But edication is one thing, an’ fireside trainin’ is another. This mentor was generally an elderly slave, although sometimes he or she might be a Native American who had married into the family or who was part of an Indigenous community that sheltered fugitive slaves.”īailey (2019) goes on to cite a former North Carolina slave named John Jackson, who told an interviewer: “You know, they lays a heap o’ stress on edication these days. The more specialized knowledge of the root doctor, however, usually required not only keen observation of the natural world but also training by an experienced mentor. Slaves were in a unique position to learn about local flora, as they worked closely with it at all times. As a result, Smith (2019) notes that “men and women known as root doctors or root workers, who had working knowledge of roots and herbs and their various medicinal applications, were the slave community’s chief means of medical care. On the plantations, African slaves could rarely count on their masters to ensure their health and well-being and had to take their healing into their own hands. William Bailey (2012) notes, these traditions were the products of the ingenuity and resilience of American slaves throughout the southeastern United States, especially Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas. The roots of folk expertise in the art of healing through herbs and curios reach back to the earliest emergence of the Hoodoo, Conjure, and Rootwork traditions. Introduction: Roots of Healing Traditions in Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork
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