All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
馃嚚馃嚤 ChileMoaimo隇宎i
Monolithic ancestor statues of Rapa Nui, carved from volcanic stone between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.Being 路 Power and authority 路 Protection Historical
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaKurdaitchakwertatye
A ritual executioner and feathered shoes of the Arrernte people in Central Australia.Tradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚰馃嚫 Samoa and 1 moreAitu
A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚢馃嚠 Kiribati and 4 moreMicronesian mythology
The traditional belief systems and legends of the island peoples in the southwest Pacific.Belief 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚬馃嚧 Tonga and 2 moreTongan mythologytala-膿-fonua
The myths and legends of the Polynesian island nation of TongaTradition 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandTohunga Suppression Act 1907
A New Zealand law banning traditional M膩ori healers and faith practitionersText 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical
馃嚫馃嚙 Solomon IslandsAdaro
Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaTjurunga
Sacred objects of the Arrernte people, embodying ancestral power and clan identity.Charm 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaPortal (magic trick)
A stage illusion where the magician and a volunteer vanish to appear in a distant location.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚦馃嚳 New Zealand and 4 moreFeather cloak
A garment of feathers worn by royalty and gods across cultures to signal rank or enable flightCharm 路 Power and authority 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kurdaitcha: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Feather cloak: Lusanaherandraton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tjurunga: No machine-readable author provided. Sepu~commonswiki assumed (based o, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Moai: Rivi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source