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.
🇨🇻 Cape Verde and 1 moreKola San Jon
A Cabo Verdean street festival of dance, drumming, and devotion to Saint JohnFestival
🇧🇼 D'Kar, BotswanaKuru Dance and Music Festival
A gathering of San communities in Botswana to share songs, stories and sacred dancesPerformance
🇿🇲 Lundazi, ZambiaZengani
An annual October gathering of Tumbuka and Ngoni communities in eastern Zambia to celebrate unity through traditional daFestival
🇲🇼 Bolero, MalawiGonapamhanya festival
An annual gathering of the Tumbuka people honouring their first paramount chiefFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇲 Muyombe, ZambiaVinkhakanimba
An annual gathering and dance celebration of the Tumbuka people in northeastern ZambiaFestival
🇳🇬 NigeriaKwagh-Hir
A Tiv puppet theatre and masquerade performance from central Nigeria that uses masks and marionettes to tell moral storiPerformance
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaBantu Film Festival
An annual pan-African film festival held in Botswana celebrating continental cinemaFestival
🇨🇲 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
🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts
An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar
Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival
🇲🇼 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
🇲🇺 MauritiusSega tambour Chagos
A Sega music and drum tradition of the Chagos islands, kept by Chagossians in MauritiusPerformance
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇰🇪 Rusinga Island, KenyaRusinga Cultural Festival
Two December days of Suba music, boat races and food on Rusinga Island in KenyaFestival
🇦🇴 Luanda, AngolaLuanda International Jazz Festival
An annual jazz gathering staged in the capital of AngolaPerformance
🇧🇼 Molepolole, BotswanaDithubaruba Cultural Festival
An annual gathering in Botswana that celebrates the customs, music, and history of the Bakwena people.Festival
🇳🇬 Uyo, NigeriaAkwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival
A large annual gathering of carol singers in Nigeria that holds a Guinness World Record for the largest assembly.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kola San Jon: Dvfernandes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kuru Dance and Music Festival: SanDanceVR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gonapamhanya festival: Tumbuka Arch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kwagh-Hir: Wilses, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Medumba Arts and Culture Festival: Djenrode, 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
- Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival: MediaMOF, CC BY-SA 4.0, source