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ICH Materials 138
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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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The traditional woven carpets of the Kyrgyz peopleThe traditional carpet weaving takes a special place in the material culture of the Kyrgyz people, nomads and pastoralists of Central Asia. Its centuries-old history, customs and traditions has developed in various forms and techniques and is in demand on the market to this day. In the harsh and minimalistic conditions of nomadic lifestyle, textiles, including woven carpets, were an important part of a girl’s dowry. According to the local customs, when the bride initially arrives at her husband’s house, she decorates her new home’s interior with beautiful textiles given to her as a dowry. Different types of carpets and covers protected people from the cold, gave the home a cozy look and even functioned as furniture. They were created by the Kyrgyz women in different techniques and forms: embroidered wall panels, felted floor covers, woven lint-free and pile carpets.\n\nKyrgyz woven carpets can be divided into two types:\n1. taar or terme-taar is assembled from patterned stripes woven separately and then sewn together in the form of a bedspread or carpet. The stripes bo are woven by one craftswoman on a primitive loom using the terme or kajary techniques. The length of the patterned stripes reaches up to 20 – 25 meters; the width varies from 4 – 70 centemeters, depending on their purpose. Bo is also used to fasten together different parts of the yurt, a portable dwelling of nomadic peoples, assembled from a wooden frame and felt covers.\n\n2. The Batken, Osh and Jalal-Abad regions in the south part of Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia, are considered to be the birthplace of the Kyrgyz woven traditional carpets – kilems. The main business of women to this day in Margun village in Leilek district of Batken region is carpet weaving. In the villages Kulundu, Samarkandek, Toguz Bulak, Aibikeh, Chimgent, Andarak, Kok Tash, Patkhoz, Bulak Bashy, carpet weaving is also developed and practiced by local women. Usually, women weave big size carpets, which can reach 2,5x4m or 2,5x5m, on horizontal looms – duken. Woven carpets with nap – zhule kilem, lint-free – arabi kilem and mixed – pombarkyt kilem.\n\nThe preparation of yarn using an archaic spindle – iyik is the most labor intensive and time consuming action. For different types of weaving, yarn is produced of varying degrees of twist and thickness in accordance with the specific requirements. Cotton, camel and goat wool is used for the base of the carpet, where is local sheep wool is mostly used for weaving. The pile knots are nailed with a wooden comb with teeth; the pile thread is cut off with a knife, and trimmed with scissors. In the traditional Kyrgyz carpets there are 80-90 thousands knots per 1 square meter. Pile height is 6-8 mm. A large carpet is woven by several women collectively. Approximately 3-5 women can complete a big arabi-kilem in 7-8 days, jule and pombarkyt – in about 15 days.\n\nPredominant colors: all shades of red combined with blue or black. Yellow, orange, pink, green, white and brown colors are used in limited quantities. For coloring, vegetable dyes made of local plants as onion and nut peels were previously used; since the end of the 19th century – aniline. Carpets are decorated with geometric, floral and horn-like patterns. The main ornamental motifs are: kaykalak – curl, tai tuyak – foal’s hoof, bychak uchu – knife tip, it taman – dog’s paw, ala monchok – variegated bead, boru gozu – wolf eye, jyldyz – star, etc.\n\nBy the beginning of the 21st century, weaving crafts in Kyrgyzstan almost had disappeared. Cheap machine-made synthetic carpets mostly imported from China and Turkey had practically ousted labor-intensive and expensive traditional carpets and strips made locally of natural raw materials. Nevertheless, hand-made carpets are still sold in the markets of Isfana, Batken and Kulundu villages. The main consumers are the locals of the Ferghana Valley, who appreciate them for traditional aesthetics. Prices for the dowry carpets at the market vary: 180-200 USD – for arabi, and 600 USD – for jule. The interest among local population to the traditional woven carpets increased due to the shyrdak, traditional Kyrgyz felt carpet, becoming the most successful craft product at the local touristic and export markets. In 2012 shyrdak was inscribed into the UNESCO List of ICH under the danger of disappearance.\n\nThe Crafts Council of Kyrgyzstan with the support of local administration is training of various traditional weaving technologies to the young generation of weavers in rural areas of the Kyrgyz Republic. International organizations support rural craft communities and cooperatives to create new working places, buy necessary equipment and train in both business management and marketing. This helps Kyrgyzstan to reach the UN goals of Millennium: to decrease poverty and safeguard traditional culture.\n\nPicture 1: A piled floor carpet in “jule” technique, size: 2.5x5m. Materials: sheep wool, goat wool (for the base); natural dyes: moraine, indigo, walnut. 1950s. Kulundu village, Batken region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara Chochun\nPicture 2: A wall cover made of the woven patterned stripes in “kajary” technique. 1990s. Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara Chochun\nPicture 3: A craftswoman weaves a patterned stripes using the “terme” technique, in the circle of a rural community on summer pastures. 1990s. Alai district, Osh region, Kyrgyz Republic. © Dinara ChochunYear2022NationKyrgyzstan
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The National Program for ICH Safeguarding in MongoliaBy the 68th resolution of the government of Mongolia, the National Program for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage was approved on 13 February 2019. This national program will be implemented between 2019 and 2023, and it has six parts.\n\n 1. Justifications\n 2. Objectives, purposes, and duration\n 3. Activities to be implemented within the framework of the national program\n 4. Evaluation criteria for implementing the national program\n 5. Financing the national program\n 6. Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of national program\n\nSeveral articles associated with protecting and safeguarding traditional culture, its transmission, development, research, and dissemination were reflected on the Constitution of Mongolia, the National Security Concept of Mongolia, the Concept of Mongolia’s Foreign Policy, the Concept of Sustainable Development of Mongolia, the State Policy on Culture, the Law of Culture, the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage, and the Law of Mongolian Language.\n\nThe Mongolian Law on Protecting Cultural Heritage was amended in 2014 by the State Great Khural for regulating relations associated with the fifteen ICH classifications, the rights and duties of ICH practitioners, an organization of transmission activities and so on.\n\nBetween 2005 and 2016, the government of Mongolia approved and implemented national programs for ICH elements, including morin khuur, traditional long song, and Mongol khoomei, which were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Mongolian traditional folk dance bii biyelgee, Mongol epic, and Mongol tsuur, which were inscribed on the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. The NCCH has taken part in implementing these programs. As a result, these national programs have had positive changes in safeguarding ICH, such as identifying ICH practitioners from elders, organizing apprenticeship training, promoting traditional culture and cultural heritage abroad and nationwide, transmitting ICH to younger generations, building pride in ICH, and self-researching ICH.\n\nThe national programs were implemented only for the folk performing arts domain—one of the five UNESCO domains of ICH—but were not implemented for the other domains.It is a demanding task to implement ways to increase and improve research and safeguarding efforts for ICH in every domain represented in nomadic culture as well as to promote ICH abroad and nationally, and, at the same time, also increase the social and economic status of ICH practitioners while improving their skill and opening possibilities to introduce the cultural industry as a form of a tourist product.\n\nThe main objective of this national program is to identify ICH elements of ethnic groups in Mongolia and to research, register, document safeguard, transmit, and disseminate the ICH elements abroad and nationally.\n\nWithin the program’s framework, the following objectives were put forward to be implemented:\n\n-To improve the policy and legal environment of ICH and to intensify the implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage\n-To improve research, documentation, and activities of ICH registration and information database in accordance with international standards\n-To organize and conduct activities associated with raising the general public’s awareness about ICH and disseminating ICH abroad and nationally based on intersectoral cooperation\n-To increase the ICH specialists’ capacity and support ICH practitioners\n\nPhoto : Sambuugiin Pürevjav of Altai Khairkhan (an overtone singing ensemble from Mongolia) playing a morin khuur near Centre Georges Pompidou in 2005 CCBY 2.5 Eric PouhierYear2019NationMongolia
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Interview with Charis Loke about Arts-ED and Integrating ICH into Non-Formal EducationOn 8 November 2018, ICHCAP’s Associate Expert B.B.P. Hosmillo interviewed Charis Loke, a teacher and artist from Malaysia, after the 2018 NGO Conference in Hue, Vietnam. Charis Loke is an artist programmer and junior trainer at Arts-ED Penang, where she designs and implements community-based arts and culture education for the youth. She also trains schoolteachers in incorporating cultural heritage into their teaching. The following is an excerpt from a two-hour interview with Charis Loke about integrating ICH into non-formal education in Penang, Malaysia.\n\nB.B.P.H.: How does your work relate to ICH?\n\nC.L.: At Arts-ED, we have facilitators, freelance cultural workers, and volunteers. We may not be able to articulate ICH in terms of how it is delineated by the UNESCO 2003 Convention as people working at Arts-ED are regular people, we have day jobs, but we know that where we are has a lot of tangible and cultural heritage. Our goal is to get the younger people to appreciate the values that ICH has. As you can see from our programs, we have some focused on transmitting art forms, where primary school children learn with master teachers. To a great extent, our master teachers reinterpret such art forms though they are still deeply connected to their roots. We are not really about continuing such forms in their original sense because our organization is founded on creative education in which reinterpretation is a viable method of teaching and learning.\n\nIf you ask what specific ICH element we are focusing on, we may perhaps refuse to pinpoint anything but rather suggest that our location, Georgetown, a multicultural place in Penang, is composed of many groups living together. When we do cultural heritage, we have to consider that these groups’ ways of life have evolved, and so the values present in Georgetown cannot be attributed to one ethnic group. We cannot say that this element or that is a Chinese cultural heritage or maybe it is Malay, so it is really hard to define and maybe locating the specificity or source of cultural heritage cannot really enrich that cultural heritage. What we do is integrate the values we know ICH has into subject contents and global issues. For example, a teacher may be asked to use shadow puppets as a tool to teach creativity and collaboration.\n\nB.B.P.H.: Your programs and activities are for free?\n\nC.L.: Yes, our students don’t have to pay.\n\nB.B.P.H.: And your students are mainly children?\n\nC.L.: Yes, but ICH practitioners in Penang are also involved. Actually, there are more people involved than we expected. For instance, some of our programs are done in a market community that’s been around for more than 120 years, so the market sellers and the market administrators can be involved, too.\n\nB.B.P.H.: Earlier this year, ICHCAP hosted an international symposium and network meeting with academics based in Asia-Pacific universities that have or will have degree programs and research initiatives concerning ICH. There has been wider efforts to integrate ICH into formal education, even the UNESCO ICH Chairs are basically entrenched within the system of universities mainly across the world. I think this is a reflection of how more visible and more pronounced the connection between ICH and formal education is. As somebody like you who is involved with integrating ICH into non-formal education, what do you want people to know about the work that you do as an agent of ICH safeguarding in the non-formal education sector?\n\nCL: Being in the non-formal education sector gives you a lot of creative freedom with how you approach the work of ICH Education. When it is not formalized, facilitators have more creativity to come up with teaching resources, and students can also have more creativity in response. This implies, of course, that even the larger community we are a part of gets to have a bigger room in our programs. Because of the freedom we get from the framework of non-formal education, we get to enjoy genuine interaction among those participating in our activities. More importantly, because there is deficiency in Malaysia’s education system, our work can also address the problems of content relevance or fill in the gaps between our culture and the present time that formalized training and schools tend to not be concerned about.\n\nphoto : Charis Loke speaking at the ICH NGO Conference ⓒ ICHCAPYear2018NationMalaysia
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Inspire Tasmania: A Matter of Cultural Sustainable DevelopmentThe Migrant Resource Centre Inc. (MRC) in Southern Tasmania has launched Inspire, an innovative and vibrant program connecting Tasmanian performing artists to a broader community. The project’s website introduces a range of artists—migrants and refugees alike—bringing multicultural creative practices to the fore. They are talented individuals and groups of musicians, dancers, and public speakers who have been selected for their exceptional cultural skills and their ability to deliver professional performances in a range of settings. Tasmanian Chinese Community, for example, can present 56 different Chinese ethnic performances incorporated with traditional Chinese instruments. The Neeraalaya School of Dance is Tasmania’s premier Bharatanatyam dance troupe while Shuang Zhang is a conservatorium trained Chinese opera singer and dancer.\n\nInspire is funded by the Tasmanian government, Department of State Growth, while its website receives funding from the Tasmanian government, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Communities, Sport and Recreation. On its website, the performing artists are shown with a brief introduction about their own stories and expertise.1. The public can access the site and request performer(s) accordingly.\n\nThe performing artists get every opportunity to showcase their talents; in return, already-existing communities can experience their distinct performance for free. They say it is generating “common benefit and mutual prosperity.” MRC is not just giving the performing artists an online platform but more importantly it is helping them receive appropriate professional training to further refine their competence. Also, bi-cultural workers and volunteers have supported Inspire participants throughout the program. It is expected that this project can contribute to settle cultural sustainable development in Tasmania.\n\nPhoto : Karen Choir Hobart - The Karen people are a culturally and linguistically diverse ethnic groupYear2017NationAustralia
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Online BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance traditions among the eight classical dances of India. It has its origin in the southern parts of the country. The art form has its beginning as a temple tradition and later evolved on to the proscenium stages. The history of Bharatanatyam is as vibrant as the cultural traditions of south India, especially Tamil Nadu. The sculpture, fine arts, music, and every other art tradition is interlinked with this age-old art form which successfully retains its significance until today.\n\nTraditional Bharatanatyam follows a seven-part presentation, which is called margam. The art form generally includes a solo dancer and musicians along with on or more singers. The music and vocal performance and the dance movements trace back to the ancient Natya Shastra, and many other Sanskrit and Tamil texts.\n\nThe solo Bharatanatyam dancer wears a dress that resembles a Tamil Hindu bridal attire. She wears a brightly colored sari, specially designed for the dance to accommodate the dancer’s movements. Her body is also adorned with jewelry—on her ears, nose, and neck that outlines her hair.\n\nGiven our current situation with COVID, much of world is going digital, and performing arts are also adapting. However, online Bharatanatyam sessions are offered by Aiswarya Lakshmi. The sessions allow participants to have a similar learning experience from a mentor or teacher. Having gotten her Bharatanatyam training from the prestigious Kalakshetra Foundation, India, her sessions follow the dancing and teaching methods of the school. The focus on the Bharatanatyam vocabulary and basics of dance textual traditions will sculpt a participant into an artist themselves and a better connoisseur of classical Indian arts.\n\nFor further information, send Aiswarya Lakshmi a message at lakshmi.aiswaryaa@gmail.com\n\nPhoto 1 : Dear All, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, India\nPhoto 2 : Handful of Flowers, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, IndiaYear2021NationIndia
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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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Intangible Cultural Heritage Project in Tonga"This report focuses on where Tonga stands in regard to the 2003 Convention in terms of achievements and challenges faced since the second sub-regional meeting that was held in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, in February 2011.\nTonga has signed two conventions—the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention. There is no doubt of the benefits received from signing these two conventions. The State Parties are experiencing the same problems related to westernisation, globalisation, and migration, and we have to act professionally in trying to maintain, preserve, develop, and promote our traditional cultures; otherwise, our traditions will drift away from us, leaving nothing for the next generation. Hence, the transmission of skills from one generation to the next generation is one of the vital activities to adopt through formal, non-formal, and informal education.\nThe two main education outcome objectives that guide us in performing our tasks in the Ministry of Education, Women’s Affairs are to \n1. Preserve, maintain, support, promote, and integrate Tongan values, culture, and language into all educational programmes and activities\n2. Improve universal basic education and post basic education through curriculum development that includes culture, gender, ICT, language policy, sports, technical vocational education and training skills, life skills, and life- long learning\nThese are the activities that have been done or are being undertaken during the 2011 and 2012 financial year in relation to implementing the 2003 Convention at the national level:\n• Second Sub – regional network meeting held in Tonga, February 2011;\n• Initial discussion related to the field survey project with ICHCAP\n• Completed National Cultural Policy, August 2011\n• Signed Joint Project Agreement between Tonga and ICHCAP, October 2011\n• Completed Phase One of the Joint Project Agreement October – December 2011"Year2012NationTonga
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Cambodia’s ICH Chapei Master Transmits Public Health MessagesIn Cambodia, ICH is deployed for the transmission of important public health messages. One of the traditional functions of Chapei Dang Veng artists in Cambodian society is to convey important news and information to the community. Today, Master Kong Nay honors this tradition while amplifying his reach through social media.\n\nThe 75-year-old Master Kong Nay, one of the rare great masters of the Chapei Dang Veng, sings about hand-washing and social distancing and other COVID-19 safety tips.\n\nIn 2016 the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage approved the granting of financial assistance totaling US$230,000 to Cambodia for the urgent safeguarding of Chapei Dang Veng, a musical tradition that features a lute (a chapei) accompanied by the performer singing. There are only two surviving great masters of the chapei, but they do not practice it actively because of their age. The safeguarding plan submitted by Cambodia, in consultation with artistic and educational organizations, includes the training of chapei teachers, fellowship programs for young masters, as well as a festival.\n\nphoto 1 : Chapei instruments ready for blessing at the Buddhist ceremony Pchum Ben © Catherine Grant\nphoto 2 : Chapei Dang Veng artists in Cambodian ⓒ Cambodian Living ArtsYear2020NationCambodia
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Cooperative Measures for Festivals in the Silk Roads RegionBased on the notion of culture as a complex multi-layered phenomenon, we admit that some cultural elements or expressions may fluidly migrate and adapt to different local settings, not necessarily or exclusively serving as a marker of an ethnic identity. Moreover, an emerging concept of shared cultural heritage allows us to disclose positive potential for joining efforts in safeguarding and enlivening the cultural heritage of the people. Connecting various national and local cultures along the Silk Roads aims exactly at gaining the joy of sharing the values, wisdom, creativity; at nurturing mutual interests and empathy among cultures and people; and at searching for common threads across the rich multitude of manifestations of cultural heritage of a vast region. The joint initiative by ICHCAP and IICAS to launch the Silk Roads ICH Networking Program needs support and actions by the wide range of stakeholder organizations and groups. Two options might be considered for a Silk Roads ICH Festivals network—either establish its own training program, capitalizing on the European Festivals Association’s experience or—cooperate with EFA on arranging a special edition of their Festival Academy focused on ICH and open for young managers from within the new network.Year2020NationSouth Korea
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FOLKLAND INITIATIVES FOR SAFEGUARDING TOLPAVAKOOTHU TRADITIONSFolkland, International Centre for Folklore and Culture is a nonprofit NGO devoted to promoting folklore and culture. Headquartered in Kerala in south-western India, Folkland has three main centers and several chapters in India and associations with other organizations abroad through MOUs and collab-orative partnerships. Folkland has been affiliated with the UNESCO ICH sector since 2010. Folkland envisions a society that respects cultural heritage by conserving arts and cultural traditions and transmitting them to future generations. As such, Folkland is proudly dedicated to promoting Indian culture and values with a focus on intangible cultural heritage. The center provides access to knowledge and information about intangible cultural heritage and is known for promoting indigenous culture that inspires audiences to explore the cultural and artistic heritage of Kerala. The main domains covered by Folkland are performing arts; oral traditions and expressions; social practices, rituals, and festivals; and traditional crafts. Folkland documents oral traditions and practices and extends training to younger genera-tions to revitalize old and near-extinct traditional art forms. One ICH element of particular interest to Folkland is tolpavakoothu (shadow puppetry).Year2016NationSouth Korea
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Onathallu, the Martial Art Game of Central KeralaOnathallu, a martial art form of central Kerala, India, specifically on the banks of the River Nila, started as a form of entertainment for the upper castes, especially the rulers. Also known as kayyamkali, it means a martial exercise using hands. It is performed on festive occasions to show the strength of a group or village. It started as martial exercise for the soldiers who were part of the military troupe of a local landlord or king. In the old days, it was practiced in the courtyards of tharavadu (a big house where the landlords used to live). It then slowly started appearing in local festivals, adapting few steps and methods from the ancient martial art form called Kalari Payattu.\n\nOnly few artists are available to take the legacy forward; their attempts to do that bear positive results nonetheless, as young people have been inducted into training sessions. Since it requires mental and physical strength, only trained performers are allowed to participate in the show. It normally takes three to four years to become a good performer, depending on the speed and mental strength of the performer. During the initial years of the performers’ career, their opponents are from the same team or the asan (master) himself. They are allowed to select their opponents if they have enough maturity.\n\nChayikkaran (referee) controls the entire show. Traditionally, aged and experienced players take the role of the chayikkaran. The chayikkaran should know a few immediate tricks and treatment methods in case of emergencies during the show. Before they start the performance, the masters and chayikkarans bless the performers. These days, onathallu is performed only during the Onam season as a cultural show.\n\nPhoto : Onathallu demonstration © Vinod NambiarYear2018NationIndia