All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUpanayanaउपनयन
A Hindu rite of passage marking a student's initiation into formal education and spiritual discipline.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAncestor worship
Rites of respect for the dead that maintain family bonds and seek spiritual guidanceTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaTarpanaतर्पण
A Vedic offering of water and seeds to gods, sages, and ancestorsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreŚrāddhaश्राद्ध
A Hindu rite of ancestor worship involving food offerings and fire ritualsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePitru Pakshaपितृ पक्ष
A sixteen-day Hindu period for honoring ancestors through food offerings and death ritesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNew moon cleansing (sample)
Smoke and water used to mark a lunar month.Rite · Cleansing and purification Fading
🇮🇳 IndiaApeswari sabha
An Assamese healing rite where village women invoke a goddess to cure illnessRite · Healing · 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.
- Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tarpana: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Upanayana: vinodbahal, CC BY 2.0, source
- Śrāddha: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pitru Paksha: Firoz Shakir, CC BY-SA 3.0, source