An American Tradition

An American Tradition Individualism, Secularization and Magic in New Orleans Stian Bjørgen Master’s Thesis Department of Social Anthropology University of Oslo November 2016 © Stian Bjørgen 2016 An American Tradition: Individualism: Securalization and Magic in New Orleans Stian Bjørgen http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Mail Boxes Etc i Abstract: In this master`s thesis I seek to understand the magical and religious practice in contemporary United States of America. To do this I studied the practice of Voodoo in New Orleans. I wanted to see how a tradition focused on magic and Afro- Caribbean mythology can survive and be practiced in a modern society as contemporary New Orleans. The questions I am raising are how magic and spiritual religion can correlate with modernity and individualism, and if the practices are formed by the traditions or by the greater society. The fieldwork was conducted January to June 2015. The focus will be on reality construction and how the practitioners understand themselves and their function in this reality, as they live in a society formed by disenchantment and Individualism. The claim of this paper is that the traditions are formed by the values of the greater society, that voodoo is used to express individualistic values and an individualistic understanding of the individuals place in the universe. Formed by America, expressed through voodoo, An American Tradition. ii Acknowledgements: First I want to thank all the practitioners in New Orleans who allowed me to observe and take part in their practice and made me feel very welcome. This project would have been nothing without you. I would also thank my supervisor Professor Odd Are Berkaak for all the help, support and sharing of his wisdom and knowledge. He has both inspired me and formed me as an Anthropologist, and I am very grateful for his guidance. Thanks to SAI and especially to my fellow students who made these years wonderful, I will always remember the Break Room and that old broken moccamaster. I would also send thanks To Professor Claude F. Jacobs for answering my emails and helped me through the bad start of my fieldwork. I would also thank my good friend Magnus Godvik Ekeland for moral support and for taking his time to read through this paper. His help was priceless. I would also thank Sara Ettajani and Jørgen Wien for moral and emotional support during this process. Many thanks for your patience and friendship. Last, but at no means least, I would thank my parents, Mona Hansen Bjørgen and Geir Magne Bjørgen. I could not have done this without their support and encouragement. Thanks for your patience and life wisdom. iii Table of Contents The City of the Dead ........................................................................................................... 6 Delta Blues ...................................................................................................................................... 6 The Abysmal Waters .................................................................................................................... 7 Going With the Flow .................................................................................................................... 8 Spiritual People ............................................................................................................................. 9 Voodoo and Vodou .................................................................................................................... 10 Haitian Vodou ............................................................................................................................ 10 New Orleans Voodoo ................................................................................................................. 12 Magic People ............................................................................................................................... 12 Research Question and Topic ................................................................................................. 12 Outline of the Thesis ................................................................................................................. 13 The Ethnographer ..................................................................................................................... 14 The Participating Observer ..................................................................................................... 16 Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................. 18 Religion, Individualism and Modernity ....................................................................... 20 Cowboy Mentality ..................................................................................................................... 22 God Bless America? .................................................................................................................. 23 Modernity .................................................................................................................................... 25 Social Imaginary ........................................................................................................................ 28 Nothing is sacred? ...................................................................................................................... 30 Finding meaning ........................................................................................................................ 32 Rise of the Mystic ....................................................................................................................... 37 The Cultic Milieu ....................................................................................................................... 38 Cultic Reality .............................................................................................................................. 39 Voodoo People .................................................................................................................... 42 La Louisiane ................................................................................................................................ 42 Gods, Masters and Slaves ........................................................................................................ 43 Public Enemy .............................................................................................................................. 44 The Hole in History ................................................................................................................... 45 The Rise of the Black Church ................................................................................................. 45 Ghosts of Voodoo ....................................................................................................................... 46 The Death of Voodoo? .............................................................................................................. 47 A New Wave ................................................................................................................................ 48 The City of the Occult ............................................................................................................... 49 The Voodoo Scene ...................................................................................................................... 50 The Milieu ................................................................................................................................... 51 The shop ....................................................................................................................................... 52 Voodoo business ......................................................................................................................... 54 The botanica ................................................................................................................................ 56 The Hounfo ................................................................................................................................. 57 Voodoo Expression .................................................................................................................... 58 The Searchers ..................................................................................................................... 60 Freedom of Experience ............................................................................................................. 60 Beginning the Journey .............................................................................................................. 63 The construction of reality ....................................................................................................... 69 The Change of Mind ................................................................................................................. 72 The journey ................................................................................................................................. 74 Modern Magic .................................................................................................................... 76 The Spiritual Mind .................................................................................................................... 77 iv The Good Life ............................................................................................................................

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