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
🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha
Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent
A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum
A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsAdaro
Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreTaotao Monataotaomo'na
Ancestral spirits of the Mariana Islands who guard wild places and influence daily lifeBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇼🇸 Samoa and 3 moreAtua
Polynesian deities and spirits representing power and the natural worldBeing Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cleverman: Photo by and ©2002 Dustin M. Ramsey ( Kralizec! ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source