Roots Branches & Spirits: The Folkways of Appalachian Witchery by H. Byron Ballard

Reviewed by Jeanne

There have been a number of books on Appalachian folk magic, remedies, and lore in the past few years, so I was not surprised to see another one pop up.  What did surprise me was the call number, but I am not a cataloger so we will let that go.

I was also surprised by the somewhat lengthy but very interesting discussion of the history of the region and how “cultural strip mining” has affected the land and its inhabitants.  She also is careful to denote that Appalachia isn’t a single place, made up of just one sort of people; it is a diverse region. 

She rather eases the reader into the concepts of mountain magic and spiritualty, tossing in a meditation here and a bit of folklore there (a lot of mast means a bad winter, for instance) before moving into the “witchery” part. 

Even that is accompanied by information on various aspects of the environment, life, folklore, and folkways.  For example, she discusses music and gives examples of work songs as being forms of incantations: “Churn butter churn!/ Come butter come!/ A little good butter/Is better than none” is also a charm to keep spirits from stealing the butter. She traces the song back to 1650, noting how far and well it has traveled.

The rest of the book is divided up by topics such as Mountain Kitchen Witchery, Healing and Herb Lore, Signs and Omens, and such.  The author gives a great deal of context and background for each item, which I really enjoy.  She covers some use of plants, making dolls, salves, tinctures, and other items—some with magical overtones, some not. I especially liked the discussion of how to make cornbread, in which the author notes that there are those who sweeten cornbread and those who don’t, and never the twain shall meet.  (I once worked with a person who averred, “If God had meant for there to be sugar in cornbread, He’d have called it cake.”)

The last section is entitled “Hillfolk Gothic: Haints and Haint Tales” which she distinguishes from “Southern Gothic.” “Hillfolk Gothic” is a state of “delighted endarkenment,” because humans haven’t made much of an impression on these old mountains.  I particularly enjoy her use of language.

I appreciated the list of resources at the end and the list of citations, which included references to books as diverse as Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders, Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia by Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr, and Canning and Preserving with Ashley English by Ashley English.

If you are just looking for material on spells, charms, or magic, you may be disappointed but if you are interested in the history, culture, and folklore of Southern Appalachia, I think you will feel well rewarded.