Folk healers

Curanderos, sangomas, hakims and the village healer, who mix remedy and ritual.

Folk healers are the people communities turn to when someone is ill: the curandero and curandera of Mexico and the Andes, the sangoma and inyanga of southern Africa, the hakim of the Islamic world, the vaidya of India, the bone-setter, the village midwife and the Siberian shaman. They combine remedies, ritual and counsel. This page describes them as tradition, not as medical advice, and illness needs real medical care. They are found in every society and are usually the nearest source of help.

What healers do

A healer listens to a person's story, names the trouble, and prescribes a course that may involve plants, diet, prayer, cleansing, a gathering of kin, or a sacrifice. The framing often covers the family and the spirit as well as the body. Healers are frequently the first and sometimes the only help available in places far from clinics. Treatments often involve plants, massage, steam, prayer, fasting and dietary rules, and the healer's own reputation counts for a great deal.

Who becomes one

Some healers inherit the role, some are called by ancestors, and some train as apprentices. Women are prominent as midwives, herbalists and spirit healers, though status and income often go to male specialists and licensed practitioners. In Latin America, curanderos draw on Catholic saints, Indigenous plant knowledge and Spanish folk medicine. In Ethiopia, the debtera works with scrolls and church learning. Some healers are called through illness themselves, which is described as a mark that they can heal others.

States and doctors

Law treats healers in different ways. India's AYUSH ministry supports Ayurveda, Unani and others. South Africa passed a Traditional Health Practitioners Act in 2007. Elsewhere, healers face police action under witchcraft or quackery laws, and in colonial times many were banned outright. Doctors sometimes work with healers, for instance in HIV outreach in Africa. Healers in some regions are also asked to settle family quarrels, since illness is held to follow from tension in the household.

Harm and caution

Harm can come from delay, from unsafe substances, from sexual or financial abuse of patients, and from fraud. Exorcism of mental illness has led to deaths. Anthropologists add that healing rites can bring comfort and social support that clinics sometimes lack. Anyone with a serious symptom should see a qualified clinician, whatever other help they seek. In places where clinics are far away, a healer may deliver babies, set bones and treat fever, and the quality of that care varies widely.

Folk healers 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

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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreAmulet A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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 StatesBraucherei A Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition using prayers and gestures to cure illness and remove curses.Tradition · Healing · Protection Fading

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreFlorida Water A citrus perfume used in spiritual cleansing and folk healing across the Americas.Substance · Protection · Cleansing and purification 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

🇩🇿 Algeria and 1 moreAhmad al-Buniأحمد البوني المالكي A medieval Sufi scholar known for works on letter mysticism and talismansText · Power and authority · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore) A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living 🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

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

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandMagic circle A ritual boundary drawn or visualised to create sacred space and protectionTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇵🇭 PhilippinesAlbularyo A Filipino folk healer who uses herbs, massage, and prayer to treat illnessTradition · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United StatesDeliverance ministry A Christian practice to remove evil spirits believed to cause personal afflictionRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag A cloth pouch holding charms for protection, luck, or love in the Hoodoo tradition.Charm · Protection · Healing Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇰🇭 Cambodia and 3 moreSak Yantសាក់យ័ន្ត A Southeast Asian tattoo tradition using sacred geometry for protection and powerTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived

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

🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFulu符籙 Taoist talismans with cryptic symbols used for healing and protectionCharm · Healing · Protection Living

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreDukun A traditional healer and spirit medium in Indonesian folk practiceTradition · 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreObsidian Volcanic glass used for sharp tools, mirrors, and ritual divinationSubstance · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing 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

🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm 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

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreJinnجِنّ Supernatural beings in Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian belief, created from smokeless fire.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQi氣 / 气 A vital force in Chinese philosophy and medicine, believed to flow through all living things.Substance · Healing · Power and authority 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 🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFinnic mythologies The traditional beliefs and spiritual practices of the Finnic-speaking peoples of northern Eurasia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神 A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇿🇦 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

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreIsaac Luriaיִצְחָק בן שלמה אשכנזי לוּרְיָא A sixteenth-century rabbi who founded modern Kabbalah through oral teachings in Safed.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

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

🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreFranz Anton Mesmer A German physician who proposed a universal fluid of natural energy and founded mesmerism.Tradition · Healing Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreNicholas Culpeper An English herbalist and astrologer who translated medical texts into English for the poor.Text · Healing · Power and authority Historical

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreIbn Arabiمحيي الدين أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن عربي الحاتمي الطائي A medieval Andalusian mystic and philosopher whose teachings shaped Sufi metaphysics across the Islamic world.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Folk healer: calliopejen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
Dukun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ahmad al-Buni: Khalili Collections, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo, source
Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sak Yant: Mikhailovich, CC BY 3.0, source
Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Witchcraft in Latin America: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Fulu: Youle26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tattoo: Muyayo tattoo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Inugami: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
Isaac Luria: Louski1, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Franz Anton Mesmer: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Nicholas Culpeper: Richard Gaywood, Public domain, source
Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Ibn Arabi: Omar.Hafez, CC0, source
Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Magic circle: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
Florida Water: Unknown artist(s), Public domain, source
Hoodoo: Hoodoowoman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source