Browse:DOLL BABY (Volume 4, entries 7992–8012)
DOLL BABY
Volume 4, entries 7992–8012. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → COFFIN - DOLL BABY - BURIAL - BONES. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 7992
At Christmas [last Christmas, 1938] a person did dat. A lady did that to a man, had a little bit of [a miniature] coffin, like a little person in there. And he thought he was receiving a Christmas present. You know, had it in a little Christmas box with a little ribbon on it, an' a Christmas card on it.
Entry 7993
They put a image in a coffin an' put it at your door an' put chew in bad luck, make yo' drift.
Entry 7995
Take a piece of a lady's dress and make him some kind of a doll and bury it under de step to get her, but how dat was done ah don't know.
Entry 7996
Well, dat little coffin, dat is de one like if a woman is in love wit a man. Well, she will cut out maybe a little doll or image of 'im an' dey take dat an' bury dat maybe perhaps by some canal or some place - some guttah or some of dat kind of stuff, like dat. An' dey keeps dat dere an' dis man can't leave out of de town dat he is in. Whatevah town he is in he can't leave out of it, as long as dat coffin is buried in dat town where him an' her is at.
Entry 7997
Yo' see, she makin' yo' [your] image. Well, now she carry dat home tuh heep yo' home wit 'er. Well now she is in love wit chew. Well now, when she done git through fixin' dat, if she know what tuh do wit it, she take an' she put nine grains of red peppah. Now listen tuh me good. She put nine grains of red peppah in dere. She'll take pickle [? or pric- kle?] feet but she'll put - tetch it wit dat, not put it in. She'll tetch it wit dat. [Prickle feet could be a weed like horse nettle.] Dat got chew ag'in. An' yo'll nevah confess tuh know dat chew do it. Got chure brain dere an' all tuhgethah.
(Well, how did she make this little image?)
She make dat image of a man.
(What did she make it out of?)
She make it out of rags.
Entry 7998
Well, now heah's anothah one. Take yo a piece of wax an' make yo' a image of a man dat chew wanta inflict. Take yo' a needle an' do it de same as yo' do dat pit- chure, but yo've made a image outa wax.
(You don't bury that, do you?)
No sir, yo' don't bury dat. Jes' lak yo' see heah, if yo's [you is] drawin' a pichure. Yo' take a pieceof wax. AH RECKON WHEN YO' WUS A CHILE YO' USED TUH TAKE SNOW AN' MAKE LITTLE SNOW- MENS JES' LAK DAT - jes' sompin like dat. Well, den if yo' wanted tuh inflict it in de hand, arm or eye or foot, an' if yo' wanta kill it, stick dat needle right in de heart.
(That's all you have to do then.)
Entry 7999
Put dat undah de step yo' see, or put a little coffin. Make yo' a image of a man wit wax, see. Dey put a corpse wit nine needles through de wax, yo' see. Dat will make dose individual dat live in dat house, dey nevah be happy, lak yo' put two enemy tuhgethah. Yo' nevah be able tuh put two of 'em tuhgethah. Dey walk- in' ovah it day an' night yo' see.
Entry 8000
Well, yo' takes de box an' make it jes' in de shape of a coffin. Well, he takes 'is knife an' he cuts in a man jes' de shape of a man. See, or jes' de shape of a woman, jes' whichevah one he wanted it tuh favor. Well, he takes dat an' puts it in dat little coffin. Takes 'im a pin an' takes 'im a pair of pliers, wire pliers an' cut de pin [head] off tes' deep enough tuh jes' suppose it wuz a little tack. Put dat man in dere, an' on dat man's back write whoevah name he want it tuh be on dere. Well, he takes dat, take an' carry it tuh dis man's house, if he kin git tuh 'is house at night, tuh whatevah dat yo' kin find, sech as flowahs an' hedges or anything lak dat. Dig yo' a hole as though it is a grave an' put it in dere an' covah it up. Well, in a few days he'll be daid.
(What do you cut that little figure from? What do you cut it out of?)
Well, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood. Fo' him tuh lingah a long time, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood or eithah a piece of ash wood, jes' whichevah is soft enough fo' yore knife tuh cut. An' cut it out of wood an' make it out of wood. An' make it outa wood an' take de pins an' evahthing an' jes' nail 'em in dere. It has tuh be exactly like a casket [coffin]. An' yo' don't have tuh fo'- git tuh put de man's name, whoevah it is dat chew's mad wit. Jes' put dat name on 'is back an' lay it right in dere.
Entry 8001
You can cut out of paper or you can cut them off from shingles and make the image of a person, and write the name and whatever you wish. Well, you can take this shingle and carry it and throw it in running water, or you bury it, or you can take it and hang it upon the side of a tree and let it blow away. That's if you want to run 'em away.
Entry 8002
Make image of person, name it place it where it will molt away, kills person.
Entry 8003
Dey make li'le coffins an' dey make de image of de per- son involved, an' dey put 'im in dat coffin. An' dey have his name engraved in de image. An' dey take dat li'le coffin an' bury it in a graveyard an' dat's supposed tuh make dat person die.
Entry 8004
Well, yo' git a box an' yo' make it lak a coffin an' yo' git one of these heah li'le baby dolls. Yo' put it in dat coffin an' yo' buries it undah de do'step where dey passes at, an' dat's. supposed tuh carry 'em tuh de grave. If dey don' nevah find it, dat sho' [sure] will carry 'em tuh de grave. (You don't put anything else in that coffin?) Nuthin in dat box atall but dat baby doll in dat coffin. An' inside of dat box yo' write dere name, on de in- side of de box; but yo' put nuthin but de baby doll in de box an' dey name.
(How do you write that name?)
Well, yo' write de entire firs' an' de given name las'. Yo' writes it down once. Jes' write dey real name an' put dat doll in dere an' stick it undah de do'step wheresomevah dey passes at. (If this name was Sam Jones, you would write the name down?) Jones, Sam.
Entry 8005
(What do they do that for? How do they do that?) Oh, dey makes a doll baby an' name it choo. (They do what?) Makes a doll baby an' name it de person dey want. (I see. What do they do with that?) An' fill it full of needles an' pins, roots, an' sew it up an' see it from 'em, jis' like dey wrap de hair [in 379:3].
(They sew it away, sew it from them?)
From 'em. Aftah sewin' it, den dey wrap it from 'em wit a cord, an' tie dat bow on de end of it. Den dey puts dat down in de groun' some place somewhere an' [they] says, long as dat baby lay in de dirt, yo'll withah away an' go [die].
Entry 8006
[I have two versions of the story about Bowizer and his two wives, a tale concerning his mistreatment of first wife and his enslavement by second wife. Whether this is the remnant of a folktale or the beginning of a new one, or something actually factual, I do not know.] FIRST VERSION OF BOWIZER TOLD BY COUSIN Mah Cousin's brothah's wife [not speaker's cousin but cousin by marriage who had a brother who had two wives, this one the second], she taken down sick an she had doctors an' doctors an' doctors of all kind, an' none of 'em seemed tuh not tuh do 'er any good. An' he wus settin' down one day an' - dat wus 'is sec- ond wife. He wusn't good tuh 'is firs' wife, but 'is second wife, he wus so good tuh 'er. He'd wash an' scrub fo' her an' evah- thing. Jis' cook an' evahthin'. So somepin come tuh 'im an' tole 'im, say, "Yo"go an' look in de bottom of yuh trunk. Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk." Well, he'd set down dere an' nod, an' nod, an' nod. Be settin' up wit 'er an' nod, an' nod, an' he'd drowse, an' sompin would tell im ag'in. "Go an' look in de bottom of yuh trunk." So fine'ly sompin tole 'im, "Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk, " fo' about two weeks. An' so de nex' time sompin tole him, "Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk, " he got up an' went on an' looked in de bottom of 'is trunk. All kinds of fine things, jis' fine dresses, de finest kind of step-ins, bloomahs an' a big ole automatic, he didn't even know it wus in de house, wus in de bottom of dat trunk. An'.den dere wus a li'le coffin down in dere - a li'le coffin. Dere wus de seat of 'is undahweah, de centah of undah each ahm [arm] in dere, an' some of dis here, whut dey call cayenne peppah sprinkled down on dere. An' it wus de image of a person made from a stick.
(From a stick?)
Right on a piece of a board, yo' know, jis' in a image. Yo' know, jis' lak yo' take a board an' cut a image of a person, yo' know. An' den dey had dat private an' evahthing cut down dere. Yo' know, had it crossed. An' so dey had jis' down in dere jis' lak a coffin, made in de shape of a coffin. An' it wus closed up an' dere wus 'is name wrote in dere nine times. His name wrote down in dat, right down in dat coffin nine times. Some kind of a powdah wus in dere. A li'le bottle about dat high of urinate wus in dere an' de cork, li'le cork stoppah wus in it, yo' see, well it wus cut on each side, see cut on each side fo' de air tuh git in dere, an' it kin come out, yo' see. An' it wus settin' right straight up right by dat li'le image of 'is private, yo' know, settin' right by it. An' it wus closed up right in de bottom of de trunk. An' so dat's whut had 'im, kept 'im down. He couldn't git away from 'er. She would do anything dat she Wanted tuh do an' he'd be pleased at it, he jis' stayed at home, but wit 'is firs' wife he didn't do it.
(What did he finally do? Did he get the spell off of him or anything?)
Yes, he took dat li'le box out of dere an' took it tuh two-three fortune- tellahs. An' dey tole him, ast 'im who fixed 'im, an' he tole 'em, said, "It wus mah wife." Dey say, "Well, do yo' want 'er?" So he tole 'em, 'Yeah, ah loves 'er." Dey say, "Well, if yo' love her, yo' take dat box right back, set it right back where yo' got it from; but if yo' don't want 'er no mo', yo' take a jar an' put dat box in dere dat jar big enough jar tuh slip dat box in dere" - dat box no biggah'n jis' lak dat - "an' den yo' close it up an' go tuh a runnin' stream an' throw it in dere an' say, "She'll leave yuh wandahin'.
(Leave you what?)
Leave yo' wandahin', she'll wandah away. An' he did dat an' dat woman got up dere one mawnin', she got well an' evahthin'. She wusn't all dat sick. She wus jis', yo' know, actin' lak dat, playin' sick fo' him tuh do de work. She got up from dere an' left, tole 'im dat she wus goin' tuh town. An' she left from dere, didn't eat or nuthin. She didn't even take time tuh git 'er clothes. She jis' got worried an' jis' half crazy, an' she left from dere an' he don't even know where she's at.
(I thought he wanted to keep her?)
You say, if he wanted to keep her?
(I thought he told the fortunetellers he wanted to keep her?)
Said he loved 'er. He [fortuneteller] ast 'im did he love 'er.
(Yes?)
An' he tole 'em, said, yeah, he loved 'er. "So, well, yo' take dat box den an' put it right back where yo' - where it wus.
(Well, why didn't he do that?)
Well, he wanted tuh git out of de fix he wus in. but he didn't.know it wus goin' tuh run 'er away.
(I see.)
[If the reader missed it, do turn back to the first sentence of this first version: "she had doctors an' doctors an' doctors of all kind." These are unique words because the usual expression is, with variations, 'she had every doctor in town. "[Mobile, Ala., (679), 975:3.] So mah brothah, Bowizah, had a wife, firs' wife. He didn't do nuthin jis' run roun' all de time. But ah'm tellin' yo' dis here whut ah know from experience. Ah ain't tellin' somepin whut somebody say dey know. So he ma'ied anothah woman an' she had 'im so she'd go out, she run roun' an' she do whut she please. He couldn't he'p 'imself. He wash an' he scrub an' sweep - do evahthin' in de worl' he could an' he couldn't quit 'er. So one day he wus 'tendin' our garden an' somepin tole him look in 'is trunk. So he went tuh de trunk an' looked in it an' seen all kin' raimints - clothes, shoes - evah- thin' wus in dere. An' he didn't know it wus in de house. So dis [same inner voice] says somepin tuh 'im, "Look in [the bottom of] dis trunk." An' so he looked in de bottom an' dere wus a small casten [or castit = casket] 'bout dat long [demonstrates].
(What?)
Casten - coffin. An' it had de seat of 'is undahweah cut out an' right up undah his sleeve [demonstrates].
(Under his arm, the left arm.)
Yes, sir, his left ahm. An' he got it out an' ca'd [carried] it tuh one of de men's [a doctor] an' de man put it in one dese fruit jahs [jars] an' screwed it tight an' put it in a runnin' stream. So he say one mawnin' she woke up an he run 'er out dat house an' he ain't saw 'er since.
Entry 8007
Make dummy, make a cross on it, call name, say what is to be done - to kill, harm, or anything - and stick in nine needles, or pins, or thorns. [Washington, D. C., (627 0r 628), 805:3.]
Entry 8008
Lak dis - now yo' take a doll baby. Co'se dat doll baby could not belong tuh yo'. It might belong to yo' kid or sompin lak dat. Well, dey take de doll baby. Dey might take dat doll [owned by yo' kid], ight steal it from yo'. Might take dat doll baby an' stick one pin in de cor- nah of dis side of 'er mouth, an' stick a li'le stick pin in dat side of 'er mouth. See, stick one undah her lip, see, an' stick one intuh her nose, an' one in de temple - right temple. Dat will run yo' crazy. Dere a lotta way tuh run yo' crazy.
Entry 8009
Well, take a doll baby an' make a li'le coffin an' yo' take thirteen needles [later changed to pins] an' yo' bores seventeen holes in it. (Into what?) Intuh de small li'le coffin. Bore seven- teen holes intuh dis small li'le coffin an' aftah borin' dese seventeen holes in dere, yo' place dat baby down in dere wit dose thirteen pins [needles?] stuck in 'er.
(The thirteen pins.)
De thirteen pins stuck in 'er, an' yo' po' van-van, wahoo powdah.
(War whoooo?)
Wahoo, yeah wahoo. It's a kind of grayish lookin' powdah. Dey call it wahoo. Well, last you go to work and place this powder right in dere an' yo' go off from a cemetery - not in de cemetery, off from a cemetery - an' when yo' git neah de cemetery, about 25 feet from it, yo' bury it. An' it has a tendency tuh kill yo' in 18 months.
(I see.)
Entry 8010
They get the shape - they shape it in the shape of a person as near as possible, and then take that and pin it to a green tree, a pine tree, and let it stay there; and get a locust[cicada], these told-time locuses that makes a lot of fuss, they say, and put that, sew that on the inside of that doll and pin it up there and shoot it. And as you shoot it away, every time you strike it, you Waste a portion of it, the same Way the body of the individual that you representing there will waste away. But you got to name it, you got to name that doll.
Entry 8011
Make doll baby, put in box like a coffin, with person's hair and quick- silver balls at stomic [stomach]. Person who cured victim shot the evil-doer with a spiritual gun. [Long story, not much detail, recheck.] [Doctor Bayhan (Bayhand), a white doctor on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, used a spirit- ual gun to harm persons as far away as Baltimore - see No.62, p.28; and another comment about him from Deal Island, Md., No.3069, p.891.] [Washington, D. C.,
(between 629-638), 816:2.]
[In this subsubsection we have an animal buried as a substitute for the burial of a person. Our first example will be a substitute for the substitute, an egg for the chicken.]
Entry 8012
If a person do anything to you, you [the culprit] can go on yonder to New York or Washington or anywhere, I will ketch him. I'll take a brand-new egg from a black hen and take that egg and put it in ten pins, five one way and five the other, in the sides [the long sides] of the [uncooked] egg. You take this egg and go to a grave, just like you are digging a person's grave, bury this egg. You put it this way [demon- strates] just the same as you would the east [the large end of the egg represents the head and is laid facing the east]. You bury this egg in the Name of the Lord, and that he will never return, and moulten away. You say his name. When the egg is rot-ten he will be out of this world.