The customs library
Every custom. Its process. Its WHY.
56 customs and counting, from Yoruba naming days to the braai to Afrikaner courting candles: what happens, in what order, who practices it, and the reasoning behind every step.
“African customs” means customs practiced in Africa: every people, faith, and community that calls this continent home, hyper-inclusive by design and sensitive to history. Filter by life stage, region, country, or people; every claim wears its badge.
Showing 1–12 of 56
Imbeleko · introducing the child to the ancestors
The Nguni rite in which a goat is slaughtered at the family homestead to introduce a newborn (or a person never introduced) to the ancestors and formally place them in the clan.
🇿🇦 🇿🇼 🇸🇿Xhosa · Zulu · Ndebele +2
Ìkómọjáde · the Yoruba naming day
On the seventh (girls), ninth (boys), or eighth day by family practice, the Yoruba child is carried out and named before family, with symbolic foods placed on the tongue and the oríkì declared.
🇳🇬 🇧🇯 🇹🇬Yoruba
Ịgụ aha · the Igbo naming ceremony
The Igbo child is named before kin, often on the 7th or 28th day market cycle, with kola nut broken, the circumstances of birth honoured in the name, and the paternal line affirmed.
🇳🇬Igbo
Outdooring · the Akan and Ga eighth-day naming
On the eighth day the newborn is brought outdoors for the first time, shown to the sky and community, and given names including the day name that every Akan and Ga person carries.
🇬🇭 🇨🇮 🇹🇬 🇧🇯Akan · Ga · Ewe
Sunan jariri · the Hausa naming day
On the seventh day the Hausa family gathers after dawn prayers; a ram is slaughtered, the child’s head may be shaved, and the malam whispers the name with the call to prayer in the child’s ear.
🇳🇬 🇳🇪 🇬🇭 🇲🇱 🇬🇳Hausa · Fulani · Muslim communities of Africa
Ngente · the Wolof naming day
The Senegalese eighth-day celebration: the child is named in the morning rite, and the afternoon becomes a grand social feast where the griot proclaims the name and lineage.
🇸🇳 🇬🇲 🇲🇷 🇳🇬 🇲🇱Wolof · Muslim communities of Africa
Sebou · the Egyptian seventh-day welcome
Egypt’s seventh-day celebration, older than Islam and Christianity in the Nile valley: the baby is carried in procession with candles, sieved and gently instructed, amid song and noise to make the child brave.
🇪🇬 🇸🇩 🇱🇾 🇳🇬 🇸🇳Egyptians · Coptic Orthodox Christians · Muslim communities of Africa
Kwita izina · the Rwandan naming
Eight days after birth the Rwandan family gathers; children of the neighbourhood inspect the newborn, and each guest may propose a name before the father declares the chosen one.
🇷🇼 🇨🇩 🇺🇬Banyarwanda
Aqiqah · the Islamic welcome sacrifice
Across Muslim Africa the seventh day brings aqiqah: a sheep or goat sacrificed in thanks (two for a boy in many communities), the baby’s head shaved, silver given in charity, and the name announced.
🇳🇬 🇸🇳 🇲🇱 🇪🇬 🇲🇦Muslim communities of Africa · Hausa · Swahili Coast +4
Born house · the Cameroonian arrival party
In Cameroon’s Grassfields and beyond, the community descends on the new parents’ home with food, gifts, song, and dance to celebrate mother and child: the baby is danced into society.
🇨🇲Grassfields peoples
Ulwaluko · the Xhosa passage to manhood
The Xhosa initiation of young men: a period of seclusion in the mountain lodge, instruction by elders, and the return of the initiate (umkwetha) as a new man (ikrwala).
🇿🇦Xhosafor men
Intonjane · the Xhosa women’s initiation
The Xhosa rite marking a young woman’s passage to adulthood: seclusion in the homestead under the guidance of women, instruction in womanhood, and a celebratory return.
🇿🇦Xhosafor women