Florida Water: African Tradition, Black Resilience, and Ancestral Power
From the plantation to the protest line, Florida Water has carried the scent of survival for generations.
In 1808, Murray & Lanman’s Florida Water was launched as “America’s Perfume.” A take on the European eau de cologne yet made far more affordable. Created in large batches using alcohol, citrus oils, spices and floral essences rather than rare flowers. It produced a zesty that was marketed and received by white middle and upper-class customers as a wonderfully refreshing fragrance. It was affordable and readily available at general stores and drug stores. It was a hit with everyone. Imagine entering a space with a fragrance in the air that reminds you of home or religious practice. Many of the enslaved made a mental note. For about 60 years there were stolen moments of potions and prayers while preparing the Masters bath, clothes, fixing the Mrs. hair or possibly misting bed linens.
A Survival Guide
In West and Central African cosmology, water a sacred medium. It restores balance, invites blessings, and protects against spiritual harm. Herbal infusions, fragrant oils, and ritual washes have long been part of African life. It’s used to cleanse the body, uplift the spirit, and connect with ancestors.
When Africans were enslaved and brought to the Americas, these spiritual practices survived. However, they were quietly practiced. When slave owners demanded slaves practice of their chosen faith, the traditions were then merged with Christianity. This was done with ease because of the rich imagery and instructions the bible offers regarding water, plants. Fragrance and ritual cleansing. Here are a few examples.
Purification through washing – “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean” (Isaiah 1:16).
Herbs and healing – “…their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12).
Anointing with fragrant oil – “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).
Blessing and protection – “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24).
The use of scented water, herbs, and anointing oils was not only culturally familiar but also biblically sound. Thus, these verses were confirmations of their original belief system
Florida Water, with its citrus-floral scent and liquid base, could be considered the answer to prayer. It could be used for:
Cleansing baths before prayer or important events.
Anointing one, self or others for protection.
Blessing homes and altars in preparation for worship.
Its use has always met religious and cultural thresholds by keeping alive the African understanding of water and scent—and the Christian ideology by echoing biblical acts of purification, healing, and blessing.
Florida Water and Hoodoo Practice
This takes us directly into Hoodoo which is a system of African American spiritual magic rooted in African spirituality, with influences by Native Americans. Florida Water became a versatile tool of choice (Chireau, 2003; Anderson, 2008).
It was incorporated into:
Spiritual cleansing baths – often with basil, hyssop, or other herbs to remove negativity.
Protection rituals – wiping down doorways and windows to keep harmful influences away.
Love work – adding to laundry water or personal grooming to attract affection.
Altar offerings – as a fragrant presentation to spirits or ancestors.
Imagine years of practicing Hoodoo rituals with a product that was readily available to an owner. Maybe they were given Florida Water as a gift. Years of connecting spiritually to a land, a people thousands of miles away seeking strength, love and protection through the fragrant waters and prayer. That’s powerful.
Jim Crow
After the Civil War, Reconstruction brought a brief window of political engagement and mobility for African Americans. Note the Civil War ended in 1865. By the late 1870 white supremacist began the process of successfully dismantling the gains of the newly freed slaves. Jim Crow laws were created to enforced to ensure racial segregation in schools, transportation, housing, and public facilities (Woodward, 1974). Violent voter suppression tactics, lynching, and economic exploitation were widespread (Tolnay & Beck, 1995).
For Black communities, survival meant navigating constant racial hostility. Some practiced prayer only, others sought assistance from the ancestors and then there were those who combined the two. African-derived spiritual traditions provided not just religious meaning but also emotional and psychological support during this very cruel time. Thus, a bottle of Florida Water could be fully loaded with secrets, and no one would be the wiser. After all, it’s just a bottle of perfume
A Fragrance of Resilience
Florida Water has traveled from the plantation to the Jim Crow streetcar, to civil rights marches, to Black beauty salons, barbershops, and now into the botanicas. It remains a highly sought after and praised product that connects people.
References
Anderson, J. (2008). Conjure in African American society. LSU Press.
Chireau, Y. P. (2003). Black magic: Religion and the African American conjuring tradition. University of California Press.
Thompson, R. F. (1984). Flash of the spirit: African and Afro-American art and philosophy. Vintage.
Tolnay, S. E., & Beck, E. M. (1995). A festival of violence: An analysis of Southern lynchings, 1882–1930. University of Illinois Press.
Woodward, C. V. (1974). The strange career of Jim Crow. Oxford University Press.