The Search for High John the Conquer

This chapter focuses on High John the Conquer root, the most powerful and best-known root in Hoodoo practice. It asks how a root that is native only to Xalapa, Mexico, became so significant to African American Hoodoo practice, particularly in places like Virginia or other locales thousands of miles away, and how it was accessed by bondsmen and later freedmen. Zora Neale Hurston describes High John the Conquer as “our hope bringer,” an intermediary between man and God, a warrior martyr, a soul saver, and a virtual saint of the old Hoodoo religion. High John is used in numerous types of Hoodoo work and has been the most utilized Hoodoo root. This chapter discusses the possible sociocultural origins and movement of High John the Conquer root and its representative plant. It also examines the myth and legacy of High John de Conquer as well as the importance of the root in the Hoodoo pharmacopeia.