All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,314 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
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreKenduri
A communal prayer meal and gathering shared across Indonesia, Malaysia and BruneiSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao)
A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual
🇹🇱 Timor-LesteUma Lulik
Sacred ancestral clan houses and ritual shrines in East TimorSpiritual
🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesBatok
Indigenous Filipino tattooing, once worn as dress, rank and a rite of passageCraft
🇮🇩 IndonesiaSlametan
A short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaTumpengꦠꦸꦩ꧀ꦥꦼꦁ (Javanese); ᬢᬸᬫ᭄ᬧᭂᬂ (Balinese)
A tall cone of rice ringed with side dishes, central to Javanese ceremonies and partiesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇭 ThailandWai khruพิธีไหว้ครู
A Thai ceremony of thanks to teachers, held in schools and in the artsSpiritual
🇵🇭 PhilippinesFilipino wedding customsKasalan
A blend of indigenous rituals and Christian traditions marking the union of two families in the Philippines.Rite of passage
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandThai funeral
Buddhist rites in Thailand featuring water blessings, temple chanting and cremation.Rite of passage · Breakfast
🇲🇲 Yangon, Myanmar and 1 moreShinbyuရှင်ပြု
A Burmese Buddhist rite in which a boy goes forth as a novice monk, often at New YearRite of passage
🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamTraditional Vietnamese wedding
A Vietnamese wedding: two families joined through proposal, engagement and ceremonyRite of passage
🇮🇩 Bali, IndonesiaNgaben
A Balinese Hindu cremation rite held to free the soul of the deadRite of passage
🇸🇬 Singapore and 3 moreMatchmaking
The custom of using a trusted intermediary to introduce partners for marriageRite of passage
🇵🇭 Philippines and 5 moreFirst Communion
A Christian rite of passage marking a person's initial reception of the Eucharist.Rite of passage
🇵🇭 PhilippinesHarana
A Filipino serenade where a suitor sings beneath his beloved's window at nightPerformance
🇧🇳 BruneiBrunei Malay wedding
A multi-stage marriage ritual of the Brunei Malay community, blending Islamic vows with traditional blessings and publicRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNgerorod
A Balinese Hindu way of marrying, where a couple wed by their own choiceRite of passage
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kenduri: Andreasprasetya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Uma Lulik: Isabel Nolasco, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Thai funeral: Government of Thailand, CC BY 2.0, source
- Baci: Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shinbyu: Lionslayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Traditional Vietnamese wedding: Gabrielle M. Vassal, Public domain, source
- Ngaben: by kibitan, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tumpeng: brother-harahap, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wai khru: seetefl on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Matchmaking: Pavel Fedotov, Public domain, source
- Harana: Markytour777, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Batok: Lee, CC BY 2.0, source
- First Communion: Fortepan adományozó URBÁN TAMÁS, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Slametan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Filipino wedding customs: John Ryan Cordova, CC BY-SA 2.0, source