Materials
instruments
ICH Materials 661
Publications(Article)
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KOMUZ TEACHING METHODS IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL SYSTEMS IN KYRGYZSTANThe Kyrgyz komuz is a national musical instrument. Traditionally, komuz was made from a single piece of wood. The instrument has three strings, which were traditionally made from dried ram innards, but in modern times, fishing lines are often used instead.Year2017NationSouth Korea
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BAKHSHI ART FESTIVAL TO REVIVE SILK ROAD CULTUREA wide range of festivals are held in Uzbekistan to generate public interest in intangible cultural heritage. This includes the recent International Bakhshi Art Festival, which was held for a week from 5 April in the ancient city of Termez. Bakhshi is a multi-genre art form that brings together singers, musicians, and performers of Doston, a Central Asian oral epic. Teams from seventy-five countries took part in this festival, which featured not only a wide range of performances but also an enlightening international conference.Year2019NationSouth Korea
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TWO-PART SINGING OF THE NUNG ETHNIC GROUP IN VIETNAMOf the fifty-four ethnic groups in Vietnam, the Kinh (also known as the Viet) people account for 85 percent of the entire population of Vietnam while the remaining 15 percent of the population is made up of the other fifty-three minorities. Within the group of minorities are the Nung people who have a population of around one million and reside in the northern mountainous provinces on the border with China.Year2015NationSouth Korea
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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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Tihar Festival in NepalTihar (also known as Deepawali, Diwali, or Yamapanchak) is the most celebrated festival in Nepal. It takes place on Kartik Krishna Pakshya (early or end of November) every year. The five-day-long festival is observed with various activities—the longest of which is the successive worship activities of animals.\n\nOn the first day of the festival, Kaag Tihar (crow worship) is celebrated by offering sweets and foods to birds, especially crows. In Hindu mythology, crows are considered the messenger of Yama (lord of death). As the cawing of the crows symbolizes misfortune, the devotees feed crows to avert grief and death they may cause. On the second day of the festival, Kukur Tihar (worship of dog) is celebrated by offering garlands, tika (red-colored paste), and delicious food to dogs. Dogs occupy a special place in Hindu mythology. As mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata, Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva, had a dog as a vahana (vehicle). Yama, the god of death, is believed to own two guard dogs, each with four eyes. The dogs are said to watch over the gates of Naraka, the Hindu concept of hell. In the morning of the third day, Gai Tihar (worship of the cow) is celebrated by offering flower garland, tika, food, and grass to the cow. In Hinduism, cow signifies wealth and prosperity. In the evening, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, is thanked for all the benefits families may have received by lighting diyo (oil lamps) or candles on doorways and windows; this gesture also welcomes prosperity and well-being. On the fourth day, Goru Tihar (worship of ox) is observed in similar way. Ox is regarded as the closest and most important animal as it assists Nepalese farmers to plough their land for farming. The fifth and the most notable day of the festival is Bhai Tika or Kija Puja. It is observed by sisters applying tika on the forehead of their brothers to ensure long life and prosperity. The Bhai Tika follows a traditional ritual in which brothers sit on the floor and sisters circle brothers three times, dripping the undefiled water (pure; not drunk by anyone) on the floor from a copper pitcher. Then sisters break the walnut with the stone which is placed on the middle area of the main door of the house, wishing that they could alleviate their brothers’ grief.\n\nAnother distinctive feature of Tihar is deusi or vailo, the traditional songs that are sung during the festival. Vaili, a group of people with musical instruments visit houses one by one to sing and dance mainly in the night. The host families highly appreciate the visit of Vaili to their homes and offer rice, fruits, roti (home-made round bread), and some money. A traditional oil lamp on a brass plate or on nanglo (a flat round woven tray made up of bamboo) is lit in the presence of Vaili. It is believed that Vaili blessings bring happiness and prosperity to the family.\n\nTihar is considered a culturally essential festival in Nepal as it preserves Nepalese traditional beliefs, recognizing not just the importance of human prosperity but also the significance of animals in the life of Nepalese cultural heritage.\n\nPhoto : Tihar © Anil GandharbaYear2017NationNepal
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Uzbek Culture and Traditions Associated with ChildbirthThe customs and rituals associated with childbirth and the period of chilla (forty days after childbirth) constitute the oldest layer of family and everyday rituals of Central Asians. Rites and traditions related to the birth of a child, along with the ancient mythical and magical beliefs, are still followed with the help of ancestors.\n\nFrom the first days of a child’s life, a sense of loyalty to the family and parents is of great importance and is observed in a number of customs and superstitions after the birth of a child in Uzbekistan.\n\nFeeding. Particular importance is attached to the first feeding of the child; it is associated with a number of customs and beliefs. Immediately after the birth, the mother feeds the child with colostrum, which is considered the most useful for the baby.\n\nFeeding newborn baby should start by applying the child to mother’s right breast so that the child would become right-handed. If a mother’s milk was a lot, she would not be allowed to speak about it to protect from jinx. If a mother had to pump extra milk, it could not be poured into a dirty place or place where animals could reach, to avoid the disappearance of mother’s milk.\n\nBabies are usually fed in a cradle, and mothers do not feed their child in the presence of her father-in-law or other male relatives of the husband. In general, to bare breasts for feeding even before women in daylight is not permitted because it was believed that breast milk could be lost.\n\nAzan. One of the important customs and traditions of the Uzbeks associated with the birth of a child is reading azan by old people in the presence of the child’s father and grandfather immediately (or after some time) after the birth of the child to his right ear and reading Ikamah to the left. This ritual is very important because sacred words should be the first to reach the hearing of the baby. Azan can be spoken by the child’s grandfather, father, or an adult Muslim. The child’s name must also be pronounced in the right ear during this ceremony. It is believed that after the azan, the child’s perception of sounds begins to function.\n\nBeshik to’y. In Uzbek families, the birth of a new child is always a great event that is always accompanied by a beautiful ritual—beshik to’y (the first laying of the baby in his own cradle). This event is usually conducted on the seventh, ninth, eleventh, or fortieth day from the birth. On this day, the relatives of the mother bring a cradle (beshik) with necessary accessories as well as traditional cakes, sweets, and numerous toys for the new child. All gifts are wrapped in a festive tablecloth (dastarkhan). Men are not allowed to attend; this is a purely women’s gathering. The sounds of traditional folk instruments (karnay, surnay, and drum) begin the celebration. Guests congratulate each other at the festive table. In a separate room, the young mother surrounded by aunts learns the first swaddling and placing the baby in the cradle.\n\nUnder the baby’s pillow, a knife (wishing to be brave) and a piece of bread (wishing to be provided with bread during his life) are put before the baby is put in the cradle. While the mother was nursing her baby, she is given bread, and this bread is taken by children around her. Various sweets were scattered next to the cradle, and the children eat them with the intention that the newborn’s life will be sweet and abundant.\n\nAqiqa. One of the most important traditions in Uzbekistan as a sign of gratitude to the Lord for the newborn child, it is desirable, if there is a material opportunity, to sacrifice a sheep. As mentioned in holy hadith, the sacrifice is best made on the seventh day after birth. The meat of al-‘akyq is distributed as follows: part is used by the parents, who sacrificed the animal, part is distributed as a charity, and the rest is shared among relatives.\n\nHair cutting. On the seventh day after the birth, it is desirable (according to Sunnah) to shave the child’s head. After that, hair should be weighed and corresponding to the weight of the hair amount, the silver is given as alms to the poor and needy people. Shaving the head strengthens the hair and scalp and improves vision, smell, and hearing, and the distribution of alms (sadaqah) helps support those in need; this is a manifestation of social solidarity among Muslims.\n\nAll the rituals and traditions related to childbirth in Uzbekistan are of paramount importance for a child to become a perfect person.\n\nPhoto 1 : Uzbek tradition associated with childbirth ⓒ Nosirbek Yusupov\nPhoto 2 : Uzbek tradition associated with childbirth ⓒ Nosirbek Yusupov\nPhoto 3 : Uzbek tradition associated with childbirth ⓒ Nosirbek YusupovYear2019NationUzbekistan
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Music from Pakistan’s Far North: Performing ICH for Sustainable Development in Gilgit-Baltistan and ChitralMusic occupies a significant position as intangible cultural heritage. In fact, 56 out of 470 cultural practices and expressions on the UNESCO Lists from 2008 to 2017 can be categorized as music; it should be noted as well that many elements on the Lists are performed with musical accompaniment, such as folk dances and traditional games. Music has helped generations circulate traditional knowledge not only for continuity but also for social cohesion and intergenerational solidarity.\n\nThe power of music lies on its capacity to enthrall, connect people, and emphasize—from a sense of shared belonging and repetitive participation—a community or a group of people not to be mistaken as homogenous but rather compelled by various thoughts and inclined to music-related activities for different purposes. This is particularly true for the Leif Larsen Music Centre, one of the flagship programs of Ciqam, a project of the Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan. Ciqam (a Burushaski word meaning “prosperity”) was established in Hunza district to provide income-generating opportunities to empower people, more specifically women and the youth, in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, the northern region of Pakistan. Formerly known as Community Music Centre, Leif Larsen Music Centre is named after a Norwegian ambassador, Leif Holger Larsen, who was supposed to visit the facility in May 2015, but regrettably the plane he was boarded on crashed on the way. He was a key figure in the process of realizing the initiative.\n\nAt present, there are thirty-five musicians at the Centre; twelve are considered the core team or those whose knowledge on music from the region is sufficient to train others; all of them are young people. Two common attributes among the young musicians are (1) their interest in producing and disseminating local music culture and (2) their experience of economic marginalization. While the Centre provides free informal music education, and through that and other related activities safeguards intangible cultural heritage, it also supports the musicians’ annual tuition fees in their respective formal school, books, and uniform. The Centre’s humanitarian aim, particularly to find ways for people in this region to overcome poverty and gain livelihoods, is strongly commendable because at the same time central to it is valuation of heritage.\n\nUnlike in other postcolonial countries, music in Pakistan remains to be resistant to Western influences. People generally appreciate locally produced music, nostalgic songs that find their roots in the time and imagination before the rupture of the Indian subcontinent, i.e. separation of India and Pakistan. This strong enthusiasm for the local is reflected in the kind of music created and transmitted at the Leif Larsen Music Centre. Through the efforts of women working at Ciqam, they produce their own traditional musical instruments such as rubab, sitar, chaarda, zigini, tumbak, and daf. Furthermore, their musicians’ repertoire is based on local languages such as Burushaski, Wakhi, Shina, Khuwar, and Balti. This is meaningful in terms of symbolically enabling the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, considering that their safeguarding efforts are situated in a challenging time. Nevertheless, the musicians and cultural managers at the Centre and largely at Ciqam continuously work in pursuit of gender equality, affirmative action, and poverty alleviation. Their laudable grassroots effort is a strong testament to the possibility of intangible cultural heritage as a vehicle for sustainable development.\n\nTo connect with the Leif Larsen Music Centre, please contact Aqeela Bano, Manager of Ciqam, at +92 3445 001234 or +92 5813 457345 or via e-mail (aqeela.bano@ciqam.com.pk).\n\nPhoto : CONTRIBUTED BY B.B.P. HOSMILLOYear2018NationPakistan
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Roles of Shared Heritage of South Korea and North Korea Based on the Viability of ICHCultural heritage had been defined and maintained centered around physical structures or tangible features. It is only recently that the focus has shifted to nonphysical and intangible values of heritage, which incorporate natural, social, and cultural elements. Roles of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) are increasingly emphasized, as it involves the respect for cultural diversity and the representativeness of each cultural heritage, rather than just recognizing excellent universal values accepted by all. ICH has been created, practiced and used by people and has been inherited through generations in a cultural context. The viability of ICH is like a person’s life cycle. As our life is the finite period between birth and death, heritage is also doomed to disappear without a conscious effort to continue the viability of created heritage. Heritage has a finite life and transmission is the force to keep it alive.\n\nKorea is the only divided country in the world. Seventy years have passed since the Korean War, but the wounds of the war and the pain of the division still remain in the hearts of displaced people and dispersed families. Even amidst such a tragedy, there are intangible cultural properties of North Korea that have been transmitted in the South. One of them is “Aewonseong,” a song that has been designated in South Korea as an intangible cultural property of the ibuk odo (which literally means five northern provinces). “Aewonseong” (哀怨聲) reflects the joys and sorrows of life and expresses sounds of sadness and lamentation as the name suggests. People living in the barren areas of Hamgyeong-Do in the North used to hum the song when things were hard and tiring. Currently in South Korea, the song is transmitted by displaced people as a form of a musical performance accompanied by instruments and dance. It allows those people to find consolation and ease their longing for their hometown, thus providing a special sense of identity. Although the song is being practiced differently compared to its original version performed in the North, it still has the same function of consoling people now living in the southern part of the peninsula.\n\nDuring the thirteenth Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the ICH, which was held in Mauritius in November 2018, Traditional Korean Wrestling, ssirum/ssireum was jointly inscribed on the Representative List of the ICH of Humanity. The joint inscription was especially meaningful as it was intended for ‘peace and reconciliation.’ Since 2014, ICHCAP has organized biennial sub-regional meetings of five Northeast Asian countries (South Korea, Mongolia, China, Japan, and North Korea). The participants looked at the status of ICH safeguarding in North Korea and discussed the necessity for stronger exchange and cooperation in the fields of ICH in the region, laying a collaborative foundation for support for North Korea. This year in October, the fourth sub-regional meeting will take place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the subject of the safeguarding of shared heritage in East Asia.\n\nAccording to the ‘Kit of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage’ published by UNESCO, safeguarding activities promote reconciliation through intercultural dialogue and respect for cultural diversity around the practice of living heritage and thus constitute an effective and sustainable way to restore peace and security within society. Even in the situation of national division, the viability of ICH can bring together different parties beyond the border to share a collective memory and the values of heritage. As such, shared heritage can play a vital role in maintaining peace and security in the two Koreas. ICH, which has survived to date and can be shared by both peoples, could hopefully help achieve inter-Korean cooperation and further establish a culture of peace in Northeast Asia.\n\nPhoto : Joining two Koreas © Shutterstock/eamesBotYear2020NationSouth Korea
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Intangible Cultural Heritage Information in Critical Times: Questions on Production and DisseminationThis essay is the second in a series that chiefly argues for the importance of seeing intangible heritage protection as a form of human rights protection and thus a necessity in critical times such as COVID-19 pandemic. But is “heritage in critical times” a new concept? How do we qualify “critical times”? How has the discursive portrayal of bodies of knowledge and practices, as well as natural and built environments, in need of protection reinforced the concept of critical times?\n\nThis idea of “heritage in critical times” initially surfaced in the discourse around intangible heritage: when a cultural symbol is threatened by a physical harm. In Terrorism, Conflicts and the Responsibility to Protect Cultural Heritage (2016), Federico Lenzerini notes that the intent to eliminate communities is the common denominator characterizing all main cases of destruction of cultural heritage throughout history such as the demolition of part of the Pyramid of Menkaure in Egypt by Sultan Al-Aziz Othman at the end of the twelfth century, the systematic destruction of mosques and other religious or historical constructions during the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, and the destruction of the two ancient giant Buddha statues in the Afghan valley of Bamiyan by the Taliban in 2001. What’s deeply significant in the discussion of Lenzerini is its commitment to the concept of cultural heritage as a “common good” belonging to all of humanity, noting the preambles to the 1954 Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, affirming that “deterioration or disappearance of any item of the cultural or natural heritage constitutes a harmful impoverishment of the heritage of all the nations of the world.” This collective belongingness to heritage from tangible cultural heritage definitely persists when intangible cultural heritage (ICH) came to the fore, except ICH introduced threats to heritage in an abstract sense such as globalization and abandonment of traditional ways of life. Nevertheless, this kind of attitude toward heritage succinctly legitimizes the responsibility to protect all cultural heritage elements, tangible (including natural) and intangible, as an innate obligation, a part of coming into humanity. This also implies that the idea of “critical times” has made it possible to see and imagine some objects and practices as representative of our humanity and call it heritage. In other words, “critical times” arguably directed the generation of heritage knowledge as well as public measures to protect and rescue those cultural symbols we now call heritage of the humanity.\n\nThe above description of a link between “critical times” and heritage signals that even before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, safeguarding and conservation practices were already situated within complex circuits of cultural interactions, interventions, and initiatives. And when social activities began to be restricted, cities placed on different forms of lockdowns, festivals cancelled as among the calamities brought by the pandemic, heritage protection has just become more complicated and challenging. Due to the fact that social distancing has become the most pervasive preventive measure against coronavirus, it has become almost instinctual to us to heavily rely on the internet to gain some modicum of normalcy, to be in touch with each other. In my observation, cultural practitioners in the ICH field also adopt the same formula in continuing their work, resorting to online infrastructures to conduct relevant activities. For example, UNESCO is developing a plan of action for Central America to ensure universal access to documentary heritage, which includes the use of community media to assuage the limited capacity of many people to internet access. I can only imagine the strong intent of organizations to continue the safeguarding and transmission of ICH thru every possible means, though this time, with a stronger consideration of digitizing community traditions, translating practices into electronic records, cultural rituals into screen. However, the reflexive use of internet or online technologies in ICH safeguarding and transmission in the pandemic may calibrate problems such as heritage fossilization. What are our views on the internet or digital technologies in areas of heritage archiving, documentation, and information dissemination in critical times? I argue that the continuous safeguarding and transmission of ICH must include a consideration of how ICH information is produced at the community or individual level, not only the possible means that such information can be disseminated in critical times. How then can we support communities, groups, and individuals in order for them to remain at the center of ICH information production? What new modes of documentary procedures can we implement that regard the fluency of the ICH of communities, relevant ethical frameworks as well as possible health risks?\n\nAlbeit the use of digital technologies can alleviate the feeling of impoverishment of information, there certainly is no single solution to a massive problem and sharing of experiences, as well as persistent networking, can make a difference in better understanding different contexts, specifically community needs and available instruments for heritage work to continue. The consumption of ICH information as a digital output may well be very possible in a context of restricted social mobility, but the production of such ICH information (for example, this online exhibition of ICH in South Asia and the Pacific) nonetheless requires actual social interaction. I maintain that ICH communities and tradition bearers should remain at the center of any effort to produce and disseminate ICH information.Year2020NationAfghanistan
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Women at the frontlineOn 24th of September 2021, through the narrow lanes of ancient city of Kathmandu mass of women was seen pulling the chariots of Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav. This spectacular scene was an unthinkable of a decade back. Women play integral role in the Newa household and many traditional functions but in the public events women always occupy backstage.\n\nNow on the last day of weeklong street festival – Yenyā Punhi also known as Indra Jatra, the new traditions of pulling chariot by women have been started. On this festival along with chariot processions many other activities takes place in those seven days such as several mask dances, raising of wooden logs, procession with lamps around ancient city boundary, display of Bhairav deities in the streets and other smaller events.\n\nThe chariot processions of Kumari, Bhairav and Ganesh, represented by children holds a special place, as Goddess Kumari was the tutelary goddess of Malla King of Kathmandu Valley and this practice is still present. In past women never participated in the pulling any of the chariots, this might be due to several reasons such as the chaos while pulling, crowd and social taboo.\n\nThree wooden chariots of Ganesh, Kumari and Bhairav get pulled for three days, which starts from third or fourth day of the Yenyā Punhi festival. First day of chariot procession is done through lower quarters of ancient city, second day through upper quarters and finally on the last day through middle quarter. The last day of the whole festival is known as Nānichāyā.\n\nThe new tradition of pulling the chariot by women has been started on day of Nānichāyā since Nepal Sambat 1132 (2011 AD). Mrs. Nanihira Prajapati, coordinator of pulling chariot shares the story of women pulling chariot was an idea implanted by late Mr. Mohan Krishna Dongol. It was his support and idea that the women were able to pull the chariot and which is still continued. Last year the whole festival was halted due to Covid-19 and the chariot procession too.\nThe chariot pulling by women are now well organized and with much security. According to Mrs. Prajapati there are 13-core team, each chariot being looked by four core team members. Mrs. Prajapati is responsible for overall processions management. The security is also arranged with women police throughout the processions.\n\nThe organization committee has made mandatory to register for those interested to pull. After which they get a pass and a T-shirt, which is to identify actual chariot pullers. Some women are also trained before the procession by Maha, the person who sits at the front of chariot and directs the chariot.\n\nMrs. Prajapati shares her experience that when they started they were not organized as now. On first year they just pulled the chariot of Goddess Kumari, even they were suggested to pull just a short distance if it was difficult. With proud smile she further adds that they completed the whole route. Women, girls and teenagers all came to participate on that historic day. After the event they received much support and media exposure, and were encouraged to pull all the chariots from next year.\n\nFollowing the women taking lead in procession, the drinking of alcohol which flows from the giant Swait Bhariav Mask was started by women as well, designating fixed day for just women.\n\nYoung girls are also seen playing different traditional musical instruments on this festival as well as in several other festivals.\n\nNow days there are a considerable active participation of women in many festivals, not holding the backstage positions of cooking and making arrangements.\n\nphoto 1~2 : Women pulling chariots of Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav during the festival of Yenyā 2021 (Indra Jatra) © Sandesh MunikarYear2021NationNepal
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Resilient Communities of Kathmandu ValleyResidents of Kathmandu Valley, for the first time, saw temples being closed and even barred from entering the sites due to Covid-19. Most of the festivals were cancelled, which didn’t even happen even after the devastating earthquake of 2015. Only the most important rituals were performed behind closed doors. Many festivals and rituals were limited to just the formality rituals and forgiveness rituals. Instead of huge crowds, there were empty squares and closed temple doors.\n\nFor the cities, towns, and villages within the Valley known for festivals, processions, and rituals throughout the year, Covid-19 proved to be cruel. The prolonged uncertainty has prompted communities and individuals to take alternatives for continuity of ICH with new normality.\n\nThe biggest festival of Patan city, a chariot Karunayama procession, saw a violent clash between locals and police on 3 September 2020. The sight of chariot with God inside was stranded on the roadside for several months and made locals take the decision to start pulling it. After this event, the consultation between local government, chief district officer and community members was held. A few days later, the symbolic procession and forgiveness rituals were performed. The strict measures for security and necessary precautions against Covid-19 were taken. Only limited numbers of people could pull the chariot and play musical instruments with masks and face shields.\n\nMany rituals, which were supposed to take place without the masses attending, continued in many places of Kathmandu Valley. One of the rituals was restoration of important scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism—Pragyaparmita in Buddhist Monastery of Kwa Baha/ Hiranyavarna Mahavihara in Patan. Pragyaparmita translates as “Perfection of Wisdom.” The one in this monastery is written in gold and contains eighty thousand stanzas that were written in 1224 CE. This restoration used to take place for a month every three years, which had one leap year according to the lunar calendar. This year with leap month, the Buddhists priests were seen working on it wearing masks behind the closed door of the monastery.\n\nSimilarly, the annual festival of Pachali Bhairav in Kathmandu was held from 17 to 21 October. The community members took extra steps to adjust to new normal with full precautions against Covid-19. The people who were carrying God Pachali Bhairav in the form of big pot were seen wearing Personal Protective Element. This scene was spectacular.\n\nLikewise, the town of Khokana in Kathmandu Valley also continued with their most important annual event Shikali Jatra from 19 to 23 October. The deities were with their traditional masks and attire, but the communities were with the mask to protect against the virus. This festival used to have huge crowds, but this year, only a limited number of people attended.\n\nAnother city in Bhaktapur also continued their important annual mask dance named Nava Durga that started on 24 October. To avoid the masses, all the rituals and dances were performed only in the square of the ancient Bhaktapur palace where limited people were allowed. Normally, this dance is performed in different places within city of Bhaktapur and nearby villages and towns, which would continue until June. But with pandemic, the continuation in other places is still uncertain.\n\nPeople tend to organize festivals, continue rituals despite the warning from the health professionals and government. Many legends and tales tell the stories of rituals and festivals initiated in ancient time to ward off evil spirits, droughts, and pandemic. Many people still hold on to these beliefs in Kathmandu Valley.\n\nPhoto 1 : Chariot of Machindranath guarded by police to avoid crowds. ©Monalisa Maharjan\nPhoto 2 : Devotees burning butter lamps while wearing masks. ©Monalisa MaharjanYear2020NationNepal
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Intangible Cultural Heritage: Enacting the past in the modern timesYenya Punhi (also known as Indra Jatra) is one of the most entertaining street festival of Nepal. Although it is celebrated in different cities where there is presence of Newa population. Kathmandu takes the claim to this festival as their main festival. Now this festival is even celebrated in different cities around the world such as London, Dallas, Baltimore, Sydney and Sikkim.\n\nYenya in Kathmandu is elaborate with multiple events taking place simultaneously indifferent corners of the city for eight days. Chariot processions of living gods and goddess, different mask dances, processions of people and deities, displays of Bhairav masks are some of the main events. So during this event every streets, courtyards and alleys in Kathmandu are filled with people, gods and festivities.\n\nIn the evening of the first day, people carry out procession called Upaku or palcha bi wonigu literally translated as – to distribute butter lamps. The family members of the decreased ones goes around the ancient city lighting incense sticks and placing butter lamps along the way at every cross roads and religious shrines. Some groups of people also follow the route singing bhajan (religious hymns) as well as young groups are seen with different traditional musical instruments.\n\nFrom the big temples to stupas, chaityas and even the smaller shrines along the procession route are decorated with flowers, lights and samayebaji (pile of beaten rice with different beans, meat and food items). Music, lights, religious hymns and people make the city into different ambience.\n\nThis event seems to be for entertainment but actually this is for those who passed away that year. Many people participating in the processions are dressed in white. According to the Newa ritual, the sons of the decreased member dress in white for the whole year. The local belief explains this ritual is to show the light to the soul of the decreased people the way to the heaven. And any wandering soul in the city gets way out.\n\nThe story of the procession route is as interesting as the event. Ancient city of Kathmandu used to be a walled city and people who go in upaku procession are walking around the outer boundary of the city. In 1769, Kathmandu was taken over by Shah king and then the walls were let to ruins, which is mentioned in the book Nepal Mandala by Mary Slusser.\n\nNow there are no physical traces of walls and gates but the intangible heritage like Upaku brings back the long lost physical memory of the city. These festivals and rituals are not just celebrating the present but also bringing back the memory of the past in present landscape. It is a way to tell the people of this generation about the past of the city.\n\nOral micro history is very important to know the people and place of the past, and it is even important in the context of country like Nepal. Rarely the history of people and ordinary structures are recorded. Kathmandu Valley is full of rituals, events and processions, which tell the stories of people and place from the ancient times. And in many instances the activities of the past gets recreated in the present context even though the lifestyles of people and urban morphology has changed in unimaginable ways. Continuity of intangible heritage is also the way to give continuity to the memories of place, practices and past.\n\nPicture 1: People taking part in procession, chanting religious hymns and placing lamps along the way. © Monalisa Maharjan \nPicture 2: Pile of unbaked clay pot with lamps placed on the road. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 3: Temple decorated with flower, light and a pile of Samaybaji along the route of Upaku. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 4: Small shrine with the offering of lights by the people on procession. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 5: A decorated chaitya on the route. © Monalisa MaharjanYear2022NationNepal