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

🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian) A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreStrichaСтріча A Slavic goddess who spins the golden thread of human destiny and good fortuneBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreTawûsî Melekتاوسی مەلەک The central angel of Yazidism, known as the Peacock Angel and leader of the Seven Mysteries.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù) A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreKalevaKalev A primordial giant and ancestral figure in the mythologies of Estonia and FinlandBeing · Power and authority 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

🇯🇵 Japan and 4 moreHousehold deity A spirit or minor god believed to guard a home and its family members.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreLaumaLaumė A Baltic fairy-like spirit of the sky, weather, and newborn children.Being · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaAntabogaꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ A serpent deity of Javanism and Sundanism who created the world turtle and rice goddessBeing · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 PolandBoginka Female spirits of wild nature in Polish pagan mythologyBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaKhunu Leimaꯈꯨꯅꯨꯔꯩꯃ (Khunu Leima) A Meitei goddess who rules over pigeons and doves in the religion of Manipur.Being Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptSet animalsha A mysterious creature from ancient Egypt, linked to the god Set and chaos.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreAyaz AtaАяз Ата A Turkic winter spirit who brings snow and gifts during the cold seasonBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living 🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsAdaro Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 ChinaPixiu貔貅 A winged lion-like creature from Chinese lore that guards wealth and wards off evil spirits.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇻🇳 VietnamMẫu Thượng Ngàn林宮聖母 A forest goddess in Vietnamese indigenous religion, ruler of the Forest PalaceBeing · Power and authority Living 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇭🇹 HaitiMarassa Jumeaux The divine twins of Haitian Vodou, representing love, truth, and justice.Being · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreVäinämöinen An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇦🇺 AustraliaCleverman A traditional Aboriginal healer and cultural keeper in Australia with varied magical abilities.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇧🇿 BelizeTata DuendeNukuch Tat A thumbless forest spirit of Belizean folklore that protects animals and warns children.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical 🇯🇵 JapanYosuzume夜雀 A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTigmamanukan A pre-colonial Tagalog omen bird believed to guide journeys and aid creationBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical 🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living 🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicAnaisa Pye A Dominican loa of love and wealth, linked to Saint Anne.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical 🇿🇦 South AfricaAmadlozi Ancestors of the Nguni people who guide and protect their descendantsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı) Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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

🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreShatiqatu𐎌𐎓𐎚𐎖𐎚 (šʿtqt) A Ugaritic healing figure created from clay to cure the king KirtaBeing · Healing Historical

🇳🇵 Nepal and 1 moreBanjhakri and Banjhakrini Forest shamans of the Kirati people in Nepal and eastern IndiaBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreWeiße Frauen Elven spirits of sunlight and water in Germanic folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOngon Ancestor spirits in Mongolian shamanism, represented by consecrated idols and talismansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇹🇬 Togo and 1 moreTchitcherik A wooden statue representing the ancestors of the Moba people in Togo and Ghana.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇪🇬 EgyptHermanubisἙρμανοῦβις A Graeco-Egyptian god who guides the souls of the dead to the underworld.Being · 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.

Antaboga: fir0002 flagstaffotos [at] gmail.com Canon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, GFDL 1.2, source
Ongon: Vyacheslav Kirillin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banjhakri and Banjhakrini: RajashreeTalukdar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shatiqatu: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Väinämöinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
Tawûsî Melek: Bernd Schwabe in Hannover, CC BY 3.0, source
Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
Khunu Leima: Author: DALL-E; prompted by Haoreima, Public domain, source
Boginka: Walery Eljasz Radzikowski, Public domain, source
Barong: Skha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Pixiu: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
Mẫu Thượng Ngàn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
Akhty: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
Tigmamanukan: Illustrator and uploader Dragonbite ., CC BY-SA 1.0, source
Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
Lauma: Raki_Man, CC BY 3.0, source
Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Weiße Frauen: Wojciech Gerson, Public domain, source
Hermanubis: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source