Pantheacon (4) - Blues and Voodoo

The individual Pantheacon workshops last 90 minutes, separated by a 30-minute break (with additional time for lunch and dinner).

I had crossed to the far side of the hotel, and was on my way back for a workshop on Buddhism and Paganism, with about five minutes to get there, when I met a friend I hadn’t seen for awhile and talked for fifteen minutes.  I found the door shut for the Buddhist-Pagan workshop, so I headed for a workshop on The Blues, Voodoo, and New Orleans.

I walked into a presentation on the blues singer Robert Johnson, whom I had never heard of, who died quite young, back in the 1930s; and who, it is said, sold his soul to the Devil in the hopes of becoming a successful blues singer.

This led into a discussion of Voodoo mythology and imagery in blues music.  We learned a little about the loa, the Voodoo spirits which were brought to the New World from Africa.  We learned a little about mojo—objects that can bring you power; and we were given examples of Voodoo terms used in the blues as well as in the music of Muddy Waters and the Grateful Dead.

This developed into a history lesson about New Orleans and the various peoples who have influenced it.  Before Louisiana was purchased by the United States, it was owned by the French, the Spanish, and of course by the indigenous inhabitants.  And in the years before American settlers arrived in quantity, other settlers met and mixed in New Orleans.

This was actually the most interesting part of the workshop for me.  I learned about how some Indians had hidden escaped slaves.  I learned how the Seminole tribe had formed from the mixing of previous tribes.  I learned how the Acadians had come from Canada to Louisiana and become the Cajuns.  I learned about how races and colors had mixed to become the Creoles.

I learned some of the racial history of the New Orleans Mardi Gras.  When Jim Crow laws forbade blacks to march in Mardi Gras parades, they paraded on St. Joseph’s Day.  I learned that some parades had honored the Indians who had sheltered slaves.  (My own research suggests that the activities of St. Joseph’s Day are actually even more complex that suggested in this workshop).

Later, I went and looked up Robert Johnson online and listened to some of his music.  The 1986 film Crossroads is built around the story of his life and music.

I learned more about Voodoo later at Pantheacon (though I actually knew something about it already).