Browse:"CHANNEL DE WORLD" (Volume 5, entries 10604–13458)/Part 22
"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 12284
Yo' kin git saltpetah, sage, alum, sugah an' salt - yo' know - stuff, yo' know, whut he nuse [use]. Yo' know, salt an' sugah an' stuff lak dat whut chew wanta know in dose strings. Yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son, ah'm bringin' yo' back tuh me." Call his name, see, an' say, "Long as yo' eat sage, as long as yo' eat sugah, drink sugah in yore coffee" - sompin lak dat. An' call dose names, an' tie dose strings, an' tell him yo' want him tuh come back tuh yo'. Well, he'll come den. An' aftah yo' tie dose strings, put dose strings in a pile an' sprinkle dis saltpetah an' stuff ovah it, an' red peppah, an' yo' take kerosene. An' den yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son, ' an' burn it. An' put it out in de yard an' let it smoke.
Entry 12285
Dey tell me yo' kin tie three knots on a string an' put it in anybody's pocket an' dey mind will jes' stay on yo' all de time. Dey'll jes' worry, be worr'ed an' nevah satisfied no place dey go.
Entry 12286
Now, ah [woman] kin be wit a man, but ah kin be wit any man an' ah gi' him a cloth tuh wipe on, say, "Now, yo' jes' take dis cloth an' wipe on it." Now, ah ain't nevah com in' - 'scuse de 'pression [expression] but chew wants heah de truth on it. All right, say, "Heah, yo' wipe on dis." Well, he wipe on dat, or else ah'll wipe him on it mahself. Well, ah ain't nevah done nuthin. Dat jes' him done come off dere, ah ain't nevah done nuthin. Now, ah'm goin' keep dis. See. All right. Ah'm goin' keep dis. Ah'm goin' keep dis an' ah'm goin' tie it jes' lak ah needs tuh tie it, see. An' ah'm goin' use it jes' lak ah needs tuh use it, undahstan'. He don' know nuthin 'bout whut ah'm goin' do. Dat's jes' fo' a woman, see.
[Here I turn off machine too quickly and must repeat her lost words.]
(Put three knots in it?)
Three.
(After those three knots are in it, what do you do with them?)
Ah take dem three knots an' ah keep dem. Ah keep dem three knots fo' nine mawnin's. Ah lay on 'em fo' nine days, jes' lay on 'em if it's mah haid - jes' yherevah ah put 'em in de bed it's all right. Den he bound tuh come back. He bound tuh make love tuh me.
Entry 12287
Jes' lak yo' wants tuh choke a person. Yo' wanta jes' choke 'em an' he don't know whut might cause him tuh choke. Yo' take a string an' yo' measure it jes' about two feet long, an' yo'll tie three knots in it. After tyin' three knots in it, yo'll take kerosene an' wet dem knots jes' - jes' take yore two fingers an' wet dem three knots dataway. After yo' wet all three of 'em, yo' take it den an' yo' go tie it on a limb or sompin an' let it hang dere. Well, long as dem three knots is hanged why a person always - jes' lak dey hate chew - yo'll always have trouble in yore throat. (That string doesn't come in contact with the person I want to choke does it?) Dat's right, yes. Jes' lak a person always wanta choke an' dere be's jes' lak flem.
Entry 12288
Ah heard tell of a person takin' a string - a cord jes' like dey ties - if yo' want a person hurt. Why, where it will kill 'em, yo' know, or sompin like dat. Jes' git some of dis heah string an tie 9 knots in it, jes' as tight as yo' kin. An' bo' a hole into a green tree, any kind of a tree, jes' so it's green, an' put dat knot in it, dat dere string dat chew tied dem knots into dat tree, an' stop it up.
(Don't you say anything or do anything?)
Nosuh, jes' makes 'em sick till dey dies.
(You have to get a string from them, or what?)
Yassuh, from dey house. Anywhere roun' dere house yo' git dat string dat dey been usin'.
Entry 12289
Tie 9 knots into twine string or raw cotton string an' wear it around their waist, an' they say just once in a while they just dip it in Hearts Cologne and they own water [urine]. That's sure to hold them.
Entry 12290
Go tuh any groc'ry an' git chew a new piece of cord dat haven't been used, whut chew tie up packages with, an' jes' lak anything dat yo' wish, an' nine is yore... [What? Number?] Take nine tuh do it. Yo': can't do nuthin until nine days. Jes' lak yo' git up dis mawnin', say, "Ah'm goin' start dis mawnin' an' ah want sech- an'-sech a thing tuh happen.' Jes' tie one knot [in] it an' make yore wish re- gardin' tuh whut it is. An' de nex' mawnin' de same thing fo' nine mawnin's. It'll come true.
(What do you do with this string after all these knots are tied in it then?)
Let it hang right dere, an' when de nine days up, an' yo' sure yo' got de nine knots, jes' take it an' git chew some sulphur an' some salt an' burn it right in yore fiahplace.
Entry 12291
Wal, say yo' tie twelve knots in a cotton string an' wear dat string right on - next to yore flesh. Quite natural yo' dresses dat string wit not a thing in de world but Hearts Own Perfume an' wear it right nex' to yore skin.
(What do you wear that for?)
Well, yo' see dat give yo' luck - keep hard luck away from yo' an' bring good luck to yo'.
Entry 12292
Dat's in de lines of castin' a spell upon a person. Go tuh work an ties 36 knots, if yo' wanta cast a spell upon a person. Put a spell upon a per- son, ties thirty-six knots. Take a strand of thread and tie 36 knots an' let 'em be three inches apart. Dose knots, let 'em be three inches apart 'sposed tuh be in dat thread. An' yo' wil] throw dat thread, after yo' git dose 36 knots tied in it, why den yo'll throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' yo'll step out de road - anywhere's dere a road - from de middle of de road, throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' dat will really, de fac' 'bout it, suh, will give dem a purtty tight time. Make 'em crazy - whushy in dey mind.
(How do you know you've got the right person when you are tying those knots?)
Why dere 36 knots! "Cos' yo' know yo' absolutely got de right person.
Entry 12293
(If somebody stole this thing, how would you get him to bring it back, now?) If yo' know they stole it, why yo' know dey name. Yo write dey name 9 times [on piece of paper] an' put it in de [oil bowl of] lamp wit some sugah on it, an' let dat lamp burn fo' nine mawnin's. Dey'll come back [with it].
Entry 12294
To bring someone to you, prick finger with needle, write his name or initial with the blood on piece of paper, fold to you 3 times longways, turn it and fold it to you 3 times shortways, put in bowl of lamp, burn for 9 days and nights. [Here is one of those interest- ing folding rites so well illustrated in HOODOO: to fold to you or away from you, fold into triangles or squares, etc. [This is my pencil resume of rite, attached here to original MS, before original material lost. Informant "excellent, " I note.]
Entry 12295
A person did you somepin, and you take a lemon and you put some parsley in it, and you put some cinnamon in it and brown sugar in that lemon. [Brown sugar for a black person, white sugar for vhite person. Many examples in HOODOO of color scheme.]
(You put parsley, cinnamon and brown sugar. All right.)
Yeah, brown sugar, into the lemon, and you take that lemon and you go put it right under your step - under there - right under the middle part of your step, and bury it. They say that will move what they done did to you.
(Take it away.)
Yes.
Entry 12296
Like if they would like for you to move out of that house, they'd keep you in confusion all the time, if they couldn't git chew to move other w'are [other where]. They would use salt, lemon and rice. (They would use salt, lemon and rice?) Lemon and rice. (Well, how would they use that?) They'd take the salt and the rice and lemon, where- ever you got to walk over. If it's coming to a step, over a step, they would plant it under the step. Dig a hole and plant it under there. And ever time you walk over that and go back and forth, it'll always keep you in some kind of confusion in that house, and you won't never feel so very well right in that house.
(I see.)
As long as that salt and lemon sours this rice. See. And as it sours, things is getting sourer and sourer towards you in that house.
(I see. Well, do they bury the whole lemon or just the juice?)
They take a lemon. They take this lemon and stuff this lemon with that rice and salt.
(Oh! I see, I understand.)
Stuff it.
(Oh! I see, stuff it. I see, now. All right.)
Entry 12297
They take your hair and bury your hair, see. They'll get two brass tacks and a brass pin [three brass objects] and they can put your hair in a lem- on, and then they'll turn that lemon upside down [unusual express- ion!] and bury it. And that'll give you a thun- dering headache. Now, for to cross that, you take that out. Now, you get you some war water and you get you [war water is omitted]. You go to the hydrant for nine mornings and just put your head under the hydrant like that, and let the water run on your head and say, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, please let this affliction go from me."
Entry 12298
(What do they do with that cat hair?)
They take that cat hair and they put it with a piece of woman's shimmy or petticoat or anything of that kind. Put it into a lemon, throwing it into the Mississippi River, after putting War water in there. They'll keep that woman all upset. If she's gotten a job anywhere, she'll walk away from her job. She'll quit working. Her husband can't do anything to sat- isfy her. Everything that they do it just look like it wrong to her. See. It practically looks like it takes her mind from her. See. She don't have no presence of mind. See. By using it, she have...get a...
(She what?)
Get a animal amibition-like. See.
Entry 12299
You can take lemons. Well, that makes you - if you going up the street right now and you got a big transaction on with a person. You take a lemon, just take a lemon and take all the peeling off the lemon. Don't break the white part of that lem- on. See, just take all that yellow peel off the lemon and take that lemon and sew it up. Rub it over good. Just rub it over good in your pockets in your hands. And ball that lemon up and put it in your inside coat pocket. Wrap it up in pure white paper with no marks or nothing on it - pure white paper. Wrap that lemon up. And on your Way down [to business transaction] just take the lemon and pass it through your hands, rub it over your hands good and put it in your inside [pocket]. Wear it on your right side, in your inside coat pocket, or your right side of your right pants pocket. But if you peel that lemon and break that white - that white skin on the inside of that yellow skin - well that lemon is no good to you. Get you a lemon and don't break that skin. Peel it off careful, but don't break through it so the juice will run off. But take that yellow peel off the outside and wrap that lemon up. Wipe that lemon off good with sugar. Rub it over good with sugar and wrap it up good in a piece of red flannel and rub it through your hands. And when you go there [place of business transaction] go in the lavatory or any private place and take that lemon out of that flannel again and rub it. Or take plain white paper. If you don't use red flannel, use plain white paper. Don't use no paper with no marks or nothing on it. No yellow or no colored paper at all. If you don't use white paper, get you a piece of red flannel and wrap it in there and go down the street with it. And as you go to the lavatory take that flannel or that paper off and just rub it over your hand again - before you go on with any business transaction - with the lemon. (What do you go and do that in the lavatory for?) [Informant has me going around in circles!] Well, you just freshen your hands up. Freshen your hands up with this. Con- tinually rub your hands, keep awashing that lemon against your hands.
(Well, what do you do that for?)
Well, that gives you a power over the man that you got a business deal with.
(Oh! I see. You do that until you get his....)
Keep awashing that lemon on your hands - like you get - like you know, you going to the next corner here, and you coming to the place, or you are in a bar, or any private place.
(You do it in secret so he can't see you.)
Yeah, you just do it in secret - just any place for secrecy. That's all.
Entry 12300
Take nine pins an' stick them into a lemon. See, stick dem nine pins into a lemon an' squeeze it good an' well. It will give yo' power. Give yo' influence to accomplish whut yo' desires to make yore fren' or whoevah yo' concerned with - make dem come to yore request.
Entry 12301
Pass a hole into a lemon an' squeeze de juice out of it an' full it up wit sulphur an' brimstone an' salt. Take nine pins an' put through it an' den wrop it up jes' as tight as yo' kin, an' tie nine knots in it - into de string dat yo' wrop aroun' it. An' stick nine pins in it an' go ahead. (What will you do with that then?) Well, jes' carry it with yo'. (What is that supposed to do then?) An' den ah'll go ahead an' attack whatevah busi- ness yo' wanta attack, an' dat supposed to help yo' accomplish it.
(Any favors or anything of that sort?)
Yes.
Entry 12302
Yo' take a lemon an' take a knife, a new knife, an' yo' mark yore vishes, jes' whatevah yo' want to, aroun' an' aroun' dat lemon - befo' six a'clock - aroun' an' roun'. Make all dose wishes, but yo' must be very careful whut chew wishin', 'cause dat's comin', an' yo' stick dat up dere inside de house, not on de outside. Then at six a'clock in de evenin' yo' change it ovah.
(To the west side?)
Stick it up an' let it stay up dere till de next mawnin' at six, then take it down an' git chew anothah lemon. Do that fo' nine mawnin's, an' anything yo' vish fo' will come. (You just take this lemon and then just take a knife and cut a little cut around it?) No, jes." slice it down as yo' wish - slice it down - don't cut it all de way through, an' all roun' dere. Slice it down jes' as many times as yo' Wanta wish. An' take de knife an' stick it right through de mid- dle of it, on de east side of de house, or room, an' let it stay dere till six a'clock in de evening, an' den yo' take it down.
(You stick that knife right into the wall.)
Yes.
(You hold the lemon up and stick the knife through the wall?)
Yes, an' yo' jes' leave de lemon an' de knife sticking right up dere until six a'clock in de evening. Den yo' take it down an' put it up on de west side.
Entry 12303
Ah'll take an' go tuh Krese [Kresge] an' git me a brand-new knife.
(You told her?)
Yes, an' git me a lemon an' cut de lemon up in fine pieces, jes' as many tuh eat. Start off walkin', git off, an' don't pay no attention an' chunk dem lemon seed in behin' 'em. Take dat brand-new knife an bury it under her front do'step: "De Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, ah hope ah nevah see yo' any mo'." (She wanted to get rid of him and she came and asked you how to do it?) Yes.
(She hid that under her own step?)
Yes.
Entry 12304
I've heard that you could sprinkle lemon juice, juniper [berries?] and black pepper, and boil this a half an hour, cook it off, add milk to it, boil it again, put it in a white bottle, a bottle you can see through [a clear glass bottle] and hold it in your hand, and anybody you put it on their hair, all their hair will come out. [Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone 50.]
Entry 12305
There was a girl, that I heerd [about], she was poison by a leeper [leopard] [her skin was spotted like a leopard's] an' she went to de fortune- teller an' she got some lepeer' skin an' keep it aroun' her body an' that cured her. ["Like cures like!" What did this patient wear? Perhaps a piece of polka-dot cloth worn as a waistband. Remem- ber always, we do not know whether there was a cure. I almost forgot. This is Dy original pencil transcription, now attached to the final manuscript. Here are two more original comments written at the time: "Retranscribe before using' and "the person who poisoned her got the poison from another fortuneteller!!!]
Entry 12306
When you receive a letter, rub it with a four-leaf clover and wear the letter and it will affect the writer's hand. My original pencil transcript attached to original manu- script comments "doubtful," showing how critical I was at an earlier collecting day. A clover of 4 leaves, a good-luck symbol would counteract any bad luck! If you believed it did.
Entry 12307
You catch about six big roaches and pound them up good and put them in a can and make tea out of them. And after you make that tea, you strain those roaches out and put it in your hair where the louses are, and that kills the louse off. [Lice, of course, can be put into your hair by hoodoo. This remedy kills hoodoo.]
Entry 12308
If yo' tote dat, life everlasting, dey say yo'll be lucky. An' hit won't harm nobody, dough [though]. [Life everlasting = cudweed.] [Waycross 1870:10.]
Entry 12309
(Where do they put that?)
At de fo'k of de road. (Then they use it for any kind of work they want to do, this lightning-struck wood?) On de sunrise side. Whatevah side de sun rise. Dey put it dere at exactly sunrise. When de sun peekin' ovah de eastern hills dey puts it down. Yeah, dey moves jes' as dey mind tells 'em to move it. Dey doesn't leave it dere all de time. Dey keeps dat wood. [This "pro- fessional worker" I call him is saying there are no set rules.]
Entry 12310
Go to a tree dat de lightning struck an' git a couple of splinters from de tree, an' drive one inside de yard, an' one jes' on de outside of de yard, in both ways dat dey enter into de house, an' dat will prevent de evil of de house.
(What kind? Any kind of evil, if anybody wants to do you harm?)
Dat's de idea. You just drive it dere. (You'll drive a stick in the yard and then one outside the yard on each trail that leads into the house.) [My explanation at the time indicates 4 splinters, but probably 2 only were used: one on path leading to front door, other on path leading to back door.] One dat lightning tear from a tree, git one dose kinda sticks.
Entry 12311
Well, dat's de greates' ah evah heah about. Dey said dat if yo' take de lightnin'-wood an' go in a crowd of mens, yo' know rowdies, yo' take de splinters of a lightnin' tree. Git de splinters an' stick 'em an' yore teeth swell up: An' yo' go dere an' everybody will fear yo'. Yo' kin rampage an' nobody won' say nuthin to yo'. Dey scared of yo'. [These splinters are also a protection, see following rite.]
(Just take these two splinters from a tree that is struck by lightning.)
Take de splinters an' put 'em in yore teeth. [This means that the two ends of the splinters are sticking out of his mouth.]
Entry 12312
Ah kin take three stobs outa dat [lightning-struck] tree, de same one, an' dem concemin' of another thing. Den yo' kin use dose de side of de house or inside of it, or wherevah dey passes ovah. An' aftah dey goes ovah dat, dey gits tied up wit pain. An', too, ag'in, 'lessen yo' kin find anothah fellah [doctor] in three days, dey'll be contin'ly [in pain] - nevah be cured of it till you [some doctor] find dat. Ah know a man in mah own neighborhood, he gits de wood off a tree struck by lightnin' an' dat officer come right down fur as de lot, but as fur comin' in... [This policeman did not enter man's house, did not set foot on man's land.]
Entry 12313
Ah learnt dat you could take dat dere wood from a tree right where de lightnin' struck, turn in an' go dere an' git chew three pieces, tree lil' small pieces. An' take three [silver] dimes made in de same yeah. Take three dimes an' dat piece of wood, an' put dem dere three pieces, an' put one dime 'neath dat piece of wood [demonstrates] an' de next dime right next tuh de next top piece of wood, an' de next dime right in de bottom in de jar. An' take it tuh de watah an' throw it in de watah, an' says, Ah hope yo' come back tuh me, In Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost, come back. Let it go in de watah. Yo' see, yo' throw dat jar an' hit'll go so fur downstream, an' dat jar will turn roun' an' come back an' go in de bank where nobody will git dere han's on it. Dat jar will come back. Or eithah yo' kin take it lak dis: Yo' kin take a brick an' put it in dat jar wit dat, dat money an' dat piece of wood from de lightnin'-struck tree, an' it will stay down undah de watah three days. Dat's de best, it will stay undah de watah three days. Well, when dem three days out, she's back tuh yo'.
(This is bringing somebody back?)
Dat's right.
(Where do you get these dimes - get them out of your own pocket?)
Yeah, jes' go down an' try tuh git de dimes made in de same yeah.
Entry 12314
Ah heard dat yo' kin go tuh de tree where lightnin' strike an' git three splinters or jes' as many splinters off de tree as yo' got corner at chure house, [like] corner of yore yard, yo' know. An' git some bluestone an' vaseline an' bluestone. Mix it tuhgethah an' grease dis lightnin'-strike splinter an' peg it at each corner of yore house. See, fo' tuh keep polices an' things from roun' yore house. Dat's whut dat's fo'. Ah know dat's good.
(So no one will bother you in your home?)
Dat's it.
Entry 12315
Dey's go down to de fo'ks of de road where it'd [it would] fo'k like dis [demonstrates] an' have yo' some thunder-lightning pegs - lighted [lightning] pegs where de thunder knocked a piece off de tree. Take it [piece of wood] an' make pegs - nine pegs. An' drive 'em in de fo'ks of de road an' call on God an' de devil to hear yo' drivin', an' make dem people turn. Dey goin' another way, won't go out dat way. [To change a person's mind at the crossroads is not a rare rite.] (You call upon the person that you don't want to go out that way.) [Man for centuries could not understand primitive man's tools such as arrowheads, and since they were sometimes found under a tree, a lightning-struck one, it became a thunderbolt. That tree could have grown up 1000 years after the arrowhead had been lost! See the woman looking for a thunderbolt to ease her rheumatism, warm up her bones, in Folklore from Adams County Illinois, Ist ed., No.5380, 2nd ed., No.5786. Also see HOODOO, v.1, Nos.635, 2336 & 2337.]
Entry 12316
Dey say yo' can't burn it. Dey say yo' can't burn dat wood because it will pop so bad in de house. Dey use dat. Yo' can take some of dat wood an' go to a person house an' somewhere or 'nothah, stick it down, yo' know, drive it down dere 9 times somewhere in his path, where he goes through an' go ovah. Dat will throw him into heartburn.
(This wood from the lightning-struck tree?)
Yes, de wood from a lightnin'-struck tree.
Entry 12317
Now, yo' wish tuh git a girl or yore boy fren' back tuh 'em. Yo' go ahead an' go tuh a fat-lightah [pine] stump of a tree dat de lightnin' struck. An' yo' takes an' makes nine pegs. An' aftah yo' make dose nine pegs, yo goes back tuh de fo'ks of de road an' yo' makes three wishes. Dat's de way it wuz tole tuh me. Make three wishes an' aftah yo' make three wishes, yo' takes two pints of whiskey wit chew, an' aftah yo' make de three wishes, den yo' take an' yo' lie down on de flat of yore back at de fo'ks of de road, an' yo' drinks one of dose pints, an' yo' po's de othah one on de nine pegs. An' yo' git chew a match an' yo' scratch de match, an' sets dat whiskey afire an' burns up dose pegs right dere. Den dat cause de girl or de boy, which one yo' made de wishes fo', tuh come back undah yore control.
Entry 12318
If yo' burn a tree - if yo' wuz out with a person an' yo' take an' note where there's a lightnin'-struck tree, an' yo' split it up an' carry it to 'em fo' wood an' he burn it, even unknowingly, he'll lose his home. It's bad luck to him. (You give the fellow bad luck by giving him this wood from this tree?) Even if he didn't know it - he might not have but two pieces of dat, but he'd lose whatevah he had.
Entry 12319
Yo' take some wood from a tree where de lightnin' struck an' throw it on yore hearth, make yore wishes, an' dere be wrath in dere all de time. An' yo' take dat light- nin'-struck tree an' throw it under dere house, dey'll have tuh move. Dey can't stay dere. (When you throw that piece of wood on the fireplace there will be fighting in the house all the time?) Yes sir.
Entry 12320
Well, any kinda tree but de lightnin' have tuh be done struck it.
(Well, what would they do about that?)
Well, jes' lak now if yo' prob'bly be mah next-do' neighbah an' ah can't git along wit chew or sompin of de kind in no way ah do, an' ah wants tuh move yo' from dere, an' de light- nin' done struck a tree or sompin lak dat. Ah jes' go dere an' take a ole piece of wood - jes' a ole slab or sompin off dere - sompin lak dat chew know an' throw it anywhere round yore house an' yo' gotta go.
Entry 12321
Git a piece of, yo' know jes' de lightnin' strike a tree or sompin othah lak dat. Tell me yo' kin git a ole piece of wood yo' know, from de tree yo' know, where de lightnin' has struck, an' throw it underneath dere house an' dey tell me dey'll move.
(They will move away.)
Entry 12322
Ah tell whut lightnin' will do. If yo' take - if de lightnin' struck a tree, yo' kin take dat tree when de lightnin' struck it an' run anybody 'way from dere dat chew wanta. (How would they do that?) Why aftah de lightnin' strike de tree, then yo' take that wood an' yo' bury that wood under the people's step where they walk ovah it, an' that will walk 'em away.
Entry 12323
It bad luck if yo' burn dat wood. (That lightning-struck wood.) Somebody certain in de family tuh die dat yeah, if dey burn dat wood dat wuz struck by lightnin'. It be awful bad luck tuh do dat, burn dat in yore house.
Entry 12324
Yo' could use de strucken wood, de wood where it strucken by lightnin', an' dey said dat dey use it on a person an' dey said dat dis person will soon die.
(How would you use it on a person?)
Well, jes' go tuh work an' make a tea an' put de tea tuh de bread, from de same wood. Jes' take it an' put it in a pot an' boil it, an' give de person de tea. Or eithah jes' mix it in whatsomevah dey eat. From lightnin'-strucken [wood]. (Well, what about burning the wood. Did you say something would happen about that?) If dey burn de wood, de person will soon die.
(Who Would soon die?)
Whosomevah goes tuh work an' use de wood. Well, if dey use it In de Name of de Lord, dey couldn't take it, dey say. But yo' kin use it fo' whut chew wanta use it fo'.
Entry 12325
Ah've heard that if yo' have an enemy, which yo' think yo' enemy, take yo' a tenpenny nail an' drive it two-thirds into a tree, whatevah tree de lightnin' strikes. An' that enemy will become to be yore greatest friend. (Do you do anything with that nail when you are driving it into that tree?) Nuthin, jes' drive it in two-thirds of de way - de tenpenny nails. [Inten- tion is sufficient.]
Entry 12326
Said yo' could git a piece where de lightnin' struck. (A piece of wood from a tree that the lightning struck.) An' put on yore pot [put pot on fire] an' put it [lightning-struck wood] in dere an' boil it, an' scour [the bed] wit it in March, an' it will kill out de bugs, de chinches [bedbugs].
Entry 12327
Sho', de splinter from a tree [struck by lightning] is lucky fo' a gamblin' han' an' de toothache. As fur as de gamblin' han' ah don't know direct, 'cause ah don' gamble; but peoples dat have had de toothache have veri- fied dat statement dat it is good.
Entry 12328
If yo' bum dat wood from de tree dat de lightnin' strike, it will set de house afire. [Fayetteville 2599:10.]
Entry 12329
Well, if you have de toothache, yo' pick yore teeth with it [splinter from lightning-struck tree]. [Known everywhere.] [Algiers 2959:9.]
Entry 12330
An' if yo' put a piece of wood de lightnin' struck in yore pocket, yo' cain't be shot; cain't be shot by no man, if yo' tote dat in yore pocket.
[Algiers 2954:9.]
Entry 12331
Well, you goin', an' go an' git a piece of splinter from where a lightnin'-struck [tree] an' yo' take dat splinter to home an' put it up ovah de door or either under de rug, or some place like that, an' yo'll [man and woman living there will] separate. [Jacksonville 779:2.]
Entry 12332
Go to a tree that the lightnin' have struck, an' trim it in lil' small sticks, an' go to 'em [boss] chewin' this stick an' ask fo' a job, an yo'll git one. [Fayetteville 2637:7.]
Entry 12333
Jes' lak yo' go tuh de no'th side of a tree an' where de lightnin' has struck, yo' know, an' pull yo' off some of that an' tote hit in yore pocket fo' success. [Brunswick 2113:3.]
Entry 12334
Take dat splinter an' nail it at de person's do' an' dat'll run 'em away, de splinter from de lightnin'-strike tree. Dey'll nail it at de feet of yore steps an' make yo' move. [Sumter 2447:22.]
Entry 12335
Ah said dey tell me if yo' goin' anywhere an' lak if two people be together, an' if a storm split a stob of tree or anything, why dat's bad luck.
[Wilson 2650:7.]
The informant reports a conditional bad-luck belief involving two people together and a storm splitting a stob of tree or anything.
Entry 12336
Either they could go to that person's house an' sprinkle lime aroun' de house, under de do'step. Dat'll run 'em out, make de folks have some kind of feelin' dey jes' cain't stay there. [Somewhere there is also an example of this from Fredericksburg, Va.]
(Make them move?)
Yeah. [Fayetteville, N. Car., (1426), 2572: la.]
Entry 12337
Ah tell yo' what ah used tuh use. Git de horseshoe - yo' know when dey are shoein' de horse, yo' take de hoof [cut off] an' yo' take a stuff dey call limestone, an' red onion peels, an' red pep- per an' burn it together. Why dat brings luck. See dat bring yo' luck.
Entry 12338
(So the boss will give me a job?)
Ah goes out in de woods an' git one of dose Little John de Conkah roots - jes' de Little John. Ah knows it. Goes out dere an' gits one of dose roots. Ah walk up to him fo' nine mawnin's an' chew it, an' ah tell him ah come down dere tuh git a job. Tell me, "Come back in de mawnin'." May be de latest gittin' back -ere. Den ah'll go back de next mawnin'. He'll give me a job.
Entry 12339
When you leave yo' house, if yo' know that yo' are going after whis- key [as a bootlegger], you understand - if you going after whiskey, you wanta dress [magically protect] yourself before you go. You wanta dress yo'self be- fo' yo' go. Anyhow dress yo' car. (How do you dress it?) Well, yo' take dat lobelia an' put one piece in de back, right in de back of de car, an' sit on de odder [other] piece underneath yo' seat, an' den nobody will tetch yo' car. An' coming in an' going out nobody ketch yo' car. Nobody ever hear yo'. Lobelia and hippo, yo' git dat out de woods.
Entry 12340
Yo' git three grains [pieces] of hippo roots, and one grain of lobe- lia. Yo' bury it at chure step, at de foot of yore gate. If you got a gate and de house setting back in de yard, well yo'll bury dat to - right to yore gate. De law come in dere. An' yore pickle [prickly] feet guards all over dat. [This man from the swamps used words and plant names I had never heard of.]
Entry 12341
[This stone] get it in the eagle nest. There's a white lodestone and there's a black lode- stone. Well, the white lodestone is the female and the black is the male. Well, the female is no good. But it's no hair grows on those stone. [Some rites speak about hair growing on lodestone.] The only thing it is, its FUZZ still grows on it, just [like] the beard on my face - it grow on the lodestone. [This is from Doctor Buzzard of Norfolk, Va., part of whose interview given Pp.1515-1517 and elsewhere.]
Entry 12342
Yo' take an' yo' gets a piece of cloth about four inches square each way, an' yo' take [he and she] lodestone an' mash it together. An' den yo' get yourself, take some of your own perspiration, yo' know, an put it in dere - dampen it. Yo' kin take de end of a piece of your own clothes an' put in dere an' fold it together. Fo' instance, if yo' got a piece of silver money, yo' kin take a piece of your sil- ver money an' put it in dere. It will be a piece about dat wide an' about dat high [very small size] an' yo' take dat an' sew it to de inside of yore under- clothes - under your arm, under your right arm. An' yo' wear dat dere fo' three days. An' yo' don't feel no 'fect from dat until de third day, an' den yo' be- gin to see it. Den after de third day yo' kin go in any gambling game or any kind of winning game yo' wanta, an' yo'll win money.
Entry 12343
Tuh git a job, yo' jis' have tuh dress yo'self an' ah tell yo' jis' whut chew have tuh do. Yo' have tuh dress yo'self wit lodestone an' quicksilvah an' Jockey Club Perfume - both togethah. Ah tell yo' jis' how yo' do now. Yo' git chew a red piece of flannel aftah yo' beat it all up dere to- gethah. Git chew a red piece of flannel an' den take a thread outa yore sock. See, jis' lak yo' got a pair of socks, but let it be a pair of socks yo' done worn amn' take a thread from dat sock an' tie it aroun' dis, an' den befo' yo' go in dere, yo' know, yo' kin'a run yore han's lak dis [demonstrates]. Yo' see, yo' rub yore han' lak dis an' den when he [boss] git tuh talkin' tuh yo', yo' have tuh kinda hold yore face lak dat. An' when yo' go, yo'll kin'a throw yore fingahs lak yo' kinda throwin' yore fingahs tuh him yo' know, an' he'll git de odor of it all right. Dat Jockey Club Perfume dere. The're [there are] two chances tuh one yo' won' be turned down.
(You rub this bag in your hand?)
Dat's right.
Entry 12344
Lodestone.
(Lodestone.)
Keep it wet with perfume and tote that in your pocket. That will give you lock to get a job like that, even be able lucky for anything - luck for anything like that.
Entry 12345
Yo' git chew a piece of lode- stone an' yo' put it in a little piece [of cloth] or yo' kin put it in yore pocketbook, an' a piece of dat in- cense, an' put it together an' keep it. An' yo' tote it in yore pocketbook an' every time yo' go to work, why yo wash yore face an' hands in dat Van-Van an' dey won't turn yo' off.
Entry 12346
Make a little scap [scapular] to wear on you to make luck.
(What's a scap?)
You [know] jis' like a piece...you make it an' you put...jis' like you say, "Ah come to you an' ah wants somepin for luck, an' ah want a hand from you." Now you ass me what ah wants to do with this hand, but ah say, "Mah husband is a man that don't give me money." Well, you gon'a tell me how to fix that. [You are going to make a hand for me so that my husband will give me money.] An' ah'm gon'a wear that on me. Dat's to make him bring me his money.
(How Would you fix that?)
You see, you take dat...dat is jis' w'at ah'm tellin' you about. You go to the CRACKERJACK DRUG STORE - right down here. You git choo a he an' a she lode- stone, a pod of garlic - git a red garlic - an' you put dat with a dime [silver one] an' his name. You write his name furce an' your name on top, an' wear that on you an' he'll give it yuh [his money].
Entry 12347
Lodestone is de luckiest thing there is in de world fo' gittin' money. Yo' kin be standin' heah talkin' tuh me an', if yo' got a piece of lodestone in yore pocket about dat big, it will draw any money ah got in mine out. [Did in- formant have a piece of lodestone in his pocket?]
Entry 12348
They tole me tuh git - they had me tuh git a piece of - a piece of drawing lodestone an' dis same mineral oil. Ah cain't think of it [name]. They still use it as mineral oil. Dis lodestone, dis drawin' stone, you buy, see, an' dis mineral oil and de dust from a comb, ah believe it was - a head comb, de dust. An' yo' 'solve [dissolve] dis dust into dis - dis mineral oil and dust all together, and you dress dis dust and de mineral [oil] and de lodestone wit perfume an' you wears it. But ah was successful.
(That's in hunting a job.)
In hunting a job. Least how, it worked. But thinking about it, ah didn't hole [hold] de job very long. So dat's why ah didn't think dere's much to it. [To be able to buy head-comb dust indicates the catholicity of products sold by some hoodoo shops!]
Entry 12349
[The first page of this rite has been lost or misplaced. From the rite that follows this one and similar rites elsewhere, the meaning is somewhat clear.] (You mean this silverlode? That's the stuff, the silver you get off of a thermometer. That's that kind of silver?) Not [silver or lodestone] from a factory of some kind. They call it Eagle Lodestone [brand name]. That's what they call it. [It is called Eagle Lodestone because it is found in an eagle's nest! The eagle humnts for and picks up this silverlode or lodestone or whatever it is called in order to test the fertility of eggs slow in hatching! Other birds are said to do the same thing - a number of examples in HOODO0.]
(You take drops of that, you say?)
Yes, sir, I uses drops of it. An' ah have been able to reach all complaints within with it. [An early note in pencil on this page reads: A silver dime or silver load (stone?) take 7 drops, can't "poison" you (no one can "poison" you). The sil- ver dime of course, is worn to prevent hoodoo, the 7 drops I am unable to recall at the moment. But to take or prescribe them internally! Compare this rite with the one now following.1 (You mean this silverlode that's that stuff - the silver you get off a thermometer - that's that kind of silver....) Not from a factory of some kind - they call it eagle lodestone...that's what they call it.
(You take drops of that, you say?)
Yes, sir I uses drops of it - an' ah have been able to reach all complaints within with it.
Entry 12350
[Here is a hand from an excellent hoodoo woman whose material was lost before it could be transcribedl: Lodestone, John de Conkah, saltpeter, dime (silver one), make wish while sewing bag to you, anoint every 9 days with whiskey or Jockey Club Perfume, "feed it, ' a bag. [This is my original resume of the rite in pencil, attached to final manuscript.]
Entry 12351
"Lodestone... John de Conkah root...a little dragon's blood an' mix... keep in little bag." [Little Rock 1474:4.]
Entry 12352
'"Powdered white lodestone...de white is mōh pahful [powerful] den de black - sulphur powder...half a dollar [silver]...in dere wit dat bag." [Little Rock 1474:5.]
Entry 12353
"Take High John, Eve-and-Adam [Adam-and-Eve], Tonka beans, an' make a wish an' git chew some lodestone an' stick in dat." [Little Rock 1462:12.]
Entry 12354
Live lodestone and pod of Adam-and-Eve root, put in bag "an' you feeds it ev'ry mawnin' with Van-Van or either good whiskey." [New Orleans 1261:5.]
The bag is named outside the printed quotation. The quoted feeding direction remains separate context; the opening source notes attribute unbracketed text to informants without establishing verbatim wording.
Entry 12355
Lodestone, John de Conkah, five-finger grass, Low John de Conkah and White Rose Oil in a bag. [Mobile 967:10.]
Entry 12356
I think they call it lodestone. And if you wear that in your pocket when you go to get this job, that will make the man interested or bring his influence toward you. [Richmond 385:1.]
The material identification is tentative: the speaker says, I think they call it lodestone.
Entry 12357
Lodestone and brimstone, dat's good tuh give yo' luck, fo' most any- thing yo' undertake. [Sumter 2317:10.]
Entry 12358
Dey use dat fo' luck fo' anything. Lodestone is used fo' mos' any- thing. It's jes' a lucky stone that's all. [Sumter 2345:9.]
Entry 12359
Well, if it's something that chew see, yo' say, "What do yo' want: In the Name of the Lord?" An' they go 'way. But if yo' abuse them they vill always follow yo'. But they can't stand the word [Name] of the Lord.
Entry 12360
When you do this with the Lord's permission or help, it's all right; but if you do it by yourself, then it's wrong. [Fredericksburg, No.44, by Edi- phone.]
Entry 12361
Now, this othah person, she got whut chew call love powder. Had it prepared by 1 medium. An' she put that in his food to keep him regularly, all de time.
[New Orleans 2859:1.]
Entry 12362
Dere.danger to yo' head all de time. Yo' take a man's hat, yo' under- stand, an' yo' go to de drug store an' git what chew call sulphur of potash, something like a powder and it's called love powder. That's the name fer it Love Powder. Sprinkle dat in de hat, in de lining. Or if he goes with yo' and yo' kin get near to him, sprinkle it in any piece of his clothes. Dat means dat yo' can't stay away, yo' will come back.
Entry 12363
Now, ah tell yo' if a pusson git holta [hold of] yore hair. Dey kin [git] yore hair and dey kin take dat piece of hair maybe and wrap it up tight. Sew it up inna piece of cloth, use some oil on it, pin it down - jis' like yo' love a pusson an' yo' wanna make a pusson love yo', yo' see. Yo' git dat piece a hair an' yo' gits some dis powdah yo' calls love powdah. Yo' take dat love powdah an' yo' puts dat piece a hair an' dat love powdah in de clot', an' yo' sew it up tight an' yo' use cologne - a certain kin'a high-class cologne yo' use on it. An' evah day yo' gotta fed [feed] it [this hand] dat. Evah da' po' a lil' dat cologne on. Pin it right to yo' side; an' why yo' kin git dat pusson. Yo' want 'em.[ Charles- ton, S. Car., (?), 643:1.]