Hoodoo
African American folk magic of the American South, using roots, objects and Psalms for luck, protection and justice.
Also: rootwork, root work, conjure, root doctor
Hoodoo is a body of African American folk practice, developed during and after slavery in the American South, that draws on West and Central African ideas and on Christianity. Practitioners, called conjure doctors, root doctors or two-headed doctors, work with herbs and roots, sacred words, written papers and objects such as the mojo bag, for luck, love, health, protection and, in some accounts, to counter harm. Psalms are used widely. Hoodoo is not a religion by itself, and many practitioners are church members. Zora Neale Hurston and Harry Middleton Hyatt recorded practitioners in the 1930s. The word is separate from Vodou, though the two are often confused in popular media, and it is now sold commercially in shops and online.