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.
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreLazariceлазарице
A spring procession of girls in flower wreaths, singing door to door before Palm SundaySpiritual
🇳🇵 NepalJatjatin Dance
A Mithila folk dance performed by couples to seek rain and express the sorrow of parting.Performance
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 morePalestine Festival of Literatureاحتفالية فلسطين للأدب
An annual touring literary gathering staging free bilingual readings across PalestinePerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePunjabi wedding traditions
The multi-day marriage customs and rituals of Hindu and Sikh Punjabi familiesRite of passage · Sweets given and shared
🇪🇪 Kuressaare, EstoniaSaaremaa Opera FestivalSaaremaa ooperipäevad
An annual opera festival in Kuressaare, Estonia, featuring international performances.Performance
🇨🇻 Cape Verde and 1 moreKola San Jon
A Cabo Verdean street festival of dance, drumming, and devotion to Saint JohnFestival
🇯🇵 JapanRokudan no Shirabe六段の調
A six-part Japanese koto piece, one of the best known works of the sōkyoku repertoirePerformance
🇪🇪 Tartu, EstoniaTartuff
An open-air romance film festival held in the town hall square of Tartu, EstoniaPerformance
🇺🇿 Bukhara, UzbekistanAsrlar Sadosi
An annual outdoor festival celebrating Uzbek folk arts, sports, crafts, and heritageFestival
🇮🇳 IndiaMarga Natya
A dance, music and acting tradition rebuilt from Bharata's Natya ShastraPerformance
🇲🇰 Bitola, North MacedoniaManaki Brothers Film Festival
An annual international festival in Bitola honouring the craft of cinematographyFestival
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 5 moreTel Aviv International Student Film Festival
A week-long gathering in June where student filmmakers from around the world screen their work, attend workshops, and mePerformance
🇷🇺 Vladimir, RussiaRozhokрожок
A traditional Russian wooden trumpet played solo and in pastoral horn ensemblesPerformance
🇯🇵 JapanNōgaku能楽
A traditional Japanese theater form combining the lyric drama noh and the comic interludes kyōgen.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreScottish folk music
Traditional ballads, fiddle tunes and bagpipe melodies from Scotland and its diasporaPerformance
🇸🇷 Suriname and 1 moreSuriPop
A biennial songwriting festival and gala performance held in SurinamePerformance
🇬🇷 GreeceLipothymiarikosΛιποθυμιάρικος (Χορός της νύφης)
A men-only Greek wedding dance where one dancer pretends to faint and springs upPerformance
🇲🇪 Herceg Novi, MontenegroSunčane Skale
A three-day summer pop music festival and song competition in MontenegroPerformance
🇵🇭 PhilippinesBinirayan Festival
An annual December cultural festival in Antique celebrating Panay's Malay settlementFestival
🇳🇴 NorwayMárkomeannu
A Sámi music and cultural festival held in northern NorwayFestival
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJiuta地歌
A shamisen song style born in Kamigata and long kept by blind musician guildsPerformance
🇧🇫 Dédougou, Burkina Faso and 5 moreFESTIMAFestival International des Masques et des Arts
A biennial West African festival in Burkina Faso celebrating traditional mask dancesFestival
🇹🇳 Sousse, TunisiaCarnival of Awussu
An annual seaside midsummer parade in Sousse with floats, brass bands and folk troupesFestival
🇺🇿 Namangan, UzbekistanFlower Festival in UzbekistanGul bayrami
An annual spring celebration of floriculture and floral art held across several cities in Uzbekistan.Festival
🇱🇺 LuxembourgCinEast
An October film festival in Luxembourg showing new cinema from Central and Eastern EuropeFestival
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeSingapore International Festival of Arts
A month of theatre, dance, music and visual art in Singapore each mid-yearPerformance
🇻🇪 El Callao, VenezuelaCalypso de El Callao
Calypso sung at carnival in El Callao, Venezuela, with yearly king and queen contestsFestival
🇨🇴 ColombiaFestival of Industry, Trade and Culture
An eight-day celebration in Itagüí, Colombia, for local music, art, dance and tradeFestival
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
🇨🇲 Bangangté, CameroonMedumba Arts and Culture FestivalFestival des arts et de la culture medumba
A two-week biennial festival in Cameroon celebrating Medumba heritage and language.Festival
🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia and 2 moreMerlinka Festival
An annual queer film festival held across Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and MontenegroFestival
🇱🇻 Riga, LatviaRiga Salsa Festival
An annual salsa dance festival in Riga, Latvia, featuring workshops and live performances.Performance
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreReynard the FoxRoman de Renart
A medieval European beast fable cycle starring a cunning trickster foxFolklore
🇮🇸 Reykjavík, IcelandIceland Noir
An annual November literature and storytelling festival held in central ReykjavíkPerformance
🇽🇰 Pristina, KosovoDAM Festival Pristina
An annual gathering in Pristina showcasing emerging classical and contemporary musiciansPerformance
🇽🇰 Vushtrri, Kosovo and 1 moreGatherings of Poetesses in VushtrriTakimet e Poeteshave në Vushtrri
An annual literary festival celebrating female poets in Vushtrri, KosovoPerformance
🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts
An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance
🇮🇳 Chennai, IndiaMadras Music Season
Nine weeks of Carnatic concerts in Chennai, from mid-November to JanuaryPerformance
🇩🇿 Algiers, AlgeriaAlgiers International Comics FestivalFestival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Alger
An October comics festival in Algiers, with awards for work from AfricaPerformance
🇩🇿 Djanet, Algeria and 1 moreSebibaسبيبة (Arabic), ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ (Tifinagh)
A Tuareg festival and dance in the Algerian Sahara marking the Islamic New Year and Ashura.Festival
🇨🇳 Dunhuang, China and 2 moreYingluo璎珞
A ring-shaped Buddhist neck ornament that became a Chinese necklace, worn again todayDress
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar
Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival
🇶🇦 Doha, QatarDoha Cultural Festival
An annual sixteen-day arts and heritage festival held in Qatar's capitalFestival
🇲🇼 Chonde, MalawiMulhako wa Alhomwe
An annual gathering in Malawi where the Lhomwe people celebrate their language, dance and heritage.Festival
🇱🇸 Morija, LesothoMorija Arts & Cultural Festival
Lesotho's yearly festival of music, dance, drama and poetry, with schools competingFestival
🇺🇬 Mbale, UgandaImbalu
The biennial rite of passage into adulthood observed by the Bamasaaba of UgandaRite of passage
🇧🇼 Molepolole, BotswanaDithubaruba Cultural Festival
An annual gathering in Botswana that celebrates the customs, music, and history of the Bakwena people.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaKalampattu
A Kerala temple offering where a five-colour floor picture is sung over and danced aroundSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kalampattu: Ranjith A v, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yingluo: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Madras Music Season: Martin spaink, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Iceland Noir: TommyBee, CC0, source
- Festival of Industry, Trade and Culture: Jameseventzx, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Singapore International Festival of Arts: Waycool27 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Carnival of Awussu: Mahdi azouzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- FESTIMA: Nomwindé, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jiuta: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Márkomeannu: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Binirayan Festival: Ranieljosecastaneda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kola San Jon: Dvfernandes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jatjatin Dance: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Punjabi wedding traditions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saaremaa Opera Festival: Ave Maria Mõistlik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tartuff: Tusklikupreili, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Asrlar Sadosi: Patisserie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marga Natya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Manaki Brothers Film Festival: US Embassy, Macedonia, Public domain, source
- Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival: Adam4896, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rozhok: Obakeneko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nōgaku: Daderot, CC0, source
- Scottish folk music: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lazarice: Svetlina bov at Bulgarian Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Medumba Arts and Culture Festival: Djenrode, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- DAM Festival Pristina: Lyra Cela, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gatherings of Poetesses in Vushtrri: Drenisa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sebiba: Abderrahmane boudjenane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rencontres du Film Court Madagasikara: Natsuyasumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Morija Arts & Cultural Festival: VirtualSteve, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Imbalu: Dixon099, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dithubaruba Cultural Festival: SanDanceVR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source