Healing
Folk and spiritual healing, said as tradition and never as medical advice.
Traditional healing joins remedy, ritual and relationship. Healers of many kinds are said to treat the body, the family and the spirit together: the curandero in Mexico and the Andes, the sangoma in southern Africa, the hakim in the Islamic world, the Ayurvedic vaidya, the Korean mudang and the Siberian shaman. This page describes these as traditions, not as medical advice. Illness needs real medical care. Healing is also the intent most often exploited, so the page states its limits plainly.
How tradition frames illness
Many traditions treat illness as a matter of balance, relationship or disturbance, not only of the body. A sickness may be linked to an offended ancestor, a broken taboo, soul loss, envy, or a spirit. Treatment therefore includes consultation, confession, offerings, cleansing and a family gathering. Healers describe the aim as restoring a person's place in the community. Examples include the sweating, singing and plant rites of the Americas, the chanting and massage of Southeast Asia, and the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of South Asia, each with its own theory and texts.
Healers and training
Healers are called, apprenticed or hereditary. A sangoma is described as called by ancestors, often after an illness, and trained under a senior. In many places, healers are women, midwives and elders, whose standing does not come from a licensed degree. Governments have set up registers: South Africa recognised traditional health practitioners by law in 2007, and India supports Ayurveda through its AYUSH ministry. The ritual side is often described as being as important as the remedy, since attention, ceremony and support from family are part of the experience.
Working with medicine
Many people use traditional and clinical care side by side. Some healers refer patients to clinics and some campaigns in Africa have trained them to do so. Problems arise when ritual replaces treatment: delayed care for serious illness, harmful substances, and bans on medicine have cost lives. The World Health Organization supports research on traditional medicine while insisting on evidence for safety and effect. Patients also say the healer sat with them for hours, gave time and attention, and spoke the local language, which busy clinics may not manage.
Fraud and abuse
Fake healers exist everywhere: sellers of miracle cures, practitioners who charge to remove a curse, and exorcists who beat or starve people with mental illness. In several countries the courts have prosecuted deaths during exorcism. Scholars separate what communities value in healing, such as attention and meaning, from claims about cure, which should be tested. None of this removes the need to see a doctor for serious or lasting symptoms, and people should not stop prescribed treatment because of a ritual or a remedy.
Healing on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun
A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 5 moreGrimoire
A textbook containing instructions for spells, rituals, and the creation of magical objects.Text · Protection · Healing Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreHeliotrope
A green and red mineral stone used as an amulet for health, invisibility, and courage.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking
Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper
An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSéance
A gathering to communicate with spirits, ranging from religious services to stage performances.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreCurandero
A folk healer in Latin America and the United States who blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean lunar holiday marking the first full moon with nut-cracking and field firesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn
A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi
Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba
The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 3 moreDragon's blood
A bright red resin from several plant species used in magic, medicine, and art since antiquitySubstance · Healing · Protection Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSator Square
A five-word Latin palindrome found in Roman ruins and medieval churchesCharm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy
A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte
A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreFolk Catholicism
Local religious customs that blend official Church teaching with indigenous or regional traditions.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl')
An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer
A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical
🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreTurkish folkloreTürk halk kültürü
A rich body of oral tales, jokes, and rituals from Turkey and the Turkic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo
Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreMami Wata
A water spirit of beauty and wealth in African folklore and the Atlantic diasporaBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ
Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei
A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreFlorida Water
A citrus perfume used in spiritual cleansing and folk healing across the Americas.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة
Moroccan ritual music blending West African heritage with Islamic practice for healing and tranceTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇷 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime
A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTalisman
An object believed to channel specific forces for protection, healing, or influence.Charm · Protection · Healing Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreSoul dualism
A belief that a person contains two or more distinct kinds of soulsBelief · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 morePrecious coral
A marine skeleton harvested for jewelry and worn as a protective charm in several culturesSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A flannel pouch holding charms for protection and luck in African American Hoodoo traditionCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo
A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer
An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreAmber
Fossilized tree resin used in jewelry and folk healing traditionsSubstance · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo
A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه
A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grimoire: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amber: uploaded with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Heliotrope: Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
- Séance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Dragon's blood: Andy Dingley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sator Square: M Disdero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
- Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turkish folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Palo Santo: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mami Wata: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Florida Water: Unknown artist(s), Public domain, source
- Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Talisman: Sasha India, CC BY 2.0, source
- Soul dualism: 尹真人, Public domain, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Precious coral: Géry PARENT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source