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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
🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual 🇿🇼 ZimbabweBira ceremony An all-night Shona ritual in Zimbabwe where music and dance summon ancestral spirits for guidance.Spiritual 🇱🇷 LiberiaDan maskgle or ge A sacred wooden mask worn by the Dan people of Liberia to embody forest spirits during masquerade.Spiritual 🇧🇯 Ouidah, BeninVodun DaysFête du Vodoun A Benin public holiday on January 10 honoring the Vodoun religion with rituals and community gatherings.Festival 🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance 🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual 🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage 🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance 🇧🇯 Porto-Novo, Benin and 3 moreZangbeto A traditional security institution and night-guardian cult among the Ogu people of West Africa.Ceremony 🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival 🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhondoro Territorial guardian spirits and mediums honoured in Zimbabwe for guidance and rainSpiritual 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance 🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore 🇳🇬 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 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreSouthern African traditional healing Ancestral divination, herbal muthi, and spiritual care across Southern AfricaSpiritual 🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual 🇱🇸 LesothoMokorotlo A conical straw hat that serves as the national symbol of Lesotho and a key element of Basotho traditional dress.Dress 🇲🇬 MadagascarFady A system of cultural taboos in Madagascar that regulate daily life and spiritual practice.Spiritual 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival 🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage 🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival 🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival 🇸🇿 Ludzidzini, EswatiniIncwala The national kingship and first-fruits ritual of Eswatini, held at the summer solsticeCeremony · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇬🇭 Kumasi, GhanaAkwasidae Festival A Sunday gathering of the Ashanti people to honour ancestors and the kingSpiritual 🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage 🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival 🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal 🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance 🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage 🇪🇹 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 🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual 🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇮 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 🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival 🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival 🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage 🇺🇬 Mbale, UgandaImbalu The biennial rite of passage into adulthood observed by the Bamasaaba of UgandaRite of passage 🇿🇦 South AfricaIsidwaba A knee-length leather skirt of cowhide or goatskin, worn by married Zulu womenDress 🇧🇼 D'Kar, BotswanaKuru Dance and Music Festival A gathering of San communities in Botswana to share songs, stories and sacred dancesPerformance 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
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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.