I am a hoodoo. My ancestral roots in this country are NC, SC, VA. People of the land. My ancestors are a mixture of predominantly West African, Central African, even some Southern African peoples, along with a bit of Lumbee Native American Tribe, and of course European. Hoodoo is the birthright in spiritual, cultural and healing practices of us descendants of African peoples who were brought to the Americas, particularly the United States, as they have developed and adapted over the generations. I am no expert. But I am hoodoo.
Hoodoo is not superstition. The ways of our ancestors are not superstitions. These are the pieces of spiritual technology passed down from our ancestors that shift energies and connect with the natural and cosmic world, keeping us square within that balance and positioning, and makes us an active part in how, when and where that energy shifts and flows. We are part of the universe so we commune with and utilize parts of the universe to be an active participant, intentionally, in how it continues to develop.
We combine what we know about the sun’s rising and setting, the cloud formations thereby indicating the status of the earth’s magnetic field and the paths of water’s chemical change between the soil and the heavens, the moon’s color and size, indicating therefore what chemical compounds may be most present in the air and atmosphere at the time, and how close our earth may or may not be to that being at the time. We combine what we know about the health of the soil, with the year’s seasons, with intuitive knowledge on how things grow. We combine knowledge of the natural directions in which energy flows in our world. We combine how this chemical compound interacts with that, and with the systems within your body. We understand the energies, light and radiation given by certain colors. We are the earth, the earth is us. We are spirit and science.
“Supersitition” is an insult and what in theology we call a negativism, to traditional spiritual and cultural practices. Everything we do has a significance and a root. Simply because you do not yet know that significance or root due to the consequences of our colonization, does not mean you should look down on it or call it a word that’s demeaning and dismissive, like “superstition.” It takes time and effort for sure, to unthink those things and ways that suit our colonial inculturation. Many of the “whys” and “wheres” have been lost to individual practitioners and otherwise unknowing practitioners, as it is our culture and birthright, due to assimilation and inculturation over the generations. Also, for safety. Many of our ancestors and elders purposely did not teach us, especially in the United States, that ancient spiritual technology for fear that sharing or showing it among the wrong circles could put our very lives in danger.
To know more, as best you can, tap into your elders and memories you may have observed or been told by your elders and ancestors. In current film reels, you can catch “High on the Hog,” on Netflix and “In Our Mother’s Gardens,” also on Netflix. For books to help, begin with Katrina Hazzard-Donald’s “Mojo Workin” and John Mbiti’s “African Religions and Philosophy”, and Nana Akua Kyerewaa Opokuwaa’s “The Quest for Spiritual Transformation.” There are many of us who unite spirit/culture with scholarship because traditionally, it always has been one. Is there evidence? YES! Are there PhDs in this? YES! If you need further direction on how that is accomplished, you may begin with Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute African & Diasporic Religious Studies Association