Odd Man Out

I have been told many times by students and others how lucky I am to have been raised in a home where conjure work is built into our way of life. Yesterday I learned two things while I was attending the funeral for my sons father-in-law; one is my family was differently raised different and two Conjure is a living Tradition. Folks can debate about it all they want to but REAL Conjure is a living tradition.

I have never really been to a funeral outside of my family or folks who were raised as we were. There is a big big difference. I could never understand why some folks are jealous of me or feel threatened by my knowledge on-line. I never saw a difference until yesterday. Even my daughter noticed. No one gave him notes of love, or his coffee, or cigarettes, there was nothing; No one paid to enter the graveyard, stuck money in his pocket. If this means I’m backwards, odd, or very lucky to have been raised in a home where conjure was an everyday practice, then I now gladly wear that coat.

Conjure is more than the work, its built into your life. It is a living tradition; a way of life. I finally see you can teach the working part of conjure but in order to really understand it you have to live it. This was a big eye opener for me and I will never look at my family the same. I have always been proud of my ancestors, but today I look at them in a whole new light. When so many were running to change their lives because they didn’t want to be considered “backwards”, they wanted to become modern; my family held on to the old ways with both hands and dug in. Momma Starr