ALL
oral tradition
ICH Elements 9
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Art of oratory – ‘Chechendik onour’
Art of oratory - ‘Chechendik onour’ represents a type of the oral art, which is distinguished by keenness and originality of the poetic text. Well-known masters of the word ‘chechens’ have always been treated with respect; their performances have been preserved in the popular memory, transmitted from one generation to another, growing into legends. ‘Chechendik onour’ is one of the main parts of ‘aitysh’, a poetic competition, which determines its structure built on a question-answer, on the use of riddles as well as on a rhythmic structure of the text. In the art of oratory, all types of oral folk art are used. Oratory speech exploits proverbs and sayings, intoned words, catch phrases and expressions. In some oratory poetry contests, only proverbs and sayings were used. Only the best of the best who believed in their abilities could participate in such competitions. In the manner of performance of the chechens, facial expressions, posture, turn of phrase, play with intonations, the use of riddles, tongue twisters, fables, and other expressive means of verbalising thoughts play a predominant role. They were very versed in their skills of eloquence and allegory, built their own conclusions, actively used elements of satire and humour. The speaker must be able to think deeply and have a good knowledge of folk philosophy. Through becoming a role model and by combining educational goals, their main purpose is to solve such problems as the establishment of international relations and the resolution of small strifes and conflicts. There were also many talented women-chechens among the Kyrgyz people.
Kyrgyzstan -
Khalfa (songstress) art
Khalfa is a woman-performer of folk songs and instrumental music, a poetess in Khoresm Oasis, who embodies traditions of oral folk art. In terms of activity, there are the following types of khalfas: khalfa sozi (khalfa-musician), who performs folk instrumental melodies; khalfa yodoghiy (khalfa-singer and khalfa-poetess), who performs folk songs at wedding ceremonies and festivities, while accompanying her singing by playing on a musical instrument; khalfa kitobiy (khalfa-book lover), who reads old books of religious themes during commemoration and rituals events ("mushkulkushod" – literally "relief"); khalfa dostonchi (khalfa-narrator); khalfa raqqosa or khalfa oyinchi (khalfa-dancer). In Khoresm two directions of khalfa performance became widespread, i.e. ensemble performance and solo performance. In ensemble performance it is possible to see a leading woman-performer, who sings songs under accompaniment of accordion (i.e. Russian diatonic accordion, which has been existence in Khoresm since XIX centure and which is called "qol soz"), doira player (who accompanies singing by playing on doira; sometimes she can act as a dancer as well) and dancers (who accompany singing with their dances; they usually dance with kajraks (castanets), or sometimes, sing along and play on doira).
Uzbekistan -
Khoja Nasreddin satirical and humorous storytelling traditions
Traditions of telling humorous and satirical stories about Khoja Nasreddin - a folklore character of the peoples of the Muslim East. Khoja Nasreddin is a collective image devoid of spatial and temporal boundaries. He is a connecting link in a chain of cultural phenomena that are far from each other; in the end, he constitutes a single cultural layer. The first appearance of anecdotes about Khoja Nasreddin dates back to the 10th century. The literary character of Nasreddin is eclectic and combines in himself the image of a sage and a simpleton at the same time, an internally contradictory image of an antihero, a vagabond, a free-thinker, a rebel, a fool, a holy fool, a sly man, a rogue and even a cynical philosopher, a subtle scientist-theologian and a Sufi. He makes fun of human vices, misers, bigots, hypocrites, bribe judges, etc.
Uzbekistan 2022 -
Anecdote
Folklore genre, a short funny story, usually transmitted from mouth to mouth. Most often, an anecdote is characterized by an unexpected semantic resolution at the very end, which gives rise to laughter.
Uzbekistan
ICH Materials 32
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Haktuir Ai-Knanoik
Haktuir Ai-Knanoik
Timor 2024 -
Tsang mo (Ode)
An oral game, Tsangmo or Tsam-mo is short and melodious poetry normally sung for entertainment by people of all ages in all the regions. It is also considered as one of the ornaments of speech. There are several very similar names for the game, with each having its own meaning and definition, according to the elderly village people; Tsam is a short poem either composed on the spot or learnt from elders or friends, which is recited to a melodious tune. Mo means divination or test. Therefore, it is a song sung to test the feelings of another person. In another version, it is also a song sung by individuals in a group, to make the same divination of feelings as above by a stick (Tsang) pointing to the personal items already collected from each of the participants, guided by the rhythms of the song.
Bhutan 2021-11-28
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Let’s Listen to the Stories: “Baakhan Nyane Waa” in NepalStorytelling is an integral part of many cultures and social practices. It is also a way of transmitting knowledge from one generation to another. There is an undeniable change in the ways people across cultures practice storytelling due largely to the advent of technology. People in the past, as televisions, computers, internet, and even electricity were nonexistent, used to gather and share stories, even life events were narrated in the form of a story.\n\nOld people still recall gathering near a fireplace during winter and telling stories in Nepal. Slowly this traditional conduct of storytelling is being replaced by new media, so young people have little to no chance of experiencing storytelling as a form of social bonding and interpersonal interaction. With the aim of reviving the traditional form of storytelling as well as documenting these stories relating cultural heritage and social practices in the public space, a group of young people engaged in heritage conservation started a storytelling program known as Baakhan Nyane waa (literally: let’s listen to the stories).\n\nThe first edition of Baakhan Nyane waa started on 8 September 2018 with a storytelling session about the Gunla Festival celebrated by the Newar Buddhist in Kathmandu Valley. Gunla Festival is held in the September. The venue for the event was a courtyard known as pinganani in Kathmandu of the Tamrakar community, and the storyteller was Mr. Swatantra Bahadur Tamrakar, a retired professor of physics and one of the gurus of Tamrakar Gunla Baajan Khala, the traditional musical group of the Tamrakar community.\n\nThe latest storytelling series (fifth edition) was done on 19 January 2019 in Kirtipur city in front of Uma Maheshwor temple with the theme, “Name of the places.” Since the first edition, the event has been taking place in the different historic cities around the Valley, and stories related to the history and culture of the place have been shared. The chosen storyteller is somebody who has a deep knowledge about the community where the storytelling session is held, including the community’s history, culture, and rituals. The participants of the event are locals as well as people from other places, since the event information is disseminated via a Facebook event page. Live streaming of the event is done through Facebook live for the people who are not able to attend physically. One of the interesting parts of this event is after the storytelling session the organizer distributes popcorn or nuts, traditionally known as baakha paa, which used to be distributed traditionally after every storytelling session. The small snacks after the stories used to be a motivational factor to come and listen to the stories for many as joyfully remembered by older community members.\n\nThis is a new initiative by young people to safeguard oral traditions. Those engaged in this program contribute their free time, expertise, and even resources. More details about this event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/baakhannyanewaa/ .\n\nPhoto : A Scene of Baakhan Nyane Waa ⓒ Baakhan Nyane WaaYear2019NationNepal
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Awang BatilIntroduction\n\nIn Malaysia, there is a living traditional art where a storyteller develops the oral tradition, otherwise known as oral literature.\n\nOral tradition is the original source of Malay literature and translated into written literature. One of the practitioners of this oral tradition is known as 'Awang Batil'. Apart from specialised storytellers such as Awang Batil, there are other transmissions of oral literature throughout the country, especially in villages through folk stories or stories of elders that are collected, rewritten and made into collections for children to read.\n\n\nAwang Batil\n\nAwang Batil is a storyteller who provided entertainment and education to the people, especially to the villagers and local community. Awang Batil entertains and educates the community through many classic stories that he inherited. Through those stories, the community is entertained and educated.\n\nOnce upon a time, Awang Batil functioned as a story book, novel, radio, television, movie or video as it is now. He would travel from house to house, village to village, state to state including the state of Kedah, Penang and some areas in the Southern Region of Thailand, especially the Setol Region.\nYear2023NationMalaysia