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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
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore 🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore 🇨🇦 Canada and 2 moreInuksuk Stone markers raised by Inuit across the Arctic to guide, hunt and rememberCraft 🇰🇷 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 🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal 🇺🇸 United StatesLūʻau A Hawaiian feast of kālua pig and poi, eaten by hand outdoors with music and hulaTable custom · Feasts and festival meals 🇱🇰 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 🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal 🇮🇩 Yogyakarta, IndonesiaWayangꦮꦪꦁ A night-long puppet theatre from Java, where a dalang tells epics behind a lit screenPerformance 🇨🇱 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 🇧🇴 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 🇲🇳 Mongolia and 5 moreThroat singing Several deep, guttural singing styles, each named and kept by its own peoplePerformance 🇯🇵 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 🇮🇳 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 🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual 🇬🇧 Llangollen, United Kingdom and 5 moreEisteddfod A Welsh festival of poetry and music competitions, featuring the chairing and crowning of winning bards.Festival 🇵🇾 Paraguay and 3 moreTereré Paraguay's cold yerba mate drink, passed around in one cup with a metal strawTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival 🇬🇭 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 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United StatesMardi Gras Indians A New Orleans carnival tradition where Black revelers wear elaborate Native American-inspired suits to honor historical Festival 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual 🇹🇼 TaiwanFlying Fish Festival飛魚祭 A months-long seasonal fishing observance kept by the Tao people of Orchid IslandSeasonal 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTuvan throat singing A style of singing from Tuva where one voice sounds a drone and a melody at oncePerformance 🇳🇿 Waitangi, New ZealandPōwhiri A formal Māori welcome onto a marae, with calls, speeches, song and the hongiEtiquette 🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival 🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval Haiti's annual street festival of music, satirical plays and costumed paradesFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇫🇲 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 🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual 🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇧🇴 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 🇮🇳 IndiaVision quest A coming-of-age fast and vigil, kept by some Native American peoplesRite of passage 🇬🇭 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
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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.