Hindu traditions
Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain.
Hindu traditions fill the calendar of South Asia and the many places where Hindus have settled, from Bali and Mauritius to Fiji, Trinidad and Britain. They include daily puja, the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Navratri and Pongal, pilgrimages to the Ganges and Tirupati, the sixteen samskaras that mark life from birth to death and a great many regional and village customs. Hinduism has no single founder or text, and practice varies by family, region and community. These pages describe the traditions as those who keep them do.
Home and temple
Worship begins at home, with a shrine, a lamp and a morning prayer, and continues at the temple, where a priest offers the deity water, flowers, food and light on behalf of devotees. Visitors take darshan, receive prasad and walk around the shrine. Festivals bring the whole street into the temple or the pandal, with processions, music and communal meals, and the cycle of the year is marked by fasts and feasts.
Rites of life
The samskaras include the naming, the first rice, the sacred thread, marriage and the funeral. The wedding, with its seven steps round the fire, is the best known, while funerals involve cremation and offerings to the ancestors. Every region adds its own customs, such as the kolam in Tamil Nadu, the rakhi in the north and the Durga Puja of Bengal. The diversity is part of the tradition.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Hindu (faith). 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
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMother's Day
A worldwide annual celebration dedicated to mothers, maternal bonds and family careHome
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 7 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaSatsangसत्सङ्ग
Sitting in the company of truth, to hear, sing and meditate in northern IndiaSpiritual
🇰🇷 South Korea and 2 moreNajeonchilgi나전칠기
A Korean craft of inlaying mother-of-pearl onto lacquered wood to create decorative objects.Craft
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaKerala mural painting
Frescoes of Hindu deities painted on temple and palace walls in Kerala, India.Performance
🇱🇰 Kandy, Sri LankaKandyan danceඋඩරට නැටුම්
The sacred dance of Sri Lanka's hill country, kept in temple and on the stagePerformance
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaPenjorᬧᬾᬜ᭄ᬚᭀᬃ
A curved bamboo pole decorated with leaves and offerings, raised in Bali to mark Galungan and invite prosperity.Spiritual
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇮🇳 Thrissur, IndiaThrissur Pooramതൃശ്ശൂര് പൂരം
A grand Kerala temple gathering with elephant pageantry, percussion, and fireworksFestival
🇰🇷 South KoreaJesa제사 (Jesa)
A Korean ancestral memorial ceremony held on death anniversaries and major holidays.Spiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party
A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home
🇮🇳 Puri, India and 1 morePattachitra
A cloth scroll painting tradition from eastern India featuring mythological stories and folk tales.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ
Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreSindur Khelaসিঁদুর খেলা
A Bengali Hindu ritual where married women apply vermilion to each other on Vijayadashami.Festival
🇮🇳 Gwalior, India and 1 moreDhrupadध्रुवपद
The foundational vocal and instrumental classical music tradition of northern IndiaPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaAtithi Devo Bhavaअतिथिदेवो भव
A traditional Indian Hindu philosophy and campaign that treats guests with the reverence due to deities.Etiquette
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandCoronation of the Thai monarchพระราชพิธีบรมราชาภิเษก
A consecration ceremony blending Hindu and Buddhist rites to formally install the King of Thailand.Ceremony
🇮🇳 Vrindavan, IndiaRaslilaरासलीला (Rāsalīlā)
A traditional Indian dance and folk theatre performance depicting the divine love of Krishna and the gopis.Performance
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Alpona)
A Bengali floor painting tradition using rice flour paste to mark festivals and rituals.Performance
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreNakshi kanthaনকশি কাঁথা
A traditional embroidered quilt from Bengal, made by stitching layers of old cloth into colourful, patterned textiles.Craft
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Giant handcrafted statues paraded and burned on the eve of the Balinese Saka New YearFestival
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalKumariकुमारी
A living goddess tradition in Nepal where a young girl embodies the divine feminine.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGrihapraveshगृहप्रवेश (Gṛhapravēśa)
A Hindu housewarming ritual to purify a new home and invite blessings.Home
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇮🇳 Badrinath, IndiaChota Char Dham
Four Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, visited in one season each yearSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSaptapadiसप्तपदी (Sanskrit), सात फेरे (Marathi)
The seven-step ritual that finalizes a Hindu marriage, observed across India.Rite of passage
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay
A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance
🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house
A small roofed shrine on a pillar, kept in homes and villages across Southeast Asia to honour protective spirits.Spiritual
🇳🇬 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
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaMelasti
A Balinese Hindu purification ritual held at the sea before Nyepi to cleanse sacred objects and people.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Kolkata, IndiaJana Gana Mana
India's national anthem, from a Bengali hymn of 1911, sung at civic occasionsCeremony
🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 5 morePostpartum confinement
A period of rest, nourishment, and seclusion for mothers after giving birth.Rite of passage
🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao)
A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual
🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia and 2 moreMudik
Indonesians head home to family before Lebaran, in the year's biggest journeyHome
🇮🇳 IndiaPandavani
A folk singing tradition from central India that retells episodes of the Mahabharata epic through music and theatrical nPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKailash Mansarovar Yatraकैलाश मानसरोवर यात्रा (Hindi); ཀཱའི་ལ་ཤ་མན་ས་རོ་ཝར་ཡ་ཏྲ། (Tibetan)
A high-altitude pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in TibetSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKambala
An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaLalbaugcha Raja
A Mumbai Ganesha festival where millions seek blessings before ocean immersionSpiritual
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam
A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal
Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaNamasteनमस्ते
A respectful greeting made with joined palms, spoken in South Asia and beyondEtiquette
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 5 moreNavaratriनवरात्रि (Navarātri)
A nine-night Hindu festival honoring the goddess Durga and her nine forms through prayer, fasting, and dance.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
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
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mother's Day: Dave Parker, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jana Gana Mana: Rabindranath Tagore, Public domain, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navaratri: Mukerjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: micknik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mudik: Arie Basuki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kandyan dance: PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Baci: Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Namaste: Ms Sarah Welch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Postpartum confinement: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Kolhapuri chappal: Daderot, CC0, source
- Kambala: Sajith mv parappally, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Phulkari: Sheebamadanloewinger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Barong: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pattachitra: Unknown, Public domain, source
- Lalbaugcha Raja: ninadism, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pandavani: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindur Khela: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saptapadi: Bhumish143, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Grihapravesh: Aruna at ml.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumari: Nirmal Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
- Kerala mural painting: Sivavkm, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nakshi kantha: A junaid alam khan ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Coronation of the Thai monarch: Tris_T7, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Penjor: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Najeonchilgi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Melasti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thrissur Pooram: Rameshng, CC BY-SA 3.0, source