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.
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.
🇳🇵 NepalJatjatin Dance
A Mithila folk dance performed by couples to seek rain and express the sorrow of parting.Performance
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaPongala
A harvest offering of sweet rice porridge prepared by millions of women in South IndiaFestival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 Mathura, IndiaKrishna legends in Kathak
The enactment of Krishna's sacred stories in Indian classical dancePerformance
🇮🇳 Kozhikode, IndiaRamanattamരാമനാട്ടം
A Kerala dance drama staging the life of Rama across eight daysPerformance
🇮🇳 Diu, IndiaDashama Vrataદશામા વ્રત
A ten-day Hindu vow kept at home with a clay shrine, mostly by women in Gujarat and DiuSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKathaकथा (Hindi/Sanskrit), கதை (Tamil)
A traditional Indian practice of religious storytelling and scriptural commentary, kept across Hindu and Sikh communitieSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaMarga Natya
A dance, music and acting tradition rebuilt from Bharata's Natya ShastraPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaPrathamastami
An Odia ritual blessing the firstborn child for long life and good fortuneRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaVadhu Praveshaवधूप्रवेश
A Hindu ceremony welcoming a bride into her new husband's homeRite of passage
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 3 moreDupattaदुपट्टा
A traditional South Asian scarf worn across the shoulders, chest, and headDress
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaOran lands
Sacred groves and community-conserved pastures in Rajasthan dedicated to local deities.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Mumbai, IndiaWeddings in India
Marriage rites and festive gatherings celebrated across the diverse communities of India.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaKaradaiyan Nonbuகாரடையான் நோன்பு
A Tamil Hindu festival where women fast and pray for the long life of their husbands.Festival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaAttukal Pongala
A ten-day Hindu festival in Kerala where millions of women cook rice offerings in earthen pots for the goddess.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaHarikathaహరికథ / ಹರಿಕಥೆ / हरिकथा
A South Indian art of telling sacred stories with song, speech and rhythmPerformance
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 1 moreMarriage vows
The promises a couple speak to each other as they marryRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaSri Vaikanasam
A worship protocol for Vishnu, kept in many temples of South IndiaSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaDhundhढुन्ढ
A Hindu ritual in Rajasthan where infants are symbolically married to Holika on Holi to ward off mischief.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaPranamaप्रणाम
A traditional Indian gesture of reverent bowing, prostration, and touching the feetEtiquette
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 1 moreSurasamharamSūrasaṃhāram
A temple performance of Murugan's victory, ending the week-long Kanda Shashti fastSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaBommalattam
A shadow puppetry tradition from Tamil Nadu using carved dolls and oil lamps to tell stories.Performance
🇮🇳 Lucknow, IndiaBada Mangal
A Tuesday festival in Lucknow dedicated to Hanuman, known for communal feasts and interfaith participation.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Khatushyam, IndiaPhalguna Mela
A temple fair before Holi, kept with flags, bhajans and shared foodSpiritual
🇮🇳 Chabbi (Chebbi), IndiaChabbi Ganapathi
A three-day Ganesha festival kept by seven households in a Karnataka village since 1827Festival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChampa Chandan Vrataচাঁপা চন্দন ব্রত
A month-long vow kept by unmarried Bengali girls, asking for a husband like ShivaSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMadhushravaniमधुश्रावणी
A fifteen-day Mithila festival of fasting, worship and song for newly married bridesSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaDivja
A Goan ritual where women carry oil lamps in a temple procession to fulfill vows.Spiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaParashurama Jayantiपरशुरामजयंती (Paraśurāmajayantī)
A Hindu day of fasting and worship marking Parashurama's birth on Akshaya TritiyaSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaKalampattu
A Kerala temple offering where a five-colour floor picture is sung over and danced aroundSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMahalakshmia jo Sagroمَھالڪشميءَ جو سڳڙو / महालक्ष्मीअ जो सॻड़ो
A sixteen-day Hindu fast and prayer dedicated to the goddess of wealthSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 IndiaJiuntia
An autumn festival of western Odisha, kept in two forms by mothers and by sistersSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaSahasra Purna Chandrodayamसहस्र-(पूर्ण)चन्द्र-दर्शन
A Hindu rite marking a person's thousandth full moon, celebrated around age eighty-one.Rite of passage
🇮🇳 Goa, IndiaVeerabhadra
A ritual dance of a fierce figure performed in Goa during the Shigmo festival and on Chaitra Poornima.Performance
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ramanattam: JP Vets, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pongala: Sreeraj Krishna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krishna legends in Kathak: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dashama Vrata: Athwartmisunderstand, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Katha: Tirlochan Singh, Public domain, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Kalampattu: Ranjith A v, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parashurama Jayanti: Rajasekhar1961, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Divja: Govenkarpriyanka, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jatjatin Dance: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Marriage vows: Tumi-1983, Public domain, source
- Attukal Pongala: Maheshsudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Weddings in India: Jaisingh Rathore, CC BY 2.5, source
- Dupatta: Kinshuk Sunil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vadhu Pravesha: Shounak Ray, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Prathamastami: Swetabiswal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Marga Natya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source
- Harikatha: Sanath, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bommalattam: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bada Mangal: Prabhat1729, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chabbi Ganapathi: Reema Jalihal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Madhushravani: Monika Jha, CC0, source