Materials
traditional musical instruments
ICH Materials 216
Videos
(28)-
2. Case of Kyrgyzstan: Influences and Effects of ICH Festivals on Local Communities
The ICH festivals in the Kyrgyz Republic are a great way to safeguard the cultural heritage. Kyrgyzstan has a rich ICH and embraces all ICH domains including the oral traditions andexpressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive event, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship. Festivals feature various ICH domains such as arts and crafts, cuisine, folklore, felt, hunting with birds, horse games, etc. For instance, the festivals Kyrgyz Shyrdagy and the Oimo International Festival are held with the aim of safeguarding and popularizing traditional knowledge and skills of handicrafts, for safeguarding and promoting traditional games, various birds of prey festivals are held, such as Salbuurun and Kok Boru. Moreover, festivals are dedicated to safeguarding oral traditions, such as Aitysh, the art of improvisation as well as many other festivals reflecting traditional cuisine, folklore, etc.
South Korea 2020-11-18 -
Gamelan: A Sound That Beats with the Heart
Gamelan is the generic term for traditional instrument ensembles found throughout Indonesia. The history and complexity of gamelan are comparable to those of the symphony orchestras of Europe. Gamelan ensembles consist of various instruments, mainly percussion. Gamelan music runs the full gamut from fast, powerful dynamics to slow, meditative, and quiet set pieces. \n\nThe drummer leads the gamelan orchestra as there is no conductor nor musical score. Gamelan is played widely on a variety of important occasions, such as weddings, celebrations, national events, and holidays.
Indonesia 2019 -
Thailand - Khon Masked Dance
Khon masked dance is the most iconic of Thai masked dances. It is characterized by impressive visuals that span various genres of art, from the elaborate embroidery on the costumes to highly detailed props such as masks and swords made by master craftsmen. Traditionally, Khon masked dance was performed only in the royal court and enjoyed by male members of the royalty. It is performed by over 100 masked dancers, a narrator who explains the plot of the play, a large piphat (traditional Thai musical ensemble comprising string instruments and percussions), and a chorus.\n\nThe content and theme of the Khon dance is based on the Ramikien, a Thai adaptation of the Ramayana (2nd century BC), one of the two major Indian epics. According to the Khmer dictionary, the word ‘khon’ means role play. Dancers act out the narration silently. Major characters include the prince (the hero), princess, giant and monkey. Only the giant and the monkey wear masks. As the dancer’s every movement has to fit the role perfectly, Khon dancers have to be trained from a very young age.\n\nCharacteristics:\n· Representative masked dance of Thailand\n· Performed by male dancers in the palace\n\nPerformed by Insawang Suphachai\nDirected by Insawang Suphachai
Thailand Nov 26, 2010 -
Uwang Ahadas - A Yakan Virtuoso
▶ Play Video 8. Uwang Ahadas A Yakan Virtuoso\nCourtesy of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Executive Committee\n\nThe Yakan inhabit the island of Basilan just off the southern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula of western Mindanao, particularly in the municipalities of Tipo, Lamitan, Sumisip, and Tuburan, and the islands of Sacol, Malanipa, and Tumalutab east of Zamboanga. The Yakan belong to the widespread Sama group, and their culture has become too specialized to be distinguished as a distinct group.\n\nThe Yakan’s language is closely related to the Sama, but their culture is more land orientated rather than the sea based. Agriculture consists largely of upland rice, although copra is also widespread. The main religion is Islam with syncretic elements from traditional and indigenous beliefs.\n\nThe Yakan are well-known for their elaborate dress, which is similar for males and females. For instance, both wear trousers. Noteworthy articles include the kandit, a fifteen-meter-long red sash worn by men, and the pinantupan, the women’s overskirt. Textile weaving done on the backstrap loom is much sought after, especially because of the intricate and beautiful motifs. The Yakan is one of the few groups that use tapestry loom producing the sophisticatedly woven pis syabit (headscarf for men) and seputangan (head cloth for women).\n\nThe Yakan have a rich musical tradition based on the pentatonic scale. Their musical instruments are usually made of bamboo, wood, and metal. The daluppak is a digging stick with a bamboo clapper. The kopak-kopak is a bamboo clapper on a stick. The kwintangan kayu is a percussion instrument consisting of five wooden beams suspended horizontally. The ends of the beams are tapered, and these are beaten. It is associated with planting and played to enhance plant growth. The wooden tuntungan is a suspended wooden ercussion plank with jar resonators, played with a pole during the harvest season for the purpose of giving thanks. The gabbang is a bamboo xylophone with five bars. The suling is a bamboo mouth flute used by men in courting. Another used by men to express love or admiration is the kulaing. The kulintangan or kwintangan consists of five bronze gongs arranged according to size and used during celebrations. The agung is a large deep gong used in ensemble performance.
Philippines 1996 -
Am wat
Am wat is a solo instrument of the indigenous people called Bunoong in Mondulkiri province that has been around for a long time. This instrument is made up of a long necked gourd, 6 bamboo poles, about 1.5 cm in size and about 30 to 50 cm long. This instrument belongs to the group of high wind instruments. For the production of this instrument, players can make their own, because the instrument is convenient and available locally. This traditional musical instrument can be played by musicians without any specific occasion which means it can be played for entertainment purposes too, but they have to choose a specific song for a specific occasion. In the past, people used to play Am Wat in the morning to wake their children up, but now there are very few people who can use this instrument.
Cambodia 2022 -
Katta Ashula
Katta ashula is a vocal direction, a song genre typical for the Ferghana Valley, in which peculiar style and manner of singing is observed. It is performed by two or more singers in turns and without accompaniment of musical instruments. Katta Ashula is characterized by laconism (in means of expression), expressiveness (in music language), dynamism (in melodic development) and bright emotionality. Its figurative structure (or style) is closely connected to the traditional (classical) poetry of lyrical and philosophical nature. And ghazals of Navoi, Lutfi, Mashrab, Khazini, Muqimi, Furqat, Zavqi, Miskin serve as main poetic texts in this genre. Though, since the XX century the poems of contemporary Uzbek poets (such as Sobir Abdulla, Charkhi, Chusti, Akmal Polat, Khabibi, and others) as well as examples of folk poetry have been widely used. In terms of subject matter katta ashula songs can be divided into love-lyrical, didactic, religious and contemporary ones. The origins of katta ashula genre should be looked for in ancient folk-ritual chants, songs of "praise" (such as marsiya, navkha, ayolgu), agriculture- and labor-related songs with their original combination of recitative-declamatory beginning and chanting; and in distiches of ghazals (ghazalkhonlik), written in aruz prosody. Performance with high-pitched voice, existence of culmination parts, clarity of words for and their impact to the listeners – all these are features of this type of song. Katta ashula has several genres, such as “Yovvoi maqom” (“Yovvoi Ushshoq”, “Yovvoi Chorgoh”),"Yovvoyi asula" ("Yovvoyi Tanovar", "Yovvoyi Munojat"), "Yakkahonlik" ("Ohkim, gulzorim qani topmadim").\nNotably, the emergence and development of Katta ashula genre is closely linked with existence of corresponding performance schools, which stand out with their style of interpretation, manner of singing and bearers. From among katta ashula performance schools it is possible to mention Qoqand, Margilan, Andijan, Namangan and Tashkent performance schools.
Uzbekistan -
Gong Boun
The Gong khle or Gong Boun (four gongs) is a traditional instrument of the indigenous people, Bunoong living in Mondulkiri province. This instrument is performed for the purpose of entertaining during festivals or other occasions in indigenous villages. This form is in danger due to the lack of transmission. In response to the current situation, the Provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts has been implementing a number of activities to support the promotion of indigenous peoples’ culture living in Mondulkiri. \nThe instrument is made of copper mixed with silver with a specific measure by the experts. These musical instruments are inherited from their ancestors and they do not know whether other indigenous groups play these instruments. Today, they cannot afford to produce it themselves.\n
Cambodia 2022 -
Pleng Chaiyam (Chaiyam Music)
Pleng Chaiyam is lively, funny and captivates the audience's attention. This music is played to celebrate in many festivals and events.\nChaiyam musical instruments include 5, 7, and 9 long drums (may be more or less as possible), and other traditional music instruments such as one or a pair of Krab, one or a pair of Chap, one Gongmong (as a rhythm giver or so-called master) And sometimes there are Cheong and Tro to support as well. For the costume, men are wearing Kben, Sontaes shirts, using different bright colors with a scarf around their waists. Most of the characters wear funny face masks made of paper. Sometimes there is also a female character holding Chap to accompany the dance. There must be a man dressed as a woman if there is no woman.\nMany festivals are held at pagodas, so each pagoda always has a Chaiyam band.\n
Cambodia 2019 -
Jor/Htaung Tayaw (Upright Violin)
Yamanay or Mahorgani wood is used to make Htaung Violin (Upright), one of Mon traditional string musical instruments. Its scroll is curved into the shape of Kainnayi or Hintha birds. There is an endpin under the lower bout. When playing 3-stringed Mon Htaung violin, the instrument is upright and leaned against the player's body. It is played with a bow which is made of horse hair. The first string is tuned to NgaPauk (Fifth Note), the second string to ThanHman TaPauk (First Note), and the third string to LayPauk (Fourth note). The strings are made of silk or nylon. There is no fret on its finger board, and it must be played by pressing the strings with the fingertips from up to down. It can play the scales of flat and sharp notes.\n-29 inches in length\n-5.25 inches in height of body
Myanmar 2014-07-02 -
Khatku Wunpawng Sumpyi (Khatku Flute)
In 1950, a man, named Paw Shwun Hla Phu,from Sa-non-bon Region, was the very first person who played this flute to express his grief over the death of his beloved wife. With the passage of time, he was able to seek solace and later he played flute in his village. It was so pleasing that he was requested by the reverend priest U Down Phaung Non to give a performance in the church on February 3, 1952, and in Galoun Tahtaung Church for the second time on March 2. On April 6, 1954, his performance was titled Wunpawng Sumpy is. When the chieftain Duwar Zawsai heard his playing, he was asked to entertain. They awarded him for his great performance. Later, Wunpawng Sumpyi flute was played together with gong and two other traditional musical instruments and Wunpawng Sumpyi orchestra was formed.\nBamboo grows in the wild in hilly region, which must expose to the sunlight, is used to make this flute. A total of six holes are perforated on this bamboo stick. The second last finger hole is seal up. It is played by blowing into mouthpiece and by opening and closing of the finger holes on the flute. Western music also can be played with this flute. The flute sounds Key C. It is played in some special events such as new year festival, campfire festivity, harvesting festival, housewarming ceremony and wedding ceremony.\n-1 feet 5 inches in Length\n-1.5 inches in Circumference\n-1.5 inches in Distance from mouthpiece to the top\n-6.5 inches in Distance from mouthpiece from the first finger hole\n-2.5 inches in Length from the top to the last finger hole
Myanmar 2014-08-13 -
Wunpawng Sumpyi Palwei (Flute)
In 1950, a man, named Paw Shwun Hla Phu, from Sa-non-bon Region, was the very first person who played this flute to express his grief over the death of his beloved wife. With the passage of time, he was able to seek solace and later he played flute in his village. It was so pleasing that he was requested by the reverend priest U Down Phaung Non to give a performance in the church on February 3, 1952, and in Galoun Tahtaung Church for the second time on March 2. On April 6, 1954, his performance was titled Wunpawng Sumpyi. When the chieftain Duwar Zawsai heard his playing, he was asked to entertain. They awarded him for his great performance. Later, Wunpawng Sumpyi flute was played together with gong and two other traditional musical instruments and Wunpawng Sumpyi orchestra was formed.\nBamboo grows in the wild in hilly region, which must expose to the sunlight, is used to make this flute. A total of six holes are perforated on this bamboo stick. The second last finger hole is seal up. It is played by blowing into mouth piece and by opening and closing of the finger holes on the flute. Western music also can be played with this flute. The flute sounds Key of C. It is played in some special events such as new year festival, campfire festivity, harvesting festival, housewarming ceremony and wedding ceremony.\n-1 feet 5 inches in length\n-1.5 inches in circumference\n-1.5 inches in distance from mouth piece to the top\n-6.5 inches in distance from mouthpiece from the first finger hole\n-2.5 inches in length from the top to the last finger hole
Myanmar 2014-07-25 -
Circular breathing technique of the Limbe performance
The Limbe is a side-blown wind instrument, mostly made of hard wood or bamboo. It is considered as one of the valuable traditional musical instruments among Mongolians for its unique technique and characteristics such as hidden tune associated with circular breathing, and its performing techniques of skilful and delicate movements of fingers and tongue. The "Circular breathing" is a great achievement of nomadic Mongolians derived from their creativity, result of the exploration and necessity of their daily life. The origin and development of circular breathing is closely bound up with the skills and knowledge of ancient craftsmen or metalsmiths who specialized in gold and silver. Early Mongolian craftsmen used circular breathing techniques for crafting various decorative and ornamental items including valuable jewelleries.
Mongolia