Cecilia V. Picache is the Senior Tourism Operations Officer of the City Tourism and Development Office (CTDO) of the City Government of Imus, Province of Cavite, Philippines. Before joining CTDO in 2020, she was in charge of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Program (2008-2017) and the National Living Treasures Award Program (1993-2014) of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. For 24 years, she carried out fieldwork among ethnic groups in the Philippines. She earned her B.A. in Journalism and M.A. in Cultural Heritage Studies (magna cum laude) from the University of Santo Tomas. She was a research fellow of the Asia Cooperation Program on Conservation Science of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Korea in 2010.

Balay ni Atong (literally “House of Atong”) currently houses the Study Center for Traditional Handwoven Textiles of thenNorthern Philippines. The center aims to document and reproduce an extensive collection of antique and vintage weavesnand blankets. Balay ni Atong showcases handwoven textiles done on traditional wooden looms by llocano artisans usingnweaving techniques passed on through generations.

Tao Foundation For Culture And Arts, Inc. runs diverse education programs with traditional music of the Philippines and tries to harmonize voices from bearers, professionals, and various stakeholders for transmission.

Save The Ifugao Terraces Movement

Save The Ifugao Terraces Movement

▶ Play Video 1. The World of a Maguindanao Virtuoso: This episode was first aired on Filipino television on August 18, 1994. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nThe Maguindanao (Magindanaw, Maguindanaw, Magindanao, Maguindanaon, Magindanaoan, Mindanao) form one of the large ethnic groups of the country. Most of the members are concentrated in the municipalities of Dinaig, Datu Piang, Shariff Aguak, and Buluan, in the province of Maguindanao.\n\nConstant contact with the Spaniards led to naming the entire island after the Maguindanao. The people practice Islam; their culture and social structure are deeply tied to this eligion, forming a conformity without which the group would not have been able to resist the incursions of the Spanish conquistadores. One of the three Philippine sultanates is aguindanao. The Maguindanao sultanate at one period in history could claim ritual authority over southwestern Mindanao. Their socio-political system and the hierarchical structure of their society are complex and similar to that of the Sulu sultanate.\n\nThere are three royal houses: Maguindanaon in Sultan Kudarat, Buayan in Datu Piang, and Kabuntalan in Tumbao, all of which trace their lineage to Sharif Kabunsuan, one of the earliest Muslim missionaries, and Sultan Kudarat. Customary law (adat) is applied, embodied in oral traditions and in accordance with the Paluwaran code, which contains provisions for very aspect of life.\n\nThe culture is characteristically lowland with a special adaptation to marshland, and wet rice is the staple food. Arts and crafts are well developed, exhibiting sophistication in eaving. Through waste mold technology metalwork and with the double-bellows Malaysian forge, they produce a wide range of bronze artifacts including betel-nut boxes, gongs, knives, racelets, and even the Southeast Asian cannon, the lantaka. The lantaka is not used just in warfare, but also as a prestigious status symbol.\n\nTheir ornamental art employs very characteristic design motifs that show affinity with the rest of Southeast Asia while retaining a distinctive ethnic identity. Their musical nstruments include a unique crocodile-motif version of the ubiquitous two-stringed lute, the kutyapi; the kulintang, which comprises eight brass gongs of graduated sizes; and the very large and deep agong, as well as various drums and flutes. Their music is characterized by drone and permutation.

▶ Play Video 5. Ang mga Banal na Krus ng Mayo\nThis episode was first aired on Filipino television on June 6, 1996. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nConsidered to be the largest of the Filipino ethnic groups, the Tagalog are concentrated in the metropolitan area of Manila and spread out as the major population of nearby provinces, such as Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija. This is a highly urbanized group occupying the very well-developed regions of the country, where the centers of national government are located.\n\nThe national language is actually being built around Tagalog, which is now understood and spoken in other parts of the country. One of the oldest forms of the spoken language is called sinaunang tagalog, and used to be spoken in the municipality of Tanay, Rizal. During the introduction of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family of anguages, it was pushed northeastward to the areas around the Zambales mountain ranges. Only a small group of Negrito at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo speak the language today.\n\nThe Tagalog are associated with all kinds of agricultural production, usually monocropping with rice as the main crop, silviculture, animal husbandry, and industrial production. They are also engaged in international marketing, politics, and foreign relations. They are equally adept at fish culture--both marine and freshwater--in man-made ponds and cages in waterways.\n\nThe kinship structure is essentially bilateral, with offspring considered linked equally to both parents, and inheritance following the same pattern, although in practice, it takes on a more cognatic nature. In the urban areas and where large properties are concerned, there is a tendency for a lineal distribution of wealth and property in the manner of corporations. Members of the group are involved in all sectors of government practice and in private institutions at the national and international levels. Such an advantage is reflected in the development of the Tagalog in contrast with other ethnic groups. Presently, however, with the development of infrastructure throughout the country, a larger portion of the population is now part of mainstream culture. The index of culture has leveled out within the group such that the subgroups are indistinguishable from one another, except in terms of spoken language.\n\nThe Tagalog are highly Christianized, with the majority belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and the rest dispersed in various homegrown sects, such as the nationalistic Aglipay and the Iglesia ni Cristo. Thus, much of the festivities are founded on Christian liturgy and belief systems.

As a UNESCO category 2 center, ICHCAP organized the youth ICH storytelling contest with the aim to support ICH safeguarding activities of young practitioners. Youth practitioners play an essential role, as ICH relies on direct transmission among community members. Their activities and involvement will hopefully contribute to raising awareness of ICH worth protecting.\n\nThis exhibition displays the twenty-nine winning works of the contest organized by ICHCAP. The winners came from ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, Vietnam, Nepal, China, and Bangladesh. The contest was held in two categories (Young Practitioners and General Youth) for Asia-Pacific youth aged between 18 and 35. The winners shared their own stories as young practitioners in the form of an interview or essay or told stories about ICH they met in their everyday lives or on their travels. The entries were submitted in the form of photo essays or videos, and the descriptions are available both in Korean and English. Videos are provided with English subtitles.\n\nThis online exhibition covers various ICH elements, including traditional dance, crafts, art, music, martial arts, medical practices, and native languages. And instead of simply explaining such heritage, the youth reflected their insights, voices and passion in their stories about the history and culture of the people and communities they met and the safeguarding and transmission of ICH.\n\nMoushumi Choudhury, the Grand Prize winner in the Young Practitioners category, shared her story of becoming the first female Chau dancer by breaking the glass ceiling in the predominantly male dance genre in India. Saurabh Narang, the Excellence Prize winner in the General Youth category, was fascinated by the Siddis in India, which is an ethnic group of African origin, after he first heard of their existence from a man he came across while travelling. Maya Rai (Nepal), who learned about crafts and education from her two mothers, is now working at the Nepal Knotcraft Centre. Tiancheng Xu (China), who learned acupuncture from his father who was an acupuncturist, is currently studying how to introduce robotics and digital technology to acupuncture at university. Their stories will help the viewers have bright expectations about the roles and possibilities of the future generation for ICH safeguarding and sustainable development.\n

ICHCAP, in collaboration with UNESCO Bangkok Office, held the Intangible Cultural Heritage Webinar Series from June to August 2020 with a total of four sessions. The 23 speakers from 18 countries met with the public to grapple with alternative practices and emergent modes of delivery in various areas such as heritage education in the universities, networking amongst educational institutions for ICH safeguarding, development of ICH curricula in times of crisis, as well as inter-regional cooperation for cross-cultural instruction and learning.\n\nWhile the entire world is struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19, the ICH sector also has been hit hard by numerous public health measures such as the cancellation of major festivals and events, temporary shutdown of museums, and places of cultural activities, as well as the indefinite halting of formal and informal heritage transmission activities. How can ICH safeguarding and transmission thrive in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, and what role can higher education institutions play to ensure the viability of living heritage in our times? ICHCAP organized this webinar series to answer these urgent questions that we all face today.\n\nIn the first session of the ICH Webinar Series on 18 June 2020, we looked into the state of ICH safeguarding in the region, attending to how it has been conditioned by the pandemic and how various activities have been reshaped in order for them to maintain their purpose while also considering the protocols observed to curb coronavirus transmission.\n\nPresentation1 UNESCO Online Survey Results on Living Heritage Experience and the COVID-19 Pandemic by Juliette Hopkins, Living Heritage Entity, UNESCO\nPresentation2 Reviving the Living Landscape System of Lai Chi Wo for Urban Sustainability by Anna Yau, Project Manager, The University of Hong Kong\nPresentation3 Living Heritage Experiences in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore by Yeo Kirk Siang, Director, Heritage Research and Assessment, National Heritage Board of Singapore\nPresentation4 Disaster as Opportunity by Christopher Ballard, Professor, The Australian National University, Australia\nPresentation5 Te-er/Tengao: The Significance of the Compulsory ‘Rest’ Day of the Bontoks in Mt. Province in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic by Eric Zerrudo, Professor, University of Santo Tomas University, Philippines

Paglami-lamihan Soundscapes 1: Music by National Living Treasure Uwang Ahadas and the Ahadas Family Ensemble  Performed on the eve of the wedding when the pangantin, either the groom (pangantin lella) or bride (pangantin dende), is fetched from his or her house and brought to the groom or bride’s house where the ceremony will be held. The groom or bride will then leave his/her house and spend the night at a relative’s house. This will be performed again the next morning when it is time to fetch the groom or bride from the relative’s house. Played solo using two agung (lagnaan and laboan).  Performed by Uwang Ahadas on agung (lagnaan and laboan)

Paglami-lamihan Soundscapes 1: Music by National Living Treasure Uwang Ahadas and the Ahadas Family Ensemble  Traditionally played on the eve of the wedding to entertain guests as well as to accompany the pamansak and tumahik (war dance) performances.  Performed by Uwang Ahadas (kwintangan tumbaga), Nursima Ahadas (gandang), Sanira Ahadas (agung), anad Halim Ahadas (sulanting)

The 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.\n\n<Music by National Living Treasure Uwang Ahadas and the Ahadas Family Ensemble>

The 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.\n\n<Music by National Living Treasure Uwang Ahadas and the Ahadas Family Ensemble>

Pagdaloy, Flow of Life \n(2015 NCCA-ICHCAP Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials)\n\nThe National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture.\n\nIn 2015, ICHCAP supported the NCCA in digitizing around five hundred hours of analogue content through the Digitization Project of ICH-related Analogue Audiovisual Materials. Some of materials representative of traditions of Philippine ethnic groups were chosen and reproduced as Pagdaloy, flow of life in eight DVDs and two CDs, so they can be enjoyed by more people.\n\nThe videos contained in the collection come from Travel Time, a weekly travelogue that aired from 1986 to 2015 in the Philippines. The TV travel show provided detailed information about minority groups in the country. The NCCA, the project operator, was not only engaged in the digitization of analogue materials but also provided support throughout the production process, contributing to giving more people the opportunity to access valuable ICH materials.\n\nICHCAP Collection IV includes stories of eight Philippine ethnic groups in the Philippines. The story collection comes in a book format, with the DVDs depicting each of the stories. The two CDs feature music used for rituals, feasts, and farming. The collection also features music played by Uwang Ahadas and his family ensemble; Ahadas was named a National Living Treasure of the Philippines. The last page of the collection features a map indicating the areas the ethnic groups inhabit, to help audiences better understand the ethnic groups.\n\nICHCAP 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 Philippine 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 38 is 'Funeral Ceremonies and New Beginnings.'

ICHCAP, together with the Digital Heritage Lab, Graduate School of Culture Technology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, organized an international seminar entitle “Protecting the Past for the Future: Digital Documentation as One of the Imperative Tools for Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage,” 20 July 2019.\n\nThe seminar consisted of three sessions: the first covered the archiving and visualization of intangible cultural heritage; the second focused on digital documentation methods for tangible cultural heritage; and the third discussed the challenges faced by Korea in establishing cultural heritage-related digital data.