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
Bois Caïman 2Chiloé archipelago 2La Paz 2Port-au-Prince 2Quicaví 2Recife 2Rio de Janeiro 2Alto de Pinheiros 1Antigua Guatemala 1Araçoiaba da Serra 1Araucanía 1Aux Cayes 1Belém 1Belmont 1Boa Sorte 1Calama 1Cerro Azul 1Chiloé 1Colonia Merced Balbuena 1Company Villages 1Corrientes 1Cuero 1Cueva de Quicaví 1El Cibao 1Greater Buenos Aires 1Guanarito Municipality 1Guantánamo 1Guatemala City 1Huautla de Jiménez 1Jacmel 1
Rites of the region
Limpia with an eggDay of the Dead ofrendaSanteria initiation (kariocha)Candomblé ebo offeringHaitian Vodou serviceAndean despacho and pago a la PachamamaA curanderismo healing sessionAyahuasca ceremonyObeah in Jamaica
Countries
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 2🇦🇷 Argentina 25🇧🇸 Bahamas 5🇧🇧 Barbados 7🇧🇿 Belize 5🇧🇴 Bolivia 16🇧🇷 Brazil 67🇨🇱 Chile 27🇨🇴 Colombia 13🇨🇷 Costa Rica 3🇨🇺 Cuba 23🇩🇲 Dominica 12🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 10🇪🇨 Ecuador 8🇸🇻 El Salvador 4🇬🇩 Grenada 1🇬🇹 Guatemala 19🇬🇾 Guyana 10🇭🇹 Haiti 48🇭🇳 Honduras 5🇯🇲 Jamaica 17🇲🇽 Mexico 63🇳🇮 Nicaragua 3🇵🇦 Panama 3🇵🇾 Paraguay 10🇵🇪 Peru 27🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 5🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 3🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1🇸🇷 Suriname 8🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago 15🇺🇾 Uruguay 7🇻🇪 Venezuela 11
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇨🇺 Cuba and 4 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba spirits with Catholic saintsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇷 SurinameWinti
An Afro-Surinamese tradition of spirit veneration and ancestral worshipTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSpiritual Baptist
An Afro-Caribbean Christian faith blending African traditions with Baptist worshipTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreMyal
An Afro-Jamaican healing tradition rooted in Arawak and Akan spiritualityTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou
An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreTzolkʼinAj Ilabal Qʼij
A 260-day cycle used by the Maya for divination and ritual timingTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreDay of the DeadDía de los Muertos
A Mexican holiday honoring the dead with altars, food, and humor during Allhallowtide.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreQuyllurit'iQoyllur Rit'i
A syncretic Andean pilgrimage celebrating the Pleiades and the Lord of Star SnowTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion
The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreInca religion
The polytheistic beliefs and rites of the Inca Empire across the AndesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 4 moreTrinidad Orisha
A syncretic Afro-Caribbean faith blending Yoruba spirit work with Christian and other traditions in Trinidad.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇭🇹 HaitiChristian-Vodou
The blending of Haitian Vodou and Roman Catholicism into a single spiritual practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism
A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Egungun: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tzolkʼin: Lacambalam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Day of the Dead: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Quyllurit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Inca religion: Chronicler Martín of Murúa (Cronista Martín de Murúa), Public domain, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Santo Daime: Tonelada, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Spiritual Baptist: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source