Browse:QUINCY, FLORIDA - ROOT DOCTOR CALLED FROM (Volume 4, entries 7240)
QUINCY, FLORIDA - ROOT DOCTOR CALLED FROM
Volume 4, entries 7240. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → A FEW MORE DOCTORS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 7240
Well, mah sistah got hurt once in 'uh han' [hand]. Also one a [of] mah brothahs got hurt. He [doctor] come tuh de house. Mah daddy went [to Ouincy] an' got 'im. An' he tole fathah, say, "Yo' make me a fiah in de stove." He got nine needles in a li'le bottle of watah. Ah don' know whut else he done tuh 'uh. He say de people's been here [who caused her trouble]. An' fō' many mō' minutes dat thing got tuh boilin'. He says, "Dere's a woman goin' come in, ast yo' tuh give her somepin." He say, "Don' give her nothin. She goin' come in aftah some salt." Dat woman did come dere an' it jis' pō'in' down rain. She come in de rain, an' ast mah daddy fer tuh give her a li'le bit of cookin' salt. He tole 'er, "No, ah'm sorry." "Well, all right, goodbye." An' she went right off in de rain, see. Well now, HE WUS TAKIN' DE SPELL OFFEN MAH SISTAH AN' SHE [visitOr] CARRIED IT RIGHT BACK WIT 'ER. Dat's true. [The preceding story, simply and briefly told, is one of the finest statements in Hoodoo. I consider it a work of black literature, beautiful, saying much with little. Consider those two groups of five words each: it jis' po'in' down rain when the woman arrived, immediately repeated as she come in de rain. Within a few minutes the whole world changed. Before the woman's arrival the rain poured, after her immediate departure the rain fell gently, because she carried it [the spell] right back wit 'er. Remember, the informant is speaking extemporaneously. Try to rewrite this story using the same number of words. The doctor's equipment also amazes me. Nine needles in a small bottle! Yes, the woman was a confede- rate, quite worthy of the doctor. After her request for salt is refused, she answers, Well, all right, goodbye. Simplicity is everywhere, exaggeration no- where. Some day I hope a black Lady Gregory will discover this tale and trans- form it into a vehicle for great black, not white-folks acting.] [For a parallel to the preceding story, see NEVER LEND TO A WITCH, in which the witch also comes to borrow salt (FACI 2nd ed., p.875, story of Germanorigin). In our present hoodoo story we have, not some neighbor dropping in to borrow; but the appearance of the mysterious stranger, an awesome theme as old as history.] [A penciled note of mine on the transcription reads R.D. (= root doctor) near Quincy, Fla.]