Traditions in São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe has a fragmented tradition system rather than one uniform national repertoire. Families, communities, performance groups, cultural associations, schools and informal local networks carry practices forward. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, the Direção-Geral da Cultura and Casa da Cultura, island and district authorities, UNESCO project partners, NGOs and media support documentation, cultural activity or safeguarding, but traditions are not primarily administered by one central institution. Tchiloli, also called Tragédia, is an open-air dramatic performance mainly associated with São Tomé, especially Forro communities. Around 30 performers present a murder trial involving Dom Carloto and Valdevinos, with roles for the victim's family, an imperial court and legal or official figures. A women's ritual opens the performance. Drums, flutes and maracas accompany the action, while the audience may comment and interact. Performances can last about six hours and usually take place on a fixed area in a courtyard, village space or public square, often during gravana, the dry season, or a village or saint's festival. Tchiloli was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List in 2025. Traditionally, men played all roles, including women's roles, and costumes, texts and parts were passed through families and Tragédia groups by observation, practice and taking over roles. Auto de Floripes, also known as São Lourenço, is a distinct annual open-air theatre tradition on Príncipe. It takes place during the São Lourenço festival on 15 August and presents Christians and Moors through music, dance and public performance. Red costumes represent the Moors and green costumes the Christians. The event has strong community participation, including people living abroad, and should not be treated as a Príncipe version of São Tomé's Tchiloli. Príncipe also has Dêxa, identified in specialist literature as a local music and dance form. São Tomé has local music and dance forms including Dançá Congo, Ússua, Socopé and Puita. Forro, Angolar and Lunguê support oral transmission through poetry, myths, legends, farming practices and knowledge of medicinal plants. Clothing and performance materials change over time: Tchiloli uses historical or contemporary uniforms, coats, hats or crowns, masks, ribbons and glittering or mirrored elements. The Mântua family is associated with black mourning clothing. Local costume makers repair and produce these items. The annual cycle includes New Year's Day on 1 January, Carnival with masks, music and dance, All Souls' Day on 2 November with cemetery visits, flowers, candles and prayers, São Tomé Day on 21 December, and Christmas on 25 December, when families commonly meet after midnight mass. A beach ritual symbolically washes away the old year. Ash Wednesday and Dia do Bocado follow Carnival, and São Isidore festivals are locally documented. Independence Day on 12 July is mainly a civic and historical commemoration rather than a tradition-specific subject. Catholic saints' festivals, processions and church celebrations shape some customs; evangelical and Pentecostal churches have also grown. African spiritual practices involving ancestors, natural forces, healers, herbs, prayers, baths, protective objects and djambi intersect with cultural practices but form a separate religious subject. Family and life-cycle practices vary considerably. The 2012 national census recorded união de facto for 89.16% of people aged 12 or older included in an identified union type, civil and religious marriage for 8.90%, civil marriage alone for 1.64% and religious marriage alone for 0.29%. These are historical census figures, not current prevalence. Family patterns include plural partnerships, some polygamous relationships and strongly differentiated gender roles, while present-day couple formation is changing. No single, reliably documented national ceremony sequence for birth, initiation, marriage or mourning has been established. Catholic baptism and funerals, All Souls' Day and family remembrance provide documented transition and memory practices. Earlier judicially forced marriage and dowry practices were described in the census report as nearly forgotten. Constitutional law recognizes the family and marriage and provides equal rights for spouses. Craft traditions include Tchiloli masks, costumes and props; straw esteira artesanal from Roça Abade and Praia Abade on Príncipe, sold locally and at Bobo Forro; workshops and exhibitions at Espaço CACAU; and bags, earrings and necklaces made by women and small businesses from African fabrics. Wood, shell and seed crafts are also mentioned locally, but no reliable country-wide classification exists. Celebrations may include shared meals, fish, bananas or calulu, while detailed food traditions belong to the food topic. Tchiloli and Auto de Floripes are generally open to the public during festivals, but no uniform national admission, fee or participation system has been documented. Active roles usually depend on family connections, local groups, schools or cultural organizations. UNESCO recognition creates an international safeguarding framework, not an individual right to participate. A first national inventory project ran from 7 November 2024 to 6 February 2026 with both main islands, district authorities, researchers, associations, NGOs and media; its publicly confirmed completeness remains unclear. Cultural programmes and tourism increase visibility, while younger carriers learn through schools and informal practice. Costumes and props may adapt, but local meanings and community involvement remain central.