Resumen
- Informe: inglés
Resumen
Since Mongolia joined the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2005, a total of 13 elements of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) has been inscribed in the UNESCO’s List. The Government of Mongolia has been implemented short, mid-term and long-term safeguarding measures towards protection, inheritance and dissemination of these heritages to strengthen the sustainable viability.
- 2014 Law on the Protection of the Cultural Heritage was amended and Safeguard of Intangible Cultural Heritage and promotion of bearers was reflected in it in order to safeguard, inherit and disseminate intangible cultural heritage and create an enabling legal environment for the protection of rights of bearer of intangible cultural heritage and for the protection, inheritance and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage. In addition, procedures related to the safeguard of the intangible cultural heritage was developed and adopted within the framework of the Law. For instance, “Procedure for the investigation and research of intangible cultural heritage” with the Decree A151 of the Minister of Education, Culture and Science on 30th of April, 2015 and “Honoring Procedure for the bearers who have contributed to the promotion and dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage at the national and worldwide level” with the Resolution No.145 of the Government of Mongolia on the 7th of March, 2016 were adopted respectively.
- Provided support in the process of educating youth and children about intangible cultural heritage and disseminating it as a national pride, and urging them to cultivate awareness of respecting and honoring the intangible cultural heritage and developing mass movement through the formal and informal training.
- During the reporting period, about 10 mid-term and long-term National Programmes related to the ICH have been implemented in order to protect, inherit, disseminate the intangible cultural heritage and promote the cultural diversity. Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports is developing “National Comprehensive Programme of Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage2018-2025” with the aim of further protecting the rights of bearers of intangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage in Mongolia and continuing the efforts to further strengthen the capacity of existence and ensure participation.
- Since 2010, registration and information, documentation of intangible cultural heritage and its bearers have been updated annually and the state integrated registration and information database have been made available to the public in an accountable and accessible manner.
Following elements which were inscribed in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity have been included in this report:
- Urtiin Duu, traditional folk long song (2008)
- Traditional music of the Morin Khuur (horse-headed fiddle) (2008)
- Naadam, Mongolian traditional festival (2010)
- Mongolian traditional art of Khöömei (2010)
- Falconry (2010)
- Traditional craftsmanship of the Mongol Ger and its associated customs (2013)
- Mongolian knuckle-bone shooting (2014)
Resumen
Overall cultural policy making is in the hands of the Culture and Arts Department of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The main national body charged with the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage is the Centre of Cultural Heritage (CCH) of the same Ministry, within which the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Division was established in 2008. The Centre began life as an non-governmental organization, but was brought within the government in 2008. This unit is responsible at the national level for: the safeguarding, promotion and documentation (audio-video) of intangible cultural heritage; the identification and registration of intangible cultural heritage bearers and helping them transmit their skills and knowledge to the next generation; and the establishment and improvement of the consolidated registration and information database and its archival management. The National Committee for Selecting and Designating Intangible Cultural Heritage and its Bearers (2009) is the body that regulates issues related to research into and the identification of the original forms of intangible cultural heritage elements existing in the Mongolian territory, the official recognition of intangible cultural heritage bearers and safeguarding and documentation measures.
The Mongolian State University of Culture and Arts provides training for professionals in the fields of cultural study, cultural administration and cultural heritage, both within the Research Institute of Culture and Arts and the College of Music and Dance. The aforementioned National Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage supports bearers in the transmission of intangible cultural heritage, among its other activities. Heritage education and training activities are regularly conducted by the government and cultural and scientific organizations at the national, regional and international levels.
For intangible cultural heritage documentation, the non-governmental organization that is the predecessor of the CCH, the National Centre of Intangible Cultural Heritage, undertook a project on ‘Documentation of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mongolia with Audio and Video Recordings’. This provided the groundwork for establishing a database and archive for oral and intangible cultural heritage. The Tuguldur Audio and Video Records Studio was established in 2009 as a unit of the CCH, with responsibility for documenting music, songs and other intangible cultural heritage. Moreover, there are 30 non-governmental organizations and other civil society groups that are actively engaged in safeguarding and promoting intangible cultural heritage and the encouragement of such organizations is a government policy. They are also involved in the documentation of intangible cultural heritage. In terms of public access to documentary materials, the CCH produces reference books, catalogues, seasonal newsletters, documentary films and training videos, and distributes them to interested individuals, non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions and schools. The Centre aims to establish a dedicated intangible cultural heritage database that is accessible online.
The inventorying of intangible cultural heritage is carried out in the context of the Consolidated Intangible Cultural Heritage Registration and Information System (also referred to as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory System) under the Centre for Cultural Heritage. The system is made up of three lists: (1) a National Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (accompanied by a tentative list of intangible cultural heritage to be added to the National Representative List); (2) a National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding; and (3) a National List of Designated Intangible Cultural Heritage Bearers Possessing a High Level of Skills and Knowledge. Elements selected for the first two lists should satisfy the following criteria: (1) the element should be demonstrated as a valuable asset for its community, group or individuals and recognized as part of their cultural heritage, providing them with a sense of identity and continuity, and serving as an invaluable source of interaction or sharing with others; (2) the element should maintain its authenticity and hold the characteristics of rareness and uniqueness; (3) the environment should be closely associated with and maintain the distinctiveness of the traditional livelihood, environment, folk customs and manners of that locality and community; (4) the element should demonstrate its significance for human creativity; and (5) special attention should be given to those elements under threat of disappearance (the last criterion being of particular importance for the second list). For the list of intangible cultural heritage bearers, those who are designated should: (1) be recognized and acknowledged as a highly-skilled culture bearer in their community; (2) possess high-level skills in relation to the original forms of the intangible cultural heritage element, including the distinct characteristics, techniques, repertoire and school; (3) possess the intangible cultural heritage element in connection with his/her livelihood and traditional customs and rituals; and (4) be experienced in training and transmitting his/her knowledge and skills and have the ability to conduct training.
The soums and districts are responsible for the first stage of building intangible cultural heritage inventories at the local level. The provincial and city registration and information database is then created on the basis of this information by the Provincial Departments of Education and Culture and the City Departments of Culture and Arts. Updating occurs annually over three cycles: locally-placed applications from communities, groups or individuals; evaluation at the provincial level; elaboration and consolidation at the national level; and then selection and designation by the National Committee for Selecting and Designating Intangible Cultural Heritage and its Bearers. Representatives from relevant non-governmental organizations, communities and groups are also members of the National Committee for Selecting and Designating Intangible Cultural Heritage and its Bearers and so participate fully in decision-making processes for identifying, selecting and designating intangible cultural heritage elements and their bearers.
The main policy document governing the safeguarding process is the State Cultural Policy of Mongolia, adopted in 1996, which is aimed at defending national culture against absorption by another culture or disappearance. It contains measures that protect intangible cultural heritage bearers and their freedom to create and safeguard their heritage and to respect ethnic and cultural diversity in the country. It aims to encourage educational institutions to establish activities for youth and children that instil them with a love and respect for traditional culture and knowledge. The 2008 ‘Endorsement of the Millennium Development Goals-based Comprehensive National Development Strategy’ calls for State support for the safeguarding and restoration of the tangible and intangible heritage of Mongolian traditional culture. Moreover, complementing the list of intangible cultural heritage bearers, the honours of State Leading Folk Artist and State Honoured Cultural Activist are awarded in special cases.
With regard to education, a general policy has been established to integrate the teaching of intangible cultural heritage into school curricula. As a result, information on Mongolian gers (traditional dwellings), the morin khuur (horse-headed fiddle), the long song, Khuumei (throat singing), the bii biyelgee folk dance, traditional costume, the Naadam Festival, the Lunar Month Festival, traditional greeting customs, traditional customs associated with animal husbandry and traditional knowledge of protecting nature are all being added to the curriculum for 6-8-year-old pupils. Education for the protection of natural spaces and places of memory whose existence is necessary for expressing intangible cultural heritage has also been addressed in connection with traditional customs of worshipping sacred sites through a project entitled ‘Safeguarding the Diversity of Ecological and Cultural Heritage through the Tradition of Worshipping the Sacred Sites’.
Non-formal means of transmission of intangible cultural heritage have traditionally been strong in Mongolia and the main mode is through the traditional method of home-tutoring apprenticeship training. The latter is based on the techniques of performance and lead-training, requiring genuine effort and creativity from apprentices. The government is now seeking to support elder trainers by including them in the system of allowances and local authorities are attempting to support and promote such non-formal training. The other means of non-formal transmission is through training conducted at local Cultural Centres, in schools, kindergartens and other public or private organizations. Since a large percentage of the population lives in or migrates to urban areas, experimental research and observational activities are being conducted to further establish and improve other means of non-formal transmission methods such as clubs, common interest groups, joint exhibitions and performances etc.
Bilateral, sub-regional, regional and international cooperation takes the form of cultural exchange agreements with other countries for the exchange of exhibitions and festivals, mostly in the fields of folk performing arts and traditional craftsmanship. Cultural exchange is also arranged by organizing Mongolian cultural days in other countries and vice versa, demonstrating a belief in the importance of intercultural dialogue in this area of heritage. Mongolia cooperates with the International Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations (IISNC), which is working to develop a network among professional centres and scientific institutes at the national and regional levels.
Mongolia reports here on five elements on the Representative List: the traditional music of the Morin Khuur (incorporated in 2008, after being declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003); Urtiin Duu, a traditional folk long song (also incorporated in 2008, after having been declared a Masterpiece in 2005; jointly nominated by Mongolia and China); Falconry, a living human heritage (2010, a multinational inscription); the Mongolian traditional art of Khöömei (2010); and Naadam, a Mongolian traditional festival (2010). A major safeguarding effort is the national Morin Khuur and Urtiin Duu programme (2005-2014), which is aimed at identifying heritage bearers, studying the two traditions and providing an environment to foster youth transmission. Traditional festivals and events that serve in the transmission of the element are being revived and reintroduced. In 2011, 999 young morin khuur players, 108 long-song singers and 600 throat singers (Khőőmei) from Zavkhan Province gathered in Ulaanbaatar. Since the inscription of the Falconry element, an Eagle Festival is now held both in the countryside and in the capital.
Providing training to trainers in the practice of intangible cultural heritage is also an important safeguarding strategy in Mongolia to ensure transmission. There are a growing number of both formal and informal training activities in wrestling and archery in schools and the number of young people taking part in these traditional skills is on the increase. The Mongolian Archery Federation has also established training courses and clubs in aimags and soums. In higher education, the Culture and Arts University has initiated a class in long songs with the music and Dance School, training over 30 singers over the last six years. The Mongolian National University of Culture and Arts opened enrolment to students for Khőőmei in 2008 and one positive outcome of this has been that the social value of Khőőmei performers has increased. Within the framework of a multinational listed element (Urtiin Duu), Mongolia has established a Joint Administrative Committee with China to regulate the collaborative safeguarding activities of Urtiin Duu.