Traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa
Naming ceremonies, initiation, kente and the harvest yam, Timkat and Ethiopian coffee. 166 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 29🇸🇸 South Sudan 1🇹🇿 Tanzania 13🇹🇬 Togo 8🇺🇬 Uganda 7🇿🇲 Zambia 9🇿🇼 Zimbabwe 8
On the calendar
🇧🇼 Botswana and 2 moreKgotla
A village meeting and customary court in Botswana, led by the chiefCeremony
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreHabesha coffee ceremonyቡና ማፍላት
A daily ritual of roasting, grinding and serving coffee to welcome guests in Ethiopia and EritreaEtiquette
🇨🇮 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
🇰🇪 KenyaHarambee
Kenya's tradition of community self-help, where people gather to raise funds togetherCeremony
🇹🇿 Tanzania and 4 moreKanga
A colourful printed cotton wrap bearing proverbs, worn across East AfricaDress
🇲🇼 Chonde, MalawiMulhako wa Alhomwe
An annual gathering in Malawi where the Lhomwe people celebrate their language, dance and heritage.Festival
🇺🇬 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kgotla: Mompati Dikunwane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Habesha coffee ceremony: sameffron, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kanga: Petr Berka ( Petrberka ), Public domain, source