Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure PDF
Preview Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure
Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure Recent Titles in Greenwood Folklore Handbooks F airy Lore: A Handbook D.L. Ashliman South Asian Folklore: A Handbook Frank J. Korom Story: A Handbook Jacqueline S. Th ursby Chicano Folklore: A Handbook María Herrera-Sobek German Folklore: A Handbook James R. Dow Greek and Roman Folklore: A Handbook Graham Anderson The Pied Piper: A Handbook Wolfgang Mieder Slavic Folklore: A Handbook Natalie Kononenko Arab Folklore: A Handbook Dwight F. Reynolds Caribbean Folklore: A Handbook Donald R. Hill Foodways and Folklore: A Handbook Jacqueline S. Th ursby Children’s Folklore: A Handbook Elizabeth Tucker Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure Q A Handbook Jeffrey E. Anderson Greenwood Folklore Handbooks GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Anderson, Jeff rey E., 1974– Hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure : a handbook / Jeff rey E. Anderson. p. cm. — (Greenwood folklore handbooks, ISSN 1549–733X) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–313–34221–9 (alk. paper) 1. Hoodoo (Cult)—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Magic—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Voodooism—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. BL2490.A65 2008 133.4'308996073—dc22 2008020832 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2008 by Jeff rey E. Anderson All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008020832 ISBN: 978–0-313–34221–9 ISSN: 1549–733X First published in 2008 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America Th e paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Lynn, Michael, and David—my family This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix One Introduction 1 Two Defi nitions and Classifi cations 29 Three Examples and Texts 57 Four Scholarship and Approaches 89 Five Contexts 113 Glossary 123 Bibliography 147 Web Resources 171 Index 179 This page intentionally left blank Preface R eferences to hoodoo, Voodoo, and conjure seem to be everywhere these days. They appear in works by prominent authors, including some by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Ishmael Reed—to name but the most prominent. Articles on the doings of Voodoo practitioners are common in newspapers and magazines. Marie Laveau, the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans,” has become a celebrated figure in scholarly circles. Three different Laveau biographies have hit the shelves in recent years. Several movies, most notably Th e Skeleton Key , have introduced African American magic to an even broader audience. One promi- nent hoodoo practitioner, Catherine Yronwode, now offers an e-mail- or paper- based correspondence course for aspiring practitioners through her business, the Lucky Mojo Curio Company (Pryse and Hortense). The only problem with all the attention hoodoo and related practices have garnered from the media is that the average American does not have much con- text in which to situate references to African American magic. It is doubtful that most could give straightforward definitions of hoodoo, Voodoo, or conjure or explain why h oodoo and Voodoo are not quite synonymous. Even less expected is that more than a handful could properly situate these systems of belief within African American history, folklore, and everyday life. Just as important to Americans’ cloudy ideas of hoodoo, conjure, and Voodoo are the stereotypes that surround supernaturalism. Magic, especially the variety introduced into America by Africans, has long been associated with superstition, ignorance, or downright devil worship. These stereotypes have been present since the days when New Englanders were hanging witches, as evidenced by the fact that at least one of the accused was a believer in and possible practitioner of Voo- doo. True, the number of executions of accused magic workers has significantly declined over the centuries, but African American believers and practitioners still
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