Traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa
Naming ceremonies, initiation, kente and the harvest yam, Timkat and Ethiopian coffee. 164 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
Countries
🇦🇴 Angola 6🇧🇯 Benin 8🇧🇼 Botswana 6🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 5🇧🇮 Burundi 2🇨🇲 Cameroon 6🇨🇻 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 33🇬🇦 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 33🇨🇬 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
🇳🇪 Agadez, NigerAgadez Crosstanaghilt
A silver pendant cast by Tuareg blacksmiths in Niger, worn as jewelry and a symbol of protection.Dress
🇲🇱 San, Mali and 1 moreBògòlanfinibɔgɔlanfini
A handmade Malian cotton textile dyed with iron-rich mud, worn for protection and identity.Dress
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, Tanzania and 2 moreSwahili doorMlango wa Kiswahili
A carved wooden entrance from the East African coast, adorned with metal studs and intricate motifs.Craft
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKuba textiles
Elaborate raffia cloths from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known for their complex geometric embroidery and velvCraft
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, Tanzania and 1 moreNgalawa
A traditional double-outrigger sailing canoe of the Swahili coastCraft
🇬🇭 Ntɔnso, Ghana and 1 moreAdinkra symbols
Symbols of the Akan people, stamped on cloth, each one carrying a proverbCraft
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual
🇬🇲 Gambia and 4 moreKoraߞߐߙߊ
A 21-string West African harp-lute played by hereditary storytellers and bardsPerformance
🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha
A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance
🇺🇬 Uganda and 4 moreBarkcloth
Cloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificCraft
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai
Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage
🇬🇭 Bonwire, Ghana and 1 moreKente clothNwentoma
Hand-woven Ghanaian cloth of silk and cotton strips, worn for ceremonies and graduationsDress
🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba
A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreKitenge
A printed cloth tied at the waist or chest, worn as a wrap, head cover or baby slingDress
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaKofar Mata Dye Pits
Hand-dyed indigo cloth from centuries-old earthen pits in the heart of KanoCraft
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona
Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇺🇬 UgandaEkisaakaate
A Buganda youth retreat teaching traditional manners, crafts and life skillsEtiquette
🇺🇬 Mengo, UgandaEkisaakaate
A royal Buganda cultural retreat teaching heritage, crafts, and manners to the youngRite of passage
🇿🇦 South AfricaIsidwaba
A knee-length leather skirt of cowhide or goatskin, worn by married Zulu womenDress
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreAso Olona
A patterned Yoruba cloth, woven with symbols and worn as a mark of rank and identityDress
🇹🇿 Tanzania and 4 moreKanga
A colourful printed cotton wrap bearing proverbs, worn across East AfricaDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gele: Royalesignature, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lamba: Lemurbaby at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Adinkra symbols: Bosomba Amosah other versions=, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kofar Mata Dye Pits: Solasly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kora: kevinzim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Valiha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Barkcloth: Hiart, CC0, source
- Fantasy coffins: Regula Tschumi, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Kitenge: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bògòlanfini: BluesyPete, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swahili door: Halidtz, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kuba textiles: Hiart, CC0, source
- Agadez Cross: Amadouibrahim2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngalawa: Zenith4237, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kente cloth: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Isidwaba: USBSMG1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aso Olona: Oramfe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kanga: Petr Berka ( Petrberka ), Public domain, source