Browse:The Ritual Bath (Volume 1, entries 972–974)
The Ritual Bath
Volume 1, entries 972–974. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE → FOLK MEDICINE (1) PRINCIPLES OF HEALING. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 972
Dat was in Roanoke, Virginia. Dere was a fellah over dere called Doctor [Somebody]. See, he was a negro - he was called de best root doctor in de world, Doctor Pitron, Peckrum. (Doctor what?) Doctor Peckrom - Roanoke, Virginia - Pinkerton. (Doctor Pinkerton?) Dat's right. Well, befo' he died, ah heard dat he had a house there which was called - and it was a red house, and they wouldn't let nobody go to that house. And if a patient come to him for anything, he'd send them to that little pool he had dug in there, and ah've heard several say that when they got into the pool, de pool was jest kinda ordinary water, you say for instance, but when dey come outa de pool de water would be black as de back of my han'. And he called that a consecrated healin' water from a root dey call four cormers of de world - dat's a herb. All right, but ah didn't see dat myself.
(What did he have that pool for? What did they go into that pool for?)
Dat was a place dat he had dere - people come to see him and if they had any kind of a disease or any kind of - anybody hurt 'em, dey'd cure 'em in dat way, and dey said when dey come outa dat pool, dey would nevah be bothered agin.
Entry 973
There was a man once he got into some trouble and he went to Elizabeth- town [North Carolina], and it Was way out on the hill some place, about ten miles out [from the town] on de place, and he came to this lady's home. And whenever she alive [while she lived] she [her voice] sounded like a turkey. [A voice sounding like a turkey must not be too rare - see a doctor called Turkey Gobbler, No. 848, p.294.] She carried him on in a little place and they had a pump - and a little place it shape like a bathtub, but it's made out of cement [a drinking trough for animals?]. And she carried him in there and pump water out of de pump and sprinkled him with it, and got some kin'a salve and some brown-lookin' dust and put on him, and gave it to him and rubbed it in his hair and hands, and tole 'im to go on back home. And he never got caught [by the police].
Entry 974
Ah was hoodooed in 1895 - ah were in de white-folks kitchen cooking. At home on de night befo' ah got blind. Ah seen a woman, yo' know, goin' down on de groun' makin' a mark - making a mark and she say, "When she come 'long she goin walk right ovah this" - in mah dream yo' know. So when ah went on that morning she was at de kitchen do. And ah walked in de kitchen do' an' opened de do' an' made a fire in de stove, and when ah made a fire in de stove ah made mah biscuits and put dem in de stove and put on mah coffee and put on mah grits, an' got mah bacon ready to fry.
(Where did this happen?)
In Camden, Alabama. Yes, sir - dat's mah home. Yes sir, Camden, Alabama. After ah got that all ready, ah went to set mah table. Got mah table all set an' everything and come back to de kitchen, ah was taken wit a swimming in de head so bad ah jes' couldn't hardly see. Ah says, "Whut's de matter?" Ah pulled de line[?] off an' then ah went on back in de kitchen. Ah went tuh stoop down to open de door to git de biscuits out de stove an' fell an' dey had tuh carry me home. Dere's a ole man name - let see whut was dat ole man name. Uncle Nase. Well, mah mother sent fo' him and he come an' tole her she jes' did send in time tuh save me, and he went in de woods and got some of these green cuckee [cockle] burs, made a poultice and put it all ovah my head - jes' wrapped me up in it chew know. An' den de next morning he was tuh bathe me. He give me some saltpeter and some sody and salt to put in water - those three things an' ah bathes with it an' every morning throw it to de sunrise. Yes, sir - every morning throw it sun- rise. An' after that ah begin tuh git all right, until ah got chere in Mobile. One day ah was working agin out heah on Montgomery Street loop in Mobile heah. Well, dat ain't been about five years ago.
(Government Street and St. Luke?)
Yes sir, that's right, and this leg swole up on me so bad, yo' see, ah thought it was broken an' ah sent fo' a doctor and no doctor - dey worked on it and dey couldn't do it any good. And so ah bathed it in salty water - yo' know that always is mighty good. Couldn't do nuthin with it. Well, it begin to burst and little ole bugs ran out of it. So ah went to a man dat was called to be wise, yo' know, and he tole me tuh git me some saltpeter and some sody an' vinegar, an' mix them all together and bathe it in. Ah did an' it's all right now.