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EveryParampara

Indigenous and traditional traditions

Indigenous and traditional spiritual and cultural practices belong to peoples who have lived on their lands for many generations: the First Nations and Native peoples of the Americas, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, the Maori and Pacific Islanders, the Sami, the many peoples of Africa and the hill peoples of Asia.

Indigenous and traditional spiritual and cultural practices belong to peoples who have lived on their lands for many generations: the First Nations and Native peoples of the Americas, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, the Maori and Pacific Islanders, the Sami, the many peoples of Africa and the hill peoples of Asia. Their traditions include ceremonies of the land, naming and initiation, healing, story and dance. Some are public and others private. EveryParampara describes only what communities share openly, and credits them as the source.

Land, ancestors and story

For many Indigenous peoples, land is kin, not property, and ceremonies thank the earth, the water and the animals. Ancestors are present, and stories of creation, such as the Dreaming, tell people how to live. Knowledge is passed by elders in language, song and dance. Many of these languages are under threat, and communities are leading efforts to teach them to the young.

Sharing with care

Some ceremonies are open to visitors, such as powwows and the Maori powhiri, and others, such as initiations, are restricted. Visitors are asked to listen, follow instructions, ask before taking photographs and avoid treating sacred things as entertainment. Many nations have protocols on the use of images and symbols. EveryParampara follows these requests and links to community voices and organisations wherever possible.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Indigenous and traditional (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
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico and 1 moreDay of the DeadDía de Muertos A Mexican remembrance of deceased family and friends with altars, marigolds and feastsFestival · Sweets given and shared 🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremonyNumbuk Yabbun An Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeSpiritual 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 moreMarae A cleared, sacred gathering place at the heart of Māori and Polynesian community lifeSpiritual 🇻🇳 Hoa Lư, VietnamChèo嘲 Satirical folk musical theatre performed by village troupes across northern VietnamPerformance 🇲🇽 MexicoDanza de los ViejitosT'arche Uarakua A Purépecha masked dance honouring the sun and the four elements in MichoacánPerformance 🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance 🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿 Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual 🇱🇸 LesothoMokorotlo A conical straw hat that serves as the national symbol of Lesotho and a key element of Basotho traditional dress.Dress 🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance 🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarNat worshipနတ် Veneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarSpiritual 🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea and 5 moreShell money Traditional currency made from cowries, ground clam beads, and carved sea shellsCraft 🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia Māori incantations and prayers recited for spiritual guidance, safety and ceremonySpiritual 🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesNavajo weavingdiyogí Handwoven wool textiles and rugs made on continuous warps by Navajo artisansCraft 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDreamcatcherᐊᓴᐱᑫᔒᓐᐦ (asabikeshiinh) A hand-woven hoop from Anishinaabe tradition, hung above a cradle to protect a childCraft 🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance 🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaKambala An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame 🇲🇬 MadagascarFady A system of cultural taboos in Madagascar that regulate daily life and spiritual practice.Spiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual 🇰🇮 KiribatiMusic of Kiribati Chant, body percussion, songs and dances of the islands of KiribatiPerformance 🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara) Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette 🇲🇽 MexicoRarájipari A traditional endurance running ball game of the Rarámuri people in northern MexicoGame 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 morePeʻa The traditional Samoan rite of full-body tattooing for men, tapped by master artistsRite of passage 🇳🇬 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 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandPoi A Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.Performance 🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome 🇺🇸 United StatesTalking stick A carved staff that shows who may speak at a Northwest Coast gatheringCeremony 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual 🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance 🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da) Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame 🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreMesoamerican ballgameōllamalīztli An ancient Mesoamerican ball game, struck with the hips on stone courtsGame 🇹🇱 Timor-LesteUma Lulik Sacred ancestral clan houses and ritual shrines in East TimorSpiritual 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome 🇺🇸 Fairbanks, United States and 2 moreWorld Eskimo-Indian Olympics An annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGame 🇵🇬 Trobriand Islands, Papua New GuineaTrobriand cricket Cricket as played in the Trobriand Islands, with chants, dances and a feastGame 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchum탈춤 A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance 🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao) A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual 🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual 🇮🇳 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 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 3 moreOvooовоо (Cyrillic Mongolian); ᠣᠪᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ (Traditional Mongol) A stone cairn on a peak or pass, circled by travellers and honoured in sky worshipSpiritual 🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua) The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

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