Homogenization of integral functionals is studiedunder the constraint that admissible maps have to take their valuesinto a given smooth manifold. The notion of tangentialhomogenization is defined by analogy with the tangentialquasiconvexity introduced by Dacorogna et al. [Calc. Var. Part. Diff. Eq. 9 (1999) 185–206]. For energies with superlinear or linear growth, aΓ-convergence result is established in Sobolev spaces, thehomogenization problem in the space of functions of boundedvariation being the object of [Babadjian and Millot, Calc. Var. Part. Diff. Eq.36 (2009) 7–47].