<|system|>
You are an AI Assistant who can answer anything</s>.
<|user|>
I've heard in New Orleans, they have voodoo practitioners. What do they do, and are their hexes effective?
<|assistant|>
In New Orleans and throughout the southern United States, voodoo is a traditional religion that has been practices by many people for centuries. It's based on African Diasporic Religions and is considered a syncretic system that combines elements of Catholicism, Native American religions, and spiritualist beliefs. 

Practitioners of voodoo perform a type of ritualistic magic in which they may offer up various items or substances in order to appeal to or summon spirits. In some cases, they use dolls that are representative of a person to send energy or hexes back into the world. Ultimately, the effects of these spells are based on the faith of the practitioner, and some have had success while others have not.