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Lkhon KholInscribed in 2018 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet (Lkhon Kohl) is practiced in a community surrounding Wat Svay Andet, a Buddhist monastery located around ten kilometers east of Phnom Penh on the Mekong River. Lkhon Khol is a traditional mask theater performance of Cambodia with its origins during the Angkor period (ninth to fifteenth centuries). It exclusively is performed by men wearing masks to the accompaniment of a traditional orchestra and melodious recitation.\n\nLkhon Khol, also known as “the monkey dance,” is ceremoniously performed once a year after the Khmer New Year for ritual purposes, linked mostly to the cycle of rice farming and the needs of farming communities. A specific theatrical performance is the Reamker, the Khmer version of Ramayana, which includes an introduction by storytellers who play an important role in the performance.\n\nLkhon Khol is passed across generations orally. However, from 1970 to 1984, due to war and the Khmer Rouge regime, transmission was nearly impossible. In addition, economic factors, insufficient resources, and economic migration from the community have also limited transmission, which is what led it to be inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding list.\n\nTwo theater groups, Kampong Thom and the National Theater troupes from the Department of Fine Arts and the Ministry of Culture and fine arts, have started performing the Lkhon Khol. In addition, the theatrical performance is also part of the syllabus at the University of Fine Arts.\n\nPhoto 1 : Lkhon Khol performance Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia, 2017\nPhoto 2 : Lkhon Khol Art painting CCBYSA PPPOfficial\nPhoto 3 : Cambodian dance: Reamker (public domain)Year2021NationCambodia
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The Dreaming Culture of the MandayaIn the Philippines, the Mandaya indigenous group is known for their gaudy and vibrant culture that has been preserved from successive generations and has withstood the colonizations that the country surpassed. The Mandaya people live in Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippine archipelago, specifically along the mountain ranges of Davao Oriental. The term “Mandaya” comes from the word man, meaning “firs,” and daya, meaning “upstream.” In combination, Mandaya means “the first upstream people” and refers to the indigenous group’s language, traditions, customs, and beliefs.\n\nOne of the interesting aspects that makes the culture of the Mandaya distinct from other indigenous groups in the country is their culture of dreaming. The practice of weaving and the knowledge system on traditional medicine or healing in the Mandaya culture has been greatly influenced by dreaming. The Mandaya are famous for dagmay,their traditional textile, which they consider sacred. Dagmay designs are interconnected; cutting them will destroy the essence and sacredness of the fabric. According to the elders, dagmay was bestowed to the Mandaya through a dream by Tagamaling, a spirit linked to life and creation. It was believed that a Mandaya maiden dreamed of Tagamaling who taught her weaving techniques to create dagmay. From then on, the Mandaya believed that weaving is sacred, and a real Mandaya weaver will have to say a prayer before starting her weave. The Mandaya weavers only weave in tranquil areas in their houses.\n\nDagmay is a handwoven textile made from abaca. The abaca is the extracted fiber from banana leaves. Dagmay involves a mud-dyeing technique wherein practitioners submerge their tannin-dyed yarns into iron-rich mud for several days. First, they pound the bark of a tree and boil it with the abaca yarn. They then add the mud with a bluish color and let the yarn boil until their desired tone is achieved. With the intricate patterns and details of the dagmay, traditional Mandaya clothes have been known to among the most beautiful in the Philippine archipelago. The motifs of traditional Mandaya design include curvilinear, diamond, cross, trellis, and crocodile patterns.\n\nAnother Mandaya tradition influenced by dreaming is their knowledge system on traditional medicine or healing. In the Mandaya community, a spiritual leader called balyan has the ability to heal sick people through the use of traditional knowledge inspired from a dream, prayer called panawagtawag and organic medicines. The highest ranking spiritual leader, kalalaysan, can heal a dying patient. Within the Mandaya community, the ability to heal is not limited to spiritual leaders as it can be done by anyone. Anyone can dream of a cure, and he or she will become the healer of the sick people in the community.\n\nPhoto : A Mandaya Woman CC BY 2.0 Paul K / flickr.comYear2019NationPhilippines
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RAMAYANA: THE GREAT HINDU EPICThe Ramayana is one of the two greatest Hindu epics of South Asia, the other being the Mahabharata. The Ramayana, authored by Sage Valmiki, tells the story of Lord Rama (the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, ‘The Preserver’). Rama is referred to as Maryada Purushottam (the most superior man who embodies both divinity and humanity). The central message of the Ramayana is to demonstrate to worldly individuals how to lead a virtuous life that does not violate any laws of nature.Year2010NationSouth Korea
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KHON: THAI MASK PLAYKhon is a Thai dance drama presenting a Ramayana epic. Each dancer wears a head mask to depict a particular character of the play. Ramayana is the war between Pra Ram (the exile prince of Ayothaya) and Totsakan (the demon king of Longka who abducted Sida, the wife of the prince). Pra Ram, with the help of the monkey troops led by Hanuman, wins the war and returns to Ayothaya with Sida. This lengthy play is divided into a number of episodes, each of which depicts a different battle scene. These episodes are of two types. First is the war play which comprisesYear2014NationSouth Korea
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Happy Bangladeshi New Year! Pahela BaishakhPahela Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar. It has been celebrated within urban and rural communities since Mughal emperor Akbar inaugurated it in the fifteenth century to align with harvest season and tax collection. Irrespective of its name or origin, it has become a celebration across all faiths, castes, classes, creeds, genders, or ages, which makes it a secular identity of Bangladeshis and a way to voice against communal fundamentalism and promote unity and solidarity. The colorful procession that is an integral part of today’s Baishakh celebration is Mangal Shobhajatra.\n\nMangal Shobhajatra literally means ‘procession of well-being’. The procession is a cultural affair deeply rooted in the Bengali tradition of making clay dolls, pots, and other decorative pieces. It is said that Charupeethh, the cultural organization first organized the procession in Jessore in 1985 to celebrate the Bengali new year with puppets, masks, and music. In 1989, the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University observed Mangal Shobhajatra for the first time in Dhaka and used it as to overcome their frustration with the existing military dictatorship. The people behind it were Mahabub Jamal Shamim, Moklesur Rahman, and Heronmay Chanda.\n\nThe procession usually has three themes—one set shows oppression and evil, a second theme represents people’s courage and strength to overcome the said evil, and the last theme reflects peace and solidarity of the people. This year’s (1424 Banggabda/ Bengali year) theme was to look toward light with the slogan “Anandaloke Mangalaloke Biraja Satyasundara” from Rabindranath Tagore’s line.\n\nAs in previous years, this year’s Mangal Shobhajatra drew thousands of participants from different walks of life. The participants carried colorful masks and floats of flowers, birds, animals, sun, and other motifs while the sun stood as a calling to come toward lights, shunning the darkness. The symbolic sun with its two shades—one is bright and the other is dark—represented two shades of human nature. Fish and birds on the other hand highlighted the cultural heritage of the country while the elephant symbolized prosperity. After the procession, the masks are often given away or sold as part of a charity fund drive.\n\nIn 2016, the Intergovernmental Committee on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage of UNESCO registered the Mangal Shobhajatra on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It added a new dimension of celebration this year as the government of Bangladesh organized the procession across the country. West Bengal, India, also brought out the traditional Mangal Shobhajatra in 2017.\n\nphoto: Bangladeshi children with placard in at Pohela Boishakh celebration CC-BY-SA-4.0 Moheen ReeyadYear2017NationBangladesh
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Mithila Art of NepalVibrant colors, deception of animals, plants, and everyday life of people to the mythological narratives are the features of Mithila art. But the most important aspect of about this art is that women strictly have a monopoly over it. So this is the reason, we can see many everyday activities—washing, cooking, fetching water, combing hair, singing in choirs in groups—featured in this art. Mithila art also features Hindu gods and goddess; mythological events along with the animals, birds and plants.\n\nThe Mithila art got its name form namesake Kingdom Mithila also known as Videha Kingdom. The ancient kingdom of Videha extended form the region, which is now in North Bihar in India and eastern Terai of Nepal. In Nepal present day Janakpur city in is considered to be the seat of ancient Kingdom. The most famous king of this kingdom was Janak. He had daughter named Sita, who then got married to prince Ram of Ayodhaya, India. Ram and Sita are the pivotal character of Hindu mythology Ramayan. The marriage of Ram and Sita are also explicitly featured in Mithila art too. The people living in Mithila region are known as Mithil.\n\nMithila art had the humble origin. Mithili women used to decorate the walls of their mud houses with everyday characters and vibrant colors, mostly red, yellow, orange, blue, and black. The colors are made from the local clay, plants root, flowers, berries, etc. Due to its natural elements these paintings were temporary, stayed on walls for few months. Traditionally the paintings were done with raw cotton or lint wrapped in bamboo splint. Also women painted the walls regularly according to the seasonal festivals. According to the festivals the picture depicted also changes. Also due to the natural erosion, the decorations on walls need to be done regularly. So the young girls also get an opportunity to learn from their mothers, neighbors, and the elderly through decorating their houses, watching them and painting with them.\n\nMithila art also plays a pivotal role in weddings. Walls of brides’ homes are painted with various motifs, with each subject have special meaning, such as fish for fertility and good luck, parrot for love and many other with specific meanings. The rituals and festivals, which are being performed, the walls are painted accordingly which symbolizes the functions. Now Mithila art has exceeded walls of houses and courtyards boundaries of Mithila region. The art, which was a medium for the expression of women creativity, feelings and everyday life, is now an identity of Janakpur and whole Mithila region.\n\nThe introduction of Nepali handmade lokhta paper (made from the fibrous inner bark of the Daphne bholua shrub) in 1970s to Mithila art helped to transcend from walls to papers then to cups, mugs, t-shirts and now everywhere. Now it’s not just ordinary art but also has become livelihood of many women. Cups, mugs, plate, boxes, bags and many more; brightly painted in Mithila art could be bought for daily use.\n\nMithila art not only jumped the walls of the courtyards to everyday usable objects but had also brought changes in the objects that are drawn. In addition to the plants, animals and humans, the inclusion of the modern objects could also be seen in Mithila art as in the picture which depicts latest pandemic and deforestation. Although Mithila art is now known outside the Mithila region and even abroad, the traditional art in walls are decreasing. People’s choice of building cemented houses are losing its traditional wall paintings. Though for the tourism promotion purpose even the cemented walls in that region started see Mithila arts over the cemented walls.\n\nNOTE: The author thanks Ajit Shrivastay for the valuable information provided.\n\nPhoto 1 : Mithila Art 1 by Ganesh Shah (Deforestation and Covid19 depicted in Mithila art ) © Monalisa Maharjan\nPhoto 2 : Mithila Art 2 by Rita Kumari NayaYear2020NationNepal
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A COMMUNITY SAFEGUARDING ITS LIVING HERITAGE, LKHON KHOLOn the east bank of the Mekong River about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh is Wat Svay Andet, a Buddhist monastic community mainly supported by two villages, Ta Skor and Peam Ek of Lvea-em District, Kandal Province. Wat Svay Andet is home to lkhon khol, a kind of theatre with recitation in which actors are all males, wear lacquer masks, and perform only scenes from Reamker, a Cambodian version of the Sanskrit Ramayana epic. This dance drama is accompanied by pinpeat, a traditional orchestra of percussion instruments. Although the dance is performed by villagers, the costumes and ornaments are as magnificent as those of classical court dance.Year2016NationSouth Korea
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HÅYA FOUNDATION; ‘GUMA YO’AMTE: RESTORING FAITH IN NATIVE HEALING’Since our establishment in Guam in 2004, the Håya Foundation desired to facilitate the creation of a social and cultural environment that would allow for the revitalization of traditional Chamorro culture. The cultural preservation and revitalization efforts, in the beginning, laid the necessary foundation for social re-acceptance of traditional healing practices.Year2020NationSouth Korea
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The Many Faces of Ramayana through the Lens of Benoy K. BehlBenoy K. Behl is described as one of the great art historians of India by various media platforms. He has a record of taking more than 35, 000 photographs and producing more than 100 documentaries. It is possible to draw forth a comprehensive visual imagery of Buddhist art in India and other parts of Asia through his outputs over the years; a subject that is beautifully explored in his work.\n\nWith the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Benoy K. Behl has created another landmark project: a documentary on Ramayana as staged in India and beyond. Entitled Ramayana: The Great Epic of South and Southeast Asia, Behl’s most recent documentary had its world premiere at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California on 3 December 2016.1. The documentary is generally a montage that presents Ramayana performances from nine countries such as Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It decisively attests to the claim that there was indeed a close historical cultural contact between Hindu India and Asia; this is among other things crucial to say about the documentary.\n\nAs current discourse on contemporary cultural production tends to emphasize the importance of transnational and diasporic tendencies, it should be noted that Behl’s documentary reflects previous studies on Ramayana, specifically the account of it being seriously regarded outside India. For example, Santosh N. Desai, in the essay Ramayana—An Instrument of Historical Contact and Cultural Transmission between India and Asia2., provides a useful cartography about how Ramayana travelled from North and Northwest Asia to Southeast Asia. In addition, Desai states some important details about how Ramayana was recreated into a text once taken from its geographic and anthropological origins, deviating from the Valmiki original version.\n\nBehl’s documentary on Ramayana gives a capacious effort to bridge the cultural gap between understanding Ramayana as a literary text and appropriating it as a performance text. It speaks of how literature can be a medium of exchange, surviving ancient stories which in some ways have shaped taste and perception across lands and generations. More importantly, it captures the evolution of an old and transcendental text as it is staged and performed in many Asian countries. As each country featured in the documentary showcases an appropriation of Ramayana different from the rest in terms of theatrical elements, Behl’s documentary shows that performing arts can be a vehicle to share cultural differences.\n\nDocumenting the movement of a text that has always been a part of tradition—from how it was once told to how it is received in the present—is itself an act of preservation. It immortalizes the journey of inheritance and reinforces the ways in which individuals appreciate their cultural roots.\n\nPhoto : The Battle at Lanka, Ramayana © SahibdinYear2017NationIndia
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Online BharatanatyamBharatanatyam is the oldest classical dance traditions among the eight classical dances of India. It has its origin in the southern parts of the country. The art form has its beginning as a temple tradition and later evolved on to the proscenium stages. The history of Bharatanatyam is as vibrant as the cultural traditions of south India, especially Tamil Nadu. The sculpture, fine arts, music, and every other art tradition is interlinked with this age-old art form which successfully retains its significance until today.\n\nTraditional Bharatanatyam follows a seven-part presentation, which is called margam. The art form generally includes a solo dancer and musicians along with on or more singers. The music and vocal performance and the dance movements trace back to the ancient Natya Shastra, and many other Sanskrit and Tamil texts.\n\nThe solo Bharatanatyam dancer wears a dress that resembles a Tamil Hindu bridal attire. She wears a brightly colored sari, specially designed for the dance to accommodate the dancer’s movements. Her body is also adorned with jewelry—on her ears, nose, and neck that outlines her hair.\n\nGiven our current situation with COVID, much of world is going digital, and performing arts are also adapting. However, online Bharatanatyam sessions are offered by Aiswarya Lakshmi. The sessions allow participants to have a similar learning experience from a mentor or teacher. Having gotten her Bharatanatyam training from the prestigious Kalakshetra Foundation, India, her sessions follow the dancing and teaching methods of the school. The focus on the Bharatanatyam vocabulary and basics of dance textual traditions will sculpt a participant into an artist themselves and a better connoisseur of classical Indian arts.\n\nFor further information, send Aiswarya Lakshmi a message at lakshmi.aiswaryaa@gmail.com\n\nPhoto 1 : Dear All, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, India\nPhoto 2 : Handful of Flowers, Image courtesy of Prateeba Mayuran, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, Dance photographer, Chennai, IndiaYear2021NationIndia
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Intangible Cultural Heritage: Enacting the past in the modern timesYenya Punhi (also known as Indra Jatra) is one of the most entertaining street festival of Nepal. Although it is celebrated in different cities where there is presence of Newa population. Kathmandu takes the claim to this festival as their main festival. Now this festival is even celebrated in different cities around the world such as London, Dallas, Baltimore, Sydney and Sikkim.\n\nYenya in Kathmandu is elaborate with multiple events taking place simultaneously indifferent corners of the city for eight days. Chariot processions of living gods and goddess, different mask dances, processions of people and deities, displays of Bhairav masks are some of the main events. So during this event every streets, courtyards and alleys in Kathmandu are filled with people, gods and festivities.\n\nIn the evening of the first day, people carry out procession called Upaku or palcha bi wonigu literally translated as – to distribute butter lamps. The family members of the decreased ones goes around the ancient city lighting incense sticks and placing butter lamps along the way at every cross roads and religious shrines. Some groups of people also follow the route singing bhajan (religious hymns) as well as young groups are seen with different traditional musical instruments.\n\nFrom the big temples to stupas, chaityas and even the smaller shrines along the procession route are decorated with flowers, lights and samayebaji (pile of beaten rice with different beans, meat and food items). Music, lights, religious hymns and people make the city into different ambience.\n\nThis event seems to be for entertainment but actually this is for those who passed away that year. Many people participating in the processions are dressed in white. According to the Newa ritual, the sons of the decreased member dress in white for the whole year. The local belief explains this ritual is to show the light to the soul of the decreased people the way to the heaven. And any wandering soul in the city gets way out.\n\nThe story of the procession route is as interesting as the event. Ancient city of Kathmandu used to be a walled city and people who go in upaku procession are walking around the outer boundary of the city. In 1769, Kathmandu was taken over by Shah king and then the walls were let to ruins, which is mentioned in the book Nepal Mandala by Mary Slusser.\n\nNow there are no physical traces of walls and gates but the intangible heritage like Upaku brings back the long lost physical memory of the city. These festivals and rituals are not just celebrating the present but also bringing back the memory of the past in present landscape. It is a way to tell the people of this generation about the past of the city.\n\nOral micro history is very important to know the people and place of the past, and it is even important in the context of country like Nepal. Rarely the history of people and ordinary structures are recorded. Kathmandu Valley is full of rituals, events and processions, which tell the stories of people and place from the ancient times. And in many instances the activities of the past gets recreated in the present context even though the lifestyles of people and urban morphology has changed in unimaginable ways. Continuity of intangible heritage is also the way to give continuity to the memories of place, practices and past.\n\nPicture 1: People taking part in procession, chanting religious hymns and placing lamps along the way. © Monalisa Maharjan \nPicture 2: Pile of unbaked clay pot with lamps placed on the road. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 3: Temple decorated with flower, light and a pile of Samaybaji along the route of Upaku. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 4: Small shrine with the offering of lights by the people on procession. © Monalisa Maharjan\nPicture 5: A decorated chaitya on the route. © Monalisa MaharjanYear2022NationNepal
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Gavari: The Unwritten Epic of a Mewari TribeKalika is a Hindu goddess. Also known as Ambav and Gauri, she is a symbol of energy and female power for which she is worshiped by Bhil tribe of Mewar in a forty-day ritual called Gavari. The timeless, spiritually-motivated, and electrifying dance-drama is a crucial part of the rich Mewari tribe tradition. Their performance—a synchronized amalgam of ritual, dance, music, myths, folklore, and theatrical plays—can be a truly mesmerizing cultural experience. It needs not a formal stage yet maintains an attraction that keeps the audience engaged and involved.\n\nGenerally, the colorful Gavari performance holds on to the theme of “victory of the divine against the demon” and creatively retells folk tales, myth, and history, incorporating satire and contemporary issues in its short episodes. Performed only by the male members of the Bhil tribe, Gavari starts with and maintains a mimesis of the female power of Kalika. It is typically performed by ten to fifty members of the tribe, who are from different age range and have varied roles in the performance. Each performance has a vital message combined with spiritual invocations, which makes its telling more effective. The rising beats of Madal intensify the atmosphere in such a way that the audience can get into trance. Members of the Bhil tribe believe that they can be cured by the blessings of the main priest or by Kali. The Gavari performance splendidly presents stories carrying tribal wisdom. It also affirms simplicity, equality, communal harmony, consciousness, art appreciation, and upmost environment protection for sustainable development.\nEffects of modernity and globalization reaching tribal areas in India, however, have molded an abrasive attitude toward practices known to be “traditional”. In the last couple of decades, it was observed that the younger members of the Bhil tribe have less interest in keeping their tradition alive. They prefer to work as laborers than learning and performing Gavari. Gavari performance is seen to have no worthy benefit and thus must not be actively transmitted. This alarming situation may banish the purest form of performing art along with its music, stories, folk tales, songs, divinity, and wisdom, all particular to the southern part of Rajasthan, India.\n\nThe biggest challenge in safeguarding Gavari is to bring its identity and pride back to restore the ignored cultural heritage of Mewar. Enhanced visibility of Gavari performance at both national and international levels could help in realizing its socioeconomic benefits. Documentation, digitization, and dissemination art are very much needed to relocate this Gavari and its wisdom to next generations in a systematic manner. Through efforts of NGOs working in the ICH field such as the publication of the first pictorial book on it, film, and website, it is possible for people to have vicarious access to Gavari. Notwithstanding, more efforts are needed to protect the heritage of Bhil tribe.Year2017NationIndia