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.
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horseརླུང་རྟ་
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing 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 moreEleguaÈṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára
A Yoruba deity of crossroads and messenger who opens all spiritual pathsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreObatalaỌbatalá
The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇧🇷 BrazilBoitatá
A fiery serpent of Brazilian folklore that guards forests or frightens childrenBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarNatနတ်
Spirits venerated in Myanmar alongside Buddhism, including deified humans and nature guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay
An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu
An Andean deity of abundance and prosperity, central to the Alasitas festival.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreApu
Sacred mountain spirits in Andean tradition that protect communities and control natural resourcesBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreDomovoyДомовой
A household spirit in Slavic folklore that guards the family and home.Being · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAnito
Indigenous Philippine spirits and the carved figures that represent themBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob
A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreSpirit
An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇶 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
🇯🇵 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
🇨🇳 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
🇧🇿 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
🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı)
Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaAmadlozi
Ancestors of the Nguni people who guide and protect their descendantsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇦 CanadaPinga
An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · 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
🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicAnaisa Pye
A Dominican loa of love and wealth, linked to Saint Anne.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Aos Sí: AE [George William Russell] (1867-1935), CC BY 4.0, source
- Obatala: Isha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Elegua: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Boitatá: The ponta cabeça, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nat: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tawûsî Melek: Bernd Schwabe in Hannover, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pixiu: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyi Roro Kidul: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Apu: Cecilia Sacsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Domovoy: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Household deity: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anito: Frederic H. Sawyer, Public domain, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source