Region
127 public knowledge systems connected to this registry facet.
Adinkra
Akan visual symbols used in cloth, architecture, funerary practice and public design to carry philosophical, ethical and social concepts.
Mrammuo and goldweight knowledge
Cast brass goldweights used in trade, measure, diplomacy and proverbial communication across Akan contexts.
Agbamevor and related weaving traditions
Strip-woven cloth traditions where technique, pattern, naming and social use carry histories of making and identity.
Ifa
A Yoruba corpus of verses, interpretation practices and ethical instruction transmitted through specialist lineages and diasporic communities.
Ubuntu
A family of southern African relational ethics emphasising personhood, reciprocity and communal responsibility.
Homowo
Ga public festival knowledge connecting migration memory, seasonal practice, food, song and community renewal.
Tracking knowledge systems
Land-based tracking practices involving animal behaviour, environmental signs, memory and collective interpretation.
Les connaissances et les savoir-faire musicaux ancestraux d’Aboxan Musik ǀŌb ǂÂns tsî ǁKhasigu
Aboxan Musik ǀŌb ǂÂns tsî ǁKhasigu, ancestral musical sound knowledge and skills relates to the specific traditional music of the Nama people, one of Namibia’s tribal minority groups. It involves the use of traditional musical instruments: the khab (musical bow) and !guitsib (traditional guitar), usually played by men or women, and the...
L’Ahellil du Gourara
Performed during collective ceremonies, the Ahellil is a poetic and musical genre emblematic of the Zenete population of Gourara. This region in southwest Algeria includes some one hundred oases populated by over 50,000 inhabitants of Berber, Arab and Sudanese origin. The Ahellil, which is specific to the Berber-speaking part of...
Al-Jertiq : pratiques, rituels et expressions pour la préservation, la protection, l’abondance et la fertilité au Soudan
Among the Nubian populations residing in northern Sudan, along the Nile, up to the Egyptian border, Al-Jertiq is a ritual for protection, fertility and abundance that is held during significant life events such as marriage, childbirth and circumcision, or to mourn the death of a young, unmarried man. Although the ritual has adapted over...
L’épopée Al-Sirah al-Hilaliyyah
This oral poem, also known as the Hilali epic, recounts the saga of the Bani Hilal Bedouin tribe and its migration from the Arabian Peninsula to North Africa in the tenth century. This tribe held sway over a vast territory in central North Africa for more than a century before being annihilated by Moroccan rivals. As one of the major...
Le pèlerinage annuel au mausolée de Sidi ‘Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed dit « Sidi Cheikh »
Every year, nomadic and settled Sufi communities undertake a pilgrimage to the mausoleum of the Muslim mystic, Sidi ‘Abd el-Qader Ben Mohammed (Sidi Cheikh), located in El Abiodh Sidi Cheikh. Beginning on the last Thursday of June, three days of religious rituals and secular festive events honour the founder of the brotherhood. The...
L’argan, pratiques et savoir-faire liés à l’arganier
The argan tree is an endemic woodland species found in the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve in south-west Morocco. Rural women and, to a lesser extent, men living in the reserve practise traditional methods to extract argan oil from the fruit of the tree. Different tasks, transmitted by means of imitation and through non-formal education,...
Le Festival international de la culture et de la pêche d'Argungu
Every year in the north-west of Nigeria, communities gather to participate in the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival near the Matan Fada River. The four day festival, which runs between late February and March, features kabanci – a series of water competitions including hand fishing, canoe racing, wild duck catching –...
L’art de fabriquer et de jouer la mbira/sanza, lamellophone traditionnel au Malawi et au Zimbabwe
The art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe, plays a key role in the communities concerned. The basic Mbira/Sansi instrument consists of a wooden board with metal keys attached on top, and the instrument is sometimes mounted on a calabash/wooden resonator. The...
La fabrication des tissus d’écorce en Ouganda
Barkcloth making is an ancient craft of the Baganda people who live in the Buganda kingdom in southern Uganda. Traditionally, craftsmen of the Ngonge clan, headed by a kaboggoza, the hereditary chief craftsman have been manufacturing bark cloth for the Baganda royal family and the rest of the community. Its preparation involves one of...
Le geetgawai, chants populaires en bhojpuri à Maurice
Geet-Gawai is a pre-wedding ceremony that combines rituals, prayer, songs, music and dance. It is performed mainly by Bhojpuri-speaking communities in Mauritius who have Indian descent. The traditional practice takes place at the home of the bride or groom and involves female family members and neighbours. It begins with five married...
Le bigwala, musique de trompes en calebasse et danse du royaume du Busoga en Ouganda
Bigwala music and dance is a cultural practice of the Basoga people of Uganda, performed during royal celebrations such as coronations and funerals and, in recent decades, on social occasions. Bigwala describes a set of five or more monotone gourd trumpets blown in hocket to produce a melody, accompanied by a specific dance. A typical...
La danse budima
The Budima Dance is a warrior dance performed all year round by the Wee people on a number of sombre and spiritual occasions, especially during traditional ceremonies, funeral processions, weddings, initiation ceremonies, the installation of chiefs, thanksgiving, harvest celebrations and ritual activities. The dance is performed with...
Le ceebu jën, art culinaire du Sénégal
Ceebu jën is a dish that originated in the fishing communities on the Island of Saint-Louis in Senegal. Although recipes vary from one region to the next, the dish is typically made with fish steak, broken rice, dried fish, mollusc and seasonal vegetables such as onions, parsley, garlic, chilli pepper, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, white...
La pêche à la charfiya aux îles Kerkennah
Charfia fishing in the Kerkennah Islands is a traditional, passive fishing technique that capitalises on the hydrographic conditions, seabed contours and natural resources both at sea and on land. The ‘charfia’ is a fixed fishery system consisting of palm fronds embedded in the seabed to create a triangular barrier, blocking the path of...
Le festival des cerises de Sefrou
For three days in June each year, the local population of Sefrou celebrates the natural and cultural beauty of the region, symbolized by the cherry fruit and that year’s newly chosen Cherry Queen, selected during a pageant that draws competitors from the region and entire country. The highlight of the festival is a parade with...
Le Chopi Timbila
The Chopi communities live mainly in the southern part of Inhambane province in southern Mozambique and are famous for their orchestra music. Their orchestras consist of five to thirty wooden xylophones, called timbila, of varying sizes and ranges of pitch. The timbila are finely manufactured and tuned wooden instruments made from the...
La sortie des masques et marionnettes de Markala
The coming forth of the masks and puppets is a ritual festivity practised among the Bambara, Bozo, Marka and Somono communities in Markala, and is characterized by masked dances, drums and songs featuring dancers and puppeteers. Each mask and puppet symbolizes the sacred link between man and nature, with particular animals incarnating...
La fête de commémoration de la découverte de la Véritable Sainte-Croix du Christ
The festival of Maskel is celebrated across Ethiopia on 26 September to commemorate the unearthing of the True Holy Cross of Christ. Celebrations begin with the building of the Damera bonfire in Maskel Square in Addis Ababa – a conical pyre of poles surrounded by bundles of branches and torches, decorated with green grass and Abyssinian...
La rumba congolaise
Congolese rumba is a musical genre and a dance common in urban areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Generally danced by a male-female couple, it is a multicultural form of expression originating from an ancient dance called nkumba (meaning ‘waist’ in Kikongo). The rumba is used for celebration and...
L'artisanat du kente, un textile traditionnel tissé
In Ghana, Kente is a fabric made of strips that are woven from silk, cotton or rayon using horizontal looms. The age, social status and gender of users influence the choice of colour and design of the fabric. Finished products are named with proverbs, sayings and social situations, among others. The craft has been enriched over time...
Les pratiques et expressions culturelles liées au "M'bolon", instrument de musique traditionnel à percussion
The M’Bolon is a musical instrument with a large calabash sound box covered with cowhide and a bow-shaped wooden neck with strings. To amplify the sound vibrations, the player often wears a bell-like device made of metal plates with small oval-shaped lobes. This device is fitted with small iron rings and attached to the player’s hand by...
L’espace culturel de la place Jemaa el-Fna
The Jemaa el-Fna Square is one of the main cultural spaces in Marrakesh and has become one of the symbols of the city since its foundation in the eleventh century. It represents a unique concentration of popular Moroccan cultural traditions performed through musical, religious and artistic expressions. Located at the entrance of the...
L’espace culturel du Sosso-Bala
The sacred balafon instrument, known as the Sosso- Bala, has been perceived as the symbol of the freedom and cohesion of the Mandingue community, which is spread across a territory that once belonged to the Empire of Mali. Originally owned and played by King Sumaoro Kanté, who succeeded to the Sosso throne in the early thirteenth...
L’espace culturel du yaaral et du degal
The cultural space of the Yaaral and the Degal encompasses the vast pastoral lands of the Peul of the inner Niger Delta. The Yaaral and the Degal festivities mark the crossing of the river at the time of the transhumance. Twice a year, herds of cattle cross the arid land of the Sahel and the flood plains of the inner Niger River. The...
Le dikopelo, musique traditionnelle des Bakgatla ba Kgafela dans le district de Kgatleng
The Dikopelo music practice involves vocal singing and dancing in a patterned choreography without musical instruments in which people from a particular area join together to sing as a choir. The element is practised by men, women and children but is mostly dominated by Elders who, forming an informal Council of Advisors, transmit their...
Le durbar à Kano
In Nigeria, Durbar is a procession of about 10,000 men on horses, and men and women on foot. It takes place during the ninth and twelfth months of the Muslim calendar to mark the Eid el-Fitr and Eid el-Kabir every year. The central figure of the Durbar procession is the Emir and his palace courtiers, officials and bodyguards. There are...
Le savoir-faire de la poterie en terre cuite dans le district de Kgatleng au Botswana
Earthenware pottery-making skills are practised among the Bakgatla ba Kgafela community in south-eastern Botswana. The women potters use clay soil, weathered sandstone, iron oxide, cow dung, water, wood and grass to make pots of different forms, designs and styles that relate to the traditional practices and beliefs of the community....
La tradition de l’empaako des Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda et Banyabindi de l’ouest de l’Ouganda
Empaako is a naming system practised by the Batooro, Banyoro, Batuku, Batagwenda and Banyabindi, whereby children are given one of twelve names shared across the communities in addition to their given and family names. Addressing a person by her or his Empaako name is a positive affirmation of social ties. It can be used as a greeting...
L’Enkipaata, l’Eunoto et l’Olng’esherr, trois rites de passage masculins de la communauté masaï
Enkipaata, Eunoto and Olng’esherr are three interrelated male rites of passage of the Maasai community: Enkipaata is the induction of boys leading to initiation; Eunoto is the shaving of the morans paving the way to adulthood; and Olng’esherr is the meat-eating ceremony that marks the end of moranism and the beginning of eldership. The...
L’Épiphanie éthiopienne
Ethiopian epiphany is a colourful festival celebrated all over Ethiopia to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The commemoration starts on the eve of the main festival on 18 January. The eve is known as Ketera, which means blocking the flow of water for the blessing of the celebrants. On the...
Les festivités associées au voyage de la Sainte Famille en Égypte
The festivals related to the Journey of the Holy Family in Egypt commemorate the Holy Family’s voyage from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape King Herod’s oppression. Every year, the event is memorialized by two festivals in which Egyptians, including Muslims and Coptic Christians of all ages and genders, participate in large numbers. The...
Le Fichee-Chambalaalla, festival du Nouvel an des Sidamas
Fichee-Chambalaalla is a New Year festival celebrated among the Sidama people. According to the oral tradition, Fichee commemorates a Sidama woman who visited her parents and relatives once a year after her marriage, bringing ''buurisame'', a meal prepared from false banana, milk and butter, which was shared with neighbours. Fichee has...
Le Gada, système socio-politique démocratique autochtone des Oromo
Gada is a traditional system of governance used by the Oromo people in Ethiopia developed from knowledge gained by community experience over generations. The system regulates political, economic, social and religious activities of the community dealing with issues such as conflict resolution, reparation and protecting women’s rights. It...
Le Gbofe d’Afounkaha, la musique des trompes traversières de la communauté Tagbana
The Gbofe is mainly performed in the village of Afounkaha in the Tagbana community. The term Gbofe is used both for the transverse horns and for the performance as a whole, which encompasses music, song and dance. The Gbofe horns are made of roots covered by cowhide. Six of these horns are used together, ranging in length from 50 to 70...
Le Gifaataa, festival du Nouvel An des Wolaitas
Gifaataa is a New Year festival celebrated by the Wolaita community between mid-September and early October. Before the festival starts, people clean their surroundings and return home to be with their families. Disputes are resolved peacefully in preparation for the new year. On the main day of the festival, families come together to...
Gnaoua
Gnawa refers to a set of musical events, performances, fraternal practices and therapeutic rituals mixing the secular with the sacred. Gnawa is first and foremost a Sufi brotherhood music combined with lyrics with a generally religious content, invoking ancestors and spirits. Originally practised by groups and individuals from slavery...
Le Gule Wamkulu
Gule Wamkulu was a secret cult, involving a ritual dance practiced among the Chewa in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. It was performed by members of the Nyau brotherhood, a secret society of initiated men.Within the Chewa’s traditional matrilineal society, where married men played a rather marginal role, the Nyau offered a means to...
Guruna, pratique des retraites pastorale, socioculturelle et artistique autour du bétail chez les Massa
Guruna is a cultural retreat that acts as a school of life for members of the Massa community, located on both sides of the Logone River in Chad and Cameroon. The term refers to both the participants and the retreat itself, which takes place once a year. During this time, young boys and men move with their cattle to a camp located some...
Le tissage à la main en Haute-Égypte (Sa’eed)
The craft tradition ‘Handmade weaving in Upper Egypt (Sa’eed)’ is a complex process that requires time, effort, patience and practice. Many steps and techniques are involved in the loom preparation, threading and weaving to achieve the final product; it is a work of precision and intricate workmanship. For centuries, men and women have...
La harissa, savoirs, savoir-faire et pratiques culinaires et sociales
Harissa, a seasoning made with chilli pepper paste, is an integral part of domestic provisions and the daily culinary and food traditions of Tunisian society. It is usually prepared by women in a convivial and festive family or neighbourhood setting. It is prepared by drying the chilli peppers in the sun, and splitting the peppers,...
La musique et la danse highlife
Highlife music and dance is a popular form of musical expression and storytelling known for its lively rhythms, lyrics and strong connection to everyday life. It features a mix of instruments, including guitars, horns, drums, xylophones and percussion. The music is often built around call-and-response singing, with the lead singer...
Le Hiragasy, art du spectacle des Hautes terres Centrales de Madagascar
Hiragasy is a performing art composed of song, dance and speech. Originating in the central highlands of Madagascar, the performance takes place in public spaces. It generally involves two troupes and lasts about one hour and thirty minutes, following a standard structure, including drumming, greetings, storytelling, dance and folk...
Le système de divination Ifa
The Ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among Yoruba communities and by the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean. The word Ifa refers to the mystical figure Ifa or Orunmila, regarded by the Yoruba as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development....
Le masque Ijele
In many communities in the state of Anambra in south-eastern Nigeria, celebrations, burial ceremonies and other special occasions during the dry season to evoke fertility and a bountiful harvest feature the performance of the Ijele masquerade. The mask is about four metres tall – so large that it takes a hundred men six months of work...
L'Ingoma Ya Mapiko
The mapiko dance is a celebratory dance practiced by the Makonde people of Mozambique. A part of the traditional rite of passage from puberty to adulthood, the dance is performed in an enclosure, usually under mango trees, with dancers, musicians and the public coming together to celebrate the initiation rite. The dance may also be...
Intore
Intore is a Rwandan dance performed by a troupe. The dancers are arranged in lines representing the ranks of warriors on a battlefield. Through their movements, they mimic a battle with an invisible adversary, leaping and wielding their spears and shields to the rhythm of the traditional drums and horns. They are supported by songs and...
La danse Isukuti des communautés Isukha et Idakho de l’ouest du Kenya
The Isukuti dance is a traditional celebratory performance practised among the Isukha and Idakho communities of Western Kenya. It takes the form of a fast-paced, energetic and passionate dance accompanied by drumming and singing. An integral tool for cultural transmission and harmonious coexistence between families and communities, it...
La danse kalela
The Kalela dance originated during colonial times in the Luapula Province of Zambia. It was adopted by mine workers and used for entertainment at the Chief's Palace during traditional ceremonies, funerals, harvest celebrations and other important occasions. Kalela is a kind of dance drill formation in which the dancers form two or three...
Le Kankurang, rite d’initiation mandingue
The Kankurang is an initiatory rite practised throughout the Manding provinces of Senegal and Gambia, mainly corresponding to the Casamance, and in the city of Mbour. According to tradition, the origin of the Kankurang is to be found in the Komo, a secret society of hunters whose organization and esoteric practices contributed to the...
Les savoirs et savoir-faire des mesureurs d’eau des foggaras ou aiguadiers du Touat-Tidikelt
The element concerns the knowledge and skills of the water measurers of the foggaras (system of channels), or water bailiffs, of the ksour (village) communities of Touat and Tidikelt. The water measurers are involved in various operations, from calculating water shares to repairing distribution combs and conducting water in the channel....
Les savoirs, savoir-faire et pratiques liés à la production et à la consommation du couscous
The knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous encompass the methods of preparation, manufacturing conditions and tools, associated artefacts and circumstances of consumption of couscous in the communities concerned. Preparing couscous is a ceremonial process involving several different...
La tradition orale Koogere des Basongora, Banyabidi et Batooro
Koogere was a female chief of Busongora about 1,500 years ago. Oral tradition describes her exceptional wisdom and the prosperity of the chiefdom through a series of narratives, which form part of the collective memory of Basongora, Banyabindi and Batooro communities in Kasese. This oral tradition is an essential and inspirational part...
Le koshary, plat de la vie quotidienne et pratiques associées
Practices associated with Koshary revolve around a popular dish made from simple, affordable ingredients such as rice, pasta, black lentils and fried onions, with condiments such as vinegar, garlic and hot sauce added according to preference. Koshary is a filling, budget-friendly meal prepared at home and served in restaurants and...
Le kwagh-hir, représentation théâtrale
Kwagh-Hir theatrical performance is a composite art form encompassing a spectacle that is both visually stimulating and culturally edifying. Kwagh-hir has its roots in the story-telling tradition of the Tiv people called ‘kwagh-alom’, a practice where the family was treated to a storytelling session by creative storytellers, usually in...
La danse et musique de lyre arquée ma’di
The Ma’di bowl lyre music and dance is a cultural practice of the Madi people of Uganda. Passed on by the community’s ancestors, the songs and dances involved in the tradition are performed for various purposes, including weddings, political rallies, to celebrate good harvests, educate children, resolve conflict or mourn the passing of...
Mahadra, système communautaire de transmission des savoirs traditionnels et des expressions orales
Mahadra, sometimes called ‘the university of the desert’, is a community framework for education and socialization in which traditional knowledge and literary expressions are transmitted, mainly through listening and memorization. Dating back centuries, it has become a key feature of Mauritanian society and has led to the reproduction,...
La mascarade Makishi
The Makishi masquerade is performed at the end of the mukanda, an annual initiation ritual for boys between the ages of eight and twelve. This ritual is celebrated by the Vaka Chiyama Cha Mukwamayi communities, which include the Luvale, Chokwe, Luchazi and Mbunda peoples, who live in the northwestern and western provinces of Zambia....
Le Kabary malagasy, art oratoire malagasy
Malagasy kabary is a poeticized speech performed in front of an audience. It is highly structured and consists of proverbs, maxims, rhetorical figures and wordplay. The ritualistic style of speech was originally used by leaders to inform the community about social life and administration. Over time, communities started using it to...
La cérémonie de purification des garçons chez les Lango du centre-nord de l’Ouganda
The male-child cleansing ceremony, performed among the Lango people of central northern Uganda, is a healing ritual for a male child believed to have lost his manhood. During the ceremony, the mother and male child spend three days inside the house and eat unsweetened millet porridge. The child is treated as a baby for the duration of...
Le Malhoun, un art poético-musical populaire
Malhun is a popular form of poetic expression in Morocco. The verses are sung in dialectical Arabic and sometimes Hebrew. They are accompanied by music played on traditional instruments, notably the lute, the violin, the rebab and small drums. Popular topics include love, the joys of life, the beauty of people, nature, religious prayer...
La Charte du Mandén, proclamée à Kouroukan Fouga
In the early thirteenth century, following a major military victory, the founder of the Mandingo Empire and the assembly of his wise men proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga the new Manden Charter, named after the territory situated above the upper Niger River basin, between present-day Guinea and Mali. The Charter, one of the oldest...
La danse mangwengwe
The Mangwengwe is a traditional dance that is performed by the Mambwe and Namwanga people of Zambia. Dating to pre-colonial times, it is characterized by circular movements of the shoulders and sometimes waist. The performance involves a lead singer or dancer, supporting singers and dancers, hand-clappers and musicians. The rhythm is...
La danse Mbende Jerusarema
The Mbende Jerusarema Dance is a popular dance style practiced by the Zezuru Shona people living in eastern Zimbabwe, especially in the Murewa and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe districts. The dance is characterized by acrobatic and sensual movements by women and men, driven by a polyrhythmic drummer accompanied by men playing woodblock...
La danse mooba du groupe ethnique lenje dans la province Centrale de Zambie
Mooba is the main dance of the Lenje ethnic group of Central Province of Zambia, performed since pre-colonial times. It is also practised in parts of Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces, by both men and women. On certain occasions, when the dance reaches its peak, some lead dancers are possessed by ancestral spirits called BaChooba; it is...
L’épopée maure T’heydinne
The T’heydinn epic encompasses dozens of poems lauding the glorious feats of Moorish emirs and sultans. It propounds ancestral values underpinning the way of life of the Moorish community in Mauritania, and constitutes a literary and artistic manifestation of the Hassaniya language. Griots perform the epic accompanied by traditional...
La morna, pratique musicale de Cabo Verde
Morna, musical practice of Cabo Verde is a traditional Cape Verdean musical and choreographic practice with instrumental accompaniment that incorporates voice, music, poetry, and dance. Morna can be either sung or played only with instruments, mainly chordophones, including the guitar, violin, ten-string guitar, replaced with a...
Le Caftan marocain : art, traditions et savoir-faire
The caftan is a long tunic worn by people of all genders and ages for special occasions and celebrations. It comes in different styles and fabrics and can be worn with or without a decorative belt. Emanating from diverse cultural backgrounds, the traditional garment is known for its central opening, buttons and rich, hand-made...
Le Moussem de Tan-Tan
The Moussem of Tan-Tan in southwest Morocco is an annual gathering of nomadic peoples of the Sahara that brings together more than thirty tribes from southern Morocco and other parts of northwest Africa. Originally this was an annual event around the month of May. Part of the agricultural and herding calendar of the nomads, these...
Le moutya
Moutya was brought to Seychelles by the enslaved Africans who arrived with the French settlers in the early eighteenth century. They used to practise this dance at night in the forest, at a distance from the plantation house where their masters lived. Historically, Moutya was a psychological comfort against hardship and poverty and a...
Mvet Oyeng, art musical, pratiques et savoir-faire associés à la communauté Ekang
Mvet Oyeng is a cultural tradition that is practised by the Ekang community. It entails the singing of a series of epic stories, accompanied by dancing and the playing of a traditional stringed instrument. The audience actively participates in the performance by playing drumsticks or clapping, singing and engaging with the storyteller....
La danse spirituelle mwazindika de la communauté Daida du Kenya
The Mwazindika spiritual dance is a traditional practice used to promote individual and communal well-being amongst the Daida community. It combines dance, music, ritual and storytelling, and is performed during important events such as rites of passage, harvests, coronations and times of crisis like droughts or floods. Its purpose is...
Le mwinoghe, danse joyeuse
Mwinoghe is an instrumental dance performed among three ethnic communities – Sukwa, Ndali and Bandya – in the northern region of Malawi. In the Chisukwa dialect, the word ‘Mwinoghe’ literally means ‘Let us enjoy ourselves’: the dance is therefore performed to express joy and happiness. Derived from a ceremonial dance of the neighbouring...
Le Ngondo, culte des oracles de l'eau et traditions culturelles associées chez les Sawa
The Ngondo traditions are based on the worship of water oracles. Practised by the Sawa community of Cameroon, they take place annually from September to the first Sunday of December. The popular and festive part of the practice is marked by a caravan touring the traditional Sawa districts with artistic performances, traditional...
Le Nguon, rituels de gouvernance et expressions associées dans la communauté Bamoun
Nguon refers to a series of rituals between the Mfon, or monarch, and his people. Aimed at promoting dialogue, harmony and peace, the rituals are observed over a period of three days by the Bamoun community of Cameroon’s West Region. Every two years in early December, ritual chiefs consult the members of the community on the state of...
Le nsima, tradition culinaire du Malawi
Nsima, the Culinary Tradition of Malawi, is a compound name for the culinary and dietary tradition of Malawians as well as the name of a single component of this tradition, a form of thick porridge prepared with maize flour. Nsima is prepared through an elaborate process requiring specific knowledge, from pounding the maize into flour...
Le patrimoine oral Gèlèdé
The Gelede is performed by the Yoruba-Nago community that is spread over Benin, Nigeria and Togo. For more than a century, this ceremony has been performed to pay tribute to the primordial mother Iyà Nlà and to the role women play in the process of social organization and development of Yoruba society. The Gelede takes place every year...
Le oshituthi shomagongo, festival des fruits du marula
The Oshituthi shomagongo, marula fruit festival is a celebration that lasts two to three days between March and April, uniting the eight Aawambo communities of northern Namibia through the consumption of ''omagongo'', a beverage made from marula fruit. In preparation for the festival, men carve wooden goblets and small serving gourds,...
Les arts du spectacle chez les ṭwāyef de Ghbonten
In Tunisia, the Twāyef are troupes of poet singers affiliated with the Ghbonten tribe. The troupes perform chants or songs wearing white robes and scarlet chechias (caps). They are accompanied by the sounds of the chenna, a traditional drum. Consisting of a leader and a group of male performers, each troupe boasts a unique repertoire of...
Les chants polyphoniques des pygmées Aka de Centrafrique
The Aka Pygmies living in the south-west region of the Central African Republic have developed a distinctive vocal musical tradition, which involves a complex type of contrapuntal polyphony based on four voices, mastered by all members of the Aka community. Music and dance form an integral part of Aka rituals including ceremonies...
Les savoir-faire liés à la poterie des femmes de Sejnane
The pottery skills of the women of Sejnane relate to the practice of using a specific technique to produce terracotta artefacts for the home, including cooking utensils, dolls and animal figurines inspired by the environment. All stages of the pottery-making process are performed by women, who also sell the pots in the village and by...
Pratiques et expressions de la parenté à plaisanterie au Niger
Joking relationships are a social practice performed among ethnolinguistic communities, groups and individuals to promote fraternity, solidarity and conviviality. They take the form of a playful taunting between two people from two communities that represent symbolically the husband and wife cross-cousin branches of the same family....
Les pratiques et savoirs liés à l’imzad des communautés touarègues de l’Algérie, du Mali et du Niger
Imzad music is a characteristic feature of Tuareg communities and is performed by women on a single-stringed bowed instrument known as the Imzad. The musician sits with the instrument on her knees and plays it with a wooden, arched bow. Imzad combines music and poetry and is frequently performed on ceremonial occasions in Tuareg camps....
La procession et les célébrations de la naissance du prophète Mahomet au Soudan
Al-Molid procession is a celebration of the Prophet Mohammed that takes place in Sudan. The celebration starts twelve days before the Prophet’s birthday, in the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins with a procession of thousands of men, women and children, community leaders, government officials, army and police forces...
Le raï, chant populaire d'Algérie
Raï is a popular folk song from Algeria. A means of conveying social reality without taboos or censorship, Raï music touches on topics such as love, freedom, despair and social pressures. It was originally practised in rural settings by doyens who sang poetic texts in vernacular Arabic, accompanied by a traditional orchestra. At the...
Les rites et les savoir-faire artisanaux associés à la tradition du costume nuptial de Tlemcen
The wedding ritual of Tlemcen in northwestern Algeria commences in the parents’ home, where the bride is dressed in a traditionally woven golden silk dress, surrounded by her friends and married female relations, the latter wearing their own wedding costumes. Symbolic henna designs are applied to her hands, and an older woman helps her...
Le rituel et les cérémonies de la Sebeïba dans l'oasis de Djanet, Algérie
The ritual and ceremonies of Sebeïba are practised by two communities living in Djanet during ten days in the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Male dancers and female singers compete for the right to represent their communities during a nine-day contest called Timoulawine. The chosen winners take part in the Sebeïba ritual and...
La danse rituelle au tambour royal
The ritual dance of the royal drum is a spectacle combining powerful, synchronized drumming with dancing, heroic poetry and traditional songs. The entire population of Burundi recognizes it as a fundamental part of its heritage and identity. The dance calls for at least a dozen or so drums, always in an odd number, arranged in a...
Les rituels et pratiques associés au sanctuaire de Kit Mikayi
The Rituals and practices associated with Kit Mikayi shrine concern the Luos of western Kenya. Legend has it that Kit Mikayi Shrine is associated with the good fortunes of the Seme people and other Luo ethnic communities who live around the shrine enclave. People access the shrine for many different reasons, including praying, taking...
Le festival de Sango, Oyo
In Nigeria, the Sango Festival of Oyo marks the beginning of the Yoruba Traditional New Year in August. It is an ancestral worship that takes place in Sango, Nigeria, near the ancient Koso Temple. The ten-day festival is strongly connected to the social, religious, cultural and political institutions of the Oyo State. It is held in...
Le Sanké mon, rite de pêche collective dans le Sanké
The Sanké mon collective fishing rite takes place in San in the Ségou region of Mali every second Thursday of the seventh lunar month to commemorate the founding of the town. The rite begins with the sacrifice of roosters, goats and offerings made by village residents to the water spirits of the Sanké pond. The collective fishing then...
Le sbuâ, pèlerinage annuel à la zawiya Sidi El Hadj Belkacem, Gourara
Each year, pilgrims from Zenata communities in the south-west Algerian Sahara visit mausoleums of saints to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed. Sbuâ is a pilgrimage, which runs for a week and entails cultural practices that focus on group activities, which include celebrations with singing and dancing. On the seventh day,...
La société secrète des Kôrêdugaw, rite de sagesse du Mali
The secret society of the Kôrêdugaw is a rite of wisdom central to the cultural identity of the Bambara, Malinké, Senufo and Samogo peoples of Mali. Initiates dress in ragged coats adorned with red bean necklaces and a large quantity of miscellaneous items. They provoke laughter with behaviour characterized by gluttony, caustic humour...
Le séga tambour des Chagos
Sega tambour Chagos is one of the types of Sega music of Mauritius, with origins in the Chagos Archipelago. Like other Sega music, it is born from slavery and sung in Chagossian Creole particular to the islands. Sega tambour Chagos is a gentle, vibrant and rhythmic performance of music, song and dance based on the ‘tambour’ – a large,...
Le séga tambour de Rodrigues
Sega Tambour of Rodrigues Island is a vibrant rhythmic performance of music, song and dance with its origins in slave communities. The leading percussion, the tambour, is banged energetically, while a triyang is hit from the side and the bwat and mayos are clapped. Sega Tambour is performed all over Rodrigues Island in the home and on...
Le seperu, danse populaire et pratiques associées
The Seperu folkdance and associated practices involve singing, dancing and sacred rituals that are highly significant in the lives of Veekuhane community members. Seperu is a celebratory practice performed during ceremonies that mark important milestones in the community members’ lives. In the dance the women form a horseshoe, while...
La réfection septennale du toit du Kamablon, case sacrée de Kangaba
The Malinke and other peoples of the Manden region of south-west Mali gather every seven years to celebrate when a new thatch roof is installed atop the Kamablon (or House of Speech) in the village of Kangaba. Built in 1653, the distinctive circular Kamablon of Kangaba shelters objects and furniture of high symbolic value to the...
La fête de shuwalid
Shuwalid is an annual three-day festival celebrated by the Harari people of Ethiopia. It marks the end of six days of fasting to compensate omissions during Ramadan. The Harari people celebrate Shuwalid at the shrines of Aw Shulum Ahmed and Aw Akebara, found at the main entrance gates of the walled city of Harar. The festival starts...
Les savoir-faire liés à la fabrication de l'attiéké en Côte d'Ivoire
Attiéké is a dish made from steamed cassava tubers. Produced by the lagoon peoples of Côte d’Ivoire, the dish involves growing and harvesting the cassava tubers, grinding and mixing them with fermented cassava to prepare the semolina, and steaming the semolina to prepare the dish. After cooking, the attiéké is removed from the heat and...
Sona, dessins et figures géométriques sur le sable
Sona refers to drawings and geometric figures on sand. Practised by the Lunda Cokwe and neighbouring peoples in eastern Angola, it is a form of expression that seeks to convey beliefs, thoughts and emotions, as well as the relationship between human beings and nature. Practitioners mark reference points on a wet floor covered in sand...
La réussite de la promotion des aliments traditionnels et de la sauvegarde des modes d’alimentation traditionnels au Kenya
In Kenya, traditional foodways were under threat due to historical factors and the pressure of modern lifestyles. Local foods were looked down upon and were associated with poverty and backwardness. Understanding that a decline in food diversity and knowledge would have serious ramifications on health and on food and nutrition...
Le tahteeb, jeu du bâton
In ancient Egypt, tahteeb was used as a form of martial arts. Its role has since changed to that of a festive game but some of the symbolism and values associated with the practice remain. Performed in front of an audience, it involves a brief, non-violent interchange between two adversaries, each wielding a long stick while folk music...
La Taskiwin, danse martiale du Haut-Atlas occidental
Taskiwin is a martial dance specific to the western High Atlas mountain range in Central Morocco. The dance gets its name from the richly decorated horn each dancer carries – the Tiskt – and involves the art of shaking one’s shoulders to the rhythm of tambourines and flutes. The practice fosters social cohesion and harmony and provides...
La tbourida
Tbourida is a Moroccan equestrian performance dating back to the sixteenth century. It simulates a succession of military parades, reconstructed according to ancestral Arab-Amazigh conventions and rituals. Each tbourida is performed by a troupe made up of an odd number of riders and horses (between 15 and 25). The riders line up side by...
Tchiloli, théâtre vivant de Sao Tomé-et-Principe dans la quête de la justice
Tchiloli is a traditional form of open-air theatre involving actors, musicians and an engaged audience. It is performed in an open space during festivals or public events, typically starting with a ritual led by women. Inspired by a traditional play, the story centres around a murder trial and involves about thirty actors. These actors...
La tchopa, danse sacrificielle des Lomwe du sud du Malawi
Tchopa is a performing art practised among Lhomwe communities in southern Malawi. The dance is usually performed during celebrations after good harvests and successful hunting trips and during offerings to ancestral spirits after calamities such as droughts and outbreaks of disease. Tchopa entails knowledge of particular dancing skills...
La prise de la pierre sacrée ou les rites du nouvel an en pays Guin au Togo
The rites of the New Year are a series of around twenty rituals practised annually by the Guin People of southern Togo, over the course of seven months, to honour deities and ancestors. These rituals follow a lunar calendar and take place at the same times each year. The new year is marked by the most important rite, ‘Ekpéssosso’, which...
L'épopée Samba Gueladio
The Epic of Samba Gueladio is a legend in which the hero, Samba Gueladio, the legitimate heir to the throne, was cast aside by his uncle. To regain his throne, he forged alliances wherever he went. For instance, he killed a monster that had been preventing the Moors from fetching water from the river and recovered their cattle from a...
Le costume féminin de cérémonie dans le Grand Est de l'Algérie : savoir-faire associés à la confection et à la parure de la Gandoura, la Melehfa, le Caftan, le Quat et le Lhef
The Gandoura and Melehfa are traditional attires worn by women in Eastern Algeria for festive occasions such as weddings, ceremonies, and national and religious festivities. The Gandoura is a long, flared robe made of satin or velvet and embroidered with floral and animal motifs using techniques such as gold thread and beadwork....
Les marionnettes à gaine traditionnelles
Al-Aragoz is an old form of Egyptian theatre using traditional hand puppetry. Performances are highly popular events during which puppeteers remain hidden inside a small portable stage while an assistant interacts with the puppets and crowd. Al-Aragoz takes its name from the main puppet, whose distinctive voice is created with a voice...
Le séga mauricien traditionnel
Traditional Mauritian Sega Tipik is a vibrant performing art, emblematic of the Creole community and performed at informal private family events or in public spaces. Songs sung in a minor key gradually increase in tempo, as dancers move their hips and hands to a percussive beat, using short steps to manoeuvre around each other in a...
Les savoir-faire traditionnels liés au tissage du pagne en Côte d'Ivoire
In Côte d’Ivoire, the traditional skills of loincloth weaving are characterised by the specific weaving techniques and raw materials used. The fabrics woven by the Gouro, Baoule, Malinke, Senufo, Koulango, Nafana and Abron communities are made from dyed cotton threads of various colours. They are woven in narrow strips on a hand loom...
Les traditions et pratiques associées aux Kayas dans les forêts sacrées des Mijikenda
The Mijikenda include nine Bantu-speaking ethnic groups in the Kaya forests of coastal Kenya. The identity of the Mijikenda is expressed through oral traditions and performing arts related to the sacred forests, which are also sources of valuable medicinal plants. These traditions and practices constitute their codes of ethics and...
Tsapiky, rythme et style musical caractéristique de la région Sud-ouest de Madagascar
Tsapiky is a fast-paced musical genre that combines modern and traditional sounds and is deeply rooted in the social life of the inhabitants of southwestern Madagascar. It features electric guitars, drums, accordions and local instruments such as the ‘kabosy’ (a small guitar) and the ‘marovany’ (a string instrument). Although initially...
Le Vimbuza, danse de guérison
Vimbuza is a healing dance popular among the Tumbuka people living in northern Malawi. It is an important manifestation of the ng’oma, a healing tradition found throughout Bantu-speaking Africa. Ng’oma, meaning “drums of affliction”, carries considerable historical depth and, despite various attempts over the years to suppress it,...
Le savoir-faire du travail du bois des Zafimaniry
The Zafimaniry community is the sole remaining repository of a unique woodcraft culture previously widespread on the island. In the eighteenth century, the Zafimaniry settled in the remote wooded region of south-east Madagascar, seeking refuge from the deforestation that was ravaging much of Madagascar at that time. Today, approximately...
Le rituel wosana et les pratiques associées
Wosana is a rainmaking ritual that is observed by the Bakalanga community in the Northeast and Central Districts of Botswana and in certain Zimbabwean villages along the Botswana border. The ancestral practice is characterized by rituals, prayer, feasts, song and dance. It is a collaborative practice involving traditional leadership,...
Le Xeedho
Xeedho is a dish given by a mother-in-law to her son-in-law to celebrate the first week of her daughter’s marriage. It consists of a container carved from a tree trunk, made to hold small pieces of dried dromedary meat that is fried in butter and preserved in ghee. The container is placed inside a basket, wrapped in aluminium foil and...
Le xeer ciise, droit coutumier oral des communautés somali-issa en Éthiopie, à Djibouti et en Somalie
The Xeer Ciise refers to the oral customary laws of the Somali-Issa communities in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. A highly structured and rigorously codified system of democratic governance, it has three main components: (a) a political constitution, which defines the distribution of power and decision-making processes; (b) a penal...
Le xooy, une cérémonie divinatoire chez les Serer du Sénégal
The Xooy divination ceremony is organized in village squares among the Serer community in west-central Senegal prior to the rainy season. During this long nocturnal gathering, master seers known as Saltigues each in turn step into a designated circle, where they deliver predictions before a rapturous audience accompanied by the rhythm...
Le Zaouli, musique et danse populaires des communautés gouro de Côte d'Ivoire
Zaouli is a popular music and dance practised by the Guro communities of the Bouaflé and Zuénoula departments of Côte d’Ivoire. A homage to feminine beauty, Zaouli is inspired by two masks: the Blou and the Djela. Its other name, Djela lou Zaouli means Zaouli, the daughter of Djela. In a single event, the practice brings together...
Heritage, design and Global South stories from established outlets.
