Materials
milk
ICH Materials 176
Videos
(13)-
Mongolian traditional folk long song
Urtiin Duu is a traditional form of musical expression of the nomadic Mongols. As the slow pace, wide-ranging melody and poetic, philosophical text of the songs express values instilled by the vast, peaceful natural landscape where the nomads live, the Urtiin Duu can be considered as a manifestation of the nomadic spirit, while its composition and performance are directly associated with cycles of the nomadic lifestyles. It serves as a variety of cultural functions, in occasions for social gathering, entertainment and artistic production, community rituals such as weddings, new ger warming feasts, birth of a child, the completion of felt-making, the production of the first airag (fermented mare’s milk). Mongolian long songs are classified in three major styles: Aizam urtiin duu (rhythmic long song), Jiriin urtiin duu (typical long song) and Besreg urtiin duu (short long song). Urtiin Duu-Traditional Folk Long Song was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.
Mongolia -
Benediction
Benediction is a powerful expression of the miraculous capacity of words. It is one of the genres of Mongolian oral poetry that uses melodies. Benedictions propitiate people’s future happiness and well-being through skillfully composed and recited poems. It is unique in a way that minstrels sing the benediction completely from memory, and also by adding their own versions of words or improvising totally new verses to fit particular situations or events. By the invitation of people, a person who knows the order of feast and ceremonies well and mastered in the benediction and its melody says the benediction with use of the holly silk scarf, milk in the silver bowl, and Airag in bowl. The benediction is oral poetry which contains a beginning, main part and ending part.
Mongolia -
Kosrae (FSM) ICH: Local Food Preparation
Local Food preparation refers to process of harvesting through subsistence, the tools created for food preparation (such as that of fafa), and the preparation itself involves many people working together. Preparing fafa is important for many special occasions and is only carried out by men with clean hands; therefore, the men cannot have another job which would be considered unclean. Fafa comes in many different forms, including fafa fiti (pounded taro balls with a toasted coconut sweet sauce) also called sranomtuh (the pounded fafa with the sugarcane mixed with coconut milk), erah (pounded soft taro with banana and coconut cream fat solidifies around making a thin shell), srono kutak (srono-piece or part of it, kutak is soft taro, pahsruk is hard taro, it is a type of fafa that does not require water, hard working fafa, not mix. It’s difficult to pound and is very sticky), suklac (type of fafa made of bananas and taro and is purple in color), fafa spirit, also known as fafa ngun (spirit, like a ghost, something translucent and you cannot really see), fafa pot, likasringsring, among others (refer to sarfert). Some food preparation is according to the moon calendar. For example, planting and harvesting any crops during full moon is the best time. The texture of the soil is ideal during this time. Sometimes even the first three days of full moon. Torch fishing or molok (an animal for eating) is best done during full moon.
Micronesia 2020 -
Sakosakodrauna, a dessert from Nabuna, Koro, Lomaiviti, Fiji
Sakosakodrau, a dessert from Nabuna village, Koro Island, Lomaiviti, Fiji. \n\nThe SAKOSAKO DRAUNA is a food tradition expression by the Naduruvesi sub-clan in Nabuna Village. It is a food dessert made from dalo (Colocasia esculenta) and coconut milk. The uniqueness of it is such that the dessert have a whole green dalo plant, the root of it is cooked while the whole plant is still in its raw state and uncooked.
Fiji 2018 -
Jamu: Divine Panacea from Nature
Jamu is a traditional medicine used in Indonesia. It is made primarily with natural ingredients such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves, and fruits, sometimes mixed with animal products such as honey, royal jelly, milk, and egg. Jamu originates from two ancient Javanese words, djampi meaning "medicine" and "healing," and oesodo meaning "health." Jamu is used all across Indonesia but most prevalently in Java. In large cities, sweet, refreshing drinks that contain bitter jamu and honey or palm sugar are sold on the streets.
Indonesia 2019 -
Khar-phued: The First Offering Ritual
The people of Drangmaling-Nangar village in Tsamang Gewog, Mongar Dzongkhag in the eastern district gather every two years to perform Khar-phued. Literally, dairy product; milk, curd, cheese, butter, etc. were used as offerings. In other words, Kar means "wheat", Phued means "offering" - it is the offering of the first wheat harvest. \n\nKharphu is a Bon ritual festival used to pay homage to local deities and ensure the well-being of the community, its households, livestock and crops. Kharphu is celebrated from the 26th day of the fourth month to the 2nd day of the fifth month according to the Bhutanese calendar. \n\nThe village elders trace the origin of this ancient festival to the days of the creation of earth and sky (sachag namchag), as they do not know the exact century of origin or when it was held. The program and its components have been entirely preserved and passed down through oral tradition. This includes the ritual nightly exchange of songs that extends throughout the week. Apparently, this festival is in great danger of being lost in the modern cultural landscape.
Bhutan 2021 -
Coaxing ritual for camel calves
The coaxing ritual is used by herders to save newborn camel calves orphaned or rejected by their mothers, and to avoid the loss of vital camel milk. A camel mare is coaxed into accepting an orphaned or estranged calf by the singing of a melody accompanied by the morin khuur horse-head fiddle. This handling technique helps the survival of newborn calves and maintains the mother’s lactation. The renowned Russian poet Sergei Yesenin once said that “It is indeed undoubted that Mongols could make the camel cry with the melody of khuur (fiddle)”.
Mongolia -
Custom of cutting the child’s hair for the first time
There is a tradition to celebrate the customary event for cutting the child’s hair for the first time, and it is called differently such as “urevleg urgeeh”. Mongols do cut the boy’s hair in his 3 and 5 years old and girl’s hair in her 2 and 4 years old. The most respected (with compatible year sign) person or guest touches the child’s hair first with wooden knife. Accordingly, a bundle of hair is cut off with scissors with honorary scarf tied to its handle. A cup of milk is given to a child for taste, a bit of milk is applied to the child’s forehead and the well-wishing words of benediction are chanted. While the child goes around the guests from right to left, the guests cut off pieces of hair. Every one of them gives well-wishing words and presents.
Mongolia -
Kymyz—Traditional Beverage of the Kyrgyz People
Kymyz, a traditional Kyrgyz beverage, is made of fermented mare’s milk. It was first prepared and used by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia and Mongolia. The earliest found traces of kymyz are from Neolithic period (some 5,500 years ago). Found in the valley of Suusamyr other relics were goatskin leather bags with traces of mare’s milk, indicating the presence of kymyz.\n\nKymyz preparation was kept secret by nomads for centuries. The mare’s milk is stored in animal skins called chanach that were firstly cleaned and smoked over a fire with pine or other coniferous branches to give the drink its unique smell and taste.
Kyrgyzstan 2017 -
Traditional technique of preparing the dairy products
"\nMongolian traditional food is adjusted to the condition of the nomadic way of life. It is divided into milk or white products, meat or red products, and vegetable or green products. During summer and autumns, Mongols prefer to consume various different dairy products from milk of five livestock animals. Dairy products are generally produced by boiling, fermenting, distilling, brewing, extracting, separating or drying. Traditional food is dairy products, meat and green food or grain. Mongols do “Airag” from the mare’s milk, and do milk skim, youghurt, aaruul (oblong), with and orange eezgii, tsagaan tos (derived from the skim), tsorom by milk from sheep, goat and khoormog and aaruul from camel milk. Additionally, smoking, drying and preserving the meat from goat, cow and camel for making borts and shuuz. In addition, khorkhog, boodog, buuz and khuushuur and various different meals are made from sheep, goat and meat from hunting. \n"\n
Mongolia -
Mare milking ceremony
This is the ceremony of labor, which happened when the baby foal grown well and enough milk comes as a result of the good weather. In other words, this is the ceremony that symbolize the growing of horse and animals and having much more airag (fermented mare’s milk). There is a custom to celebrate the occasion of fermenting mare’s milk with a feast, which is held within three days of the tethering. The ceremony is celebrated for the means of summoning prosperity to receive plenty of growth of horse herd, the abundance of airag (fermented mare’s milk) and other dairy products and blessing the newborn animals. During the ceremony the proceedings of tethering the foals, milking the mares, ritual of milk libation, recitation of milk libation and anointment, and sharing the ceremonial mutton and mare milking feast are carried out alternately.
Mongolia -
Traditional Technique of Making Airag
Traditional Technique of Making Airag\nThe occasion of fermenting a mare’s milk is celebrated with a feast that is held within three days of tethering foals. The ceremony is held to summon prosperity, to encourage horse herds to multiply, to wish for an abundance of airag (fermented mare’s milk) and other dairy products, and to bless newborn animals. During the ceremony, the proceedings (tethering foals, milking mares, holding a milk libation ritual, reciting milk libation and anointment, and sharing the ceremonial mutton and mare milking feast) are carried out alternately.
Mongolia 2017