question: Besides Europe, what other continent has traditions similar to the solo and mock-battle tradition observed in Nova Scotia?
answer: Asia
context: Title: Isle Haute
  Passage: Isle Haute is a remote island in the middle of upper Bay of Fundy near the entrance to the Minas Basin, 16 kilometers from the coast of Harbourville and 8 kilometers south-southwest of Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia.  The island is part of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia and is 3 km long and 0.4 km wide.  The Mi'kmaq used the island to make stone tools before Europeans arrived and called the island "Maskusetik", meaning place of wild potatoes.  Samuel de Champlain gave the present name to the island, meaning in French "High Island", in 1604 when he observed the towering bluffs, timber and fresh-water springs.  The steep 100 m basalt cliffs of the island are the result from volcanic eruptions in the Jurassic period and may have been connected to the North Mountain volcanic ridge on the mainland 200 million years ago, before the Bay of Fundy was formed.
  Title: Sword dance
  Passage: Sword dances are recorded throughout world history.  There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Asia and Europe.
  Title: Hubert Marcoux
  Passage: Hubert Marcoux (February 2, 1941 – 2009) was a French-Canadian solo sailor, author and travel writer.  After travelling the world for 18 years, Marcoux returned to live with his sister in Bedford, Nova Scotia.  His boat, Mon Pays, was wrecked during Hurricane Juan.  To pay for boat repairs, Marcoux began writing his first novel, speaking at conferences, and writing for trade magazines.  In November 2009, he left Eastern Passage and was supposedly lost on his voyage from Nova Scotia to Bermuda.
  Title: David Ingram (explorer)
  Passage: David Ingram (dates uncertain) was a 16th-century English sailor and explorer who claimed to have walked across the interior of the North American continent from Mexico to Nova Scotia in 1568.  Ingram signed on with English privateer John Hawkins in 1567 to raid and trade along the coasts of Portuguese Africa and Spanish Mexico.  In November 1567, he was marooned with some 100 of his shipmates near Tampico on the coast of Mexico, about 200 miles south of the present Texas/Mexico border.  Ingram and two dozen of his party struck out northward into the interior to avoid capture by the Spanish, and disappeared off the map.  11 months later, in October 1568, Ingram and two others of his original party were picked up from the coast of Nova Scotia by a French fishing vessel.  How they got there is attested only by Ingram's own account, written down 13 years later in 1582 by Sir Francis Walsingham (Ingram himself was illiterate) and published in 1589 in Richard Hakluyt's "The Principall Navigations Voiges and Discoveries of the English Nation of 1589."  Hakluyt's second edition in 1599 did not contain Ingram's account, possibly suggesting Hakluyt's doubts about it.  Samuel Purchas commented on this writing that “It seemeth some incredibilities of his reports caused him to leave him out in the next impression, the reward of lying [being] not to be believed in truths.”  Ingram returned to the new world in 1583 with Sir Humphrey Gilbert in his unsuccessful attempt to establish an English settlement in Newfoundland.
  Title: Shubenacadie Sam
  Passage: Shubenacadie Sam is a famous Canadian groundhog who lives at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in the town of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia.  Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Sam's shadow is closely observed at 08:00 AST to make the traditional prediction whether there will be an early spring.  Due to Nova Scotia's Atlantic timezone, Sam makes the first Groundhog Day prediction in North America.
  Title: Portia White Prize
  Passage: The Portia White Prize is the largest prize of its type awarded by the Province of Nova Scotia and is named for Portia White, a Nova Scotian artist who rose through adversity to achieve international acclaim as a classical singer on the stages of Europe and North America.  Although Portia White began her career teaching in Africville, she eventually turned her energy to developing her enormous musical talent.  Portia White became a world-renowned contralto through much hard work and dedication and the financial support of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, a charitable organization created in 1944 by the Halifax Ladies Music Club, the music community and the Province.  Upon retiring from the stage, Ms. White devoted her time to teaching and coaching young singers.  Her achievements continue to instill a sense of pride in the African Nova Scotian community and stand as a model to all Nova Scotians. 
  Title: Point Chebucto
  Passage: Point Chebucto is a harbour tug that was built at the Halifax Shipyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1992.  She is one of very few harbour tugs that were built at the Halifax Shipyards.  She has been aiding ships in and out of Halifax Harbour and later Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia since she was registered in January 1993.  The tug was built for Eastern Canada Towing Limited, a company that has been around for over 60 years.  The tug is named after the point at Chebucto Head, continuing the tradition of Eastern Canada Towing of naming its tugs after points.  Eastern Canada Towing took over Foundation Maritime's work in the field of Harbour, Coastal and Deep-Sea tow and salvage.  The firm owns and operate a fleet of modern tugs ranging from 1250 HP - 5400 HP.  Most tugs are ice strengthened, with several having Ice Class 1 certification.  Their head office is also in Halifax.  Eastern Canada Towing was purchased in 2007 by Svitzer, a tug boat division of Maersk.
  Title: Family Day (Canada)
  Passage: In parts of Canada, Family Day (French: "Jour de la famille" ) is a statutory holiday occurring on a Monday in February.  In the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Saskatchewan, it is observed on the third Monday of February; in the provinces of Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the holiday is instead termed Louis Riel Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day and Islander Day respectively.  British Columbia (BC) observes Family Day on the second Monday of February.  Two-thirds of Canadians live in a province that observes a February statutory holiday.  Except in British Columbia, Family Day coincides with Presidents' Day in the United States.
  Title: 1927 Nova Scotia hurricane
  Passage: The 1927 Nova Scotia hurricane (also known as the 1927 Great August Gale or the Great Gale of August 24) was the deadliest Canadian hurricane since at least 1900, as well as the strongest tropical cyclone to ever strike Canada.  The first observed storm of the season, this cyclone developed from a tropical wave over the deep tropics of the Atlantic Ocean on August 18.  Initially a tropical storm, it moved west-northwestward and intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale by August 19.  The storm deepened significantly over the next few days, and by August 22, it peaked as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h).  Around that time, the system began curving northwestward and later northward.  By August 23, it turned to the north-northeast and then began weakening on August 24.  Thereafter, the storm accelerated toward Atlantic Canada.  Late on August 24, the hurricane struck near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as a Category 2 hurricane, just before becoming extratropical.
  Title: Nova Scotia Gaelic Mod
  Passage: Nova Scotia Gaelic Mod is an annual folk festival, held every August in the Cape Breton region of Nova Scotia, Canada.  It features many traditional Scottish games, dances, costumes, and food specialties.  The whole of eastern Nova Scotia turns up for Sword Dances, pipe bands, athletic events, and general celebration of the region's strong ties to Scotland and Scottish culture.
citations: Sword dance Nova Scotia Gaelic Mod