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
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 4 moreIntiinti (Quechua)
The Inca sun deity, honoured with temples, offerings and the June festival Inti RaymiSpiritual
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreAyniAyni (Quechua and Aymara)
Giving and receiving as a duty, kept by Andean communitiesEtiquette
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreRara
A Haitian street music of bamboo trumpets and drums, played in the Easter seasonPerformance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCapoeira
An Afro-Brazilian martial art and musical game played inside a circleGame
🇨🇱 ChileNgillatun
A communal Mapuche rite of prayer, sacrifice and dance to maintain cosmic balanceSpiritual
🇨🇺 CubaAbakuá
An Afro-Cuban initiatory brotherhood rooted in West African sacred traditionsSpiritual
🇧🇴 Potosí, BoliviaTinku
A ritual combat and dance from northern Potosí, Bolivia, honoring Pachamama through ceremonial fighting and performance.Festival
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJongo
A nightlong dance and music gathering kept by Afro-Brazilian communities in the southeast of Brazil.Performance
🇧🇷 Recife, Brazil and 1 moreMaracatu
A set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Performance
🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio CarnivalCarnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Five days of samba parades, costumes and street parties in Rio, ending at LentFestival
🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru and 2 moreInti Raymi
A major Andean festival honoring the sun god Inti and marking the winter solstice in Cusco.Festival
🇧🇴 Oruro, BoliviaCarnival of OruroEl carnaval de Oruro
A Bolivian festival of masked pilgrimage dances honoring the Virgin of the MineshaftFestival
🇵🇪 Cusco, PeruQoyllur Rit'iQuyllurit'i
An Andean mountain pilgrimage uniting indigenous star lore and Catholic devotionSpiritual
🇵🇪 Lima, PeruLord of MiraclesSeñor de los Milagros
An October Catholic festival in Lima honouring a miraculous mural of ChristSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇪🇨 Quito, EcuadorFanesca
Ecuador's Holy Week soup of grains, beans and salt cod, made for Good FridayTable custom · Lunch
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 3 moreHosay
An Indo-Caribbean Muharram commemoration with ornate floats, drumming and processionsSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu
A small figurine of abundance kept in Andean homes and carried at the Alasitas fair to invite prosperity.Spiritual
🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón
A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore
🇧🇴 La Paz, Bolivia and 1 moreAlasitasFeria de la Alasita
A month-long Bolivian fair where people exchange miniatures to invite good fortuneFestival
🇧🇴 Oruro, Bolivia and 3 moreDiabladaDanza de los Diablos
An Andean masked dance depicting a battle between devils and the Archangel MichaelPerformance
🇯🇲 Kingston, Jamaica and 5 moreReggae
A Jamaican music of the late 1960s: a slow beat, a deep bass line and Rastafari rootsPerformance
🇧🇷 Salvador, BrazilLavagem do Bonfim
An annual inter-religious procession and cleansing ritual in Salvador, BrazilSpiritual
🇪🇨 Latacunga, EcuadorMama Negra
A twice-yearly festival in Latacunga blending Andean, Spanish and African heritageFestival
🇯🇲 JamaicaItal
A Rastafari way of eating: food from the earth, kept to raise livityTable custom
🇨🇴 ColombiaLittle Candles DayDía de las velitas
Candles and paper lanterns across Colombia on the night before the Immaculate ConceptionSpiritual
🇧🇴 San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaIchapekene Piesta
A four-day festival of dance, feathers and procession in San Ignacio de Moxos, BoliviaFestival
🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa
Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año
Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual
🇨🇱 Tarapacá, ChileFestival of San Lorenzo
An annual festival of religious dance and pilgrimage honoring Saint Lawrence in TarapacáSpiritual
🇨🇱 ChileFiesta de La Tirana
A week-long pilgrimage and dance festival in northern Chile honoring the Virgin of Mount Carmel.Festival
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Inti: Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, Public domain, source
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carnival of Oruro: Pame82s, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qoyllur Rit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Alasitas: Ener6, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mama Negra: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hosay: Julius Eduard Muller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ayni: Sr raleigh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Diablada: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rara: Lombinodr Alfonso Lomba, CC BY 3.0, source
- Capoeira: Augustus Earle, Public domain, source
- Ngillatun: Francisco Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Reggae: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tinku: CassandraW1, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jongo: Vanessa Freitas, Public domain, source
- Maracatu: Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rio Carnival: Sergio Luiz, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ital: Chrysaora, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Little Candles Day: CarUno, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ichapekene Piesta: Viaje al corazón de Bolivia, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Week in Guatemala: derivative work: Sir James ( talk ) VolcanAguaPascuas.jpg :Infrogmatio, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lord of Miracles: Miguel Chong, Public domain, source
- Lavagem do Bonfim: Adenilson Nunes/ AGECOM, CC BY 2.0, source
- Festival of San Lorenzo: Freddy Alexander Bugueño Tolmo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source