Lord Rama(the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, ‘The Preserver’) is referred to as Maryada Purushottam(the most superior man who embodies both divinity and humanity). Known as Rama Navami, it is a great Hindu festival which falls on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra(March to April) and has been performed since time immemorial. The festival of Rama Navami is regarded as one of the five Mahavratas(great festivals). It is a festival to celebrate the performance of righteous duties, as well as being a ritual for marking attributes of victory of virtue over vice. It is also a day to mark his divine achievements which are an eternal source of ideal attributes for all humanity.

Lord Rama(the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, ‘The Preserver’) is referred to as Maryada Purushottam(the most superior man who embodies both divinity and humanity). Known as Rama Navami, it is a great Hindu festival which falls on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra(March to April) and has been performed since time immemorial. The festival of Rama Navami is regarded as one of the five Mahavratas(great festivals). It is a festival to celebrate the performance of righteous duties, as well as being a ritual for marking attributes of victory of virtue over vice. It is also a day to mark his divine achievements which are an eternal source of ideal attributes for all humanity.

Folk Dances of Nepal_Ghatu Naach\n\nPerformer: Unknown\nDate of Recording: 1994\nCaste: Arya-khas\nCollector: Ram Prasad Kadel\n\nNepalese communities express their emotions through the rhythms of various folk dances. Folk dances, in fact, are an inseparable part of rural life. On the other hand, the religious influence can easily be observed in the songs and dances, which are often performed to please deities responsible for the well-being of humans and cattle, favorable climate, and good harvest. As the country has widely differing topographical features, so does it have vast variances in cultural aspects. Folk songs and dances depend on cultures, cas-tes, seasons, and geographical features. For example, a sherpa living in the Himalayan region sings and dances differently from a Tharu living in the Terai region. Similarly, songs and dances performed in the spring season express joyous emotions, whereas those performed in the winter season express sadness. This collection includes the most famous folk dances of the different indigenous communities of Nepal dwelling in various environments. These dances are a part of their daily life.\n\nThis ghatu naach was danced in the village of Kabilas in the Chitwan district. Ghantu naach is performed by the Gurung communities of western Nepal. This dance is performed by young girls known as ghatusari during the Chandi Purnima festival. The dance is also a worshipping of Goddess Chandi, one of the forms of Goddess Durga. The male priest, known as the ghatuguru, first worships the goddess and starts songs. Then ghatusari start dancing with their eyes close and reach an unconscious level.

Folk Dances of Nepal_Deuda Naach\n\nPerformer: Unknown \nDate of Recording: 1995 \nCaste: Damai \nCollector: Dan Bahadur Nepali\n\nNepalese communities express their emotions through the rhythms of various folk dances. Folk dances, in fact, are an inseparable part of rural life. On the other hand, the religious influence can easily be observed in the songs and dances, which are often performed to please deities responsible for the well-being of humans and cattle, favorable climate, and good harvest. As the country has widely differing topographical features, so does it have vast variances in cultural aspects. Folk songs and dances depend on cultures, cas-tes, seasons, and geographical features. For example, a sherpa living in the Himalayan region sings and dances differently from a Tharu living in the Terai region. Similarly, songs and dances performed in the spring season express joyous emotions, whereas those performed in the winter season express sadness. This collection includes the most famous folk dances of the different indigenous communities of Nepal dwelling in various environments. These dances are a part of their daily life.\n\nThis folk dance was performed by artists from the Kalikot district in the mid-western region of Nepal. The deuda dance is usually performed in a group of either a single gender or both. This dance is performed on special occasions, such as rice transplanting, rice harvesting, at festivals, wedding ceremonies, and many others. The leader of this dance starts songs and the others repeat and dance in a circle.

On 12 and 13 November 2020, ICHCAP and the ICH NGO Forum virtually held the 2020 ICH NGO Conference entitled “ICH and Resilience in Crisis.” The fifteen participants, including eleven selected presenters from ten countries around the world, discussed various cases and activities of each country applied under the Corona-era, and proposed solidarity for the resilience of ICH for a ‘New Normal.’\n\nSession 1: In the Vortex: COVID-19 Era, Roles of NGOs to Safeguard ICH\n\nSpecial Lecture 1: 'Resilience System Analysis' by Roberto Martinez Yllescas, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Mexico\n1. 'Uncovering the veil of immaterial cultural heritage towards and autonomous management of well-being as well as cultural and territorial preservation' by Carolina Bermúdez, Fundación Etnollano\n2. 'Holistic Development Model of Community-Based Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yuen Long District in Hong Kong of China' by Kai-kwong Choi, Life Encouraging Fund \n3. 'Indigenous Knowledge System as a vector in combating COVID-19' by Allington Ndlovu, Amagugu International Heritage Centre\n4. 'Enlivening Dyeing Tradition and ICH: The initiative of ARHI in North East of India' by Dibya Jyoti Borah, President, ARHI\n\nSession 2: Homo Ludens vs. Home Ludens: Changed Features COVID-19 Brought\n\n1. 'The Popular Reaction to COVID-19 from the Intangible Cultural Heritage among Member Cities of the ICCN' by Julio Nacher, ICCN Secretariat, Algemesi, Spain\n2. 'Innovation for Arts and Cultural Education Amid a Pandemic' by Jeff M. Poulin, Creative Generation\n3. 'Promoting Heritage Education through Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Kalasha Valleys of Pakistan' by Ghiasuddin Pir & Meeza Ubaid, THAAP\n4. 'Shifting to Online Activities: Digital Divide among the NGOs and ICH Communities in Korea' by Hanhee Hahm CICS\n\nSession 3: Consilience: Prototype vs. Archetype for Educational Source\n\nSpecial Lecture 2: 'Geographical imbalance: the challenge of getting a more balanced representation of accredited non-governmental organizations under the 2003 Convention' by Matti Hakamäki, Finnish Folk Music Institute\n1. 'Crafting a Post Covid-19 World: Building Greater Resilience in the Crafts Sector through Strengthening Ties with its Community’s Cultural System' by Joseph Lo, World Crafts Council International\n2. 'Arts and Influence: Untangling Corporate Engagement in the Cultural Sector' by Nicholas Pozek, Asian Legal Programs, Columbia University\n3. 'ICH in the South-Western Alps: Empowering Communities through Youth Education on Nature and Cultural Practices' by Alessio Re & Giulia Avanza, Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture\n\n

DVD2_NEPAL'S HEREDITARY MUSICIAN CASTES\n\nThe four hereditary musician castes of Nepal are Damai, Gandharba, Kapali, and Badi. The most visible of these are the Damai and the Gandharba musicians. The Kapali are temple musicians and the Badi are drum makers. Damai are required to play for the goddess of the ruling class and also to play at all types of ceremonies and rites of passage, such as weddings and Bratabhandha. They perform in a group known as a panchai baajaa, which is composed of nine musicians playing seven different musical instruments representing the five universal elements of earth, water, fire, air, and sky, of which all matter and living things are composed. The tyamko represents earth, the damaha represents water, the jhurma represents fire, the dholaki represents air, and the narasingaa, sahane, and karnal represent the sky. Panchai baajaa music is believed to keep the elements in balance and harmony and to result in therapeutic musical healing. The Gandharba or Gaine caste musicians traditionally travel from village to village and door to door singing bhajan (hymns), songs from the great Hindu epics, and karkha (historical songs of heroes and bravery), but also bring news. They accompany themselves by playing saarangi.

“Bangari Bhaka” comes from the Rukum District of the midwestern region of Nepal. The melody is played on baansuri and is accompanied by machetaa. This bhaka is distinguished by the variety of rhythms played on the maadal, which guide the dancers' feet. It is traditionally heard during winter festivals.\nInstruments: baansuri, machetaa, maadal

This Newari caste song tells the story of a young Newar girl who would sing at every festival she attended. All her songs are about the natural beauty of Nepal's landscape - its rivers, mountains, and forests.\nInstruments: maadal, baansuri, maajiraa

CD1_HISTORICAL RECORDINGS FROM THE 1930S OF ARNOLD BAKE VOL 1: LULLABIES\n\nThe recordings by Dutch ethnomusicologist Arnold Adrian Bake in India in the 1930s and later are one of the earliest examples of what may be called “ethnographic” recordings. Arnold Bake and his wife Corrie spent a long time in Bengal but travelled all over India, recording the music, sounds, and other forms of intangible culture of the people. These recordings cover an immense range of music and recitations that are part of people’s everyday lives, such as work songs, devotional pieces, and ritualistic performances, and include a high number of women’s songs and cultural expressions. Bake’s first field trip was in 1925 and his last in 1955. During that time, he travelled not only to India but also to Nepal and Sri Lanka. Collections of Bake’s recordings are held in archives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Recordings from 1925 to 1929 were on cylinders, and those from 1938 to 1939 were recorded on a machine called\n\nTefifon. The collection that has been digitized for this project consists of the recordings made in 1938 and 1939. The Tefi recordings were transferred to spools and deposited in ARCE in 1982. During those two years, Bake travelled from Sindh, the Gujarat coast, to Kerala, and thus the recordings are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. There are also recordings made in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Thus, the selections presented on these albums are largely from the Southwest Coast of India. These recordings were chosen because they carry great historical value yet were not easily accessible until now.\n\nAn Album of Lullabies and Cradle Songs - Lullabies exist in every culture, as singing or making sounds to help children fall asleep is a universal phenomenon. In India, lullabies are also part of the life cycle ceremonies associated with the birth of a child. Thus, they tend to have an added ritualistic purpose. The themes sometimes include aspects of devotional music and might invoke the blessings of gods or refer to the childhoods of deities. Rituals that celebrate the births of gods such as Krishna often make use of songs composed in lullaby form and that may be sung to babies. The concept of an album of lullabies and cradle songs recorded in a part of India in the late 1930s may seem narrow. However, the recurrence of lullabies in Bake’s recordings raises some interesting questions. Did Bake consider them life-cycle songs? Were they everyday songs that people considered traditional? Many – if not all – the lullabies have meaningless syllables, which are perhaps intended to soothe the child. For example, the syllables jo jo seem to occur in Kannada and Marathi lullabies, and perhaps in other Indian languages.

CD2_HISTORICAL RECORDINGS FROM THE 1930S OF ARNOLD BAKE VOL. II: EVERYDAY SONGS\n\nThe recordings by Dutch ethnomusicologist Arnold Adrian Bake in India in the 1930s and later are one of the earliest examples of what may be called “ethnographic” recordings. Arnold Bake and his wife Corrie spent a long time in Bengal but travelled all over India, recording the music, sounds, and other forms of intangible culture of the people. These recordings cover an immense range of music and recitations that are part of people’s everyday lives, such as work songs, devotional pieces, and ritualistic performances, and include a high number of women’s songs and cultural expressions. Bake’s first field trip was in 1925 and his last was in 1955. During that time, he travelled not only to India but also to Nepal and Sri Lanka. Collections of Bake’s recordings are held in archives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Recordings from 1925 to 1929 were on cylinders, and those from 1938 to 1939 were recorded on a machine called Tefifon. The collection that has been digitized for this project consists of the recordings made in 1938 and 1939. \n\nThe Tefi recordings were transferred to spools and deposited in ARCE in 1982. During those two years, Bake travelled from Sindh, the Gujarat coast, to Kerala, and thus the recordings are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. There are also recordings made in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Thus, the selections presented on these albums are largely from the Southwest Coast of India. These recordings were chosen because they carry great historical value yet were not easily accessible until now. NB: The titles given by Arnold Bake have been retained. However, in the notes, places and names have been changed to reflect current designations – e.g. Canarese was changed to Kannada. Place names have also been modified to follow current spelling conventions.\n\nEveryday Songs - The everyday lives of people are what make up the core of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This selection includes rituals, work songs, devotional and religious songs, as well as common songs that express joys and sorrows. In addition to songs, some tracks include cries and noises, reflecting the wide variety of sounds that Bake recorded.

Precious Grops from Nepals Fountain of Folk Music \n(2016 MMN-ICHCAP Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials)\n\nMusic Museum of Nepal (MMN) is a non-governmental organization, founded in 1995 with the purpose of collecting, preserving and glorifying Nepali folk music and its related cultural heritage. There are more than 100 ethnic groups in Nepal, and each group has their own culture and traditions of marking every occasion and rite of passage from birth to death with music. MMN has recorded, documented and archived these ICH-related materials since many years ago.\n\nIn 2016, ICHCAP supported the MMN in digitizing around five hundred hours of analogue recordings through the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials. Some of the materials representative of Nepali traditions were chosen and reproduced as Precious Drops from Nepal's Fountain of Folk Music, so they can be enjoyed by more people.\n\nThe Nepali collection consists of eight CDs and two DVDs. The CDs have forty-six tracks of folk music played in religious events and festivals, and the DVDs feature ten videos on folk dances and musical performances of occupational caste musicians. Each CD contains photos and descriptions of folk instruments to provide a better understanding.\n\nThis project is particularly important as it resulted in restoring analogue recordings at risk of permanent damage and digitizing them to enhance their academic value and public visibility. ICHCAP hopes that this collection will enable not just researchers in the relevant fields but also the general public to learn more about and become familiar with Nepali ICH.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 2 is 'ICH AND LABOR'.

Recently, in early September, Hurricane Ida struck the Caribbean, and the Southern and Northeastern states of the U.S. caused catastrophic flooding, even the death of the people. Even Australian Bushfires, Cyclone Amphan hit Bangladesh and India, Volcano eruption in the Philippines in 2020 scratched the people all over the world. Mother nature makes human beings humble; however, we get the power from nature to overcome hardships at the same time. This volume mainly introduces traditional knowledge and oral traditions by focusing on who, what, and how with the Pacific Islands, Japan, India, and Thailand cases.