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EveryParampara

Music, dance and storytelling

Songs, dances, theatre, epic poetry and oral history.

Music, dance and storytelling traditions are the performances that a community passes down by ear, eye and heart: the epic poem recited by a griot, the dance in a circle at a wedding, the shadow play of Java, the ballad of a village, the lullaby of a grandmother. They carry history, law and humour in forms that people can remember. Many are linked to festivals and rites, and many are on UNESCO's lists of intangible heritage. Here they are gathered by country, with notes on who performs them and when.

Songs and dances of the people

Folk music and dance are community property: they are learnt by joining in, not by lessons, and they change a little with every generation. Circle dances, line dances and couple dances accompany harvests and weddings, and instruments such as the drum, the fiddle, the pipe and the lute are made locally. In many places, there are separate songs for work, for love, for mourning and for children, and each has its own time and place.

Stories and theatre

Oral storytelling holds a society's memory: epics, myths, fables, proverbs and riddles told by elders. Some become formal theatre, such as kabuki and noh in Japan, wayang in Indonesia, the mumming plays of Britain or the Ramlila of India, which retells the Ramayana in a month of evenings. These forms often depend on one master teaching one student, and communities and governments now support them to keep them alive.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Music, dance and storytelling (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual 🇿🇼 ZimbabweBira ceremony An all-night Shona ritual in Zimbabwe where music and dance summon ancestral spirits for guidance.Spiritual 🇳🇬 Enugu, NigeriaAtilogwu A high-energy Igbo youth dance featuring acrobatics, drum music and rhythmic jumps.Performance 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSabar A traditional Wolof and Serer drum played in Senegal and The Gambia, accompanying dance at weddings and festivals.Performance 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇨🇮 Abidjan, Ivory Coast and 3 moreZouglou A dance-led music style from Ivory Coast, sung in street slang and local languagesPerformance 🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance 🇱🇷 LiberiaDan maskgle or ge A sacred wooden mask worn by the Dan people of Liberia to embody forest spirits during masquerade.Spiritual 🇳🇪 In-Gall, Niger and 2 moreGuérewol A week-long courtship ritual where Wodaabe men dance and sing to win the attention of marriageable women.Festival 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreEwe drumming The drum ensembles of the Ewe people, with iron bells, rattles and talking drumsPerformance 🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreIndlamu A Zulu war dance of two warriors in pelts, matched move for move and stamped on the beatPerformance 🇲🇱 Bamako, Mali and 5 moreGriotjeli, ߖߋ߬ߟߌ in N'Ko script West Africa's hereditary keepers of spoken history, praise and musicPerformance 🇲🇺 Mauritius and 3 moreSegaséga A music and dance tradition from Mauritius and Réunion with Afro-Malagasy roots.Performance 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore 🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba A close, slow couple dance from Angola, named after a Kimbundu word for partyPerformance 🇧🇮 Gitega, BurundiKaryenda A sacred drum of Burundi that symbolized the monarchy and announced royal events.Performance 🇹🇿 Zanzibar, TanzaniaSauti za Busara A February meeting of musicians in Zanzibar's Old FortPerformance 🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 2 moreKuduro An energetic Angolan music and dance style born in Luanda that mixes African rhythms with electronic beats.Performance 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaGumboot danceIsicathulo A percussive South African dance born in the mines, performed in Wellington boots to communicate and celebrate.Performance 🇸🇴 SomaliaBuraanbur A traditional Somali poetic form composed by women, recited with drums and dance at weddings and gatherings.Performance 🇦🇴 AngolaSemba A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance 🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival 🇸🇴 Somalia and 1 moreDhaanto A Somali folk dance and music style used for morale and celebration in the Horn of Africa.Performance 🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarHiragasyHira gasy A day-long Malagasy highland tradition of song, dance, and poetic speech competitionsPerformance 🇬🇲 Gambia and 4 moreKoraߞߐߙߊ A 21-string West African harp-lute played by hereditary storytellers and bardsPerformance 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual 🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance 🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual 🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival 🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance 🇪🇹 Mekelle, EthiopiaAshendaአሸንዳ An Ethiopian festival celebrating women and girls with song, dance and tall grass attireFestival 🇷🇼 Rwanda and 1 moreIntore A men's dance of Rwanda and Burundi, once for war, now for ceremony and celebrationPerformance 🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival 🇨🇻 Boa Vista, Cape Verde and 5 moreMorna Cape Verde's guitar-and-voice song, danced in pairs, listed by UNESCO in 2019Performance 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance 🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreAdumuEnkipaata A Maasai warrior dance of high jumps from a circle, done at weddings and ritesPerformance 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town Minstrel CarnivalKaapse Klopse Cape Town's 2 January parade of minstrel troupes, ghoema drums and bright umbrellasFestival 🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaChale Wote Street Art Festival An annual street art festival in Accra featuring murals, theater, and music.Performance 🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance 🇸🇨 SeychellesMoutya A Seychellois evening dance of drum, song and bolder movement, listed by UNESCO in 2021Performance 🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 4 moreWorld Festival of Black ArtsFestival Mondial des Arts Nègres A recurring month-long gathering of arts, music and writing from Africa and its diasporaFestival 🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival 🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft 🇧🇫 Dédougou, Burkina Faso and 5 moreFESTIMAFestival International des Masques et des Arts A biennial West African festival in Burkina Faso celebrating traditional mask dancesFestival
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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