Conjure in African-American society

312 Pages·2002·13.4 MB·English

by  Anderson, Jeffrey Elton

CONJUREINAFRICAN-AMERICANSOCIETY
By
JEFFREYELTONANDERSON
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2002
Copyright2002
by
JeffreyEltonAnderson
Tomywife,Lynn,andson,Michael.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iwouldliketothankthemembersofmydoctoralcommittee:Dr.BertramWyatt-
Brown,Dr.WilliamF.Brundage,Dr.JonSensbach,Dr.DavidHackett,andDr.Alice
Freifeld. Withouttheirencouragementandsuggestions,Iwouldnotbeapproachingthe
endofmygraduatecareer.
Myfamilydeservesmythanks,aswell. Asimportantasanyofmycommittee
memberswasmywife,Lynn,whopatientlyreadthrougheachandeverypageofmy
work,lookingfortypographicalerrors. Ithankherforputtingupwithmylectureson
conjureandthedifficultiesofdissertationwriting. Ialsohavemymotherandfather,
RebaandWilliamAnderson,tothankforseveralsuggestions.
Iwouldalsoliketoacknowledgethosewhohaveaidedmyresearchwith
informationandprofessionalknow-how. CarolynMorrowLonghasbeengracious
enoughtogivemeadvice,eventhoughsheisworkingonasimilarprojectherself. In
addition,thehoodooists,healers,spiritualadvisors,andotherswillingtospeakwithme
havegivenmeinsightbyallowingmetoglimpseAfrican-Americanmagicatwork. In
particular,IwouldliketorecognizethecontributionsofCatherineYronwode,Deborah,
SallieAnnGlassman,PhoenixSavage,BarbaraGore,MiriamChamani,FelixFigueroa,
F.L.Robinson,ClaudiaWilliams,RichardMiller,"Pop"Williams,NancyRhett,
EugeniaBrown,andJonellandJazellSmith.
IV
1
Finally,myfaithinGodhasencouragedmetopersevereandgivenmeinsightinto
theworkingsofthesupernatural. Hedeservesmythanksaswell.
.
PREFACE
DEFININGTHEREALMOFINVESTIGATION
Allofthehoodoodoctorshavenon-conjurecases. Theyprescribefolk
medicine,"roots",andareforthisreasoncalled"two-headeddoctors"..
Oftentheyarenothoodoodoctors,butallhoodoodoctorsalsopractice
medicine.
-ZoraNealeHurston,"HoodooinAmerica"
Othernamesforhoodooinclude"conjuration,""conjure,""witchcraft,"
and"rootwork"...Asyoumayguessbynow,itisnotatallcorrectto
refertoAfrican-Americanhoodooas"Voodoo."
-CatherineYronwode,"Hoodoo"
ProminentamongGullahculturewasthebeliefinherbalism,spiritualism,
andblackmagic. Whileinotherplacesitwascalled"ubia,""voodoo,"or
"santeria,"theGullahcalledit"theroot."
-RogerPinckney,BlueRoots
"Witches,""two-heads,""goopherdoctors,""Voodoopriests,""rootdoctors,"
andothermastersoftheocculthavelongpeopledAfrican-Americans'supernatural
world. Astheabovequotationssuggest,however,notwoauthorsagreeonwhateachof
thesetermsdenotes. Somedrawsharplinesamongrootdoctors,goopherdoctors,
Voodoopriests,andotherclassesofmagicworkers. Otherssimplycondenseallofthese
charactersintoasinglegroup,usuallyknownas"hoodoodoctors"or"conjurers."
Neitherapproachisentirelysatisfactory. Itisbesttodefineaconjurerasaprofessional
magicpractitioner,whotypicallyreceivespaymentinreturnforhisorhergoodsand
services. Still,threevitalquestionsremainunanswered. First,whatseparatesconjure
fromsyncreticreligions,likeVoodoo? Second,whatsetsconjureapartfromlower-level
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supernaturalism,commonlyknownas"superstition?"1 Finally,howarewitches,two-
heads,goopherdoctors,rootworkers,andthelikerelatedtoconjurers?
Thatwhichproperlydenotesconjurefallsbetweentwoextremesofreligion
properandlow-levelsupernaturalism. AtoneendofthespectrumofAfrican-American
beliefsliesuchsyncreticreligionsasVoodooandSanteria.2 Conjureisbroaderthan
thesefaiths. Functionally,syncreticreligionsseektohonorthegodsandspiritswho
peoplethebelievers'world. Forexample,bothVoodooandSanteriahavehistorically
practicedsacrificeinordertopleasesuchdeitiesasPapaLegbaandOgun. Conjure,
however,doesnotpursuesuchloftyaims. Instead,conjurationseekstoaccomplish
practicalobjectivesthroughtheuseofthespiritworld.3 Whileconjurersmayconsider
theirreligiontobeChristian,thisdoesnotpreventsomeofthemfromcallingonPapa
Legbatoperformaspecificdeed. Likewise,ChristianconjurersmighttrytocompelGod
tobendtotheirwillthroughselectiveBiblereading. Forexample,inaspellrecordedby
'Theterm"superstition"hasfallenoutoffavorwithmostscholars.
"Supernaturalism,"whichhastakentheplaceof"superstition"inmostrecentworks,
remainstoovaguetobeuseful,encompassingawiderangeoffolkbeliefs,including
conjure. Thus,inthispreface,Ihaveretainedtheuseof"superstition"simplyforits
valueasadescriptionforlow-levelsupernaturalism.
2ThefollowingholdstrueforotherAfro-Europeansyncreticreligionspresentin
theUnitedStates,suchasBrazilianCandomble,TrinidadianShango,JamaicanObeah,
andhome-grownSpiritualism.
3Forasimilarargument,seeNewbellNilesPuckett,FolkBeliefsoftheSouthern
Negro,PattersonSmithReprintSeriesinCriminology,LawEnforcement,andSocial
Problems,No.22(ChapelHill:UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,1926;reprint,
Montclair:PattersonSmithPublishingCorporation,1968),174-177.
vii
ZoraNealeHurstonconjureclientsrecitedPsalm120during"courtscrapes"inorderto
guaranteesuccess.4
Inadditiontoconjure'sfunctionaldistinctiveness,italsolacksthedeveloped
theologyofsyncreticreligions. ThoughneitherSanterianorVoodooholdstorigid
dogmas,theirbasictenetsremainmuchthesameforallpractitioners. Forinstance,
Voodoobelieverseverywhererecognizetheexistenceofthesupremecreatorgod,
DamballahWedo,whotakeslittlepartinhumanaffairs. Likewise,believersinSanteria,
whethertheyliveinCuba,Miami,andNewYorkCity,placegreatemphasisonthe
powersofthedead. Incontrast,whilethemajorityofconjurersengageinmanyofthe
samepracticesandusesimilarmaterials,suchasgraveyarddirt,bones,andplant
materials,theirusesdifferwidelyfrompractitionertopractitioner. Furthermore,some
conjurersclaimtoreceivetheirpowerfromGod. Otherscreditfamiliarsoranimistic
spirits. Conjureisfarlesssystematicthanevenundogmaticsyncreticreligions.5
Ifreligiondelineatestheupperboundaryofconjure,supernaturalismmarksthe
lower. Theessentialdifferencebetweenconjureandsupernaturalismrestsontherelative
amountofspecializedknowledgeorabilitiesrequiredfortheirpractice. Forexample,
nineteenth-centuryGeorgiablacksbelievedthatlendingsaltorredpepperwasbadluck.
4ZoraNealeHurston,MulesandMen,withaPrefacebyFranzBoas,Forewordby
ArnoldRampersad,andAfterwordbyHenryLouisGates,Jr.(NewYork:Harper
Perennial,1990),275.
5SeeHurston,MulesandMen,andCarlCarmer,StarsFellonAlabama,withan
IntroductionbyJ.WayneFlynt,(TuscaloosaandLondon:UniversityofAlabama,1985),
215-222. Foraccountsofsyncreticreligions,seeMiloRiguad,SecretsofVoodoo,trans,
byRobertB.Cross(NewYork:Arco,1969;reprint,SanFrancisco:CityLightsBooks,
1985),43-78,andGeorgeBrandon,SanteriafromAfricatotheNewWorld:TheDead
SellMemories(BloomingtonandIndianapolis:IndianaUniversityPress,1993),79-120.
viii
Suchfolkbeliefsrequirednopeculiaroccultaptitude. Ontheotherhand,fewAfrican-
Americanspossessedthesupernaturalskillstomakeoneofthecomplex"luckballs"that
nineteenth-centuryMissouriblacksfashionedfromacombinationofhumanhair,ashes,
graveyarddust,pigblood,andtailfeathersfromacrowinghen. Suchcomplex,and
allegedlymorepotent,spellshavetraditionallybeenleftuptohoodooists.6
Therearetwomajorexceptionstothegeneralrelianceonlocalconjurersforfull-
blownmagic. Thefirstbeganwiththeriseofmail-orderconjurecompaniesduringthe
twentieth-century. Suchbusinessesoftensell"do-it-yourselfkitswhichpromiseto
provideanyonewithmagicalpowers. Asecondcaseisthemanytraditionalpractices
designedtoremedyandpreventconjure,suchasthecustomofsweepingandscouring
recently-occupiedhomestocleansethemfromevilforces. Thesemodesofsupposed
protectionrarelyreachthelevelofcomplexitycommonlyattachedtotheconjurer'sart.
Nevertheless,asfoilsofevilmagic,theymustbeclassedasaformofcounter-conjure.7
Havingsettheboundariestowhatproperlyconstitutesconjure,whatareweto
makeoftheplethoraofwordsindiscriminatelyusedassynonyms? Thisquestionmustbe
answeredinthreeparts. First,"hoodoo,"andthelesser-known"mojo,""tricking,"and
6RolandSteiner,"SuperstitionsandBeliefsfromCentralGeorgia,"Journalof
AmericanFolk-Lore12(1899):263;MaryAliciaOwen,VoodooTalesasToldamong
theNegroesoftheSouthwest,withanIntroductionbyCharlesGodfreyLeland(New
YorkandLondon:G.P.Putnam'sSons,1893),174.
7Steiner,"SuperstitionsandBeliefsfromCentralGeorgia,"263. Foroneexample
ofamail-ordercuriocompany,seetheLuckyMojoCurioCompany,whichcanbefound
onlineathttp://www.luckymojo.com.
ix
"fixing"arereadilyinterchangeablewith"conjure." Theonlydifferencesamongthe
termsareregionalandpersonalpreferences.8
Second,someauthorstreat"witch"asasynonymfor"conjurer,"eventhough
African-Americanssometimesdistinguishbetweenthetwoterms. Whileconjurersare
human,thesamecannotbesaidforwitches,whoaresometimesdescribedasnonhuman
beingswhoridelightningandgivebirthtovampires. Insomeaccounts,witchesalso
engageinpracticesbelowthedignityofmostconjurers,suchasridingsleepersand
stealingmilkfromcows. Atthesametime,witchescanusuallytransformthemselves
intoavarietyofanimals,anabilitynotpossessedbymanyconjurers.9
Finally,avarietyofothertermsrefertospecificaspectsofAfrican-American
magic. Themostcommonofsuchsemi-synonymsfor"conjurer"is"rootworker." Some
scholarshavearguedthatrootworkersareadistinctclass,differentiatedfromconjurers
throughtheiruseofherbalremediestocuremedicalproblems. Hoodoo,theymaintain,
8MaryOwen,VoodooTales,209-222; CatherineYronwode,proprietorofLucky
MojoCurioCompany,interviewbyauthor,15January2001,phonecallbetween
Gainesville,FLandForestville,CA,notes,personalcollection,Birmingham,AL;
CatherineYronwode,"Hoodoo,"LuckyMojoCurioCompanyWebsite,1995-1999,
<http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoohistory.html>(20May2002). ManyAfrican-
Americansview"hoodoo"and"Voodoo"assynonyms,usingbothtorefertomagic. The
distinctionbetweentheproperusageoftwotermsisamodernone,promulgatedby
Voodoobelieverswhowishtoidentifytheirfaithasalegitimatereligionandhoodoo
practitionersattemptingtodisassociatethemselvesfromthereligiousconnotationsand
negativestereotypesattachedtoVoodoo.
9MaryOwen,VoodooTales,209-222;TomPeeteCross,"WitchcraftinNorth
Carolina,"StudiesinPhilology16(1919):217-287;RichardM.Dorson,ed.,Negro
FolktalesinMichigan(Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1956),101;Catherine
Yronwode,interviewbyauthor.
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