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drinking
ICH Elements 21
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The Worship of Hùng Kings in Phú Thọ
The Việt people in Phú Thọ province have been practicing and trasmitting the worship of Hùng Kings whose father named Lạc Long Quân and mother named Âu Cơ for a very long time. The legend has become a strong belief of the country’s origin in the Việt people’s mentality for centuries. Dynasties of Great Việt attached great importance to the worship of Hùng Kings and offerred imperial conferments to villages worshiping Hùng Kings in temples and shrines. The worship of Hùng Kings has created many legends of wharves, rivers, fields, rice plants, land and other unique cultural creativity. Part of cultural creativity is reenacted in annual worship performed at communal houses, temples and shrines in villages. Communities make offerings of rice – based delicacies such as square cakes and glutinous cakes dedicated to Hùng Kings. Legend has it that, Lang Liêu who later became the seventh Hùng King made these two types of cakes by himself. They represent the heaven and the earth as well as the filial piety of the children for the parents. These two offerings are indispensable in the worship of Hùng Kings. Offerings dedicated to Hùng Kings at temples and shrines by villagers usually last for a few days: offerings by families first and then by the whole community. The tablets of Hùng Kings are proccessed throughout the villages and the rice fields, which implies that Hùng Kings may witness today’s lives of villagers and offer good weather, abundant harvests, good luck and good health to villagers, plants and animals. Offerings conducted by villagers at temples, communal houses, and shrines is supposed to be the most sacred moments when the respect and gratitude of communities dedicated to Hùng Kings are expressed.
Viet Nam 2012 -
Traditional art of whistling
The traditional art of whistling calls for human teeth and lips to function as the music instrument and the mouth cavity to function as a sound box. Whistling is classified into the following three types: tooth whistle, lip whistle and palate whistle. The reasons Mongolians whistle is greatly dependant on the season, time, location, and context due to that from ancient times Mongols have considered whistling as a call for wind. Mongols whistle the short and long songs, and melodies in hot days of summer and autumn season while herding livestock and during the labor for relaxing. Before mentioned, Mongols believe that the whistle can bring the deity of wind, therefore they do whistle while harvesting the grain for blowing the skin of grain.
Mongolia -
Xoan singing of Phú Thọ province, Viet Nam
As a form of performing arts, Xoan singing includes singing, dancing, drumming and clapper beating. It is closely attached to the Worship of the Hùng Kings, founders of the country. Phú Thọ people created Xoan singing and performed it at the village communal houses, temples and shrines worshipping the Hùng Kings in springs. “Xoan” means “spring”. Bearers and practitioners form four guilds, in which the male and female Trum play the most important role; they preserve the songs, select students, transmit the singing styles and repertoires and organize practices. They are also active in introducing and teaching Xoan singing at the four Xoan guilds, and in clubs and guilds. A full Xoan performance cycle includes 3 phases: Worship singing (Hát thờ) with songs praising the virtues of the Hùng Kings and the village guardian deities; Invocation for good health and fortune (Quả cách) with 14 repertoires praising nature, humankind, and the daily life of the community; Festive singing (hát Hội) with songs featuring the couple love. The special characteristic of Xoan is the modulation between singers and instrumentalists at the perfect fourth interval, and it has a simple structure with few ornamental notes. Xoan dance's movements have a sense of imitativeness, illustrating people's daily life activities. After singing at their communal houses from the 2nd - 5th day of the Lunar New Year, the Xoan guilds travel to other communities venerating Hùng Kings to take part in convivial cultural exchanges. Xoan practitioners are organized into music guilds called Phường. The Leader of each guild is called “Trùm”. In the past, only men could be “Trùm”, but nowadays women could also be leaders. The Leaders are in charge of transmission and organization of activities of the guilds. At present, each guild comprises of 30 - 100 members. Men are called “kép”, women are “đào”. As a community performing art, Xoan singing fosters cultural understanding, community cohesion and mutual respect. The Vietnamese Institute for Musicology has collected 31 Xoan songs, and thanks to the efforts of several Xoan artists four guilds have been established. 33 dedicated clubs also exist, and seminars are held to expand knowledge of Xoan.
Viet Nam 2017 -
Trần Thương Temple Festival, Hà Nam Province
Trần Thương Temple Festival commemorates the death anniversary of Saint Trần Hưng Đạo, a national hero.This is a cultural event held in the community to verenate and honor sacred and real figures in the national history like Saint Trần Hưng Đạo. He is a national hero who defeated foreign invaders then was considered as a Saint to support communities to have a prosperous and happy life. Trần Thương Temple Festival is famous for its typical ceremonies like water procession, palanquin procession, food delivery. Especially, there are performances of spirit mediumship with some shamanism practices in Trần Thương Temple Festival.
Viet Nam
ICH Materials 38
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Visitors playing Dembee finger games and drinking mare’s milk
Art Council of Mongolia, Culture Naadam Project
Mongolia -
Man and woman drinking kymyz
Since ancient times, nomads used to drink ‘kymyz’ from mare's, cow's and camel's milk. The Kyrgyz transmitted traditional knowledge from generation to generation. Even now on ‘jailoo’ (pastures), the way of making kymyz remained the same as centuries ago. The most valued kymyz is made of mare’s milk. From spring until the late autumn, horses graze on mountain pastures. During this period, mare’s milk is collected. Traditionally, both men and women are engaged in the process. After the collection of the milk, it is poured into the leather bag ‘saba’ where the leaven of kymyz is always kept. Then the milk inside the saba is whipped thoroughly, for about half an hour using a stake. It takes about 12-15 hours for the kymyz to reach the condition. Kymyz contains various healing properties, since mare's milk possess almost all the vitamins necessary for a human. Especially, it is rich for vitamins A and C.
Kyrgyzstan
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Ancient Rites of Horse Breeders: Biey Bailau. Kumyz Murindik
Ulytau is the geographic and historical center of Kazakhstan where the Kazakh Khanate appeared. Central Kazakhstan is rich in historical monuments. The history and traditions of Kazakh horse breeders have been maintained since the Paleolithic times. The traditions include: biye baylau, separating dairy mares from the shoal or the feast of the first milking; ayghyr kosu, joining a stallion to the herd or the stallion’s wedding; and kymyz muryndyk, beginning to make and drink kymyz or festive of the first kymyz. Inextricably linked with one another, these traditions mark the beginning of a new horse-breeding cycle and form an integral part of Kazakh intangible cultural heritage.
Kazakhstan 2016-05-02 -
Kymyz—Traditional Beverage of the Kyrgyz People
Kymyz, a traditional Kyrgyz beverage, is made of fermented mare’s milk. It was first prepared and used by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia and Mongolia. The earliest found traces of kymyz are from Neolithic period (some 5,500 years ago). Found in the valley of Suusamyr other relics were goatskin leather bags with traces of mare’s milk, indicating the presence of kymyz.\n\nKymyz preparation was kept secret by nomads for centuries. The mare’s milk is stored in animal skins called chanach that were firstly cleaned and smoked over a fire with pine or other coniferous branches to give the drink its unique smell and taste.
Kyrgyzstan 2017
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Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery: Singapore’s First ICH Community GalleryNestled in the cultural heartland of Singapore’s Chinatown, the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery is Singapore’s first community gallery that showcases different aspects of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the Chinese community as well as ICH elements practiced by the arts and cultural groups located in Kreta Ayer.\n\nCovering a gallery space of 1,076 square feet (100 square meters), the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery was co-curated by the National Heritage Board in partnership with the Kreta Ayer Community Centre and officially launched on 14 July 2019. The gallery features a total of 123 artifacts, of which 68 are on loan from the community and/or arts and cultural groups operating in Chinatown.\n\nThe gallery is made up of five sections covering five ICH elements comprising Chinese opera, Chinese puppetry, Nanyin music, Chinese calligraphy, and tea appreciation. It introduces visitors to the history of the precinct and showcases the aforementioned ICH elements while tracing their evolution from the days of old Chinatown to contemporary times.\n\nThe first section on Chinese opera traces its popularity as a form of local live entertainment between the late 1800s and the 1930s and showcases the different elements of the form including costumes, music, and characters. It also covers opera houses that used to operate in Chinatown and the characteristics of different types of opera according to dialects.\n\nThe second section on Chinese puppetry explores the roots of the art form and focuses on the common types of puppetry practiced in Singapore, including hokkien glove puppetry, teochew iron-stick puppetry, hainanese rod puppetry, and henghua string puppetry. The section also features a mock-up stage where puppetry performances are given, and visitors can try their hand at operating stringed puppets.\n\nThe third section on nanyin music, meaning “music of the south,” traces the origins of the art form and features nanyin performances, instruments, and musical scores on loan from Siong Leng Musical Association. It also showcases different genres of nanyin music such as Fujian nanyin and Cantonese naam-yam.\n\nThe fourth section on Chinese calligraphy focuses on the roots of Chinese calligraphy and the Chinese calligraphy scene in Singapore. It also features the first generation of calligraphers in Singapore and explores how the cultural art form is still practiced in schools, community centers, and cultural institutions today.\n\nThe final section on tea appreciation explores the long history of Chinese tea, the establishment of tea houses and the act of brewing and drinking tea as a cultural art form. It also looks at the different types of Chinese tea and how they are typically paired with different types of cuisine.\n\nThe gallery also features interactive components that allows visitors to experience the different ICH elements on show. These components include a puppetry stage where visitors can test their skills as puppeteers, multimedia stations that allow visitors to experience playing nanyin instruments, and a Chinese calligraphy station that allows visitors to practice their calligraphy using “invisible ink.”\n\nFollowing its official opening, NHB and Kreta Ayer Community Centre is partnering with various arts and cultural groups in Chinatown to present regular programs, including Chinese opera, Chinese puppetry, and Nanyin music performances and workshops as well as calligraphy and tea appreciation classes for students and members of the public to promote greater awareness of these ICH elements and, where possible, facilitate the transmission of skills.\n\nWith the opening of the Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery, NHB hopes to showcase the richness and diversity of the Chinese community’s “living” ICH, provide a platform for ICH practitioners and groups to showcase their skills, and create more opportunities to collaborate with community partners to showcase the heritage of specific precincts or estates as well as the history and heritage of different ethnic communities.\n\nPhoto : An interior shot of the new Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery ⓒ National Heritage Board, SingaporeYear2019NationSingapore
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Sumbi-sori Path, Life, and Beliefs of Women Divers in Jeju"Sumbi-sori is the sound of pain and the sound of life,” said Yun-bok Kim, a native Jeju islander whose deceased mother dedicated her entire life as a haenyeo, a female diver in Jeju.\n\nSumbi-sori is a huffing sound the diving women make upon exhaling after diving up to twenty meters. Kim said that his mother worked day and night, half on earth and half in the sea. He used to bring some food to his mother at dawn, when she was resting on a bulteok, a small, stone-walled structure built on the coast, where women divers can change into or out of their diving gear or gather around a fireplace to talk about their know-how and families. Kim remembers sweet grilled seaweed that his mother would make for him at the bulteok. “I didn’t really want to get up early and go to the bulteok, but now I miss the old days.”\n\nOn 25 May, I participated in a field trip program, Walk along the Haenyeo, organized by the Jeju Haenyeo Museum. I was excited to walk around the vast, crystal-clear ocean under the blue sky. About twenty participants walked for an hour and a half with Kim along Sumbi-sori Path, a trekking course in Sehwa-ri, which is home to the largest haenyeo community in Jeju with 280 female divers. Along the path, we could find agar harvested and dried on the ground, shrines built near the seaside to pray for the safety and a good harvest of haenyeo and fishermen, spring water as a source of drinking water for the village, field walls built with basalt rocks formed from volcanic activities, and bulteoks.\n\nSumbi-sori Path was a good representation of haenyeo life. The women dive to pick various marine products, such as agar and seaweed, until May. Then, they stop harvesting when the spawning season starts in June. The work of the diving women never stops, however. During the spawning season that continues until August, they go back to their farms and plant seeds for carrots, potatoes, radishes, and other crops and harvest crops from winter to spring.\n\nPhoto 1 : Photos of Shamanistic rituals organized by women divers in Jeju, taken by Kim Soo-nam, exhibited at Sanjicheon Gallery ⓒ Jinhee Oh\nPhoto 2 : A bulteok at the seashore of Sehwa-ri in Jeju ⓒ Jinhee OhYear2019NationSouth Korea