Magic in Latin America and the Caribbean
Vodou, Santeria, Candomblé and Obeah, curanderismo and brujeria, Andean offerings to the earth, and Amazonian plant healing. 142 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 1Company Villages 1Corrientes 1Cuero 1Cueva de Quicaví 1El Cibao 1Greater Buenos Aires 1Guanarito Municipality 1Guantánamo 1Guatemala City 1Huautla de Jiménez 1Jacmel 1Lago Budi 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 1🇦🇷 Argentina 25🇧🇸 Bahamas 4🇧🇧 Barbados 6🇧🇿 Belize 4🇧🇴 Bolivia 16🇧🇷 Brazil 66🇨🇱 Chile 27🇨🇴 Colombia 13🇨🇷 Costa Rica 3🇨🇺 Cuba 23🇩🇲 Dominica 11🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 9🇪🇨 Ecuador 8🇸🇻 El Salvador 3🇬🇩 Grenada 1🇬🇹 Guatemala 17🇬🇾 Guyana 9🇭🇹 Haiti 46🇭🇳 Honduras 4🇯🇲 Jamaica 16🇲🇽 Mexico 61🇳🇮 Nicaragua 2🇵🇦 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 14🇺🇾 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
🇧🇷 BrazilBoitatá
A fiery serpent of Brazilian folklore that guards forests or frightens childrenBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇧🇷 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
🇲🇽 MexicoChaneque
Mexican folklore sprites that guard nature and homesBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob
A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreBokorbòkò
A Haitian Vodou practitioner said to serve spirits for both protection and harmTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 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
🇻🇪 Venezuela and 1 moreEl Silbón
A Venezuelan and Colombian legend of a cursed spirit who carries his father's bones.Figure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreObsidian
Volcanic glass used for sharp tools, mirrors, and ritual divinationSubstance · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari
A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreSupay
An Andean spirit of the underworld who balances life and death forcesBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection 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
🇭🇹 Haiti and 3 moreVoodoo doll
A pin-stuffed figure linked to magic in popular culture, not Haitian VodouCharm · Cursing and harm Historical
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreLa Llorona
A vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who mourns drowned children near water.Figure · 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
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇽 MexicoNagualnāhualli
A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreChullachaqui
A one-footed forest spirit of the Amazon that lures or challenges humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreTunda
A shapeshifting entity from the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador that lures people into the forest.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSaciSaci-pererê
A one-legged prankster of Brazilian folklore who hides in dust devils and wears a magic red cap.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 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
🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda
A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇻🇪 VenezuelaSayona
A vengeful Venezuelan ghost who hunts men for breaking marital vowsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇦🇷 Argentina and 1 moreSpiritual mapping
A Christian practice of mapping locations to identify and pray against territorial demonsBelief · Protection · 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
🇨🇱 ChileCamahueto
A one-horned river bull from Chilote folklore that drags people to the seaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇧🇷 BrazilCapelobo
A Brazilian monster with a long snout that feeds on blood and brainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 3 moreGualichu
An evil spirit feared in Mapuche and Tehuelche traditions, and a word for bad luckBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇷 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
🇭🇹 HaitiBizango
Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living
🇩🇲 DominicaBelie Belcan
A loa of justice and protection in Dominican Vudú, linked to Saint Michael.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDouen
A faceless creature with backwards feet from Trinidad and Tobago folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreKalku
A Mapuche sorcerer who works with negative powers and malevolent spiritsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreImbuncheifünche
A deformed child-monster of Chilote folklore that guards a warlock's cave and serves as an instrument of curse.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇱 ChileWarlock of Chiloébrujo chilote
A legendary network of sorcerers from the Chilean archipelago and their mythical powers.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreLa Bolefuego
A fiery apparition from the Llanos that hunts travelers and avoids prayer.Figure · Cursing and harm 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
🇧🇿 BelizeTata DuendeNukuch Tat
A thumbless forest spirit of Belizean folklore that protects animals and warns children.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.
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
- Trauco: Seo2 (Cristian), CC BY 2.0, source
- Chullachaqui: LLs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chupacabra: Dick Langer, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curupira: Sturm, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chaneque: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Bokor: Hector Hyppolite, Public domain, source
- Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boitatá: The ponta cabeça, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sihuanaba: Orlando Callejas, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
- Imbunche: Lufke, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
- Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
- El Silbón: María Auxiliadora Ramírez Prato, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
- The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source