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.
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horusw岣応湥t
A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horse嘟⑧境嘟脆絼嗉嬥舰嗑熰紜
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal and 1 morePrayer flagLung ta
Cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the windCharm 路 Protection 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreCowrie
A sea snail shell used as currency, divination tool, and charm across many culturesSubstance 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandLia F谩il
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 1 moreOvoo芯胁芯芯
A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 4 moreDzi bead嘟傕綗嘟侧紞 (gzi)
An agate amulet worn in the Himalayas for protection against the evil eye.Charm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptUshabtiw拧btj
Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptPlummet amulet
An Ancient Egyptian charm shaped like a plumb bob to ensure balance in the afterlifeCharm Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm閬撴暀鍝佸鐢熼將
Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FranceCurse of Vibia
A damaged Oscan lead tablet invoking underworld forces against a named man and his kinCharm 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm 路 Power and authority 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Ta铆no deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in M膩ori art and beliefBeing 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚞馃嚘 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚡馃嚨 JapanMagatama鍕剧帀
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚛 Indonesia and 1 moreSandung
A house-shaped ossuary for the bones of the deceased among Dayak peoples in Borneo.Charm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Plummet amulet: The Art Institute of Chicago, CC0, source
- Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Sandung: Wibowo Djatmiko ( Wie146 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prayer flag: Wotan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Curse of Vibia: Franz B眉cheler, Public domain, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lia F谩il: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Dzi bead: Benjwong, Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cowrie: NOAA (Photo Collection of Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program), Public domain, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source