zora neale hurston and highjohn the conqueror

johnny conqeroo. highjohnny conqeroo. john the conqueror. the conqueror. etc. etc.
lot of variants on highjohn the conquerors name. depending on what you calling him for

highjohn the conqueror root. the hoodoo power root. conquers all obstacles.

when you in need of extra power you dress it and carry it with you and you are invincible. this is the prime root of hoodoo. and highjohn the conqueror its patron spirit

the afroamerican trickster spirit

if there is a patron spirit of hoodoo the conqueror is it. a manifestation of the african american spirit and condition. the conqueror is in the house.

our understanding of the conqueror continues to evolve. the first good riff was zora neale hurston. the second by story teller. jackie torrence.

i googled him recently and most of the hits were advertisements for highjohn roots
almost nothing about highjohn himself, which is indicative of current highjohn knowledge

at least lucky mojo give you some knowledge with the pitch

my own highjohn knowledge is shaky
but let me tell you what i think i know about highjohn mythwork
and perhaps delineate the difference between
knowledge and wisdom

it was zora neale, past master of litericizing folklore
who first connected the highjohn root and the john the trickster slave stories
into a recurring cultural hero myth, whose spirit resides in the highjohn the conquer root
and returns whenever blackfolk in need

(great mythwork zora baby)

it was the beginning of worldwar ii
the country was reeling and she came up with the highjohn myth
to give, she said, america hope
i once objected to that move but in my hoodoo maturity i understand
her motive for sharing it

then storyteller jackie torrence took zoras riff, cleaned it up and wound it tight
focused the conqueror as custodian of the tribal will to struggle
she did an incredible job though i dont recall her ever giving zora credit for the seed

now the question is what is the conqueror to our generations
and to the generations of the future
my own highjohn mythwork is (as is my rickydoc mythwork)
based on the returning cultural hero motif
if you program it right it serves many generations by renewing itself as necessary

john the trickster slave stories dont seem to have the cultural impact
they once had, they dont speak to our generations anymore
whereas highjohn the conqueror has potential of being trueforce

i believe we have to develop an updated mythwork for highjohn the conqueror
and the conquering trope he stands for in afroam/hoodoo culture
the empowerment trope he stands for in african american culture and destiny

i would like to get an understanding of highjohn de conquerors next trick
and spin highjohn knowledge into highjohn wisdom
evolutionary speculation - of what use is this trope to our generations

thats my boy
if i serve anybody i serve the conqueror
which i speculate to be a particularly african american manifestation of legba force

this the riff i do when i do the conqueror
basically jackies riff on zora with a few touches of my own

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for a longtime highjohn de conqueror was just the name of a plant that grew wild in the marshland.

back in slaverydays it was dug and dried and carried in the hand or worn about the neck to ward off haints, disease and nightmares.

this the hoodoo root of power. the problem solver. the obstacle breaker.

after awhile that plant became so powerful it began to walk upright like a natural man. now highjohn the human kept out of the sight of folk. live like legba chile out in the swamp somewhere. but whenever you in trouble you whisper his name and you can feel the conqueror as he pass you in the breeze. if you listen real close you hear him whispering in the trees.

zora claim the conqueror must walk on the wind, cause he move so fast. say maybe he in mississippi when the lash fall on a slave in the sudan, but before the blood dry on the back the conqueror is there. beating the unbeatable and superior to the whole mess a sorrow.

to all who are burdened, highjohnny conqueroo will show you the way

zora say its the conquerors voice come through clearest on sunday morning. say his worksong the one sustain you in the field. say wherever the work the hardest the conqueror is there. lifting the hoe higher than anybody else and still have time to wipe the sweat from your brow. to give you a cool drink of water.

he the sweetness in an apple pie and the quick cunning of breh rabbit. the cool breeze on a hot summer night. the wetness of a sweet summer rain.

he the hopebringer. the burden bearer. the battlefighter. the jackpot winner. a mighty force. an ultimate power.

when you whisper his name, bees dont sting. sqeeters dont bite. snakes dont strike.

zora claim the conqueror helped the slaves get free by tricking old massa. say after the slaves were free, the soul of the conqueror went into the highjohn de conquer root. waiting to return whenever the folk in need

zora say whenever you need him you just call him and he be there before you finish saying his name.

highjohn. highjohn. highjohn de conqueror

thats what zora neale said. ask her yourself if you dont believe me.

Comments

[sungoddess]

I poured over the info at luckmojo, and I was very fascinated by High John The Conqueror the root, and it's link to John the slave. I really appreciate your writing this piece. It's done a lot for my own understanding and continued to fuel my interest in the subject. Blessings and Good Things.