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
🇮🇳 Hyderabad, India and 3 moreBonalu
An annual festival of thanksgiving to Goddess Mahakali across Telangana, IndiaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Amritsar, IndiaBandi Chhor Divasਬੰਦੀ ਛੋੜ ਦਿਵਸ
A Sikh festival of liberation marking the release of Guru Hargobind and fifty-two princes from Mughal imprisonment.Festival
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaMeenakshi TirukalyanamChithirai Thiruvizha
A two-week festival in Madurai celebrating the divine wedding of Meenakshi and Shiva.Festival
🇮🇳 Ujjain, India and 1 moreVikram Samvatविक्रमसंवत्
A lunisolar Hindu calendar of Nepal and India, its years counted 57 ahead of the GregorianSeasonal
🇳🇵 NepalMha Pujaम्हपुजा
A Newar New Year ritual of self-worship, mandalas and renewal in NepalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 5 moreKurtaکرته (Persian), कुरता (Hindi)
A loose collarless tunic from South Asia, worn plain or embroidered over pyjamas or jeansDress
🇮🇳 Srinagar, India and 3 morePashmina
Ultra-fine wool of Himalayan goats, hand-woven in Kashmir into shawls of rankDress
🇮🇳 Bhuj, India and 1 moreBandhani
Tie-dye cloth from India, knotted by hand and dipped in dye to leave dot patternsCraft
🇮🇳 IndiaGamosaগামুছা
A white Assamese cloth with a red border, worn, gifted and laid under sacred textsDress
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreBurqa
A garment covering the body and face, worn by some Muslim womenDress
🇧🇹 BhutanKiraདཀྱི་ར་
Bhutan's national dress for women, an ankle-length woven cloth wrapped and pinnedDress
🇮🇳 IndiaBharatanatyam
A South Indian temple dance of set poses, hand gestures and rhythm, now danced on stagePerformance
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, IndiaTilakaतिलक
A forehead mark worn by Hindus and Jains, at home, at temple and on special daysDress
🇮🇳 Varanasi, India and 5 moreRamlilaरामलीला
Open-air community plays staged across autumn nights, recounting the journey of Rama.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMangalasutraमङ्गलसूत्रम् (maṅgalasūtram)
A necklace tied by the groom at a wedding, worn through married lifeDress
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKabaddi
A fast South Asian contact sport where solo raiders tag defenders on a single breathGame
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony
A Sinhalese wedding rite held on a decorated wooden platform called a PoruwaRite of passage
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKoothu
Tamil street theatre with dance, music and epic stories, staged at temple festivals.Performance
🇮🇳 Palani, India and 5 moreKavadi Aattamகாவடி ஆட்டம்
Tamil devotees of Murugan carry burdens as a vow during ThaipusamSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi
A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress
🇮🇳 Trivandrum, IndiaKathakaliകഥകളി
A classical dance-drama from Kerala featuring elaborate makeup and costumes to tell epic stories.Performance
🇮🇳 Puri, IndiaOdissiଓଡ଼ିଶୀ
A classical dance of Odisha, told through bends, gestures and sung poetryPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A rice-flour floor drawing made at South Indian doorsteps before sunriseCraft
🇮🇳 Lucknow, India and 1 moreKathak
A north Indian classical dance of stories, footwork and spins, from temples and courtsPerformance
🇮🇳 Nadia, IndiaDhunachi
A Bengali incense burner, swung in worship and danced with at Durga PujaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Delhi, IndiaLingamliṅga
The pillar-shaped image of Shiva, kept in temples and home shrinesSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreRudrakshaरुद्राक्ष
Seeds of the Elaeocarpus tree, worn as prayer beads by devotees of ShivaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Kuchipudi, IndiaKuchipudi
A classical dance-drama from Andhra Pradesh, with roots in temple and bhakti performance.Performance
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली
Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft
🇵🇰 PakistanPakistani weddingپاکستانی شادی
Weddings across Pakistan: a match is found, a contract signed, two families joinedRite of passage
🇮🇳 IndiaAhimsaअहिंसा
A daily Indian discipline of doing no harm, in deed, word and thoughtSpiritual
🇮🇳 Varanasi, IndiaHanuman Chalisaहनुमान चालीसा
A forty-stanza Awadhi hymn praising Hanuman, said by Hindus each daySpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
🇮🇳 Palani, IndiaPanchamritaपञ्चामृत (Sanskrit); பஞ்சாமிர்தம் (Tamil)
Five sacred foods mixed and poured over temple images in Hindu and Jain worshipSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreBhajanभजनम् (bhajanam)
Devotional songs of South Asia, sung alone or together with drums and cymbalsPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaMohiniyattam
A gentle solo dance from Kerala, once a temple art and now taught in dance schoolsPerformance
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर
A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress
🇮🇳 Imphal, India and 1 moreManipuri danceJagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi
A classical dance from Manipur, danced as an offering to Radha and KrishnaPerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaSattriya
A classical dance from Assam, kept in monasteries and performed on stages worldwidePerformance
🇮🇳 Udupi, IndiaYakshaganaಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ (Kannada)
A night-long dance-drama from coastal Karnataka, with sung dialogue and drummingPerformance
🇧🇩 BangladeshNight of Powerليلة القدر
The night Muslims believe the Quran first came down, sought in Ramadan's last ten nightsSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNativity of Mary
A Christian feast day honouring the birth of Mary, the mother of JesusSpiritual · Lunch
🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 1 moreIndependence Day
A public holiday on 15 August marking the end of British rule in India in 1947Ceremony
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYajnaयज्ञ
A Hindu ritual of offering items into a sacred fire to honor deities and ancestors.Spiritual
🇮🇳 New Delhi, IndiaGandhi Jayanti
India's annual holiday on 2 October, for Mahatma Gandhi's birth and nonviolenceCeremony
🇮🇳 IndiaSvayamvaraस्वयंवर
An ancient Indian noble assembly where a bride chose her husband among suitorsRite of passage
🇦🇫 Kabul, AfghanistanBacha poshباشا بوش / بچه پوشی
An Afghan custom of dressing and raising a daughter as a sonHome
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Raslila: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matsukin/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Rudraksha: Merasmita, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathak: Shinjinikulkarni, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dhunachi: Amitbsws, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Odissi: Melolagnia28192, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kathakali: Paul Varuni, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yakshagana: Krishnamoorthy Sudhakar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kavadi Aattam: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Sattriya: User: Sattriyadance, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mohiniyattam: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bhajan: Bootervijay at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kuchipudi: Augustus Binu / facebook, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lingam: शिव साहिल, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Night of Power: M sh شراونة محمد, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nativity of Mary: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Svayamvara: Nandalal Bose, Public domain, source
- Independence Day: Vidur Malhotra, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gandhi Jayanti: Elliott & Fry, Public domain, source
- Yajna: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bonalu: Randhirreddy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bandi Chhor Divas: UrbanUrban_ru, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Meenakshi Tirukalyanam: எஸ். பி. கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vikram Samvat: Westindischer Maler um 1400, Public domain, source
- Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
- Kurta: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Pashmina: Aaditya Kitroo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bandhani: RubyGoes, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gamosa: Priyankoo at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Burqa: [1], CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kira: Cfynn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bharatanatyam: Arian Zwegers, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tilaka: Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, source
- Ramlila: Ankit Gupta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mangalasutra: Ackroydman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kabaddi: Amir Hosseini, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pakistani wedding: Rukhsana iqbal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ahimsa: Jain cloud, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanuman Chalisa: RahulKSaini, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Panchamrita: Skubydoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koothu: Unknown author, CC0, source