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.
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
馃嚫馃嚧 Somalia and 2 moreSalihiyya丕賱氐丕賱丨賷丞
A Somali Sufi order founded by Sayyid Muhammad Salih, known for its strict stance against saint intercession and anti-coTradition 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 4 moreSpirit children
A Ghanaian belief that disabled children are harmful spirits requiring ritual treatment or deathBelief 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚳馃嚰 ZimbabweMhande
A Shona song and dance performance tied to rain rituals and ancestral communicationIllusion 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚟 GhanaWitch camp
Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition 路 Protection Historical
馃嚥馃嚤 MaliBinouba-binu
A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena
A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Salihiyya: Douglas James Jardine (1888-1946), Public domain, source