Traditions of Oceania
Haka and hangi, Dreamtime and corroboree, kava, tapa and the umu oven. 58 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreGood Friday
A solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Spiritual · Fasting 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
🇳🇿 New ZealandKoru
A spiral from the silver fern, central to Māori carving, painting and tattooCraft
🇳🇿 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
🇳🇿 New ZealandTivaevaetīvaevae
A traditional Polynesian art of artistic quilting made by women for gifts and ceremonies.Craft
🇦🇺 Sydney, Australia and 5 moreSurf lifesaving
A volunteer beach rescue and ocean sports tradition originating on Australian coasts.Game
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreSiva Samoa
A graceful Samoan dance marked by subtle, expressive arm and hand movementsPerformance
🇵🇬 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
🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandMāori Language WeekTe Wiki o te Reo Māori
An annual nationwide week promoting the learning and use of te reo across New ZealandCeremony
🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaCorroboreegaraabara
A gathering of Australian Aboriginal peoples featuring dance, music and storytellingFestival
🇹🇻 TuvaluFatele
A traditional dance song of Tuvalu performed at community events and celebrations.Performance
🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming
A living spiritual worldview and law connecting Aboriginal Australians to ancestors, land, and community.Spiritual
🇫🇯 FijiMeke
A traditional Fijian dance and song form performed by groups at celebrations.Performance
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreFa'ataupati
A traditional Samoan dance performed by men who clap and slap their bodies to create rhythm.Performance
🇳🇿 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
🇳🇿 Wellington, New ZealandHaka
A ceremonial dance of the Māori people in New Zealand, performed with vigorous movement and chant for welcome, mourning,Performance
🇳🇿 Wellington, New ZealandKa Mate
A Māori haka of life and survival, composed by Te Rauparaha and performed by New Zealand teams.Performance
🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting
Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft
🇵🇬 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
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻIe tōga
Precious woven mats exchanged in Samoan ceremonies to honor family ties and chiefly status.Dress
🇰🇮 KiribatiMusic of Kiribati
Chant, body percussion, songs and dances of the islands of KiribatiPerformance
🇦🇺 Melbourne, AustraliaAustralian rules football
A fast, high-scoring code of football with 18 players a side, first played in MelbourneGame
🇹🇴 TongaTauʻolunga
A Tongan dance of hand gestures and steady eyes, performed by young women at weddingsPerformance
🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline
A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreWhite SundayLotu Tamaiti
A Samoan holiday honoring children with church services, white clothing, and family gatherings on the second Sunday of OFestival · Dinner
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreTalofa
The Samoan hello and goodbye, also heard in Tuvalu and on LifouEtiquette
🇳🇿 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
🇳🇷 NauruAngam Day
A national holiday in Nauru celebrating the survival and recovery of its peopleCeremony
🇦🇺 AustraliaWalkabout
A rite of passage involving travel through the Australian landscape to learn ancestral lore.Rite of passage
🇹🇴 Tonga and 1 moreTaʻovala
A waist mat worn in Tonga for weddings, funerals and formal daysDress
🇻🇺 VanuatuSand drawingsandroing
One unbroken line drawn in sand with a finger, used to tell stories in VanuatuCraft
🇳🇿 Waitangi, New ZealandPōwhiri
A formal Māori welcome onto a marae, with calls, speeches, song and the hongiEtiquette
🇳🇿 Rotorua, New ZealandKapa haka
Māori group song and dance, from tribal and school groups to the national stagePerformance
🇦🇺 AustraliaBush dance
An Australian social dance style, usually with a live bush bandPerformance
🇫🇯 FijiFiji Week
A week of national celebration in Fiji marking independence and colonial history with cultural performances.Festival
🇹🇴 TongaLakalaka
A formal group dance of Tonga where singers stand in rows and move their arms to express songs.Performance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- ʻIe tōga: Sarah Kelemen, CC BY 2.0, source
- Peʻa: Thomas Andrew (1855-1939), Public domain, source
- Poi: RaviGogna, CC BY 2.0, source
- Good Friday: Bellina 09, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Whakapapa: Jimmy Pitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Marae: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Taʻovala: James Foster, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bark painting: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Waitangi Day: Ryan762 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Matariki: Robert Gendler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Haus Tambaran: Sylt-Tinto, CC0, source
- Angam Day: Taken in 1896 by Augustin Krämer and uploaded by Rémih, Public domain, source
- Koru: Jon Radoff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Music of Kiribati: Julie Lyn, CC BY 2.0, source
- Australian rules football: Tom Reynolds, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sand drawing: PhillipC, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wharenui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Music of Tuvalu: Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tivaevae: John Colles Burland, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Surf lifesaving: User:Celcom, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Siva Samoa: Smita Biswas, CC BY 4.0, source
- Shell money: Niccolò Gualtieri, Public domain, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Māori Language Week: Government House (New Zealand) https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fatele: JialiangGao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Dreaming: September 1985, Public domain, source
- Meke: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tā moko: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Tabua: Hannes Grobe /AWI, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nakamal: Phillip Capper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Waka: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pōwhiri: Governor General of New Zealand, CC BY 4.0, source
- Haka: Merrett, Joseph Jenner, 1816-1854., Public domain, source
- Ka Mate: Alasdair Massie, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kapa haka: Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, CC BY 2.0, source