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

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

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreNart sagaНарты кадджытæ A collection of epic tales from the North Caucasus about a legendary group of heroes.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing Historical 🇿🇦 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

🇸🇳 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 🇪🇹 EthiopiaPlanetary hours A system assigning celestial rulers to each hour of the day and weekTradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

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

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreWitch hunt A campaign to find and punish people accused of using magic for harmBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreZduhaćздухаћ A South Slavic belief in men who fight storms and hail to protect their cropsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso and 5 moreCosmic egg A mythological motif where the universe or a creator emerges from a primordial egg.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇱🇷 LiberiaMaryland ritual killings A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living 🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical 🇸🇩 SudanWitchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande A foundational anthropological study of Azande witchcraft, oracles, and magic in southern Sudan.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇨🇲 CameroonNyongo society A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief · Cursing and harm · 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.

Zduhać: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
Pentagram: Tomruen, Attribution, source
Marabout: Jan Broekhuijse, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Cosmic egg: James Basire, 1730–1802 (engraver), Public domain, source