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African culture not only crossed the Atlantic, it crossed, survived, and creatively adapted itself to its new environment. Caribbean culture was therefore not "pure" African, but an adaptation carried out mainly in terms of African tradition. This we can determine by looking at what anthropologists have called its culture-focus. . . . And everyone agrees that the focus of African culture in the Caribbean was religious.
--Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Roots, 192
At Crossroads University, we teach much more than how to make a mojo bag, how to use lodestones and how to make money doing hoodoo. Rather, our focus is on honoring the Ancestors upon whose backs the commercialized hoodoo industry is built. We believe that this is necessary out of respect for their sacrifices; to understand the history of southern conjure traditions is to honor our collective Ancestral memories.
You will find in our Articles and Resources section recordings of freed slaves, videos and information about the transatlantic slave trade and other information and resources we feel are indispensable to students of Southern Conjure. So if you are an official student or just a guest on this site, we encourage you to read the articles, listen to the words of those who speak and learn as much as you can about the facts of our collective history.
Should you decide at some point to become student, we will delve into the folk magic and rootwork. But to reach that level of study, you must first "pay your dues" by studying the history of these ancestral traditions. While you are exploring these historical issues and events, it will become increasingly evident why there is such an emphasis on "Law Stay Away" formulas and works in the Hyatt texts, for example. It goes far deeper than bootlegging.
To get started, click on a link below.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
An Introduction to the Transatlantic Slave Trade
The Louisiana Black Code (Code Noir)
Pig Laws
Slave Narratives
Slavery by Another Name
Voices from the Days of Slavery
You will find in our Articles and Resources section recordings of freed slaves, videos and information about the transatlantic slave trade and other information and resources we feel are indispensable to students of Southern Conjure. So if you are an official student or just a guest on this site, we encourage you to read the articles, listen to the words of those who speak and learn as much as you can about the facts of our collective history.
Should you decide at some point to become student, we will delve into the folk magic and rootwork. But to reach that level of study, you must first "pay your dues" by studying the history of these ancestral traditions. While you are exploring these historical issues and events, it will become increasingly evident why there is such an emphasis on "Law Stay Away" formulas and works in the Hyatt texts, for example. It goes far deeper than bootlegging.
To get started, click on a link below.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
An Introduction to the Transatlantic Slave Trade
The Louisiana Black Code (Code Noir)
Pig Laws
Slave Narratives
Slavery by Another Name
Voices from the Days of Slavery
What People are Saying
