High John the Conqueror Root 207southeastern United States, may originally have served as
John the Conqueror. Present-day spiritual supply stores
off er a morning-glory relative, Mexican jalap root (Ipom-
oea jalapa), as High John the Conqueror. St. John’s wort
(Hypericum perforatum) has been cited by some writers as
the source of High John the Conqueror, but its branching,
fi brous root system in no way resembles the original John
the Conqueror root.
In many West and Central African belief systems,
every natural object is believed to have an indwelling spirit
that can be summoned to the aid of human beings. Th e
name “High John the Conqueror” suggests that a potent
personality inhabits this magical root. High John has been
equated with Funza, the Central African Kongo spirit of
power and masculinity embodied in twisted, swollen,
phallus-shaped roots. High John may also have West Afri-
can Fon and Yoruba antecedents. In his role as a protector
against human enemies, authority fi gures, and malevolent
spirits, he resembles Gu, the warrior spirit of iron and war-
fare. His function as a bringer of luck in gambling, busi-
ness, and money matters relates him to Eshu, the trickster
spirit who governs chance and the crossroads. In his role as
a “conqueror” of women, he is related to Shangó, the hand-
some and virile spirit of thunder and lightning.
Zora Neale Hurston associated the indwelling spirit of
High John the Conqueror root with the African American
slave trickster hero Old John, a man of great strength and
cunning. Stories of Old John and his adversary Old Marster
constitute a cycle of folk narratives that parallel the better-
known tales of Brer Rabbit. Other folklore texts assert that
the character of High John is synonymous with St. John the
Baptist, the biblical character who baptized Jesus, preached
in the wilderness, and conquered Satan.
Th e prototype for High John the Conqueror could also
have been a historic person, possibly a powerful hoodoo
doctor who became associated in the minds of believers
with this African spirit. Th e word “high” connotes author-
ity, strength, and potency, and in coastal Maryland and Vir-
ginia, a conjurer was called a “high man.”
In all of these possible aspects, High John the Con-
queror personifi es a strong, dark, virile, masculine spirit
who protects his devotees and brings them success, wealth,
and luck. He represents the resiliency and empowerment of
black people in surviving slavery and its aft ermath of pov-
erty and racism.the permanent council of the International Anthropology
Congress. Herskovits’s works include Th e Myth of the Negro
Past (1941), in which he traces African American roots to
West Africa to examine racial myths; Th e Economic Life of
Primitive People (1940), an anthropological study of primi-
tive culture’s economics; and Man and His Works (1948),
a survey that was descriptive and theoretical in examin-
ing cultural anthropology. Th ree of Herskovits’s last books,
Continuity and Change in African Culture (1959), Economic
Transition in Africa (1964), and Th e Human Factor in
Changing Africa (1962), refl ect both the rapid development
of Africa’s place in the world and the increased academic
interest in African studies.
See also: Acculturation; Africanisms; Frazier, E. Franklin;
Locke, Alain; Turner, Lorenzo Dow
T. Alys JordanBibliography
Gershenhorn, Jerry. Melville J. Herskovits and the Racial Politics of
Knowledge. Critical Studies in the History of Anthropology.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004.
Price, Richard, and Sally Price. Th e Root of Roots: Or, How Afro-
American Anthropology Got Its Start. Chicago: Prickly Para-
digm, 2003.
High John the Conqueror Root
High John the Conqueror is a spirit-embodying root popu-
lar among practitioners of African American conjure and
hoodoo. It is employed for protection from enemies and
malevolent spirits, for luck in gambling and money mat-
ters, to obtain a favorable outcome in court cases, and for
success with women. Th e root is carried in the pocket and
rubbed when needed; “fed” or “dressed” with various sub-
stances; boiled to make baths and fl oor wash; soaked in
whiskey, oils, and perfumes for an anointing substance; or
incorporated into the charm packets called mojo bags and
lucky hands.
Conjurers and hoodoo doctors harvested High John
the Conqueror root in the wild until the mid-20th century.
Th e large, twisted or swollen tubers, rhizomes, or taproots
of Jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Solomon’s seal
(Polygonatum odoratum), beth root (Trillium), or some
species of wild morning glory (Ipomoea), all native to the