Magic in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ifa divination and the orisha, sangomas and inyangas, nkisi figures, masquerades, spirit possession and the fear of witchcraft. 99 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
Gambaga 2Kukuo 2Matopo Hills 2Osogbo 2Ajido 1Akodessawa 1Akwa Ibom State 1An茅ho 1Bonyasi 1Clarens 1Cross River State 1Dar es Salaam 1Ficksburg 1Fouriesberg 1Ghanzi 1Gnani 1Harar 1Harper 1Hogsback 1Horn of Africa 1Ile-Ife 1Khartoum 1Khetlhakone 1Kingdom of Dahomey 1Kinshasa 1Kpatinga 1KwaZulu-Natal 1Land of Frankincense 1Matatane 1Mautse 1
Rites of the region
Ifa divinationEgungun masqueradeSangoma calling and bone-throwingLibation to the ancestorsNkisi nkondi power figuresMami Wata devotionBori possessionFamadihana, the turning of the bonesDebtera amulet scrollsRainmaking and the Rain Queen
Countries
馃嚘馃嚧 Angola 7馃嚙馃嚡 Benin 19馃嚙馃嚰 Botswana 3馃嚙馃嚝 Burkina Faso 2馃嚙馃嚠 Burundi 1馃嚚馃嚥 Cameroon 6馃嚚馃嚮 Cape Verde 1馃嚚馃嚝 Central African Republic 3馃嚚馃嚛 Democratic Republic of the Congo 6馃嚜馃嚪 Eritrea 5馃嚫馃嚳 Eswatini 2馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia 25馃嚞馃嚘 Gabon 4馃嚞馃嚥 Gambia 5馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana 21馃嚞馃嚦 Guinea 2馃嚚馃嚠 Ivory Coast 2馃嚢馃嚜 Kenya 9馃嚤馃嚫 Lesotho 3馃嚤馃嚪 Liberia 2馃嚥馃嚞 Madagascar 11馃嚥馃嚰 Malawi 1馃嚥馃嚤 Mali 15馃嚥馃嚪 Mauritania 1馃嚥馃嚳 Mozambique 3馃嚦馃嚘 Namibia馃嚦馃嚜 Niger 5馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria 34馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the Congo 4馃嚪馃嚰 Rwanda 1馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal 8馃嚫馃嚤 Sierra Leone 5馃嚫馃嚧 Somalia 4馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa 29馃嚫馃嚫 South Sudan 3馃嚬馃嚳 Tanzania 9馃嚬馃嚞 Togo 8馃嚭馃嚞 Uganda 4馃嚳馃嚥 Zambia 2馃嚳馃嚰 Zimbabwe 8
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
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 morePentagram蟺蔚谓蟿维纬蟻伪渭渭慰谓
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm 路 Protection 路 Binding and oaths Living
馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚫馃嚧 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense
An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 5 moreMami Wata
A water spirit of beauty and wealth in African folklore and the Atlantic diasporaBeing 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Historical
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚫馃嚘 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt
A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 5 moreZduha膰蟹写褍褏邪褯
A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚥馃嚤 Mali and 3 moreGris-gris
A small pouch or charm from West Africa used for protection and luck.Charm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚢馃嚜 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria
A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚳 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery
A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚚馃嚥 CameroonNyongo society
A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚞馃嚦 Guinea and 2 moreTaboo on rulers
Restrictions placed on kings and priests to manage fear and hostilityBelief 路 Protection Historical
馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa and 4 moreModern witch-hunts
Contemporary violence against people accused of using magic to cause harmBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚞 UgandaKilling of disabled children in Uganda
The ritual murder of disabled children in parts of Uganda for body parts and perceived benefitsRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaTagati
A South African English term for a harmful wizard or poisoner, from Zulu roots.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zduha膰: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Mami Wata: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Witch hunt: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gris-gris: Teogomez, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan W臋drychowski, Public domain, source
- Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source