Among the Newa community, Tamrakars are one of such communities, who follow Buddhism. Gunla is one of many festivals celebrated in Kathmandu valley. It is the tenth month in Nepal Sambat lunar calendar, in which devotees from all around Kathmandu valley visit Swayambhu Stupa that is also one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. The festival of Gunla last for one whole month. In addition to this, devotees also take a visit to different Buddhist courtyards called Baha-bahi and other stupas and chaityas. The devotees in the process recite Holy Scriptures and play devotional gunla music. Music groups from different communities take part in the procession. Like other numerous communities, Tamrakar community also has the musical group named “Tamrakar Gunla Baajan Khala” who have been taking part in playing gunla music and reciting Holy Scriptures from time immemorial.

Master Nurak Abdrakhmanov (1947-2014) remained in the memory of modern Kyrgyz as a great composer, performer, and master of making the instrument. He began searching for his komuz teaching system back in the Soviet period when he worked as a music teacher in Ak-Talaa Village in the Naryn region. He was not satisfied with the formal education programs used in the schools. Master Nurak learned early on that that the European twelve-note system did not cover the musical subtleties and possibilities of komuz, saying that the system reduces what is possible with komuz in thirty ways. Master Nurak believed that learning komuz in a traditional and cultural way helps with learning how to play komuz more quickly and easily.

The Koryo Saram living in Uzbekistan are descendants of Koreans who resettled from Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in Russia to Central Asia around 1937. However, unlike the majority of Korean diaspora communities that were formed through voluntary migration, the Koryo Saram of Central Asia were forcibly resettled as a consequence of political decisions. And as a result the Koryo Saram who settled in Central Asia faced huge challenges adapting to their new geographical and sociocultural environment, and as ethnic minorities these challenges were intensified. The establishment and growth of the Korean diaspora community of Uzbekistan took place within this context. nOf the post-Soviet activities to safeguard and transmit intangible cultural heritage, the efforts of the Koryo Saram dance troupes deserve special mention, especially with the somewhat recently established Samjiyeon Dance Troupe, Asadal Dance Troupe, and Koryo Dance Troupe under the Central Koryo Saram Culture Association of Uzbekistan (Koryo Association). Established in 1998, Koryo Dance Troupe is the oldest of the three while the Samjiyeon Dance Troupe and Asadal Dance Troupe were established in 2014 and 2015, respectively. With the exception of Koryo Dance Troupe, young people (in their twenties and thirties) head up these troupes and the dancers are in their teens and twenties. Key activities of all the troupes include both dance education and performance.\nThese Koryo Saram dance troupes perform at various events, including the traditional Koryo Saram festivals of Chuseok (a harvest holiday) and Seolnal (Lunar New Year), and thus play a central role in the continued transmission of intangible cultural heritage. The dance troupes also perform at events alongside various other ethnic groups, promoting the Koryo Saram community’s place within Uzbek society as an ethnic group with a unique and honorable heritage, living harmoniously with its neighbors.y of Uzbekistan took place within this context.

Jaggery (Htan Nyat) is a very important sweet delicacy in Myanmar. A boiled toddy palm sap (Htan Yee), its color ranges from yellow to brown. Toddy palm tree (Htan Pin) grows especially in the rural area of the central dry zone of Myanmar such as Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing Regions. Jaggery production is a traditional production in most villages in Kyauk Pa Daung, Myin Gyan, Taung Thar, We Laung, Ye Sa Gyo, Pa Kok Ku, Meik Ti La, Poppa, Bagan, and Nyaung Oo township. Other growing areas of toddy palm tree (Htan Pin) are located in lower Myanmar such as Tha Nin Thar Yi and Ayeyarwady Regions, as well as Dawei, Yebyu, and Thaton Districts.

The Rai communities of the eastern hills of Nepal celebrate the Siruwat festival during April and May, on the Nepali first full moon day of the year. Siruwat is celebrated to mark the season of plantation, also called dhule puja, which means worshiping the earth or soil. It is believed that the deities travel to the Himalayas after they are worshiped to avoid the summer. The festival is also called Ubhauli, referring to deities’ movement towards the upper hills/Himalayas. Every Rai household practices this ritual. Deities are offered eggs, alcohol, chicken, water, and freshly harvested rice. There is a belief that if people do not perform this ritual, they will get sick and go mad. Therefore, even people who live far away or are traveling make efforts to return to their village to perform this ritual.

Tholpavakoothu is a form of shadow puppetry unique to central Kerala, in southern India. It is performed in permanent temple theatres as a form of ritual primarily honouring the Goddess of Bhadrakali. It enacts the Hindu epic Ramayana in a version based on the Tamil Ramayana of Kambar. A highly flexible narrative allows a typical cycle of Tholpavakoothu to extend between seven and twenty-one nights, depending on the performance commissioned and sponsored locally. After remaining largely unknown to the West, until the twentieth century, recent scholarship has established its ancient beginnings, while also highlighting the absence of a detailed account of the art in performance over centuries of its existence.\nMr. Vipin V was born into a traditional family with a rich historical background. With his father for Guru/ teacher, he started a dedicated study of Pavakoothu. He soon achieved extraordinary skills in all aspects of the art form within a short span of time. It is believed that Chinnathambi Pulavar who lived 2000 years ago was the first prominent performer of Tholpavakoothu.

Ali Haleyalur of Lamotrek Island, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia, is one of the few remaining people with the knowledge and skills to journey long distances on the open ocean in traditional voyaging canoes without using modern instruments. He and the small community of palu (Carolinian master navigators) alive today learned this wayfinding knowledge through years of apprenticeship with the master navigators throughout the Caroline Islands of Micronesia. Customarily, the knowledge and practices required to navigate over what can be treacherous waters have been passed along to only a few select descendants of ancestral lineages that have protected the valuable practice for thousands of years.\nNavigation between the small inhabited islands continues to be a valuable practice that helps islanders sustain clan ties and obtain resources for survival. Traditional navigation is also seen as a vital form of intangible cultural heritage since it is a distinct facet of many Pacific Islander cultures and identities. Unfortunately, however, the knowledge and practices associated with traditional navigation are disappearing rapidly mainly because modern technologies and lifestyles make it much more difficult for palu to find young apprentices. With only a handful of master navigators still alive today, it is crucial to find new ways to safeguard this precious cultural practice.

Lkhon khol of Wat Svay Andet continues today because of its significance in the community’s beliefs and identity, but over the last decade it has been experiencing difficulty. Despite of having some support from the state, NGOs, and the community itself, the troop has faced some challenges, such as the lack of dance costumes, ornaments, masks, stages, and musical instruments. Furthermore, the number of performers has been gradually decreasing due to aging and a lack of natural talent, and the younger generations show little interest since the performances generate no income and they are busy with their studies or working.\nTraditionally, the lkhon khol is transmitted orally within a family and through informal, master-apprentice relationships. Community leaders, masters, and the temple patriarch also encourage younger generations to learn lkhon khol skills to ensure that the art form remains part of the community’s living cultural practice.\nApprentices have historically learned their preferential skills at their masters’ house at night, a time they were free from their agriculture work. While the same practice continues, recently amateurs are learning their art skills in groups during the day on Sundays or occasionally Thursday at the temple compound.

Thundukuna is a special mat woven from reeds indigenous to the marshlands of Maldives. The reed is locally known as hau. Mat weaving from hau dates back some two hundred years, and this long history is mostly associated with the southernmost atolls. Thundukuna is a genuine Maldivian product, as everything that goes into producing the mat is indigenous and locally procured from our natural habitat. In this respect, the most basic things like the threads holding the reeds in place are made from the sea hibiscus bark. The eye-catching, environmentally friendly, nonfading mats are made from the local flora’s bark and roots. Before the introduction of cheap factory-made nylon mats into Maldives in early 1970s, thundukuna enjoyed a special place in most Maldivian households. These mats adorned the coir rope stringed beds, swings, and boduashi. Gaddhoo kuna, a superior quality mat woven by Gaddhoo islanders, is a favorite of the rich.

The Tharu people, who predominantly cover the east to west region of southern Nepal, have always worshiped nature and natural resources. These have been a significant part of their livelihood, contributing to their culture, economy, and ecology. Tharu women have age-old basket-making and weaving practices with vegetation and raw materials available in the area. The majority of these women are engaged in continuing this craftsmanship. While the history of basketry is not well documented, it is believed to have started from a primeval age, being an integral part of the community’s sustainability. Since there is no direct evidence on how these baskets have originated, we rely on mythological tales. One story tells us that a woman named Jasu taught a man, Ishu, how to irrigate the land during the human civilization. She also taught basket making and other forms of crafts, which is how it has been able to be passed down through generations.

The Kurava community migrated from Tamil Nadu and settled along the banks of the Nila River where they followed mat weaving traditions for many generations. Unfortunately, because of low financial returns and scarce raw materials, the community to lost interest in traditional weaving, leaving only one practitioner, Mr. U. Chami, who took the tradition forward for many years through the Killimangalam Weaving Cooperative Society. However, due to ill health at the age of 72, Chami left weaving behind. But before retiring, he taught traditional weaving skills to a non-native Kurava—Mrs. P. Prabhavathi. Today, Prabhavathi still holds Chami in high regard for his initiatives to train interested people, even those from outside the community. This willingness to train others laid foundation for the craft’s survival. For his efforts, Chami was recognized with the Master Craftsman Award by the Textile Ministry of India in 1992.

Muragacha was once a puppetry hub. Renowned art director and the pioneer of modern puppetry in Bengal, Raghunath Goswami, during a visit to Muragacha in the early 1970s, had said that the village was home to the largest colony of puppeteers in the world. There were fifty-five families practicing puppetry as a livelihood at the time; the figure is just twelve today. String puppetry, rod puppetry, and hand puppetry have a long history in Bengal. Their styles and puppets are different. String puppets weigh less and are moved with thin strings. They are made with cloth, papier-mâché, and sholapith. Their height, at the most, is two feet. The stage for a show must be ten feet long, six feet wide, and three feet high, with three sides covered. The puppeteer teams are like families. Everything, right from the script to lights, costumes, and sets are done in clockwork precision.