Spiritual and religious
Rites, prayers, pilgrimages, fasts and sacred days.
Spiritual and religious traditions are the rites that people keep to connect with the sacred: prayers, pilgrimages, fasts, blessings, holy days and the ceremonies of temples, churches, mosques, synagogues and shrines. They are among the oldest traditions in the world and often the most deeply felt. Here they are described as those who keep them would describe them, with care for what is sacred, and without ranking one faith above another. Browse by country, faith or season to see how the same human need is met in many ways.
Worship in daily life
For many people, the spiritual life is lived at home and in small acts: a morning prayer, a lit lamp, grace before a meal, a head covered or shoes removed at a door. Shrines in the kitchen, a prayer mat, a mezuzah on the doorpost and a rosary in the pocket all belong here. The big public rites rest on this quiet daily practice, and it is often a grandmother or a parent who teaches it, by doing it every day without comment.
Sacred time and place
Every faith marks sacred time: a weekly day of rest or prayer, a month of fasting, a festival of light, a season of penitence. Each also marks sacred places, from a river bank to a mountain, a cathedral to a village shrine. Pilgrims travel to them, and the journey itself is part of the rite. Calendars differ, some tied to the moon, others to the sun, so the dates move from year to year and are listed on the EveryParampara calendar.
Meeting across faiths
People of different faiths live side by side, and many traditions overlap or borrow. Neighbours share each other's festival sweets, attend each other's weddings and join in public celebrations such as Christmas markets or Diwali fairs. EveryParampara writes about each tradition on its own terms and cites the people who keep it. Where beliefs are contested, the page says so, and sacred matters are treated with respect.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Spiritual and religious (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.
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreDay of the VowGeloftedag
A religious public holiday in South Africa kept by Afrikaners to honour a vow made before the Battle of Blood River.Festival
🇧🇯 Ouidah, BeninVodun DaysFête du Vodoun
A Benin public holiday on January 10 honoring the Vodoun religion with rituals and community gatherings.Festival
🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhondoro
Territorial guardian spirits and mediums honoured in Zimbabwe for guidance and rainSpiritual
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreSouthern African traditional healing
Ancestral divination, herbal muthi, and spiritual care across Southern AfricaSpiritual
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇳🇬 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
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual
🇲🇬 MadagascarFady
A system of cultural taboos in Madagascar that regulate daily life and spiritual practice.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún
Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual
🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha
A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance
🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ
An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai
Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage
🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ
An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance
🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo
An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival
🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau
A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual
🇿🇼 ZimbabweBira ceremony
An all-night Shona ritual in Zimbabwe where music and dance summon ancestral spirits for guidance.Spiritual
🇲🇱 MaliMahrمهر
A mandatory gift from the groom to the bride in Islamic marriages, serving as her financial security.Rite of passage
🇱🇷 LiberiaDan maskgle or ge
A sacred wooden mask worn by the Dan people of Liberia to embody forest spirits during masquerade.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ
A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival
🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana
A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 1 moreMeskelመስቀል (Mesk'el)
A celebration in Ethiopia and Eritrea marking the discovery of the True Cross with a large bonfire.Spiritual
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo
A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ
An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye
A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play
A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival
🇸🇿 Ludzidzini, EswatiniIncwala
The national kingship and first-fruits ritual of Eswatini, held at the summer solsticeCeremony · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo
An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo
An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji
A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival
An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Kumasi, GhanaAkwasidae Festival
A Sunday gathering of the Ashanti people to honour ancestors and the kingSpiritual
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 1 moreAbissa
A week-long New Year festival of the Nzema people in Ivory Coast and Ghana, marked by sacred drums, dance, and forgiveneFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇬🇭 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
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba
An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa
A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji
A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian Christmasገና
The Christian Nativity feast, marked by night vigils, white garments and field hockeySpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nativity Fast: User:LoKi, Public domain, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Incwala: iulian circo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Durbar festival: Omotayo Tajudeen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akwasidae Festival: Nkansahrexford, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngondo: Photokadaffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valiha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mmanwu: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Fantasy coffins: Regula Tschumi, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Agbogho Mmuo: Vivian Amalachukwu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyau: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Irreecha: Mohammed Kassahun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dan mask: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Day of the Vow: South African Railways and Harbours public relations department, Public domain, source
- Vodun Days: Eureka9090, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Southern African traditional healing: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gelede: Gogeafrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eyo Festival: Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ethiopian Christmas: Tanjagari, CC BY-SA 4.0, source