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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 VI 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. x