“Theyyam”. Preparation for the Theyyam performance in the surroundings of Kasaragod city. Theyyam is a popular ritual dance form of North Kerala, particularly in Kannur and Kasargod districts. The Theyyam represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. Make up of Theyyams is done by specialist. There are different types of face painting for which primarily and secondary colours are used. Therefore it is essential that the makeup man should have perfect knowledge of primary and secondary colour combinations. Sometimes, it takes several hours to paint each face. Photo location: Kasaragod, India. (Photo and caption by Rafal Ziejewski/National Geographic Photo Contest)

People in traditional dance before competing in the 53rd Verdiales music contest in Malaga, southern Spain December 28, 2014. Verdiales is a form of traditional Flamenco music, which is common in the province of Malaga. Members of singing groups, known as “pandas”, wear traditional costumes decked with flowers and other accessories as they perform in the contest, which is held annually on December 28. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

In this June 20, 2015 photo, Niberta Galvez uses the bottom half of his shirt to collect coca leaves in Samugari, Peru. Coca farmers were among the locals who, in 1984, formed citizen militias to help the military beat back Shining Path rebels, reducing them to a small group of fewer than 500 who now are deeply involved in drug trafficking. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

In this June 16, 2015 photo, an Indian coachman sleeps on his Victoria horse-drawn carriage outside a stable in Mumbai, India. Drivers of Mumbai's iconic horse-drawn carriages can't imagine not plying the roads pulling photo-snapping tourists atop their kitsch-covered chariots. Yet that time is coming, thanks to a court order calling such superfluous “joyrides” a form of animal cruelty and banning them in India's financial capital from June 2016. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

In this November 7, 2016 photo, “El Menor”, a member of “Los Cainos” self-defense group formed by the Marval fishing family, holds a homemade gun before starting a night patrol to help protect fishermen from pirate attacks in Punta de Araya, Sucre state, Venezuela. Pirates are terrorizing the coastal state of Sucre, once home to the world's fourth-largest tuna fleet and a thriving fishing industry. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

People decorate a street with candles inside oranges during the Epitaph ceremony during Good Friday's “Apokathelosis”, the Descent of Christ's dead body from the Cross, which forms a key part of Orthodox Easter, in the southern city of Leonidio, at the Peloponnese peninsula on April 26, 2019. Millions of Greeks flock to churches around the country this week to celebrate Easter, the country's foremost religious celebration. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP Photo)

Pigeon fancier Yonisbel Santana poses for a photo at his rooftop in Havana, Cuba, May 18, 2021. Havana's pigeon keepers crane out of a window, intently watching the grey birds take flight. Mostly staying indoors due to the country's worst outbreak of COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic began in March last year, Cubans are increasingly breeding pigeons as a form of escape. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

A masquerade dances to drums along the streets during the kankurang Festival in Janjanbureh on January 27, 2024. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, Kankurang, a combination of the Mandingo words “kango” and “Kurango”, literally translated as “voice” and “force”, ensures the transmission and teaching of the values and practices that form the basis of Mandingo cultural identity, a West African people whose historical home was the Mali empire. (Photo by Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP Photo)