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

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 morePra Jiadประเจียด A Muay Thai armband worn for luck and confidenceCharm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇮🇪 IrelandStatue rubbing A tourist custom of touching statues to attract luck, love, or a return visit.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living 🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 2 moreVietnamese numismatic charmsBùa Việt Nam Coin-shaped charms used for protection, luck, and ritual in Vietnamese cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 JapanAkisutozenekoあきすとぜねこ A Shōwa-era Japanese game that turns lovers' names into a predicted relationship outcomeBelief · Love and attraction Historical

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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇧🇷 BrazilPro-VidaPró-Vida, Integração Cósmica An occultist group founded in Brazil that promises cosmic consciousness and earthly paradise.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 JapanChinkon kishin鎮魂帰神 A Japanese spiritual practice combining soul calming with spirit possessionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇮🇳 IndiaApeswari sabha An Assamese healing rite where village women invoke a goddess to cure illnessRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇵 JapanDōbutsu uranai動物占い A Japanese divination system that sorts people into animal types based on birthdate and personality axes.Oracle · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese burial money瘞錢 (yì qián) Imitations of currency placed in Chinese graves to serve the deceased in the afterlife.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇹 ItalySmorfia A Neapolitan dream book that turns visions into lottery numbersOracle · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United StatesThe Gray Man A coastal ghost from South Carolina said to warn of hurricanesBeing · Protection Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean numismatic charm열쇠패 Coin-shaped objects used as protective and decorative charms in Korean cultureCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreZhengde Tongbao正德通寶 A fantasy cash coin used as a Chinese and Vietnamese amulet for luck and protection.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇯🇵 JapanMisaki御先 Japanese spirit-like entities that serve gods or possess humans with illness and calamityBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesLemon pig A carved fruit figure made for amusement and later linked to New Year luckCharm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese superstitions Common beliefs in Japan about luck, numbers, and omens rooted in language and customBelief · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLock charms家锁 / 锁片 (jiā suǒ / suǒ piàn) A Chinese metal pendant shaped like a lock to protect children from harm and death.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMarriage coin charm夫婦和合花錢 Coin-shaped amulets from East Asia that celebrate marriage, fertility, and conjugal harmonyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th A Western superstition that a specific calendar alignment brings misfortuneBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreConfucian coin charms Amulets bearing Confucian moral teachings and historical storiesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomFumsup A small figurine charm believed to bring good luck, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Charm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreEaster Bunny A German folkloric hare that judges children and delivers colored eggs for EasterBeing · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

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

🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreKrasueกระสือ A floating head with trailing organs from Southeast Asian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

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

🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreNang Taniนางตานี A female spirit said to inhabit wild banana trees in Southeast Asian folklore.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United StatesAshtar A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇵🇱 Poland and 3 moreStrzyga A female demon in Polish folklore, linked to owls and vampiric traitsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇹🇭 ThailandMae Nak Phra Khanongแม่นากพระโขนง A Thai ghost of a woman who died in childbirth and her shrine for protection and fertilityBeing · Protection · Healing Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpentsогненный змей A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreElwetritschElwedritsch A chicken-like creature from German folklore that tames the fear of sleep paralysisBeing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreQianliyan千里眼 A Chinese sea and door god with clairvoyant sight, guardian of the sea goddess MazuBeing · Protection Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKōshin庚申信仰 A Japanese folk belief involving vigils to prevent internal spirits from reporting human deeds to heavenBelief · Protection · Healing Living

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSpiritualist church A worship service led by a medium to communicate with the deceasedTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱 A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇵🇭 PhilippinesTiyanak A vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that mimics a baby to lure travelers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCabra cabriola A fire-breathing goat bogeyman used to frighten children in Portuguese and Brazilian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreNew IsraelНовый Израиль A Russian sectarian movement that established a farming commune in UruguayTradition Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chinkon kishin: Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), also known as Tomokiyo Kyūgo (友清九吾), Public domain, source
Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
Chinese burial money: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
Pra Jiad: Samy Sana, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Statue rubbing: Matthias Rosenkranz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Lemon pig: GenesisNZ, CC0, source
Confucian coin charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Marriage coin charm: Scott Semans, CC BY 3.0, source
Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
Krasue: Xavier Romero-Frias, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Easter Bunny: Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
Nang Tani: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
Strzyga: Filip Gutowski, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mae Nak Phra Khanong: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Elwetritsch: AnRo0002, CC0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
The Gray Man: Phoebe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Korean numismatic charm: Unknown author(s)., Public domain, source
Lock charms: Scott Semans World Coins (CoinCoin.com)., CC BY 3.0, source
Qianliyan: 玄史生, CC0, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Spiritualist church: Jim.henderson, CC0, source
Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source