THE RABBIT FOOT
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The belief that a rabbit's foot is lucky seems to have become a commonplace of American popular culture, but at one time in the past this belief was considered a Southern superstition, specifically one of strictly African-American origin. And from what i have read in older books on folklore, in earlier decades, it was only the left hind foot of the rabbit that was considered lucky and the bearer had to rub it to activate the luck. In addition, some people back then believed that the rabbit's foot was a source of protective magic in addition to bringing good fortune.
When i was a kid i was given a rabbit's foot that was dyed bright pink and affixed to a little brass-coloured end-cap and strung on bead-chain. I took it to school (this was Will Rogers Elementary School in Santa Monica, Caifornia, circa 1955-56) and i showed it around and a pinch-faced little white Southern boy said, and i quote, "That's a Nigger hoodoo foot."
I did not know what "Nigger" or "hoodoo" meant, so i went home and asked my mother, a left-wing German Jewish refugee. She explained that "'Nigger' means 'Schwartze' but it's not a nice word, so you should say 'Negro' instead," and "hoodoo is a kind of magic, probably like Voodoo." She also told me that dyeing the rabbit's foot pink was "a cheap and modern idea, typical American...typical."
Here's another rabbit foot memory from my childhood -- a 1950 roadside advertisement:
On curves ahead
Remember, sonny
That rabbit's foot
Didn't save
The bunny
Burma-Shave
Images of the lucky rabbit foot were most common in the era before World War Two. I have seen the foot charm depicted on a "Good Luck" postcard of the 1910s (tied with a red ribbon, much as raccoon penis bone charms are tied), and on several North American Good Luck Coins of the 1930s. It also appears on the label of Lucky Mon-Gol Curio Number XI, a 1930s era hoodoo incense powder.
As for the foot itself, a circa-1940 mail order catalogue from the Standard O and B Supply Company, a Chicago-based distributor of African-American hoodoo material, offered undyed rabbit foot charms "made with a metal band and a link to attach on chain." The Johnson-Smith Novelty Company offered identical charms in its 1941 catalogue. The advertisement shown here goes these one better and promises a free vial of Van Van oil with each rabbit's foot; the formula is a Louisiana hoodoo favourite that "clears away that evil mess" and increases the strength of any good luck charm to which it is applied. Since none of the older catalogues or ads mention any colour when describing rabbit's foot charms, it can be assumed that the items were undyed and came only in natural tan or white.
Symbolic representations of the rabbit foot have become rare now, possibly due to the contemporary interest in "animal rights." But while Johnson-Smith no longer offers rabbit foot key chain charms for sale, traditional rabbit foot charms, both dyed and undyed, are still manufactured and remain part of the hoodoo stock in trade. Contemporary conjure bags in my collection that contain rabbit foot charms include a "Fast Luck" bag and a "Wishing Bag." The rabbit feet in these bags are natural in colour and not dyed.
Why is the rabbit foot lucky? I am not sure. Rabbits are swift and they reproduce prolifically, but the luck of the rabbit foot is monetary and sexual; as far as i know, it is not related to swiftness or fertility. There is considerable evidence that the lucky rabbit foot is a remnant of an African clan totem, an importation related somehow to Br'er Rabbit, the famous protagonist of an African trickster-god myth-cycle.
And what about the left hind foot of a Jackalope? Is that lucky? Luckier than a rabbit's foot?
Here is a quick link-list to the illustrated Lucky W pages containing key chain and key ring amulets:
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RABBIT FOOT CHARM WITH VAN VAN OIL (ASSORTED COLOURS)
2" long, assorted colours, mounted, for mojo bag or key chain. With a vial of genuine Van Van Oil for anointing the charm. (click here for a complete list of Dressing Oils.) |
$4.00
ZOO-RAB-FOOT
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