Browse:Whirlwind (Volume 1, entries 137–191)
Whirlwind
Volume 1, entries 137–191. Source context: SPIRITS → SPIRITS WITH SPECIAL FORMS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 137
De whirlwind, well dat suppose tuh be a spirit in dat whirlwind. Some- times it's a good one an' othah times it's a bad one, but de main point of it is, it is a spirit. Den a person is suppose tuh walk backwards ten steps an' concentrate his mind, an' whatevah his mind fall on, dat's a good spirit or a bad spirit; whatevah it says, see, tuh him. An' if he has somepin tuh do, dat mind will tell him tuh go do dat - he do it, especially when he see de whirlwind; an' if dat mind tell him not tuh do, it's best fo' him not tuh do it.
Entry 138
(They say that whirlwind's a spirit?) [I am repeating what he had just said.] (Do they say you can do anything to it?) Well, dey say dat's a evil spirit, an' it's gittin' away from de good spirit, an' de two spirits are havin' a argument, an' dat's de evil spirit gittin' away from de good spirit.
Entry 139
Whut ah heard people say it wus; dat it wus a evil spirit - jes' lak a person dies wicked an' he wants to come back roun' his home or somepin lak dat, an' he comes in a whirlwind.
Entry 140
Some say it's - ah don't know how true it is, but ah heard some people say dat's de ole daid people yo' know. Say dey gits in a whirlwind. Yo' see, when dey comin' round whirlin' lak dat, dey call dat a whirlwind. It goes into different places - it goes into de woods, sometime yo' kin hear bushes rattlin'. Ah used to heah mah ole parents say dat's called to be some daid people. Ah don't know how true it is, yo' know.
The source says some daid people and explicitly questions the report; it does not name a ghost or establish Ghost/Whirlwind equivalence.
Entry 141
Say dat's de spirit of de person dat owns de great lord's plantation - say dat's de day dem come roun' lookin' at all de places. An' den jes' lak if ah reckon - say dat be dem comin' roun' lookin' ovah de place, jes' a whirlwind spirit. (This whirlwind is the spirit of the old owner of the plantation looking over it.)
Entry 142
Dat whirlwind is a daid spirit - jes' somebody jes' wandering around or some daid spirit somebody send to yo'. An' that spirit jes' wandering roun', he Wandering roun' where yo' at. He come to yo' from de grave to where yo' at; but dat wind, see it ain't de wind. An' hit come down dat way - yo' kin tell it de minute yo' see, don't care whut time a day it is; but it coming to yo"cording to whut time a person send it to yo', cause yo' see dey works on de moon wit it. It's always jes' a bad spirit. If hit comin' tuh harm yo', yo' goin' know it. If it comin' tuh harm yo', it goin' git direct in yore way where yo' kin see an' yo' can't he'p from seein' it tuh save yore life. But if it ain't tuh harm yo hit goin' work clean 'way round yo' an' it gwine to somebody's else path. (Suppose it is coming toward you, is there anything you can do to stop it or break that up - you know, to protect yourself against it?) No suh, ah nevah heard whut dey do to stop it. But dey tells me when yo' see one, if yo' usin' a hammer - yo' see, it ain't got [to be] a natch'ral nail, but den dey got de nail in view, an' den jes' so many time a day dat hammer nail, dat gain yo' so many days from bad luck or good - it's always mostly fo' bad. I don' nevah hear talk dat it was fo' good. [If you have a hammer in your hand or near- by when you see a whirlwind, as many times as you hit a nail or an imaginary nail that day will be the number of days you will be free from bad luck.]
Entry 143
Ah have heah 'em say whut a whirlwind wus. When yo' see a whirlwind lak dat, it somepin lak whut dey call a hazen [spirit]; said yo' have tuh look ovah yore left shoulder, ah think, if yo' wanta see whut wus in it, in de whirlwind.
Entry 144
Say it wus ha'nts, an' if yo' wanta see who wus in dere, jes' go to a sow dat's got little peegs an' suck her tits an' jump in dat whirlwind an' yo' see ever'thing that's in dere.
Entry 145
(If a fellow sees a whirlwind coming, he's gotta stop it?) [I am repeating informant's statement.] (How will he do that?) He take a sifter an' hold it up.
(Well, what does he want to stop it for?)
Make it turn dat way, it won't come to 'em.
(Well, what if it can't turn, what would happen?)
Nuthin'. It jes' goes an' stop it. Lak ah see somebody separatin' rain, too; lak rain comin', dey hol' a hatchet up - one part [of the rain] go dat way an' de othah one go dat-a-way, split it.
Entry 146
Folks say de devil in de whirlwind. An' ah heard 'twas witches - de ole witch where dey has sold deyself to de devil yo' know, at de fo'k of de road; dere where dey had buried de [what?] or somepin 'nothah yo' know, an' sold dey- self to de devil. An' so when dey come back tuh see 'bout it, dey come in de whirlwind.
Entry 147
When it start tuh runnin', take some salt an' throw into it while it's a-runnin', ah hear dem say, an' it won't whirl where yo' live no mo'. (Why wouldn't you want it to whirl where you live - why do you make it go away from there?) It's yore enemies. Dey say it's jes' yore enemies - dese ha'nts an' things, yore enemies. Want chure enemies go 'way from dere, throw de salt into it.
Entry 148
Some people say if you shoot in that whirlwind, there will be fire right in front of it.
Entry 149
Chunk a knot, a lighter knot in it, a lightwood knot.
(A knot from a lighter pine?)
Dat's right. Well, dey say yo' kin take an' chunk one of them in it an' it will whirl away. Yessuh, whut ah mean, it will jes' go on away. An' some say it's spells [someone is trying to put a spell on you] an' some say it's de sign of a quarrel.
The informant names the knot for a proposed act; the target of it is not named in this excerpt.
Entry 150
(What do they say about the whirlwind - what do people say it is?)
Say dat if yo' whistle at it, it will stop fightin'.
(Did you ever try it?)
No, ah nevah tried it. Ah 'fraid it might stop sho' nuff.
Entry 151
(What did they say the whirlwind was, now?)
A hurricane from de Gulf of Mexico, an' when it git up aroun' heah, see, it would be so small it wouldn't harm anything.
Entry 152
(They say that was what?)
Dat a sign of dry weather.
(This whirlwind?)
Yessuh. A small one dey took as a sign of a cyclone or hurricane, yo' know, wit de sand in it.
Entry 153
It's a sign of rain if dat goes ovah a creek - dat [is] a whirlwind. If it winds ovah de creek, [they] say it's goin' be a rain. [A spirit can not cross water, because this circling wind crossing water is an ordinary whirlwind - but, after it has crossed water, it is possible for a spirit to enter.and ride it.]
Entry 155
Ah heard 'em say when that whirlwind wus on, that they had see - says, well, de trouble wus all ovah. Whosomevah seen de whirlwind, says they troubles wus all ovah.
Entry 156
If it goes straight up, everything is clear.
(This whirlwind - everything is clear.)
If it goes up an' keep a-gittin' less an' less, dat clears up - dere's no impediment on yo' gen'ally.
(You generally will be lucky - something of that sort?)
Yes.
(What if it falls down?)
An' jes' goes towards a branch [a brook], why things goin' be boist'rous fo' yo'. [This is based upon the weather significance of whirlwind.]
Entry 157
When yo' see a whirlwind, if yo's quick enough at it an' yo' have a great 'sponsibility on yo' dat chew cain't git [manage], chew know; yo' run right quick an' git chew some table salt in yore han' an' run right in dat whirlwind whilst it whirlin' up, an' all yore troubles of whatevah yo' thinkin' about, whatevah troubles yo' have, would go 'way with the wind - with that whirlwind.
Entry 158
Yo' will have bad luck, dat if yo' be in de center of dat, yessuh. Yo' know sometime it be right near to yo' an' dey say yo' have bad luck if yo' be in dat lil' whirlwind. Yessuh, if yo' git inside of it.
Bad luck is reported as conditional on being inside the whirlwind; merely being nearby is not asserted to cause it.
Entry 159
When a whirlwind is in front of yore do', goin' whirl roun' lak dis, it's a sign of fights - someone gon'a fight.
Entry 160
Dat's de sign of a quarrel.
(When you see a whirlwind out in the street?)
Yeah.
Entry 161
Dey says de whirlwind represents up a fuss. If it start up in mah yard, it represents a fuss. If it come through mah yard an' go in jes' what- soevah direction de whirlwind goes, de row is goin' in de same direction - de fuss. It'll be goin' in de same direction de whirlwind go out at.
(How do you mean, if there is a fuss in your house or what?)
They'll fuss at my house or either dey'll start in front of my house. Well, if it keep up, it'll start right there an' keep right straight up. Well, de fuss supposed tuh be right heah. Well, if it start heah an' git tuh whirlin' right heah an' keep goin', well de fuss goin' on somewhere else, but it start there.
Entry 162
[They] said dat a evil man had died an' had some money buried, an' he come back an' be visitin' where dis treasure he had buried.
(That is, this whirlwind?)
Yessuh.
Entry 163
Anywhere sometime, lak dat a whirlwind wus stopped dat-a-way, a fellah would watch it. Dey claim right where it stop at dere's a hidden treasure. A hidden treasure generally be where it stop at. Dey prove it. Jes' watch it where it stop at.
Entry 164
I went to visit my aunt at Suffolk, Virginia, on Memorial Day [May 30] and they didn't know where the graveyard was. Nobody had lived on this land for about forty-five years and it was somewhat grown up. And the place they told me to go now stands a giant tree. The only way she could describe the direction of the cemetery - she told me I would find two giant walnut trees in the middle of the field and if I would go to the largest tree and take about twenty-five steps to the south, that is where the kitchen door was; and if I would turn to the north and go about two hundred yards I would see just about where the cemetery Was. So I took a girl friend and another boy friend and started to take a wreath to put on my grandmother's grave, or what I thought was the grave. So I went to the place - tried to get the right direction - and as I started towards what I thought would be the cemetery, there arose a great whirlwind. I didn't see any- thing: but there was just a whirlwind. It hurled itself across what had been a field, so I decided it must of been a spirit of relatives. I had an aunt and an uncle and a host of cousins buried there and grandmother. If that was a ghost, I think it was trying to direct me where the cemetery was. I went to about where the whirlwind stopped and placed the wreath.
Entry 165
Dey say it's death.
(This whirlwind. How do you mean it's death?)
Somebody's goin' tuh die in de community. So ah hear de ole folks say.
Entry 166
Sometime dey say it's confusion, sometime dey say death; but whensomevah yo' see dat whirlwind go round an' round lak dat, yo' watch it an' dere'll be a fuss or a fight or somebody probably git killed, jes' where it stop. Dat's whut dey say about dat.
(Do you know what they used to say about that?)
Yeah. Well, dey say some ole devil died dere, somepin lak dat - yo' know, some bad person. Some evil spirit or somepin lak dat. Dat's whut dey call dat evil spirit.
Entry 167
Ah heard that they say it's the devil in that whirlwind - when the whirlwind goes round an' round lak that, dey say it's de devil.
(Are you supposed to do anything to it?)
Ah dunno.
Entry 168
Dey say dat is de devil in his chariot an' if yo' wanta jes', yo' know, do wicked things, why yo' could git dat dust an' sprinkle roun' a person's premises. It will always keep a man an' his wife at arms at each othah. It will keep a household in confusion if yo' jes' take dat dust, yo' know, an' sprinkle it roun' dere premises; an' it will always be ways where they would be at arms at each othah, an' break up de peace of a home wit dat same dust.
Entry 169
De whirlwind - if yo' kin ketch it, but it's hard tuh ketch - yo' kin stop dat an' jis' lak dat goes, yo' done dat. Dat's yore signal, yo' got dat. De devil, yo' got him 'cause dat's de devil. De whirlwind is de devil.
(What do you do with that dust?)
Keep in de pocket an' yo' kin conker anybody.
Entry 170
Lak dey take peoples carryin' on work, heah, yo' know - jes' lak yo' go to a crossroads an' sell yo'self to de devil - an' he'll come an' git chew in a whirlwind. [Informant, like devil, got me in a whirlwind! After the interview and she had left, I comment to microphone: "(This woman who was just in here almost ran me crazy fanning herself with the newspaper; the room is so hot)" - she was flapping a battered newspaper near my concealed microphone. For weather while collecting, see Introduction.]
Entry 171
Dey tole dat wus de devil. (That whirlwind is the devil? Did you ever hear them say that they could do anything to it?) Say yo' go dere an' take yore knife an' cut through It, it will be bloody when yo' tuk it out.
Entry 172
Look at de whirlwind an' turn roun' an' look ovah yore shoulder, yo'll see de devil.
(Which shoulder?)
De left shoulder.
Entry 173
Dey says dat wus de devil whuppin' his wife, de whirlwind jes' goin' round an' round.
Entry 174
Dat de devil beatin' his wife - de whirlwind. Git a rusty nail an' drive it down in there. That'll stop it - say, if it don't stop, yo'll heah 'em fussin'.
Entry 175
Dey say yo' throw yore pocketknife in it an' yo'll see de devil.
(The whirlwind.)
[Informant is old man 87 who came barefoot according to note at end of inter- view - he also sat on the floor during the interview and I had to stand up to see him.]
Entry 176
Said dat wus de devil, dat whirlwind dat wus de devil. An' den ah mind some say dat dere wus money buried close round dere. [After informant departs, I comment:] (This fellow who was just in here wanted me to get his wife back for him!)
Entry 177
De devil - dey say yo' kin jump in an' open yore pocketknife an' yo' see de devil. Ah've nevah seen anything to it mahself.
(That's this whirlwind.)
Entry 178
Take an' stick a pitchfo'k in it an' yo'll see de devil.
(In the whirlwind.)
Yeah - ah've heard that.
The interviewer supplies whirlwind as the referent; the informant acknowledges the account as something heard.
Entry 179
If yo' take a needle, an' during de time when it's thunderin' if yo' take de needle an' go out to de corner of de do'step an' take an' put it to yore ear, now dey tell me yo' [will] heah de devil in hell when it would be thunderin' an' lightnin' jes' as sharp - yo' know de lightnin' [is] sharp. Den, if yo' take this heah needle an' put it to yore ear an' go to de corner of de do'step an' put yore ear down on de ground, say yo' listen dere, an' say yo' could heah de devil an' his imps in hell. Dat's all ah've evah heard about a needle. Ah heard that if yo' could lay down an' keep yore eyes open whilst de wind wus whirlin' - jes' git in it an' lay down an' keep yore eyes open - dat yo' could see de devil. Jes' git in it an' look up, an' when yo' look up yo'll see him.
(During this whirlwind.)
Entry 180
Dey said de whirlwind had de devil in it. An' dey tole me when ah wus little, say, yo' go to that whirlwind, an' git chew a pocket han'sckuff an' put it in nine knots, an' git in that whirlwind an' the devil will come an' talk with yo'.
Entry 181
Ah know dey say yo' could throw a brass pin in dere an' yo' see de devil - a lil' brass safety pin. Ah know yo' seen dese lil' yellow pins. (You throw it into the whirlwind and you'll see the devil.)
Entry 182
Dat de whirlwind dust goin' roun' an' roun'. Well, dey say dat's de devil showin' his power, whut he kin do. Sometime ah saw dem things when dere not a breath of air stirrin' - de devil wit de angry sinnahs.
(What is he doing with them?)
He whuppin' 'em - dat's de devil wit de angry sinnahs, not a bit'a air stirrin'. Had a ole fellah heah yeahs ago, tole us, said, "Boys, dat's de devil yo' see yonder. Yo' can't see him but yo' kin see de whirlwind. De devil havin' a time wit his imps" - de same thing ah'm talkin' 'bout, He says, "Dey tryin tuh do 'way wit him but dey can't do 'way wit him. He's wrestlin' wit 'em."
Entry 183
This was during the period of influenza [World War I]. It happened between two women, both colored women, very superstitious. One had an argument with the other. One not wanting to get in a heated argument started to walk away and she was feeling sick. That was the beginning of that influenza that was going around all over the country. And this woman overtook her and started to fight and she pulled her hair and almost stripped her and she gave her a good beating. This woman turned around and said, "All right, you may go, but I will get you. If I die I will come back and I will haunt you. I will get you. [This is another example of bad mouth.] So they parted. The one that started the fight, thinking that she had the better hand, went merrily home, while the other went sadly home feeling sick from the pains of the disease and having got a good beating. That went on about three weeks without saying anything between them. The one that was sick soon died. The woman that had beat her made fun of her death. Many a month passed and she didn't give a thought to what this woman had told her. One afternoon she started to the store to get some coal oil, and - this was in a rural district where they did not have electric lights. She passed the cem- etery where this woman's body had been laid. She had a little child with her, a child of five. The child noticed it. There was something over on the grave the shape of a goat. The child said, "Mother, look at the goat on Hanna's grave, '' for that was the dead woman's name. The mother exclaimed to the child, "Oh, come on, that isn't anything but the devil holding Hanna down." The child went reluc- tantly, passed the cemetery but hesitated [stopped] to look down before having gone too far that the cemetery might not be seen. They went to the store and purchased the oil and on the way back the child exclaimed again, "Mother, there's the same goat on Hanna's grave." The mother said, "Oh, come on, I told you." She gave her a quick jerk. As she gave her the jerk there arose a whirlwind that twisted around the two of them. As it twisted around them it seem to grow hotter and hotter until it had thrown her down. After having thrown her down it continued to whirl. carrving them both within its grype [grip]. It twisted and turned them until the woman seemed to be exhausted. Finally, she lost consciousness. The child was afraid to leave its mother because darkness had almost covered the earth. The child stayed there until a passerby inquired why the mother was on the ground. Then the child ex- plained the whole detail to the passenger. They took the mother and carried her home and went for the doctor. And I drove the doctor there to the home of this woman. The story was told to the doctor while I sat and listened and as we came away from there I wanted to know from the doctor did he think that was true. The doctor being a very intelligent man, I thought he would tell me nothing but the truth. So he said to me that it Was the most mysterious case he had ever attended. The woman seemed to be like scalding water had been poured over her skin. He doesn't know about [the truth of the] story because he wasn't there, but there was something mysterious about it. Several times I inquired from the doctor and he wouldn't discuss it very much because he didn't want me to think that he was superstitious, nor did he want me to think that he believed in spooks. Yet, I think that he believed very strongly in the story that this woman told,-that it was a true experience. That Was about 1919 near St. Petersburg, Fl6rida. The doctor was white.
Entry 184
This story happened about thirty-two years ago [1904] at a church near Greenville, South Carolina, where we pastored [the informant's husband was pastor of the church]. We were having night services. When I got to the church door, myself and another member of the church that had called on me at the parsonage that evening, they met me, the officers of the church, and asked me to go back to the parsonage and bring them another lamp. I said to the lady, you stay here, I will go back and get it. I went back, brought the lamp, we went in the church. After services we call all the Christians to come and kneel around the altar. When we went up, this particular sister that had come to visit me that evening, she knelt down just in front of myself. About the time she got settled down they commenced praying. We saw her begin to twitch around and to give away. People near her rose up, took hold of her, and they seemed to investigate. It seems that she had a partial stroke. They took her up, put her on a chair. Then the next thought was - the pastor said, "Lets get the doctor to her." Then her hus- band said, "No, lets take her to the doctor." They got her out, put her in a buggy, started to the doctor with her. My husband and her husband and two other men, when they got about twenty yards from church, there was a whirlwind right in front of them. And it crossed, went on the left side of the road, got in a tree and just wrung that tree, until, when they got by the tree, it was all they could do to get the horse by. My husband said that he was very frightened. But they went on to the doctor. When they got there the doctor said she had a partial stroke and to take her home at once. The home was two miles away. They carried her home. In an hour's time she could not walk. They sent back home for me. I went. About daylight I got there and she could not speak. In two hours after she took a very severe groaning and made such a noise. And the very wrestling, that they heard.on going to the doctor, was heard on the outside of the house. And she passed away in great agony.
Entry 185
"It's bad luck fo' a whirlwind to come anywheres nearby yore place of business - yo' know, make those rings lak that yo' know, fo' kinda lak a circus. Say it's bad luck.
(What do they say that whirlwind is?)
Ah heared - ah tell yo' de truth about it. Ah re'lly hear some people say - de knowledge of mah experience of dat. Ah heared people say dat if yo' take de vinegar an' throw it roun' yore place of business - sometime people kin do things lak dat; they come up an' be's, do's de devil work. Throwin' vinegar round yore place of business, dey say that [devil work] would nevah happen.
(What wouldn't happen?)
Dose whirlwinds comin' in a circus, yo' know, roun' a person place of business where dey - round in de yard where men about close roun' in de field. Jes' sprinkle vinegar roun' about two acres of yore place of business; after that it would nevah happen. Ah heard a lady tole me dat, but not as ah really think.
(They say if it came here, it would bring bad luck to what you are doing?)
Yessuh, because she said dat it was a man caused dat tuh come roun' her house one time. She said it come in - jes' lak a whirlwind; she couldn't see nuthin' but jes' a round wheel of dust. It would come, she say, sometime on three corners of de house, an' she say every time that would happen, her child would be sick, until she went to a man an' he said dat man had her place dressed, and told her that she must put vinegar aroun' about two acres of her place of business, an' carry some along with her. An' she say from that day until dis, she tole me - she say it happen about two yeahs befo' dis, den it nevah happen any mo'.
Entry 186
Well, dey say yo' ketch it when dat wind - jes' de whirlwind, if yo' kin git it. Git a papah an' ketch some of it when de wind is up in a whirl, an' take that an' mix it up with graveyard dirt an' lodestone an' sulphur - dere's somepin else yo' kin mix up wit it - an' plant it. An' jes' lak dat whirlwind go up, dat person will jes' continue tuh go dat-a-way - jes' drift till yo' nevah see 'em agin, jes' run 'em plumb crazy. Yo' plant it right in back of de do'step where dey do the most of they walkin' - dat's where yo' plant dat stuff.
Entry 187
If yo' go to de fo'ks of de road - jis' like if yo' mad at a person an' go to de fo'ks of de road - you have to wait to a whirlwind. You ever see a little whirlwind when yo' git to de road? Well, tha'd a time of de yeah when 'tis a certain day of de mont' dat dey have a little whirlwind. De wind will git a thing of dirt an' make a whirlwind [demonstrates] - jis' like dat, jis' like a whirlwind around like dat. Dey say dat's de day when [you] go dere, see. You git de dirt an' say you kin do anything you wan'a wit it. [Richmond, Va., (379), 320:1. This came from his grandmother - born Louisa Co., Va.,1836; died 1923.]
Entry 188
I have hear'd 'em say dey'll go at de graveyard an' stan' dere in de daytime. Whenevah a whirlwin' come by, it'll jis' circoolate roun' an' roun', an' whenevah any trash go up in dere, an' wheah dis whirlwin' stan' still at de longest, while it's out dere in de graveyard, dey'll go theah an' take de fingah down in de dirt, like dis heah [demonstrates], an' have it up an' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son an' de Holy Ghost." An' dey care it on den at de house. An' dey git 'em a silk rag an' git 'em some oak roots an' some sweet gum roots an' some black jack [oak] roots, an' tie 'em togethah; an' so evahwheah yo stay at, dey'll have 'em undah up de steps da' yo' be in an' out ovah. Dat will jis' run yo' min'less, dey say.
Entry 189
Dat's a wanderin' spirit. (The wandering spirit is that whirlwind. Do they ever do anything with that whirlwind?) No suh. But yo' kin ketch some of de dirt as it fly an' carry [hold] it ovah, an' if dere's any witches be riding, dat kin stop de witches from ridin' yo'.
(How would they do that?)
Dey'll give yo' somepin tuh put on yore bed.
(What will you do with that dirt?)
Carry it to de man - root man.
Entry 190
Dey study where de whirlwind stop at, mostly settle, so dey kin git some of de dust. See whut ah mean. Jes' de last whirl an' go way an' leave it, when wust part gone, see. It will go 'way an' it might have several places, yo' know, it leaves where de whirlwind's gone an' left off, dere be's a whirl. See. Well, if they kin git some of that an' make a wish with it, dat yo' kin do a lotta persons some damage with it. Git some parts of it. See whut ah mean. Dey does a lotta trouble wit dat.
Entry 191
Dey says if yo' could take, go an' git dat dust; says if yo' evah killed a man, said yo' could jes' git it - yo' have tuh reach in dere. Ah ain't nevah knowed nobody or seen nobody could do it, while de whirlwind's comin' by, tuh reach down in dere right quick an' git chew as much sand as yo' kin. Keep dat in yore watch pocket all de time an' if yo' evah happen tuh kill a man, or evah has killed a man, says yo' kin git away wit dat sand after yo' kill him.
(If this man has killed a man, he can get away and they can't catch him?)
Yeah, ah've heah dem say dat.