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 1An茅ho 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
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 25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 9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馃嚥馃嚳 Mozambique 3馃嚦馃嚘 Namibia馃嚦馃嚜 Niger 5馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria 34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 29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
馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa and 4 moreWitch doctor
A traditional healer who identifies supernatural causes of illness and performs rituals to restore balance.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju
A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 4 moreBuda釅♂嫵
An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Living
馃嚥馃嚞 MadagascarSikidy
An algebraic geomancy practiced by Malagasy peoples using seeds to read fate and prescribe remediesOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriB貌貌r铆铆
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa and 5 moreTraditional healers of Southern Africa
Practitioners who blend herbal medicine with ancestral divination in Southern AfricaTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 5 moreIf谩
A Yoruba divination system using palm nuts to access spiritual guidanceTradition 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 2 moreOpon If谩峄宲峄嵦乶 If谩
A carved wooden tray used by Yoruba diviners to read signs and consult spirits.Charm 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚚馃嚛 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki
A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚫馃嚫 South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion
The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the CongoNkisi
Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚚馃嚝 Central African Republic and 5 moreWitchcraft in Africa
Beliefs about supernatural harm and the social responses to accusations across the continentBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Living
馃嚚馃嚛 Democratic Republic of the Congo and 4 moreNganga
A spiritual healer and ritual specialist in Kongo religion and its diaspora traditionsTradition 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚳馃嚘 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 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreZ膩r夭丕乇
A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚫馃嚫 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft
A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚫馃嚛 SudanBenge
A divination method among the Azande using a poisoned chicken to identify witches.Oracle 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 5 moreAfrican divination
Methods used across the continent to understand present realities and predict future events.Oracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚳 Mozambique and 1 moreNdau witchcraft and sorcery
A system of spirit belief and traditional healing among the Ndau people of Mozambique and ZimbabweTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚥馃嚤 Mali and 1 moreSandobele
A Senufo woman diviner who mediates between the village and bush spirits.Being 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Protection Living
馃嚳馃嚘 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 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children in Africa
Violent persecution of children blamed for misfortune across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyondBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 4 moreSpirit children
A Ghanaian belief that disabled children are harmful spirits requiring ritual treatment or deathBelief 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚞馃嚘 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚞 UgandaKilling of disabled children in Uganda
The ritual murder of disabled children in parts of Uganda for body parts and perceived benefitsRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- If谩: Toluaye, Public domain, source
- Opon If谩: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Sacred caves of the Basotho: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Z膩r: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- African divination: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Witch doctor: Lucjan W臋drychowski, Public domain, source
- Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sikidy: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Traditional healers of Southern Africa: Wizzy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ndau witchcraft and sorcery: Mycelium101, CC BY-SA 3.0, source