Gris-Gris Little Known Black History Fact

In African history, the gris-gris was an amulet or symbol of good luck and spiritual protection. The practice of using a gris-gris symbol was brought to America by African slaves near Senegal and Mali in the 17th & 18th centuries. The gris-gris is a small bag full of little objects specific to the person or place intended. Part of early Islamic culture in West Africa, the gris-gris bag is usually inscribed with scriptures from the Qu’ran. In some parts of african culture like Senegal, the gris-gris was sometimes used as a form of contraception.

The term gris-gris was said to derive from the Mande language, and the West African term juju, which means sacred. One of the most famous practitioners using gris-gris was Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans in the 19th century. Laveau was said to have inherited her magical powers from her African ancestors.

Little Known Black History Fact: Gris-Gris  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

The gris-gris is typically used to sort out matters in love, finance, luck, legal issues or to reverse a hex. Once the voodoo practice was brought to America and integrated into slave culture, the meaning changed from mostly positive intentions to negative. Slaves used it as a spiritual method to bring evil spirits to their slave owners. Some of the gris-gris bags were placed on the gravestones of slave owners.

In Louisiana, where the practice of voodoo is well-known, the gris-gris is used as a symbol of black magic. It includes two types of magic, homeopathic and sympathetic. Sympathetic is a symbol made to look just like the person intended. Homeopathic uses hair, clothing or something attached to the subject.

More information about the use of the gris-gris can be found at the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Little Known Black History Fact: Gris-Gris  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com