All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and meal.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 5 moreZajalزجل
Half-sung Arabic poetry in colloquial speech, traded as a duel between improvising poetsPerformance
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 4 moreDabkeدبكة
A Levantine folk dance of linked lines and stomping steps, kept at weddings and community gatherings.Performance
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates and 1 moreYowlahاليولة (al-yawlah)
A traditional stick and sword dance of the UAE and Oman, performed at weddings and celebrations.Performance
🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaArdahالعرضة
A traditional Arabian group dance of facing lines, drums, poetry, and swordsPerformance
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 3 moreFann at-Tanburaفن الطنبورة
A Gulf song and dance of drums and tanbura, born in healing, now stagedPerformance
🇹🇷 Kayseri, Turkey and 4 moreHalay
A traditional line and circle folk dance kept across Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Syria.Performance
🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 1 moreKhatamخاتم
A Persian inlay craft that builds geometric patterns from thousands of tiny cut piecesCraft
🇹🇷 Samsun, TurkeyHoronχορόν
Line dances of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, danced with shaking shouldersPerformance
🇹🇷 Konya, Turkey and 4 moreMevlevi OrderMevlevilik
A Sufi tradition from Konya known for its whirling ceremony and devotion to Rumi's teachings.Spiritual
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreSamaSema (Turkish); سَماع (Persian)
A Sufi rite of listening, music and turning, kept by Mevlevi and other Sufi ordersSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreChovganچوگان
An equestrian team sport played with mallets and horses across Iran and AzerbaijanGame
🇮🇷 Tehran, IranTa'ziyehتعزیه
A ritual drama from Iran that retells the Karbala mourning each MuharramSpiritual
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 morePahlevani and zurkhaneh ritualsآیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای
A traditional Iranian martial art blending calisthenics, wrestling, music and ethicsGame
🇸🇦 Jenadriyah, Saudi ArabiaJenadriyahمهرجان الجنادرية
A two-week Saudi cultural festival of camel racing, folk dance, poetry, and craftsFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShofarשׁוֹפָר
A ram's horn blown in synagogue to mark the Jewish new year and the end of Yom KippurSpiritual
🇾🇪 Hadhramaut, Yemen and 1 moreJambiyaجنبية
A short curved dagger worn at the waist by Yemeni men, its handle a sign of statusDress
🇨🇾 Pano Lefkara, CyprusLefkara lace
Cut-and-stitch needle lace from two villages in Cyprus, once made for brides' dowriesCraft
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreDutarدوتار
A long-necked lute crafted from wood and played across Iran and Central AsiaPerformance
🇮🇷 Tabriz, IranPersian carpetفرش ایرانی
Hand-woven knotted rugs and flat textiles crafted across the towns and tribes of IranCraft
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreTorah readingקריאת התורה
The public reading of the Torah scroll in synagogue, chanted to a special tuneSpiritual
🇹🇷 Istanbul, TurkeyTurkish folk dance
Regional line and circle dances of Turkey, each with its own step and rhythmPerformance
🇹🇷 Bursa, Turkey and 5 moreKaragöz and Hacivat
A Turkish shadow play of two quarrelling friends, acted on a lit screen behind a curtainPerformance
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreSufi whirling
A Sufi meditation in which dervishes spin in circles to turn toward GodSpiritual
🇹🇷 Erzurum, TurkeyJereedCirit
Riders on horseback throw blunt wooden javelins at rivals in this Turkish team sportGame
🇮🇷 Urmia, IranKurdish danceGovend (گۆڤەند)
Circle dances of the Kurds, led by handkerchief twirlers, for weddings and NewrozPerformance
🇧🇭 Bahrain and 1 moreFijiriالفجيري
Songs of the Gulf pearl divers: one lead voice, a chorus, a hand drum and a clay potPerformance
🇸🇾 Aleppo, SyriaQudud Halabiyaقدود حلبية
Syrian songs of love and longing, shaped in Aleppo and set to old melodiesPerformance
🇵🇸 Bethlehem, PalestineTatreezتَطْرِيز
Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, stitched onto dresses and read for its regionCraft
🇮🇶 Kufa, Iraq and 5 moreArabic calligraphykhatt (خَطّ)
Artistic handwriting of the Arabic script, practiced as a sacred craft and a living visual tradition.Craft
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelJerusalem Film Festivalפסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים / مهرجان القدس السينمائي
Ten summer days of films from around the world, held in Jerusalem since 1984Performance
🇮🇶 Karbala, Iraq and 5 moreMourning of Muharramعَزَاءُ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ
Annual rites of grief and remembrance for Imam Husayn and his companionsSpiritual
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHadraحضرة
A collective Sufi ritual of chanted divine remembrance, sacred poetry and rhythmic movementSpiritual
🇸🇾 Syria and 6 moreKha b'Nisanܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ
A spring new year on 1 April, kept with parades, poems and dancing by AssyriansFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Beit HaShoeivahשמחת בית השואבה
Nightly music and dancing during the intermediate days of the festival of SukkotFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 2 moreCamel Heda'aحداء الإبل
Camel herders' calls that speak to the herd, kept across the Arabian PeninsulaFolklore
🇮🇱 Safed, IsraelShalom Aleichemשָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם
A traditional song sung on Friday night to welcome Sabbath angels into the homeSpiritual
🇨🇾 Nicosia, Cyprus and 1 moreInternational Festival of Ancient Greek Drama
An annual summer gathering in Cyprus staging classical Greek plays in historic open arenasPerformance
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 morePalestine Festival of Literatureاحتفالية فلسطين للأدب
An annual touring literary gathering staging free bilingual readings across PalestinePerformance
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 5 moreTel Aviv International Student Film Festival
A week-long gathering in June where student filmmakers from around the world screen their work, attend workshops, and mePerformance
🇹🇷 Ankara, TurkeySohbet meetingsGeleneksel Sohbet Toplantıları
Men's gatherings of talk, music and food, kept in towns across TurkeyPerformance
🇶🇦 Doha, QatarDoha Cultural Festival
An annual sixteen-day arts and heritage festival held in Qatar's capitalFestival
🇰🇼 KuwaitQurain Cultural Festival
An annual arts festival in Kuwait that showcases theatre, literature and visual art.Festival
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanJordan Short Film Festivalمهرجان الأردن للفيلم القصير
Amman's annual gathering for independent short cinema from Jordan and across the worldFestival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSong of Ascentsשיר המעלות
Fifteen Hebrew psalms sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem and by monks at prayerSpiritual
🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 2 moreZemirotזמירות
Jewish table hymns sung during the three meals of Shabbat and holidaysSpiritual · Dinner
🇯🇴 Amman, JordanAl-Balad Music Festival
A multi-day summer music festival held in the historic open-air theatres of AmmanPerformance
🇱🇧 Beirut, LebanonBeirut International Women Film Festival
An annual cinema festival in Beirut celebrating films made by and about womenPerformance
🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, IsraelLethal Lesbianלסבית קטלנית
An annual film festival in Tel Aviv dedicated to cinema by and about lesbian women.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sama: myself, Public domain, source
- Jambiya: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Chovgan: en:User:Arad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khatam: Fabienkhan, Public domain, source
- Horon: Macukali, Public domain, source
- Mevlevi Order: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ), CC BY 3.0, source
- Pahlevani and zurkhaneh rituals: Hossein Khosravi, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lefkara lace: Cyprus Tourism CH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dutar: Yuet Man Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ta'ziyeh: Payam Moein, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ardah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Jenadriyah: Abodi009, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dabke: Sarah Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yowlah: Sharon Harper, CC BY 2.0, source
- Torah reading: Sagie Maoz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Turkish folk dance: quinn.ayna, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Song of Ascents: No machine-readable author provided. Amoruso~commonswiki assumed (base, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kurdish dance: Kaiwan Moradi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fijiri: Kuwaitsoccer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Qudud Halabiya: Thorsten Krienke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tatreez: Ma'moun Othman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jerusalem Film Festival: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kha b'Nisan: Athrakado, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Camel Heda'a: Rawan92, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arabic calligraphy: Aieman Khimji, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mourning of Muharram: Naser Jafari, CC BY 4.0, source
- Simchat Beit HaShoeivah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival: Adam4896, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hadra: Zeinebtakouti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jereed: anonymous Greek artist, ca. 1809, Public domain, source
- Karagöz and Hacivat: Francesco Bini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zemirot: ביקורת, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Persian carpet: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Halay: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source