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
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇳 Touba, Senegal and 1 moreGrand Magal of Touba
An annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba in Senegal, kept by followers of the Mouride Sufi order.Spiritual
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreFasikaፋሲካ
The celebration of Easter and the end of Lent across Ethiopia and EritreaSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIrreechaIrreessa
A thanksgiving festival at sacred lakes in Oromia, Ethiopia, at the end of the rainsFestival
🇬🇭 Bonwire, Ghana and 1 moreKente clothNwentoma
Hand-woven Ghanaian cloth of silk and cotton strips, worn for ceremonies and graduationsDress
🇰🇪 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
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreAso ebiAsọ-Ẹbí
Matching cloth worn by family and friends at Yoruba weddings, funerals and partiesDress
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town Minstrel CarnivalKaapse Klopse
Cape Town's 2 January parade of minstrel troupes, ghoema drums and bright umbrellasFestival
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian Christmasገና
The Christian Nativity feast, marked by night vigils, white garments and field hockeySpiritual
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaChale Wote Street Art Festival
An annual street art festival in Accra featuring murals, theater, and music.Performance
🇰🇪 Nairobi, KenyaMadaraka Day
Kenya's annual public holiday marking the start of self-governance on 1 June 1963Ceremony
🇬🇭 GhanaAdowa
A Ghanaian Akan dance where hands and feet carry the mood of the occasionPerformance
🇿🇦 Pretoria, South AfricaNational Women's Day
South Africa's public holiday on 9 August, remembering the women who marched in 1956Ceremony
🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria and 2 moreIndependence Day
Nigeria's national day, marking the end of British rule on 1 October 1960Ceremony
🇸🇳 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
🇬🇭 Winneba, GhanaAboakyer festival
A deer hunt kept by the people of Winneba, Ghana, on the first Saturday in MayFestival
🇬🇭 Anloga, Ghana and 1 moreHogbetsotso festival
An Anlo Ewe festival in Anloga recalling an escape from NotsieFestival
🇳🇬 Kagoro, NigeriaAfan FestivalBwok Ǎfan
A New Year's Day festival of hunting and dances among the Oegworok peopleFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇧🇼 D'Kar, BotswanaKuru Dance and Music Festival
A gathering of San communities in Botswana to share songs, stories and sacred dancesPerformance
🇸🇴 Somalia and 1 moreDirac
A long Somali dress for weddings and celebrations, worn with an underskirt and shawlDress
🇿🇲 Lundazi, ZambiaZengani
An annual October gathering of Tumbuka and Ngoni communities in eastern Zambia to celebrate unity through traditional daFestival
🇪🇹 EthiopiaFichee-Chambalaalla
A moveable new year festival of the Sidama people in Ethiopia.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇼 Bolero, MalawiGonapamhanya festival
An annual gathering of the Tumbuka people honouring their first paramount chiefFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇲 Muyombe, ZambiaVinkhakanimba
An annual gathering and dance celebration of the Tumbuka people in northeastern ZambiaFestival
🇸🇿 EswatiniBuganu Festival
A three-day festival in Eswatini where women brew buganu from marula fruitFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇿🇦 Durban, South AfricaPoetry Africa
A week or more of readings, music and workshops in Durban, with poets from AfricaPerformance
🇨🇲 Bangangté, CameroonMedumba Arts and Culture FestivalFestival des arts et de la culture medumba
A two-week biennial festival in Cameroon celebrating Medumba heritage and language.Festival
🇨🇲 Bafoussam, CameroonNyang Nyang FestivalNyan-Nyang
A four-month Bamileke harvest festival and initiation rite in western CameroonFestival
🇿🇼 Harare, ZimbabweHarare International Festival of the Arts
An annual week-long celebration of music, dance, theatre and art in Harare, ZimbabwePerformance
🇿🇲 Lundazi, Zambia and 1 moreKulonga
An annual harvest festival of thanksgiving celebrated by Tumbuka communitiesSeasonal
🇳🇦 Outapi, NamibiaOlufuko
A seven-day Aawambo initiation rite and festival held annually in Outapi, NamibiaRite of passage
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarRencontres du Film Court MadagasikaraRencontres du Film Court Madagascar
Madagascar's annual short film festival, held in Antananarivo with free screeningsFestival
🇲🇼 Chonde, MalawiMulhako wa Alhomwe
An annual gathering in Malawi where the Lhomwe people celebrate their language, dance and heritage.Festival
🇱🇸 Morija, LesothoMorija Arts & Cultural Festival
Lesotho's yearly festival of music, dance, drama and poetry, with schools competingFestival
🇺🇬 Mbale, UgandaImbalu
The biennial rite of passage into adulthood observed by the Bamasaaba of UgandaRite of passage
🇧🇼 Molepolole, BotswanaDithubaruba Cultural Festival
An annual gathering in Botswana that celebrates the customs, music, and history of the Bakwena people.Festival
🇦🇴 Luanda, AngolaLuanda International Jazz Festival
An annual jazz gathering staged in the capital of AngolaPerformance
🇳🇬 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
🇲🇬 Antananarivo, MadagascarSavika
Traditional Betsileo zebu wrestling and courtship rite in MadagascarGame
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeleGèlè
A voluminous sculpted headwrap worn by Yoruba women for gatherings and daily lifeDress
🇧🇼 Gaborone, BotswanaBantu Film Festival
An annual pan-African film festival held in Botswana celebrating continental cinemaFestival
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreOkpu Aguokpu agụ
A knitted wool cap from southeastern Nigeria, historically worn by warriors to display status and now used in ceremoniesDress
🇪🇹 EthiopiaGifaataaጊፋታ
The annual New Year celebration of the Wolayta people in southern EthiopiaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇿🇲 Maala, ZambiaShimunenga
An annual Zambian celebration of cattle displays, dances, and ancestral memoryFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇧🇫 Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina FasoNational Culture Week of Burkina Faso
A week of free shows and contests in Bobo-Dioulasso, held every two yearsFestival
🇲🇼 Rumphi, Malawi and 2 moreTumbuka dances and festivals
Dances for healing and celebration, and the yearly festivals that keep themPerformance
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Irreecha: Mohammed Kassahun, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Independence Day: AMISOM Public Information, CC0, source
- Kente cloth: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Adumu: K15photos, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aso ebi: SUPREME LACE, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cape Town Minstrel Carnival: George Duff, Public domain, source
- National Women's Day: K. Kendall, CC BY 2.0, source
- Aboakyer festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kuru Dance and Music Festival: SanDanceVR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dirac: Farah Omar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fichee-Chambalaalla: User:Kebede asefa, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gonapamhanya festival: Tumbuka Arch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogbetsotso festival: JY midey, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Medumba Arts and Culture Festival: Djenrode, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyang Nyang Festival: Zacharie Ngnogue, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Olufuko: Pemba.mpimaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rencontres du Film Court Madagasikara: Natsuyasumi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Morija Arts & Cultural Festival: VirtualSteve, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Imbalu: Dixon099, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dithubaruba Cultural Festival: SanDanceVR, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival: MediaMOF, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ethiopian Christmas: Tanjagari, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gele: Royalesignature, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Okpu Agu: Justice kelechi achinefu, CC0, source
- Savika: Obiniaina RANDRIANADRASANA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adowa: Quami43, CC BY-SA 4.0, source