Materials
rural areas
ICH Materials 39
Publications(Article)
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Identifying Ways to Develop Intangible Heritage Festivals through Community Networks (Focusing on the Case of the Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival)The tug-of-war is widely spread throughout the world, especially in agricultural communities. The Gijisi Tug-of-War Festival is highly regarded. Held on the second weekend in April, it has a five-hundred-year history. The event, which is based on agriculture, fishery, and merchant traditions, is held to wish for prosperity and good luck for the coming year. The tug-of-war represents the agricultural, rural, and social characteristics of the region. The rope used for the event is two hundred meters long and one meter thick, so it is truly a community event. Similar tug-of-war games are also held in other nations. After creating a museum for Gijisi tug-of-war, members discovered that it could be a symbol of the region, so the local government invested into the museum. After building the museum, we wanted to expand our knowledge of tug-of-war events in other countries. In the past, there wasn’t much communication among the different communities celebrating tug-of-war festivities. However, after building the museum, we had the opportunity to invite other countries as a sort of network that allows research into other types of tug-of-war in the Asia-Pacific region. As Gijisi tug-of-war is well known, we thought that having a festival to display other cultures’ traditional tug-of-war through a networked festival.\n\nTug-of-war (juldarigi in Korean) is an intangible heritage that is commonly found in various regions across the world. In particular, it is a popular activity that takes place with the aim to foster harmony and solidarity among communities in rice-farming regions across Korea, Japan,and various Southeast Asian countries.Year2020NationSouth Korea
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International Cooperation through Tugging Rituals and Games and their Achievements: Activities in Post Multinational InscriptionsTug-of-war is a universal cultural phenomenon all around the world. Especially in Asia, the tug-of-war is related to rice farming and is thus commonly found in the farming cultures of Northeast and Southeast Asia. As practiced in Asia, the tug-of-war is performed either as a prayer for rain, or for a good harvest, or to foretell whether the year’s harvest will be good or bad. Tug-of-war activities have similarities that include two teams pulling at the opposite ends of a rope. They also have distinctness, individuality, and creativity interactivity with the climate or environment, making tug-of-war events worth preserving as a common element of Asian intangible cultural heritage (ICH).\n\nRecognizing the universality and distinctness of tug-of-war traditions in Asia, Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam prepared a multinational file to nominate “Tugging Rituals and Games” to the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity through mutual communications and meetings. The Republic of Korea submitted the nomination file to the Convention Secretariat on behalf of the four countries on 31 March 2014. The nomination file was eventually recognized on 2 December 2015 during the tenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee held from 30 November to 4 December 2015 in Namibia.\n\nThe inscription of Tugging Rituals and Games to the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity has brought about a sensation in each country. The news of the multinational inscription was covered in a slew of media outlets in each country, and in particular, Vietnam selected the multinational inscription as one of the top ten cultural news events of 2015. The Republic of Korea, which led the multinational inscription, conducted commemorative events, such as holding an exhibition and publishing books in Korean and English.Year2021NationSouth Korea
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VARIETY AND MEANING IN JULDARIGI, KOREAN TUG-OF-WARDuring Dan-o, Daeboreum, and Chuseok, pre-modern Koreans used to hold celebrations composed of rituals to the communal deity, communal games, and various folk arts. Among the communal games, the tug-of-war was the most common. It was widely distributed around the central southern region of Korea and played simultaneously or in rotation with other communal games.Year2014NationSouth Korea
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The Remarkable Revival of Vietnamese Xoan MusicIn just six years, an important element of intangible cultural heritage went from being an element in need of urgent safeguarding to being an active part of the lives of Vietnamese people. The Hat Xoan Phu Tho tradition, a distinctive call-and-response musical genre of Phu Tho Province in northern Vietnam, was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2011, and as a result it became the focus of an extensive revitalization program to ensure its survival.\n\nA unique blend of song and dance performance, xoan originated in the upland region of Viet Tri in Phu Tho for the people to express the richness of their community lives. Some of the performances are to venerate ancient kings while others are expressions of the people’s skills and artistry or their knowledge of farming, fishing, hunting, weaving, and other rural crafts. xoan is considered the core and essence of the social and cultural identity of the villages of Phu Duc, Kim Dai, Thet, and An Thai.\n\nSince 2011, the state and local communities have been supporting a project to revitalize xoan. A series of creative collaborations between knowledgeable elder practitioners and a nucleus of over sixty younger artists have committed themselves to xoan practice and dissemination and have subsequently secured xoan transmission to future generations. Training classes are held monthly and weekly within the communities. An active set of xoan guilds with as many as a hundred members of three or even four generations of practitioner families are successfully recruiting new adherents.\n\nTo generate an audience for the genre, xoan has been introduced into the regional school curriculum as a reference point for teaching on issues of heritage and local history. Demonstration activities and social events outside the xoan communities, have attracted young people and increased their understanding and enjoyment of xoan.\n\nWithin the xoan communities, many of the temples and shrines used for performances had deteriorated because of war and time, becoming unusable. The state, however, has allocated priority funding to restore these performance areas. Through the government-funded program, community members are fully involved in the restoration and have been empowered to manage their own cultural spaces. On 28 March 2017, the country’s largest site for xoan practice was inaugurated in Kim Duc, a commune of Viet Tri. Legend has it that this space, within the Lai Len temple in Kim Duc, was the first site of xoan performance in Vietnam.\n\nThrough these unique programs, xoan communities have become vibrant places of practice and the transmission of xoan.\n\nPhoto : In marked contrast to the traditional past, Xoan is now widely performed by young practitioners © Le Thi Minh LyYear2017NationViet Nam
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The Kyrgyz Shyrdagy FestivalThe Kyrgyz Shyrdagy Festival was inaugurally organized in 2010 by felt carpets producers in Kyrgyzstan, after UNESCO inscribed the traditional Kyrgyz felt carpets ala-kiyiz and shyrdak into the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.\n\nThe festival is held every year in June in the mountainous Naryn region, famous for its felt carpets. The festival is managed by the Craft Council of Kyrgyzstan under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Information and Tourism of Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the regional administration and in partnership with the local crafts communities, NGOs, international agencies, and private businesses.\n\nThe goals of the festival are to attract social attention to the necessity of safeguarding the art of traditional Kyrgyz felt carpets, to develop the local market of the felt carpets, and to develop event/cultural tourism, especially in remote mountainous areas of Kyrgyzstan.\n\nThe art of making felt carpets among Kyrgyz has ancient historical roots dating back to the first century BCE. Felt carpets are an important decorative component in the yurt, the traditional nomadic dwelling of Kyrgyz people, which is used by local residents in everyday life.\n\nThe process of making felt carpets is a socializing, unifying factor. It involves all family members and often relatives and neighbors. During the joint work, knowledge and skills are interactively transmitted by the older generation to young people.\n\nIn the past, felt carpets were not intended for sale; they were passed down from generation to generation, playing the sacred role in the family as an ancestral memory of the mother. Therefore, the carpet ornamentation was marked individually by the woman-creator—an imagery of the benevolence or the blessing of the mother to her descendants.\n\nShyrdak felt carpet today is a popular product on the local tourist market and international craft market, providing a significant income for rural women. Being exported to western countries, shyrdak carpets are highly appreciated as handmade eco-friendly products with unique ornamentation.\n\nWith about three hundred crafts artisans and participants, the Kyrgyz Shyrdagy Festival has become a national holiday, recognizing the Kyrgyz people’s cultural values. Residents of neighboring villages go to the festival, dressed in traditional festive clothes. At the festival, attention is given to master classes of the carriers of knowledge of ancient felt-making methods and contests are held for felt carpet producers to better carpet preservation.\n\nIn the past festivals, seventy craftspeople were awarded with diplomas and monetary prizes from state institutions and private foundations. Twenty-five awarded shyrdaks were gifted by organizers to five leading museums in Kyrgyzstan. In 2018, within the framework of the festival, it is planned to hold an international conference on preserving traditional crafts with the participation of the National Commission for UNESCO, museum representatives, and tourism and craft organizations.\n\nThe Kyrgyz Shyrdagy Festival is currently a meeting point for artisans, traders, representatives of travel companies, scientists, and aficionados of felt carpets from Kyrgyzstan and other countries. It promotes the development of the craft market in Kyrgyzstan and other regions, consequently improving the living standards and social status of artisans. The festival also demonstrates the inseparability of cultural ties between generations, stimulating young people to study, preserve, and develop traditional crafts and drawing the attention to preserving Kyrgyz ICH.\n\nPhoto : Shyrdagy festival photo © Photographer Urmat Osmoev CACSARC-kgYear2018NationKyrgyzstan
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Puppeteers of Muragachha Colony: Relearning Art, Performing Bengali TraditionA puppet festival is a public-driven performance of tradition in Muragachha Colony in the Nadia District of West Bengal, about 120 km from Kolkata. It is organized by the local people under the aegis of Banglanatak dot com, a social welfare organization. Muragachha Colony, and its neighboring village, Borboria, are home to puppeteer families who have not only plied their craft across Bengal but also traveled to many fairs and festivals across India. Masters in string puppetry, or suto putul as it is known in Bengal, they are trying their best to preserve this traditional folk theater, often referred to as putul natok or putul nach in Bengal, against stiff competition with electronic media and modern forms of amusement.\n\nMost puppeteers in these areas trace their roots to Khulna and Barishal in Bangladesh; their practice of string puppetry originated from the Kathputli of Rajasthan. According to veteran puppeteers, however, they are facing challenges as the younger generation is not keen on pursuing a life of puppetry—typically a family-driven profession—due to dwindling income.\n\nConventionally, the puppeteers travel all over the Bengal region between Durga Puja at the beginning of summer, performing at various fairs, festivals, and household functions with their portable stage and dolls. A puppet head is usually made of sholapith, a mold-able milky-white spongy plant matter, which is then painted with facial expressions that require the delicate touch of a master. Designing and tailoring the colorful and intricate puppet garments are also important.\n\nBanglanatak dot com has been working with the puppeteers for the past few years, training them to create a script and a more contemporary, more relevant stagecraft; their intervention is chiefly to provide support to revitalize Bengali puppetry in a workshop setting. This activity helps not only to discover the cultural dimensions of entertainment but also to understand the ways in which puppetry can be a tool to disseminate cultural knowledge. A writer, narrator, musicians, puppeteers, and skillful assistants work together as a team to prepare the puppet festival.\n\nWith support from the West Bengal Khadi and Village Industries Board (WBKVIB) and Rural Craft Cultural Hub—an initiative of West Bengal government’s Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise & Textiles (MSME&T)—in association with UNESCO, the puppet festival, Putul Naach Mela, was held for the first time from 15 to 17 December 2017 at Muragachha Colony Primary School to spread awareness about the suto putul of Bengal.\n\nPhoto : Putul against a wall between showings © Banglanatak dot comYear2018NationIndia
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3.20. Safeguarding Folk Culture and Livelihood in Sri LankaSevalanka Foundation of Sri Lanka was established in 1992 and eventually developed a large network in the country. Its mission is to enhance the capacity of rural communities to democratically identify and address their development needs and provide services that contribute to economically viable, socially just, and ecologically sustainable development of Sri Lanka. The Foundation has a ‘community development’ approach to poverty alleviation and economic improvement. The program areas cover Organizational Development, Disaster Management, and Livelihood Generation. Sevalanka works with youths, diversified communities and religious/ community leaders, helping build a network to bring about a joint effort for peace in their communities and socio-economic improvement of the people. They are supporting communities in preserving their traditional livelihoods by providing training, credit facilities, value addition, and market linkage.Year2017NationSri Lanka
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Shital Pati: A Traditional Handicraft of BangladeshShital pati (literally “cool mat”) is an age-old traditional handicraft item of Bangladesh, which is sometimes used as alternative to bed sheets. For generations, people living in the Northeastern districts in the country, such as Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Netrokona, and Brahmanbaria, have been making the popular craft item either from the finest types of cane or murta plants (Schumannianthus dichotomus) growing near bodies of water in the region.\n\nAs a traditional craft practice, the making of shital pati is championed by families. It becomes the the only means of livelihood of around 8,000 people in the prolonged monsoon when cultivable lands in the vast low-lying areas go under water. Every member of shital pati–weaving–families takes part in preparing the raw materials and in the actual process of weaving.There are three varieties of shital pati: normal, jamdani, and nakshi pati (“decorated mat”).\n\nTypically, it takes five days to make a normal one; eight to nine days to make a jamdani mat; almost a month to weave an embroidered mat. Their price varies from Tk 500 to Tk 2,500, depending on design and size. The product is sold throughout the year in the rural market and outlets of different chain stores located in the posh areas.\n\nThe craft item was inscribed on the national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2007. The country has also applied to UNESCO for its inscription on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with the title “Traditional Art of Shital Pati Weaving of Sylhet”. The application will be examined in the twelfth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to be held in December 2017 in the Republic of Korea.\n\nPhoto : Weavers in Sylhet pose with a shital pati © New AgeYear2017NationBangladesh
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Adapting Ancient ICH for New SituationsIn the past decades, the world has seen unprecedented migration of people from rural communities to urban centres. According to the UN, “the urban population of the world has grown rapidly from 751 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018.” Today, 55% of the world’s population is reported to live in urban areas, and this is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.1) Such migration is particularly intense in the less developed countries, which make the majority of global population, and the rate of urbanisation is highest in Asia.\nIn spite of its historic isolation and renown for conservation of its traditional way of life, Bhutan is no exception to the process of urbanisation. On the contrary, it stands out as a striking example of urban growth. Just over half a century ago, there was not a single town in Bhutan. The country was entirely made up of villages. Even Thimphu, the nation’s capital for nearly four centuries, was a valley of a few scattered villages and the dzong fortress, which housed the government and monastic headquarters. Over 99% of the built environment we see today in the growing metropolis of Thimphu was built after 1960s. The picture of Thimphu taken in 1963 shows the valley of open rice fields, which have today become a concrete jungle. The picture of south Thimphu taken at the turn of the century shows how fast the suburban areas of Thimphu have grown.Year2019NationSouth Korea
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Badal Mahal Museum: Promoting Vagad Cultural Heritage and EcotourismDungarpur is in the southwestern part of Rajasthan, India. The region is also known as Vagad, where inhabitants are mostly tribal communities. Along with great cultural diversity, Vagad is also known for its natural beauty and traditional craftsmanship like stone sculpture, wooden dolls, and toy making. Communities like Sompura and Tirgar from Dungarpur and nearby areas have learned craftsmanship from their ancestors. Stone sculpture and wooden crafts by Sompura and Tirgar artists, respectively, are perceived as intangible cultural heritage of the region. Old palaces and heritage buildings like Badal Mahal Museum (BMM) are living relics of traditional stone architecture and sculptures.\n\nThe Municipal Corporation of Dungarpur has transformed the BMM building into a unique cultural display to preserve and promote tribal and rural lifestyle, history, and crafts. The museum has been designed by heritage expert Monish Paliwal and intangible cultural heritage researchers Lokesh Paliwal and Dinesh Kothari.\n\nAn open stone sculpture gallery including Mother Nature Park showcases a Sompura stone sculpture and features traditional and modern subjects. The scenes of rural and tribal kitchens and shrines explore the simple lifestyle of rural communities. BMM has set up a royal lifestyle on the top floor of the building, which includes a collection of weaponry, vessels, turbans, and other articles.\n\nAveraging a thousand visitors per month, BMM is helping to promote cultural heritage and ecotourism while providing exposure and a market for local arts and crafts, a significant contribution in a time when traditional heritage needs a larger role in public life.\n\nPhoto : Badal Mahal Museum exhibit © Lokesh PaliwalYear2018NationIndia
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1. Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Level of Intangible Cultural Heritage Provided by Azerbaijan’s Water BodiesWater bodies in the mountainous and coastal regions of Azerbaijan, including rivers, lakes, springs, and waterfalls, host many cultural ecosystems. These have led to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage creation and contain a perfect level of human–nature relations. Climate change is a complex phenomenon that is affecting all areas of human life, including \nwater-related ICH. Its effects cause existing traditions, knowledge, and skills to be gradually abandoned and forgotten, which in turn leads to the disappearance of ICH. Global climate change also affects employment among the population in other areas, such as agriculture and reduces traditional incomes. This leads to the gradual migration of the rural population to urban areas and, as a result, the loss of traditions related to intangible cultural values.Year2022NationAzerbaijan
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Beldemchi Exhibited: From the Making of Women’s Traditional Clothing into a Field of Female CreativityAn exhibition of beldemchi was launched at the Gapar Aitiev Fine Arts Museum in Bishkek on 7 June 2017. The exhibition is still ongoing through the partnership of the Kiyiz Duino Foundation and the Gapar Aitiev Fine Arts Museum, an institution named after one of the first Soviet Kyrgyz artists who became a national artist of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. The exhibition displays more than forty items collected from state museums and private collections. It represents all regions of the country and various embroidery styles and techniques. The event is a sign of increasing interest in beldemchi in Kyrgyz society; renowned designers are already coming up with unique beldemchi design.\n\nOne of the Kyrgyz ICH elements, beldemchi is a traditional women’s skirt worn over a dress, gown, and sometimes thin coat. Conventionally, women wear their first beldemchi after a severe stress, e.g. first labor or situations demanding warmth. When worn as postpartum clothing, beldemchi helps women correcting their posture. It also gives physical support. Historically, as Kyrgyz people led a nomadic lifestyle in inland continental climate conditions during pre-Soviet times until 1917, beldemchi was an essential part of Kyrgyz women’s traditional apparel.\n\nBeldemchi may be worn daily and in holidays or festive events. It is made up of velvet and silk adorned with embroidery. The embroidery could cover either the whole skirt or its edges. Viewed as a protective amulet against evil eye, jinxes, and other unpleasant troubles, it is also a determinant of a woman’s age, social status, region, and her artistic skills based on the composition, style, and quality of the embroidery since every woman is supposed to know how to make a beldemchi and its embroidery. The main base of beldemchi is a double-leaved swing skirt with wide and thick belt. Beldemchi has several regional differences. In the north where the winter season is cold and long, it is mainly a wraparound flared skirt from warm fabric with a thick band over the belt. In the south, beldemchi is a buttoned front open cut skirt.\n\nThe presentation of beldemchi at the exhibition displays how the making of traditional clothing for women has gradually turned into a field of rich female creativity. Notwithstanding, beldemchi has started to disappear from Kyrgyz everyday life, which may have been caused by the changing views and lifestyle. During the Soviet modernism in the 1960s, wearing beldemchi was a sign of backwardness and provincialism. Soon in the 1970s, it fell into disuse. However, elderly women in rural areas have kept wearing beldemchi until now.\n\nPhoto : Women wearing Beldemchi © Kyiz Duino FundYear2017NationKyrgyzstan