What is Hoodoo?

I was recently in New Orleans and I was surrounded by shops and items of Voodoo Nature. But when i was looking at all the Voodoo stuff there I noticed that some things were labeled of “Hoodoo” variety. What is Hoodoo? I mean I heard the expression “All that Voodoo and Hoodoo jazz…bla bla bla”, but I didn’t think it was really something. I thought Hoodoo was just a way to make fun of Voodoo in that saying. So if anyone out there knows what Hoodoo is I would really appreciate knowing anything you have to tell me :slight_smile:

Thanks,

Omega007

Hoodoo: A person or thing that brings bad luck, or even the bad luck itself.

Voodoo: Voodoo (or vodou) is a religious system with followers predominantly in Haiti in the West Indies, and in other countries to which Haitians have
immigrated. Developed by African slaves brought to Haiti by the French between the 17th and 19th centuries, it combines features of African religion with the Roman Catholicism of the European settlers. Voodoo is similar in many ways to other Afro-American cults, such as Santeria in Cuba and Macumba in Brazil.
More can be found at: http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/dict/glossary/voodoo.htm

But why not elaborate? From gurunet

hoo·doo
n., pl. hoo·doos.
See voodoo (n., sense 3).

Bad luck.
One that brings bad luck.
Geology. A column of eccentrically shaped rock, produced by differential weathering.
v.tr., hoo·dooed, hoo·doo·ing, hoo·doos.
To bring bad luck to.
hoo’doo·ism n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992, 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

hoodoo noun
Something or someone believed to bring bad luck : curse, hex. Informal: jinx.
verb
To bring bad luck or evil to : curse, hex. Informal: jinx.


Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Translations for: hoodoo

Deutsch (German):
Fluch, Unglück, Unglück bringen

Français (French):
poisse, avoir la poisse

Español (Spanish):
vudú, aojo, echar el mal de ojo, traer mala suerte

Italiano (Italian):
sfortuna, iettatore, gettare il malocchio a

Português (Portuguese):
n. pessoa (f) ou coisa (f) maléfica, má sorte (f), formação (f) rochosa (EUA) v. trazer má sorte

Nederlands (Dutch):
onheil, ongeluksbode, voodoo, vreemde rotsvorming, onheil brengen, beheksen

Svensk (Swedish):
n. olycksbringare, otur v. bringa olycka över

Ελληνική (Greek):
n. (καθομ.) γρουσούζης v. (α)βασκαίνω, γρουσουζεύω

Русский (Russian):
колдовство, колдовской, приносить несчастья, заколдовать

Hmm. It loses something in Greek or Russian.

“You remind of the babe.”
“What babe?”
“The babe with the power.”
“What power?”
“The power of voodoo!”
“Hoodoo!”

What, isn’t that how David Bowie sang it??

Forgot the
“You do!”
at the end

“do what?”
“remind me of the babe.”

I thought of this song as well, when I saw the title.

Osip

Charles Nelson Reilly (I think) played “Hoodoo” in the Sid&Marty Kroffts classic series “Lidsville.”

A hoodoo is also a natural formation of rock/sandstone that is made from water/air erosion. There are some for sure in the Drumheller area of Alberta and the Fairmont are of BC.

A link with a picture:

http://www.foundlocally.com/Calgary/Travel/Near-Drumheller.htm

better picture-
http://www.taiga.ca/~gallery/subpages/banerjee/hoodoos.html