Hoodoo and Root Doctoring

Mojo may refer to:

*Mojo (African American culture), a magical charm bag used in hoodoo

In media and entertainment:

*Mojo (comics), a supervillain in various Marvel Comics publications

*Mojo!, a video game

*Mojo (play), a play by Jez Butterworth

*Mojo (magazine), a British music magazine

*Mojo (mobile journalist), a journalist in the field who sends stories electronically

*Category: Mojo: Conjure Stories - , an anthology edited by Nalo Hopkinson

*MOJO HD, an American television network

*Mother Jones (magazine) or MoJo, a progressive magazine

*Mojo Rules System (RPG), a generic multi-genre RPG rules system presented in Polymancer

*Mojo, the sexual charm of Austin Powers

*Mojo, a fictional helper monkey in The Simpsons

*Mojo, a character in Chrono Cross

*Mojo, a Protoss Hero in Starcraft

*Mojo, a fictional dog in Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -

In music:

*MoJo, a Japanese vocalist

*The Mojos, a 1960s merseybeat group

*"Mojo" (Peeping Tom song)

*Mojo Radio (WPLJ), a New York City-based radio station

*Mojo Radio (CFMJ), a Toronto, Ontario radio station CFMJ

*Mojo Concerts, a Dutch subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications

*Mojo Records, a record label

*"Mojo", a song by Night Ranger from Feeding off the Mojo

*George "Mojo" Buford, American blues harmonica player

In nicknames:

*Mo Johnston or MoJo, footballer

*Matt Morginsky or Mojo, former lead singer of The O.C. Supertones

*Permian High School or Mojo, a high school in Odessa, Texas

In other uses:

*Mojo (sauce), a name of various sauces used in the Canary Islands and the Caribbean

*Mojo, Ethiopia, a railway town near Addis Ababa

*Mojo Press, a publisher of books and graphic novels

*Miscarriages of Justice Organisation or MOJO, a charity dedicated to fighting miscarriages of justice

*Mojo SDK, a software development kit for the Palm webOS

"Got My Mojo Working" is a 1956 song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole, but popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #359, and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hoodoo is a form of predominantly African-American traditional folk magic. Also known as conjure, it is a tradition of magical practice that developed from the syncretism of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions.

Hoodoo incorporates practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical practices and grimoires. While folk practices like hoodoo are trans-cultural phenomena, what is particularly innovative in this tradition is the "remarkably efficacious use of biblical figures" in its practices and in the lives of its practitioners. Smith, Theophus H. 1994. Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 3.

The word hoodoo first was documented in American English in 1875 and was listed as a noun or a transitive verb. For example, in the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Born on the Bayou," the line "I can still hear that old hound dog barking, chasin' down a hoodoo there," refers to a hoodoo doctor; someone who practices hoodoo. Merriam Webster Online In African American Vernacular English (AAVE), it is often used to describe a magic spell or potion, but it may also be used as an adjective for a practitioner. Regional synonyms for hoodoo include conjuration, conjure, witchcraft, or rootwork.Hyatt, Harry Middleton. 1970-1978. Hoodoo--Conjuration--Witchcraft--Rootwork. 5 vols. Hannibal: Western

They are not all synonyms, however. For example, witchcraft is problematic as a synonym in that it can imply a moral judgment regarding the practice of hoodoo (i.e. it is evil), or it can be confused with the contemporary Wicca religion. Moreover, a hoodoo practitioner is not to be understood as a rootworker if he or she does not use roots and herbs in their magical practices. Thus, rootwork can be understood as a subcategory or a "type" of hoodoo practice.