Browse:THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF (Volume 4, entries 5206–8881)/Part 35
THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF
Volume 4, entries 5206–8881. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 7926
Ah heard dat if yo' wanted a sweetheart, lak yore husban' or anythin' - if yo' love him an' yo' want him tuh stay wit yo' - yo' takes de graveyard dirt an' yo' wears it, jes' git chew a li'le bit in a bag. Ah seed [= seen = saw] a lady one time wearin' some of it. An' yo' wears it in a bag an' that will make the man wanta stay wit yo'.
Entry 7927
Yo' take a sock an' put dat dust in dere. (What dust?) Yo' take dat sock an' yo' git some graveyard dust [and put in], dat willah leaf an' yo' put dat in dere, but yo' gotta let it stay in de sun an' let it dry good. An' dey put dat in de ground. It's all dif- f'ren' kinda ways [to use graveyard dirt] an' dat's a simple thing tuh do.
(What will that do if you put the willow leaf in that sock?)
Put it in dat sock? Dat'll run yo' crazy.
Entry 7928
Yo' go tuh de graveyard an' dat tree - lotsa times yo' know dere's elm trees in de graveyard. Yo' git dat wood an' yo' burns it in de fiahplace an' yo's be tantalizin' - ah don't know. But mah wife, she tolt [told] me dat. (You burn it in whose fireplace?) Jes' in de house, in yore fiahplace, yo' kin burn dat. Say, "Heah's a piece of wood." Go lay on dere [lay the wood in the fireplace] an' usely [usual- ly] dey moves out, dey can't stay. (If there are some of your neighbors that [disturb you], you want to make them move out, you get a piece of that wood and burn it in the fireplace?) Dat's right. [Sumter, S. Car., (1342), 2322:12.] [This final subsection (3) concludes section 10 on death and also ends the di- visional survey devoted to THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF. Had it been possible to separate all death material, including that in INTERVIEWS into a separate book, a more orderly arrangement of rites could have been found. Eyen so. prob- lems would still remain; symbolism and all those beliefs said to cause death.]
Entry 7929
Cut piece of wood in shape of coffin, drive up under house or bury at door, you'll die.
Entry 7930
Cut new board in shape of coffin. Either nail it or attach with sticking plaster, up un- derneath house beneath center of bed.
Entry 7931
Cut a board in shape of coffin, cut 9 knotches in it, drive 4 small nails in it, put under person's steps, just under dirt, that will kill you.
Entry 7932
It was a woman that had a son in New York [City] and she lived in Ports- mouth [Va.]. And this body had killed someone. This woman heard of this boy being in trouble, and she goes to work hanging clothes out that morning. She draws a mark on the ground like a coffin. She draws that with a clothespin, no particular place. She was talking with another neighbor. She says, "My son will be to me in a few minutes." She just put her hands like this. [Informant evidently demonstrated with his hand, but I repeating his every word, or small group of them into the Ediphone, was too busy to comment. Comments would come later wdth the Ediphone.] And in two days times the sheriff or the consta- ble where he was, brought her son back to Portsmouth. He Was condemned to be hung. [This in 1928, interview in 1936.]
Entry 7933
I have heard of them drawing a ring in the ground, and they make the shape of a coffin in the ring. Then you make a mark like this [a straight line lengthwise] through the center of the coffin, and take seven grains of pepper seed and put all up and down that mark and cover it over. Then you draw a mark through the coffin like this [a straight line crosswise]. And they can't get by there. They're going to drindle [dwindle] and drindle. Nothing will do you no good. You're going away from there. That doesn't aim to put you to death at once, that just puts a spell on you and you never get over it. They put that on the path or at the gate where you can't miss it. [Despite my comment in the preceding rite, in the present one I actually managed to squeeze in two comments to show that one straight line bisected the length, the other the width of the coffin.] [The informant's father was a well-known cunjure man, but the son has not been very successful in carrying on the work.]
Entry 7934
Take four sticks or clothespins, lay them out diamond shaped to resemble an old-fashioned coffin. Take a fifth stick or clothespin and on this write the person's name, and put the whole thing under his bed, or somewhere near him. This is called fixin' yore coffin fo' yuh.
Entry 7935
Yo' kin take a person's track. Jes' lak, fo' instance ah'd walk out de do' dere an' yo' could take a shovel - yo' know, a square part of de shovel. Yo' kin take a square part of de shovel an' pick up a fellah's track. Take it tuh a red ant baid. Yo've seen dese big ole red ants. Take it tuh a red ant baid an' jes' slide it down dere as neah as yo' kin wit'out tearin' it up - on top'a [top of] dat red ant baid. Take yo' nine bran'-new needles, goldeye needles, an' put it [them] in de shape of a coffin. In nine days time dat fellah'll eithah be daid or nobody won't know where he is - in nine days time.
Entry 7936
Get dey socks an' fill 'em fulla dirt, an' sulphur an' soda - furse [first] one thing anothah an' bury 'em like yo' do a person. Let it be a secret, don't let nobody see yo', an' dat person dey say will die. [Here we have an unusual combination for So few words: sock, used as a mock coffin, representing feet, to keep a person down uder your feet, and also odor, the smell of death; ordinary dirt is mock grave- yard dirt; sulphur signifies the devil or hell; and soda, its effervescence, suggest body decay. Secrecy covers everything with the added power of ritual silence.]
Entry 7937
Dey make a coffin an' den dey [take] some of yuh somepin about chew an' put in dat coffin an' bury it, an' yo' jes' withah away until yo' die.
Entry 7938
Take any yore clothes, yore dirty clothes an' put down in dat coffin an' bury it, or ei- thah bury it undah yore steps. An' when yo' cross dat, dat where yo' dies at.
Entry 7939
[To kill her husband this Wo- man took the seat of his drawers and some of his hair [to a root worker?)
and buried it in the cemetery (in a little grave) and placed a stick at the head and another stick at the foot.] [This rite was "not transcribed, not much and too diffuse."]
Entry 7940
Yo' take a person's hair an' if a person dies.... If ah wanta take a plait of yore hair an' ah take de plait of yore hair an' ah plait it, an' if ah knows of a person dies, ah take de plait of dat hair yo see, an' ah puts it undahneath dat daid person's haid. See. An' when dat daid person begin tuh rot, yore hair will begin tuh rot, yo' see. Jis' lak a person, yo' know, almos' aftah a person dies, well yo' know dere hair rots offa dere haid. Well, dat's de very yay ah take dat plait of hair an' ah put it in dat coffin, yo' see, an' when dat person begin tuh rot, mah [that] hair begin tuh rot.
Entry 7941
Well, it's got tuh have yuh initial on it, though. Yo: see, dey take dat tie clamp wit de initial an' dey put dat in an envelope. Aftah dey put it in de envelope, well dey will bring it somewhere [where] dere is, a wake is at, where someone is dead at. An' dey will pertend [pretend] lookin' at de daid person an' dey will take an' drop dat envelope wit dat tie clamp, wit yuh initial on it, an' drop it in dat coffin. When dey bury dat body, well dey bary dat. Well, aftah dat tie clamp is buried wit dat daid body, well dis person which de tie clamp belongs tuh, become bad feelin' all ovah dere body, aches an' pains in de jaws.
Entry 7942
Says if yo' measure a person wit a square or eithah a rule - dat chew measure a dead person to git 'im in 'is coffin-lak dere, an' den measure a person live, height by dat rule or square, he'll soon die. (That was especially in the old days when they had to make their coffins, the old-fashioned coffins. You must measure him with the same rule as you used in measuring out the dead man's coffin.) Dat's right.
Entry 7943
She had a daid man bone an' she tole me she had de length of a daid man. Say she has 'is measure too. Yeah, she measured 'im while he wus layin out.
(What did she do that for?)
Yo' see dat wus jes' 'er luck. [She did this to obtain luck.]
Entry 7944
I heard of 'em usin' clothin' from a dead person an' makin' a tea of it. Yo' take a dead person's clothes, somethin'. Prob'ly yo' might die or I might die an' dey'd git some of my undahclothes, make a tea of 'em. Well, yo' git - dere's a root in de woods dat's called Adam-an'-Eve. Yo' take dat Adam-an'-Eve an' boil dat intuh it. Yo' git choo a li'le of dis aloes an' put dat intuh it, but not enough tuh make it bottah so's [so as?] yo'd notice it or enythin'. An' give a person a dose of dat tea an' he'll lingah an' lingah, an' 'taint long 'fo' he'll pine away lak he got TB, goin' on away from heah. He'll be a long time goin' but he's goin' away from heah, jis' come down tuh a [skeleton?]. Think yo' got TB, de doctors Work on yo' fo' TB.
Entry 7945
If you can get any part of the coffin or the garments in which a per- son is buried and fix it to a person, in their pockets or inside somewhere where it will not be seen or noticed, this person to whom this thing is attached will himself die in eighteen months.
Entry 7946
Take a new needle out of a pad dat's nevah been sewed an' go tuh a un- dahtakah's shop an' run it in de garment of de dead person. An' if yo' wanta control dat person an' dere's a track aroun' de house an' in de yard, take dat needle an' yo' nail it down, wit de haid down firs' where dey step. An' dey will not leave yo'.
Entry 7947
Dey take yore shoes an' measure yore shoes. Take a needle, a needle dat's been sewed through a corpse - see, when yo' make a shroud an' dey [I inter- rupt]. (Use a needle that has been used in making a shroud?) Make de shroud tuh bury some- one, yes. Take dat needle an' put it through yore shoes, through de eyeholes yore shoes - see, three times. Den take dat needle an' carry it home an' stick it on de east side, an' yo'll stay dere wit 'em. Yo' cain't go nowhere. Yo' stay right dere at home an' be subject tuh dem in evahthing dey want.
(What about measuring the foot? Do they measure the shoe first?)
Dey measure de shoe first, den put dis needle through de eyehole three times. (Do they do anything with the measurement of that shoe? After they take the measurement of the shoe?) De measurement of dat shoe dey bury dat. Dey bury it undah de do'step.
Entry 7948
Git a brand-new needle an' thread an' git de undahtakah to sharpen it. An' if a woman dat 'er husban' is bad, an' if she kin git tuh dis woman dat is runnin' wit 'im, take a brand-new needle, an' thread dat de undahtakah shroud dat dead body wit. An' sew about six stitch- es in it, an' take dat needle an' thread back, 'fo' her husban' git tuh dere, an' sew dat place up in 'is pocket. An' if he runnin' out [with the women], dat'll run 'em away. (She simply runs this needle and thread through the dead person's clothing, and then brings that thread and needle back to her house, and she repairs her husband's clothing. Then when he goes to this woman's house, it will break them up?) Yes, run 'er away.
(The husband will come back to his wife?)
Yes.
Entry 7949
If dey are away a distance an' yo' want 'em back, yo' use de needle dat de first shroud wus made wit, if yo' kin git it or if yo' have it. De first shroud. An' yo' put dat through a piece of clothes or anything three times, jis' right through de same hole three times, an' send dis article tuh dat person. An' when dey git dis, dey are comin' back if dey have tuh swim. Anywhere dey kin git de money tuh come, dey are comin'.
(Whose clothes do you put that through?)
Anything dat yo' send tuh dis person; gartah, socks...
(The first shroud, what do you mean by that?)
If yo' have a needle de shroud wus made wit, de firs' shroud wus made wit - a needle.
(Whose first shroud?)
Anybody's, jis' long as it de needle dat de firs' one wus made of. [Find a needle used only once and that once to make a shroud. Did some under- takers or drug stores sell such needles?]
Entry 7950
Take nine needles an' stick 'em through a dead person, an' bring 'em back an' stick 'em through yuh clothes. Well, yo's [you is] passin' away, 'cuz dem needles, yo' put dem [through a dead person's clothes], carry dem needles back an' stick 'em down [again] in dem dead person's cloths [and leave them there]. An' yo'll jis' pass on away. (Well, now give me an example in a story. Give me a parable, tell me how it is done. Well now, suppose I wanted to get rid of you. Tell me like that.) Well, jis' lak now yo' wanta git rid of me. Well, yo' take dem nine needles zn'yo' carry dem nine needles an' yo' stick 'em all through mah clothes. Well yo' take de clothes whut ah wear an' yo' carry 'em on back an' put 'em down dirough dem dead person's clothes. Well yo' take dem needles now den, an' yo' dng 'em back an' nail all dem needles down undah mah do'step. An' de more dey Mlt away, de more yo' molt away.
(If I wanted to kill you, I would stick these needles in your clothing first?)
Yassuh.
(Then I would stick these needles in the dead person's clothing?)
Yessir.
(Then I would bring them back and put them under your....)
Doorstep.
(I would stick those needles in the dead person's clothing first, would I?)
Yassuh, yo' jis' slip 'em, gotta slip 'em through dere, nine needles, goldeye.
Entry 7951
Take a piece of de coffin.
(What kind of a coffin?)
Aftah a person is buried an' it done rotted.
(Well, what do they do with that?)
Dey take dat an' dey bury somebody else wit it - in de family. Takes a piece of it. See, aftah yo' done buried somebody in a coffin. Well, yo' know, quite natchally a cof- fin rots lak nuthin an' when it rots it comes tuh a powdah; but if dey kin git a piece of it, or if dey don't git a piece of it, dey kin git de powdah from dat coffin [or you could probably buy coffin dust at some hoodoo drug store!]. Jis' de dust off dat coffin. Dey take dat an' dey git 'em a silk han'ke'ch'ef - git a silk han'ke-ch-ef. Yo' put dat intuh dat han'ke'ch'ef. Now, when yo' put dat in dat han'ke'ch'ef, dey got nine needles an' dey got nine pins, but dey git 'em right outa de store. Dey ain't nevah been used. Now, if dey wus goin' tuh bury, say if dey wus goin' tuh bury me, or mah sistah, or somebody in mah family, dey'd git dat an' dey'd git 'er name. An' if dey kin git de - see, de tongue, yo' see, de tongue of yuh shoe.
(Yes, the tongue of the shoe.)
If dey kin git dat, dey git dat an' dey puts dat wit dat. Now, when dey git dat all tuhgethah....
(What do they put the name on? On some paper?)
No, on - I take de seat of dere undahweah, de back part, any of dere undah- weahs - see, any part of it, de back of yuh shirttail, yo' see. I take dat an' I am goin' tuh pin it down, tight as I kin git it, an' I am goin' tuh write yuh name on tuh dat. Now, when I write yuh name on tuh dat, I wrap dese things up in dere. When I wrap it up in dere, I tie. When I tie it, I tie it up wit nine knots. I tie wit nine knots. I bury it, if I want.tuh; an' if I don' wan' tuh bury it, I kin throw it in de rivah, yo' see. Kin throw it in de rivah or bury it. When I bury dat, why den I got choo where I wan' choo. Yo' got tuh go. Dat I done harmed yo' in an' somethin' will happen tuh yo'.
Entry 7952
I've heard though of taking nails from a coffir and wrapping it in red flan- nel, and give it to a person either for luck or ill luck, whichever you Wanted them to have. They sell them from twenty-five cents to a dollar.
Entry 7953
Yo' take de nail outa de coffin, or de handle, an' yo' carry it tuh dis house, an' yo' bury it down by de cornah on de left-han' side. Tell it whut yo' want it tuh do. An' it won't be long befo' dey be terrified an' dey can't stay dere. Finely [finally] dey will leave off, go mindless.
Entry 7954
I've heard them say that they can take coffin nails and then take an individual's, some parts of his clothes, and go way out in the forest somewhere where the sun shines on a tree and nail that, use those nails in driving, and maybe some un- derwear or coat or something or a part of a coat, on that tree and fix it so it can't fall off. And as long as it stays there, on every change of the moon the individual will weaken down, and then finally he gits so he can't have any activity of his limbs atall.
Entry 7955
Like if someone stole sompin from yo', why yo' kin go tuh dat fig tree. Yo' have tuh git nails outa a casket an' drive three nails in de fig tree. An' while yo' drivin' 'em in dere, co'se yo' gotta be trimmin' de fig tree limb an' callin' de person's name; see, de one dat done dat. An' in dem nine days dat person who done stole sompin from yo', dey'll done try tuh git it back tuh yo' 'fore den.
Entry 7956
They say to put four nails, nails which you nail your coffin with, four pins [from the garments of the corpse], and the [death] sheet over you, and a lock of hair. The hair is supposed to molt away. When that hair molts, you're supposed to molt. They would bury this, put it all in a bottle, wrap it up tight and bury it anywhere near your home. If you found this bottle, then they would em- ploy some old cunjure doctor to come and get this bottle and throw it in the river of running Water.
Entry 7957
If somebody steal sompin from yo' an' yo' wanta find out who did it, well yo' kin make 'em bring it back; an' yo' know by a person bringin' a thing back, why yo' know jes' who it is den. Well, yo take three screws - whut ah heard - from a coffin of a very wicked person dat died. Well, yo' take dose three screws an' yo' take three nails an' yo' go tuh 1...
(What kind of nails?)
Well, hit don' make a diffunce [difference].
(The nails are not from the coffin?)
Oh yes, indeed! Ah thought chew meant, yo' know dey say ten-penny nails, five- penny nails.
(No, you said the screws are from the coffin.)
Yes sir, de screws from de coffin, three screws.
(Where are the nails from?)
De nails from de coffin also. An' yo' take dese nails an' yo' go an' jes' lak yo' know of anothah wicked person, well yo' git in contact wit 'em, undahstand, git dey - not dey urine but de othah where dey have action. An' yo' dip de end of dese nails in dat. An' yo' go tuh a peah tree on de sundown side - of a pear tree - an' yo' call dis article, whatevah it might be, de thing dat dey stole yo' understan'. Yo' call it by name three times, an' say, "o thief, bring back mah stolen goods." An' yo' take de firs' one of de screws from de coffin an' yo' stick it in de tree an' yo' nail it an' yo' say, "Ah bind dis in yore haid." An' den yo' take de othah nail, er [or] yo' take de othah screw an' yo' put hit in de tree right, yo' know, right 'side de othah, an' yo' say, "Ah nail dis into yore soul." An' den de next one, which is de third one, yo' nail hit in dere - de screw - yo' know whut ah mean - jes' screw it an' hammer it in. Yo' gotta hammer it in dere. Say, "Ah nail dis into yore feet tuh bring back mah stolen goods, O thief." An' den yo' take dose nails an' yo' say, "Ah surround yo' by de Name of de Fathah, one fo' de Father, de Name of de Son, de second nail fo' de Son, an' de third fo' [de Name of] de Holy Ghost. (Wait a minute before you go on! You are using three screws in the coffin, aren't you? Are you also using three nails?) Three nails.
(But you put the screws into the tree?)
First.
(All right. Now you have three nails left. Now, what do you do with them?)
Yo' take dem an' yo' know, surround dese three screws, an' dey say dat dey'll really bring back the stolen goods an' tell yo', "Admit dat ah stole sech-an'- sech-a-thing from yo' an' ah'm sorry."
Entry 7958
It was a man made a little bita coffin...he was mad with this other man...he put it in front of his door an' tole him he would be moved in a little while, an' if he didn't, if he stayed there, he would die. But he didn't die; but he did move.
Entry 7959
Take paper money or a new piece of paper, fold in shape of coffin, write person's name in, bury, soon die.
Entry 7960
An' dey make a li'le coffin dataway, git a piece of de woman's stock- ings. Dey git a piece of de woman's undahweah, if it's possible. Dey will take nine needles. Dey will take nine pins. Dey will put red peppah an' dey will put Epsom salts. Dey put oil of verbena an' bury dat undah de party's step. See. An' dey will nevah put de end tuhgethah, dey an' dey husband...
(They do what?)
Nevah git de end tuhgethah, nevah make de ends meet. Don't care if dey both be workin', dey always will be somepin: lak if dey have shoes, dey hayen't got any hat; if dey got a hat, dey haven't got any skirt; if dey got a skirt, dey owe de landlord. Dey'll nevah will be successful.
Entry 7961
Prackly [practically] on de same thing, dey jes' take an' make a arti- ficial, yo' know, a li'le casket. An' den dey kin go an' git chure, pick [up] yuh track an' put it in dis casket. An' dey'll commit dat tuh de ground, jes' lak dey wus buryin' a body jes' so. An' jes' say - dey say, when dey commit chew tuh de ground, "Ashes tuh ashes, dust to dust." But dey gotta call yuh name an' den dey bury dat.
(What will happen then?)
Well, de person who dey bury, why he won' live long.
Entry 7962
Yuh toenails or fingernails. Dey kin git holt of yuh fingernail clip- pings an' de dirt from undah yuh foot. See. An' dey mix it tuhgethah an' git 'em some graveyard dirt an' shape 'em a box. Make a li'le shape of a box, see jis' lak a coffin, an' take hit an' bury it undah yuh steps. See. An' git some hair from yuh belly an' put in dere Wit it. An' DERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR IN DE WORLD KIN CURE YO'.
(What will it do to you?)
It will kill yo'.
(I see.)
(Now that dirt from your foot. Well where from your foot?)
Yassuh, dat daid skin whut's scraped off yuh foot.
(Oh, I see. Where do you get that?)
De way I git dat, dat skin from yuh foot.
Entry 7963
Measure a person's foot with any kind of string and tie a knot in each end of it...put it in a box the shape of a coffin...bury it; as hit grow old, as
[in like manner] you fade away.
Entry 7964
Take dat left shoe, yo' cut it, yo' jis' cut it all de way cross from dat heel. Yo' take dat shoe... [I interrupt.]
(From the heel to what?)
From de heel tuh de end of de toes.
(HoW would you cut it? How do you mean they cut it?)
[Just make a cut mark? Cut all the Way through? Etc?]
Yo' jis' take a knife an' cut it...
(Just make a cut?)
Yes, sir, jis' take a knife an' cut dat shoe all de way through, yo' see, de sole of it. Cut it all de way through tuh de heel.
(I see.)
An' den yo' take dat shoe an' git two cross-sticks, two cross-sticks [2 sticks to cross] an' yo' cross 'em lak dat [demonstrates].
(Like an X. All right.)
Yo' cross 'em lak dat, an' yo' goes right undahneat' of de house, of [belou] dere baid. Yo' see, yo' make somepin jis' lak a li'le coffin. An' yo' goes undahneat' of de house right undah de baid, jis' where de baid sets. An' yo' tacks de bottom of dat, dat inside of dat sole of dat shoe, [and] yo' tack it undahneat' of de house right undah de baid. An' dat person will jis' lingah, lingah, lingah - lingah until dey die. But yo' tacks it - see yo' tack it right undahneat' de bed. [Nail it to the fllor under the house:] Dat's really de truth ah'm tellin' yo' now. Dat's really de truth.
(Well, what would they do with that box?)
Evahthing ah'm tellin' yo' is really de truth. (Well, what would they do with that box that you made like a coffin? What do you do with that?) That? It all be's tuhgethah.
(Oh! you tack that box, everything. I see.)
But choo see, it all be's tuhgethah. Turn it bottom upwards.
(I see.)
An' yo' tack it right undahneat' of de baid undah de house; but choo see, yo' cross dem sticks.
(Where do you put those sticks?)
Yo' cross dem sticks right undahneat' of it, right undahneat' of de sole. An' yo' tack it an' yo' turn it all bottom ups, an' yo' tacks it right undahneat' of de baid.
(Well, now, you put these sticks in there across?)
Yes. (Then you put this piece of leather in there, from the shoe, and you turn it upside down, and tack it up under the bed, under the house? [I speak slowly and deliberately.] That leather is in there to hold those sticks, that are crossed, from falling down?) Yes, sir, keep dem sticks crossed. Don' put 'em straight, put crossed.
(I see.)
Entry 7965
If a person dat chew dislike an' don't want 'em be round yo', yo' take a small box an' make it jes' like yo' casket [coffin]. Take yo' some Epsom salts, right in yore yard, [I mean] in dere yard. An' dat'll keep 'em from round joo. (Keep them away from there?) Yes.
Entry 7966
Dey say dat yo' do dat, dey say dat will kill a person. (Will you explain how it's done. Do you know how it's done?) Well, dey say yo' make it jes' lak yo' makin' a grave an' yo' put de haidbo'd an' de footbo'd an' evahthing like dat. An' yo' put a stob [stake] in de centah of it lak dat [demonstrates] - a li'le stick, a stob in de centah of it lak dat. An' dey say yo' go dere evah mawnin' befō' sunrise an' knock dat peg, hit it one lick fo' nine mawnin's. When dat peg git on down in dere, dey tells me dat settles it. (You dig a little hole like a grave and put a headboard and a footboard to it?) Fix it jes' lak a grave. (Then you put that stick in the middle, that you drive down in. What is that stick supposed to be, that stick in the middle?) Dat stick in de middle, dat supposed tuh give yo' heart failure, dey say. Go dere nine mawnin's befo' de sun rise.
Entry 7967
Ah heard folks say if yo' complain if it wus rheumatism, dey could go in a road - look lak a road leads, a neighborhood road, an' a pine tree is on dat road. Wheresomevah a wagon would cuz it tuh bruise, dey say yo' could take dat root out of dat road where some castic [casket = coffin] or sompin othah had passed, an' make a rub, an' dat would kill rheumatism lak dat.
(Where a funeral would go on by over that tree? With the casket?)
Yessuh, where some fun'ral 'cession had passed, yo' go tuh dat road where de wagon, yo' know, of people have bruised de root, an' yo' dig roun' dere an' git dat bahk [bark] an' make a rub fo' 'em. Dey say dat would cure it. [Sumter, S. Car., (1381), 2452:5.] [We must remember that every photograph, whether oblong or square in shape, is a coffin symbol. In later section PHOTOGRAPH many of them are buried or in- volved with death. This present subsection will be confined to photography in- volving real or mock coffins.1
Entry 7968
They can take your photograph an' can make you pine away...they'll take a box and make it like in the shape of a coffin, an' they'll put that photo- graph in that face down an'... bury it.
Entry 7969
Ah heard dis dir-ectily, dat if dey take yuh photograph an' make a casket [coffin] an' if dey turn dat [photograph] face down tuh de groun' an' bury dat casket, yo' will die. Ah've heard dat now, ah haven't seen dat.
Entry 7970
Turn photograph face down in little box [having] cut a new board in shape of coffin, an' lay down on de photograph [and lay photograph down on the coffin-shaped board], bury, dere ain't no cure fo' dat atall.
Entry 7971
Cut a pasteboard box in shape of coffin, put in tintype face down, bury, you would pine away.
Entry 7973
Make coffin, put person's pic- ture in face down, read over him jis' like yo' read over de dead, bury in graveyard, kills him.
Entry 7974
Yuh photograph has got tuh be in a tintype. Well, dey takes yuh photo- graph an' dey digs a hole jis' in de shape of a grave, an' dey take dat photo- graph an' dey puts it intuh a box or somepin lak a cigah box. Well, dey buries dat photograph on its face. An' aftah dey bury dat photograph on its face, why in a long length of time yo'll pine away an' it will kill yuh. Yo'll die! Jis' as dat photograph rots - befo' it rots, yo'll die.
Entry 7975
Well, ah heard dat dey could go tuh work an' take yer photograph an' dig a hole, jis' lak yo' diggin' a grave, yo' see, an' dey lay dat photograph down dere jis' lak yo' buryin' anyone; but still yo' know, dey bury yo' on yer face wit chure photo- graph. Yo' see de idea. An' dey could take a tenpenny nail, a bran' new ten- penny nail, an' dey could nail it through de back of yo', yo' see, down intuh de groun'. Dat's de photograph nail down intuh de groun'. Den dey covah yo' up. Ah heard dat in nine days time yo'll be a corpse, yo'll be daid. Yo' see de idea. Dat's whut ah heard dat dey could do wit dat.
Entry 7976
Well, yo' kin take anybody's pitchure an' draw de shape of a coffin on a green tree, an' nail it up an' shoot it. Dey'll die. (You put this picture on the 'shape of that coffin on the tree?) Yes sir an' shoot it.
Entry 7977
Dey take yuh photo an' jis' put it in a bottle - not dat, yo' kin put it in a box. Shape dis box like a casket [coffin] an' yo' could bury dis box in de dirt, an' call yuh name an' in nine days time yo'll die.
Entry 7978
Yo' takes a photograph, see, an' writes on de back of de photograph yore name, her name cross it. Don't write 'em straight. Yo' write chure name down an' yo' come back an' write her name on top of it. Yo' go to de grave- yard an' take yo' two han'- fulla dirt an' sprinkle it ovah dis picture, an' fold dis photograph up an' puts it in a envelope an' sprinkle dat dirt in de envelope, jes' 'nuff tuh put in dere an' fold it up an' puts it in de box. An' in seven days, regardless tuh where she is or who she is, she cain't be still - she'll return. She gotta come.
Entry 7979
Take yur photograph. Now, if it's made on tin but not on papah - its gotta be made on tin [a tintype]. An' yo' take dat photograph an' yo' take yo' fō' pins, an' yo' cut de haid's off dose pins, if yo's aftah kill- in' a person. An' yo' take dose pins an' yo' take an' put 'em roun' fo' cornahs lak yo' would a coffin, yo' undahstan'. An' den yo' bury dis picture on its face, but its gotta be a tin pitchure. An' as dis pitchure fade away, dey'll fade away.
(You pin those four pins around the four corners of the picture?)
Yes, ( dat's right. Dat's whut chew do. An' bury it on de face, but chew cuts de haid of 'em off, de haids of de pins off.
(But you have to bury it under the individual's door?)
Undah 'is own do'.
Entry 7980
I've heard whut it'll do, dat little coffin. But jis' like I tellin' yo' a few minutes ago, dat stuff about makin' a little coffin. Put 'em undah de step, yo' see, wit de people's photo in dat coffin, de party. Dat why plenty people won't take dere photos yo' see. Put it in dat coffin wit some pins, some needles, yo' see, an' some steel dust and lodestone. See. An' dat draw dose people outa dat house, yo' undahstan', an' fix 'em so dey will nevah wan' tuh see one anothah no mo'.
Entry 7981
Take dey photograph an' git a piece of white linen cloth dat ain't been used, an' put de photograph in dere - lay it on dere. An' den yo' git fō' pins, jis' lak yo' gon'a measure a casket, an' yo' put a pin at each cornah an' all lak dat. An' yo' take dat photograph an' put it in a little box or sompin an' bury it. Dat kills a person.
(How do you put that photograph in that white piece of cloth now?)
Dis is de cloth [demonstrates], de square cloth an' yo' lay de photograph in dat. Lay it with de face up. Yo' see, when yo' put it in de ground, yo' put de face down. Yo' take dat photograph an' yo' place it right in de middle. Yo' put a pin heah, an' one heah, an' yo' put one heah, an' one heah, an' yo' take dat linen den an' fol' de cornahs ovah it. Den yo' bury dat photograph.
Entry 7982
If they wanted you for to stay, they wouldn't take dose leaves [4 el- derberry leaves in a preceding rite]. Dey jis' take de back off yuh pitchure an' - jis' lak, dig a hole about, say as large as dis table [that is, an oblong or a square hole, a cof- fin symbol] an' put watah in it, which it can't run [away], an' dey'd put dat pitchure in dere an' let it stay.
(How do they take the back off a picture?)
What? Take the back off a pitchure?
(You said they take the back off a picture?)
Dey take de back off de pitchure - de back be, yo' know, de back of yuh pit- chure, if it's in a frame, an' jis' leave dat pitchure in de form dere an' dig a hole an' put dis stale [still] watah [in the hole].
(How would they put it in that water?)
Jis' drop it down dere an' don't look at it. Turn around an' walk off.
(I see.)
Entry 7983
Take a new board an' draw a person yo' dislike an' yo' want 'em tuh die. Jis' take a new board an' yo' draw dere pitchure on dat new board. An' git a box of sulphuh dat have nevah been opened, an' a box of saltpetah dat have nevah been opened, an' put on dere. An' take dat pitchure an' bury it an' dem peo- ple take sick, an' jis' lingah an' lingah an' de firs' thing yo' know dey'll be daid.
Entry 7984
Jes' lak if yo' wan' tuh do 'way wit a person, lak if yo' wan' tuh draw a person, well yo' jes' make it out chure mind, but choo draw dat person's pitchure. Well yo' draw 'is pitchure an' yo' put a coffin [put it in a coffin]. (You draw the figure in the coffin?) Yes sir, dat's right. An' den yo' take hit an' bury it at dere steps, see. Den draw it also....
[Here is the information given while machine was stopped:]
(You draw this person's picture on a piece of paper, and then you drav a coffin around it?) Dat's right. An' den yo' draw anothah one an' put it at de do' where dey kin see dat, an' tell 'em whut will become of 'em, see. Well, aftah yo' draw dis - yo' done buried de one, de firs' one - let me see, well, now dey begin tuh read dat lettah an' dey see dat. Well, dat gits dere spirit tuhgethah an' it begin tuh grieve dem den, an' dey worry ovah it an' finely [finally] dey come tuh perish away.
(You do that to let them know you are doing the work against them?)
Dat's right.
Entry 7985
Make a coffin an' put a person's picture in, bury it in someone's grave in graveyard, person will die.
Entry 7986
Well, it's jis' like this. A woman loves a man an' he loves her an' she can't live with this man again like she want him. If she kin git his photo- graph, stick a pin through the heart of the photo- graph - an' the first person that die aroun' her neighborhood or anywhere that she kin slip this photograph in the coffin with the dead, and aftah they cover it up why he won't live very long.
Entry 7987
Well, dey could take yore pitchure. When anybody dies take dat pit- chure an' drap it down in de box [coffin] on de face of dem persons, an' de mo' dat pitchure molt, yo'll molt away. (You put the photo of this person in that coffin.)
Entry 7988
Dey take it, dese tintype, take it an' bury it in de ground an' put a stick tuh de foot an' a stick tuh de haid. An' whilst dat pitchure fadin' away, yo'll fade right 'long wit it; an' when all of it off, den yo'll die. (Why do you put those sticks at the foot and at the head?) Jes' lak yo' buryin' somebody.
Entry 7989
Take dat pitchure an' cut it off in fo' cornahs, each cornahs. Cut dat off an' care [carry] it tuh a graveyard or jis' wherevah's a part where dey got mud where dey kin bury it at. An' git chew two bricks an' turn dat picture upside [face] down an' let it stay dere. An when dat pitchure rotten, dey'll rotten away from de earth.
(What do you do with those two bricks?)
Dose two bricks yo' bury 'em. Wit dose two bricks - yo' lays it [picture] on one [brick] an' take de othah one [second brick] an' set it on top dat [first brick] an' bury it, wherevah dey got mud, if yo' don' wanta bring it tuh a grave- yard, if yo' wanta keep it aroun' de house.
(You can bury it in the mud or take it to the graveyard?)
But if yo' take it tuh de graveyard, yo' cain't easy find it lak yo' kin at de house. (But you must bury those two bricks under the ground with the picture in be- tween them?) Yassuh, turn dat pitchure upside down. See, de pitchure part [down].
Entry 7990
They tell me that you can take a photograph on a tintype and bury it in the cemetery between two new shingles, and the person will gradually fade. [Do these shingles, like two bricks (No.7989), represent coffin and lid?]
Entry 7991
Sometimes, if you Want to carry a per- son away, why they go and bury it [a person's image drawn on a shingle] in some grave inthe cemetery, some person he doesn't know anything about, and some grave where it's sinking in. Just like, you know, a new grave will soon sink in, when it's a new dirt grave, you cram it down there. You see, as the dirt sinks in, why that'll go down. And they say whenever it gots down to the, you know, below the earth, the image, the earth level, why then this person will die. [For sunken grave, see also No.7539, p.3301.] [Elizabeth City, N. Car., (438), 403:3 0r 558:3.] [Similar to the two-dimensional photograph is the three dimensions of the doll baby, a small image of length, breadth and thickness, representing the contours of the human body. Several of these manikins have already been given in Nos.1841- 1842, p.549f.; No.2805f., P.803f., MAN-SHAPED CANDLE, and elsewhere.]
Entry 7992
At Christmas [last Christmas, 1938] a person did dat. A lady did that to a man, had a little bit of [a miniature] coffin, like a little person in there. And he thought he was receiving a Christmas present. You know, had it in a little Christmas box with a little ribbon on it, an' a Christmas card on it.
Entry 7993
They put a image in a coffin an' put it at your door an' put chew in bad luck, make yo' drift.
Entry 7995
Take a piece of a lady's dress and make him some kind of a doll and bury it under de step to get her, but how dat was done ah don't know.
Entry 7996
Well, dat little coffin, dat is de one like if a woman is in love wit a man. Well, she will cut out maybe a little doll or image of 'im an' dey take dat an' bury dat maybe perhaps by some canal or some place - some guttah or some of dat kind of stuff, like dat. An' dey keeps dat dere an' dis man can't leave out of de town dat he is in. Whatevah town he is in he can't leave out of it, as long as dat coffin is buried in dat town where him an' her is at.
Entry 7997
Yo' see, she makin' yo' [your] image. Well, now she carry dat home tuh heep yo' home wit 'er. Well now she is in love wit chew. Well now, when she done git through fixin' dat, if she know what tuh do wit it, she take an' she put nine grains of red peppah. Now listen tuh me good. She put nine grains of red peppah in dere. She'll take pickle [? or pric- kle?] feet but she'll put - tetch it wit dat, not put it in. She'll tetch it wit dat. [Prickle feet could be a weed like horse nettle.] Dat got chew ag'in. An' yo'll nevah confess tuh know dat chew do it. Got chure brain dere an' all tuhgethah.
(Well, how did she make this little image?)
She make dat image of a man.
(What did she make it out of?)
She make it out of rags.
Entry 7998
Well, now heah's anothah one. Take yo a piece of wax an' make yo' a image of a man dat chew wanta inflict. Take yo' a needle an' do it de same as yo' do dat pit- chure, but yo've made a image outa wax.
(You don't bury that, do you?)
No sir, yo' don't bury dat. Jes' lak yo' see heah, if yo's [you is] drawin' a pichure. Yo' take a pieceof wax. AH RECKON WHEN YO' WUS A CHILE YO' USED TUH TAKE SNOW AN' MAKE LITTLE SNOW- MENS JES' LAK DAT - jes' sompin like dat. Well, den if yo' wanted tuh inflict it in de hand, arm or eye or foot, an' if yo' wanta kill it, stick dat needle right in de heart.
(That's all you have to do then.)
Entry 7999
Put dat undah de step yo' see, or put a little coffin. Make yo' a image of a man wit wax, see. Dey put a corpse wit nine needles through de wax, yo' see. Dat will make dose individual dat live in dat house, dey nevah be happy, lak yo' put two enemy tuhgethah. Yo' nevah be able tuh put two of 'em tuhgethah. Dey walk- in' ovah it day an' night yo' see.
Entry 8000
Well, yo' takes de box an' make it jes' in de shape of a coffin. Well, he takes 'is knife an' he cuts in a man jes' de shape of a man. See, or jes' de shape of a woman, jes' whichevah one he wanted it tuh favor. Well, he takes dat an' puts it in dat little coffin. Takes 'im a pin an' takes 'im a pair of pliers, wire pliers an' cut de pin [head] off tes' deep enough tuh jes' suppose it wuz a little tack. Put dat man in dere, an' on dat man's back write whoevah name he want it tuh be on dere. Well, he takes dat, take an' carry it tuh dis man's house, if he kin git tuh 'is house at night, tuh whatevah dat yo' kin find, sech as flowahs an' hedges or anything lak dat. Dig yo' a hole as though it is a grave an' put it in dere an' covah it up. Well, in a few days he'll be daid.
(What do you cut that little figure from? What do you cut it out of?)
Well, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood. Fo' him tuh lingah a long time, yo' kin take a piece of elm wood or eithah a piece of ash wood, jes' whichevah is soft enough fo' yore knife tuh cut. An' cut it out of wood an' make it out of wood. An' make it outa wood an' take de pins an' evahthing an' jes' nail 'em in dere. It has tuh be exactly like a casket [coffin]. An' yo' don't have tuh fo'- git tuh put de man's name, whoevah it is dat chew's mad wit. Jes' put dat name on 'is back an' lay it right in dere.
Entry 8001
You can cut out of paper or you can cut them off from shingles and make the image of a person, and write the name and whatever you wish. Well, you can take this shingle and carry it and throw it in running water, or you bury it, or you can take it and hang it upon the side of a tree and let it blow away. That's if you want to run 'em away.
Entry 8002
Make image of person, name it place it where it will molt away, kills person.
Entry 8003
Dey make li'le coffins an' dey make de image of de per- son involved, an' dey put 'im in dat coffin. An' dey have his name engraved in de image. An' dey take dat li'le coffin an' bury it in a graveyard an' dat's supposed tuh make dat person die.
Entry 8004
Well, yo' git a box an' yo' make it lak a coffin an' yo' git one of these heah li'le baby dolls. Yo' put it in dat coffin an' yo' buries it undah de do'step where dey passes at, an' dat's. supposed tuh carry 'em tuh de grave. If dey don' nevah find it, dat sho' [sure] will carry 'em tuh de grave. (You don't put anything else in that coffin?) Nuthin in dat box atall but dat baby doll in dat coffin. An' inside of dat box yo' write dere name, on de in- side of de box; but yo' put nuthin but de baby doll in de box an' dey name.
(How do you write that name?)
Well, yo' write de entire firs' an' de given name las'. Yo' writes it down once. Jes' write dey real name an' put dat doll in dere an' stick it undah de do'step wheresomevah dey passes at. (If this name was Sam Jones, you would write the name down?) Jones, Sam.
Entry 8005
(What do they do that for? How do they do that?) Oh, dey makes a doll baby an' name it choo. (They do what?) Makes a doll baby an' name it de person dey want. (I see. What do they do with that?) An' fill it full of needles an' pins, roots, an' sew it up an' see it from 'em, jis' like dey wrap de hair [in 379:3].
(They sew it away, sew it from them?)
From 'em. Aftah sewin' it, den dey wrap it from 'em wit a cord, an' tie dat bow on de end of it. Den dey puts dat down in de groun' some place somewhere an' [they] says, long as dat baby lay in de dirt, yo'll withah away an' go [die].