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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.
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WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
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🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake charming
A street performance using a gourd flute to make snakes swayIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Fading
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire eating
A performance art of extinguishing flames in the mouthIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
🇮🇳 IndiaIndrajalaइन्द्रजाल
A Sanskrit term for illusion and conjuring, linking stage magic to Hindu philosophy.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Indrajala: Abishekrl15156, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Snake charming: Paris75000, Public domain, source
- Fire eating: Arvind Jain, CC BY-SA 2.0, source