Magic in Latin America and the Caribbean

Vodou, Santeria, Candomblé and Obeah, curanderismo and brujeria, Andean offerings to the earth, and Amazonian plant healing. 145 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

🇧🇯 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

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing Living

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

🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreLwa Spirits in Haitian Vodou that mediate between people and the creator god.Being · Protection · Healing Living

🇲🇽 MexicoWerejaguar A supernatural figure from Olmec art, blending human and jaguar traits.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇭🇹 HaitiMarassa Jumeaux The divine twins of Haitian Vodou, representing love, truth, and justice.Being · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical

🇨🇴 ColombiaMohan A forest spirit and ancestor soul in Colombian Indigenous folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇬🇾 Guyana and 1 moreBaccoo A half-wood spirit from Guyanese and Surinamese folklore that serves as a mercenary or a haunting presence.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

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

Photo credits on this page

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

Mohan: Sanjuan, Public domain, source
Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lwa: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Werejaguar: Ruben Charles, ( http://www.rubencharles.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source