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

🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya mythology The reconstructed tales of the Maya people about gods, heroes, and the creation of the world.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical 🇭🇹 HaitiBois Caïman The sacred site where enslaved Africans planned the Haitian Revolution through a Vodou ceremony.Rite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreViracochaWiraqucha The supreme creator deity of the Andes, associated with the sea and civilization.Being · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇵🇪 Peru and 2 moreInca religion The polytheistic beliefs and rites of the Inca Empire across the AndesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical

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

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical 🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇽 MexicoTeotlaqualli A hallucinogenic paste used by Aztec priests and healers in the pre-Columbian era.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · 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
Viracocha: Pattych ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Inca religion: Chronicler Martín of Murúa (Cronista Martín de Murúa), Public domain, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source