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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreZaffaزفّة
A musical wedding procession common in Arab cultures, featuring music and dancing.Festival
🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreAndalusi classical musicطرب أندلسي
A classical suite of vocal and instrumental music shared across North AfricaPerformance
🇲🇦 MoroccoAhidusaḥidous (ⴰⵃⵉⴷⵓⵙ)
A collective Berber dance and song tradition from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.Performance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMizmarمزمار
A traditional double-reed instrument and drum ensemble for weddings and folk dancesPerformance
🇲🇦 Tan-Tan, MoroccoTan-Tan Moussem
An annual gathering of Saharan nomadic tribes with music, trading and equestrian artsFestival
🇪🇬 Luxor, EgyptTahtibتحطيب
An Egyptian stick dance and martial art kept by men and women in Upper Egypt.Performance
🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreHamadsha
A Moroccan possession rite kept by Muslim fraternities to cure affliction and restore social balance through music and dSpiritual
🇲🇦 MoroccoChaabiشعبي
A North African music and dance tradition meaning 'of the people', played at weddings and festivals.Performance
🇹🇳 Douz, TunisiaInternational Festival of the Sahara
A four-day gathering celebrating desert life, horse racing and poetry in Douz, TunisiaFestival
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd)
A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreArab weddingزفاف or عرس
A series of ceremonies marking marriage in Arab culture, blending religious rites with regional customs.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇦 MoroccoTaskiwinⵜⴰⵙⴽⵉⵡⵉⵏ / تاسكيوين
A martial dance of Morocco's western High Atlas, danced with a decorated hornPerformance
🇹🇳 Sousse, TunisiaCarnival of Awussu
An annual seaside midsummer parade in Sousse with floats, brass bands and folk troupesFestival
🇩🇿 Algiers, AlgeriaAlgiers International Comics FestivalFestival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Alger
An October comics festival in Algiers, with awards for work from AfricaPerformance
🇩🇿 Djanet, Algeria and 1 moreSebibaسبيبة (Arabic), ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ (Tifinagh)
A Tuareg festival and dance in the Algerian Sahara marking the Islamic New Year and Ashura.Festival
🇪🇬 Luxor, Egypt and 1 moreMelaya leff
A traditional wrapped Egyptian mantle once worn for modesty and now famous on stageDress
🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreAndalusi classical musicطرب أندلسي
A classical suite of vocal and instrumental music shared across North AfricaPerformance
🇲🇦 MoroccoAhidusaḥidous (ⴰⵃⵉⴷⵓⵙ)
A collective Berber dance and song tradition from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.Performance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMizmarمزمار
A traditional double-reed instrument and drum ensemble for weddings and folk dancesPerformance
🇲🇦 Tan-Tan, MoroccoTan-Tan Moussem
An annual gathering of Saharan nomadic tribes with music, trading and equestrian artsFestival
🇪🇬 Luxor, EgyptTahtibتحطيب
An Egyptian stick dance and martial art kept by men and women in Upper Egypt.Performance
🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreHamadsha
A Moroccan possession rite kept by Muslim fraternities to cure affliction and restore social balance through music and dSpiritual
🇲🇦 MoroccoChaabiشعبي
A North African music and dance tradition meaning 'of the people', played at weddings and festivals.Performance
🇹🇳 Douz, TunisiaInternational Festival of the Sahara
A four-day gathering celebrating desert life, horse racing and poetry in Douz, TunisiaFestival
🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco and 5 moreFantasiaالفانتازيا
A North African equestrian display of synchronized charging and simultaneous rifle fireGame
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreOudعُود (ʿūd)
A fretless, pear-shaped Middle Eastern lute, plucked with a plectrum called a rishaPerformance
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreArab weddingزفاف or عرس
A series of ceremonies marking marriage in Arab culture, blending religious rites with regional customs.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇦 MoroccoTaskiwinⵜⴰⵙⴽⵉⵡⵉⵏ / تاسكيوين
A martial dance of Morocco's western High Atlas, danced with a decorated hornPerformance
🇹🇳 Sousse, TunisiaCarnival of Awussu
An annual seaside midsummer parade in Sousse with floats, brass bands and folk troupesFestival
🇩🇿 Algiers, AlgeriaAlgiers International Comics FestivalFestival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Alger
An October comics festival in Algiers, with awards for work from AfricaPerformance
🇩🇿 Djanet, Algeria and 1 moreSebibaسبيبة (Arabic), ⵙⴱⵉⴱⴰ (Tifinagh)
A Tuareg festival and dance in the Algerian Sahara marking the Islamic New Year and Ashura.Festival
🇪🇬 Luxor, Egypt and 1 moreMelaya leff
A traditional wrapped Egyptian mantle once worn for modesty and now famous on stageDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
- Melaya leff: Néfermaât, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Mizmar: dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tan-Tan Moussem: Максим Массалитин (Maxim Massalitin), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tahtib: Yasser Elrasoul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ahidus: Fotograaf / photographer: Drs. F.M. (Frits) Cowan (1931 - 2010), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taskiwin: EL-MASOUDYMOHAMED, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oud: Creator:Manol (Emmanuel Venios), CC0, source
- Carnival of Awussu: Mahdi azouzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fantasia: Jfcapdet, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sebiba: Abderrahmane boudjenane, CC BY-SA 4.0, source