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ICH Materials 238
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The Commonality and Diversity: For the Asian Values of Lacquer Crafts Culture and Its Safeguarding StrategiesKey matters on modern significance of intangible heritage and its safeguarding Intangible heritage is living cultural heritage which can express human’s wisdom and sensibility intactly by this time. Even though some of them already disappeared, are about to disappear and would disappear not before long, there still remain many of them in our thoughts and experiences. Such heritage is the infinite future resources and traces of the past that human can enjoy in this digital era. The traditional cultures can play a more important role for us in feeling human’s emotions and humanity in the digital era because they contain old human’s memories, and can be an economic means as well. These intangible heritages, in essence, may have the same function even though their forms are different. In particular, we can see that certain cultures spread to neighboring regions, which led to the creation of a new form of culture in a community that accepted them. This process is important as an asset for sharing humanity and at the same time becomes a meaningful source for each community to have its cultural identity as an expression of diversity of human thought.\nTherefore, how to preserve the shared or coexisting intangible heritage among cultural communities is a key topic in the international society today. Meantime, there have been some cases in which even though they are the same kind of heritage, certain heritages in some areas were inscribed on the list of World Heritage but others were pushed aside, in spite of their equally excellent values. In today’s fast-changing society, if culture is neglected even a little bit, it will disappear. Then, if it disappears, total amount of culture in that society will eventually shrink, which means that the future values will be lost. What is called culture inevitably comes to vanish without those who use it, no matter how creative it is. In order to preserve traditional heritage that may disappear at any time, it is an essential process to persuade the society, develop modern utility and seek for strategic methods, deeply thinking of its future value of such heritage.Year2021NationSouth Korea
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Commonalities and Diversity of Asia-Pacific Intangible Cultural Heritage: For Asian Values and Safeguarding Strategies of Lacquer CraftsIntangible heritage is living cultural heritage which can express human’s wisdom and sensibility intactly by this time. Even though some of them already disappeared, are about to disappear and would disappear not before long, there still remain many of them in our thoughts and experiences. \n\nSuch heritage is the infinite future resources and traces of the past that human can enjoy in this digital era. The traditional cultures can play a more important role for us in feeling human’s emotions and humanity in the digital era because they contain old human’s memories, and can be an economic means as well. These intangible heritages, in essence, may have the same function even though their forms are different. In particular, we can see that certain cultures spread to neighboring regions, which led to the creation of a new form of culture in a community that accepted them. This process is important as an asset for sharing humanity and at the same time becomes a meaningful source for each community to have its cultural identity as an expression of diversity of human thought. \n\nTherefore, how to preserve the shared or coexisting intangible heritage among cultural communities is a key topic in the international society today. Meantime, there have been some cases in which even though they are the same kind of heritage, certain heritages in some areas were inscribed on the list of World Heritage but others were pushed aside, in spite of their equally excellent values. In today’s fast-changing society, if culture is neglected even a little bit, it will disappear. Then, if it disappears, total amount of culture in that society will eventually shrink, which means that the future values will be lost. What is called culture inevitably comes to vanish without those who use it, no matter how creative it is. In order to preserve traditional heritage that may disappear at any time, it is an essential process to persuade the society, develop modern utility and seek for strategic methods, deeply thinking of its future value of\nsuch heritage. To preserve the intangible heritage, it is necessary to build the favorable environment in which communities with such technological culture can keep working on new creative works. For this, each society has to make continuous efforts in cooperation with communities not to wither this\nheritage away. These efforts are important not only in terms of the transmission of tradition but also as cultural resource to form sustainability for a society in the digital era. Here, we should pay keen attentions to preventing such intangible heritage from being fossilized, remaining fixed cultural system and eventually being eliminated. Intangible heritage should exist as one culture, but its way of expression should adapt to the senses and demands of a new generation by constantly making creative transformation. By doing so, the original form can be also preserved as a part of diversity. In other words, the practical benefit based on tradition is a prerequisite for the transmission through generations.Year2021NationSouth Korea
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OTCHIL, LACQUERWARE CRAFTS OF KOREAThe geography of Korea is ideal for growing lacquer trees. Optimal climate, topography, and soil conditions can be found across the country, and the lacquer produced is of the highest quality. This led to lacquerware crafts being highly valued in Korea over the years, and a uniquely Korean culture of lacquerware being developed.Year2017NationSouth Korea
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History and Transmission of Korean Lacquer CraftsHuman has made great progress beyond the speed of biological evolution by using tools. First, human used stones and wood as tools for hunting and gathering, and then invented earth-baked earthenware such as bowls for food, appropriate to farming life. The defects of woodenware and earthenware, however, were obvious. It was not able to contain liquid due to their moisture absorbency, and easily damaged. Earthenware has evolved into glazed ceramic but it required a high-tech kiln with high temperature, accompanied by a technology for metal refining as a key prerequisite. In East Asia, moisture proof and insect proof techniques to coat objects were invented much earlier. That is lacquer technique.\nProduction process of lacquer is delicate and complicated such as handling lacquer sap at the risk of skin disease, creating hot and humid environment for hardening process, etc. Nevertheless, in East Asia, people have used lacquer technique in many regions from the Neolithic Age, knowing its merits earlier on. Lacquer was used for adhesive and surface protection of leather, earthenware, ceramics and metalware. In particular, it has been inextricably linked to wooden objects. Whereas in West Asia and Europe various varnishes mixed with dry oil and resin has been used, in East Asia lacquer was used as a basic varnish in common. That shows that lacquer is great material and technique to represent the commonality of Asian culture.1) This article aims to briefly look into the origin of lacquer technique in Northeast Asia and share the information on it and its current status of transmission.Year2021NationSouth Korea
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Siruwat: Narrating the Untold Journey of the Deities to the Himalayas during the Covid-19 PandemicThe Rai communities of the eastern hills of Nepal celebrate the Siruwat festival during April and May, on the Nepali first full moon day of the year. Siruwat is celebrated to mark the season of plantation, also called dhule puja, which means worshiping the earth or soil. It is believed that the deities travel to the Himalayas after they are worshiped to avoid the summer. The festival is also called Ubhauli, referring to deities’ movement towards the upper hills/Himalayas. Every Rai household practices this ritual. Deities are offered eggs, alcohol, chicken, water, and freshly harvested rice. There is a belief that if people do not perform this ritual, they will get sick and go mad. Therefore, even people who live far away or are traveling make efforts to return to their village to perform this ritual.\n\nMy family moved to Kathmandu about two decades ago, and although being five hundred kilometers away, at least one person from the family managed to go to the village every year for the ritual. This year, however, the community to which I belong was supposed to perform Siruwat on 9 May 2020 in my village. Yet, for the first time in history, many families like mine could not attend the ritual due to the nation-wide lockdown caused by the ongoing pandemic. The coronavirus has challenged the discourse of this supernatural belief. We are worried over our strongly constructed belief of the maladies connected with not performing the ritual. We ponder over questions like what would happen to our deities who are supposed to travel to the Himalayas after worshiping and whether they would wait for us until the lockdown is over to conduct the puja. Thankfully, this year we have not experienced peak summer yet. Maybe the gods are controlling nature and waiting for us to worship them. Could this be linked to the supernatural power of our gods—their control over nature and not to scientific reasons like climate change? This is an uncanny feeling for us.\n\nThe deities worshiped in Siruwat are believed to be sisters, brought as a dowry by a mother and transferred to a daughter once she gets married. The god of the family is called Purkha Hangma, which means the main goddess and is worshiped inside the house, and others are called Daije, which means brought in dowry and are worshiped outside the house. Since we could not perform the ritual on time this year, we had to make ourselves promise that we would re-worship them soon, and present them all with the traditionally offered items to get their blessings. Once the travel restrictions are over, the head of my family—my father, will travel to the village and perform the ritual. This time, it would be different. Wattongs, the old generations of the community would discuss, purify the previously worshiped gods, and apologize. Then they will fix the new date and time to complete the ritual.\n\nThe Covid-19 virus has challenged the fundamental aspect of honoring the journey of the deities to the Himalayas by hindering this ritual performance and has also alarmed the community against celebrating other festivals due to risks of viral transmission. Therefore, when people are adapting to their virtual presence in many activities, there is an urgent need to convince the community on finding alternative ways to perform rituals, such as doing it remotely instead of being physically present at the site. Like Siruwat, many other festivals—both communal and national, which are the cultural manifestation of communities, are under threat; re-performing or rescheduling them is a challenge, considering their complexities.\n\nphoto 1 : Prepared rice for mangkok© Mohan Rai\nphoto 2 : Preparing mangkok (rice from freshly harvested rice) and alcohol in gourd © Mohan RaiYear2020NationNepal
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Thanaka: A Traditional Beauty Commodity in MyanmarThe cosmetic value of thanaka is nationally recognized in Myanmar. Extracted from trees, thanaka holds a high level of public trust due to its connection to the traditional life of Burmese people. In the past, thanakha was worn as a natural cosmetic concoction during the period of Myanmar kingdoms. During the monarchy period, lighter and more fragrant thanakha was used for royal families, and it was added with tiny gold powder while commoners used the pollen of flowers named gant gaw (Mesua ferrea). In addition to it being considered a beauty product, thanaka is also used by farmers and sun-exposed workers for sun protection.\n\nSince Myanmar is in a tropical climate zone, thanakha can give cool sensations and heal sunburns. When thanakha is applied on the face, it becomes a moisturizing treatment that primarily soothes the skin. It also has antibacterial properties that help clear the skin of pimples. As a result, thanaka paste is an essential part of our beauty routine. The glorification of thanaka is well-reflected in Myanmar’s idealization of beauty, particularly female beauty. The ideal woman is perceived to have a long hair, wearing Myanmar’s traditional attire, and using thanaka. This idealization is portrayed in media culture of the country, as well as in folk literature.\n\nPeople make thanaka throughout the Myanmar. Following simple traditional procedures, it is taken from thanaka tree (Limonia acidissma Linn). Ten-year-old thanaka trees are downed and made logs about fifteen centimeters long. Thanakha paste is extracted from the bark by grinding it with a bit of water on a stone slab called kyauk pyin, until it becomes a yellow paste. The yellow paste, thanaka, is kept in a small container for daily use.\n\nIn recent times, Myanmar has seen the proliferation of foreign cosmetic brands in the country, specifically in urban areas. Despite this, thanaka is still used by many and promoted by concerned associations, as it represents Myanmar culture. Although people in the countryside faithfully use thanaka, the collective perception of people about it as a cultural component of ideal beauty should not be missed in understanding the intangible heritage of Myanmar.\n\nPhoto 1 : Mother and son with thanakha ⓒ Pisi (U2 Photo Studio) photography\nPhoto 2 : Lady with thanakha at a five-day market in Hsi Hseng , Shan State ⓒ Mg Chit Pan (Taunggyi) photography\nPhoto 3 : Little boy with thanakha applied ⓒ Sai Moon (tgi) photographyYear2018NationMyanmar
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Virtual Heritage Tour in the Time of CoronaAs the whole world is still gripped with Covid-19 and most people are confined within the boundary of their houses. In this time, cultural heritage has an equal impact as other economic sectors. Especially in the places where people’s social practices and everyday life is connected with heritage it has been hit hard. In case of Nepal not only the festivals, religious and social ceremonies has been cancelled or limited to formal rituals. But also the everyday practices of people visiting temples and performing rituals has been stopped. In the meantime, people are also showing resilience towards this global pandemic and finding ways to get connected with cultural heritage.\n\nEvery year the birthday ceremony of Lord Buddha (also known as Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti) is celebrated on the full moon of Baishak according to lunar calendar, which usually falls on April or May according Gorgian calendar. Budha Purnima is celebrated in most of the Asian countries with various rituals, ceremonies and prayers. This year, it was celebrated on 7 May, and due to the nationwide lockdown, many people had ceremonies in their houses and small ceremonies in the monasteries and temples. In past, major temples, which used to see a huge mass of people, were limited to a few, especially the caretakers, priests, few locals, and monks/nuns.\n\nOn this day, many people from all over the world used to visit Lumbini—the birthplace of Buddha, which was not possible this year. So the StoryCycle together with the British Council organized a Virtual Heritage Tour (VHT) to Lumbini. Even though this site contains the archeological remains of Stupas, Vihara, and Temples, it still has religious and spiritual linkages with people in present time. The VHT was curated with Mr. Anil Chitrakar as a resource person. Mr. Chitrakar is a social entrepreneur, and he regularly organizes heritage walks and gives inspirational talks on conservation and development. He has worked for the conservation and development of Lumbini over the last thirty years in various capacities.\n\nThe VHT included a brief tour of the site, which included Maya Devi temple (mother of Buddha), sacred garden, and Ashok pillar (erected by emperor Ashoka in 249 BC testifying to Buddha’s birth there) as well as other important sites associated to the Buddha’s life and after his death. Also included are lesser-known sites such as Kudan, the hall where Buddha met his parents and his son Rahul (for the first time) after he became Buddha. Ramagrama—one of eight Buddhist stupas was constructed after the death of Buddha with his relics. It is the only stupa that has remained unopened to date. Mr. Chitrakar also explained the greater plan of Lumbini that includes forty-four unique monuments representing Buddhism in different countries within its boundaries. The way forward after the construction of international airport there, as well as how this important Buddhist site could connect to other important Buddhist sites.\n\nThis was an interesting event, as Mr. Chitrakar explained not only the physical structures but also the intangible aspects of them. From the mathematical explanation of the construction of stupa, stories of the Buddha’s life, and King Ashoka in spreading Buddhism as well as to the simplified and brief teaching of Buddha. Even though virtual, this tour was able to realize the calmness of site and praise its nature with canals and cranes in the surrounding.\n\nThe event was scheduled for one hour, but lasted a bit longer since around hundred people participated. At the end of which there was a question-answer session. This event also had a sign language interpreter.\n\nThe event recording can be accesses via https://www.facebook.com/storycycle/videos/253552219340656/\n\nEvent Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/730005211072259/\n\nPhoto : Lumbini © Anil ChitrakarYear2020NationNepal
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Thruebab, the Blessed Rainy Day in BhutanAmong fifteen national festivals celebrated in Bhutan, Thruebab or Thrübab is considered a grand event observed not only by the Bhutanese but also by Tibetans. It is a spiritual event that roughly falls between 20 and 25 September coinciding the early date of the eighth month of the Bhutanese calendar. Based on the etymology of Thruebab (thrue—wash, bath, holy water; bab—descend), the Buddhist term literally means “holy water descending”. Due to climate change, however, there is an unexpected shower and sometimes not a single drop of rain (or holy water as it were) from the sky. Regardless, the day of Thruebab is widely known as Blessed Rainy Day. The significance of the day is well connected to the view of both astrological and philosophical texts of Tibetan Buddhism. A special star, believed to be Rishi, is formed by crystal (chu-shel) and a gemstone (ketaka). With similar precious stones, an image of Vairocana Buddha was said to be erected by the great yogis with prayers to fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings. While the star Rishi revolves around the mythological mount Meru, it’s calculated that the star reaches directly above the Buddha’s figure exactly on the early date of the eighth lunar month emitting divine water drops from the collusion of rays from the star and from the Buddha’s crest. Both the rays and water drops permeate the streams and rivers of the world with immense healing power and blessings.\n\nThruebab, as an officially declared holiday, is observed by the whole of Bhutan. Various media platforms predict the beginning of the descent of the holy water and cover the entire event. However, the descent may happen early morning, after dawn, or sometimes even at noon. If it happens early in the morning, people would fill a container of flowers with the water falling down and keep it outside their house to receive the light of Rishi. As the descent happens, people use the water in taking a bath and drinking. Although Thruebab is primarily a spiritual event, people also take advantage of it to celebrate. They would take shower in open streams, ponds, or water taps and wash their clothes. Elderlies merrily shout Thrue! Thrue! Thrue! It means “cleanse us of sins and diseases”. Taking a bath is certainly the highlight of the day.\n\nThe program is then followed by making offerings and prayers. After supplication, family members gather in the dining room to eat rice porridge called thugpa as served either by the mother or eldest daughter. After this, families either visit temples and monasteries or go out for a picnic with relatives, friends, and neighbors. While men often play traditional games like archery, women sing and dance to give the game more elements of entertainment. Thruebab is considered as an integral part of intangible cultural heritage of Bhutan, fortifying social cohesion among the people. It engages people with religious activities and connects them to natural resources.\n\nPhoto : CONTRIBUTED BY YESHI LENDHUPYear2017NationBhutan
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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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O le ʻIe Sae, o le Maniti a Tamāliʻi—Weaving Social Cohesion in SamoaSamoa is a country of great natural beauty with a rich and distinguished cultural heritage. Living in isolation from the rest of the world in the vast Pacific Ocean, Sāmoans have developed a body of traditional ecological knowledge and a wide range of artisanal skills enabling them to create all they need to live in comfort and safety. The wellbeing of the extended family and an intricate network of kinship ties form a complex system of traditional governance and social organisation in one of the few remaining chiefdom cultures of the modern world. The mainstay of this culture and the profusion of expressions emanating from it is the natural environment. Sāmoans had a kinship relationship with the contingent world, living in harmony with the natural resources that provided for their wellbeing.\n\nFilled with a spirit of inquiry, sogāsogā, early settlers in the island archipelago adapted the knowledge they brought with them with succeeding generations refining and building on that knowledge with new and innovative uses. The knowledge and skills of the tufuga or expert artisan, can be seen in fale Samoa, a resilient style of architecture perfectly suited to the climate; in alia, swift double-hulled ocean voyaging canoes capable of sailing the vast ocean using stars, waves, clouds, currents, and birds for navigation; in tanoa, functional and aesthetic wooden bowls used in rituals; in ingenious and versatile ʻafa (coconut sennit), a versatile and strong cord used in myriad cultural products including houses and boats; in tatau (tattoo), that adorns both men and women; and, in lālaga, finely woven pandanus leaf mats created to strengthen social cohesion.\n\nRural women in Samoa are highly skilled weavers, and the finest of mats are known as ‘ie sae. These precious heirlooms take many months and even decades to make and are reserved for important milestones in the life of a person: birth, marriage, the bestowal of a chief’s title, and death. They are presented in connection with the building of traditional houses and churches. Old mats associated with important historical events are so highly valued that they are given names. An example of this is Le Ageagea o Tūmua, presented by the village of Lufilufi to the Prime Minister of New Zealand after she apologized to the people of Samoa in 2002 for catastrophic mistakes made during the early administration of Samoa as a British colony. The name ‘ie sae is derived from the ingenious process of splitting the pandanus leaves lengthwise. There are several varieties of pandanus cultivated by the weavers themselves, often with the help of men in their households and children in the family. The variety used to weave ‘ie sae is known as lauʻie.\n\nBecause of its importance to Samoan culture, the Government of Samoa established a Fine Mat and Siapo program in 2003 with the twofold aim of increasing the making of fine mats and siapo or bark cloth art throughout the country and standardizing dimensions and quality. Since then, ʻie sae and siapo have been paraded annually in a ceremony coinciding with the National Day for Women.\n\nThe ‘ie sae is arguably the single most important cultural product created by women in Samoa. It is cultural currency ritually exchanged to meet social obligations, strengthening kinship ties, and thereby contributing to social cohesion in Samoan society. Of all the accolades designating the importance of the ʻie sae, perhaps the most intriguing is that it send shivers of delight to Samoa’s aristocracy: o le ʻie sae, o le maniti a tamāliʻi.\n\nPhoto : A child watches and learns as her mother weaves a fine mat ⓒ Steven PercivalYear2019NationSamoa
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Effects of Covid-19 on the Continuity of FestivalsKathmandu 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 MaharjanYear2020NationNepal
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The Recipe and History of Thai Tomyam KungTomyam kung, or spicy shrimp soup, is a typical Thai dish that became popular only 50 years ago. Tomyam kung is a hot soup made by mixing various ingredients, including herbs, in boiling water. The basic ingredients include ground cilantro root, lemongrass, galangal, torn kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, fish sauce, bird’s-eye chilies and shrimps. In addition, mushroom, tomatoes, and onions may be added depending on preference. \n\nThe word “tomyam” is a compound word in the Thai language. It consists of two words — “tom” and “yam,” which mean “boiling” and “mixing,” respectively. These two words refer to the Thai cooking process. \n\nTomyam is a traditional Thai dish originating from the country’s central region. The oldest recipe was found in King Rama V’s reign. It was stated that only snakehead fish and stingray should be used in tomyam pla, or spicy fish soup. There are some secondary sources referring to dishes that had similar ingredients and recipes to tomyam kung. However, they still lacked some of the important ingredients that are familiar in the dish today, such as lemongrass, galangal, and torn kaffir lime leaves.\n\nThe very first “tomyam kung” recipe appeared in a book, Khong Sawoei (Thai royal cuisine), written by Mom Rajawongse Kitinadda Kitiyakara. The writer cooked fresh shrimp soup for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great (Rama IX), Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, and the prince and princesses at the Klai Kangwon Palace, Hua Hin, in 1962. The recipe started with the instruction to make a soup from shrimp shells and heads, seasoned with fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass. This was then strained to retain only the broth, which was poured into a bowl of boiled shrimp and seasoned with lime juice. Ground chilies and more fish sauce were added before serving. \n\nThe precise flavor of tomyam kung has never been fixed; it can be seasoned according to the consumer’s preferred tastes. However, a basic recipe is as follows:\n\nSlice the lemongrass, galangal, tomatoes, chilies, mushrooms, and shrimp\nBring a pot of water to the boil on the stove \nAdd the sliced lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves\nBoil for about 5 minutes and then add the shrimp\nAdd the sliced Thai chilies, mushrooms, and tomatoes\nFlavor by adding a little fish sauce and sugar (you can add more if desired)\nTake the pot off the heat and squeeze in the lime juice (if you do this before taking the pot off the stove, the heat will turn the lime juice bitter) \nThere are in fact types of tomyam kung: clear and thick. The clear soup is the original style, while coconut milk is added to make the thick variety.\n\nTomyam kung is a Thai national soup that very popular among both Thais and non-Thais. It has high nutritional value and is not too spicy. Its fragrance derives from vegetables and spices that are thought to help blood circulation, bringing good health. Tomyam kung is a very popular dish in every Thai restaurant. In addition, many popular snacks and instant noodles also use the flavors of tomyam kung. \n\nIn 2011, tomyam kung was inscribed by the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture on the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage under the domain of Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe. Recently, the government of Thailand is seeking to have tomyam kung listed by UNESCO as part of the country’s cultural heritage.\n\nPhoto : Tomyam Kung ⓒ shutterstockYear2019NationThailand