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.
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.
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara)
Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola
Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 morePunta
A lively dance and music style of the Garifuna people, celebrated in Central America and the Caribbean.Performance
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇨🇴 Pasto, ColombiaBlacks and Whites' CarnivalCarnaval de Negros y Blancos
A week of street games, parades and music held every January in Pasto, ColombiaFestival
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas
Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore
🇧🇴 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
🇵🇾 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
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim
An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual
🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti
An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón
A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇧🇴 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
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa
Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año
Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ayni: Sr raleigh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Mola: Johantheghost, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Punta: Pitxiquin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tinku: CassandraW1, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Worry doll: Leena, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Tereré: Genialnico, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week in Guatemala: derivative work: Sir James ( talk ) VolcanAguaPascuas.jpg :Infrogmatio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival: camiloAndres, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lavagem do Bonfim: Adenilson Nunes/ AGECOM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Willkakuti: Tuco Quispe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source