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.
🇹🇭 Thailand and 7 moreSpirit house
A small roofed shrine that shelters a place's protective spiritCharm · Protection Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun
A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreOrang Minyak
A slippery ghost from Malay folklore that abducts women and is covered in black grease.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo
A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreAgimatAnting-anting
A Filipino amulet or charm believed to grant protection, power, and supernatural abilities.Charm · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 5 moreTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese lunisolar new year and the most important annual celebration in VietnamTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesTikbalang
A horse-headed spirit of Philippine forests that leads travelers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 3 moreToyoltuyul
An undead infant spirit in Southeast Asian folklore, invoked for theft and fortune.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 5 morePenanggalan
A floating head with trailing organs from Malay folklore, said to hunt pregnant women and newborns.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه
A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyi Roro KidulRatu Laut Selatan
The spirit queen of Java's southern coast and guardian of the Indian OceanBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇻🇳 Vietnam and 4 moreLên đồng
A Vietnamese ritual where mediums enter trance to channel spiritsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreKallikantzarosκαλικάντζαρος
A malevolent goblin that dwells underground and surfaces during the twelve days of Christmas.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Перперуна
A Balkan rainmaking rite performed by youths in greenery to invoke summer showersRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 morePalad khikปลัดขิก
A Thai phallic amulet believed to bring luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaIndonesian numismatic charmUang Gobog
Coin-like amulets from Indonesia used for protection and ritual offerings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 morePra Jiadประเจียด
A Muay Thai armband worn for luck and confidenceCharm · Luck and prosperity · Protection 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
🇹🇭 Thailand and 5 moreKrasueกระสือ
A floating head with trailing organs from Southeast Asian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreNang Taniนางตานี
A female spirit said to inhabit wild banana trees in Southeast Asian folklore.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇭 ThailandMae Nak Phra Khanongแม่นากพระโขนง
A Thai ghost of a woman who died in childbirth and her shrine for protection and fertilityBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaSundel bolong
A vengeful ghost of Java, a woman whose long black hair hides the hole in her back.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇲🇲 MyanmarMythical creatures in Burmese folklore
A collection of spirits, beasts and hybrids from Myanmar's stories and playsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇵🇭 PhilippinesTiyanak
A vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that mimics a baby to lure travelers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇻🇳 VietnamNghêNghê (猊)
A mythical guardian creature in Vietnamese architecture and art, blending lion and dog traitsFigure · Protection Historical
🇵🇭 PhilippinesMandurugo
A shapeshifting spirit from Philippine folklore that feeds on human bloodBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 1 moreJailangkung
An Indonesian séance using a straw effigy to communicate with spirits of the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesMananambal
A Filipino folk healer who treats illness with herbs, prayers, and sorceryTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน
A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNini Pelet
A West Javanese sorceress legend linked to Mount Ciremai and the origin of the word for love charmsFigure · Love and attraction · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaKeong Emas
A Javanese legend about a princess turned into a golden snailFigure · Love and attraction Legendary
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor
A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreHae Nang Maewแห่นางแมว (Thai); ពិធីហែនាងម៉ែវ (Khmer)
A rainmaking ritual where a cat is paraded through villages to end droughtRite · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBabi ngepet
A Javanese myth about a person who turns into a boar to steal wealthBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kallikantzaros: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nghê: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Penanggalan: Hi I really try my best here, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palad khik: deror_avi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pra Jiad: Samy Sana, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spirit house: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lên đồng: Khangoii, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vietnamese numismatic charms: Jean-Michel Moullec, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mananambal: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Krasue: Xavier Romero-Frias, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nang Tani: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mae Nak Phra Khanong: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mythical creatures in Burmese folklore: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nyi Roro Kidul: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Babi ngepet: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tikbalang: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Dodola: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Keong Emas: Post of Indonesia, Public domain, source
- Agimat: FroyAgta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source