Conjure Woman Reviews

Conjure Woman Reviews

Uncle Remus tells the black man's fairytales; Uncle Julius recites his creed, and it may be found in Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt's "The Conjure Woman." Certain persons, by "wukking de roots" and by means of "mixtries," can transform men into trees, birds, quadrupeds, or even into men of another race, sometimes controlling their movements by means of insect or animal messengers, and the spell may endure even after death of the conjuror. With the negro this is not a matter of faith; but of actual knowledge. The seven tales in Mr. Chesnutt's book are curious and interesting, and the shrewdness with which Uncle Julius relates each one at the moment when it will be most effective in his own interest suggests that the black man is no more above making his superstitions profitable than his white brother.