What do you think?
Rate this book
Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition
Black Magic looks at the origins, meaning, and uses of Conjure―the African American tradition of healing and harming that evolved from African, European, and American elements―from the slavery period to well into the twentieth century. Illuminating a world that is dimly understood by both scholars and the general public, Yvonne P. Chireau describes Conjure and other related traditions, such as Hoodoo and Rootworking, in a beautifully written, richly detailed history that presents the voices and experiences of African Americans and shows how magic has informed their culture. Focusing on the relationship between Conjure and Christianity, Chireau shows how these seemingly contradictory traditions have worked together in a complex and complementary fashion to provide spiritual empowerment for African Americans, both slave and free, living in white America.
As she explores the role of Conjure for African Americans and looks at the transformations of Conjure over time, Chireau also rewrites the dichotomy between magic and religion. With its groundbreaking analysis of an often misunderstood tradition, this book adds an important perspective to our understanding of the myriad dimensions of human spirituality.
As she explores the role of Conjure for African Americans and looks at the transformations of Conjure over time, Chireau also rewrites the dichotomy between magic and religion. With its groundbreaking analysis of an often misunderstood tradition, this book adds an important perspective to our understanding of the myriad dimensions of human spirituality.
236 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2003
67 people are currently reading
1417 people want to read
About the author
Yvonne Patricia Chireau
3 books11 followersYvonne Chireau is a Professor of Religion at Swarthmore College.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 6, 2014
I'd never thought I would side with Conservatives, but when it comes to education, maybe a person really can have too much of a good thing. It seems that a lot of scholarship does not make for a good book.
If you're looking for a book that treats Conjure, rootwork, hoodoo, and similar practices in a neutral way, this isn't it. It's a book that has been written for an academic audience, and as such, the author seems to attempt to appease a generally secular mindset. She doesn't take her subject seriously, she downplays and even leaves questions in the mind about the reality of its otherworldly aspects, and she seems only to attempt to make positive viewpoints the closer her subject matter gets to the banality of the dominate culture. It's disappointing to see Yvonne Chireau seeking to present her point of view to a mostly condescending audience who may not care what she thinks, because she's dealing with a subject that they would rather treat with the disdain of "Sir" James Frazer.
One of the questions that came to mind as I was reading this book was, "Why would a professor of religion deal with a subject best left to anthropologists?" Just because religion and magic/miracles follow similar paths, they shouldn't be treated the same way. Let me try to clarify: Religion is a political philosophy usually based on revelation, whether real or fabricated. It may or may not have its grounding in ongoing metaphysical experiences, but normally religion depends a great deal on its "followers" having faith, belief, trust, dependance, or some kind of reliance on its basic doctrines/dogmas in order for the religion to exist. Real religion can't exist without faith. Otherwise it fades away into virtual nothingness. The otherworldly, on the other hand, doesn't need anyone's faith in order to exist. It's there whether you like it or not. Nor does it need anyone's permission, let alone faith or the known laws of physics, for the "unexplained" to happen. To confuse religion itself with, let's say, what gets generated within a religious setting is, well to put it politely, naive.
Supernatural. She keeps using that word. I don't think she knows what it really means. It seems that she assumes that otherworldly occurrences are supernatural, when the word "supernatural" means "of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal." If Ms. Chireau would have taken the time to talk with people who deal with the otherworldly, she may have discovered that the word "supernatural" hasn't been used a great deal in serious circles for decades, if at all. But she wouldn't have done that. Because she's a, uh, professor of religion, and only works with speculative philosophy based on revelation.* She might be a secularist herself, but since I don't know her, I can't make that judgement. I'm only going by how she writes.
It's irritating to watch a detached person speaking about subject matter like a tourist observing a culture's customs from the outside. This was a mistake of early Western anthropologists. Instead of engaging a culture, they would judge them by their own obviously superior standards. Their excuse was probably for the purposes of objectivity...to immerse themselves in a culture would sully their precious empirical observations. This is probably why there are Muslims in the Middle East now that do not want to have anything to do with Western education, values, or culture. It tends to be intrusive, condescending, and seeks to convert people to their way of life and being without ever needing to accept non-Europeans as equals. And yet, for whatever her reasons, that's what she attempted to do. The dominant culture in the United States will never accept African-American ways, no matter how a person tries to whitewash them. To try to kiss up to it is a major mistake. I mean it's alright that Ms. Chireau may have come to think that the existence of the otherworldly is silly...she may even thought this way all along without apologies. That is her decision. But why try to resort to apologetics to justify a deliberately villainized practice among African-Americans? Already, it's dying out, and it's also on its way to being appropriated by the dominate culture because of this treatment. (But you won't see many non-Euro-Americans taking up Wicca. Why should they when they have their own mystical practices?)
Nobody wants to be looked down upon. Everyone wants to be treated with respect. But to adopt the ways of the bullies is not the way to get ahead. That just shows that they are willing to give up their heritage to try to make the oppressors more comfortable with their presence. But they will never, ever, accept them. Ever. By the way, did I mention the word "ever?" A whole culture giving up their identity is not the way to go to please imperialists. And this is where I got the impression that Yvonne Chireau has upheld this as a positive thing...to encourage education tainted by the views of the dominant culture in order to win approval of academicians she both works with and for. Wow, this has been a surprising piece kowtowing in surrendering to the enemy, to say the least.
Let me just say, though, that the last chapter of the book was good...to a point...until you start seeing...wait...she's actually siding with the critics between the 1880's and the 1930's. Why is she doing that? So the book goes from using the words, "supernatural," "believed," "seems," "claimed," apparently," "superstitious," to stronger, more normalized words implying approval the conversion of black culture to white ways, including the effort to get rid of Conjure. Only whites, usually men, have credibility in her narration of Conjure history. Hardly anyone black has that. It's a disturbing narration of events.
When the author gets to near the end of Chapter Five, I find her presenting the Blues as the acceptable replacement for both Afro-American-based religion and Afro-American-based Conjure. (Note: To me, the blues, and not the R&B type, was the Emo of the turn of the century. It was off-beat, much of it was howling misery, and it tended to have only one lone person playing an instrument "singing" about how bad off everything was in his life, words in each verse repeating themselves incessantly ad nauseum. Not all Blues were like that, but this was the kind I remembered when I was a kid. And I hated it...it was worse than classic country.) This rather secular form of music is the suitable substitute to both African-American-based religion and Conjure. However, even though the Blues may have a lot of emotion, even a lot of soul, it has very little redeeming value when it comes to spirituality...real spirituality meeting the everyday struggles of people, outside of it being a little more than just a form of entertainment to divert people's attentions from their problems. That's a poor substitute for real power.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The part in Chapter Four where she mentions "psychotherapy." On page 117, the paragraph begins like this:
One of the most important services that Spiritual practitioners provided for clients and congregation members was psychotherapeutic.
Then she goes on to describe how so. What struck me about this was that it was probably the only thing she saw beneficial about what spiritual practitioners were doing for the people. The rest of it was just a put-on to make it palatable to "the superstitious."
Like, really, Professor Chierau? I'm thrilled I've never taken any of your classes.
Once again, we have an example where a simulation that is both recognizable and palatable to the dominant culture is held up as a positive. Anything considered "superstitious" is described in terms that entertain incredulousness. The largest problem I see here in the rest of the paragraph is that she doesn't even bother to acknowledge that "psychotherapy" was the only thing left as an instrument of the spiritual practitioner in extremely tight circumstances. She just states, in so many words, that psychotherapy was a good thing.
Why do I see that as a problem? For beginners, let's take the word "psychotherapy" itself. The "psycho" in psychotherapy comes from the word "psyche," which means "soul." Problem: Secularists don't normally believe that souls exist. Throughout Ms. Chireau's book, she routinely uses words that casts doubt that anything otherworldly exists. It would have been better if the whole psychological racquet, and not just the author of this book, would just use the term, "mental health therapy" rather than "psychotherapy" "psychology," or anything using the word "psycho" in it. If you don't believe souls exist, or that even spirits exist, why use terms that mislead? You commit the same crimes that you accuse spiritual and magical practitioners of by implying that your job is to heal the soul when all you're doing is manipulating the mind. So quit being hypocrites.
Secondly, the author seems to approve of using the practice normally done in therapy of placing responsibility on the victim-of-circumstance. This is weak. Instead of indicating justice and the severe need for empowerment, what is applauded here is the offering of placebos... like "Keep Calm and Carry On." She does say that such things as discrimination, prejudice, economic inequities, and the other usual suspects surrounded the urban dwellers on every side, but she doesn't seem to rise to the occasion by saying that Conjure was a way to empowerment for the dispossessed...She seems to imply, as she tends to do throughout this book, that Conjure itself was the placebo. She, nor her intended audience, may not even know how to tell the difference between real otherworldly power and the counterfeit, or even if those who happen to have power have a little or a lot, or if even if they had authentic mentors or not. So what qualifications do they have to make those judgements? (If they say they use criteria from Western science, that's like trying to speak English to the native San of South Africa.) All they know is that Conjure...anything otherworldly across the board...is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. (I hope you never have serious problems.) So the answer is...Just deal with it. Don't rock the boat....which maybe that's all the answers spiritual practitioners had left to give them by this time, considering the circumstances....however, this shouldn't be seen as wise advice, but instead as impoverished advice. That is, if you do try to take action to assert yourself, you Will be made an example for being "uppity."
In the end, I have to say that African-American power traditions had deteriorated to the point that the use of power seemed to have gotten out of hand, being that people seemed to have been jinxing and unjinxing each other for some of the slightest provocations. This is probably what happens when power is abused and goes on a rampage without the slightest thought about just how much the other person or persons might be getting hurt....or how much the power-user's ego had gotten out of hand that they think they're hoodooing folks when they're actually deluding themselves because they don't know what they're doing. This is also some of the results that happen when practitioners don't regulate their own practice of Conjure or any otherworldly activity...random people get involved and get dishonest or careless; they bypass legitimate spiritual counselors and buy mostly fake commodities through the mail on their own from some unknown to get back at someone else; they abuse the power to get ahead somehow, or to just get into or out of some situation. In other words, people take "the law into their own hands," so to speak. If you think that's funny, substitute metaphysical power with guns and assault rifles, and see how funny it is then...because that's what gangs and individuals are using now. Yes, people should be empowered, but they should also be shown responsible ways of using it. Otherwise, they'll be running around like a bunch of preschoolers bombing, maiming, and just being little terrors. If they're going to insist being irresponsible, they simply shouldn't have any form of power, not even a butter knife. That's one of the most valuable things I discovered from reading this book...even though that wasn't the author's original intent. Her intent was to slyly discredit magic, miracles, the paranormal, the metaphysical (just quit calling it the supernatural...that's the name of a TV show!) and present as the solution shallow replacements that look and act similar to the real thing but have little to offer...and because they are devoid of empowerment, they could even do just as much damage as the actual abuse of power, if not more, because there's nothing more there beyond imitating the real thing..."having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof," so to speak.
I do wish Ms. Chireau would have used biblical references for the instances she cites rather than just recycled academic references. It's possible that those outside her respectable hallowed walls of the East Coast university network would have appreciated that. It would also have kept people in general from getting lost over what she refers to in different sections of her book, and then end up making assumptions, as if Conjurers and rootworkers only leaned on traditions from Africa...or just out of thin air. It helps not to mislead the readers, even if you don't "Believe" in the Bible yourself. It's not polite to do one's audience such an injustice.
Okay, I know this was a very long rant on an academic book that was probably required reading for some poor student, but so much had to be said about the attempt at using a book to uphold the preferred values of a dominating culture at the expense of people it has subjected with its European-inspired chaos. In my opinion, if a culture loses touch with its ancestral power and roots, the rest deteriorates from the inside out. Then it will only have bits and pieces of what it was. That's when they will be ready for complete assimilation without the honor, respect, and equality it ought to bring. More than likely, the non-Euro-Americans will always be seen as the "other,"...and that will be how the dominate culture would like it; they will probably never fully fit in. As for those who deliberately seek to adopt the ways of the conquer...they should stop and read what happened in India, the Middle East, Middle America, and Australia for examples. Those who don't know these histories are condemned to repeat them.
And yes, I tried on purpose to imitate the author's writing style as best I could, to show just how....disconnected she was from her subject. And how conceited her writing style came across. I don't care if she's an atheist, agnostic, or whatever she really believes. I felt this was an imbalanced, seemingly opinionated writing style trying to pass for fair and impartial. It's not fair and impartial. To me it was an underhanded appeal to accept the indoctrination, if you will, of a culture that would think nothing of destroying another's culture for the benefit of their own. Just because a culture has taken advantage of your own culture, should you try to emulate them? If so, cool; that's your decision. But I would strongly advise against going out and proselytize subjection to the new masters because you view is that their culture is superior to your own. That's Bill Cosby-ish (or Cosbyism.)
I admit I didn't have much tolerance for this book. As a quote from the back cover of the book said, I have seriously reckoned with Chireau's text. But I walked away placing the responsibility back on the accountant because the book was cooked. And btw...that really sounded like a backhanded complement from one of the book's two "admiring" reviewers. Chireau should go back to the person and ask him what he really meant by that remark.
End of rant. I hope.
*Correction as of September 6, 2014:
I have only recently discovered that there are still many using the word "supernatural," rather than paranormal, to describe the otherworldly. I guess not everyone is aware that it has become obsolete with much of the occultist community, who now consider the other side being just as natural as this side. My apologies here.
If you're looking for a book that treats Conjure, rootwork, hoodoo, and similar practices in a neutral way, this isn't it. It's a book that has been written for an academic audience, and as such, the author seems to attempt to appease a generally secular mindset. She doesn't take her subject seriously, she downplays and even leaves questions in the mind about the reality of its otherworldly aspects, and she seems only to attempt to make positive viewpoints the closer her subject matter gets to the banality of the dominate culture. It's disappointing to see Yvonne Chireau seeking to present her point of view to a mostly condescending audience who may not care what she thinks, because she's dealing with a subject that they would rather treat with the disdain of "Sir" James Frazer.
One of the questions that came to mind as I was reading this book was, "Why would a professor of religion deal with a subject best left to anthropologists?" Just because religion and magic/miracles follow similar paths, they shouldn't be treated the same way. Let me try to clarify: Religion is a political philosophy usually based on revelation, whether real or fabricated. It may or may not have its grounding in ongoing metaphysical experiences, but normally religion depends a great deal on its "followers" having faith, belief, trust, dependance, or some kind of reliance on its basic doctrines/dogmas in order for the religion to exist. Real religion can't exist without faith. Otherwise it fades away into virtual nothingness. The otherworldly, on the other hand, doesn't need anyone's faith in order to exist. It's there whether you like it or not. Nor does it need anyone's permission, let alone faith or the known laws of physics, for the "unexplained" to happen. To confuse religion itself with, let's say, what gets generated within a religious setting is, well to put it politely, naive.
Supernatural. She keeps using that word. I don't think she knows what it really means. It seems that she assumes that otherworldly occurrences are supernatural, when the word "supernatural" means "of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal." If Ms. Chireau would have taken the time to talk with people who deal with the otherworldly, she may have discovered that the word "supernatural" hasn't been used a great deal in serious circles for decades, if at all. But she wouldn't have done that. Because she's a, uh, professor of religion, and only works with speculative philosophy based on revelation.* She might be a secularist herself, but since I don't know her, I can't make that judgement. I'm only going by how she writes.
It's irritating to watch a detached person speaking about subject matter like a tourist observing a culture's customs from the outside. This was a mistake of early Western anthropologists. Instead of engaging a culture, they would judge them by their own obviously superior standards. Their excuse was probably for the purposes of objectivity...to immerse themselves in a culture would sully their precious empirical observations. This is probably why there are Muslims in the Middle East now that do not want to have anything to do with Western education, values, or culture. It tends to be intrusive, condescending, and seeks to convert people to their way of life and being without ever needing to accept non-Europeans as equals. And yet, for whatever her reasons, that's what she attempted to do. The dominant culture in the United States will never accept African-American ways, no matter how a person tries to whitewash them. To try to kiss up to it is a major mistake. I mean it's alright that Ms. Chireau may have come to think that the existence of the otherworldly is silly...she may even thought this way all along without apologies. That is her decision. But why try to resort to apologetics to justify a deliberately villainized practice among African-Americans? Already, it's dying out, and it's also on its way to being appropriated by the dominate culture because of this treatment. (But you won't see many non-Euro-Americans taking up Wicca. Why should they when they have their own mystical practices?)
Nobody wants to be looked down upon. Everyone wants to be treated with respect. But to adopt the ways of the bullies is not the way to get ahead. That just shows that they are willing to give up their heritage to try to make the oppressors more comfortable with their presence. But they will never, ever, accept them. Ever. By the way, did I mention the word "ever?" A whole culture giving up their identity is not the way to go to please imperialists. And this is where I got the impression that Yvonne Chireau has upheld this as a positive thing...to encourage education tainted by the views of the dominant culture in order to win approval of academicians she both works with and for. Wow, this has been a surprising piece kowtowing in surrendering to the enemy, to say the least.
Let me just say, though, that the last chapter of the book was good...to a point...until you start seeing...wait...she's actually siding with the critics between the 1880's and the 1930's. Why is she doing that? So the book goes from using the words, "supernatural," "believed," "seems," "claimed," apparently," "superstitious," to stronger, more normalized words implying approval the conversion of black culture to white ways, including the effort to get rid of Conjure. Only whites, usually men, have credibility in her narration of Conjure history. Hardly anyone black has that. It's a disturbing narration of events.
When the author gets to near the end of Chapter Five, I find her presenting the Blues as the acceptable replacement for both Afro-American-based religion and Afro-American-based Conjure. (Note: To me, the blues, and not the R&B type, was the Emo of the turn of the century. It was off-beat, much of it was howling misery, and it tended to have only one lone person playing an instrument "singing" about how bad off everything was in his life, words in each verse repeating themselves incessantly ad nauseum. Not all Blues were like that, but this was the kind I remembered when I was a kid. And I hated it...it was worse than classic country.) This rather secular form of music is the suitable substitute to both African-American-based religion and Conjure. However, even though the Blues may have a lot of emotion, even a lot of soul, it has very little redeeming value when it comes to spirituality...real spirituality meeting the everyday struggles of people, outside of it being a little more than just a form of entertainment to divert people's attentions from their problems. That's a poor substitute for real power.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The part in Chapter Four where she mentions "psychotherapy." On page 117, the paragraph begins like this:
One of the most important services that Spiritual practitioners provided for clients and congregation members was psychotherapeutic.
Then she goes on to describe how so. What struck me about this was that it was probably the only thing she saw beneficial about what spiritual practitioners were doing for the people. The rest of it was just a put-on to make it palatable to "the superstitious."
Like, really, Professor Chierau? I'm thrilled I've never taken any of your classes.
Once again, we have an example where a simulation that is both recognizable and palatable to the dominant culture is held up as a positive. Anything considered "superstitious" is described in terms that entertain incredulousness. The largest problem I see here in the rest of the paragraph is that she doesn't even bother to acknowledge that "psychotherapy" was the only thing left as an instrument of the spiritual practitioner in extremely tight circumstances. She just states, in so many words, that psychotherapy was a good thing.
Why do I see that as a problem? For beginners, let's take the word "psychotherapy" itself. The "psycho" in psychotherapy comes from the word "psyche," which means "soul." Problem: Secularists don't normally believe that souls exist. Throughout Ms. Chireau's book, she routinely uses words that casts doubt that anything otherworldly exists. It would have been better if the whole psychological racquet, and not just the author of this book, would just use the term, "mental health therapy" rather than "psychotherapy" "psychology," or anything using the word "psycho" in it. If you don't believe souls exist, or that even spirits exist, why use terms that mislead? You commit the same crimes that you accuse spiritual and magical practitioners of by implying that your job is to heal the soul when all you're doing is manipulating the mind. So quit being hypocrites.
Secondly, the author seems to approve of using the practice normally done in therapy of placing responsibility on the victim-of-circumstance. This is weak. Instead of indicating justice and the severe need for empowerment, what is applauded here is the offering of placebos... like "Keep Calm and Carry On." She does say that such things as discrimination, prejudice, economic inequities, and the other usual suspects surrounded the urban dwellers on every side, but she doesn't seem to rise to the occasion by saying that Conjure was a way to empowerment for the dispossessed...She seems to imply, as she tends to do throughout this book, that Conjure itself was the placebo. She, nor her intended audience, may not even know how to tell the difference between real otherworldly power and the counterfeit, or even if those who happen to have power have a little or a lot, or if even if they had authentic mentors or not. So what qualifications do they have to make those judgements? (If they say they use criteria from Western science, that's like trying to speak English to the native San of South Africa.) All they know is that Conjure...anything otherworldly across the board...is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. (I hope you never have serious problems.) So the answer is...Just deal with it. Don't rock the boat....which maybe that's all the answers spiritual practitioners had left to give them by this time, considering the circumstances....however, this shouldn't be seen as wise advice, but instead as impoverished advice. That is, if you do try to take action to assert yourself, you Will be made an example for being "uppity."
In the end, I have to say that African-American power traditions had deteriorated to the point that the use of power seemed to have gotten out of hand, being that people seemed to have been jinxing and unjinxing each other for some of the slightest provocations. This is probably what happens when power is abused and goes on a rampage without the slightest thought about just how much the other person or persons might be getting hurt....or how much the power-user's ego had gotten out of hand that they think they're hoodooing folks when they're actually deluding themselves because they don't know what they're doing. This is also some of the results that happen when practitioners don't regulate their own practice of Conjure or any otherworldly activity...random people get involved and get dishonest or careless; they bypass legitimate spiritual counselors and buy mostly fake commodities through the mail on their own from some unknown to get back at someone else; they abuse the power to get ahead somehow, or to just get into or out of some situation. In other words, people take "the law into their own hands," so to speak. If you think that's funny, substitute metaphysical power with guns and assault rifles, and see how funny it is then...because that's what gangs and individuals are using now. Yes, people should be empowered, but they should also be shown responsible ways of using it. Otherwise, they'll be running around like a bunch of preschoolers bombing, maiming, and just being little terrors. If they're going to insist being irresponsible, they simply shouldn't have any form of power, not even a butter knife. That's one of the most valuable things I discovered from reading this book...even though that wasn't the author's original intent. Her intent was to slyly discredit magic, miracles, the paranormal, the metaphysical (just quit calling it the supernatural...that's the name of a TV show!) and present as the solution shallow replacements that look and act similar to the real thing but have little to offer...and because they are devoid of empowerment, they could even do just as much damage as the actual abuse of power, if not more, because there's nothing more there beyond imitating the real thing..."having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof," so to speak.
I do wish Ms. Chireau would have used biblical references for the instances she cites rather than just recycled academic references. It's possible that those outside her respectable hallowed walls of the East Coast university network would have appreciated that. It would also have kept people in general from getting lost over what she refers to in different sections of her book, and then end up making assumptions, as if Conjurers and rootworkers only leaned on traditions from Africa...or just out of thin air. It helps not to mislead the readers, even if you don't "Believe" in the Bible yourself. It's not polite to do one's audience such an injustice.
Okay, I know this was a very long rant on an academic book that was probably required reading for some poor student, but so much had to be said about the attempt at using a book to uphold the preferred values of a dominating culture at the expense of people it has subjected with its European-inspired chaos. In my opinion, if a culture loses touch with its ancestral power and roots, the rest deteriorates from the inside out. Then it will only have bits and pieces of what it was. That's when they will be ready for complete assimilation without the honor, respect, and equality it ought to bring. More than likely, the non-Euro-Americans will always be seen as the "other,"...and that will be how the dominate culture would like it; they will probably never fully fit in. As for those who deliberately seek to adopt the ways of the conquer...they should stop and read what happened in India, the Middle East, Middle America, and Australia for examples. Those who don't know these histories are condemned to repeat them.
And yes, I tried on purpose to imitate the author's writing style as best I could, to show just how....disconnected she was from her subject. And how conceited her writing style came across. I don't care if she's an atheist, agnostic, or whatever she really believes. I felt this was an imbalanced, seemingly opinionated writing style trying to pass for fair and impartial. It's not fair and impartial. To me it was an underhanded appeal to accept the indoctrination, if you will, of a culture that would think nothing of destroying another's culture for the benefit of their own. Just because a culture has taken advantage of your own culture, should you try to emulate them? If so, cool; that's your decision. But I would strongly advise against going out and proselytize subjection to the new masters because you view is that their culture is superior to your own. That's Bill Cosby-ish (or Cosbyism.)
I admit I didn't have much tolerance for this book. As a quote from the back cover of the book said, I have seriously reckoned with Chireau's text. But I walked away placing the responsibility back on the accountant because the book was cooked. And btw...that really sounded like a backhanded complement from one of the book's two "admiring" reviewers. Chireau should go back to the person and ask him what he really meant by that remark.
End of rant. I hope.
*Correction as of September 6, 2014:
I have only recently discovered that there are still many using the word "supernatural," rather than paranormal, to describe the otherworldly. I guess not everyone is aware that it has become obsolete with much of the occultist community, who now consider the other side being just as natural as this side. My apologies here.
May 18, 2019
I heard about this book from a podcast I just started listening to this year, New World Witchery. It was from their episode on Hoodoo with the author. Their conversation was fascinating, so I decided I would check out the book.
This was such a captivating and well-researched read that was mainly about the intersection of Conjure and Christianity, and the nebulous division between religion and magic. I loved that the chapter titles were taken from key quotations. The chapters on harming and healing within the tradition were great, and Chireau does a good job including a wide range of historical voices and perspectives.
It was interesting to see how circumstances/contexts affected African American spiritual beliefs. (Chireau uses the word "pragmatic," which seems pretty apt.) I especially liked reading about how Conjure went from being thought of as "cultural refuse" to an "important artifact" among anthropologists and folklorists, and how Conjure changed again when blacks migrated to northern cities and it underwent a commodification.
This was such a captivating and well-researched read that was mainly about the intersection of Conjure and Christianity, and the nebulous division between religion and magic. I loved that the chapter titles were taken from key quotations. The chapters on harming and healing within the tradition were great, and Chireau does a good job including a wide range of historical voices and perspectives.
It was interesting to see how circumstances/contexts affected African American spiritual beliefs. (Chireau uses the word "pragmatic," which seems pretty apt.) I especially liked reading about how Conjure went from being thought of as "cultural refuse" to an "important artifact" among anthropologists and folklorists, and how Conjure changed again when blacks migrated to northern cities and it underwent a commodification.
August 28, 2011
I'd like to give this a really strong four stars. It's really good. But there are some holes, too. Chireau, for instance, doesn't address Spiritualism among white people at all, so the narrative arc of the 19th century for her seems to be "blacks are regarded as more and more backwards and superstitious as whites become more scientific and practical." Well, yes, kind of, but I wish that had been rendered a little more problematic by a discussion of all the white people running around talking to dead people.
And I would have liked more discussion about the crossovers with Native American magical and medicinal practices. I mean, you come from a continent with one type of plant and arrive at a continent with other kinds of plants and yet you still know which ones are helpful and which ones are poisonous? Mysteriously? Or did your neighbors with 10,000 years of trial and error knowledge tell you?
But these are small things in a great book.
And I would have liked more discussion about the crossovers with Native American magical and medicinal practices. I mean, you come from a continent with one type of plant and arrive at a continent with other kinds of plants and yet you still know which ones are helpful and which ones are poisonous? Mysteriously? Or did your neighbors with 10,000 years of trial and error knowledge tell you?
But these are small things in a great book.
July 1, 2016
I find it really amusing that some reviewers have complained that this book doesn't mentioned White or Native American traditions. It does, but they're not given primary attention. This book centers Blackness. If you're not used to that or not expecting it... it'll throw you off a bit, I guess.
I thought this was a great read. I learned a lot about US history and about my own assumptions when approaching religious/moral discussions. I liked how it explored the role of Conjure in religion, folklore, healing, social networks, and music -- how these different arenas were contextualized by Chireau's narration but also presented in quotes from first person accounts. One of the most interesting parts to me was the role of Conjure in political dissent and slave revolts. Highly recommend.
Note: I came across this title in the Lemonade syllabus (google it). A great resource for further reading.
I thought this was a great read. I learned a lot about US history and about my own assumptions when approaching religious/moral discussions. I liked how it explored the role of Conjure in religion, folklore, healing, social networks, and music -- how these different arenas were contextualized by Chireau's narration but also presented in quotes from first person accounts. One of the most interesting parts to me was the role of Conjure in political dissent and slave revolts. Highly recommend.
Note: I came across this title in the Lemonade syllabus (google it). A great resource for further reading.
April 18, 2012
Concise, well thought out, and covering a lot of material. Chireau seems pretty unbiased for a researcher, which is nice. A fascinating subject.
June 10, 2017
Yvonne Chireau takes you on a thorough journey through the history of traditional magical/traditional practice (referred to throughout as Conjure) within African American communities from their origin in Africa to modern times.
While a densely packed read there is a plethora of information and a lot of ground to cover. The author does an admirable job of providing this history in a reasonably chronological order, despite much of it having been passed down through folklore and a wide myriad of sources. She provides great detail and flavor to the settings of her sources and really helps put these stores into proper context without dramatic flair.
Of particular interest to a comparative religious scholar, the author takes the time to specifically show some of the interactions between the African American and various white/native American communities they interact with and how these have influenced each others' religious and spiritual lives through various periods of history.
Admittedly this is not the easiest read. There are only five chapters for over 150 pages, and each chapter is trying to bring so many ideas to bear that the flow can be a bit awkward. This is academic read, however, and that is a common problem in the Ivory Tower. The author also waits to actually define Conjure until about half way into the first chapter. It would have been nice to see it defined earlier. But these are nitpicks in the larger scheme of a great work and an asset to the field.
While a densely packed read there is a plethora of information and a lot of ground to cover. The author does an admirable job of providing this history in a reasonably chronological order, despite much of it having been passed down through folklore and a wide myriad of sources. She provides great detail and flavor to the settings of her sources and really helps put these stores into proper context without dramatic flair.
Of particular interest to a comparative religious scholar, the author takes the time to specifically show some of the interactions between the African American and various white/native American communities they interact with and how these have influenced each others' religious and spiritual lives through various periods of history.
Admittedly this is not the easiest read. There are only five chapters for over 150 pages, and each chapter is trying to bring so many ideas to bear that the flow can be a bit awkward. This is academic read, however, and that is a common problem in the Ivory Tower. The author also waits to actually define Conjure until about half way into the first chapter. It would have been nice to see it defined earlier. But these are nitpicks in the larger scheme of a great work and an asset to the field.
July 29, 2022
(3.5 stars rounded up) This book was really interesting and informative. In it’s exploration of the The Conjuring tradition, The Black Church and how these traditions both informed and opposed one another at times, it illuminates the ways these traditions are what i’d call “sisters, not twins”, or two sides of the same coin in a lot of ways. I also loved how it mapped out the evolution of the conjuring tradition from enslavement up to it’s modern presence. This book was overall a great history lesson for anyone interested in Black spirituality/ADRs/ATRs.
Although the subject matter was very intriguing, the writing style wasn’t the most engaging and it took me a while to get through. This isn’t a book I’d recommend trying to binge.
There is also an extensive notes section which will lead you to a lot of great books and recourses if you’re interested in exploring this topic further.
Although the subject matter was very intriguing, the writing style wasn’t the most engaging and it took me a while to get through. This isn’t a book I’d recommend trying to binge.
There is also an extensive notes section which will lead you to a lot of great books and recourses if you’re interested in exploring this topic further.
June 5, 2019
This is a very detailed, very informative book which serves to bring understanding to the history of Black religion and spirituality. As a Black religious studies scholar, I appreciate the depth of this book.
December 31, 2023
read this book for my religion class, and i enjoyed discussions it brought. religion makes the wheels in my brain turn for sure, and that’s what this book did. i don’t know if i agreed with all the points, but it was crucial to my thought about religion.
March 20, 2017
Great discussion of african american spirituality and the influences of african traditional religion, esp. the role and significance of conjure tradition in both.
September 15, 2021
Great concepts and definitions that clarify the historical development and importance of the conjure tradition.
Read
February 13, 2022I read this for school so I'm not going to rate it because it's a really hard nonfiction to rate. It was an interesting read but I would not recommend binging this in a day 😅
December 16, 2024
What comes to mind when one considers traditions of Black spirituality?
One might think of the Black church traditions. Black spiritual songs also often come to mind.
Yet, far too often, many will think of vodou: Black religious traditions imagined to have their primary origins in West Africa involving magic and witchcraft.
In Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition, Yvonne Chireau thoroughly investigates Conjure and conjuring, the term Black people in the 18th through 20th centuries would use to describe various practices which would be associated with “magic” and “witchcraft,” often associated with, and connected to, hoodoo and vodou (“voodoo” in previously used terminology).
This book is well sociologically and historically sourced. The author considered the origins of Conjure and conjuring; yes, there are some West African antecedents, but she has found a lot of the ideas and framing came out of associations with Christianity as anything else. She considered how Conjure was used, and how it was often associated with healing far more than anything malevolent. A lot of what passed for Conjure really involved deep ancestral knowledge of plant-based and herbal treatments for healing and the exercise thereof. And yet the author also does well explore how Conjure and conjuring were used for harm.
The author also did well at presenting Conjure in the social imaginary of both White and Black communities in the days of slavery and Jim Crow. White communities lived in continual suspicion and fear of Conjure and conjuring as a tool which might be used against them. There was also much ambivalence about Conjure and conjuring within Black communities as well: many would presume misfortunes came about on account of some enemy, known or unknown, conjuring against them. It was not as if the entire community whole-heartedly embraced Conjure and conjuring; many certainly celebrated it, others would turn to it in desperation, but quite a few remained ambivalent and hostile toward it.
The author also would have us question our binaries and attempts at categorization when it came to Conjure and conjuring. She bore witness to how many professed Christianity and also practiced conjuring and saw no contradiction in their lives and experience. It was seen by many as a tool which could be exercised responsibly and in ways which they thought could be reconciled with their faith in Jesus. “Magic” can exist within “religion”; “religion” cannot be entirely allergic to what is deemed “magic.”
This book is a great resource if one is interested in learning more about Conjure and the conjuring traditions in Black spirituality in America.
One might think of the Black church traditions. Black spiritual songs also often come to mind.
Yet, far too often, many will think of vodou: Black religious traditions imagined to have their primary origins in West Africa involving magic and witchcraft.
In Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition, Yvonne Chireau thoroughly investigates Conjure and conjuring, the term Black people in the 18th through 20th centuries would use to describe various practices which would be associated with “magic” and “witchcraft,” often associated with, and connected to, hoodoo and vodou (“voodoo” in previously used terminology).
This book is well sociologically and historically sourced. The author considered the origins of Conjure and conjuring; yes, there are some West African antecedents, but she has found a lot of the ideas and framing came out of associations with Christianity as anything else. She considered how Conjure was used, and how it was often associated with healing far more than anything malevolent. A lot of what passed for Conjure really involved deep ancestral knowledge of plant-based and herbal treatments for healing and the exercise thereof. And yet the author also does well explore how Conjure and conjuring were used for harm.
The author also did well at presenting Conjure in the social imaginary of both White and Black communities in the days of slavery and Jim Crow. White communities lived in continual suspicion and fear of Conjure and conjuring as a tool which might be used against them. There was also much ambivalence about Conjure and conjuring within Black communities as well: many would presume misfortunes came about on account of some enemy, known or unknown, conjuring against them. It was not as if the entire community whole-heartedly embraced Conjure and conjuring; many certainly celebrated it, others would turn to it in desperation, but quite a few remained ambivalent and hostile toward it.
The author also would have us question our binaries and attempts at categorization when it came to Conjure and conjuring. She bore witness to how many professed Christianity and also practiced conjuring and saw no contradiction in their lives and experience. It was seen by many as a tool which could be exercised responsibly and in ways which they thought could be reconciled with their faith in Jesus. “Magic” can exist within “religion”; “religion” cannot be entirely allergic to what is deemed “magic.”
This book is a great resource if one is interested in learning more about Conjure and the conjuring traditions in Black spirituality in America.
August 25, 2016
An African-American professor of Religion offers this work to help better grasp the development of Conjure, only the magical practices, from its deep African roots, to early 20th century forms.
In the introduction, she refutes Durkheim's oft quoted belief that religion is congregational, and that magic is individual. This concept is ethnocentric, and myopic when it comes to those cultures that magic is an essential part of the community's religious practices.
"So closely were magic and religious practices entwined that their separation was impossible." (p. 40)
The author offers five chapters to explain diverse aspects of Conjure from its earliest recorded encounters with Westerners, to malefic and benefic methods used by believers;to name only a few. I found most interesting to see the development of the modern form of Conjure, as it wound its way from an African, to an enslaved people, to the post-Emancipation diaspora, then the rush by Whites, and Blacks to Western-type education, followed by a fascination with folklore, and cataloging of the old medicinal cures, and 'fixes', while remaining on the outside of the dominant, maligning culture.
The embracing of the folklore, and magical ideas by Europeans, particularly those with the most contact with Africans, developing into a pop culture phenomena at the turn of the century couched in mysticism, and Spiritualism after the Great Migration of the early 20th century.
Thusly leading to the modern expression of this ancient rootwork that is found in spiritual stores, botanicas, and online for all one's enchantment needs.
So much to learn, this is but a brief study, with a hefty end note section for further reading that I will be exploring.
In the introduction, she refutes Durkheim's oft quoted belief that religion is congregational, and that magic is individual. This concept is ethnocentric, and myopic when it comes to those cultures that magic is an essential part of the community's religious practices.
"So closely were magic and religious practices entwined that their separation was impossible." (p. 40)
The author offers five chapters to explain diverse aspects of Conjure from its earliest recorded encounters with Westerners, to malefic and benefic methods used by believers;to name only a few. I found most interesting to see the development of the modern form of Conjure, as it wound its way from an African, to an enslaved people, to the post-Emancipation diaspora, then the rush by Whites, and Blacks to Western-type education, followed by a fascination with folklore, and cataloging of the old medicinal cures, and 'fixes', while remaining on the outside of the dominant, maligning culture.
The embracing of the folklore, and magical ideas by Europeans, particularly those with the most contact with Africans, developing into a pop culture phenomena at the turn of the century couched in mysticism, and Spiritualism after the Great Migration of the early 20th century.
Thusly leading to the modern expression of this ancient rootwork that is found in spiritual stores, botanicas, and online for all one's enchantment needs.
So much to learn, this is but a brief study, with a hefty end note section for further reading that I will be exploring.
May 12, 2019
Exploration of African American uses of Magic, in contrast to and supplement to religion. According to Chireau, magic was used to control (as distinct from prayer), and not inherently for good or evil purposes. Whether "hoodoo," "conjure," or "voodoo," it served as a means for the powerless to express power.
I read this as part of my project to read one book from every aisle of Olin Library at Cornell; you can read my broader reaction here: https://jacobklehman.com/2019/05/12/p...
I read this as part of my project to read one book from every aisle of Olin Library at Cornell; you can read my broader reaction here: https://jacobklehman.com/2019/05/12/p...
November 19, 2014
5 stars for content and 2 syars for readability. Reading it was a chore.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews