Churches are valuable in both rural and urban life, constituting major centres of not just religious activity but also social interaction. In addition to Sunday services, religious schools and various groups for women, men, adolescents, and children are common. Church members often gather after worship services for a ndoye, a celebration with singing and dancing to honour a famous church member. Members bring food, soap, and kerosene to the honoree, who in turn, serves coffee, tea and a light snack.

Until the 19th century, artisans in the region produced many fine handmade items. The slave trade and the early years of colonization disrupted the development of crafts, and most of them disappeared. Today, woven mats and baskets, simple wooden utensils, carved stools, a rare mask, pottery, and musical instruments, including the balafon much like a xylophone but constructed with animal horns, skins, and wood are all that remain of older handiwork. More newly, handicraft workers have begun producing unique designs and pictures made from butterfly wings pasted to paper and some ebony and other tropical hardwood carvings.