Spirits, creatures and beings

Djinn, fairies, orisha, golems and the other powers that magic deals with.

A feather: used in cleansing and blessing in some traditions, worn as a sign of office, and carried as a charm.

Beings are the powers that magic deals with: spirits, ancestors, gods, djinn, fairies, orisha, nats, kami, demons, golems, ghosts and the many kinds of household and landscape spirit. People in most cultures have described a world shared with unseen others, who may help, trouble or ask for respect. This page covers what these beings are said to be and the very different ways communities relate to them. They are always described here as what communities believe, not as established fact.

Different kinds of beings

A being can be a god with a priesthood, such as an orisha served in Yoruba religion, Cuba and Brazil. It can be an ancestor, honoured in China, Africa and Mexico. It can belong to a place, such as the kami of Shinto, the Thai phi or the Burmese nats. It can be a trouble-maker, like the djinn of Arabic and Islamic tradition, formed from smokeless fire, or the fairies of Ireland, whom people avoided naming.

Relationship, not command

In many traditions, a person does not command a being but enters a relationship with it, through offerings, promises and respect. Possession and mediumship are forms of that relationship, as in Vodou, Candomblé, Korean mudang rites and Sufi gatherings. In ceremonial magic of the European grimoires, by contrast, the magician summons spirits by name and authority, which the Church condemned as demon-raising. The same being may be loved in one household and feared in the next, and a spirit helpful to its servant can be harmful to a stranger.

Religions and renaming

Dominant religions often absorbed beings by relabelling them. Christian missionaries called many African and Indigenous spirits demons. Islam reads the djinn as real creatures, some of whom are Muslim, and Hindu and Buddhist traditions fold local deities into their own pantheons. Pagan and fairy beliefs were sometimes recast as the devil's work, which fed witch trials in Europe. Churches and mosques have sometimes divided beings into good and evil in ways the older traditions did not, so that a neutral local spirit became a demon on the day a missionary arrived.

Harm and interpretation

Belief in harmful spirits has been used to accuse people. Children in parts of West and Central Africa have been branded as witches possessed by evil spirits, and some have been abused by pastors or families in the name of deliverance. Scholars read spirit beliefs as ways to make sense of illness, loss and conflict, and many communities see them simply as neighbours. That is why accusations tied to spirit beliefs fall hardest on children and the vulnerable, and why many agencies train local leaders to challenge them.

Being 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

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

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

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

🇨🇱 ChileTrauco A small forest spirit from Chiloé mythology known for seducing women and causing pregnancyBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCurupira A backwards-footed forest guardian from Brazilian indigenous myth who punishes loggers and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico and 5 moreChupacabrachupacabras A legendary creature said to drain livestock of blood, emerging from Puerto Rico in the mid-1990sBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreChullachaqui A one-footed forest spirit of the Amazon that lures or challenges humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoChaneque Mexican folklore sprites that guard nature and homesBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSihuanaba A shapeshifting spirit that lures men with beauty before revealing a monstrous faceBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoCamazotz A bat spirit of the Maya underworld linked to night, death, and sacrificeBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoAhuizotlāhuitzotl A legendary Aztec water creature said to lure people to their deathsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇴 ColombiaPatasola A Colombian jungle monster that lures men with beauty before revealing a one-legged formBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇧🇷 BrazilMinhocão A giant aquatic worm or fish from Brazilian folklore blamed for earthquakes and animal disappearancesBeing Legendary 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 1 moreCiguapa A back-footed forest spirit of the Dominican Republic known for seduction and jealousyBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary 🇧🇷 BrazilBoiúna A powerful river serpent from Amazonian mythology that shifts shape to guard its watersBeing Legendary

🇵🇾 ParaguayAo Ao A Guarani mythic beast that hunts humans and frightens children in ParaguayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoWerejaguar A supernatural figure from Olmec art, blending human and jaguar traits.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCuerotrülke wekufü An aquatic creature from Mapuche and Chilote myth that drags victims into the depths.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 BrazilCapelobo A Brazilian monster with a long snout that feeds on blood and brainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDouen A faceless creature with backwards feet from Trinidad and Tobago folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇱 ChileWarlock of Chiloébrujo chilote A legendary network of sorcerers from the Chilean archipelago and their mythical powers.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇧🇷 BrazilBestial beastBesta-fera A centaur-like creature in Brazilian folklore thought to be the Devil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 2 moreMama D'Leau A river spirit of the Caribbean islands who protects aquatic life and heals people.Being · Healing · Protection Legendary

🇨🇱 ChileCamahueto A one-horned river bull from Chilote folklore that drags people to the seaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇧🇷 BrazilLobisomem A South American shape-shifter born from family fate or sin, often linked to the full moon.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreKalku A Mapuche sorcerer who works with negative powers and malevolent spiritsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇾 Guyana and 1 moreBaccoo A half-wood spirit from Guyanese and Surinamese folklore that serves as a mercenary or a haunting presence.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇨🇴 ColombiaMohan A forest spirit and ancestor soul in Colombian Indigenous folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇨🇱 ChilePincoya A Chilotan sea spirit whose dance predicts the catch of fish and seafood.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary

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
Mohan: Sanjuan, Public domain, source
Pincoya: Paul Lowry, CC BY 2.0, source
Trauco: Seo2 (Cristian), CC BY 2.0, source
Chullachaqui: LLs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chaneque: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sihuanaba: Orlando Callejas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ahuizotl: Infrogmation, New Orleans, Public domain, source
Ao Ao: Cowboymax, CC0, source
Werejaguar: Ruben Charles, ( http://www.rubencharles.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
Camahueto: Rjcastillo, CC BY 4.0, source
Capelobo: Di (they-them), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
Chupacabra: Dick Langer, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curupira: Sturm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source