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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

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

🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇰🇭 Cambodia and 3 moreSak Yantសាក់យ័ន្ត Sacred geometric tattoos from Southeast Asia believed to grant protection and powerTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

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

🇵🇭 PhilippinesWitchcraft in the Philippinespangkukulam Indigenous beliefs about sorcery and malevolent magic in the PhilippinesTradition · Cursing and harm · Healing Living

🇵🇭 PhilippinesAnito Indigenous Philippine spirits and the carved figures that represent themBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇻🇳 Vietnam and 1 moreVietnamese folk religiontín ngưỡng dân gian Việt Nam A collection of local spirit worship and ancestral veneration in VietnamTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇻🇳 VietnamĐạo Mẫu A Vietnamese shamanic tradition honouring mother goddesses through ritual performance.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇵🇭 PhilippinesBabaylan Spiritual leaders of pre-colonial Philippines who mediated with the unseen world.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇲🇲 Myanmar and 2 moreBurmese zodiacဇာတာ ရာသီခွင် A traditional Burmese system of astronomy and astrology with lunar mansions and weekday signs.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living

🇲🇲 MyanmarNatနတ် Spirits venerated in Myanmar alongside Buddhism, including deified humans and nature guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn) A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇵🇭 PhilippinesTagalog religion The pre-colonial spiritual system of the Tagalog people in the Philippines.Tradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇮🇩 IndonesiaMarapu Ancestral religion of Sumba and Flores in IndonesiaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇮🇩 IndonesiaSunda Wiwitanᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ ᮝᮤᮝᮤᮒᮔ᮪ A folk religion of the Sundanese people in western Java, IndonesiaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇻🇳 VietnamFour PalacesTứ Phủ A Vietnamese spiritual system where mediums channel four elemental goddesses.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇾 MalaysiaBobohizan A high priestess and spirit medium in the traditional rituals of the Kadazan-Dusun people of Sabah.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Tagalog religion: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Burmese folk religion: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Babaylan: Hptina24, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
Burmese zodiac: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0, source
Nat: Emily Khine, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sak Yant: Mikhailovich, CC BY 3.0, source
Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Anito: Frederic H. Sawyer, Public domain, source
Vietnamese folk religion: Unknown (traditional painting dated back to the 17th century), Public domain, source
Đạo Mẫu: Vũ Tiến Lâm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bobohizan: Ricardo Unto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Marapu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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