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 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

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreOgunÒgún A West African deity of iron, war and metalworking found in Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇳🇬 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 1 moreObatalaỌbatalá The Yoruba king of white cloth who is believed to have created humanity and presides over purity.Being · Protection · Healing Living

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

🇹🇬 TogoAkodessawa Fetish MarketMarché des Féticheurs A market in Togo selling ritual objects for Vodún practiceTradition · Power and authority · Healing Living

🇧🇯 Benin and 5 moreVodun art Religious sculpture and temple painting from West African Vodun traditionsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living

🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority 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

🇳🇬 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

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSnake worship Veneration of serpents as divine or ancestral beings across global culturesTradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇯 BeninMawu-Lisa A dual creator spirit of the Gbe peoples, uniting sun and moon in one agender beingBeing · Power and authority Living

🇳🇬 NigeriaIroke Ifáìrọ́kẹ́ Ifá A carved staff used by Yoruba diviners to mark time and invoke spirits during ritual sessionsCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living 🇲🇱 MaliBoli A charged fetish object of the Bambara people of MaliCharm · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Ifá: Toluaye, Public domain, 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
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
Marabout: Jan Broekhuijse, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Akodessawa Fetish Market: Alexander Sarlay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Vodun art: Fraipont, Gustave (1849-1923), Public domain, source
Iroke Ifá: OmoAyan, CC BY 4.0, source
Snake worship: Alexandermcnabb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source