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.
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.
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico and 1 moreParranda
A Puerto Rican Christmas custom of night-time visits with songs, food and drinkPerformance · Supper
🇨🇺 Santiago de Cuba, CubaTumba francesa
An Afro-Cuban art of dance, song and drumming kept by societies in eastern CubaPerformance
🇺🇾 Montevideo, Uruguay and 4 morePayada
Improvised ten-line verses traded by guitar-playing payadores in the Río de la PlataPerformance
🇨🇴 Valledupar, ColombiaVallenato Legend FestivalFestival de la Leyenda Vallenata
An annual gathering in Valledupar celebrating Colombian vallenato music and verseFestival
🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo
A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival
🇺🇾 Montevideo, UruguayCarnival in Uruguay
An extended festival of drum processions, stage satire, and dance across Uruguay.Festival
🇧🇷 BrazilFesta JuninaFestas Juninas
A Brazilian midwinter celebration marked by bonfires, folk dances and countryside gamesFestival
🇩🇴 Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicDominican Carnival
A February street festival of masks, music and parades across the Dominican Republic.Festival
🇵🇪 Mito, PeruHuaconada
A three-day January ritual dance in Mito, Peru, led by masked men called huaconesPerformance
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente
An annual independent film festival bringing screenings and workshops to Buenos AiresFestival
🇨🇱 Tarapacá, ChileFestival of San Lorenzo
An annual festival of religious dance and pilgrimage honoring Saint Lawrence in TarapacáSpiritual
🇵🇾 Ypacaraí, Paraguay and 5 moreFestival of the Lake YpacaraíFestival del Lago Ypacaraí
A Paraguayan folk festival celebrating national music, dance and poetry at the shores of Lake Ypacaraí.Festival
🇨🇴 ColombiaFestival of Industry, Trade and Culture
An eight-day celebration in Itagüí, Colombia, for local music, art, dance and tradeFestival
🇻🇪 El Callao, VenezuelaCalypso de El Callao
Calypso sung at carnival in El Callao, Venezuela, with yearly king and queen contestsFestival
🇸🇷 Suriname and 1 moreSuriPop
A biennial songwriting festival and gala performance held in SurinamePerformance
🇯🇲 Kingston, JamaicaJamaica Independence Festival
An August festival of music, pageantry and parades marking Jamaican freedomCeremony
🇰🇳 Charlestown, Saint Kitts and NevisCulturama
An annual summer carnival celebrating Nevisian heritage and returning islandersFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Vallenato Legend Festival: Jdvillalobos, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dominican Carnival: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Parranda: Marine 69-71, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tumba francesa: Christian Pirkl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Huaconada: Alfredo Palacios, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festival of Industry, Trade and Culture: Jameseventzx, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: Foto de Roblespepe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Junkanoo: WikiPedant, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Festival of the Lake Ypacaraí: Level4, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carnival in Uruguay: Graham Stanley, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Festa Junina: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festival of San Lorenzo: Freddy Alexander Bugueño Tolmo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Payada: Unknown author, Public domain, source