Hoodoo (folk magic)

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Not to be confused with Louisiana Voodoo or Haitian vodou.
Hoodoo (also known as "conjure", "rootworking", "root doctoring", or "working the root") is a
traditional African American folk spirituality that developed from a number of West African, Native
American, and European spiritual traditions and beliefs.

Contents

1 Roots of hoodoo
2 The hoodoo conceptual system

3 Practices
4 Cultural influences

5 Differences between hoodoo and

voodoo
6 In popular culture
7 References
8 External links

1. 2.1 Moses-as-conjurer
2. 2.2 Bible-as-talisman

1. 4.1 Europe

Roots of hoodoo
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Hoodoo has some spiritual principles and practices similar to spiritual folkways in Haitian, Jamaican,
and New Orleans traditions. It is believed Hoodoo evolved in the Mississippi Delta where the
concentration of slaves had been dense. Hoodoo then spread throughout the Southeast as well as North
along the Mississippi as African Americans left the Delta beginning in the 1930s.
Hoodoo is an ever-evolving process, continuously synthesizing from contact with other cultures,
religions, and folkways. What is notable about the hoodoo folk process is the use of biblical figures in
its practices and in the lives of its practitioners.[1] Most practitioners of hoodoo integrate this folkway
with their Christian religious faith. Icons of Christian saints are often found on hoodoo shrines or altars.
The word hoodoo first was documented in American English in 1875 and was classified as a noun (the
practice of hoodoo) or a transitive verb: "I hoodoo you"... with a potion that causes healing, a
parapsychological power, or some harm.[2][3] In African American Vernacular English (AAVE), hoodoo
is often used to describe a paranormal consciousness or spiritual hypnosis, a "spell". But hoodoo may
also be used as an adjective for a practitioner, such as "hoodoo man".
Known Hoodoo "spells" date back to the 1800s. Spells are dependent on the intention of the
practitioner and "reading" of the client.[4]
Regional synonyms for hoodoo include conjuration, witchcraft, or rootwork.[5] Older sources from the
18th and 19th century sometimes use the word "Obeah" to describe equivalent folk practices.[6]

The hoodoo conceptual system

According to Carolyn Morrow Long, "At the time of the slave trade, the traditional nature-centered
religions of West and Central Africa were characterized by the concept that human well-being is
governed by spiritual balance, by devotion to a supreme creator and a pantheon of lesser deities, by
veneration and propitiation of the ancestors, and by the use of charms to embody spiritual power. [...] In
traditional West African thought, the goal of all human endeavor was to achieve balance." Several

African spiritual traditions recognized a genderless supreme being who created the world, was neither
good nor evil, and which did not concern itself with the affairs of mankind. Lesser spirits were invoked
to gain aid for humanity's problems.[7]
Since the 19th century there has been Christian influence in hoodoo thought.[6] 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
malignant act. One practitioner explained it as follows:
"[In] Hoodooism, anythin' da' chew do is de plan of God undastan', God have somepin to do wit
evah' thin' you do if it's good or bad, He's got somepin to do wit it . . . jis what's fo' you, you'll
git it."[8]
"([In] Hoodooism, anything that you do is the plan of God, God has something to do with
everything that you do whether it's good or bad, he's got something to do with it.. You'll get
what's coming to you)"
Not only is God's providence a factor in hoodoo practice, but hoodoo thought understands God as the
archetypal hoodoo doctor. On this matter Zora 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-conjurer
Paralleling God-as-conjurer, 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 intentional paranormal
influence (such as magic) occur in the biblical accounts of his confrontation with Pharaoh. Moses
conjures, or performs magic "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-asconjurer led to the introduction of the pseudonymous work the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses into
the corpus of hoodoo reference literature.[12]

Bible-as-talisman
In hoodoo, "All hold that the Bible is the great conjure book in the world."[13] 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 in hoodoo culture.[14] 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."[15]

Practices
The purpose of hoodoo was to allow African Americans access to supernatural forces to improve their
lives. Hoodoo is purported to help people attain power or success ("luck") in many areas of life
including money, love, health, and employment. As in many other spiritual and medical folk practices,
extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals' bodies, an individual's possessions and
bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine, saliva, 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 spiritually influential in hoodoo. Due to
hoodoo's great emphasis on an individual's spiritual power to effect desired change in the course of
events, hoodoo's principles are believed to be accessible for use by any individual of faith. Hoodoo

practice does not require a formally designated minister.

Home-made powders, mojo hands, oils, and talismans form the basis of much rural hoodoo, but there
are also some successful commercial companies selling various hoodoo products to urban and town
practitioners. These are generally called spiritual supplies, and they include herbs, roots, minerals,
candles, incense, oils, floor washes, sachet powders, bath crystals, icons, aerosols, and colognes. Many
patent medicines, cosmetics, and household cleaning supplies for mainstream consumers have been
aimed also at hoodoo practitioners. Some products have dual usage as conventional and spiritual
supplies, examples of which include the Four Thieves Vinegar,[16] Florida Water,[17] and Red Devil Lye.
[18]

Hoodoo is linked to a popular tradition of Bottle Trees in the United States. According to gardener and
glass bottle researcher Felder Rushing, the use of bottle trees came to the Old South from Africa with
the slave trade. Bottle trees were an African tradition, passed down from early Arabian traders. They
believed that the bottles trapped the evil spirits until the rising morning sun could destroy them. The
use of blue bottles is linked to the "haint blue" spirit specifically. Today, glass bottle trees are a popular
garden decoration throughout the South and Southwest.[19]

Cultural influences
Over time, African Americans began to incorporate many elements from the dominant European
culture, after having little access to tools, botanicals, and ceremonies they were used to. 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
European culture.[20][21]

Europe
Europe's greatest identifiable influence on hoodoo is the presence and use of European or European
American grimoires. One of the first examples of this is John George Hohman's Pow-Wows; or, Long
Lost Friend, a collection of magical spells originally published in 1820 for Pennsylvania-Dutch
Hexemeisters.[22] Pow-wows were introduced to hoodoo through catalogs on magic geared toward the
African American community in the early 20th century.[citation needed] The spells in this book are woven
throughout with Christian symbolism and prayer, 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."[23]
The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is a European grimoire that is purportedly based on Jewish
Kabbalah. It contains numerous signs, seals, and passages in Hebrew that are supposed to be related to
Moses' ability to work wonders. Though its authorship is attributed to Moses, the oldest manuscript
dates to the mid-19th century. Its importance in hoodoo practice is summarized as follows:
"I read de "Seven Books of Moses" seven or eight yeah a'ready ... de foundation of hoodooism
came from way back yondah de time dat Moses written de book "De Seven Book of Moses."[24]

Differences between hoodoo and voodoo

Hoodoo shows evident links to the practices and beliefs of Fon and Ewe spiritual folkways. The
folkway of Vodun is a more standardized and widely dispersed spiritual practice than hoodoo. Vodun's
modern form is practiced across West Africa in the nations of Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso, among
others. In the Americas, the worship of the Vodoun loa is syncretized with Roman Catholic saints. The
Vodou of Haiti, Voodoo of Louisiana, and Vud of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Dominican Republic are
related more to Vodun than to Hoodoo.

In popular culture
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. The Bo Diddley song "Who Do You Love?" contains an extensive series of puns about a
man hoodooing his lover. He also recorded an album titled Got My Own Bag of Tricks (1972), a
reference to a mojo hand or trick bag. In Chuck Berry's song "Thirty Days" he threatens an ex-lover,
telling her that he "...talked to the gypsy woman on the telephone [...] she gonna send out a world wide
hoodoo...". Woody Guthrie wrote the lyrics for "Hoodoo Voodoo", a song later performed by Wilco and
Billy Bragg. Creedence Clearwater Revival made reference to it in their hit song "Born on the Bayou"
with the lyrics, "And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin', chasin' down a hoodoo there...."
Zora Neale Hurston recorded many
hoodoo practices and tales.
John Berendt describes the alleged
business relationship between
James Arthur Williams and a
conjure-woman called "Miz
Minerva" who was married to
"Doctor Buzzard" in his non-fiction
novel Midnight in the Garden of
Good and Evil, in which hoodoo
practices play a significant part.
Author Ishmael Reed, in his novels
Mumbo Jumbo, Yellow Back Radio
Broke-Down, and others, makes
great use of Hoodoo, including
characters who are practitioners.
Reed also published a number of
Hoodoo poems.
Gloria Naylor's novel Mama Day
uses hoodoo as both explanation for
natural occurrences, and gateway
into the magical past of African
American slaves on the island of
Willow Springs.
Author Charles W. Chesnutt makes
significant use of Hoodoo in his
1899 short story collection The
Conjure Woman. The collection
focuses on an ex-slave named Julius
McAdoo, who recounts stories in
which African slaves use hoodoo as
a means of resisting and avenging
themselves against white plantation
culture.
Eve's Bayou
The Princess and the Frog
The X-Files episode "Theef", the
story of a "Hoodoo Man" who seeks

revenge against the medical doctor

who he believes killed his daughter.
It is a good example of how
Hoodoo crosses ethnic and cultural
lines and how it is not a form of
religious worship such as Voodoo
but a system of magical practices.
The hoodoo "Conjure Man" could
be black, native American or as the
legend of the famous "Doctor
Buzzard" points to, white.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
centers on a series of cult Voodoo
murders, the investigation of which
delves heavily into both Voodoo
and Hoodoo lore.
In Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull,
Hoodoo is identified as "good
magic", the opposite of Voodoo.
Supernatural episode, "Playthings",
Hoodoo mentioned throughout as a
possible cause for a string of
murders in a particular house.
The Skeleton Key

References
1.
Smith, Theophus H. 1994. Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America. New York:
Oxford University Press. p. 3.
Hoodoo might also be an adjective. 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 is sought by others as a mentor or a minister.
Merriam Webster Online
Mystical Hoodoo with Mother Mystic
Hyatt, Harry Middleton. 19701978. Hoodoo--Conjuration--Witchcraft--Rootwork. 5 vols.
Hannibal: Western
http://lucky-temple.com/history-hoodoo-voodoo-wicca-obeah.html
Long, Carolyn Morrow. "Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic and Commerce." University of
Tennessee Press. Knoxville: 2001.
Hyatt. Hoodoo. vol. II. p. 1761.
Hurston. 1935. Mules and Men. pp. 183.
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 Christian Bible.
Hurston. Moses: Man of the Mountain. p. ??.
One observer at the time called The Sixth And Seventh Books "the Hoodoo Bible". Yvonne
Chireau. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition. University of
California Press, (2006) ISBN 0-520-24988-7
Hurston. Mules and Men. p. 280
Selig, Godfrey. Secrets of the Psalms

 Hyatt. Hoodoo. vol. 1. p. 417. Quoted in Smith. Conjuring Culture. p. 14. n. 8.

Felix, Talia (2010). The Conjure Cookbook. Createspace. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-4505-7317-7.
Felix, Talia (2010). Voodoo Conjure. Createspace. ISBN 978-1-4505-8227-8.
The Devil
"Hometalk Discusses Bottle Trees". Hometalk. 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
For an English example, see Scot, Reginald. 1584. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. 1972 edition.
New York: Dover Publications. p. 47. ISBN 0-486-26030-5
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 0-8156-0471-8. Kilpatrick explains a practice the origin of which is
not traced; a Cherokee conjuror takes the saliva of an intended victim and places it in the earth "where
the worms live." Thus, the person's saliva is a symbolic stand-in for the intended victim.
Hohman, John George. 1820. Pow-Wows; or, Long Lost Friend. 1971 reprint edition. Pomeroy:
Health Research Books.
Hohman. 1820. Pow-Wow. pp. 63 and 84.
1.
Hyatt. Hoodoo. vol. I. pp. 17581759.

External links

http://www.conjuredoctors.com/wh
at-is-hoodoo-conjure-rootwork.html
http://academichoodoo.com/
http://www.mamiwata.com/hoodoo.
html
http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo
history.html
Hoodoo, Rootwork, Conjure,
Obeah at DMOZ

Categories:

Hoodoo
African-American cultural history
Supernatural legends
American folklore
Folk religion

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