Traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa
Naming ceremonies, initiation, kente and the harvest yam, Timkat and Ethiopian coffee. 165 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇴 Angola 6🇧🇯 Benin 8🇧🇼 Botswana 6🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 5🇧🇮 Burundi 2🇨🇲 Cameroon 7🇨🇻 Cape Verde 3🇨🇫 Central African Republic 0🇹🇩 Chad 0🇰🇲 Comoros 0🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo 5🇩🇯 Djibouti 1🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea 0🇪🇷 Eritrea 11🇸🇿 Eswatini 3🇪🇹 Ethiopia 34🇬🇦 Gabon 3🇬🇲 Gambia 5🇬🇭 Ghana 26🇬🇳 Guinea 2🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 1🇨🇮 Ivory Coast 4🇰🇪 Kenya 15🇱🇸 Lesotho 4🇱🇷 Liberia 1🇲🇬 Madagascar 14🇲🇼 Malawi 7🇲🇱 Mali 9🇲🇺 Mauritius 15🇲🇿 Mozambique 4🇳🇦 Namibia 2🇳🇪 Niger 7🇳🇬 Nigeria 34🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo 2🇷🇼 Rwanda 3🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe 0🇸🇳 Senegal 10🇸🇨 Seychelles 2🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 1🇸🇴 Somalia 4🇿🇦 South Africa 28🇸🇸 South Sudan 1🇹🇿 Tanzania 12🇹🇬 Togo 8🇺🇬 Uganda 7🇿🇲 Zambia 9🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 8
On the calendar
🇳🇪 In-Gall, NigerCure Salée
A yearly gathering of Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads in In-Gall to mark the end of the rainy season.Festival
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo
A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore
🇳🇬 Enugu, NigeriaAtilogwu
A high-energy Igbo youth dance featuring acrobatics, drum music and rhythmic jumps.Performance
🇧🇯 Ouidah, BeninVodun DaysFête du Vodoun
A Benin public holiday on January 10 honoring the Vodoun religion with rituals and community gatherings.Festival
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, TanzaniaSauti za Busara
A February meeting of musicians in Zanzibar's Old FortPerformance
🇺🇬 UgandaKwanjula
A formal marriage introduction ritual of the Baganda people in Uganda, where families meet to exchange gifts and seek blRite of passage
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 1 moreSenegalese wrestlingLaamb (Wolof), Njom (Serer)
A striking folk wrestling sport from Senegal that blends combat with oral poetry and music.Game
🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza
An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreHabesha coffee ceremonyቡና ማፍላት
A daily ritual of roasting, grinding and serving coffee to welcome guests in Ethiopia and EritreaEtiquette
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSabar
A traditional Wolof and Serer drum played in Senegal and The Gambia, accompanying dance at weddings and festivals.Performance
🇦🇴 AngolaSemba
A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance
🇳🇪 In-Gall, Niger and 2 moreGuérewol
A week-long courtship ritual where Wodaabe men dance and sing to win the attention of marriageable women.Festival
🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ
An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance
🇸🇴 SomaliaBuraanbur
A traditional Somali poetic form composed by women, recited with drums and dance at weddings and gatherings.Performance
🇳🇬 Osogbo, NigeriaOsun-Osogbo FestivalOsun-Osogbo
An annual Yoruba festival of cleansing, procession and sacrifice to the river goddess Osun in Osogbo, Nigeria.Festival
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreDay of the VowGeloftedag
A religious public holiday in South Africa kept by Afrikaners to honour a vow made before the Battle of Blood River.Festival
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún
Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual
🇳🇬 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
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná
An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance
🇧🇯 Porto-Novo, Benin and 3 moreZangbeto
A traditional security institution and night-guardian cult among the Ogu people of West Africa.Ceremony
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇿🇦 South AfricaHeritage DayErfenisdag
A nationwide South African public holiday honouring the country's diverse culturesCeremony
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ
A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 1 moreMeskelመስቀል (Mesk'el)
A celebration in Ethiopia and Eritrea marking the discovery of the True Cross with a large bonfire.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ
An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo
A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEnkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ
The Ethiopian New Year festival of song, yellow daisies and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play
A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival
🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye
A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo
An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage
🇳🇬 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
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo
An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · 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
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇬🇭 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
🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba
An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cure Salée: NigerTZai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Letra del Año: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Agbadza: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gelede: Gogeafrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Enkutatash: Nati Tad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngondo: Photokadaffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Durbar festival: Omotayo Tajudeen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eyo Festival: Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Igbo New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumpo: Pietervp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Semba: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agbogho Mmuo: Vivian Amalachukwu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Heritage Day: CoralBrowne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Guérewol: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Festival: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Atilogwu: Arch-Angel Raphael the Artist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sabar: AbaDiop, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Day of the Vow: South African Railways and Harbours public relations department, Public domain, source
- Senegalese wrestling: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Habesha coffee ceremony: sameffron, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vodun Days: Eureka9090, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Funaná: Xandu, Public domain, source