This film is about rituals related to children. Included are kyrkyn chygaruu, a ritual celebrating the fortieth day after a child’s birth; beshike saluu, a ritual of placing baby in the cradle; tushoo kesuu, a ritual of cutting rope tied around a baby’s ankles; and bata, a blessing ritual. Knowledge holders talk about the significance of each ritual in a child’s life cycle. The film shows how these rituals are conducted now and how they have evolved over time.

Tholpavakoothu is a form of shadow puppetry unique to central Kerala, in southern India . It is performed in permanent temple theatres as a form of ritual primarily honouring the Goddess of Bhadrakali. It enacts the hindu epic Ramayana in a version based on the Tamil Ramayana of Kambar. A highly flexible narrative allows a typical cycle of Tholpavakoothu to extend between seven and twenty one nights, depending on the performance commissioned and sponsored locally. After remaining largely unknown to the West, until the twentieth century, recent scholarship has established its ancient beginnings, while also highlighting the absence of a detailed account of the Art in performance over centuries of its existence. Long ago the creator Bhrahma blessed a demons and as a result of his blessing she gave birth to a son named Darika. When this Demon boy grew up, he became so strong that he turned out to be a threat and a constant source of harassment to the gods. sages and hermits .They approached Lord Shiva for help .In order to kill Darika shiva created the goddess Bhadrakali from the kaalakooda poison lodged in his throat . A fierce fight ensued between Darika and Bhadrakali ,lasting several days. Finally Bhadrakali killed Darika. While Bhadrakali was engaged in fighting Darika,Rama was fighting Ravana.So Bhadrakali was not able to see Rama and Ravana fight. That is why the Ramayana story is enacted in her presence through Tholpavakoothu. Theme and LyricsnThe theme of tholpavakoothu is Ramayana story extending from birth of Rama to his coronation, presented in 21 parts over 21 days. The story of Ramayana is written in 21 parts especially for pavakoothu . This composition which is a mixture of prose and verse is called adalpattu. Adal is acting and pattu is relating to . Since the composition is related to the enactment of Ramayana story it is called adalpattu.\nn The verse of this composition is collectively called koothukavikal; kavikal means verse or poems. Many of this verses are from Kamba Ramayana ,the Ramayana in Tamil by the poet Kambar .But tholpavakoothu performers have changed many of Kambar’s verses and in some places had added their own to meet the purpose of ritual. Scholars differ about the date. Kambar wrote Ramayana in Tamil because Valmilki Ramayana was not accepted among common people .He lived in 9th century A.D. Some say it is 13th century AD. But common opinion is that he lived at Tanjavur during the period of Chola dynasty in the 12th c AD.\n Kambar’s Ramayana is based on Valmiki’s epic, but his presentation and style of narration are most dramatic. This long epic poem containing 20,000 verses is divided into six sections: Balakanda, Ayodhyakanda, Aryakanda, krishkindhakanda, and Yuddhakanda. In addition to verse borrowed from the Kamba Ramayana the performers have added their own verses. A few verses are in Sanskrit and some area mixture of Tamil and Sankrit. Tholpavakoothu, performed every year in the temples of Bhadhrakali ,is regarded as the part of ritualistic worship of goddess. The Arayankavu Temple near Shornur is famous for its Tholpavakoothu because of the attendant ceremonies. The administration of this temple was completely under the control of Kavalapara Muppil Nair . The family attached much importance to pavakoothu and regarded the annual performance at the temple as solemn religious duty. There was a reason for this. At a point of time there were no children in Kavalappara family, and there was a danger that the danger that the family would die out for want to heirs. The family they conducted Tholpavakoothu in the temple as an offering to the goddess and children were born. Since then the family has conducted pavakoothu in the temple every on a grand scale showing the whole of Ramayana from Rama’s birth to his coronation. Ganapathi Iravi Maharajan, who was then the head of the Kavalappara family ,firmly established this tradition of presenting every year at Aryankavu Temple. nTholpavakoothu puppets are made of deer skin. The figures are drawn on the skin by cut out and embellished with dots, lines and holes. The skin is first stretched taut on a smooth board, nailed at the corners to keep it stretched and in position. It is then smeared and rubbed with ash, a process which leaves a thin layer of ash on the skin, and exposed to the sun till dry. When the skin is completely dehumidified all the hair on it is removed by scraping with a sharp edged piece of bamboo. nThen the puppet figure is drawn clearly on it and cut with a fine chisel. The eyes, nose and lips are also drawn on the puppet and cut out. Ornaments and dress are drawn by drilling different kinds of holes in the skin for which special pointed chisel are used. When the puppet is ready it has the same thickness as the original piece of leather.\n The puppets are painted in different colours. The original method of making red dye was by boiling the bark of chappanga tree, black by mixing gum from neem and soot from a coconut oil lamp and blue from boiling neeli leaves in water. The shadows of the puppet on the screen are black, but these become very attractive when shades of other colours merge in them. To prevent the puppet from bending, a thin strip of smoothened bamboo is fastened vertically along the middle on either side. The arms of the puppet are provided with movable joints. There are usually three joints on an arm.\n Puppets are usually made showing them in sitting, walking and fighting postures. In puppets in sitting and moving postures only one arm is movable; both arms are movable in puppets in fighting posture. There are puppets of birds, animals, trees and even for the sea, The puppets of deer and snake are provided with joints that enable them to bend and move their bodies. nThe expression on faces of the puppets indicates their characters. When the shadows of puppets are seen on the screen in the light of oil lamps, they resemble the sculptures in the temples.\nThe puppets have to make gestures and movement in conformity with the narration or dialogue. The puppeteers manipulate their puppets in this way: with one hand they hold the puppet by the lower end of the bamboo strip fastened to the puppet and with a stick in the other hand they make the puppet perform the required movements. The stick they use is usually a thin strip of bamboo some 50 cm long. At the end of the stick, tied to it with a string, is a very thin strip of wood not more than 3cm long. nThis thin end piece is inserted in a hole in the puppets hand when a hand movement is required. The movable arms and fingers are uniform in shape in almost all puppets. The most common hand gesture is the chidmudra- which represents peace, by joining the tips of thumb and first finger, keeping other fingers stretched.\nAfter the ritualistic ceremonies the nandi-shlokha, a hymn in praise of Ganapati is sung. At this the puppet of Ganapati is shown on the screen. The Brahmin characters called pattar pavas are shown on the next. These Brahmin are known by such names as-Moothapattar holding an umbrella, Malleesapattar holding a veeshari, Gangayaadipattar holding a theerthakudam, and Somayajipattar holding a kaavadi. They come from the four regions- north, south, east and westnAs they appear on the screen, the Brahmin’s sung the glories of mahavishnu and explains the greatness and importance of their yagas for the welfare of the mankind. They also praise the other gods and afterwards are supposed to praise the gurus of Tholpavakoothu; but as these guru’s are shudras, the Brahmins cannot praise them. So they leave the stage saying that the function of praising the gurus must be performed by the puppeteers themselves. This is done by the puppeteers. After this the pattar pavas appear again on the screen and sing hymns in praise of Ganapati, Saraswathi, Mahavishnu and Parameshwara.\nThis is followed by a ceremony called sadyavazhthkal- which is the praise of families which have played host to members of puppet troupe that day and offered them hospitality. While praising these families, the puppeteers give a detailed description of the feast offered by them. When the sadyavazhthal is over, a performer summarizes the part of the story to be shown that day. This is followed by paramparamala, where the puppeteers sing hymns in praise of Subrahmanya, Ganapati, Shiva and Krishna, touching the lamps behind the screen as a sign of devotion. Then they begin the koothu. These ritualistic observances such as kalarichintu and paramparamala are performed every day before the koothu commences. It is performed in 7,14,21,41, or 71 days depending upon the custom practiced in the templenIn the course of performance, the performers give explanations and interpretations of the verses, depending on the context. Often they have to bring out the depth and range of the meaning of the words. Where a verse contains allusions or some inner significance, the explanation may continue for as much as an hour.

Mongols have traditionally shown a great respect for the horse, honoring it in their national standards and symbols (flags and emblems) and in their folk songs. Morin khuur clearly belongs to this symbolic tradition. Morin khuur, so named for the ornamental horse-head carving at the top of its neck, is a unique two-stringed musical instrument developed by the nomadic Mongols. The strings of both the bow and fiddle are made from the hair of a horse’s tail. Most significantly, there is a tradition of playing the morin khuur at all ritual and ceremonial events. No discussion of the morin khuur would be complete without having considered the folk ‘long song’, for which it provides the principal accompaniment. Besides Bii Biylgee and folk long song, many other folk artistic forms such as Ülger (tales), Tuuli (epic), Yörööl (benediction), Magtaal (ode) and others can always be performed with morin khuur.

Yamanay or Mahorgani wood is used to make Htaung Violin (Upright), one of Mon traditional string musical instruments. Its scroll is curved into the shape of Kainnayi or Hintha birds. There is an endpin under the lower bout. When playing 3-stringed Mon Htaung violin, the instrument is upright and leaned against the player's body. It is played with a bow which is made of horse hair. The first string is tuned to NgaPauk (Fifth Note), the second string to ThanHman TaPauk (First Note), and the third string to LayPauk (Fourth note). The strings are made of silk or nylon. There is no fret on its finger board, and it must be played by pressing the strings with the fingertips from up to down. It can play the scales of flat and sharp notes.\n-29 inches in length\n-5.25 inches in height of body

Wood has to made hollow sound body that is covered with animals’ skin. The strings of violin was made of women’s hair in the past time. Nowadays, guitar string No (1) is used as violin’s string. There are two strings in the violin .Bow is made of Zee- Shwee plant that grows near iceberg. Its branch has made to be putrid and the left fiber is made as bow. It is bored a hole bottom it to produce sound. It is played according to banjo song that hears from ear. It can play traditional melody. Bow is put between the strings and strikes one beat to the upperand then to the lower string.\n-2 feet 3 inches in Length\n-5 feet in Length of sound body\n-7 feet in High of sound body\n-1 feet 9 inches in Length of arm\n-1 feet 3 inches in Girth of sound body\n-2 feet 8 inches in Length of bow

This is an original dance based on the iconic Shuaifa dance of the Wa minority group in China, expressing their hunting lifestyle. Male and female dancers fling their long black hair energetically, impressing the audience with powerful and controlled movements. Shuaifa dance, in which female Wa dancers fling their long hair vigorously, is the most famous Wa dance commonly seen at religious rituals and festivals.\n\nCharacteristics:\n∙An adaptation of the traditional Shuaifa dance of the Wa, characterized by the flinging of long hair\n\nPerformed by Seo Eun Dance Company\nDirected by Zhang Ge(張格)\nChoreographed by Li Ying

‘Awa’ is the name the Wa people, a minority ethnic group living in Yunnan Province, use to call themselves. This is an original dance based on a traditional dance of the Wa, which tells the story of a boy combing the hair of his love, and tying their hair around each other’s wrists, expressing the wish to be together always. Hair holds special significance in the culture of the Wa. Dark skin and black hair is a measure of beauty to the Wa, who have dark skin and long black hair. Shuaifa dance, in which female Wa dancers fling their long hair vigorously, is the most famous Wa dance commonly seen at religious rituals and festivals.\n\nCharacteristics:\n∙Original dance based on the Shuaifa dance, a traditional Wa dance characterized by the flinging of long hair\n\nPerformed by Kunming Ethnic Song and Dance Company\nChoreographed by Yang Zhou

Traditional Art of Morin Khuur Music (Horse-Head Fiddle) Mongolia (Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2008) \nThe morin khuur, a unique two-stringed musical instrument with a horse-head, is an aggregation of traditional Mongolian culture. The strings and bow are made of horse-tail hair and can produce an expansive musical range, excellent sound expressions, and a perfect harmonization of tune and melody.

There is a tradition to celebrate the customary event for cutting the child’s hair for the first time, and it is called differently such as “urevleg urgeeh”. Mongols do cut the boy’s hair in his 3 and 5 years old and girl’s hair in her 2 and 4 years old. The most respected (with compatible year sign) person or guest touches the child’s hair first with wooden knife. Accordingly, a bundle of hair is cut off with scissors with honorary scarf tied to its handle. A cup of milk is given to a child for taste, a bit of milk is applied to the child’s forehead and the well-wishing words of benediction are chanted. While the child goes around the guests from right to left, the guests cut off pieces of hair. Every one of them gives well-wishing words and presents.