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

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍 A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya mythology The reconstructed tales of the Maya people about gods, heroes, and the creation of the world.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 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

🇮🇪 IrelandLia Fáil A standing stone at the Hill of Tara used for royal inaugurations in Irish legendCharm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptImhotepỉỉ-m-ḥtp An ancient Egyptian architect deified as a god of healing and wisdomBeing · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAnkh Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for life and the amulet that carries its meaningCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 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

🇩🇪 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 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreViracochaWiraqucha The supreme creator deity of the Andes, associated with the sea and civilization.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaOracle bone甲骨 Divination using heated ox bones and turtle shells in ancient ChinaRite · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇶 IraqBabylonian astrology The first organized system of celestial divination in the ancient Near EastTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenTemple at Uppsala A Norse religious centre described in medieval texts and debated by modern scholarsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreOracle A person or site believed to channel divine insight and predict the future.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreAncient Mesopotamian religion The polytheistic beliefs and practices of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia from 6000 BC to 500 ADTradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreDendera zodiac A carved Egyptian sky map now held in a Paris museumText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreMagic in the Greco-Roman world Private supernatural practices in ancient Greece and Rome, distinct from public state religion.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAnimal sacrifice The ritual killing of livestock or wild animals as an offering to deitiesRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreBaetyl A sacred stone, often a meteorite, believed to house a deity in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean traditions.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJiang Ziya姜子牙 A historical strategist and war god who helped establish the Zhou dynastyFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreEye of Horuswḏꜣt A stylized eye symbol in ancient Egypt representing healing and cosmic orderCharm · Protection · Healing Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiBois Caïman The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreBook of Thoth A collection of ancient Egyptian texts attributed to the god of writing and knowledge.Text · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCernunnos An antlered Celtic deity associated with nature and fertilityBeing · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 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 🇪🇪 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

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical

🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇦🇺 AustraliaTjurunga Sacred objects of the Arrernte people, embodying ancestral power and clan identity.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 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

🇪🇸 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

🇳🇿 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreAxis mundi A concept describing a central point connecting the earthly and heavenly realms.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇹🇷 TurkeyHittite sun disk An ancient Anatolian bronze symbol used in Hattian and Hittite religious ceremoniesCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreWorship of heavenly bodies Veneration of stars, planets, and the sky as divine forces or deitiesTradition · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 4 moreSwastika (Germanic Iron Age) A four-armed symbol found on Germanic artefacts from the Migration to Viking periods.Belief · Power and authority Historical

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
Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, 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
Astrology: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
Pig dragon: Prof. Gary Lee Todd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Viracocha: Pattych ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oracle bone: Unknown author, CC0, source
Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Oracle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Tjurunga: No machine-readable author provided. Sepu~commonswiki assumed (based o, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source
Dendera zodiac: Shonagon, CC0, source
Axis mundi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hittite sun disk: Noumenon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Worship of heavenly bodies: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ouroboros: Djehouty, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Animal sacrifice: Wilfredor, CC0, source
Baetyl: Jusepe de Ribera, Public domain, source
Swastika (Germanic Iron Age): No machine-readable author provided. Bloodofox~commonswiki assumed (ba, Public domain, source
Jiang Ziya: Wang Qi, Public domain, source
Eye of Horus: Tangopaso, Public domain, source
Set animal: Unknown author, Public domain, source