Browse:THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY (Volume 4, entries 8055–8881)/Part 11
THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY
Volume 4, entries 8055–8881. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 8855
[Yo' do this] wit nine needles. An' if ah'm gone an' yo' wanta heah from me an' yo' wanta break me up from where ah'm at, yo' take nine needles an' yo' take a piece of papah. Yo' evah hear'd of dis parchment papah? (I understand.) All right. Yo' take dat parch- ment papah an' write my name on it. Write Emmaline Williams on it, yo undah- stand, an' stick a needle all.de'long [along] in dere. An' yo' stick one dis way an' one dat way, one upside down an' one straight down.
(One with the head up and one with the head down Alternate them?)
[Often with needles or pins called heads and tails.]
Yes, zigzag. Yo' put dem in a lettah an' say, "Ah wish, ah wish, ah wish, tuh God, if dis lettah reach 'er, an' will tear 'er from wheresomevah she be's." Dat will bring 'em.
(You don't send the letter?)
Yassuh, yo' send it to 'em. Yo' see, yo' don't leave 'em out in public. Yo' take anothah piece of papah an' put ovah dat parchment papah, yo' undahstan'.
Entry 8856
If a person gits a lettah of yores - lak if yo' are away, yo' write a lettah tuh dis person an' dey meant tuh do evil tuh yo', somepin lak dat - ah have heard people say, but ah don't care so much fo' de superstition. But dey would take yore lettah an' drop two drops of oil of cinnamon on dis lettah. An' whoevah yol was, if someone writes chew a 'nonymous lettah an' yo' wan' 'em tuh apologize wit choo, yo' bury it at de bottom of yore do'step. An' dis person would come an' if dey didn't confess tuh yo', it would be possible dat yo' would learn dat dey were de true person. But ah don't know, ah nevah tried it. Some of de things ah tell yuh ah have tried, especially concernin' de dishrag. Ah have actually tried dat.
Entry 8857
Jis' lak if ah mail a lettah tuh mah husban' down in Flō'da [Florida], well he kin git mah han'writin' an' he kin git de oil of cinnamon. An' he kin put it on dis lettah an' dress dis lettah an' weah it, an' dat will cuz me tuh go where he is.
(He just puts some ordinary cinnamon on it?)
Yeah, an' tote it. See, dat's awful lucky an' it's fo' luck.
Entry 8858
Kin take yo' han'writin' an' if yo' run off from home, yo' take dat han'writin' an' fetch yo' back. Dress 'em wit cologne an' put some salt on it. Yo' could be in California, yo'll come heah in Savannah.
Entry 8859
When yo' write de lettah, jis' have yore mind right on who yo' writin' tuh - on who yo' writin' tuh - an' git chew a bottle of Heart Cologne an' drop nine drops for nine days in dat lettah. Den git chew a box of Sweetheart Powdahs an' yo' sprinkle some on dere. Den yo' seal dat lettah up an' yo' send it tuh 'em. When dey git dat an' inahale dat, why den, see dat will bring 'em right back tuh yuh.
Entry 8860
Now, yo' take a person an' yo' write a lettah an' a person git holt of yore han'writin'. Well, now, yo' take dis han'writin'. Well, ah'll take dis han'writin' now an' ah'll see whut ah kin do wit it. Take yore han'writin' - yo' take it an' lay it on a table. Yo' lay it on de table an' den yo' take yo' some Scotch Snuff - jis' say, Railroad. Yeah, Railroad Snuff. Yo take dat an' yo' put dat snuff on dere, an' take anothah wet piece of cloth, thin cloth, an' lay on dere. Well, now, when yo' lay dat on dere yo' got chure han'- vritin'. Well, now, in a very li'le while yore whole hand will commence tuh pain. Well, a person - de doctors [M.D.'s] might tell yuh dey don't know whut it is. Dell, yo' see dat's de germ dat dey have caught from yore hand. An' dey got it den goin' right back intuh yore system. Aftah while yo' git tuh de place dat hand is no good to yuh. It jis' wilted away tuh nuthin.
Entry 8861
If yo' wanted a job from a fellah, dere a man - jis' lak yo' wanted a job uptown an' yo' done been dere two or three times an' yo' can't git dat job. Well, yo' goes back an' yo' gits a piece of papah an' yo' write on it, write on dat papah an' carry it dere.
(Where do you write on it?)
Jis' write any place, jis' mark on it. Yo' take some talcum powdah an' put it in dere. Put it in de papah an' yo' jis' put it right where de man have tuh walk ovah it fo' 'bout five or six mawnin's. (And then he'll have to give you the job?) [In this and the two following beliefs, TALCUM POWDER sounds very much like TALKIN' POWDER!]
Entry 8862
Dey makes a powdah outa sulphuh an' black peppah an' some kin'a talcum powdah - any kin'a powdah dat's got a 'fume [perfume] tuh it, choo know. An' dey write choo a lettah, why [or] yo' kin dress a lettah an' send tuh dem, or eithah send one aftah [if] dey write choo. Yo' take an'...jis' lak yo' gon'a send a let- tah tuh dem, yo' take de papah, spread it out on a table or somepin, an' take de page of it dat joo've written, an' put 'em down on dat, de powdah, on each side. An' shake it off so it won't show, an' send it tuh 'em. An' if someone dat choo Wan'a see, or wan' 'em tuh do somepin yuh ask 'em tuh do, when dey receive dat lettah dey will do it or go crazy.
Entry 8863
If she evah git a lettah from 'im an' bring de lettah tuh yuh, yo' take de lettah an' keep it. Yo' take de lettah yoreself. Yo' take it an' write it backwards. Write dat lettah yore- self. Yo' takes de lettah an' yo' wants tuh send it back. Well, yo' Write it an' yo' put some dis heah talkin' [talcum] powdahs in dere - talkin' powdah. An' it's anothah powdah dat Chew kin git. AH'VE GOT A WHOLE BOOK OF DE POWDAHS AN' DIFF'REN THINGS, GOT A BOOK AT HOME RIGHT NOW. Yo' kin go git de whole detail of it. [This is a sales catalogue!] Yo' kin send de talkin' powdah back tuh 'im or eithah yo' kin take an' sprinkle a li'le bit of salt an' red peppah in dere, where he gotta have 'em. Dat bring 'im.
(Is the talking powder alone enough or must you put some other powder with it?)
De regulah talkin' powdah an' drop a li'le bit of red peppah an' a li'le bit of salt in dere - not cookin' salt, Epsom salts. Dat bringin' 'im back.
Entry 8864
Ah've heard a person kin write chew a lettah an' if yo' wan' dem tuh come tuh yuh, yo' kin take dat lettah of dey han'writin' an' weah it in yore shoe, or eithah roun' yore waist, jis' so yo' keep it on yuh where it'll keep warm, an' dey'll come where yo' at. Ah've heard of dat.
Entry 8865
De shoe - a person kin - yo' have to use a lettah wit dat.
(Well, tell me the whole thing.)
Well, ah wus correspondin' wit a girl one time an' ah used tuh write her all de time, when ah wus off from home, an' ah wusn't intendin' tuh come back right away. An' ah didn't experience dat until den but ah heered a lot of it. Ah had a good job. An' so me an' 'er would swap mail yo' know. So she kept awritin' an' beggin' me tuh come home an' ah wouldn't go. An' so ah wrote 'er up ag'in an' den about nine or ten days aftah dat ah got to de place where ah wusn't satisfied. So de man raised mah wages five dollahs mo' - ah wus git- tin' $25 a week an' he raised me tuh thirty. Ah couldn't be satisfied no way, shape, for or fashion. So ah went home. Well, aftah ah go home an' she say, "Well, yo' come." Say, "Yes." She say, "Well, ah knowed yo' wuz comin'." Ah say, "Why yo' say dat?" She say, "Well, ah want tell yo' sompin but if ah tell yo', yo' might git mad." So ah got her han's drub[?] [rubbed her hands?]. So she tole me. She say, "De las' lettah ah wrote chew, " she says, "ah taken it an' fold it an' put it in de shoe an' wore it fo' nine days." Ah says, "Where yo' learn dat?" She says, "Well, de rootman tole me." An' ah says, "Ah got back." So dat's why dey learn dat.
(That's all she did?)
Dat all she did.
(She Wore the letter that she wrote to you?)
No sir, she wore de lettah in 'er shoe dat ah wrote to 'er, mah han'writin'.
(Your handwriting she wore in the shoe?)
Shure.
Entry 8866
They wear it [handwriting] in their shoes to bring them to them. If you have enough of it, you put it in both shoes.
Entry 8867
Well, ah have heard of 'em - said dat tuh make 'em come back, by takin' 'is lettah, if she could git 'im tuh write. She take his lettah an' sleep wit 'em undah 'er haid fer ten or twelve nights, dat he'd come on back.
Entry 8868
Ah heah tell 'em takin' yore - a lettah dat chew wrote tuh a person - dat chew'd write a lettah tuh me. Ah've heard of 'em takin' dat lettah an' puttin' per- fume on it. Dat's tuh make yo' come tuh me. Yo' take dat lettah an' yo' put perfume on it an' yo' put dat lettah between yore mattress an' yo' sleep on dat lettah each night. Each night befo' goin' tuh. baid why yo' make a wish dat dis person would come, an' yo' continue tuh sleep on dat lettah. An' ah've heard dat by doin' dat an' sprinklin' it wit Hearts Perfume each night, why ah believe in de ninth night, aftah de ninth night, why dat person mo' likely tuh come tuh yo'.
Entry 8869
Handwriting is one of the easiest things to get if you want to harm any person, for the simple reason that your hand must press against the paper. THAT IS WHY I EMPHASIZED THE SWEAT AND THE OIL FROM THE SKIN IS THE EASIEST THING FOR "HOODOO" TO WORK WITH. I know a girl that got a letter Sith powder or something all over the letter and her hand shook like that, like she had nervous trouble, and they got a doctor for her. [Fredericksburg, Va., cylinder 54.]
Entry 8870
If a man leaves home an' a woman wants him back, dat's whut chew mean. Don't chew write him yo'self, but chew find out from some of yore personal friends. Git 'is personal friends tuh write him, jis' lak yo' know dey interested in hearin' from 'im. All right, she goin' take dat lettah, undahstan', an' den she goin' 'erself [put] some of 'erself intuh de lettah.
(What do you mean? What part of herself?)
She goin' put de sweat of 'erself.
(From her privates. All right.)
Yes sir, all right. She ain't goin' put it on de lettah, un'ahstan', she gon'a rub it in de envelope. See, if yo' rub it inside de envelope, it ain't gon'a har'ly [hardly] soil de lettah. He ain't gon'a notice it. He ain't gon'a teah [tear] dat envelope open, see. An' den he gon'a weah dat lettah, see, an' den 'is whole heart an' mind will fall right back tuh 'er, an' den he comin'. Yo' undahstan'.
Entry 8871
An' yo' want 'em tuh come back tuh yuh. If yo' know where dey are, kin git in touch wit 'em, write dem a lettah some kinda way. Use dis Three S Love Powdah an' yo' sprinkle it all ovah yore lettah. Jis' evah time yo' write a word yo' dab yore fingah in dis powdah an' dab it on evah word, cross it-lak. An' when he read it he'll come right on back.
Entry 8872
Dey take yore han'writin' an' run yo' completely crazy, an' git chure fingahprints from de lettah dat chew wrote, an' jes' mess yo' all up in yore han's lak it be's a kin' of a stroke.
(What would they do with that?)
A woman tole me dey take it [letter] an' dress it. [Thinking informant had ended, I stopped recording machine but had to restart for an addition.]
(After they dress it, they stop it up in a green tree?)
Dress it an' den stop it up in a green tree.
Entry 8873
Dey take yore han'writin' an' draw [up] yore fingahs, see.
(How do they do that?)
Dey tell me dey take dat han'writin', a lettah - jes' lak ah write chew a lettah an' yo' wanta do sompin tuh me. When yo' git mah lettah, why yo' satis- fied. Well, yo' take mah lettah dat ah wrote chew an' yo' put it in a halfa glass of vinegah an' alkeehäl [alcohol]. Well, dey say den, if ah try tuh write, ah can't write. Mah fingahs an' mah veins will commence tuh draw. See, dey jes' commence tuh draw an' finely [finally] why ah gits lak a person deformed or sompin. Ah can't do nuthin becuz yo' got mah fingahs tied up intuh vinegah an alkeehal. Yo' see, it's strong. Well, dat jes' got mah veins tied. Ah can't write. Ah kin try but ah can't do nuthin.
Entry 8874
Dey'll take dat lettah an' dey'll soak dat lettah in watah an' git dat writin' outa it. An' dey'll take dat watah an' put it in a bottle. Save dat watah. An' ef yo' in New York an' dey didn't lak dat, dey'd keep dat dere [water] wit nuthin but chure lettah.
(What will they do with that water?)
Dey bury dat bottle down - stick dat bottle right down up ovah de mouth, an' yo'd go man [leave New York]. Yo' walk back dere [where that bottled letter- Water Was].
Entry 8875
Take de han'writin' - jes' lak if yo' got mine an' if yo' want me tuh suffah wit mah han'writin'. Ah tell anyone tuh jes' [bring] me de han'writin' an' ah take dat han'writin' an' ah copy it off tuhgethah, jes' copy it off. An' ah take dem copies an' work 'em out, yo' see, intuh lettah a - b - c - till ah spell yore name. See, ah takes dat lak yo' got dem same two trees ah tole yo' 'bout. Yo' take it an' tack it tuhwards sunrise, facing de 8unrise, an' let dat stay dere roun' twenty-fo' hours. An' yo' take it back tuh de house den an' yo' puts it in a bottle of watah. Puts it in a bottle an' stops it up airtight. Well, yo' wants tuh bring dem back tuh yo'. Dey'll come. Yo' see, dat copy is in dere, but it gotta be a copy of it. Don't chew write it down dere. Don't take de same han'writin' as dere's. Yo' kin copy it off yo'self.
(How do you copy that?)
Copy it off, takes de abc's [letters of the alphabet], yo' undahstan'. Don't have tuh take it all, jes' take de name in de abc's [write name with the neces- sary letters of the alphabet], jes' lak if mah name Edgah [Edgar], sompin lak dat, copy it off in abc's. Git 'is name on it an' take it home an' tack it up.
Entry 8876
[The following rite missed by my transcriber, I did not have time to copy in full but made the following summary:] "Tear handwriting up into small pieces - put in bottle ~ get some May water - that's lucky - make your wish - catch May water on lst of May [see margin title MAY WATER, P.460, and No.986, P.381] - stop up [in bot- tle] - bury - whatever you want done be repeating that while you are tearing up paper."
Entry 8877
Ef it's by ink, dey takes dat lettah an' dey boil dat lettah. Dey boil dat lettah until hit finely [finally] come tuh soup. An' jes' as hit come tuh soup, dey'll go on down tuh de rivah an' throw it down intuh de rivah. An' den dat man he'd go crazy.
(They just throw this soup into the river?)
Yes, suh.
Entry 8878
Tuh run yo' crazy.
(How do they do that?)
How dey do dat? Well, dey jes' goes tuh runnin' watah an' lets dat stay dere fo' so many - yo' know, a while. An' dey take it up an' dey takes dey 'nitials an' put de 'nitials on dere in a piece of cloth, an' throw it intuh de rivah, see. Dat jes' keep yo jes' all stirred up. (They simply take my handwriting and throw it in the water. That's all they do?) Throw it in de watah. Put chure 'nitials if dey kin git de - yo' know have yore 'nitials off de lettah. An' dat keep yo' goin'.
Entry 8879
Well, if a person kin take yore han'writin' an' if dey kin take it an' throw it in runnin' watah, an' burn it on each end [4 corners] befo' dey do, evah time yo' go tuh write, yo' hardly kin write. Yore han' will be zig- zag on de papah. Yo' couldn't hardly write, yo' tremble so bad till yo' git somebody tuh write fo' yuh. Becuz ah know a gentleman dat wuz lak dat.
Entry 8880
Well, if somebody wrote chew a lettah now - jes' lak if yo' wanted tuh git tuh somebody an' dey wrote chew a lettah, why yo' take dat lettah an' yo' read it. Yo' read it backwards. An' den, if yo' kin read backwards, take dat lettah an' yo' read it backwards. An' den yo' take an' take it tuh a willah tree. Yo' take it to a willah tree. An' a willah's got a forked root tuh it. Yo' dig down tuh dat root where it's forked down dere, an' den yo' turn dat lettah bottom upwards undah dere, undah dat tree, an' kivah [cover] it back up. Well, yo' git de devil's shoestring an' yo' weah it round yore arm, jes' tie it round yore arm. Dat's whut ah heered 'bout dat.
(What will all this do now?)
Dat jes' lak if yo' love somebody an' want 'em back tuh yuh or want - whatsom- evah yo' want done tuh 'em. Whatsomevah yo' want done, when yo' go tuh dat wil- lah tree an' put dat undah dere, yo' speaks dat befo' de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost.
Entry 8881
Well dey take yore han'writin'. Well, jes' lak yo' write on dis side of de lettah. Well, yo' know, a pusson don't usely [usually] write on one sheet on both sides, jes' lak yo' write on dis side of de lettah. Well, yo' may mail dat tuh me. Now, ' yo' is de woman an' ah'm de man, see. Yo' may mail de lettah tuh me. [Informant begins to demon- strate.] Well, ah'll write on dis side. Well, when ah write on dis side, ah'll write between lines. See, ah write between lines. Now, ah don' write zactly [exactly] on yore lines. Jes' lak yo' write a line dere, an' write one dere, see. Well, ah'll write in de middle of yores, see. An' in mah time of writin', why ah'll make mah wishes, what ah wan' tuh happen tuh yuh, see. An' jes' as ah writin', ah makes mah wishes. Co'se yo' have tuh have a good education tuh do dat, yo' know. An' den when ah make mah wishes, why yore wishes will certain- ly come out. Co'se den mah lines will be tangled up. Yo' understand, aftah yo' done write it de long ways betwixt lines, den yo' go an' write it across, see.
(Then what do you do with that?)
Well, yo' keep it. Keep dat an' tote it. [Charleston, S. Car., (511), 576:7.] [This division can be gathered into sections: THEFT, COURT CASES, THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG, SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS, NAILS - NEEDLES AND PINS - TACKS, FROG and BLACK CAT LUCKY BONE AGAIN. Smaller amounts of diversified material, with margin titles only, will follow in division "CHANNEL DE WORLD."] [Closely related to theft are: (l) the loss of an article by mere losing or misplacement; (2) the loss or theft of a husband or wife or lover, illustrations being numerous in Hoodoo; and (3) the reverse of losing, the finding of the object causing conjuration. To locate or identify conjurating objects is the very heart of hoodoo. Many of these latter methods have been given in Hoodoo - see DIAGNOSIS, Pp.165-217, and elsewhere. Yet, despite all do-it-yourself magic, the true be- liever in these volumes will imitate Biblical precedents, if the loss or theft is considerable. He will copy the experiences of Saul by visiting a seer (1 Samuel, chapter 9) or a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor (l Sam. 28:7), whom our modern believer knows by various professional titles: Doctor, Madam, Mother, high man, wise man or wise woman, two-head or two-header, fortuneteller, reader, healer, foreknower, foreteller, hoodoo or hoodooer, root-man or root-worker, witch, witch-crafter, 'crafter, cunjure or cunjure-man, etc. Finally, may I call your attention to the first margin title, BIBLE AND KEY. Some of its rites have been used for other purposes than theft: to discover whether a wish would come true, No.550, or whether you have been hoodooed, No.551, both on p.167. At the end of these Bible-and-key rites are two rare ones of unusual interest concerning two keys, or crossed keys, or the Key Of St. Peter. My special comments about them, because they concern me personally, should be read.]