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EveryJaadu

Folk and village custom: magic in this belief world

Rural and household beliefs that belong to no single organised religion.

Folk and village custom is the large body of belief and practice that belongs to no organised religion: the charm against the evil eye, the cure for warts, the fairy hawthorn, the household spirit, the lucky day. It is passed within families and communities and exists in every society. This page looks at how it is kept, who keeps it, and why it is both valued and dismissed. It is also called popular religion, vernacular religion or lived religion by scholars.

Keepers and settings

Keepers are often older women, farmers, midwives, shepherds and craftsmen. Settings are the house, field, well, crossroads and church porch. European cunning folk offered help for fees and kept charms and books. In many Asian and African villages the specialist is a healer, a diviner or a spirit medium working beside religion. The same grandmother may light a candle at church, tie a thread on a child and say a charm for a burn, and see no conflict between them.

Names and labels

The same thing carries many names: the evil eye is the nazar, mal de ojo and ayin hara. Folklorists collected such customs from the nineteenth century, sometimes as relics of a vanished past and sometimes as living culture. The label folk also marks class, since the term often implies rural, poor or uneducated, a bias that modern scholars try to avoid. Where the village has a wise woman or a bone-setter, the community knows what to ask of her and what she will refuse to do.

Religion, state and reform

Churches, mosques and temples have absorbed, tolerated and condemned folk practice in turn. States have banned it as backward: Chinese campaigns against superstition in the twentieth century closed local temples and shrines, and Soviet policy targeted village healers. At times governments have turned to it as national heritage, as in revived festivals across Europe and Asia. Historians and folklorists note that it often keeps old customs alive within newer religions, such as lighting fires at midsummer within Christian saints' days.

Change and commerce

Urban life and migration thin out folk knowledge, while heritage projects and the internet gather it. Customs reappear as products, such as protective charms in shops and festival tourism. Some folk practice carries harm: village accusation of witchcraft, treatments that delay medical care, and fees charged to relieve fear. Illness needs real medical care. In places with active heritage movements, folk custom has become a source of pride, and young people record songs and cures from grandparents before they are lost.

Folk and village custom on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhulduf贸lk Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomGhillie DhuGille Dubh A solitary Scottish fairy known for protecting forests and guiding lost childrenBeing 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreKnocker A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandP煤ca A shape-shifting spirit of Celtic folklore that brings fortune or mischiefBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBrowniebr霉naidh A nocturnal household spirit from Scottish folklore that performs chores in exchange for offerings.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 3 moreVodyanoy胁芯写褟薪芯泄 A water spirit of Slavic folklore that dwells in rivers and lakesBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚜馃嚫 Spain and 5 moreDuende A humanoid spirit of Iberian and Latin American folklore, ranging from household pranksters to forest guardians.Being 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚘馃嚬 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Revived 馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomPuck A mischievous domestic sprite of English folklore known for practical jokes and household choresBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 2 moreSolomonari葮olomonar A Romanian weather wizard who rides a dragon and controls the storms.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreEaster Bunny A German folkloric hare that judges children and delivers colored eggs for EasterBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living 馃嚚馃嚟 Switzerland and 3 moreTatzelwurm A cat-headed lizard of the Alps, said to guard mines and drink cow milk.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 5 moreLindwormlindorm A serpentine dragon of Northern and Central European folklore, often depicted as limbless or winged.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 3 moreChort褔褢褉褌 A Slavic demon spirit with horns and hooves, known in folklore as a trickster or minor evil force.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 2 moreStrix蟽蟿蟻委尉 A classical bird of ill omen that evolved into a term for witches and vampires across Europe.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpents芯谐薪械薪薪褘泄 蟹屑械泄 A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚘馃嚤 Albania and 3 moreKulshedra A multi-headed serpent demon in Albanian folklore that controls storms and droughts.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚪馃嚧 RomaniaZ芒n膬 A Romanian woodland spirit linked to Diana that guides travelers and blesses children.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreSkogsr氓 A forest spirit in Swedish folklore who appears as a beautiful woman but hides a hollow back and animal feet.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚜馃嚫 SpainAnjanaan藞hana / an.xa.n蓽 Cantabrian fairies who protect forests and bring gifts to children.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚪馃嚫 SerbiaCikavac褑懈泻邪胁邪褑 A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Power and authority Legendary 馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 1 moreS芒nzian膬 Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceMargot the fairy Earthly fairies of Brittany known for dancing, building monuments, and testing human guests.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreNis PukNi脽 Puk A legendary household spirit from Northern Germany and Denmark that helps or torments its owner.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Legendary 馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚜馃嚫 SpainXana A water spirit of Asturian myth who offers treasures or madness to those who hear her song.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomHobgoblin A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚟馃嚭 HungaryLid茅rc A shape-shifting spirit from Hungarian folklore that brings wealth or illness.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚛馃嚜 GermanyFeldgeist German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceFarfadet Small helpful spirits of French folklore that perform chores for foodBeing 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBuccabocka A Cornish sea-spirit and mine-dweller who receives fish offerings from coastal communities.Being 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚫馃嚜 SwedenSj枚r氓 A Swedish lake spirit that rewards kindness and drowns the disrespectfulBeing 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomCeffyl D诺r A Welsh water spirit that takes the form of a horse to test or harm travellers.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary 馃嚪馃嚧 RomaniaS芒ntoaderi Supernatural beings in Romanian folklore known for causing illness through music and danceBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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