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.
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou
An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚨馃嚜 PeruVegetalismo
A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 5 moreKardecist SpiritismSpiritisme
A French spiritualist doctrine based on communication with spirits and reincarnation.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚫馃嚪 SurinameWinti
An Afro-Surinamese tradition of spirit veneration and ancestral worshipTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 3 moreCurandero
A folk healer in Latin America and the United States who blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 2 moreCandombl茅
An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚨馃嚜 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreLwa
Spirits in Haitian Vodou that mediate between people and the creator god.Being 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚡馃嚥 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 2 moreManbo
A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚚馃嚤 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion
The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Se帽ora de la Santa Muerte
A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreFolk Catholicism
Local religious customs that blend official Church teaching with indigenous or regional traditions.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚘馃嚪 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚨馃嚜 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo
Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance 路 Cleansing and purification 路 Healing Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFlorida Water
A citrus perfume used in spiritual cleansing and folk healing across the Americas.Substance 路 Protection 路 Cleansing and purification Living
馃嚞馃嚬 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚘馃嚪 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime
A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujer铆a
A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 4 moreSanter铆aRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba spirits with Catholic saintsTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚞馃嚬 GuatemalaMaxim贸nRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 3 moreFolk saint
Unofficially recognized holy figures venerated by local communities for intercession and miraclesBelief 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚤 Chile and 1 moreMachi
Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚟馃嚬 Haiti and 1 moreOungan
A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚭 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚙馃嚪 BrazilMacumba
A term for Afro-Brazilian spiritual practices, often carrying negative connotations of sorceryBelief 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚨馃嚜 Peru and 1 moreQuyllurit'iQoyllur Rit'i
A syncretic Andean pilgrimage celebrating the Pleiades and the Lord of Star SnowTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚬馃嚬 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Living
馃嚟馃嚬 HaitiBoum'ba Maza
A family of water spirits in Haitian Vodou ritesBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoTeotlaqualli
A hallucinogenic paste used by Aztec priests and healers in the pre-Columbian era.Substance 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoVelada
A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚡馃嚥 Jamaica and 1 moreKromanti dance
A sacred Jamaican Maroon ceremony rooted in Asante traditions and ancestral possessionRite 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Healing Historical
馃嚨馃嚜 PeruChakapa
A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚬馃嚬 Trinidad and Tobago and 2 moreMama D'Leau
A river spirit of the Caribbean islands who protects aquatic life and heals people.Being 路 Healing 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoMazatec shamanism
A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚛馃嚧 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Ta铆no deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoMercado de Sonora
A Mexico City market known for herbal medicine and occult goodsTradition 路 Protection 路 Love and attraction Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chakapa: Mario Mart铆n /Archivo Centro Takiwasi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kardecist Spiritism: Coprosme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Egungun: 脤峁ａ汗虁峁Assembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Candombl茅: Andr茅 Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lwa: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maxim贸n: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Oungan: Anthony Karen, CC BY 4.0, source
- Palo: Burkhard M眉cke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Quyllurit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Palo Santo: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Florida Water: Unknown artist(s), Public domain, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mercado de Sonora: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Santer铆a: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source