Wiktionary
n. (context US dialect English) A charm, amulet or talisman, of African origin.
Wikipedia
A Gris-gris is a hoodoo talisman
The term may also refer to:
Gris-gris, also spelled grigri, and sometimes also "gregory" or "gerregery", is a Voodoo amulet originating in Africa which is believed to protect the wearer from evil or brings luck, and in some West African countries is used as a method of birth control. It consists of a small cloth bag, usually inscribed with verses from the Qur'an and containing a ritual number of small objects, worn on the person.
Usage examples of "gris-gris".
The smells of the drying herbs above the cold parlor hearth, the sulfury whiff of the gunpowder she used in her gris-gris, the mildewy scent inextricably tied, in his mind, to every memory of New Orleans all these impressed themselves on him, like the unspeaking presence of that deity who lived in the blackpainted bottle on her shelf.
He wasn’t sure whether that was just one of Mae’s whims or if it was a gris-gris to keep him from straying, but the hoop, shining gold against his long black hair, was the final little touch that made Achille look just like one of New Orleans’s pirate legends.
He wore a tunic of white Egyptian cotton, hung with gris-gris necklaces, and his baggy sleeves bulged with herbs and charms.