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

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

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreApu Sacred mountain spirits in Andean tradition that protect communities and control natural resourcesBeing · Protection · Healing 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 🇺🇸 United StatesBraucherei A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇮🇹 ItalySibylline BooksLibri Sibyllini Ancient Roman oracular texts consulted during state crises and disastersText · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDruiddruides A learned priestly class of the ancient Celts in Gaul and BritainTradition · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanYutaユタ Okinawan folk shamans who guide families through spirits and fortune-tellingTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇬🇧 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

🇸🇸 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

🇺🇸 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

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

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNavagrahaनवग्रह A group of nine celestial deities in Hinduism that govern fate and astrologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreIfá A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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

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

🇲🇽 Mexico and 3 moreCurandero A folk healer in Latin America and the United States who blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇺🇸 United StatesNavajo medicine Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇮🇳 IndiaBhuta KolaBhūta Kōla A Tulu folk dance and ritual where spirits are channelled into human performersTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreManbo A female priestess in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and healing workTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreScapulimancy Divination using animal shoulder blades, practiced across Asia and the Americas.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living 🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection 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

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaቡዳ An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection 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

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu) A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreNeed-fireNotfeuer A ritual fire lit by friction to protect livestock and people from disease and witchcraftRite · Protection · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇨🇫 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection 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

🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreKejawènꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀ (Kajawèn) A Javanese tradition blending animism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam into a path of inner harmony.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇺🇸 United StatesKahuna A Hawaiian expert or priest, keeper of hidden knowledge in craft and spiritTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreEx-voto A gift left in a shrine to mark a vow kept or a miracle receivedCharm · Protection · 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
Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Sunda Wiwitan: Greenland4, Public domain, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rainmaking: George Catlin, Public domain, source
Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
Kahuna: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Scapulimancy: Albert Peter Low, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, 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
Burmese folk religion: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Druid: Bernard de Montfaucon, Public domain, source
Sibylline Books: kladcat, CC BY 2.0, source
Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bhuta Kola: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Apu: Cecilia Sacsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source