A Special Article About a Weird Cult
VOODOOISM
By WILL W. NELSON
WHEN the savage negroes of Africa were first introduced into America as slaves, they brought with them a strange, weird form of ceremony known only to the savage tribes of the African jungles. It was not a religion, but a form of sorcery called voodooism.
Voodooism found its strongest adherents among the negroes of the Southland. As the southern negroes became more educated and enlightened, voodooism vanished to a great extent, but there are still some sections of the South where the negroes believe in and practice this strange doctrine today, just as their ancestors did in the jungles of Africa centuries ago, except perhaps in a more modified form. In the large southern cities the voodoo doctor still plies his trade, prospering from the ill-gotten fees received from the ignorant and the wicked.
Nowadays voodooism is generally called "conjuring," by the negroes of the South. It is a common occurrence now to hear a negro say: "I'll sho get de conjure man atta dat nigger," when he feels he has been ill treated by one of his own race. Or, when a negro is suffering from some ailment, "Dat nigger has sho been conjured."
The quarters of the voodoo, or "conjure doctor," are usually located in the heart of the toughest negro section of a city, off the street and in some dark, dismal-looking alley. Here, under seclusion and out of reach of the law, he carries on his nefarious profession.
Some of his biggest fees come from the "fixing" of clandestine relations between the sexes; and some of his best customers are white men of high social standing aand wealth, whom the world does not suspect. Many of his patrons, too, are ignorant negroes of the slums, who pay good fees to have a "conjure" removed, or to have an enemy placed under the magic spell.
To gain access to the voodoo doctor's quarters is no easy matter. Before a stranger is allowed to cross the threshold, the man of supposed magic power must be convinced that the visitor will in no wise cause trouble with the law.
Admitted to this mystic place for the first time, you feel as though you had been suddenly transmitted to some weird, gruesome scene from Dante’s Inferno. Seated in a large high chair on an elevated platform, like a king on his throne, you behold a big, black negro. His lips are of enormous proportion. His nose is prominent, with widely extended nostrils, His large eyes protrude from their sockets, antl in the dimly-lighted room those eyes shine like coals of fire. He resembles some giant member of the ape family rather than a human being.
His garb is as strange looking as his countenance. On his head he wears a covering resembling a turban, while his body is shrouded with a peculiar-looking robe of varied colors. His speech, whether natural or affected, is most peculiar and difficult to understand.
On a table before the voodoo king, lies coiled a big hissing serpent. As you gaze at the snake a strange sensation seems to creep over you, and you wonder if the voodoo king has cast on you a spell. The serpent’s tongue moves to and fro from its mouth, while its eyes shine with a mystic glow. You now realize that you are standing in the presence of a real voodoo king, who claims that he gets much of his magic power from the snake which lies before him.
Over the king’s table there is suspended a large round piece of dried flesh. The king tells you this is a dried human heart, cut from the body of an enemy of voodooism while the person was yet alive. On the walls are suspended one or more human skeletons, while about the room are numerous large dried snakes, lizards, frogs and other reptiles.
There are jugs and bottles containing many strange and curious concoctions, "guaranteed" by the king to produce any desired effect. About the room are several divans and numerous curious-looking pillows made by hand. The floor is covered with numerous pieces of cloth of various shades of color, stitched together. A peculiar odor, perhaps from the dried reptiles and other objects in the room, permeates the air. On a table stands an old-fashioned oil lamp; casting a dim light and giving to the room a ghostly and weird appearance.
The voodoo king will tell you that he inherited his strange powers from a long line of African ancestors, and that through the serpent these powers are Kept alive within his being, At his death his mystic powers will pass on to the body of some other negro man, or perhaps some negro woman.
The weird objects about the room are all used by the voodoo king in his calling. Each object is supposed to possess some specific charm. What is known as the "gris-gris," or "conjure bag," is made and sold by the voodoo king to many who are simple enough to believe in voodooism. The "gris-gris" is made of a number of broken twigs, bits of bone, pieces of horse hair, ground brick, a piece of the "human heart" and other things. When placed under the doorstep, or about the house, this bag is supposed to cause great evil to the occupants of the house. Whenever a negro finds a "gris-gris" about his house he loses no time in getting to the nearest voodoo doctor, to have the evil spell removed. The "gris-gris" is sold by the doctor for $2 each, or for as much as he thinks his customer will pay.
SOME TIME ago I secured entry, after considerable difficulty, to the quarters of a noted voodoo doctor in Mobile, now dead. He had made a fortune from his nefarious practice. His place was located just off St. Louis Street, at that time in the very heart of the underworld of that quaint old southern city. He was especially noted as a dealer in the "gris-gris" and was king of the voodoos in Mobile. It is said of him that the evil he did still lives after him. However, there are still many negroes who hold to the opinion that the greater part of his work was for the good of both whites and negroes.
Before the civil war voodoo meetings were held secretly by the negroes all over the South. But today the negroes are more enlightened, and for this reason but few of these meetings are now conducted. The present-day voodooism of the South is confined more to the practice of the voodoo doctor, or king, and is more in the form of fortune telling.
