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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
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 morePeʻa The traditional Samoan rite of full-body tattooing for men, tapped by master artistsRite of passage 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandPoi A Māori performing art of swinging tethered weights in rhythmical patterns.Performance 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWhakapapa Māori genealogy, recited to place a person among ancestors, land and tribeHome 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 moreMarae A cleared, sacred gathering place at the heart of Māori and Polynesian community lifeSpiritual 🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandTā moko The traditional permanent tattooing of the Māori people of New Zealand, marking identity and status.Rite of passage 🇫🇯 FijiTabua A polished sperm whale tooth traded as a sacred gift in Fijian ceremonies and negotiations.Ceremony 🇻🇺 Port Vila, VanuatuNakamal A traditional meeting house in Vanuatu for community gatherings and the drinking of kava.Ceremony · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇦🇺 AustraliaGarma Festival of Traditional Cultures A four-day cultural gathering in northeast Arnhem Land celebrating Yolngu traditions and fostering two-way learning.Festival 🇳🇿 New ZealandWaka Traditional Māori canoes used for fishing, transport, and ceremony, built from single logs or stitched planks.Craft 🇵🇬 Trobriand Islands, Papua New GuineaTrobriand cricket Cricket as played in the Trobriand Islands, with chants, dances and a feastGame 🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual 🇰🇮 KiribatiMusic of Kiribati Chant, body percussion, songs and dances of the islands of KiribatiPerformance 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore 🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia Māori incantations and prayers recited for spiritual guidance, safety and ceremonySpiritual 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandWharenui A Māori carved communal meeting house at the centre of tribal life in New ZealandHome 🇹🇻 TuvaluMusic of Tuvalu Rhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of TuvaluPerformance 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea and 5 moreShell money Traditional currency made from cowries, ground clam beads, and carved sea shellsCraft 🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremonyNumbuk Yabbun An Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeSpiritual 🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaCorroboreegaraabara A gathering of Australian Aboriginal peoples featuring dance, music and storytellingFestival 🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming A living spiritual worldview and law connecting Aboriginal Australians to ancestors, land, and community.Spiritual 🇳🇿 Waitangi, New Zealand and 2 moreWaitangi DayTe Rā o Waitangi New Zealand's national day remembering the 1840 founding agreement.Ceremony · Breakfast 🇳🇿 New ZealandMatariki The Māori New Year marked by the midwinter rising of the Pleiades clusterSeasonal 🇦🇺 AustraliaWalkabout A rite of passage involving travel through the Australian landscape to learn ancestral lore.Rite of passage 🇳🇿 Waitangi, New ZealandPōwhiri A formal Māori welcome onto a marae, with calls, speeches, song and the hongiEtiquette 🇫🇲 Satawal, MicronesiaPwo An initiation that turns students of Caroline Islands wayfinding into navigatorsRite of passage

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.