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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
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival 🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival 🇲🇾 Penampang, MalaysiaKaamatanTadau Kaamatan An annual May harvest celebration of thanksgiving and community across Sabah, MalaysiaSeasonal 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalIndra JatraYenyā Punhi An eight-day street festival in Nepal featuring masked dances, chariot processions, and sacred pole ceremonies.Festival 🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSohrai A harvest and cattle observance kept by indigenous communities in eastern IndiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual 🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGai JatraSā Pāru (𑐳𑐵𑐥𑐵𑐬𑐸) A Newar festival in the Kathmandu Valley to honor relatives who died that year through processions and satire.Festival 🇮🇳 Sambalpur, IndiaNuakhai An agricultural festival in Western Odisha welcoming the first rice of the seasonSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · 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 🇵🇭 Kalibo, PhilippinesAti-Atihan A week of drumbeats, street dancing, and devotion to the Infant Jesus in AklanFestival 🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival 🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · 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 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage 🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreGawai DayakAri Gawai An annual harvest and thanksgiving festival of the Dayak peoples in BorneoSeasonal 🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual 🇨🇳 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 🇺🇸 Tahlequah, United StatesCherokee National Holiday An annual gathering in Oklahoma marking the signing of the Cherokee ConstitutionFestival 🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival 🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival 🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Mexico and 1 moreGuelaguetza An annual Oaxacan festival of indigenous dance, music, costumes and communal sharingFestival 🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal 🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal 🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival 🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival 🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual 🇵🇭 PhilippinesFilipino wedding customsKasalan A blend of indigenous rituals and Christian traditions marking the union of two families in the Philippines.Rite of passage 🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi) A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage 🇺🇸 United StatesLūʻau A Hawaiian feast of kālua pig and poi, eaten by hand outdoors with music and hulaTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu A small figurine of abundance kept in Andean homes and carried at the Alasitas fair to invite prosperity.Spiritual 🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual 🇮🇳 Baripada, IndiaChhau dance A masked dance of eastern India, blending martial steps with epic storiesPerformance 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreCalaca Skull and skeleton figures made for the Day of the Dead, joyful rather than sadCraft 🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival 🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe) A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
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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.