Browse:CURE AND PROTECTION (Volume 1, entries 1090–1706)/Part 8
CURE AND PROTECTION
Volume 1, entries 1090–1706. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1650
Why she was down sick an' dey couldn't fin' no remedy 'tall fo' 'er so Uncle Winston, dey sont fo' 'im an' he found a crossed piece up under de left side of her bed. It had some of 'er hay [hair] in it and some of 'er raimints - near raimint dat go close to de body, an' he put it in de runnin' stream and dat family runned off and dey nevah been seen no mo'. [Word raiment lingers on from King James Version of Bible.]
Entry 1651
One dat I have seen in mah lifetime to be - ah've seen dis. My mother she was visiting a neighbor across a milldam and, well, ah don't know whut [quarrel] rise against [between] them. But anyway, ah was a little baby fellah - ah could remember dat - ah was about nine years old. An' she goes over that evening to visit and on her way back, why all at once she got weakened down on de milldam so much so dat she couldn't cross - had to go right down to her knee an' crawl. An' dere was an' ole man met her. She was on de way home an' dis ole man lived across de milldam, why he was on de way tuh his home an' he met her on de milldam. An' he ast her whut was de matter, he says, "Whut is de matter wit chew so much so dat yo' gotta crawl." She say, "Ah don't know. Ah got weakened down when ah got on de milldam - ah got weakened down so much so ah can't stand up." He say, "Aw, stan' up anyhow." She say, "Ah can't stand up." He caught her an' he kinda lift her up an' he looked at her. He'd taken de bonnet off her haid an' throw it in de milldam, throw it ovah in de water an' de bonnet went swimming off down de milldam like unto a bird - quick jes' like a bird right on down de milldam. An' he said, "Now git up an' go on home." An' jes' whut - dey say dat if you take the hat of a person an' throw it into de running water, why dat person will travel all along during de time.
(Well, why did he throw this hat of your mother's into the milldam?)
Say dat the trick that worked on her, worked on her through her bonnet - well, de water would take it an' carry it away an' event'ly [eventually] all de evil.
(That was in her hat - caused that trouble.)
Caused that trouble. (He told her that the trouble was from her hat, didn't he?) [He says this but I am trying for a better statement and any additional detail.] In de hat. An' he'd taken the hat off an' throwed it into de water. WelI, de water had taken it an' carried it on off, an' immediately she got up an' went on about her business.
Entry 1652
They claim that they can make you step over most anything to hurt you. They claim if you're an enemy to him, he will put down something under the door for you; and if you step over that, then they got you like they want you. In four or five days you feel an ailment coming to you. Then you go to a hoodoo doctor and he'll explain to you what happened to you. He'll say there's some- thing planted at your doorstep. You go back home and get it up and bring it back to him, and he'll do something to it [dress it] and give it back to you to carry to running water, south running water, and that will go back to the person after you to hurt you.
Entry 1653
(You think this was an actual fact?)
I believe it's a actual fact because the young boy lives right in this town now, but he's not here in this house. Well, the reason why I believe that to be a fact. They say that a person does things to you like that and you crosses running water, why it does away with the Spell as long as you stay over - across that water. Well, there's a young fellow lives right here [in Elizabeth City] and he's been to the asylum, I guess, four times. Every time he crosses Albermarle Sound going to Goldsboro, when he gets there he's more sense than the man that carries him. [To cross Albermarle Sound on the way from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to Goldsboro, could sound strange today, but back in the early 1930's a mental patient would take the train from Elizabeth City to Edenton, ferry some miles across Albermarle Sound to Skinnersville, and continue by train to Goldsboro. As I have noted elsewhere even my train trip from Waycross to Brunswick, Georgia, was a slow and tedious affair.] And he's there now. He's there now and getting along well and waiting on the tables - no more the matter with him in the world than when he first started. He married a girl here and this girl's mother seemed to be one of those fixers, you know, and she put those spells on this boy - that's what they said, and she died, and they say if a person dies that put those spells on you, you can't never be cured. You can be cured as long as they live, but if they died without you being cured, why it's an impossibility [see p.396]. That's what they tell me.
Entry 1654
See, when a person's luck is crossed an' yo' wants tuh uncross yore luck, yo' go cross watah but den yo' don't come back de way yo' go across. When you git middleways of dat watah, yo' git chew three pieces of any kind of money any three, anything yo' got three pieces of money, an' yo' throws it ovah yore left shoulder an' make yore wish. But when yo' come back - if yo' go 'cross, see, on dis side, right 'long heah, well yo' come back. Well, yo' don't come back on dis side, yo' go 'cross de right side goin' 'cross an' den come back across de right side - leave yore left side be back when yo' comin' back. Don't come straight 'cross back dat same spot where yo' went across, cause yo' bringin' luck back with yo'. But if yo' go across dere an' den come across anothah place, yo' breaks yore [crossed] luck - crossin' any kinda runnin' watah. (You cross - now, for example, if we cross on the ferry coming over here - we come across on the ferry, throw the money into the water. Then, how do we go back? Right back on the ferry again?) No. If dey got anothah ferry, if yo' got any kinda way, don't go back on dis same ferry. Go back on anothah faster even, but if dere's anothah ferry some- where an' yo' kin git to it, go on anothah ferry at closer distance and go cross dat watah.
(And you go to your right or to your left?)
To your right. (You turn and go to your right. If I cross on the ferry over here, I would go to my right going back?) Yassuh.
Entry 1655
Well, jes' lak if dey put anything down fo' yo' an' yo' finds it. Lak if dey buries anything down for you - yo' know, dat cunjuration dey calls it, make it little plainer to yo'. Well, yo' take that chew see when yo've found that - don't put chure han' on it. Jes' take a little iron or somepin other an' take it out an' put it in a paper sack an' carry it to a runnin' stream of water an' throw it ovah yore left shoulder. Turn around three time on yore heel an say, "In de Name of de Lord, drive mah enemies away from me." An' dey can't do yo' any harm.
Entry 1656
A man who dug up a bottle at his house threw it into running water, threw a handful of salt behind it and said, "Go, you devil, go."
Entry 1657
A boy in de country said dat somebody gave 'im some whiskey. He had a snake into 'um. He said ev'ry now an' then it would turn in 'im. An' he said he went to somebody an' dey tole 'im to take a egg an' fifty-cents an' walk 'cross some runnin' wadah. He said he did dat an' he said it was all ovah. He jis took de egg an' when he got ready to go 'cross de wadah, he broke it an' suck it; he took de fifty-cent an' held it in [left] hand an' went on 'cross, went 'cross an' then came back. [The word "left" within brackets is in my original pencil transcription attached to MS; also a later note, "Check [[recheck]] for left." This means I asked, "Which hand," and informant replied, "Left," showing that I eliminated question and answer to save space. My failure to recheck indicates my later conviction that "yes or no" or "two-choice" questions are meaningless.]
reported literal breaking of an egg before sucking it and crossing water. The boy's experience and recovery are reported, not independently established. reported sucking of the broken egg. Preserve the original dialect/tense and the boy's nested reported action, not a firsthand performance by this narrator. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 1658
I've heard that if you - if somebody is trying to harm you - well, like you know me, you come to me if I know anything and you ask me about it. Well, I'll tell you what to do. Now, you go to the river, turn around, turn your back to it.
(Turn your back to the river.)
First, to the running water, then you turn your face.
(Oh, then you turn your face to the river.)
Like this [demonstrates].
(Put your hands over your eyes.)
Over your eyes and ask de Lord, "Lord, please help me."
("Lord, please help me.")
It's all gone - it's all gone.
Entry 1659
[Whiskey is frequently fed to a protective hand or to a troublesome spirit.] Well, dey say if a person dies, if he die cruel to yo' or something lak dat, say his spirit will come back. Well, it comes den through a dream - co'se dey has rid me, it jes' as natch'r'l though as I'm lookin' at chew. Dey jumps right up on yo' an' dey ketch yo' an' when dey ketches yo', yo try to call but yo' can't call - yo' jes' [demonstrates] (gasp - gasp) jes' lak dat until he turn yo' loose.
(Trying to catch your breath?) [For a hag or spirit riding, see p.135f.]
That's right - until he turn yo' loose an' yo' kin hear 'im when he hit de floor. An' yo' kin hear 'im when he come in, but chew can't not see 'im.
(This is a spirit?)
That's right.
(Well, can't you keep them out of the house any way?)
Yo' take a new piece of lumber [see p.513f.] an' take yo' a lamp. First, yo' take that lumber, a new piece dat never been used, an' drive it right cross de do' an' set dat lamp about three and a half feet from it, an' he'll never walk in no more.
(What kind of a lamp?)
Jest a ordinary burning lamp, oil lamp.
(You keep that lamp lighted at night or?)
Jes' turn it low an' put dat piece of new lumber down dere an' yo' won't be bothered with him any more - unless you'd use it, take it up. (Did you ever hear of them catching one of those people? Sometimes they catch them.) Well, ah've heard they catch them in a sifter. Yo' takes a sifter an' when yo' put it over yore face, right up on yore breast lak that, or if it's a person dat have drunk whiskey - if he is a whiskey drinker, yo' takes a little whiskey yo' put right round in dat place, an' when he comes, he'll git in that an' yo'll ketch him an' when yo' ketch him, he's jes' a lump of jelly.
Entry 1660
Take de whiskey an' yo'll hear 'em movin' aroun' in de home an' movin' things, po' some outside front de do', dey [spirit] go an' won't bother you.
Entry 1661
Put whiskey roun' de do', dey [spirit] want tuh drink whiskey.
Spirit is bracketed editorial matter; the eligible whiskey placement instruction does not identify dey.
Entry 1662
Any time yo' has a bruise why yo' git about a tablespoon of gunpowder an' put it in whiskey an' drink dat an' dat will scatter de bruise.
Entry 1663
If yo' wanta git a spell off anybody, take some sulphur an' put it in yore shoe, po' some whiskey in dere, in yore right shoe, an' drink it - drink dat whiskey an' sulphur right out dat shoe, see. If anybody put a spell on yo', dat'll git it off.
Entry 1664
(If you want to keep somebody from hurting you, what did you tell me before?) Tuh keep someone from hurtin' yo', yo'd wear garlic an' sulphur an' brimstone an' red peppah an' salt round yore waist, an' drink whiskey offa garlic[ii!].
Entry 1665
Git de willow tree bark off de sunrise, an' den go round to de back where de sun go down an' cut dat off, an' he took de piece of splinter off dat an' pick de tooth until it bleed. An' jes' take dat stick an' carry it an' wrahp it an' put it ovah yore do'. Yo'll nevah have no toothache any mo'.
(Which side do you get that splinter from? The sunrise side or sundown side?)
De sunrise an' dey go round to de sundown an' cut it de same way, but dey git de splinter from de sunrise.
(But they only get one splinter?)
One splinter - dat's all.
(Well, what do they do at the sundown side then?)
Yo' jes' cut dat de same direction - de same way.
(You don't do anything though?)
Yo' don't do anything. Jes' cut it de same way, de same direction - cut it lak dat. But yo' git dat splinter out de sunrise an' go down round de sunset an' do de same thing - lak ah tell yo' 'bout dis tidewater.
(What did you say before? Did you say something that you pick your teeth?)
Pick yore tooth till it bleeds, den spit it out an' yo' take dat splinter an' carry it an' tie it up in a rag an' put it ovah de do'.
Entry 1666
I say Clark built dis house. It wears de name Clark Hotel, an' had he of died wit displeasure an' lost it by death, an' yo' buy it an' come in an' he don't want chew to have it, dey say yo' replace some place on it wit new bo'ds - dat'll keep him away. (That will keep his spirit away.) [All interviewing was done at Clark Hotel (colored); whether within the city limits of St. Petersburg, I do not know. We passed through Memphistown (Negro settlement) to reach it - see No. 214, p.60.]
Entry 1667
I was living in an old house up on the railroad and every night there 'used to come a knocking. And if I would knock three times, it would knock three times. So I went and told my father I was going to move from up there. So he told me to get two pieces of new lumber that never was a nail in and put a piece over the front door and back door. I never heard it any more.
Entry 1669
To make it more quiet around the house they go to work and some people puts on doors to keep them from worrying them. I remember one time we had some- thing like that occur to us. They would come in and you could hear kindling PoP like they were getting their supper or something. They done that along about twelve or one o'clock. That was a farm they used to live on before the War [Civil War]. My father, he suggested that they put on new doors and new window screens and it would stop them. We did. We put them on and we didn't hear any- thing more of them. That was in King William County, Virginia, near fifty years ago [1886]. [A new door on the house confuses the spirit; he does not recognize his old home. New window screens serve the same purpose. Instead of a new door, it is sometimes repainted - see No. 1038, p.395.]
Entry 1670
Change doors and locks if spirit comes back. [Changing locks is rare.]
This is a printed editorial summary; its conditional wording and bracketed comment remain source statements.
Entry 1671
Yo' buy three bo'ds of new lumber an' nail two on de outside of yore house an' one in de house with new nails, an' dey say de ghosts will nevah come there.
Entry 1672
Put a horseshoe up ovah de do' an' that will keep 'em away - de spirit or ghost away. Or either yo' kin take new timber, a piece of new wood, an' jes' throw it up on top [of the house]. That will keep them away.
Entry 1673
If some party's dead and dey don't like you, wal, dey worry yuh. Yo' Wanta go git chew a brand-new piece of bo'd and you wanta put it in yore house; yo'll puts it on de outside of your house - got'a put fo' nails in it, one to de fo' corners. Dere's fo' corners to a bo'd. Put fo' nails in dat and throw it in de house and call dat person name and dere won't be nobody worry yuh no more.
(You throw it in the house?)
Throw it underneath the house.
(But you nail it into the house first, outside.)
Yeah, yo' nail it outside.
(Then you throw it into the house?) [This into probably intentional.]
Den yo' throw it underneat' de house and nuthin nevah worry yuh no mo'.
Entry 1675
Nail a bo'd clear around. See, dat's tuh keep 'em from comin' cross any way atall - a new piece of bo'd all de way round de house. An' dey says dere cain't no ghost cross it - new lumber. [New lumber completely round the house, often a small cabin, would mean either laths or small slabs from small lumber. This belief comes from the second of the two boy-qirls (because they wore men's slacks) I interviewed - see comment on hermaphrodites in Introduction.]
Entry 1676
Any time dat lightnin' strike a tree, why yo' kin take a piece of dat, yo' see, an' use it fo' any kind of pains lak dat. (How would you use it?) Well, yo' boil it yo' see an' yo' wash yoreself, bathe in it.
Entry 1677
Ah don't know if dey use it fo' de same thing, but ah know lak a tree dat been struck by lightnin' dataway, an' yo' go in de side - yo' see, yo' take a tree where de sun rise at it's practic'ly smooth cause it pressed [east side of tree has smooth bark because sun presses it], whereas it goes down dat draws it uP [west side of tree has rough bark because sun drows it]. Well, aftah de tree is struck by lightnin' an' yo' taken dat bark off of it, dey claim dat if a man is subject wit rheumatical pains, see - takin' an' boilin' dat bah'k an' vo' see puttin' dat in his watah when he bathe, he'll be practic'ly himself, yo' see. Where it struck wit lightnin', if it struck on de west side. See, on de east side of de tree she press de bark off de tree pretty smooth. When she goes down she draws. See. Take it from dat bah'k on de west side fo' rheumatical pain - it's de best pain dat it evah wus used fo'.
Entry 1678
Ah heard if de lightnin' strike a tree an' yo' kin go dere where dat lightnin' strike dis tree an' git some of dat bark offa de tree an' boil it good; if yo' got a person dat any person's been sick for a long time or sufferin' wit rheumatism or somepin like dat, or been hurt in whiskey or anything - let 'em drink dat tea offa dat bark an' dey will gain dere strength back.
(If they have been hurt - you mean tricked?)
If dey been tricked in any kinda thing.
Entry 1679
It will cure de asthmee. If it been struck by lightnin', yo' take it an' yo' boil it an' make a tea of it an' drink it an' it will shure cure de asthmee.
(Any kind of a tree that has been struck by lightning?)
Yessuh.
Entry 1680
Dey git de lightnin'-struck tree - a pine or what not, an' it cure de thrush. Jes' take an' boil it an' make tea out of it an' give it to whosomevah have de thrush - dat will cure it.
Entry 1681
It's good fo', understan', fo' a person dat's sick an' it's good fo' luck. Yo' kin use dat. Yo' take about - ah say about fo' or five splinters an' use 'em as a - yo' got'a chip 'em up real fine, see, 'cause dem splinters come from a tree from lightnin'. It's not lak ord'ary splinters when yo' cut it an' shave it from wood. Dere are re'ly kinda bark, understan, an' dey've got rough ends, but yo' got'a smooth these ends down an' use turpentine on 'em fo' a sick person. That's to give 'em bettah health. Understan', if yo' wanta put a person in bad luck [long digression about bad luck follows].... An' den yo' kin use it [lightning-struck wood] wit turpentine if a person is sick. Yo' put it [splinters] underneath his bed under de mattress an' it's good fo' recovery fo' dem.
Entry 1682
Well, dey say fo' n'instance now, if a oak tree wus right out dere an' de lightnin' strike it an' which an' it kill de part it strikes, well dat makes dat wood turn brown. Well, yo' jes' go dere an' take yore axe an' cut yo' a piece of dat oak bark an' bring it home an' chip it up fine jes' like yo' would Irish potatoes an' put it into a pot an' boil it - make a tea off it an' drink it, an' yo' hol' it on dat tooth. It'll shore stop de toothache - ah know dat.
Entry 1683
A tree whut's struck by lightnin', yo' kin git dat an' make toothpicks tuh use fo' yore teeth an' yo'll nevah have the toothache.
Entry 1684
If yo' got de toothache, yo' see, yo' go where de lightnin' struck a tree on de no'th side. If yo' have de toothache or de neuralgia, yo' go where de lightnin' struck dat tree on de no'th side, git a splinter an' pick dat gum - dat leaves yo'.
Entry 1685
Weli, if it wus struck wit de lightnin' - if yo' have toothache yo know, yo' take [a splinter from] the root of it an' picks yore tooth until yore teeth bleed where de teeth 'gin on top [pick the gum], den bo' a hole an' put it [splinter] in de tree. Dey say dat will cure yo' tooth.
(What tree do you put that in? You don't go back to the same tree?)
De tree dat de lightnin' struck, yo' kin put it in dat tree, or yo' kin put it in anothah one, it doesn't make no diff'rence.
Entry 1686
Ah heard whut hit about but hit will do yo' good. Yo' take a splinter from a tree whut struck by lightnin' an' trim it off clean an' pick yore teeth wit it, an' go to a 'simmon tree an' cut it off 'bout dat long an' split de 'simmon tree an' drive it in - drive de splinter in dere where yo' pick yore teeth with it for de toothache. An' drive dat splinter in dere an' tie a string around it an' let it stay dere, an' dat stop yore teeth from achin'. Dat's all ah heered about it.
Entry 1687
It's fine fo' toothaches.
(That wood from a tree struck by lightning?)
Yes.
(What do you do at first, now?)
Yo' git that piece of that timber that's been struck by de lightnin' an' git de blood from round de tooth, somewhere near de tooth dat aches, an' carry that to a tree, a oak tree, de no'th side of it, an' pull de bark down an' put that blood in there an' shove it back up, an' that kills yore toothache.
Entry 1688
Ah said a tree struck by lightnin', if yo' don't want dat person no way 'bout chure home - to stay 'way from dere. Now, yo' kin go tuh dat tree an' yo' kin git chew three chip offa dat tree, an' yo' [take] one an' put it ovah yonder ovah dat do' ovah dere, one put chere, an' one put chere, an' he won't be able tuh come dere. He'll steer an' go on right on 'cross - he won't come disaway, he go right on disaway. Well, dat's all ah heered about a lightnin' tree. (You put the three chips in a row going to your house? The three right in a row?) Dat's right.
Entry 1689
Ah heard that if yo' wanta keep anybody from hurtin' yo' with roots, tuh go to a lightnin'-struck tree an' cut yo' off a piece of it an' don't let it touch de ground until yo' git ready tuh put it in de ground. Be sure yo' hold it whilst yo' cut it an' don't let it hit de ground. An' cut chew off fo' splinter, split chew fo' stakes of it an' carry dem home with yo' an' drive dem fo' stakes to de fo' corners of yore house, an' dere won't be no danger of nobody puttin down any roots or anything roun' yore place to hurt chew.
Entry 1690
Ah've heard dat chew - jes' like if yo' want tuh do somepin other, anything dat chew wanta do, why yo' kin go to a thunder-strucken tree an' git jesta chip off dat tree, an' yo' take it an' go to de fo'ks of a road, where de roads crosses, an' yo' stick it down dere, an' when yo' stick it down dere, jest like if yo' wanted a person dat done somepin to yo', yo' call his name three times an' say, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, let not dis trouble come upon me." Well, now dat's all ah've heard about dat.
(You can do almost anything you want to by doing that out there?)
Yassuh. (You can tell them to leave or you can tell them to stop bothering - you can tell them almost anything? That the idea?) Yassuh.
The informant reports a chip from a lightning-struck tree placed where roads cross, naming someone three times and a spoken request against trouble. Two interviewer questions broaden the proposed purpose and receive affirmative answers; those prompts and the informant's limited hearsay remain explicit.
Entry 1691
Ah'm gon'a tell yo' - yo' wanta know whut would yo' do to keep 'em from harmin' yo'. Well, yo'll git in a path or road dat come from yore do'. Yo'll dig a hole wit chure tablespoon and when yo' dig that hole, yo'll go an' take a aig - any kind of a hen aig, jes' long as it a aig, and den yo'll take two sticks of a lightnin'-strike tree - yo' know what ah mean, an' yo'll nail them down on each side of that aig - wit dat aig down in de hole. [This is a mock burial - the egg a body and the two sticks the headboard and footboard of a grave.] An' then yo'll take yo' some physic salts, an' yo'll take that physic salts an' sulphur an' bluestone an' make a powders of that, an' yo' kin put it down dere where that aig is, an' yo' set it down an' kiver it up. De parties who dat yo' say, or anybody who yo' think will harm yo', why then when yo' done put dat down, yo'll curse it. An' when yo' curse it yo' jes' kick at 'em, and den go turn yore back - don't nevah look back. Now, that's the story of that as fur as ah know. Well, now if a man walk ovah that and if yo' do lak that, it causes me, if ah aim tuh do yo' some harm - all of that will come back to me.
Entry 1692
Git brimstone an' den git - dere's somethin' grows in de woods dey call Indian turnip or Indian potatuh [jack-in-the-pulpit] - it looks lak a.
(I know - kind of like a potato?)
Yes. Well, dey takes that an' goes in de woods where de lightnin' strike a tree - if it's a dead tree it's all right an' if it's a green one, jes' so de lightnin' strike it an' scatter de splinters, de splinters jes' fly in diff'rent directions. Dem splinters will go in diff'rent directions an' den yo' must take dem splinters after yo' pick up 'em an' den burn 'em till yo' git de ashes, an den compound dat 'tater up wit it an' put dem two together an' sprinkle dat roun' de house. Well, he can't come up there.
(That is if anybody is trying to put anything down for you - harm you.)
Yes - dat'll change his mind, that will kill it, he can't come ovah it.
(That will kill what he puts down?)
Yessuh, he jes' can't come ovah it.
Entry 1693
[Although lightning-struck wood is used for cures and protection, it can also be dangerous:] It's bad luck tuh burn it - de tree struck by lightnin'.
Entry 1694
If yo' use de wood of a lightnin'-striked tree - if yo' use de wood, de lightnin' Would strike yore house.
Entry 1695
If yo' walkin' by yo'self at night, jes' stick 'em back of yore ear - de matches. Dey say dat will keep anything from scarin' yo'. Dat's all ah hear about matches. (Just one back of each ear?) Yessuh, behin' each ear.
Entry 1696
See, lak de haid of de bed, takes de matches an' cross 'em, dey cross 'em jes' lak dat up undah de pillah an' go on tuh sleep. Dat supposed tuh drive spirits away if de spirits are worryin' yo' when yo' kilt someone.
Entry 1697
Yo' take de matches if yo' goin' anywhere in de night an' scared - jes' take dem matches, take two, an' stick one right in yo' haid. Put de strikin' part dis way [demonstrates]. (You take the sulphur part and set it in your head over your forehead - right up through your hair.) An' dat will cross [demonstrates]. (You make a cross.) [The match in the hair crosses the match held in the mouth.] An' put one in de mout' an' go anywhere yo' wants - yo' won't be scared atall an' nuthin won't bother yo', not a thing.
Entry 1698
If they gets holt of your hair and you want to prevent the misery and ev'ry what they have, you'll cross those matches in your haid. You wear that, or either put sulphur in the mole of your head, and it will kill that out. Wear the sulphur in the mole of your head.
(How do you cross those matches in your head?)
You'll put one this way and one this way - just make a cross through your hair, right in the mole of your head.
(Just use two matches?)
You kin use three. [This is the double-cross as well as the Trinity.]
(Three.)
Entry 1699
They take and cross three matches in the haid - that's if you got a headache.
Entry 1700
Ah heard of 'em takin' nine matches, if yo' have a severe headache. Yo' take nine matches an' yo' cross them nine matches an' yo' put 'em diff'rent places - jes' diff'rent places in yore home, an' if it's anyone causin' yo' tuh have that headache or that pain, or anything yo' might have, in nine hours or nine days dey'll appeah dere.
Entry 1701
Say, if you got headache and you done taken things to cure it and it don't cure it - so, you see, they got two color matches in a box. You see, you take a red match - you know them red p'ints, and you take a blue one. Well, you put one in your hair like this, and you put the other one like that - see, you cross 'em in your hair.
(Like an "x" - like a cross?)
Just like "x" - and you wear it in your hair for nine days and then your head- ache begin to pass off.
Entry 1702
[Lightwood in Southern United States means pine, often the Georgia or long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill). Lighters are small pieces of pitch-filled pine used in starting a fire; these coming from a lighter pine or lightwood tree. Iighters appear somewhat frequently in other rites but rarely in cures and protection.] Take some lighters. You get them from offen the north side of a pine, you know, the lighter pine, lightwood, and make splinters of it. [Except in this rite, lighters come from any side or part of the pine.] Chew make nine and dig a hole. You.get these sticks, now, offen this pine and you get it offen the north side and you take and make nine splinters of it. You make 'em so many inches long, just as long as you wish. Make notches in them just as many as you wish to make, you see. Most in general you just make nine. And you dig a hole such a depth, I think round about twelve inches or eighteen in the ground. Then you cross them and make your wish.
(How do vou mean cross them?)
You put 'em across like that in the ground.
(Like a rail fence?)
Yeh, like a rail fence - only they're sticking in the ground though. You stick 'em down and cross 'em like that. That's to purwent anyone from inter- fering with you around this home.
Entry 1703
Now yo' take a woodpecker - now, he'll git up an' he'll peck a hole in a tree. Well now, yo' take dat sap [wood peckings] - dat inside whut he pick out dere, yo' take dat an' yo' kin powder it up an' yo' kin use hit fo' sickness. Yo' take dat wood he peck out dere an' yo' carry it home an' yo' keep it in a box or somepin, an'. it's lak if you have a toothache, yo' take one splinter[iil of dat, pick yore teeth until it bleeds. Well, yo' take dat blood den an' yo' wipe it on a silk piece of cloth. After yo' wipe it on a silk piece of cloth, yo' take dat little silk piece an' carry it an' put it in de fire - kinda put it right under de grate [under a brick] in de fireplace. When yo' put it under dere yo' speak two words, say, "Stay till." Don't nevah say nuthin else. Jest say, "Stay till, stay till [doomsday]." Well, now dat cures de toothache on yo'.
Entry 1704
A wood louse is good fo' yallah ja'ndice. Yo' take nine wood louse an' put it in sweet milk an' feed it to de person an' dat kill de yallah ja'ndice.
Entry 1705
A wood rat. You can take that rat's skin and dry it and make him eat it and that'll stop him from wetting the bed. [The more usual folklore remedy is eating a mouse prepared many ways (Nos. 6308-6309); similar cures being a head louse eaten (No. 6306), or drinking tea from "white droppings of a dog" (No. 6302) - FACI,2ed., 1965, p.289.] [New Orleans, La., (855), 1352:6.] [What is a hand? A hand is a magic helper, an object or act, which aids a person in obtaining a desire. Aladdin's lamp was not a hand because anyone could rub it to activate the indwelling spirit. Quite otherwise a hand concerns known user - it being dressed, powered for him alone, usually toward a single purpose.] [We have already examined many hands: the Black Cat Lucky Bone (pp.74-97); healing hands in Cure and Protection (pp.4lO-519); divining hands in Diagnosis (pp.165-217), particularly the talking hand, Jack (pp.190-193). Talking hand reminds me that hand has other names, among them - toby, guide, shield, roots, mojo, jomo (transposition of syllables in mojo), and hoodoo bag.] [Of interest are what I name battery hands - those that lose strength and must be recharged or they weaken and die. Recharging is called feeding and substances fed are whiskey, perfumes, urine and other liquids. Spirits do not eat solid food. A spirit of course never dies; it merely deserts its temporary dwelling place. Similarly, desertion happens to a lost hand - some informants believing the hand returns to its maker!] [A hand can become a fetish, even a part of oneself. Most instructive here are living hands - the unfortunate chicken (No. 205, p.58), and the two wandering snakes (No. 239, p.66.]
Entry 1706
An' ah got somepin right chere now in mah pocket - course ah'll show it to yo'. [He shows it.] (What do you call that?) Ah couldn't tell you exactly. (It's wrapped up in a piece of cloth with rubber [elastic band] around it - like a little bag.) Yes sir, an' yo' tote that in yore right pocket an' anything yo' go in you will be successful - 'fore yo' git there yo'll know it: if it on yore mind to don't do that, don't do it; if it on yore mind to do it, go ahead an' do it an' yo'll be successful.
(Do you know what's in the bag?)
No sir, ah don't know.
(You bought it from somebody?)
Yes sir.
Bag is the interviewer description; the informant says he cannot name the object exactly or identify its contents.