Witch Doctor Collection

Old Bear medicine man of the Mandan Tribe, from a painting of 1832
PNP245949 Old Bear medicine man of the Mandan Tribe, from a painting of 1832 (colour litho) by Catlin, George (1796-1872) (after); Private Collection; Peter Newark American Pictures; American

Mandan Indians, with Medicine Man in Bear Skin, c1875. The Mandan traditionally lived along the banks of the Missouri River and two of its tributaries, the Heart and the Knife

Native American shaman, 1841. Artist: Myers and Co
Native American shaman, 1841. A print from North American Indians, Wiley and Putnam, 1841

Comanche Tribe Initiation ceremony for young Comanche aspiring to become Shamen or Witch Doctors, 1850
3479502 Comanche Tribe Initiation ceremony for young Comanche aspiring to become Shamen or Witch Doctors, 1850; (add.info.: Comanche Tribe, Lake Winnipeg)

A Mrua Medicine Man and his Train, from a sketch by Lieutenant Cameron in Central Africa, 1876. Creator: Unknown
A Mrua Medicine Man and his Train, from a sketch by Lieutenant Cameron in Central Africa, 1876. The people of Urua, or Kasongo's country, are called Mrua

Costumes de Différents Pays, Ganga Magicien-Medecin de Congo, c1797. Creator: Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur
Costumes de Differents Pays, Ganga Magicien-Medecin de Congo, c1797

Costumes de Différents Pays, Prêtre Médécin de la Californie, c1797. Creator: Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur
Costumes de Differents Pays, Pretre Medecin de la Californie, c1797

Costumes de Différents Pays, Pretre Medicin de la Terre de Feu, c1797. Creators: Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur
Costumes de Differents Pays, Pretre Medicin de la Terre de Feu, c1797

Un sorcier au Congo francais (Il porte en main l'insigne de ses fonctions... 1914. Creator: Unknown)
'Un sorcier au Congo francais (Il porte en main l'insigne de ses fonctions: une queue d'elephant); L'Ouest Africain, 1914. From "Grande Geographie Bong Illustree", 1914

Old Indian witch doctor, between 1900 and 1930. Creator: Frank G. Carpenter
Old Indian witch doctor, between 1900 and 1930

Slow Bull, 1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Slow Bull, 1907. Photograph shows three-quarter portrait of Slow Bull inside tipi, facing right, sitting in grass holding a pipe

Slow Bull, 1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Slow Bull, 1907. Photograph shows three-quarter portrait of Slow Bull inside tipi on knees, facing front, with buffalo skull and other items nearby

Nesjaja Hatali - Navaho, c1904. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Nesjaja Hatali - Navaho, c1904. Nesjaja Hatali, medicine man, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing right

Saliva, Slow Bull (in background), Picket Pin's arm, c1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Saliva, Slow Bull (in background), Picket Pin's arm, c1907. Three Dakota men, seated or kneeling on ground, one attending to bison skull

Arikara Medicine Ceremony-The Ducks, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Arikara Medicine Ceremony-The Ducks, c1908. Photo shows three Arikara men, members of the medicine fraternity, dancing, painted to represent ducks and holding rushes

Giving the medicine-Navaho, c1905. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Giving the medicine-Navaho, c1905. Photograph shows aNavajo shaman giving medicine to participant sitting atop blanket(?) used in sweatbath, as two others look on

Night medicine men, 1908, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Night medicine men, 1908, c1908. Photo shows Arikara medicine ceremony with four night men dancing

Bear rattles, 1908, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Bear rattles, 1908, c1908. Rattles of Arikara bear medicine men

Hastobiga, Navaho Medicine Man, c1904. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Hastobiga, Navaho Medicine Man, c1904. Hastobiga, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, looking down

Black Road, 1905. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Black Road, 1905. Photograph shows Black Road, wearing headdress, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right

A witch-doctor, Uganda, Africa, 1936. Artist: Wide World Photos
A witch-doctor, Uganda, Africa, 1936. From Peoples of the World in Pictures, edited by Harold Wheeler, published by Odhams Press Ltd (London, 1936)

A witch doctor, Belgian Congo (Congo Republic), 1922. Artist: JH Harris
A witch doctor, Belgian Congo (Congo Republic), 1922. From Peoples of All Nations, Their Life Today and the Story of Their Past, volume I: Abyssinia to the British Empire

The Sorcerer, Medicine Man, or Shaman. Late 19th century design after a Paleolithic or Old Stone Age image on the wall in the Trois Freres cave near St Girons, Ariege, France, created perhaps 2, 500

Iroquois false-face mask which belonged to a member of the False Face Band
North American Indian artifact, belonging to an Iroquois society known as the False-Face Band in which each member had to have seen such a face in a dream. It was used to cure diseases

Ole Senteu Simel, grandson of the famous Msai Laibon Mbatian (after which the highest peak of Mount Kenya is named), was the most respected laibon of the Msai until his death in 1986

Geronimo...at Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, New York, 1901 Creator: Frances Benjamin Johnston
Geronimo and two other men posed standing, full length at Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, N.Y. 1901. [Leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people

Prayer to the Great Mystery, (Slow Bull), c1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Prayer to the Great Mystery, (Slow Bull), c1907. Slow Bull, squatting, wearing breechcloth, holding pipe with mouthpiece pointing skyward, buffalo skull at his feet

Slow Bull-Ogalala [sic], c1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Slow Bull-Ogalala [sic], c1907. Slow Bull, head-and-shoulders portrait, turned left

Incense over a medicine bundle, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Incense over a medicine bundle, c1908. Hidatsa Indian (Yellow Owl?) kneeling and holding bowl over bundle

Sand painting, Wind Doctor's ceremony-Navaho, c1905. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Sand painting, Wind Doctor's ceremony-Navaho, c1905

Arikara medicine fraternity-The prayer, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Arikara medicine fraternity-The prayer, c1908. Photo shows Arikara shamans, without shirts, backs to camera, seated in a semi-circle around a sacred cedar tree, tipis in background

The Medicine Man (Slow Bull), c1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
The Medicine Man (Slow Bull), c1907. Slow Bull, full-length portrait, facing front, holding pipe, buffalo skull at his feet

Hu Kalowa Pi, the altar complete, 1907, c1907. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Hu Kalowa Pi, the altar complete, 1907, c1907. Three Native Americans, Slow Bull, Saliva, and Picket Pin, kneeling with bison skull

Yeibichai, patient in sweat bath, 1904, c1905. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Yeibichai, patient in sweat bath, 1904, c1905. Indian wrapped in blanket with medicine man and another man standing over him

Grinding medicine-Zuni, c1903. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Grinding medicine-Zuni, c1903. Zuni man lying on blanket grinding medicine

Bear's Teeth-Arikara, c1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Bear's Teeth-Arikara, c1908. Bears Teeth, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, wearing headband

The elaborate regalia of a shaman in the Amazon jungle features jaguar teeth and beads

A Day with the Medicine Man, n. d. Creator: Philip William May
A Day with the Medicine Man, n.d

Arikara Medicine Ceremony - Dance of the Fraternity, 1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Arikara Medicine Ceremony - Dance of the Fraternity, 1908. [Native Americans in North Dakota]. Photogravure, plate 158 from " The North American Indian, volume 5" (1909)

Arikara Medicine Ceremony - the Ducks, 1908. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Arikara Medicine Ceremony - the Ducks, 1908. [Native Americans in North Dakota]. Photogravure, plate 163 from " The North American Indian, volume 5" (1909)

Medicine Man, c. 1937. Creator: Yolande Delasser
Medicine Man, c. 1937

Witch Doctor (b / w photo)
3643219 Witch Doctor (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Witch Doctor. Postcard, early 20th century.); © Look and Learn

Native Sorcerer and Rain-maker, illustration from The Pictorial Edition of the Life
STC418128 Native Sorcerer and Rain-maker, illustration from The Pictorial Edition of the Life and Discoveries of David Livingstone by J. Ewing Richie, pub. by A. Fullarton & Co

Masques et deguisements pour la danse de la medecine (engraving)
2790142 Masques et deguisements pour la danse de la medecine (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Masques et deguisements pour la danse de la medecine)

A Travers Le Congo (engraving)
2789106 A Travers Le Congo (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: A Travers Le Congo. Illustration for Journal Des Voyages, 23 August 1891)

Witchcraft and Magic in Africa, illustration from The Science of Life
IL283090 Witchcraft and Magic in Africa, illustration from The Science of Life (colour litho) by Brightwell, Leonard Robert (b.1889); Private Collection; English, out of copyright

Ejecting a Demon (engraving) (b / w photo)
XJF140219 Ejecting a Demon (engraving) (b/w photo) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; English, out of copyright

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"Witch Doctors: Unveiling the Mystical Healers Across Cultures and Time" Step into the intriguing world of witch doctors, as we explore their fascinating practices and beliefs throughout history. From the Mandan Indians adorned in bear skins to the Native American shamans captured by Myers and Co in 1841, these ancient healers have left an indelible mark on our collective consciousness. Traveling to Belgian Congo in 1922, JH Harris's depiction of a witch doctor transports us to Africa, where their powers were revered. Witnessing rituals performed by a medicine man from Worgaia in central Australia during the same year reveals that this mystical profession transcends continents. Venturing further into Uganda in 1936 through Wide World Photos' lens, we encounter an African witch doctor immersed in his craft. Known as sorcerers or shamans elsewhere, they possess profound knowledge of herbs, spirits, and ancient wisdom passed down through generations. The Iroquois false-face mask showcased here offers a glimpse into ceremonial practices within Native American tribes. These masks belonged to members of the False Face Band who believed they could harness supernatural forces for healing purposes. From Tahiti's funeral rites depicted in a colored engraving from 1811 to John Hanning Speke's account of magicians observing cow sacrifice with King Kamrasis officers looking on published in 1864; it becomes evident that witch doctors played significant roles across diverse cultures worldwide. Philip William May's artwork titled "A Day with the Medicine Man" invites us into an intimate setting where we can witness firsthand how these enigmatic figures carry out their rituals. Edward Sheriff Curtis captures moments from Arikara Medicine Ceremonies - dances filled with fraternity and reverence for nature's creatures like ducks - providing insight into specific tribal traditions. Through these glimpses into various time periods and regions around the globe, one thing remains consistent: Witch doctors hold immense power, bridging the gap between the physical and spiritual realms.