Hakucho White Swan (White Heron) festival, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Hakucho White Swan (White Heron) festival, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Hakucho White Swan (White Heron) festival, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Hakucho White Swan (White Heron) festival, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Nigerian chiefs at tribal gathering durbar cultural event at Maiduguri in Nigeria, West Africa

Local chief at cultural festival in Bamenda, Cameroon, West Africa

Participants wearing historical costumes on parade, Noto, Noto Valley, Sicily, Italy

Participants wearing historical costumes on parade, Noto, Noto Valley, Sicily, Italy

Local people at cultural festival in Bamenda, Cameroon, West Africa

Dancer taking part in traditional Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Traditional musicians at cultural display in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Unidentified people celebrating Chinese New Year in January 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

Unidentified people celebrating Chinese New Year in January 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

Musicians at traditional festival in Marrakesh, Morocco, North Africa

Pretty girl in a Sumatran costume, Indonesia

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Young Chinese students with red flags at cultural display in Lintong, China

Traditional dancers taking part in cultural festival in Cairo, Egypt

Maori warrior at a tribal gathering in New Zealand

Cultural display in Seoul, South Korea

Schoolchildren with Chinese flags at Xian, China in the 1980s

Crowd attending tribal gathering durbar cultural event at Maiduguri in Nigeria, West Africa

Dancers in national dress in Indonesia

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Woman at traditional festival in Marrakesh Morocco, North Africa

Mask dancing enacting tales of Buddhist legend during a festival in Bhutan

Chinese men dressed as Terracotta Warriors for cultural display in Xian, China

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Nigerian locals at tribal gathering cultural event at Port Harcourt in Nigeria, West Africa

Dancers in masks enacting tales of Buddhist legend at festival, Paro, Bhutan

Maori warriors in war canoes during cultural display in New Zealand

Tribal display at cultural festival in Bamenda, Cameroon, West Africa

Veiled dancer at a festival in Nalu Village, Rajasthan, India

Independence Day parade, La Paz, Bolivia, South America

Folk festival to chase away winter in Switzerland

Folk festival to chase away winter in Switzerland

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Traditional Dancers, South Korea

Tribal dancer at a festival in Cameroon, Africa

Woman dancer in painted mask,Bhaktapur, Nepal

Musicians lead royal procession to King's palace, Tashichho Dzong, Thimpu, Bhutan

Young Chinese students with red flags at cultural display in Lintong, China

Dancer, Bhaktapur, Nepal

Cultural show with ethnic groups, Sing sing of Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

South Korean man in traditional costume at festival in Seoul, South Korea

Traditional Dancers, South Korea

Dancing during cultural street show, Festa de Santo Antonio (Lisbon Festival), Lisbon, Portugal, Europe

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

Musician at cultural festival in Bamenda, Cameroon, West Africa

Chinese children attending a cultural display in Canton, China in the 1980s

Sing Sing of Mount Hagen, a cultural show with ethnic groups, Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

A decorated horse in a parade at the Royal Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia

Tamtam drummer from the Island of Pentecost attaching a nut rattle to his ankle for a traditional dance at a cultural festival, Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu

Tamtam drummer from the Island of Pentecost playing at a traditional dance during a cultural festival, Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu

Men from the island of PENTECOST in a traditional dance at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Woman weaving traditional pandanus mat at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Women weaving traditional pandanus mat at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Men from the island of PENTECOST in a traditional dance at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Woman weaving traditional pandanus mat at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Man carving a statue from a tree trunk at a Melanesian cultural festival in the capital's city centre, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Women from the island of Pentecost in a traditional dance at a Melanesian cultural festival. The fair haired one has a common genetic mutation, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Women from the island of Erromango at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Women from the island of Erromango at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Men from the island of Pentecost carry a traditional tamtam, a slit drum hollowed from a tree trunk, at a Melanesian cultural festival, Efate Island, Port Vila, VanuatuVANUATU. Port Vila. Efate Island

Dancers from GAUA in the Banks Islands perform at a cultural festival wearing fish headresses and rattling nuts on their ankles, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Dancers from GAUA in the Banks Islands perform at a cultural festival wearing fish headresses and rattling nuts on their ankles, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Men from the island of Malekula dancing at a Melanesian cultural festival. Malekula is still very traditional and had cannibalism till 1969, Efate Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Children in costume and with masks, Mardi Gras festival, Cape Verde Islands, Africa

Mardi Gras festival, Mindelo City, Sao Vicente island, Cape Verde Islands, Africa

Sang sang rimpoche uses the dorje, a sacred ritual object to make the first decisive cut into the sand mandala on the last day of the mani rimdu festival. chiwang monastery, solu khumbu, nepal. solu khumbu, nepal

Fire ritual at chiwang monastery during the mani rimdu festival. these monks circumambulate the pyre after its ignition. one holds a long book wrapped in a felicitous scarf. the purifying fire takes the offering and raises them towards the sky in smoke. the circumambulatory ritual also recalls the way disciples showed respect for the buddhas body. solu khumbu, nepal

Yoruba women dance in trance at a sacred water festival to honor their animistic spirits. nigeria, africa

Monk beating traditional drum called gong, int he courtyard of chiwang monastery during mani rimdu festival. chiwang monastery, solu khumbu, nepal

Mani mask dancers at mani festival marks setting in of spring season in humla. masked dances diversion a long-established part of bonpo religious ceremonies.Dance Is means by which supernatural forces be brought down to world of. Dance recalls a time when distance between spirits samll. Humla, north-west nepal

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Ethiopian cross and the stela of king ezana

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Ethiopian cross and the stela of king ezana

Ethiopia interior of church at abuna garima monastery, tigray

Ethiopia painting of mary holding infant jesus. Interior of church at abuna garima monastery, tigray

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. The patriarch and archbishops assembled beneath the stela of king ezana

Ethiopia priest walking passed mural depicting abuna aregawi and the serpent, kidana merhet church, tigray

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Worshippers assembled insdie the church of saint mary of zion

A solitary mask dancer appears wearing a frightening mask and silk brocade. they circle the courtyard with sprightly leaps. called protectors of faith, or dharmapdla, the origins of figures like these can be traced back to the pre-aryan peoples of india. originally known as yaksas (literally, a wondrous thing), they were tree spirits, who were accepted by the buddhists as defenders of the faith. in nepal and tibet, as in india, local deities were converted into protectors. a devotee of an alien sect devised a means to humiliate the buddha and his disciples. the buddha discovered it and succeeded in converting him to his teaching. due to lack of wisdom, the buddha remarked, some could not realize the goodness of his disciples and he compared the ignorant to the blind and the wise to those who have eyes.nobody is condemned in buddhism, for greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds. -the dhammapada. solu khumbu, nepal

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. His holiness abuna paulos walking down from the steps to the great stela

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Priests holding elaborate ethiopian crosses during the event

BOLIVIA Street scenes in Achacachi. Aymara women gathered to eat meal on street during festival

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Priests holding elaborate ethiopian crosses during the event

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. The view from the steps of the great stela towards the church of saint mary zion

Some religious people reach Brahmayani temple measuring their body length. To do so, a person prostrates on the ground and extends his clasped hands above his head. An assistant puts a few grains of rice at the end of the clasped hands as a marking point. Then, the man steps to this marking point and then prostrates again. Bhaktapur, Nepal

Some religious people reach Brahmayani temple measuring their body length. To do so, a person prostrates on the ground and extends his clasped hands above his head. An assistant puts a few grains of rice at the end of the clasped hands as a marking point. Then, the man steps to this marking point and then prostrates again. Bhaktapur, Nepal

Black dancers norbutse- black dance, known as magyu tshogcham, depicts eight goddesses manifestation of dakini kyema wotsho, nepal

Ethiopia girogis church, adwa, dring a ceremony when patriarch paulos made a visit. Tigray. Onlookers at the event

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Pilgrims venerating mary, insdie the church of saint mary of zion

Ethiopia the maryam feast, feast of mary, at axum. Woman reading scriptures, inside the church of saint mary of zion

Ethiopia girogis church, adwa, dring a ceremony when patriarch paulos made a visit. Tigray. Onlookers at the event

Ethiopia girogis church, adwa, dring a ceremony when patriarch paulos made a visit. Tigray. Priests chanting

Ethiopia musicians at kidana merhet church, tigray

Ethiopia girogis church, adwa, dring a ceremony when patriarch paulos made a visit. Tigray. Onlookers at the event

Ethiopia old men at the abuna garmina monastery during the visit of the patriarch, abuna paulos