Pakistan women work hard to overcome country's taboos about menstruation
Bent over her hand-cranked sewing machine, Hajra Bibi carefully stitches sanitary pads for the women of her mountainous village in northwestern Pakistan, one of many rural areas in the deeply conservative country where periods are still taboo. "I am responding to a crisis," said the ...
Young Chinese women give tradition a nod by wearing Hanfu costumes
Li Doudou's gray kitten squeezes in next to her as she sits painstakingly applying makeup and putting up her hair in a bun adorned with elaborate ornaments. Looking like she has just stepped off the set of a Chinese historical drama, the 26-year-old property appraiser ...
Samoan diaspora ink bonds with ancestors and motherland
Oliver Fagalilo takes a labored breath and tenses his body before a sharp steel comb, dipped in ink, is driven into his skin. Six hands keep him still and his skin taut as a Samoan artist works on the traditional tattoo that will cover more ...
Young Maori women on frontline of New Zealand's fight for indigenous rights
Five years ago, law graduate Pania Newton and her cousins got together around a kitchen table and agreed to do everything in their power to prevent a housing development on a south Auckland site that is considered sacred by local Maori. Newton, now 29, is ...
Via language, song and nature, young Taiwanese reconnecting with indigenous roots
The Truku elders of Taiwan still dream about their mountain home four decades after bulldozers tore it down — a classic symptom of trauma as community members struggle to accept their loss. At one evening gathering, Miya Yudaw described his recurring dream, where the mountain ...
People around the world can now view the movement of the sun and stars over the ancient stone circle at Britain's Stonehenge through a livestream launched on Friday, the summer solstice. The solstice marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and ...
Malaysia fights to save centuries-old Portuguese-rooted creole
Children in colorful outfits sing in a creole of Portuguese and Malay during a class in the historic Malaysian city of Malacca, part of efforts to stem the decline of the centuries-old language Papia Kristang. The youngsters chant, "Bong atardi, mestri" ("Good evening, teacher") and ...
Embracing the Japan of the past through music with Meitei
As the Reiwa Era begins, Japanese music producer Daisuke Fujita, aka Meitei, is looking forward while sticking to the traditions of the past. Fresh from last year's spook-summoning album "Kwaidan," which featured in "Best Albums of 2018" accolades curated by the likes of Pitchfork ...
King Maha Vajiralongkorn — Rama X of Thailand — was crowned Saturday in a dazzling show of pageantry, laced with Hindu and Buddhist ritual, vowing to reign "with righteousness" on behalf of the Thai people. Starting at the auspicious time of 10:09 a.m., the public ...
Background on the royal instruments for Thai king's coronation
During Thailand's main coronation event for King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday, the monarch was presented with five royal regalia marking the legitimacy of his reign. Historical evidence suggests the tradition dates back to the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767) of Siam, as Thailand was known. The items were ...
South Korea's instant 2-year-olds: Lawmaker looks to put an end to 'Korean age'
Just two hours after Lee Dong-kil's daughter was born on New Year's Eve, the clock struck midnight, 2019 was ushered in, and the infant became 2 years old. She wasn't alone: Every baby born in South Korea last year became 2 on Jan. 1. According ...
Umer Farooq's grandfather and father made bagpipes. Now he is the third generation to take up the tradition in Pakistan, which is thousands of kilometers from Scotland yet sells thousands of bagpipes each year. The fresh smell of wood floats through the Mid East factory ...
