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

Rites of the region

Ifa divination Egungun masquerade Sangoma calling and bone-throwing Libation to the ancestors Nkisi nkondi power figures Mami Wata devotion Bori possession Famadihana, the turning of the bones Debtera amulet scrolls Rainmaking and the Rain Queen

Countries

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

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaቡዳ An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇧🇯 Benin and 3 moreZangbeto A masked night-guardian tradition among the Ogu people of West AfricaTradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇨🇫 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇸🇩 SudanBenge A divination method among the Azande using a poisoned chicken to identify witches.Oracle · Cursing and harm Fading 🇸🇩 SudanWitchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande A foundational anthropological study of Azande witchcraft, oracles, and magic in southern Sudan.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇬🇭 Ghana and 4 moreSpirit children A Ghanaian belief that disabled children are harmful spirits requiring ritual treatment or deathBelief · Cursing and harm Fading 🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children in Africa Violent persecution of children blamed for misfortune across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyondBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source