Magic in South Asia

Mantra, yantra and tantra, the lemon and chillies hung against the evil eye, astrology, and temple healers and exorcists. 218 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

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

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMantraमन्त्रम् A sacred sound or phrase repeated to focus the mind and invoke spiritual powerText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreSpirit An invisible force or soul found in many cultures, linked to gods, humans, and nature.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreManba al-Ansabمنبع الانساب A Persian manuscript tracing Sayyid lineage and Sufi practice in early modern IndiaText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreQayyumقیوم A supreme spiritual rank in the Naqshbandi Sufi orderTradition · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaChillaچله A forty-day solitary retreat of fasting and meditation in Sufi traditionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 IndiaTawajjuh A Sufi practice of transmitting spiritual energy from a master to a studentTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 IndiaFakirفقير An Islamic ascetic who seeks spiritual neediness and devotion to God.Tradition · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRoshni Mela A three-day fair of earthen lamps and prayers held at a Sufi shrine in Punjab.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇳 IndiaRisalah Maktubaatرساله مکتوبات A collection of Persian letters guiding disciples and rulers on spiritual and moral matters.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Mantra: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Roshni Mela: FatherofGod, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
Chilla: Indischer Maler um 1630, Public domain, source
Spirit: Jastrow, Public domain, source

Magic in South Asia

Places of magic

Rites of the region

Countries

Photo credits on this page

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