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
馃嚞馃嚟 GhanaObayifo
A vampire-creature of Ashanti folklore that glows at night and hunts for prey.Being 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚬馃嚳 TanzaniaPopobawa
A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaMamlambo
A South African river spirit linked to wealth and reported cryptid sightingsBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaInkanyamba
A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam
A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaGrootslang
A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaLightning bird
A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemok猫l茅-mb猫mb茅
A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 1 moreMadam Koi Koi
A Nigerian school ghost known for the sound of her heelsFigure 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚥馃嚤 MaliNommo
Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚞馃嚥 Gambia and 1 moreNinki Nanka
A legendary swamp dragon of West Africa said to kill with a stareBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena
A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaInkanyamba
A storm serpent of South African folklore linked to tornadoes and river spiritsBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana and 2 moreSasabonsam
A tree-dwelling creature of Akan folklore with iron teeth and bat-like wingsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaGrootslang
A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚳馃嚘 South AfricaLightning bird
A vampiric spirit of the Zulu people that serves witches and strikes with thunder.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚚馃嚞 Republic of the Congo and 2 moreMokele-mbembemok猫l茅-mb猫mb茅
A water-dwelling legend from Central Africa, often linked to sauropods or rhinos.Being 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria and 1 moreMadam Koi Koi
A Nigerian school ghost known for the sound of her heelsFigure 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚥馃嚤 MaliNommo
Primordial water spirits in Dogon cosmology from MaliBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚞馃嚥 Gambia and 1 moreNinki Nanka
A legendary swamp dragon of West Africa said to kill with a stareBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚜馃嚬 Ethiopia and 5 moreWerehyena
A shapeshifter from African and Middle Eastern folklore that turns into a hyena or is a hyena in human formBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Grootslang: Jeff McArthur (Guategeek), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lightning bird: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Mokele-mbembe: Charles Robert Knight, Public domain, source
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Dogon religion: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Inkanyamba: Bj酶rn Christian T酶rrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source