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 5 moreTraditional tattooing
The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress
🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ
A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreDjellabaجلابة
A long, loose hooded robe worn by men and women across North AfricaDress
🇹🇳 Tunis, TunisiaSafseriسفساري
A cream cloth wrapped around a woman's whole body, worn by Tunisian women for modestyDress
🇲🇦 Tangier, MoroccoNegafaنڭافة (Arabic); ⵏⴳⴰⴼⴰ (Tamazight)
The woman who dresses a bride and guards the customs of a Moroccan weddingRite of passage
🇲🇦 MoroccoMoroccan kaftan
A floor-length tunic worn by Moroccan women for weddings and celebrations, featuring heavy embroidery and rich textiles.Dress
🇪🇬 EgyptKallawtahكلوتة
A rounded Turkic cap worn in the medieval Middle East, its colour set in Mamluk EgyptDress
🇩🇿 Constantine, AlgeriaM'layaملاية
A black full-body veil worn by women in Constantine, Algeria, as a sign of modesty.Dress
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreFoutaفوطة
A thin patterned cotton or linen cloth, worn as a wrap at the baths and as dressDress
🇪🇬 Luxor, Egypt and 1 moreMelaya leff
A traditional wrapped Egyptian mantle once worn for modesty and now famous on stageDress
🇩🇿 Tlemcen, AlgeriaChedda of Tlemcenشدة تلمسانية
The bridal dress of Tlemcen, velvet and gold thread, worn with a jewelled headdressDress
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
- Traditional tattooing: Haa900, CC0, source
- Fouta: Emmanuel.boutet authorized by Bohemeria [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Safseri: Eleuuchi Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kallawtah: 1371 by the scribe Aḥmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Aḥmad al-Miṣrī ("the Egyptian"), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jirtig: Alzain Mohammed, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Djellaba: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Chedda of Tlemcen: Dezedien, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Negafa: Amine.elbahij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source