All entries
2,158 entries so far, best known first. 3,227 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
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu
A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite 路 Cleansing and purification 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚨馃嚞 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing 路 Love and attraction Living
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite 路 Cleansing and purification 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚨馃嚞 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing 路 Love and attraction Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source