ALL
swing
ICH Elements 8
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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 -
The ‘Layang Mas’ Dance
According to history, the Layang Mas dance was created when the Raja of Perlis sent tribute payment to the Siamese government by riding on an elephant, when the state of Perlis was under Siamese rule. At that time the elephant caretaker called Tok Jambul, with his friend Ecan, composed the song ‘Layang Mas’. Upon returning from Siam they created the ‘Layang Mas’ dance, one of the dances in the Terinai dance repertoire. This court dance that can only be performed by ladies only uses lots of gliding hand movements and with a number of turns, clear shoulder moves and hip movements. The dance also uses a long shawl tied on the waist with a belt, held by the thumbs and fore fingers, and often portrayed as a bird’s wings.
Malaysia -
Art of Xòe dance of the Tai people in Viet Nam
"Xòe" means dancing with movements that symbolize human activities in ritual, culture, life and work. Xòe is performed at rituals, weddings, village festivals and community events. There are three main types of Xòe: ritual Xòe, circle Xòe, and presentational Xòe. Rituals Xòe and presentational Xòe are named after props used during particular dances, such as scarf Xòe, conical hat Xòe, fan Xòe, bamboo pole Xòe, music Xòe, stick Xòe, and flower Xòe. The most popular form is circle Xòe, wherein dancers form a circle in harmony with each other. The basic dance movements of Xòe include raising the hands up, opening the hands, lowering the hands, clasping the hands of the next person following rhythmic footsteps, slightly arching the chest and leaning backwards. The musical instruments of gourd lute (tính tẩu), shawm (kèn loa), mouth organ (khèn bè), drum, gong, cymbals, reed flute (pí pặp), bamboo-tube percussion (bẳng bu) and small round-shaped rattle are used to accompany dance, which follows rhythms in even meters (either 2/4 or 4/4). The typical melodies played on the instruments use the following intervals: major second, major and minor third, perfect fourth and perfect fifth. Dance movements, though simple, symbolize wishes for community members to have a good life and live in solidarity. Gentle dance moves blend with instrumental music, vocals, tight-fitting blouses, the jingling of silver jewelry hanging around the waists of Tai women and creates an art form imbued with the cultural identity of the Tai in the northwestern region of Viet Nam.
Viet Nam 2021 -
Water Puppetry (Múa rối nước) of Hong Phong in Hai Duong
The tradition-bearers of the element are communities in the three water-puppetry guilds of Bồ Dương Village (in Hồng Phong Commune, Ninh Giang District), An Liệt Village (in Thanh Hải Commune, Thanh Hà District) and Bùi Thượng Village (in Lê Lợi Commune, Gia Lộc District). Water puppetry is a form of amusement for villagers during village festivals. Performances often takes place in a small nhà trò or thủy đình stage in a pond at the village’s communal house. Performers submerge themselves in the water, behind a bamboo screen, to maneuver wooden puppets with poles and robes. A show often includes short playful scenes with various puppet characters, such as the Tễu clown, dragon, turtle, lion, snake, fish, dragon boat, and so on. Puppets are made of sung wood (cluster fig), meticulously sculptured and ornately decorated. The puppet’s base, attached with a manual mechanism that allows maneuvering underwater, is always heavier than the top so that it can float halfway without sinking. Music, rooted from North folk songs and chèo music is an important component. Popular excerpts and scenes are intro by Tễu, wrestling, fishing, dragon dance, the Eight Fairies, so on. In order to accommodate new audience tastes in contemporary life, water puppet artists create new scenes and excerpt with more sophisticated techniques.
Viet Nam -
Tso Mem Go-ni: Propitiation of Mermaid
The 600-year-old Serlung Pelkar Chhoeling Monastery in Dawakha, Paro was founded by Drupthop Thangthong Gyalpo (1361-1485) when he built iron bridges for the people in this area. In the meantime, the people living in a place high up on the mountain had to deal with strong winds and storms that caused harm to the people and destroyed crops. The people blamed the infamous lakes in the area. There were two lakes, Yum and Syem (Mother and Daughter), which were believed to be the cause of all the destruction inflicted on the people. In Bhutan, the Bhutanese believe that all living things, including nature, have spirits and are alive within them. For example, the mountains in Bhutan are believed to be the abode of mountain gods, or at least to house spirits. Therefore, people decided to drive away the destructive spirits of the lakes by throwing the dead bodies of people and animals into the lake. The mother lake left its present location for the Dagala region and became known as Dagala Yumtsho, while the daughter lake did not make it further than present-day Selung Goemba. She had problems with her leg. You can still see the remains of the lakes where they rested. The mother advised the daughter to stay in this place and serve as the protector of the Dharma of Drupthop Thangtong Gyalpo in Selung Goemba, and left her her revered Sergi Alung (hook), making the place known as Serlung Goemba. The people of this place considered it auspicious that a lake had formed near a monastery founded by the famous Drupthop Thangtong Gyalpo. The villagers believed that the lake would eliminate famine and bring prosperity to the village, and held a festive sacrifice to ask the spirit of the lake to bless them with protection. The ritual takes place in Selung Goemba once every three years. There is no specific day or month set for its performance, but depends mainly on the availability of the Pawo. The Goemba is a common religious place of worship for the people of Khamdi and Sali and some other neighboring villages.
Bhutan -
Kishuthara: The Silken Kira (Bhutanese women dress)
Kishuthara (The Silken Kira (Bhutanese women dress)), is a native intricate patterned silk textile particularly Khoma Gewog (block) under Lhuentse Dzongkhag (district) where it become the production hotspot of the Bhutanese woven textile in the country. Kishuthara adhere its origin from the Tibetan king Songsten Gampo’s (Reign: c. 618 – 650) wife, Ashi Jaza (Bhrikuti) who introduced the backstrap loom and weaving traditional wear in Bhutan. According to oral source, the design of Kishuthara was tweeted by the bird called Tsheringmo when Azhi Jaza was wondering about motif. The bird tweeted; “chi tu nee nun, nee thu sum nun” (pick one left two, pick two and left three”) Kishuthara- tema design was thus born. Thus, hereafter Azhi Jaza taught her weavers the procedure of weaving loom textile. Later, Khoma women were able to incooperate the patterns of Kishuthara while they were trading with Tibetan merchant. Additionally, in the eight century, during the visit of Guru Rinpoche and his consort Khandro Yeshey Tshogyel at Khoma, Khandro also blessed the progress of Kishuthara as villager’s livelihood and primary source of income. When Tibet was officially incorporated into the territory of China’s Yuan Dynasty during mid- 13th century, some Tibetan fled to Bhutan. Some steeled at Khoma and from there, villagers learnt the patterns of Kishuthara in full swing. Another source traces back to Azhi Jaza’s merchant Tshonpon Norbu Zangpo, the most influential trader around the world, once reached at Khoma for trading purpose. While staying at Khoma, he had fallen in love with one Khomapa girl and as a token of fidelity, he presented kushung to her. Kushung is the name of patterning technique in their local dialects and thara in tshangla dialect means kira. Then girl learnt the motif by looking at kushung and some believe that motif was taught by the same bird Tsheringmo to the girl. Kushung is later called as Kushuthara due to mispronunciation. On contrary, according to the textile Arts of Bhutan, by Susan S. Beans and Diana K Myers, kushuthara was flourishing as early as the 17th century, local noblewomen commissioned more elaborately kiras until kushuthara become a distinct regional fashion. Today Khoma people are depending mainly on Kishuthara as their livelihood because Kishuthara is the primary source for income generation thus, weaving the patterns of their life. Past few decades, people were engaged in farming and when agriculture season is over, women in group set up their backstrap looms in the harvested paddy field and sheltered by bamboo canopies. However, at present few household are engaged in faming activities while rest of the women are busy with Kishuthara throughout the year.
Bhutan -
Beldemchi
Beldemchi is a Kyrgyz women's clothing, which is a short hip swing skirt sewn to a wide belt. It is typically worn over the dress. Beldemchi had several variations in the past. Like so, in the North of Kyrgyzstan, beldemchi was sewn from black velvet with lush gathers at the waist and was decorated with embroidery. On the contrary, in the South, beldemchi was made of coloured velvet or semi-silk fabric without embroidery, sewn from several slanted wedges, without gathers. Beldemchi was worn by married women. After the childbirth, women put on a beldemchi, which thoroughly protected the body of young mothers from the cold, while not restricting their movements. Depending on the purpose, it was made of homespun cloth or expensive materials. If it was a festive clothing, it was sewn from silk, leather, velvet, decorated with elements of fur, embroidery, silver and beads. However, there was no embroidery or other decorations on casual beldemchi, which was worn by women daily.
Kyrgyzstan -
ARGHUNCHAK, alvonj, bodpech, hoy, hoybod, hayuchak, vulchak
A kind of traditional children game similar to swing, performed by girls. It is played more in the Navruz celebration.
Tajikistan