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Hoodoo (spirituality)

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For other uses, see Hoodoo (spirituality) (disambiguation).

Hoodoo is a form of predominantly African American, Christian, traditional folk magic. Also known as conjure, it is a rich magical tradition that developed from the merging of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions. Hoodoo incorporates well established practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical practices and grimoires. While folk practices like hoodoo are trans-cultural phenomena, what is particularly innovative in this tradition is the "remarkably efficacious use of biblical figures" in its practices and in the lives of its practitioners.[1]

The word hoodoo first appears documented in American English in 1875 and is listed as a noun[2] or a transitive verb.[3] In African-American vernacular it is often used to describe a magic spell or potion, but it may also be used as an adjective for a practitioner (e.g. hoodoo doctor, hoodoo man, or hoodoo woman). Regional synonyms for hoodoo include conjuration, conjure, witchcraft, or rootwork.[4] However, they do not all imply one another. For example, witchcraft is problematic as a synonym in that it can imply a moral judgment regarding the practice of hoodoo (i.e. it is evil), or it can be confused with contemporary Wicca. Moreover, a hoodoo practitioner is not always understood as a rootworker if they do not use roots and herbs in their magical practices. Thus, rootwork can be understood as a subcategory or a "type" of hoodoo practice.

Social Context

Historically, most practitioners of hoodoo have been African Americans. However, Whites, Latinos[citation needed], and Native Americans[citation needed] have also been practitioners. The origins of hoodoo are thought to begin with the African slaves, particularly in the American southeast, and historically, its existence has been documented in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.[5] However, today hoodoo practitioners can be found in many other parts of the country, including the westcoast [6] and the northeast.[citation needed]

Unlike formal religions, hoodoo does not have a structured hierarchy. It also does not have an established theology, clergy, laity, or order of liturgical services of its own. Instead, practitioners are often lay people within a Christian community who possess specific knowledge of magic and hoodoo tradition. A traditional hoodoo doctor was often a nomadic sort who traveled from town to town peddling his services, but many also set up shop in their communities. However, hoodoo is not reserved solely for the specialist. Many of the spells and practices are within the realm of "folk remedies" and are well known in some African American and/or Southern socio-cultural contexts.

The traditional manner for passing on this folk knowledge was from person to person. For example, noted African American anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston worked extensively as an apprentice for various hoodoo doctors and wrote about her experiences. [7] Since many hoodoo practices are passed on as folk remedies that can loosely be described as "common knowledge," hoodoo is also passed on through families and social contacts. However, with the growth of technological communication, learning the ways of hoodoo can now be accomplished through online sources and various books that preserve the tradition.[8]

Hoodoo Conceptual System

The dominant worldview in hoodoo is usually strongly Christian and historically there has been, what is commonly referred to as, an Old Testament strain in hoodoo thought. This is particularly evident in relation to God's providence and his role in retributive justice. For example, though there are strong ideas of good versus evil, cursing someone to cause their death might not be considered a malign act.[citation needed]

Not only is God's providence a factor in hoodoo practice, but hoodoo thought understands God, himself, as the archetypal hoodoo doctor. On this matter Hurston stated, "The way we tell it, hoodoo started way back there before everything. Six days of magic spells and mighty words and the world with its elements above and below was made." [9] From this perspective, biblical figures are often recast as hoodoo doctors and the Bible becomes a source of conjurational spells and is, itself, used as a protective talisman. [10]

Moses-as-Conjuror

Paralleling God-as-conjuror, hoodoo practitioners often understand the biblical figure, Moses, in similar terms. Hurston developed this idea in her novel, Moses: Man of the Mountain, in which she calls Moses, "the finest hoodoo man in the world." [11] Obvious parallels between Moses and magic occur in the biblical accounts of his confrontation with Pharaoh in which he performed "miracles" such as turning his staff into a snake. However, his greatest feat of conjure was using his powers to help free the Hebrews from slavery. This emphasis on Moses-as-conjuror lead to the introduction of the pseodonymous work, the 6th and 7th Books of Moses, into the corpus of hoodoo magical reference literature.

Bible-as-Talisman

In hoodoo, "All hold that the Bible is the great conjure book in the world."[12] It has many functions for the practitioner, not the least of which is a source of spells. This is particularly evident given the importance of the book, Secrets of the Psalms,[13] in hoodoo culture. This book provides instruction for using psalms for things such as safe travel, headache, and marital relations. The bible, however, is not just a source of spells but is itself a conjuring talisman. It can be taken "to the crossroads", carried for protection, or even left open at specific pages while facing specific directions. This informant provides an example of both uses:

"Whenevah ah'm afraid of someone doin' me harm ah read the 37 Psalms an' co'se ah leaves the Bible open with the head of it turned to the east as many as three days." [14]

Practices

The goal of hoodoo is to allow people access to supernatural forces to improve their daily lives by gaining power in many areas of life, including gambling, love, divination, cursing one's enemies, treatment of disease, employment, and necromancy. As in many other folk religious, magical, and medical practices, extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals' bodies, an individual's possessions, and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine and semen. Contact with ancestors or other spirits of the dead is an important practice within the conjure tradition, and the recitation of Psalms from the Bible is also considered magically effective in hoodoo. Due to hoodoo's great emphasis on an individual's magical power, its basic principles of working are easily adapted for use based on one's desires, inclination and habits.

Home-made potions and charms form the basis of much old-time rural hoodoo, but there are also many successful commercial companies selling various hoodoo components to urban and rural practitioners. These are generally called spiritual supplies, and they include herbs, roots, minerals, candles, incense, oils, floor washes, sachet powders, bath crystals, and colognes. Many patent medicines, cosmetics, and household cleaning supplies have been also aimed at hoodoo practitioners and have found dual usage as conventional and spiritual remedies.

Cultural Influences

Magical systems are notorious for appropriating practices from different regions and cultures. In this regard, hoodoo is no different. Thus, it is difficult to establish the regional/cultural origins of many practices. For example, the use of an effigy, often called a "voodoo doll" in popular culture, to perform a spell on someone is documented in African, Native American, and European cultures. [15] However, there are some practices and influences in the tradition that can be loosely trace to particular regions.

Europe

Europes greatest identifiable influence on hoodoo is, arguably, the presence and use of European, or European American, grimoires. One of the first examples of this is John George Hohman's, Pow-wow's: or, Long Lost Friend, a collection of magical spells originally published in 1820 for the Pennsylvania-Dutch hex-meisters. [16] It was introduced to hoodoo through through catalogs on magic geared toward the African American community in the early 1900's. [citation needed] The spells throughout this book are woven with Christian symbolism which made it a natural addition to the similar symbolism of hoodoo. Mirroring the hoodoo concept of the Bible-as-talisman, the book itself proposes to be a protective amulet:

Whoever carries this book with him is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible; and whoever has this book with him cannot die without the holy corpse of Jesus Christ, nor drown in any water, nor burn up in any fire, nor can any unjust sentence be passed upon him. So help me. [17]

Differences between Voodoo and Hoodoo

Hoodoo and Voodoo are often mistaken for one another. Some believe that the terms may have a common etymology; the religion of West African ethnic groups Fon and Ewe call their religion Vodoun, or Vodou. In the Caribbean, the worship of the Vodoun gods (called lwa) was disguised with Catholic saints and ceremonies combined with other Catholic symbolism. With the religious persecution and suppression of both Catholicism and African religions in America, “hoodoo” is what remains.

The ancient African religion of Vodoun is an established religion with its ancient roots in West Africa. Its modern form is practiced across West Africa in the countries now known as Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso, among others. It is practiced all throughout West Africa;. In Haiti and Cuba and other Caribbean islands it is practiced in a syncretic form that has been greatly modified by contact with the Catholic church. Although the Voodoo of Haiti is better know to English speakers, the practices among Spanish speakers in Cuba is called Santeria.

Hoodoo shows obvious and evident links to the practices and beliefs of African folk magico-religious culture. The Hoodoo practiced in the U.S. by the enslaved Africans was brought from West and Central Africa, specifically, the area that is now known as the Congo and Angola, Togo, Nigeria and other West African regions.

Music

Many blues musicians have referred to hoodoo in their songs. Popular examples include "Louisiana Hoodoo Blues" by Ma Rainey, "Hoodoo Lady Blues" by Arthur Crudup, and "Hoodoo Man Blues" by Junior Wells. In addition to the expected terms hoodoo and mojo, other conjure words in blues songs include jinx, goofer dust, nation sack, black cat bone, graveyard dirt, and black spider dumplings.

The Bo Diddley song "Who Do You Love" contains an extensive series of puns about a man hoodooing his lover. Bo Diddley also recorded an album titled Got My Own Bag of Tricks (1972), a reference to a mojo hand or trick bag.

Books

Non-fiction

Zora Neale Hurston recorded many hoodoo practices and tales. Harry Middleton Hyatt collected the largest array of hoodoo spells ever assembled. Other authors on the subject include Newbell Niles Puckett, Jim Haskins, and catherine yronwode.

Fiction

Ishmael Reed, in his novel Mumbo Jumbo, makes reference to Hoodoo, as does Emma Bull in her novel Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles.

Radio

Since 2004, Dr. Christos Kioni, a conjure doctor from Florida, has co-hosted and produced a weekly hour-long radio show and podcast on the subject of hoodoo called "The Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour."

Film

Television

The CW show Supernatural (TV series) features many references to Hoodoo usually in regards to magic plot devices for the show. In the episode "Playthings" they find Hoodoo on urns called "five-spots" or Quincunx that ward off evil.

See also

Foot Notes

  1. ^ Smith, Theophus H. 1994. Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 3.
  2. ^ For example, in the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Born on the Bayou," the line "I can still hear that old hound dog barking, chasin' down a hoodoo there," refers to a hoodoo doctor; someone who practices hoodoo.
  3. ^ Merriam Webster Online [1]
  4. ^ Hyatt, Harry Middleton. 1970-1978. Hoodoo--Conjuration--Witchcraft--Rootwork. 5 vols. Hannibal: Western
  5. ^ see Hyatt, Harry Middleton. 1970-1978. Hoodoo--Conjuration--Witchcraft--Rootwork. 5 vols. Hannibal: Western
  6. ^ The Lucky Mojo Curio Company, for example, is an established hoodoo shop based outside of San Francisco, CA with a strong web presence.
  7. ^ see Hurston, Zora Neale. 1935. Mules and Men. New York: Harper and Row. 1990
  8. ^ Amateur folklorist Harry M. Hyatt has arguably contributed the most to the preservation of hoodoo beliefs and practices. He interviewed scores of informants and documented well over a thousand (look up specific number) types of spells and practices. His five-volume work serves as a valuable primary source for practitioners and scholars who study this tradition.
  9. ^ Hurston. 1935. Mules and Men. pp. 183.
  10. ^ Smith. 1994. Conjuring Culture. p. 6. See also, Hurston's, Mules and Men. In the appendix she lists the "paraphernalia of conjure," the last on the list being the Bible.
  11. ^ Hurston. Moses: Man of the Mountain. p. ??.
  12. ^ Hurston. Mules and Men. p. 280
  13. ^ Selig, Godfrey. Secrets of the Psalms. ??more info
  14. ^ Hyatt. Hoodoo. vol. 1. p. 417. Quoted in Smith. Conjuring Culture. p. 14. n. 8.
  15. ^ For an English example, see Scot, Reginald. 1584. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. 1972 edition. New York: Dover Publications. p. 47. ISBN 0486260305 Cherokee anthropologist, Alan Kilpatrick, provides a related example of this idea in The Night Has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. pp. 92-93. ISBN 0815604718 This example is not obvious, however, he explains that one takes the saliva of an intended victim and placing it in the earth "where the worms live." Thus, the person's saliva is a symbolic stand-in for, or loose effigy of, the intended victim.
  16. ^ Hohman, John George. 1820. Pow-wow's: or, Long Lost Friend.1971 reprint edition. Pomeroy: Health Research Books.
  17. ^ Hohman. 1820. Pow-Wow. pp. 63 and 84.


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