All entries

2,212 entries so far, best known first. 3,117 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

🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living 🇧🇯 BeninMawu-Lisa A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing · Power and authority Living

🇲🇱 Mali and 3 moreGris-gris A small pouch or charm from West Africa used for protection and luck.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living

🇨🇲 Cameroon and 2 moreNggam A divination practice in western Cameroon using spiders and crabs to answer questionsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreModern witch-hunts Contemporary violence against people accused of using magic to cause harmBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇨🇲 CameroonNyongo society A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children in Africa Violent persecution of children blamed for misfortune across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyondBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇿🇼 ZimbabweMhande A Shona song and dance performance tied to rain rituals and ancestral communicationIllusion · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living 🇰🇪 KenyaFingo A protective talisman of the Mijikenda people in KenyaCharm · Protection Living

🇿🇦 South AfricaDivination bonesditaola (Sotho-Tswana), amathambo (isiZulu) Bones and carved objects used by traditional healers in South Africa to foresee the futureSeeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇳🇬 NigeriaIroke Ifáìrọ́kẹ́ Ifá A carved staff used by Yoruba diviners to mark time and invoke spirits during ritual sessionsCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇲🇱 MaliBinouba-binu A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇿 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇲🇬 MadagascarFady Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇿🇦 South AfricaAmadlozi Ancestors of the Nguni people who guide and protect their descendantsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇹🇬 Togo and 1 moreTchitcherik A wooden statue representing the ancestors of the Moba people in Togo and Ghana.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Divination: Amcaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Iroke Ifá: OmoAyan, CC BY 4.0, source
African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gris-gris: Teogomez, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Divination bones: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

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Photo credits on this page

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