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

🇬🇭 GhanaObayifo A vampire-creature of Ashanti folklore that glows at night and hunts for prey.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇿 TanzaniaPopobawa A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇿🇦 South AfricaMamlambo A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaቡዳ An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇧🇯 Benin and 3 moreZangbeto A masked night-guardian tradition among the Ogu people of West AfricaTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇪🇹 EthiopiaPlanetary hours A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇫 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

🇿🇦 South AfricaInkanyamba A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇸 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

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇿🇦 South AfricaGrootslang A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇿🇦 South AfricaLightning bird A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇱🇷 LiberiaMaryland ritual killings A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇿🇦 South AfricaTagati A South African English term for a harmful wizard or poisoner, from Zulu roots.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreModern witch-hunts Contemporary violence against people accused of using magic to cause harmBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇺🇬 UgandaKilling of disabled children in Uganda The ritual murder of disabled children in parts of Uganda for body parts and perceived benefitsRite · Cursing and harm · 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.

Zduhać: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
Grootslang: Jeff McArthur (Guategeek), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lightning bird: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
Inkanyamba: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Maryland ritual killings: Fred van der Kraaij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch hunt: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source