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 Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreVampire An undead creature from folklore that feeds on the blood or life force of the livingBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreWerewolf A mythical shapeshifter that turns into a wolf, central to European witch-hunts and Gothic horror.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreLilithלִילִית A feminine figure from Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, often depicted as a night demon or spirit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical 🇮🇪 IrelandBodach A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaPixiu貔貅 A winged Chinese creature that guards wealth and wards off evil spiritsFigure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJack A trickster hero from English folklore who outwits giants and oppressorsFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇹 ItalyBefana An Italian witch-like figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany EveFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreMoroi A Romanian phantom that drains the living, linked to strigoi and unbaptised infants.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBogeyman A mythical creature used across cultures to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Living

🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living 🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreTunda A shapeshifting entity from the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador that lures people into the forest.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreKrampus A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙 Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreBaba Yaga A complex Slavic witch figure who lives in a moving hut and flies in a mortar.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomCeridwenCerridwen A Welsh enchantress and modern goddess of poetic inspiration and transformation.Being · Change and initiation Revived

🇬🇧 United KingdomAgnes Sampson A Scottish healer executed for witchcraft during the North Berwick trials.Figure Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝 The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人 The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 morePersonifications of death Figures from many cultures that embody the end of life and guide soulsFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇷 GreeceBaba Yaga (sample)Баба-яга A witch of Slavic tales who lives in a hut on legs.Figure · Change and initiation Legendary

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical

🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure · Change and initiation Historical 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSaciSaci-pererê A one-legged prankster of Brazilian folklore who hides in dust devils and wears a magic red cap.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living

🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBigfoot A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMelusineMélusine A water spirit of French and Luxembourgish lore, known for her serpent form and the castles she built.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAosaginohi青鷺火 A Japanese will-o'-the-wisp attributed to the glowing flight of herons at nightBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBabayБабай A night spirit in Slavic folklore used to frighten children into sleepingFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreJenny Greenteeth A river-hag from English folklore used to warn children away from dangerous watersFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandMerrowmurúch A sea creature from Irish folklore, known for its magical cap and singing voice.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living

🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCola Pesce An Italian merman legend about a boy cursed by his mother to live in the seaFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí) A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
Aosaginohi: Koikawa Harumachi ja:恋川春町 (1744-1789), Public domain, source
Bigfoot: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, Public domain, source
Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Ceridwen: Chris Denny, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
Bogeyman: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jack: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
Pixiu: Sol lc, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
Agnes Sampson: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
Personifications of death: No machine-readable author provided. Kirtap assumed (based on copyrigh, CC BY 2.5, source
Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Babay: Kyoukaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jenny Greenteeth: Jayan.thanal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Merrow: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
Lilith: Photographs by Ardon Bar Hama, author of original document is unknown., Public domain, source