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

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism) A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreKuji-in九字印 A system of nine syllables and hand gestures used for protection and spiritual alignment in Japanese esoteric traditionsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreHmong folk religionKev Dab Qhuas The ethnic religion of the Miao and Hmong peoples, centered on spirit worship and shamanic healing.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreScapulimancy Divination using animal shoulder blades, practiced across Asia and the Americas.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living

🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿 Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 3 moreKorean shamanism무속 A Korean folk religion centered on ritual specialists who mediate between humans and spiritsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJangseung장승 Wooden or stone poles that guard Korean villages and temples from evil spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRegional forms of shamanism A global overview of indigenous spirit-interaction practices across Asia and the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇰🇷 South KoreaDongti동티 Divine punishment in Korean mythology, often manifesting as sudden illness or death.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShamanism in the Qing dynasty State-managed rituals of the Manchu rulers and their shamansTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreNuo folk religion傩 (Nuó) A Chinese exorcistic tradition using wooden masks and ancestor worship to drive away malevolent forcesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教 The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 ChinaYao folk religion梅山教 The ethnic religion of the Yao, blended with Taoism since the 13th centuryTradition · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living

🇰🇷 South KoreaMengdu멩두 Brass ritual instruments central to Jeju Island shamanismCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Fading

🇰🇷 South KoreaDurin-gut두린굿 A Jeju Island ritual to cure mental illness by exorcising a possessing spirit through danceRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading 🇰🇷 South KoreaMusok eumak무속 음악 Traditional Korean shamanistic music performed during gut rituals to induce tranceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇹🇼 Taiwan and 3 moreHanitu A spirit concept from the Bunun people of Taiwan, found in all living and non-living things.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Korean shamanism: Steve46814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shamanism in the Qing dynasty: A nineteenth-century team of editors., Public domain, source
Jangseung: Yoshiaki Sano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Nuo folk religion: Wikiwikiyarou, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mengdu: National Folk Museum of Korea, CC BY 4.0, source
Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Yao folk religion: Daderot, Public domain, source
Scapulimancy: Albert Peter Low, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
Durin-gut: Karaeng Matoaya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hmong folk religion: Thomas Riccio, CC BY 4.0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest