Browse:SEX AND IMPOTENCE REAPPEAR (Volume 5, entries 10209–10411)
SEX AND IMPOTENCE REAPPEAR
Volume 5, entries 10209–10411. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 10209
I hear'd about a woman taking a man's nature sure 'nough. After she menstr'ate two days, she'll take off dat piece, put dat piece down dere an' put it jes' in dat water and soak it. She takes a new linen han'ke'ch'ef and wash it. (A new red handkerchief.) No, linen. Linen, so it get soft. When he discharge, she ketch it on the han'ke'ch'ef. All right. She get bolt of dat noy and she put it in dat water to soak it, and she wring it out. And vring Lc dirty piece out and pour it in a bottle, and go down at lou water, lov tide, and when the tide is out, and put it in dere. When dat tide come in, she [tide] carries it with her, and the tide carry it out. No matter how many years, he's in for life. He's gone dere. (Is there any way he can get that off of him?) [There is no answer. It may have been lost.l
Entry 10210
Ah heard dat if a man is tied up by his wife an' can't git no nature fo' no othah woman, den he takes an' gits him a bottle of Hearts Cologne. An' when he gits dat bottle of Hearts Cologne, he'll go to where dere's anothah woman dat's havin' her periods. An' he take dat Hearts Cologne an' he - aftah de cloth is dried hard, he take dat dere Hearts Cologne an' put it on dere, an' git it dissolved good an' squeeze it out. An' he takes dat den, dat solution, an' bathe himself with it.
(Bathe his tool?)
Yessuh, an' dat gives him a nature fo' anothah woman. Dat's whut ah heard.
Entry 10211
Well, yo' take one of 'er socks, jes' one of 'er stockin's, if yo' kin fin' dit, or eithah her menst'ration cloth. Well mos' people take de menst'ration cloth an' take a quart jah see, an' ketch [rain] watah. Jes' set yore quart jah out in de yard when it rains an' let it run full of watah [see comment later] an' take dat menst'ration cloth an' put it down in dere [the rain water] an' keep it [in the rain water] for nine days. An' aftah de ninth day she be - well, she'll go crazy for you. (Well, that breaks the spell, she had him tied up, when she ties up your [a man's] nature.) Yes sir. [First an empty quart jar set out in the yard during a rain is not going to fill up with water, despite the hoodoo powers of my informant. Finally: if a woman ties up a man, takes away his nature for all women except her, the present rite restores his nature completely.] [Rain water, like running Water, is a magic substance: see No.1431, p.467, v.1; etc.]
Entry 10212
Tuh separate 'em. Yo' take dis man when he deal wit yo'. Yo' wanta break dem [man and other woman] up. Yo' take dis man when he deals wit yo' an' yo' take dat towel dat yo' an' him uses, see. An' yo' take dis towel tuh dis woman's house - if yo' kin locate where she live at - dis woman he's runnin' roun' wit. Den yo' bury dis towel down right at her do'step, where she have tuh come out at. Yo' bury dat towel dere an' den yo' take some bluein' - Purity Bluein', see. See, yo' takes bluein' an' ink an' mix it up combined. Yo' kin jis' sprinkle dat towel, on dere, an' den yo' bury dat towel right up undah- neath whah she have tuh walk at. Dat'll break it up. Dat break it up, too.
Entry 10213
She kin measure him if she wanta with a string or with ribbon when he goes tuh sleep. She kin tie that roun' her laig or she kin put it in her pocketbook or in her pillow an' she kin control him, but that will lead to accidents in de long run. He'll hurt her.
Entry 10214
I hear dat she could take a strand of häh out of a boy's head an' - this is a little bad - put it down an' [while he is asleep] measure hisself [she measures his penis with his hair]. An' she took that hah an' put it in a bag, an' put it up under huh ähm where she sweat at, an' he couldn't do nuthin to no other woman but her.
Entry 10215
After she measures that [man's penis], she gets some of your [man's pubic] hair, mixes that together, puts it in a little bag and wears it between her legs down here, and thereon he's her man. [Freder- icksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 10216
Or, dey say, if yo' take de measure of him down below an' wear it in a bottle on yo', dat will stop him. He cain't go wit anyone else.
(In a small bottle.)
Entry 10217
Wal, she measure him dere. She takes dat length an' she measure him lak dat an' she takes yore hair an' begin dat thing about dat. She takes de string an' takes dat measure of dat [demonstrates a hand]. (Of the hand?) Dis one [demonstrates]. (The left hand?) Dat's right [informant contin- ues to demonstrate, I describe actions]. (And she measures the middle finger....from the end of the middle finger, right up over the hand joining to the wrist. And from the second joint of the middle finger down to that bone.)
[Bone = wrist bone, see later.]
She takes dat den, takes dat little cotton string an' holds it an' vraps it. Takes dat hearts [Hearts Cologne] an' put it on it, an' ever' time dat she messes wit chew, yo' see, she take it an' put her han' lak dat. An' when she git through she rub dat on yo'. Dere's no other woman dat chew kin bother wit.
(She rubs that string on herself after.)
Zackly.
(But how could she measure a man? Would he let her measure him that Way?)
Dat's de length of his.... [informant demonstrates].
(Oh! I see, she has to measure his hand - he's asleep - so he won't know it.)
She kin do it if he ain't wise, ain't got no sense. She could [say], "Let's see ho' long yo' finger - long as mine." Jes' lak dat. See, dat's de way dey get it.... [informant demonstrates again while I comment]. (They measure the middle finger of the left hand, the second knuckle from the top dam to that protruding bone right by the wrist joint.) [Here a woman afraid to measure a man, substitutes a left-hand measurement supposed to indicate his size!]
Entry 10218
Ah've heard dat if a man wanted to ketch his wife, why he would be dit her an' he would take a han'kerchief an' ketch de discharge from her, an' git I piece of her hair, an' he would put it in a cloth wit dat discharge an' dry it; br he yould wrap dis hair in wit dat an' wear it. An' if she have connection wit a man why he would swell so he couldn't git out of her, an' dat would cause de husban' tuh ketch her. (Then he would use the hair from her head.) [The discharge here is not menstrual blood but the substanceformerlythoughtto resemble man's semen and to cooperate with it in the production of life. Folk- lore knew nothing about a woman's ova or eggs. Elsewhere I have called her dis- charge 'female semen in accordance with folk belief - No.3196, p.2359, v.3.]
Entry 10219
Say, now a woman and she has a husband, and she doesn't want him to have anything to do with any other woman in the sex line. She goes to the store and she buys a brand-new big [white] pocket han'ke'ch'ef. (What kind of a pocket handker- chief?) A brand-new white pocket han'ke'- ch'ef. She takes that back home to the bed and tonight she fool with him. She will use that to wipe him on, don't cha know. And she won't use that on herself. All right. She wait until he's gone and then she'll take that and she bury it in a small jar, don't cha know, right in front of the steps where he'll have to walk over that whensomever he comes. He kin go wherever he wants and be with whoever he wants to, but he can't have nothing to do with 'em.
(Well, suppose a man did that [to a woman]?)
That just reversing it. Reversed it. When she bury it, she'll bury it on the bottom [of jar]. He'll take it and bury it on de top, on end [turn it upside down so that handkerchief will be against reversed top of jar].
(Well, how do you mean she buries it on the bottom - bottom of what?)
Bottom of the jar. Put it in the jar, see, and she gotta set the jar down and bury it. Well, he'll go there, why he just take it and put it outside of that, the way she had - upside down, the bottle up.
(I see, that fixes her, sees that she can't get away.)
I mean that she can't get away. See, the only way she kin get away is when the top rots off and the rag rots up.
Entry 10220
Burdock is a dry herb that chew buy. Yo' buy it from the Hindu people [someone pictured with a turban] also. An' in taking baths an' usin' olive oil an' things lak that, that's when his nature will come back.
Entry 10221
Boil a cicada in lard and grease man's tool with it to cure a spell of im- potence. [The magic here is probably be- cause the insect sings, then comes out of a hard shell it leaves behind; a symbol of escape, new life and singing with joy!]
Entry 10222
De coconuts, dey got some of 'em two an' three holes [eyes] in 'em. Yo' take yore knife an' cut dat top [round black spot or eye] outa dat hole befo' yo', git to dat watah [or milk inside coconut]. Yo' take dat top [eye] yo' cut outa dere, an' let dat dry. Den yo' take dat an' yo' dry it." Yo' dry it. Aftah yo' dry it yo' burn it into a coal [by burning] an' yo' ground [grind] it up. Den yo' take de hair, yo' shave all de hair off dat coconut, an mix dat [hair and eye powder] together. An' yo' kin take dat in yore pocket an' if yo' got a woman, well when yo' use dat wit her, she cain't have nobody. Yo' take dat [coconut] hair an' yo' rub it in yore han' an' yo' rub it on her, an' she cain't have nobody. [She is impotent for all men by you.] If anybody [any man approach] her dey heart gonna fall.
(You just have this hair. All you use is this hair from the coconut?)
De hair an' de top [ground-up eye] of it. Yo' know whut ah'm talkin' 'bout, whut chew cut out, de hole where de [coconut] milk is gotta come outa dere. Well ah use dat wit de hair together. See, ah take dat an' when dat gits dry, well ah'll parch dat all up together wit de hair an' makes a ashes out of it. Dat de same as a powder.
Entry 10223
Take a dishrag. If yo' wanta man to mess wit nobody but chew, jes' take a dishrag an' have intercourse an' dry on dat dishrag, an' take it an' put it - keep it somewhere yo' know. An' when he start to mess wit someone else he'll fall jes' lak a dishrag. He can't mess wit no one.
Entry 10224
Yo' take a dishcloth. An' when yo' have comnection wit him, yo' wipe him wit dat cloth an' put it ovah de front of de fo'. An' den he can't leave [or have] nobody aftah dat.
Entry 10225
Yo' go take it - de dishrag - yes sir, an' let him wipe wit it, but don't chew wipe wit it. An' take it to a ironing bo'd an' iron it - out stiff - an' chunk it in a crack up ovah de do'. An' it will make bim fall every time he go to have somepin tuh do with somebody 'cept yo'.
Entry 10226
If he has an inter- co'se wit his wife, she takes a dishrag an' cleans him off an' takes an' bury it in de fiahplace; takes an' bury it while it's damp any place, an' he can't have no interco'se wit no othah woman but her.
Entry 10227
A woman kin go to her kitchen an' git de disbrag an' let him wipe wit it. Take dis dishrag an' bury it in de east cormer [one of the east corners] of de house, an' if he go to other woman in dis town, he back out
[unable to keep appointment].
Entry 10228
Jes' him an' her could mate together. She would take de dishrag an' give it to him an' let him use it, an' take it an' put it in de middle of her mattress an' sleep on it ever' night. Dat will keep him from messin' wit any othah woman.
Entry 10229
Like you havin' to do with 'er an' she'll take a dishcloth an' she'll wipe you with de dishcloth. An' she'll take dat dishcloth an' she'll care it an' put it under her bed or under her pillah, see, an' yo' couldn't mess with a yoman to save your life. If dat man [or you] got sense now, he kin git rid of dat. Why, he go, if he wan'a git rid of it, he'll go an' steal...or yo' go [to] somebody house an' yo' steal de dishcloth, see. You go [got to] have sumpin to do with her, or any other woman, an' you'll wipe with dat dishcloth. An' yo' take dat dishcloth an' fold it right tight. An' he kin wear it with him or put it somewhere where nobody but him can reach it but him. An' she can't do nuthin with nobody but you.
Entry 10230
(To get your wife back?)
Yes sir.
(How do you do that?)
You just go out there to them front steps and you kin take a piece of her toe of her stocking or the heel, and she [not] going to pass over that. She - all you gotta do is to git it down in de ground under them steps, de toe of her stocking or de heel, or a piece out of her bloomers, out of de seat of them. Put it down in there under them steps and bury it, and if a man comes there, he won't come up them steps. He come there and - and call her and they'll stand there and talk. And if she want anything at de store, she send him. She ain't going to go out of there.
Entry 10231
Ah hear'd dere wuz a lady once taken a girl's dress an' taken de front of it out, an' torn de front of it out so she'd be [weak] in de front [of her body]. She takes dis piece of de dress an' buries it, buries it right where it would have chills an' things an' she wun't [wouldn't] have no nature fo' no man.
(Did she tear the dress out?)
Dey [she] to' [tore] de front of it out.
(The whole front of it out.)
Entry 10232
De only thing dat ah heard, whether dey tried it on dem or not, dey say if a woman wants to keep a man home, she kin take her drawers, yo' know, an' boil it. Make a tea out of it an' give it to him. An' he kin go out dere. Any place dey give dem tea, like if yo' be done eatin' in a place an' dey fix chew tea an' dey kin po' it in yore tea. An' yo' kin drink dat a couple of mawnin's - three or fo' mawn- in's - an' yo' kin go out but chew ain't goin' be no good out. Yo' jes' be out dere, it ain't a thing yo' kin do out dere.
Entry 10233
He use de cloth, yo' know, an' yo' [woman] bury it right down in [under] de eave [eaves] where de rain wash off de house, an' dat will conkah dem [man]. Dat makes him stay home [keep him away from other women].
(The cloth with which the woman has wiped the man?)
Yea, dat's right. Dat's it. Bury dat right down 'neath de house. Dat's good.
Entry 10234
Dis aig - yo' take an' buy yo' a bottle of gingerale, an' break de aig into a glass an' po' de gingerale on top of it, an' stir it up like yo' making milk-shake, yo' know, an' drink it. Dat brings it [sexual potency] back. Do dat three times a day. (That brings your nature back?) Yes. (Drink that three times a day and it will bring your nature back.)
Entry 10235
Yo' kin take a black hen's aig an' take a wet new cloth an' wipe dat aig, an' ball dat cloth up an' sew it in de pillah, an' dey said dat man can't go wit anothah woman to save his life; an' if he do, he can't come to save his life. Ah seen a man fixed fo' dat last week. (You mean sew that up in his pil- low?) In his pillah whut he sleep on evah night.
Entry 10236
There's a root called the "sang" root, you kin put it in a....
(Called what root?)
Called the "sang."
(Sang?)
Sang root. You put it in a - it's got a little prong up on it. It's kind of - it's nothin' but a root but it's got a little prong at the top. Put that in what they call holy oil with the little prong standing up. And it's called "erectus" root. It's a little red. (What do you call it?) Called "erex" ["erectus"] root. And keep it [root] up in that stuff [holy oil] and put it in there with it, so he kin 'noint his body. Let it die with it. "Co'se [of course] if you [a woman] go with any man, like dat, why yo' kin just offer it to him and he'll fall for you and he'll have.... [word "erection prob- ably not in informant's vocabulary].
(Now that "sang root, do you mean ginseng root?)
It's the same. We always just call it just "Sang root.
(Sang root?)
It's a little ole bunch at the bottom, nothing but a root at the bottom, but it got a little prong at the top. (I see.) [At one time there was a fair amount of trade in specially shaped ginseng roots, shaped like the parts of the human body that were ailing - the present part for example - especially in the old China trade.]
Entry 10237
He wus a married man, she wanted him. All right. She goes to this here ole lady, this ole lady in Chattanooga, Tenn., called Aunt Dinah. Eberbody in Chattanooga - you can call her name from here and eberbody - you can ast de co'thouse about her, jes' ast anybody. Jes' call de co'tenhouse [because her special- ity was court cases] and ast any- thing about Aunt Dinah, an' you'll git hist'ry of her from right here today. She goes to Aunt Dinah. Aunt Dinah says, "Well, kin you go to sleep with him?" She says, "Yes." "Can you have dealings with him?" She said, "Yes." She says, "You take a string, and when you have dealings with him, ' she says, "you measure around him." When she measured this man around here, she carries that to Aunt Dinah. Aunt Dinah takes that and she buried it in graveyard dirt. And after she let it stay in graveyard dirt two day, she told her to carry it back. She wrapped it up in red flannel and put old sharp needles, points stickin' straight up, and [said]: "Carry that back and sew it up in your bedtick. Put it on the side where he's got to sleep; and as long as that is in your tick, that man will stay with you and he'll quit his wife."
Entry 10238
An' den it's anothah one, see. Dis [first] woman, yo' know, loved dis man. Dis man, he wuz goin' wit a [second] woman. An' she [first woman] loved him yo' know, an' she wouldn't do nuthin [to stop himl. He would do dat. So [first woman] she says, "Well, he's good to me, "' says, ''but he goes out an' has a big time wit othah wimmin." Says, "Ah'm goin' stop dat." Okay. Dey goes to bed dat night an' dey got connection together, yo' know. Oh Lawd, she wus so good to him. Oh gee! An' dis an' dat an' so. An' so she says, "Wait a minute, honey, ah'll dry yo'." She take a new han'ke'ch'ef an' she dried him. When she dry him, she dry him lak dis - lak dis [demonstrates but not on body].
(Upward three times.)
Three times, yeah. An' de last time she'd jes' lak dat, yo' see. Stop dat rag [handkerchief] dere. "Oh, baby, it was so good, so nice. Oh Lawd." She stretches her lak dat. Mmmah. Dat [semen] caught in her han's, see. Threw it [new handkerchief] down [on the floor]. So she taken dat rag dat nex' mawnin' - she takes dat rag an' she sews it up in de pillah dere. An' he lay on dat ever' night fo' [until] nine mawnin's. An' de ninth mawnin' she takes dat out an' she puts it on another place. An' from dat day on, she could go off her- self, an' he nevah did have chance 'nuff to he himself do lak dat. An' when he do lak dat, it wuz her all de time. Jes' kept together.
Entry 10239
Keep a man from runnin' roun'. Well, now, yo' kin take a woman - jes' lak if she got a husban' an' he likes tuh run roun', why yo' [she] take dem bed rags dey use. Why she kin jes' take dat an' tie a knot in 'em after yo' [he] git through with it, an' jes' keep it up in de bed somewhere. Why he can't run out after no other woman but dem [her].
Entry 10240
New pocket handkerchief - woman wipes man - rolls up handkerchief to her [making long roll or cylinder, a phallic symbol] - ties into a hard knot - unties knot - unrolls hand- kerchief - spread it out flat and keeps it that way under bedtick - in middleways of bed [creating the fifth or center point among the four bedposts, making a quincunx]. [Bedtick is a spring- less mattress filled with dried moss, leaves, cornhusks, dried grass, all sorts of things. This impotence magic is my condensed transcription of long rite missed by transcriber.]
Entry 10241
Measure a man. Yo' kin take a new cord string. Dat's whut ah heard. An' take his measure dis way, de long Ways, an' dis way [probably made a sign with fingers]. (Around.) Yes. An' then yo' tie those knots. Tie one [knot] in each end [of length measurement string] and tie de othah two [ends of] around [measurement], one right here jes' around dat way. An' wear it right in front of you, see. An' dat'll make him stay at home. [To repeat: a knot is tied at the end of the usually new cord held against the body. A second knot indicates end of the length. While second knot is held at the beginning of the circumference measurement, a third knot in the same string will establish the end of this double measurement. Remember, measure- ment is taken while man is asleep.]
Entry 10242
I've heard of 'em takin' a handke'chief an' measurin' [a man's penis] so many inches, don' choo understand. I don't know whether it's six inches or what it is. An' they'll tie it. I think, the handke'chief in three knots, an' they will bury it. That'll make that man, don' choo understand leave home. That's what I heard 'em say. That'll make that man leave home, don't choo understand an' go the Way that they want 'em to go. They's some women, don't choo understand, they - you know - they don't [want] de man themselves an' they don't want choo to be there wid your people. An' they'll do anything in the world they kin to break 'em up.
Entry 10243
Take a piece of cloth, [they] say, an' ketch him asleep an' measure him, measure his penis. [Knots not tied]. An' aftah she measure it, den she wear dat aroun' her waist, yo' see. An' den dat's tuh tie him up. He cain't have nobody else but her. [One cylinder later informant repeats this rite from the man's point of view; see rite following present one.]
Entry 10244
Whut he could do fo' himself. Somebody have tuh put him wise tuh let him know dat she have him tied an' den he jes' go an' play with her an' yo' see, den he say, "Yo' got sompin aroun'yo'. Yo'don'want dat ole string aroun' yo'." An' jes' take it off her yo' see. Well, dat'll loose him. [This is informant's preceding rite 10243 from man's point of view.]
Entry 10245
Dey say dat chew tie seven knots or nine knots. [Fire in grate cracks, a cold rainy day.] It's always a odd number. An' tie it [this knotted string] around people an' dat will cause dem to have disconnection [be impotent] wit wimmin folks. [That fire in the grate cracked all day and I wore a long overcoat all day while intervieving! The rosin in the pinewood did the cracking.]
Entry 10246
Ah seen tie knots. Go off an' have intercourse with a woman an' tie knots in dat hans'cuff to tie her up.
(Just how would they do that?)
Well, dey take dere pocket hans'cuff an' de' tie it up, tie nine knots in it. Take de pocket hans' scuff den an' put it in a jar, an' put de jar down where she kin walk ovah it or walk undah it, eithah one, an' she'll always be fo' dat person.
(A man would do this to a woman.)
Uhmmm.
Entry 10247
Tie knots in a string an' measure the length of a man, an' wear it roun' yore laigs [either leg] an' he can't have a woman.
(How many knots would you tie?) Nine.
Entry 10248
She take an' tie nine knots in a string fo' her husban' so he couldn't have connection wit nobody else but her. She take nine knots - jes' lak mah [his] shirt, she'll take mah [his] shirt see an' tear a string out of it, an' tie nine knots in dere an' she wears it in her shoe. Dat will keep him from havin' connection wit any othah woman.
Entry 10249
She jus' got to ketch 'im sleepin' when he done been out an' come in broke down [worn out]. In the summertime there he's layin' up there, jus' ketcha piece of string - jus' like this - get the size of it. Then when she get it off, she drop this end an' starts from the other one an' make a knot right chere [here], direct where her hand left off, an' make nine knots in it. [The 9 knots are strung along the measurement, a knot at each end.] An' take it an' make nine knots an' tie it roun' 'er waist. Then he - it have a tendency that he can't raise for nobody but her.
(Is there any Way you get rid of that?)
Well, quite natchal, the string is goin' to weah off an' break off, an' he's going to....
Entry 10250
What would she do to fix him up? She would take a string while he is asleep and get the length of his private. And she'll tie that string in nine knots and she'll wear that string around her waist. And when he goes on the street amongst other womens, why his private will fall, it will never raise up for no one but her, as long as she wears that string. And she don't have to wear the string unless she wants to, for she can easily bury the string. The string will do its work either on her body or in the ground, as long as it is tied and she got the right length of it. It'll never raise up for no woman but her.
Entry 10251
Well, now jus' what one [woman] he be with. And the one what wants to stop him, well she'd get her a yard of brand-new yellow cotton [usually called homespun = unbleached cotton] and she'd take an' when they go to bed, and then they finish, well that's what she use. She use [wipes him with] that. And she have her piece of [white cotton] cord and she takes the measure [of his penis] and she puts nine knots in it, in each [this one] piece in the white cotton [cord]. Well, she keep the white [yellow] cotton [piece] up under her mattress and the cord with the nine knots in it, she wears it around her waist. And every time, if that's his wife, and he leave his wife to go to his lady friend, well there's nothing doing [with the other woman].
Entry 10252
[This rite comes in two parts:] (l) [A woman will] take his shirt, fold the arms together, crossing [each other], put on side of bed where he sleeps [put under mattress]. [The folding of shirt arms is a sym- bol of dead man in a coffin.] He'll be back. (2) [If he runs around with other woman, here is what she does.] Quite natural she kin git de measure of his private down dere an' tie as many knots in it as he [his] private is long, an' wear it aroun' her waist. Dat'll stop him.
Entry 10253
Ah tell you now, the Way ah understand the thing, it's jes' as good. Jes' like yo' have a interco'se with a woman, you tie nine knots in de string and she ain't going have nobody but you. If ah'd have fifty gals, ah betcha she'd wanta come [to me only].
(What would you do with that string after you put those nine knots in it?)
Tie it around your waist or tie it around your laig - right up above your kneecap here [demonstrates]. Co'se ah'm dirty [as I could see]. You know, ah'm a [house] painter you see. Ah betcha she won't have 'em [other men].
[While machine turned off informant says something.]
(Yes, and do what?)
You tie nine knots in the string.
(Yes, but didn't you say you did something else with it?)
Yes, jes' after you have interco'se with a woman [you do this. If some man] Wanta steal your wife, do this. You tie it around your waist. Ah betcha she won't have no one else.
Entry 10254
They say that if yo' have a husband and he runnin' round and yo' Wanta stop him from runnin' roun', of co'se yo' take him, yo' know - ah guess when yo' do fomily duties - an' yo' measure him. And after measuring him, co'se [of course] yo' put nine knots in it, de string. An' then take de string an' wear it round yore waist, an' of co'se he can't have no courage with no one but chew.
Entry 10255
Ah heard dat chew kin take a cord string dat chew buy on a package an' measure his private, an' make nine knots in it an' wear it round yore waist, am' he can't go out an' have nobody else.
Entry 10256
And a woman can, like she got a man, you know, and he is going to another woman. Well, when she have him, she take a brand-new piece of cotton [cloth] and catch that, see, and she put 9 knots in it, an' jes' put a hole anywhere in the mattress and jes' stick it in the mattress.
Entry 10257
Well [into a cloth] you can take a man's stuff, and take it and make nine kmots in it [cloth] and take it and sew it up in east part of the - at least in the west part [of the bed]. And after you sew it up in there, jes' left [leave] it stay there. And if he's sleeping on the front part of that bed, it has a tendency to make him stay home, not to run around. Stop him from run- ning around. (Where do you sew that thing up? In? How?) Well, like this is - well, you put it right in here [points to bed in hotel room where I was interviewingl. Sew it up in this mattress, right in here.
(On the west side of the bed?)
Yeah, towards the east.
(Oh, you sew that on the east side of the bed?)
Yeah. [I did not explore this symbolism: east to rise with and west to set with sun. For this symbolism see No.10261.1
(I see, in the mattress?)
In the mattress. And that has a tendency to keep [him] from running around, quiets him down. [Wiping-cloth enclosed by 4 corners of bed makes a quincunx.]
Entry 10258
Yo' take yore towel whut chew use in interco'sin' wit a man, yo' take it an' tear it in nine strands an' tie nine knots in it, an' sew it up in de mattress in de place where he lay. He can't mess wit no othah woman but his wife [with you]. (You take this towel that you wipe with and you tie it in nine strips. Nine knots in the whole or the whole thing together?) Tie it together in nine knots.
(You tie all these strips together in nine knots?)
Yes sir, an' sew it in de mattress under de place where he sleeps.
Entry 10259
Yo' kin take a lemon with a woman when she's in heat, when she wanta have a man. Yo' kin take dat lemon an' put salt in dat lemon, an' yo' take it an' yo' drop some of it on her. Dat ain't goin' make her hot no mo', she won't wanta have nobody else no mo' until aftah yo' reduce [dat lemon].
Entry 10260
Yo' get chureself nine matches.
(Nine ordinary matches?)
Nine ordinary matches and burn each one, an' cross yo'self down dere with dose matches an' read de Ten Commandments. An' every morning you do that for nine mornings, an' the ninth morning, why, you find it different; your nature's come back. "Cause ah've been done that way once an' ah knows. (Just to be sure I understand. Here are the nine matches. I light each one and let it burn [so that each match will become a pencil or mark- erl. Now do I take each match and just make a cross on myself?) Make a cross on it [penis]. (Cross it nine times [all together] with each one of these burnt matches and leave a black mark on it?) That's right, make a black [cross] mark on it. [Somewhere else I may have discussed the match - especially one with a red head - as a phallic symbol. One match is used each day and one cross only is made - 9 matches and 9 crosses.]
Entry 10261
If a woman have tricked him where he can't do business, well every morning he take dat. Take some milk an' put it in de pan an' bathe down wit it; an' throw it toward de risin' sun, every morning fo' nine mornings. [I had stopped machine but restarted it to include informant's use of the word courage.]
(What will that do then? That will restore his courage?)
Yes, restore his courage. [Stop machine.]
[Start machine again to pick up another addition.]
(You say bathe down.)
Entry 10262
Ah heard dey said yo' could take yo' discharge an' put it in a rag an' put it where no air kin git to it, an' put it in yore pillah, an' he cain't do nuthin off nowheres else, an' he'll have tuh stay home.
Entry 10263
(What can he do for that?) Well, he kin go to take black mo- lasses syrup an' eat it, eat it fo' about nine days. Dat will kill ever' bit of it [impotence].
Entry 10264
If yo' wanta keep in love wit a man, yo' jes' turn de right foot of yore shoes down underneat' de bed an' he'll have tuh stick wit yo'. He can't go out himself wit womenfolks.
(Whose shoes do you turn down? The woman would turn hers down?)
Dat's right, down under de bed.
Entry 10265
They say that chew can take the water off of a silver dollah and also the water off of a copper cent, and sprinkle a little bit of that with some snail dust in a woman's place there, and when a man comes there he'll get stuck just like a dog. [Following rite 10266 by same man.]
Entry 10266
[Here we have two fundamental ingredients for impotence combined in the same rite:] They can take a dishrag and snail dust and sprinkle some of that snail dust over it, the dishrag, and then let him take that and put it up and down her place there [the vulva] and cross it [thus making the sign of the cross], and Bobody's penis can stand to undertake to go in there, they claim. And then they smid that if it's a man, all she's got to do, is to ever' now and then to wrahp chat round his penis, and he can't stay away from her, he has to come home. [Aloag similar lines, in case you missed it, let me recall your attention to one of the most unusual statements in HOODOO - how to make a special sign of the cross. The Christian Church has made the sign of the cross in all sorts of ways: niht hand or left, beginning on right side or left, using any number of fingers Qd in all sorts of combinations, etc., but surely the first stroke upward is unique - see No.3345, p.2394, v.3. Preceding rite 10265 is by this present in- formant.]
Entry 10267
De snail, yo' know, he's got some ole wax on him, an' de earthworm. An' yo' mix de wax offa de snail an' de earthworm an' rub it on de woman, an' if she has an- other man yo'll ketch him - [one of the many folklore causes of penis captivus. For other snail rites and impotence, see pp.2458-2470, v.3, and later in this present section].
Entry 10268
He has a piece of cloth. He'll use that himself. He steal it while he goin' to her. He steals it. An' he'll jes' keep it with 'im an' he wipe him an' wipe her. An' when he wipe her, you know, like that, why ever' man who went dere he'd fall.
Entry 10269
[A woman] fixes a man so he don't have nature fer any other woman. Ah [a doctor] always nuses [uses] pure cream wit a massage to him - wit de cow cream - an' give him dis rattlesnake master an' deer tongue root. Take de deer tongue an' dig an' git de root part of 'em, an' boil 'em all into one. An' de picka- nettZe [for identity See later]. An' boilt it into one an' give him to drink; [remedy] which most [people] says is worked as a Spanish fly work, but ah did not add dat. You better not [in your work] call it dat [Spanish flyl. But it work jes' as you.... Dis cream dat she got - what I gave him to massage hisself, begin wit black gunpowder. Dat will kill de germs of whatever she put on him, whatever kind of herb she put on him; a powder, have to be a dust. It have to be a burnt dust to take effect - put on him. I wash him off wit an' give him dis to take an' dat will give him a nature to go anywhere wit any woman. (This "pickle" business [actually "pickanettle"] is the same as "gall of the earth, " isn't it?) Yes, sir. It grows straight up [the reason why it is used as an aphrodisiac], but ah got some near to de house. Ah'll make it mah business to come back an' bring some of mine so you could see jes' what ah got. It grows jes' straight up jes' like it got lotsa thorns on de back. [I had heard of pickanettle in Charles- ton, a nettle or thorny plant of some sort.]
Entry 10270
When mah husban' left home ah had some of his [pubic] hair an' ah taken it an' put it in de bottle an' stopped it up an' put it up undah de steps. An' jis' lak me an' him be to- gether, well ah got de string an' got some of it [semen] an' put it roun' mah waist; an' he always be's by me all de time. An' ah got de dishcloth an' put some [semen] on de dishcloth an' put it up ovah de do', an' whenevah he go out - he had been goin' out an' stayin' an' stayin' an' goin' off runnin' roun', an' he got so he jis' stayed at home all de time. An' den ah quit him. Aftah he got tuh bein' so good tuh me, den ah went tuh treatin' him mean. Yo' know, him treatin' me mean, ah went off tuh show him how it feel fo' him tuh do me lak dat. An' he jis' cry all de time tuh try tuh git me back.
(Did you go back to him?)
No, ah didn't go back to him. He in hospital now.
Entry 10271
If a person got chew fixed so yo' ain't got no manhood wit chureself, yo' jes' go an' make water into a red ant's nest. It will freshen right up ag'in. Ah've lost mah nature mah- self dat way an' ah've gained it back dat way. Dat's true about dat. [For ants see Nos.3111-3112, p.2342, v.3.]
Entry 10272
If a woman didn't want chew tuh be socially familiar wit her, den she git some chamber lye an' put it in his cooking. Why yo' couldn't have de courage wit dat woman. Ah've heard of dat. [The opposite is usually true, as in two following rites.]
Entry 10273
He takes and give her his urine to drink unbeknownst to her, like in beer or wine, and she won't even look at another man, won't have any nature to- wards any other man. That urine keeps her mine [mind] on that one man, her husband, when he is gone away from her, on a visit or somepin.
Entry 10274
Dey have to take de measurement of a man, say it's such as a man run- nin' aroun' after women. An' if a woman take his measurement with a piece of string, an' his water, an' put it in there [bottle], as he go to fool with any other woman, whenever she shake this [bottle] up, he'll lose all nachure fer any other woman but her. She keep that [bottle] in a secret place, an' whenever she think that he's doin' somepin wrong, shake that, an' nachurely that would cause him to lose nachure fer any other woman but her.
Entry 10275
Well, if she could get holt of somepin belongin' to a man, if she could get holt of his - but she must be in connection with him once. And she could get the measure of him and get some of her chamber lye and mix it together, she could get him. The only Way he could get away from her.
(She takes the measure of the man with a string?)
With a string, yeah.
(And what did she do with her chamber lye, then?)
Put it in that bottle with the string.
(Oh, she puts the string in the bottle where she put the chamber lye.)
Put it in a bottle and set it up in de left corner of the house. [The left corner is either left corner, front or back, while approaching house.]
(In the left corner of the house, and that will keep him.)
That will keep him right with her.
Entry 10276
I know at one time a woman and a man were very familiar towards each other, they would do anything they were inclined to do. So at last one day this woman decided that she would take the measure [circumfer- ence] and the length of her sweetheart. And after doing so - just as if you would go and measure a dog's tail. I don't care how bad the dog is, I don't care how much stranger he is, you can measure his tail and take the length of the measure and bury it at your doorstep, and that dog will never depart from you. So this woman, after taking the measurement of this man, goes to work. Then she decreed that, I want this man for myself individual. She would go to work and take this measurement, and wrap it up in a bundle and put it in a bottle, and put this measurement in her trunk, with a small quantity of her urine with this; and stopped it up and put it in her trunk and let it remain. And this man then would always forever be ravish with her and always wanting to get to her. You measure with a piece of string, stick, anything. You put that in the bottle with the urine. The man, you measure the length; the woman, you measure the size. He would do the same sort of thing with her measure. [Hamp- ton (Old Point Comfort), Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 10277
To fix him up. Now he wants to get his nature back, all he got to do, he take and he urine in a bottle. You see, he....
(He urinates into a bottle?)
In a bottle, you see. Now, he urinates in a bottle and, if he urinate in that bottle and he can get to some of hers, see, he pour hers on top of his. Now, when he put that together, he take sugar and cinnamon and he puts that all togethah. He mixes that up good. See. Now, he put that under the head of the bed; see, where he sleep at, where he knows she can't find it. If he's got time enough to do that and she's done fixed the bed herself, he puts that hisself there, you see, because he has to do hisself good, you understand. Now, at night when he comes in - if he done come from work or if he's got work anywhere - when he comes in, long about, prob'ly it might be midnight. He'll raise up, you see. He's going to raise up. Now, when he get [raise] up, he'll get there to her, see. And as long as he keep that there [under bed] until he get hisself back together, done got back all his nature again, why then he can take that same bottle of stuff and keep it hid on the top of anything that's high where she can't get to it. And she'll have more trouble with him than the day is long. She'll have plenty trouble with him then, because he'll always want to be on her, see. He done got his nature back. (I see, that's to bring his nature back, so that he can do this with his wife.) With his wife.
(I see.)
Entry 10278
Whut chew kin do with a dirty sock, least dat is tuh keep a man with a woman, dat is she's about tuh go or he's about tuh go from her, is dis: His urine is his nature. Yo' understan' dat. Yo' git de bottle an' git de urine an' yo' git de he lodestone, steel dust, cinnamon, sugah, drawin' oil, mind oil. Write de name nine times, nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' put dat ingrediment [ingredients] together, yo' understan', an' yo' shake it well an' put it undah de do'step. Be shure dat it crosses ovah it three times, an' den aftah yo' take it an' put it anywheres in yore place. Yes, ah kin guarantee yo' it bring de woman dat ah did de work fo' dat ah he'ped [helped] out with it, an' through prayers, goin' to de chapel an' makin' prayers.
(That'll hold the man?)
Listen, dat'll hold him an' yo'll nevah git, but don' evah - dat means a man'll kill yuh if he gits holt of dat, yo' see. Dat means death. An' it really will hold him.
Entry 10279
There's another thing. They can take your chamber lye again and stop you from using a woman.
(How could.they do that?)
They take your chamber lye and put it into a little small bottle like that, and after they put it into a small bottle, they let it rest overnight. And after it rest in overnight, they take that [bottled] chamber lye and put it down into some warm milk and take it [bottle] up. Draw it [bottle] up and let that milk boil away, that it almost gone out that bottle [pan]. And take that [small] bottle again and ketch a owl and shove it up in that owl's throat until it kill him. And take that bottle [with urine inside] and bury it in the ground with his [owl's] head up. Then you'll go for the balance of your life.
(You do what?)
You locked up [impotent] for the balance of your life, you can't use a woman. (You put an owl in there, an owl, a bird, an owl that steals a chicken, an owl that flies around at night?) [I am wrong. Owl is not put in bottle but very small bottle with urine is put in owl's throat.] Yeah. (An owl? And this milk. Do you pour the urine into the milk or put that bottle down into the milk?) [Again I am wrong!] Put the bottle [with urine] down in there [the milk].
(But you don't let any milk get into the bottle?)
No, you have it sealed.
(Yes, but you let this [bottled] urine boil in the milk?)
Yeah.
(I understand, I see. But you have to kill this owl, inside the bottle?)
[As I explained, owl is not in bottle.]
Yes. (And bury the bottle [in owl's throat] with the owl's head up. You have to ase a large bottle for that [no!] I understand. [No, the urine is in very small bottle in owl's throat, but owl buried head up.]
Entry 10280
Jes' lak a woman if she love yo', she be - well, she take de bow out yore cap. Well, she take dis bow outa yore cap an' when she mess wit chew, she take de germs from yo' an' herself, an' she'll roll dis bow up in it. She roll dis bow up in dat. An' den she'll take dis bow an' she put somepin, anything sweet, jes' amy thing dat's sweet on dere. An' she'll take dis bow an' she'll pee on dis boo every morning for seven mornings. She'll pee on dis bow for seven momings. An' den she'll take dis bow after she do dat, pee on seven mornings, take de gerns from yo' an' her germs an' put on heah. An' she'll roll dis in sulphur. Sulphur always. Ah don't know whut sulphur is but most all womenfolks use sulpbur in ever'thin'. Well, she take de sulphur an' she put it on dere an' she take dis heah bow, after she take it out, an' she'll put it in some close place where yo' transfer back an' forward all de time. An' [does] dat in order - she put [it] dere, dat's for yo' to stay close, wanta be round her. Yo' don't feel satisfied, yo' wanta be round her all de time. "Co'se it don't have nuthin to do wit your nature but chew don't wanta mess wit nobody else but her. Dat's de story ah heard about dat. [Bow of cap, any bow, sometimes considered a cross, a sacred symbol. See many beliefs about bow of cap.]
Entry 10281
Take nine wood lices, little ole white looking things, an' yo' kin take an' parch 'em an' rub 'em in de seat of yore [his] britches an' he won't evah mess wit nobody else.
Entry 10282
If yo' wanta rule a woman or rule a man, yo' git a he an' a she earth- worm. An' yo' kin take dem two worms an' put 'em somewhere an' dry 'em up. An' when dey git dried up, den yo' git chew some olive oil an' mix it up. Rub it up into powders. An' mix dat worm up with it an' rub dat cross dey stomach, dat person down in dey lower parts, an' dat'll keep 'em. Dey cain't use anyone else 'cusin' [excusing] yo'. [Mem- phis, Tenn., (1524), 2722:4.] [Here I am listing short or reduced statements of beliefs, all original, to indicate how widespread impotence folklore was and probably still is. For this same reason, ubiquity, I shall include in a following section, CHANNEL DE WORLD, a few long lists of references with only a descriptive word or two attached. This present subsection will use margin titles similar to those in volume 3, pages 2341-2509, so that our separate collections can be compared. The original condensed rites will be found in the original manuscripts at the end of this subsection.]
Entry 10283
"I hear'd my mother say lots of times, you know, settin' around - see a man runnin' to a girl, couldn't git clear of a young girl - Well, I know she's got him measured." [Princess Anne, 36:2.]
The narrator reports a saying that the girl has got the man measured. No measuring procedure, identified speaker or actual measurement is established.
Entry 10284
"One of the parties stuck together must be killed." [Norfolk, 466:3 and material in volume 3. According to reports, See volume 3, surgeons at hospitals almost always killed the woman to save the man. If I am not mistaken, one woman was actually saved!]
The quoted statement asserts that one party must be killed. This is a reported assertion, not an established necessity or event; the hospital commentary is editorial.
Entry 10285
The easiest remedy for a man who has been measured: Man gets the string woman used in measuring. [Norfolk, 459:4.]
Entry 10286
Get a red-skin onion, rub juice on penis until burns; let dry, do not wipe. [Since onion is a witch deterrent, the cause of impotence here was witch- craft. Shape and color of this vegetable also added to its magic power.] [Richmond, 341:1.]
Entry 10287
[The identity of man's nature is quite evident and has been known for centuries; but what is a woman's nature? Remember, I am writ- ing about nature as it was believed back in the 1930's and evidently long before that date. In a few cases her menstural blood was her nature, but normally it Was surely thought to be something she ejaculated at the time of orgasm. In other words, woman did the same thing as a man. Ovalation was unknown to folklore. This belief in woman's nature was common and can be found in many of these impotent beliefs.]
Entry 10288
Use piece of man's underclothes to wipe him and wear it around your waist [Wilmington, 160:2].
The short account names a piece of a man's underclothes; no result or performed event is established.