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.
🇮🇳 IndiaKambala
An annual traditional buffalo race across muddy paddy fields in southwestern IndiaGame
🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting
Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇮🇳 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
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Alpona)
A Bengali floor painting tradition using rice flour paste to mark festivals and rituals.Performance
🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam
A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual
🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreTibetan prayer flagLung ta / Darchog
Colorful cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the wind.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreTribal youth dormitoryMorung
A communal house where a tribe's unmarried young people sleep, learn and serveRite of passage
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་
The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGai JatraSā Pāru (𑐳𑐵𑐥𑐵𑐬𑐸)
A Newar festival in the Kathmandu Valley to honor relatives who died that year through processions and satire.Festival
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalIndra JatraYenyā Punhi
An eight-day street festival in Nepal featuring masked dances, chariot processions, and sacred pole ceremonies.Festival
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreSohrai
A harvest and cattle observance kept by indigenous communities in eastern IndiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBohag Bihu
A multi-day Assamese New Year festival of cattle rites, music, gifts and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Sambalpur, IndiaNuakhai
An agricultural festival in Western Odisha welcoming the first rice of the seasonSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaMagh Bihu
A harvest festival of bonfires, feasts and winter games in AssamSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreWangala
A post-harvest thanksgiving festival of drums, dance and song among the Garo peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration
Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaVision quest
A coming-of-age fast and vigil, kept by some Native American peoplesRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul
A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Baripada, IndiaChhau dance
A masked dance of eastern India, blending martial steps with epic storiesPerformance
🇵🇰 PakistanChilam Joshi
A spring festival of music, dance, and prayers celebrated by the Kalash peopleFestival
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 2 moreLai Haraobaꯂꯥꯏ ꯍꯔꯥꯎꯕ
A ritual dance and music festival kept by the Meitei people to please their deities.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gai Jatra: Krish Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: micknik, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indra Jatra: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chilam Joshi: Jugni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bohag Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nuakhai: Mamata Padhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magh Bihu: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kambala: Sajith mv parappally, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sarhul: Gurpreet Singh Ranchi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tribal youth dormitory: Aravind Manickam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tibetan prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhau dance: Skasish, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lai Haraoba: Kullachandra Singh, Ngariyambam, CC0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source