Interviewer: Did your family ever warn you against any supernatural beliefs such as ghosts or evil spirits? 

E: I guess Nigerian is a very spiritual culture, so we have things like juju.

Interviewer: What’s juju? 

E: It’s a spiritual system of belief, I guess. My relatives used to tell me that some people have certain capabilities that they can use for evil.

Interviewer: Have you ever been warned to be careful so that somebody doesn’t use their capabilities against you? 

E: Absolutely. It was always vague and never fully described to me how somebody might hex me, but it sure did scare me as a kid. I guess it’s a good thing because I was extra careful with strangers. 

Context: The informant is a student at the University of Southern California, majoring in business of cinematic arts. Her family is Nigerian, but she grew up in England. 

Analysis:

Juju is a supernatural worldview that involves using charms and spells that are believed to hold power. The informant didn’t grow up in Nigeria, so her relationship with this belief was limited to her family. An interesting thing that she mentioned during the interview was that it deterred her from interacting with strangers. This belief functions as a form of protection. Warnings about possible bad juju might have protected her from trusting strangers. Folk belief can function as a way of enforcing social norms.