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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 🇫🇯 FijiTabua A polished sperm whale tooth traded as a sacred gift in Fijian ceremonies and negotiations.Ceremony 🇹🇱 Timor-LesteUma Lulik Sacred ancestral clan houses and ritual shrines in East TimorSpiritual 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesGhost Dance A circle dance ceremony kept by Native American communities to reunite with ancestors and restore peace.Spiritual 🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreTibetan prayer flagLung ta / Darchog Colorful cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the wind.Spiritual 🇿🇼 ZimbabweBira ceremony An all-night Shona ritual in Zimbabwe where music and dance summon ancestral spirits for guidance.Spiritual 🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance 🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremonyNumbuk Yabbun An Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeSpiritual 🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival 🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming A living spiritual worldview and law connecting Aboriginal Australians to ancestors, land, and community.Spiritual 🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual 🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage 🇺🇸 Raven's Roost, United StatesStomp dance A ceremonial night dance kept by Eastern Woodland tribes in the United States and Oklahoma.Performance · Dinner 🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaCorroboreegaraabara A gathering of Australian Aboriginal peoples featuring dance, music and storytellingFestival 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress 🇲🇽 MexicoDanza de los ViejitosT'arche Uarakua A Purépecha masked dance honouring the sun and the four elements in MichoacánPerformance 🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarNat worshipနတ် Veneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarSpiritual 🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual 🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreMedicine wheel Sacred circular stone arrangements built across the plains of North AmericaSpiritual 🇺🇸 United StatesFancy dance A fast-paced, athletic Indigenous dance kept at powwows across North America and beyond.Performance 🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance 🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome 🇲🇳 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 🇲🇬 MadagascarFady A system of cultural taboos in Madagascar that regulate daily life and spiritual practice.Spiritual 🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual 🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival 🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore 🇮🇳 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 🇳🇬 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 🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome 🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 moreMarae A cleared, sacred gathering place at the heart of Māori and Polynesian community lifeSpiritual 🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿 Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual 🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance 🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual 🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreMesoamerican ballgameōllamalīztli An ancient Mesoamerican ball game, struck with the hips on stone courtsGame 🇰🇷 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 🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual 🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara) Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette 🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia Māori incantations and prayers recited for spiritual guidance, safety and ceremonySpiritual
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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.