User:Mp158128/Practice
Rootwork is a belief system practiced among some African-Americans in the Southern United States that appears to be a North American variation of voodoo, which involves folk magic and hexing.[1] Many psychiatrists regard the psychosomatic effects that occur when a patient believes he/she is hexed to be indicative of a mental disorder.[2]
Prevalence[edit]
Rootwork is most prevalent among African-Americans in the rural South and in some poor urban areas.[3] It should be noted, however, that Southern whites have been known to engage in the practice.[4] Rootwork is known in the areas it is practiced by many different names, including "hoodoo," "conjure," and simply "witchcraft."[5]
Beliefs and traditions[edit]
According to tradition, roots are spells or hexes that are placed on someone by a root worker or root doctor. This is often accomplished by using magic cloth, dust, or potions. Another method of placing a hex is known as foot track magic, which "ascribes magical essence to a person's footprint."[6]. In this case, a special powder is laid down strategically so that the victim may walk over it; this causes a "magical poisoning" that may bring about illness or a string of bad luck.
There are a number of ways to remove a hex. Some "good" root doctors attempt to help their hexed patients with "innate spiritual abilities" that allow the doctor to remove the spell.[7] A sort of spiritual cleansing may also be attained through the use of hoodoo oils, sachet powders, bath oils, and candles.[8]
Pathology[edit]
Symptoms[edit]
People who believe they have been hexed often report a diverse array of symptoms, such as:
- Generalized anxiety
- Gastrointestinal complaints
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Delusions; paranoid thoughts about hexes[9]
- Fear of being poisoned
There are also reports of more isolated cases of eccentric behavior, including one case in which a patient would periodically crawl on all fours and howl like a dog.[10]
Challenges to professional treatment[edit]
Many people who believe they have been put under a spell will often attempt to alleviate their symptoms with folk remedies, such as those listed above. Some patients who show these symptoms may seek professional treatment, but rarely admit to their physicians that they feel they have been hexed.[11] Those who do admit their beliefs may not be fully understood by their physicians, especially in modern urban areas that are not permeated by hoodoo culture. For this reason, it is important that caregivers are informed about this culture-bound phenomenon so that these patients may receive proper care. Some psychologists are beginning to suggest that physicians ask patients whether they believe in rootwork or witchcraft if they display "unusual symptoms and the appropriate cultural background."[12]
References[edit]
- ^ Tinling, D. C. (1967). Voodoo, root work, and medicine. Psychosomatic Medicine, 29(5), 483-490.
- ^ American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Appendix I: Outline for cultural formulation and glossary of culture bound syndromes. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.)
- ^ Mathews, H. F. (1987). Rootwork: description of an ethnomedical system in the American South. Southern Medical Journal, 80(7), 885-891.
- ^ Yronwode, C. (2003). Hoodoo, conjure, and rootwork: African American folk magic. Retrieved from http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoohistory.html
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid
- ^ Goldwasser, H. D. (1991). The barking man: a case study of rootwork in psychiatry. Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry, 9(1), 82-88.
- ^ Yronwode, C. Hoodoo, conjure, and rootwork.
- ^ Tinling, D. C. Voodoo, root work, and medicine.
- ^ Yronwode, C. (2003, April 20). Re: seeking info for term paper on rootwork. Message posted to news://alt.religion.voodoo
- ^ Lichstein, P. R. (1992). Rootwork from the clinician's perspective. In Kirkland, J. (ed.), Herbal and magical medicine: traditional healing today (pp. 99-112). Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
- ^ Loewenthal, K. M. & Cinnirella, M. (2003). Religious issues in ethnic minority mental health. In Ndegwa, D. & Olajide, D. (eds.), Main issues in mental health and race (pp. 108-134). London: Ashgate Publishing.
McQuiller,T.(2003).Rootwork: using the folk magick of Black America for love, money and Sucess.Touchtone press.