Living practices
Practised today by communities who hold it as their own.
- 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
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 1 moreOvoo芯胁芯芯
A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚠馃嚪 Iran and 3 moreIranian folklore賮賵賱讴賱賵乇 丕蹖乇丕賳蹖
The oral legends, heroes, and spirits of Greater IranTradition 路 Protection 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismB枚枚 m枚rg枚l
The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Healing Living
馃嚥馃嚦 Mongolia and 2 moreWind Horse嘟⑧境嘟脆絼嗉嬥舰嗑熰紜
An East and Central Asian symbol of the soul, luck, and vital energyBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living
馃嚢馃嚞 Kyrgyzstan and 2 moreAyaz Ata袗褟蟹 袗褌邪
A Turkic winter spirit who brings snow and gifts during the cold seasonBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Protection Living
馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaYhyakh蝎一褘邪褏
A summer solstice festival of the Sakha people marking the new year and nature's returnTradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yhyakh: Humano92, Public domain, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Iranian folklore: Hossein Mirkamali, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wind Horse: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source