The International Mask Arts & Culture Organization (IMACO) was established in 2006 to construct archives of mask-related culture that is integral to cultural community symbols.

For Buddhists all over the world, Vesak (Vaisakha, Buddha’s Birthday or Buddha Day) is the holiest day of year. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha. It is celebrated on different days in many countries, mostly on the first full moon day of May or 8 April of the lunar calendar.\n\nWhile cultural influences have characterized various differences with regards to the treatment of celebrations, a common thread binds them together, making this unbroken 2500-year-old tradition one of the world’s oldest birthdays.\n\nOfferings of prayers, joss sticks, and incense, as well as giving food to the needy and making donations reflect the more traditional aspects of the occasion, whereas the popular festivities that accompany them, such as parades and processions of vibrantly decorated floats add a contemporary flavor to one of the world’s longest standing birthday celebrations.\n\nPlace of Birth, Where Buddhist Pilgrims Gather (Nepal)\nNepal is the birthplace of the historical Buddha in the fifth or sixth Century BCE. Jammed packed with festivities, Buddha Jayanti (Buddha’s Birthday) observances in Nepal, commemorate not only his birth but also his enlightenment and demise and runs for a single day. At the Maya Devi temple in Lumbini, where Queen Maya Devi, the mother of the Buddha, gave birth, large numbers of national and international monks, including pilgrims from different cultures and religions, make the journey to offer prayers and to soak up the carnivalesque atmosphere resulting from the temple’s World Heritage status.\n\nIn Kathmandu, thousands flock to ancient Buddhist sites such as Swayambhunath temple, the oldest temple in Nepal, and the Boudhanath, the biggest stupa in Nepal, to join the colorful processions of musicians and dancers while prayers and offerings are made by Tibetan monks in much the same way as when it was part of a trade route between Lhasa and Kathmandu. Full moons are always auspicious occasions, but lighting butter lamps, spinning prayer wheels, and chanting mantras on this particular one is considered extra special.\n\nKasone Festival, Watering of the Bodhi Tree (Myanmar)\nIn Myanmar, Buddha’s birthday celebration is known as the full moon Kasone Festival. In the festival, water is a dominant feature, with devotees pouring water on Bodhi trees, the same species under which the Buddha gained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India, more than 2,500 years ago.\n\nPouring water on statues is a regular ritual in Myanmar, particularly on full moon days, and symbolizes purification, goodwill, and good luck. Kasone is an exceptional full moon, with religious verses recited at temples or pagodas throughout the country. Particular reverence is observed at the Golden Pagoda (Shwedagon Zedi Daw, the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar) in Yangon, where devotees dressed in white chant mantras and circumambulate the pagoda clockwise while pouring water on the statue according to one’s day of birth.\n\nIn keeping with the water theme, fish are also released into cooler waters of lakes and rivers during the dry season, with the nearby Kandawgyi Lake and Inya Lake in Yangon being the most popular spots to observe this ritual.\n\nYeon Deung Hoe, Lantern Festival (Republic of Korea)\nIn the Republic of Korea, the most popularly celebrated event honoring Buddha’s Birthday, is the Yeon Deung Hoe (Flower Lantern Festival). Generally held on a Saturday night a week before the nationwide public holiday, the main artery of downtown Seoul is illuminated by vividly decorated lanterns in all shapes and sizes in a parade, drawing a crowd of enthralled onlookers.\n\nThis annual tradition is listed on their national intangible cultural heritage inventory. These days, this has become one of the country’s most popular festivals, pulsating with an eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary Korean culture.\n\nIn the days leading up to the public holiday, devotees hang colorful lanterns containing their heartfelt wishes in local temples. The piece of paper attached to the base of the lantern usually contains one’s wishes for good health, or prosperity, or for academic achievement.\n\nOn the day itself, which falls on 3 May in 2017, devotees visit local temples to make offerings of flowers, incense, and candles. Interpreted symbolically as radiating warmth into darkness, here the Buddha becomes a manifestation of the lantern light.\n\nPhoto : Buddhist monks march through downtown Seoul during a celebration for Buddha's birthday

Singapore’s Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) organizes Lintas Nusantara, an annual dance festival that serves as a platform for dance masters and troupes from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other countries in the region to showcase their work and capabilities and to facilitate cultural exchanges among the countries involved.\n\nTo commemorate the tenth anniversary of the festival, MHC will be launching a publication entitled Lintas Nusantara: A Spectacle of Dance and Music in October 2021. The publication will provide a visual record of all the dances performed at the festival and include several essays that aim to provide a deeper understanding of the various dance forms as well as their origins, development, and evolution.\n\nIt will cover a total of twenty-three Malay dance forms performed in Singapore, different states in Malaysia, and different regions of Indonesia. These dance forms include Zapin Sungai Kallang from Singapore; Mak Yong and Tari Asyik from Malaysia; and Pajaga Makkunrai (Bugis), Tari Golek Menak (Yogyakarta) and Tari Gending Sriwijaya (Palembang) from Indonesia.\n\nAs part of the publication’s aim to foster more extensive research into dances from the Malay Archipelago, it will feature twenty-seven essays by academics and researchers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, and the Philippines. These essays will cover topics such as preserving dance and community traditions; spirituality in dance and movement; forging cultural and community identity through dance; cultural borrowings as expressed through music, costumes, and movements.\n\nLintas Nusantara: A Spectacle of Dance and Music will also include reflections regarding the importance of cultural exchanges in the growth and evolution of dance and music as well as the development of a dynamic Malay dance ecosystem from musicians Thow Xin Wei (Gamelan Singa Nglaras) and Fadhli Ramlee (aluNada Muzik) as well as an interview with Mr. Osman Abdul Hamid, a dance practitioner renowned for his artistic contributions to the Malay dance scene in Singapore since the late 1970s.\n\nThrough this publication, MHC hopes to provide an overview of the wide spectrum of Malay dance forms, contribute to existing research and documentation on Malay performing arts, and promote greater cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of the diverse dance forms from the Malay world.\n\nLintas Nusantara: A Spectacle of Dance and Music is a bilingual publication written in both English and Malay, and interested parties can send their inquiries to Jamal_Mohamad@nhb.gov.sg.\n\nPhoto 1 : Dancers from Guntur Mataram Dance Company (Jakarta) performing the Tari Golek Asmaradana Bawaraga. Photograph courtesy of Malay Heritage Centre\nPhoto 2 : Artist Seni Budaya (Singapore) performing the Tari Gending Sriwijaya with dancers from Universitas PGRI Palembang (Indonesia). Photograph courtesy of Malay Heritage Centre

Bodu beru (literally “big drum”) is the most popular and one of the oldest surviving forms of music and dance in the Maldives. The tradition is thought to have been brought to the Maldives by African slaves in the nineteenth century. Some people also believe that it evolved as an alternative to eleventh-century court music.\n\nBodu beru is usually performed by a group of fifteen to twenty people—composed of at least a lead singer and three drummers. Goat skin is commonly used as the drum’s membrane and the wood of coconut palm as the drum’s barrel; stingray skin is also used as a substitute for goat skin. The beat is hammered out with bare hands in a slow tempo, building up into a crescendo. This intensity continues before reaching an abrupt end. The song accompanying this drumming is called baburu lava or negro song. In the olden days, the lyrics were a meaningless combination of local and African words usually sung after a hard day’s work.\n\nNowadays, songs sung with bodu beru accompaniment are written in Dhivehi, the local Maldivian language. During musical shows, performers render a dance called baburu neshun or negro dance while wearing a sarong and white short-sleeved shirt. Bodu beru is popular at weddings, Eid occasions, and events held in relation to the circumcision of young boys. Also, with many tourist resorts realizing the commercial benefit of a relatively inexpensive cultural activity for their tourists, many bodu beru groups have been formed to perform in resorts. A current and more commercial revival has been led through an annual reality show/competition known as Boduberu Challenge. Some videos of the program are available here.\n\nPhoto : Bodu beru performance by young practitioners CCBY2.0 Shafiu Hussain

The horse, a special animal that, ever since the beginning of civilization, has been tamed by humans. The creature has accompanied humans, from carrying loads to partaking in ceremonies. There’s not much information available on how exactly this animal was tamed, but historical evidence such as paintings discovered on the walls of caves and the pottery found in the very first human’s accommodations confirms that it was domesticated first by the Aryans and brought to the plateau of Persia. A place in which this creature has gone through many ups and downs, taken from carrying stuff for humans to becoming a playmate for him in such an ancient game like polo (chogan) with a significant role. And the presence of Turkmen horses, which are considered one of the best breeds in the world, has not been ineffective in advancing these events.\n\nHorse Background\nThe connection between humans and horses dates back to the Neolithic Era, and ever since men tamed horses, the essence of the value of these creatures has penetrated into the beliefs of the ancient people of Persia. Horses included in such a place that they would be sacrificed to the gods of ancient Persia and India. This value could be seen in the Zoroastrian’s book of Avesta, the epics, mythos, and legends in Shahnameh, and the poetry book of Ferdowsi, the great Persian poet. Names mentioned in the book of Avesta generally mean “the owner of the horse.” Horses were so sacred that they were said to carry the chariots of the gods of ancient Persia and India.\n\nHorseback Riding\nWith the technology in the hands of the ancient people, many things would not have been possible without the presence of animals such as horses, cows, or camels. In the meantime, on the one hand, because of horses’ value, and on the other hand, for its agility, strength, high speed, and loyalty, the horse could be a human helper. As history says: The Parthians did not separate their bows and horses only in their dreams, and among the Achaemenids, the horse has been their friend and helper since childhood. As the historical evidence confirms, the first Persian people to have an army on horseback were the Achaemenids, who were called Arteshtaran, the aristocrats who had been trained since childhood.\n\nIn the Parthians period, horseback riding was the favorite sport of the royal families. During the Sassanid period, they sided with the farmers and the traders. During the Samanid period, horses were sold in the bazaar of Khorasan as an intelligent animal, which its use in military units, Chaparkhaneh (in terms of posting offices), and carriages increased significantly.\n\nUsage of Horses\nIn ancient Persia, due to the power and speed of these animals, they could be used in many places to send messages and letters, they were used as Chapar’s horses who would only take messages and bring back the response. On the battlefield, they accompanied the cavalry and were used at banquets and military ceremonies. With all that, one question is left to answer:\n\nWhy was the role of horses in playing chogan as necessary as humans were?\n\nChogan (polo), as an aristocratic game played in the Safavid court, was a way for the Safavid kings to communicate with the people. The sport was popular among the people, and people used every opportunity to hold this game. To answer the question of why the horse’s role in chogan is as prominent as the role of man, it can be said that it is due to the picture of this animal captured in the minds of people and kings for centuries.\n\nThe superiority of the Turkmen horse breeding, on the one hand, and on the other hand, its role in the religious beliefs, and the powerful reality of this animal in traveling distances, and accepting the fact that it has been with man throughout history, could be a reason for humans, to share it in wars and travels, and now to share it in entertainment and joy so that he could once again meet his need for a sense of constant companionship.\n\nPhoto : Chogan in painting

Datun Julud, or ‘long dance’ dance is an Orang Ulu traditional women's dance that is popular among the Kenyah tribe of Sarawak. It means ‘long dance’ in the language of the Kenyah Dayak. It was once performed during communal celebrations but now has become a dance of formal entertainment that is often performed in the rumah panjang (longhouse) to greet visitors and tourists, accompanied by the beautiful sound of Sape’.

In many traditional ceremonies and rituals, the use of baked clay pots and objects in Nepal is common. Even for everyday uses, these potteries include those for cooling water, cooking, flowers, curd, and many more. Until a few decades back, these potteries were more commonly used in everyday life. Pots for storing water and grains, for steaming, for carrying water, and even for washing clothes were made of various potteries. Today, many of these traditional potteries have been replaced by durable modern materials, such as plastics.\n\nBecause of the extensive use of the pottery in daily life, there used to be quarters in the cities and villages within Kathmandu Valley dedicated to pottery making. Now there are only a few places within the valley that have continued to make pottery using ancient techniques. These places are now famous due to the influx of tourists.\n\nOne of the most famous quarters for pottery in the valley is pottery square in Bhaktapur that is known to locals as Kumha Twa. Kumha are pottery makers, and twa is the quarters. Walking through this quarter we can see people making shapes out of clay on pottery wheels. Some giving finishing touches while some are busy drying pottery goods in the sun. This quarter also has communal kiln for baking. This quarter seem like an open-air museum for the pottery making, which has been continued for several generations.\n\nMr. Krishna Shyam Prajapati, 44 years old, is one of the pottery makers of the square. He has worked in this profession since the age of 13 or 14. He learned pottery-making skills from his father and his father learned from his father. This continuity has been going on for generations. According to Mr. Prajapati in the old days, they used to make pottery hand-operated wheels that had to be with the help of pole. Now, most pottery makers use electric motor wheels.\n\nThe pottery is made from the black clay, which is abundant in the valley. The clay from the field is smashed and smoothed with the help of feet. When it is smooth enough, it is ready for making pots and other things. Now machines have taken over much of the manual work. After the pottery is shaped, it is sundried and later baked in a kiln. In old days, hay was used to make fire, but now the kilns are fueled with wood. These kilns are communal, people take turns baking their pottery.\n\nWith the arrival of tourism, pottery makers shifted from the traditional pottery to products targeting tourists. The souvenirs like bells, candle stands, miniature animals, and many wares are commonplace. But with the pandemic, the lack of tourist has hampered the pottery business, so pottery makers like Mr. Prajapati have shifted back to traditional products. He has been sustaining his business in the pandemic by making piggy banks commonly known as khutruke.\n\nThe pottery-making business has been directly and indirectly affected by modernization. Consumers prefer to use plastic products instead of clay ones due to durability and economic circumstances. Also the massive growth in the city is creating difficulty for the pottery makers to get the required clay.\n\nThough tourism has given a boost in business and pottery square has contributed to tourism in the city, there is a need to recognize and value the traditional profession by state and contribute in the future sustainability.\n\nPhotos 1~4 : Pottery souvenirs displayed in shops. © Monalisa Maharjan

The Department of Heritage of the Republic of Maldives held an exhibition to display architectural drawings showcasing Maldivian craftsmanship skills at Maldives National Museum of the Maldives from 28 May to 31 July 2017. The event also featured the illustrations on Maldivian coral carpentry by a renowned Maldivian architect, Mohamed Mauroof Jameel. In the opening ceremony of the exhibition, “Coral Stone Mosques of the Maldives: The Vanishing Legacy of the Indian Ocean” was launched. It is a book detailing the architecture and coral carpentry of coral stone mosques co-authored by Mohamed Mauroof Jameel and Yahya Ahmad, a Malaysian architect.\n\nThe coral stone mosques in Maldives embody the intricate carpentry skills of the Maldivian. Intricately carved, they are exceptional with their lacquerware; an architectural creation seen only in Maldives. Coral carpentry dates back to the Buddhist era in the twelfth century and continued till the introduction of masonry in the late eighteenth century. As the only long-lasting and easily available materials were coral stone and timber, coral stones became the primary building material for monumental buildings. Skilled workers would lift live reef coral boulders or Porite corals from the seabed, cut them into stone blocks while still soft, air dry, and then interlock them to build an edifice. The method of construction using coral blocks was the tongue and groove method, an excellent building technique used in the ancient Maldives. Coral stone construction became even more refined during the emergence of Islam, particularly when the cutting techniques of Swahili region in East Africa influenced Maldivian artisans. The fusion of Buddhist and Islamic cultures in Maldives is reflected in the architecture of the mosques.\n\nHowever, removing corals is now prohibited due to environmental implications. The physical setting of the Maldivian islands with faros (ring-shaped reefs) by reef sediments resulted in the formation of coral reef islands. It is believed that the traditional lifestyle of the people had almost negligible impact on the marine environment. Being a country with more territorial sea than dry land, Maldivians highly depend on resources from the sea. Henceforth, coral reefs are not only economically important to Maldives in terms of revenue since they also function as a buffer to shorelines from wave action and other oceanic processes. It is found that coral mining for coral carpentry could be highly destructive and is carried out at a high cost to the reef environment with a very small return of corals as building materials. Consequently, the Government of Maldives is controlling coral mining with legislation, mindful of the environmental implications of such practice.\n\nThe only coral stone mosques left are those that were built during the ancient times. Maldivians do not practice coral carpentry anymore; however, coral carpentry as a skill is still being transmitted for the future generations. The existing coral carvings and construction are safeguarded by the government and local communities. This heritage embodies spiritual values and history of the Maldivian communities.\n\nPhoto : Detail of coral carving on the premises of Male' Friday Mosque © Dominic Sansoni

The Awa Dance Festival, also known as the Awa Odori Dance Festival, is the largest traditional festival in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, and has over four hundred years of history. It is held in mid-August every year. Awa is the old administration name for Tokushima, and odori means dance. As a folk dance in the region, Awa odori originated from a Buddhist practice. It is generally believed that a collective dance style was added to a priestly dance to honor the spirits of ancestors, leading to today’s Awa odori.\n\nThe Awa Dance Festival is held as part of the Obon Festival, a major Japanese holiday. This year, festival will be held for four days, from 12 to 15 August. The main celebration starts around 6:00 p.m. in city centers and continues until 10:30 p.m. People dance in parks and stage areas and parade through the streets. Large crowds come from around the country to see and enjoy Awa Odori, which is also called “dance of fools” after old Tokushima saying:\n\nThe dancing fool and the watching fool are both fools, so why not dance?\n\nAt this time of year, over a thousand groups of choreographed dancers (ren) from around Japan register for the festival. Other non-ren dancers also gather to present voluntary performances. Spectators are also free to join the festivities. As such, Awa Odori can be better enjoyed through collective dance steps. Typically, men dance in a powerful style while women dance in a more graceful fashion.\n\nTo spur the excitement, ren dancers play hayashi, an essential part of the festival, with traditional musical instruments, such as with flutes, drums, kane gongs, and three-stringed shamisen lutes. This combination of flute and percussion instruments is called norimono. The kane player leads the group; flutes produce melody; drums provide a rhythmic base, signaling the start of the festival.\n\nDuring the festival, visitors can enjoy Awa Odori performances on stages in city centers. The Awa Odori Kaikan is one of the main indoor stages, where outstanding groups present Awa Odori demonstrations. The most notable feature of the festival is that it encourages all people, not just ren dancers, to participate in the festival; people voluntarily establish and join related associations and promote the festival themselves, which have led to the festival’s success. To take part in the festival and have a chance to dance on stage, one can join the Niwaka Ren to learn choreography.\n\nPhoto : Group of female dancers at the Awa Odori Matsuri in Tokushima. CCBY3.0 Stemu2000 (Wikimedia Commons)

India has been known for centuries for its living heritage, tradition, and culture. The Rajasthan region is especially famous for its rich tribal tradition and craftsmanship. Different tribal groups have carried these traditions on since ancient times as the living heritage of the region. This practice is exemplified by the Aadi-Mahotsav, a three-day festival, which was most recently held in Udaipur from June 14 to 16, 2019. The festival demonstrates a discourse between the region’s tribal artists and the urban population in this cultural jamboree. The festival has earned a special importance in the conservation, exposure, and promotion of tribal traditions. \n\nAadi-Mahotsav is held by Tribal Area Development (TAD) and the Tribal Research Institute (TRI) in partnership with Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal, Udaipur. The Aadi-Mahotsav starts in Udaipur, Rajasthan, on the second Friday of June and lasts for three days. The festival participants are children from tribal schools governed and run by TAD, tribal artists, craftsmen, musicians, singers, and other carriers of the intangible cultural heritage of Mewar, India, and other nearby villages.\n\nThe festival attracts all kinds of visitors: urban and rural residents, tourists, and collectors, representatives of businesses and cultural organizations, and so on. The festival traditionally opens with a sober procession of all the tribal artists, craftsmen, and participants of the festival in their traditional costumes. The participating artists welcome the distinguished guests at Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandal, the festival venue in Udaipur. More than 400 artisans, craftspeople, and experts from different districts of Rajasthan participated in the festival. \n\nTribal artists and students from tribal schools performed each day in the evening programs, while craftspeople, painters, and traditional healers displayed their tribal and rural products in the craft fair. Various conferences and workshops took place during the festival. These included a conference on arts and crafts for livelihood, as well as demonstrations of traditions, customs, and folk dances within the program framework. In addition, exhibitions and competitions for students like a talent hunt were included. \n\nAt the conferences and roundtables, participants and subject experts discussed the issues related to the current state of tribal culture in the region and in India more widely. Topics included the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, intellectual property rights, regional cooperation in developing the craft market, and cultural and rural tourism. During the festival, the Tribal Co-Operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), an organization under the administrative control of the Indian government’s Ministry of Tribal Affairs, opened a permanent store at Lok Kala Mandal to promote and market tribal/rural traditional produce. \n\nAadi-Mahotsav, which demonstrates the idea of cultural and economic cooperation and harmony, contributes not only to developing tribal traditions, and the cultural and ecological tourism industry in the region but also to helping the tribal population to take active participation in the socio-economic development of India.\n\nPhoto : Aadi-Mahotsav, a three-day festival ⓒ Lokesh Paliwal

The Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts (SAPA) emerged in 2017 from the joining of three independent archives in Bern, Lausanne, and Zurich. The histories of SAPA’s predecessors demonstrate the ever-developing approaches in documenting performing arts—a field that, like ICH in general, cannot be preserved in its original form. In our case, the documentary efforts started nearly 100 years ago with an initiative to collect books and other documents on theater culture in Switzerland. Later, objects such as stage design drawings and models followed and found their way into a small museum. The increasing usage of video in contemporary dance in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of the former Dance Media Library in Zurich in 2005, the youngest of the three SAPA predecessors.

Sape is one of the most identifiable traditional musical instruments in Sarawak producing a soothing sound of music. It is a traditional lute of the Orang Ulu community of Sarawak, traditionally used by the Kenyah, Kayan and Kelabit tribes.