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The Customs That Bind Us

The village of Andaman in Tamil Nadu, India, has banned shoes from being worn within its limits (Credit: Kamala Thiagarajan)
The Customs That Bind Us

A barefoot village scared of a curse

By Kamala Thiagarajan

The city of Diyarbakır is regarded as the capital of Turkish Kurdistan (Credit: B.O'Kane/Alamy)
The Customs That Bind Us

A nation that doesn’t exist

By Rhiannon J Davies
In 2013, mourners toyi-toyied during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service (Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The Customs That Bind Us

South Africa’s unique way to protest

By Melissa Twigg
The centrepiece of the screech-in ceremony involves kissing a codfish (Credit: Ned White, Inc./Getty Images)
The Customs That Bind Us

What it takes to be a Newfoundlander

By Suchi Rudra
In Chengdu, China, ear cleaning is a unique local tradition that is believed to date back many centuries (Credit: Carla Drago)
The Customs That Bind Us

The roving ear-cleaners of China

By Hilda Hoy
While in Tehran, Iran, writer Joobin Bekhrad’s acquaintance was reassured by a fortune picked at random by a bird (Credit: ERIC LAFFORGUE/Alamy)
The Customs That Bind Us

The country that sells wishes

By Joobin Bekhrad