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.

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

🇦🇺 AustraliaMokoi An evil spirit in Yolngu mythology that kills sorcerers and kidnaps childrenBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇿 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 moreSamoan mythology The deities and legends of the Samoan Islands, part of Polynesian tradition.Figure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesMenehune A legendary race of tiny builders in Hawaiian folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇦🇺 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 🇦🇺 AustraliaYara-ma-yha-who A red frog-like vampire from Australian Aboriginal folklore that lives in fig treesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandMoehau A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandKumi Lizard A legendary reptile from New Zealand folklore, said to be a giant monitor lizard.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇦🇺 AustraliaMungoon-Galimangun.gaali A giant goanna from Australian Aboriginal folklore who lost his venom to a black snakeFigure Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandMaero A wild supernatural people of New Zealand forests and mountainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇫🇯 FijiFlaming Teeth A giant from Fijian myth whose burning teeth brought fire to humanityFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Patupaiarehe: Archives New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Yowie: Seo75, CC BY 2.5, source
Menehune: D. Howard Hitchcock, Public domain, source
Pania: Summer Skyes 11, CC BY 2.0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest