Due to reports by travelers who journeyed through the
Volta Basin in present-day
Ghana, it is believed that Mande speakers, such as the
Dyula people, played a pivotal role in the creation and distribution of
Islamic charms, which they called gris-gris. From them, the practice is believed to have spread to other Muslim ethnic groups, such as the
Dagomba people, who wrote extensive Arabic manuscripts "with magic formulae and prescriptions for preparing amulets."
The practice of Karamokobara Amongst Mande
Muslims, it is believed that
Islamic scholars can access great mystical powers that can be "employed to prevent misfortune, cure illness, heal wounds, and forecast the future." The practice of using gris-gris, though originating in West Africa, was translocated to the Americas with enslaved Muslims, preserved and continued by practitioners of
Louisiana Voodoo and
Haitian Vodou. However, the belief evolved in the
United States, and the gri-gri was thought to bring black magic upon its "victim." Enslaved Africans would often use gris-gris against their owners. Some gris-gris were also found in burials, suggesting their use was a common practice. In the
Cajun communities of
Louisiana, gris-gris are thought to be a symbol of black magic and ill-fortune. In spite of the negative connotations of gris-gris, so-called
Gris-Gris doctors have operated in the
Louisiana Creole community for some centuries and are looked upon favorably by the Black community at large. In
New Orleans, Louisiana court cases in 1773 saw slaves convicted for using gris-gris to kill their enslavers, making these some of the earliest legal mentions of Louisiana Voodoo. Enslaved conjure women created gris-gris to initiate slave rebellions, and it was believed that the spirits of the bags guided them to freedom on the
Underground Railroad and shielded them from harm on their journey. In the 1800s, the word
gris-gris was used interchangeably in Louisiana to mean both
bewitch and in reference to the traditional amulet. In October 1849, authorities arrested an enslaved man for carrying a human finger wrapped in flannel, which he believed brought good luck. People in New Orleans often sought human remains from tombs for conjure and gris-gris, which led to disturbances of gravesites. In contrast, the
Haiti gris-gris adhered to the original West African intent and was thought to be an amulet with good intentions in Haitian Vodou. The gris-gris is also used in
Hoodoo, an
African American spiritual tradition. In this context, a gris-gris is meant to represent the self.
Contemporary use According to a 1982 survey, gris-gris were one of the top three methods of contraception known to women in
Senegal. All three were traditional methods ("abstinence, roots and herbs, and charms ['gris-gris']"). Over 60% of women reported having knowledge of such traditional methods; modern means of contraception were not well known, with the
pill the best-known of those, a little over 40% of women reporting knowledge of it. Gris-gris are worn by a wide strata of society by everyone "from wrestlers to soldiers to housewives, and can feature anything from monkey to snake to mouse."{{cite web ==See also==