Magic in Sub-Saharan Africa
Ifa divination and the orisha, sangomas and inyangas, nkisi figures, masquerades, spirit possession and the fear of witchcraft. 102 entries on EveryJaadu so far.
Places of magic
Gambaga 2Kukuo 2Matopo Hills 2Osogbo 2Ajido 1Akodessawa 1Akwa Ibom State 1Anรฉho 1Bonyasi 1Clarens 1Cross River State 1Dar es Salaam 1Ficksburg 1Fouriesberg 1Ghanzi 1Gnani 1Harar 1Harper 1Hogsback 1Horn of Africa 1Ile-Ife 1Kaya 1Khartoum 1Khetlhakone 1Kingdom of Dahomey 1Kinshasa 1Kpatinga 1KwaZulu-Natal 1Land of Frankincense 1Matatane 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
๐ฆ๐ด Angola 7๐ง๐ฏ Benin 19๐ง๐ผ Botswana 3๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso 2๐ง๐ฎ Burundi 1๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon 6๐จ๐ป Cape Verde 1๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic 3๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo 6๐ช๐ท Eritrea 5๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini 2๐ช๐น Ethiopia 26๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon 4๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia 5๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana 21๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea 2๐จ๐ฎ Ivory Coast 2๐ฐ๐ช Kenya 10๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho 3๐ฑ๐ท Liberia 2๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar 11๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi 1๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali 15๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania 1๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius 1๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique 3๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia๐ณ๐ช Niger 5๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria 35๐จ๐ฌ Republic of the Congo 4๐ท๐ผ Rwanda 1๐ธ๐ณ Senegal 8๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone 5๐ธ๐ด Somalia 4๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa 30๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan 3๐น๐ฟ Tanzania 9๐น๐ฌ Togo 8๐บ๐ฌ Uganda 4๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia 2๐ฟ๐ผ 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
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniแปdแปnanแป
The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
๐ง๐ฏ Benin and 3 moreZangbeto
A masked night-guardian tradition among the Ogu people of West AfricaTradition ยท Protection ยท Cursing and harm Living
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa and 1 moreSan religion
Traditional beliefs of the San peoples of Southern Africa, centered on trance and rock artTradition ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
๐ณ๐ด Norway and 2 moreSรกmi drumgoavddis
A ceremonial instrument used by Sรกmi noaidi for trance and divinationTradition ยท Seeing and foretelling ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
๐ฐ๐ช Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition ยท Protection ยท Healing Living
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria and 4 moreJuju
A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition ยท Healing ยท Luck and prosperity Living
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living
๐ฌ๐ช Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyแฅแแ แแฃแแ แแแแแแแแแ
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition ยท Protection ยท Seeing and foretelling Historical
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho
Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odinani: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sรกmi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondลej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wฤdrychowski, Public domain, source