Browse:"CHANNEL DE WORLD" (Volume 5, entries 10604–13458)/Part 36
"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 13405
Well, now, fo' 'ninstan', if a thief had been to yo' home an' yo' has lost sompin from de house or dey stolen anything, yo' go an' cut chew three splinters off de do' de do' facin' or de win- dow facin' or from de vehicle or wherevah yo' lost it from. Yo' take de wagon wheel an' take de nut off it [axle] an' put dose three splinters in dere [the hub!] an' put de wheel back on, an' put de nut back on it [axle] an' den yo' turn de wheel slower. Yo' say to de thief, "Thief, thief, bring back de stolen goods," whut chew've lost from de house an'. But chew turns [wheel] gradually. Yo' call his name three times, 'Thief, thief, thief, bring back de stolen," whut chew've lost from de house, but chew still turnin' - turn slow. Don' let de wheel stop, jes' gradually turn until yo' git through talkin'. An' den on de last, yo' tell de thief, "Thief, bring back de stolen goods," dat chew have lost from de house. An' as shuah as de Virgin Mary shall not bring forth another son named Jesus, yo' shall bring back de stolen goods."
Entry 13406
All right, fust of all if ah would leave town and dat lady, if she wanted me, well it's quite nachural if ah was round dere, dere was a certain door dat ah would go through. First of all ah would take three splinters from dat and take dose splinters an' place dem in a wagon wheel an' turn it over three times, an' den put de wheel back on de wagon. Well you [I] will re- turn but 'course it wouldn't be in a stated time, but yo' [I] would be back not lak today or tomorrow, you [I] would be back within a week [seven days].
(Which way would she turn that wagon wheel?)
Turn it right. Case yo' don't know whut ah mean, yo' turn it forward.
(Turn it toward me or turn it back toward her?)
Toward her. (That means these splinters she took from the door she puts in the wagor wheel and then she turns it toward her?) Yes.
Entry 13407
Yo' kin take a man's wagon wheel if it's loose, an' if yo' want him tuh roll - want de man tuh roll - if his wagon wheel is on a tire - when it's loose - git some of his [foot] track an' jes' carry it an' git it in dere, but yo' mus' have some of dat Indian turnip wit it.] Put it in dere, underneat' dat rim, but fix dat rim in de tire. Or yo' kin fix"it anywhere roun' de wagon - anywhere.
(What will he do then?)
Well, he'll quit messin' wit chew.
(Make him move off?)
Yeah, make him roll off, he'll quit messin' wit chew. [Evidently a woman here gets rid of a man.]
Entry 13408
Lak ah tell yo', yo' take de sole [insole] of a woman's shoes or a man's shoes. See. Fo' instance if yo' don' put it on de outside where de peo- ple would see, but yo' would take it on de inside an' as dat wagon wheel roll, dat- away, jes' de same way dere mind will go - keep 'em with a rollin' mind. Dey would be in New Orleans today an' somepin would turn dem, dey git in a bad humor tuh go tuh Memphis, an' from dere tuh Arkansas, an' jes' keep 'em always on tuh rovin'. See.
Entry 13409
Yo' take a sock dat a man or woman worn, an' in- sert it in dat wagon wheel - jes' pull it off de axle an' set it in dat wagon wheel.
(You insert it in the hub.)
An' yo' put it back on dere an' turn de wheel backwards slowly an' he'll... yo' turn it backwards, three times backwards.
(That will send him away.)
unconfirmed interviewer-stated sending-away interpretation. Retain exact interviewer-only origin and selector; never turn it into informant agreement or fill the unfinished he’ll. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 13410
If somebody left home an' chew wanta bring dem back - yo' dunno why dey left an' yo' wanta bring 'em back. Yo'll go out to a lot an' dey have wag- ons, yo' know, an' dey let chure wagon stand, yo' know, stand in de lot. Git de wheel an' rock it backwards an' farwards an' den yo' git a shoe dey wear an' yo' put it on, have it boilin' about dat time, a few hours, while yo' do dat an' dey'll come back.
(You have this shoe boiling while you are turning that wagon wheel?)
Yes.
(You don't say anything?)
No, yo' jes' put it on an' let it boil, yo' know, jes' lak 'supposin' yo' go- in' cook dinnah. Have it all cookin', put chure fire, an' turn it [wheel] an' she'll come back.
(Either shoe or both of them?)
Yassuh. [Good answer to a useless question!]
Entry 13411
Well, in case ah wuz makin' love or had made love with a woman, ah kin tell dat ah guess. Ah starts at de house an' ah stump mah left foot befo' ah git dere. Ah'll go right on an' ah says, "Why do ah stump mah left foot?" Ah say dat in mah Mind. See. When ah git dere ah find othah troubles. Ah find some othah man is seekin' tuh cut off mah progress an' probably he will be dere when ah git dere, an' ah can't git tuh carry out mah aims, an' so on. Dat's de sign of stumpin' mah left foot 'fore ah git dere. An' now if ah stump mah right foot in de same direction, everything is in de cleah. Or, in going tuh a place in de mannah... [I interrupt].
(If you are going to see a woman?)
Yessuh, in de same mannah, ah meets a cat an' dat cat runs out from dat side of de road from de left going tuh de right, an' ah cut him off before he git clean cross de street or de road an' he turns back. Now, dat mah greatest enemy if ah wuz right-handed. Dese are experiences ah'm tellin' yo' now, suh. Well, ah go an' ah find mah success great.
Entry 13412
Yo' go tuh a tree, on de west side of a walnut tree an' git chew a twin walnut - dat's two growin' togethah yo' know. Git chew a twin walnut an' don't break de walnuts off, break de limb an' take yo' a brand-new ovahsize needle an' shove a hole through it dis way [demonstrates] an' den turn it on its side an' shove a hole through it dataway. Den yo' run a string through it an put one heah [demonstrates an' one behin' yo' heah [demonstrates]. An' any- thing dat chew ask fo', yo' kin git it, but yo' gotta weah 'em on yo'. Yo' cain't take 'em off. When yo' bathe yo' take 'em off, dat's de onliest time. But when yo' git through bathin', yo' puts 'em right back on yo' an' yo' wash 'em tuh church or anywhere yo' go. Yo' gotta carry 'em with yo', gotta keep 'em on yo'.
(You have a twin walnut in front and a twin walnut behind?)
No, yo' breaks de twins a-loose.
(Oh, one in front and one behind?)
Yo' break 'em a-loose.
Entry 13413
They say you can put some kind of powder on you - call it war powder war water. They say you can put that down there at their door. See, you wait until they come out and after they come out you put that down there at their door. And when they go back in, well they will create trouble. Seems their husband and them will start to fight and then their minds be all upsetted and they don't stay at that house no more. They moves away, you see. That's how you do to get rid of them.
Entry 13414
I have heard and they said they would take and put such as war water to make you - to disturb you, see. They say they sprinkle that around your door and that'll upset your mind so or somepin of the kind, if you walk over it; that if you step in it, you walk it all through the house and everybody in there would get upset. And that'll worry them and get them all upset, their mind all upset, so they'll leave you - leave the house. [This informant, 35 persons after informant in preceding rite, shows present rite a common one in New Orleans.]
Entry 13415
War powder - go to the drug store [and get] some war water powder, [I mean] some war water, and you go and sprinkle that around the door every morning before day, before the sun rise. You sprinkle that around the door. And that will get them away from there. They tell me they cannot live there.
Entry 13416
Well, they gets that war water and stop it up in a bottle and throw it over in your yard. Well, dat break up peace in de home. (This war water.) Quite natural bottles lays around in de yard and gits fulla water sometimes. Yo'll never know what that bottle means.
Entry 13417
They take war pow- ders an' war water. You git it from the drug store. An' take this bottle an' put it in. Go in front of their house an' throw it an' break it. Well, it make 'em move.
Entry 13418
If yo' wants tuh make a person move lak dat, well yo' go an' buy some war watah. Yo' understan', dat war watah, an' yo' pass in front of de do' lak if yo' had tuh pass in front of de do', an' if yo' have tuh throw de bottle across de house, yo' make yore wish. If yo' jis' break de bottle in front of de house an' make yore wish, why yo' could break 'em up an' make a big disturbance. Make 'em move an' de house would be upsetted. Yo' could upset de home.
Entry 13419
If yo' wanta make me move. All right. Well you get some war water. All right. You take that and you put that in some water - half a bucket of water - not too much. Well, you don't have to put it in the house nowheres, but put it around on the steps.
Entry 13420
Well, they have war water. See, you get a small bottle of war water and sprinkle it wherever this - jes' like if a person is - you is close neigh- bors to them, you can put it in their scrub water, you know, when you see them mopping or anything like that. You kin put it in their scrub water. If not, you can take war water and jes' sprinkle it around that house and the police will come there and they'll have all kinds of confusion - they jes' be fighting all the time, will soon break up.
(I see. This man and woman.)
Entry 13421
That war water, that confusion in the house. See, I would go by the house at night, understand, w'ilst they be sleepin'. Understand that? An' I would sprinkle this house. [Good heavens! don't get any of that on you, all materials in hoodoo are dangerous. See many places.] Jis' like if I sprinklin' the house I wouldn't say nothin'. [Does this mean silence is a part of the rite or informant would not tell victims he was sprinkling them!] Sprinkle the house fer 3 days. See, I come out late hours at night. Then they'll have to move.
Entry 13422
[To make people] get out of a house, you have to use war water, dirt dauber nest, Epsom salts and oil of lavender.
(Oil of lavender?)
Yes. [Long pause.]
(Yes?) [Continue.]
And yo' pound it all together like a flour, and you'll sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (In what?) You sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (And the gate. All right.) That would upstir the mind of a person. Just like Epsom salts works your bowels, so it would work in among them people. War water makes them restless in that place. You see.
(Yes.)
Oil of lavender will get their mind.
(Those are herbs?)
Yeah.
(Now, what will the oil of lavender do?)
The oil of lavender it'll soften him - the inner, the inner man, the spirit- ual part of that person. That you could - you would have to go. You would slide or either you would be run off. You may put oil into anything to slip [away] - you run off from that person. You understand.
(Now, what else did you put into that thing?)
Dirt dauber nest.
(What would that do?)
Dirt dauber nest is a part of ground.
(Yes?)
It may be made with lime, but you kin put that person to drift and you got nobody to...jis' like you see the dirt dauber goin' gnawin'-gnawin'. In certain places, that part of your track where you put it - where you would go, you could not stand.
(That would make me move out of that house?)
Yes, sir.
(What else did you put in that mixture?)
Epsom salt, oil of lavender, dirt dauber's nest, and war water.
(Anything else go in it?)
Yeah, you could put van-van in that, but if you put Van-van in there, you liable to put that person in trouble. They liable to get into the hand of the law.
(I see, I see.)
That only a part of making them move.
(I see. I understand.)
Entry 13423
All right, they'd get that war water powder.
(War water powder?)
Yeah, war water powder.
(All right.)
And put it underneath the sole of your shoe, that inner sole within your shoe. And you feet have to sweat - if you feet don't sweat, it don't do you anything.
(And what if your feet sweat?) If the feet sweat, it swell all up. (I see. The feet will swell up.)
[Cripples a person.]
Entry 13424
There's many things you can do with your socks and there's bad things.
(Well, suppose you tell me the bad things first.)
The bad things first. Well, yo' can take a man's sock an' take, put war water in it, and write his name and perhaps a woman's name, and bury that, and it will cause them to have terrible disturbance, too. That'll make awful fuss and disturbance. Cause them to drag sick along, long as that sock is buried.
Entry 13425
And I wouldn't want you in that place. You kin go to the [hoodoo] drug store and get you what they call some war water and take that bottle and bust that bottle in front of your place, not mine, in front of your place. And in busting that bot- tle, come back and take your name and some salt and bury it right behind your place - right at the back of your place. (Your own house, now, not the hosue of the person you want to move, but be- hind your house.) No, behind your house. See, I wanta move you.
(Oh, you're moving me?)
Yes. (And you throw this water in front of my house. Now, you are going to bury my name in salt at the back of my house.) At the back of your house, see. When that salt is buried, in less than 9 days you'll be out of there.
(I see.)
Entry 13426
I've hearn it like this: if you had a neighbor and you couldn't get along, see. You would take and get you - if you wanted them to move, you under- stand, why you could make a quarrel between the people in the house an' that would cause the landlord to put them out, see. Well, you would use an egg. You could use salt or war water, see. (Just how Would you use these, now?) Well, now, you'd take - you'd get - use the war water which the war water would be the best. See, there's two things you use, you use either the powder or the water.
(Well, explain the war water.)
Well, you take the war water and you would sprinkle that war water. You would use salt - salt makes fuss anywhere.
(How would you use that salt there?)
You would take and you would sprinkle that salt at the four corners of the house and then you'd take this war water and as you - if you can enter into the place, jes' in the alley. You don't have to go in the house. Like if - like I enter this door here. I would walk to the back door which would be the kitchen. If I could get to the kitchen, I would start to sprinkle there.
(You say you begin at the back door?)
At the back door, yes, sir.
(I see. Then what do you do?)
I'm going to sprinkle this water, see. As I come out, I sprinkle the water, letting the water run out of my hand, as I'm coming out the door, jes' as I'm walking [demonstrates] and the water's coming out. And, when I gets to the door, I takes salt and I cross it [make a cross with it] right at the gate. And at the steps, I cross [make another cross at] the steps with salt. And under the steps I jes' take and I sprinkle war water, and I take salt and jes' throw it thataway, see. That's all you have to do, salt and that war water. It'll sort of confuse 'em. You can take salt and make a confusion any kind of way. Now, that would start a confusion in the house with the husband and wife. If it's the people you don't like, see, regardless of who they are, if it be the mother and the daughter, the mother and the son, then the people that you would want to get out, why that would start a confusion. Somebody would have to go. See.
Entry 13427
People generally use this stuff they call war water. They use the powder called war water. There is a liquid called war water. Now you take that and you form it into one [mix war water powder and war water liquid]. Then you take Epsom salts and table salt and coffee grounds. Now, you make one package of that, you see. Just like a fellah lives in that yard over there, you take that before day in the morning and you sprinkle it in the yard. In a couple of days they have a racket in the home, you under- stand.
Entry 13428
Kin you understand what I say, now?
(I understand now.)
To make you move out of the house, you go and get some holy water, see [and] war water and you sprinkle that. And then you go to the graveyard, get some graveyard dust, and you go and sprinkle it with black pepper and salt. And you sprinkle it all around the step and put it underneath the steps. If it got a brick there, you put it underneath that, where they can't see it. And when anyone can't see it, it's more better. When you come down the steps and walk away, you'll cross over it. See, when you cross over it, then maybe you'll start to go black [not feel well] and then you'll come back 'round and you'll start to scrubbing - get some lye. You says, somebody's been sprinkling me. All right. You'll go and get some lye and your urinate, and take it and scrub that up. Well, the next morning, I'll go back and do the same. And when you do find it, you say, "Well, I'm going to move. Somebody is sprinkling 'round here. They must be wanting the house or something." And I done move out of the place. So that's why I give it to 'em and that's why I move.
Entry 13429
An' den yo' kin take a wasps' nest an' put it in a new piece of cloth, homespun, an' wear it aroun' yo'. Dat will make a man come an' stay with yo, or either give yo' his money an' all.
Entry 13430
If you been tricked and have dese fainting spells - any kind of spells been put on you. See, dere's a way fer you to do - is fer you to go to de person dat you think put 'em on you. Speak to him about it. Well, you see him den and you tell him how you been tricked and all like dat. Say, dey can't look at you straight to save his life because he put it on yo'. Den after yo' git dat, den you go to swift water, ah've been told. And git dat swift water and bring it back and boil it and put cayen- ne pepper in it. See, cayenne pepper and ginger. See, dat's power - dat's strong. See, dat have a great odor to it. Take dat and boil it and salt, an' carry it to his doorsteps an' yo' kin take yore time. Let it be 'way in de night, way about twelve or one clock an' pour it at his doorstep. An' it will turn de trick right back on it. Yo'll git well and it will go right back on him.
Entry 13431
Jes' lak yo' may have people in New York or othah foreign distance place, an' yo' want 'em tuh come home or yo' want tuh see 'em. Yo' take a clean watah glass an' yo' full dat glass wit watah an' yo' take dat, glass right be- hin' de lamp - see. Dat lamp should be shaded very plain - no flowah or nuthin', jes' a plain white shade, yo' know, a plain glass. Jes' have it clean. Yo' know, sterilize it so yo' kin see through it. An' have dat glass full of watah, an' yore lamp shade is clean so yo' kin see through dat. Den yo' take a lookin' glass an' put behin' dat watah, understan'. An' yo' jes' always say, "Come home." Call dem by dere name, 'Come home, come home. Ah vants tuh see yo', ah wants tuh see yo'." An' dey'll appeah right in dat watah behin' dat lookin' glass. Ah'm tellin' yo' dem things, ah've done it mahself.
(The lamp is lighted?)
Yessuh, gotta be light. An' do it midnight in de night.
Entry 13432
Take fo' instance if yo' married an' yo' go out without yore wife, an' yo' done a misdemeanor, an' yo' tave a tendency to talk in yore sleep. Well, if you have done anything, well when yo' go to sleep an' begin snoring, why she kin put chure hand in a cold pan of water an' everything that chew have done, you'll tell it.
Entry 13433
Take a glass wit some watah in it an' yore wife is sleepin'. Jes' stick her finger down in it an' she tell yo' everything, every place she been, she'll tell yo'. But chew can't keep it too long, 'cause she'll die. (Why would she die if you keep it too long?) Ah don't know. Dat take her nerve or take her breath away, but long as she sleepin' yo' kin go dere. But if yo' ain't [careful] when yo' git it from her, she liable tuh go off [die].
Entry 13434
An' if a person 'sleep an' be layin' in de bed an' yo' want 'em tuh talk tuh yuh, yo' git chew a pan of watah an' put dere han' in it. Jes' put doon dere fingahs down in de watah an' dey'll tell yo' jes' whut dey done durin' dat day. Dey talk in dere sleep. But if de wind would change de time dey got dere han' in dere, well it would kill 'em. (If the wind outside would change it would kill them?) It would kill 'em. [My only example of this belief. Presumably spirit of sleeping person to recall scenes of day must revisit them. A sudden change in the wind prevents him from returning to his body.]
Entry 13435
If a woman take your underwear or anything closely, an' take it to a spring [running water] - see, steal anything like the linin' out of yer hat, anything like that - an' wash it in spring water, you'll have a wonderin' [wandering] an' a ramblin' mind. An' keep it close to her body at all times - sich as to put it on a belt an' wear it aroun' her waist - an' that would ca zhoo [cause you] to have a wonderin' [wandering] mind.
Entry 13436
Ah've heard dat yo' kin go to a creek an' git some of a creek's watah - where [there is] a runnin' creek - an' git some of de watah an' bring it back an' sprinkle it in de yard. Jes' po' it round in de yard but in po'in' dat watah round in de yard, yo' gotta git some of dis heah John de Conkah. An' take an' boil dat watah good an' boil dat John de Conkah an' sprinkle it all round yore yard. An' dat's tuh make any man or woman move. Move them outa de house.
(Why do they use running water?)
Ah don't know. Ah always heah people talkin' an' ah have used it mahself. [Answer to my question; run you away like running water.]
Entry 13437
[Here is a simple, unusual and probably rare rite:] "If some people do things to you like that, an' you in bad luck an' things like that, well the best thing to do is to walk acrost a pond - a pond where clear water at. You go acrost that pond an' it will change your luck." [This of course is a substitute for running water, the reason for the insistance on clear water. One hears little about ponds in HOODOO, I was not seeking general folklore.]
Entry 13438
They say if you git to the thing that they have put down fer you and throw it in running water, it will turn back on de one that put it down fer you.
[Richmond 374:8.]
Entry 13439
They say cross water. That's the only way to get rid of a spell.
[Fredericksburg, Informant 73, by Ediphone.]
Entry 13440
If you have a win [wen], you might have a win on yah - course I jis' tellin' yah. When you have a win on yah, you kin take a dead man or a dead wo- man's hand, an' jes' take they hand after they done died an' layin' there, an' do it like this [demonstrates by rubbing imaginary wen] 9 times. That goes right away. [Richmond (404, Hwmpadee, female root doctor), 359:6.]
Entry 13441
Such things as dat tuh make dem bear, but ah hadn't seed dat.
(How do you mean he used to whip them to make them bear?)
Well, yo' take a bush lak dat dat wuzn't fruitin' right, well yo' jes' go dere an' jes' beat it about, yo' know, 'bout de time it's buddin' out yo' know - de berry bushes, grapevine an' things lak dat. Dey say dat make de fruit tuh not grow so fast.
Entry 13442
If yo' got okra dat won' bear, yo' jes' take yo' a switch every mawnin' an' go dere an' whip dat bush lightly an' it start tuh bearin' jes' lak any othah bush. (That okra is the same thing as gumbo, isn't it?) [The two African words refer to the plant, gumbo in the U. S. A. usually means a cooked product.]
(That is to make the thing bear?)
Yes.
[Informant now gives another method for making okra bear.]
Yo' kin take a sifter an' go out dere an' yo' sift it ovah de okra lak dat, an' if it won't bear, it will start bearin'.
(Do you put anything in the sifter or just the empty sifter?)
Jes' de empty sifter.
Entry 13443
Well, yo' jes' take any kinda switch an' whup okrey [okra] stock. Yo' know whut okrey is. Whup dat okery stock an' dat'll make it bear okrey.
[Fayetteville 2516:14.]
Entry 13444
If you got mad wit somebody, git you a grapevine, one that's never beared grapes, and twist that vine and go whip that person. They say she'll just come to nothin - won't be nothin, won't be nothin no more.
(A tame grapevine or a wild one?)
No, this is one - you know some tame grapes don't bear fruit.
(Now, how do you mean, you twist it?)
You just take the two branches... [demonstrates].
(Oh, I see.)
And twist it over... [continues demonstration].
(And then you whip them with that?)
Yes.
(And after that this person is no good at all.)
They'll be no good. (Well, how do you mean, "no good" - just sort of lost their spirit or ambi- tion or what?) No ambition or nothin, just walk de street barefooted, and...
Entry 13445
Yo' kin take a rattan stick, jes' lak a person wuz workin' against yo' or somepin an' wuz doin' some things fo' yo' or yore enemy, yo' ketch 'em out, an' take a rattan [walking?] stick an' whip him an' dat'll make him lose all his power. He cain't do nuthin. [Surely working against yo' includes trying to hoodoo you.]
Entry 13446
Dey say dat's [whirlwind is] a spirit. Dat jes' de devil whipping his wife around his stomach [around a stump?]. Nevah hear of 'em doin' anything wit dat. [Sumter (1365) 2412:11.]
Entry 13447
Take a horseshoe an' some sage leaves an' a black cat bone an' olive oil, an' yo' git some [whiskey].
(What do you do with that?)
Yo' jes' put it anywhere secretly aroun' yore place of business wherevah yo' at [and saturate it].
(You saturate it with what?)
Wit de whiskey, see. Dat supposed tuh keep it 'live an' tuh 'tract dere attention, of people. It's very attractive wit dat.
(If you want to bring in customers?) Yes.
Entry 13448
Goin' tuh a wil- low tree - when de tree first start tuh bloomin' out - yo' dig down an' yo' git one dem roots. When yo' git de roots yo' bring de roots back. Yo' take dat root an' put it in a bottle an' put some whiskey on it, an' yo' let dat stay in dere. Well, dat will run a person outa a house.
(How do you do that?)
Yo' take yo' willow tree roots an' bring it back - bring it home - take it an' put it in a bottle, a vial where yo' kin po' whiskey on it. An' if yo' kin git any of de dirt where a person been walkin' ovah - out de yard - put it right dere in de bottle too. Shake it an' carry it right back dere an' put it under de steps or either de gate - anywhere round dere - or if yo' kin put it where dey kin git holt of it, an' dat make 'em go 'way from town.
Entry 13449
Well, now a persimmon - de persimmon ain't much good as dat. But de weepin' willow tree, it's mighty fine fo' luck. A weepin' willow tree, is mighty lucky.
(Well, how do you do that?)
Well, yo' take dat an' gits de leave of it, de roots of it, an' dry it. When yo' shake it dry, den yo' jes' put it in a bottle an' set it up on de mantel- piece. About once a month yo' take a taste of it. An' ah declare hit'll bring luck in yore home fo' hit shore brought it in mine. [Since the weeping willow is a tree of ill-omen and generally considered unlucky, our present rite is unusual, one of defiance of fate, or one based upon contraries, or the well- known poison kills poison doctrine.]
Entry 13450
[As I hinted in the preceding rite, the use of weeping willow is rare and dangerous, and should be used by experts only. Here with Johnson, the elderly and delight- ful Indian-Negro root doctor of Richmond, we are on safe ground. You may recall he is the person who gave me a root I carried in my recording machine to the end; not for luck but as a display piece when occasion called for it.] "You take two pieces of weepin' willow an' yo' cross it [the 2 pieces] an' tie two little red strings aroun' it. [These 2 pieces of string, red to give it life, hold the 2 pieces of willow in the form of a cross.] When you take two little, small nails, or two bran'-new pennies are good [to put with the cross] an' tack it down under your doorstep an' put a block on it."
Entry 13451
An' jes' lak a woman - quite natural a woman git ill sometime an' crabby an' othah things, an' if yo' want her tuh stay 'way from yore house, yo' go down an' git chew some willow string. Dat be's a long branch - yo' know, willow string root. Yo' git de willow string root an' yo' don't have tuh boil it. Yo' dig it up. It's sorta like curls up, it's a root jes' crooked jes' lak when yo' make whiskey or sompin, jes' lak a [distill- ery] worm, yo' know, yo' make whiskey, yo' put sompin in de copper outfit. It jes' bunch up, dat's de way it [root] do. An' yo' take dat an' jes' let three balls [coils] of it be's runnin' roun' an' roun' one another, an' it pile up, yo' know, sorta lak a snake. It crawl up, dat's de way it do. An' yo' bury dat undah yore do'steps, front do'steps, an' she'll nevah stop dere ag'in. Dat will keep her away. Yo'll say to her, say, "Come back." She say, "No ah got [a bet- ter place to live]."
Entry 13452
Yo' kin take a willow tree an' git some of de bark offa it an' tie it up in a pocket hans'cuff an' give it to someone an' dey'll follow yo' an' do anything yo' ask 'em to. [Waycross (1134) 1841:5.]
Entry 13453
If yo' wanta make 'em move out? Ah tell yo' zactly whut ah do. Ah git some new sparklin' wine an' put it in one dese little toy jugs yo' git out de ten-cent sto', an' go right dah [there] befo' day in de mawnin' an' where he have tuh come out de gate, an' po' it down an' call on de: Three Names, de Fathah, Son an' de Holy Ghost. Vanished! It won' be long 'fo' de're [they are] gone.
(You - all you do is pour some new wine down?)
Git some new wine an' put it in one dem new toy jugs yo' see dere. An' den go dere 'fo' day in de mawnin' - don't let daylight ketch yo', an' dey'll go on.
Entry 13454
An' if yo' wants tuh git rid of him an' don' want him nowhere aroun', go git chew a bottle of wine, black wine, an' git chew a little jar of mustard - git chew half a jar of mustard. Take half a jar of mus- tard into de wine, a quart of wine or half a gallon of wine 'cordin' tuh how yo' wanta use it. Take dat mustard an' beat it into dat wine lak dat, jes' continually beat it, until it all go tuhgether an' yo' cain't see it - de mustard. Take an' sprinkle dat when he leaves outa yore house, if he's stayin' dere yo' know. An' when he leave out, jes' sprinkle dat behin' him an' let him go. He ain't comin' back. He cain't come back. [The wine leads him out, the mustard keeps him away, and informant is marked excellent.]
Entry 13455
An' if ah have a enemy that's botherin' me, ah supposed tuh git - yo' know somebody coml' tuh me an' jis' botherin' me all de time an' ah wanted tuh run 'em away. Ah kin run 'em at twelve a'clock in de night. Ah'd buy me a jug of wine an' put a dime jar of mustard in a jug of vine, an' po' that jug of wine right at de hour of twelve a'clock right at de do'step, but be sho' [sure] not tuh let de wine, tetch me. [There are numberous varnings in HOODOO by professional workers not to let any of the in- gredients used touch you.]
Entry 13456
I'll go get me a pint of this here sour wine, the Italian wine. You go there to the gate and break it right at their gate. They come out there and fuss. Nobody kin go in there without there be a fuss, fuss. What I'd do... [turn off machine too quickly and must repeat.]
(Nobody can rent that house?)
Nobody rent it.
(Because there'd be a fuss in there.)
Be a fuss all the time.
(Do you sprinkle this bottle of sour kind of wine?)
No, just break it, don't sprinkle it. Just throw this bottle on the floor, say a bad word: "God damn, you go." So there'll be a fuss all the whole time. [Not on their floor but at their gate as at the beginning of rite.]
Entry 13457
Dis pullin' bone in a chicken, yo' take dat bone an' yo' do a lotta different things wit dis bone. Yo' take dis pullin' bone an' keep it in yore pocket an' it gives yo' good luck. Sometimes yo' git a job or yo' find money. An' yo' take dis pullin' bone again an' break it an' stick it through de do' at de first man dat come in. Dat'll be yore husband.
Entry 13458
Wood lice - yo' take de wood lice an' put it in watah unbeknowst tuh de othah fellah an' yo' drink off it, yo'all body'll be full [of lice]. [Flor- ence 2179:2.] COLLECTED BEFORE U. S. A. ENTERED WORLD WAR II