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
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreAbakuá
A male-only Cuban religious fraternity with West African roots and strict secrecyTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 1 moreEzili DantorÈzili Dantò
A fierce mother spirit in Haitian Vodou who protects the marginalized and demands loyalty.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇵🇪 PeruVegetalismo
A mestizo healing tradition in the Peruvian Amazon that draws power from plants and spirits.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇸🇷 SurinameWinti
An Afro-Surinamese tradition of spirit veneration and ancestral worshipTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing 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
🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 morePalo
An Afro-Cuban religion centered on spirit vessels and ancestral powerTradition · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 MexicoNagualnāhualli
A Mesoamerican belief in humans who shapeshift into animal counterparts.Belief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm 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
🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePalo Santo
Aromatic wood used in South American ritual cleansing and folk medicineSubstance · Cleansing and purification · Healing Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 2 moreKromanti
A ritual language spoken by ancestral spirits in Jamaican Maroon ceremoniesBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 1 moreKromanti dance
A sacred Jamaican Maroon ceremony rooted in Asante traditions and ancestral possessionRite · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇽 MexicoMazatec shamanism
A Mazatec healing tradition centered on visionary plant ceremonies called veladasTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇵🇪 PeruChakapa
A leaf rattle used by Amazonian healers in ayahuasca ceremonies and spirit cleansing rituals.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇽 MexicoVelada
A Mazatec healing ceremony using sacred plants to commune with the divineRite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇭🇹 HaitiBizango
Haitian secret societies linked to Vodou and social controlTradition · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chakapa: Mario Martín /Archivo Centro Takiwasi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Abakuá: M. Puente, Public domain, source
- Ezili Dantor: Oficinalis, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Winti: G. Glaser (Fotograaf/photographer)., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Machi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Palo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nagual: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Quyllurit'i: AgainErick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Palo Santo: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source