Traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa
Naming ceremonies, initiation, kente and the harvest yam, Timkat and Ethiopian coffee. 163 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 14🇲🇿 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
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇬🇭 Bonwire, Ghana and 1 moreKente clothNwentoma
Hand-woven Ghanaian cloth of silk and cotton strips, worn for ceremonies and graduationsDress
🇺🇬 UgandaGomesi
A floor-length, brightly coloured dress tied with a sash, worn by women in UgandaDress
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreAdumuEnkipaata
A Maasai warrior dance of high jumps from a circle, done at weddings and ritesPerformance
🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji
A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia
Weddings across Ethiopia's many peoples, arranged by families and sealed in local ritesRite of passage
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreAso ebiAsọ-Ẹbí
Matching cloth worn by family and friends at Yoruba weddings, funerals and partiesDress
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇸🇨 SeychellesMoutya
A Seychellois evening dance of drum, song and bolder movement, listed by UNESCO in 2021Performance
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial
Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage
🇲🇱 MaliWuduوضوء
The Islamic ritual washing with water before prayer and sacred actsSpiritual
🇲🇱 MaliTayammumتيمم
A dry ritual purification using clean earth or stone when water is unavailable or harmful.Spiritual
🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreKhumsخُمْس
The Islamic practice of giving a one-fifth share of certain wealth to designated causesSpiritual
🇿🇦 Pretoria, South AfricaNational Women's Day
South Africa's public holiday on 9 August, remembering the women who marched in 1956Ceremony
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 4 moreWorld Festival of Black ArtsFestival Mondial des Arts Nègres
A recurring month-long gathering of arts, music and writing from Africa and its diasporaFestival
🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival
An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival
🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival
A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival
🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan
A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona
Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft
🇰🇪 KenyaHarambee
Kenya's tradition of community self-help, where people gather to raise funds togetherCeremony
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa and 5 moreTooth ablation
A global custom of deliberately removing healthy teeth for social, ritual, or aesthetic reasons.Rite of passage
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇰🇪 Rusinga Island, KenyaRusinga Cultural Festival
Two December days of Suba music, boat races and food on Rusinga Island in KenyaFestival
🇸🇿 EswatiniBuganu Festival
A three-day festival in Eswatini where women brew buganu from marula fruitFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇹 EthiopiaGifaataaጊፋታ
The annual New Year celebration of the Wolayta people in southern EthiopiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇳🇬 Uyo, NigeriaAkwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival
A large annual gathering of carol singers in Nigeria that holds a Guinness World Record for the largest assembly.Festival
🇧🇼 BotswanaBogwera and bojale
Tswana coming-of-age initiation for boys and girls, held over several monthsRite of passage
🇦🇴 Luanda, AngolaLuanda International Jazz Festival
An annual jazz gathering staged in the capital of AngolaPerformance
🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaBantu Film Festival
An annual pan-African film festival held in Botswana celebrating continental cinemaFestival
🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts
An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance
🇿🇲 Maala, ZambiaShimunenga
An annual Zambian celebration of cattle displays, dances, and ancestral memoryFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
🇱🇸 Morija, LesothoMorija Arts & Cultural Festival
Lesotho's yearly festival of music, dance, drama and poetry, with schools competingFestival
🇰🇪 KenyaLake Turkana Cultural FestivalTobong'u Lore
A spring gathering in northern Kenya celebrating indigenous cultures and promoting peace among lake communities.Festival
🇲🇼 Chonde, MalawiMulhako wa Alhomwe
An annual gathering in Malawi where the Lhomwe people celebrate their language, dance and heritage.Festival
🇧🇫 Dédougou, Burkina Faso and 5 moreFESTIMAFestival International des Masques et des Arts
A biennial West African festival in Burkina Faso celebrating traditional mask dancesFestival
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar
Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
🇿🇲 Lundazi, Zambia and 1 moreKulonga
An annual harvest festival of thanksgiving celebrated by Tumbuka communitiesSeasonal
🇺🇬 UgandaEkisaakaate
A Buganda youth retreat teaching traditional manners, crafts and life skillsEtiquette
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇿🇦 South AfricaUlwaluko
A Xhosa rite that takes a boy into manhood through seclusion and teachingRite of passage
🇬🇭 Bonwire, Ghana and 1 moreKente clothNwentoma
Hand-woven Ghanaian cloth of silk and cotton strips, worn for ceremonies and graduationsDress
🇺🇬 UgandaGomesi
A floor-length, brightly coloured dress tied with a sash, worn by women in UgandaDress
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreAdumuEnkipaata
A Maasai warrior dance of high jumps from a circle, done at weddings and ritesPerformance
🇳🇬 Abuja, NigeriaNew Yam FestivalIri ji
A yearly harvest thanksgiving across Nigeria, when the first new yams may be eatenFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 EthiopiaWedding customs in Ethiopia
Weddings across Ethiopia's many peoples, arranged by families and sealed in local ritesRite of passage
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreAso ebiAsọ-Ẹbí
Matching cloth worn by family and friends at Yoruba weddings, funerals and partiesDress
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇸🇨 SeychellesMoutya
A Seychellois evening dance of drum, song and bolder movement, listed by UNESCO in 2021Performance
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial
Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage
🇲🇱 MaliWuduوضوء
The Islamic ritual washing with water before prayer and sacred actsSpiritual
🇲🇱 MaliTayammumتيمم
A dry ritual purification using clean earth or stone when water is unavailable or harmful.Spiritual
🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreKhumsخُمْس
The Islamic practice of giving a one-fifth share of certain wealth to designated causesSpiritual
🇿🇦 Pretoria, South AfricaNational Women's Day
South Africa's public holiday on 9 August, remembering the women who marched in 1956Ceremony
🇸🇳 Dakar, Senegal and 4 moreWorld Festival of Black ArtsFestival Mondial des Arts Nègres
A recurring month-long gathering of arts, music and writing from Africa and its diasporaFestival
🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival
An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival
🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival
A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival
🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan
A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona
Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft
🇰🇪 KenyaHarambee
Kenya's tradition of community self-help, where people gather to raise funds togetherCeremony
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa and 5 moreTooth ablation
A global custom of deliberately removing healthy teeth for social, ritual, or aesthetic reasons.Rite of passage
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇰🇪 Rusinga Island, KenyaRusinga Cultural Festival
Two December days of Suba music, boat races and food on Rusinga Island in KenyaFestival
🇸🇿 EswatiniBuganu Festival
A three-day festival in Eswatini where women brew buganu from marula fruitFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇪🇹 EthiopiaGifaataaጊፋታ
The annual New Year celebration of the Wolayta people in southern EthiopiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇳🇬 Uyo, NigeriaAkwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival
A large annual gathering of carol singers in Nigeria that holds a Guinness World Record for the largest assembly.Festival
🇧🇼 BotswanaBogwera and bojale
Tswana coming-of-age initiation for boys and girls, held over several monthsRite of passage
🇦🇴 Luanda, AngolaLuanda International Jazz Festival
An annual jazz gathering staged in the capital of AngolaPerformance
🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaBantu Film Festival
An annual pan-African film festival held in Botswana celebrating continental cinemaFestival
🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts
An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance
🇿🇲 Maala, ZambiaShimunenga
An annual Zambian celebration of cattle displays, dances, and ancestral memoryFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
🇱🇸 Morija, LesothoMorija Arts & Cultural Festival
Lesotho's yearly festival of music, dance, drama and poetry, with schools competingFestival
🇰🇪 KenyaLake Turkana Cultural FestivalTobong'u Lore
A spring gathering in northern Kenya celebrating indigenous cultures and promoting peace among lake communities.Festival
🇲🇼 Chonde, MalawiMulhako wa Alhomwe
An annual gathering in Malawi where the Lhomwe people celebrate their language, dance and heritage.Festival
🇧🇫 Dédougou, Burkina Faso and 5 moreFESTIMAFestival International des Masques et des Arts
A biennial West African festival in Burkina Faso celebrating traditional mask dancesFestival
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar
Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
🇿🇲 Lundazi, Zambia and 1 moreKulonga
An annual harvest festival of thanksgiving celebrated by Tumbuka communitiesSeasonal
🇺🇬 UgandaEkisaakaate
A Buganda youth retreat teaching traditional manners, crafts and life skillsEtiquette
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Moutya: Gerard Larose, Seychelles Tourism Board, CC BY 4.0, source
- Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival: MediaMOF, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gele: Royalesignature, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nativity Fast: User:LoKi, Public domain, source
- Igbo New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyau: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ulwaluko: Dingeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kente cloth: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gomesi: sarahemcc, CC BY 2.0, source
- Adumu: K15photos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aso ebi: SUPREME LACE, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- National Women's Day: K. Kendall, CC BY 2.0, source
- Independence Day: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, source
- Aboakyer festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogbetsotso festival: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Morija Arts & Cultural Festival: VirtualSteve, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lake Turkana Cultural Festival: Ray in Manila, CC BY 2.0, source
- Burial: Rama , commissioned by Wikimédia France, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- FESTIMA: Nomwindé, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rencontres du Film Court Madagasikara: Natsuyasumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Olufuko: Pemba.mpimaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wudu: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tayammum: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khums: 'Uthman ibn Husayn al-warraq (the copyist), Public domain, source
- Tooth ablation: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source