All entries
2,645 entries so far, best known first. 2,283 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
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOpon IfáỌpọ́n Ifá
A carved wooden tray used by Yoruba diviners to read signs and consult spirits.Charm · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga
A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
A Kongo spirit, and the object a spirit is held to live inBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇲 Cameroon and 2 moreNggam
A divination practice in western Cameroon using spiders and crabs to answer questionsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaDivination bonesditaola (Sotho-Tswana), amathambo (isiZulu)
Bones and carved objects used by traditional healers in South Africa to foresee the futureSeeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇱 MaliBoli
A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇸🇩 SudanWitchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande
A foundational anthropological study of Azande witchcraft, oracles, and magic in southern Sudan.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇳🇬 NigeriaAfa
A divining art of the Igbo, cast by a dibia to name the cause of troubleOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nggam: Amcaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sámi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Espiritismo: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Divination bones: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Orunmila: unknown Yoruba artist, CC0, source
- Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Opon Ifá: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source