Browse:KNOTS AND TYING (Volume 3, entries 3466–3629)/Part 3
KNOTS AND TYING
Volume 3, entries 3466–3629. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CAUSES OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 3626
Say fo' instance, if a woman is havin' intahco'ses wit a man an' she don't want anybody else tuh bothah wit de man. Well, now, one of de towels dat she might use, she takes 'is urine an' she take dis towel an' she wash it in dis urine - de same towel dat de two of dem use. An' den she tear a string offa de towel an' den she make nine knots in dat string, an' if it's not large enough tuh go roun' 'er body she'll make a 'ddition [an addition] tuh it jis' since she make nine knots. An' dat's supposed tuh keep 'im tuh de place where he cain't have any nature fo' anybody but 'er. Dat's whut yo' call a cross [or crossing up a man]. Dere people dat could take dat away, but ah have tuh give yo' mah best knowledge of it.
Entry 3627
Yo' could win a man. Yo' could take, yo' know, a string an' put nine knots in a cord string an' put it in turpentine, yo' know, an' wear it aroun' yore waist, an' it would keep 'im from havin' dealin's wit any othah woman but chureself.
(Well what do you do with that string first before you put the nine knots on it?)
Well, yo' take an' put nine knots in it, see, an' make a wish an' put it in dat turpentine an' tie it aroun' yore waist, an' evah time he git ready tuh have a intahco'se wit any othah woman, see, he couldn't.
Entry 3628
Dey [a woman] could take a piece of their [a man's] underwear that they [he] wear right close to them [him] an' rip it right on down jis' where they [he] button the underwear. An' then she takes that an' ties it in nine knots, an' make evah one of those knots to her an' make a wish [as each knot is tied]. Then yo' take this piece an' yo' tie it aroun' de leg an' wear it - eithah leg, it don't make any diff'ren'. Either yo' take it an' tie it aroun' yore waist. An' as long as yo' wear that knot aroun' yore waist, he cannot leave her [you].
Entry 3629
Takin' yore chamber lye an' usin' dat an' yo' can't - yore dick won't rise till yo' see her, yo' know.
(Well, how do they use that? Do that?)
Put it in a bottle an' tie nine knots in a string, an' put de string aroun' de bottle an' put it up ovah top de door where yo' go out at; an' when yo' go out, dey lay dat bottle an' yore dick won't rise. An' while dat bottle layin' down, yo' come back an' den dey set it up. Yo' set de bottle up an' yo's all right den. (Well, what do they do with this string first? Where do they get the string first?) Wet it in de watah.
(Oh, they wet this - in whose water?)
In yores. (The woman gets the string and wets it in the man's water, and she ties these kmots in it.) Yes, ties nine knots in it. I hear'd of peoples takin' yore hair an' puttin' it in a rag, puttin' it in a bottle an' puttin' some vinegar wit it, an' puttin' it up ovah top de door. An evah time yo' go out dey lay dat bottle down, an' yo' have to come back; an' when yo' come back, dey set dat bottle up, an' yo' is all right.
(What would she do about getting his nature? What would she do with that?)
Put it in a bottle an' lay it 'cross, put it up in de do'r - see, anywhere yo' go out. An' when yo' go out she lay dat down when yo' come back, she stand it up. But yo' kin easily do somepin fer dat. [Norfolk, Va., (469), 475:7.] [I had intended to comment at the end of KNOTS NINE about the number of them in HOODOO. Instead I write a few words to fill in the end of this page.] [I agree with the informant who supplies our first margin title: AH'M GON'A TELL YUH SOMEPIN OTHAH DAT BEAT DE WORL'. Snail rites do beat de WOrl'. They are so amazing I have been more than generous with examples. HooDoO as a whole will show that no special effort was made to collect them, because sex in itself was never emphasized in field work. When I first heard about the snail rite in 1936, I thought the man was lying - see 3635.]