Spiritual Merchants : Religion Magic & Commerce - Carolyn Morrow Long

Spiritual Merchants

Religion Magic & Commerce

By: Carolyn Morrow Long

Paperback | 31 May 2001

At a Glance

Paperback


$58.90

or 4 interest-free payments of $14.72 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

They can be found along the side streets of many American cities: herb or candle shops catering to practitioners of Voodoo, hoodoo, Santeria, and similar beliefs. Here one can purchase ritual items and raw materials for the fabrication of traditional charms, plus a variety of soaps, powders, and aromatic goods known in the trade as "spiritual products." For those seeking health or success, love or protection, these potions offer the power of the saints and the authority of the African gods.
In Spiritual Merchants, Carolyn Morrow Long provides an inside look at the followers of African-based belief systems and the retailers and manufacturers who supply them. Traveling from New Orleans to New York, from Charleston to Los Angeles, she takes readers on a tour of these shops, examines the origins of the products, and profiles the merchants who sell them.
Long describes the principles by which charms are thought to operate, how ingredients are chosen, and the uses to which they are put. She then explores the commodification of traditional charms and the evolution of the spiritual products industry-from small-scale mail order "doctors" and hoodoo drugstores to major manufacturers who market their products worldwide. She also offers an eye-opening look at how merchants who are not members of the culture entered the business through the manufacture of other goods such as toiletries, incense, and pharmaceuticals. Her narrative includes previously unpublished information on legendary Voodoo queens and hoodoo workers, as well as a case study of John the Conqueror root and its metamorphosis from spirit-embodying charm to commercial spiritual product.
No other book deals in such detail with both the history and current practices of African-based belief systems in the United States and the evolution of the spiritual products industry. For students of folklore or anyone intrigued by the world of charms and candle shops, Spiritual Merchants examines the confluence of African and European religion in the Americas and provides a colorful introduction to a vibrant aspect of contemporary culture.
The Author: Carolyn Morrow Long is a preservation specialist and conservator at the the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.


More in Folklore Studies / Study of Myth (Mythology)

Epically Good Greek Myths - R.A. Spratt

SIGNED COPY

The Great Cosmic Mother : Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth - Monica Sjoo
Troy : Our Greatest Story Retold - Stephen Fry

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Heroes : The myths of the Ancient Greek heroes retold - Stephen Fry
The Hebridean Baker : The Scottish Cookbook - Coinneach MacLeod

RRP $55.00

$43.90

20%
OFF
Grimm's Fairy Tales : Signature Gilded Editions - Grimm Brothers
The Hero with a Thousand Faces : Bollingen Series - Joseph Campbell

RRP $54.99

$43.90

20%
OFF
Maps of Meaning : The Architecture of Belief - Jordan B. Peterson

RRP $62.99

$49.95

21%
OFF
The Ravening - Daniel Church

Paperback

$31.25

The Book of Yokai : Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore - Michael Dylan Foster
The Complete Earth Chronicles : The Earth Chronicles - Zecharia Sitchin