Mules and Men

The Appendix contains four sections: “Negro Songs with Music” (251), “Formulae of Hoodoo Doctors” (273), “Paraphernalia of Conjure” (277), and “Prescriptions of Root Doctors” (281).

There are nine songs in the first section, each of which contains lyrics and sheet music detailing the accompaniment. There are several work songs, sung to a rhythm conducive to performing repetitive manual labor; a convict song, which comes from the workers on “chain gangs,” or groups of inmates tasked with performing some type of physical labor; a blues or “social song”; a children’s song; and a gaming song, intended for playing Georgia Skin). 

The “formulae” in the second section detail: superstitions “concerning sudden death” (273) and how to rent a home; rituals to affect the outcome of a trial, “to kill and harm” someone (275), and to make someone flee; and several types of love rituals. These formulae correspond to some of the most frequently referenced types of hoodoo rituals in Part 2.

The third section of the Appendix lists the most ubiquitous materials used in hoodoo. The list primarily presents items either according to a common name, such as “white mustard seed” (278), or according to hoodoo terminology, such as “Big John the Conqueror” (279), a type of root.