Illness and misfortune: practices that mark them

What people do when someone falls ill or luck turns: consult, cleanse, ward.

Illness and misfortune are the moments when people most often turn to magic. When someone falls ill, a business fails, a child is lost or luck turns, families ask why, and consult a healer, diviner, priest or mediums. Examples include the Mexican limpia, the African consultation of a diviner, the Islamic ruqyah, the Hindu or Buddhist temple rites, the Korean gut and the Catholic blessing of the sick. This page covers the pattern and its risks. It is not medical advice, and illness needs real medical care.

Why and who

Many traditions ask two questions: how did this happen, and why to me? A medical account answers the first. Traditional systems often address the second, linking misfortune to relationships, envy, taboo or spirits. A consultation then names a cause and a remedy, which may involve cleansing, offerings, protective objects or a ceremony. A diviner may be consulted, a healer called, a priest asked to pray or a shrine visited, and in many households several of these happen at once.

Help and hope

Rites of crisis bring people together, give a role to the family and offer hope when treatment is limited. Researchers have documented comfort and reduced distress after ritual. Many people use medicine and ritual together, and many healers support that. The pattern becomes dangerous only when ritual displaces treatment. Many practitioners also give practical advice about rest, diet and family conflict, and some of this advice is sound and some is not.

Blame and exploitation

Crisis also creates a market for fear. Fraudulent healers tell clients they are cursed and sell expensive cleansing. Accusations of witchcraft often follow illness, with violence against the accused. Exorcism of people with mental illness has caused injuries and deaths, including documented cases in churches in several countries. In some societies, a bad event is the signal for a ritual of the whole community, with confession, reconciliation and shared offerings.

Care and context

Public health programmes now involve community healers in work on issues such as HIV, maternal health and mental health, since many people consult them first. Scholars of medical anthropology call this a plural system of care. The sensible approach is to seek qualified medical help promptly and treat other support as company. Public health bodies urge anyone with a serious illness or injury to seek a clinician at once, and to treat traditional help as complementary to that care and never as a replacement for it.

Illness and misfortune on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

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

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreLaying on of handsסמיכה A physical gesture used across religions to convey authority, healing, or spiritual presence.Rite · Healing · Power and authority Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇮🇳 IndiaPanchagavya A fermented mixture of five cow products used in Hindu rituals and Ayurvedic traditions.Substance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived

🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇧🇴 Bolivia and 5 moreKallawaya An itinerant group of traditional Andean healers known for their medicinal plant knowledge and ritual practicesTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMachi Mapuche spiritual authorities and healers who bridge herbal knowledge and spirit realmsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇳 China and 3 moreHmong folk religionKev Dab Qhuas The ethnic religion of the Miao and Hmong peoples, centered on spirit worship and shamanic healing.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreNoaidi A Sámi spiritual leader who mediated between the living and the spirit world using a drum.Being · Healing · Protection Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesBabaylan Spiritual leaders of pre-colonial Philippines who mediated with the unseen world.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇵🇭 PhilippinesWitchcraft in the Philippinespangkukulam Indigenous beliefs about sorcery and malevolent magic in the PhilippinesTradition · Cursing and harm · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living

🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreIslamic exorcismرقية A rite to expel spirits through Quranic recitation and negotiationRite · Healing · Cleansing and purification Living 🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇧🇴 Bolivia and 2 moreYatiri A lightning-struck healer in Aymara communities who restores balance with nature and ancestorsTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCultrunkultrung A ceremonial drum central to Mapuche spiritual practice and identity in Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿 Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇮🇳 IndiaNechung Oracleགནས་ཆུང་ཏ་བླ་མ The official prophetic medium and spiritual advisor to Tibet's Dalai LamaOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreEx-voto A gift left in a shrine to mark a vow kept or a miracle receivedCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreZārزار A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading

🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreHoodoo A spiritual tradition of the African diaspora in the American South using herbs and charms for protection and justice.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading

🇺🇸 United StatesFolk healer An unlicensed community member who provides healing care using local plants and traditional knowledge.Tradition · Healing · Protection Historical

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism) A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇸🇷 SurinameWinti An Afro-Surinamese tradition of spirit veneration and ancestral worshipTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreRainmaking Efforts to induce rain through technology, ritual, or prayer.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSéance A gathering to communicate with spirits, ranging from religious services to stage performances.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
Séance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
Kallawaya: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hmong folk religion: Thomas Riccio, CC BY 4.0, source
Noaidi: O. H. von Lode, Public domain, source
Babaylan: Hptina24, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
Islamic exorcism: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Yatiri: EEJCC, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Cultrun: Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC BY 3.0, source
Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Nechung Oracle: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, source
Ex-voto: JTSH26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Siberian shamanism: Аркадий Зарубин, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Laying on of hands: User:Lipsio, CC BY 3.0, source