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EveryJaadu

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 AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreSnake worship Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living 馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa and 1 moreRain Queen A hereditary queen of the Balobedu people believed to control rainfall in South AfricaTradition 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGhost DanceNanissaanah A circular movement seeking spiritual renewal and reunion with ancestorsRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Change and initiation Living 馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 3 moreSerbian folklore小褉锌褋泻懈 褎芯谢泻谢芯褉 The folk traditions and epic poetry of the Serbs, blending pre-Christian customs with Orthodox faith.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 1 moreObatala峄宐atal谩 The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being 路 Protection 路 Healing 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 馃嚤馃嚮 Latvia and 1 moreLatvian mythology A collection of myths about gods, spirits, and the afterlife from the Baltic region.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority 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 馃嚨馃嚞 Papua New GuineaKula ring A ceremonial gift network in the Trobriand Islands that circulates shell valuables to build social status.Tradition 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚞馃嚬 GuatemalaMaxim贸nRi Laj Mam A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHopi mythology The creation stories and spirit traditions of the Hopi people of the American SouthwestTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living 馃嚮馃嚭 VanuatuJohn Frum A Melanesian cargo cult figure on Tanna Island who promises wealth and the return of American supplies.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚮馃嚭 Vanuatu and 3 moreKastom A Melanesian term for traditional life, covering magic, law and ritualTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚚馃嚘 Canada and 1 moreTotemdoodem A spirit or symbol linking a group to nature, from Ojibwe clan systems to Australian kinshipBelief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚮馃嚦 Vietnam and 1 moreVietnamese folk religiont铆n ng瓢峄g d芒n gian Vi峄噒 Nam A collection of local spirit worship and ancestral veneration in VietnamTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing 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 馃嚠馃嚩 Iraq and 3 moreAncient Mesopotamian religion The polytheistic beliefs and practices of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia from 6000 BC to 500 ADTradition 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living 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 馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 5 moreTurquoise An opaque blue-green gemstone prized for its color since ancient timesSubstance 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreMedicine wheel Circular stone formations built by Indigenous peoples of North America for ceremony and astronomy.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚙馃嚧 Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu An Andean deity of abundance and prosperity, central to the Alasitas festival.Being 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Power and authority Living 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 馃嚨馃嚲 Paraguay and 3 moreGuarani mythology The oral traditions of the Tupi-Guarani peoples regarding gods, spirits and creationTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚠馃嚦 India and 3 moreSpirit An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living 馃嚠馃嚩 Iraq and 1 moreTaw没s卯 Melek鬲丕賵爻蹖 賲蹠賱蹠讴 The central angel of Yazidism, known as the Peacock Angel and leader of the Seven Mysteries.Being 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 馃嚠馃嚛 IndonesiaMarapu Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living 馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaAiy袗泄褘褘 (Ay谋谋) Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority 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 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 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican RepublicAnaisa Pye A Dominican loa of love and wealth, linked to Saint Anne.Being 路 Love and attraction 路 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.

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