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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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDreamcatcherᐊᓴᐱᑫᔒᓐᐦ (asabikeshiinh) A hand-woven hoop from Anishinaabe tradition, hung above a cradle to protect a childCraft 🇲🇽 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 🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance 🇳🇬 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 🇱🇻 LatviaDaina Short, traditional Latvian folk songs and verses sung across the human life cyclePerformance 🇮🇳 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 🇳🇿 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 🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Alpona) A Bengali floor painting tradition using rice flour paste to mark festivals and rituals.Performance 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome 🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft 🇺🇸 United StatesTalking stick A carved staff that shows who may speak at a Northwest Coast gatheringCeremony 🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia Māori incantations and prayers recited for spiritual guidance, safety and ceremonySpiritual 🇮🇩 IndonesiaPasola A ritual horseback spear contest in western Sumba marking the rice-planting seasonGame 🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual 🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 morePangalay A traditional fingernail dance of the Tausūg and Bajau peoples in the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah.Performance 🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿 Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore 🇰🇮 KiribatiMusic of Kiribati Chant, body percussion, songs and dances of the islands of KiribatiPerformance 🇲🇽 Veracruz, Mexico and 3 moreMesoamerican ballgameōllamalīztli An ancient Mesoamerican ball game, struck with the hips on stone courtsGame 🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual 🇹🇱 Timor-LesteUma Lulik Sacred ancestral clan houses and ritual shrines in East TimorSpiritual 🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance 🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual 🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara) Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress 🇮🇳 IndiaKambala An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome 🇱🇷 LiberiaDan maskgle or ge A sacred wooden mask worn by the Dan people of Liberia to embody forest spirits during masquerade.Spiritual 🇲🇳 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 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore 🇵🇬 Trobriand Islands, Papua New GuineaTrobriand cricket Cricket as played in the Trobriand Islands, with chants, dances and a feastGame 🇲🇬 MadagascarFady A system of cultural taboos in Madagascar that regulate daily life and spiritual practice.Spiritual 🇲🇲 Bagan, MyanmarNat worshipနတ် Veneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarSpiritual 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesNavajo weavingdiyogí Handwoven wool textiles and rugs made on continuous warps by Navajo artisansCraft 🇱🇸 LesothoMokorotlo A conical straw hat that serves as the national symbol of Lesotho and a key element of Basotho traditional dress.Dress 🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual 🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual 🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual 🇮🇩 Ubud, IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A sacred Balinese masked dance drama depicting the eternal struggle of good and evilPerformance 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao) A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea and 1 moreTalchum탈춤 A Korean mask dance drama in which masked actors sing, dance and mock the powerfulPerformance 🇲🇽 MexicoDanza de los ViejitosT'arche Uarakua A Purépecha masked dance honouring the sun and the four elements in MichoacánPerformance 🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual 🇲🇽 Guadalajara, Mexico and 1 moreMariachi A Mexican string and trumpet music tradition featuring charro attire and communal singing.Performance
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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.