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.
🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil
A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession
A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreTurquoise
An opaque blue-green gemstone prized for its color since ancient timesSubstance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreIfá
A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreRain Queen
A hereditary queen of the Balobedu people believed to control rainfall in South AfricaTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp
An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority 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 morePishtacoñañaq; kharisiri
An Andean bogeyman said to steal human fat for oil and medicineBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 EgyptOpening of the mouth ceremonywpt-r (Egyptian)
An ancient Egyptian rite to restore a deceased person's senses for the afterlifeRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún
A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreỌya
A Yoruba orisha of storms and the dead, worshipped in Africa and the Americas.Being · 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
🇱🇻 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology
A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnkh
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for life and the amulet that carries its meaningCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
🇯🇵 JapanEn no Gyōja役小角
A legendary Japanese ascetic and founder of Shugendō mountain practiceFigure · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye
A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaKula ring
A ceremonial gift network in the Trobriand Islands that circulates shell valuables to build social status.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHopi mythology
The creation stories and spirit traditions of the Hopi people of the American SouthwestTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ
An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreNecromancy
A form of divination that seeks to speak with the dead for hidden knowledge.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇻🇺 VanuatuJohn Frum
A Melanesian cargo cult figure on Tanna Island who promises wealth and the return of American supplies.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority 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
🇨🇳 ChinaPig dragon玉豬龍
A coiled Neolithic jade amulet from Hongshan culture, possibly an early dragon imageCharm · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandVäki
A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreAstrology
A divinatory practice that links celestial positions to human affairs and earthly eventsTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty
State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇪🇪 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
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology
A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇩 IndonesiaAntabogaꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ
A serpent deity of Javanism and Sundanism who created the world turtle and rice goddessBeing · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptSet animalsha
A mysterious creature from ancient Egypt, linked to the god Set and chaos.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaejongism대종교
A Korean faith system centred on the ancestral king Dangun and national identity.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
🇪🇸 SpainHuman sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula
Ancient ritual killings by Lusitanian and Vetton peoples for divination and warRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Historical
🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 3 moreMana
A spiritual force of power and authority in Oceanic culturesBelief · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreOuroborosοὐροβόρος
An ancient image of a serpent eating its own tail, symbolizing cycles and wholenessFigure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇲🇳 MongoliaBlack shamanismХар бөө
A Mongolian shamanic tradition working with lower spirits and ancestral power.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Revived
🇮🇩 IndonesiaMarapu
Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreToltecayotl
A Nahuatl concept of the art of living and wisdom derived from Toltec traditionBelief · Power and authority Revived
🇻🇳 VietnamMẫu Thượng Ngàn林宮聖母
A forest goddess in Vietnamese indigenous religion, ruler of the Forest PalaceBeing · Power and authority Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanMagatama勾玉
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇱 MaliBoli
A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Human sacrifice in the ancient Iberian Peninsula: Manuel Parada López de Corselas User:Manuel de Corselas ARS SUMMUM, Ce, Public domain, source
- Antaboga: fir0002 flagstaffotos [at] gmail.com Canon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, GFDL 1.2, source
- Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Pig dragon: Prof. Gary Lee Todd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- Turquoise: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
- Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
- Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ọya: Picture taken by Eurico Zimbres, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Obatala: Isha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Latvian mythology: Dezidor, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
- Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kula ring: Bendeguz, Public domain, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Hopi mythology: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
- Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- John Frum: Tim Ross, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
- Tawûsî Melek: Bernd Schwabe in Hannover, CC BY 3.0, source
- Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Daejongism: Berghendorf, CC0, source
- Mẫu Thượng Ngàn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source
- Mana: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source