Kings, queens, emperors and chiefs have been crowned, enthroned and anointed in ceremonies that are among the oldest in the world.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for the curious, the homesick and the hosts.
Kings, queens, emperors and chiefs have been crowned, enthroned and anointed in ceremonies that are among the oldest in the world. Some are very ancient and still performed, such as the English coronation in Westminster Abbey, the Japanese enthronement and the Ashanti stool rites. Others are the royal weddings, jubilees and funerals that draw crowds and cameras. The ceremonies use crowns, thrones, oaths, oils, regalia, processions and music to show that authority is conferred by a people, a faith or a tradition. Here is how royalty is celebrated in many places, from palaces to village stools, and what the rites mean to those who keep them.
A coronation turns a person into a ruler in the sight of the people and, in many traditions, of God or the ancestors. It sets out the duties of the ruler, often through an oath, and the loyalty of the subjects. The ceremony also displays continuity, linking each ruler to those before, with objects and words that may be centuries old. In constitutional monarchies the rite is symbolic but still carries deep meaning, while in traditional kingdoms the chief or king remains an important figure in the life of the community.
The main elements are an oath or promise, an act of anointing or blessing, the giving of regalia such as the crown, orb, sceptre, sword, stool or spear, an enthronement and an acclamation by the people. A procession carries the ruler through the city, and a feast follows. Dress is rich, with robes, furs, gold and feathers. Many rites include a period of seclusion or fasting, a ritual bath and the presence of priests, elders or kingmakers. The date is often chosen with care, and the ceremony may last days.
Royal feasts are among the great banquets of history, and coronation dishes have become part of food culture: coronation chicken in Britain, a ceremonial rice in Thailand, and the royal cuisine of Japan's court. Dress is the heart of the display: ermine and velvet, kimono-style robes, kente cloth and gold regalia, feathered cloaks in Hawaii and Maori lands. Music is organised on a grand scale: anthems, fanfares, trumpets, drums, gongs and choirs, and some traditions have court musicians whose work is handed down in families.
Many monarchies have simplified ceremonies, reduced costs and opened them to people of all faiths. Television and streaming have made the rites a worldwide event, and social media follows every detail. Traditional rulers in Africa and the Pacific play a role beside modern government, resolving disputes and caring for culture. Some countries have ended monarchy and replaced it with civic ceremonies, such as an inauguration, with their own symbols and oaths. Interest in the history and symbolism of royal rites remains strong everywhere.
The coronation takes place in Westminster Abbey, with the sovereign anointed with holy oil, crowned with St Edward's Crown and given the orb and sceptre. The ceremony has been held in the Abbey since 1066.
Coronation of the British monarch, being writtenThe Sokui-rei, the enthronement of the emperor, and the Daijosai, a ritual in which the emperor offers new rice to the deities, are rooted in Shinto tradition and continue today. The ritual is held at night, in a specially built hall, and is seen as private to the emperor.
Read: Daijō-saiThe coronation involves anointing with water from sacred sources, a nine-tiered umbrella and the Great Crown of Victory, in a Brahmin and Buddhist ritual in Bangkok's Grand Palace. The king also receives the regalia, including the sword and the sandals, in a ceremony that lasts several days.
Read: Coronation of the Thai monarchThe Raven Crown, with the head of a raven representing the protective deity Gonpo Jarodongchen, is worn by the king, and the coronation includes a ritual of receiving a scarf, the Dar Kar. The ceremony is accompanied by monks chanting and the presentation of a ceremonial scarf.
Raven Crown, being writtenThe Kumari, a young girl worshipped as a living goddess, has traditionally blessed the king with a tika at the Indra Jatra festival. The institution continues in Kathmandu.
Read: KumariThe Dussehra procession at Mysore, with an elephant bearing the golden howdah, recalls the old royal court, and the Rajput kings' coronations involved a tilak and a sword. Today the palace of Mysore is lit with thousands of lights on the evenings of Dasara.
Read: Mysore Dasara
Daijō-saiJapan's imperial thanksgiving.
Royal Ploughing CeremonyThailand and Cambodia.Bay'ahThe pledge of allegiance.
Trooping the ColourThe British birthday parade.
Mysore DasaraThe royal festival of Mysore.Also part of it, and being written: Coronation of the British monarch (Westminster Abbey.), Golden Stool (The Ashanti sacred stool.), Tūrangawaewae (The Maori King Movement.).
A coronation places a crown on the head, while an enthronement seats the ruler on a throne or stool. Many ceremonies include both, with other rites such as anointing.
Anointing with holy oil, an act borrowed from the Hebrew Bible, shows that the ruler is set apart for service. The oil is blessed and may be made to an ancient recipe.
It varies. In many modern monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan, the monarch is a ceremonial head of state, while in a few countries the monarch has real authority.
The objects of royal office, such as crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, stools or spears, kept with great care and used in the ceremony.
Yes. Chiefs, headmen and clan leaders have their own installation rites in much of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas, and many are recognised by modern law.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
The traditions written up so far, best known first.
🇨🇦 Toronto, CanadaVictoria DayFête de la Reine
A Canadian public holiday celebrating the monarch and welcoming the return of summerCeremony
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRoyal Ploughing Ceremonyព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល
A royal agricultural rite opening the rice season across mainland Southeast AsiaCeremony
🇮🇳 Mysuru, IndiaMysore Dasara
Karnataka's ten-day Dasara, with the lit Mysuru Palace and a Vijayadashami processionFestival
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇰🇭 Phnom Penh, Cambodia and 1 moreBon Om Toukបុណ្យអុំទូក
A three-day Cambodian festival of dragon boat races, floating lanterns and moon offeringsFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaGoluபொம்மை கொலு
An autumn festival display of stepped dolls and figurines in South Indian homesFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 IndiaAyudha Pujaआयुध पूजा
A Hindu festival blessing the tools, vehicles, books and instruments of daily workSpiritual
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaEsala Perahera
A Sri Lankan procession of sacred relics, drummers and elephants honouring the BuddhaSpiritual
🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play
A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival
🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye
A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇿 Ludzidzini, EswatiniIncwala
The national kingship and first-fruits ritual of Eswatini, held at the summer solsticeCeremony · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Kumasi, GhanaAkwasidae Festival
A Sunday gathering of the Ashanti people to honour ancestors and the kingSpiritual
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · 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
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaSekatenꦱꦼꦏꦠꦺꦤ꧀
A week-long Javanese royal festival and market honouring the birth of the ProphetFestival
🇬🇧 United KingdomSwan Upping
An annual five-day royal census and health check of swans along the River ThamesCeremony
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba
A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptBeautiful Festival of the Valleyhb nfr n jnt
An ancient Egyptian festival honouring the dead with river processions across ThebesSpiritual
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaHanfu漢服
The dress of the Han Chinese, named for the Han dynasty and worn again todayDress
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
🇱🇮 Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtenstein National DayStaatsfeiertag Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein's national holiday celebrated with castle speeches, bonfires and fireworksCeremony
🇮🇳 Krishnanagar, IndiaJagaddhatri Puja
A Hindu festival for the world-bearing goddess, kept in West Bengal each autumnSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreZardoziزردوزی (zarduzi)
Heavy gold and silver embroidery on silk or velvet, worked in Iran, India and beyondCraft
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePehlwani
A traditional discipline of clay-pit wrestling across the Indian subcontinent.Game
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration
Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual
🇹🇴 Tonga and 1 moreTaʻovala
A waist mat worn in Tonga for weddings, funerals and formal daysDress
🇪🇬 Thebes, EgyptSed festivalḥb-sd
An ancient Egyptian royal jubilee marking thirty years of a pharaoh's ruleCeremony
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭
A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandThai funeral
Buddhist rites in Thailand featuring water blessings, temple chanting and cremation.Rite of passage · Breakfast
🇮🇷 Tabriz, Iran and 3 morePersian miniatureنگارگری ایرانی
A tradition of small, brightly coloured paintings created for books and albums.Craft
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreTurbanدولبند (dolband)
Cloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identityDress
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇲🇦 MoroccoThrone Dayعيد العرش
Morocco's annual national holiday marking the enthronement of the reigning kingCeremony
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki
A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Kochi, IndiaVallam Kalivaḷḷaṃ kaḷi
A traditional canoe racing festival held across the waters of Kerala during OnamGame
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭
The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual
🇹🇴 TongaLakalaka
A formal group dance of Tonga where singers stand in rows and move their arms to express songs.Performance
🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, Indonesia and 4 moreKebayaꦏꦼꦧꦪ
A front-opening blouse and wrapped cloth, worn by women across Southeast AsiaDress
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 3 moreSherwani
A long buttoned coat for men, worn at weddings and state occasions in South AsiaDress
🇳🇴 NorwayBunad
Norway's festive dress, tied to a home district and worn from weddings to 17 MayDress
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.