Browse:SHOES (Volume 4, entries 5206–5304)/Part 2
SHOES
Volume 4, entries 5206–5304. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 5286
Dey take yore left-foot shoes, de linin' outa dat. Well, SOME PEOPLE IS LOW ENOUGH TUH TAKE IT TUH DE CEMETERY or throW it in runnin' watah.
(What do they do with it out at the cemetery?)
Dey buries it.
(All right, what will that do?)
Well, dat will jes' keep yo' lingahin' sick.
(Then what about the running Water?)
Well, de runnin' watah, it jes' keeps yo' foolish.
Entry 5287
All right, yo' kin take dey shoe an' yo' kin throw it in de rivah. Jis' lak dat shoe goes away, dat's how yo' goes away. Den yo' kin take it an' yo' kin bury it. When it rottens, yo' rottens away. Den yo' kin take dat shoe an' yo' kin tie it on de side of a train, an' when dat train pull off yo' wonders
[wanders] away.
Entry 5288
Dey take de lef'-foot shoe an' carry it tuh any runnin' watah an' place it de way yo' want a person tuh go, an' turn yore back an' say, "Go." An' yo will go until dey go an' take it up. If dey don't nevah take it up, yo'll go until yo' die.
Entry 5289
Dey take dat left shoe of yores an' burn it, an' git de ashes an' stop it up, an' put it in runnin' watah. Yo' drown.
(What do you stop it up in?)
Stop it up in a bottle.
Entry 5290
Dey kin hurt yo' by burnin' yore shoes.
(What will that do to you if they burn your shoes?)
Jes' take de ashes an' put dem in a bottle an' put it in watah, airtight. DAT'LL KILL YO' IF YO' DON' GIT SOMEBODY TUH TAKE IT OFF YO'.
Entry 5291
Den he'll take his left-foot shoe. Dat'll he'p, too. Take his left- foot shoe an' carry it tuh a rivah an' tie it up in a rag an' put a brick tuh it an' carry it tuh a rivah an' throw it ovahbo'd. (What will that do then?) He can't stay dere, he'll leave town.
Entry 5292
Heard dey could take yore shoes an' dey cut a piece outa each one of yore shoes. Cut a piece outa de toe an' a piece outa de heel, an' put chure right feet right behin' de left one, an' set it in a trench of runnin' watah. An' unless dey take de shoes outa dat runnin' watah, yo' won' be able tuh come back home. Yo' will have tuh con- tinly [continually] tuh travel.
(You take both your shoes?)
An' place one right befo' de othah, an' eithah a canal or a deep ditch of runnin' watah. Jes' set dem right down in dere. PUT A HOLE IN DE TOE AN' A HOLE IN DE HEEL, SO DAT DE WATAH KIN GO RIGHT ON THROUGH. [This iS my only example of holes in toe and heel.] (The water runs right through the holes. That sends them away.)
Entry 5293
They can take your shoes and carry 'em way back in the woods or swamp, or some place like that where they'll find running water, you know, and bury them. And turn one east and one west, and cause a person to linger. [No one can proceed in opposite directions at the same time.]1 Or, it can kill them by it. But I don't know what else they say, only no more than just make the wishes.
Entry 5294
Heard tell of 'em takin' de sole, de innah sole out de shoes. Take de innah sole out chure shoes an' put it in runnin' watah, put graveyard dirt wit dat in runnin' watah an' run 'em wit it - de innah sole out chure shoe.
The informant introduces hearsay about an inner shoe sole with graveyard dirt in running water. The movement claim remains reported rather than independently observed.
Entry 5295
Yo' kin take an' take a person's shoe an' have it fixed so dat he kin start walkin' an' dey jes' walk a step an' dey comes back. Well, dey jes' go 'head an' take some dis red pep- pah an' it's a gourd. Yo' know dese guts out de gourd dat be's inside of a gourd, take hit an' Parch it up an' take an' put it in dis shoe. An' throw dis shoe in runnin' watah, an' dat will fix a person so he jes' go crazy an' wandah 'way from home, an' wandah an' wandah.
Entry 5296
Eithah one of yo' shoes, take de inside sole of dat shoe. He takes a knife an' he'll chip it up real fine, an' he'll take some sulphur an' some black peppah, an' he'll mix it all tuhgethah. Aftah he mix it tuhgethah he'll take it an' carry it tuh a stream of watah dat's runnin'. An' he kin sprinkle de least bit of it in dat sole an' he cain't stay nowhere. He start tuh travel. He cain't be satisfied nowhere he goes.
Entry 5297
He uses track, same ah tell yo' tuh use tuh run a person off. Kin use de sweat out de bottom of yo' shoe, lak yo' use de innah sole out de bottom of yo' shoe, yo' know. Cain't have dat. Some people rathah have de track yo' know. (Like picking up your tracks.) (What would she do with that sweat out of the bottom of your shoe?) Scrape dat out an' put it in a li'le bottle wit some needles an' pins an' li'le graveyard dirt [3 ingredients] yo' know an' throw it in runnin' watah. Dat will send de man away.
(How many needles and pins does she put in there?)
Put three of each.
The informant discusses track and shoe-sweat alternatives, then shoe scrapings in a bottle with needles, pins and a little graveyard dirt, cast into running water to send a man away. The answer specifies three of each sharp item. Hyatt's bracketed ingredient count and the interviewer's prompts remain distinct.
Entry 5298
You can take their shoes and carry them down to the river at noontime and let the water run over them. Take them back and let them dry. On a full moon go down to this river, call, and keep calling them. And when they have them shoes on they'll walk into the river and drown them- selves.
Entry 5299
Dey burn shoes fo' luck. Dey'd jes' take de shoe - lak dey'd have a fiah in de fiahplace - jes' a ole pair of shoes, an' take an' make yo' a fiah. An' take an' put de shoes on top of de fiah, an' set dat [shoes] ovah dere an' den make yore wishes. An' as de shoes burns, keeps talkin' tuh 'em.
(That will bring any kind of luck?)
Yessuh.
Entry 5300
Yo' take de lef'-foot shoe at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' make yore wish tuh de fo' cornahs of de world an' pray - jes' a prayah child-lak, in yore own mannahs, see. Yore own way of prayin', see. Den if yo' got anybody dat's gone, why dey'll come tuh yo'. Do dat nine times, pray dat prayer. Co'se yo' burn de shoe once, but yo' pray dat same prayah fo' nine times at de same hour. Yo' pray it an' dat's tuh bring 'em home.
(Do you pray nine times that same night you burn the shoe or afterwards?)
Afterwards. Yo' pray it one prayah dat night an' jes' pray it till nine nights. But yo' only burn de shoe once.
(But you only burn the shoe once.)
One shoe at twelve a'clock.
[A separate rite is now added to preceding one:]
Take dat shoe an' yo' kin put some sugah an' soda an' sulphur. Put it in de heel an' shake it tuh de toe, an' push de shoe in de burnah, stove or heatah. Put de toe in first an' let it burn. Yo' do dat about twelve a'clock at night. Now, dat's good. Dat's de same thing. See, yo' don' have tuh pray no nine times ovah dat. Jes' do dat. An' dat's tuh bring people.
(You use either shoe?)
De right foot.
Entry 5301
He kin take de inside sole of a woman's shoe an' burn it - burn it into a powder. Beat it up fine an' git chew some Heart Cologne an' peppermint candy an' melt it, lak yo' use a syrup, melt it, take dem things an' mix up in dat, an' git chew some red peppah an' wear it in yore shoes. Why he will git 'er back.
Entry 5302
If a woman would wear a man's shoes - jes' lak IF MAH WIFE WUS TUH BE PERMITTED TUH WEAR MAH SHOES, dat, DAT WOULD PREVENT ME FROM 'SOCIATIN' ROUN' WIT OTHAH WIMMIN. In othah WOrds, SHE WOULD HAVE if she WOre mah shoes. If she wuz allowed tuh wear mah shoes, why she could manage me mos' any way she wants. In othah words ah'd be subject tuh her powah, if she's allowed tuh wear mah shoes. DERE'S SO MANY SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT DAT, DEY [MEN] WON' ALLOW DERE WIFES TUH WEAR DERE SHoES. [Sumter, S. Car., (1374), 2436:7.] [This is the sixth and last subsection of SWEAT, one of the functions of the physical human body. The following rites once presupposed tracks largely made by bare feet which left sweat and odor in the soil. For this reason, some of these rites will also be found under section MuRDER in volume 4.]
Entry 5303
Ah heard sompin on dat line. Dey say yo' could take an' git chew Adam- an'-Eve root an' High John de Conkah, see. An' git chew some Hearts Cologne, dis [just a] little - called Hearts Cologne - an' take an' put dis heah root on dis. An' evah time yo' git ready tuh go out wit - git close tuh 'ah [her] enough, in conversation somewhere, an' let 'ah [her] git de scent of dat. An' if she come anywhere about chew, pick up 'ah tracks see, an' put 'em in a bag yo' undahstan'. Take an' put 'em in de sack yo' see an' take an' bury 'em undah de cornah of yore house, an' dat will keep 'ah love. Dat will make hah come dere all de time. Jes' stay right roun' yo'.
Entry 5304
See, heah, when yo' go an' find a red ants nest, dey make a big - jes' a kinda hill of sand aroun' it yo' know, a ants nest. Well, jes' lak if anybody in dis town dat chew want dem tuh leave heah fo' good an' nevah return no mo', yo' pick up dere lef' track from de toe an' bring it back, an' put it in dat ants nest, an' dey'll go. Dey won't nevah come back heah no mo'. (They put the left-foot track from the toe to the heel into this ants nest, and that will make them move and leave town.) Well, ah nevah have tried it mahself - whut ah heah othah folks talkin' 'bout it. If a person knowed anothah one an' didn't lak 'em so gūd [good], well dey'd want 'em stay home [stay away]. Well he watch where he walk through in sand. Well, when 'is back turned he'd go an' git a little sand out dere. Well, he'd go den tuh a little ants hole an' put dat in dere, see. Well dat ants, dey jes' totin' sand all de time, see. Well he'd [ants] git holt of dat, keep totin' dat. Well, dat person he'd leave home, he jes' keep goin' all de time, from one state tuh 'nother. He can't let 'im stay home none at all.
(You take the sand from either of my tracks?)
Dat's right.