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ICH Elements 95
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Practices of Then by Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups in Viet Nam
Then a ritual practice indispensable in Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups' spiritual life, reflects concepts about human beings, natural world and the universe (the Earth realm, the 3-layer Heaven realm). Then ceremonies describe a journey in which Then Master (Male/Female) controls ghost soldiers travelling from the Earth realm to the Heaven realm, the residing place of the gods, to offer worshipping items and show their praying requests for peace, bad luck relief, illness treatment, good crops, new house inauguration, initiation/title-conferring ritual (cấp sắc), blessings and happy new year. Then Masters start the journey by singing and plucking the tính lute (two or three-string lute). Depending on worshipping purposes, Then Masters will arrange worshipping trays to pray different native Gods, among whom Ngoc Hoang is the highest God. Then Masters often use a summoning tablet, a seal, a demon-expelling sword, a yin and yang rod, a bell, a fan and items such as pork, chicken, wine, rice, fruits and votive papers to perform Then ceremonies in the believer’s house, outdoor or at Then altar of the Master’s house. While practising, Then Master wears ceremonial dress, sings the language of his ethnic group and plays the tính lute, shakes the chùm xóc nhạc (rattle-bells), waves a fan. In some ceremonies, a female dancing group will accompany. Then rituals performances express Tày, Nùng and Thái’s cultural identities, from customs to musical instruments, dance and music. Then is always transmitted orally while its rituals are being conducted, reflecting the succession between generations.
Viet Nam 2019 -
Nongak, community band music, dance and rituals in the Republic of Korea
Inscribed in 2014 (9.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Nongak is a fusion performing art genre that combines a percussion ensemble (with occasional use of wind instruments), parading, dancing, drama, and acrobatic feats. It has been practiced for various purposes, such as appeasing gods, chasing evil spirits and seeking blessings, praying for a rich harvest in spring, celebrating the harvest at autumn festivals, fund-raising for community projects, and professional entertainment. Any joyful community event was never complete without uproarious music and dance performed by the local band clad in colorful costumes. The resultant ecstatic excitement (sinmyeong) is often defined as a preeminent emotional characteristic of Korean people. The music frequently uses uneven beats of complex structures like simple three-time, compound time, and simple and compound time. Small hand-held gongs and hourglass drums, with their metal and leather sounds, play the main beats, while large gongs and barrel drums create simple rhythmic accents. The small hand-held drum players focus more on dancing than playing music. Dancing includes individual skill demonstrations, choreographic formations, and streamer dances. Actors wearing masks and peculiar outfits perform funny skits. Acrobatics include dish spinning and miming antics by child dancers carried on the shoulders of adult performers. Nongak was most often performed and enjoyed by grassroots people, but there were also professional groups putting on entertainment shows. In recent years, professional repertoires have evolved into the percussion quartet “Samul Nori” and the non-verbal theatrical show “Nanta,” dramatically emphasizing the music element and thereby appealing to broader audiences at home and from abroad.
South Korea 2014 -
Bongai
Bongai is not an unfamiliar music in Negeri Sembilan; can be categorised as a traditional song especially for the state’s community. This music is very popular in merriment events that involve weddings. The word Bongai was created from two words that are “Bong” means “a respected person”, and the word “Aye” means “me”. Bongai songs are always performed in exchange of quatrains form by individuals or duet, or in groups. Among the popular songs are Cantik Manis, Kapeh, Irama Budu Landai, Donak Donai and Anak Bocek. The musical instruments that always accompany this music performance are the caklempong, accordion, gong, hand-held drummette, and clarinet.
Malaysia -
The Music of Tumbuk Kalang
The farmers’ community assumes that the festive season is the harvesting season. At this time, they are in jolly mood because they obtain revenue from their own sweat poured into their paddy fields all these while. It has been normal that when every time paddy harvesting season approaches the farmers organise a paddy flaking festivity made merrier by a game of Tumbuk Kalang. Often this game is held house to house and lasts for a number of evenings. The musical instruments for the Tumbuk Kalang performance are a set of caklempong, gong, paddy pestles and hand-held drummettes.
Malaysia
ICH Stakeholders 1
ICH Materials 198
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Mak Yong Theatre
Mak Yong is a traditional form of dance-drama that combines ritualistic spiritworship concerning Mak Hiang (Mother-Spirit, or the Paddy-Spirit). It has elements of acting, dancing, singing, songs, stories and dialogues. It is widely performed in Terengganu, Patani, Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis as well as at the Islands of Riau in Indonesia and Pattani of Southern Thailand.\nMak Yong is believed to be originated from the Malay Palace in Pattani about 400 years ago before making its way to the East Coast of Peninsular Nakatsua. In the 1920’s, Mak Yong was performed under the patronage of Kelantan Sultanate and therefore has assimilated the luxury of palace-style decorated costumes.\nUnfortunately, Mak Yong was banned by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in 1991 under the allegation of animist and Hindu-Buddhist roots. The status of Mak Yong was recognized internationally after UNESCO declared Mak Yong as an"Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2005.\nThe performance often opens with the song “Mengadap Rebab,” followed with dancing and singing accompanied by traditional musical composition. There are twelve main stories in a Mak Yong performance: Dewa Muda, Dewa Pencil, Dewa Sakti, Dewa Panah, Raja Indera Dewa, Endeng Tejeli (Anak Raja Gondang, Batak Raja Gondang, Raja Bongsu Sakti), Raja Tangkai Hati, Gading Bertimang, Raja Muda Lakleng, Raja Muda Lembek, Raja Besar dalam Negeri Ho Gading and Bentara Muda. In general, the stories are derived from local folktales about kings, deities and comic characters. Mak Yong has also been associated with traditional medicinal purposes in which shamans attempt to cure possessed patients through singing and dancing in ritualistic trance.\nEach story needs a duration of three hours to be fully performed. Most Mak Yong characters are played by female actors and is performed on a center stage surrounded by the audience. Audience sit around the three sides of the stage, while the fourth side is reserved for the musicians.
Malaysia -
Performing small epics
Kyrgyzstan
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2. Case of Kyrgyzstan: Influences and Effects of ICH Festivals on Local Communities
The ICH festivals in the Kyrgyz Republic are a great way to safeguard the cultural heritage. Kyrgyzstan has a rich ICH and embraces all ICH domains including the oral traditions andexpressions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive event, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship. Festivals feature various ICH domains such as arts and crafts, cuisine, folklore, felt, hunting with birds, horse games, etc. For instance, the festivals Kyrgyz Shyrdagy and the Oimo International Festival are held with the aim of safeguarding and popularizing traditional knowledge and skills of handicrafts, for safeguarding and promoting traditional games, various birds of prey festivals are held, such as Salbuurun and Kok Boru. Moreover, festivals are dedicated to safeguarding oral traditions, such as Aitysh, the art of improvisation as well as many other festivals reflecting traditional cuisine, folklore, etc.
South Korea 2020-11-18 -
Kin Pang Then Festival: Encompassing Past and Present
Kin Pang Then is a traditional ritual of the Tai ethnic group in the northwest region of Vietnam to welcome and thank the deity known as Then. In the ritual, Then comes down to grant blessings on villagers and heal those whose souls are sick. The beneficiaries of the ritual are obliged to participate in the next Kin Pang Then ritual. The whole process of greeting and sending off the deity is intended to bring harmony and unity to all community members who participate in and enjoy the ritual. \nThis video shows the spiritual life of the Tai people and a master performing the ritual to bring good luck and wellbeing to the local people.
Viet Nam 2019
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BAKHSHI ART FESTIVAL TO REVIVE SILK ROAD CULTUREA wide range of festivals are held in Uzbekistan to generate public interest in intangible cultural heritage. This includes the recent International Bakhshi Art Festival, which was held for a week from 5 April in the ancient city of Termez. Bakhshi is a multi-genre art form that brings together singers, musicians, and performers of Doston, a Central Asian oral epic. Teams from seventy-five countries took part in this festival, which featured not only a wide range of performances but also an enlightening international conference.Year2019NationSouth Korea
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Mongolian Culture and HeritageThe culture of the Central Asian steppes expresses itself vividly in the lifestyle of traditional nomadic practices. Mongolian culture has been in practice in the nomadic life and the traditions surrounding the nomad’s home (ger). And it is present in religious celebrations, national festivals, art and crafts, music and dance, language and literature, which form the backbone of Mongolian intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia. Mongolia is filled with valuable cultural properties and intangible cultural heritage of humanity that have been kept or practiced for thousands of years.\n\nGer, Mongolian Traditional Dwelling\nThe traditional architecture of the Mongols differed strongly from that of the settled peoples of Asia and other continents. Centuries ago, there the ger, also known as a yurt, appeared. It still offers shelter to nomads in particular places in Central Asia. Its development and fundamental principles are determined by the specific features of the way of life of Mongol tribes, which made it necessary to evolve a light and collapsible structure to be used as a dwelling or for public functions.\n\nMongolian Language and Literature\nMongolian is the language of most of the Mongolian population and inner Mongolia. By origin, Mongolian is one of the Altaic family of languages, and the history of the Mongolian language is long and complicated. Significant literary work of early Mongolia includes The Secret History of the Mongols, which was published in 1228).\n\nMongolian Religion and Beliefs\nThe Mongols have practiced several religions, of which Shamanism and Buddhism were the most common. The faith in Mongolia is Buddhism, though the state and religion were separated during the socialist period, but with the transition to the parliamentary republic in the 1990s, there has been a general revival of faiths across the country\n\nMongolian Art and Crafts\nMongolian arts and crafts have been passed down across generations from the Paleolithic times to today, leaving behind deep impressions on all facets of life and conscious, aesthetic, and philosophical thinking. Highly developed Mongolian arts and crafts come from the second millennium BCE. The works included sculptured heads of wild animals with exaggerated features. Other items include knives, daggers, and other items of practical and religious use.\n\nMongolian Music and Dance\nMusic is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among Mongolia’s unique contributions to the world’s musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin khuur (the horse-headed fiddle). The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western pop and rock genres and the mass songs written by contemporary authors in the form of folk songs.\n\nHorse Culture of Mongolia\nIt is famously known that horses play a large role in the Mongols’ daily and national lives. Common sayings are, “A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings,” and “Mongols are born on horseback” these are arguably true words. Even today, horse-based culture is still practiced by nomadic Mongolians.\n\nVisit https://www.toursmongolia.com/tours for additional information about Mongolian culture.\n\nPhoto 1 : Prairie meadow grass inner Mongolia traditional clothing © Batzaya Choijiljav\nPhoto 2~7 : © Batzaya ChoijiljavYear2020NationMongolia