Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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JUJU
The Bantu word niju means danger, harm, or accident. A juju is a fetish, charm, or amulet
that provides protection against niju. 262 Juju is the term Africans use to describe such
protective objects, which African Americans call mojos, or gris-gris. Juju is also the
name of a style of Nigerian music mixing electric guitar and drums that was popularized
by King Sunny Ade and His African Beats. Their album Juju Music was a huge
international hit and probably the most influential West African record ever released.
When musicologist and African drum student John Miller Chernoff was in the town of
Afiadenyigba in the Volta region of Ghana, he was consecrated into the Yeve Cult of the
Ewe tribe as an apprentice to master drummer Gideon Folie Alorwoyie. Chernoff
described a lengthy ceremony during which two chickens, male and female, were killed
and their blood poured over his drumsticks.
While the chickens were cooking in a stew, the priest took Chernoff through the
cannot think bad toward any man. You can only play the drum. If someone should think
bad toward you, the juju we have cast will make him so, when he is drinking water, he
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Angelou and Quincy Jones:
That they all use juju and goofy dust [goofer dust]
girlfriend used one on him because it stopped him from partying and helped him
settle down.
Songs:
- Omar Dykes
- B.B. King (Riley King)
JU K E, JU K E JO IN T
A juke or juke joint is a funky little bar (and sometimes brothel) that provides dance
music, whether from a piano player, a band, or a jukebox. The word juke has been traced
to the Gullah (Georgia Sea Islands) word joog
Joog has been
dzugu
the Wolof word dzug, which means to misbehave or lead a wild life, and the Bantu juka,
which means to rise up and do your own thing.
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