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 1An茅ho 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
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 26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 10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馃嚥馃嚭 Mauritius 1馃嚥馃嚳 Mozambique 3馃嚦馃嚘 Namibia馃嚦馃嚜 Niger 5馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria 35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 30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
馃嚞馃嚟 GhanaObayifo
A vampire-creature of Ashanti folklore that glows at night and hunts for prey.Being 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaGrootslang
A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaLightning bird
A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemok猫l茅-mb猫mb茅
A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚬馃嚳 TanzaniaPopobawa
A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaMamlambo
A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaInkanyamba
A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam
A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚥馃嚤 MaliNommo
Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚞馃嚥 Gambia and 1 moreNinki Nanka
A legendary swamp dragon of West Africa said to kill with a stareBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena
A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaGrootslang
A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaLightning bird
A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemok猫l茅-mb猫mb茅
A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚬馃嚳 TanzaniaPopobawa
A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaMamlambo
A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaInkanyamba
A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam
A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚥馃嚤 MaliNommo
Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚞馃嚥 Gambia and 1 moreNinki Nanka
A legendary swamp dragon of West Africa said to kill with a stareBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena
A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing 路 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.
- 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
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Inkanyamba: Bj酶rn Christian T酶rrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source