All entries
2,645 entries so far, best known first. 2,282 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
🇻🇺 VanuatuLand divingnanggol
A ritual jump from a wooden tower using vines to ensure a good harvestRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 morePolynesian mythology
The oral traditions and legends of the Polynesian peoples across the PacificTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia
Māori recitations used for spiritual guidance, protection, and formal greetingsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha
Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea
Mob attacks on people, mostly women, accused of sanguma sorcery in Papua New GuineaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent
A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga
A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaKula ring
A ceremonial gift network in the Trobriand Islands that circulates shell valuables to build social status.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHawaiian religion
The traditional spiritual practices of the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, centered on deities and ancestral guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu
A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming
A worldview of ancestral creation and eternal law in Australian Aboriginal cultureTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 3 moreMana
A spiritual force of power and authority in Oceanic culturesBelief · Power and authority Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · Love and attraction Living
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreBullroarer
A wooden slat on a string that produces a roaring sound for ritual and communication.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · 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.
- Land diving: Paul Stein, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Polynesian mythology: Makemake at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mana: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cleverman: Photo by and ©2002 Dustin M. Ramsey ( Kralizec! ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Kula ring: Bendeguz, Public domain, source
- Cargo cult: Tim Ross, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kava culture: Jaejay77, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
- Welcome to Country: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- The Dreaming: September 1985, Public domain, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Witch-hunts in Papua New Guinea: The original uploader was Dr. Blofeld at English Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Kastom: Graham Crumb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
- Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Taboo: Jonathan McIntosh, CC BY 2.0, source