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

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

🇿🇦 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

🇿🇦 South AfricaUkuthwasa A spiritual calling and initiation process for traditional healers in Southern Africa.Rite · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths 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

🇲🇬 MadagascarMalagasy mythology The oral traditions and ancestral beliefs of the Malagasy people in MadagascarTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling 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

🇳🇬 NigeriaOsun-Osogbo Sacred GroveOsun-Osogbo A sacred forest in Nigeria dedicated to the river goddess Osun, celebrated with an annual festival.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living

🇲🇿 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition · Healing · Protection Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreModern witch-hunts Contemporary violence against people accused of using magic to cause harmBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇨🇲 CameroonNyongo society A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇳🇬 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

🇲🇬 MadagascarFady Malagasy cultural taboos regulating daily life and ancestor relationsBelief · Protection · 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.

European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Ukuthwasa: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, 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
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, 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
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Fady: Robin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source