All entries
2,660 entries so far, best known first. 2,250 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇮🇳 IndiaBamakhepaবামাখ্যাপা
A Bengali Hindu saint known for his devotion to Goddess Tara and meditation in cremation grounds.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreVimanaविमान
Mythological flying palaces and chariots from Hindu and Jain textsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaHenjunaha and LairoulembiHensunaha Lailoulempi
A Meitei epic of lovers who die and return from the underworld through devotion.Figure · Love and attraction Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gorakhnath: Anandanath, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Matsyendranath: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bamakhepa: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Arya Poonkani: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Iravan: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pulimaranja Thondachan: Uajith, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ravana: Gita Press Gorakhpur, CC0, source
- Vimana: thesandiegomuseumofartcollection, Public domain, source