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.
🇺🇸 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
🇲🇽 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 StatesNavajo medicine
Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesKahuna
A Hawaiian expert or priest, keeper of hidden knowledge in craft and spiritTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreManbo
A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 5 moreKallawaya
An itinerant group of traditional Andean healers known for their medicinal plant knowledge and ritual practicesTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund
A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text · Healing · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreFuji扶乩
Chinese planchette writing: gods and ancestors reply through a stylus on sandRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇴 NorwayCyprianus
A Scandinavian folk magic grimoire and the tradition of spells it containsText · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaReindeer in Siberian shamanism
The role of reindeer as spirit helpers, ritual tools, and burial vehicles in the shamanic traditions of Northern AsiaTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇳 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
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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 Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft
Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaApeswari sabha
An Assamese healing rite where village women invoke a goddess to cure illnessRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination
Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreOomancy
Divination by eggs, reading shapes and signs to foresee events or diagnose spiritual statesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty
State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇹🇭 ThailandMae Nak Phra Khanongแม่นากพระโขนง
A Thai ghost of a woman who died in childbirth and her shrine for protection and fertilityBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaAbada
A two-horned mythical beast from Central African and Southeast Asian loreBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教
The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele
A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreApocryphal prayer
A folk prayer text blending church forms with apocrypha and incantations for protection and healingText · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreSuperstitions in Muslim societies
Beliefs in supernatural forces and charms found across the Islamic worldTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇹 ItalyŚuri𐌑𐌖𐌛 (Etruscan)
An ancient Etruscan deity of volcanic fire, the underworld, and healingBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreSanni Yakumaසන්නි යකුම
A traditional Sinhalese exorcism ritual featuring eighteen masked dances to banish illness-causing demons.Rite · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives
Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇮🇹 ItalySegnature
An Italian folk healing rite using gestures and prayers to cure illness and remove cursesRite · Healing · Protection Living
🇵🇪 PeruChakapa
A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho
Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇾 MalaysiaBobohizan
A high priestess and spirit medium in the traditional rituals of the Kadazan-Dusun people of Sabah.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading
🇲🇽 MexicoVelada
A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
🇫🇮 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
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreTsentsak
Invisible darts used by Amazonian shamans for healing and sorcerySubstance · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism
A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇿 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
🇺🇸 United StatesNew England vampire panic
A folk response to tuberculosis involving the exhumation and burning of organsBelief · Protection · Healing Historical
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chakapa: Mario Martín /Archivo Centro Takiwasi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
- Śuri: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Oomancy: Rollcloud, CC BY 3.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Séance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stambeli: Youssefbensaad, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kallawaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
- Segnature: SeAnstapa, CC0, source
- Mae Nak Phra Khanong: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bobohizan: Ricardo Unto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Superstitions in Muslim societies: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Fuji: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Reindeer in Siberian shamanism: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source
- New England vampire panic: no credited author, Public domain, source
- Tsentsak: Veton PICQ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source