Browse:Broom and Sweepings (Volume 1, entries 2424–2439)
Broom and Sweepings
Volume 1, entries 2424–2439. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2424
She kin take straws an' nail 'em cross her do', an' if anyone comes in dere to - if dey has whiskey in dere, take three straws an' nail 'em crossways an' if dey walks in, dere mo' goin' walk in with him. (You say you take three straws - from a broom?) Broomstraws - not straw broom, but stick broom straws. [Not straw or grass bent into a homemade swiss (swish) broom, a handleless broom, see Index.]
(What kind of a broom is that?)
A stick broom wit de handle to it.
(And you put three straws - each in a row - three in a row.)
Three in a row. (And if one person comes in, the rest are going to follow.)
Entry 2425
If ah wus bootleggin' or runnin' a good-time place an' wanted tuh keep de law away, ah would take me some honey an' sugah an' wash mah house out wit it, an' ah would cross a broom in mah house, an' de law cain't come in.
(What do you mean by crossing the broom?)
Ah put it crossways of de bed, crossways undah de bed lak. (You mean, this is the bed like this - you don't put the broom like that, you put it like that?) Yo' put it lak that - dat's crossways of de bed.
(Sort of catercorner under the bed?)
Yes.
Entry 2426
Law bothering you, keep sugar and cinnamon around your house - just take and sprinkle it all around. Mix sugar, cinnamon and water and just get up and pour it right on out, the sugar and the cinnamon.
(What will that do?)
And pour it on out - dash it on out.
(That'll keep the law away?)
It keep them from coming to your place to bother you in any way. If they bother you too much, you get you a old broom and you take and you cut the straws all loose - them strings, you know that hold the broom together. Well, you take and you cut them loose. And get you a box of salt and sprinkle that whole box of salt down in there and wrap a white rag around it and set it behind the door. The law won't bother you at all.
(How do you set that broom down?)
Set the handle down and the straw part up.
Entry 2427
If yo' wanta be a bootleggah an' sell whiskey, don't evah sweep de tracks out do's; always take de tracks an' sweep dem in de corner of de house an' put cookin' salt in em an' put em in de stove. An' if yo' wanta keep de police from your house, keep from runnin' back an' forth out chure house, go an' git chew a new coffeepot an' git chew some loose salt, table salt, an' yo' full up dat coffeepot, two of 'em, an' put 'em to de back do' an' de front do', "In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost," an' dat will keep de man from yore house.
(That will keep the officer away?)
Yes sir.
informant-recited invocation accompanying salt-filled pot placement. Preserve the exact Father/Son/Holy Ghost formula without appending words, theological identity or Prayer/Incantation equivalence. stated aim of keeping police away, with interviewer-confirmed officer referent. No housing eviction claim These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2428
In case if you gotta persons coming tuh yore house and you want 'em there who've lotsa money, friends who have lotsa money, when dey walk out yo' take a brand new broom and sweep de dust back up under de house, and they will always come back and bring money to yore house.
Entry 2429
Jes' lak yo' got de business an' - well, an' yo' got good trade all de time. Nevah sweep yore dirt on de outside - always sweep it in an' sweep it in de fire-hearth. An' like yo' wanted yore business to keep acomin' on too, yo' take an' go every Friday - git chew a ole shoe, git some sulphur an' a penny, an' yo' put it in de fire-hearth an' let it burn an' shet de do' an' go on outside. At twelve 'clock yo' do it.
Entry 2430
That [powder] you kin buy. Sweep from out de front door - always sweep it back in de door, sweep it up in pile, pick it up and carry it and put it out de back door. See. Well, dat's the dirt from the people's feet - you put that out the back, that's for them to come in and go in the back. You see. Well, ever' time they come in there - that draw 'em in, you see, with that powder.
Entry 2431
Walk backwards ovah yore broom evah Monday mawnin' fo' times an' dat'll keep all de law from yore house. Ah nevah be bothered wit de law. Lay it, yo know, right in yore do'.
(The front door or the back?)
Eithah one yore do's. Step backwards ovah it fo' times evah Monday mawnin' an' it keeps down all de laws.
(What time do you do that Monday morning?)
About nine a'clock jis' 'fore yo' git up - so yo' do it in de mawnin'.
Entry 2432
[If you have] urwelcome people in the house you don't want dere, you take de broom an' you turn it head up [straw up] behin' the door an' dey get right up an' leave.
Entry 2433
If anyone come aroun', yo' see, lak a pestilence - yo' know, someone yo' wanta keep away - yo' git de broom an' turn it an' spit on it an' say, "Ah want chew tuh go."
(How do you turn this broom?)
Well, yo' see, turn de straws up in de corner [demonstrates].
(You turn the straws up and you spit on it.)
Yeah. An' then when a person goes, throw peppah behin' dem or salt, an' curse 'em. Dey'll nevah come back.
Entry 2434
Ah'm running a business, understand. Ah would write the name of five diff'rent persons or nine diff'rent persons [uneven number], an' put it in a kerosene lamp an' light de lamp an' let it burn for nine days - straight 'long all day long. An' ah would never sweep de sto' or de business place out in front - ah would jest sweep it in de back an' let it remain there fo' those nine days in trash an' stuff. Never sweep it out. Ah run business heah - began in '26 an' that's whut ah did an' had de sto' fulla customers.
Entry 2435
Jes' lak if yo' runnin' a business an' a congregation of people come in an' yo' want 'em tuh come back again - if dey leave - after dey leave, yo' sweep dey tracks, yo' know de dust off dere feet in through a crack or somepin lak dat.
(In the floor?)
Yes.
Entry 2436
When he leaves, when he starts out goin' on out, yo' git a broom an' sweep his tracks jis' as fast as yo' kin right on out on de ground, an' he'll stay away.
Entry 2437
An' den dere's another way - jest lak if yo' wus living heah an' ah wus a enemy to yo'. Yo' felt dat ah wus a enemy tuh yo', dat ah put bad luck on yo' or somethin', or if yo' owed bills or somethin' of de kinds. It's a simple thing dat chew have, dat everybody keeps in dey own home yo' kin use. Yo' take sulphur, salt, spice an' red peppah, yo' powder dat up together an yo' keep dat. Jest lak if ah wus heah today. Well, yo' expectin' me tuh be back an' yo' knew ah wus a enemy. Well, somebody who knowed how to do to keep me 'way from heah, understand, dey done put chew wise. Well yo' git dat an' have it ready, so when ah leave, yo' see, as ah walk out yo' sprinkle dat stuff right out behin'me. Den goes back an' git chure broom an' sweep it out backwards. Don't nevah turn yore face - sweep it out backwards on out to de street. Dat keep 'em 'way.
Entry 2438
Yo' git 123 [or] 133 Psalms. Ah think it's de 133. An' yo' read dat 13 times when yo' first git up de mawnin', aftah yo' say de Lord's Prayer or yore mornin's prayer. An' yo' read dat. An' den yo' take an' go tuh do' tuh sweep out, three times, 'In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, let me rule dis day.
(That keeps the law away.)
[Numerology, astrology and other unscientific ideas having influenced hoodoo, I would say this is surely Psalm 133, an odd number composed of numerals 1 - 3 - 13 - 33 - 133; and backwards 31 - 331; and by addition 1+3+3=7; and by addition and subtraction 3+3-1=5; and by addition and division 1+3+13+33+133=183:3=61; and by multiplication lx3x3=9, also 13x3=39; and ad infinitum.]
Entry 2439
If dey wanted tuh take roomers an' all lak that an' business wus kinda dull, an' take an' git whut is known - dere's a powder dey call it Good luck Powder. Take it an' use that powder - take an' use that with some of the dust that is swept outa de house. Says dey go an' git that dust that's swept outa de house - lak dey go to de end of the walk when dey sweep back, dey git that an' when they git it there, dey take [and] work it together an' sprinkle it about de house. An' they burn incense with that. An' that would draw his customers.