Browse:Graveyard Dirt (Volume 1, entries 1305–1324)
Graveyard Dirt
Volume 1, entries 1305–1324. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE → CURE AND PROTECTION. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1305
Jis' like a mother die an' left her young ones an' they're worried a lot at night - says you kin take a stick an' go to her grave an' broke it acrost the grave an' - you know, jis' hit right acrost the grave an' let the stick broke in half - why that would prevent 'em from botherin' the young ones that night. [See titles Whipping, p.388; Hitting Remedy, p.399, Cure By Breaking, P.389.]
Entry 1306
Jest like I had a mother died or you had a mother died and de spirit you know, de spirit keep worrying you. See, lota people don't believe in it but colored peoples do believe in it. You git chew - you go to de grave and git some of that dirt and sprinkle it around de door and den de spirit won't bother you. Ah believes in it.
(Did you ever try it - did it work?)
Yes, sir - it worked.
Entry 1307
I heard that a spirit came to a woman's house one time and she didn't know how to keep it away and a woman told her to go out in the graveyard and get some fresh dirt off of a grave. She told her to take it and put it in a box and put a hole on top of the box and bury it under your house. She did that and she didn't have any more trouble with this spirit. She said that's what kept him away. That happened down on Vine Street here in town, Hampton, Va., (31), Ed.] had this woman's child and she kinda thought it was this woman [the dead mother] coming back because she had this child.
Entry 1308
Yo' take anyone dat chew wanta die - it's accordin' to whut chew want done - if it's anything yo' want done good - anything dat chew want done good, yo' know a person dat died good, well yo' go to their grave at twelve a'clock at night. When yo' go dere yo' have prayer, see. After yo' have prayer, yo' tell de - yo' talk to dem jes' lak ah'm talkin' to yo', "Ah am takin' dis dirt from yore grave for yo' tuh take care of me. Yo' know, when yo' wus livin' yo' always believed in things that were right. Things is goin' wrong wit me an' now ah want chew to drive away all evil spirits an' bring good things towards me - guide me, lead me. An' ah'll take dis dirt from yore grave dat chew protect from now.on, In Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost." Well when yo' take dis dirt yo' place a dime in dis place an' cover it back ovah. Den yo' take dis dirt. If yo' wanta use it fo' yo' own home affairs, yo' take it an' place it in yore home - see, a secret place.
(What would that do? What is the idea of putting it in your home?)
If it's evil spirits dat cause yo' tuh [be] like unhappy in yore home, dose good spirits will drive dose evil spirits away. Now, if yo' wanta do harm wit dat graveyard dirt, yo' goes to a sinner grave. Yo' go dere to a sinner grave; yo' don't have tuh pray wit a sinner. Yo' go dere an' git dat dirt, yo' go dere an' cuss em. Yo' cuss em jes' like he did - jes' de life dat he lived. Yo' go to his grave an' git it an' act jes' lak ah'm tellin' yo'. Yo' say, "Yo' know yo' raised hell an' made things go jes' yore way. An' now, ah'm comin' heah tuh git dis dirt from yo' tuh make things go mah way: -jes lak yodid when yo wus livin". An git it.
(When you got that graveyard dirt, how could you cause harm with it?)
Well, when yo' go fo' harm yo' go rough. Well, now, jes' lak yo' go git dis dirt, yo' see, yo' know dis person died bad - yo' low his life yo' see, yo' know how he lived. If he was a gambler yo kin git it fo' gamblin', an' if he wus a man dat raise hell an' bring confusion git it fo'that. Well, now, yo' go an' git dat dirt an' throw it on a person do' or steps an' ease it underneat' dere house, see. Well, it penetratin' dere. Yo' can't so well throw it in de yard because dey'll 'scover it, but chew kin put underneat' dere steps where dey transfer over it. De evil spirits will follow 'em all de time an' dey can't live in peace.
Entry 1309
De objec' of de graveyard dust - now, we'll have tuh git dat graveyard dust a sutin [certain] way. Now, yo' gotta pay nine cents. That's, yo' might say, buyin' spirits from de graveyard to perteck yo'. Yo' see whut ah mean. Take nine cents an' carry it to a graveyard, an' go to a pusson who hasn't been dere grave, who hasn't been dead fo' very long, somepin lak two or three yeahs, somepin lak dat. Dat ain't too long. An' go right about midways of their heart of the body - 'bout where dey heart is. Yo' drives it down in dere about eight or ten inches, an' drop that nine cents there and bring up that much dust - see. When yo' bringin' up dat dust, yo' say, "I git chew in de Name of God de Father God de Son, to protect me in all affairs of life." See. Yo' take that an' yo' compose it with that same salt, sulphur an' stuff. That keeps that spirit alive an' full of activity an' vigor - watch fo' him, see.
Entry 1310
Ah hear about dat too an' ah knows of it. But chew have to pay three pennies but chew gotta go to someone's grave dat chew knows well. Jes' lak, yo' know, some of yore family dat's been buried an' yo' go to de head of dis grave an' yo' pay dat dead man or dat dead woman - whoevah yo' knows -.de three cents. An' den yo' take some of de dirt an' den yo' tell dem to give yo' luck, don't let nobody harm yo', an' yo' bring dat graveyard dirt - git a han'ful of de graveyard dirt an' bury it undah yore steps. Bury it undah yore step an' den nobody can't do yo' no harm cause de dead will pertec' yo'.
Entry 1311
Go to the cemetery and go to a sinner-man's grave and right over the middle of his chest and get some of that dirt, and as soon as I kin get it and bring it back home, and mix it up with vinegar and water and make it hard, hard, hard. Let it dry, dry. Divide it into four pieces.
(You cut this into four parts?)
Into four parts, and put one at the front door, one at the back, one this side, and [one] the other side. Can't nobody harm you, nobody come near yuh. (I see. You have some of that on each side of the house.)
Entry 1312
Yo' kin take maybe half a pint of likker or half a dozen aigs an' go to de graveyard, an' right down somewheres on de breast of someone dat yo' knows is buried dere, an' git up some dirt. Put dis down in dere, de aigs or de whiskey.
(How many eggs do you put in?)
Half a dozen.
(Half a dozen and a pint of whiskey do you say?)
Yessuh, tuh pay him tuh take care - tell 'em, "Ah'm payin' yo' tuh take care of de situation." Carry it on back with yo', dis dirt - carry it at chure home. Starts to de right corner of de house an' sow it clean back on round and yo's jes' taken pretty well care of - de house is taken care of.
(What will that do to the house?)
Den yore enemies won't bother yo'.
(You do this to your own house?)
Yessuh, to yore house.
The opening offers half a pint of liquor or half a dozen eggs; the interviewer later combines eggs with a pint of whiskey and receives confirmation. These differences remain unresolved. The quoted payment words are prescribed speech, and the protection claim is source-reported.
Entry 1313
An old lady, she lives out there in [New] Kent [County, Virginia]. I can't call her name now, but she's a dark woman, she's got a daughter name Mattie about chore color, and she goes out to it every thirty days. She goes out to the graveyard and get about, I reckon about a half a pound that dirt. Ev'ry morning she changes that dirt in her shoes - says it keep the evil spirit out. And at nights when she go to bed she sprinkles it all around her door. [My informant, who intended no offense, is merely saying that a dark woman had a daughter name Mattie about as white as anyone could be.]
Entry 1314
Tuh pertec' yoreself why yo' git yo' some graveyard dirt an' some sugah an' mix it togethah an' put it on de stove an' dry it. An' yo' put a little cayenne peppah in. it an' yo' sprinkle a little of that in yore shoe an' roun' cross yore do' facin' lak dat an' that keeps away enemies.
Entry 1315
I wouldn't do nothing but git one penny and carry it to the graveyard and git me some graveyard dirt and tie it up and mark it crosstowmways wit a piece of yallah homespun cloth - tie it dis way and tie it dat way.
(Tie it what way?)
You tie it across like dat [demonstrates]. (Across one way and across the other way.) [Two diagonal ends are brought to the center and tied; then the other two diagonal ends are tied.] Cross it. An' I'll take dat penny and I'll wear it in my shoe fer three days and den I take it and throw it ovahbo'rd. No one will harm yuh, dey can't harm yuh. De only way dey kin harm yo' is dey kin go ovahbo'rd and git dat penny, but dey can't go ovahbo'rd to git dat penny - dey can't harm you no way in de world. [Crosstownways means two city streets crossing at right angles - a cityfied version of a country crossroad. Yallah homespun cloth is normally homespun. YalZah equals unbleached.]
The printed account moves from tying graveyard dirt in cloth to wearing and throwing away the penny. The interviewer and Hyatt's gesture and word explanations remain separate; those explanations do not establish corpus-wide synonyms.
Entry 1316
This woman, she's a frequent visitor to the graveyard. This has been going on for the last twenty-five years [before 1936]. [If] she feels somebody Wants to harm her or prejudice her, she takes this dirt and sprinkles it toward this person.
Entry 1317
Take some graveyard dirt like at [to] the crossroads - you know runnin' ever' which way, and make a cross and put this dirt right in the middle of it and kiver it over and put sulphur in it, and that keeps anybody from crossing you.
(Does what?)
You know, harming you or crossing you in any kind of way.
The informant describes graveyard dirt with sulphur at a crossroads and clarifies the reported protection after the interviewer's question. '[to]' is an editorial insertion within the printed speech.
Entry 1318
I've heard some people say you go to the graveyard and get some dirt from a sinner-man's grave and bring it home, and put that in a box and put a hole in the top and bury that underneath the house, and nothing will come there to hurt you.
The informant begins 'I've heard some people say'. The protection claim remains hearsay, rather than an observed result.
Entry 1319
If a person put anything down fo' yo', well yo' kin take that graveyard dirt an' mix it with some - yo' know whut ah wus tellin' yo', git some saltpeter. Mix it with saltpeter an' sprinkle - jis' sprinkle it in yore house an' that'll do 'way with that.
The informant describes graveyard dirt and saltpeter as a mixture. The conditional removal of something laid down remains a source-reported claim.
Entry 1320
Now, dis thing, when yo' go to this cemetery an' git this dirt, if a person happen tuh bite chew or anything, jes' take dis dirt an' put it on dis place an' it will rot out dere teeth. [The usual rite to rot teeth of a person biting you demands chicken manure (No. 1189f., p.428); less usual, chicken egg, No.1193f., p.429.]
The informant describes cemetery dirt and a claimed effect on a biter's teeth. Hyatt's following comparison with chicken manure and egg rites is separate editorial commentary, not a statement by the informant.
Entry 1321
Yo' kin take a dime an' put it round yore laig, an' yo' take some graveyard dirt an' sulphur an' red peppah seed an' wear it in yore shoes, an' yo' kin walk ovah it [hoodoo] an' it won't harm yo'.
The informant describes graveyard dirt as one ingredient alongside sulphur and red pepper seed. The bracketed word '[hoodoo]' is an editorial identification within the printed speech; the protection claim is reported.
Entry 1322
If somebody have done put down somepin fo' 'em, dey go in de graveyard an' git a little dirt an' rub on de spot - git ever'thing straightened out, git well agin.
(You say if they are poisoned inside?)
No sir, jes' lak a snake bit 'em, see. Dey kin go out dere an' git a little bit of dat dirt an' rub on it. Dat kill it.
Entry 1323
Ah heard dat a fellah was supposed to be a professional in dat kind of thing. He would take dat dirt if yo' in trouble - he'd go to de graveyard an' git it out of de north end of - yo' know de graves be's mostly east an' west. Well, de north side what ah would mean to say.
(of the grave.)
Of de grave. Reach down - jest go down an' git - put chure han' way down, even if yo' don't git clean to de body. But dey say yo' must go to yore elbow an' git dat dirt, an' save it till it come to - if it's dry sand, an' if yo' in trouble or want to git 'way from yore enemies, yo' hold dat an' let de wind blow north direction an' dat will free yo' of dat trouble - wit dat graveyard dirt.
(You just hold that dry sand.)
Jest hold it out an' let de wind take it away yo' see. (The wind blowing north. And where do you hold this - out at the cemetery or when you get home?) After yo' git home. Yo' see yo' take dat 'way from de cemetery.
Entry 1324
Take de gun an' take de shots out, an' shoot de powder off roun' de house in de mawnin'. Say dat would keep de things away - keep de hants away.