All traditions
2,169 traditions so far, best known first. 12,543 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
🇲🇱 San, Mali and 1 moreBògòlanfinibɔgɔlanfini
A handmade Malian cotton textile dyed with iron-rich mud, worn for protection and identity.Dress
🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 3 morePersian gardenباغ ایرانی
An ancient tradition of creating walled, geometric sanctuaries of shade and flowing waterCraft
🇨🇳 Yixing, ChinaYixing clay teapot紫砂
Handcrafted Chinese purple clay teapots that season with every brewCraft · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanYūzen友禅
A Japanese resist-dyeing craft that creates painterly patterns on fine kimonoCraft
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaFantasy coffinsAbebuu adekai
Custom hand-carved burial caskets shaped as animals, tools and symbols in southern GhanaRite of passage
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNón lá𥶄蘿
A pointed leaf and bamboo hat worn across Vietnam for shelter, work and celebrationDress
🇯🇵 JapanKokeshiこけし
Hand-turned Japanese wooden dolls painted with floral designs and slender facesCraft
🇰🇷 South KoreaHanji한지
The Korean craft of making durable paper from mulberry fiber and root mucilage.Craft
🇹🇳 Tunis, Tunisia and 2 moreBerber carpet
Hand-woven wool rugs crafted by Amazigh communities across North AfricaCraft
🇦🇲 Yerevan, ArmeniaArmenian carpetՀայկական գորգ
A handwoven textile tradition of knotted pile rugs and sacred geometric symbolsCraft
🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola
Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreSteelpan
A tuned percussion tradition forged from industrial steel containers in TrinidadPerformance
🇺🇬 Uganda and 4 moreBarkcloth
Cloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaWarli painting
Sacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western IndiaCraft
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spiritual vessels and figures crafted to channel ancestral power, healing and justiceSpiritual
🇵🇰 Karachi, Pakistan and 2 moreSouth Asian truck art
The craft of painting and adorning cargo trucks and buses across India and Pakistan.Craft
🇲🇳 Ölgii, Mongolia and 3 moreHunting with eagles
The Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.Game
🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal
Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesNavajo weavingdiyogí
Handwoven wool textiles and rugs made on continuous warps by Navajo artisansCraft
🇳🇿 New ZealandTivaevaetīvaevae
A traditional Polynesian art of artistic quilting made by women for gifts and ceremonies.Craft
🇬🇲 Gambia and 4 moreKoraߞߐߙߊ
A 21-string West African harp-lute played by hereditary storytellers and bardsPerformance
🇮🇷 Shiraz, Iran and 1 moreKhatamخاتم
A Persian inlay craft that builds geometric patterns from thousands of tiny cut piecesCraft
🇨🇳 China and 1 morePrayer wheelའཁོར་ལོ།
A cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomSpiritual
🇲🇬 MadagascarValiha
A bamboo tube zither from Madagascar, played for recreation and spirit ritualsPerformance
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreMedicine wheel
Sacred circular stone arrangements built across the plains of North AmericaSpiritual
🇵🇬 Maprik, Papua New GuineaHaus Tambaran
A sacred house of the Sepik peoples, used for ancestor worship and male initiationSpiritual
🇲🇽 San Salvador Huixcolotla, Mexico and 1 morePapel picado
A Mexican folk art of cutting intricate designs into tissue paper for festive and spiritual displays.Festival
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreTush kyizтуш кийиз
An embroidered wall hanging made for a child's wedding in Kyrgyz and Kazakh homesCraft
🇮🇪 Galway, Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A cross of woven rushes or straw, made for Saint Brigid's Day on the first of FebruaryCraft
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDreamcatcherᐊᓴᐱᑫᔒᓐᐦ (asabikeshiinh)
A hand-woven hoop from Anishinaabe tradition, hung above a cradle to protect a childCraft
🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 1 moreBonsai盆栽
A Japanese craft of keeping small trees in shallow pots, shaped for contemplationCraft
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineBanduraБандура
A Ukrainian plucked string instrument played to accompany epic songs and folk balladsPerformance
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié)
A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft
🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松
A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal
🇮🇩 Bali, Indonesia and 5 moreIkat
A resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingCraft
🇳🇿 New ZealandKoru
A spiral from the silver fern, central to Māori carving, painting and tattooCraft
🇦🇺 AustraliaBark painting
Ochre pictures on flattened tree bark, an Aboriginal art form of northern AustraliaCraft
🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguayÑandutí
Paraguayan needle lace named for a spider's web, worked in thread and cut freeCraft
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ
Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки
An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress
🇺🇸 United StatesTalking stick
A carved staff that shows who may speak at a Northwest Coast gatheringCeremony
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarn raising
A communal tradition where neighbours assemble to erect a farm barn in a few daysCraft · Lunch
🇮🇳 Paithan, IndiaPaithani
A handwoven silk sari from Maharashtra, with a squared border and a peacock palluDress
🇨🇳 Longquan, China and 4 moreCeladon青瓷 (qīngcí)
Green-glazed pottery first made in China, valued for colours that echo jadeCraft
🇬🇭 Ntɔnso, Ghana and 1 moreAdinkra symbols
Symbols of the Akan people, stamped on cloth, each one carrying a proverbCraft
🇵🇾 ParaguayParaguayan harp
Paraguay's national harp, strung with 32 to 46 strings and plucked with long fingernailsPerformance
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea and 5 moreShell money
Traditional currency made from cowries, ground clam beads, and carved sea shellsCraft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jack-o'-lantern: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Bandura: Julianhayda, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paithani: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hunting with eagles: Franz Roubaud, Public domain, source
- Bark painting: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Talking stick: Sandra Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Khatam: Fabienkhan, Public domain, source
- Haus Tambaran: Sylt-Tinto, CC0, source
- Dreamcatcher: Jorge Barrios, Public domain, source
- Bonsai: Ragesoss, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese knotting: Ucla90024, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kadomatsu: Nesnad, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ikat: Midori, CC BY 3.0, source
- Koru: Jon Radoff, CC BY 2.5, source
- Barn raising: Alexander W. Galbraith, Public domain, source
- Celadon: Vassil, Public domain, source
- Adinkra symbols: Bosomba Amosah other versions=, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Paraguayan harp: Romina Santarelli, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ñandutí: Trey Jones, Public domain, source
- Tush kyiz: Photo User:Zenwort, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- South Asian truck art: Alexandros.Papadopoulos, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kolhapuri chappal: Daderot, CC0, source
- Hanji: Arghun, Public domain, source
- Kokeshi: Kimivanil, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Phulkari: Sheebamadanloewinger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vyshyvanka Day: Vladimir Yaitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Navajo weaving: Don Graham, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tivaevae: John Colles Burland, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Berber carpet: Quadell, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kora: kevinzim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Armenian carpet: VincentKeers, Public domain, source
- Yūzen: Ismoon ( talk ), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shell money: Niccolò Gualtieri, Public domain, source
- Prayer wheel: David Abián, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valiha: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Medicine wheel: U.S. Forest Service Photo, Public domain, source
- Steelpan: Shanel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Warli painting: Omrmankar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Barkcloth: Hiart, CC0, source
- Yixing clay teapot: Commonsenses, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nón lá: Ratmanhme282020, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mola: Johantheghost, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fantasy coffins: Regula Tschumi, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Persian garden: dynamosquito, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bògòlanfini: BluesyPete, CC BY-SA 3.0, source