Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Martin, Kameelah L.
URN	etd-07062006-004223
Title	Conjuring Moments and Other Such Hoodoo: African American Women & Spirit Work
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	English, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Darryl Dickson-Carr Committee Co-Chair Jerrilyn McGregory Committee Co-Chair Matt Childs Committee Member Tomeiko Ashford Carter Committee Member
Keywords	African American Novels African American Literary Figures Root Work Black Magic African American Literature African American Women Hoodoo African American Literary Criticism Blues Music Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau Conjuring Conjure Woman Spirit Work Black Women's Film Black Women Writers Tituba
Date of Defense	2006-06-29
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Taking the intersection of African American folklore and literature as its focus, this project investigates the conjure woman as a literary figure. African American healing women are prominent in African American literature, but are largely underrepresented in the discourse surrounding African American women, representation, and literary figures. My research reconstructs the negative connotation attached to women healers in the United States which, in part, recounts the life of Tituba, a female slave of African or Indian descent, who figured at the center of the Salem Witch Trials controversy. The historical lives of Marie Laveau, mother and daughter, are also interrogated as evidence of the othering of conjure women by the dominant culture. I examine the lore cycle of conjurers in early African American literature and suggest that a movement away from Eurocentric representations to a more culturally specific rendering of the conjure woman occurred during the twentieth century. Citing Charles Chesnutt’s The Conjure Woman as a precursory text and employing Tituba and Marie Laveau as ancestral figures, I argue that contemporary authors like Gloria Naylor, Arthur Flowers, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Ntozake Shange resurrect the conjure woman by reinscribing the figure into their works in such a way that undermines the negative connotations that have been associated with conjuring and African-based religions. I reference several African American novels to evidence how writers are re-appropriating a once negative image. Specific issues addressed in such an analysis include the community involvement of conjure women, the effectiveness of healing practices, the legitimacy of power, moral character, the influence of Christianity, and the debunking of stereotypes. I also take into account the relationship between conjure and blues music in a discussion that positions African American authors and film-makers as agents in reclaiming conjure women as folk heroes. This dissertation project provides a historiography and an in-depth analysis of conjure women, one that is intended to aid in the critical and cultural understanding of African American women and spirit work within the African American literary tradition.
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