Browse:"CHANNEL DE WORLD" (Volume 5, entries 10604–13458)/Part 2
"CHANNEL DE WORLD"
Volume 5, entries 10604–13458. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
1 listed entry is unavailable here.
Entries
Entry 10684
If a person wishes you bad luck it's a very destructive thing- Fred- ericksburg, Va., (44), by Ediphone.]
Entry 10685
What do you do with the banana peeling?) A banana peeling is something you burn, that's something to burn. Yoa can Cke a banana peeling and burn it, and take it after it's powdered, and yoa can make a person heart - the doctor [an H. D.] be seearing that a person got heart trou- ble - by feeding 'en or giv- ing them that banana peeling [powder] in water to drink. And they be sick, and don't need nothing else but that banana peeling, and the doctor be swearing that person's got ordinary heart trouble. And when you stop giving it to 'em, stop feeding it to 'em, there won't be no more trouble. [Presumably this is believed to be a device by which a hoodoo doctor gives a person heart trouble and then cures him.]
Entry 10686
Person running a gambling house soaks dice in banana oil to make customers lose. [Presumably this belief is based upon the belief or fact about a banana peeling being slippery.]
Entry 10687
[There are two types of baths in HOODOO: the ordinary bath to clean yourself, the real bath water, and the ceremonial bath for numerous purposes such as gambling luck (see PARSLEY in this section), for health, love, etc.] Stop up bath water in a bottle, set it in sun until hot and foamy, add salt and pepper; you'll begin to itch and burn, "you have come under their curse."
[Washington, D. C., 822:6.]
Entry 10688
After you have taken a bath, they can get some of that water and stop it up in a bottle, and of course they can bury that, and that will cause your body to dry up and waste away - something like you have a wasting disease.
Entry 10689
They skim de bath water an' they cooks that in with de husband's food an' that'll make him have a weak stomach. He will always feel sick an' he won't want to go anywhere an' per- haps - de woman do that to keep him at home, to keep him from running around. It ties up his nachure [na- ture]. He don't have any feeling towards her at all, no more than a - be a slave in de home for her, while she'll be out running around with different other guys. That puts her to be free amongst men an' him a slave at home. Use de bath water.
Entry 10690
[Here is one of the great measuring rites in HOODOO, simple and syml bolical. Though informant explains everything in the first paragraph, there is more here than meets the eye at a quick glance.l I heard one dat yo' cud git a bay stick - lak yo' wanted to run somebody away from a place - git a bay stick, an' go to dey house early in de morning 'fore de sun rise. Use it dere. Measure off space. An' measure off three turns from it.[Measure four stick lengths away from the door - see later.1 Go to de running stream of watah an' drive it in dat runnin' stream of watah. An' long as dat watah runs he runs. (You get a stick from a fig [bay] tree. How long did you say it was?) [If the length had been given, it was before recording began. Now I want informant to repeat.] Have to be three feet long. (I didn't understand what you meant by measuring. [Here is another excuse for more details.] Tell me what you meant by measuring.) Take a stick from de tree as though dis match [here] is [the stick] heah an' yo' measure it [measure match to see that it is 3 feet long]. Measure it lak dat. [Informant begins to measure.] Den turn it over lak dat, an' den turn it ovah lak dat, three times, an' tell him to go, an' he'll leave, an' yo' go drive it [stick] in de water, an' 'fore sunrise he'll be gone.
(You measure three feet from the doorstep?)
No, yo' stick de stick right up to de do'step an' turn it ovah, an' as yo' turn it ovah yo' be tellin' him to go all de time. An' aftah yo' do dat, well run down to de stream of water an' jes' as fast as yo' go to dat stream of water, where it's runnin' all de time, well dat's jes' as fast as he goin' leave town. (As if you were measuring a piece of cloth or something, you keep turning the rule [stick] over, three times. You turn this stick over three times right from the doorstep away from his house.) Runs him away. (You have to go out and cut this stick.) [This is not a stick you pick up anywhere, it is new wood, freshly cut.] Gotta go out an' cut it, cut it exactly three feet.
Entry 10691
Dey don' need tuh go from dey home.... Yo' see, lak mah chil'ren, ah kin stay home an' do dat. Ah'll stay home an' fix dat tongue an' fix it dere, lak co't coming out tuhmorrow, yo' see. Ah'm goin' fix dat tuhmorrow mawnin'. [For these beef tongue rites in court cases, see Nos.8956-8985, Pp.3635-3650, (What about these red beans now?) Now, ah'm home an' ah take dem red beans. Go home wit a pack of red beans, turn ever'thing upside down; table an' ever'thing in de house gotta be turned upside down. Dat's in order fo' dem tuh be all upsetted an' dey cain't explain deyself in co't. Turn de table an' all upside down. [For turning everything in house upside down, see Nos.9162, 9169, p.3709 & 3710, v.4, and many places.] Now, de co't'll come off at nine a-clock. Dey said nine. Now, jis' about de time yo' think de co't's comin' off, all right dat's when yo' go tuh work an' kick dat pack of beans ovah. Yo' see. Dat'll destroy ever'thing. Ever'thing in co't. [Has this anything to do with the expression spilling the beans?]
Entry 10692
Dey use tinpan's an' things for a swarm of bees. Yo' see a swarm of bees in de air, yo' go an' git chew two tinpans an' beat 'em. [Uninterested because this was ordinary folklore, I turned off machine, but when I heard the word sheet I restarted and explain what I had missed.]
(You put a sheet over your head while you are beating those tinpans?)
Jes' when dey up in de air, jes' beat an' all of 'em come on yo', if yo' want a [hive] of bees. Jes' beat 'em wit dat tinpan an' thing an' dey all sll come on yo'. An' take an' make yo' some gumbo [a soup or stew thickened with okra pods] right where yo' put 'em down at, an' dey'll stay dere an' make yo' a hive an' yo' got chew a huve of bees. [That word huve was a have or huve - froa hover?]
(What do you put that sheet over your head for?)
Tuh keep 'em from stingin' yo'. [This was new to me. Was that the original purpose?]
Entry 10693
And what will she have to do [to bring the man back?]. All right. She'll have to get her some benzoin. Benedict. You know, they call that ben- zoin; some persons call it benedict. See? It's a little weed. It grows some- thing like cor you understand. Call it benedict. [Here I turn off machine un- til informant says something about the French, which starts machine again.] (The French all it what?) Benzoin. (You mean the French [speak- ing people] here in New Or- leans call it benzoin?) But it's benedict. [For the identity of this plant, see my comment at end of rite.l You take that benedict and popcorn - see, this small popcorn - and grind that up fine, fine, and make a powder out of it. You understand. And she make a powder out of that. Take and put it in her mattress, right where he going to sleep; where he have been sleeping at [before he left]. You understand what I mean. And just leaves it there, you see. And get her a dog, any kind of dog, see. And let him [dog] lay on that. Tie him on there if he won't stay there. Tie him on there nine days and he [man] will come back again.
(Well, what has that dog got to do with it?)
That dog puts a heat to it somehow or other. I don't know, that what they [person who sold this substance to him] told me. The dog puts a heat to it, you understand.
(And what happens to it then, when it's heated?)
When it's heated, it foams, see. It makes a foam, swell. See, that bed is there and that corm, whatsomever, it swells up.
(And what will it do if it swells?)
After it swells, he [man] coming back there. Oh yeah, he coming. He going to leave this other woman. That breaks them up. [Informant says: They call that benzoin; some person call it benedict...a lit- tle weed. It grows something like corn [[surely maize = Zea Mays]]. Benedict must be a popular or a trade name. Benzoin means one of two things: (l) It is or was a balsamic resin from Styrax benzoin and other species of Styrax in Jaca, Sumatra, Siam, etc. It is used as a stimulant; incense, perfume, etc. (2) Ben- zoin is also the name of a small genus of aromatic shrubs of the laurel family [lmracese] having two North American species with popular names: (a) spicebush or spicewood and (b) benjamin bush. Informant's benzoin or benedict was probably anything his hoodoo drug store or mail-order house sold him.]
Entry 10694
Oil of evergreen [wintergreen?], oil of berga- mine [bergamot], mix those two things, rub some of it in your han' when your time tuh shoot chure craps.
Entry 10695
Oil of bergamine [bergamot] and some oil of wintergreen when yo' go tuh gamblin', jis' rub some of it on yore han' an' some White Rose Perfume.
Entry 10696
Git oil of Bergamine [bergamot] an' oil of cedar an' oil of cloves an' mix it all together, an' mop wit dat. Continually mop yore house in it an' yo' have luck that way. Jis' mop it, mop yore whole house.[ This is one of many scrubs in HOODOO.] (They do this for bootlegging. What does she do for luck to bring in customers?)
Entry 10697
Yo' go to a fortuneteller or Hoodoo and pay them a certain amount of money to have what is known as good luck to follow your home while you are gone. And it is said that she would tell you for this amount [of money given to her] to buy de Bible and not open it. Open it in de house [itself] and find de 17 division of Psalms, Psalms of David, [close Bible] and walk in yore garden and git as near de center as possible [here is a quincunx rite!] not yet opening Bible. And turn yore face as near towards de east as possible, and valk 17 steps and stop, and read de 17 division of de Psalms, and den close de book. And no harm will befall yore home or nuthin will happen to yore wife. (This is to sort of to protect your family; especially if a man is going away from home?) Yes, that's on leaving home. The same thing holds good, de wuman tole me, if a man's wife leaves him and he wants her to return.
Entry 10698
[Unlike the preceding rite, a hoodoo one, this following example can be religious, though mechanical. These I often did not collect or collected later discarded.] If it wus me an ah thought some- body wus tryin' tuh harm me, zh'd git de Bible an' ah'd read de 4th chapter of Psalms; from de 4th chapter of Psalms to de 17th chapter of Psalms. Ah'd read de 4th chapter of Psalms espec- ially. Den ah'd read de llth chapter of Psalms and de 8th chapter of Psalms. 血' all de time ah readin' dem Psalms, why don't forgit de prayer - de Our Rnther Prayer.
Entry 10699
Well, yo' wants tuh win. Wherever yo' goin' yo' wants tuh win. Yo' Bo into de gamblin' place an' yo' takes a Bible an' read de 23rd Psalms. Repeat it three times befo' leavin' home, an' on de way repeat it along, an' along until yo' git dere.
Entry 10700
A long and unimportant story in which healer read the Bible and rubbed the patient. [Hor- ally this sort of thing could be called religious, but frequently magic actons a words may be involved.]
Entry 10701
Yo' kin pray an' read Proverbs, first chapter in de second verse an' dey'll bring it back [vhatever mas stolen from you. Proverbs 1:2 is meaningless here]. Hit was a sanctified lady once, wus a girl stole her pockitbook, an' she did dat an' she brought it back to de church.
(Do you belong to the Sanctified Church?)
Yes sir.
Entry 10702
Well, yo' would turn to Psalms. Yo' read dat. Yo' read de six: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by de God who made us all, if (whomsomevah it is, yo' call dem by dere name) is got sech an' sech a thing, why Bible let me know by wheelin' an' fall. Well, if dey got it, dat Bible will wheel an' fall. Whosomevah wus in de house, yo' follow de names around till yo' git to de right one.
Entry 10703
Yo' kin take de Bible, fo' one thing with a key, an' if yo' an' I wus in heah. or three - foah of us, yo' kin call de rights one name. see. an' yo' kip tell exactly who it is, if yo' know how tuh turn it. It goin' tell de truth. Now bringin' it [stolen article back, ah don't know 'bout bringin' it back, but yo' kin tell who it is. True. [This is an incomplete Bible and key rite, a very common type of divination. You ask the Bible "yes' and "no answer ques- tions: Did John Jones take my pocketbook? If so, the Bible will turn and the key will fall, meaning "yes." There are examples of this rite scattered in HOODO0.]
Entry 10704
Well, if de house is ha'nted an' yo' can't git rid of de ha'nts, if yo've got a Bible, jest sleep wit it under yore haid. Dat'll stop de ha'nts.
Entry 10705
Well, if you wanted tuh be protected from de spirits, ghostes or things - wanta rest - lak if dey worrying yo' at night, yo' take a Bible an' lay it right under yore pillah wide open. An' yo' kin go to sleep an' rest all night long, and it won't no ghost an' no evil spirit or nuthin lak dat bother yo'.
Entry 10706
If a person come in an' yo' don't want dem dere, when he comes in, jest sweep him de way he come in. Sweep out his track jest as he come in, de Way he come in, if yo' don't want him dere. An' finally his conscience will jest lead him [to stay away]. Dat's jest de way yo' do de way ah jest tole yo'. Yo' kin talk nice to him an' say ah haven't got so-an'-so. Well, den if he continue to be comin' after dis, yo' git dat book an' put it under yore head an' read it, an' yo' git relieved from him.
(What is the name of that book?)
It's de Bible de 37th Psalms.
(You just put that Bible under your head?)
Entry 10707
To make de house lucky, if rentin' a house.... Yo' take dis salt an' put it in de Bible or in a leaf [torn from Bible] an' put it on a shelf an' jes' leave it dere. Yo' kin put it in a small place, yo' see [where it will not be seen] an' yo' won' have any trouble rentin' yo' house. (You just wrap this salt up in this leaf from the Bible. You tear the leaf out of the Bible?) Yo' kin take de leaf outa de Bible, 'cause yo' see if yo' leave de whole Bible up dere, dat's suspicious.
claimed house-rental luck from the described salt/Bible placement. Keep Bible OR leaf wording and later permission to remove a leaf because a whole Bible would arouse suspicion; no mandatory whole-book placement. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 4050) · Read full source (printed page 4051)
Entry 10708
Yo' take the Bible or a leave [leaf] out of the Bible an' wrap it in salt an' [red] peppah, wrap dis leaf up. An' it's jes' a few words that yo' pray ovah it. Then yo' take it wit yo' an' he'll come purtty near givin' yo' a job.
Entry 10709
De cedar tree an' de leaf from a Bible, an' jes' carry it with yo' an'.... Yo' git dose strips from a cedar tree an' de leaf from a Bible an' [leaf from] a fig tree, an' dat will make a person follow yo', when yo' in love with 'em.
Entry 10710
[They] take it [sulphur] and they're burning it. Read a certain chapter in the Bible [given later]. If you read it for - like if today's [today it is] at twelve and tomor- row evening at six, and six tomorrow morning, and maybe twelve tomorrow night - for three nights. Contains nine [see comment later] nights because you use it as a different hour. And then you pray over it. And if it's a person that you and them can't get along, and you burn that sulphur, each time that you reads a chapter [= preceding pray Over it]. Well, then they'll finally move away.
(At six and twelve each day for nine days.)
For three days. [Here I stop machine and restart it to repeat missed words.]
(Read the chapter of the 100th Psalm.)
[Here is a time rite I did not fully understand during its recording. At a later date and with greater experience, there would have been more questions. Even at the interview doubt appears in my words: At six and twelve each day for rine days. Actually, informants nine was a slip of the tongue. Hence, for 3 days a person reads Psalm loO [meaningless for the present purpose] and burns sulphur at 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock, night or day. These 3 times are staggered over the three-day period, no two at the same hours. As I have said somevhere in HOODOO, burning sulphur in a room can be a rugged adventure. Therefore, at the end of 3 days burning, who moves, enemy or burner?]
Entry 10711
( Git de featbers out de bird nest aa' bar den, an' dey take dat an' put it in a person's hat, an' dat runs 'en crazy.
[Mephis, 1519:8.]
Entry 10712
Ah heard dey tke, not de egg, dey take where a bird sit at in dat nest an' take some of de trash out of dat.
(The manure.)
Yes sir, an' put it in dat, an' yo' can't stay nowhere.
(Put it where?)
Put it in whiskey or tea or coffee, an' give yo' wandering mind.
(That gives you a wandering mind.)
Entry 10713
Jis' lak yo' git someone's hair, yo' kin git de bird nest an' fold dat up an' throw it in runnin' watah. Well, dat'll run yo' crazy lak dat. Jis' makes yo' go crazy, yo' jis' always be on de path - dat's runnin' 'em. (You put this hair in the bird's nest and sew this up in some- thing?) Yes, yo' throw it in de watah.
Entry 10714
Yo' take de bird nest an' yo' git cayenne peppah an' salt, an' yo' put it down where a person has tuh walk.
(What are you going to do with that salt and pepper?)
Yo' mix it with de bird nest. Destroy de bird nest an' yo' sprinkle dat salt an' peppah with it, an' sprinkle it where a person has tuh walk, dat yore enemy, an' he wouldn't harm yo' in any way. (What will that make them do?) Dat will make dem leave.
Entry 10715
Ah heard dat chew could take a bird nest. Yo' could take a bird nest if dere wuz someone interfere [interfering] with yo' in yore business or livin' in yore sec- tion close about chew. Yo' take a bird nest an' take some table salt an' put it in dis bird nest, an' take dis nest an' throw it up on top of de house. Any per- son botherin' yo', dey'll move out an' keep goin'.
(Throw it on top of the house of the person that is bothering you?)
Yessuh. Dat's right, take de bird nest an' put de salt in it. An' jes' tear it down, jes' sit dere an' tear it down, an' put dat salt in it, an' throw it up on top of somebody house. Let de nest be fulla salt an' dey will scatter - dey'll move on out.
Entry 10716
Dey says takin' a bird nest. Now, dat's somethin', de same thing of love, of married life. Like if yo' wanted a girl, yo' know, an' she doesn't seem tuh care anythin' fo' yo', yo' jes' take de bird nest down an' yo' take, taht if yo' kin git anything of hers, an' put it in dere, an' put it in dis nest, an' sew it up in a piece of new homespun an' yo' wear it yourself yo' see. An' den yo' take de perfume an' put on dat an' jes' yo' know, lak yo' be round her an' yo' know how like girls will be round yo', an' put dere ban's in yore pocket yo' know, an' take de han'kerchief out. Yo' may grab it, but see, she git de scent of dat. Dat'll change her mind an' she do jes' lak yo' wanted her do.
(You put this bird's nest into the handkerchief?)
In de han'kerchief. An' yo' puts dis Hearts Perfume. Jes' don't take nuthin out de bird nest. Jes' take de whole nest right up an' puts it in dis lil' piece of homespun. Den yo' put it in a han'kerchief 'cause yo' want it on it fo' nine mawnin's with dis Hearts Perfume in it. See, when yo' put it in dere, yo' more den apt tuh put it in yore pocket, yo' see. Well, when yo' put dis han'kerchief in yore pocket, dey more den apt tuh grab it. When dey grab, yo' know, yo' goin' have somethin' in dere, but yo' won't have it in de han'kerchief so dey can't shake it out. Well, whenevah she git de scent of dat, why it won't be long 'fore she goin' follow yo'. Well, dat's nuthin but jes' tuh make love.
Entry 10717
Ah'll tell yo', whether it's a woman or man, if she leaves yo' an' yo' wanta git her back, why yo' git chew three grains of cor [maize], an' three strands of her hair, an' if dere any way yo' kin git her track, pick up yo' [your] dirt out of each one of her track - three tracks. An' yo' put dat in yore shoe, umdah yore bottom shoe [insole] whut yo' wear. Lift dat [insole] up an' put it udah dere, an' yo' wear dat. An' she'll come back. See, an' when she come back, an' den, if yo' want her tuh stay dere, yo' go an' git chew a bird nest an' yo' put some sulphur an' salt in dat bird nest an' burn it. Make yo' a little fire an' burn it in de chimley so yo' kin git de scent of it, an' she can't leave yo' no way; can't go an' leave him, de man or woman, which one wanta do it.
(Do you wear that corn in your shoe also?)
Put dat cor an' de hair an' dat sand in yore shoe.
Entry 10718
Ah nevah heard of 'em using a fish, but ah've heard of 'em using a bird. Dey take de two birds to find out whethah a woman is guilty of fornication or not...a man with his wife. Yo' take de two birds - yo' ketch de two an' take [hold] dem ovah runnin' watah, an yo' kill one an' let de othah one go, an' if she's guilty she swells up.
(What two birds do you take?)
It didn't say any certain birds, jest two fowl of de air. [This rite comes from a book, as informant's last statement shows. Nine informants preceding present one, this two-bird rite Was given in a different and expanded form. Rei versing this order, the longer rite now follows this present one.]
Entry 10719
An old note of ine in red ink reads: Good ills- tration of "intention"[[pover of what you intend to doll & my difficulty trying to have informant say without putting my words into his outh.] Yo' could take a bird - yo' know birds mating, yo' know birds, an' take too of 'em whut mates an' take an' cut one of 'em's throat an' let de blood run in de nmnin' watah, an' loose de othah one. De othah one, dat will svell up an' die. Dat jest de way de man do, whensomevah yo' have an enemy dat gives yo' any- thing lak dat. Dey'll swell up an' die. (Well, how do you know that anyone will die? Do you have to do something else with that?) He jest take sick. Yo' put dat blood in dat runnin' watah. Ketch 'em both, but when yo' git 'em to de watah, cut one of 'em's throat an' let de blood run in de watah, an' loose de othah one. An' de one whut's a bad enemy against yo'; dey'll take sick - go to swelling up. (Well, how do you connect these birds with the enemy? Don't you have to con- nect them in some way?) Well, yo' kin jest tell de enemy, yo' know, he take sick. Yo' know who is by his taking sick. He takes sick den an' he keeps alingering an' he swell up an' die.
(When you are doing this, you have to have the enemy in mind.)
De enemy in mind, whosomevah is a enemy against me. Yo' may not know jest who it is, but yo' know yo's [you hasl a mortal enemy about. Yo' know lak dat. Yo' have it in yore mind lak dat.
(You take any kind of birds that are mates.)
Dat are mates.
Entry 10720
You are hunting a job and you have a particular boss you want. Well, every time you go to that boss and ask him for a job, take cinnamon and sugar in your pocket and birdeye seed, and whenever you go on that job, put this [seed] down [where you Work and in] your pocketbook with the cinnamon and sugar and birdeye seed. That will make him have a sweet disposition towards you and keep a birdeye [bird's eye] upon you and always give you your job. [Birdeye or bird's-eye seed must be a package of seed sold by a hoodoo store.]
Entry 10721
Ah got in a fight with a boy, an' mah grandmother - yo' know, ole fo folks dey are very active - she say, "Come here, boy, yo' got in a fight?" Say, "Yes mam." She say, "Whut chew do?" Ah say, "Ah bit dat boy plenty a place." She say, "Looky heah, come heah an'( Grandmah fix yo' up." She got a little sulphur an' a little kerosene, yo' know, an' she fixed a little bag, yo' know, an' she put it down dere undah mah bed; yo' know, up in de mattress - whut chew call a moss mat- tress [Spanish moss mattress]. Ah say, "Whut chew do dat fo'?" She say, "Don't chew know if yo' bit somebody an' yo' don't take care of yo'- self; don't chew know, dat dey will take bird manure [usually chicken manure] or some kinda manure lak dat, an' 'noint dis place lak yo' would [use] some grease on mah [your] bare face; yo' know, keep dat place [bite] 'nointed dere well, ' she say, "an' yore teeth will drop out." She tole me dat several time. Dey [person bitten] keep dat place 'nointed wit dat manure some kind. She say, every tooth in yore [biter's] head will drop out. (But she would prevent that by doing this.... [sulphur-kerosene hand in the mattress].) Put dis stuff undah mah bed an' dat will keep de othah stuff from coming back at me. [For the treatment of human bite with chicken manure, see Nos.
Entry 10722
De mon' of...any mon' dat choo born in is cause zhoo to have bad luck. Take like you born in August or I'm born August...zhoo born in March, it's a windy mon'. An' if I is born in March, it's a absent-minded. [Birthday - year month and day - is important in HOODOO, all numbers having mean- ing, but I found little interest in astrology among my informants; it was a lit- tle too abstract, dull perhaps. Besides, I was not looking for astrologers. What we call astrology today has grown like a forest fire, thanks to charts seen daily in newspapers and elsewhere, popular songs, etc. I did look for fortune- tellers, who often did a little healing and hoodoo on the side.]
Entry 10723
He coming back to her. Go in de woods and git some blacksnake root. See, it got two little forked roots to it. An' yo' tie it up in a little han'- kerchief, see, an' git some- body dere an' put it up ovah de door, an' dat's tuh make dem leave dere. [To bring man back to woman he left, someone goes into the other woman's house and puts over her door a blacksnake root with a fork - symbol of a 'Y crossroad. He will soon leave other woman.] [St. Petersburg, Fla., (999), 1616:2.)
Entry 10724
Yo' kin go down to de forks of de road, an' yo' kin put something in a path. Yo' kin git dis root dat's called a blacksnake root. Take dis black- snake root an' yo' kin lay it at de fork of de road like dis an' [demonstrates]. Dis is de fork an' yo' lay dat root jes' at de fork, an' yo' step ovah dat place where dat root is, why yo'll go crazy. (You place that root pointing down each of these roads that meet - the forks of the road like a "Y"?) Yes sir, jest de way de roads fork, why yo' put de root. Dat's de blacksnake root.
Entry 10725
If a man leave and she wants him back, as ah have 'fore said, she kin go to work and take a few - go to work and git some of dis heah herb what dey call de blacksnake root. And she kin go to work and put dat in a bottle, an' after putting dat in a bot- tle, den she go to work an' say, In de name of Jehovah, ah wants mah husband back. An' she cast dat in de east and dat bring him back [he returns with the rising sun].
Entry 10726
Boil blacksnake root and lizard [a trouble combination], put under enemry's doorstep; if he walks over them, he'll have a headache and then loose teeth.
Entry 10727
You take blind powder. You got to buy that powder. You put it in that lettah. Well, if you open that lettah...yoa'll be glad, you see. You'll be glad to receive that lettah - Oh, I'm proud of the Eettah. An' yo' tear the lettah open, an' yo' not thinkin'...vell, the powder fly all over your face. An' you'll never see any more in the worl'. [There are a.number of these nuisance or threatening letters in HOODOO, but no hoodoo mer- chant in his right mind would sell such an article.]
Entry 10728
De instinct or de blood - understand me, from de index finger here [demonstrates]. (Well what do they [do], squeeze the blood from the index finger?) [This is not a leading question. He, like so many before him is acting: pretending to prick his finger and to squeeze out blood.] Yeah, an' you kin take de brand-new tin plate and you take de needle, understand me, and prick your index finger till it bleeds. And write dat name down in dat brand-new tin plate and bury it with de point down dere - I mean with de tin plate down here. Den you write one verse of de 16th chapter of Ezekiel and de 6th verse. [He repeats verse rapidly.]
(Well, now will you repeat that verse slowly for me so I can get it?)
And when I passed by and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I says unto thee, when thy wasting thy blood live, and yeah, I says unto thee when dey wast- ing thy blood, live. [This is an understandable but not an exact quotation from any version of the Bible.] Now, dat'll stop any blood from flowin' in de world; not only on human beings but on animals, of any character, anybody with a shot, cut or have a hemorrhage in any respect in life - dat will sure as God stop it.
Entry 10729
[Belief and practices concerning menstrual blood - except those in the interviews of volumes 2 and 3 - are collected in subsection "HER PRIVATE TIME numbers 2513-2540, volume 3.] You could ketch a woman during the time of her monthly minis- tration, you see. You steal it and burn it, and take the ashes from it and carry it around, why the woman would follow 'em [himl or wouldn't want anybody but dem. [To burn menstrual blood is usually dangerous; kills the woman (No.3858), keeps her home (No.3859), makes her weak-minded (No.3860), or this blood smoked in the chimney dries up woman's blood (No.3867) - all references in volume 3.]
Entry 10730
If a man an' a woman, yo' know whut ah mean, a woman an' a man in dat kind of a line. Well, yo' kin take dat an' bury it. See, jis' lak if ah jis' pulled off mah underclothes, it's gotta be somepin dat's on dose clothes so's [so as] yo' kin do anythin' lak dat. Yo' understan' whut ah mean. See, jis' lak if a woman's ministratin', it's gotta have some of dat stain on dere. See. An' dey buries dat, jis' bury it anywhere, see. An' den when dose clothes begin tuh rot well, she begin tuh linger, sick fo' a long time. An' as dose clothes be rotten, she be lingerin' sick, yo' see. An' when dose clothes finish rotten aw [a why], den dat kills her right dere.
Entry 10731
A man kin take a woman ministrate an' stop it up in a bottle an' bury it, an' when hit done fade out everythin' off it, hit'll kill her.
Entry 10732
A man bin take a woman's sanitary piece or eithah a woman [can take another woman's], if dey [she] dislike her. See, find dat piece an' put it in a bottle an' bury that bottle, an' bury that bottle an' jis' lak that piece fade away, she'll fade away, too.
Entry 10733
There's another way. I don't know right direct, but I guess they make the wishes [express intention] as the other things [rites] do. You close it [menstrual blood] up in a bottle or a can and bury it. That makes you linger.
The editor identifies [menstrual blood]; the informant says 'I don't know right direct' and guesses. Burial and lingering remain claims.
Entry 10734
Dey come an' git dey sanitary clothes an' bury 'em, an' dat cause de woman in bad health an' lak dat. An' she cain't have no chillern; see, because dey won't even ministrate.
Entry 10735
Dis woman take her [an- other woman's] periods, jes' lak one of her napkins an' bury it. Dat will make her [other woman] leave yo' [your] husban' - [alone] leave him. She won' bother with him.
(Will that do anything to her?)
No, it won', jes' make her, [other woman] leave him [your husband] off. He won't bother with her.
Entry 10736
Because [if] ah had a' enemy an' ah wanted tuh hurt 'em above [with- out suspicion, ah would den git a woman dat would be, yo' know, sick - yo: know monthly. See, ah'd git de drippings from her on a cloth an' plant it under de do'step of de person. Den dat would make dem deathly sick. (You would [plant] that cloth under her own step?) No. Fo' instance, if ah had a enemy, supposedly a man an' dis woman dat ah'm going with is supposed to be a woman of mine. Ah jes' git one of her Kotex clothes [cloths] dat she taken off an' plant under de steps of de man or de person dat's my enemy, an' den dat would make 'em purtty sick.
Entry 10737
If yo' take a person's ministrate, take watah, yo' know whut yo' wash things [with] an' take their ministrate an' stop it up in a bottle, an' when it dries up, they'll die.
(Just leave it in the bottle?)
Yeah, stop it up.
Entry 10738
Fo' nine mawnin's jes' drop it - jes' drop it in dere fo' nine mawn- in's.
(You save this [menstrual] blood for nine mornings?)
Fo' nine mawnin's. An' if ah wanta gain de influence of yo' mo' den whut chew is [interested] in me, ah'll cook yo' a pie, or, [if you are] a customer or sompin or [put it in] whiskey. Buy yo' a bottle of whiskey. Ah'll make it closer, an' drop it in dere - nine drops. [That statement of aine Ne in the parenthesis show I did not understand this rite at the time. My comment about informant later may ea- plain why: This woman was so long-winded she almost drove me crazy. Bnd of 1526. Not a very Christian remark about someone trying to help me, but at least it shous some of the tension under which I worked.]
Entry 10739
Whut dis man did, dat wuz down in South Ca'lina, he wuz goin' wit a girl, yo' know. Well, she say she's a big shot. Ah goes wit anybady ah worta, nobody kin hurt me. Ah qoes wit de man. Well, so - she wus purty good. She went every time. So dis man got mad one day, he says, Well, de bettah ah do, de worsah she gits tuh me. So ah think ah'm goin' do sompin. So he goes off tuh a ole woman. She wus about ninety yeahs ole. So he went tuh huh an' said, Well, now, mah ole woman don't treat me lak she used tuh an' ah wants sompin done. Okay. Says, Well, Zisten. Ah tell yo' whut chew do. Yo' go back an' de end of de mont', yo' bring me a lil' somepin of huhs in a bottle, 'cause yo' have tuh bring it in somepin lak dat; jes' a drop of two, but if yo' kin, try tuh git me nine drops. Okay, ah'Zl do dat. So sho' 'nuff, she wus nice 'nuff, watched huh yo' know, when she went tuh use de chambah. He wuz smart enuff tuh git it out of de chambah. So he got it. So he take dat an' he put, added cologne - two kinds. It wuz Lily of de Valley - an' Hearts Cologne. She mixed dat tuhgethah wit it, huh ministrate [menstrual blood] an' put it back in dis same bottle - mixed it tuhgethah yo' know. An' tole him tuh take dat an' keep it an' tote it, an' dress hisself wit it fo' three days, straight mawnin's, an' he'd speak tuh it: Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, dis woman will always be mine an' nobody else's. He didn't have no mo' trouble wit huh.
Entry 10740
Yes, ah knowed a young man 'cause he wuz goin' with me. His name wuz Joe. He wuz married to her but he didn't love her. He tole me he didn't. An' afterward [after his wife fed him these things] he said he loved her a lot bettah. An' he did have her, 'cause she fed him all de time offa dat - de periods. An' he caught her at it an' he tole me of it. An' he said dat he learned tuh hate her; yo' know, couldn't have no love fo' her.
Entry 10741
Ah heard yo' could take chicken blood when yore periods is on, an' git chew a steak an' wear it. Jes' lak at five minutes tuh twelve tuh have yore hus- ban's dinnah, yo' wear that right there, pin it an' jes' wear it there. Have yore grease good an' hot an' then yo' take it out jes' as he walk in, an' put it ovah in de skillet, see. An' then yo' fry that nice an' brown, an' yo' serve that an' [let] no one eat it but him. An' yo' cain't git rid of 'im tuh save yore life.
(You don't use chicken blood on it though?)
Yes yo' do. Yo' put chicken blood on that steak, too, an' yore blood together. [That chicken blood is for good measure. The stake itself, under normal condi- tions is sufficient; the chicken blood merely makes him chicken-hearted, an easier prey magically.]
Entry 10742
Give 'em a small dose [of menstrual blood]. It's supposed to make 'em [him] love you an' care for you, but if you give them [him] large doses they'll just pine away to skin and bones and go into the T. B. Yes, sir, with appearance blood and menstruation, see titles at beginning of subsection (2) "HER PRIVATE TIME p.2513, v.3] it's overdose that make 'em [men] go into the T. B. overdose make them go crazy or lose their mind or they can use it to make 'em love you.
Entry 10743
An' what they'll do, they take lak a woman has ministration...an' put it in a bottle. They take it to that fo'k of de road an' turn it down on de haid an' bury it. (The head of the bottle?) Yessuh. Sometime they'll put their hair in there with that ministration and that will cause them to go crazy. An' they kin take that an' put it in swift runnin' watah an that'll make 'em wander aroun' somewhere an' git drownded.
Entry 10744
Lucky Star perfume, mix it with urine, get lady's sponge she uses for monthses[?], when yo' go to gambling. Urine on sponge that has perfume on it. Rub [sponge] on hands, them gamble. Use sponge a woman has used.
Entry 10745
If she goin' over- time an' she want it tuh quit, yo' know, she wanted tuh go out an' make a date, an' it wuzn't time, she kin take some of dat stuff an' some sugah an' some nutmeg an' eat a teaspoon of it an' it will stop it.
Entry 10746
They say it'll stop your periods.
(Well, how do they do that?)
They say they take your chamber lye and put turpentine in it...
[While machine is off I ask for repetition.]
They take chamber lye and they put turpentine in it and they put cayenne red epper [to distinguish cayenne pepper from garden red peppers ground up] in it and there's some way they do with that that stops you. (Well, do you know how they fix it up?) Yeah, I seen it. (How?) They takes your chamber lue and put the cayenne pepper and the red pepper [the 2 peppers now separated] and they put it in a bottle and they bury it and that stops the periods on you.
(You heard this stops your water?)
Your periods.
(Oh, it stops your periods?)
Yeah, and it dries you up - just drift you away.
Entry 10747
Like when a woman is ministratin' by the light of the moon or ube dark of the moon. All that work [is] done with the moon. You get one of ber clothes [cloths] and bury it behind the [outside] toilet or in the [drainage] ditch [along the street or road]. jis' anywhere there is water stays at, somewhere itmiwl rot fast, and that will cause her to go crazy.
Entry 10748
"Course it's...but she don't that....
(I understand, I hear all those things.)
All right, she kin take a beefsteak and wear it twixt her legs. She kin take, you know, when the changes of the moon and beat it [beefsteak] up and cook it in his food, not too strong [with the blood] and he'll never leave her. Be right there, she got him tied, he can't get away.
The informant-side statement explicitly names a beefsteak. Later bracketed clarifications remain editorial, and no performance or claimed relationship effect is established.
Entry 10749
On the light of every moon you know she'd be sick. [No story or any- thing else.]
Entry 10750
Yo' kin write his name in your monthlies an' bury it up undah de south part of your house an' put a brick ovah that an' he nevah will leave yo'. (You write this with the blood of your monthlies. What do you write it on?) Write it on papah. Write his name an' yore name both. [The original typed word preceding the word part was side, the two words transcribed side part. On checking the cylinder, side was actually something like sud or sut, actually south, which I corrected in pencil. Years later, just now (1976), I inked in south. The sun now keeps warm the two names buried on the south side of the house. An excellent ritel]
Entry 10751
A man kin take a woman's periods an' hurt chew [the woman]. See, ah'm jes' making person [speaking personally or privately] tuh yo' now, nobody else, cause ah don' like tuh 'splain nuthin lak dat tuh no one, tuh de public. Ah jes' 'splain it tuh yo'. See, take a normal woman, an' ah kin [be] min- istratin', ah kin take dis cloth an' fiah [throw] it off. All right, yo' take it an' put [a piece of] it in de bottom of yore shoe an' weah it fo' nine mawnin's, an' yo'll draw me from miles away. If ah'm in Chicago an' [during] dem nine mawnin's yo' draw, ah'll be right whare yo' is - in nine mawnin's time. Why? Bec'use ah knows yo' got dat.
Entry 10752
If yo' ministratin' or anything, yo' take an' wash de cloth an' git de blood out of it an' stop it in a bottle. An' yo' kin take an' put it anywhere in de tree, de 'side de tree, any- where yo' wanta, an' dey won' ministrate any mo'. Dey jes' pine away. [Originally the tree was probably a pine: you pine away.]
Entry 10753
Dey'll take a woman's periods. Well, dey take it an' stop it up in a bottle an' throw it in runnin' watah, dey tell me, an' dey says de woman will jes' dwindle away to nuthin.
(They take her monthly pad?)
Yessuh.
Entry 10754
(Tell me about that ministratin' again. What do you do with it?)
Yo' kin take an' throw it in runnin' watah.
(A woman's menstruate?) [They have me turning a verb into a noun!]
Yessuh, yo' throw it in runnin' watah an' dat'll run her crazy. She'll be crazy bad. Nobody'll take dat off her, not lessen' dey'll take it [upon self] chew know. [Only a skilled rootman or hoodoo. A doc- tor could absorb such a dangerous condition into his own body!]
Entry 10755
Den, too, yo' kin take a woman's sick clothes. Yo' kin take dem an' yo' kin take, if dey already dry, yo' kin take an' wet 'em. Kinda mash 'em, yo' know, wit a little bit of dat on, an' cork dat up. An' she can't go wit no othah man. Or eithah, yo' kin take 'em, dey tell me, an' chunk it down de stream [to send away]. Chunk it upstream, says, an' she'll go( crazy.
Entry 10756
I heard 'em talking of gettin', yo' know, a woman, from her menstrua- tion period. Yo' put it in running water. And they say that'll make yo' [her] crazy; cause the blood to go to her head.
Entry 10757
A woman kin take a pair [of her] bloomers an' put it over the had [of] yo' bad unknowin'st tuh yo' an' make yo' do anything she wanted tuh make yo' do. An' yo' inhale dat thing, yo' can't help from comin' back home.
Entry 10758
If a woman wanta go out at night an' her husban' don't want her tuh go, she kin wait till her husband go tuh sleep. An' she kin take her bloomers dat she weahs an' put it right ovah his face, an' he'll sleep dere. Fo' a fac' ah know dat.
Entry 10759
After you have a bath in that water, you put household ammonia and some sugar and some blueing [in the used] water, and that will uncross your bad luck, and bring you success- ful. An' yo' take that and you throw it where the sun rise.
Entry 10760
I've heard talk of fellahs that you kin get some bluestone an' care [carry] that bluestone on you. An' they say that bluestone will make you lucky, an' if you go an' ast de man for a job [you will probably get it].
Entry 10761
They put it [bluestone] in a bag and wear it around their neck to keep away some kind of spell.
The short account describes wearing something in a bag to keep away an unspecified spell; 'bluestone' is bracketed editorial wording.
Entry 10762
Keep out witches and ha'nts [ghosts], put bluestone at four cor- ners of house and at steps. [This is a five point rite, a modificatioo of the quincunx.]
Entry 10763
Ef they git hold of somepin that yo' was eatin' off [on] see, an' tbey place it with bluestone - they have it mixed with bluestone and that [piece yoo were eating on and the bluestone] they sets up ovah yo' [so that you valk ander it] and then yore teeth miu come out. (They put it over [above] yoa, so you will walk uoder it.)
[octor Johnson in Richmond gave something similar.]