The Demise of Dr. Buzzard

This chapter examines the black belt Hoodoo complex between the two world wars, with particular emphasis on the demise of Dr. Buzzard. Also known as Stepheney Robinson, Dr. Buzzard is Hoodoo's most famous conjurer. His conjure was free of exotic influences; he used only noncommercial products, he was a living link with the old plantation Hoodoo folk religion, and his life spanned Hoodoo development through several of its rapidly changing stages. This chapter discusses the diversification in spiritual merchandising in the period between World Wars I and II and how it contributed to an ever-strengthening subversion and undermining of Hoodoo's traditional old black belt practice. It also considers the impact of the medical community's attack on midwifery, Hoodoo's thriving and powerful link with the black folk medicine tradition. This period witnessed the merging of Hoodoo, dream interpretation, sign interpretation, the relationship between Hoodoo and the numbers, the rise of candle shops, and the domination of the Hoodoo marketplace by commercial sites and supply houses.