conjureman means A man believed to have supernatural healing powers, especially in African-American culture. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why “conjureman” is a great word
A practitioner, typically in the African-American folk tradition, believed to wield supernatural power for purposes ranging from healing to hexing. From conjure (to practice magic or invoke spirits, from Latin coniurare, 'to swear together') + -man (denoting a person). Unlike a hoodoo doctor, which specifically denotes a practitioner within that named system, or a shaman, a spiritual intermediary of indigenous traditions, the conjureman is a figure woven from the specific cultural cloth of the African-American experience. He is the smell of burning High John the Conqueror root in a tin-can censer, the weight of a mojo hand filled with roots and rusted nails, and the low murmur of a psalm over a bowl of water—a tangible bridge between the seen world and the unseen forces that press against it.
Etymology
From conjure + -man.
noun
- A man believed to have supernatural healing powers, especially in African-American culture.