Browse:Salt (Volume 1, entries 2264–2274)
Salt
Volume 1, entries 2264–2274. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2264
[Well, dey say yo' step roun' unbeknownst tuh 'em an' sprinkle salt in his head.
(Right on top of his head?)
Table salt - yes, on top of his head. (What will that do to him?) That kills his hand. (That kills the hand that is luckier than your hand in any kind of gambling game.)
Entry 2265
Well, he'd [my husband would] have me sprinklin' salt fo' 'em tuh fall. Ah used to sprinkle salt on 'em fo' 'em tuh fall, so he could win. Dat'll kill yo' hand if yo' got a gamblin' han' - done went somewhere an' got a gambling hand. Dat'll kill it - salt an' red peppah.
Entry 2266
Take salt an' black peppah an' three pods of garlic an' yo' wear it in de right pocket, an' if de fellah have anything dere fo' luck, yo' understand, it won't be very severe, yo' see. If he's any man with any kind of talent at all, he'll know it's somepin wrong an' he'll fin'lly quit that game, yo' see.
Entry 2267
When yo' gamblin' yo' have a buddy, a fren'. Well, dis fren' he'll be 'long wid joo an' when de crowd git tuh gamblin', yore fren' will have yo' some salt in his han' an' some red peppah or black peppah - jes' so's it peppah. An' dey go roun' de othah people, not both together, fes' his fren' go roun' to de othah people an' jes' throw a little down deys back - three times up an' down his back wit dat salt, an' de last one of dem who he put dat salt on dey'll fall, dere luck will fall.
(That kills the luck of everybody there.)
Kills it.
Entry 2268
Ah've taken some salt an' black peppah an' stuff an' went to skin game an' ah've let mah han' git wet an' take an' jes' put it all ovah de cards an ever'thing an' ah've taken salt an' sprinkle it all roun' peoples lak dat, an' been in a game an' ah win money lak that.
Entry 2269
Then yo' kin take salt an' put it in yore mouth lak dat [demonstrates].
(Just rub it over your tongue.)
Fo' nine times. Shuffle yore cards up an' put 'em down an' tell de man tuh cut. When he cut 'em yo' go turn de card on de top an' throw one out an' start a bettin:, an' yo'll win ever' bit of money dere's dere.
Entry 2270
Take salt and burn it, then dampen it, let it become hard, put it in a paper, wrap it up tight, wear it in your left pocket, and they say you'll have good luck.
Entry 2271
[The following rite is taken from my original pencil transcription (fair copy) made a few days after the recording. One change only have I made - my original parentheses had to be turned into brackets, because my comments or explanations were not spoken to the Telediphone at the time of recording.] You kin get a whole bran'-new box of salt, and don't even cook out of it, and take a handful in your right hand and trow it aroun' like dat. [Here informant demonstrated at the fireplace. She extended imaginary salt towards the flames, brought it back to her body by circling from right to left, completed the circle so that her hand was again over the fire, and dropped the salt] and say, Forsake eberbody else in de worl' for me. In de Name of de Father and de Son, Who made us all." And eber time you say dat, drop some in de fire. [The number of times Was indefinite.] You kin say dat for love and draw some man to yah.
[One cylinder later informant demonstrated another rite.]
Like I was in jail and I had somebody out dat I really didn't want some other girl to be aroun' or somepin, I'd take de broom, de broom dat I sweep de ward wid if I'm in jail; take dat broom, turn it down and call dat girl's name or dat boy's name or whoever it was. I take dis broom and do jis' like dis here... [At this point the informant, a girl about twenty, straddled an imaginary broom and went sweeping around the room. The broom strokes, rapidly made, were from be- tween her feet outward] and call their name [while sweeping] every morning for nine mornings. Then whenever I git through wid it I turn de handle part down and de head part up. De ninth morning dey'll come to jail. Dey'll commit a crime and de man'll ketch ''em and bring 'em to jail.
Entry 2272
If a person leave home, yo' take some table salt - jes' take it on de palm of yore hand an' blow it an' make a wish. Git up eve'y mornin' befo' de sun rise an' blow it towards de east for de nine mornin's, an' de ninth day dey'll be back. [In former days course salt was used for everything - cattle, curing meat and at the table. On farms it was bought by the old-fasioned wooden barrel. After finely granulated salt was introduced - first in small cloth sacks and then in cardboard boxes, this smaller salt was sometimes called table salt. In horse- and-buggy days, persons living in towns sometimes called it horse salt.] [Waycross, Ga., (1093), 1761:13.].
Entry 2273
Ah proved dis mahself, when yo' want a job, take yo' some table salt an' tie it up in de corner of yore han'kerchief an' go dere an' ask him fo' a job, an' feel dat salt in yore pocket an' mash on dat salt, work on dat salt, lookin' him straight in de eye an' tell him whut chew want, an' he'll give yo' a job. Ah done tried it.
Entry 2274
Said dat if yo'd like to run a person from a place, yo' could put salt around their bed, an' dey wouldn't be interested in staying dere no longer - dey would soon leave.
(How do you put that salt around their bed?)
Well, jest po' a little slight stream, yo' know, wit de hand - a little hand- ful, yo' know, jest round de bed in a circle.