182 Culture, Identity, and Community: From Slavery to the Presentthe Haitian Revolution. Hoodoo is a distinctive American
tradition. Scholars have noted that beliefs and customs as-
sociated with conjure in America may be traced back to the
Congo. Unlike Vodun and similar African-based practices
such as Santería, Shango, and Candomble, conjure is not a
religion, and therefore the practitioner, or conjurer, is not
bound by a specifi c theology or formal initiation; conjura-
tion may be adapted to any one of several forms of religious
worship. In this tradition, personal healing and magical
powers are emphasized. Conjurers empower themselves
with handmade objects as an alternative to relying on the
power of religious leaders or deities. Rootwork comprises
a working knowledge of herbalism and nature. Th erefore,
the term “rootwork” is used because of the signifi cant role
of dried roots in the making of charms and casting of spells.
African American practitioners and informed participants
seldom use the terms “hoodoo” and “rootwork” inter-
changeably. In addition to roots, conjurers also use sticks,
trees, stones, animals, magnets, minerals, bones, animal
parts, natural waters, bodily effl uvia, personal objects, rit-
ual candles, incense, and oils.
Th e objectives of conjurers are oft en misinterpreted by
the misinformed. Practitioners of conjure are consulted for
spiritual cleansing, attracting aff ection, good health, and
luck, protection, and divination. In order to achieve the
desired outcomes of their clients, conjurers use techniques
referred to as “laying of tricks” or “fi xing tricks.” Th e most
common object used in the laying of tricks is called a bag
of tricks. Sometimes it is also referred to as a mojo, nation
sack, gris-gris, hand, trick bag, luck ball, or fl annel. Th e
word “mojo” may have come from the West African word
mojuba, which means “giving praise.” A mojo bag is the
most commonly used talisman in conjuration, and it is ex-
tremely potent. Usually a small bag made of silk, leather, or
fl annel, a mojo is a bag of charms that serves as an amulet
and is oft en concealed on the person for eff ectiveness and
safety. Sometimes the mojo is hidden in a secret location.
Th e basic ingredients found in a mojo are sticks, herbs,
bones, and earth combined to accomplish a particular task.
A nation sack is the only gender-specifi c mojo. It is a fe-
male-owned mojo bag worn by women under their clothes,
and men were not allowed to touch them. Th e magical in-
gredients included in the nation sack depended on the de-
sired wishes of the female who wore it. For example, egg
yolks kept lovers committed, and red onion peels brought
good luck.the tangible world. Th e “magical” forces of conjure are inex-
plicable and lacking in scientifi c grounding. However, these
forces should not be equated with illusion, charlatanry, or
invocatory magic. Conjure is an American tradition primar-
ily rooted in African cosmology and herbalism. Africans on
the Continent embraced a lexicon of beliefs and customs
designed to help them coexist in an environment fi lled with
animals, plants, natural elements, and unseen forces. In ad-
dition to the supreme power to whom all answered, there
were deities and ancestral fi gures who worked together in
harmony to promote balance in the universe.
During the Atlantic slave trade, many of these beliefs
and customs were transported to the New World for sus-
tenance. Nature-based customs took a stronger foothold in
geographical locations with climates resembling weather
conditions in Africa. Although many syncretized, African-
based religions such as Santería, Shango, Candomble, and
Vodun emerged in the Americas, conjure was more com-
mon in North America. Th erefore, conjure took root in
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North
Carolina, and South Carolina. Conjuration is informed
by a fusion of African magical and medicinal herbalism,
American Indian botanical knowledge, and European folk
traditions. With the assistance of American Indians inhab-
iting areas surrounding the plantations, enslaved Africans
learned the properties of local herbs and roots. Herbalism
survived as a vital part of slave culture and was used to treat
blacks and whites on the plantation.
Conjurers, or conjure doctors, are oft en described as
herbalists and magicians who may practice benefi cial, cu-
rative, and protective magic. Practitioners are usually paid
for their services. Conjuration may be viewed as a system
of black traditional medicine that cures natural and oc-
cult illnesses. Herbalism is used to treat natural illnesses;
hexes are occult illnesses that can be treated only by a per-
son who can draw on elements of the universe, spells, and
personal power to uncross the hex. Contrary to popular
belief, members of various ethnic and racial groups prac-
tice conjure.
Other commonly used names for conjure are hoodoo
and rootwork. It has been speculated that the term hoodoo is
a derivation of the African terms Voodoo and juju. Voodoo
is a Westernized adaptation of the Fon word Vodun, which
means “spirit” or “god”; juju means magic. Vodun is a West
African religion that was transplanted to Haiti and even-
tually surfaced in Louisiana early in the 19th century aft er