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Nepali Women and the Teej FestivalHindu Nepali women celebrate a huge festival—one of the biggest occasions in Nepal—known as teej. It takes place on the third day of Shuklapaksha in Bhadra (normally in August or early September). The mythical explanation of teej purports that Hamalay’s daughter Goddess Parvati went through a rigorous fasting for 108 years known as hari talika teej with the desire to have Lord Shiva as her husband. Having witnessed the willingness of the Goddess to be with him, Lord Shiva accepted her as his wife. Goddess Parvati’s spirit, devotion, and strong intention generally compose the story upon which teej festival is grounded. Inevitably, Nepalese women have come to see teej as a venue for them to show their devotion to their significant other. If unmarried, they celebrate teej as a symbolic prayer to someday have a good husband.\n\nIn a highly male-dominated society such as that of Nepal, this kind of festival rings the idea of female subjugation and puts women empowerment in question. Does teej, a Nepali heritage as it is, survive a misogynistic culture? How do women (re)create themselves in a festival created by men for men? To put these inquires in context, it should be noted that Nepali women have historically been regarded as inferior objects. In the old days, if married, women would not be allowed to visit their hometown; they would not be given easy access to basic needs of living such as communication and transportation. teej is, again, a festival created by men symbolically for men, but it also is, and absolutely a venue for women. Nepali women use this opportunity to be with others to share their sorrow, happiness, and other deep emotions in togetherness. It has been reported that women use Teej as an assembly to collect funds for women-centered causes, taking advantage of the big occasion to raise development issues.\n\nteej remains as an important festival in Nepal, a surviving cultural vein of the South Asian nation. It honors Nepalese folk life, folk songs, and ancient Nepali music. Wearing red attire with fancy ornaments, participating in singing, dancing, and eating dar (a particular food in Teej) are the main activities in the festival. These days, both women and men observe the festival, recognizing its cultural value\n\nPhoto : CONTRIBUTED BY ANIL GANDHARBAYear2017NationNepal
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Tihar Festival in NepalTihar (also known as Deepawali, Diwali, or Yamapanchak) is the most celebrated festival in Nepal. It takes place on Kartik Krishna Pakshya (early or end of November) every year. The five-day-long festival is observed with various activities—the longest of which is the successive worship activities of animals.\n\nOn the first day of the festival, Kaag Tihar (crow worship) is celebrated by offering sweets and foods to birds, especially crows. In Hindu mythology, crows are considered the messenger of Yama (lord of death). As the cawing of the crows symbolizes misfortune, the devotees feed crows to avert grief and death they may cause. On the second day of the festival, Kukur Tihar (worship of dog) is celebrated by offering garlands, tika (red-colored paste), and delicious food to dogs. Dogs occupy a special place in Hindu mythology. As mentioned in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata, Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva, had a dog as a vahana (vehicle). Yama, the god of death, is believed to own two guard dogs, each with four eyes. The dogs are said to watch over the gates of Naraka, the Hindu concept of hell. In the morning of the third day, Gai Tihar (worship of the cow) is celebrated by offering flower garland, tika, food, and grass to the cow. In Hinduism, cow signifies wealth and prosperity. In the evening, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, is thanked for all the benefits families may have received by lighting diyo (oil lamps) or candles on doorways and windows; this gesture also welcomes prosperity and well-being. On the fourth day, Goru Tihar (worship of ox) is observed in similar way. Ox is regarded as the closest and most important animal as it assists Nepalese farmers to plough their land for farming. The fifth and the most notable day of the festival is Bhai Tika or Kija Puja. It is observed by sisters applying tika on the forehead of their brothers to ensure long life and prosperity. The Bhai Tika follows a traditional ritual in which brothers sit on the floor and sisters circle brothers three times, dripping the undefiled water (pure; not drunk by anyone) on the floor from a copper pitcher. Then sisters break the walnut with the stone which is placed on the middle area of the main door of the house, wishing that they could alleviate their brothers’ grief.\n\nAnother distinctive feature of Tihar is deusi or vailo, the traditional songs that are sung during the festival. Vaili, a group of people with musical instruments visit houses one by one to sing and dance mainly in the night. The host families highly appreciate the visit of Vaili to their homes and offer rice, fruits, roti (home-made round bread), and some money. A traditional oil lamp on a brass plate or on nanglo (a flat round woven tray made up of bamboo) is lit in the presence of Vaili. It is believed that Vaili blessings bring happiness and prosperity to the family.\n\nTihar is considered a culturally essential festival in Nepal as it preserves Nepalese traditional beliefs, recognizing not just the importance of human prosperity but also the significance of animals in the life of Nepalese cultural heritage.\n\nPhoto : Tihar © Anil GandharbaYear2017NationNepal
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2018 Auckland Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival: Celebrating Maori CultureThe Auckland Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival will be held on Auckland’s waterfront and harbor over the Auckland Anniversary Weekend, 27 to 29 January 2018. Traditionally, with Auckland being home to more than 180 ethnicities, the region has featured various types of Maori presence including Maori waka (canoes) during the weekend. And in the recent years, this tradition has been celebrated as a festival, a result from collaboration among the Mana Whenua; nineteen iwi (tribal groups) authorities of Tamaki Makaurau; the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) on behalf of the Auckland Council.\n\nThroughout the three-day festival, many activities related to traditional and contemporary Maori culture will be featured. The activities are designed to boost harmonious understanding of the Maori culture to both children and adults by blending traditional and modern elements.\n\nThe program consists of music, games and craft activities, storytelling, and waka parades and rides. Sunday, 28 January, is the peak of the festival, hosting an array of waka activities such as waka paddling and a waka carving demonstration. On the same day, participants can visit village workshops to experience traditional arts and craft like toi (Maori arts), weaving, and carving. At the ANZ Viaduct events center, several art exhibitions will take place. There will also be a booth of modern digital games in the venue. Next to the Viaduct basin, people can experience waka sailing throughout the festival.\n\nThe festival has become a host of celebrated events during the Auckland Anniversary Weekend in just a short period of time. The 2018 Auckland Tamaki Herenga Waka Festival program is expected to be enjoyed by the locals and tourists, marking a scene to celebrate Maori history and heritage as well as the contemporary culture of Tamaki Makaurau.\n\nAdmission is free; however, partial payments may be collected in some tour zones and market places for food or souvenirs. The festival’s full program is available here.\n\nPhoto : Youth experiencing waka culture © Auckland Tamaki Herenga Waka FestivalYear2018NationNew Zealand
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Navruz in KyrgyzstanMarking the beginning of spring, Navruz (meaning March equinox) is one of the largest traditional holidays in Central Asia. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has been celebrating Navruz (Nooruz in Kyrgyz) for a long time as its national holiday. When the Navruz holiday comes, Kyrgyz families gather to make holiday desserts: sumolok and boorsok.\n\nIn the old times, sumolok was a ritual dish prepared before the start of spring sowing. Sumolok is a sweet paste made from germinated wheat and stir cooked in a kazan, a large traditional pot in Central Asia. Sumolok has become an important cuisine in Kyrgyz culture since almost all of Kyrgyzstan celebrates the holiday by making it. In villages and towns, families gather around a kazan full of sumolok and take turns to stirring the sumolok. Usually it takes a whole day and night to finish the cuisine, which is why a typical Navruz scene in Kyrgyzstan is pictured as a group of families sitting around a Kazan while singing and stirring sumolok.\n\nBoorsok, on the other hand, is cooked faster than sumolok. Also a traditional sweet in Central Asia, boorsok is a type of fried dough in various shapes. Kyrgyz boorsok is typically shaped like a pressed doughnut.\n\nThis year, Boorsok National Record was held in the Arashan village near the capital city, Bishkek. The event was organized by Ethnographic Complex Kyrgyz Aiyli (meaning Kyrgyz village), successfully attracting an estimated 1,500 local residents and tourists. The main programs included making boorsok, singing songs, and competing in horse riding and other national games. The participants in the boorsok cooking competition used about a ton of flour and made more than 800 kg of boorsok. Later, boxes of boorsok were sent to nearby orphanages and the elderly in Arashan Village.\n\nMarking the beginning of spring, Navruz (meaning March equinox) is one of the largest traditional holidays in Central Asia. Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has been celebrating Navruz (Nooruz in Kyrgyz) for a long time as its national holiday. When the Navruz holiday comes, Kyrgyz families gather to make holiday desserts: sumolok and boorsok.\n\nIn the old times, sumolok was a ritual dish prepared before the start of spring sowing. Sumolok is a sweet paste made from germinated wheat and stir cooked in a kazan, a large traditional pot in Central Asia. Sumolok has become an important cuisine in Kyrgyz culture since almost all of Kyrgyzstan celebrates the holiday by making it. In villages and towns, families gather around a kazan full of sumolok and take turns to stirring the sumolok. Usually it takes a whole day and night to finish the cuisine, which is why a typical Navruz scene in Kyrgyzstan is pictured as a group of families sitting around a Kazan while singing and stirring sumolok.\n\nBoorsok, on the other hand, is cooked faster than sumolok. Also a traditional sweet in Central Asia, boorsok is a type of fried dough in various shapes. Kyrgyz boorsok is typically shaped like a pressed doughnut.\n\nThis year, Boorsok National Record was held in the Arashan village near the capital city, Bishkek. The event was organized by Ethnographic Complex Kyrgyz Aiyli (meaning Kyrgyz village), successfully attracting an estimated 1,500 local residents and tourists. The main programs included making boorsok, singing songs, and competing in horse riding and other national games. The participants in the boorsok cooking competition used about a ton of flour and made more than 800 kg of boorsok. Later, boxes of boorsok were sent to nearby orphanages and the elderly in Arashan Village.\n\nMore information about Navruz is available in ICHCAP’s e-Knowledge Center.\n\nWatch Other Navruz Videos\nNavruz is celebrated throughout Central Asia, with each ethnic group having its own take on the holiday. The videos of Tajik and Uzbek celebrations below are from ICHCAP’s Central Asia ICH Collection.Year2018NationKyrgyzstan
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Communities Connecting Heritage: From West Bengal to WashingtonCultural exchange promotes cultural diversity and contributes to cultural sustainability. This was the key learning from the Communities Connecting Heritage (CCH) program supported by the US Department of State and administered by World Learning. Learning Together for a Brighter Future was a collaboration under this program, between banglanatak dot com, an Indian social enterprise working on culture and development, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH) in Washington DC. Around twenty young cultural professionals from the USA and thirty-one young tradition bearers from the state of West Bengal in eastern India had varied exchanges on art, music, food, lifestyle, and globalization as well as the use of social media in popular culture. The Indian participants included traditional storytellers or patuas, who paint stories on long scrolls and sing them; artists practicing the ancient dokra metal craft; Baul folk singers; and theatre artists. There were also in-person visits to West Bengal and Washington DC by a five-member delegation from each side. The youngsters not only shared photos and videos explaining their culture but also discussed cultural sustainability; virtual workshops were held to develop skills in interviewing and recording, and effective storytelling. Finally, the Indian and American participants paired up to write blogs on shared interests and experiences; the subjects varied from discovering common concerns on raising a child to managing heritage sites. Commonalities were also found in the traditions, for example food items like sopapilla and luchi, and painting traditions like patachitra and retablo.\n\nDuring the CFCH delegation’s tour of West Bengal in February 2018, the Americans met the artists at the World Peace Music Festival Sur Jahan in Kolkata, visited cultural and heritage landmarks, and learned about community-based cultural industries. They also participated in a round table on heritage education for youth and an exhibition titled Through the Eyes of Young Americans that summed up their experience. From June to July 2018, the Indian delegation visited Washington DC. The city’s vivid cosmopolitan character, a mind-boggling array of cuisines, and a stunning nightlife mesmerized them. Engagement of community and the larger public in a weekend drum circle, weekly jazz concerts, DC Alley Museum, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival left a deep impression. The patuas painted a scroll on the story of rights campaigns at the National Mall; the audience loved it and the song narrating the story. On 13 August 2018, a webinar was held to share the participants’ experiences and insights. As the program drew to a close, it had succeeded in bringing the multicultural roots and ethos of America to the young Indians’ hearts and sensitized the young Americans about Bengal’s cultural traditions. For detailed information, please check the webinar below and the event’s blog.\n\nPhoto 1 : Learning scroll painting at Patua village ⓒ banglanatakdotcom\nPhoto 2 : Bauls discussing music on the move with Catalonian musicians ⓒ banglanatakdotcom\nPhoto 3 : Indian team at the Lincoln Memorial in the USA ⓒ banglanatakdotcomYear2018NationIndia
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NAVRUZ, SHARING TOGETHER ON NEW YEAR’S DAY—SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE CULTURE OF NAVRUZNavruz (Nowruz) is not just about the first day of spring, but it is also not just a celebration of the New Year marked by indulging in a feast; it has a much wider historical and cultural context with deep doctrinal significance.Year2011NationSouth Korea
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Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day, 23 NovemberCultural heritage in Vietnam is a valuable property of the Vietnamese people and the foundation for national traditions that have formed over many generations. With more than 40,000 cultural heritage elements and sites, Vietnam has highly respected treasures to be introduced to the rest of the world whenever possible. Taking care of cultural heritage means regarding what the past, present, and imaginable future have engendered to improve national identity.\n\nAfter Vietnam’s independence in 1945, and on behalf of provisional government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No 65 on 23 November 1945. The decree formally mandates conserving antique vestiges, or what will later be known as cultural heritage. Based on the concept of conservation and to promote tradition and Vietnamese cultural heritage, the Prime Minister approved Decision No 36/2005/QD-TTg on 24 January 2005 to officially set 23 November as Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day. The November holiday is festive with many educational events that explain what it means to be responsible for protecting cultural heritage and why it is important to do so.\n\nTo celebrate this year’s Cultural Heritage Day, events are being prepared by relevant institutions. In the Ho Guom Cultural Information Centre, a photo exhibition on Vietnamese heritage will be held, featuring the winning photos of the 2017 Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards. The exhibition will take place in front of the center in Hanoi and will then move to other cities through March 2018. In the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts,Green Heritage Culture and Tourism Week will be organized under the theme “The Convergence of Human and Nature”, gathering nationwide communities together to exchange and introduce their lasting cultural values.Year2017NationViet Nam
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Hanji: A Korean Heritage Connecting Tradition and ModernismThere is a rich tradition of hand papermaking in East Asia that is still alive today. In Korea, hanji (traditional paper) making remains a distinguished cultural activity. According to many studies, such as the one conducted by Minah Song and Jesse Munn,1. different methods and materials in making hanji are tested to gauge permanence and durability. This is done because traditional Korean paper serves many functions, from it being a primary element in architecture and interior design to the versatility of hanji in art-making and recreation. More importantly, conservation of traditional hand papermaking in Korea is given attention because hanji is culturally symbolic of Korea being a nation of literacy, a nation that believes in the power of reading and writing. Aimee Lee, a leading hanji researcher, has carefully documented many ways in which hanji may be perceived: as a traditional process in a highly digital world, as a practice appropriated in North America, as an art made by hand, and as a performance of conservation. All of these lenses bring to the fore how intentional the process is and how meticulous one has to be to make a paper according to traditional knowledge.\n\nFrom 5 to 7 May 2018, the most traditional city of Korea, Jeonju, saw the return of the Hanji Culture Festival. The festival was a reminder of hanji importance, but it also showed the evolution of hanji, specifically on how hanji can be integrated into modern life. On the first day of the festival, p’ansori singer Nani Kim and calligraphist Lucia Choi opened the event with performances. The twenty-fourth National Hanji Craft Competition Awards Ceremony followed. The works of the competition winners as well as those of invited artists were on display for the entire run of the festival. The festival certainly was not short on performances: a hanji puppetry called “Ariari Puppet Play” was showcased. If not the most, one of the most anticipated segments of the festival was the 2018 Jeonju Hanji Fashion Competition and Show. It was a very special part of experiencing how important hanji is because it educated people on the transformative capability of hanji: that Korean traditional paper can actually be transformed into textile.\n\nLike other traditional handicrafts, hanji takes an important place in Korean heritage, allowing the possibility of witnessing timeless values that hold the nation together. It is for this that appreciation and conservation of hanji should be in place especially now that traditions are situated in global societies run by high technology.\n\nNotes\n1. Song, Minah and Munn, Jesse. 2004. “Permanence, Durability and Unique Properties of Hanji.” The Book and Paper Group Annual v23. American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Last accessed on 31 May 2018. http://www.ifides.com/images/LOCHanjiTest.pdf\n\nPhoto : Korean hanji CCA jaredYear2018NationSouth Korea
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Neighbourhood Sketches: Bringing ICH onto the StreetsKampong Gelam is an historical precinct that was originally conceived by Sir. Stamford Raffles to be a settlement area for the Malay, Arab, and Bugis communities in Singapore. In 1989, the core area of Kampong Gelam was gazetted for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Today, the historical precinct continues to retain a strong Malay and Muslim identity with both traditional and modern trades attracting locals and foreign tourists alike.\n\nLocated at the heart of Kampong Gelam is the Malay Heritage Centre, a heritage institution managed by the National Heritage Board. The center serves as a showcase of Malay heritage and culture in Singapore, as a focal point for the Malay community in Singapore and a place-maker for the historical precinct. It also presents exhibitions and programs that showcase the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the various sub-communities within the wider Malay community.\n\nIn 2011, the Malay Heritage Centre conceptualized and introduced its signature program known as Neighbourhood Sketches. Neighbourhood Sketches is a series of regular outdoor performances held within Kampong Gelam. The program brings the rich and diverse ICH art forms of the Malay community closer to the public through regular street performances outside the walls of the center.\n\nSince the introduction of the program in 2011, the Malay Heritage Centre has presented a total of 126 performances that have attracted more than 23,000 participants. The different types of ICH art forms showcased in these performances included Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet theater), Dondang Sayang (performance involving the exchange of Malay quatrains set to music), Angklung (ensemble performance using instruments made from bamboo), Gamelan Melayu (ensemble performance using predominantly percussive instruments), Dikir Barat (Malay choral singing), Silat (Malay martial arts), and Kuda-Kepang (Javanese horse dance).\n\nWhen curating performances for Neighbourhood Sketches, the Malay Heritage Centre makes a conscious effort to showcase a broad range of ICH art forms practiced by and associated with the Malay community. In addition to staging performances, the center ensures that key characteristics of each art form are shared with the audience during every performance and, where applicable, interactive segments involving audience participation are also included.\n\nIn addition, the Malay Heritage Centre records performances staged as part of Neighbourhood Sketches as a means of documenting the ICH art forms presented. The centre also leverages on technology to promote the performances to raise public awareness and uses social media platforms such as Facebook Live to broadcast these performances so that they are able to reach out to a wider audience.\n\nThus far, Neighbourhood Sketches has received an overwhelmingly positive response, and the majority of the audience members surveyed requested more performances as well as certain other ICH art forms to be presented. In addition, 95 percent of the audience members agreed that watching the performances contributed to a better understanding and appreciation of Malay arts, culture, and heritage.\n\nIt is worth noting that the ICH practitioners who participated in Neighbourhood Sketches have also enjoyed being part of the program. In fact, many of these ICH practitioners were grateful for the opportunity to showcase their craft to a wider audience and informed the Malay Heritage Centre that they felt a stronger sense of pride as ICH bearers after participating.\n\nBesides showcasing the cultural expressions, practices, and art forms of the Malay community, the performances of Neighbourhood Sketches also serve to educate and entertain visitors to Kampong Gelam. In doing so, they contribute to the overall cultural vibrancy of the historical precinct by activating its streets by presenting performances that are engaging and reflective and respectful of the precinct’s identity, culture, and heritage.\n\nPhoto : Wayang Wong (traditional Javanese theatre) performance by Kesenian Tedja Timur in the historical Kampong Gelam precinct. ⓒ Malay Heritage CentreYear2019NationSingapore
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Thailand’s Vow to Buddhism in the Hae Pha Khuen That FestivalDerived from a Buddhist belief, the Hae Pha Khuen That Festival is centuries-old and still practiced to today. The event is a gathering of Buddhists parading in streets, carrying cloth called pha bot to wrap around the stupa that houses the relic of Buddha. According to the legend, the tradition of wrapping cloth around the stupa originated during the reign of the King Si Thamma Sokkarat, the first monarch of the Tam Porn Link Kingdom and founder of Nakorn Si Thammarat. At that time, the stupa had been just built, and the king heard that some people on a voyage to Sri Lanka to bring pha bot as an offering had sunk into the sea due to a violent storm. The King then decided to bring the cloth to wrap around the newly made stupa to pay homage to Buddha and celebrate his new constructed relic house.\n\nNowadays, Hae Pha Khuen That takes place yearly at Wat Phra Mahathat Worramahawihan, a royal temple in Nakorn Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand, where the aforementioned stupa is located. The event is held on the full moon day of the third lunar month (Makha Bucha Day), a religious holiday; it usually falls in February. This year, it will be held from 13 to 19 February 2019. The most important activity of the event is carrying the pha bot to warp around the main stupa, inside of which is the relic of Buddha. Locals of Nakorn Si Thammarat and people from other parts of Thailand are expected to take part in a parade carrying more than a thousand yards of yellow or white cloth from the main city to the temple and walk around the stupa three times before covering the stupa with the cloth. It is believed that participating in the activity brings good luck to life and families.\n\nIn addition to wrapping cloth around the main stupa, there will be lots of entertainment and cultural activities such as chants, sermons, meditation, food offerings, exhibitions, and a cultural product market as well as light and sound shows all day and all night during the festival. Hae Pha Khuen That is famous all over Thailand. In 2014, Hae Pha Khuen That Festival was inscribed by the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture, as National ICH in the category of Social Practices, Rituals and Festival. The festival has been in practice for generations, celebrating the blessing of and faith in Buddha.\n\nA festival guide for 2019 is available online at http://www.thaifestivalblogs.com/hae-pha-khuen-that-festival/\n\nPhoto : Hae Pha Khuen That Festival @ Department of Cultural Promotion of ThailandYear2019NationThailand
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Loy Krathong Festival of ThailandLoy Krathong Festival is a yearly event in Thailand on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, usually in November. This festival has a long history dating back to the Sukhothai era and continuously maintains its popularity in the present. It is a local ritual in honor of the goddess of water to get rid of misfortunes for a better future. During the festival, people gather by a river or canal float krathong, a basket made of banana trunk and leaves in the shape of a blooming lotus. This performance is more of a prayer that the krathong will take their hardships and bad luck far away. Traditionally, families make at least one krathong as beautiful as they can, decorated with various flowers, candles, and joss sticks. Strands of hair, nails, clothes, and money are sometimes placed in the krathong, too. Before floating it, people light the candle and joss sticks and make a wish, asking for forgiveness from the goddess of water for any deeds that may have disappointed her, and ask her to take their bad luck away.\n\nThis ritualistic performance is practiced throughout Thailand, though each location has its own way of performing it. There are also some fun activities during the festival such as the Best Krathong Competition to honor the most beautiful and creative krathong, Noppamas beauty pageant to crown a beautiful and smart girl (named after Noppamas, a beautiful consort of the King Lethai’s grandson during the Sukhothai era), fireworks display, traditional costume display, and many other traditional entertainment and performances.\n\nLooking into how the festival has been carried out over the last decade, people have come up with more resourceful and impressive ways to participate in the festival. Some have used foam or plastic and artificial decorations to make a lighter krathong that can float well on water. In response to global warming, people have also become more vigilant in using eco-friendly materials in creating Krathong. For example, a krathong-shaped bread has already been created for the festival; it didn’t leave waste on the water, and it also served as a fish food. Commonly, banana trunks and leaves have also been used to create krathong.\n\nPhoto : Loy krathong ⓒ Department of Cultural PromotionYear2018NationThailand
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Singapore’s Hungry Ghost FestivalThe seventh month of the lunar calendar is regarded as a month in which the gates of heaven and hell are opened so that ghosts and spirits, including deceased ancestors, can come back to visit the living in China and other Asian countries with Chinese migrants, such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The fifteenth day of the month is called Zhongyuan Jie (中元節) in China, Baekjung (百中) in Korea, Obon (お盆) in Japan, and the Hungry Ghost Festival in other countries. The day’s story origin derives from an old Buddhist tale about Mu Lian.1.\nMu Lian, one of Buddha’s disciples, converted to Buddhism after losing his parents at a young age. As his longing for his mother grew stronger, his clairvoyance found her suffering from ravenous appetites that could not be satisfied in hell. He tried to offer food to his mother, but the food burned into ashes when it touched her mouth. Mu Lian asked Buddha about how he could relieve his mother’s suffering. When he prepared food offerings as directed by Buddha, his mother was saved from suffering. This tale developed into a Buddhist ritual2. to offer food for ancestors and was combined with Taoist tradition to celebrate Zhongyuan Jie. At Zhongyuan Jie, people hold memorial services for ancestors and other spirits.\n\nIn Singapore, people prepare ritualistic food offerings and burn incense and joss paper in front of their apartments, stores, or companies for their ancestors’ visiting spirits. They murmur prayers while burning joss paper and go round in a circle with nobody else getting inside. Some even burn miniature paper houses, cars, and smartphones. Unlike most countries that hold traditional rites, the city-state celebrates Zhongyuan Jie in a more modern way. A getai3. is held at vacant lots or parking lots during the Ghost Festival. Getai performances were usually of Chinese operas or puppet shows in the past. Now they have evolved into various forms, including songs, dances, and stand-up comedy. A getai performance usually begins with jokes and comedy, using various languages such as Mandarin, Hokkien (a Southern Min Chinese dialect originating from Fujian Province), English, Malay, and Indian. The first row is left empty so that the spirits can sit and enjoy the performance comfortably. Although getai performances have been modernized, all the songs and dances serve the same purpose of consoling dead souls and pleasing the king of the underworld.\n\nDuring the festival, evil spirits come out with ancestral spirits. There are taboos to protect innocent people from evil spirits, such as going home late and swimming so as not to be pulled by water ghosts. People are also recommended not doing new things, like a trip, wedding, or risky movements, to avoid curses from evil spirits. They should spend their time in a more religious and controlled way than usual.\n\nSingaporean authorities have made various social and cultural efforts to preserve the Ghost Festival and pass it on to future generations. Singapore’s Taoist and Buddhist Federations have encouraged devotees to burn offerings responsibly as Nanyang Technological University scientists found that concentrations of small pollutant particles increased by 60 percent during the Hungry Ghost Festival, saying that it is not a case of “the more the merrier” since it is sincerity that counts. Singapore has grown based on coexistence and harmony among various peoples. As such, it emphasizes respect for different cultures even when enjoying a festival, highlighting that such celebrations should not be limited to a certain group. Collective efforts at all levels of society have made the Hungry Ghost Festival open to all people in Singapore. This festival provides lessons on how to discuss and resolve social issues and ethnic conflicts amid the progress of globalization.\n\nPhoto : Hungry ghost prayer table CCBYSA3.0 Mezanurrahman (Wikimedia)Year2018NationSingapore