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

🇷🇺 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

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreVodyanoyводяной A water spirit of Slavic folklore that dwells in rivers and lakesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomBrowniebrùnaidh A nocturnal household spirit from Scottish folklore that performs chores in exchange for offerings.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandPúca A shape-shifting spirit of Celtic folklore that brings fortune or mischiefBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇸 IcelandNábrók A pair of pants made from human skin, said to generate endless wealth in Icelandic folklore.Charm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPuck A mischievous domestic sprite of English folklore known for practical jokes and household choresBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreSolomonariȘolomonar A Romanian weather wizard who rides a dragon and controls the storms.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇫🇷 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

🇨🇭 Switzerland and 3 moreTatzelwurm A cat-headed lizard of the Alps, said to guard mines and drink cow milk.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreLindwormlindorm A serpentine dragon of Northern and Central European folklore, often depicted as limbless or winged.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreKulshedra A multi-headed serpent demon in Albanian folklore that controls storms and droughts.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaZână A Romanian woodland spirit linked to Diana that guides travelers and blesses children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇷🇸 SerbiaCikavacцикавац A winged creature from Serbian folklore that fetches honey and milk for its ownerBeing · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreSkogsrå A forest spirit in Swedish folklore who appears as a beautiful woman but hides a hollow back and animal feet.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaPeaches of Immortality仙桃 Legendary Chinese fruits said to grant eternal life to deities and mortalsSubstance · Luck and prosperity · Change and initiation Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyMonacielloMunaciello A Neapolitan sprite linked to the city's underground waterways and hidden wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDokkaebi도깨비 A one-legged supernatural being from Korean folklore, often linked to household objects and magical items.Being · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanYama-uba山姥 A Japanese mountain spirit depicted as either a cannibalistic monster or a benevolent guardian.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇮🇩 IndonesiaBabi ngepet A Javanese myth about a person who turns into a boar to steal wealthBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇸🇪 SwedenSjörå A Swedish lake spirit that rewards kindness and drowns the disrespectfulBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreBake-danuki化け狸 A shape-shifting raccoon dog spirit from Japanese folklore known for pranks and illusions.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomCeffyl Dŵr A Welsh water spirit that takes the form of a horse to test or harm travellers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenYsätters-Kajsa A wind-troll from Swedish folklore who danced with the gales of NärkeFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary

🇪🇸 SpainXana A water spirit of Asturian myth who offers treasures or madness to those who hear her song.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomBluecap A blue flame spirit of English mines that guides miners and warns of dangerBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇩🇪 GermanyWitte Wiwer Subterranean spirits of Low German folklore known for music and child exchangeBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaSântoaderi Supernatural beings in Romanian folklore known for causing illness through music and danceBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaNine-tailed turtle九尾龜 A legendary Chinese creature linked to divination and folkloreBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇭🇺 HungaryLidérc A shape-shifting spirit from Hungarian folklore that brings wealth or illness.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇫🇷 FranceFarfadet Small helpful spirits of French folklore that perform chores for foodBeing · 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.

Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
Huldra: Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, source
Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Vampire: Edvard Munch, Public domain, source
Púca: Wirt Sikes, Public domain, source
Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Vodyanoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
Nábrók: Bernard McManus, CC BY 2.0, source
Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tatzelwurm: Abrasax, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Lindworm: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Kulshedra: Bidgee, CC BY 3.0, source
Skogsrå: Gunnar Creutz (Achird), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Peaches of Immortality: Anonymous ( China ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Farfadet: User:Mattes, Public domain, source
Yama-uba: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Babi ngepet: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Puck: Joseph Noel Paton, Public domain, source
Bake-danuki: Poposhka at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source