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
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomMari LwydY Fari Lwyd
A Welsh winter custom featuring a horse skull carried through villages for song and hospitality.Rite 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Revived
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play
A folk drama featuring a fight and a resurrection, performed by amateur troupes in the British Isles.Rite 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived
馃嚘馃嚥 Armenia and 3 moreNardoqan袧邪褉褌褍覔邪薪
A Turkic winter solstice celebration marking the birth of the sunTradition 路 Wonder and entertainment Revived
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mari Lwyd: Thomas Christopher Evans (Cadrawd), Public domain, source
- Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nardoqan: Ollios, CC BY-SA 4.0, source