🇬🇳 Magic in Guinea
2 entries from Guinea, best known first.
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
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇱🇾 Libya and 4 moreHeadless men
A legendary race of people described as lacking heads or having facial features on their chest.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇳 Guinea and 2 moreTaboo on rulers
Restrictions placed on kings and priests to manage fear and hostilityBelief · Protection Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Headless men: Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), Public domain, source