Materials
folk play
ICH Materials 96
Publications(Article)
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ANDONG INTERNATIONAL MASK DANCE FESTIVALThe Andong region has many highly renowned historic and cultural sites, such as Hahoe Village, however, the major cultural attraction of the region is the Andong International Mask Dance Festival.Year2010NationSouth Korea
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BONGSAN TALCHUM AS A SOCIAL SATIRICAL COMEDYSBongsan Talchum, or the Bongsan mask-dance drama, was originally transmitted in Giryang-ri, Dongseon-myeon, Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae Province in the northern part of Korean Peninsula. However, with the relocation of administrative bodies, including the district office to Sariwon in 1915, the mask-dance drama and its transmission activities were also transferred to the area. In South Korea, Bongsan Talchum had been transmitted since its restoration by performers who originated from the North, including Jin-ok Kim and Cheon-sik Min, and was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 17 in 1967. The office of the Bongsan Mask Dance-Drama Preservation Society is currently housed within the Training Center for Important Intangible Cultural Properties in Seoul.Year2020NationSouth Korea
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Andong International Mask Dance Festival: Realization of Folkloric Values and Transmission of ICHMasks and mask dance exist through which they try to realize equality and be free from judgement, allowing you to express yourself as an equal in society regardless of class. The mask dance festival starts on the last Friday of September and lasts for ten days, and over a million people visit domestically and internationally. It has garnered attention from world leaders. Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, George H. Bush and George W. Bush of the USA, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and other influential leaders have attended. The festival is about mixing modernity with tradition coming together, creating a mosaic of different colors and cultural significance. They use the mask dance festival as a collaborative tool that can bring various cultures together. The mask dance festival also plays a large role in transmitting the heritage to younger generations through various associations that function as a network.Year2020NationSouth Korea
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Korean Mask Dance: An Exciting Comprehensive Folk ArtThe Cultural Heritage Administration selected ‘mask dance of Korea’ as its 2020 nomination for UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during a joint meeting of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee and the World Heritage Division of the Cultural Heritage Committee, which was held on 6 December 2019. Regarding the nomination, the International Mask Arts & Culture Organization (IMACO) held a research presentation and an international academic symposium on 20 and 21 December in collaboration with Andong City, Korea.\n\nHere, ‘mask dance of Korea’ refers to a kind of drama performed while wearing masks with different local features. It is a comprehensive folk art that encompasses a variety of elements, including singing, dance, dramatic content, and costumes. Korean mask dance is a novel form of expressing the thoughts and feelings of the people, and it truly mesmerizes the audience with diverse characters and dance moves.\n\nTraditionally, Korean mask dances helped people express their suppressed feelings and satire. Different types of mask dance drama have been transmitted nationwide. Among them, in particular, are Hahoe Byeolsingut Talnori of Andong, Byeolsingut Talnori of Gangneung, Songpa Sandae Nori and Yangju Byeolsandae Nori of Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, Haeseo of Hwanghae-do (incl. Bongsan, Gangnyeong, Eunyul), and Yayu and Ogwangdae of the east and west areas of Nakdong River.\n\nThe mask dance was a representative folk culture of the late Joseon period in Korea, along with pansori, a traditional form of musical storytelling. Mask dances hold great artistic significance and value in Korea’s traditional community, as it relates to the minds of the people through its theatrical and entertaining aspects while also functioning as a medium for social criticism.\n\nUntil now, thirteen mask dance elements have been listed as national intangible cultural heritage and four others have been listed as city/provincial intangible cultural heritage. The Cultural Heritage Administration is planning to submit the nomination file on Korean mask dance to UNESCO by the end of March 2020. The nomination will be decided during the seventeenth session of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee to be held in 2022.\n\nMeanwhile, a special exhibition titled “In High Spirit, Away From Sorrows: Traditional Korea Mask Dance Drama” is being held at the National Intangible Heritage Center located in Jeonju, Korea. The exhibition presents the history of traditional masks and mask dance as well as five traditional masks known as hahoe-tal, the oldest mask dance tradition in Korea. The exhibition will be running until 23 February 2020. For more information, please visit the website.\n\nPhoto : Korean Mask Dance ⓒ shutterstockYear2020NationSouth Korea
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PUNNUK, THE TUGGING RITUAL IN HUNGDUAN, CLOSING AN AGRICULTURAL CYCLEIn Hungduan, Ifugao, three communities—Hapao, Baang, and Nungulunan—observe three post-harvest rituals, collectively known as huowah. Punnuk, an intense tugging match in the Hapao River, is the last of the three rituals.Year2014NationSouth Korea
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Punnuk: Unwinding after the Harvest, the Tugging Ritual in the PhilippinesThe punnuk is a tugging ritual of the village folk from three communities in Hungduan, Ifugao in Northern Luzon, Philippines. It is performed at the confluence of Hapao River and a tributary as the final ritual after the rice harvest. Its consummation brings to a close an agricultural cycle and signals the beginning of a new one. \n\nThe punnuk is a ritual of pomp and revelry. Garbed in their predominantly red-col-ored attire of the Tuwali ethno-linguistic subgroup, the participants negotiate the terraced fields in a single file amidst lush greens under the blue skies. The tempo builds up as the participants reach the riverbank, each group positioned opposite the other. The excitement is sustained through the final tugging match, and the sinewy brawn of the participants is highlighted by the river’s rushing water.Year2019NationJapan,Cambodia,South Korea,Philippines,Ukraine,Viet Nam
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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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5. Tracing the Traditional Bandura Making in Modern UkraineOn identifying and researching the intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine together with local communities, local and regional cultural organizations, Development Centre “Democracy through Culture,” as an NGO accredited to UNESCO for ICH issues and engaged in ICH safeguarding, has found that music and singing traditions are inherent in all regions and localities of Ukraine as one of the most important national ICH manifestations. Among the different types of these arts (including one inscribed into the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, Cossack Songs of Dnipropetrovsk Region) there is one common and popular elsewhere, reflecting the past, present, and provisional future of Ukrainian culture. \n\nWhat is referred to as music and singing art is related to bandura. A bandura (Ukrainian: бандура) is more than a traditional music instrument in Ukrainian culture—it represents the entire social and cultural complex combining such integral parts as bandura making, bandura \nplaying, and bandura singing, writing texts of special poetical forms (dumas), performing, leading a certain lifestyle of travelling performer or travelling philosopher. Bandurysts, musicians who play the bandura have had a profound impact on Ukrainian folk culture as bearers of special knowledge and skills, even as magicians and prophets.Year2021NationUkraine
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Dance of Fools: The Awa Dance Festival in Tokushima, JapanThe Awa Dance Festival, also known as the Awa Odori Dance Festival, is the largest traditional festival in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, and has over four hundred years of history. It is held in mid-August every year. Awa is the old administration name for Tokushima, and odori means dance. As a folk dance in the region, Awa odori originated from a Buddhist practice. It is generally believed that a collective dance style was added to a priestly dance to honor the spirits of ancestors, leading to today’s Awa odori.\n\nThe Awa Dance Festival is held as part of the Obon Festival, a major Japanese holiday. This year, festival will be held for four days, from 12 to 15 August. The main celebration starts around 6:00 p.m. in city centers and continues until 10:30 p.m. People dance in parks and stage areas and parade through the streets. Large crowds come from around the country to see and enjoy Awa Odori, which is also called “dance of fools” after old Tokushima saying:\n\nThe dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance?\n\nAt this time of year, over a thousand groups of choreographed dancers (ren) from around Japan register for the festival. Other non-ren dancers also gather to present voluntary performances. Spectators are also free to join the festivities. As such, Awa Odori can be better enjoyed through collective dance steps. Typically, men dance in a powerful style while women dance in a more graceful fashion.\n\nTo spur the excitement, ren dancers play hayashi, an essential part of the festival, with traditional musical instruments, such as with flutes, drums, kane gongs, and three-stringed shamisen lutes. This combination of flute and percussion instruments is called norimono. The kane player leads the group; flutes produce melody; drums provide a rhythmic base, signaling the start of the festival.\n\nDuring the festival, visitors can enjoy Awa Odori performances on stages in city centers. The Awa Odori Kaikan is one of the main indoor stages, where outstanding groups present Awa Odori demonstrations. The most notable feature of the festival is that it encourages all people, not just ren dancers, to participate in the festival; people voluntarily establish and join related associations and promote the festival themselves, which have led to the festival’s success. To take part in the festival and have a chance to dance on stage, one can join the Niwaka Ren to learn choreography.\n\nPhoto : Group of female dancers at the Awa Odori Matsuri in Tokushima. CCBY3.0 Stemu2000 (Wikimedia Commons)Year2018NationJapan
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Kobyz: Kazakh Traditional Musical InstrumentKobyz (kyl-kobyz) is a sacred instrument embodying the spiritual world of a nomad. It is perhaps the most magical traditional musical instrument of Kazakh people. From being a sacred solo-instrument that sounded at the hands of nomads to moving to orchestras in large concert halls, kobyz went through a long journey onto the big stage.\n\nKobyz is made of a whole piece of wood, which is one of the most ancient ways of making musical instruments. It is an ancient belief that the living soul of a tree that is projected into the instrument is preserved only in the whole piece of wood. Kobyz is not a factory instrument, so it is always made by craftsmen. Making a high-quality kobyz is an extremely laborious process that requires considerable knowledge and skills. Many musicians admit that Kobyz is very selective and does not match with everyone. According to the local ethno-designers, kobyz might stop producing a proper sound if a person with negative energy is around it.\n\nKobyz Heritage: Importance of Revitalization\nMany valuable and interesting thoughts are contained in the ancient sounds and memories that come to life through the traditional musical instruments. As such, it contains morals about mutual respect, loyalty, justice, love for the motherland, and caring attitude towards elders. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study and use those knowledge, traditions and customs in our lives today. Korkyt-ata himself, who is creator of kobyz and a legendary historical figure in Turkic world, became a symbol of national revival, the personification of high ideals of spirituality, morality, and love for the motherland.\n\nIt is believed that kobyz has a beneficial and healing effect to its surroundings. Traditionally, kobyz melodies were believed to have an ability to banish evil spirits, sicknesses and death. Sometimes the sound of a kobyz resembles a person’s speech coming from the depths of the soul. It is capable of transmitting the sounds of the wind, the voices of birds and animals, as well as the modern acoustics of the cities. However, the main point is a person’s feelings and soul hidden behind the melody. Having heard a kobyz play once, it is hard to forget its sound.\n\nSafeguarding and Popularization of Kobyz in Modern Musical Culture\n\nAncient ‘kyl-kobyz’ underwent several improvements, and the ‘kobyz-prima’ was born in the bowels of the orchestra. Like many folk instruments, kobyz defended its right to be placed among the popular classic instruments in an orchestra and has demonstrated its ability to adapt to any musical situation. the 20th century became a turning point for many ethnic groups with a predominant vector towards the tendency to rethink folklore within the framework of new aesthetic views. There was a transition from old traditions of solo performance to polyphonic orchestral sounding, which allowed the entrance into the big stage and entailed the improvements of Kazakh folk musical instruments.\n\nRevitalization of kobyz in the 20th century was contradictory: the pursuit of original traditions in national music was accompanied by the intensification of research in the field of folklore ethnography. However, people do not think of adaptation of traditional kobyz to contemporary time as a negative influence, rather they look at it with gratitude that this is how kobyz did not completely extinct as many other instruments. In fact, contemporary kobyz was constantly brought closer to the violin, which made it possible to present the instrument to the whole world, gain international recognition and move on to a new era – the era of reviving the “original ” traditional kyl-kobyz in the 21st century.\n\nphoto 1 : © Jean-Plerre Dalbera\nphoto 2 : “Playing on Kobyz-prima at friend’s wedding celebration” © Zhansulu Issayeva\nphoto 3 : “Kobyz-prima” © Zhansulu IssayevaYear2021NationKazakhstan
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DIALOGUE WITH DPRK HERITAGE SPECIALISTS ON ICH SAFEGUARDING ON THE OCCASION OF CAPACITY-BUILDING WORKSHOPS IN PYONGYANG, 2018The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention in 2008. Since then, the country has nominated three elements to the Convention’s Representative List, a mechanism of the Convention designed to draw attention to the importance of living heritage in general, on an international level. The first two elements listed by the DPRK were Arirang Folk Singing in 2014 and Traditional Kimchi-making in 2015, both of which were also listed separately by the Republic of Korea (ROK). Last year, when both countries listed an element jointly for the first time—traditional Korean wrestling, ssirum (also spelled ssireum) —it marked an historic moment in the cultural relations between the DPRK and the ROK and allowed culture to play a bridging role currently inaccessible through most other channels of cooperation.Year2019NationSouth Korea
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NGOs and Governments: Partners for Social ChangeNongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). There can be NGOs with international reach that consistently work with governments and other international organizations, and there are also smaller NGOs that work on a regional, national, or even local level, strengthening ICH values in their communities. All of them are equally important as they create a global network of interconnected organizations and people working towards the same objectives, in this case, promoting and safeguarding all forms of intangible cultural heritage. These partnerships can take different structures, sizes, and levels of commitment or responsibility from each part. I’m going to share my experiences in both perspectives: at the national level with Guamanique, a community-based cultural NGO in Puerto Rico, and at an international level with the International Organization of Folk Art, which is an NGO in consultative relations with UNESCO.Year2014NationSouth Korea