All traditions
2,281 traditions so far, best known first. 12,321 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
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 4 moreKizomba
A close, slow couple dance from Angola, named after a Kimbundu word for partyPerformance
🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola and 2 moreKuduro
An energetic Angolan music and dance style born in Luanda that mixes African rhythms with electronic beats.Performance
🇧🇮 Gitega, BurundiKaryenda
A sacred drum of Burundi that symbolized the monarchy and announced royal events.Performance
🇨🇻 Cape VerdeFunaná
An accordion and iron-scraper music and couple dance from Cape VerdePerformance
🇹🇿 Zanzibar, Tanzania and 1 moreNgalawa
A traditional double-outrigger sailing canoe of the Swahili coastCraft
🇬🇭 Ntɔnso, Ghana and 1 moreAdinkra symbols
Symbols of the Akan people, stamped on cloth, each one carrying a proverbCraft
🇺🇬 UgandaKwanjula
A formal marriage introduction ritual of the Baganda people in Uganda, where families meet to exchange gifts and seek blRite of passage
🇧🇯 Ouidah, BeninVodun DaysFête du Vodoun
A Benin public holiday on January 10 honoring the Vodoun religion with rituals and community gatherings.Festival
🇿🇦 South AfricaHeritage DayErfenisdag
A nationwide South African public holiday honouring the country's diverse culturesCeremony
🇲🇬 MadagascarFamadihana
A Malagasy reburial custom where families gather to rewrap and honour their ancestorsRite of passage
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreGeledeGẹlẹdẹ
A Yoruba masked dance festival honoring the spiritual power of mothers and social harmony.Festival
🇪🇹 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 1 moreMeskelመስቀል (Mesk'el)
A celebration in Ethiopia and Eritrea marking the discovery of the True Cross with a large bonfire.Spiritual
🇳🇬 Argungu, NigeriaArgungu Fishing Festival
A four-day gathering in Nigeria where thousands compete to land giant river fishFestival
🇹🇿 Zanzibar City, TanzaniaZanzibar International Film Festival
An annual ten-day arts, music and cinema gathering held across Zanzibar.Performance
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 5 moreCongolese rumba
An African dance music and guitar tradition born along the Congo RiverPerformance
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ
An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇭 Ghana and 3 moreDamba festivalDamba chuɣu
A Ghanaian celebration of royal authority, ancestral memory, music and danceFestival
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaHomowo
A harvest festival of the Ga people in Ghana to remember surviving famineFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreEnkutatashእንቁጣጣሽ
The Ethiopian New Year festival of song, yellow daisies and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaDurbar festival
An equestrian gathering marking Muslim holidays across northern Nigerian emiratesFestival
🇸🇿 Ludzidzini, EswatiniIncwala
The national kingship and first-fruits ritual of Eswatini, held at the summer solsticeCeremony · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Cape Coast, GhanaFetu Afahye
A harvest festival of cleansing, boat races and royal durbars in Cape Coast, GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇳🇬 Lagos, NigeriaEyo FestivalAdamu Orisha Play
A Yoruba masquerade procession honouring departed leaders and royalty in LagosFestival
🇳🇬 NigeriaIgbo New Yam FestivalIri ji
A harvest thanksgiving and feast marking the first yam crop among the Igbo of NigeriaSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Odumase Krobo, GhanaDipo
An annual Ghanaian coming-of-age ceremony welcoming Krobo girls into womanhoodRite of passage
🇳🇬 Oyo, Nigeria and 3 moreSango Festival
An annual Yoruba gathering in Nigeria honoring the deity of thunder and lightningFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Kumasi, GhanaAkwasidae Festival
A Sunday gathering of the Ashanti people to honour ancestors and the kingSpiritual
🇬🇭 Akropong, GhanaOdwira Festival
An annual harvest and purification festival celebrated by the Akuapem in GhanaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇲 Douala, CameroonNgondo
An annual coastal water festival celebrated by the Sawa people in CameroonFestival
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreKitenge
A printed cloth tied at the waist or chest, worn as a wrap, head cover or baby slingDress
🇬🇭 GhanaOutdooringkpojiemɔ (Ga), abadinto (Akan), vihehedego (Ewe)
A Ghanaian ceremony eight days after birth, when a baby is brought outdoors and namedRite of passage · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇨 SeychellesMoutya
A Seychellois evening dance of drum, song and bolder movement, listed by UNESCO in 2021Performance
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreNativity Fast
A forty-day Christian period of abstinence and prayer observed in preparation for Christmas.Spiritual
🇷🇼 RwandaKwita Izina
Rwanda's yearly ceremony naming newborn mountain gorillas, after a baby-naming customRite of passage
🇷🇼 Rwanda and 1 moreIntore
A men's dance of Rwanda and Burundi, once for war, now for ceremony and celebrationPerformance
🇷🇼 Kigali, RwandaUmuganda
A monthly morning of mandatory communal work and civic gathering across RwandaCeremony
🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba
A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 1 moreAbissa
A week-long New Year festival of the Nzema people in Ivory Coast and Ghana, marked by sacred drums, dance, and forgiveneFestival
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreTimkatጥምቀት
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Epiphany celebrating the baptism of JesusSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇭 Accra, GhanaChale Wote Street Art Festival
An annual street art festival in Accra featuring murals, theater, and music.Performance
🇪🇹 Lalibela, Ethiopia and 1 moreEthiopian Christmasገና
The Christian Nativity feast, marked by night vigils, white garments and field hockeySpiritual
🇪🇹 Mekelle, EthiopiaAshendaአሸንዳ
An Ethiopian festival celebrating women and girls with song, dance and tall grass attireFestival
🇰🇪 Nairobi, KenyaMadaraka Day
Kenya's annual public holiday marking the start of self-governance on 1 June 1963Ceremony
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇿🇦 Nongoma, South AfricaUmkhosi Wokweshwama
The annual Zulu first fruits and harvest festival held around the December solsticeSeasonal
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreBuheቡሄ
An Orthodox feast day celebrated with neighborhood torches, songs, and gifts of breadSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Moutya: Gerard Larose, Seychelles Tourism Board, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nativity Fast: User:LoKi, Public domain, source
- Argungu Fishing Festival: Jaekel, Francis., Public domain, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gelede: Gogeafrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Congolese rumba: Jeanne Vu Van, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zanzibar International Film Festival: Peter Bennett / ZIFF, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Damba festival: Bash222, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Homowo: Agbleyjill, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Enkutatash: Nati Tad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Incwala: iulian circo, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ngondo: Photokadaffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Fetu Afahye: Kofiarkohbaidoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kwita Izina: Thesmiler de, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Durbar festival: Omotayo Tajudeen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odwira Festival: Duncanoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eyo Festival: Slashme, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Intore: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Akwasidae Festival: Nkansahrexford, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sango Festival: Demola Ajayi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Igbo New Yam Festival: Adimora chidinma, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Umuganda: Masako Kato, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dipo: FatawuY1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kizomba: Obe Images, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lamba: Lemurbaby at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Karyenda: No machine-readable author provided. Tequendamia assumed (based on cop, Public domain, source
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Timkat: Jean Rebiffé, CC BY 4.0, source
- Adinkra symbols: Bosomba Amosah other versions=, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chale Wote Street Art Festival: Fquasie, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ethiopian Christmas: Tanjagari, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashenda: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Umkhosi Wokweshwama: 撮影者はカールおじさんです。, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buhe: Woyne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kitenge: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Heritage Day: CoralBrowne, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vodun Days: Eureka9090, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ngalawa: Zenith4237, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Funaná: Xandu, Public domain, source