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 1Aného 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
🇦🇴 Angola 7🇧🇯 Benin 19🇧🇼 Botswana 3🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 2🇧🇮 Burundi 1🇨🇲 Cameroon 6🇨🇻 Cape Verde 1🇨🇫 Central African Republic 3🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo 6🇪🇷 Eritrea 5🇸🇿 Eswatini 2🇪🇹 Ethiopia 26🇬🇦 Gabon 4🇬🇲 Gambia 5🇬🇭 Ghana 21🇬🇳 Guinea 2🇨🇮 Ivory Coast 2🇰🇪 Kenya 10🇱🇸 Lesotho 3🇱🇷 Liberia 2🇲🇬 Madagascar 11🇲🇼 Malawi 1🇲🇱 Mali 15🇲🇷 Mauritania 1🇲🇺 Mauritius 1🇲🇿 Mozambique 3🇳🇦 Namibia🇳🇪 Niger 5🇳🇬 Nigeria 35🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo 4🇷🇼 Rwanda 1🇸🇳 Senegal 8🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 5🇸🇴 Somalia 4🇿🇦 South Africa 30🇸🇸 South Sudan 3🇹🇿 Tanzania 9🇹🇬 Togo 8🇺🇬 Uganda 4🇿🇲 Zambia 2🇿🇼 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
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniỌdịnanị
The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarMalagasy mythology
The oral traditions and ancestral beliefs of the Malagasy people in MadagascarTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà
Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreZārزار
A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju
A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇬🇭 Ghana and 1 moreAkan religionAkom
Traditional beliefs of the Akan people, centered on a distant creator and nature spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreRain Queen
A hereditary queen of the Balobedu people believed to control rainfall in South AfricaTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaOrunmilaỌ̀rúnmìlà
Yoruba deity of wisdom and the creator of the Ifá divination systemBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition · Healing · Protection 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
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreIfá
A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa
A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreỌya
A Yoruba orisha of storms and the dead, worshipped in Africa and the Americas.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreEleguaÈṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára
A Yoruba deity of crossroads and messenger who opens all spiritual pathsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreObatalaỌbatalá
The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreEshuÈṣù
A Yoruba spirit of crossroads, messengers and the balance between joy and sorrowBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOpon IfáỌpọ́n Ifá
A carved wooden tray used by Yoruba diviners to read signs and consult spirits.Charm · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaቡዳ
An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreSerer religionA ƭat Roog
The traditional faith of the Serer people, centred on the supreme deity Roog and ancestral veneration.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity 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
🇲🇱 MaliDogon religion
The traditional spiritual beliefs of the Dogon people of MaliTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion
The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇦🇴 Angola and 2 moreKongo religionBukongo
The animistic beliefs and ancestor veneration of the Bakongo people in Central AfricaTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreMutiumuthi
Traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa using plants, animals and mineralsTradition · Healing · Protection 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
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe and 2 moreMwari
The supreme creator deity of Shona and Venda traditional religionBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga
A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreOshunỌ̀ṣun
A Yoruba water spirit linked to love, wealth, and the Osun River in Nigeria.Being · Love and attraction · Luck and prosperity Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art
Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSan religion
Traditional beliefs of the San peoples of Southern Africa, centered on trance and rock artTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaIfa divination (sample)Ifá
A system of verses and divining chains.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination
Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇨🇲 Cameroon and 2 moreNggam
A divination practice in western Cameroon using spiders and crabs to answer questionsOracle · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarFady
Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇬 Togo and 1 moreTchitcherik
A wooden statue representing the ancestors of the Moba people in Togo and Ghana.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇱 Mali and 1 moreSandobele
A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye
Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Serer religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Divination: Amcaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ogun: Chado07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ọya: Picture taken by Eurico Zimbres, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Obatala: Isha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Elegua: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Eshu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Opon Ifá: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Odinani: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Muti: Nicholas Roux, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Oshun: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " Department_of_Trife ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Vodun art: Fraipont, Gustave (1849-1923), Public domain, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ancestor veneration: Thang Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
- Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Orunmila: unknown Yoruba artist, CC0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source