Originating from the worship of General Trần Công Bát at Cấm Temple, the Kin Chiêng Boọc Mạy Dancing and Singing Celebrations under Bông Ritual Pole is held annually by the Tai people in Xuan Phuc Commune on the 15th day of the first lunar month to express gratitude to their ancestors, heaven and earth, and gods, and to pray for favorable weather, a prosperous, peaceful, and happy life. The Tai people consider this a cultural and artistic activity of the community, so everyone in the village participates in full force. This ceremony usually lasts from 1 to 3 days and nights, to satisfy the spiritual needs of all classes of people in the village. The Bông Ritual Pole is the centerpiece of the festival, symbolizing the life of the village and nature. The most unique feature of the “Kin Chiêng Boọc Mạy” Festival is the singing and dancing under the Bông Ritual Pole. The Bông Ritual Pole is made of bamboo or bamboo, the Bông Ritual Pole flowers are made from mulberry trees, cassava trees, and tens of platforms with shapes of birds, animals, and production tools. Depending on the generation of the Mo family, the Bông Ritual Pole is made from 3, 5, 7 to 9 or 12 floors. Currently, the Bông Ritual Pole in the "Kin Chiêng Boọc Mạy" Festival in Roọc Răm village, Xuân Phúc commune is allowed to be 9 floors (meaning it has gone through 9 generations of Mo masters), with thousands of gerbera flowers from 30 to 40 petals. Each Bông Ritual Pole is compared by the people to a human destiny, each flower is a crop season. The festival is divided into two parts: The ceremony part is the spiritual rituals - the basic prayers told by the Mo masters about the story of establishing the village, establishing the village, praising ancestors, and those who have contributed. The person who plays the role of "God", plays the role of "Muong Troi" in the "Kin Chiêng Boọc Mạy" Festival - Singing and dancing to celebrate under the Bông Ritual Pole has borrowed the "power" of the god to teach people to do good things, not to do evil, and to love each other. The festival is a system of 26-50 performances performed by Shamans or "Shaman Guests" such as: chopping wood, farming, sword dancing, sweeping the house, people playing the khene... each performance has a god from Muong Troi participating (played by the Shaman). In addition, there is also the playing of traditional musical instruments: Gongs, bamboo flutes, drums, boong bu, khene, flute; along with folk games such as: Hat khap, jumping on bamboo poles, beating mats, tug of war, throwing con... and cultural and culinary exchange. All rituals and performances take place under the Bông Ritual Pole. The Dancing and Singing Celebrations under Bông Ritual Pole has the meaning of community consolidation, and has a high traditional education value in the community. Through this ritual, the entire life of the community is recreated, including production activities, behavioral culture, beliefs... creating a unique and distinctive cultural and artistic form. From the long-standing spiritual and cultural values, the "Kin Chiêng Boọc Mạy" Festival - Singing and dancing to celebrate under the Bông Ritual Pole of Roọc Răm cultural village, Xuan Phuc commune, Nhu Thanh district, Thanh Hoa province was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.

The art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/kamancha (“little bow”), a bowed string instrument, has exsited for more than 1,000 years. In Iran and Azerbaijan, types of this art constitute major elements of classical and folkloric Music. Classical Iranian Music refers to the urban music with “Radif” repertoir; the Folkloric Kamantcheh Music refers to the mainly rural musical traditions of Azarbayjan, Lorestan, and Torkaman Sahra. In both countries, contemporary practitioners mainly make and use four string Kamantcheh/kamancha composed of a body (chamber, neck and pegs) and a bow with horse-hair. Some Folkloric variants with two or three strings are also popular in Lorestan, Azarbayjan, or Torkaman Sahra, Iran(also, cf.D). Craftsmanship starts with choosing wood material. Craftspeople use walnut and/or mulberry for the body, and cornel for the bow. In Azerbaijan, only ball-shaped resonating chambers are crafted. Iranian communities produce the following resonating chambers/sound-boxes: 1-Pošt-baste(""closed in the back""):A hollow oval with sheep-skin; 2-Pošt-bāz(""open in the back""):A half-cone, with sheep-skin on one end. Craftspeople create a bowl and a round fingerboard, and unite them with an iron billow that ends up with a base shaft at the bottom. The chamber’s open side is covered with sturgeon, catfish, sheep or bovine bubble skin. They very often inlay the body with mother-of-pearl or other materials to express and mark different motifs and add their personal touch to the external decoration. In Iran, calligraphy, wood carvings, or inlayed jewels and shells are also practiced. The instrument rests on the base shaft and stands vertically on performer's lap or beside them; performers move the bow horizentally on the strings, and pivote Kamantcheh round the shaft to facilitate transfers on the strings. Kamantcheh/kamancha produces strong and subtle sounds, close to human voice with the sound diapason ranging from small octave ‘A’ to the third octave ‘A’. Players perform large works and etudes using various performing techniques, individually or as part folk orchestras. Generations of performers have left invaluable heritage of Kamantcheh/kamancha works, which are reproduced by young performers, adding their own playing dynamics and colouring. Transmitted from generations to generations at professional and amateur levels, within families or professional education institutions, this art brings together a large community of Kamantcheh/kamancha music lovers and listeners and continues to be a marker of cultural belonging.

Azerbaijan,Iran 2017

Wood carving is widespread in Kazakhstan as a traditional craft. The yurt’s frame is entirely made of wood, including the shanyrakh (cylindrical top part), uykh (poles that are embedded in the shanyrakh and fixed to keregeh, or greedwall) and sykhyrlauikh (doors). The internal furniture is made of wood as well. including abdireh or sandykh (chests), tosekaghash or keruet (bed), besyk (cradle), assadal (buffet), kebezheh (kitchen cabinet) and dastarkhan (low table). Kitchenware is partly made of wood, including kubyi (butter making jar), tegeneh (cups for kumis, fermented mare’s milk), ozhau (ladle), tostaghan (bowls), saptiyayak (water dippers), astau (bastau, a large plate for boiled meat) and tabakh (plate). As well, special wooden stands (zhukh ayakh) are carved for protection against humidity. Wood carving is also used for production of musical instruments, souvenirs and horse-saddles (yer). Wood carving is widespread in Kazakhstan as a traditional craft. The yurt’s frame is entirely made of wood, including the shanyrakh (cylindrical top part), uykh (poles that are embedded in the shanyrakh and fixed to keregeh, or greedwall) and sykhyrlauikh (doors). The internal furniture is made of wood as well. including abdireh or sandykh (chests), tosekaghash or keruet (bed), besyk (cradle), assadal (buffet), kebezheh (kitchen cabinet) and dastarkhan (low table). Kitchenware is partly made of wood, including kubyi (butter making jar), tegeneh (cups for kumis, fermented mare’s milk), ozhau (ladle), tostaghan (bowls), saptiyayak (water dippers), astau (bastau, a large plate for boiled meat) and tabakh (plate). As well, special wooden stands (zhukh ayakh) are carved for protection against humidity. Wood carving is also used for production of musical instruments, souvenirs and horse-saddles (yer). In forest-rich Eastern and Northern Kazakhstan, hardwood trees are used for carving, including red birch, maple, black or red alder, ash, nut tree, and oak. In Southern Kazakhstan, trees like elm, nut tree, pear, acacia, elaeagnus (djygyda), plane tree (chinara) are used for carving. As well, tree roots and knots are used. In South-East of Kazakhstan, elm, apple, nut tree, and buckthorn are usually used by woodcarvers. Table and chair legs, and some yurt parts are usually carved from pine, aspen or poplar. Other hardwood used for carving includes mulberry tree, and in softwood, juniper. Every wood carved product is decorated with ornament. Pattern and design of wood carved objects are also based on the balance of foreground and background, vertical symmetry, importance of central piece and border pattern. Traditional woodcarving includes several techniques and cuts, such as contour, relief and three-sided hollow carving. Relief carving is used for decorating chests, cabinets, doors, beds and kitchenware. Painted relief carving is used for decorating yurt doors and buildings of worship. Three-sided hollow craving is used for making geometric patterns. Cutout is mostly used for floral ornaments. To make dishes water resistant, they are soaked with boiled animal fat. Carved objects can be combined with paintings. Usually the background is unpainted, while the foreground is painted red, blue, green and yellow. Objects can also be decorated with inlaid bones, silver and other metals. Metallic details can be decorated with precious and semi-precious stones.

The element is recognized as one of the main elements of cultural and social identity for the regions in which it is crafted and played. The bearers and practitioners are mostly farmers including men as crafters and players and women as players, and recently a number of them are young researchers of both genders. Its traditional knowledge of crafting and playing is informally transmitted through generations by the master-student method. This element is seen in local, oral and written literature (including local poems, proverbs, chants and lullabies) which constitute a part of nature, history, and background of the bearers. As this element is shared by a number of communities, groups and individuals, it brings mutual respect and understanding amongst the communities concerned. Dotār is a folkloric plucked-string musical instrument that has been played in social and cultural events/spaces such as weddings, parties, celebrations, ritual ceremonies etc. Dotār has a bowl which is pear-shaped and made of dried wood of dead mulberry tree and its neck is made of apricot or walnut wood. It has two strings traditionally made of silk which been replaced with metal wires nowadays. Some believe that one string is male and functions as accord and the other is female which plays the main melody. The crafters also repect nature as they use dead and dried wood for making Dotār. It is not in opposition toward the national and international instruments like Universal Human Rights Declaration, sustainable development , etc.

Iran 2019