Cursing and harm

Curses, hexes and sorcery as people describe and fear them, with the counter-magic against them.

Cursing and harm are the part of magic that societies fear most. This page describes curses and sorcery as beliefs, and the social role of fear and accusation, and does not give instructions. The evil eye, the curse tablets of the Greek and Roman world, Hebrew and Arabic writings on harmful magic, sorcery in Melanesia and Africa, and the European witch are all part of this subject. Most of the harm recorded is that done to people accused.

What is believed

Many cultures hold that envy, anger or hostile ritual can bring illness, loss or death to a victim. The beliefs differ: in the Mediterranean, the evil eye needs no intent. In Azande society, studied by Evans-Pritchard, witchcraft was an inherited substance that explained why misfortune struck one person and not another. Greek and Roman lead curse tablets, often addressed to gods of the underworld, show the belief was written down in antiquity.

Accusation as social force

Where harm is feared, accusation follows. Anthropologists have shown that charges of witchcraft often follow tension inside a family or village, such as inheritance, jealousy or a sudden death. Accusers are usually in conflict with the accused, who is more likely to be old, poor, widowed or marginal. The belief can enforce norms and also destroy people. People also fear being accused, since an accusation can arrive without warning and can follow a family for generations.

Persecution and its present

European and colonial American witch trials, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, put tens of thousands to death, including the Salem trials of 1692. The practice has not ended. Mobs and families still attack accused people in parts of Africa, India, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, and Saudi Arabia has executed people for sorcery. Albino people have been killed for body parts in East Africa. Several states are drafting or enforcing laws against accusation itself.

Counter-magic and scholarship

Where harm is feared, so is protection: amulets, cleansing, and a specialist who can say who sent it. Scholars see curses as a language of grievance, and psychologists have documented the nocebo effect, in which belief in harm can bring on real distress. A person who is afraid should seek medical and social help, and talk to someone they trust. People who believe they have been cursed should be helped to find practical support, including from health services, and not left alone with fear.

Cursing and harm 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

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

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNavagrahaनवग्रह A group of nine celestial deities in Hinduism that govern fate and astrologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

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

🇵🇭 PhilippinesWitchcraft in the Philippinespangkukulam Indigenous beliefs about sorcery and malevolent magic in the PhilippinesTradition · Cursing and harm · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇫 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living

🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreLove magic Rituals and spells used to attract, preserve, or end romantic relationships across many cultures.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm 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

🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived

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

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHoodoo A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreGermanic seeressvǫlva Diviners and sorceresses of early Germanic and Norse societyTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Revived

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 3 moreExorcist A religious specialist who performs rites to remove alleged demonic possession from people or places.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living 🇭🇹 HaitiBizango Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Freyja: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Exorcism: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
Witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome: Wilhelm Tischbein, Public domain, source
Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Germanic seeress: Emil Doepler, Public domain, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Love magic: Kölner Meister [ 1 ] The artist is an unknown lower Rhenish artist. [, Public domain, source
Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
Magic in the Greco-Roman world: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source