Traditions of South Asia
Diwali, Holi, Eid and Vesak, saptapadi and mehndi: the densest calendar of living traditions anywhere. 343 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇫 Afghanistan 28🇧🇩 Bangladesh 60🇧🇹 Bhutan 14🇮🇳 India 359🇲🇻 Maldives 4🇳🇵 Nepal 69🇵🇰 Pakistan 67🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 44
Cities and towns
On the calendar
🇳🇵 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 4 moreWater lantern
Small lamps floated on water to honour the dead and ask for good fortuneFestival
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGiddhaਗਿੱਧਾ
A lively circle dance of women from the Punjab region, performed with clapping and call-and-response songs.Performance
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBihu dance
A folk dance from Assam that celebrates spring, fertility and the new year with energetic movement and music.Performance
🇮🇳 IndiaTheyyam
A sacred ritual dance and divine invocation from North Malabar in IndiaSpiritual
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇮🇳 India and 5 morePretaप्रेत
Offerings and rites for spirits enduring deep hunger across Asian traditions.Spiritual
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNazar battuनज़र बट्टू / نظر بٹو
A protective custom in South Asia using deliberate flaws or charms to deflect the evil eye.Spiritual
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇳 IndiaPandavani
A folk singing tradition from central India that retells episodes of the Mahabharata epic through music and theatrical nPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLohri
A northern Indian midwinter festival of evening bonfires, folk songs and harvest foodsSeasonal
🇳🇵 Kathmandu, NepalGai JatraSā Pāru (𑐳𑐵𑐥𑐵𑐬𑐸)
A Newar festival in the Kathmandu Valley to honor relatives who died that year through processions and satire.Festival
🇮🇳 Cuttack, IndiaBali Jatraବାଲିଯାତ୍ରା
An Odia festival and vast open fair commemorating ancient voyages across the seaFestival
🇱🇰 Sri LankaSanni Yakuma
A Sinhalese rite where masked dancers summon eighteen illness demons and banish themSpiritual
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreBaul traditionবাউল
A Bengali devotional minstrel path uniting mystic poetry, music and dancePerformance
🇮🇳 Baripada, IndiaChhau dance
A masked dance of eastern India, blending martial steps with epic storiesPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaOran lands
Sacred groves and community-conserved pastures in Rajasthan dedicated to local deities.Spiritual
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaSacred groves of India
Communal forest sanctuaries across India where religious belief protects biodiversity and local resources.Spiritual
🇧🇹 BhutanNgenpa Gudzomངན་པ་དགུ་འཛོམས
A Bhutanese day of pause and games during an inauspicious astrological periodSeasonal
🇮🇳 IndiaKathaकथा (Hindi/Sanskrit), கதை (Tamil)
A traditional Indian practice of religious storytelling and scriptural commentary, kept across Hindu and Sikh communitieSpiritual
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bali Jatra: Kamalakanta777, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Water lantern: 松岡明芳, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lohri: Karen Sandhu, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gai Jatra: Krish Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Theyyam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Preta: Temple, Richard Carnac, Sir, Public domain, source
- Baul tradition: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kambala: Sajith mv parappally, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pandavani: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tibetan prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Bihu dance: Digantatalukdar, CC0, source
- Giddha: University of the Fraser Valley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nazar battu: Wiki-uk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Katha: Tirlochan Singh, Public domain, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chhau dance: Skasish, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sacred groves of India: James Forbes, Public domain, source