All entries
1,563 entries so far, best known first. 4,451 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
🇦🇺 AustraliaSmoking ceremony
A ritual using herbal smoke for cleansing and welcoming among Aboriginal AustraliansRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇱 ChileMoaimoꞌai
Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being · Power and authority · Protection Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaMokoi
An evil spirit in Yolngu mythology that kills sorcerers and kidnaps childrenBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha
Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreTattoo
A permanent mark made by placing pigment under the skin to form a design.Tradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandPatupaiarehe
Pale-skinned forest spirits of Māori mythology who live in mist and mountainsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇦🇺 AustraliaYowie
A hairy, bipedal creature of Australian folklore and cryptozoologyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu
A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent
A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesKahuna
A Hawaiian expert or priest, keeper of hidden knowledge in craft and spiritTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandKarakia
Māori recitations used for spiritual guidance, protection, and formal greetingsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇴 Tonga and 2 moreTongan mythologytala-ē-fonua
The myths and legends of the Polynesian island nation of TongaTradition · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesHawaiian religion
The traditional spiritual practices of the Indigenous people of Hawaiʻi, centered on deities and ancestral guardians.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga
A Māori expert practitioner of sacred or secular arts, from priests to carvers.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇻🇺 VanuatuLand divingnanggol
A ritual jump from a wooden tower using vines to ensure a good harvestRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreTapu
A Polynesian concept of sacred restriction and spiritual prohibitionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandTohunga Suppression Act 1907
A New Zealand law banning traditional Māori healers and faith practitionersText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaWelcome to Country
A ceremony performed by Aboriginal elders to welcome visitors to their landRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaThe Dreaming
A worldview of ancestral creation and eternal law in Australian Aboriginal cultureTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea
Violent attacks on people accused of sorcery, mainly women and girlsBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 2 morePolynesian mythology
The oral traditions and legends of the Polynesian peoples across the PacificTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye
A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreSamoan mythology
The deities and legends of the Samoan Islands, part of Polynesian tradition.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇰🇮 Kiribati and 4 moreMicronesian mythology
The traditional belief systems and legends of the island peoples in the southwest Pacific.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaKula ring
A ceremonial gift network in the Trobriand Islands that circulates shell valuables to build social status.Tradition · Power and authority Living
🇹🇴 Tonga and 5 moreTabootapu
A cultural prohibition that marks something as forbidden or sacredBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇻🇺 VanuatuJohn Frum
A Melanesian cargo cult figure on Tanna Island who promises wealth and the return of American supplies.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇫🇯 FijiFijian mythology
The traditional beliefs and stories of the indigenous people of FijiTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 3 moreKastom
A Melanesian term for traditional life, covering magic, law and ritualTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇺🇸 United StatesMenehune
A legendary race of tiny builders in Hawaiian folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇻🇺 Vanuatu and 5 moreKava culture
A shared ritual across Oceania where a root brew marks ceremony, respect, and social gathering.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaMimi
Elongated rock-dwelling beings from Arnhem Land who taught Aboriginal people to paint and huntBeing Legendary
🇳🇿 New ZealandPania
A sea maiden from Māori legend who became a symbol for Napier, New Zealand.Figure Legendary
🇦🇺 AustraliaDaramulum
A one-legged sky hero of south-east Aboriginal culturesBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇺 AustraliaYara-ma-yha-who
A red frog-like vampire from Australian Aboriginal folklore that lives in fig treesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsAdaro
Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇿 New ZealandMoehau
A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreTaotao Monataotaomo'na
Ancestral spirits of the Mariana Islands who guard wild places and influence daily lifeBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaBaloma
Spirits of departed kin who, Trobrianders hold, place each new child in the wombBeing · 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.
- Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Tattoo: Muyayo tattoo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Patupaiarehe: Archives New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yowie: Seo75, CC BY 2.5, source
- Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
- Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Smoking ceremony: Shillings1005, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Polynesian mythology: Makemake at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Kula ring: Bendeguz, Public domain, source
- Taboo: Jonathan McIntosh, CC BY 2.0, source
- John Frum: Tim Ross, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kastom: Graham Crumb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Menehune: D. Howard Hitchcock, Public domain, source
- Kava culture: Jaejay77, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hawaiian religion: Jacques Arago, Public domain, source
- Tohunga: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Land diving: Paul Stein, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Welcome to Country: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au, source
- The Dreaming: September 1985, Public domain, source
- Witch-hunts in Papua New Guinea: The original uploader was Dr. Blofeld at English Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Mimi: Photo by and ©2002 Dustin M. Ramsey ( Kralizec! ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Pania: Summer Skyes 11, CC BY 2.0, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source