Yohor, a singing round dance of the Buryat ethnic group in Mongolia, the Buryat Republic of the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China (Shineheen Buryats), is a complex synchronized expression of poetry, melody, and movement. Yohor is performed in the traditional manner with vocal singing and the modern way with playback music. Elders generally opt for the traditional way and have rich repertoire on Yohor songs. They say that the old way of singing is very important in the traditional way of dancing Yohor and that song can also affect the way of dancing.\nthe Yohor dance reflects a cultural uniqueness and a unity of Buryat people in three countries. Separated because of a long history and complicated political situations, Buryat people’s culture, tradition, and language changed. The Buryat language, an official dialect of Mongolian, has already been included in the category of severely endangered languages by the 2010 UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. With this language loss, the number of elders who know the song narratives and old Yohor song repertoire are decreasing, and this brings the Yohor dance under the risk of disappearance as its complexity of song and movements but also of language. The annual and biennial cultural festivals, such as Altargana, Yohor, Night Yohor, and Global Yohor, show how Buryats have been trying to revive the traditional culture and art for long time. Even though, the collective memory and living experience of Buryat people is under the risk of disappearance due to rapid modernization and globalization with language loss.

The Yap State Historic Preservation Office (YSHPO), located in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), operates under the Department of Youth and Civic Affairs of the Yap State Government and has a regular budget funded by the local government and the National Park Service (NPS) and the United States Department of the Interior (DOI). YSHPO also receives occasional funding assistance for projects, technical or capacity building, and training and workshops from esteemed regional and international organizations—such as UNESCO, ICHCAP, and CRIHAP—and various national governments, including those of Australia, France, United States, and the FSM. YSHPO also collaborates and networks with other regional organizations, universities, and other bodies. To name a few, they include the University of Oregon, the University of Guam, Queens College, La Trobe, and others by conducting field schools in Yap during academic breaks.\nYSHPO has five main functions: 1) collecting Yapese written and oral history, 2) registering and surveying cultural and historical properties, 3) inventorying and mapping cultural and historical sites and properties, 4) restoring and rehabilitating cultural and historic properties, and 5) performing general YSHPO administration, including NPS/DOI Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The organization also occasionally assists and supports the operation of the Yap State Living History Museum. Of some related projects, ICHCAP has funded three in Yap: 1) Youth Meets ICH with OurYAP, an umbrella youth organization for all the youth clubs, including high school children in Yap State, 2) the Preliminary Survey on Dormant ICH Data in the Pacific with a mixture of project workers from the Waab Cultural Heritage Society (elders) and some young people along with YSHPO staff, and 3) the 2017 ICHCAP-YSHPO Joint Cooperation Project for Safeguarding Intangible Heritage by Digitizing ICH-Related Analogue Data of the FSM, which is still ongoing.

To provide artisans with the opportunity to realize their creative capacity, and to insure that craft traditions remained genuine cultural heritage, Judy Frater began a design education program for artisans in Kutch. In 2005, Kala Raksha Vidhyalaya opened its doors to artisan students: traditional weavers, ajrakh printers, bandhani artists, and embroiderers, with no further prerequisites of age or formal education.\nIn 2014, the year-long program evolved and expanded to Somaiya Kala Vidya. In six two-week intensive residential sessions spread over a year, artisan students learn to innovate within their traditions. nThe most innovative tool that we use in our design classes is simply to present problems to solve. We also draw on local traditions and teach as practically as possible. In effect, the design course re-imagines traditional systems in an appropriate contemporary form. Master artisan advisors teach students about traditions, as children once learned from elders; weavers, printers, and dyers learning together revitalizes the inherent interdependence in traditional textiles; and interface with urban markets reinvents direct contact with hereditary clients.\nAfter design education for artisans in Kutch reached its goals, Somaiya Kala Vidya is scaling out their approach to other regions. Keeping cultural heritage as the foundation, they intend to teach design within regions, drawing on local language and culture.

The element is practiced in traditional wedding ceremonies, inherited from ancestors, commonly in Fataluku Ethnic and other neighborhood, located in eastern part of the country. Seleleo-Seo/Kosok-Koso is a kind of dowry agreement expression between the family of groom and bride within community. This practice is used to make the dowry negotiation between families in an attractive and interactive atmosphere.\n\nPeople in this community believes that Seleleo-Seo/Kosok-Koso is an important practice in wedding ceremony therefore to make family to be moreblessed and to strength the family ties.

Ayghyr kosu is a rite succeeding the milking. Young men lead stallions (ayghyr’s) out and keep them in check until women take milk away with them. Then the bridles are taken off and the stallions join their herds.\nKazakh spring horse-breeding rites mark the end of the old and the beginning of the new yearly horse-breeding cycle. Rooted in the traditional knowledge of nature and in the millennia-aged close relations between man and horse, these rites involve skills inherited from the nomadic ancestors and adapted to the present day reality. The festive rites compiles of the triade: (1) .‘Biye baylau’; (2) ‘Ayghyr kosu’; and (3) ‘Kymyz muryndyk’.\n‘Kymyz muryndyk’ (metaphorically, ‘initiation of koumiss’) is the 'first koumiss sharing' rite, opening a season of its making and drinking.

I am Alina Tamrakar. I am an architect currently working in documentation and restoration of heritage structures affected by the massive earthquake of 2015. I belong to Newa community who are the indigenous people of Kathmandu valley. Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal. Born and raised in a typical Newa family who has always put rituals and tradition in the first place, I was always very connected to the cultural heritage of Kathmandu. As I grew up being part of the festivals and rituals, there were always numbers of questions running inside: why do we celebrate these festivals, what is the story behind it, who initiated the traditions and so on. After the devastating earthquake took down so many monuments, some of which carried centuries-old history, it gave me time to reflect on the rich knowledge and skills that our ancestors held and handed it down to our generation. It also explained how tangible and intangible heritage are interlinked with each other. Also, a realization that there is still so much to learn from our heritage and to pass on to the next generation.\nAmong 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. The procession starts from a traditional courtyard called “Piganani” in Maru, near Kathmandu Durbar Square. Piganani is the centre point of the location where Tamrakars initially settled in Kathmandu. Every day for the month of gunla, the community of around 20- 25 (on Saturdays and holidays the number increased to around 50 attendees) start the procession from Piganani at 5:30 am and visit the Swayambhu stupa and come back to Piganani and end the tour at around 8:00 am. On holidays, the team takes a longer route covering other major Buddhist monasteries, chaityas and stupas on the way. During the procession, the devotees and practitioners cover a distance of 6 kilometres.\nUntil three years back, I used to take part in the procession just as an audience listening to people reciting the scriptures and watching the team of young members playing the drums and cymbals to play devotional gunla music. Three years back, I enrolled as one of the practitioners and started taking part in the procession. I came to know that earlier, women were not allowed to play musical instruments in the gunla procession, but only take part as devotees. However, as time passed on, the society opened the doors for women as well. In today’s time, there are a huge number of women practitioners who have taken the initiative to be a part of the team.\nThe tradition of playing gunla music, according to local experts is thousands of years old practice. As much as this musical tour is interesting, it is equally full of knowledge regarding our culture and tradition. Such practices of cultural heritage are not only a matter of pride that an individual or the whole nation takes in but also a major affirmation that such huge collection of knowledge, skill and accomplishment that our ancestors have developed are being transferred to the next generation. Apart from carrying on the tradition, it is also very necessary that we understand the depth of each of these practices in order to keep the tradition alive in the long run. It is equally necessary that we know where our roots lie while we soar up to reach the sky. This is only possible when youths take the initiative to participate in these practices and talk about the “why”, “what” and “how” while they do so.\nDuring Gunla procession different traditional musical instruments are played. “Dhā” and “Nayo khin:” are drums played on one side by bare palm and with a wooden stick on the other are the main musical instruments played during the procession. The small cymbals called “tā” give the beat to the drums and big cymbals and trumpets are played along. For the first time, starting this year, flutes have also been added to the band. The music performance begins with “Dyo lhayegu”, which is a small introductory piece played in order to invoke the “Nāsa dya”, a deity of performing arts. There are separate pieces especially played depending upon the time and place in the procession. For example, the piece played while revolving a chaitya or stupa is different from a one played while beginning the procession.\nThe practice session for each year, begin one or two months prior to gunla month. Anyone who is capable of learning to play the instruments is eligible to participate. The members of Tamrakar community enrol their younger ones once they are ready to take part, while people from other communities are also welcomed to participate in learning and later take part in the procession. The practice sessions take place each evening in the courtyard of Piganani where a guru, a teacher takes a lead in taking music classes. In addition to a regular teacher, the elders in the Tamrakar Gunla Baajan community also offer their presence as well as their knowledge so that the learners get all the support they need. The sessions are one of such encouraging steps that the elder generation in the Tamrakar Gunla Baajan Khala take that make sure that the centuries-old tradition of playing gunla music is safely being transferred to the next generation.

There are many forms of weaving and many items which can be woven on Kosrae. These include the weave mat (kiaka otwot), fan (pal), basket (fotoh), thatch on the ridge of the roof of a house using coconut fronds (sraho), fahsuh (weaving thatch roof using Nypa palm used only), among others. Kosraean warp-striping weaving may be considered unique among weaving cultures due to its complexity. \n\nThe Kosraean word for weaving depends on the item being woven. There exists a variety of woven items which served as currency, reinforced family ties and other relationships, as well as honor. In some cases, a chant may be shared to ensure a girl’s future in weaving. In the past and on contemporary Kosrae, weaving can be found in the preparation of food baskets for funerals, fishing baskets worn on waist of women fishing in the lagoons, loom-weaving for belts (tol), thatch roofing, hats, and cordage for example. \n\nThere can be at least three known types of baskets important in food preparation: fusanie, in the form of a star and used in storing fafa, (2) usanie kapiel or fusanie sa nu which is a larger form of the previous one and woven from young coconut leaves, and (3) kuumpäl which is a kind of basket with handles made of coconut fronds and named after the woven plate. Weaving served not only a function but can be considered a marker of the past. One particular kind of cord can be called nosunap, named after the god Nosunap (also spelled Nasrunsiap or Nazuenziap). \n\nKosrae used to be one of the largest consumers of sinnet cord, suggesting significant movement. This is consistent with oral histories collected in the recent past which connected Kosraeans all the way to Satawal and Puluwat. Among the most common materials for weaving, banal fiber, hibiscus, and pandanaus stand out as the materials of choice. The preparation for each material depends on the item to be woven. While banana fibers may be most common, the hibiscus fiber is easier to dye. Dyes for strands of weaving materials may come from terminal leaves, certain types of mud, and mangrove calyx (black), turmeric (yellow), banana suckers (blue), or marinade citrijolia (red). Of these colors, red was the most prized. The preparation of weaving materials can be lengthy, depending on the plant. The hibiscus fiber needs soaking in sea water for several days while the banana fibers need to dry in the sun and then each fiber is separated into thinner strands. Elders on contemporary Kosrae continue to practice weaving for it serves many uses.\n\nCarving : Carving in Kosraean culture is carried out by the mukul (men). They carve many items, including tok yot (stone fafa pounder), tok sak (wooden pounder for taro and banana for a dish called ainpat), tah (an axe for cutting breadfruit), fuhfak (for wooden handle of an axe used for firewood), oak (canoes), tuhp in fafa (wooden tray shaped like a boat used for presenting fafa), and mwe ahryahr (wooden spoons of many types including long or short or flat ones). The laklak (outrigger of a canoe) is another item which needs to be carved. Carving of toys and wooden sculptures. Oars that are carved along with the canoes.\nBuilding Local House : There are many kinds of houses which can be built using Kosraean methods, including in um (a cooking house), imun oak (canoe house), and iwen monglac (local resting house). Building a local house has always been a community effort, even today; although, of the heavier work is done by the mukul (men) and the weaving for the thatch on the roof is carried out by the muhtacn (women). The mukul will go into the forest to obtain materials from the forest and sometimes from mangroves, depending the type of wood needed for a particular type of house. There are five main sizes of wood needed to build a house and ten parts of the house requiring these five sizes of wood. The sru (posts) are the largest size and heavy. Moving them may be accompanied with a work chant which serves as motivation in lifting, moving, or pulling of the heavy objects. The next size includes kaclacp, lala, and ohl. The kaclacp and lala supports the ohl, which sets the height of the house. The next size wood is used for pokwuhsr (trusses). The next size smaller is used for sahkpahsr (rafters) and folo (beams). The smallest size are for the kwesrihk which is only for thatch roofing (it is where the thatch can be attached) and sukunum which is placed to support the thatch from the bottom. Cutting down the trees is according to the Kosraean moon calendar as is moving the logs from one part of the island to another to use the logs. Paksak (literally, floating of objects) refers to the right time to move the log from one place to another using rivers or channels. This is dependent on the tide. This practice existed because transportation was not available during that time so they usually cut down these big logs and used the chant to get the log to the shoreline and then move the log in the process of paksak to its new location.

The traditional musical instruments of Myanmar were prominent throughout the nation’s history. The instruments were developed as early as the Pyu Era, Bagan Era and many were dominant features of music during the Innwa Era and Konbaung Era.\n\nWhile some of these instruments have been preserved and are used today, others have been lost to history.\nIn an attempt to preserve the traditional musical instruments of Myanmar, the Ministry of Culture displayed traditional instruments and distributed the books about the instruments during an exhibition in 1955. This research shows thirty-three kinds of instruments. Moreover, in a 2003 celebration of traditional instruments, the Ministry of Culture exhibited over two hundred traditional instruments at the national museum.\nWhile the instruments on display were representative of many regions and states, many instruments were not included.\nBecause of this lack of full representativeness, additional research through field studies is required. This project proposal addresses this need.\n\nTo create a preliminary basis towards developing a national ICH inventory of craftsmanship and performing arts of traditional musical instruments in Myanmar. To safeguard ICH related to the craftsmanship and performing arts of traditional musical instruments and to promote cultural diversity among multi- ethnic groups in Myanmar. To raise awareness of the Myanmar public on the importance of ICH. To expand networking and information sharing between Myanmar and Korea.

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

According to statistics data of 2009, Phù lá ethnic minority had over ten thousand people, mostly living in Lào Cai. Phù lá ethnic minority lives in different small hamlets, each of which usually has between ten and fifteen roofs. The Phù lá lives in a region with many other ethnic minorities, such as Hmông, Dao, and Tày. The village elders or chiefs and family heads have a significant role in managing most affairs in the hamlets. The Phù Lá still preserves their traditional culture with the important annual rituals, such as the Lunar New Year (Tết Nguyên Đán), Holly Forest Worship Ceremony (Cúng thần rừng), the July Festival (Tết tháng bảy), the new rice festival at the beginning of October (tết cơm mới đầu tháng 10), Naming ceremony for baby (đặt tên con), funerals (tang ma), etc. Forms of folk music in the lives of Phù Lá people has not been much collected so far. The musical piece “A happy tune” is a solo for a string instrument meant to entertain Phù lá people. This is one of the few Phù lá recordings. It was recorded by the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in 1959.

Dafa Bhajan originated with the Jyapu community of the Newar caste in the Kathmandu Valley. It is usually performed when people gather in their local temple either in the morning before breakfast or in the evening after dinner. Nowadays, Dafa Bhajan is rarely played, and only by Jyapu elders.\nInstruments: pachhimaa, khin, babhu, khwalimali, baansuri

The genre Lý is a common performance genre across all three regions of the country, although it could be the most popular in the Southern region. Pétrus Ky, a renowned Vietnamese scholar, once mentioned the saying “Southern region has lý, Huế region has hò, Northern region has thơ.” (Nam lý Huế hò Bắc thơ) as it points out how lý is a specialty of the Southern locals. In reality, lý not only has its mainstream popularity but also achieved a high level of craft and essence in traditional culture and professional life of the Southern region.\n\nNam Bộ (Southern Vietnam) is the area resides on the south side of Vietnam, including six provinces in the East and 13 provinces in the West. On a geographically level, the land of Nam Bộ is a stable region, in contrast to its cultural environment that is constantly changing and evolving.\n\nNam Bộ is home to various ethnic communities, such as the Việt people, the Kh'mer people, the Chăm people, the Hoa people, the Châu Ro people, the S'tiêng people, the Mạ people...And so, this has created a legacy to Nam Bộ folk performances and culture on this land. However, project "Phong hoa ca vịnh" only limits to the performance traditions of the Viet people, specifically the genres of ru, hò, and lý.\n\nFrom what was described about the early 20th centuries, it is evident how Nam Bộ art performance scene has rapidly transformed. No longer the time where lovers freely conversing their hearts by the rivers, all has sank into oblivion. Even the ru melodies have stopped lingering on the mother's lips, lost within the memories of her children. Culture and its nature of constantly evolving have opened up a contemporary cultural space that can response with today's society. The cyberspace, despite being "unreal", but it's meaningful enough to create an environment that filled with the poetry of ru, the melodies of lý, the bustling groove of hò - Where they have gathered a range of humanly emotions.\n\nThe songs (Lý) is like a river that flows with affection, where it carries the messages of the elders of Nam Bộ. Lý has the capacity to exist independently, express through it's performance nature. We can get to observe lý when it comes to themes about the many faces and complexities of life. It's like a reflective mirror on all things, events, ideas, and affections that come from humans, from the birds, the trees, the flowers, the river, the ferry, the bridge, the moon,...Every visual images and invisible sentiments are inhibited within those songs and lyrics.\n\nResearch by Mr. Le Hai Dang\nTranslated by Ms. Ha Hoang Minh Trang

This selection is about the history of navigation between Satawal and Woleai atolls. It shows how difficult it is to navigate between islands and how some people went missing during expeditions. It also features the history of traditional chants composed for log pulling. These were sung when native Yapese pulled big logs to build a canoe or traditional Yapese houses.

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'.

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 6 is 'ICH AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS'.