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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
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival 🇫🇲 Satawal, MicronesiaPwo An initiation that turns students of Caroline Islands wayfinding into navigatorsRite of passage 🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival 🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 1 moreAbissa A week-long New Year festival of the Nzema people in Ivory Coast and Ghana, marked by sacred drums, dance, and forgiveneFestival 🇵🇰 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 🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 A Korean harvest festival of ancestral rites, seasonal rice cakes, and folk gamesFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreRocket Festivalບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ A rainy-season festival of merit-making, music, parades and homemade rocketsFestival 🇮🇳 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 🇮🇳 IndiaVision quest A coming-of-age fast and vigil, kept by some Native American peoplesRite of passage 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreIomanteイオマンテ An Ainu rite that sends a hand-raised bear cub's spirit home to the god-worldSpiritual 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance 🇰🇷 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 🇲🇾 Kelantan, Malaysia and 2 moreMak yongTarian Mak Yong (Jawi: مق يوڠ) A dance-drama of Kelantan and Patani, told in song, music and improvised speechPerformance 🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor veneration Honouring dead relatives with offerings, meals and prayers, kept in cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual 🇧🇴 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 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi) A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage 🇲🇽 Papantla, Mexico and 1 moreDanza de los Voladores A Mesoamerican rite of dance and rope, flown from a tall pole to ask for rainSpiritual 🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoOfrenda A home altar of food, flowers and candles that welcomes the dead home at Día de MuertosSpiritual 🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual 🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal 🇺🇸 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 🇳🇿 Waitangi, New ZealandPōwhiri A formal Māori welcome onto a marae, with calls, speeches, song and the hongiEtiquette 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePowwow A communal gathering of dancing, singing and fellowship across Native North AmericaFestival 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesJazz funeral A New Orleans funeral march led by brass music, moving from mourning to joyful danceRite of passage 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreLibation The ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Dodola A Balkan rainmaking ritual where children dressed in greenery lead processions to call for summer showers.Festival 🇷🇺 Chukaly, RussiaRas'ken' OzksРаськень Озкс A triennial gathering and ancestral prayer ritual of the Erzya people in MordoviaSpiritual 🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 2 moreLai Haraobaꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ A ritual dance and music festival kept by the Meitei people to please their deities.Festival 🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival 🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival 🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival 🇹🇭 Dan Sai, ThailandPhi Ta Khonผีตาโขน A three-day festival in Dan Sai, north-east Thailand, of ghost masks and merit-makingFestival 🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTelling the bees A Western European custom of informing honeybees about major household events like deaths and weddings.Folklore 🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
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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.