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124-410: "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has inspired a partner dance and more than one line dance that is often danced at country dance venues in the United States and around the world. The 1980 film Urban Cowboy sparked a renewed interest in the dance. In 1985, the Moody Brothers ' version of the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance. The Irish group the Chieftains received

248-420: A chicken nugget singing with speech bubbles containing the lyrics, usually with the " Man " face from Roblox on the objects. Newer posts with the cover would show said objects with faces animated. Line dance A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in

372-494: A folk religion . Some practice Hoodoo as an autonomous religion, some practice as a syncretic religion between two or more cultural religions, in this case being African indigenous spirituality and Abrahamic religion . Many Hoodoo traditions draw from the beliefs of the Bakongo people of Central Africa . Over the first century of the trans-Atlantic slave trade , an estimated 52% of all enslaved Africans transported to

496-464: A Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for their version of the song with lead vocals by Ricky Skaggs on their 1992 album Another Country . The origins of this song are unclear, although it predates the 1861–1865 American Civil War . American folklorist Dorothy Scarborough (1878–1935) noted in her 1925 book On the Trail of Negro Folk-songs that several people remembered hearing

620-798: A bitter root and other charms for protection. Other Bantu-Kongo practices present in Hoodoo include the use of conjure canes. In the United States, these canes are decorated with specific objects to conjure spirits and achieve specific results. This practice was brought to the United States during the transatlantic slave trade from Central Africa. Several African American families still use conjure canes today. In Central Africa, Bantu-Kongo banganga ritual healers use ritual staffs called conjure canes in Hoodoo. These canes conjure spirits and heal people. The banganga healers in Central Africa became

744-1000: A bundle to conjure a specific result for either protection or healing. These items were hidden inside enslaved people's dwellings. These practices were concealed from enslavers. In Darrow, Louisiana , at the Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation , historians and archeologists unearthed Kongo and Central African practices inside slave cabins. Enslaved Africans in Louisiana conjured the spirits of Kongo ancestors and water spirits using seashells . Other charms in several slave cabins included silver coins, beads, polished stones, and bones made into necklaces or carried in pockets for protection. These artifacts provide examples of African rituals at Ashland Plantation. Enlavers tried to stop African practices, but enslaved African Americans disguised their rituals by using American materials, applying African interpretations to them, and hiding

868-500: A cruel overseer on a plantation in St. Louis. Unlike other enslaved people, Dinkie never worked in the same way. He was feared and respected by both Black and white people. Dinkie was known to carry a dried snakeskin, frog, and lizard and sprinkled goofer dust on himself, speaking to the spirit of the snake to wake up its power against the overseer. Henry Clay Bruce, a Black abolitionist and writer, recorded his experience of enslaved people on

992-521: A former slave plantation in South Carolina made by enslaved Africans, engraving the Kongo cosmogram onto the clay bowls. African Americans used these clay bowls for ritual purposes. The Ring shout in Hoodoo has its origins in the Kongo region from the Kongo cosmogram (Yowa Cross). Ring shouters dance in a counterclockwise direction that follows the pattern of the rising of the sun in the east and

1116-646: A former slave, Mary Middleton, a Gullah woman from the South Carolina Sea Islands, tells of an incident where an enslaver was physically weakened from conjure. An enslaver beat one of the people he enslaved badly. The enslaved person he beat went to a conjurer, and the conjurer made the enslaver weak by sunset. Middleton said, "As soon as the sun was down, he was down too, he down yet. De witch done dat." Bishop Jamison, born enslaved in Georgia in 1848, wrote an autobiographical account of his life. On

1240-493: A historic African American church called First African Baptist Church , the Kongo cosmogram symbol was found in the basement of the church. African Americans punctured holes in the basement floor of the church to make a diamond-shaped Kongo cosmogram for prayer and meditation. The church was also a stop on the Underground Railroad . The holes in the floor provided breathable air for escaped enslaved people hiding in

1364-420: A horseshoe. Enslaved African Americans put eyelets on shoes and boots to trap spirits. Archaeologists also found small carved wooden faces. The wooden carvings had two faces carved into them on both sides, interpreted to represent an African American conjurer who was a two-headed doctor. In Hoodoo, a two-headed doctor is a conjurer who can see into the future and has knowledge about spirits and things unknown. At

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1488-581: A modified version of the Madison, began in a small Los Angeles disco in the summer of 1975, and hit the East Coast (with modified steps) in the spring of 1976 as the "Bus Stop". Another 70s line dance is the Nutbush , performed to Tina Turner 's song " Nutbush City Limits ". The popular dance Electric Slide , associated with the song " Electric Boogie ," was created in 1976. The song "Electric Boogie"

1612-531: A nekked tree. Dey calls hit hoodooin' de dogs". An enslaved conjurer could conjure confusion in the slave catchers' dogs, which prevented whites from catching freedom seekers. In other narratives, enslaved people made a jack ball to know if an enslaved person would be whipped or not. Enslaved people chewed and spat the juices of roots near their enslavers secretly to calm the emotions of enslavers, which prevented whippings. Enslaved people relied on conjurers to prevent whippings and being sold further South. A story from

1736-409: A plantation in Georgia, there was an enslaved Hoodoo man named Uncle Charles Hall who prescribed herbs and charms for enslaved people to protect themselves from white people. Hall instructed the enslaved people to anoint roots three times daily and chew and spit roots toward their enslavers for protection. Another slave story talks about an enslaved woman named Old Julie, who was a conjurer known among

1860-623: A plantation in Virginia who hired a conjurer to prevent enslavers from selling them to plantations in the Deep South. Louis Hughes, an enslaved man who lived on plantations in Tennessee and Mississippi, carried a mojo bag to prevent enslavers from whipping him. The mojo bag Hughes carried was called a "voodoo bag" by the enslaved community in the area. Former enslaved person and abolitionist Henry Bibb wrote in his autobiography, Narrative of

1984-605: A role in their communities as midwives, healers, and conjure women for their clients. Cultural anthropologist Tony Kail conducted research in African American communities in Memphis, Tennessee, and traced the origins of Hoodoo practices to Central Africa . In Memphis, Kail interviewed Black rootworkers and wrote about African American Hoodoo practices and history in his book " A Secret History of Memphis Hoodoo. " For example, Kail recorded at former slave plantations in

2108-592: A sequence of kick steps and struts. The spoke line version gained popularity, not only in Texas but also across the United States and overseas in the 1980s. A Western "craze" followed the 1980 release of the film Urban Cowboy . In Merle Haggard 's "Texas Fiddle Song" (1981), the final verse makes reference to the "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and features the melody of both the Bob Wills and Al Dean versions. "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and its continued popularity in Texas were referred to in

2232-485: A slave culture in the United States that was social, spiritual, and religious. Professor Eddie Glaude at Princeton University defines Hoodoo as part of African American religious life with practices influenced from Africa that fused with Christianity, creating an African American religious culture for liberation. A major West African influence in Hoodoo is Islam. As a result of the transatlantic slave trade, some West African Muslims who practiced Islam were enslaved in

2356-478: A slave narrative from Arkansas, enslaved people prayed under pots to prevent nearby white people from hearing them at such times. A formerly enslaved person in Arkansas named John Hunter said the enslaved people went to a secret house only they knew and turned the iron pots face up so enslavers could not hear them. They would place sticks under wash pots about a foot from the ground because "[I]f they'd put it flat on

2480-573: A snake in one hand. This reverence for snakes came to the United States during the slave trade, and in Hoodoo, snakeskins are used to prepare conjure powders. Puckett explained that the origin of snake reverence in Hoodoo originates from snake (serpent) honoring in West Africa's Vodun tradition. It was documented by a former slave in Missouri that conjurers took dried snakes and frogs and ground them into powders to "Hoodoo people." A conjurer made

2604-548: A spiritual organization called Brotherhood of Eulis in Tennessee. Through his travels, Randolph documented the continued African traditions in Hoodoo practiced by African Americans in the South. Randolph documented two African American men of Kongo origin who used Kongo conjure practices against each other. The two conjure men came from a slave ship that docked in Mobile Bay in 1860 or 1861. The mobility of Black people from

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2728-467: A square dance hoedown and a couple dance polka. A resident of Central Texas who learned the dance in Williamson County in the early 1880s described it as nothing but a heel and toe "poker" with fringes added. These fringes added to the heel and toe polka were clog steps which required skill and extraversion on the part of the dancer. During the first half of the 20th century, the song was

2852-529: A syncretization of African spiritual practices and beliefs with the Christian faith . Enslaved and free Africans learned regional indigenous botanical knowledge after they arrived in the United States. The extent to which Hoodoo could be practiced varied by region and the temperament of enslavers. For example, the Gullah people of the coastal Southeast experienced an isolation and relative freedom that allowed

2976-499: A widely known folk song all over English-speaking North America. One discography lists 134 recorded versions released since 1950. In more recent decades, the song has waned in popularity in most regions except some parts of the American South , where it is still a popular folk song. Bob Wills and Adolph Hofner and his San Antonians both recorded the song, and according to music historian Bill C. Malone, Hofner's 1941 version

3100-491: Is a Mande word. The words wanga and mooyo (mojo bag) come from the Kikongo language . Recent scholarly publications spell the word with a capital letter. The word has different meanings depending on how it is spelled. Some authors spell Hoodoo with a capital letter to distinguish it from commercialized hoodoo, which is spelled with a lowercase letter. Other authors have different reasons why they capitalize or lowercase

3224-399: Is a form of resistance against white supremacy . African American conjurers were seen as a threat by white Americans because slaves went to free and enslaved conjurers to receive charms for protection and revenge against their enslavers. Enslaved Black people used Hoodoo to bring about justice on American plantations by poisoning enslavers and conjuring death onto their oppressors. During

3348-418: Is a simple cross (+) with one line. The Kongo cosmogram symbolizes the rising of the sun in the east and the sun's setting in the west, representing cosmic energies. The horizontal line in the Kongo cosmogram represents the boundary between the physical world (the realm of the living) and the spiritual world (the realm of the ancestors). The vertical line of the cosmogram is the path of spiritual power from God at

3472-780: Is a symbol in West Africa and in African American spirituality. On another plantation in Maryland, archeologists unearthed artifacts that showed a blend of Central African and Christian spiritual practices among enslaved people. This was Ezekiel's Wheel in the Bible that blended with the Central African Kongo cosmogram. This may explain the connection enslaved Black Americans had with the Christian cross, as it resembled their African symbol. The cosmogram represents

3596-799: Is an ethnoreligion that, in a broader context, functions as a set of spiritual observances, traditions, and beliefs—including magical and other ritual practices—developed by enslaved African Americans in the Southern United States from various traditional African spiritualities and elements of indigenous American botanical knowledge . Practitioners of Hoodoo are called rootworkers , conjure doctors , conjure men or conjure women , and root doctors . Regional synonyms for Hoodoo include rootwork and conjure . As an autonomous spiritual system it has often been syncretized with beliefs from Islam brought over by enslaved West African Muslims, and Spiritualism . Scholars define Hoodoo as

3720-514: Is called Nganga. Some Kikongo words have an "N" or "M" at the beginning of the word. However, when Bantu-Kongo people were enslaved in South Carolina, the letters N and M were dropped from some title names. For example, in Central Africa, the word for spiritual mothers is Mama Mbondo. In the South Carolina Lowcountry and African American communities, the word for a spiritual mother is Mama Bondo. Additionally, during slavery, it

3844-473: Is done in Central Africa and the United States in African American communities. When drawn on the ground, the Kongo cosmogram is also used as a powerful protection charm. The solar emblems or circles at the ends and the arrows are not drawn, just the cross marks, which look like an X. A man named William Webb helped enslaved people on a plantation in Kentucky resist their oppressors using mojo bags. Webb told

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3968-540: Is now used in many line dance clubs around the world to indicate dance styles that combine many genres, including pop, Latin, Irish, big band and country. Rather than wearing Western-style clothing or boots, participants dress in casual clothing and often wear dance trainers . The precise origins of line dancing are not entirely clear. Of the confusion, music historian Christy Lane has stated that "If you were to ask 10 people with some knowledge of when line dancing began, you'd probably get 10 different answers". By and large,

4092-523: Is practiced and learned in country-western dance bars, social clubs, dance clubs and ballrooms. It is sometimes combined on dance programs with other forms of country-western dance, such as two-step , western promenade dances , and as well as western-style variants of the waltz , polka and swing . Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s including pop, swing , rock and roll , disco , Latin ( salsa suelta ), rhythm and blues and jazz . The term "modern line dance"

4216-531: Is the origin of the bottle tree in Hoodoo. Throughout the American South, in African American neighborhoods, some houses have bottle trees and baskets placed at entrances to doorways for spiritual protection. Additionally, nkisi culture influenced jar container magic. An African American man in North Carolina buried a jar under the steps with water and string for protection. If someone conjured him,

4340-586: The Nganga spiritual healer. The spiritual priests in Central Africa became the rootworkers and Hoodoo doctors in African American communities. In the American South , conjure doctors create mojo bags similar to the Ngangas' minkisi bags, as both are fed offerings with whiskey . Another Bantu-Kongo practice in Hoodoo is making a cross mark (Kongo cosmogram) and standing on it to take an oath. This practice

4464-456: The American South , archeologists found blue beads used by enslaved people for spiritual protection. Enslaved African Americans combined Christian practices with traditional African beliefs. Other Kongo influences at Congo Square were documented by folklorist Puckett. African Americans poured libations at the four corners of Congo Square at midnight during a dark moon for a Hoodoo ritual. Historians from Southern Illinois University in

4588-928: The Black Lives Matter movement as one of many methods against police brutality and racism in the Black community. Black American keynote speakers who are practitioners of Hoodoo spoke at an event at The Department of Arts and Humanities at California State University about the importance of Hoodoo and other African spiritual traditions practiced in social justice movements to liberate Black people from oppression. African Americans in various African diaspora religions spiritually heal their communities by establishing healing centers that provide emotional and spiritual healing from police brutality. In addition, altars with white candles and offerings are placed in areas where police murdered an African American, and libation ceremonies and other spiritual practices are performed to heal

4712-464: The Kikongo word Kufwa , which means "to die." The mojo bag in Hoodoo has Bantu-Kongo origins. Mojo bags are also called toby , which is derived from the Kikongo word tobe . The word mojo also originated from the Kikongo word mooyo , which means that natural ingredients have indwelling spirit that can be utilized in mojo bags to bring luck and protection. The mojo bag or conjure bag derived from

4836-638: The Kongo cosmogram , Simbi water spirits, and Nkisi and Minkisi practices. The West African influence is Vodun from the Fon and Ewe people in Benin and Togo, following some elements from the Yoruba religion. After their contact with European slave traders and missionaries, some Africans converted to Christianity willingly. At the same time, other enslaved Africans were forced to become Christian, which resulted in

4960-672: The Levi Jordan Plantation in Brazoria, Texas , near the Gulf Coast, researchers suggest that plantation owner Levi Jordan may have transported captive Africans from Cuba back to his plantation in Texas. These captive Africans practiced a Bantu-Kongo religion in Cuba, and researchers excavated Kongo-related artifacts at the site. For example, archeologists found the remains of an nkisi nkondi with iron wedges driven into

5084-408: The emancipation , housed spirits inside reflective materials and used reflective materials to transport the recently deceased to the spiritual realm. Broken glass on tombs reflects the other world. It is believed that reflective materials are portals to the spirit world. Simbi water spirits are revered in Hoodoo, originating from Central African spiritual practices. When Africans were enslaved in

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5208-543: The era of slavery in the colonial history of the United States . A slave revolt broke out in 1712 in colonial New York , with enslaved Africans revolting and setting fire to buildings in the downtown area. The leader of the revolt was a free African conjurer named Peter the Doctor, who made a magical powder for the enslaved people to be rubbed on the body and clothes for their protection and empowerment. The Africans who revolted were Akan people from Ghana. Historians suggest

5332-563: The rural South to more urban areas in the North is characterized by the items used in Hoodoo. White pharmacists opened their shops in African American communities. They began to offer items both asked for by their customers, as well as things they felt would be of use. Examples of the adoption of occultism and mysticism may be seen in the colored wax candles in glass jars that are often labeled for specific purposes such as "Fast Luck" or "Love Drawing." Some African Americans sold hoodoo products in

5456-404: The transatlantic slave trade . The transatlantic slave trade to the United States occurred between 1619 and 1808, and the illegal slave trade in the United States occurred between 1808 and 1860. Between 1619 and 1860 approximately 500,000 enslaved Africans were transported to the United States. From Central Africa, Hoodoo has Bakongo magical influence from the Bakongo religion incorporating

5580-531: The "electric slide" dance. The release of the film Saturday Night Fever in 1977 took disco and its associated dance styles to a new height of popularity. Line dancing to country music also became popular during this era, with two notable dances dating to 1972: the Walkin' Wazi and the Cowboy Boogie . The 1980 film Urban Cowboy caused a trend for country and western culture, particularly

5704-444: The "element" of water has a role in African American spirituality. The Kongo cosmogram cross symbol has a physical form in Hoodoo called the crossroads , where Hoodoo rituals are performed to communicate with spirits and to leave ritual remains to remove a curse. The Kongo cosmogram is also spelled the "Bakongo" cosmogram and the "Yowa" cross. The crossroads is a spiritual supernatural crossroads that symbolizes communication between

5828-560: The Africana Studies Department documented that about 20 title words from the Kikongo language are in the Gullah language . These title words indicate continued African traditions in Hoodoo and conjure. The title words are spiritual in meaning. In Central Africa, spiritual priests and spiritual healers are called Nganga . In the South Carolina Lowcountry among Gullah people, a male conjurer

5952-670: The American South: "The beliefs and practices of African traditional religions survived the Middle Passage (the Transatlantic slave trade) and were preserved among the many rootworkers and healers throughout the South. Many of them served as healers, counselors, and pharmacists to slaves enduring the hardships of slavery." Sterling Stuckey , a professor of American history who specialized in the study of American slavery and African American slave culture and history in

6076-583: The Americas came from Central African countries that existed within the boundaries of modern-day Cameroon , the Congo , Angola , Central African Republic , and Gabon . Following the Great Migration of African Americans , southern Hoodoo spread throughout the United States, although Hoodoo was practiced everywhere that Black people settled, voluntarily or involuntarily. The first documentation of

6200-535: The Americas, bringing the practice to the United States. Enslaved people went to enslaved Black Muslims for conjure services, requesting them to make gris-gris bags ( mojo bags ) for protection against slavery. Hoodoo also has some Vodun influence. For example, snakeskins are a primary ingredient in goofer dust . Snakes (serpents) are revered in West African spiritual practices because they represent divinity. The West African Vodun water spirit Mami Wata holds

6324-460: The Bantu-Kongo minkisi . The nkisi (singular) and minkisi (plural) are objects created by hand and inhabited by a spirit or spirits. These objects can be bags (mojo bags or conjure bags), gourds, shells, or other containers. Various items are placed inside a bag to give it a particular spirit or job to do. Mojo bags and minkisi are filled with graveyard dirt, herbs, roots, and other materials by

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6448-459: The Black community. An African American woman, Mattie Sampson, was a salesperson in an active mail-order business selling hoodoo products to her neighbors in Georgia. Since the opening of Botanicas , Hoodoo practitioners purchase their spiritual supplies of novena candles, incense, herbs, conjure oils, and other items from spiritual shops that service practitioners of Vodou, Santeria, and other African Traditional Religions. Hoodoo spread throughout

6572-520: The Christian religion against enslavers. This branch of Christianity among the enslaved was concealed from enslavers in " invisible churches ." Invisible churches were secret churches where enslaved African Americans combined Hoodoo with Christianity. Enslaved and free Black ministers preached resistance to slavery and the power of God through praise and worship, and Hoodoo rituals would free enslaved people from bondage. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (W. E. B. Du Bois) studied African American churches in

6696-512: The Ewe language spoken in the West African countries of Ghana, Togo , and Benin. Hudu is one of its dialects. According to Paschal Beverly Randolph , the word Hoodoo is from an African dialect. The origin of the word Hoodoo and other words associated with the practice could be traced to the Windward Coast and Senegambia . For example, in West Africa, the word gris-gris (a conjure bag)

6820-533: The Kongo cosmogram engravings were used as a crossroads for spiritual rituals by the enslaved African American population in Kings County. Historians suggest Lott Farmstead was a stop on the Underground Railroad for freedom seekers . The Kongo cosmogram artifacts were used as a form of spiritual protection against slavery and for enslaved people's protection during their escape from slavery on

6944-469: The Kongo's minkisi and nkisi culture in the United States brought over by enslaved Africans. For example, archeologists found artifacts used by enslaved African Americans to control spirits by housing spirits inside caches or nkisi bundles. These spirits inside objects were placed in secret locations to protect an area or bring harm to enslavers. "In their physical manifestations, minkisi (nkisi) are sacred objects that embody spiritual beings and generally take

7068-461: The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written by Himself , that he sought the help of several conjurers during his enslavement. Bibb went to these conjurers (Hoodoo doctors) in hopes that the charms they provided would prevent enslavers from whipping and beating him. The conjurers gave Bibb conjure powders to sprinkle around the bed of the enslaver, put in the enslaver's shoes, and carry

7192-475: The North and South and provided conjure services in Black communities, such as card readings and crafting health tonics. However, Jim Crow laws pushed Black Herman to Harlem, New York's Black community, where he operated his own Hoodoo business and provided rootwork services to his clients. For some African Americans who practiced rootwork, providing conjure services in the Black community for African Americans to obtain love, money, employment, and protection from

7316-483: The Underground Railroad. Archeologists also found the Kongo cosmogram on several plantations in the American South, including Richmond Hill Plantation in Georgia, Frogmore Plantation in South Carolina, a plantation in Texas, and Magnolia Plantation in Louisiana. Historians call the locations where crossroad symbols were possibly found inside slave cabins and African American living quarters 'Crossroads Deposits.' Crossroads deposits were found underneath floorboards and in

7440-770: The United States as African Americans left the delta during the Great Migration . As African Americans left the South during the Great Migration, they took the practice of Hoodoo to other Black communities in the North. Benjamin Rucker, also known as Black Herman , provided Hoodoo services for African Americans in the North and the South when he traveled as a stage magician . Benjamin Rucker was born in Virginia in 1892. Rucker learned stage magic and conjure from an African American named Prince Herman (Alonzo Moore). After Prince Herman's death, Rucker changed his name to Black Herman in honor of his teacher. Black Herman traveled between

7564-407: The United States began to incorporate dancing, particularly folk dancing , into physical education classes in the 1900s, which popularized folk and country dancing as a social activity. Finally, servicemen returning from World War I and World War II sometimes brought European dances back to the United States, incorporating elements into American dance styles. One of the first true line dances

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7688-398: The United States during the slave trade came from Central Africa's Kongo region. Emory University created an online database that shows the voyages of the transatlantic slave trade . This database shows many slave ships primarily leaving Central Africa. Ancient Kongolese spiritual beliefs and practices are present in Hoodoo, such as the Kongo cosmogram. The basic form of the Kongo cosmogram

7812-676: The United States showed a blending of West and Central African spiritual practices among enslaved and free Black people. Conjure bags, also called mojo bags were used as a resistance against slavery. In the 1830s, Black sailors from the United States utilized conjure for safe sea travel. A Black sailor received a talisman from an Obi (Obeah) woman in Jamaica. This account shows how Black Americans and Jamaicans shared their conjure culture and had similar practices. Free Blacks in northern states had white and Black clients regarding fortune-telling and conjure services. In Alabama slave narratives, it

7936-785: The United States). The Bambara people, an ethnic group of the Mandinka people, influenced the making of charm bags and amulets. Words in Hoodoo about charm bags come from the Bambara language . For example, the word zinzin spoken in Louisiana Creole means a power amulet. The Mande word marabout in Louisiana means a spiritual teacher. During the slave trade, some Mandingo people were able to carry their gris-gris bags with them when they boarded slave ships heading to

8060-559: The United States, asserted that African culture in America developed into a uniquely African American spiritual and religious practice that was the foundation for conjure, Black theology , and liberation movements. Stuckey provides examples in the slave narratives , African American quilts, Black churches , and the continued cultural practices of African Americans. The Bakongo origins in Hoodoo practice are evident. According to academic research, about 40 percent of Africans shipped to

8184-521: The United States, they blended African spiritual beliefs with Christian baptismal practices. Enslaved African Americans prayed to Simbi water spirits during their baptismal services. In 1998, in a historic house in Annapolis, Maryland called the Brice House , archaeologists unearthed Hoodoo artifacts inside the house that linked to the Kongo people . These artifacts are the continued practice of

8308-479: The United States. Before they arrived in the American South, West African Muslims blended Islamic beliefs with traditional West African spiritual practices. On plantations in the American South, enslaved West African Muslims kept some of their traditional Islamic culture. They practiced Islamic prayers, wore turbans , and the men wore traditional wide-leg pants. Some enslaved West African Muslims practiced Hoodoo. Islamic prayers were used instead of Christian prayers in

8432-478: The West . The Rednex cover made an appearance on the sitcom New Girl in 2013 in the season 2 finale, "Elaine's Big Day." In July 2023, a cover of the song was posted on TikTok , changing the lyrics to nonsense syllables (most often transcribed as "gegagedigedagedago" ) for comedic effect, which became an Internet meme . The cover would then be put in multiple posts on the platform with various objects such as

8556-463: The associated dance , music , and clothing . Over a dozen line dances were created for country songs during the 1980s. Many other early line dances were adaptations of disco line dance. The Chicken Dance is an example of a line dance adopted by the Mod revival during the 1980s. The music video for the 1990 Billy Ray Cyrus song " Achy Breaky Heart " has been credited for launching line dancing into

8680-474: The basement of the church. The Kongo cosmogram sun cycle also influenced how African Americans in Georgia prayed. It was recorded that some African Americans in Georgia prayed at the rising and setting of the sun. In an African American church on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Kongo cosmograms were designed into the church's window frames. The church was built facing an axis of an east–west direction so

8804-485: The cauldron. During the ceremony, spirit possession took place. Brown also recorded other conjure (Hoodoo) practices among the enslaved population. Enslaved Africans in America held on to their African culture. Some scholars assert that Christianity did not have much influence on some of the enslaved Africans as they continued to practice their traditional spiritual practices. Hoodoo was a form of resistance against slavery whereby enslaved Africans hid their traditions using

8928-523: The charms in their pockets or making them into necklaces to conceal these practices from their enslavers. In Talbot County, Maryland, at the Wye House plantation , where Frederick Douglass was enslaved in his youth, Kongo-related artifacts were found. Enslaved African Americans created items to ward off evil spirits by creating a Hoodoo bundle near the entrances to chimneys, believed to be where spirits enter. The Hoodoo bundle contained pieces of iron and

9052-599: The city. Herbs and roots needed were not gathered in nature but bought in spiritual shops. These spiritual shops near Black neighborhoods sold botanicals and books used in modern Hoodoo. After the American Civil War into the present day with the Black Lives Matter movement, Hoodoo practices in the African American community also focus on spiritual protection from police brutality. Today, Hoodoo and other African Traditional Religions are present in

9176-709: The conjure doctors and herbal healers in African American communities in the United States. The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida collaborated with other world museums to compare African American conjure canes with ritual staffs from Central Africa and found similarities between them and other aspects of African American culture that originated from Bantu-Kongo people. Bakongo spiritual protections influenced African American yard decorations. In Central Africa, Bantu-Kongo people decorated their yards and entrances to doorways with baskets and broken shiny items to protect against evil spirits and thieves. This practice

9300-756: The counterclockwise circle dance until someone was pulled into the center of the ring by the spiritual vortex at the center. The spiritual vortex at the center of the ring shout was a sacred spiritual realm where the ancestors and the Holy Spirit resided. The ring shout tradition continues in Georgia with the McIntosh County Shouters. At Cathead Creek in Georgia, archeologists found artifacts made by enslaved African Americans that linked to spiritual practices in West-Central Africa. Enslaved African Americans and their descendants, after

9424-440: The creation of charms. Enslaved Black Muslim conjure doctors' Islamic attire was different from that of other slaves, making them easy to identify and ask for conjure services regarding protection from enslavers. The Mandingo (Mandinka) were the first Muslim ethnic group imported from Sierra Leone in West Africa to the Americas. Mandingo people were known for their powerful conjure bags called gris-gris (later called mojo bags in

9548-464: The creations of art for some Black artists. In 2017, The Rootworker's Table is an art piece created by artist Renee Stout that showed the culture of Hoodoo portrayed as an altar with a collection of bottled tinctures and a chalkboard with Hoodoo herbal knowledge. The artist grew up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh and saw Hoodoo practitioners who were mainly Black women. Black women played

9672-865: The curse, the company and others following have never been able to build properties in the area, and the owner of the company had a heart attack. Locals from Frenier, Louisiana believe the Hurricane of 1915 that wiped out the town was predicted by a Hoodoo lady named Julia Brown who sang a song on her front porch that she would take the town with her when she die because the people in the area mistreated her after she helped them. Black women practitioners of Hoodoo, Lucumi , Palo and other African-derived traditions are opening and owning spiritual stores online and in Black neighborhoods to provide spiritual services to their community and educate African-descended people about Black spirituality and how to heal themselves physically and spiritually. The culture of Hoodoo has inspired

9796-417: The dance), the back, or one of the sides. Dancers may change direction many times during a sequence, and may even, at any given point, face in a direction halfway between two walls. At the end of the sequence, they will face the original wall or any of the other three. Whichever wall that is, the next iteration of the sequence uses that wall as the new frame of reference. Hoodoo (spirituality) Hoodoo

9920-427: The early twentieth century. Du Bois asserts the early years of the Black church during slavery on plantations were influenced by Voodooism. Black church records from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century in the South recorded that some church members practiced conjure and combined Christian and African spiritual concepts to harm or heal members in their community. Known Hoodoo spells date back to

10044-524: The enslaved people on the plantation for conjuring death. Old Julie conjured so much death that her enslaver sold her away to stop her from killing people on the plantation with conjure. Her enslaver put her on a steamboat to take her to her new enslaver in the Deep South . According to the stories of freedmen after the Civil War, Old Julie used her conjure powers to turn the steamboat back to where it

10168-483: The enslaved people to gather some roots and put them in bags, then "march around the cabins several times and point the bags toward the master's house every morning." After following Webb's instructions, according to their beliefs, the enslavers would treat them better. Another enslaved African named Dinkie, known by the enslaved community as Dinkie King of Voudoos and the Goopher King, used goofer dust to resist

10292-772: The era of slavery, occultist Paschal Beverly Randolph began studying the occult and traveled and learned spiritual practices in Africa and Europe. Randolph was a mixed-race free Black man who wrote several books on the occult. In addition, Randolph was an abolitionist who spoke out against slavery in the South. After the American Civil War , Randolph educated freedmen in schools for formerly enslaved people called Freedmen's Bureau Schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he studied Louisiana Voodoo and Hoodoo in African American communities, documenting his findings in his book, Seership, The Magnetic Mirror. In 1874, Randolph organized

10416-497: The exception of their white eyes; someone whose eyes were milky white from bacterial infections of trachoma or syphilis , cataracts or glaucoma ; or the contrast of dark skin tone around white eyeballs in black people. American publishing house Harper and Brothers published the first printed version of the song in 1882. It was heard by author Louise Clarke Pyrnelle (born 1850) on the Alabama plantation of her father when she

10540-421: The fiddle-based song was referred to as "an old, familiar air". In 1925, another version was recorded by folklorist Dorothy Scarborough and published. Don't you remember, don't you know, Don't you remember Cotton-eyed Joe? Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you treat me so? I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe! Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, He

10664-478: The figure to activate its spirit in one of the cabins called the "curer's cabin." Researchers also found a Kongo bilongo , which enslaved African Americans created using materials from white porcelain to make a doll figure. In the western section of the cabin, they found iron kettles and iron chain fragments, suggesting that the western section of the cabin was an altar to the Kongo spirit Zarabanda. The word goofer in goofer dust has Kongo origins and comes from

10788-503: The first letter. According to Yvonne Chireau, "Hoodoo is an African American-based tradition that makes use of natural and supernatural elements in order to create and effect change in the human experience.." Hoodoo was created by African Americans, who were among over 12 million enslaved Africans from various Central and West African ethnic groups transported to the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries ( 1514 to 1867 ) as part of

10912-591: The form of a container such as a gourd, pot, bag, or snail shell. Medicines that provide the minkisi with power, such as chalk, nuts, plants, soil, stones, and charcoal, are placed in the container." Nkisi bundles were found on other plantations in Virginia and Maryland. For example, nkisi bundles were found for healing or misfortune. Archeologists found objects believed by the enslaved African American population in Virginia and Maryland to have spiritual power, such as coins, crystals, roots, fingernail clippings, crab claws, beads, iron, bones, and other items assembled inside

11036-512: The ground the ground would carry the sound." Formerly enslaved person and abolitionist William Wells Brown wrote in his book, My Southern Home, or, The South and Its People , published in 1880, about the life of enslaved people in St. Louis, Missouri . Brown recorded a secret Voudoo ceremony at midnight in St. Louis. Enslaved people circled a cauldron, and a Voudoo queen had a magic wand. Snakes, lizards, frogs, and other animal parts were thrown into

11160-414: The growth and popularity of line dancing has mainly been tied to country and western music . It is likely that at least some of the steps and terminology used in modern line dancing originated from the dances brought to North America by European immigrants in the 1800s. Throughout the 1860s–1890s, the style that would later be known as country–western dance began to emerge from these dances. Schools in

11284-487: The lyrics to Alabama 's 1984 song " If You're Gonna Play in Texas ". In August 1994, the Swedish Eurodance group Rednex covered the song as "Cotton Eye Joe" for their album Sex & Violins , combining their style with traditional American instruments, such as banjos and fiddles . In 2002, "Cotton Eye Joe" was remixed in a dance version and was released from Rednex's greatest hits album, The Best of

11408-570: The mainstream public consciousness. In 1994 choreographer Max Perry had a worldwide dance hit with "Swamp Thang" for the song " Swamp Thing " by The Grid . This was a techno song that fused banjo sounds in the melody line and helped to start a trend of line dancing to forms of music other than country. In this mid-1990s period, country western music was significantly influenced by the popularity of line dancing. Max Perry, along with Jo Thompson Szymanski, Scott Blevins and several others, began to use ballroom rhythms and technique to take line dancing to

11532-510: The mainstream. In the 1990s, the hit Spanish dance song " Macarena " inspired a popular line dance. A line dance for the 1990 Asleep at the Wheel single " Boot Scootin' Boogie " was choreographed by Bill Bader. The 1992 Brooks & Dunn cover of the song has resulted in there being at least 16 line dances with "Boot Scootin' Boogie" in the title. Billy Ray Cyrus ' 1992 hit " Achy Breaky Heart " helped catapult western line dancing into

11656-496: The next level. In 1997, the band Steps created further interest outside of the U.S. with the techno dance song " 5,6,7,8 ". In 1999, American retailer Gap Inc. debuted the "Khaki Country" ad at that year's Academy Awards ceremony, in which line dancers performed to the 1999 version of " Crazy Little Thing Called Love " by Dwight Yoakam . The arrival of the Country Music Television channel to Europe fed

11780-463: The northeast sections of cabins to conjure ancestral spirits for protection. Sacrificed animals and other charms were found where enslaved African Americans drew the crossroads symbols, and four holes were drilled into charms to symbolize the Bakongo cosmogram. Other West-Central African traditions found on plantations by historians include using six-pointed stars as spiritual symbols. A six-pointed star

11904-514: The police was a way to help Black people during the Jim Crow era in the United States so Black people can gain employment to support their families, and for their protection against the law. As Black people traveled to northern areas, Hoodoo rituals were modified because there were not a lot of rural country areas to perform rituals in woods or near rivers. Therefore, African Americans improvised their rituals inside their homes or secluded regions of

12028-516: The popularity of line dancing there. In 2008, line dancing gained the attention of the French government. Based on per capita ranking of MeetUp Groups in the US, Durham, N.C. was declared the line dancing capital of America in 2014. Each dance is said to consist of a number of walls . A wall is the direction in which the dancers face at any given time: the front (the direction faced at the beginning of

12152-448: The powder made by Peter the Doctor probably included some cemetery dirt to conjure the ancestors to provide spiritual militaristic support from ancestral spirits as help during the slave revolt. The Bakongo people in Central Africa incorporated cemetery dirt into minkisi conjuring bags to activate it with ancestral spirits. During the slave trade, Bakongo people were brought to colonial New York. The New York slave revolt of 1712 and others in

12276-737: The retention of various traditional West African cultural practices. Among the Gullah people and enslaved African Americans in the Mississippi Delta , where the concentration of enslaved people was dense, Hoodoo was practiced under an extensive cover of secrecy. The reason for secrecy among enslaved and free African Americans was that slave codes prohibited large gatherings of enslaved and free Black people. Enlavers experienced how slave religion ignited slave revolts among enslaved and free Black people, and some leaders of slave insurrections were Black ministers or conjure doctors. The Code Noir

12400-502: The root on his right side as instructed by Sandy and hoped the root would work when he returned to the plantation. The cruel slave-breaker, Mr. Covey, told Douglass to do some work, but as Mr. Covey approached Douglass, Douglass had the strength and courage to resist Mr. Covey and defeated him after they fought. Covey never bothered Douglass again. In his autobiography, Douglass believed the root given to him by Sandy prevented him from being whipped by Mr. Covey. Conjure for African Americans

12524-554: The same direction, or less commonly face each other. Unlike circle dancing , line dancers are not in physical contact with each other. Each dance is usually associated with, and named for, a specific song, such as the Macarena or the Electric Slide (associated with the 1982 single " Electric Boogie ") which are a few of the line dances that have consistently remained part of modern American culture for years. Line dancing

12648-407: The setting of the sun in the west. The ring shout follows the cyclical nature of life represented in the Kongo cosmogram of birth, life, death, and rebirth. Through counterclockwise circle dancing, ring shouters build up spiritual energy that results in communication with ancestral spirits and leads to spirit possession by the Holy Spirit or ancestral spirits. Enslaved African Americans performed

12772-569: The song before the war. Scarborough's account of the song came from her sister, Mrs. George Scarborough, who learned the song from "the Negroes on a plantation in Texas, and other parts from a man in Louisiana". The man in Louisiana knew the song from his earliest childhood and heard slaves singing it on plantations . Both the dance and the song had many variants. The melody of the song may have originated in Ireland. Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains

12896-432: The song seemed to be well known in the South prior to the Civil War, and parts of it had been sent in by various persons. Over the years, many different versions of the song have been performed and/or recorded with many different versions of the lyrics (and many without lyrics). "Cotton-Eyed Joe", on occasion referred to as "The South Texas National Anthem", was played for minstrel -type jigs, and it has long been popular as

13020-475: The soul that died from racial violence. African Americans also use Hoodoo to protect their properties from gentrification in their neighborhoods and on sites that are considered sacred to their communities. On Daufuskie Island, South Carolina in the early twentieth century, a Hoodoo practitioner, Buzzard, placed a curse on a developing company that continued to build properties in Gullah cemeteries where Buzzard's ancestors are buried. According to locals, because of

13144-572: The string would turn into a snake. The man interviewed called it inkabera. At Locust Grove plantation in Jefferson County, Kentucky , archeologists and historians found amulets made by enslaved African Americans that had the Kongo cosmogram engraved onto coins and beads. Blue beads were found among the artifacts; in African spirituality, blue beads attract protection to the wearer. In slave cabins in Kentucky and on other plantations in

13268-689: The sun rises directly over the church steeple in the east. The burial grounds of the church also show continued African American burial practices of placing mirror-like objects on top of graves. In Kings County in Brooklyn, New York, at the Lott Farmstead, Kongo-related artifacts were found on the site. The Kongo-related artifacts included a Kongo cosmogram engraved onto ceramics and nkisi bundles that had cemetery dirt and iron nails left by enslaved African Americans. Researchers suggest that iron nails were used to prevent whippings from enslavers. Also,

13392-428: The top, traveling to the realm of the dead below, where the ancestors reside. The cosmogram, or dikenga , however, is not a unitary symbol like a Christian cross or a national flag. The physical world resides at the top of the cosmogram. The spiritual (ancestral) world resides at the bottom of the cosmogram. At the horizontal line is a watery divide that separates the two worlds from the physical and spiritual, and thus

13516-519: The universe and how human souls travel in the spiritual realm after death, entering the ancestral realm and reincarnating back into the family. The artifacts uncovered at the James Brice House included Kongo cosmogram engravings drawn as crossroads (an X) inside the house. This was done to ward a place from a harsh enslaver. Also, the Kongo cosmogram is evident in Hoodoo practice among Black Americans. Archeologists unearthed clay bowls from

13640-601: The word "Hoodoo" in the English language appeared in 1870. Its origins are obscure. Still, some linguists believe it originated as an alteration of the word Voodoo – a word that has its origin in the Gbe languages such as the Ewe , Adja, and Fon languages of Ghana , Togo, and Benin – referring to divinity. Another possible etymological origin of the word Hoodoo comes from the word Hudu , meaning "spirit work," which comes from

13764-472: The worlds of the living and the world of the ancestors, divided at the horizontal line. Counterclockwise sacred circle dances in Hoodoo are performed to communicate with ancestral spirits using the sign of the Yowa cross. Communication with the ancestors is a traditional practice in Hoodoo that was brought to the United States during the slave trade originating among Bantu-Kongo people. In Savannah, Georgia, in

13888-1407: Was a child. That 1882 version was republished as follows in 1910: Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you sarve me so, Fur ter take my gal erway fum me, An' cyar her plum ter Tennessee? Ef it hadn't ben fur Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd er been married long ergo. His eyes wuz crossed, an' his nose wuz flat, An' his teef wuz out, but wat uv dat? Fur he wuz tall, an' he wuz slim, An' so my gal she follered him. Ef it hadn't ben fur Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd er been married long ergo. No gal so hansum could be foun', Not in all dis country roun', Wid her kinky head, an' her eyes so bright, Wid her lips so red an' her teef so white. Ef it hadn't ben fur Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd been married long ergo. An' I loved dat gal wid all my heart, An' she swo' fum me she'd never part; But den wid Joe she runned away, An' lef' me hyear fur ter weep all day. O Cotton-eyed Joe, O Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you sarve me so? O Joe, ef it hadn't er ben fur you, I'd er married dat gal fur true. The lyrics of this version, in nondialectal standard American English are: Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you serve me so, For to take my gal away from me, And carry her down to Tennessee? If it hadn't been for Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd have been married long ago. His eyes were crossed, and his nose

14012-488: Was an African Art historian who found through his study of African Art the origins of African Americans' spiritual practices in certain regions in Africa. Former academic historian Albert J. Raboteau in his book, Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South , traced the origins of Hoodoo (conjure, rootwork) practices in the United States to West and Central Africa. These origins developed

14136-429: Was de nig dat sarved me so, – Tuck my gal away fum me, Carried her off to Tennessee. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago If it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Hi's teeth was out an' his nose was flat, His eyes was crossed, – but she did n't mind dat. Kase he was tall, and berry slim, An' so my gal she follered him. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. She

14260-499: Was de prettiest gal to be found Anywhar in de country round; Her lips was red an' her eyes was bright, Her skin was black but her teeth was white. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Dat gal, she sho' had all my love, An swore fum ne she'd never move, But Joe hoodooed her, don't you see, An' she run off wid him to Tennessee, I'd 'a' been married forty years ago, Ef it hadn't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Scarborough noted that

14384-444: Was docked, forcing her enslaver who tried to sell her to keep her. Frederick Douglass , a formerly enslaved person, abolitionist, and author wrote in his autobiography that he sought spiritual assistance from an enslaved conjurer named Sandy Jenkins. Sandy told Douglass to follow him into the woods, where they found a root that Sandy told Douglass to carry in his right pocket to prevent any white man from whipping him. Douglass carried

14508-420: Was documented that formerly enslaved people used graveyard dirt to escape from slavery on the Underground Railroad . Freedom seekers rubbed graveyard dirt on the bottom of their feet or put graveyard dirt in their tracks to prevent slave catchers' dogs from tracking their scent. Former slave Ruby Pickens Tartt from Alabama told of a man who could fool the dogs, saying he "done lef' dere and had dem dogs treein'

14632-536: Was documented that there was a Kikongo-speaking slave community in Charleston, South Carolina. Robert Farris Thompson was a professor at Yale University who conducted academic research in Africa and the United States and traced Hoodoo's (African American conjure) origins to Central Africa's Bantu-Kongo people in his book Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy. Thompson

14756-776: Was flat, And his teeth were out, but what was that? For he was tall, and he was slim, And so my gal she followed him. If it hadn't been for Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd have been married long ago. No gal so handsome could be found, Not in all this country round, With her kinky head, and her eyes so bright, With her lips so red and her teeth so white. If it hadn't been for Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd have been married long ago. And I loved that gal with all my heart, And she swore from me she'd never part; But then with Joe she ran away, And left me here for to weep all day. O Cotton-eyed Joe, O Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you serve me so? O Joe, if it hadn't been for you, I'd have married that gal for true. By 1884,

14880-709: Was implemented in 1724 in French colonial Louisiana . It regulated the lives of enslaved and free people and prohibited and made it illegal for enslaved Africans to practice their traditional religions. Article III in the Code Noir states: "We forbid any public exercise of any religion other than Catholic." The Code Noir and other slave laws resulted in enslaved and free African Americans conducting their spiritual practices in secluded areas such as woods ( hush harbors ), churches, and other places. Slaves created methods to decrease their noise when they practiced their spirituality. In

15004-453: Was on tour in Texas when he heard the song and immediately identified it as an old Irish folk melody, "The Mountain Top". A number of possible meanings of the term "cotton-eyed" have been proposed. The phrase may refer to: being drunk on moonshine , or having been blinded by drinking wood alcohol , turning the eyes milky white; a black person with very light blue eyes; miners covered in dirt with

15128-577: Was originally released by Marcia Griffiths in December 1982. It was written by Bunny Wailer exclusively for Griffiths, reaching the top spots in popularity in Jamaica in early 1983 , achieving moderate international success. In 1989, the song was remixed and re-released, this time gaining significant popularity. It reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming Griffiths' most successful single. The song also helped popularize

15252-681: Was the Madison , a novelty dance created and first danced in Columbus, Ohio , in 1957. The local popularity of the dance and record in Baltimore, Maryland , came to the attention of the producers of The Buddy Deane Show in 1960, which led to other dance shows picking it up. The 1961 "San Francisco Stomp" meets the definition of a line dance. During the disco music era of the 1970s, numerous new dance styles emerged, including many line dances choreographed to disco songs. The "L.A. Hustle",

15376-428: Was the one that did the most to popularize the song. A 1967 instrumental version of the song by Al Dean inspired a new round dance polka for couples. The dance remained popular in Texas in the 1970s. A circle dance called "Cotton-Eyed Joe" can be found in the 1975 edition of Encyclopedia of Social Dance. The men stand on the inside of a circle facing out, and the women stand on the outside facing in; both circles follow

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