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.

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

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag A flannel pouch holding charms for protection and luck in African American Hoodoo traditionCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaUnicorn horn A legendary object believed to neutralize poison and cure disease, traded as narwhal teeth for centuries.Charm · Healing · Protection Historical

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇺🇦 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

🇬🇧 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 🇺🇸 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

🇿🇦 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 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living

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

🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority 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 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

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living 🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇹🇳 TunisiaStambeli A Tunisian music and possession rite practiced by Black communities of slave descentTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRegional forms of shamanism A global overview of indigenous spirit-interaction practices across Asia and the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNew Thought A spiritual philosophy linking mental states to physical health and prosperityTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 ItalySegnature An Italian folk healing rite using gestures and prayers to cure illness and remove cursesRite · Healing · Protection Living

🇵🇭 PhilippinesMananambal A Filipino folk healer who treats illness with herbs, prayers, and sorceryTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇲🇽 MexicoMercado de Sonora A Mexico City market known for herbal medicine and occult goodsTradition · Protection · Love and attraction Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇲🇿 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition · Healing · Protection 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
Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Neoshamanism: Carptrash, 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
Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Unicorn horn: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Stambeli: Youssefbensaad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dragon's blood: Andy Dingley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mananambal: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Segnature: SeAnstapa, CC0, source
Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Florida Water: Unknown artist(s), Public domain, source
Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mercado de Sonora: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source
Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source