Legendary practices
Known from myth, story and legend rather than from recorded practice.
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
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
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaMokoi
An evil spirit in Yolngu mythology that kills sorcerers and kidnaps childrenBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandPatupaiarehe
Pale-skinned forest spirits of M膩ori mythology who live in mist and mountainsBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaYowie
A hairy, bipedal creature of Australian folklore and cryptozoologyFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚰馃嚫 Samoa and 1 moreSamoan mythology
The deities and legends of the Samoan Islands, part of Polynesian tradition.Figure 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMenehune
A legendary race of tiny builders in Hawaiian folkloreFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaMimi
Elongated rock-dwelling beings from Arnhem Land who taught Aboriginal people to paint and huntBeing Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandPania
A sea maiden from M膩ori legend who became a symbol for Napier, New Zealand.Figure Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaYara-ma-yha-who
A red frog-like vampire from Australian Aboriginal folklore that lives in fig treesBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandMoehau
A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandKumi Lizard
A legendary reptile from New Zealand folklore, said to be a giant monitor lizard.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaMungoon-Galimangun.gaali
A giant goanna from Australian Aboriginal folklore who lost his venom to a black snakeFigure Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandMaero
A wild supernatural people of New Zealand forests and mountainsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚝馃嚡 FijiFlaming Teeth
A giant from Fijian myth whose burning teeth brought fire to humanityFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandPatupaiarehe
Pale-skinned forest spirits of M膩ori mythology who live in mist and mountainsBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaYowie
A hairy, bipedal creature of Australian folklore and cryptozoologyFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚰馃嚫 Samoa and 1 moreSamoan mythology
The deities and legends of the Samoan Islands, part of Polynesian tradition.Figure 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMenehune
A legendary race of tiny builders in Hawaiian folkloreFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaMimi
Elongated rock-dwelling beings from Arnhem Land who taught Aboriginal people to paint and huntBeing Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandPania
A sea maiden from M膩ori legend who became a symbol for Napier, New Zealand.Figure Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaYara-ma-yha-who
A red frog-like vampire from Australian Aboriginal folklore that lives in fig treesBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandMoehau
A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandKumi Lizard
A legendary reptile from New Zealand folklore, said to be a giant monitor lizard.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚘馃嚭 AustraliaMungoon-Galimangun.gaali
A giant goanna from Australian Aboriginal folklore who lost his venom to a black snakeFigure Legendary
馃嚦馃嚳 New ZealandMaero
A wild supernatural people of New Zealand forests and mountainsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚝馃嚡 FijiFlaming Teeth
A giant from Fijian myth whose burning teeth brought fire to humanityFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Patupaiarehe: Archives New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yowie: Seo75, CC BY 2.5, source
- Menehune: D. Howard Hitchcock, Public domain, source
- Mimi: Photo by and 漏2002 Dustin M. Ramsey ( Kralizec! ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Pania: Summer Skyes 11, CC BY 2.0, source