Browse:St. Black Hawk (Hoodoo Saint) (Volume 1, entries 2993–2994)
St. Black Hawk (Hoodoo Saint)
Volume 1, entries 2993–2994. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → (3) SAINTS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2993
No. You don't burn that candle for an evil purpose and you don't fool with none of those good saints. But Black Hawk or some of those bad saints, you burn black candles. Black Hawk is supposed to be one of the old evil saints. That's the man that died - he was not infidel, but he did not believe they had a god, see. You burn a black candle to him - Black Hawk. You burn the candle in the same way as you do for the diff'rent saints, for his evil purpose.
The informant contrasts good saints with Black Hawk and other 'bad saints' while describing black candles; these characterizations stay attributed.
Entry 2994
" The only thing that I knows about.
(Black Hawk?)
Black Hawk.
(What was he?)
B-1-a-c-k H-a-w-k. He was supposed to be an evil and a mean saint, see. But take St. Raymond, Saint Peter.
(Tell me something about Black Hawk. Who was he? How do you approach him?)
Who?
(Black Hawk.)
He was one of those mean saints and he never would go - he's practically - he was more infidel 'an anything else. He never did believe in the Gospel. He never did believe that we had a Creator, see. He always did believe that when a man or woman would leave this earth, that was all - no hell.and heaven. He always thought that the good and the bad would dwell together anyways. See.
(Well, how do you approach him? Do you know how they approached him?)
Black Hawk?
(Yes.)
Well, instead of you praying to the Lord, they tell you to use the devil in place of the Lord. See, he's evil, you have to pray to evil. The devil's sup- posed to be the god for the evil and the Lord supposed to be the god for the good. Well, instead of serving the Lord, you will tell all your complaints to the devil instead of the Lord.
(Is Black Hawk the same thing as the devil?)
Absolutely, he's one of the devil's servants, see.
The informant describes Black Hawk as 'supposed to be an evil and a mean saint' and reports instructions to 'pray to evil'; these remain attributed characterizations.