The culture of flatbread making and sharing, represented in this nomination with the names Katyrma, is a set of traditional knowledge and rituals related to preparation and sharing of traditional thin bread that performs specific cultural and social functions within the related communities in Kazakhstan and is transmitted from generation to generation. Flatbread tradition is symbol of shared cultural identity and serves as expression of mutual respect among communities. Tradition bearers usually prepare the flatbread from unleavened or leavened dough based on flour, salt and water, while also adding sometimes milk, butter, sesame and poppy seeds. Communities use different types of crops to prepare the dough, such as wheat and rye. Some communities in Kazakhstan bake the flatbread by laying out rolled dough in big cauldrons (‘kazan’) heated on fire. As a result of this baking style, practitioners manage to maintain nutritious qualities of the flatbreads and store them for several months without refrigerator. Various methods, techniques, instruments and substances are used by flatbread-preparing practitioners.

Kazakhstan 2016

Has a history of more than 100 years. The ingredients are strabismus (sedge) and father (jute). They grow locally, attached to the dunes, alluvial grounds along the Hậu River, when needed, they import from other places. Production process: Wash strabismus, remove floats and sort; dye the dye, dry it, then hang it up high. Before weaving, strabismus is soaked in water to make it soft enough. Jute is sewn into tendons and then attached to the loom. After weaving, the mats will be dried to avoid mold and mildew, then bound, scraped, and trimmed. The loom is handmade, operated by two people. Products have several types: snail-scale mats, cotton mats, chess mats, ordinary white mats, antique mats. They weave mats during the day and sell them at night at the night market according to the rule: The next night the meeting is 1 hour later than the night before.

To commemorate the ancestors who came from the Central region to the South to reclaim land and establish hamlets, the families in Long An have the custom of providing offerings on their death anniversary - a party to worship Việc lề. They worship ancestors, grandparents, landowners (Ngung Man Nương), and gods related to land and spirits. The ceremony is presided over by the head of the family or the head of the branch of the family. The worship day is not fixed, usually during leisure time. Most of them arrange offerings on an almond cushion or a sedge mat spread out on the ground in front of the house. Offerings include Ám Porridge (porridge cooked with snakehead fish scaled with a bamboo knife, without cutting off the fins or tail), grilled snakehead fish, tam sên (duck eggs, boiled pork belly, shrimp; or snails, crab, shrimp). In addition to the above dishes, each family and locality has other dishes according to schedule. Offerings are placed on tree leaves, chopsticks are small tree branches, sedge stems or reed stems, and spoons are replaced with banana stems or pieces of pandan leaves. All to commemorate the first days of land clearing and hardship of our ancestors. The celebrant prays to the ancestors, then according to family hierarchy, each person comes to bow. Burning incense, the celebrant turns it into gold, spreads rice and salt, and floats a banana raft (a model of a small boat with rice, salt, votive paper, and jars of fresh water on the boat) with offerings, symbolizing food to send off. bring ancestors. Finally, there is a communal meal for family members.

National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Wanchojang refers to an artisan with the skill of making objects with sedge (Cyperus exaltatus, wanggol in Korean), which is an annual/biennial plant that grows in a wet rice paddy or swamp. It grows to a height of 60 – 200cm. Sedge is used to make mats, seat cushions, and baskets. According to Samguk sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), sedge was used during the Silla Period (circa 57 BC – 935 AD). During the Goryeo Period (877 – 1394), a sedge mat was laid on the place where the deities of the State are enshrined. Sedge mats were used chiefly in royal palaces, and they were also sent to China as gifts. During the Joseon Period (1392 – 1910), sedge mats were used mostly in royal palaces or in the homes of upper class people. In foreign trade, the mats made in Korea were regarded as luxury goods. Sedge products are made either manually or with tools. Mats and cushions are made either with a coarse weaving technique with warps exposed or with a close weaving technique with warps not exposed. As for the manual weaving method, eight warps are entwined to form a “井” shape and then two wefts are woven into it to make round or octagonal cushions and baskets. Production of sedge goods once went through the doldrums, but it regained strength in the 1970s and thereafter. Up to now, sedge has been used chiefly to make mats and baskets, but it can be used to make many other objects without the need for special tools by adjusting the colors and the thickness of warps and wefts.