Browse:CONTAINERS FOR GRAVEYARD DIRT (Volume 4, entries 7628–7639)
CONTAINERS FOR GRAVEYARD DIRT
Volume 4, entries 7628–7639. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → GRAVEYARD DIRT MUST BE BOUGHT FROM SPIRIT. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 7628
Ah learnt dat yo' could git dirt out of a graveyard an' put it roun' a person's house an' run dem away. An' yo' could put it undah de house an' someone would burn de house down. (This graveyard dirt under the house?) Undah de house would burn de house down. An' if yo' sprinkle it roun' de house, why it would make de person move, dey couldn't stay dere. Ah heard dat when yo' git it, yo'd have tuh git it in a bag, put it in a paper bag, an' yo'd have tuh keep it separate from any othah dirt.
Entry 7629
Graveyard dirt in de mawnin' - 'long in de mawnin' jes' befo' day, yo' kin go out to de graveyard an' dig into a grave an' jes' at de end of dey foot wheresomevah a person is buried into dis grave, an' git three handsful of dat sand. An' put it into a red papah bag an' bury it. Keep it three or fo' weeks [first], [because] dis person dat chew love, it's [the length of burial time of dirt in red bag is] 'cordin' [according] to how colored dey are. Yo' kin make dem come back home in a certain length of time.
(What would they do with that dirt after they got it, could you tell me?)
[I wanted a detailed account of how time of keeping dirt depended upon the darkness or lightness of a person's shade of black or brown or lighter shades of a person's skin. My preceding question was a bad one because I ask for a repeti- tion of general information rather than the specific details about intensity of color. THERE ARE RITES IN HOODOO DEALING WITH COMPLEXION, especially those about candle colors.] Ah really don't know. Ah hear lots of 'em say how it's done. Dere so many Ways, ah would really not know exactly how it's done. Ah heered lots of 'em say it.
(Well, what do you get this dirt for?)
Yo' git dis dirt to make a person [come back home].
(You put this dirt in the red paper bag. Then what do you do with it?)
Yo' wrap it an' bury it jes' lak yo' would a package. Yo' know, Wrap up a package an' bury it undah de ground somewhere near about where yo' stay at.
Entry 7630
Yo' kin take graveyard dirt if yo' is a gambler, if yo's a bolito player or if yo's a poker player or somepin like dat. Yo' kin dig down an' git some graveyard dust an' tie it up in a red bag - see, understand, a red bag an' yo' carry dat in yore pocket. Now, we often wins wit dat, 'cuz dat's where we come from [from the dust of the earth]. An' tote it in yore right-hand pocket. If yo' won't git lucky from dat yo' won't git no luck.
Entry 7631
They git the dirt out of the graveyard and they stop that up in a bot- tle and they will come to yore house. If they don't like you, they come to yore house with that graveyard dirt. Mix it with a little salt and they sprinkles it underneath the steps. Then they stop the other one tight an' bury it. But chew not supposed to be home when dey do dat, and any time yo' go back to dat house why yore spirit is gone. Dat driv yore spirit away. Yo'd go to de house but chew can't stay.
Entry 7632
Yo' kin take de graveyard dirt an' boll it an' put it in a bottle dat kin broke easy. An' yo' an' a person come in contact, dey fixin' tuh fight [you], if yo' git a chance tuh break dat bottle ovah dere haid an' cut dem an' bring de blood out, why dey'll linger an' pine away an' die. (You do that if you think you are going to get into a fight, get into a fight with anyone?) Yes. See, see him comin', why crack dat bottle ovah his head an' bring a little bit of blood an' let de watah run down. [I suggest that the graveyard dirt is boiled to arouse the captured spirit of the graveyard dirt to fighting madness.]
Entry 7633
Dey could go an' git some graveyard dirt, an' dey have whut dey call a Way of dressin' A BOX LAK DIS THING [my Telediphone recorder on the table be- tween us], like puttin' it in a box, if dey wanted tuh do harm tuh yuh. If yuh were a woman or if yuh wus a man, eithah way, yuh take it vice-a-versy. Put it in a box an' - put dis graveyard dirt in it an' go tuh yuh home when dere wus not no one aroun'. An' lift up yuh bottom step, de firs' one dat yuh walk on, an' place it down in dere. Den dey will manage some way not tuh go back dere de same day, but dey will go back maybe in de evenin' tuh stir yuh aroun' an' maybe send yuh fer a drink of watah or somepin lak dat. An' den dey will dress yer whole house an' yuh won't stay dere. Dere is no Way fer yuh tuh stay dere.
(How will they dress the house?)
Well, dey dress it wit de same dirt dat dey have dat dey gits in de graveyard, but dey git it near [the] heart.
Entry 7634
Go tuh de graveyard an' git me some graveyard dirt. If dey bury hishaid lak dat toward de east, an' ah'll jis' straddle dat grave an' ah'll git dat dirt in a tin box. Well, ah'll git dat dirt in a tin box an' ah'll take dat dirt an' ah'll put it undah mah arm. Ah'm comin' on home. Ah'll fasten dat dirt up an' when ah git a chance ah throw it in dere house. Dat's whut ah do.
(What do you mean you straddle that grave?)
Jis' straddle it lak dat [demonstrates].
(Where do you dig the dirt from?)
Right off de grave, right on top of it. Ah'll go to a person dat died bad an' went tuh hell.
The informant describes straddling a grave, collecting surface dirt in a tin box, carrying it under an arm and throwing it into a house. Questions and a bracketed demonstration note are separate. The deceased person's fate is the informant's belief; the account does not establish it as fact.
Entry 7635
They say they take this graveyard dirt, choo understand, take it an' put it in a box. Take a piece of yuh underweah whut choo weah nex' tuh yuh skin [and put it in the box], an' jis' put it in a trunk an' let it stay there. An' as this dirt turns this piece of yuh underweah yel- lah, dat's jis' de way yuh'll turn. Yuh'll jis' fade right away. NO DOCTOR
[M.D.] KIN CURE YUH!
Entry 7636
Prob'ly if yo' [a doctor] got girl [patient] an' she's worried up 'bout some man 'nother, an' she cain't git 'im tuh act right, cain't git 'im tuh do right, an' he won't treat 'er right or sompin 'nothah lak dat, den yo' kin go tuh a graveyard at night. Yo' have tuh go dere certain time of night, go at twelve a'clock at night an' git a han'ful of dirt an' tie it up in a han'kerchief an' bring it back dat same night an' be sho' dat yo' know de room dat she sleeps in. Say, fo' ninstance, she sleepin' in dis room, an' yo' come tuh de windah dere an' yo' 'sposed take a li'l' de dirt an' sprinkle it up on de windah sill an' take de rest of de dirt an' sprinkle up on de walk, where dey walk comin' intuh de house. An' he'll nevah treat her wrong no mo'. He will always be nice tuh her den.
Entry 7637
Yo' kin take dat graveyard dirt an' throw it aroun' in yore house an' throw all alongside of de bed, an' rub it on down dere. An' yo' kin take dat graveyard dirt an' yo' kin make a man - ah mean work fo' yo' de balance of 'is life wit dat graveyard dirt. An' take a little of it an' tie it in de cornah of red silk han'ke'- chuf an' tote it on yo'. Jes' tote it on yo' enywhere an' he'll nevah be satis- fied till he back wit chew.... He git away from yo', he ain't satisfied until he git back where he wuz....
Entry 7638
Dirt from man's grave, at face part, pick up with silver spoon, go at just dark or just before day, sprinkle in 4 corners of house, or throw on top of house, to move.
Entry 7639
Jes' lak a man er [or] woman, anyone, say, if she really meant tuh kill dis man - wanta have him outa de way. She kin go tuh de graveyard - if he don't pertect [detect] it befo' she git too fah [far], see. She kin go tuh de grave- yard an' git dis dirt outa 'tween a grave. She gotta git from de grave doh [though], de head of de grave, de person head. Dey git dat dirt offa de head of de grave. Den she take dat dirt an' she take a small piece of cloth an' she sew dat up in dere, an' den she take dis cloth an' she weah it roun' her waist. Now, dis man, he Would contin'ly [continually] feel- in' bad an' weary an' stuff [similar feelings], but he don' know whut it come from. Now, dis woman she would weah dat an' weah dat until she git dis man tuh de place dat he would git puny, sickly an' jes' cain't he'p [help] hisself, an' den if someone don' tell 'im how tuh go out...says, "Well, bless me, yo' is lookin' very bad, yo' oughta go an' see de doctor. Why don' yo' go an' see a root doctor tuh see whut's de mattah wit chew?" Well, nachur'ly [naturally] dis man wouldn't believe it, becuz he don' think dat it nachur'l [natural] dat 'is wife or de girl dat 'e [he] goin' wit, er somepin, would do him any hahm [harm] lak dat. An' nachurly [naturally] he may, if he don't git tuh some of dose [hoo- doo] people, dis thing will finely [finally] kill 'im.