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

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCurupira A backwards-footed forest guardian from Brazilian indigenous myth who punishes loggers and misleads travelers.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico and 5 moreChupacabrachupacabras A legendary creature said to drain livestock of blood, emerging from Puerto Rico in the mid-1990sBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreChullachaqui A one-footed forest spirit of the Amazon that lures or challenges humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoChaneque Mexican folklore sprites that guard nature and homesBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 BrazilBoitatá A fiery serpent of Brazilian folklore that guards forests or frightens childrenBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇱 ChileTrauco A small forest spirit from Chiloé mythology known for seducing women and causing pregnancyBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSihuanaba A shapeshifting spirit that lures men with beauty before revealing a monstrous faceBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSoucouyant A shape-shifting vampire spirit of Caribbean folklore that sheds its skin to fly as a fireballBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇲🇽 MexicoCamazotz A bat spirit of the Maya underworld linked to night, death, and sacrificeBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇨🇴 ColombiaPatasola A Colombian jungle monster that lures men with beauty before revealing a one-legged formBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoAhuizotlāhuitzotl A legendary Aztec water creature said to lure people to their deathsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 3 moreDuppy A Caribbean term for a ghost or malevolent spirit, rooted in West African folklore.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 1 moreCiguapa A back-footed forest spirit of the Dominican Republic known for seduction and jealousyBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇵🇾 ParaguayAo Ao A Guarani mythic beast that hunts humans and frightens children in ParaguayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCuerotrülke wekufü An aquatic creature from Mapuche and Chilote myth that drags victims into the depths.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇧🇷 BrazilCapelobo A Brazilian monster with a long snout that feeds on blood and brainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇷 ArgentinaLegendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region Myths and spirits from the Andean highlands of ArgentinaBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇮 Nicaragua and 3 moreHeadless priestel cura sin cabeza / paring pugot A headless Catholic spirit that haunts Central America and the Philippines as a warning against sacrilege.Being · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living

🇨🇴 ColombiaMohan A forest spirit and ancestor soul in Colombian Indigenous folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDouen A faceless creature with backwards feet from Trinidad and Tobago folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 morePetwo A family of hot and volatile spirits in Haitian VodouBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living 🇧🇷 BrazilBestial beastBesta-fera A centaur-like creature in Brazilian folklore thought to be the Devil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇱 ChileCamahueto A one-horned river bull from Chilote folklore that drags people to the seaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

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
Mohan: Sanjuan, Public domain, source
Trauco: Seo2 (Cristian), CC BY 2.0, source
Chullachaqui: LLs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chaneque: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
Boitatá: The ponta cabeça, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sihuanaba: Orlando Callejas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
Ahuizotl: Infrogmation, New Orleans, Public domain, source
Ao Ao: Cowboymax, CC0, source
Camahueto: Rjcastillo, CC BY 4.0, source
Capelobo: Di (they-them), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
Chupacabra: Dick Langer, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curupira: Sturm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source