Browse:"CHANNEL DE WORLD" (Volume 5, entries 10604–13458)/Part 5
"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 10924
Mix cat hair, dog hair, red pepper, dragon's blood, candle wax, burn; person getting scent of this will have "roaming mind." [Charleston, S. Car., 610:12.]
Entry 10925
Mix cat and dog hair, bury under doorstep, makes move. [Vicksburg, Miss., 1057:9.]
Entry 10926
Cut hair off end of tail of black cat, put in bag - "somepin like a mojo bag"' - carry it for gambling.. [Longer item, check if it can be transcribed for text.] [Richmond, Va., 365:3.]
Entry 10927
Cut hair from black cat's tail, mix with black pepper; if undesired visitor, burn this on stove, won't come back. Also keeps law away. [Norfolk, Va., 476:6.]
Entry 10928
Cut off ear of black cat, make a thumb of top skin that slips off. First, must be boiled in black cow's milk. Wear on index finger of left hand, worn to get job or any favor. [Richmond, Va., 341:7.]
The short account says 'must be boiled in black cow's milk'; the exact object of that clause remains unstated.
Entry 10929
Yo' kin take the right ear of a black cat an' boil it in a black cow's milk and dry it, an' make a thumb pad out of it an' wear it on yore thumb. Dat's mighty good luck in gamblin'.
Entry 10930
A cat or a dog, when yo' see 'em round in yore yard, it's either a sign of death or sickness. [At the moment I do not recall ever having heard this rite before. It shows the fear or awe of strange animals, the unusual of any kind!]
Entry 10931
Yo' take de blood out of a catfish, an' say fo' instance, if yo' wanta make friends wit somebody, or a woman or man, or anybody yo' wanta make friends wit. Well, nou, yo' take dat up [after blood has dried] an' powder it up, an' git close enough to dem an' jes' throw some of it on 'em, an' dat'll draw friends. Yo'll pretty much accomplish yore intention.
Entry 10932
Yo' takes a person dat's heavy drinker. Yo' git chew a live catfish- alive, any kinda fish. It don' have tuh be no special kind of fish. Yo' cut de tail off an' yo' ketch some of dat- jes' ketch three drops of that blood, an' yo' put dat blood into dat. Yo' git some likker, whatsomevah likker dey likes, an' put dat blood in dere an' give it to 'em to drink. He goin' drink it. [Catfish blood to cure alcoholism is a common belief along the Mississippi River from Memphis down through New Orleans. For cat fish blood and alcohol, see also Nos.7000-7007, p.3156-3158, v.4.]
Entry 10933
Like a man is a heavy drinker. You go to the river and catch you a catfish and git home with him as quick as you can, before he dies. Now, buy gin, wine - whaever he drinks. And take a knife and put it in that catfish's tail and hold him up and let three drops of blood drop in that whiskey or wine, whatever you [he] drink. And shake it up and put there for you [him] when you [he] come. Now when you drink this, it's goin' to make you sick. It make yo' so sick it'll almost kill yo'. And it'll give yo' no more taste for liquor.
Entry 10934
Catfish blood is supposed to be lucky fo' a gamblin' hand. Well, dey take de catfish an' cut him, an' de blood comes out, see, bleeds out. Den yo' take dat blood an' yo' wrap it up into a rag an' yo' bury it an' let it stay buried fo' eight days, so ah learnt, an' den take it up out of there an' put it in yore pocket an' dat supposed tuh be lucky [probably if you gamble on the 9th day].
Entry 10935
Okey. You kin take a catfish - a fresh catfish - and if someone done did you somepin and you wanta make 'em leave town, you take their name and write it down. And take that catfish and cut him open and sew their name up in that catfish. And go to the river and throw it overboard. And he going to, to drift away from town i that person, after you get their name. He going. He don't leave with somebody, he going leave.
Entry 10936
Write de name nine times on a piece of parchment [paper] and you take it to de water and throw it in de water. And den you take a live catfish and take his tail and cut de tail [cut piece of fin off]. And write de nane of dis Person and put it on - cut de tail of de fish and put de paper in de catfish sooth, but it must be done when de fish live. And de tail of de fish and de name dat is wrote on dis piece of parchment nine times and take it to de swift running water and throw it away and dey will leave. (I didn't understand how you do that. You put this in a live catfish?) Yes, get de fish live and you cut de tail off. To cut off piece of tail fin keeps fish from steering itself; in like manner victim wanders about aimlessly.] Den you write de name nine times of de person which you wanta leave - on parch- ment [paper] nine times. Put it in de mouth and take it to de deep water and throw it away, and don't look at it [turn your back]. Let de fish go. And you'll visualize it. Den you'll jest see 'em going.
(What about the tail of the fish?)
Put dat down in de mouth, too.
Entry 10937
Take a catfish entrails, split him open while dey alive - channel cat - an' take dat entrails an' put it in a bottle, or else bury it undah yore do'steps; jes' lak yo' had a place an' wanted tuh stay dere, why yo' kin stay dere as long as yo' wanta, if yo' bury dat undah dere, wit dere name.
(The name of the landlord on it?) Den yo' kin stay at dat place as long as yo' want to.
Entry 10938
Yo' take it an' pick it up from de ground dis way first [demonstrates]. (From the toe back to the heel.) Yes, back to de heel, and den from de heel to de toe. Yo' carry it and get some black gunpowder, and you take it and go to a river and ketch a catfish. And when yo' ketch him, don't kill him, put dis in his mouth in a piece of paper. And sew his mouth up and throw him overboard and dey'll go until de fish stops. Wheresomevah he stop, dey'll stop; whether it be beyond de state, where dey come from.
(Do you put just a piece of plain paper?)
Yes sir, jest plain paper.
(How many tracks do you take?)
Jest one.
(Which one, any one?)
Right.
Entry 10939
Wal, ah'm goin' tell you dis now, 'gin [again]. Now, in cases a per- son was treatin' yo' dirty, ag'in, an' interferin' wit yore family, what would yo' do. Yo' wanta learn dat?
[I evidently nod yes.]
All right. Well, yo' go ahead and write dere names nine times - write it nine times.
(On what?)
On a piece of paper - on a piece of Bliss [trade name] paper.
(Bliss tablet paper?)
Dat's right. An' write it and den when yo' write dat, roll it under. See, any kinda bad words yo' wanta use on dat, yo' do dat. Wal, den yo' go tuh de river - understand me good now. Go tuh de rivah an' ketch yo' a catfish. See, dis is a catfish yo' ketchin', see. Yo' know he's gotta skin, yo' know. (You catch this catfish and you have this name written on this piece of paper.) Yo' write dis party's name on a piece of paper whut have done yo' dirty, whut chew wanta git rid of 'em at once.
(Now, what do you do with the catfish?)
See, yo' take dis fish, reach and git his skin now lak dis [demonstrates]. See, he's gotta skin. Yo' skins 'im. See, yo' lift up his skin. Yo' know, lift his skin up an' roll dat tight a little space; yo' know, jes' a little space tight as yo' kin, an' stick it [name] in dere up undah his skin an' put him back in de rivah. Well, when he [fish] gone - an' he's gone wit dat message yo' see - well, when he go, dis party jumps in de rivah. And de farther dey go, den dey's tryin' ketch dat fish an' dey jes' drown demselves - fall ov'bo'd an' drown.
(Do you cut this skin on the fish and put it under there?)
Jes' cut his skin an' lif' his skin up. Gotta stick a knife in dere - yo' know jes' a little bit - an' stick it [name] up undah dere, see, an' go to de rivah wit it.
(And turn the catfish loose again?)
He's gone.
Entry 10940
If yo' in a house an' de man's hard on yo' wit chure rent, yo' take one dese channel cats.
(A channel catfish?)
Dat's right, an' whilst it's 'live, cut him open. Yo' cut dat channel cat open an' whilst it's hot, yo' take an' bury dat undah de steps where de rentman gotta tuh come ovah, an' yo' kin stay dere jes' as long as yo' wanta. Yo' gotta bury it undah de steps.
Entry 10941
Ah would jis' simply - ah would make me a smoke, an' dat would knock evahthing in de haid. (How do you make that smoke?) Ah would make it wit de fish livah an' heart. Ah would take de fiah an' ah would put de heart in a saucah an' leave dat set fo' 'bout nine days. An' aftah dat ah would take a furnace an' ah would take jis' a li'le small pinch of it. An' it drives all evil spirits clear away. Absolutely.
(What kind of fish do you use, any kind of fish?)
Catfish. De oldah de catfish is, de bettah it is.
(Now you make this smoke, then what do you do?)
Dat explores all ovah de house where yo' live. De party dat wants tuh git chew out, dey cain't be successful.
(If I want to stay in the house, I make that smoke and they can't move ne out?)
Can't move yo' out.
Entry 10942
Cream of sweet milk ovah your eye - will take de cataract eye soeebody put ovah your eye [= cream of sweet milk put in your eye will take off or cure into your eye]. [This is surely my only example of cataract being caused by hoodoo!] ]
Entry 10943
Dey take cedar an' buy [bury] undah - lak if yo' wanta do sompin tuh somebody, take cedar an' bury it undah de do'step or place where dey have tuh go in an' out. Or either put undah de do' an' it will cause a con- fusion or keep yore husband from runnin'. Lak if yore husband is goin' tuh dis woman's house, an' yo' jes' git some of it [wood] an' take it dere an' put it, dat'll cause 'em tuh break up.
(You put this cedar in her house?)
Yeah, go dere at night.
Entry 10944
A piece of cedar bush - take limb offa cedar tree an' slip it in a man house an' put it up ovah de do', up ovah de do' where he'd have to walk in at. An' ev'ry time dat man - if yo' wanta break him from his wife - ev'ry time he come in why hit'll cause confusion. An' eventually it will keep on until he can't stay dere. See, it'll run him 'way from dere. He jest can't stay dere at dat house.
(Some other man would be doing this to get rid of him.)
Git rida him, see.
(Just the ordinary branch of the cedar tree?)
A cedar bush.
Entry 10945
If yo' wanta make a person move, yo' go to de cedar tree an' yo' git de bough, a part of de cedar limb dat turn toward de sundown. An' yo' kin git [make] three pegs [from the branch] an' yo' take dese three pegs an' yo' put 'em to de front do' of a person dat chew want moved, an' dey won't stay dere. Dey'll move.
(What do you do with those three pegs?)
Yo' drive it [them] down to de step, front step if yo' can.
(What do you do with that cedar branch?)
Dat branch, dat's from de top of de tree, dat toward de sundown.
(Well, where do you get these pegs?)
Yo' git de peg from de branch.
(You take the branch off the tree then you make three pegs from the branch?)
Dat's it.
Entry 10946
If yo' wanta run off de whole family - well, if yo' move de head, why de body gotta go. Git chew three cedar limbs - gotta be long as dis arm [demon- strates]. Go right in front of dere threshold - in other words right in front of dere do'step where dey comin' in an' out - an' cross dem. Jes' put 'em in dere an' kiver 'em up. Dat'll drive 'em off. [Informant demonstrated rite, I repeat his actions.] (You take three of them - one down like that, and one on top, and one on the bottom. They are crossing, those three things. Why do you use three [to make a cross] instead of two?) [I had expected to hear the 3 Holy Nomes but informant came up with an unusual answer!] Why do you use three? Dere's Faith, dere's Hope, an' dere's Charity. An' in usin' dem, yo' lay dem down an' yo' call 'em jes' like dis, "Faith, Hope, Charity."
(And they have to move.)
Entry 10947
[She can] go to the root doctor and he'll give her a piece of the root from a cedar tree. An' she take that root an' bury it under her doorstep an' let it stay there fer three days. An' she take it up an' burn it an', if he left her, he'll come back home. [The root doctor does not tell her the name of the root or how he has dressed it.]
Entry 10948
Jest like yo' havin' 'fairs in de home, go to de sto' an' git chew some cheese an' yo' grind dose cheese up. Put chew some cream flour, mix it tcgether. It kinda like a little bit, like sulphur. Jest sprinkle a little bit all ovah de bed an', yo' know, round. An' yo' nevah [have] any mo' 'fairs goin' on in yore house.
(Fussing and fighting.)
Entry 10949
We call dem "charity root" [see later]. An' dey go dere and dig: piece to [from] de sunrise an' piece to [from] de sundown [sides]. Take dat and put 'em in a towel, in a piece of cloth. Jest put de both together - in 'em in 'tween de cloth. Put dat in yore pocket and you be lucky if yo' git a job most anyway. [What he says here is not what he means.] Dat's de way dat I heard it. [I had trouble understanding some informants in Charleston. My informant called the root charity root, thought my transcriber; to me the root sounded like cherrytree or Cherokee root.]
Entry 10950
They call it the chew root, a small root, something like hickory bark, as you talk to this fellow for a job.
Entry 10951
(Mixed chickens in the yard is luck?) [I am repeating informant's statement for microphone.] Is luck of any kind. (And what about white chickens?) A real white family of chicken on de yard is quarrely, destroyed business, an' death in de family, an' no luck atall. An' a jet black chicken is hard to any man, on de yard.
Entry 10952
In case yo' poisoned when yo' bitten by a snake, yo' kin take a young chicken an' split him wide open while he's 'live an' put it on dat place, bind it roun' tight, an' dat vi draw off de poison from dere,
Entry 10953
For snake bite or rat bite, Doctor King, temporarily of Richmond and elsewhere, used a fresh black chicken poultice.
Entry 10954
Kill de chicken while it's live an' cut it open an' put it on de wound, it will kill poison from de rattlesnake.
Entry 10955
De matches, yo' take - say, fo' ninstan' [for instance] yo's goin' tuh steal some chickens tonight in dis chicken coop out heah, yo' take yo' a box of matches an' yo' wet 'em an' rub 'em in de pam of yore han' an' go on in dere. De chickens cannot holler. No sir, dat sulphur gits right to 'em an' dey can't holler atall. Yo' kin go in dere an' git 'em.
(How many matches did you take, you say?)
Jest a box, a whole box.
Entry 10956
I heard them say that you can take a red-hot poker and stick it in the chicken house and all the chickens will jump on it and you can take them out an' no one will ever know it.
Entry 10957
Ah've seen 'em take a chicken bill fo' bad luck - de mouth [beak].
(What do they do with that?)
Wrap it up in a rag an' put it under de steps. Dat'll run a person.
(What do you mean run them? Run them where?)
Yeah, it'll run 'im, make dem move out de section where yo' at. Let's say ah have a good neighbor an' ah wants to makes 'em leave heah, "Ah don't be bothered an' wants to git where ah'm"at, " yo' understand. Well, ah jest take dat chicken bill an' cut it off, an' cut it off an' put [it in] a rag, an' some day when yo' out dere, ah slip it up under yore do'step. It will shore make yo' go.
Entry 10958
They write a person's name in the blood of a chicken, or fowl, or bird. They kill them and they don't pull their heads plumb off, they cut it so they bleed on the side of the neck and let it drain in the basin, and take and write a person's name with it for ill omen for any particular person. That's supposed to be very, very bad luck to write a person's name in blood.
Entry 10959
Ah know 'zactly how tuh do dat. Co'se ah gits ten dollahs fo' dat. [This woman is a root doctor.] "Co'se ah don't tell nobody. De way dey do dat, dey take a black chicken an' kill dat black chicken, an' take a piece of paper, don't chew know, an' write dere name wit dat blood. An' den when yo' write dere name, yo' nail it down by de do'. Nail it down by de do' an' call dere name three times. An' ah don't care where dey is dey gotta come. A black chicken.
Entry 10960
Dey use de chicken's blood fo' evilness, but now, it's somepin else dat dey have tuh use wit it. Dey takes chicken blood an' writes people's name wit it. Dey have tuh use a feathah. Dey take de feathah out of de chickens tail. Take an' write a person's name wit chicken's blood an' kill 'em. Why yo' uses dat feathah fo' yore pencil an' yo' kin write dere name in de fo' cornahs on anything an' fold de fo' cornahs, jes' lak dat. Why dat gives 'em a awful mind. If it don't kill 'em it will jes' [have] dem passin' away all de time. (What do you do with that paper then, after it has those names on it?) Take dat papah aftah yo' put dat name on it an' bury it in undah dey do'steps or any place wit dat chicken blood on it. Yo' write dey name wit de chicken's blood, dey perfect [full] name fo' times on de fo' cornahs of dat papah, an' fold it an' bury it undah dere do'steps or undah yores, any- body's elses. It don't make any diff'rence jes' since it's in de earth. An' as dat chicken blood passes away, why it gives yo' success. Dey cain't stay any place.
Entry 10961
Jis' lak if someone heah an' yo' don' want 'em heah. Yo' take dat chicken blood an' write dere name up ovah yore do', an' dat runs 'em from yore house. [Walking under (as well as over) something be- longing to you is always a serious business.]
Entry 10962
Dat chicken blood an' de bat heart, an' yo' take it an' put it in a bottle. An' take de chicken blood an' po' it into de bottle an' dat makes yo' lucky in yore home...an' de heart of a bat an' use de chicken blood.
Entry 10963
Ketch de blood when it's warm. When you kill a chicken, don't let de blood get cold, ketch it while it's warm, you see. And take and mix it with sul- phur in a can or anything and set it aside and just before it get cold, if you kin get dat person to bring some of that stuff on them, that will kill them. [This is done magically by putting on vic- tim's name or handing him something that has touched on contains the mixture.]
Entry 10964
Now if you wanna use chicken blood, you kin use dat. Take de chicken and cut 'em open while he 'live. Don't kill him and den cut him open. Jes' take de knife and stick him right in de back, and cut him open while he 'live, and put dat - each half of dat chicken on each por- tion of your spinal cord here. You understand. It cure any shingles in de world. What you call chicken blood, yeah, wit shingles. Now, dat will stop de shingles.
Entry 10965
You don' need so much and yo' don' need so much doin', understand? You take a ten-cent piece, a ten-cent piece and put it in de bottom of your foot in de sock, in de bottom of your foot. You understand me? Well, all right, and you git chew a black hen egg. A black hen don't lay a black hen egg.
(I unders tand.)
And if you want a pal's lady friend and you know her name, you write her name on de egg and you, in two minutes, go down to de river and throw it in de river, and don't turn or look back until after you gone about two squares. Don't look back at all. [Preceding squares instead of blocks very un- usual.] (You throw it over your shoulder then?) No, you don' throw dat over your shoulder. (Oh, you just throw it right in the river and then turn around and go right back?) Throw it right in de river and go turn on back [home]. You understand me?
(I understand.)
And dat will drive dem away from you. You understand me? And you will have no more trouble or nothin'. And dis [ten-cent] piece you put under de bottom of your foot, you wear it in dere two-three days, and den after two-three days...
[I turn off machine, then restart it.]
(You what?)
After two-three days you wear dat piece in de bottom of your foot, let me see it.
(Let me see it?)
Let me see it. (Who sees it? Do you mean? Oh, the woman whose name is on the egg. You let them see it?) No, you let me see it.
(Well, why did you see it?)
Yeah. Now, I goin' tell dat. You put dis piece in de bottom of your foot, and if it turns black - you understand me - if it turns black, dey have hurt chah.
(Oh, I see. I understand now.)
You understand me, now? Well, if it do turn black, it is somepin in you. Understand me? Yeah, but - and den... (Well, now, just a moment. You mean - now suppose I am doing this. Suppose I am doing this to someone. I get this egg and I wear this silver piece. Which shoe do I wear that in?) In the bottom of the foot in the shoe.
(Either shoe? In your left or?)
In the sock, yeah - right.
(The right shoe.)
Entry 10966
If yo' livin' in a house an' ah want chew tuh move, yo' [I] git a black hen's aig an' let it be fresh, an' go to a ole cow lot an' git some fresh cow manure. An' wrap it in a piece of red flannel cloth an' wrap it tight an' tie it with three white strings. (Just how do you tie that with three white strings?) Take yore aig an' put it [manure] all ovah it an' wrap it. When yo' wrap it up in de center, always turn it to yo'. Don't turn it from yo', turn it to yo' and fold it up, an' den git chew three white strings - oh, about dat long [demonstrates].
(Several feet long.)
An' wrap it to yo'. Den wrap it round dis way. Den yo' take dat aig...
(You make a little parcel out of it?)
Yes. (You wrap it one way and then turn around and wrap it the other way, always wrapping it to you.) An' den yo' take dat aig an' go tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' put dat aig right down in dat watah, an' leave it, an' jes' de same as dat watah wash dat aig away, it'll wash yo' from where yo' are. (Well, now what connection has that egg with me? Has it some connection with me?) [The connection I wanted expressed was that the informant was trying to send me away. The rite is legitimate as it stands.] De connection ah don't know, but ah'm jes' tellin' yo' whut ah heard.
(This will make them move out of the house, make them move out of town?)
Yessuh.
Entry 10967
Take the aig and boil it.
(What kind of an egg?)
Hen aig. And take the yellow out of it, de yellow core out of it, and take de white and - take de shell of hit and you wrap it up in somepin. Put it up under his head, under de mattress up where he sleep - under his head. (What will that do?) Make him be honest and loving, leave other women alone. (I see. Well, now do you put this yellow and the white together, or separately or what?) Take de yellow out of it, de yellow ain't no good - jest use de white.
(Oh, I see. And you put this white - what do you put it in?)
Jest wrap it up in somepin like a cloth, and put it under de mattress - up in under his haid. [White of chicken egg - cooked or raw, especially the latter- is a symbol for human semen: see rites under IMPOTENCE.]
Entry 10968
Take that left shoe. You understand, take that left shoe - from the under part of it, from the foot part, you know, like you walk like it was stiff [take the sole] - and a egg and put out under the step, and she'll come back. (Stand up?) Yeah, just like you [informant demonstrates]. (Standing up - this way, toes point to the house?) [Here we are back to complete show again.] Yes.
Entry 10969
For asthma, take water from horse trough and white part of raw egg, hite of 6 eggs in quart of water, but catch the water while horse is drinking. [Richmond, Va., (404 = "Humpadee," a professional worker, woman of hugh size and frequent laughter, whose material is scattered throughout HOODOO; see Bo.1338, p.453; No.1711, p.521, v.1, etc.), 358:4.]
Entry 10970
Take a aig an' boil it, cut it half in two, an' take de yelloo part out an' fill that up with salt, an' take it an' eat it without drintdn'gyatah at all. An' ask to see de man dat chure goin' tuh marry or the w yo goin' tuh marry, an' yo'll see 'em when yo' drink dat watah. [You vill see the that night in a dream. This is ordinary folklore. I have included it bere becamse divination is part of a hoo- doo or root doctor's work. He or she might offer this advice to a client.] [Fay- etteville, N. Car., 2572:16.]
Entry 10971
(What would you use that egg for?) Yo' fast all day on Thursday to turn [improve] yore mem- ory, dat chew will git de right understanding. You fast de entire day. And den you boil dat aig and remove de shell. After you remove de shell, den you write de 4th and 8th verse, I think it is, [of Psalm lO4] on dis aig. Anyhow you write as much as about ten or twelve verses on dis aig, and put de egg in yo' mouth whole, and dat will turn yore mem- ory, will help you to keep your memory and get some [knowledge] of things which you wanta do. Dat's one thing egg will do. Dat's de only thing I know about de egg, but chew must put de whole egg in de mouth, when you have wrote dis on dis egg: Remove de shell and write dis on dere. De egg must not be broken.
(What do you write that with?)
Ink. Dere's nothing else will write on it but ink, on a boiled egg.
(And what verses of what?)
De 104th Psalm.
Entry 10972
Take a fresh-laid aig [often called yard egg] an' put it up on de do' facin' [top over door uninclosed leaving a ledge] on de do' yo' know lak, an' dat'll move dem. [Uninclosed space over door indicates an unfinished or shed-type build- ing. For a similar over-the-door rite, see No.11044.]
Entry 10973
[After THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG (pp.3714-3776, v.4), also egg beliefs concerned with murder (pp.3276-3285), and eggs everywhere in HOODOO as parts of other rites, there are still a few left, most of them too short for margin titles of their own. That is why I have grouped them here, underlining key words.] Take a fresh yard-egg [very common name on lower Mississippi River for an egg laid naturally by a free-living chicken, not by a chicken living its whole life in a one-cubic-foot wire cage prison], not a grocery egg [says my informant, who could have added that it was also an unfertilized and unnatural egg]...write the person's name on that egg...3 times...cross the Mississippi River and when you gets in de middle...throw that egg over your left shoulder and you curse it; that break 'em up. [New Orleans, La., 1185:6.]
Entry 10974
You put a little hole in it [shell of raw chicken egg] and draw [usus- ally suck] that [raw] egg [yolk] out...take a person's name an' write it 9 times... put it in that egg [shell] and stop the egg up...throw it in the river. An' as long as that egg will float, drift down [the river], those people will drag, [1 mean] will drift.
The account instructs throwing the egg in a river. Editorial object explanations remain separate, and neither an identified river nor the alleged drifting effect is established.
Entry 10975
Write name on black hen egg, throw into running water, runs out of town. [Petersburg, Va., 423:4.]
Entry 10976
Write name on black hen egg, throw in running water, sends away.
[Norfolk, Va., 533:6.]
Entry 10977
Write name on black hen egg, throw into water as tide goes out; soon after, the person will die. [Newport News, Va., 512:2.]
Entry 10978
Pick hole in egg, take out inside, put person's hair in, write name on [egg shell], seal [hole], throw into running water, runs person crazy. [Nor- folk, Va., 460:2.]
Entry 10979
Put an egg in a bag, drop bag between man and woman so it will spatter, and say, "Separate." Black hen egg not necessary.
Entry 10980
Take a [black hen] egg and heap it at the gate...throw it down an' curse it; [they] say you got to move.
The account instructs cursing an egg. The bracketed additions remain editorial, and no performed curse or resulting movement is established.
Entry 10981
Break a fresh egg against person's door to move. [Washington, D. C., 838:7.]
The source prints this as a short instruction. Its opening notes assign unbracketed text to informants; a verbatim recording is not established.
Entry 10984
Burst black hen egg at person's door on Friday to give bad luck.
[Mobile, Ala., 874:5.]
Entry 10985
To make move, burst against door a black hen egg laid on Friday.
[Mobile, Ala., 877:11.]
Entry 10986
Drop one black [hen] egg right at door at twelve o'clock in de night...they'll certainly git away from there.
Entry 10987
Bury chicken egg at door to make you move.[ Charleston, S. Car., 555:8.]
Entry 10988
Bury black hen egg at door; when it busts, you die. [Richmond, Va., 333:7.]
Entry 10989
To break up, or confusion between man and your woman, black hen egg under door. [Norfolk, Va., 493:25.]
Entry 10990
I would get me a egg from a frizzly hen an' I would put it under the steps; then after 9 or 7 days, you see, that egg would bus'. That would make confusion and the landlord would put 'em out de house.
Entry 10991
But some informants say: name black hen egg, mark it [mark it perhaps as you mark, scratch or scribble up setting eggs], bury at door, when it bursts, you die. [Richmond, Va., 334:3.]
Entry 10992
Get a egg from a black hen an' write their name upon it 9 times, an' bury it underneath their steps an' make 'em move.
Entry 10993
They take the name of the person who you dislike and write this name on these [rotten eggs] crossways, up and down de egg [each name crosses the other name, yours being the top name] and write yours on top of it [the other name] and make your wish. And after that, why you go to the door and just chunk it on the door; make it bust on the door or either on top of the house. And that will make a disturbance in there. [Newport News, Va., 500:2.]
Entry 10997
Throw fresh yard egg over house, black hen egg, left fall on other side to move. [Mobile, Ala., 948:10.]
Entry 10998
Throw black hen egg across house and let break on the other side, makes move. [Wilmington, N. Car., 268:8.]
The account explicitly says to let the egg break on the other side of the house. The asserted moving effect and actual performance are not established.
Entry 10999
Throw fresh black hen egg across house so it breaks against the house to make person move. [Charleston, S. Car., 610:9.]
Entry 11000
Break a frizzly chicken egg at the house to make person move.
[Charleston, S. Car., 546:13.]
Entry 11002
Throw black hen egg over house, breaks over house to move. [Newport News, Va., 503:9.]
Entry 11003
Throw egg against side of house and you leave within 3 days. [Vicks- burg, Miss., 1012:7.]