7. Table of Contents
Designation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 1
3
5
15
15
15
Background History
Definition of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Objectives
Expected Benefit from the Designation of Intangible Cultural Heritage
Operational Directives for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Designation Criteria
for Nomination of Items for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Designation 19
Designated Intangible Cultural Heritage 2009 23
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Designation Announcement 2009 25
27
List of Designated Intangible Cultural Heritage Items in the Performing Arts Domain in 2009 29
List of Designated Intangible Cultural Heritage Items in the Traditional Craftsmanship Domain in 2009 59
Appendix 85
87
89
Announcement of the Ministry of Culture on the Designation of Intangible
Cultural Heritage Year 2009
Committee of Experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage Designation Project
Executive Committee 90
Page
11. Background History
Since its inception in 1979, the Office of the
National Culture Commission (ONCC) has been
responsible for carrying out cultural research, study,
conservation, promotion, dissemination, restoration, and
development, particularly with regard to the folk
cultures. The ONCC has laid down policies, strategies,
and measures and has organised various projects and
activities to fulfill its mission.
2) Performing arts; 3) Social practices, rituals and festive
events; 4) Knowledge and practices concerning nature
and the universe; and 5) Traditional craftsmanship.
The ONCC has carried out the following activities
in the aforementioned project:
1. Promotion of, and support for, the local
2. Intangible
cultural
heritage
data
collection/
3. Dissemination of data, information, and
4. Studies and researches for intangible cultural
heritage safeguarding measures through researches,
international meetings and seminars, and participating as
observers in the safeguarding work of other countries
and of the international agencies such as the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO), the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO
(ACCU) and World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO).
1. Data collection/inventories filing of the
2. Data collection/inventories filing of the
3. In 2008, the ONCC organised events and
activities to disseminate the performing arts and
traditional craftsmanship knowledge to the children and
youth in every province throughout the country.
13. In the 2009 fiscal year,
the ONCC also began collecting
data in the Folk literature domain
and added another domain to the
pravious fives: Sports, folk games
and martial arts.
To progress on the next
step after the “Phum Ban Phum
Mueang Project,” the ONCC
launched the “Project on the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” in
2009,
with
the
key
mission
to
designate
the
intangible
cultural heritage for 2009. Since it was the first time
that
Thailand
designated
its
intangible
cultural
heritage
items, it was agreed that the project will serve as the
pilot project. To fulfil the objectives of the project, the
ONCC
appointed
a
committee
to
form
the
criteria
for
identification,
nomination
and
designation
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
and
published
a
book
titled
Guidelines for Designation of the intangible Cultural
Heritage in 2009,
which
contributes
to
the
knowledge,
understanding,
appreciation
and
acceptance
of
the
cultural
diversity
and,
ultimately,
the
peaceful
coexistence
of
people
in
society.
Intangible
cultural
heritage
means
the
body
of
knowledge
or
work
by
individuals
or
groups,
which
was
created,
developed,
accumulated,
transmitted
and
applied
in
the
daily
life
of
those
individuals
or
groups
continuously,
in
response
to
the
social
and
natural
environments
of
their
communities,
and
representing
their
identity
and
cultural
diversity.
of architecture, painting, sculpture,
handicraft, and folk arts; the
knowledge, skill and practices
expressed through language,
performing arts, crafts, beliefs,
traditions, rites, and food, for
example, which are transmitted
from
generation
to
generation
as
practices
or
approaches.
In
some
cases,
they
are
considered
as
a
common
spiritual
bond
of
the
people
in
the communities. Some intangible cultural heritage items
are
beautiful
and
have
high
artistic
values.
15. The
intangible
cultural
heritage
can
be
classified
into
6
domains
as
follows:
NO. Domain Description
1
2
Folk literature means
literature which is
transmitted by oral means
or written forms within
local way of life.
“Performing arts” means
the expression of emotion,
feelings, or stories through
a performer or sound, such
as singing or music playing,
and through body
movement such as in a
dance, in the manipulation
[of puppets], in gestures
etc.
1) “Folk tales” mean stories that are transmitted from generation to
generation. Included in this domain are, for example, myths, religious tales,
didactic tales, fairy tales, romantic tales, legends/sages, explanatory tales,
animal tales, ghost tales, jokes/humorous anecdotes, formula tales;
2) “Oral history” includes stories about the birthplaces or origins, the
migration, local heroes;
3) Incantations that are chanted during the various rites and rituals,
for example, religious prays, Kham Sama (incantation of asking forgiveness),
Kham wen Than (incantation for transferring the merit), incantation for
traditional healing ritual, blessings, wishes;
4) “Folk verbal scripts” include lullabies, courtship ritual dialogues,
local singings;
5) “Idioms and adages” mean words or expressions transmitted
which mostly rhyme or play on words, for example, phrases, epigrams,
aphorisms, metaphors, slogans, mottos, swear words/vows, curses/spells,
eulogies, slangs;
6) “Riddles” mean the wordplays in the form of questions which are
inherited through generations, for example, riddles, trick questions;
7) “Treatise” means knowledge recorded in Ancient Documentary,
for example, books of astrology, books related to the human and animal’s
physiology, pharmacopeias.
1) “Music” means the sound that makes up a tune and/or rhythm
that entertains or induces emotion of love, sadness, or joy, for example. The
role and the function of music are to entertain, to accompany rites and
ceremonies, or performances.
2) “Performance” means expression through body movement,
postures, gestures, dance steps, hand gestures, the act of dancing, hand
gesturing, manipulating [the puppets] etc, all of which expresses emotion,
feelings, or tell stories. A performance might be accompanied by music and
singing.
17. NO. Domain Description
3
4
“Social practices, rituals
and festive events” means
the expression of
customary or traditional
behaviour that has been
established and transmitted
from generation to
generation.
“Knowledge and practices
concerning nature and the
universe” means the
knowledge, ability, and skill
of the groups, communities
and regions for existing in
harmony with nature and
the universe.
3) “Music and performance in rituals” means the traditional play
activity, such as festival drama, folk dance, and ritualistic dance drama, which
features in a ceremony or rite and forms a part of the belief system, a way of life,
malady treatment and healing, heartening rite, vocational rites, for example.
4) “Folk song” means the song of folk origin in its form or style, with
a simple tune and lyric that aim to entertain during the various occasions or
festivities or during a collaborative labour or work.
1) “Beliefs” means the acceptance of the truth of something or of a
proposition, either through wisdom and reason or through faith and lack of
reason, by an individual, a group, or an ethnic group, for example, the belief
in ghosts and spirits and the supernatural, fate, omens, predestination,
talisman, taboo and so on.
2) “Custom” means a way of behaving or a belief which has been
established for a long time in the community, such as the act of wai (polite
greeting or respect-paying gesture by joining the palms of the hands
together), the Phuk Siao rite (a kind of blood-brother vow ceremony of
Thailand’s northeasterners), the Somma or the Kho Khama ceremony
(forgiveness-asking ceremony), the social manners and etiquettes etc.
3) “Tradition and ceremony or rite” means a belief, principle or way
of acting which people in a particular society or group have continued to
follow for a long time that they have become a pattern of behaviours,
activities or procedures, such as the professional traditions, health care
traditions, the various rites of passage, religious rites and traditions,
the annual rites or the twelve-month’s rites, the festivities and so on.
1) “Settlement” is the body of knowledge for choosing the location or
site for the community, home building and so on.
2) “Gastronomy and culinary” is the art and knowledge involved in
producing, preparing, cooking, preserving and eating good food, which has
been passed on from generation to generation, for example, the food cycle,
food processing, food preservation, food in the rites and ceremony, kitchen
utensils and so on.
3) “Health care” is the knowledge in managing traditional healthcare
in the community, which is embraced by the community, become a part of
the way of life of its people, and is associated with its belief, rite, culture,
tradition, and resources, which are different in each community, for example,
the healthcare practice and treatment of illness, belief and system of
relationship in healthcare and so on.
4) “Natural resources management” is the knowledge of the local
people and the community, which has been passed on from generation to
generation, in managing, taking care of, preserving, and making use of
the resources. For example, soil, mineral, forest and water management and
so on.
19. Intangible Cultural Heritage 11
NO. Domain Description
5
“Traditional craftsmanship”
means the knowledge and
skills of a group of people
in making handicraft works,
in selecting materials and
methods to create
handicraft works that
reflect the identity and the
social development and
culture.
5) “Astrology and astronomy” is the knowledge of how to make
predictions and forecasts, fortune-telling, soothsaying and knowledge of the
horoscope, astrology, the universe, and the supernatural phenomenon; or the
art of making forecasts by studying the constellation and the movements and
positions of the stars such as the art of naming, of making predictions,
of finding propitious time, and so on.
1) “Textile and textile products making” means the making of fabric
by weaving, dying, knitting, embroidering, ti kliao, adding extra weft threads
and pulling weft thread technique, weft ikat, printing motifs, khit, ko/luang
technique. It is used for making clothes and to show the status of the wearer.
Thai textile materials are not broad and the motifs are associated with folk
myths, beliefs, and nature. The motifs are usually made by the weft threads.
In the traditional use, Thai people prefer to use the whole of the cloth fabric
without cutting, for example, the pha khao ma, traditional cloth shoulder
bags, tube skirts, and sarong. For skirt, Thai people prefer cloth with
decorative motifs and designed patterns, but for shawls, they prefer plain
cloth.
2) “Basketry” means the making of household objects by weaving
together thin strips of wood, which are in use in the Thai people’s house,
such as baskets, krachat (low baskets with a wide rim and narrow base),
krabung (high basket with a round shape and square base), which are made
from local materials such as bamboo, rattan, krachut (Lepironia articulate
(Retz.) Domin), lamchiak (Pandanus odoratissimus Linn). These materials are
split or “chak” into long, thin strips before they are weaved or “san”–hence
the name “Khreuang Chak San” (“Split and weave objects”-basketry).
There are several weaving methods, such as knitting, tying, fastening,
binding, stringing. Strips of bamboo or rattan are used for weaving, which are
durable and the objects retain their shape for a long time.
3) “Lacquerware” means the making of handicraft objects that are
coated with lacquer made from the gum of Rak tree (Melanorrhoea usitata
Wall.) Various applications and techniques are used to make lacquer objects,
for example, the gilt lacquer, gold appliqué on lacquer, kammalo
(Japanese style lacquer object), mother-of-pearl or coloured glass inlay on
lacquer, pan kranae (gilt stucco work), and khoen (vermillion paint on lacquer).
The gum from Rak tree is viscous and sticky. It holds fast to the surface of
objects and when the gum dries, it makes a smooth and shiny surface and is
resistant to heat, moisture, weak acid or alkaline. Rak’s gum also acts as a
binding agent for samuk (ground charcoal of dried banana leaves and lalang
grass, used as a primer on surfaces of wood to be gilded with gold leaves)
or other colours.
4) “Pottery” is the handicraft work that uses clay as the principal
raw material. Pottery comes in glazed and unglazed version. The clay must
be mixed with fine sand from the river, which helps to make the clay dry well
and prevent cracking. Different types of clay from various sites give the
different colour to the pottery. Kaolin clay from Lampang Province, for
example, gives a white colour; from Ratchaburi Province, red; from Dan
Kwian, ochre, or brown tinged with purple, or blue.
21. 3
NO. Domain Description
6
“Sports, folk games and
martial arts” means the
interaction between
individuals or communities,
competitions, the arts of
fighting for entertainment
or recreational purposes,
to develop the physical
and mental qualities, all of
which reflects the way of
life, society and identity of
the community.
5) “Metal work” is the use of iron, brass, or copper as the principal
raw material. Ironwork is well known for making handicraft objects, mostly for
household use and agricultural work. Iron-based material is heated to soften
it before and it is beaten into shape. Brass work is made by heating brass
until it becomes molten before poring it into a mould. After cooling down and
taken out of the mould, it is chased and dressed. Copper is mostly used as
the principal composite in the silver alloy jewellery.
6) “Woodwork” means the making of handicraft objects from logs or
planks of wood for use as a building material in the Khrueang Sap house
(house built by wooden joints, without using metal nails), furniture, altar
offerings, altar set, costume accessories, tools, weapons, musical instruments,
toys, vehicle. Techniques used are carving, sculpturing, chopping, digging,
piercing, turning on the lathe, planning, scraping, and polishing.
7) “Leatherwork” means the making of folk handicraft objects from
animal raw hides and skins that are soaked in alkali solution and tanned to
prevent petrification and to soften them and making them flexible. In the
performing arts, leather is used in the production of musical instruments such
as in various kinds of drum: klong khaek, klong chana, klong chatri, klong that,
klong malayu, klong mon, klong yao, klong song na, taphon, ton, ban do,
poeng mang, rammana, hai song, for example. Shadow puppets are also
made from leather–folk shadow puppet, grand puppet. Besides, many other
objects also use leather as a component.
8) “Ornamentation” is the making of handicraft accessories to
decorate the body for beauty. At first easy-to-find, local materials are used,
but later gems and precious stones are used.
9) “Folk art” means the making of art objects that concretely express
emotions through the craftsmanship. Created for making a living or for fulfilling
the aesthetic value, folk art includes painting, sculptures, carving, and casting,
for example.
10) “Other kinds of craftsmanship” means other traditional
craftsmanship that cannot be classified in the aforementioned nine categories.
Other kinds of craftsmanship may involve handicraft works made from local
materials or waste materials, for example.
1) Folk sports;
2) Folk games;
3) Martial arts.
23. 5
Objectives
1. To record the background history, wisdom and
2. To
provide
important
database
on
intangible
cultural heritage in Thailand;
3. To enhance the crucial role and the pride of
4. To promote and develop the right of
5. To prepare the groundwork for Thailand to
become a state party to UNESCO’s Conventions for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Expected Benefit from the Intangible
Cultural Heritage Designation
Operational Directives for Intangible
Cultural Heritage Designation
To
facilitate
Thailand’s
intangible
cultural
heritage
management
in
systematic
and
continuous
manner,
to
trigger
an
awareness
in
the
communities
of
the
value
and
identity
of
their
intangible
cultural
heritage,
to
enhance
the
pride
in
their
intangible
cultural
heritage,
and
to
promote
the
younger
generations
to
learn
and
perpetuate
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
in
their
communities,
the
ONCC
has
therefore
laid
down
the
operational
directives
and
regulated
the
designation
procedure for the pilot project to designate the intangible
cultural
heritage
in
2009
as
follows:
25. 7
1. Operation procedures for the ONCC:
1.1 Committees on Criteria Preparation for
1.6 Budgeted fund shall be allocated to the
provincial culture offices in the pilot project to financially
support their effort to ensure the completeness of the
inventories and the community participation in the
process;
1.10 Promotional media and printed materials for
publicity
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage-listed
items
in
the
performing
arts
and
traditional
craftsmanship
domains
through
various
media
channels
shall
be
prepared
by
the
ONCC.
27. 9
2. Procedures for data collectors and
2.2 Inventories and data collection shall be
prepared with the participation of the community and
supported by the operational funding from the ONCC
through the relevant provincial culture offices;
2.3 Report on the result of the operation
and implementation shall be prepared and submitted to
the ONCC;
Criteria for Nomination of Items for Intangible
Cultural Heritage Designation
29. 2
Intangible Cultural Heritage 1
1. In the performing arts domain, a nominated
item must have:
1.1 Specific characteristics that attest to the
cultural uniqueness and identity of the community;
1.2 Elements that correspond to the
performance genre (such as performers, movement,
music/tune, lyric or verse, props etc.);
1.3 Explicit presentation format (such as
method, duration, and sequences of presentation);
1.4 History of transmission and owner (such
as performers, performing troupes, schools, transmission
process);
1.5 Spiritual value and value to the
community’s way of life (such as having a role in the
community’s way of life in the present time, causing
pride to the people of the community); or
1.6 Other characteristics that the Committee
of Experts considers appropriate (such as the
community’s acceptance, the risk of disappearing etc.).
2. In the traditional craftsmanship domain,
a nominated item must:
2.1 Have an origin or enjoy the acceptance
of the community that has developed it (history, source,
background);
2.2 Show the skills, wisdom, and appropriate
technology (such as folk technology in handicraft work);
2.3 Have developed the process and tools
for production (materials used, source of material, tools,
production processes or steps);
2.4 Primary function for its production (such
as for use in daily life; for use associated with ceremony,
tradition, belief, or culture; or for professional use by the
people in the community);
2.5 Have specifically folk, local, or ethnic
characteristics (such as unique characteristics or identity
that reflects aspects of the local community or ethnic
group or can be found only in the community or ethnic
group);
2.6 Have artistic and cultural value to the
community (such as the significance to the history of the
community of ethnic group, the history of production and
perpetuation through generations in the community, the
pride that the community places in the item); or
2.7 Other characteristics that the committee
of experts considers appropriate (such as the risk of
disappearing and the need for urgent safeguarding).
Remark: The
designation
as
an
intangible
cultural
heritage
item
depends
on
the
consideration
of
the
Committee
of
Experts
appointed
by
the
ONCC.
33. 25
Intangible cultural heritage
means
the
body
of
knowledge
or
work
by
individuals
or
groups,
which
was
created,
developed,
accumulated,
transmitted
and
applied
in
the
daily
life
of
those
individuals
or
groups
continuously,
in
response
to
the
social
and
natural
environments
of
their
communities,
and
representing
their
identity
and
cultural
diversity.
Intangible
cultural
heritage
encompasses
the
creative
works
of
architecture,
painting,
sculpture,
handicraft, and
folk arts; the knowledge, skill and practices
expressed
through
language,
performing
arts,
crafts,
beliefs,
traditions,
rites,
and
food,
for
example,
which
are
transmitted
from
generation
to
generation
as
practices
or
approaches.
In
some
cases,
they
are
considered
as
a
common
spiritual
bond
of
the
people
in
the communities.
Some intangible cultural heritage items
are
beautiful
and
have
high
artistic
values.
Some intangible cultural heritage items, for example,
the ancient monuments, objects and artefacts, have
been
protected
under
the
Act on Ancient Monuments,
Antiques, Objects of Art and National Museums,
B.E. 2504 (1961 AD). However, some intangible
cultural
heritage
items,
such
as
knowledge,
skills,
or
creative
processes
of
the
cultural
works
or
artefacts,
have
not
been
seriously
and
systematically
safeguarded.
The
safeguarding,
promotion,
perpetuation
and
transmission
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
are
crucial
to
the
existence
of
the
national
cultural
heritage.
The
Ministry
of
Culture
has
therefore
announced
a
list
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
designated
to
be
safeguarded
in
2009,
which
includes
two
domains:
12
items
in
three
categories
of
the
performing
arts
domain
and 13 items in
eight categories of the traditional craftsmanship
domain.
The
Ministry
of
Culture
plans
to
promote
and
support
exchanges
of
knowledge
and
transmission
of
the
designated
intangible
cultural
heritage
in
the
list
through
various
methods
as
appropriate
in
the
future.
35. 27
At present, the intangible cultural heritage in several
domains
in
Thailand,
such
as
in
the
performing
arts
and
the
traditional
craftsmanship
domains,
are
fast
disappearing,
perhaps
owing
to
the
social
and
cultural
changes,
the
industrial
development,
the
increase
tourism,
the
migration
of
provincial
villagers
into
the
capital
city,
or
the
ecological
changes.
These
changes
gravely
affect
the
practitioners,
inheritors
and
perpetuators
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage.
The
announcement
of
the
Designation
of
the
intangible
Cultural Heritage 2009 is a key measure to promote
an
awareness
of
the
prominent
values,
honour
the
body
of
knowledge
passed
on
from
generation
to
generation,
and
enhance
the
cultural
prestige
and
identity
of
communities
all
over
the
country.
It
also
fosters
an
understanding
and
acceptance
of
the
diversity
of
cultures,
which
will
eventually
lead
to
the
preservation,
creation,
development,
transmission
and
perpetuation
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
in
an
organised,
systematic
and
sustainable
endeavour.
The Designation of Intangible Cultural Heritage 2009
will
be
the
first
effort
of
its
kind
in
Thailand,
which
focuses
on
the
performing
arts
and
traditional
craftsmanship
domains.
The
designation
of
the
intangible
cultural
heritage
items
in
the
other
domains
that
are
as
significant
shall
be
implemented
in
the
future.