202 Culture, Identity, and Community: From Slavery to the Presenta rattlesnake’s fang, and the dirt from the grave of a crimi-
nal. Once this concoction was mixed with a “pig-eating”
sow and made into a cake, three feathers from a crowing
hen were added, along with the hair of the person employ-
ing the charm. Aft er all of these preparations, everything
would be placed in a cat-skin bag and buried under the
house of the intended victim. Th e trick bag would cause
disease, bad luck, and sorrow. In similar fashion, harmful
conjure bags used in coastal Georgia oft en contained grave
dirt, sulphur, and the hair of the victim and were believed
to cause insanity.
Another use for grave dirt was as an oathing ingredi-
ent. A number of conspiracies, particularly those involving
Akan-speaking slaves from the Gold Coast, involved the
consumption of an “oath drink,” which typically included
human blood, rum, and grave dirt. Because of the idea that
ancestral spirits were an active force in the aff airs of the liv-
ing, imbibing an oath drink created an unbreakable bond
between the ancestral spirits and the living. Examples of
this use of graveyard dirt abound in the British, Danish, and
Dutch Caribbean. In North America, Akan-speaking slaves
inspired by loyalty oaths were involved in both the 1712 New
York City revolt and the 1741 New York City conspiracy.
Although applications varied, there were certain be-
liefs regarding the power of graveyard dirt that were almost
universal. Th e majority of charms contained goofer dust as
an ingredient, perhaps because of the belief that gravesites
contained the spiritual essence of the deceased. Among Af-
rican American spiritualists, there was seeming consensus
that angry spirits increased the strength of harmful charms.
Th us, hoodoo doctors in New Orleans believed that dirt
from the grave of a sinner or a murder victim was the most
eff ective component to add to harmful spells or charms.
Likewise, goofer dust from an infant’s grave was extremely
potent. Dirt from the grave of a sinner, a murdered person,
or an infant were said to be the only ingredients that could
make a charm powerful enough to kill.
See also: Africanisms, Black Folk Culture; Goofer DustWalter C. RuckerBibliography
Georgia Writers’ Project. Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies
among the Coastal Negroes. Athens: University of Georgia
Press, 1940.
Puckett, Newbell Nile. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1926.Georgia Writers’ Project (Savannah Unit). Drums and Shadows:
Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes. 1940.
Reprint, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Mules and Men. 1935. Reprint, New York:
Harper and Row, 1990.
Hyatt, Harry Middleton. Hoodoo-Conjure-Witchcraft -Rootwork, 5
vols. Hannibal, MO: Western Publishing, 1970–1978.
Long, Carolyn Morrow. “Folk Gravesites in New Orleans: Ar-
thur Smith Honors the Ancestors.” Folklore Forum 29, no. 2
(1998):23–50.
Long, Carolyn Morrow. “Voodoo-Related Rituals in New Orleans
Cemeteries.” Louisiana Folklore Miscellany 14 (1999):1–14.
Th ompson, Robert Farris. Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-
American Art and Philosophy. New York: Vintage Books, 1983.
Vlach, John Michael. “Graveyard Decoration.” In The Afro-
American Tradition in Decorative Arts. Cleveland, OH:
Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
Grave Dirt
Also known as goofer dust, grave dirt was the most power-
ful ingredient in the arsenal of African American conjur-
ers. In combination with blood, animal parts, plant matter,
and other items, graveyard dirt was included in charms,
counter-charms, and remedies. It was also a prominent
ingredient in oathing ceremonies throughout the African
Diaspora. With origins among multiple Atlantic African
groups, the signifi cance of so-called goofer dust in Afri-
can American spiritual beliefs is connected to their rever-
ence for ancestors. Th e belief that the world of the living is
connected to that of the dead is found among a number of
African cultural groups brought to North America during
the era of the Atlantic slave trade.
Graveyard dirt was used in a range of spells and charms
created by African American conjurers. Many believed that
rubbing goofer dust on their limbs, combining it with other
items and wearing it in a bag around the neck, or bury-
ing clumps of graveyard dirt around their homes could be
eff ective methods of warding off harmful conjuration. In
the example of a love-charm, graveyard dirt was combined
with one quart of vinegar, one quart of rainwater, and nine
iron nails. Aft er this mixture was boiled and then cooled for
nine days, it was combined with more vinegar and rainwa-
ter, bottled and corked for nine days, and sprinkled in the
target’s yard. Supposedly the target would be amenable to a
marriage proposal on the 10th day.
In another example, a “trick bag” could be prepared
by combining the ashes of a jaybird’s wing, a squirrel’s jaw,