Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork
“spiritual heritage as a lifeline”
Dr. Yvonne Chireau is the expert when it comes to Conjure in what’s now the United States. She’s not super active, but you can follow her on twitter @ConjureHealing. There’s also a great interview with her here.
Black Magic is so smart, y’all — and absolutely crucial for our understanding of media like Daughters of the Dust or next session’s short film, Wake. I’m excited for you to read it.
“Where there are preachers, there are also Conjurers; where there are conversions, there are also dreams and visions. And where there is faith, there is, and ever continues to be, magic.” (Chireau 2006, 9)
What we’re reading
- Chireau, “Introduction,” from Black Magic (Canvas)
- Chireau, “Conclusion,” from Black Magic (Canvas)
- Chireau, “Our Religion & Superstition Was All Mixed Up: Conjure, Christianity, and African American Supernatural Traditions,” from Black Magic (Canvas)
Keywords
- Conjure
- Hoodoo
- rootwork
- magic
- “vernacular religion”
- “pervasive pragmatism”
Defining our terms
Conjure, Hoodoo, and rootwork are all parts of what Chireau calls African American Supernatural Traditions.
- Conjure is African America folk magic, often for security & protection against violence. Chireau defines it as “the African American tradition of healing and harming,” (2006, 4).
- Hoodoo is a synonym for Conjure; the terms are often used interchangeably.
- Rootwork (or working roots, or root doctoring) is a Conjure technique that involves using plants for magical work — again, often for security and protection against violence. Authorities (law enforcement, judges, etc.) thwarted by Conjure are said to be “rooted.”
None of these are religious traditions per se; they are technologies used by some practitioners of African Diasporic Religions, like Nana Peazant in Daughters of the Dust — part of what Chireau calls the “pervasive pragmatism of African American spirituality,” (2006, 153). And as you hopefully remember from last time, many ADR practitioners are also Christian (remember hybridity?).
You’ll note that Chireau invokes the concept of “vernacular religion,” which is similar to the concept of lived religion (which we discussed as part of our Salem unit, specifically re: Reis’ analysis). At its most basic, vernacular or lived religion proposes that — as we say on Keeping It 101 — religion is what people do, and not just what specific authorities do in specific buildings on specific days of the week or write down in specific books. And Daughters of the Dust offers us a beautiful and poignant example in Nana Peazant’s blessing of the Hand.
Chireau, “Introduction”
The introduction to Black Magic gives us an insightful analysis of that important scene from Daughters of the Dust, in which Nana Peazant creates the hand and gathers her family for a blessing before their journey north. (Also this book is just beautifully written. What a gift.)
How is Chireau defining magic here? What role does magic play in Black people’s “quest for spiritual empowerment and meaning,” (Chireau 2006, 2)?
“Although magic is generally characterized as the antithesis of religion, it seems just as often to reflect the latter, to be its mirror image.” (Chireau 2006, 3)
How is Chireau defining religion? How does magic differ from religion in African American spiritual traditions? Why do these definitions matter? What is Chireau arguing about religion and magic in this book, and why is her argument significant?
“A rigid dichotomy between Christian and non-Christian expressions in Black folk traditions belies practitioners’ own experiences.” (Chireau 2006, 4)
Chireau, “Conclusion”
After reading this short conclusion, you should have a clear idea of
- what the characteristics of Conjure are
- how Anglo and African American magic systems differ (and why those differences matter)
- what the relationship is between Christianity and Conjure
- and how Chireau thinks Conjure helps us better understand the study of religion
Pay particular attention to what she calls the “pervasive pragmatism” of Conjure.
“Pervasive pragmatism…is characteristic of African American spirituality… [African American] magical traditions were used in order to resist the conditions of oppression that African people encountered.” (Chireau 2006, 154)
What does Chireau mean when she says pragmatism pervades Conjure and rootwork? Why is this pragmatism so important?
Chireau, “Our Religion & Superstition Was All Mixed Up: Conjure, Christianity, and African American Supernatural Traditions”
In addition to how Chireau defines and understands Conjure in this chapter, and how this chapter helps us further recognize the relationship between Christianity and Conjure in African American religious traditions, you should also be able to explain
- why, according to Chireau, Black people in what’s now the United States practiced Conjure
- how these reasons for Conjuring reflect the “pervasive pragmatism” of Black religion
“Conjure beliefs applied to an individual’s most pressing and immediate conditions, such as physical well-being. Spiritually pragmatic, black americans were able to move between conjure and christianity because both were perceived as viable systems for accessing the spiritual world, and each met needs that the other did not.” (Chireau 2006, 25)
According to Chireau, reasons for Conjuring include
- countering “practices of racial oppression” (16)
- “realistic & pragmatic” response to enslavement (17)
- “integral to slaves’ strategies of resistance” (17)
- “determination to engage in subversive activities” (17)
- undermining enslavers’ authority (18)
- “valuable resource for resistance” (18)
- “alternative possibilities for empowerment” (18)
- “power, explanation, and control” (20)
Can you find any other reasons to Conjure in this c_Wahapter?
Next time we’re reading the iconic Zora Neale Hurston in conversation with (among other things) Bree Newsome Bass’ short film, Wake. CW: the film is not graphic but does include a scene in which sexual violence is implied. If you need to skip the film, please do so.
