Is Hoodoo The Same As Voodoo, Palo Or Santeria? ~ Filipino Conjure & Rootwork

Is Hoodoo The Same As Voodoo, Palo Or Santeria?

This is a widespread misconception among beginners in Hoodoo. Many people, mundane and magical alike, falsely equate Hoodoo to Voodoo, Santeria, or Palo religion. The difference between them is mainly that Hoodoo is a system of African-American folk magic and spirituality, with practitioners mostly Christians. On the other hand, Voodoo, Santeria, and Palo are three different African-based religions.

When we, who follow Folk Catholic tradition, work with saints, it is essential to note that we are petitioning the 'saints' themselves, not as syncretized images for "Loa," "Orisha," or "Mpungo," since Hoodoo is not an African or Afro-Caribbean religion.

An altar to the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the seven Archangels.

St.Martha the Dominator and our votive offerings to her: Florida Water, perfume, Holy Water, St.Martha oil, and a small broom.

Some Catholic Hoodoo practitioners like to dress holy candles when petitioning or praying to the Catholic Saints or invoking their power, presence, or assistance in magical rites.

I have joined some Hoodoo communities online and interacted with practitioners from the Deep South. Interestingly, none of them follow a pagan, pure African, or Afro-Caribbean religion. There are few Roman Catholics, but most are members of Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and Spiritualist Churches.

I have heard opinions like, "But Africans did not come to the U.S. with the Bible in their hands?" Yes, most Africans brought to America indeed observed indigenous tribal beliefs, and some were even Muslims. Still, they are talking about when Hoodoo was not even born yet. Also, contrary to popular belief, in the Kongo area, Christianity had already made deep inroads into BaKongo's minds even before the slave trade. Historically, Catholicism had been present in the Kingdom of Kongo since the 15th century, and the king converted in the first years of the Portuguese regime, so some aspects of the Christian religion had thus far spread among the population.

When the Portuguese first introduced Christian iconography and symbolism to central Africa, aspects of their religious configurations resonated profoundly with local spiritual precepts, such as the Kongo cross cosmogram. (Photo courtesy of Met Museum)

Furthermore, the Hoodoo tradition started to develop when Black ancestors began incorporating the Bible and Jesus in their works. It did not originate and develop in pagan Africa, pagan pre-Columbian America, or the pagan Caribbean and Latin America. Instead, it grew up in primarily Protestant Christian colonies of America. Hoodoo started when the slaves became Christians and went to Churches. Indeed, Hoodoo has an incredible repertoire of African folk religious and magical practices, but it is not an African religion. In fact, Hoodoo for some folks, is not and has never been an organized religion at all, but as Reverend Washington Phillips says: "No matter what your church, you better have Jesus, I tell you, that's all."

A simple altar of a Folk Christian Hoodoo practitioner.

See, What Our Path Is

Being immensely interested in African diaspora religions and Folk Catholicism, we primarily honor our ancestors, Church saints, angels, folk saints, and Afro-Caribbean spirits such as loas and orishas. If we absolutely have to put a label on ourselves, we prefer the label of “Folk Judeo-Christian” as we live according to the customs and traditions of conjure workers and root doctors from the Deep South and syncretic followers of Christ in various nations of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Our spirituality includes West African-based Caribbean-style tradition as well as Esoteric Christianity and Yoruba religion. Generally, we practice Gullah folk magic popularly known in the Deep South as Hoodoo or Lowcountry Voodoo; the ancient wisdom founded by Orunmila in Ile-Ife called Ifa, and a bit of Lihim na Karunungan (Filipino Esotericism or Philippine Mystery Tradition).

Respect, What Hoodoo Is

Despite visible evidence of Central West African, Islamic/Moorish, Native American, Judeo-Christian, European, and even a few East Indian/Hindu, Chinese, and Latino/Caribbean retentions, influences, and admixtures, this does not mean that Hoodoo is an open and unrestricted system of eclectic magic.

Conjure, and Rootwork is rooted in African-American culture and Folk Protestant Christianity. Any practitioners of Hoodoo who did not grow up within African-American culture should still have a fuller understanding and high regard for its origin.

In the beginning, the early conjure doctors were entirely Black. The students were all Black, the elders were Black, the teaching was Black, and they focused only on Blacks as their audience. But other races were accepted when they had also been brought into the Hoodoo community and learned the tradition. Even so, we should still acknowledge that Hoodoo, Conjure, or Rootwork is not ours but only belongs to the Black community. We are just believers who are grafted into their rich yet humble tradition and, by word and deed, embrace genuine African-American folk spirituality and magic. This is all we can do for all the blessings we received from God and our Black ancestors.

Hoodoo's lack of religious structure and hierarchical authority do not mean that any person or group can appropriate or redefine it. If one cannot respect Hoodoo as it is and for what it is, then please, do not play with it.

Learn, How Conjure Is Worked On

Authentic Conjure is not all about blending and selling oils and casting spells online to make money. Hoodoo has its own spiritual philosophy, theology, and a wide range of African-American folkways, customs, and practices which include, but are not limited to, veneration of the ancestors, Holy Ghost shouting, snake reverence, spirit possession, graveyard conjure, nkisi practices, Black hermeneutics, African-American church traditions, the ring shout, the Kongo cosmogram, ritual water immersions, crossroads magic, making conjure canes, animal sacrifices, Jewish scriptural magic, enemy works, Seekin' ritual, magical incorporation of bodily fluids, etc.

Unfortunately, they are currently missing in marketeered or commercial Hoodoo, as they are being removed, disregarded, or ignored by unknowing merchants who simply want to profit from an African-American spiritual tradition, thus reducing Hoodoo to just a plethora of recipes, spells, and tricks.

Tim and I are completely aware that we are not African-Americans, so we are doing our best to retain and preserve the customs and traditions of the slave ancestors to avoid unnecessary conflict with the larger Black-Belt Hoodoo community and prevent them from labeling us inauthentic outsiders and our practice as mere 'cultural misappropriation.'

Accept, Who We Are

The byproduct of eons of slave history, Black supremacists believe that only people with African or African-American blood are real Hoodoo practitioners and are often inclined to consider themselves as the elite of the Hoodoo community; a place in which they believed that Whites, Latinos, Asians or any other races who do not have Black ancestry do not belong. Black supremacists are prone to be very hostile towards both “outsiders” and those accepting of them, fearing that their promotion and acceptance would dilute or even negate the Black identity of Hoodoo.

Although we do understand why some Blacks hold this stance, since a lot of people nowadays are misappropriating many aspects of Hoodoo and teaching the spiritual path even without proper education and training (for purely monetary purposes), we would, however, want to say that not all non-Black Hoodoo practitioners are the same.

WE respect what Hoodoo is, and we never try to change it, claim it as our own, disregard its history, take unfair advantage of it, speak against the people who preserve it, and mix it with other cultures (like our own) and call it Filipino/Pinoy Hoodoo, Gypsy Hoodoo or Wiccan Hoodoo because there are no such things.