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ICH Materials 137
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A Look into Jeju: Living in Harmony with NatureJeju is a volcanic island filled with stones. Previous eruptions have produced volcanic bombs (large volcanic rocks) scattered around, covering the whole island. This is why it is difficult to cultivate crops in Jeju. Since the thirteenth century, the people of Jeju have been making stone walls to secure farmlands. The total length of stone walls is estimated at 22,100 km. These stone walls look like they are heaped up randomly. However, Jeju people’s wisdom is time-tested, unassumingly sturdy, hidden in those walls. Because the island is prone to strong winds all throughout the year, taking note of typhoons in the summer, they built the stone walls like roughly-heaped stones with holes to let the wind pass through, weakening the possibility of structural collapse.\n\nTamna is Jeju’s old name. The beginning of Tamna is illustrated by Samseong myth. Legend has it that three demigods emerged from holes in the ground. The ground is called samseonghyeol, which is still considered as a sacred place. The emergence from the ground shows difference in cultural archetype from the birth myth of the mainland involving the egg from the heavens. There are 18,000 gods and goddesses in Jeju. Jeju people believe that god lives in everything. Such belief is shaped by Jeju’s naturally difficult tendencies. As people in Jeju battle with endless wind and water shortage due to the island’s barren volcanic environment, they rely on gods to adapt to the roughness of Jeju.\n\nThere are Bonhyangdang Shrines, the house of gods protecting people’s livelihoods. simbangs (shaman in Jeju dialect) act as intermediary between Jeju people and gods. They perform yeongdeunggut in the second lunar month for haenyeo (female divers) and fishermen who depend on the sea for a living. The Yeongdeung is the goddess of the wind, who can raise the waves, which is why she is deemed important for the safety of people pursuing the sea. Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, the representative yeongdeunggut in Jeju, was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO in 2009. There are many other rituals for gods and goddesses of the sea, which are held in roughly 30 areas in Jeju during the same month. There are many stories related to goddesses in Jeju. Different from goddesses in other countries, Jeju goddesses neither depend on nor belong to gods. This is a characteristic shown by Grandmother Seolmundae, the giant who created the island by carrying soil in her skirts; Grandmother Samseung, the goddess of babies; and Jacheongbi, the goddess of farming. Jeju women have high self-esteem unlike those in patriarchal East Asian societies following Confucian teachings. They also participate in the economy more actively than their counterparts in other regions in Korea. Jeju haenyeo is a representative example of women’s participation in the economy. In 2016, the Culture of Jeju Haenyeo was inscribed on the Representative the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO during the eleventh Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It shows matriarchal characteristics of Jeju. In Jeju where the soil is not fit for rice farming, many women became divers to find food from the sea and learned how to cooperate with each other.\n\nDespite the unique challenges in the island, Jeju people have used nature without destroying it, depending on 18,000 gods and neighbors. Such characteristics form the core of the Jeju culture.\n\nPhoto : Jeju haenyeo (female divers) crossing low stone walls to get to the sea © Jeju Haenyeo MuseumYear2017NationSouth Korea
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Jeju Chilmeoridang YeongdeunggutJeju Yeongdeunggut is a shamanic ritual performed during the second lunar month to greet and see off the goddess Yeongdeung. Yeongdeung, the goddess of wind, is typically recognized in the form of Yeongdeunghalmang (Grandmother Yeongdeung). In winter, when the cold wind blows from the northwest, she brings prosperity to the land and sea. It was the custom for the Yeongdeung Welcoming Ritual to be performed to celebrate her arrival and the Yeongdeung Farewell Ritual to be performed fifteen days later to mark her departure.Year2021NationSouth Korea
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Kyrgyz Manas Epic Visualized through Motion Comic and Mobile ApplicationManas is the largest Kyrgyz epic and the name of its main character—the hero, who united the Kyrgyz. Manas is included in the UNESCO list of masterpieces of the intangible cultural heritage of mankind, as well as in the Guinness Book of Records as the most voluminous epic in the world. The Manas epic is divided into three parts: “Manas,” “Semetey.” and “Seytek.” The main contents of the epic are the feats of Manas. The Sagymbai Orozbakov (1867–1930) and Sayakbay Karalaev (1894–1971) Manas versions are considered classics. Modern scholars have not come to a consensus about when the epic originated. Hypotheses put forward indicate that it is connected with events of the Kyrgyz people of the ninth century. Some historians believe that the historical background corresponds to conditions of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries but that it also contains more ancient ideas. Also, many historians point out that the epic time in Manas is not mythical, but historical.\n\nLast year, there was a youth hackathon event to create multimedia contents on intangible cultural heritage. Uluu Ash, a motion comic based on Manas, was made at this event. A motion comic is one in which sound or music is added to illustrations, and some pages show moving pictures, which is different from an animation with moving pictures throughout.\n\nAk Shumkar KUT public association, a Kyrgyz NGO, implemented the motion comic project with the support of the Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy, public foundation. During the hackathon, project participants developed a demo version of the mobile application named Manas, and a script was written for the motion comic. Later, the film working group, which included animators, artists, journalists, scriptwriters, musicians, and Manas reciters, continued to work and eventually made the film.\nUluu Ash, the film’s title, is one of the most important scenes in the epic. The glorious Kyrgyz Khan Kekötöy, having reached old age, leaves a testament to his son Bokmurun with instructions on how to make a burial and how to arrange all the posthumous rites. He also bequeaths to seek advice from Manas. Having buried Kökötöy, Bokmurun prepares a memorial service for his father. Manas takes over the entire administration. Many visitors from distant countries come to the ceremony. The Kyrgyz people gathered the representatives from Asia and Europe. The more important point in this ceremony was the advice of wise men and brave warriors at the end of the commemoration, which is described in the film.\n\nDuring the hackathon, an informal platform was formed to generate ideas for promoting elements of intangible cultural heritage among young people. This platform has its further development as a club for young creative minds to enhance comprehension and promote traditional culture. One of the products of the event was a mobile application of Manas. The application is informative and educational. It has been growing with subsequent addition and expansion of its content. This epic product is being made for the first time, and hopefully will provide a good example for young people to show the possibility that spiritual and cultural heritage may even now be the most vital element determining future and development prospects.\n\nphoto 1 : Capture from the Uluu Ash motion comic ⓒ Ak Shumkar KUT Public Association\nphoto 2 : Showing the Manas mobile application ⓒ Ak Shumkar KUT Public AssociationYear2019NationKyrgyzstan
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Kyrgyz Traditional Wedding Customs and RitualsAs in other societies, the family may be the smallest social unit but holds the highest priority in Kyrgyz culture, so the making of a family is very important in Kyrgyzstan. This is why in Kyrgyz society wedding ceremony is an important event. The Kyrgyz traditional wedding requires an understanding of soiko saluu, kyz uzatuu, kalym, sep beruu, and nikahh kyiuu among others.\n\nThe traditional Kyrgyz engagement ceremonies include the following. The kuda tushuu tradition is the compulsory visit of the groom’s family to the bride’s house where the bride receives a pair of golden earrings (soiko saluu) from the groom’s family for the official engagement. In addition, the groom’s family needs to pay kalym (bride price); it can be in the form of either money or livestock. Moreover, there is kiyit kiygizuu (a gift exchange) of mostly clothes, between the bride’s and groom’s family. These are all the of the Kyrgyz people.\n\nAfter, there is the kyz uzatuu tradition, a custom to say goodbye to the bride by holding a feast and preparing sep (dowry). Accordingly, the bride is taken to groom’s house through a special rite and respect. However, the practice of ala kachuu (bride kidnaping without the bride’s consent) is not part of Kyrgyz traditions. Traditionally, bride kidnapping meant an arranged marriage when a loving couple agreed to marry but the bride’s parents were against the marriage. In today’s Kyrgyz traditions, however, the understanding of bride kidnapping is very much distorted. Therefore, the practice is illegal, which leads to criminal liabilities. A legal and socially acceptable Kyrgyz traditional wedding incorporates rituals in which the bride and groom marry with respect and honor.\n\nOther wedding customs and rituals are performed in the groom’s house, where the official celebration takes place, such as welcoming the bride and displaying her dowry. The groom’s family present a white scarf to the bride as a symbol of blessing. The bride usually spends several days behind koshogo (curtain) while the visitors come and present different scarfs to see the new bride. Lastly, in the nike kiyuu tradition, a Muslim ceremony, the mullah reads a prayer and asks the couple of their consent to marry.\n\nNowadays, a mix of traditional and western styles of wedding is common in Kyrgyz society, incorporating decorated cars, visits in famous sites, and a feast in restaurants.\n\nPhoto : Kyrgyz Wedding Rites. Inspection by the Groom. Circa 1860s. by Aleksandr L. Kun, 1840-1888Year2019NationKyrgyzstan
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Singapore’s Hungry Ghost FestivalThe seventh month of the lunar calendar is regarded as a month in which the gates of heaven and hell are opened so that ghosts and spirits, including deceased ancestors, can come back to visit the living in China and other Asian countries with Chinese migrants, such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The fifteenth day of the month is called Zhongyuan Jie (中元節) in China, Baekjung (百中) in Korea, Obon (お盆) in Japan, and the Hungry Ghost Festival in other countries. The day’s story origin derives from an old Buddhist tale about Mu Lian.1.\nMu Lian, one of Buddha’s disciples, converted to Buddhism after losing his parents at a young age. As his longing for his mother grew stronger, his clairvoyance found her suffering from ravenous appetites that could not be satisfied in hell. He tried to offer food to his mother, but the food burned into ashes when it touched her mouth. Mu Lian asked Buddha about how he could relieve his mother’s suffering. When he prepared food offerings as directed by Buddha, his mother was saved from suffering. This tale developed into a Buddhist ritual2. to offer food for ancestors and was combined with Taoist tradition to celebrate Zhongyuan Jie. At Zhongyuan Jie, people hold memorial services for ancestors and other spirits.\n\nIn Singapore, people prepare ritualistic food offerings and burn incense and joss paper in front of their apartments, stores, or companies for their ancestors’ visiting spirits. They murmur prayers while burning joss paper and go round in a circle with nobody else getting inside. Some even burn miniature paper houses, cars, and smartphones. Unlike most countries that hold traditional rites, the city-state celebrates Zhongyuan Jie in a more modern way. A getai3. is held at vacant lots or parking lots during the Ghost Festival. Getai performances were usually of Chinese operas or puppet shows in the past. Now they have evolved into various forms, including songs, dances, and stand-up comedy. A getai performance usually begins with jokes and comedy, using various languages such as Mandarin, Hokkien (a Southern Min Chinese dialect originating from Fujian Province), English, Malay, and Indian. The first row is left empty so that the spirits can sit and enjoy the performance comfortably. Although getai performances have been modernized, all the songs and dances serve the same purpose of consoling dead souls and pleasing the king of the underworld.\n\nDuring the festival, evil spirits come out with ancestral spirits. There are taboos to protect innocent people from evil spirits, such as going home late and swimming so as not to be pulled by water ghosts. People are also recommended not doing new things, like a trip, wedding, or risky movements, to avoid curses from evil spirits. They should spend their time in a more religious and controlled way than usual.\n\nSingaporean authorities have made various social and cultural efforts to preserve the Ghost Festival and pass it on to future generations. Singapore’s Taoist and Buddhist Federations have encouraged devotees to burn offerings responsibly as Nanyang Technological University scientists found that concentrations of small pollutant particles increased by 60 percent during the Hungry Ghost Festival, saying that it is not a case of “the more the merrier” since it is sincerity that counts. Singapore has grown based on coexistence and harmony among various peoples. As such, it emphasizes respect for different cultures even when enjoying a festival, highlighting that such celebrations should not be limited to a certain group. Collective efforts at all levels of society have made the Hungry Ghost Festival open to all people in Singapore. This festival provides lessons on how to discuss and resolve social issues and ethnic conflicts amid the progress of globalization.\n\nPhoto : Hungry ghost prayer table CCBYSA3.0 Mezanurrahman (Wikimedia)Year2018NationSingapore
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Introduction Elements on the Lists of Intangible Cultural HeritageICHCAP published Intangible Cultural Heritage of Kyrgyzstan as part of its ICH and Society series. The newest volume introduces various intangible heritage elements of Kyrgyzstan. It is the eighth book in the series and is the result of a two-year joint project between ICHCAP and the National Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic for UNESCO from 2018 to 2019 to encourage the awareness of Kyrgyzstan’s intangible heritage.\n\nKyrgyzstan’s intangible heritage once faced a cultural disruption crisis during the Soviet system. However, consciousness of the crisis and many efforts to safeguarding ICH in Kyrgyzstan has helped keep many elements alive.\n\nThis book consists of six themes, including traditional crafts, rituals, oral traditions and traditional foods and introduces their cultural roots and identity by explaining around a hundred Kyrgyz ICH elements such as horse breeding, pasture management, rites of passage.YearNationKyrgyzstan
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GARBA, A CIRCLE DANCE OF INDIAWhile the circle is a quantifiable and concrete geometrical shape, the abstract idea of the circle has many different meanings, interpretations, and symbolic significance in Indian philosophical systems. These ideas have also culminated in varied manifestations of the concept into intangible cultural heritage. Garba is a ritual dance form where the knowledge and belief systems regarding the circle find choreographic expression. It is a social-community dance performed primarily by women in the Gujarat region in India. Performed during the nine-day Hindu festival of Navrātrī, the dance is primarily a celebration of feminine energy and an offering to the feminine divinity. It is also performed during the celebration of Sivaratri and weddings and in certain pregnancy rites.Year2011NationSouth Korea
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MYTHICAL LEGEND OF FIFTEEN NAGA FAMILIES IN LUANG PRABANGLaos, having existed for thousands of years, is among the most ancient nations of the world. Chinese historical documents indicate that the original settlement of the Lao nation was in the region of the Ai-Lao Mountains along the River Mekong in what is now called Sichuan County. The region where Ai-Lao tribe lived was called Kao Long. This name was later changed to Kio Long Kieng, which means the river of nine Nagas—the territory of the nine snakes who were known as the authentic and original family of the Lao nation. Therefore, due to their origins, Ai-Lao people widely admired or worshipped the Naga in many important rites and tattooed Naga symbols on their arms and body. In Luang Prabang, the people refer to the Naga in the local dialect as ngeuak, which means ‘water snake’.Year2013NationSouth Korea
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Section 4 Reflections of SelfMasks are used by people to hide themselves while acting as others, and are also used to express something inside the wearer, perhaps a personality that they do not usually reveal or something related to spirituality and faith. The MassKara Festival and the Moryonan, representative festivals of the Philippines, are large-scale street events to celebrate the nation’s history and culture, and to gather local society together. The MassKara Festival, which features a parade full of colorful masks and costumes, reveals the joys and passions of Bacolod citizens. On the other hand, the Moryonan Lenten rites shows the cultural heritage of Marinduque inhabitants who creatively follow Catholic tradition.Year2023NationPhilippines,Singapore
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Introduction of the Traditional Musical InstrumentsTraditional music: the soul of the universe! Traditional music: the unspoken language!\n\nAll around the world music plays an important role in communicating human expressions and emotions. Besides being an artistic and creative form of expression, music is associated with festivity—the celebrations of new beginnings, birth, initiation, courtship, marriage, and death. Music, with or without instruments, is an integral part of traditional occupations and daily chores, such as planting, harvesting, and processing food, herding, fishing, and craft making, such as carpentry, pottery, and basketry. \n\nMusic communicates meaning during rituals and rites and is often used as a tool for meditation. With or without song, the sounds of flutes, drum, trumpets, gongs, bagpipes, and others can evoke memories and transport people to places of happiness, peace, hope, nostalgia, and melancholy. As Plato, the philosopher said, “music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” The ability to sing and create music is a gift bestowed on a person regardless of his or her social status. Regardless of its source, music can be embraced by people of all walks of life and is an intrinsic part of cultural heritageYear2021NationSouth Korea
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6. Traditional Knowledge of Water Management in Korea through Two Types of Irrigation FacilitiesWater management has long been the most necessary agricultural activity for Korean farmers, who typically make their living through rice cultivation. This is why if rain is scarce \nor water management is wrong, it can ruin farming for the year and farmers will struggle to provide for themselves and their families. Whether the practices are traditional or modern, \nagriculture is fundamentally dependent on nature. Therefore, people prayed for rain to the gods who they believed were in the sky or the sea to prevent drought in rites that were common in Korea. While they still rely on nature, farmers have always sought to increase their resilience in the face of natural disasters by continuously innovating with irrigation solutions suitable for the local environment. This chapter introduces two types of irrigation \nfacilities that are typical examples of the water-management system in rice-farming areas from the perspective of traditional knowledge.Year2022NationSouth Korea
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Wishing Abundance to the Goddess of Wind: Jeju Chilmeoridang YeongdeunggutIn traditional society, Jeju has blossomed an original and attractive culture based on its natural feature of being a volcanic island located between the Korean Peninsula and the South Sea. Every year in February of the lunar calendar, “Gut,” one of Korea’s seasonal customs, is held throughout Jeju to pray for the peace, good harvest, and good catch of the sea. Haenyeo (local female divers) and shipowners prepare food offering for the gods, and shamans serve as a bridge between gods and people, offering ancestral rites to the spirits of nature, such as the wind goddess, sea god, and mountain god. “Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut” is Jeju’s representative intangible cultural heritage that captures what the sea meant to the lives of the former islanders.\n\nJeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is based on the myth of Yeongdeung God, the goddess of wind (otherwise called the “yeongdeung halmang,” meaning Grandmother Yeongdeung), along with various guardian deities of the village, the dragon king and ancestrial gods. Yeongdeung God is a foreign goddess that appears in a myth in Jeju. She returns on the first day of the second lunar month and controls the weather while staying in Jeju, she sprays seeds of grain to be harvested the next year on the ground and seeds of seaweed and seafood on the sea. The goddess is also a threat to people’s lives by stirring the sea, but also a god of abundance that helps seaweed grow well by circulating seawater. This myth reflects the islanders’ perception of the sea, which is both a source of life and a dangerous place.\n\nRecords of Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut can be found in “Shinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungram”, “Tamraji”, and “Dongguk Sesigi”. Above all, however, the reason Yeongdeunggut could be transmitted for a long time was that the residents were the true owners of the heritage. While preparing food for rituals with marine resources collected from the sea, which is part of their lives, haenyeo and shipowners inherited the tradition as a subject of Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut along with a shaman leading the gut. The ritual was passed down in the lives of Jeju residents for a long time. Shaman Ahn Sa-in was designated as the ICH holder in 1980, allowing more people to learn the value and importance of the heritage.\n\nJeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is a unique tradition that can only be seen in Jeju Island, where rituals for mountain gods and rituals for Yeongdeung are combined with one shamanic ritual called Yeongdeunggut. On every February 1st of the lunar calendar, Chilmeoridang in the village, where Yeongdeung-gut is held, welcomes Yeongdeungsin with a welcoming festival. The villagers offer offerings to the god of Yeongdeung, the guardian deity of the village, and the sea god to pray for the abundant year and the well-being of the village, and on February 14, they hold a farewell ceremony to send back various gods safely. Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut, which has been handed down as a folk ritual that reflects the natural view and belief of Jeju people over many years, has been recognized for its academic value as the only haenyeo-gut in Korea that shows a unique combination of haenyeo beliefs and folk beliefs. In 2009, it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.\n\nDespite the development of negative views on folk beliefs due to modernization, Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut has become an important cultural festival that fosters unity and bond among community members and a ritual that captures the lives of ancestors who shared the flow of nature. Surrounded by the sea on all sides and in the wind blowing rapidly, Jeju Islanders did not simply fear and fight the winds, but recognized them as beings that brought the blessing of abundant resources. As the voices about the environment are increasing, it is believed that this view of nature of Jeju Islanders can be a guide to living a “sustainable life” in a modern society.\n\nphoto : Jeju Island shamanic ritual to Yeongdeung, god of wind, which became a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. © Korea Open Government License Type 1, SourceYear2022NationSouth Korea