← Religion & Culture

Cultural Rituals and Ceremonies

Scenes of traditional ceremonies in Southeast Asia, featuring participants in cultural attire, floral offerings, and moments of prayer, expressing rich local heritage.

Asia, Nepal, Kathmandu. Tibetan people at Bouddhanath Stupa. (Editorial Usage Only)
Asia, Nepal, Kathmandu. Tibetan people at Bouddhanath Stupa. (Editorial Usage Only)
160 assets in this story
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Phuoc Hue buddhist pagoda. Buddhist ceremony. Women praying the Buudha. Vietnam.
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People pray during Buddhist event at UNESCO World Heritage, Galle Fort, during Binara Full Moon Poya Day.
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Fatima Church. Holy week. Palm sunday celebration in a catholic parish. Ho Chi Minh city. Vietnam.
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The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) supporters raise slogans demanding a separate Greater Tipraland state for tribals, in Bermuda Ashram Para. Agratala. Tripura, India.
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The Saigon Central Mosque ( Masjid Musulman) was built in 1935. Basin for ablutions. Vietnam.
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Tibetan in a restaurant, Lhasa, Tibet, Asia
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Charm sale, man making the traditional gesture of greeting and showing of respect, Wai, tattooed hand holding banknotes, Temple and Wat Phra Archa Thong or Golden Horse Temple, Mae Chan, Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand, Thailand, Asia
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Thailand: A Mah Song or spirit medium with heavy metal bars piercing his cheeks during the Vegetarian festival in Phuket. The Vegetarian Festival is a religious festival annually held on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed. Many religious devotees will slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.
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front view woman man praying temple with burning incense
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The sultan of Yogyakarta. Java, Indonesia.
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Japan, Kumano Hongu Taisha, annual festival, people
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A deacon and musicians sing gospel during a karen wedding near Maesot, Thailand
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Traditional dance, woman wearing traditional clothing making a gesture of greeting or Wai, Loi Krathong or Loy Gratong Festival, Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, Thailand, Asia
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Playing dominoes at the Temple of Heaven (Altar of Heaven) Beijing, China.
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50th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising
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Buddhist worshippers arrive at the ancient Tran Quoc pagoda to pray on the first day of the new lunar new year, or Tet, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Myanmar, Kachin State, Myitkyina, Jinghpaw Wedding With Bride And Groom At Geis Memorial Church
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chinese kung fu
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Church services on the American Contingent at Camp Pleso. (Exact date unknown)
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Immigrants Taking Pledge of Allegiance, Los Angeles, California
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Sri Lanka, Kandy - pilgrims light up candles in the Temple of the Tooth, Sri Dalada Maligawa, UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Japan, Kumano Hongu Taisha, annual festival, people
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Phuoc Hue buddhist pagoda. Devotees at Buddhist ceremony having vegetarian meal. Vietnam.
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A Vietnamese Buddhist woman holds money for traditional offerings and prays the ancient Tran Quoc pagoda on the first day of the new lunar new year, or Tet, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phimai. Parade through the streets of Phimai during the annual Phimai festival. The festival in November celebrates the town's culture and history with dances, boat races and a sound and light show.
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Pacific Islands Tour: Visit of Secretary Dirk Kemmpthorne and aides to American Samoa, U.S. Territory
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Congregation during a passion play, boarding school, Simalungun, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia
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Sunday mass in Phnom Penh catholic church Phnom Penh. Cambodia. (Phnom Penh, Cambodge)
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Portrait Young Asian backpacker male standing and checking direction on paper map in hand at beautiful Thai temple, He smile and looking away and waving hand to greeting someone
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Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are seen as they depart the Houman Shrine, the third, and final, shrine in a traditional San-ja Mairi, or Three Shrine Pilgrimage, where the team prays for a successful launch, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, Tanegashima Island, Japan. A Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the NASA-JAXA, Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is planned for launch from the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) on Feb. 28, 2014. Once launched, the GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours.
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Evangelical church, Lancetillo, La Parroquia, Reyna area, Quiche, Guatemala, Central America.
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A woman gives alms to the poor outside a temple
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Tac Say Church, also known as Father Diep Church. Man praying Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diep a vietnamese martyr. Bac Lieu. Vietnam.
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Shop selling religious christian items. Delivery of religious statues. Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam.
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Cao Dai temple. Meditating follower of the Cao Dai religion. Man praying. Tan Chau. Vietnam.
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Young Asian backpacker male in face mask standing and checking direction on paper map in hand at beautiful Thai temple
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Pentecostalism in Latin America -- Iraldo's Tale
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Railway minister Mamta Banerjee NO MR Copyright: xDebasishxBanerjee/DinodiaxPhotox
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Two members of a Christian brotherhood study the bible together, Antigua, Guatemala, Central America
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Choir of karen teenagers taking part in a wedding near Maesot, Thailand
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Masong ritualized mutilation with metal rod piercings in his cheek during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket; Phuket, Thailand
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Pilgrim touching the Lourdes grotto, Lourdes, Hautes Pyrenees, France, Europe
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China, Beijing. China Haji pilgrims at an Islamic Classics college.
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Sufi music concert in Sirkeci Railway Station, Istanbul, Turkey, Europe, Istanbul, Istanbul Province, Turkey, Asia
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Worshipper during a Buddhist ceremony at the pagoda. Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang. Laos.
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Tunis, Tunisia, Indonesians wearing traditional clothing pose as they gather for the celebration of the 'National Day of traditional dress' in Tunis, Tunisia, 10 March 2024. The day brings together many people who intend to preserve the traditional heritage of Tunisia and its national costumes. This year China and Indonesia were invited to participate. in Tunis on March 10, 2024.
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Spectators at a monastery festival in Jakar Dzong fortress, Jakar, Bumthang district, Bhutan, Asia
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Sri Srinivasa Perumal hindu temple. Man praying in temple. Singapore.
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Catholic woman praying in church, France, Europe
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Myanmar (Burma), Mandalay State, Paleik village, Snake Pagoda, pilgrims stroking a sacred python
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Old asian man, writing chinese iconography and calligraphy
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The Khasi tribesmen organized a competition and traditional cultural games on the occasion of the Khasi Seng Kut Snem 2024 celebration, organized by the Khasi Social Council. Khasi Seng Kut Snem, the traditional annual festival of the Khasi community in the Greater Sylhet Division, was held at the Magurchhara Khasia Punji Ground in Kamalganj, Moulvibazar Upazila. Sylhet, Bangladesh.
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220620-N-ML137-1009 KEKAHA, HI (June 20, 2022) Kunane Aipoalani reads the genealogy of the Kilauano and Aipoalani families as lineal descendants of west Kaua`i during a Ka Mauiki`iki`i O Ke Kauwela (summer solstice) event at Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands. The ceremony is held the day after the annual repatriation of pre-Western contact remains into the permanent home of the Lua Kupapa`u O Nohili crypt at PMRF and honors the ancestors of these families. PMRF is the worlds largest instrumented multi-environment range capable of supporting surface, subsurface, air and space operations simultaneously.
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Philippines. 24th Apr, 2015. Indigenous kid's performed during the celebrations of 2nd day of 31st Cordillera Day in People's Park Baguio City (North province of Manila City) on Friday. Cordillera Day 2105 is decentralized this April 2015 beginning April 23 up to April 29, 2015 in the different Cordillera provinces including Baguio City. There is no regionally centralized celebration this year. While overseas, Cordillera Day commemoration will be held in Hong Kong on May 10 and Montreal, Canada on April 25, 2015. © Gregorio B. Dantes Jr./Pacific Press/Alamy Live News
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The Zuni Indians of New Mexico
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A Music Band Plays Funeral Marches During The Procession Of The Holy Cross On Good Friday In Antigua Guatemala, Sacatep
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Mexico. The fiesta of the Rosca de Reyes or Ring of Kings
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Thailand: After the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 1927 - 13th October 2016), a woman in black mourning dress poses in front of a mural depicting the beloved monarch as a young man taking photographs. The king had always been a passionate photographer and was rarely seen in public without a camera, which in his younger days was usually a Leica - as depicted in the mural. In 1996, in celebration of the king's 50th year on the throne, Leica produced a special golden edition of their M6 model stamped with the king's royal symbol.
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Father Rheo Ofalsa, Holy Family Catholic Church pastor, talks with Father Paul Li, Saint Philomena Church pastor, aboard a C-17 Globemaster III static display during a Cultural Religious Leader Engagement event at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, May 12, 2022. The 647th Air Base Group Chaplain Corps held the event to strengthen ties between JBPHH and the local religious community.
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Staff members from Joint Region Marianas (JRM) gathered for a special Mes CHamoru celebration at JRM headquarters in Asan, March 30. During the event, JRM Commander Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson offered remarks and welcomed Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, curator of the Guam Museum, who shared some of the history of the CHamoru people on Guam. The annual observance recognizes the culture and heritage of the CHamoru people.