by A. Pustanio,
Photos by L. Noble, Art work Ricardo Pustanio
“WHAT IS ROOTWORK?
Rootwork is a form of folk magick that uses
the elements of nature to create change
in ourselves, others, or our environment.
It is an African-American form of shamanism
that makes use of herbs, stones, rocks,
and other organic material to heal the body
or the mind, or to solve a problem. Like
all other forms of shamanism, Rootworkers
believe that we can use the unseen forces
of nature to manipulate the tangible world.
Rootwork is also known as ‘Hoodoo’
in the southern part of the United States.
The word ‘hoodoo’ is probably
derived from the word ‘juju,’
an African word meaning ‘magic,’
or from ‘Voodoo,’ a corrupted
version of the Fon word ‘Vodun,’
meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘god.’
But unlike Vodun . . . Rootwork is not a
religion. It has no pantheon or priesthood.
It refers only to a set of healing and spell
practices, and the practitioner can be whatever
religion they wish.”
Tayannah Lee McQuillar (2003)
Hoodoo is a very strong part of the New
Orleans folk magic tradition. Along with
Voodoo and Santeria, it thrives in the diverse
cultural “gumbo” that makes
up this fascinating city. Most citizens
of New Orleans either practice or intimately
know someone who practices some form of
rootwork, or hoodoo, on a regular basis.
It is common in New Orleans and surrounding
areas to seek out a “gris gris”
for anything from good luck at the casinos
or keeping pesky neighbors away, to potent
“mojos” for sexual prowess and
securing the affections of a potential lover.
Hoodoo is also commonly used to curse one’s
enemies.
Coexisting together, Hoodoo and Voodoo share
many familiar elements. Though the latter
probably influenced the former, many terms,
spells and practices have a common connection.
Hoodoo, however, is very informal; based
largely on traditional African practices,
it also drew heavily from Native American
and other Nature-based folk traditions,
such as those of the gypsies and Acadian
“traiteurs.” Where Voodoo is
an established religion with its own hierarchy
and rituals, Hoodoo combines elements of
most of the major belief systems –
Christian, Jewish, and European folk practices,
even elements of Southern Evangelical faith
healing - all found their way into Hoodoo
over time.
“HOW DOES IT WORK? No form of magick
is based on logic – if it was, then
it would cease to be magick. There is no
explanation for why spells work, but they
do. All that is needed to work successfully
with spells is patience, confidence, and
faith. It is a completely illogical process
that must be allowed simply to be. As soon
as you try to analyze it, its power is lost.”
Tayannah Lee McQuillar (2003)
Hoodoo places great emphasis on the magical
power of the individual. Practices can be
easily adapted based on one’s desires
for a particular outcome; simple rituals
also easily adapt to most people’s
inclination and habits.
Hoodoo knowledge is generally passed person
to person and because there is no particular
structure within hoodoo, spells and practices
are as numerous as practitioners. Many medicinal
concoctions are geared toward use by hoodoo
workers and significant use is also made
of homemade potions and charms. Recipes
for successful charms and potions have remained
unchanged for generations.
Although it was the slaves who brought the
African beliefs of Vodun and its hoodoo
counterpart to the United States, in most
areas of the country these practices died
out or were absorbed into other area folk
traditions. The exception to this is Louisiana,
where hoodoo practices thrived among the
slave population, distinct from those of
Vodun or Santeria, which were hidden through
syncretization with the Catholic religion.
The African-Americans in Louisiana did not
forget the vast magical and herbal knowledge
that had been a part of their life in Africa.
Thus, hoodoo was born.
Hoodoo in New Orleans is practiced under
several names – Vieux Carre rootwork,
Bywater conjure, Mid-City magick –
but all share a similar origin and essential
practices. With a rich mixture of Native
American and traditional European folk belief
thrown in, New Orleans hoodoo is unlike
any other root religion in the south.
Despite being generally loosely organized,
New Orleans hoodoo still has a number of
taboos and rules in place that are strictly
observed. Rootworkers in New Orleans made
use of a wide range of charms, talismans
and amulets designed to attract good luck,
ward off bad luck, or in some way increase
the power of the individual for whom they
are made. These charms and talismans are
usually prepared after careful consultation
between the individual and the rootworker
and once the charm is made and has been
consecrated, no one else should handle it
except the person it was intended for.
Charms, talismans and amulets come in many
forms. The most popular rootwork charm is
the “mojo” bag, “a tiny
bag made of flannel, silk or leather that
includes herbs, stones and other ingredients
combined to achieve an objective.”
The mojo is also often called “gris-gris,”
especially among Voodoo workers, as well
as “wanga,” “conjure,”
or “trick bag.” The word “mojo”
most probably comes from the West African/Yoruban
word “mojuba,” which means “give
praise.” Mojos are usually worn against
the skin or carried in a pocket or purse
and should always remain hidden.
Mojo and gris-gris bags are often prepared
in occult shops or the popular “botanicas”
that serve the thriving root business in
and around New Orleans. Perhaps the most
popular of these botanic markets is The
Island of Salvation, owned an operated by
Voodoo Priestess Sallie Ann Glassman. Another
botanica, F&F Church Supply, carries
many of the popular ingredients for mojos
and gris-gris and also serves the popular
Santeria practice in the City. In the town's
sacred St Louis Cemetery number 1, before
the tomb of Marie Laveau the statues of
Shango, the thunder god with the double-headed
ax, and triple-headed Tohoxou, the god of
deformed children, stared across the graves
of the dead. Some tombs here over hundred
of years old.
Other common mojo ingredients are taken
from the natural environment and even from
the human body. This is why it is vitally
important never to allow anyone to touch
or handle the consecrated mojo bag except
the person for whom it has been created.
TALISMANS are also another important element
of New Orleans hoodoo rootwork. Unlike their
mojo cousins, most talismans are usually
intended to be openly displayed either in
an effort to attract a positive influence
to the wearer or, alternately, to ward off
negative influences such as evil conjure.
Talismans, or talisman ingredients, generally
come from the natural world surrounding
us, and everything from badger teeth to
snakeskin has its proper place and influence
in the hoodoo rootworker’s bag. Elements
from the animal kingdom are often said to
impart the powers of particular animals
to the wearer, an example of the strong
Native American influence present in hoodoo.
Other talismans are designed to bring increase
to the bearer, and there are several popular
talismanic devices of this sort. Probably
the most famous and most sought after luck
talisman of the New Orleans hoodoo tradition
is the Golden Monkey and Cock Curio Statue.
The history of the Monkey and Cock Statues
go back generations in New Orleans and have
been associated with the secret practices
of the societies founded by Voodoo Queen
Marie Laveaux. In the New Orleans of today,
the Sacred Gold Monkey and Cock Statues
are hand carved by Bianca and members of
the societies and then covered with 18 karat
gold plate paint of superior quality, actually
resembling metal plating, and each comes
in a wooden box . Then Good Luck Hoodoo
curio are individually blessed by Bianca,
the reigning Queen of New Orleans Voodoo,
in ritual blessing ceremonies held twice
yearly.
Small plaster Monkey and Cock statues have
been appearing at the grave of Voodoo Queen
Marie Laveau for years and these more common
Monkey and Cock statues are said to grant
three wishes to the bearer over a three
year period.
The gold Sacred Monkey and Cock Statue is
said to grant wishes for the lifetime of
the owner. It has been the experience of
those who keep the gold Monkey and Cock
statues that wishes are granted, on average,
once each year, though there have been occasions
where several wishes at a time have been
fulfilled.
Unlike their common counterpart, the gold
Monkey and Cock Statue is generally quite
rare and those who have them in their possession
usually do not relinquish them. Unlike mojos
or gris-gris prepared for a particular individual,
the Sacred Golden Monkey and Cock Statue
can be passed down through generations and
usually is.
HOODOO
AND THE FOLK DOCTOR: THE CAJUN TRAITEUR
Hoodoo and rootwork also share a strong
connection with traditional folk medicine
practices in New Orleans and surrounding
regions.
The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting
primarily of the descendants of Acadians
who settled primarily in Louisiana after
they were expelled from the former French
colony of Acadia (now the Canadian provinces
of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince
Edward Island) in 1755 as a result of
their refusal to swear allegiance to the
British Crown.
Perhaps the most well-known practitioners
of rootwork folk medicine in south Louisiana
are the Cajun traiteurs, or folk-healers.
Sharing many of the elements of traditional
African-American rootwork, traiteur folk
medicine is a practice that has traditionally
existed among the Acadians, or Cajuns
of southwest Louisiana for hundreds of
years. The traiteur’s beliefs are
learned informally, by word of mouth and
through observation and demonstration.
Long before the advent of modern medicine,
folk traiteurs in the rural bayous of
south Louisiana were using traditional
methods and ingredients, such as herbs,
tree and plant roots, fruits, insects
and foods for the treatment of illnesses
ranging from warts, sore throats and arthritis
to impotency, malaria and even certain
cancers. This is the rootwork tradition
of the Cajun traiteur.
Often this hoodoo tradition is enhanced
with the addition of faith healing. This
commonly involved the use of religious
folk objects or items and prayers to aid
in curing the ailment presented to the
traiteur. Charms and talismans are often
also employed to assist in the healing
process. Talismanic elements are often
taken from the natural world of the traiteur,
from things found easily in the swamps
and bayous of south Louisiana. These materials
include molasses, tea, garlic, cypress
tree roots, alligator teeth, beaver tail,
nutria tongue, and many other strange
but potent natural remedies.
A strong tradition among the Cajun traiteurs
is the use of small effigies, similar
to voodoo dolls, carved in the likeness
of the sick person whom the traiteur is
trying to heal. While the person undergoes
home treatment, the traiteur will usually
use the little image of the sick person
to reinforce the healing. By treating
the tiny effigy the healing link is maintained
and the traiteur can concentrate greater
effort on the healing process.
It is not unknown for negative conjuring
to be performed against the little dolls
and because of this the traiteur will
do all he can to protect them. Just like
talismans, the dolls representing sick
individuals under the traiteur’s
care will not be handled by anyone except
the folk healer for fear that this will
interfere with the proper treatment of
the ailment.
Similar to the Monkey and Cock Statue,
once the sick person has been healed,
he or she will often make a pilgrimage
into the swamp accompanied by the traiteur.
There the person who has been healed by
the products of the natural world will
set up an altar of thanks for the healing
that has occurred, and at the instruction
of the traiteur, will leave the folk doll
on the altar in acknowledgement of the
good work that has been done.
One of the most famous practitioners of
this kind of healing hoodoo was the famous
Josephine Mosebury, a direct descendant
of the famous hoodoo rootworker Fanny
Mosebury, who, it is said, learned her
craft under the instruction of Voodoo
Queen Marie Laveau.
One folk custom is belief in a traiteur,
or Cajun healer, whose primary method
of treatment involves using bare hands.
An important part of Cajun folk religion,
the traiteur is a faith healer who combines
Catholic prayer and medicinal remedies
to treat a variety of ailments, including
earaches, toothaches, warts, tumors, angina,
and bleeding. Another is in the Rougarou,
a version of a Loup Garou or a French
werewolf, that will hunt down and kill
Catholics that do not follow the rules
of Lent.
Rethinking the Nature and Tasks of African-American
Theology - Anthony B. Pinn of Macalester
College provides scholarly examples of how
hoodoo and other African-based religious
practices form a "second stream"
within African-American Christianity, forcing
a recognition of theological complexity
beyond the merely folkloric or religio-magical
orientation of conjure.
Editor's Note: The above-mentioned link
is provided for general information only
and readers are advised that the link includes
inaccurate and disparaging information about
the Romany (Gypsy) people. As such, the
referenced website does not reflect the
opinon of the editors and staff of Haunted
New Orleans and Haunted America Tours or
of BachiGraphics, LLC, nor is its inclusion
here intended to be an endorsement of the
information it provides.
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