Materials
juniper
ICH Materials 32
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KOMUZ TEACHING METHODS IN FORMAL AND INFORMAL SYSTEMS IN KYRGYZSTANThe Kyrgyz komuz is a national musical instrument. Traditionally, komuz was made from a single piece of wood. The instrument has three strings, which were traditionally made from dried ram innards, but in modern times, fishing lines are often used instead.Year2017NationSouth Korea
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Chariot Festival of Janabaha Dhyo in KathmanduChariot festivals are interesting events in Kathmandu Valley where various communities come together to worship and celebrate; Janabaha Dhyo Jatra (as known locally) or Seto Machindranth Jatrar of Kathmandu is one such festival. The festival starts on Chaitra Sukla Asthami according to the lunar calendar. This year, a three-day festival will be celebrated from 26 to 28 March 2018.\n\nSurrounded by various stupas and statues of gods and goddesses in Janabaha Temple is a statue of Janabaha Dhyo, one of the eighteen chief Vihara of Kathmandu. The deity is worshiped as a form of Aryavalokitesvara and worshiped both by Hindus and Buddhists. The divine white face and feet are only the visible part of the statue while the rest is covered in cloth and jewelry. The Buddhist priest community looks over the deity, temple, and rituals all year round.\n\nDuring the festival, Buddhist priests put the statue in a palanquin and carry the deity from the temple to a place near Sanskrit College in Jamal. Once there, the deity is placed on the wooden chariot that the farmer community in Jamal would have constructed days before the procession. The wooden chariot is believed to be the where a potter found the deity while digging for clay. Assembled without using any nails but ropes made up of beda plant, the chariot is about ten meters high with four huge wheels with a long wooden pole in the front. The wooden chariot is built using almost three hundred pieces of wood, and the construction technique gives it flexibility while the devotees pull the chariot with the help of the rope. The chariot is in a sikhara style; gajura is placed on top. The chariot is decorated with juniper leaves.\n\nThe chariot procession takes place with all its fanfare. Gurjuya Paltan, the traditional army band, also joins the procession, including traditional musical groups from various quarters of the city and belonging to different castes. The procession follows a narrow path from the Tindhara Pathasala and enters the dense city through the Bhotahity (entry point of the ancient city). The chariot journey ends a ta place called Lagan. From there, the deity is carried back to the temple in a palanquin.\n\nVarious activities are held during the chariot procession; devotees come to pull the chariot while crowds stand in the street to watch. With vibrant colors, the chariot seemingly provides euphoria everywhere it passes. Devotees also come to worship the deity and light butter lamps in the morning and at night when the chariot is at rest. After the procession, the chariot is dismantled and the wood is saved for the next year.\n\nPhoto : Statue of Seto Machchhindra CC BY-SA 3.0 Krish DulalYear2018NationNepal
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Poe (Incense sticks) Production in BhutanThe burning of incense in the sacred shrines of Buddhist monasteries, temples, and also in the consecrated spaces that house the representations of the supreme spiritual beings is considered a kind of offering of sweet fragrances to the enlightened beings and also has the power to purify the impurities associated with us in any form that prevent us from realizing the innate Buddha nature and receiving the blessings. For this reason, incense is crucial in the performance of any type of ritual in the world of Buddhism. In general, burning herbs and making smoke offerings outdoors and burning incense in shrines have the same meaning and benefit; to purify defilements, pacify spirits, accumulate merit for oneself, and connect people to the spiritual world.\n\nThe production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, as the product is used exclusively for religious purposes. There are two different types of incense: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara) and Rio-sang-chod (smoke offering at the summit of ridges and mountain to attract good fortunes), rituals associated to Nagas (subterrain sentient beings), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.\n\nThe basic raw materials for both incenses are: Powder of Shug-pa (juniper), Tsen-den (weeping cypress), Balu (Rhododendron ciliatum), Sulu (Rhododendron setosum), Aru (Terminalia chebula), Baru (Terminalia bellirica), Manu (Inula racemosa Hook. f), Ruta (Saussurea lappa), Pang-poe (Valeriana officinalis) and water extracted from Zangdrug; (six valuable substances) Chu-gang (bamboo pitch), Gur-gum (saffron), Li-shi (clove), Ka-ko-la (cardamom), Za-ti (nutmeg), Sug-mel (cubeb) Ga-bur (camphor) and also Tsho (colours). When special ingredients such as Kar gsum; (three white substances) milk, curd and butter and an additional mixture of Ngar-gsum; (three sweet substances) brown sugar, molasses and honey are added to these mixed powders, the product becomes herbal incense and similarly, various ingredients of special animal meat, blood, La-tsi (musk), Gi-wang (elephant bile) and alcohols are added to make Zu-poe incense.\n\nMr. Lhundrup (80) learned the art of making incense sticks at the Government Incense Production Center in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and worked for nearly 8 years. In 1918, after his retiremen, while some friends located their incense production more promisingly in the city, Lhundrup established the present incense production named Lhundrup Poezo-khang in his remote village of Urug in Chumey Gewog (block), Bumthang Dzongkhag (district), Bhutan. Currently, he supervises the production unit while his son Sangay Tenzin (50) takes the main role and his mother Uden (67) sometimes assists her son. Two other employees help them produce a plethora of incense sticks with five different types to meet consumer demand.\n\nProduction Process: Based on the license to produce incense sticks, the raw materials, especially dried junipers, are collected from the opposite foot of Yotong la (a mountain pass in the central region at 3425 meters above sea level) and the rest of the materials are purchased from the highlanders. After collecting the raw materials, they are chopped, dried in the sun and processed into fine powder with the help of an electric grinding machine. In the meantime, a helper prepares the extraction of water from the Six Valuable Substances. During mixing in the kneading machine, 80% of the raw material powder is carefully kneaded with the extracted medicinal water. After removal from the kneading machine, the dough-like incense is formed into a palm sized shape and placed into Tsir-shing (traditional wooden compressor) hole, creating a noodle like discharge while an employee places his or her body weight on the compressor liver. These noodle-like incense sticks are rolled between two wooden boards by the incense makers, cut evenly when the bottom wooden board is full, and dried in the sun. The incense sticks are tied into bundles using thread, dried again, and finally ready for making offering.\n\nphoto 1 : Finished product © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 2 : Raw materials being dried © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 3 : Drying right after the processe © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 4 : Incense being offered in the Local Shrine © Yeshi Lhendup\nphoto 5 : Raising of incense smoke © Yeshi LhendupYear2022NationBhutan