Browse:NAILS - NEEDLES AND PINS - TACKS (Volume 5, entries 9715–9859)
NAILS - NEEDLES AND PINS - TACKS
Volume 5, entries 9715–9859. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 9715
Salt an' a little chamber lye an' a little vinegah, an' sprin- kle roun' yore do' will keep de law back. Dat's whut ah've heard. [Waycross, Ga., (1092), 1759:1.] [These four sticking or sharp-pointed instruments are of great importance in HOODOO, but usually they appear not alone or together but as parts of rites having more complex elements. For example we have: 4 new needles crossed in a handker- chief and folded 4 times to you, creating 16 squares, a rare example of "geometric progression" (for folding rites see 3182-3190, v.3) where the principal concern is neither needle nor folding but CAUSES OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE (No.3162, p.2352, v.3). Another use of 4 needles does not appear in our present section because it is more useful elsewhere bringing back a murderer (MURDER, No.7316, p.3251, v.4). Yet nails, needles and pins, and tacks - isolated by themselves or in combinations - remain numerous, important and interesting, as we shall find in our first belief.]
Entry 9716
Yo' kin take a nail - a spike. Take dat an' kill a puhson. Ah tell yuh whut. Nail dat about de height of de puhson. Yo' care dat tuh a tree an' yo' kin care it in dis country [South Carolina] - yo' care it tuh whut's known as a workin' pine. Dat's de lady pine. Dere's a he an' a she, yo' know, suh, in de pine trees. An' yo' care it tuh dat. Go dere early in de mawnin'. An' dere's anothah one. Yo' kin care it tuh a peah [pear] tree an' drive it in dere about de height of 'em [the victim]. Drive dat in dere. Call 'em, hit it, drive it in dere hard, Ah drive dis spike intuh yore reart, dat no longah shall yo' Zive'r [live or] remain on earth. Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Den turn roun' an' call dem. Call dem, but don't put yore hamah or hatchet down. Hold it in a drivin' position. Drive it! An' evah tine yo' drive yo' say, Die! Die! Dat'll bring on quick-enough death. Drive it! Tell 'em yo' drivin' it through dey heart, dey witals an' weins. Yo' shall Die! Die! Yo' must die! Yo' shall die!
Entry 9717
Go to the fork of a road, like that [demonstrates] and take a brand-new ten-penny nail. And they pin [drive] that nail down. Just like you want a girl or somepin, they pin that nail down and say a prayer about nine times. And they put that [nail] down in and put a hand- kerchief down over it. After they put the handkerchief down, and let it stay over there [the driven nail] and get the handkerchief before the pert morning before the sun rise. And they say that'll get that girl. You take the handkerchief and wear it. And after that you go to the girl and take it out of your pocket, like that, like you is playing with it, and get [flutter] it around her face. [The spirit of the conquered nail, fortified by the power of the spirit of the fork of the road, is carried to confront the girl!] ]
Entry 9718
Take a nail, a ten-penny nail, jes' about de height of dis [demon- strates] an' cut it off. Cut off de top [head] of it an' wrap it [headless nail] aroun' wit a piece of black thread nine times. An' stick in de cornah of 'er house an' call 'er name, an' in nine days she'll return. Regardless tuh where she is, she'll come back. Her min' jes' git worried up an frettin' so she cain't stay [away] an' she have tuh come.
(Cut off the top, the head of that nail?)
Cut it off. [This rite could have been placed under NAME, Pp.3497-3589, v.4.]
Entry 9719
And dey wanted tuh, dey could take a big nail an' carry it tuh a oak Tree on de [property] line of dis man's land, yuh undahstan', an' drive dis nail in dere an' make a wish when he'd drive it in dere. An' he.could stay down dere an' do as hdchase as long as he wants. De man voeld never put 'im away - put him off [the land]. (Off, I see. If some man is on a piece of ground - land out here - and he wnts to stay and he doesn't want to be put off, he will go to this oak tree. Ad where would this oak tree be?) Neah de line, de [boundary] line of de land.
(Oh, it must be near the line?)
His land an' somebody else's, yo' know. Yo' see, gen'ly [generally] dere's a line of trees out on dere [property line of farm]. Yo' know, there is de line of orees somewhere neah it. An' drive it in a oak tree, yo' see. Blow 'is breath on it three times an' make a wish [also 3 magic actions: drive, wish, breathe].
(What will that do for him then?)
Hell, he kin stay dere long as he choose.
(He just stays there as long as he wants to?)
Yeah, an' he don't pay no rent.
Entry 9720
Take a bar of Octagon Soap [trade name] if someone want chew to move out dis house. An' jest take yo' a nail, a tenpenny nail, if yo' want to stay dere right along, an' drive in dat nail [soap]. An' put dat in de no'th corner [ a cor- ner on the north side] of de house, an' dere can't nobody git chew outa dat house long as yo' wanta stay dere.
Entry 9721
They say you can take a new tenpenny nail and if you want the man, why you can drive that down, beside your bed, in the floor. And if that makes you be the first place that you walk over in the morning and the last place in the night, and that'll make him come to you and come under your control.
Entry 9722
Yo' kin take a twentypenny nail an' dress it wit High John de Conkah stuff an' dope it evah mawnin' an' evah night. An' take an' drive it neah yore house, drive 'em [informant changes to two nails] in yore do'side both ways. Say it will keep de law away. (What do you mean, drive them both ways?) Drive one dat-a-way an' drive one dis-a-way. Drive one on dat side dat-a-way an' drive one ovah heah dis-a-way.
(Right in the door frame?)
Yes, an' jes' dope [dress or feed] dat [driven in] haid evah mawnin' an' evah night. Say dey [law] won' come anywhere neah yo'. [Nails are more likely driven into doorsill.]
Entry 9723
If a landlord wanted tuh make yuh move out a house, yo' kin git chew two nails, bran'-new nails yuh see, an' yuh cross 'em right ovah de sill of de do' an' he cain't git chew outa dat house. Well, whensomevah yo' wants tuh cross yore house tuh keep anybody from stayin' in dere, why jes' as yo' use de nails fo' yuh tuh stay dere, yo' kin use dose nails fo' dose people so dat dey cain't stay dere. Dey have tuh cross de same nails.
(That will also keep the people from moving into the house?)
Yessuh, 'long as it crossed.
Entry 9724
Take two tenpenny nails an' nail 'em down an' cross 'em lak dat [dem- onstrates: nails crossed like an "x"]. Nobody will stay in dere.
(Where do you nail them?)
Right ovah de do' [doorsill]. Crosses up de house. (No one can rent it or stay in there.)
Entry 9725
Dey use nails fo' sep'ratin' a man an' a woman, or eithah de husban' an' wife, whatevah yo' wan' tuh do. Yo' take de three nails an' cross; 'em dis way. See, cross 'em dat way, yo' see, an' den yo' have anothah one comin' cross dis way. (They are crossed one on top of the other like a rail fence.) Yes. An' den git chew a twine string an' yo' wrap it till - have de twine string about a-like dat [meas- ures].
(Four or five feet long.)
Yes. An' wrap it till dat string is out; all de way in all dose things [dem- onstrates].
(In all those corners?)
[In the V's between the spokes of the wheel.]
Yes. An' den when yo' git it wrapped, den yo' take it an' whosomevah house it is, yo' go tuh dere house. An' yo' go in, yo' know, an' sit down an' talk or sompin lak dat. An' den go tuh de backdo' an' throw it east, jes' as fur as yo' kin in de grass. Den yo' come on back. Dat's de way tuh separate a man an' wife.
(You just throw the whole thing altogether, just throw the whole thing away?)
Yes, de whole thing away. Dat's tuh separate a man an' wife. [There are several of these rimless wheel rites in HOODOO.]
Entry 9726
Bury 3 nails crossed together to bring person back.[ Here, as in the preceding rite and elsewhere in HOODOO, we have the well-known rimless wheel rite.]
Entry 9727
Whenevah yo' be rid [writ?] out, dey done be rid yo' out - yo' know, outdo's an' yo' gotta move. Dey done rid yo' out, yo' know - de officah rids yo' out an' yo' gotta move. [Evidently your few posses- sions are on the sidewalk out in the street.] Yo' cake three nails an' yo' go tuh de do' lak dat an' nail 'em down [demonstrates] right in de middle of de do'.
(Right underneath the saddle that goes across the door.)
Yes, an' nail 'em down in dere an' call De Name of de Fathah an' de Son, an' yo' kin stay dere. Dey'll come an' lengthen yore days an' let chew stay on dere. Yo' won't have tuh move. Ah know dat fo' a fac' 'cuz ah did dat mahself. (You put them right down [I demonstrate] where that board goes over - over that saddle of the door.) Yes. [In that first line is there a play on the words writ and rid [get rid of you] both pronounced alike here.]
Entry 9728
Ah hear'd dat dey takes three sixtypenny nails.
(What size is that?)
Jes' 'bout lak dat - jes' about dat long, yo' see [demonstrates].
(Oh, long as your hand.)
About seven inches. (About seven [actually six] inches long. Three sixtypenny nails. I never heard of a sixtypenny nail.) Yeah, dere's plenty of 'em. An' drive it down at de steps, yo' undahstan', kinda in a fo'kway [forkway]: one dis way, one dat way, an' one dat way [demon- strates].
(Like a "v": one here, one each end like a "v.") Yeah. (Which way would that "v" point now at the steps?)
East. (What I mean, would these two ends point away from the house or to the house?) Way from de house.
[They point away from the house.]
(And do they point in any particular direction?)
An' de ''v' points tuh de house. [Informant means small end of "v", but actually the stem of the "Y" points to the house.]
(You mean the ends of the "v"?)
Kinda "x" yeah. [Informant is actually talking about a "Y", my "v" having caused the confusion.] Dere's one, dere's one, an' here's one ovah dere, see. Well [that last one, the stem of the "Y"] dat's nex' tuh de steps. Dat's de way.
(Then what happens?)
Den yo' jes' walks on, goes on 'way from dat backwards an' nevah looks back at dem [after once turning round]. An' dat's all dat ah know of tuh be done. Dat de way dey tell me.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat make yo' move or git chew sep'rated of whatsomevah it is fo'. [The two persons inside the house walk out on a single road, soon come to the "Y" fork where they separate, one going to the right, the other to the left.
Entry 9729
I'll tell you this much. Just like I say I have a husband and I have a sweetheart-man, and I wants my sweetheart-man and my husband to live like - you know what I mean - like friends. I'll heat some water to make coffee and I'll put three nails in that cook-kettle or pot, whatever I heat the water in. I'll make that coffee. I'll get the first cup of coffee myself out of that. I'll give my husband the next cup and my sweetheart-man the next cup. After we drink off of that coffee, now I'll take the three nails out of that cook kettle. All right, I'm first. [Demonstrates.] I'll put one nail there [for me], my husband here - here's me right there - and my sweetheart [man] laying right here.
(You put those nails in the shape of a triangle?)
Yes. Well, but I'm first [demonstrates], my husband [I interrupt before sweetheart]. (Your husband is to your right and the other man is to the left in that tri- angle.) In that way we'll never fuss. He could come and ketch me in the bed with the sweetheart-man but he won't have nothing to say. He can't even fight with me. Him and that man will never fall out. They'll always be friends together.
(Where do you put those nails?)
In the wall. But I'm here - I'm first, and my husband is next, and this man is here, see. See I'm the boss of all both of them.
Entry 9730
Lak somebody have did somepin tuh someone an' dey wanted tuh change it onto dem - turn it back ontuh dem. Dey kin take three nails, rusty nail, an' put in dat bottle a chamber lye. An' let it set dere fo' nine mawnin's an' den take an' throw it intuh runnin' watah.
(This will turn the spell back on the person that put it on them?)
Yes sir.
(Whose chamber lye do you use?)
Yo' kin use yore chamber lye. See, if yo' wanted tuh take it off yoreself, use yores.
(That is if you tricked me, I would use my own chamber lye?)
Yes sir. [Informant would not throw his own stopped-up urine into running water, he throws emptied bottle.]
Entry 9731
Dey tell me if yo' bo' a hole in a tree an' take, ah think three nails, an' drive in dere an' name 'em. An' yo' drive 'em in dere. Dey tell me dat will cuz a person tuh git fits an' die from 'em.
(How many nails do they put in that hole?)
Dey put three.
Entry 9732
If yo' want tuh kill a woman or a woman wants tuh kill yuh, she could take six rusty nails an' git a piece of yore undahclothes, an' [or] ole stockin'. Takes it an' drop it intuh a quart jah an' screw de top on it. An' left about three holes in it, where jes' a li'l' sand kin drop in dere. An' bury it undah yore steps, if yo' aren't scared. An' den yo' walk in an' out an' back an' fo'wards [over it]. Jes' as de sand drop in dere, yo' [inside the quart jar] gits sick. Well, yo' git tuh de play [place] yo' won' be no mo' good tuh yuhself or nobody else. An' de mo' sand drop in dere de mo' closah yo' gits tuh yuh grave. Jes' kill yuh, yo' know.
Entry 9733
[This is a double-four rite, actually eight nails.]
Take a penny nail an' go tuh a tree an' nail yo' fo' dis way [demonstrates]. Git chew fo' nails, de ten-penny nails, an' git on de sunrise side an' put chew fo' of 'em dis way [demonstrates].
(In a row that way.)
Yes, dat's right. An' fo' dis-a-way tuh de sundown. Come roun' dis side an' put de othah for dis way, an' yo's all right. Nobody can't harm yuh. (You go to the sunrise side of the tree and you put four nails like that horizontal, right in a row. Then you go round to the sundown side and put four horizontal in a row. What do you do that for?) Yo' do dat tuh keep anybody from worryin' yuh.
Entry 9734
If yo' want 'em tuh go, yo' git chew fo' nails. [Informant must have demonstrated size.]
(Long nails.)
Yeah. Put one dere an' one heah an' one heah. [Do this] in de yard. Fourth nail must have been shown in demonstration.] (You put three in one line and one behind it, making a triangle.) [How my 4 nails make a triangle I do not know!] No, yo' fix it lak dis. Cross it [demonstrates]: one tuh de foot [be- low] one tuh de haid [above], an' one on each side.
(A cross. [Actually 4 crosses!]
You put those in the yard?) Right in de yard. An' dey sho' can't stay dere. (And you use those large nails, you say?) Yessuh, dem spike nails.
Entry 9735
[Similar to the preceding rite we have the following one:]
(The wire nails?)
Ah undahstan', whut chew build wit. Yo' take dose an' yo' cross 'em aftah folks, an' throw [salt] den, aftah yo's ti'ed [tired] of 'em. Yo' know, dey comin' in yore house. Yo' kin cross 'em at chure do' fo' nine mawnin's, an' aftah dey done been in dere, yo' kin sweep out fo' nine mawnin's in behin' dem, if yo' wanta keep 'em out. Sweep out fo' nine mawnin's across dem nails down dere lak yo' wuz mad at 'em [the nails]. Aftah yo' done swept, den make a wish dat dey will stay away: "Ah don' want chew in mah house." An' fin'ly dey will quit comin' dere. (You cross four nails, you cross them as twos, like you are making a picture frame. And you put them down before you sweep out?) [PICTURE FRAME HERE SHOWS THAT I GRASPED THIS RITE AT ONCE THOUGH THIS AND PRECEDING RITE, NO.9734. WERE SEPARATED BY TIME AND DISTANCE.1 No suh, aftah yo' sweep out.
(You sweep out for nine mornings. Then you put these nails down?)
Yo' put dem nails down fo' nine mawnin's. (You don't put the nails down for nine mornings, you only put them down for one morning, don't you?) Dey said put 'em down nine mawnin's, dose nails, aftah yo' done swept out. Yo' puts 'em down nine mawnin's aftah yo' done swept. Yo' sweep fo' nine mawn- in's. (You sweep one morning, then what do you do the next morning? Do you sweep again?) Sweep ag'in.
(When do you put the nails down, each time you sweep?)
Each time lak yo' sweep. (That means four nails each morning. That's four nails each of the nine Dornings? That is 36 nails altogether?) Yo' put dem same nails back down.
(You only use four nails altogether?)
Yessuh, jes' only dose fo'.
(You take them up afterwards?)
Aftah dose nine mawnin's yo' take dem up. [To summarize this rite: the first morning you arrange 4 nails into a picture frame design on the floor at the door. Over them you sweep unwanted visitors foot tracks or prints. Take up the nails. Repeat this rite 9 successive mornings.
crossing nails at a doorway, with separately prompted material and frame interpretation. Keep the exact interviewer→informant role order; the later frame explanation belongs to interviewer/editorial context. keeping unwanted visitors out in printed informant dialogue. Retain the explicit out polarity; it is not retention at home or object possession. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3836) · Read full source (printed page 3837)
Entry 9736
Take new tenpenny nails an' nail it up here [demonstrates by pointing] in each corner of the house [inside the house], or either on the outside in each corner of the house. An' the next morning they'll be out that house. [Here we have a simpli- fication of the preceding picture-frame rites, signifying the "4 corners of the world" with a cross in each corner.]
Entry 9737
Yo' kin take fo' ten- penny nails an' jes' drive one at each cornah of de house, back an' front, an' dere won't no law come dere. Dat's experience. [This diagram is a stylized simplification of preceding rites, 4 crosses in the corners of a square.
Entry 9738
They can take four new nails, tenpenny nails, and they can bring 'em - if yo' got a field out there or something or garden, they can bring 'em an' cross four of 'em in the four cor- ners of that place you got, and you got to move. Yo' can't stay there, yo' got to go, if they cross four of those nails in each corner. But yo' going to make six- teen nails in them four corners. Yo' got to move when them sixteen nails are crossed. Yo' can't stay there, regardless of how it is.
(Where do they put them?)
Put 'em in each corner in the four corners of that place whatever yo' got.
(That property?)
Yes, that property. [Here we have either the complete picture frame in each of the 4 corners of the property, or else in each corner 2 nails cross each other making 2 separate crosses - a doublecross!]
Entry 9739
On dat person's premises, if dey drive tenpenny nails intuh a tree - on dat person's premises - why yo'll change dere luck. Dey jes' lak a fellah dat won't have good luck. (Just one nail?) No, seven tenpenny nails.
Entry 9740
(What are you going to do with those nails?)
Conkah anything yo' wanta conkah. It's nine nails. Yo' put three heah [demonstrates].
(Three right over your navel.)
Right ovah mah navel, an' yo' got three in de back, ain't chew? Dat's six, ain't it? Put one heah, one dere. Make a sack, yo' know, jes' lak a nation sack. But yo' kin fix it up round, yo' know, good aroun' yore waist. One on each hip. But yo' got three right chere an' three right in de spine of yore back. Dat's six, ain't it? Dis is seven an' dat's eight. Now, put one in dat left shoe. [For nation sack, see interview THE "NATION SACK" WOMAN, Pp.1449-1459, vol. 2, who describes this article.1
(What will that do for you?)
Conkah whut ah tole yo'. Conkah de devil or any way yo' want it. But yo' gotta make a wish In de Name of God. Yo' gotta do all dis In de Name of God an' have faith in it.
Entry 9741
Says yo' take nine nails an' carry 'em tuh a graveyard. An' if a per- son real mad wit chew, take nine nails an' carry 'em tuh a graveyard, an' leave a penny down dere, an' take some dat dirt. An' tie it in a rag an' carry it an' put it undah dat nail at 'er fiahplace. An' dat person dat mad wit chew, dey come dere whah [where] dat down. De woman or man dey come dat same night.
(You bury those nine nails in the graveyard?)
Yo' bury dem down dere an' yo' bring de dirt. [That nail at the fireplace is a peg upon which she can hang various articles. Having paid a penny for the graveyard dirt I see no reason for leaving the 9 nails there. Surely both grave- yard dirt and 9 nails were buried at the fireplace.]
Entry 9742
Yo' take nine wire nails - dey call 'em tenpenny nails - an' yo' take dem nails an' yo' put five at de front. Nail five down right in de centah of de front do'. An' yo' take de othah fo' an' yo' nail 'em right down in de fiahplace - right down in de fiahplace. An' yo' say, "Well, ah wan'a stay heah an' ah don' wanta leave - long as ah wan'a." An' evahtime de rentman come in he say, "Yo' got anythin'?" "No, ah ain't got nuthin tuhday." An' he go on by. He nevah tell yo' tuh move out de house - not argin' [argu- ing] 'bout it. Yo' stay dere till yo' git ready tuh go. See, dat's naiZin' yo' down.
Entry 9743
To keep all creditors [bill collectors] away and law [police], take 9 nails and make letter "T" [a form of the cross, the tau cross] in doorsill, then come back in sweeping salt - in the first one [customer] comes. [But] put a nail in sill [etc.] until all 9 nails in door[sill]. Also [good for] rent man.
[The heads of these nails are seen as they appear in the... illustration.]
Entry 9744
Use nine nails, nailing six the straight way and three the crossway [making the form of a cross] up overhead or either where the party have to pass at. And that's crossing of the house. Yes, sir. If they [know] exactly it's crossed: again, removing the nails, keeping them in the house overnight, throwing them out before the sunrise, and washing the house out with saltpeter, it's [the cross is] done away with. (That removes this cross I put on the landlord?) Yes sir, absolutely. [The 6 nails, grouped into three sets are driven into the floor as follows: IT Tr Tr. Then 3 nails are driven across the sets like this: H H H. We now have 6X's or Soblecrosses.]
Entry 9745
Say you could nail nine nails in de floor of somebody's home and keep them down all the time - I've heard that.
(Where would they nail those?)
Where do they nail them? (Yes.) Under the bed that they sleep in or somewhere near where they be all the tine; or around the stove or the table, where they'd have to, you know, often Pass over.
Entry 9746
You take nine nails and nail each one of 'em at nine o'clock every moming for nine mornings jis' acrost de door. On de first morning de first nail is driven into the wood at the edge of the front step; on the second morning the second nail is driven nearer the house; etc., until the nails form a straight line from the edge of the steps across the doorsteps into the house. An' the ninth morning he's comin' back. [This is my original transcription made in 1937 a short time after the recording: The voice came through badly but everything has been recovered and reproduced here.]
Entry 9747
Kin do dat easy. Jis' lak now if yo' sellin' a lil' drinks, now. Yo'll git nine nails an' yo' bury dem nails six days. Yo' bury dem nails. (Where do you bury them?) Right tuh de foot of yuh steps. Den aftah dat yo' drive one heah, drive one dere, an' drive one dere, drive one dere, drive one dere, an' yo' drive one heah [etc.]. Nine time.
(Drive them right around the steps.)
Yes, right around de steps.
(Down in the ground or into the steps?)
No, right on de edge of de steps. Yo' drive nine nails an' yo'll have de dhiskey in dis house. An' he'll come in heah an' he ain't goin' intuh dat room yhere de whiskey is atall. He come in anothah room an' look aroun' an' say, Av, dere ain't nuthin heah," an' he go on. [Charleston, S. Car., 603:2.]
Entry 9748
Ah've hear'd of usin' bran'-new wire nails, if a pusson stayed close toh yo' an' yo' didn't want 'em tuh live dere. Yo'd take nine new nails an' drive 'em down between yuh house an' dey house, an' in nine days dey'll move. Ah've hear'd of dat.
Entry 9749
Jes' lak if yo' an' a person have a big dispute or somepin of de kind, den yo' take nine nails, nine bran'-new nails. An' take yo' some sulphuh an' take dem nine nails an' a piece of tin. Yo' know, a top [lid of tin can] an' nail it down lak dat. Nail it through dat top an' put dat sulphuh undah it, undah de top. See [demonstrates], turn de top down, see, an' yo' take nine nails an' nail 'em roun' [through the lid] lak dat. An' if he's plannin' tuh do anythin', take a suit ag'inst yo' or anythin' of de kind, use dem nine nails. Den yo' tie his mind down. Yo' tie his mind down dat he can't do whut he intend tuh do. Can't do it.
(You just simply put the sulphur out there, and turn that tin top [or lid]
down over it, and drive nine nails into it.) Nine nails. An' talk to it jes' lak ah'm talkin' tuh yo', jes' what yo' want tuh be done.
(What would you say?)
Jes' lak dis: "Ah don' wan' chew tuh bring suit ag'inst me. Yo' must be mah fren', not a enemy. Yo' gotta be mah fren'." Yo' see, yo' nail dem nails down an' yo' talk tuh it, jes' lak yo' call 'is name: "John, yo' must be mah fren an' not a enemy tuh me. Yo' must be mah fren'." An' jes' nail yore nails right on down. "Ah'm talkin' tuh yo', John, an' callin' yore name. Dis is Carrie Han' [Hand] talkin' tuh yo'. An' yo' must be mah fren, not mah enemy.' An' jes' nail dem nails down lak dat.
(Where do you nail the nails down?)
Yo' kin nail 'em down jes' anywhere in yore house, yo' undahstan'. [Sumter, S. Car., (1351). 2344:6.]
Entry 9750
Peoples bury 'em, bury nails, big nails, at a certain distance, yo' know. Nine nails. An' dat will keep de law away. (Where do they bury these nails?) In de ground roun' de entrance, roun' de front yard where dey 'sposed tuh come in. Nine nails, jes' de p'int down. [Wilson, N. Car.,
(1454).2643:6.]
Entry 9751
Take nine nails an' drive dem in de steps, de do'steps, an' de person walks across dose nails comin' in dere, fo' eight or nine days, an' de first thing yo' knows, dey's movin. [8 days meaningless!]
(That will move them, driving these nine nails down at the doorstep?)
Yessuh.
Entry 9752
Say, if anybody wuz hurt chew or git chure min' confusin', an' make yo' don't know whut chew wanta do half de time, dey could take a oak stick an' put nine notches an' ninepenny nail an' put it at chure step. Use new nail. Yessuh, say dat'll shure hurt chew.
(How would they put the nails in, in the stick?)
No suh, nail it down roun' dat stick. Jes' lak if yo' put it in de centah, nail 'em all roun' dat stick. Say yo' couldn't stay tuh yore own house in no peace.
Entry 9753
Take nine bran'-new wire nails an' drive 'em right in de path right in de front of de house, right in de walk where yo' go out; [also] nine needles an' nine pins. An' turn 'em towards de east. Dat'll make yo' go. (Now [I demonstrate] this is the path. You drive the nine nails down there, nine needles and nine pins. How do you mean you turn them toward the east?) Yo' turn de haid toward de east.
(You drive them in on a slant then? That will make you move out of the house.)
Yessuh.
Entry 9754
A man an' a woman had a fuss an' got mad. An' dey'd fuss an' dey'd fuss, an' fuss an' fuss. An' dey come say whut dey goin' do. He say, "Yes, ah will take somepin an' ah'll put it round mah do'step, guess she'll be hoppin'. Okay. So, aftah he [he now changed to she] put it down, she got onto it - undah- stood it. She says, "Well, it's a two-handed game. It's jes' as much fo' me as it is fo' her. So now de first one gits de mos' of it, be de first one tuh go doon." So she goes an' she gits nine nails an' nine needles an' nine pins, an' she pat it in a red flannel rag, an' she put it undah de do'step an' let it stay dere nine mawnin's. An' de nine mawnin's, dis woman she passed by dis house an' she goes - jes' lak ah wuz walkin' 'long de street chew know, jes' lak ah wuz goin'aftah sompin, she passed right on by. So she goes off where she wuz goin' an' she turned off an' come back an' she went on home. So she laid down fo' a spell fo' a rest. When she went tuh git up, she couldn't git up. That wuz the last of dat. So dat stayed dat way fo' awhile. So she commence tuh study herself an' she says, "Ah think someone musta done opin tuh me." Says, "Ah feel very peculiah an' don't feel lak ah should feel lak dis. Ah ain't hurt nowhere, ah jes' can't use dis laig. Jes' weak in dis laig." Says, "Ah believe ah'll be smart if ah go someplace. So she goes somewhere to try tuh git relief. So she went [to a hoodoo doctor Gbo told her what had happened, the substance of this present rite]. So de man jes', he jes' kept right on tellin' stories, kept right on tellin' stories. He aoaldn't do nuthin fo' 'er. Finally she died.
Entry 9755
They kin git 9 tenpenny nails an' they urinate on 'em. Let 'em stand 3 days an' go on the north turn [see later] an' throw it under the house an you'll move. [This is my penciled transcription of the original made a few years after the recording. In that greceding bracket were the words end over side, indicating I knew this prepara- doaa was thrown under the north side of the house; yet a pencil line at the bot- to of the page adds sounds like "tum." My pencil also added the words profes- sional and excellent, reminding me that her cylinders had been missed by my transcriber and later shaved! This also happened to another unique woman at Memphis and a remarkable man in Jacksonville, Fla.]
Entry 9756
[Here in italics is my notation about a rite my transcriber forgot to transcribe: 9 new nails evil wisher drives in your home where you walk over or at doorstep. Go inside and turn around and drive 'em into floor going out as you leave the house. Run 'em out. Nails go out in a row, but the last 3 together. I suggest that the last three nails grouped closely together, the nailheads forming a triangle, represent the 3 HOLY NAMES. Memphis, Tenn., (962, informant good), 1553:6.]
Entry 9757
Now, if you got a place where the business is good. Suppose you got a place, the other fellow got a place, and he is doing better business and you want to knock his business. Nine pennynails, that repre- sents the nine hours Christ hung on the cross, nail in the nails in the center of the door overhead or under [nails are above or under door]. I guarantee that when two people come in there, three will go out. Nine pennynails [any size but not too large]: altogether six this way and three across, making a wish while you are driving in the nails. They represent the ninth hour that Christ hang from the 6th to 9th hour on the cross.
Entry 9758
Dey tell me yo' kin take nine nails an' drive down in de road which way dey went, an' count de nails fo' nine mawnin's, an' de ninth mawnin' dey tell me dey'll return.
(That's to bring a person back.
Entry 9759
You kin take these nails, tenpenny nails, and you kin drive 'em in the ground where some person that you doesn't like or want to move them, you move them with nails. And when you drive 'em in the ground and make your wish, you drive 'em head down an' p'int up. Or you kin drive 'em at your doorstep and nail them down under your control. You use nine nails.
Entry 9760
A man was likin' a woman. He get to like another woman, yo' know, an' doesn't come to her no more. She'd get nine new nails an' drive 'em down in de ground at her door, just enough to cover their heads up, and then the next morning she would take some of her water from de chamber and throw that on it. See. Then when he comes back in over that, over them nails and that chamber lye, then he'll get on with her.
(He gives the other woman up. I see.)
Entry 9761
You take nails and drive them in the ceiling of your house and that'll bring your wife back home. On the ceiling of your house, eightpenny nails. (What kind of nails?) Eightpenny nails. (Nine?) Yes, sir, nine nails. Put them there and let them stay nine days. And pull them out after she come back home. But you let them stay and she'll come back to you in nine days.
(Where do you drive those nails?)
Right on the ceiling of your house, all the way around in the ceiling.
Entry 9762
Yo' take nine nails an' drive 'em into a pine tree on de sunrise side an' make yore wish, In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost. An' yo' kill a person dataway. (And you wish to kill that per- son when you are driving those nails in the tree?) Yes sir.
Entry 9763
Yo' could nail a person down. Dey say yo' take nails, tenpenny nails, an' yo' could put dat nail a certain place in yore yard, or anywhere else. An' if yo' wanta nail a person down, yo' go dere evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' yo' nail dat down. An' yo' hit dat one lick an' tell 'em - yo' know, yo' put in [you include] whut chew doin', whut chew nailin' it fo'. Yo' nail dat down an' de las' time say, "Ah'm nailin' yo' down: In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' de Holy Ghost." Dat sill hold a person down.
Entry 9764
Take yuh nine bran'-new nails, nine [new] needles. Take 'em an' put 'em in a sack, a piece of white clot' [cloth] whut nevah had no scissah in it, no mo' [more] dan whut yuh cut it tuh sew it, an' put 'em in dere. Bury 'em undah yuh front steps. An' if he come tuh de front, sweep in tuh de back all de time.
(I see. That'll keep the law away.)
He goin' tuh stay away.
Entry 9765
Ah goes tuh de sto' an' ah buy me nine bran'new No.lO [tenpenny] nails. An' ah go down tuh de woods an' find me nine trees. Don't git de nine of 'em lak [alike]. Take a ole sweetgum, poplah, maple, blackgum, sycamo' an' all dose kind. Jes' git nine of dem [different types of] trees. An' ah take an' ah chip out a space. Ah have mah axe wit me, mah hatchet. Ah chip me a space out 'bout as large a [as a] dollah, silvah dollah. An' ah nail on dis one - maybe dat's west. Well, ah'll come [demonstrates] ovah east an' ah'll nail a nail dere, an' ah'll go back kinda west no'th [northwest] an' nail a nail dere. An' den ah'll come back in kinda southeast an' put a nail in dat one. But yo' gotta have all of dose nail jes' in de same way - east. Yo' have tuh put 'em all east. (You said before that you nailed these trees in the shape of an "E" - like the letter "E".) Da's whut ah'm speakin' of now. Yo' goes no'th, go west, an' come back dat Way [demonstrates]. Den yo' have 'em sometime in a straight line. Yo' kin put 'em kinda "v" shaped. Den yo'll go tuh work an' put all of dose nails in dose trees an' yo' hit 'em all three times dis [first] mawnin', tuh git 'em tuh stick in de trees. Den yo' come on back de time [return home]. De nex' mawnin' yo' gits up early - yo' always have tuh travel early. Yo' has tuh go out dere den while de dew's on 'em evah mawnin'. Yo' go down an' maybe git wet wit de dew an' den have tuh come back an' change yore clothes. Well, yo' hit dis firs' one maybe one time, de firs' one. Well, yo' be sayin' a li'l' prayah, de Lord's Prayah all de time while yo' hit it - de firs' one. De second one, yo' may hit it two times. De third one three times. Den de fo'th one fo' time. An' go on till yo' hit nine time on de las' one. Hit de las' one nine time on de firs' mawnin'. Den yo' have tuh go back dere evah mawnin' an' hit de firs' one two time, an' de nex' one fo' - yo' have tuh double dose when yo' go dere evah mawnin' fo' nine mawn- in's. (The last one on the second morning you would hit that 18 times, double nine. That last nail, the ninth nail, on the second morning you hit it nine times the first morning, and the second morning you go back there, you have to hit it 18 times?) Have tuh hit it 18, have tuh double it evah time. But chew have tuh hit 'em light - er [or] heavy enough so de las' mawnin', on de ninth mawnin', dey all would go in de same time. Yo' drive 'em all up on de same mawnin'. (But on the third morning would you have to double that ninth one, hit it 18 times? How much would you hit it the third morning?) Yo' have tuh double it evah time. Yo' have tuh double dat nine evah mawnin'. If yo' can't keep a record, yo' have tuh have yo' a pencil an' papah. An' git chew a tablet an' yo' gotta mark how many times yo' hit it dis mawnin', an' how many times yo' gotta hit it de nex' mawnin'. Do dat evah mawnin'. If yo' hit it 18 dis mawnin', yo' gotta figure how many it gotta be hit de nex' mawnin'. Yo' gotta carry dat pencil an' papah right wit chew wit' chure haumah when yo' hit it. An' when yo' drive 'em up on de last [day] hit 'em all even an' nail 'em all good at de same time. An' whatevah yo' want did, dat will he'p yo' - whatevah yo' workin' fo'.
Entry 9766
(Twenty penny nails. You mean onepenny nails or twenty of them?)
No. Twentypenny nails but ten of them. Twentypenny. Like you go to the hard- ware store and say, "Give me a dime's worth of twentypenny nails. (Then what?) You take - see, like that wall over there. You take your husband's name or your wife's name [on a piece of paper] and open a hole [in the wall] and put it in there. And drive ten of them nails with her name up in there and she'll do anything you want her to do. Yeah. Just nail 'em in there and name her as yo' drive 'em. Ten of 'em. [New Orleans, La., (851), 1319:4.] (h). INDEFINITE NUMBER OF NAILS
Entry 9767
Tuh keep dem [police] away, if yo' kin find out how many officahs are in town. An' fo' evah man yo' git dat many of tenpenny nails, an' drive dem all in de front of yore do'. It's not officahs goin' come tuh yore house atall. An' if yo' wanta gain customahs, if yo' have one an' he comes dere, now yo' take some of yore watah - take de last drop of yore watah - an' put it in de whiskey. An' dey says dat dey will not stop comin'. Dey'll bring yo' all de customahs yo' kin wait on.
(That is the first customer who comes?)
Yessuh.
Entry 9768
How you use a nail in de way I tole you. And then there's another way you could use a nail. Like you want [to] be to a place for so many years, you can get dem cut [square] nails and drive down nine of 'em, just as many as you want see, but you gotta drive 'em down with one lick. (One lick?) Yes, sir. You just drive 'em. If you want 'em to be there ten years, drive down ten of 'em or eleven [for eleven years]. Like that.
(You say cut. You mean square nails?)
Yes, sir.
(If you want to be what? What do you want?)
If you want to stay to a place for ten years or fifteen.
(You mean what kind of a place? Stay where?)
Any place you wanta go live at, you see, and you want to go to Boston. You want de boss move you and your old lady.
(You want to go to the town, you mean?)
Yes, sir.
(Where would you drive these nails down?)
In his pathway.
(Where? The boss' pathway. So he'd have to walk over them?)
That's right. [It is evident that nails are driven down to remain in a bouse.]
Entry 9769
Dey said dey take a whole bundle of nails an' jes' nail 'em down so yo' can't see 'em, an' put dirt ovah dem from yore steps out tuh de gate, an' say dat'll make yuh leave home. (You nail them down into the ground. And where do you begin to nail them?) Nail dem from de steps clean out tuh de gate. (That is supposed to make you leave home?) Yes sir.
Entry 9770
Have five cents worth of new nails. Don't ase 'em fo' anything else an' nail 'em on de do' facin' [saddle] right [upright] 'em right down dere, right straight down at dat piece, dat crosspiece. Dat make luck.
Entry 9771
Well, ah've hear'd of settin' dem nails. Jes' lak comin' up tuh yuh do' dere [in interviewing room] yo'd set dem nail wit de point down - pointin' away [demonstrates]. (Pointing away from the door.) Yes. An' [you] have tuh boil all of dem nails in sulphuh, brimstone, peppah an' bluestone. Dey [unwant- ed person: law, rentman, etc.] can't come [in] tuh save dere life. [Here I turn- ed off recording machine too soon, missing the first few words of the demonstra- tion]...place dem up lak dat [demonstration continues]. (How? Have the point straight out like that? [I demonstrate]: And all this stuff is underneath there [the doorsteps]? This lime and all this stuff?) Yes.
Entry 9772
[In the margin title I have called this rite amazing because I had com- pletely forgotten about it and its future significance. The person I am inter- viewing here is J. R. Patterson, proprietor of the black hotel, Patterson Hotel, in New Orleans. Among the illustrations at end of HOODOO, volume 2, see the Patterson Hotel letterhead containing pictures of the hotel, the proprietor, and his signature on Wednesday, March 9, 1938, for rent on room No.17, including elec- tricity for my machine, and room space for my clients downstairs. I paid my rent each day before returning to my own hotel, the old St. Charles. To give Mr. Patterson some idea of my work, I suggested that he himself be interviewed. His following rite tells how he could be driven from his own hotel. Neither of us realized at the time that before a year had passed, Mr. Patterson would lose his hotel and I myself would be chased from the black hotel in Memphis by the police. For this later surprise, see Introduction to HOODOO, volume 1, page XxxIV, line 9 following.] De first thing yo' do, git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. De nex' thing tuh do is git chew a box of cinnamon, a box of cloves. Git chew a nickel's worth of new tenpenny nails, an' den git chew one quart of gasoline. Den git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. Go by dose person's house an' pick up, whethah it's mud, dirt or sand, take it up an' put it in de bucket wit dose nails. Po' yuh gasoline in dere an' strike a match an' light it, [let it burn] until it comes tuh be dry an' sandy. Den yo' take it an' go backwards from de do' where dey livin' at an' sprinkle it crossways dat way tuh de fo' cornahs of de world: [demonstrates by pointing] dat cornah, dis cornah, dis one, and dat one cross de street. In 24 hours de're [they are] gone. (You just sprinkle it like this [I demonstrate], like a wingy motion all around, cross that house?) [My demonstration of wingy motion must have been a fluttering or flipping motion like a bird. Informant misunderstands my word cross, meaning to put a hoodoo on the house, not throwing back and forth across the house.] No [you don't throw back and forth across the house] yo' tro' it from de house [demonstrates]. Yes, lak dis is de back, dis is de sidewalk out heah [demonstrates], sprinkle it dis way [demonstrates], cross ovah [demonstrates].
[I describe his demonstrations:]
(From the house out to the gutter, you sprinkle it back and forth, like a "v".)
[This "v" or triangle is the 3 Holy Names.]
One block each way, one block each way from de house. Lak Patterson [the speaker] whut chew [suppose you] wanted him tuh move. Well, yo'd git some dirt. See dat cigah ashes [he points to ashtray containing ashes of my cigar] an' [also] pick it from de sidewalk [get sidewalk dirt], an' git some dirt an' sprin- kle it aroun' dere - some sand. An' befo' he sweeps de banquette [= sidewalk in New Orleans] up in de mawnin', yo' jes' come aroun' dere an' brush up a little bit, jes' enough tuh git in yore fingahs an' put in dere. Den yo' come back heah dat night, yo' see, an' sprinkle from his do' crossways de banquette tuh dat cornah. Den yo' go tuh dis cornah an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Yo' go dat way an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Den yo' go ovah heah tuh garage. See. In 24 hours dey are moved.
(You have to throw it to the four corners of the world.)
Yes. [New Orleans, La., (1566, J. R. Patterson, proprietor of black hotel, Patterson Hotel), 2866:3.] [The title of this section could have been either Pins and Needles or Needles and Pins, both having tradition behind them; the first because a person is some- times said to walk on pins and needles; the second according to the folklore couplet: Needles and pins, needles and pins; when a man marries, his trouble begins. As in the case of the preceding section about nails, most rites about these objects have already appeared elsewhere in the printed text as parts of rites with other ingredients. The following rites will be listed according to number of pins and needles: 1, 2, 3, etc.1
Entry 9773
De bes' thing yo' kin do, if yo' wan' 'em tuh leave out dat house. Yo' git chew a needle dat ain't nevah been sewed wit, an' yo' take dat needle an' yo' stick dat needle up ovah de doah. Jes' stick it up right ovah de do' an' de point of it is right chere, is out [demonstrates].
(The point is pointing outside.) An' ah'll guarantee yo' tuh yore dyin' days [they will never return]. Yo' know why ah know it? (No.) Ah seen it done. An' den de person [who did it]
didn't know, tole a lie [about it].
Entry 9774
Dey say yo' take yo' a brass - goldeye needle. (One?) Two of 'em - or either one - an' put it at de do' as yo' go out. Yell, dey say dat's drivin' yo', say dat'll drive yo' ovahbo'd [overboard]. So dey say. (I would do that in somebody's house to send them away and make them jump in the water?) Yeah. Say that will make yo' jump ovahbo'd, drive yo'.
Entry 9775
Take a needle an' - take a part of a needle [break needle in half] an' thread dis needle an' stick it up ovah de do'. An' dat's [to] cause if yo' has a young girl roun' or sompin lak dat, dat'll cause whenevah a man comes aroun' dat chew wants fo' her husban'. Yo' take de needle down an' pin it neahby in a chair where he sits. An' she kin git dis heah man fo' a husban' wit de needle. Wit a pin point [the point broken from pre- ceding needle] yo' gotta find a pin point dat's real sharp an' use it. Jes' lak, say if a hustlah, differen' hustlahs come roun' yore house. An' if yo' kin ketch 'im tuh set in a closed place - yo' know whut ah mean, jes' lak prob'bly dey settin' right where dat back. Yo' jes' - prob'bly yo' might walk ovah an' say somepin tuh 'em an' use dis pin point fo' hustlahs. Dat is tuh make 'em sharp. Dey call 'em [pin points] sharp luck.
(What do you do with that pin point?)
What would yo' do wit de pin point? Oh, yo' gits de pin point an' keeps it. See, jes' lak, even de men jes' lak whut ah's sayin' 'bout fo' de girl's mar- riage, yo' takes de point off dose needles an' [or] de pin point an' keeps 'em yo'self. See, dat's luck fo' tuh bring tuh yore house.
Entry 9776
If a woman wan'a man tuh love'r [love her], she kin take a needle an' go tuh de well where he stay an' push it down undah de groun' where he'll start [walk] ovah dere evah day er evah night when he go tuh draw watah. Eithah take de needle an' care [carry] it tuh de doahstep an' push it down where he'll go ovah it. An' dat'll capture him. [As I have explained. several times elsewhere these simple and seemly magicless rites are powered by the intention behind them.]
Entry 9777
Ah've heard dem say if yo' wanted tuh - say if yo' wanted tuh grow tuh be smart an' wanted tuh keep yuh enemy away from yo', why of cus [course] yo' give yuh enemy a needle wit de point tuhwar' de enemy, tuhwar' de person dat yo' believe dat wuz yuh enemy. Han' dem de needle pointed toward 'im, or a scissahs wit de point tuhward 'im. An' dat would break dat enemy off from yuh. Dey would stop comin' aroun or stop being in yuh company, stay away from yuh.
Entry 9778
A sewin' needle, where a woman been sewin'. If her an' a woman had been havin' some kinda dispute ovah 'er or eithah a man, yo' kin take dat nee- dle an' carry it an' yo' burn de point of it. Jes' lak if me an' yo' had de [argument or quarrel], well, if ah kin git a needle, or eithah a pin, or borrah yore pocketknife [because you are a man], carry it home an' burn it. Ah burn it off good. Take it an' put it in some sulphah an' burn it ag'in. An' ah put some Hearts Cologne on it [knife or needle] an' sprinkle it [perfume] roun' [where I picked up object] an' put it right back where yo' kin git it.
(What would that do then?)
Well, dat will - if me an' yo' been havin' fusses an' things an' we be bad Out, well dat will gain de influence of me an' yo' back [together again].
(You will be on good terms again?)
Be on good terms.
Entry 9779
To make a fellah unlucky, take a needle an' pin it in his coattail an' turn de point right down an' it'll make him unlucky.
(Turn the point down.) [Waycross, Ga., 1095, 1765:16.]
Entry 9780
If dey put jes' ord'nary sewin' needles in yore clothes an' pin yore clothes with a needle, it's bad luck. If yo' lay yore hat on de bed, [it's bad luck].
Entry 9781
Take a needle an' sew nine knots in de left corner of a man's shirt, in de tail of it, an' that will keep them from runnin' around.
(Make him stay home?)
Entry 9782
Mah grandmothah said dat yo' kin take a needle an' break up people. She said joo take de needle an' put it in de man's pants pockit, in 'is right.
Entry 9783
Yo' kin take a tinpan an' control a person. Yo' kin take a brand-new tinpan an' yo' kin write - lemme see. Ah got it right heah, de psalms yo' find where it says 'Vau - v-a-u. Yo' kin take that an' write that on a brand-new tinplate. (This psalm in which the word "Vau" is used?) Yes sir. It's in psalms [the psalm of a hoodoo book] an' yo' kin write that. But now yo' don't write it with a pen- cil or nuthin like that. Yo' take a needle or pin or new nail that's sharp - anything that's sharp except a pencil - an' yo' write that psalm on that tin- plate. Then yo' kin take that tinplate an' put it away where it won't be dis- turbed or be handled by anybody else. An' yo' kin control that person if yo grite that psalm fo' them.
Entry 9784
To keep the law away? Well, I want to tell you. Well, you keep the lag off - of course, you can't keep 'em away, but you can get so that he'll never catch you or nothin'. You understand. You bootleggin' he'll never catch you or nothing. You understand. Well, you take you two - that's a separate thing - and yoa take two pins.
(Too what?)
Too stick pins.
(Two stick pins.)
[The ordinary pin is frequently called "stick" to distinguish it from safety pin.] And wear it in a cross, like a cross, and wear it right up in the center of your hat, you see. Right in the center of your hat, like this here [demonstrates by pointing to inside of his hat].
(Inside.)
Yeah, inside [demonstrates again].
(Like that, inside.)
Yeah, inside your hat.
(You get these two straight pins.)
Two straight pins. You put a cross on you, see. And a course, the law'll be looking for you but he'll never get you. Only way he'll get you, he got to walk up on you. But you always kin git away from him.
Entry 9785
She kin take two needles an' break it half in two - make foah pieces - an' stick it anywheres in his coat w'ure he cain't see 'em, an' dat'll make him stay wit her. He can't leave huh.
Entry 9786
If a man wanted tuh do somebody some harm, jes' say, lak it wus a woman, an' yo' know whut happens yo' know in de month. Well, if yo' take needles an' pins an' cross, if yo' could git aholt of dat [piece of hers], yo' cross one [demonstrate]. Yo' see, put one dis way an' one dat way - jes' cross 'em.
(Needles or pins?)
Needles or pins.
(Just two?)
Well, yo' kin use many as yo' want, but when yo' do dat she be all up an' down fo' de balance of huh days.
(What would you do with that cloth then?)
Well, yo' jes' - anything yo' wanta do. Yo' could bury it or throw it away or anything, jes' so yo' leave dem needles in dere. Yeah. Don't care whut chew do wit it.
Entry 9787
In bad luck yo' kin take, if a person settin' tuh a table gamblin', git chew two needles, cross 'em in back of dere clothes, right in de centah of dere back. Cross 'em. Dat'll cause dem tuh lose. An' [or] eithah sprinkle some salt on 'em. An' yo' kin git a spidah an' put 'im in a papah sack or sompin. Long as he livin' yo' win in de game.
Entry 9788
An' ah heard ag'in that yo' take a needle an' make it cross lak that, an' say de Lawd's Prayer [demonstrates].
(You take two needles then?)
Yes. An' say the Lawd's Prayer an' say - when yo' say the Lawd's Prayer, then yo' - turn right around an' put chure hand up this way [informant demonstrates holding right hand up into air]. (Just as if you were swearing an oath in court?) Yessuh. Put chure han' up an' [this man] said: "In His Name, an' in his own will an' time, will he plead when dis man came." An' said, "An' leave there [home]." An' dey said he'll come back [home from court]. Dat's one way ah heard.
Entry 9789
Yo' kin take two pins an' lay 'em crossways lak dat [demonstrates] an' tie a string right in 'tween heah on each side [the crossing] yo' know, right be- tween dere lak dat [demon- strates], so dey won' fall apart, an' hang it up side de house. An' dey say dat will part a man an' his wife. [This tying of two or more objects into the form of a cross to make a rimless wheel is fairly well-known in hoodoo, some of these forms and rites at times being quite complicated; see Nos.9796, 9797, etc.]
Entry 9790
Well, now, fo' de whole house, yo' would have tuh take two needles an' cross dem lak a "x". Yo' first bury a can of red seal lye wit de top off of it; jis' let de dirt come ovah in it. (Where do you bury that lye now?) Yo' bury dat lye where dey constantly have tuh walk ovah it. Now, aftah yo' bury dat lye, befo' yo' covah it wit de dirt, yo' put de two needles cross lak an "x" wit de points out. Yo' put dem on top of de lye befo' yo' covah it. Yo' don't covah it till yo' put de needles dere wit each point, one pointin' dis way an' one de othah way, yo' understan'; but out, out from de house. An' yo' covah dat up an' when dat lye dissolve den yo' gits results. (After that lye dissolves then that landlord can't ren that house; if he does, the people can't stay there.)
Entry 9791
Git chew two needles an' write chure name - write chure name first an' put 'er name on top of yore name. Git chew two needles an' stick it right up ovah dat do' dere [points to door of interviewing room] right up undah de [wall] papah. Put dat up undah de papah. Well, yo' stick de haid of de needles in de vall, but stick [the points of] de needles comin' in de house. Dat will bring 'er right back. She won't be a day comin' back eithah. (You stick that paper [with the names] up by putting these needles through it?) Yessuh, yo' put dem needles through dis papah yo' see ovah de do'. An' stick de point of de needles comin' in de house; not goin' out, comin' in de house.
(The needles will point into the house?)
[A portion of the wallpaper is peeled back, the paper with names dampened and pressed against the wall, and the wallpaper returned and held in place by push- ing the heads of two needles through it. There are variations of this rite else- where in HOODOO.1 Yes. Dat'll point 'er right on in heah. She ain't goin' out dere jes' as long as dat needle an' dat name up dere. She ain't goin' out.
Entry 9792
Yo' kin take a needle an' put it in a piece of papah, with yore man's name wrote on it three times, an' put it up behin' yore do'. He cain't leave yo'. Put it up behin' yore do', up in de wall papah. Jes' lak yore wallpapah's dere [demonstrates], tear it loose an' put it in dere [see No.9791, p.3851.] (How many needles do you put in the paper?) Three. (And you write his name three times.) Yo' point dose needles lak dat, down. An' den yo' take an' put it up in dat [wallpaper] papah, holdin' dat papah
Entry 9793
Yo' kin take three needles. Take three needles an' burn 'em. Jis' lak yo' got a enemy 'roun' yuh, an' yo' an' 'er can't git along, an' she raisin' Sam an' gaddin' all 'roun', all roun' dere. Can't git along. Yo' jis' set down an' take three needles an' git - an' burn 'em. Put 'em on de fiah an' burn 'em real hot an' make yuh wishes. As dem needles git hot, make yuh wishes accordin' tuh whut happenin' tuh yuh: "Wish de bad luck would go off, good luck will come an' live happy in mah home. Mah enemy tuh flee from me." Well, yo' take dem ovah dere an' burn 'em an' make yuh wishes. An' aftah yo' burn 'em, yo' take dem an' throw dem away - take dem tuh de rivah, throw dem in de rivah. An' evahthin' be okey.
(Three needles?)
Three needles. An' aftah yo' call dere name, den yo' walk tuh de rivah. Af- tahward or a day or so aftah, yo' know, aftah yo' done burn 'em an' make yuh wishes. But at de same time yo' goes tuh where it's runnin' watah.
Entry 9794
An' den ag'in yo' could take, if yo' wanta win a man from a woman, yo' could take a li'le bottle [this rite is acted out, as my comment shows later] an' yo' could take an' fill it wit Heart Cologne. An' git three needles, an' lay dem down in dat bottle stopper. An' yo' take it an' put dat in a basin of vinegah, an' git chew a black rag an' put inside dat. An' yo' boil it fo' 'bout fif- teen minutes on a stove. An' when yo' take de black rag up, why yo' jes' hang it up on a line on yore back po'ch, an' let de air carry it evah direction it wanta go. An' when hit dry, yo' take it an' weah it lowdown on yo' - de lower part of yo'.
(Of your body. Down near the privates?)
Yes. An' ah don' care where he be, he would have tuh come tuh yo'. But be sure dat yo' throw de bottle away. Throw it away. Don't have anythin' mo' tuh do wit it aftah yo' do dat. An' yo' will bring 'im tuh yuh, an ah don' care where he is. (You take this bottle full of Hearts Cologne and you drive three needles down into the stopper. Then you put this in a pan of vinegar - this bottle. Then you put a black rag over the pan. But the rag must be in the vinegar.) De rag must be in de vinegah an' de vinegah must come a li'le above it, where it won' show de rag; but jes' come a li'le above de bottle an' de rag. An' wrap de bottle up in de black rag. An' den yo' take a li'le fo'k [fork] - remembah, don' put chure han's on it - an' shake dat rag out. An' den yo' take it an' hang it up on a line. Don' wring it, jes' let de watah dreen [drain] out jes' as it will. Let it dry. Aftah it dry, den yo' fix it on, an' yo' throw de bottle away, an' throw de vinegah out de basin. "Cuz ah done dat mahself.