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ICH Elements 68
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Practices of Then by Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups in Viet Nam
Then a ritual practice indispensable in Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups' spiritual life, reflects concepts about human beings, natural world and the universe (the Earth realm, the 3-layer Heaven realm). Then ceremonies describe a journey in which Then Master (Male/Female) controls ghost soldiers travelling from the Earth realm to the Heaven realm, the residing place of the gods, to offer worshipping items and show their praying requests for peace, bad luck relief, illness treatment, good crops, new house inauguration, initiation/title-conferring ritual (cấp sắc), blessings and happy new year. Then Masters start the journey by singing and plucking the tính lute (two or three-string lute). Depending on worshipping purposes, Then Masters will arrange worshipping trays to pray different native Gods, among whom Ngoc Hoang is the highest God. Then Masters often use a summoning tablet, a seal, a demon-expelling sword, a yin and yang rod, a bell, a fan and items such as pork, chicken, wine, rice, fruits and votive papers to perform Then ceremonies in the believer’s house, outdoor or at Then altar of the Master’s house. While practising, Then Master wears ceremonial dress, sings the language of his ethnic group and plays the tính lute, shakes the chùm xóc nhạc (rattle-bells), waves a fan. In some ceremonies, a female dancing group will accompany. Then rituals performances express Tày, Nùng and Thái’s cultural identities, from customs to musical instruments, dance and music. Then is always transmitted orally while its rituals are being conducted, reflecting the succession between generations.
Viet Nam 2019 -
Kimjang, making and sharing kimchi in the Republic of Korea
Inscribed in 2013 (8.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity As the temperature falls in late autumn, the topic of choice for most Koreans is kimjang, making a large quantity of kimchi to sustain them through the country’s long and harsh winter. Kimchi, a categorical name for Korean-style preserved vegetables seasoned with local spices and fermented seafood, was recorded as part of Korean diet as early as 760 years ago. Kimchi has been an essential part of Korean meal across class and regional differences. The most humble meal consists of cooked rice and kimchi, but even the most luxurious banquet is not complete without kimchi. Kimjang incorporates Koreans' understanding of their natural environment, and closely reflects their regional ecosystems. Over time, Koreans have developed methods that best fit their specific natural conditions. Kimjang is thus deeply rooted in the natural milieu of Korean habitats. Preparation for kimjang follows a yearly seasonal cycle. In spring, households secure shrimp, anchovy, and other seafood for salting and fermenting. In summer, they purchase sea salt to be stored for up to two or three years, to let the bitter taste of brine out. In late summer, red chili peppers are dried and ground into powder. In late autumn housewives carefully monitor weather forecasts to determine the optimal date for kimjang: it is important to choose the right temperature for the kimchi to acquire the best taste through storing it in cool and stable conditions. In the custom of exchanging kimchi among households after kimjang, innovative skills and creative ideas are shared and accumulated.
South Korea 2013 -
Khaen music of the Lao people
The khaen is a mouth organ in which each tube has a reed. It looks like panpipes, but with bamboo (previously rice stalks or sometimes other plants) tubes of variable length, each with a metal reed. One blows into it through an air chamber called ‘marqunamdtow’. The sound produced is higher or lower depending on the size of the tube. It is a favourite instrument used in Lao traditional and folk music. Its design and number of tubes have evolved according to the changes in Lao folk melodies and songs. Today there are three kinds: the khaen 6 (12 tubes), the khaen 7 (14 tubes) and the most successful one, the khaen 8 (16 tubes). The khaen is very popular in all regions and communities of Laos due to its music’s richness and abundance, which represents the nation's soul for its population. The instrument is suitable for melodies and harmonic richness since it can produce several sounds simultaneously, like a piano. Its music is customarily part of numerous village festivals, accompanying traditional songs and dances. It symbolizes popular culture and it is customary for all villagers who listen to it to become actors rather than spectators, by participating actively and joyfully in the songs and dances it offers.
Lao People's Democratic Republic 2017 -
Traditional craftsmanship of the Mongol Ger and its associated customs
For thousands of years, nomadic herders of Mongolia roamed across the country-side from season to season. Dry, windy areas close to rivers are best for summers while areas away from river-bank wind and close to mountains or hills are best for winter stays. In the country where pasture always was and still is a public domain, the herders moved freely to the best locations for the season. With this lifestyle of freedom of movement and pastoral animal husbandry was invented the national dwelling called the ‘Mongol ger’. It is a round structure of easily dismantle-able walls, polls and a round ceiling covered with canvas and felt, tightened with ropes. The ger was designed to be light enough for Mongolian nomads to carry, flexible enough to fold-up, pack and assemble, sturdy enough for multiple dismantling and assembling as well as easy for regulating temperatures within. Over many centuries the mongol ger was modified into a perfectly aerodynamic structure which can withstand Mongolia's fierce spring winds ranging up to 18-20 meter/sec. It can be dismantled in half an hour and assembled in an hour by a small family with 2-3 adults. The Mongol ger has many varieties. The most common “5-wall ger” consists of five lattice segments forming a circular wall, a door, a toono (round window ceiling), two bagana (columns that hold the toono), and 88 uni(long poles that connect wall lattices and toono which forms the roof of the ger). There are also several accessories attached to the ger.
Mongolia 2013 -
Traditional technique of preparing the dairy products
Mongolian traditional food is adjusted to the condition of the nomadic way of life. It is divided into milk or white products, meat or red products, and vegetable or green products. During summer and autumns, Mongols prefer to consume various different dairy products from milk of five livestock animals. Dairy products are generally produced by boiling, fermenting, distilling, brewing, extracting, separating or drying. Traditional food is dairy products, meat and green food or grain. Mongols do “Airag” from the mare’s milk, and do milk skim, youghurt, aaruul (oblong), with and orange eezgii, tsagaan tos (derived from the skim), tsorom by milk from sheep, goat and khoormog and aaruul from camel milk. Additionally, smoking, drying and preserving the meat from goat, cow and camel for making borts and shuuz. In addition, khorkhog, boodog, buuz and khuushuur and various different meals are made from sheep, goat and meat from hunting.
Mongolia -
Oshi Palav, a traditional meal and its social and cultural contexts in Tajikistan
Oshi Palav (pilaf) is a kind of traditional meal of the Tajik people, which is prepared regularly at homes and in celebrations, rituals, gatherings. In dining rooms, national restaurants and tea-houses the Oshi Palav is everyday favourite meal of Tajik people. The Oshi Palav is prepared from carrot, rice, meat (beef, lamb, chicken), oil, onion and water in a big pot. For better flavor, cooks add some peas, saffron, garlic, caraway seeds, pepper and barberry. During the centuries Tajik people created different kinds of this meal, like "Oshi yak ba yak", "Palavi toki", "Oshi devzira", "Bedonapalav" and etc. up to 200 kinds of the element. In traditional Tajik culture there are many customs, rituals, celebrations and social gatherings dedicated specially to the element in which participate a big number of people, for example, the rituals "maslihat-oshi" (osh for advices), "sabzirezakunon" (cutting carrot rite), "oshi nahor" (morning osh), "oshi zanho" (osh for women), "oshi harifona" (osh of friends), "oshi gapkhuri" (osh with talking) and etc. The Oshi Palav in such gatherings and rituals brings people together and has the character of social integration and unity. People of Tajikistan recognize the Oshi Palav as a part of their traditional cultural heritage and call that as "King of meals". There are many stories, legends, folksongs, proverbs and other folklore texts regarding the element, which show the importance of the element among people. Also the element created many kinds of folk dance with plate, imitating the Oshi Palav cooking, which are played by folklore dance groups.
Tajikistan 2016 -
Spring celebration, Hıdrellez
“Hıdrellez” is a compound name derived from “Hıdır” and “İlyas”. They are believed to be sacred figures who meet each other once in a year on May 6th and are considered to be the protectors of earth and water as well as helpers of individuals, families and communities in need of them. May 6th is accepted and celebrated as Spring Day, awakening of nature. According to the beliefs of some communities a year is divided into two seasons in accordance with the visibility and invisibility of the star Pleiades that cannot be observed from May 6th until November. The element is maintained today, various ceremonies and rituals connected to the nature are performed providing well-being, fertility and prosperity of family and community, protecting livestock and crops for the upcoming year. On the evening of May 5th, young people gather in a house and prepare one storage pot made of clay in which there are some herbs and water, where each participant put different small personal object called “nishan” inside with some wish for the following year. Covered with red cloth the pot is left under a rose bush, and left during the night. Before sunrise on May 6th, the courtyard of a house is cleaned and in the middle a bonfire is lit. It is believed that as higher the fire goes, the more productive the upcoming year will be. Young people jump over the fire and go in the nearest green field or forest where they collect different herbs and green plants. They put swings up on a fertile tree and while swinging sing Hıdrellez songs. After that the young people go to the garden, where they have put the pot and proceed to the ritual called “Martufal”: A young girl, whose parents are alive, mixes the nishans inside the pot and picks them out one by one. The picked nishan is shown to the people around, while giving it to its owner they sing a quatrain called “Mani”. Each nishan is considered to be magical and each mani should bring luck and good health to its owner. After the Martufal the participants have family lunch, the celebration continues all day with wrestling games called “Pelivan” and dancing festivities organized by the local communities.
Macedonia,Turkey 2017 -
Oku-noto no Aenokoto
“Oku-noto no Aenokoto” is an agricultural ritual transmitted from generation to generation in Suzu and Wajima Cities, and Noto and Anamizu Towns of Housu County, all of which are located on the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan, in order to worship a deity of the rice field. As people in Suzu and Wajima Cities, and Noto and Anamizu Towns of Hosu County have long lived by rice-farming, the deity of the rice field is considered an important one who promises good growth and an abundant harvest of rice. This ritual is performed twice a year, after the rice harvest, and before planting, by each housemaster at his home. In December after the harvest, he welcomes the deity of the rice field from the rice field into his house and offers hospitality, giving thanks for the harvest in the course of a ritual. In February before planting, he offers hospitality and sees the deity off to the rice field, praying for an abundant harvest in the course of another ritual. Guessing from these performances, “Ae” (or “Aé”) can mean hospitality while “koto” a ritual. In December a housemaster begins to prepare food from early in the morning to welcome the deity, and puts straw bags containing seeds for the next spring in the toko no ma, a narrow space at the side of the room for flowers and calligraphy, or under the kami-dana, an inner shrine installed high on a wall. In the afternoon, he prepares a bath and pounds mochi, a ball-like rice cake. The deity of the rice field is said to get ready to leave the rice field when he hears the sound of mochi-pounding. In the evening the housemaster dresses himself up in kami-shimo, a formal Japanese garment, and goes to the rice field taking a kuwa (spade), a chochin (lantern), and a sensu (folding fan), with him in order to welcome the deity. In the rice field, he cultivates it with kuwa three times, speaks to the deity of the rice field with grateful remarks for its protection during that year. Then, he shows the deity the way to his home by lighting the way with the chochin or directing it with the sensu. His family is waiting for the deity at the gate. The housemaster shows the deity into a guest room, lets it rest a little, and then serves a bath for it. He helps it to wash as if it were actually in front of him in the bathroom, asking if the temperature of the water is comfortable. After the bath, he seats the deity on straw bags of seeds in the toko no ma or under the kami-dana, and offers it two meals. Because a deity of the rice field is sometimes regarded as consisting of a couple, two dinners are served. The menu is ama-zake, sweet sake as an aperitif brewed from new rice, a bifurcated radish, abundant steamed rice with red beans, mochi, and a whole fish, provided with chopsticks made from a chestnut tree. As it is said that the deity of the rice field has bad eyes, the housemaster describes each dish as he serves it. After dinner, he moves the straw bag of seeds to a higher position inside a box room or in an earthen-floor space. It is said that the deity of the rice field rests in this bag or inside the kami-dana until the following year. Then, families eat the dinner served to the deity. In February of the new year, the same ritual takes place again; a housemaster serves a bath for the deity, provides it with food, and sees it off to a rice field. In the rice field, a housemaster cultivates it with kuwa three times, with prayers for an abundant harvest in autumn. There are some differences in detailed contents or procedures from family to family, but we can find such common features as welcoming the deity of the rice field at an important stage of rice-growing, offering it hospitality, and finally seeing it off. By performing this ritual, the safety and sustainability of the rice cultivation in this area can be assured, and identity and continuity can be confirmed among the people of this area. It is unique among agricultural rituals of similar kinds throughout Japan in that the householder behaves as if an invisible deity of the rice field were actually there in the course of the ritual. This ritual is a typical agricultural ritual reflecting the underlying culture of everyday life of the Japanese who have been engaged in rice cultivation since ancient times.
Japan 2009 -
Falconry - Traditional hunting with birds of prey
Hunting with eagles (kaz. "burkit", lat. Aguila Shrysaetus - “Golden Eagle”) is an ancient practice of social and cultural heritage of traditional Kazakh people of hunters - kusbegi ("qusbegi"), eagle ("burkitshi") who tamed and trained eagles for hunting. Originally training eagles for hunting was predominantly the hobby of ordinary people and was a kind of craft for them. This type of hunting has supported nomad budget. Therefore, Kazakhstan has always been traditionally a place, above all, catching the birds and training them in order to use for hunting in the future. Birds were tamed in two ways: adults caught on bait, or raise the chicks out of the nest. Kazakhs believe that the best hunters are obtained from adult birds that hunt with a special zeal, once accustomed to the owner. Hunting always passes on horses usually together with the Kazakh national dog - a hound "tazy". Kazakhs divide the hunting with birds of prey to specific hunting with eagles and falcons, hawks, merlin. Golden Eagles are used primarily for the purpose of making a job. They were used for hunting wolves, foxes, karsaks and mountain goats. Merlins used mainly for sports and recreational purposes, as it was a favorite pastime of the nobility. Falcons assisted in hunting for small wildfowl, and hawks let geese, bustards.
Kazakhstan -
Yig-par ko-ni: Woodblock Engraving
Yig-par koni is an adverb that means engraving of scripts which is the art of Xylography, one of the indigenous craftsmanship art of Bhutan. Script engraving is done using special wood locally called Tag-pa shing (Birch: Betula utilis) that flourishes at altitudes varying from 3000 to 4200 meters above sea level. Tag-pa shing can be easily identified by its bark that has a mix red and pink and brown colours alternatively across the trunk like that of a tiger’s skin thus got its name. The art is considered as one of the religious craftsmanship since its significance, production and usage are all connected to spiritualistic believes and purpose. In Bhutan, the presence of skills for making woodblock prints are seen in temples, monasteries and Dzongs (fortress) every part of the country in the form of biographies, excellent teachings of the Buddha printed from woodblocks. The earliest biography is that of Terton (Hidden treasure discoverer) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), as prophesied by Guru Padmasambava, the epitome of the Secret Teachings of Tantric Buddhism. Terton Pema Lingpa was the last reincarnate of Princess Pema Sal (?), daughter of King Thrisong Deutsan of Tibet. Owing to the propensity of his previous lives, the Terton knew craft works without training, and dedicating his skills to ensure the continuity of the Buddha’s teachings, had made uncountable number woodblocks, available in the monasteries established by the Terton himself and by his sons as well as in the house of a number of his patrons that can be seen even today. Moreover, Thugse Dawa Gyaltshan (1499-1586), the son of Pema Lingpa, had also engraved as many as 614 woodblocks for the collected works and autobiography in memory of his father which is still preserved at the sacred place of Kunzang Drag, Bumthang Dzongkhag (district). After Terton Pema Lingpa and his heart son Thugse Dawa Gyaltshen had started the tradition of woodblock print, Choje Ngagwang Tenzin (1522-1590), the reincarnate of Gartoen who was the son of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, engraved the biography of Phajo Drugom in about 1570 (C.E). Then, in the 17th century Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, having satisfactorily completed all the activities related to the dual system and before he went into the final retreat (i.e. parinirvana), initiated a project to engrave the collected works of the omniscient Pema Karpo (1527-1592) and all the essential ones and its prints are distributed them to all the monasteries and sangha communities as dharma donations. He created of the seat of Je Khenpo as the overall head of sangha monasteries and ecclesiastical affairs and that of Desi, who functioned as the secular head of the country. He had also appointed officials to fit these high-ranking positions. The successive Je Khenpo and Desis ensured the practice, manage and spread of the teachings and the good system of administration, by engraving unlimited number of woodblocks prints in their respective areas which can be seen still today in all the historical monuments. However, due to the advancement of printing technologies, the National Library & Archives of Bhutan is the only institution that is upholding the xylography art in the country while the practice is turned its form to an oral account.
Bhutan -
Yak-lai: Propitiation of Yak god
A Bonkar (refined Bon religion that doesn’t involve animal sacrificial offering) traditional rite, Yak-lai is performed in some villages in Ura and Tang Gewogs (blocks) who owns la-nor (highland cattle) esp. Yaks. Colloquially, Yak-lai means ‘yak deity’ and if translated in Dzongkha (national tongue) it is called Yak Lha. However, the ritual is not strictly practiced by the Yak owners but, those households who owns tha-nor (normal cattle) also propitiate the god for prosperity of their livestock. The rite specifically invokes the yak deity Lha Wodue Gongjan, who is considered one of the principal deities of Bon who is believed the ultimate source of any blessings possesses supreme ability to fulfill the desires of worldly beings. Residents of Bumthang who have highland cattle, or otherwise practice animal husbandry take part in the three-day Yak-lai ritual every year. According to Bon tradition, Lha Wodue Gongjan is one of the nine principal deities; (sid pa chag pai lha gu) 1. Yabchen Wodue Gunggyal 2. Yarla Shambu 3. Nyenchen Thanglha 4. Gatod Jowo Chogchen 5. Machen Pomra 6. Jowo Yugyal 7. Kishod Zhoglha Chugpo 8. Shekar Jowo Tagoe 9. Tshanggi Noechin Gangwa Zangpo who are the creators of the world. Wodue Gongjan is known by several names: Ode Gungyal, Ode Pugyal, Pude Gungyal and Lhachen Gungyal. Amongst these deities, Ode Gungyal is described as the ancestor of all mountain deities and even he is regarded as the father of all gods and spirits dwelling in the world according to Samten Karmay, 1998. Culturally, residents of the Himalayas have long believed that the lofty snowcapped mountains that surround them are the dwellings of deities. In fact, the names of these gigantic peaks often reflect the name of the deity and thus mark these sites as sacred places. The designated holy peaks are called Lhachen Gangri Gu (Nine Majestic Mountains). In Bhutan, from the time immemorial, many elderly village residents who believes and practices shamanism rituals and rites share the traditional perspective that Lha Chenpo Wodue Gongjan is the principal god placed at the highest seat, and is highly respected by both the shaman and the yak herders as well as normal cattle herders on the day of Yak-lai. If he is invoked and propitiated, he will bless us with domestic animals, yaks, wealth, long life, cloth, favourable weather, and many other essential things that we want in life. Elders further shared that the most productive female yaks have the suffix jan (e.g. Kar-jan or Mar-jan) added to their names, the suffix being derived from the last syllable of Wodue Gongjan, which marks the animals as having been blessed by the deity, as manifested in their abundant milk. Yak-lai used to be widely practiced for three days within a range of dates; specifically, on the three most auspicious consecutive days between the 15th and 30th days of the seventh lunar month by the highlanders of Ura and Tang Gewogs, however, it is now at risk due to several factors including economic development, modern education, rural-urban migration, Buddhist influences, and prohibition on the usage of Tsam-dro (pasture or grazing land). With the advent of wider-scale development, nomadic people are increasingly attracted to the greater income potential of modern life, rather than rearing animals in the wilderness and living in a smoky hut. Over the last two decades, semi-nomadic communities started selling off their yaks in hordes, in part due to the pressures of migration and enrolling of children in schools. The cultural propensity towards Buddhism also influenced and discouraged Bon practices such as Yak-lai. Another factor in the reduced number of yak herders could be that the ownership of tsamdro and Sok-shing (woodlot) were taken away by the government. While the government claimed that tsam-dro had always belonged to the state given that Thram (land ownership) holders did not have to pay tax for it, the highlanders claimed ownership as inherited property. Without tsam-dros, most highlanders face a shortage of grazing land and are forced to either sell their livestock or set them free (tshethar) in the wild, thus affecting Yak-lai and other practices. Yak rearing culture among herders in Tang Gewog has diminished markedly in the last decade due to a gradual shift from yak rearing to dairy farming. The dairy breeds provide more advantages in terms of earning income and management aspects, but as a result of this shift, Tang highlanders have gone nearly a decade without performing the Yak-lai ritual. Similar trends have also invaded the highlanders of Ura Gewog. Elderly locals say that, until 2000 there were 3 households in Somthrang, 8 in Pangkhar, 3 in Ura and finally 12 households in Shingkhar community having highland cattle i.e. Yaks and performance of Yak-lai ritual was so vibrant at that time. At present, only one man, Meme (grandfather) Kungla 74 (Dragon) from Pangkhar village, owns yak while others have disappeared gradually in recent years but, some few households from Ura community are also the last standing practitioners of the tradition.
Bhutan -
Neypo: Seasonal Offering to the Local Deity
The Neypo ritual is a seasonal offering performed across Bhutan to appease local deities, Ney village in Lhuentse to the northeast is one of many villages to perform this ritual. Neypo literally means "Zhidag", a category of deity who protects the area under their control or certain parts of the valley. The identity of the protector figure varies from region to region, as does the ritual. In Ney village, the Neypo ritual is performed every year on the 15th day of the third lunar month of the Bhutanese calendar. The ritual is performed in their Lhakhang, temple, in order to appease the local deity Zhidag Drakpa Gyalpo with offerings. In return, the community asks for his protection of their farms from wild animals. The Zhidag is believed to dwell below the village in a dense forest on the left side of Kurichu. Zhidag Drakpa Gyalpo has a grim appearance with a black face, dark clothes, and a reindeer mount with ten horns. He has one face and two hands; in his right hand he holds a flaming sword and in his left hand he holds a robe or Zhagpa sling. Within a single second he could cover the distance between any two places. Eighth century tantric master Guru Rinpoche (Skt. Padmasambhava) bound Drakpa Gyalpo by oath and made him the protector of the East Gate of the hidden land Baeyul Khempajong, and sworn to be the Dharma protector in the region. During the Neypo ritual, the entrance to the dense forest is sealed off for people which will last for a whole season, which is called Rigya lungya dam or Ridam. Ridam is a common practice of mountain closure in which the path to the Zhidag Phodrang, deity’s abode, and the surrounding dense forest are closed to human access from spring to autumn until the rice harvest. During this period, people are generally not allowed to enter the area to collect natural resources or visit any place in the area. After performing rituals, no one is allowed to go there unless except for exceptional occasions. This restriction applies to outsiders as well as people from the village.
Bhutan