Indigenous and shamanic: magic in this belief world

Ceremony, healing and spirit knowledge of Indigenous peoples; some of it closed to outsiders and described here only as far as its people share it.

Indigenous and shamanic traditions are the ceremony, healing and spirit knowledge of peoples from the Arctic to the Amazon, Australia, the Pacific and Africa. They are not one religion, and each community has its own names, laws and stories. Some knowledge is closed to outsiders by the community's own rule, and this guide describes it only as far as the people concerned share it. Terms such as Indigenous and shamanic can hide great variety, so the guide gives each people its own entry wherever it can.

Many peoples, many practices

Examples include the Sami noaidi, Mongolian and Siberian shamans, the Navajo and Lakota ceremonial systems, Amazonian plant healers, Andean offerings to Pachamama, Maori tohunga, Hawaiian kahuna and Aboriginal Dreaming law. Each is rooted in land, kinship and responsibility. Many peoples hold that knowledge belongs to the people and place it came from, and cannot be taken or sold. Elders say that these practices were given to a community and cannot be separated from its language, land and obligations, so that they function differently in the hands of outsiders.

Closed and open knowledge

A great deal is restricted by gender, age, initiation or clan. Some Aboriginal ceremonies, parts of Pueblo and Hopi religion, and many African initiation societies are not for outsiders, and describing them in detail would break the community's law. Visitors should ask before attending, photographing or recording, and accept a refusal. Where this guide is silent on a detail, that is deliberate. In many communities, healers and ceremonial leaders are chosen by calling, family and long training, and they do not advertise.

Suppression and recovery

Colonisers banned ceremonies, as in the United States, where the Plains Sun Dance and the Pacific Northwest potlatch were outlawed. Canada banned the potlatch from 1885 to 1951. Missionaries called practice devil worship and removed children to boarding schools. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 recognised rights in US law, and revival and language movements continue. Colonial law in Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil and elsewhere sought to end such practice, and some communities lost part of their ceremonial knowledge as a result.

Appropriation and respect

Sweat lodges run by outsiders have caused deaths, notably in Arizona in 2009. Sacred plants are sold as products, and costume and names are taken for branding. Indigenous leaders ask for consent, credit and benefit-sharing. Some Indigenous writers prefer to speak of religion, law or medicine, not magic, and this guide follows their lead where it can. Ask first and give back: those are the rules most communities state, and the guide asks readers to follow them.

Indigenous and shamanic 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

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇦 CanadaNanabozhoᓇᓇᐳᔓ A shapeshifting spirit and trickster in Anishinaabe storytelling from North AmericaBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 morePishtacoñañaq; kharisiri An Andean bogeyman said to steal human fat for oil and medicineBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAos Sí Supernatural beings of Irish and Scottish folklore, said to dwell in mounds and influence the human world.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 morePawang A shaman from Indonesia and Malaysia who commands spirits, weather, and wild animals.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇧🇷 BrazilBoitatá A fiery serpent of Brazilian folklore that guards forests or frightens childrenBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyi Roro KidulRatu Laut Selatan The spirit queen of Java's southern coast and guardian of the Indian OceanBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreJinnجِنّ Supernatural beings in Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian belief, created from smokeless fire.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇬 EgyptDemon A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian) A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreHiisi A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 PolandBoginka Female spirits of wild nature in Polish pagan mythologyBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsAdaro Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreTaotao Monataotaomo'na Ancestral spirits of the Mariana Islands who guard wild places and influence daily lifeBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiMarassa Jumeaux The divine twins of Haitian Vodou, representing love, truth, and justice.Being · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaCleverman A traditional Aboriginal healer and cultural keeper in Australia with varied magical abilities.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇧🇿 BelizeTata DuendeNukuch Tat A thumbless forest spirit of Belizean folklore that protects animals and warns children.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇺🇸 United StatesChepi A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Aos Sí: AE [George William Russell] (1867-1935), CC BY 4.0, source
Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Pawang: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Boitatá: The ponta cabeça, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Demon: Martin Schongauer, Public domain, source
Boginka: Walery Eljasz Radzikowski, Public domain, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Nyi Roro Kidul: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source