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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

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

🇳🇴 Norway and 2 moreSámi drumgoavddis A ceremonial instrument used by Sámi noaidi for trance and divinationTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAnubis𓇋𓈖𓊪𓃣 The jackal-headed god who guides souls and oversees mummification in ancient Egypt.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreBasque mythology The ancient beliefs of the Basque people, preserved through legends and place names.Tradition Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreInca religion The polytheistic beliefs and rites of the Inca Empire across the AndesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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

🇪🇸 SpainSorginak Mythical beings and historical figures associated with Basque witchcraft and the goddess Mari.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm 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 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreNart sagaНарты кадджытæ A collection of epic tales from the North Caucasus about a legendary group of heroes.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreEstonian mythologyeesti mütoloogia The pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Estonian peopleTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptScarab A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaOssetian mythologyИрон мифологи The beliefs and supernatural beings of the Ossetian people in the Caucasus.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇱🇹 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvių mitologija The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptUshabtiwšbtj Ancient Egyptian funerary figurines believed to work for the dead in the afterlifeCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOmen A sign believed to foretell the future and signal coming changeBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceOrphismὈρφικά A Greek mystery tradition based on the myth of Dionysus and the soul's journeyTradition Historical

🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity 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

🇬🇷 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

🇬🇷 GreeceKykeonκυκεών An Ancient Greek ritual drink linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries and peasant lifeSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical

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

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreRunesᚱᚢᚾᛟ An ancient Germanic script used for writing and magical signs.Text · Seeing and foretelling · 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 🇰🇮 Kiribati and 4 moreMicronesian mythology The traditional belief systems and legends of the island peoples in the southwest Pacific.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

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

🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

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

🇪🇬 EgyptKhaemwesetḫꜥ m wꜣst A prince and priest remembered for restoring ancient Egyptian monuments.Figure Historical 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePyromancy Divination by reading flames, smoke, or fire-heated objectsOracle · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreFoundation deposit Ritual burial of objects under buildings to protect them from ruinRite · Protection 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

🇪🇬 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

🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · 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

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
Ushabti: Unknown author, CC0, source
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Orphism: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kykeon: Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Cernunnos: Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem, Public domain, source
Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Lia Fáil: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Imhotep: Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, source
Khaemweset: No machine-readable author provided. Neithsabes assumed (based on copy, Public domain, source
Foundation deposit: Unknown author, CC0, source
Opening of the mouth ceremony: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Ankh: Soutekh67, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
En no Gyōja: Wmpearl, CC0, source
Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
Estonian mythology: Jeannette Berkowitz (illustrator), Public domain, source
Basque mythology: No machine-readable author provided. Asp. assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Runes: Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON, CC BY 1.0, source
Necromancy: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
Viracocha: Pattych ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oracle bone: Unknown author, CC0, source
Omen: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Inca religion: Chronicler Martín of Murúa (Cronista Martín de Murúa), Public domain, source
Temple at Uppsala: Olaus Magnus, Public domain, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Sorginak: Errazking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Anubis: Hunefer, Public domain, source
Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source