Tarot Cards and Voodoo Dolls

In Holloway’s text the African American culture is examined and we see some of the patterns within it when it comes to certain things such as mourning and death.  There are definitely patterns that allow us to create these understandings of different cultures.  In Holloway’s text she tells stories about certain brutalities and other events taken against African Americans and how the culture as a whole tended to deal with them in a very public way.  There are certain aspects about every culture that categorize them in some way, shape or form.  Patterns are made and this is how we often define a specific culture.  For example I come from two very strong cultural backgrounds.  On my mom’s side, I am Peruvian and our family comes from a strong Hispanic background with many interesting traditions and ways of viewing life.  On my dads side I am a mix of heritages, but recent generations have always been rooted in the south, Tennessee in particular.  These two cultures couldn’t be more opposite and I find it very interesting to compare the two and to have grown up experiencing both of these cultural patterns. 

For example, on my mother’s side something I have noticed that is very prevalent is religion and superstition.  Not only did my mom grow up going to strict nun schools her whole life; superstitions, curses, and voodoo were all something she grew up with as well and passed on to my siblings and I.  I have memories as a young child of my mom sitting in our living room reading tarot cards or on new years eve us burning slips of paper with things written on it that we wanted in our past, such as bad memories, situations etc. I was always taught to keep a rosary nearby for protection and in addition was taught the many staple prayers I needed to know, all in Spanish of course even though I am not fluent whatsoever.  I heard stories of voodoo dolls made of older family members back in Peru, and how they were allegedly cursed after that.  I was taught many superstitious beliefs all throughout my childhood, such as the bad omen of seeing a dead bird or the good fortune that is supposed to be bestowed on you when certain incents are released in your home.  I wouldn’t necessarily say I strongly believe in all of these things, but at the same time they always intrigued me even to this day and I will admit I feel better following them rather than not.  My mom still constantly reads me my horoscope and other fortune telling techniques.  This mysticism and religion combined into a type of pattern is often seen in Hispanic families and has become something our family has become closer over.  We are not witches, or voodoo doctors, but we are a bit superstitious because that’s the way we were raised, and I like it, it gives me a feeling of identity in a strange way.  It is something that my family and my heritage has that is different than my friends.