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 1Aného 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
🇦🇴 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 25🇬🇦 Gabon 4🇬🇲 Gambia 5🇬🇭 Ghana 21🇬🇳 Guinea 2🇨🇮 Ivory Coast 2🇰🇪 Kenya 9🇱🇸 Lesotho 3🇱🇷 Liberia 2🇲🇬 Madagascar 11🇲🇼 Malawi 1🇲🇱 Mali 15🇲🇷 Mauritania 1🇲🇿 Mozambique 3🇳🇦 Namibia🇳🇪 Niger 5🇳🇬 Nigeria 34🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo 4🇷🇼 Rwanda 1🇸🇳 Senegal 8🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 5🇸🇴 Somalia 4🇿🇦 South Africa 29🇸🇸 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
🇸🇳 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
🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇳🇬 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 Africa and 1 moreRain Queen
A hereditary queen of the Balobedu people believed to control rainfall in South AfricaTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 morePentagramπεντάγραμμον
A five-pointed star figure used across history for protection, ritual, and cosmologyCharm · Protection · Binding and oaths Living
🇬🇪 Georgia and 2 moreGeorgian mythologyქართული მითოლოგია
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Kartvelian peoples in the South CaucasusTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniỌdịnanị
The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreMaraboutmurābiṭ
A Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, often linked to Sufi brotherhoods.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇨🇩 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
🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art
Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · 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
🇿🇦 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
🇳🇬 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
🇬🇭 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 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇲🇬 MadagascarMalagasy mythology
The oral traditions and ancestral beliefs of the Malagasy people in MadagascarTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇰🇪 Kenya and 1 moreMaasai religion
The spiritual beliefs of the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East AfricaTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇸🇳 Senegal and 5 moreAncestor veneration
Rituals of respect and offerings for the dead across many culturesTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreLegio Maria
A Kenyan church blending Catholic rites with beliefs in a Black Christ and visionary apparitionsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreSacred caves of the Basotho
Cave networks in South Africa and Lesotho used by the Basotho for ancestral rituals and healingTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇬🇭 GhanaWitch camp
Settlements in Ghana where women accused of witchcraft seek refuge from violence and persecution.Tradition · Protection Historical
🇲🇱 MaliBinouba-binu
A secret Dogon order honoring ancestors through totemic animals and ritual sacrifice in Mali.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
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
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
- Georgian mythology: Mostafameraji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Odinani: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Zangbeto: Grete Howard, CC BY 3.0, source
- Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Marabout: Jan Broekhuijse, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Muti: Nicholas Roux, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vodun art: Fraipont, Gustave (1849-1923), Public domain, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witch camp: Hasslaebetch, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Famadihana: Saveoursmile (Hery Zo Rakotondramanana), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Maasai religion: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0, source
- Legio Maria: Comondi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Azande witchcraft: 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
- Witch doctor: Lucjan Wędrychowski, Public domain, source
- Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source