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.
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay
A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance
🇵🇭 Palo, Philippines and 1 moreTinikling
A Philippine folk dance where dancers step between clapping bamboo polesPerformance
🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesPasyon
A Tagalog epic of Christ's passion, chanted without a break during Holy WeekSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Giant handcrafted statues paraded and burned on the eve of the Balinese Saka New YearFestival
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPandanggo
A lively Philippine folk dance of quick steps, clapping and balanced lightsPerformance
🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance
🇻🇳 Hoa Lư, VietnamChèo嘲
Satirical folk musical theatre performed by village troupes across northern VietnamPerformance
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeNational Day Parade
Singapore's annual independence day celebration of parades, music and fireworksCeremony
🇰🇭 CambodiaApsara Danceរបាំទេពអប្សរា
A classical Cambodian court dance inspired by the stone carvings of AngkorPerformance
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNón lá𥶄蘿
A pointed leaf and bamboo hat worn across Vietnam for shelter, work and celebrationDress
🇲🇲 MyanmarYoke théရုပ်သေး
A classical Burmese string puppet theatre performed with complex marionettes and music.Performance
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 4 moreDikir baratDikir Hulu / Dikir Barat
A group singing art from the Malay Peninsula where verses are traded back and forth in a witty lyrical duel.Performance
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 2 moreNgajatTanda Ngajat
A traditional folk dance of the Iban people in Sarawak and Borneo, mimicking birds and warriors.Performance
🇮🇩 Bali, Indonesia and 1 moreLegonglégong
A refined Balinese dance of intricate finger movements and expressive gestures, kept in Indonesia.Performance
🇵🇭 PhilippinesCariñosa
A Philippine folk dance of colonial origin where a couple uses a fan and handkerchief to enact a playful romance.Performance
🇵🇭 Cebu City, Philippines and 4 moreSinulog Festival
An annual Philippine dance festival and Catholic devotion honouring the Santo NiñoFestival
🇵🇭 Kalibo, PhilippinesAti-Atihan
A week of drumbeats, street dancing, and devotion to the Infant Jesus in AklanFestival
🇵🇭 Baguio, PhilippinesPanagbenga Festival
A month-long flower festival and parade in the mountain city of BaguioFestival
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreBatikꦧꦛꦶꦏ꧀ (bathik)
A Javanese wax-resist way of patterning cloth, and the textiles made that wayCraft
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇮🇩 Uluwatu, IndonesiaKecakᬓᬾᬘᬓ᭄ (Balinese), Tari Kecak (Indonesian)
A circle of men chanting chak as they dance the Ramayana epic in BaliPerformance
🇵🇭 Bacolod, PhilippinesMassKara FestivalPista sang MassKara
A street festival of smiling masks, parades and music in Bacolod, PhilippinesFestival
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNhã nhạcNhã nhạc (雅樂)
Vietnam's royal court music, played for palace rites from the Trần dynasty onwardPerformance
🇻🇳 VietnamCa trùCa trù (歌籌)
A Vietnamese art of sung poetry, led by a woman singer with lute and praise drumPerformance
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ
A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance
🇲🇾 Kelantan, Malaysia and 2 moreMak yongTarian Mak Yong (Jawi: مق يوڠ)
A dance-drama of Kelantan and Patani, told in song, music and improvised speechPerformance
🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝
A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival
🇵🇭 Iloilo City, PhilippinesDinagyang FestivalDinágyang
An annual festival of drumming, street dance and devotion to the Santo Niño in Iloilo.Festival
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreVessantara JatakaVessantara Jātaka
A Buddhist festival celebrating the last life of the Buddha as a generous prince.Festival
🇰🇭 Longvek, Cambodia and 2 moreKhmer traditional clothing
How Khmer people dress: the wrapped sampot, the embroidered sbai, the checkered kramaDress
🇵🇭 PhilippinesBinirayan Festival
An annual December cultural festival in Antique celebrating Panay's Malay settlementFestival
🇻🇳 VietnamSpace of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of VietnamKhông gian văn hóa Cồng Chiêng Tây Nguyên
Gong sets of Vietnam's Central Highlands, played for festivals and spiritsPerformance
🇵🇭 PhilippinesHarana
A Filipino serenade where a suitor sings beneath his beloved's window at nightPerformance
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreMenoraมโนราห์
A traditional Thai dance drama from the south, featuring acrobatics and sacred rituals.Performance
🇸🇬 Singapore, SingaporeSingapore International Festival of Arts
A month of theatre, dance, music and visual art in Singapore each mid-yearPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Pangalay: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tinikling: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Nestor Cruz, Public domain, source
- Sinulog Festival: Herbert Kikoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ati-Atihan: Bernardo "Berniemack" Arellano III, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panagbenga Festival: lolay, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pasyon: Judgefloro, CC0, source
- Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dinagyang Festival: Bernardo 'Berniemack' Arellano III, CC BY 3.0, source
- MassKara Festival: Ceslou, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pandanggo: John Charlton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barong: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chèo: Thomas Schoch, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- National Day Parade: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Apsara Dance: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nón lá: Ratmanhme282020, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yoke thé: Uthantofburma ( talk ) 05:15, 30 November 2010 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dikir barat: SMK SERI MAHKOTA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngajat: Menuaibansarawak, CC0, source
- Legong: P. (Paul) Spies (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cariñosa: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kecak: Rollan Budi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wayang: Kevin Gessner, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nhã nhạc: Lưu Ly ( thảo luận ), Public domain, source
- Ca trù: Michael Coghlan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Batik: Fpangestuphotographer, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Khmer traditional clothing: Engsamnang, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Singapore International Festival of Arts: Waycool27 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Binirayan Festival: Ranieljosecastaneda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vessantara Jataka: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Đỗ Tuấn Hưng, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Harana: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Menora: AjarnRichard, CC BY-SA 4.0, source