From black sorcerers' client-based practices in the antebellum
South to the postmodern revival of hoodoo and its tandem spiritual
supply stores, the supernatural has long been a key component of
the African American experience. What began as a mixture of
African, European, and Native American influences within slave
communities finds expression today in a multimillion dollar
business. In Conjure in African American Society, Jeffrey E.
Anderson unfolds a fascinating story as he traces the origins and
evolution of conjuring practices across the centuries.
Though some may see the study of conjure as a perpetuation of
old stereotypes that depict blacks as bound to superstition, the
truth, Anderson reveals, is far more complex. Drawing on folklore,
fiction and nonfiction, music, art, and interviews, he explores
various portrayals of the conjurer -- backward buffoon, rebel
against authority, and symbol of racial pride. He also examines the
actual work performed by conjurers, including the use of
pharmacologically active herbs to treat illness, psychology to ease
mental ailments, fear to bring about the death of enemies and
acquittals at trials, and advice to encourage clients to succeed on
their own. By critically examining the many influences that have
shaped conjure over time, Anderson effectively redefines magic as a
cultural power, one that has profoundly touched the arts, black
Christianity, and American society overall.
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