air museum for the pottery making, which has been continued for several generations.\n\nMr. Krishna Shyam Prajapati, 44 years old, is one of the pottery makers of the square. He has worked in this profession since the age of 13 or 14. He learned pottery-making skills from his father and his father learned from his father. This continuity has been going on for generations. According to Mr. Prajapati in the old days, they used to make pottery hand-operated wheels that had to be with the help of pole. Now, most pottery makers use electric motor wheels.\n\nThe pottery is made from the black clay, which is abundant in the valley. The clay from the field is smashed and smoothed with the help of feet. When it is smooth enough, it is ready for making pots and other things. Now machines have taken over much of the manual work. After the pottery is shaped, it is sundried and later baked in a kiln. In old days, hay was used to make fire, but now the kilns are fueled with wood. These kilns are communal, people take turns baking their pottery.\n\nWith the arrival of tourism, pottery makers shifted from the traditional pottery to products targeting tourists. The souvenirs like bells, candle stands, miniature animals, and many wares are commonplace. But with the pandemic, the lack of tourist has hampered the pottery business, so pottery makers like Mr. Prajapati have shifted back to traditional products. He has been sustaining his business in the pandemic by making piggy banks commonly known as khutruke.\n\nThe pottery-making business has been directly and indirectly affected by modernization. Consumers prefer to use plastic products instead of clay ones due to durability and economic circumstances. Also the massive growth in the city is creating difficulty for the pottery makers to get the required clay.\n\nThough tourism has given a boost in business and pottery square has contributed to tourism in the city, there is a need to recognize and value the traditional profession by state and contribute in the future sustainability.\n\nPhotos 1~4 : Pottery souvenirs displayed in shops. © Monalisa MaharjanYear2021NationNepal
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The Healing Power of Peganum harmalaPeganum harmala L. belongs to the plant family Zygophyllaceae and appears spontaneously in the wide arid and semiarid areas between Western China and the Middle East/North Africa region. It is also istributed in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Caucasus. P. harmala is a perennial glabrous herb that reaches thirty to one hundred centimeters in height with a short creeping rooting system, white flowers, and three-chamber capsule-type fruits that can contain about fifty black seeds. The roots can reach a depth of five or six meters to adapt to drying soils. The plant tends not to suffer from grazing due to its bitter taste (alkaloid content).Year2020NationSouth Korea
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TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE CONTAINED IN KIMJANG, THE ANCIENT PRACTICE OF KIMCHI MAKINGThe tradition of storing vegetables harvested in autumn to eat throughout the winter is an ancient practice on the Korean peninsula that can be traced back to the Neolithic era when agriculture began. When buried in the ground for storage, the portions of vegetables that contain moisture would retain their freshness within even as the outer portions dried up. However, this method had the drawback of rendering large portions of the vegetable inedible. This led to the method of drying vegetables under the shade for prolonged storage. However, this method could not preserve the original flavor of the vegetables. Generations of trial and error in search for a better method of preservation led to the discovery of pickling in salt water.Year2013NationSouth Korea
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Gundri, a Traditional Nepali MattressMade up of hand-woven rice straw, gundri is used as a sleeping bed and sitting mat and for drying pulses and grains, especially in the countryside. People, peasants in particular, fold gundri into a vertical circle where they store rice and grains; it is called vakari. Giving gundri as a wedding gift is also a practice in Nepalese culture. In performing cultural and religious activities, chokho gundri (pure mattress or newly made mattress) is used.\n\nOnly the Nepalese with special knowledge and skill can make gundri. In October and November after rice is harvested, they save long and flexible rice straw to make gundri. Women start making gundri from November to February. A rectangular wooden framework with a rope, known as taan, is needed to make gundri. A long horizontal wooden frame with a rope called hataso is used to combine and tighten the straw. Normally, it takes three to four days to complete one gundri. However, the size of gundri determines the time to make it.\n\nSelling gundri is also a source of income for Nepalese women in the countryside. They normally sell it within the range of NPR 400 to 500, depending on the size, and it can last for three to four years. The increasing urban lifestyle of the Nepalese and the preponderance of mass-produced mattress make it difficult for handmade gundri to compete in the market, which has resulted in diminishing interest making and using this traditional Nepali mattress. Consequently, during the major festival season (October to December), some NGOs based in Nepal run gundri-making workshops and exhibitions to increase public attention to revitalize traditional knowledge of gundri and empower women, the major producers of the mattress.\n\nPhoto : Making gundriYear2017NationNepal