Worshipping practices of sacred sites in Mongolia have been developed in specific cultural space of nomadic lifestyle in the vast grassland steppe of Central Asia. One of the main characteristics of nomadic culture is its close relationship and harmony with nature and environment. These practices, according to ancient shamanism, are based on belief in the existence of invisible deities of sky, earth, mountains, and all natural surroundings. Furthermore, Mongolians believe that these deities exist on the top of the mountain or any hill between sky and earth and choose these places as sacred sites for the worshipping for and offerings to these deities. They pile up Ovoos (stone mound) in these places and perform worshipping rituals and ceremonies. All participants at the worshipping rituals ask a deity to bring a timely rain, to protect humans and livestock from natural disasters, and to bestow prosperity and blessings on the participants and local people of given areas. In early times, sacred sites were worshipped with shamanic rituals and these wonderful traditions were later enriched with Buddhist teachings and rites. In a sense of respect and symbol and in geographical importance, sacred mountains, hills or the head of rivers in general have become as a cradle (centre) of the natural and cultural areas concerned and create a specific socio-cultural space and a unique cultural heritage landscape. These sacred sites are the symbol of cultural identity and spiritual cohesion of local people concerned and a sacred site for performing worshipping rituals and organizing important social events and ceremonies of given communities. Researchers regard the worshipping practices of sacred sites as multi-functional and multi-content cultural heritage element. The worshipping rituals in Mongolia have originally been conducted by the kin group and later by the local and indigenous people of a specific areas and further by specific representatives of State authorities and interested people at national level. The procedures and ritual order of worship ceremony are usually similar but some differences can be observed in regards to local customs and traditions. In different places, the people who lead worship ceremony are variously called as the owner of Ovoo or head of Ovoo. Those experienced people should be native and respectful people. In rare occasions, if a ritual is conducted in the way of shamanic tradition, a shaman leads this ritual ceremony. If it is a Buddhist ritual, a monk leads a worship ceremony. The key organizer consults with respectful elders, the head of the Buddhist monastery or shaman about the time for conducting ceremony. Timing is determined in accordance with traditional astrology. Once the time is set up, the day of worship is publicly announced. A worship ceremony is often conducted during the summer and/or autumn of the year. In the early morning before sunrise, all participants, in their best dresses, carrying offering food and items, start to head towards the Ovoo together with their young children. Bringing young children to the worship ceremony allows the youngsters to learn the customs and traditions of the community. Before starting the worship ceremony, varied coloured ceremonial scarves are tied to the main wood that is placed in an Ovoo and a hand-made figure of the deity is placed on white cotton in front of the Ovoo. Offering food and items are also placed in front of the Ovoo. Honourable guests, usually elders, sit in the north west direction of the Ovoo. If the State worship ceremony is performed, a state official opens the ceremony by reading an official decree issued for particular worship ceremony. Buddhist monks sit in the north east direction of the Ovoo. There should be more than three monks. Monks should possess knowledge of how to recite (sutra) offering texts with the use of various musical instruments. Sometimes the elders recite offering texts. Offerings including dairy products or cooked meats are placed in the east of the Ovoo. Various aromatic substances such as juniper’s needle, wormwood and wild thyme are burned as a sanctification of the sacred site. The procedure of the ritual ceremony starts with invoking deities and nymphs to come to the offering site then followed by presenting various offerings to them. After making offerings, participants of the ceremony make requests to deities and nymphs to grant richness in livestock and bestow success and prosperity on them. Monks chant sutras dedicated to this mountain and Ovoo. Meanwhile, an arrow called as bringer of auspiciousness is shot towards the sky and mark out any livestock animal as being consecrated to a divinity. Following the ceremony, a festival of horse racing, wrestling and archery competition as well as singing and dancing take place immediately. This tradition is highly considered as one of unique and humane intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia. - Locals participate at sacred site worship ceremony on a voluntarily basis. The local elders personally teach younger people how to attend and behave at the worship ceremony. A sacred site worship ceremony brings all community members together and builds a sense of community and solidarity. - The worshipping natural environment creates more awareness among the people about interdependence between human beings and the environment and creates more respect for the nature. This is one of the best environmental protection methods that has been preserved by the Mongols since ancient time. - The ritual procession is based on Mongolian folk beliefs, literature, poetry, song, dance, rituals, festive events and as well as handicrafts. Thus, the sacred site worship ceremony preserves those ICH elements through time. In sum, it is clear that worshipping practices of sacred sites have immeasurable value both in transmission of ICH and as a source of public education, identity and pride. At the practical level, these practices play an important role in maintaining ecological balance and the preservation and protection of biological and cultural diversity. This heritage significantly contributes to the protection of our natural environment and wildlife as sacred and pristine.

Mongolia 2017

In 1995, the Sub-commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) – the lead agency mandated to preserve, promote and develop Philippine culture and the arts – affirmed the need to safeguard traditional knowledge and practices from rapid cultural devaluation brought about by media, tourism, formal education and religion. This paved the way for the creation of The School of Living Traditions (SLT) programme, involving informal, community-managed learning centres where practitioners can transmit their communities’ knowledge, intangible cultural heritage, skills and values to younger generations. The identification of priorities for safeguarding was led by elders, leaders and other members of communities through a series of consultations. In the process, the NCCA provided capacity-building assistance for the mobilization of logistics and other resources needed to establish the learning centres. The SLT programme aims to develop, implement and evaluate community-based measures to safeguard vital traditional cultural knowledge and practices from the potential negative effects of modernization.

Philippines 2021

Yig-par koni is an adverb that means engraving of scripts which is the art of Xylography, one of the indigenous craftsmanship art of Bhutan. Script engraving is done using special wood locally called Tag-pa shing (Birch: Betula utilis) that flourishes at altitudes varying from 3000 to 4200 meters above sea level. Tag-pa shing can be easily identified by its bark that has a mix red and pink and brown colours alternatively across the trunk like that of a tiger’s skin thus got its name. The art is considered as one of the religious craftsmanship since its significance, production and usage are all connected to spiritualistic believes and purpose. In Bhutan, the presence of skills for making woodblock prints are seen in temples, monasteries and Dzongs (fortress) every part of the country in the form of biographies, excellent teachings of the Buddha printed from woodblocks. The earliest biography is that of Terton (Hidden treasure discoverer) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), as prophesied by Guru Padmasambava, the epitome of the Secret Teachings of Tantric Buddhism. Terton Pema Lingpa was the last reincarnate of Princess Pema Sal (?), daughter of King Thrisong Deutsan of Tibet. Owing to the propensity of his previous lives, the Terton knew craft works without training, and dedicating his skills to ensure the continuity of the Buddha’s teachings, had made uncountable number woodblocks, available in the monasteries established by the Terton himself and by his sons as well as in the house of a number of his patrons that can be seen even today. Moreover, Thugse Dawa Gyaltshan (1499-1586), the son of Pema Lingpa, had also engraved as many as 614 woodblocks for the collected works and autobiography in memory of his father which is still preserved at the sacred place of Kunzang Drag, Bumthang Dzongkhag (district). After Terton Pema Lingpa and his heart son Thugse Dawa Gyaltshen had started the tradition of woodblock print, Choje Ngagwang Tenzin (1522-1590), the reincarnate of Gartoen who was the son of Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, engraved the biography of Phajo Drugom in about 1570 (C.E). Then, in the 17th century Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, having satisfactorily completed all the activities related to the dual system and before he went into the final retreat (i.e. parinirvana), initiated a project to engrave the collected works of the omniscient Pema Karpo (1527-1592) and all the essential ones and its prints are distributed them to all the monasteries and sangha communities as dharma donations. He created of the seat of Je Khenpo as the overall head of sangha monasteries and ecclesiastical affairs and that of Desi, who functioned as the secular head of the country. He had also appointed officials to fit these high-ranking positions. The successive Je Khenpo and Desis ensured the practice, manage and spread of the teachings and the good system of administration, by engraving unlimited number of woodblocks prints in their respective areas which can be seen still today in all the historical monuments. However, due to the advancement of printing technologies, the National Library & Archives of Bhutan is the only institution that is upholding the xylography art in the country while the practice is turned its form to an oral account.

The Art of Calligraphy and writing is not only the fundamental need of academic knowledge but it is also an essential skill required preserving and promoting religious teachings. It not only requires academic intellects but most important the hand-skill of calligraphy. The origin of the calligraphy as per Lam (Spiritual master) Ugyen Tenzin Yoezer, popularly known as Lopen Nado, who was then the Advisor to the Department of Education on Dzongkha Development in Bhutan says that, there was a natural system of using words and phrases in oral communications such as conversations, discussions, and official announcements, consistent with the general practice. Development of the system of communication through the writing of letters and documentation had not been widespread. During the second visit of Guru Padmasambhava to Bumthang was in the 8th century, he was accompanied by one of his 25 principal disciples’ names Denmang Tsemang. At that time Guru Padmasambava gave the sacred teachings of the Secret Mantra to the King Sindhu Raja, but it was said that there was no system of writing in the country that time. So, it was Denma Tsemang who transcribed the transmitted teachings for the King’s practices and thus the beginning of the tradition of writing in Bhutan. Thereafter in the 15th century, Terton Pema Lingpa (1450-5121) transmitted the writing tradition to his heirs until the dawn of 17th century when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) established the State Government by initiating the Monastic Body where the Calligraphy section (Yig-zoi-de) was particularly set for the monks to impart and learn art of calligraphy. It was necessary not only or writing and learning for oneself but, for the woodblock engraving projects that was thriving in Punakha Dzong initiated mainly for the flourishment of the Buddhist teaching in the country. Later, the art was perpetuated and practiced by the successive Je Khenpos (chief abbot) and Druk Desis (temporal secular rulers) and Monarchs until now. Some of the remarkable calligraphers that are enlisted in the Bhutanese history were; 1.\tDenma Tsemang 9th century 2.\tNgawang Penjor as Dzongpon and Ngedup Penjor (1964) 3.\tDrungyig Zimchenpa Tandin Wanggyel 17th century 4.\tLopen Wangdue 17th century 5.\tLopen Phuentso 17th century 6.\tTshewang Dorji 17th century 7.\tLopen Gangchen, also called Kuenga Pelden, 19th century during the reign of Desi Jigma Namgyal (1825-1881) 8.\tDrungyig Tshewang Ngodrup, 19th century during the reign of His Majesty the 1st King Ugyen Wangchuck (1862–1926) 9.\tGonpo Tenzin from Lingzhi, 19th century during the reign of His Majesty the 1st King Ugyen Wangchuck 10.\tZhongar Dzongpon Kuenzang Wangdue, 20th century during the reign of His Majesty the 2nd King Jigme Wangchuck (1862–1926) 11.\tDrungyig Tsowo Dasho Kezang Dawa, during the reign of His Majesty the 2nd King Jigme Wangchuck (1862–1926) 12.\tTangbi Kezang, during the reign of His Majesty the 2nd King Jigme Wangchuck (1862–1926) 13.\tUra Yeshey Wangdi, during the reign of His Majesty the 2nd King Jigme Wangchuck (1862–1926) 14.\tSonam Peljor, 15.\tDasho Gaydon Thinley Dorji (?) 20th century during the reign of His Majesty the 2nd and 3rd King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1929–1972) 16.\tDasho Shingkhar Lam Kuenzang Wangchuk (?) 17.\tSey Dopola Aka Dasho Phuntsho Wangdi (1892-1953) 18.\tLam Norbu Wangchuk (?), 21st century during the reign of His Majesty the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (1955–) 19.\tYarab Aja Lama Drodul Zhenphen Dorji Tenzin (1921-2005) 20.\tLam Pema Tshewang, (1926-2009), 21.\tLopen Gonpo Tenzin from Chumey, Bumthang 22.\tLam Nado from Namgyal Dratshang (?) 23.\tDasho Tenzin Dorji (1928-2012) 24.\tLam Tenzin from Ramjar, Tashi Yangtse 25.\tChabje Geshey Gedhun Rinchen (1926-1997) 26.\tChabje Khenchen Ngawang Tenzin Doendup, 68th Je Khenpo (1925-2020) 27.\tLopen Daupo from Bartsham 28.\tLam Kuenzang Wangdi (aka Lam Nyingkhula) 29.\tLopen Yonten Gyaltshen, Central Monastic Body 30.\tDasho Sangay Wangchuk Generally, there are five types of calligraphy writing; U-chen (Block script), U-mey (Headless script), Len-tsa (Rajana script), War-tu (a type of Indian script) and finally the Jog-yig (the typical Bhutanese script). Amongst these scripts, Len-tsa and War-tu scripts are mainly used as decorative scripts, while U-chen is more common in writing Buddhist canons, ritual scripts and even for the formal corresponding letters and Jog-yig script is just for writing formal records and corresponding letters. Regarding U-mey script, though it is rare to its usage bring a Tibetan script but there are some calligraphers knowing how to write. However, the tradition of writing i.e. Calligraphy has been greatly hampered and left on the verge of dying tradition due to the emergence of computer technology and available fonts in the country. Yet, there are still well known and skilled calligraphers which are mostly used by His Majesty’s Kangyur Project for writing Golden Scriptures of Buddhist Canon and even by some individual Spiritual masters which have helped in reviving and revitalizing the art in the country.