Magic in Latin America and the Caribbean

Vodou, Santeria, Candomblé and Obeah, curanderismo and brujeria, Andean offerings to the earth, and Amazonian plant healing. 147 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Limpia with an egg Day of the Dead ofrenda Santeria initiation (kariocha)Candomblé ebo offering Haitian Vodou service Andean despacho and pago a la Pachamama A curanderismo healing session Ayahuasca ceremony Obeah in Jamaica

Countries

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

🇭🇹 HaitiGedeGuédé A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou who guard the dead and grant fertility.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreAbakuá A male-only Cuban religious fraternity with West African roots and strict secrecyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreEzili DantorÈzili Dantò A fierce mother spirit in Haitian Vodou who protects the marginalized and demands loyalty.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCandomblé An Afro-Brazilian religion blending West African spirits with Catholic imageryTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living 🇧🇷 BrazilPomba Gira An Afro-Brazilian spirit of love and desire worshipped in Umbanda and QuimbandaBeing · Love and attraction · Power and authority 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

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreBokorbòkò A Haitian Vodou practitioner said to serve spirits for both protection and harmTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreSanto Daime A Brazilian syncretic religion using ayahuasca for spiritual work and healingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 HaitiErzulieÈzili A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou representing love, beauty, and protective fury.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreOungan A male priest in Haitian Vodou who leads rituals and serves as a medium for spirits.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreBatuque An Afro-Brazilian religion with spirit possession and a pantheon of Orixás and encantadosTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreWitchcraft in Latin AmericaBrujería A syncretic blend of Indigenous, African, and European magical practices across Latin AmericaTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇭🇹 HaitiVodou veve (sample)Vèvè Ground drawings that call the lwa.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 1 moreDominican VudúVudú Dominicano A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion on Hispaniola with its own spirit lineages and titles.Tradition · Protection · Love and attraction Living

🇨🇺 Cuba and 1 moreHaitian Vodou in CubaVodú Haitiano A Caribbean religious tradition brought by migrants and maintained in eastern CubaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreHaitian Vodou and homosexuality The place of LGBTQ people in Hait Vodou practice and beliefTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 HaitiHaitian CarnivalKanaval A major Caribbean festival of music, dance, and satire leading to Mardi Gras in HaitiTradition · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living 🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreNago lwa A Haitian Vodou nation of masculine spirits rooted in Yoruba traditionsBeing · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreTrinidadian Vodunu A West African Vodun tradition practiced in Trinidad and Tobago with Catholic elementsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇭🇹 HaitiBizango Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 morePetwo A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇭🇹 HaitiRada lwa A family of cool-tempered spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇭🇹 HaitiBoum'ba Maza A family of water spirits in Haitian Vodou ritesBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Living 🇧🇧 Barbados and 2 moreObeah and Wanga A Caribbean folk magic tradition and a Haitian charm packet, referenced in Western occult texts.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇲 DominicaBelie Belcan A loa of justice and protection in Dominican Vudú, linked to Saint Michael.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Manbo: Aliceba, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bokor: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
Oungan: Anthony Karen, CC BY 4.0, source
Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Haitian Vodou in Cuba: Dr. Anthony R. Picciolo, NOAA NODC, Public domain, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Haitian Carnival: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Erzulie: anonymous, Public domain, source
Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source