Roger Pinckney

This book is absolutely fantastic. It's a treasure trove of great hoodoo folklore, and really amusing too. The book starts out with a background of he Gullah people, ex-slaves from the island/lowland region of S. Carolina, and how hoodoo developed from a mixture of African/Indian/and European beliefs.

The latter part of the book is the best. It deals with two of America's most famous hoodoo men, J.E. McTeer the "High Sheriff" and Dr. Buzzard (arch-rivals), and their magickal battles with show more each other back in the 1920s. J.E. McTeer was a white conjure man and also the sheriff of the low country. Unlike typical black conjure men, who by tradition took the names of animals: Dr. Snake, Dr. Bug, Dr. Gator, etc., McTeer kept his name and office in his title, "High Sheriff", only in this case the "high" was seen the way "high priest" is. Being the local sheriff AND a powerful witchdoctor, he was a very powerful guy with lots of influence. His home was situated on a place called "coffin point". His rival, Dr. Buzzard lived out on a remote inland in the swamps. Dr. Buzzard was the most feared of all the Hoodoo men. If Dr. Buzzard wanted someone dead, they may was well make funeral arrangements. There were reports of some of his "lucky" victims vomiting live snakes and frogs.

Dr. Buzzard kept interfering with the law. People would hire him to hex judges, intimidate witnesses by sitting in court and staring them down (his eyes would roll back into his head), or mumbling incantations and chewing magical roots (Low-John a.k.a. Galbanum) during court proceedings. Those who employed Dr. Buzzard's assistance nearly always got off. Tired of interference with the judicial system, the High Sheriff stepped in and told Dr. Buzzard to stay out of the law's business. Dr. Buzzard didn't like being told what to do, so a magical battle ensued between the too. However, it seemed Dr. Buzzard had finally met his match. The battle went back and forth until Dr. Buzzard's son was killed in a mysterious car accident and drowned in the swamp. After his son's death he made a truce with the High Sheriff. The High Sheriff went on to write two books about his life as a white hoodoo man, HIGH SHERIFF OF THE LOW COUNTRY and FIFTY YEARS AS A LOW COUNTRY WITCHDOCTOR. The step-grandson of Dr. Buzzard and the grandson of J.E.McTeer carry on their family traditions and are rootworkers today.

I'm amazed this whole real-life saga hasn't been made into a movie. show less

It's partly a personal memoir, so take it on those terms. Despite the title, it's not so much about the Gullah culture as it is about former High Sheriff J.E. "Ed" McTeer, long-time patriarch of Beaufort and environs, of whom the author still can't believe that he was compelled to resign in disgrace at the end of his magisterial reign. McTeer is supposed to have been the truest friend of the Gullah people, an assertion that invites the informed reader's skepticism. The most vividly portrayed show more of the Gullah "root doctors" is Stephaney "Dr. Buzzard" Robinson. The whole account of Gullah folk magic, and of how people have used it and believed in it, is entertaining but superficial. show less