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. 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.

🇲🇽 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

🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual

🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua) The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual 🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhondoro Territorial guardian spirits and mediums honoured in Zimbabwe for guidance and rainSpiritual

🇮🇩 IndonesiaPasola A ritual horseback spear contest in western Sumba marking the rice-planting seasonGame

🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་ The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар The Mongolian Lunar New Year festival of peace, elders, white foods and renewalSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇳🇿 New ZealandMatariki The Māori New Year marked by the midwinter rising of the Pleiades clusterSeasonal

🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름 A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇾 Penampang, MalaysiaKaamatanTadau Kaamatan An annual May harvest celebration of thanksgiving and community across Sabah, MalaysiaSeasonal

🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual

🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSohrai A harvest and cattle observance kept by indigenous communities in eastern IndiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 Sambalpur, IndiaNuakhai An agricultural festival in Western Odisha welcoming the first rice of the seasonSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇭 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

🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWangala A post-harvest thanksgiving festival of drums, dance and song among the Garo peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇬🇭 Kumasi, GhanaAkwasidae Festival A Sunday gathering of the Ashanti people to honour ancestors and the kingSpiritual

🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreGawai DayakAri Gawai An annual harvest and thanksgiving festival of the Dayak peoples in BorneoSeasonal

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival 🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭 A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal

🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇵🇰 PakistanChilam Joshi A spring festival of music, dance, and prayers celebrated by the Kalash peopleFestival 🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal

🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame

🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal

🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节 A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival

🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual

🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore

🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal 🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual 🇿🇲 Lundazi, Zambia and 1 moreKulonga An annual harvest festival of thanksgiving celebrated by Tumbuka communitiesSeasonal

🇻🇳 VietnamSpace of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of VietnamKhông gian văn hóa Cồng Chiêng Tây Nguyên Gong sets of Vietnam's Central Highlands, played for festivals and spiritsPerformance

Photo credits on this page

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

Letra del Año: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Matariki: Robert Gendler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Kaamatan: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Incwala: iulian circo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gawai Dayak: Zahirulnukman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Akwasidae Festival: Nkansahrexford, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Igbo New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Makahiki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chilam Joshi: Jugni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chuseok: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Rocket Festival: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nuakhai: Mamata Padhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
Sarhul: Gurpreet Singh Ranchi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
Irreecha: Mohammed Kassahun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pasola: Fakhri Anindita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
Green Corn Ceremony: George Catlin, Public domain, source
Willkakuti: Tuco Quispe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Đỗ Tuấn Hưng, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source