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EveryParampara

Life-cycle rites

Birth, naming, coming of age, marriage and death.

Life-cycle rites mark the great changes in a human life: birth, naming, coming of age, marriage and death. Every society has them, and they teach a good deal about what a community values. They bring families together and give everyone a script for what to do and say. Here they are gathered from every region, from the Yoruba naming ceremony to the Korean first birthday, the Jewish bar mitzvah and the Maori tangi, each described as those who keep them do.

Beginnings

Birth rites welcome a child and protect mother and baby, with rest, special food, blessings and a name. Many cultures wait a few days or weeks before naming, until the child is stronger. Some give a first haircut, a first food or a first outing as small rites of their own. Godparents, aunts, grandmothers and neighbours all have parts. The common thread is the community making room for a newcomer and promising to help them grow.

Marriage and death

At the other turning points, rites give structure to joy and to grief. Weddings join two families with vows, gifts and feasts, and funerals gather the community to honour the person and support the bereaved. Both are long, with preparation before and customs after, from henna nights to the seven days of shiva. They also tie individual lives to a tradition older than any one family, which many people find a comfort at those moments.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Life-cycle rites (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
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage 🇿🇦 Johannesburg, South Africa and 1 moreLobolo A customary practice in Southern Africa where the groom's family provides assets to the bride's family.Rite of passage 🇲🇱 MaliMahrمهر A mandatory gift from the groom to the bride in Islamic marriages, serving as her financial security.Rite of passage 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreSouthern African traditional healing Ancestral divination, herbal muthi, and spiritual care across Southern AfricaSpiritual 🇳🇬 Ibadan, Nigeria and 1 moreYoruba naming ceremonyÌkòlọ́pọ̀ Orúkọ Yorùbá A rite of passage where a newborn receives a destiny name through divination and family celebration.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇺🇬 Uganda and 4 moreBarkcloth Cloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificCraft 🇺🇬 UgandaKwanjula A formal marriage introduction ritual of the Baganda people in Uganda, where families meet to exchange gifts and seek blRite of passage 🇳🇪 In-Gall, NigerCure Salée A yearly gathering of Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads in In-Gall to mark the end of the rainy season.Festival 🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage 🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage 🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe) A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals 🇷🇼 RwandaKwita Izina Rwanda's yearly ceremony naming newborn mountain gorillas, after a baby-naming customRite of passage 🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress 🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance 🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage 🇪🇹 EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia Weddings across Ethiopia's many peoples, arranged by families and sealed in local ritesRite of passage 🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreAso ebiAsọ-Ẹbí Matching cloth worn by family and friends at Yoruba weddings, funerals and partiesDress 🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage 🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage 🇺🇬 UgandaEkisaakaate A Buganda youth retreat teaching traditional manners, crafts and life skillsEtiquette 🇨🇲 Bafoussam, CameroonNyang Nyang FestivalNyan-Nyang A four-month Bamileke harvest festival and initiation rite in western CameroonFestival 🇺🇬 Mbale, UgandaImbalu The biennial rite of passage into adulthood observed by the Bamasaaba of UgandaRite of passage 🇺🇬 Mengo, UgandaEkisaakaate A royal Buganda cultural retreat teaching heritage, crafts, and manners to the youngRite of passage 🇧🇼 BotswanaBogwera and bojale Tswana coming-of-age initiation for boys and girls, held over several monthsRite of passage 🇿🇦 South AfricaIsidwaba A knee-length leather skirt of cowhide or goatskin, worn by married Zulu womenDress 🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa and 5 moreTooth ablation A global custom of deliberately removing healthy teeth for social, ritual, or aesthetic reasons.Rite of passage 🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarSavika Traditional Betsileo zebu wrestling and courtship rite in MadagascarGame

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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Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.