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

🇬🇭 GhanaObayifo A vampire-creature of Ashanti folklore that glows at night and hunts for prey.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇬 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

🇳🇬 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 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe and 2 moreMwari The supreme creator deity of Shona and Venda traditional religionBeing · Protection · Healing 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

🇿🇦 South AfricaInkanyamba A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreOrishaÒrìṣà Divine spirits of the Yoruba religion and their diasporic descendants in the Americas.Being · Protection · Healing Living

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreMami Wata A water spirit of beauty and wealth in African folklore and the Atlantic diasporaBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇭 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇬 NigeriaOrunmilaỌ̀rúnmìlà Yoruba deity of wisdom and the creator of the Ifá divination systemBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇿🇦 South AfricaGrootslang A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇿🇦 South AfricaLightning bird A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemokèlé-mbèmbé A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇹🇿 TanzaniaPopobawa A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇿🇦 South AfricaMamlambo A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreYemọjaYemoja A mother spirit of rivers and oceans worshipped across Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Healing 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 🇧🇯 BeninMawu-Lisa A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing · Power and authority Living

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreZduhaćздухаћ A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇲🇱 MaliNommo Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇬🇲 Gambia and 1 moreNinki Nanka A legendary swamp dragon of West Africa said to kill with a stareBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇹🇬 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 🇿🇦 South AfricaAmadlozi Ancestors of the Nguni people who guide and protect their descendantsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical 🇲🇱 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

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Zduhać: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Orunmila: unknown Yoruba artist, CC0, source
Grootslang: Jeff McArthur (Guategeek), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Lightning bird: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Mokele-mbembe: Charles Robert Knight, Public domain, source
Yemọja: Samuel Tobbytex007, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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
Eshu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
Oshun: Wikipedia Loves Art participant " Department_of_Trife ", CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Inkanyamba: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Mami Wata: Daderot, Public domain, source