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
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 1Khartoum 1Khetlhakone 1Kingdom of Dahomey 1Kinshasa 1Kpatinga 1KwaZulu-Natal 1Land of Frankincense 1Matatane 1Mautse 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 25๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon 4๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia 5๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana 21๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea 2๐จ๐ฎ Ivory Coast 2๐ฐ๐ช Kenya 9๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho 3๐ฑ๐ท Liberia 2๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar 11๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi 1๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali 15๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania 1๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique 3๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia๐ณ๐ช Niger 5๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria 34๐จ๐ฌ Republic of the Congo 4๐ท๐ผ Rwanda 1๐ธ๐ณ Senegal 8๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone 5๐ธ๐ด Somalia 4๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa 29๐ธ๐ธ 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
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 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living
๐ช๐น Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaแกแณ
An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief ยท Cursing and harm ยท Protection Living
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria and 4 moreJuju
A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition ยท Healing ยท Luck and prosperity Living
๐ณ๐ฌ NigeriaOsun-Osogbo Sacred GroveOsun-Osogbo
A sacred forest in Nigeria dedicated to the river goddess Osun, celebrated with an annual festival.Tradition ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead ยท Protection Living
๐ฎ๐ณ India and 5 moreSnake worship
Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition ยท Protection ยท Healing Living
๐จ๐ฉ Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki
A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief ยท Cursing and harm 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
๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa
Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief ยท Cursing and harm ยท Protection Living
๐ฒ๐ฌ MadagascarMalagasy mythology
The oral traditions and ancestral beliefs of the Malagasy people in MadagascarTradition ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead ยท Protection Living
๐ฟ๐ฆ 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 ยท Cursing and harm ยท Power and authority Living
๐ฌ๐ญ GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief ยท Cursing and harm Living
๐ฟ๐ฆ South AfricaUkuthwasa
A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite ยท Healing ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt
A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief ยท Cursing and harm Historical
๐ธ๐ณ Senegal and 5 morePentagramฯฮตฮฝฯฮฌฮณฯฮฑฮผฮผฮฟฮฝ
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm ยท Protection ยท Binding and oaths Living
๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft
A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief ยท Cursing and harm ยท Seeing and foretelling Living
๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso and 5 moreCosmic egg
A mythological motif where the universe or a creator emerges from a primordial egg.Belief ยท Wonder and entertainment Historical
๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery
A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition ยท Healing ยท Protection Living
๐ฑ๐ท LiberiaMaryland ritual killings
A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief ยท Cursing and harm Historical
๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea and 2 moreTaboo on rulers
Restrictions placed on kings and priests to manage fear and hostilityBelief ยท Protection Historical
๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa and 4 moreModern witch-hunts
Contemporary violence against people accused of using magic to cause harmBelief ยท Cursing and harm Living
๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children in Africa
Violent persecution of children blamed for misfortune across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyondBelief ยท Cursing and harm Living
๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana and 4 moreSpirit children
A Ghanaian belief that disabled children are harmful spirits requiring ritual treatment or deathBelief ยท Cursing and harm Fading
๐ฒ๐ฌ MadagascarFady
Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief ยท Protection ยท Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
๐ฟ๐ฆ South AfricaTagati
A South African English term for a harmful wizard or poisoner, from Zulu roots.Belief ยท Cursing and harm Historical
๐จ๐ฒ CameroonNyongo society
A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief ยท Cursing and harm ยท Luck and prosperity Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Maryland ritual killings: Fred van der Kraaij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch hunt: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wฤdrychowski, Public domain, source
- Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
- Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cosmic egg: James Basire, 1730โ1802 (engraver), Public domain, source
- Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source