When I first saw this doll, I thought it was a gesture. In other words, I did not consider it a form of cunning magic, where someone was interested in performing a spell that intended a real outcome. However, as I inspected the doll and asked questions about the "doll maker" and the person it was made for, I realized there was some intent. Whether the person believed in the magic of the doll, I cannot witness to as I never did an interview, but there were some interesting facts about the doll that I had never seen in "pretend" cases, and some details I had seen in dolls once used in voodoo. One of the intriguing facts was the use and placement of safety pins. I'd seen this as a young woman in Louisiana. You don't often see safety pins used in dolls. It's very uncommon except in protection spells, say for warning off poverty and that sort of thing. But here, the safety pins are deliberately placed. The foot is the key, because it was the foot pain that urged the patient of a podiatrist to make this doll herself. She suffered from knee, shoulder, and neck pain that she felt was related to her foot pain, which is quite realistic. The doll is a clever image of her doctor, right down to his hair and glasses. Note all the attention to detail. Not only was the doll a message, it was also a statement of how the woman felt about her medical situation. I found that fascinating and have kept the doll just as it was given to me. I have not rearranged the pins or even moved them.
I really was interested in how the neck and shoulder areas on the back are stuck with a nice needle, while the area near the heart is more decorative. The red heart is pierced and there is a spot of red, representing blood on the leg. This was an act against the power of the podiatrist. It doesn't mean death. It was a cry for help and an act of frustration. However, it is the plain but sturdy needle at the back of the neck that represents "some sort of vengeance."
A lot of care went into the making of this doll. As I've said, I've only seen half a dozen dolls with safety pins in them related to voodoo. It was in Louisiana. This doll is from northeast Mississippi. Whatever the intentions of the doll maker, this is a great poppet.
I use the word poppet when describing dolls because the original dolls used in cunning magic came from Europe and were called poppets and similar terms. The voodoo doll is a direct descendant of the Middle Age doll used in kitchen magic. Poppets are used in sympathetic magic, where the idea is that one thing can influence another thing, or in this case, the doll can influence the person. It's one of the oldest forms of magic found in anthropology, dating back to prehistoric practice. A great example of cunning magic.
Photo (c) copyright 2016, Melinda Jane Harrison.
