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ICH Elements 122
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Ceremonial Keşkek tradition
Ensuring solidarity and collective identity, national and religious holidays, celebrations, feasts, commemorations are of great significance as regards to social values. The providers, the distribution and the consumption of the food are strictly determined on these special days. Traditional ceremonial keşkek is one of the social practices which sustain its significance from the past to our present day. Keşkek tradition is practiced at circumcisions, wedding ceremonies, religious holidays such as, Ramadans, sacrifice Aid, Muharram Month (first month of the Islamic calendar), charities, pilgrimage feast, prayers for the rain, Mevlid (Islamic poetry reading), Hıdrellez (a kind of seasonal celebration) and similar practices. Preparation and consumption process of keşkek bears a collective character. Particularly in village communities, preparation of ingredients and cooking process of keşkek are actualized through collective work. The villagers contribute to keşkek ceremony by providing the ingredients and participate in cooking process. Wheat and meat are the basic ingredients of keşkek. The main ingredients are provided by the household on special days for the family and the dwellers of the village provide the work force if needed. The wheat for keşkek, of an amount proportional with the number of participants, is washed with prayers a day before the wedding ceremony. Accompanied by davul-zurna (traditional Turkish musical instruments) the wheat is carried carefully to a large stone mortar. The wheat is hulled on the large stone mortars by two or four persons using gavels in a fixed rhythm. The rhythmic sound is a sign for the start of wedding ceremony. The hulled wheat is one of the main ingredients of keşkek to be prepared on the wedding morning. Meat is the other main ingredient for keşkek. Cooking keşkek requires specialized knowledge therefore it is carried out by experienced persons called ""keşkekçi"" (keşkek maker). Keşkekçis are trained in a master-apprentice tradition. Cooks and his assistants in charge of keşkek cooking start the preparations at early hours in the morning of the day before the ceremony. As weddings - the primary occasions for ceremonial keşkek tradition – are usually held during summer or early autumn, keşkek is usually cooked outdoors. Requiring a long-lasting source of heat, keşkek is cooked in large copper cauldrons, the bottom of which is smeared with ash to protect it before being put on a big open fire. Hulled wheat, chunks of meat on the bone, onions, spices, water and oil are all put together in the cauldron. It is important to maintain the heat at a certain temperature while cooking. Therefore, cook and the assistants take turns to maintain the cooking process as desired until morning. Watching the heat and preparation of the side dishes to be served with keşkek last all night long. This night spent around the keşkek is full of stories, friendly talks and jokes. The cook checks the keşkek cauldron in the morning of the wedding day. Towards noon, the most important phase of the keşkek tradition takes place. The strongest of the village youth, who were previously chosen for ‘keşkek dövme (keşkek beating)’, are called in to ‘beat’the keşkek with a wooden tool which can be named as ağaç kepçe (wooden ladle) tokmak (gavel), çomça or şişe. This is in a way a mashing process. The rhythm while hulling the wheat goes on during the beating process as well. The wooden tools are used in a rhythmic order. The beating process of keşkek attracts great interest among the crowds. To motivate the beating youth, the crowd cheers and sings folk songs. During the beating, one or two persons apart from the beating youth take the bones out with a special kind of tongs. The neighboring towns and villages are invited and keşkek is collectively consumed in the ceremony premises (courtyard of mosque for religious holidays, bride’s or groom’s house on wedding days, a sacred venue for charities and hıdrellez). Prayers are uttered before and after the feast. The pots and pans used during ceremony are collectively washed. A special set of equipments are necessary for the preparation of keşkek. The stone mortar, a collectively owned product of particular craftsmanship, a copper cauldron made especially for such ceremonies and tinned regularly. Hand made ladles and gavels made of wood are among the most important tangible elements of the keşkek tradition. The most significant aspect of the tradition is unifying all people in this ceremony regardless of age, ethnic origin, gender and culture even being invited or not. The hosts of the ceremony check whether all the guests are at the dining table for keşkek. Each person attending to keşkek ceremony is considered as an element of this cultural environment. All individuals within the community through participating in such a ceremonial event have a sense of belonging. This ‘sense of belonging’ reflects itself with the common expression ‘our keşkek is better’, which is a bare evidence of considering keşkek as an important element of cultural heritage. Keşkek ceremony should be practiced with all the components of the tradition or else it loses its traditional aspect for the bearers. In Zonguldak-Ereğli on the west coast of Black sea Region, there is a village named ‘Keşkek’. People from the neighboring villages go to this village, which is a developed locality among the surrounding places, in order to worship on Holy Friday and the visitors are served keşkek there. This clearly explains why the village is called ‘Keşkek’. The villagers see keşkek as a major part of their cultural identity and they are glad to have the name keşkek for their village. Today, this ceremonial tradition, through organizing keşkek festivals and festivities has been preserved by the intimate efforts of city and district municipalities and the hemşeri (locality fellowship) associations, founded by fellow citizens for creating a kind of solidarity. It is observed in these occasions unifying aspects of ceremonial keşkek tradition continues in the cities as well. Preservation of this tradition in the cities is particularly important in terms of how much this tradition is embraced by the communities concerned.
Turkey 2011 -
Traditional Ainu dance
The title ‘Traditional Ainu Dance’ is defined as dances and songs transmitted among the Ainu people of distinctive cultures in Hokkaido located in the northern area of Japan. Those dances and songs are derived from the life and religion of the Ainu people; some are performed at ceremonies and banquets in local communities, and others privately performed in daily lives. Neither of them is accompanied with musical instruments. They are performed along with songs and handclaps of dancers and participants on site. The Ainu people used to live in a vast area including Hokkaido, the northern part of Honshu, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Currently, however, most of them live mainly in Hokkaido, and its population is estimated at approximately twenty-four thousand. The Traditional Ainu Dance is transmitted by the seventeen preserving associations established in fifteen cities and towns where the Ainu people live. Allegedly the Ainu culture of today’s style was formed up approximately in the twelfth or thirteenth century. People at that time lived by fishing, hunting and gathering, and they also traded with other areas. In this way of life, the Ainu people have developed such a creed as they believe in deities which are omnipresent at anything related to their lives, namely the nature (the sun, rain, water, fire etc.) including animals and plants. Thus, they often conducted prayers and ceremonies in their daily life. The Traditional Ainu Dance can be performed at these prayers and ceremonies or banquets. ‘Iyomante,’ for example, is the biggest ceremony with the Traditional Ainu Dance for sending a deity disguised as a bear back to heaven. The Ainu people believe that a deity comes down to the human world in disguise of an animal or a plant which is a gift from the deity to be eaten by the human beings. Once people have physically eaten it up, they thank the remaining spirit of this invisible deity for its gift and hold a ceremony to send it back to heaven. During the ceremony people sing and dance. One of the features found in the Ainu performing arts is the imitation of calls and movements of animals and birds. During the ceremony of ‘Iyomante’ people repeatedly imitate calls and sounds accompanied with its movements of a bear, and words are inserted in such repetitions. On the other hand, performing arts which are privately performed in an Ainu daily life contain lullabies, improvisatory lyrical songs, incantations with melodies, and songs accompanied with movements of labours by several persons in a daily life. As mentioned above, the Traditional Ainu Dance is performed at important ceremonies and banquets to the Ainu people and also in their daily life, through which the Ainu people reconfirm the identity and deepen a sense of continuity. Currently, in addition to such ceremonies as mentioned above, the Traditional Ainu Dance is demonstrated at newly projected festivals and events. It is one element of the intangible cultural heritage transmitted from generations to generations and is continuously developed and reproduced according to the situations of each era. The traditional style of the Ainu dances is a big circle of many participants, proceeding right-handed with some fixed movements and singing together. They sing the same song together or in turns, otherwise they sing in a responding way between a chorus leader and the others. Some of those traditional songs are polyphonic; several women sit on a floor in a circle in surrounding a lid of a wooden container, make a rhythm in beating the lid, and sing the same melody with one sound successively delayed. Because there are currently many opportunities to perform it apart from a daily life, some dances and songs have been formed up as independent repertoires in paying due attention to the traditional performing style. As overviewed, they are (i) the imitation of calls and movements of animal, namely ‘crane dance’, ‘fox dance’ and ‘swallow dance’: (ii) the imitation of insects, namely ‘grasshopper dance’: (iii) the ritual one, namely ‘sword dance’ and ‘bow dance’: (iv) the entertaining one: (v) the improvisatory one. Thus, the Traditional Ainu Dance is simple and naive, and often retains the primordial quality inside. In this sense it can illustrate the origin of performing arts.
Japan 2009 -
China engraved block printing technique
As one of the conventional skills, China Engraved Block Printing Technique includes a series of processes: cutting tools are applied to the engraving of characters or patterns on wooden blocks, ink and paper are utilized for printing purpose and the printed book pages are bound into books. Historical cultural relics show the application of engraved block printing technique dates back to the end of the 6th century and early 7th century. The invention and application of engraved block printing technique in China has made tremendous contributions to the progress and development of human civilization thanks to its functions typical of recording and transmitting thoughts, knowledge and experience of human society.
China 2009 -
Wooden movable-type printing of China
China is the birthplace of Movable-Type Printing. In the middle of the 11th century, Bisheng invented Movable-Type Printing with clay characters. Later in the mid-12th century, Buddhist Sutra was printed with Wooden Movable-Type Printing in Western Xia Dynasty. Later, characters made of bronze and tin appeared. In the late 13th century, Wooden Movable-Type Printing became prevalent in eastern Zhejiang province and southern Anhui province, with which to print various books and genealogies of families and clans. According to the genealogical records of Wang Chaohui, one of the representative bearers of the Movable-Type Printing technique, as early as in the beginning of the 14th century his ancestor Wang Famao began compiling and printing genealogies for local people. From then on, this printing craftsmanship has been handed down by words of mouth from generations to generations through the family ties. From the relevant historical written records and the genealogies printed with Wooden characters preserved in the family for hundreds of years, we can learn that this printing technique has been inherited in Wang’s family continuously in 25 generations for nearly 700 years. In history, Wenzhou and its neighbouring areas of southeast Zhejiang province and northern Fujian province were typical immigrant society. According to the statistics of ‘Drafts of the General History of Zhejiang Recompiled’ of Republic of China, 141 clans had immigrated to Rui’an since the 10th century A.D. Referring to the 2003 issue of ‘Chronicles of Rui’an’, of presently 209 surnames in modern Rui’an, 178 are immigrated from other places. Wenzhou is also famous for its overseas Chinese population. At present, it has more than 430000 overseas Chinese all over the world. Consequently, whatever the origin, whether they were immigrated in past times, or in modern times, or emigrated abroad in all corners of the world, the people of Rui’an are affectionately attached to their homeland and have a strong traditional feeling of clans to find the roots of the families and ancestors. There is a tradition in families of the same clan living together, i.e., recompiling the genealogy of the clan to ensure that the blood lineage and family attribution can be traced no matter where the family members are. Because Wooden Movable-Type Printing is suitable for people working manually in a family, most importantly, with other factors such as easy to use, low in price, and strong traditional cultural concept, which makes it possible for the technique to be preserved and used till now. The above description demonstrates that even in face of today’s ever-developing modern printing, the traditional hand-operated printing technique can also have a certain market share, which ensures the technique to be passed on in Wang’s family from generations to generations. Up to December 2009, 11 major bearers of the Wooden Movable-Type Printing technique have been confirmed through general investigation. They are: Wang Chaohui, male, 55 (1955-12-28~), Lin Chuyin, male, 72 (1938-04-08~), Wang Chuanqiao, male, 54 (1956-08-12~), Wang Haiqiu, male, 54 (1956-02-25~), Wang Zhiren, male, 53 (1957-12-02~), Wu Kuizhao, male, 48 (1962-01-14~), Zhang Yishuo, male, 57 (1953-07-07~), Wang Chaohua, male, 56 (1954-08-16~), Pan Lijie, male, 53 (1957-07-18~), Pan Chaoliang, male, 57 (1953-09-03~), Wang Chaoxi, male, 52 (1958-08-12~), All of them have possessed a whole set of Wooden engraved Chinese characters. They complete the printing task entrusted by the clans in groups formed by either family members, relatives, or master-apprentices. In the division of labour, the representative bearer is responsible for undertaking orders and managing business. In general, men do the work of engraving characters, typesetting and printing which require higher level of techniques, while women do the work of page separating, binding, etc.
China 2010 -
Watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese junks
The Watertight-Bulkhead Technology of Chinese Junks is an age-old craft for the construction of ocean-going vessels with watertight compartments in South China’s Fujian Province. The vessels are made mainly of camphor, pine and fir timber, and assembled through use of traditional carpenters’ tools. They are built by applying the key technologies of rabbet-jointing planks together and caulking the seams between the planks with ramie, lime and tung oil. A master craftsman designs and directs the whole process. A large number of craftsmen work in close coordination to build solidly rabbeted ocean-going vessels consisting of multiple independently watertight cabins. The core technology for building such vessels is called The Watertight-Bulkhead Technology of Chinese Junks. Watertight bulkheads are the most important step in building Chinese junks. To start with, the craftsmen build an integral hull by joining the vessel’s bilge and sides. The hull is then divided into cabins according to the function and size of the ship. The whole process is manual. Planks are rabbet-jointed together. And then interlocked to the bilge and on to frames or held with crampons. Ramie fibber, lime and tung oil are mixed in the proper proportion to wedge into any gaps between planks and make the cabins waterproof. The tools are largely those used by traditional Chinese carpenters, such as axes, carpenter’s ink markers, hand drills, rulers, maces, pit saws, chisels and planers. Chinese junks are subdivided into multiple watertight cabins. If in the course of navigation one or two cabins are accidentally damaged, seawater will not flood other cabins. The vessel will not sink, but remain afloat. This greatly improves navigation safety. This technology has been widely used over the centuries in fishing vessels, cargo ships, warships, and diplomatic vessels. In particular, Fujian’s ocean-going cargo ships sailing along the Maritime Silk Road during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the fleets commanded by Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He in his seven voyages to the West, fully adopted this technology. The technology has served as a bridge and unifier in the exchange between Eastern and Western civilizations. In the late 18th century this technology was finally adopted in the West. Since then Watertight bulkheads have become an important structural element in modern ship design, remain so today and have greatly enhanced navigation safety.
China 2010 -
Chinese shadow puppetry
Shadow puppetry is a kind of performing art. It uses music and operatic singing, to accompany silhouette figures made from leather or paper. These figures are manipulated by performers to create the illusion of moving images in front of an illuminated backdrop. The inheritors, props, scripts, and musical instruments decide the survival of shadow play groups. A silhouette figure has from 12 to 24 moveable joints, head, hands and so on, and is controlled by 3 poles or sticks. The music and songs of shadow puppetry have distinctive regional characteristics. There are many unique tunes which have come down from generation to generation. Shadow plays are performed by bigger troupes with 7 to 9 performers and smaller troupes with 2 to 5 performers. And 2-person troupes with one person performing and the other playing the instruments now exist in Shandong, Hubei, and Sichuan provinces. Most performers make a living from shadow plays, which are mainly performed for entertainments or for religious rituals, weddings and funerals and other special occasions. The manufacturing of puppets may require 10 different carving processes, the tools often being home-made. Many shadow puppetry performers can carve the puppets, sing and perform by themselves. And there are two types of scripts, that is, oral-transmitted scripts and written ones. Some shadow puppetry performers are professional, while many play as amateurs during slack farming seasons. The relevant skills are handed down in families, in the troupes, and from master to pupil. Shadow puppetry has been handed down for over one thousand years. With the evolution of history, the plays, puppets, types of lighting and performance, and the related crafts have developed with regular innovation. Shadow puppetry is a traditional folk drama that is created by and for the community and contains a thousand years of cultural deposits, as well as passing on diverse cultural information such as cultural history, social beliefs, folklore, and local customs. It spreads knowledge, improves cultural development, and entertains the community, especially the youth. Chinese Shadow Puppetry has significant historic and cultural importance, and should be protected and set on a footing of sustainable development.
China 2011 -
Strategy for training coming generations of Fujian puppetry practitioners
Fujian Puppetry is an outstanding representative of Chinese performing arts. It consists mainly of string-pulled puppetry and hand puppetry. This performing art started to spread in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and the surrounding areas in the 10th Century. In the course of its history, it has not only accumulated a considerable amount of traditional plays and changqiang (i.e. arias, vocal music in Chinese opera), but also developed rich and exquisite performing techniques, a unique performing system, as well as marvellous craftsmanship in the modelling of puppets. As a result, Fujian Puppetry has become an art cherished by the people of local communities where it is an integral part of cultural life. Since 1980s, changes in economic production and life style; economic globalisation and a diversified cultural dissemination and, on the other hand, the highly sophisticated performing techniques that require long and painstaking practice are the reasons behind young people’s reluctance to learn and inherit Fujian Puppetry. Given the above-mentioned situation, from 2006 communities, groups and representative bearers concerned formulated the 2008-2020 Strategy for the Training of Coming Generations of Fujian Puppetry Practitioners in order to promote the safeguarding of Fujian Puppetry transmission by focusing on the training of younger practitioners. The key objective of this strategy is to safeguard the transmission of Fujian Puppetry: -\tthrough systematic professional training, bringing up a new generation of puppetry practitioners and raising the self-sustainability of Fujian puppetry; -\tthrough overall safeguarding, educating coming generations of puppetry practitioners and appreciators, and improving the habitat of Fujian Puppetry.
China 2012 -
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 -
Blessings ‘Alkysh’
Blessings are a specific genre of the oral folk art, which is closely linked with rituals and ceremonies of the Kyrgyz. Origins of this genre are widely presented in Kyrgyz epic heritage, musical and poetic genres of art. The most important life events such as birth, wedding, funerals and many others are continuously followed by the blessings. First of all, a blessing means recognition and incentive of an action. Traditionally, blessings are given to children from the early age on behalf of the recognized honored people, wise ‘aksakals’ (elders), and noble grandmothers, ‘baibiche’. Blessings are given in a slow manner, but solemnly. Although the image and genre expressiveness of blessings remains unchanged, today they vary in themes and contents. If early blessings had a more ritual character, at present they also carry moral, ethical and educational functions.
Kyrgyzstan -
Performing art of ‘koshok’ - wailing-songs
Wailing-songs ‘koshok’ are part of the funeral rites. It is one of the most ancient genres of popular lyrics, traces of which are found in the Orkhon-Enisei writing system. ‘Tiruunun korku syi bolot, olgondun korku yi bolot’, say the Kyrgyz. It implies the necessity to show respect to someone while he is alive and to demonstrate respect by wailing and lamenting when he passes away. Lamentations glorify the best human qualities of a deceased person. In the past, the wailing song performers were often invited to funeral ceremonies. At present, koshok is performed not only by the invited people, but by the members of the family as well. Lamentations are also performed during wedding ceremonies. In this case, they take the form of farewell to the bride and are performed by her mother or sister-in-law.
Kyrgyzstan -
Customs and rituals related to a child-birth
Suyunchu Suyunchu is a tradition of sharing good news. When baby is born one of the family members shares this news with other relatives. The one who communicates good news receives a gift for sharing good news. When seeing a baby for the first time, the family members also give korunduk, a gift for seeing a baby. At koiuu A ritual of naming a baby is called At koiuu in Kyrgyz. Usually, it is not the baby’s parents but paternal grandparents who get to give a name to the baby. Sometimes, this right is given to the most respect person in the community or to one who has seen the baby first. Kyrgyz people believe that name is very important and can influence the person’s destiny. When selecting a name for the infant, elders look carefully at the baby and try to pick the name that suits the baby best. Beshikke saluu A ritual of placing a baby into a cradle called Beshikke saluu is one of the major rituals followed by a feast. On a seventh day after a baby’s birth when baby’s belly button is healed, a baby is placed in a cradle. Cradle is very convenient for taking care of a baby, feeding and putting baby to sleep. According to Kyrgyz traditions, a maternal grandmother of the baby brings a cradle. All relatives, neighbors and friends are invited to a feast. Jentek toi After some time after baby’s birth, family makes a feast for relatives and neighbors. This fest is called Jentek toi. Those who come to Jentek toi give blessings to the baby and the family. Often times a sheep or a larger domestic animal is slaughtered for the feast. The clean bones of a sacrificed animal are buried in the ground. It is considered to be a sacrifice for Umai ene, the protector of women and infants. Kyrkyn chygaruu Kyrgyz people mark the 40th day after the birth of a baby - Kyrkyn chygaruu. To perform this ritual, the women take forty spoonful of water and dissolve some salt in it. Salt is beneficial for baby’s body and washes off various things. The baby’s hair is cut and is buried at a place where people do not step on. While conducting the ritual, elderly women are invited to give blessings to the newborn. Then, a first shirt is quilted for a baby from 40 pieces of fabric. The shirt is put on inside out. It is the maternal grandparents who conduct this ritual for a baby. The person who cuts the hair must be a respected person in a community. As a sign of gratitude, baby’s parent give that person a gift such as a sheep or its equivalent. Tushoo kesuu This ritual is dedicated to the first steps made by a baby. For this ritual, elders prepare a special rope made out of white and black wool. The baby’s ankles are tied with this rope. Tushoo kesuu means cutting those ropes. The combination of black and white symbolize the struggle of two eternal energies of light and darkness, good and evil. Then, young boys from the neighborhood are gathered for a race. They are put in some distance from a baby and race towards him. The one who comes first to the baby cuts the rope on baby’s ankles. The winner and the person who came second take the baby by hands and help him or her walk. According to Kyrgyz beliefs, this ritual will help the baby to walk his or her path in this life well.
Kyrgyzstan -
Proverbs and Sayings
Proverbs and sayings are also genres of Uzbek oral folk art. A proverb is often in the form of grammatically completed sentence in which folk wisdom is expressed in instructive form. It is a wise adage, which is short, figurative and grammatically and logically complete, a phrase with a deep meaning. Proverbs, which have certain, steady and widely used rhythmic formula, emerged on the basis of people's centuries-long experience. In proverbs found its reflection people's life-related observations, their attitudes to the society, their history, spiritual state, ethical and aesthetic feelings and positive qualities. Having been preserved by the people throughout centuries, they acquired concise and simple poetic form. A saying is a phrase that reflects a phenomenon of life, one of the small genres of folklore. Often has a humorous character. Saying, unlike the proverb, does not contain a generalizing meaning and is not a complete sentence. Sayings are beautiful examples of figurative thinking, which decorate our speech. Although they emerge relatively slow, they remain in use for several years. Sayings bear some similarities to folk proverbs. At the same time they differ from the latter with their peculiar features. These are the following: while proverbs are used as single complete conclusion in a speech, sayings act only as parts of that conclusion; while proverbs have a wide range of themes, sayings have exact themes and their exact functional purposes; while proverbs have their established form structures, sayings do not have such form structures; while proverbs are used sometimes in a figurative sense (or sometimes in a literal sense), sayings are used only in a figurative sense.
Uzbekistan