Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/2022 i ASIAN Geographic

“I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday.”—Kris Kristofferson We’re not ones to dwell on the past – unless of course, we’re digging deep into Asia’s interesting history or heritage. But in this unique retrospective issue, we’re hitting the REWIND button, mining ASIAN Geographic’s extensive archives to create a compilation of articles from select regular columns of some of our best-loved past issues. Over many years, these regular columns – Revealed, Memories, Reflections, Icon, and Timeless – have provided the backbone of every issue of ASIAN Geographic, educating and regaling readers with the amazing stories and incredible facts that make Asia the planet’s most fascinating region. Naturally, many of these stories have required updates, sometimes significant revisions. From Revealed, for instance, in our look at Asia’s endangered languages (page…

The Taste of Freedom Every year, groups of young Japanese men clad in designer business suits and women donning traditional furisode (kimonos worn by single women) gather to celebrate their coming of age through a riotous – and opulent – day of celebration. Held annually on the second Monday in January, the Coming of Age Day – Seijin-no-Hi – allows those who turned 20 in the previous year (or who will do so before March 31 in the current year) to celebrate as they are officially declared “adults”, with the right to drink, smoke and gamble. (The age of adulthood was lowered from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022. However, the legal age for drinking, smoking, and gambling remains 20, so most Japanese municipalities continue to host the event…

NAUKAN YUPIK CHUKCHI PENINSULA, FAR EAST SIBERIA, RUSSIA 70 speakers Naukan Yupik is the native tongue of a mere 50 people living mostly in Lavrentiya, Siberia, but who originally hail from the village of Naukan, East Cape, Siberia, across the Bering Strait from Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. It is also spoken by a small handful existing on Chukchi Peninsula, the northeastern extremity of Asia, making a total of 70 people worldwide who use the language. Despite the group’s trifling size, the lexicon of this language was first documented long ago – all the way back in 1732. Though spoken only in Siberia, Naukan Yupik is linguistically intermediate between two other languages: Central Siberian Yupik of St. Lawrence Island and Yupik Eskimo, a tongue exclusive to southwestern Alaska. On its evolutionary path…

Singapore, June 2010. I’m on the phone with my third aunt, on a quest for a clearer picture of a foggy fragment from my childhood. “Sar Yee (third aunt), you know those little black and white cards you used to play when I was small? What are they called?” I asked. “Oh, Chit Kee!” she remembers. “We haven’t played Chit Kee for so long. The last time we played was with your grandfather and grandaunt.” That was two decades ago. My search for Chit Kee’s (also Cheki) history led me to the Katong Antique House, a two-storey shophouse of all things Peranakan. The owner is Peter Wee, a Peranakan patriarch affectionately known as Baba Wee. He gives guided tours of the premises as well, explaining what a traditional Peranakan home…

Korean is the official language of the Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with many small local dialects (mal, saturi or bang’eon). Worldwide, approximately, 80 million people speak Korean. A once-unified country, sharing the same history for millennia, divided at the end of WWII SHARED: 1. A long history as a distinct, homogeneous ethnic group, native to the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria2. A common nationalist historiography, centred on the Korean minjok3. A common cultural heritage4. The same language origins, using Hangul as the main writing system STANDARD LANGUAGE In both Koreas the standard language is derived from the Seoul dialect in practice, and both standards remain largely intelligible. Largely based on the Pyongyang dialect. Usually referred to as chosŏnmal or, more formally, chosŏn-ŏ Largely based on the…

A typical courtship in modern Metro Manila might feature texting as much as any other smartphoneloving Asian city, but its older predecessor plays out much more like the romantic music videos today’s youth peruse eagerly on YouTube. Still in practice a few generations ago, the Filipino ritual of harana takes its rhythm from Spanish habanera dance music, and its roots from the traditionally restrained response of a coy Filipina towards her beau. In an undeniably passionate scene, a man will ready himself and his guitar at night under the bedroom window of the woman he desires, accompanied by a number of friends and professional musicians, called haranistas, for support. Using a customary set of songs, the troubadour then serenades his ladylove for the entire neighbourhood to hear, bolstered by his…

Winner, Landscape Landscape Meditation Photographer Yoshi Shimizu Nationality Japanese Location Bhutan Equipment Canon EOS 5D, Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 at 115mm Shortlisted Entries, Landscape Fishing with a View Photographer Desmond Ngu Nationality Malaysian Location Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia Equipment Sony A7r Mark IV, Sony 17–28mm f/2.8 at 17mm Horses at Sunrise Photographer Yoshi Shimizu Nationality Japanese Location Mongolia Equipment Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon 18–135mm f/3.5–5.6 at 135mm Serene Morning at Phatthalung Photographer Grace Ho Nationality Malaysian Location Phatthalung, Thailand Equipment Nikon D850, Nikon 24–120mm f/4 at 105mm Misty Inle Lake Photographer Chen Chit Chuang Nationality Malaysian Location Inle Lake, Myanmar Equipment Nikon D7000, Tamron 70–300mm f/4–5.6 at 175mm Golden Dawn, Mount Kinabalu Photographer Sinsee Ho Nationality Malaysian Location Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia Equipment Canon EOS 7D, Canon 10–22mm f/3.5–4.5 at 10mm Winner, Street and People Looking Out…

Wakayama, Japan’s epicentre of spirituality, is just an hour’s train ride from Osaka. Its pristine forested mountains, UNESCO heritage trails, sacred shrines, beautiful beaches and onsens, or natural hot springs, offer something for everyone. Whether you seek Nature, spirituality, adventure or wellness, Wakayama offers you unique experiences to cherish. It’s an escape to heal the mind, body and soul. In this second feature in a two-part series on Wakayama, we visit the Kumano Kodo, an ancient network of pilgrimage routes that lead to Kumano’s three grand shrines, Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha. With its imposing mountains, rugged coastline, picturesque waterfalls, scenic rivers, and huge old-growth trees, the Kii Peninsula has been considered a mystical abode of the gods since ancient times. It is here that…

In 1974, east of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, farmers stumbled upon a human face staring up at them macabrely from the soil. They had unknowingly discovered the terracotta warriors safeguarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BCE). The nowfamous funerary art exhibit consists of 8,000 statues armed with their weapons, horses and chariots cast in extraordinary detail, sporting intricate hairstyles and elaborate detailing in their terracotta armour. When completed, the army was arranged in the pits in a military formation, positioned according to rank and duty. Thus they stood and watched over the tomb of the first emperor of China for over 2,000 years. While evidence of early trade between the East and West is well documented, particularly in relation to the Silk Road during the course of the…

Gone But Not Forgotten Thailand’s beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away at the age of 88 on October 13, 2016 after 70 years as head of state. A statement was released by the royal household that the king had “passed away peacefully” at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok after battling poor health for some years. His son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, was announced as the new monarch to succeed his father’s rule – a somewhat controversial choice. Many people in Thailand viewed Bhumibol as semi-divine. At the news that the king’s already precarious condition had become unstable, people congregated outside Siriraj Hospital and chanted “Long live the king!” for much of the day before the official statement of his passing was released. Many members of the crowd…

Shangri-La – the earthly paradise that has captured the imaginations of explorers and scholars alike around the globe – is a fictional utopia described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon. The author, James Hilton, locates this most serene and beautiful place at the western end of the Kunlun Mountains, a vast mountain chain that extends east from the Pamirs of Tajikistan to the Sino-Tibetan ranges in China’s Qinghai Province. The roots of the idea of “Shangri-La”, however, lie in much older times when Shambhala, a lost kingdom hidden in the treacherous Himalayas, was first revealed in the complex system of philosophy and meditation in Buddhism known as the Kalachakra Tantra. In 880 BCE, the Buddha is said to have taught the tantra to followers in Andhra, South India, on the…

In the face of globalisation, numerous traditional arts are at risk of disappearing. In Thailand, one craft on the brink of extinction is the making of monks’ alms bowls – by hand. It is common to see Buddhist monks wandering through the country with these bowls, collecting offerings from devotees – a custom that dates back thousands of years. The tradition of handcrafting alms bowls is just as old. However, now that most bowls are massproduced in factories, these niche craft communities have died out, save one: Bangkok’s Ban Bat (the “Monk’s Bowl Village” – bat is the Thai word for a monk’s bowl; ban for community). A group of craftsmen from Ayutthaya settled in Ban Bat in 1783 during the reign of King Rama I, and began making alms…

(An Excerpt) Far over the Misty Mountains cold,To dungeons deep and caverns old,We must away, ere break of day,To seek our pale enchanted gold.The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,While hammers fell like ringing bells,In places deep, where dark things sleep,In hollow halls beneath the fells.For ancient king and elvish lordThere many a gleaming golden hoardThey shaped and wrought, and light they caught,To hide in gems on hilt of sword.On silver necklaces they strungThe flowering stars, on crowns they hungThe dragon-fire, on twisted wireThey meshed the light of moon and sun.Far over the Misty Mountains cold,To dungeons deep and caverns old,We must away, ere break of day,To claim our long-forgotten gold.…

A LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORT FOR EXPLORATION For the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, the world was like a living laboratory. From the 1930s, he began to use it as a testing ground for his watches, sending them to the most extreme locations, supporting explorers who ventured into the unknown. As the 21st century unfolds, the company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet and reinforced its commitment by launching the Perpetual Planet Initiative in 2019. It supports individuals and organisations using science to understand the world’s environmental challenges and devise solutions that will restore balance to our ecosystems. Rolex has been an active supporter of pioneering explorers, individuals who have pushed back the boundaries of human endeavour by venturing to the most…

KUMANO HONGU TAISHA First documented in the 9th century, Hongu Taisha was described as five main pavilions enshrining 12 deities, as well as a stage for music, dance and Noh dramas as religious offerings. Over the centuries, the pavilions were periodically damaged or destroyed by fires and flooding, but always carefully rebuilt. After floods in 1889, the shrine was moved from its original location at Oyunohara to its present site a kilometre away. The entrance to Oyunohara is marked by a huge torii gate, which signifies the division of the secular and spiritual worlds. An exceptional example of Japanese shrine architecture, Hongu Taisha is made with natural unfinished materials, allowing it to blend beautifully into the surrounding environment, and employs few nails in its construction, instead making use of intricate…

One of anthropology’s most debated topics is how the indigenous peoples of Australia arrived. Surrounded by notoriously rough seas, the oncebarren land was believed to be inaccessible to man. However, a 2009 study indicates that the first humans arrived on Australian soil through the socalled “southern route”. This likely occurred some 45,000 to 50,000 years ago, a range established through various methods by different teams analysing the remains of an anatomically modern human skeleton unearthed in 1974 at Lake Mungo, a dried-up water body in New South Wales. The southern route started off in the Horn of Africa and moved across the mouth of the Red Sea into Arabia. It expanded along the western coastline of South Asia, down the western coastline of mainland Southeast Asia, and through the islands…

Cha Ma Gu Dao, or the Tea Horse Road, was first documented during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and got its name during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). However, verbal history passed down by ethnic minorities and evidence from the Book of Han – a classical Chinese history completed in 111 CE – show interaction between Yunnan Province, where this ancient tea route is situated, and the rest of the world dating back to the second century BCE. When Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) of the Han Dynasty was laying plans to develop southwestern China (present-day Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi) to create a passage to India, an ancient channel linking to Yunnan was discovered, possibly dug as early as the fourth century BCE. In the trail’s heyday, traders endured the harsh…

The pulled rickshaw – a two-wheeled passenger vehicle powered by the strength of a barefoot rickshaw coolie – is a predominant symbol of Asia in the 1900s. Used to carry goods and people around cities, these early forms of transport often provided migrants from rural villages a prime source of employment, and the wealthy a convenient mode of getting around town before buses and trains were invented. Rickshaw coolies rented their vehicles, and would eat and sleep in them to prevent them from being stolen. They toiled long hours for little reward, using their arms and upper body to pull passengers along (at speeds of about 8km/h) amid mud, grime and flooded streets. Films and books like City of Joy, Do Bigha Zamin and Rickshaw Boy chronicle the stories of…

You have heard of Alexander the Great and Hannibal, but it’s likely that the greatest general and military strategist of all has passed you by. He led the largest and most devastating horseborne force ever seen, and conquered territories stretching from Hungary and Syria in the West, to Vladivostok and the Sea of Japan in the East. He pioneered siege engines and battlefield explosives, and devised new longbow designs. He laid the groundwork for modern warfare, from the Blitzkrieg strategy of the Nazis, to the use of chemical weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). His name was Subotai the Valiant, and whilst Genghis Khan gained credit for the achievements of the Mongol Horde, it was Subotai who was the brains of the outfit. Subotai was born near Lake Baikal, Siberia…

A curious mind procures a grainy video scene that offers no reference to where the character is lurking or where light and dark is coming from. The phone rings – seemingly innocently. All the victim has is seven days… Faces, lifeless but twisted in a rictus of unadulterated fear, hint of suffering that only a horrific paranormal entity can induce. There is no end. In Japanese tradition, grudge is a curse that is created when someone dies as the result of an unspeakable evil deed. The elderly natives describe this as a lingering powerful rage or extreme sorrow that is manifested as a ghostly spirit – the onryō – on an undiscerning rampage to punish all who encounter their anguish. Sadako Yamamura, the most intelligent of spirits in popular culture…

You ask where you will find her. Beside the singing fountains,where orange trees are blossoming and perfuming the air,where night is like an orchard, with orange blossoms shining,and the spirit of the fountains unbinds its wild blue hair. Ask courage of the clockwork bird and follow where it tells you,the talking bird that maps the long brown road to heart’s desire.Pass by the groaning forests, and boars that speak in parables,and stop your ears as you approach the taunting realms of fire. When you have reached the final citadel, you’ll find the trousersthat give a man a league at step, the zither that is wiseenough to know how you can open all the cut-glass doorways.Release the cat that smiles and blinks its dreaming amber eyes. Then, after chasm and abyss,…