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
🇲🇼 Malawi and 3 moreNyau
A secret society and masked dance tradition of the Chewa people in Southern Africa.Spiritual
🇿🇼 ZimbabweBira ceremony
An all-night Shona ritual in Zimbabwe where music and dance summon ancestral spirits for guidance.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Enugu, NigeriaAtilogwu
A high-energy Igbo youth dance featuring acrobatics, drum music and rhythmic jumps.Performance
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSabar
A traditional Wolof and Serer drum played in Senegal and The Gambia, accompanying dance at weddings and festivals.Performance
🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreAgbadza
An Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsPerformance
🇨🇮 Abidjan, Ivory Coast and 3 moreZouglou
A dance-led music style from Ivory Coast, sung in street slang and local languagesPerformance
🇳🇬 Onitsha, NigeriaAgbogho MmuoAgbọghọ Mmụọ
An Igbo masked dance celebrating maidenhood and the female spiritPerformance
🇱🇷 LiberiaDan maskgle or ge
A sacred wooden mask worn by the Dan people of Liberia to embody forest spirits during masquerade.Spiritual
🇳🇪 In-Gall, Niger and 2 moreGuérewol
A week-long courtship ritual where Wodaabe men dance and sing to win the attention of marriageable women.Festival
🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreEwe drumming
The drum ensembles of the Ewe people, with iron bells, rattles and talking drumsPerformance
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreIndlamu
A Zulu war dance of two warriors in pelts, matched move for move and stamped on the beatPerformance
🇲🇱 Bamako, Mali and 5 moreGriotjeli, ߖߋ߬ߟߌ in N'Ko script
West Africa's hereditary keepers of spoken history, praise and musicPerformance
🇲🇺 Mauritius and 3 moreSegaséga
A music and dance tradition from Mauritius and Réunion with Afro-Malagasy roots.Performance
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo
A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore
🇲🇿 Island of Mozambique, MozambiqueTufo
A women's dance of northern Mozambique, performed at Islamic feasts to drums and songPerformance
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba
A close, slow couple dance from Angola, named after a Kimbundu word for partyPerformance
🇧🇮 Gitega, BurundiKaryenda
A sacred drum of Burundi that symbolized the monarchy and announced royal events.Performance
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, TanzaniaSauti za Busara
A February meeting of musicians in Zanzibar's Old FortPerformance
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná
An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 2 moreKuduro
An energetic Angolan music and dance style born in Luanda that mixes African rhythms with electronic beats.Performance
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaGumboot danceIsicathulo
A percussive South African dance born in the mines, performed in Wellington boots to communicate and celebrate.Performance
🇸🇴 SomaliaBuraanbur
A traditional Somali poetic form composed by women, recited with drums and dance at weddings and gatherings.Performance
🇦🇴 AngolaSemba
A traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaPerformance
🇳🇬 Calabar, NigeriaCalabar Carnival
An annual December street festival and cultural gathering held in Calabar, NigeriaFestival
🇸🇴 Somalia and 1 moreDhaanto
A Somali folk dance and music style used for morale and celebration in the Horn of Africa.Performance
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarHiragasyHira gasy
A day-long Malagasy highland tradition of song, dance, and poetic speech competitionsPerformance
🇬🇲 Gambia and 4 moreKoraߞߐߙߊ
A 21-string West African harp-lute played by hereditary storytellers and bardsPerformance
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 1 moreEgungunEgúngún
Yoruba ancestral masquerades bringing blessings, counsel and moral renewalSpiritual
🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha
A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance
🇳🇬 NigeriaMmanwuMmanwụ
An Igbo masquerade tradition invoking ancestral spirits through masked performanceSpiritual
🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana
A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ
A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇪🇹 Mekelle, EthiopiaAshendaአሸንዳ
An Ethiopian festival celebrating women and girls with song, dance and tall grass attireFestival
🇷🇼 Rwanda and 1 moreIntore
A men's dance of Rwanda and Burundi, once for war, now for ceremony and celebrationPerformance
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇨🇻 Boa Vista, Cape Verde and 5 moreMorna
Cape Verde's guitar-and-voice song, danced in pairs, listed by UNESCO in 2019Performance
🇲🇼 Malawi and 2 moreGule Wamkulu
A masked Chewa dance of the Nyau society, danced at funerals and chief installationsPerformance
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreAdumuEnkipaata
A Maasai warrior dance of high jumps from a circle, done at weddings and ritesPerformance
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town Minstrel CarnivalKaapse Klopse
Cape Town's 2 January parade of minstrel troupes, ghoema drums and bright umbrellasFestival
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaChale Wote Street Art Festival
An annual street art festival in Accra featuring murals, theater, and music.Performance
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇸🇨 SeychellesMoutya
A Seychellois evening dance of drum, song and bolder movement, listed by UNESCO in 2021Performance
🇸🇳 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
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreLusona
Sand drawings from Angola and Zambia that carry proverbs, fables and animalsCraft
🇧🇫 Dédougou, Burkina Faso and 5 moreFESTIMAFestival International des Masques et des Arts
A biennial West African festival in Burkina Faso celebrating traditional mask dancesFestival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ewe drumming: Freddythehat at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Agbadza: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Indlamu: Ernmuhl at lb.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Griot: Pierre-Georges Jeanniot (gravure) [ 1 ] M. Barbier (photograph, Public domain, source
- Intore: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumpo: Pietervp, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tufo: JCPBFerreira, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kizomba: Obe Images, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karyenda: No machine-readable author provided. Tequendamia assumed (based on cop, Public domain, source
- Ashenda: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Gumboot dance: Michal Maňas, CC BY 4.0, source
- Semba: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calabar Carnival: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dhaanto: aflaanta std, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hiragasy: Hopeandlink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kora: kevinzim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valiha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mmanwu: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Agbogho Mmuo: Vivian Amalachukwu, CC BY 4.0, source
- Guérewol: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nyau: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Morna: Original uploader was Kotoviski at sv.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Atilogwu: Arch-Angel Raphael the Artist, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sabar: AbaDiop, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dan mask: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Funaná: Xandu, Public domain, source
- Gelede: Gogeafrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adumu: K15photos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cape Town Minstrel Carnival: George Duff, Public domain, source
- FESTIMA: Nomwindé, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sega: HelenOnline, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogbetsotso festival: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moutya: Gerard Larose, Seychelles Tourism Board, CC BY 4.0, source