Subject:Backwards
Entries
Entry 412
This is one my grandmother told me. She was in slavery. She belonged to Tom Watson the man that the Tom Watson watermelon gets it name from. He was supposed to have been a good master. That was in the State of North Carolina. During the War [Civil War] he buried his money. My grandfather, being a man around the house and not needing any money, wasn't concerned where he had it buried, but he remembered seeing him one afternoon after he had made a sale - a man had bought something, he went to a certain place where there was an old walnut tree; when he came back there was dirt underneath on his hands. He suspicioned that that was where he had buried his money. Long after the War had ended and he had been set free, they were talking about money one evening and a man said he knew where there was a man who knew how to dig money. So he decided to go and dig this money. So they went to dig this money. He was put to reading the Bible backwards while his brother used the spade and another man had a long silver fork. He held that fork while his brother used the spade and he read some part of the Bible backwards. As he read he said there came a shrill cry from the top of the tree and a wind arose and they all started to run. I don't know whether that was a cry of an owl; it sound too shrill for an owl, but they didn't stay to find out what it Was. I remember that just before this cry, the blade of the shovel hit some hard object which seemed to be the top of a pot or something. Anyway, the next day he went down there. This money-digger had gone back there. He could see his prints in front of a place where a pot had been. And he always thought that this man that was the money-digger got the money, for he grew to be a very prosperous farmer. He had six head of team and a farmer and cattle. My grandmother was born out in the country near Battlesboro, North Carolina.
Entry 858
I was goin' to school. It was two girls. Well, I cared for both of 'em but it was one I re'lly liked bettah. De lady's livin' today, the one tha' hurt me. An' she wanted me to marry dis girl because it was her niece, but de other girl I liked her bettah. An' so we were schoolmates. De girl I care more for, well she'd [she was the] one I kep' right up [with] in mah class. An' so afterward it come to pass, the lady, which dis girl was her niece, she sol' wine an' stuff. Well, I liked wine. Well, mah mothah an' her seemed to be purtty good frien's. Why? Becuz she want me to marry her [niece] I reckon, becuz mothah had a little property an' stuff like dat an' I was de only child mah mothah had, you know. So I reckon she t'ought she'd tie me up, but still I loved de othah girl. An' so after school broke up, so de words got out - she says Carrie an' I was gon'a get married. As fer as I could learn, this lady said, "Well, if you don't marry her, why you're not gon'a marry anybody else." "So I was at her house an' should of notice it but I didn't. I didn't notice it. We boys go down dere on Sunday, you know, in de country - you know Sunday's a big time in de country. I goes down there on Sunday an' we run in an' we'd have a little drinks. I nevah did pay fer mine. I didn't pay any 'tention but it seemed very funny. But aftah I got hurt, den I re'lize what had happen I nevah did have to pay fer my drinks. An' it went on fer a period about two mont's. But in de third mont' I commence to drinkin', I begin to go bad - I feel bad. An' so mah mothah called de doctor an' de doctah come an' she ast him what was de mattah with me - which was a country doctor, Dr. Williams, which is livin' today. He did the best he could. [I apologize for my comment at the beginning of No. 646, p.218 - here is the second person to say a kind word about a doctor and his medicine.] An' so it seem like de more his medicine I took de worser I got. So he says to mah mothah one day, he says, "Ida," he says, "I don't know what's de mattah with de boy. I can't do him no good an'," he says, "the best thing tha' I know fer to do, is to send him de hospital." Well, before tha' mothah sent me de hospital, came ole man name of Ole Man Stuckey - he's dead, he's a white fellah called a faith doctor. He came in an' so mothah ast 'im some instruction about mah case. So Mr. Stuckey [Mr. for a white man] looked at me an' he said, "Well, Ida," he say, "tha' boy hurt." He says, "He's hurt." An' she says, "How you mean?" He said, "Well, somebody have put a spell on him." She says, "Mr. Stuckey, what will happen to him?" He said, "Well, you'll have to see some root doctor becuz a medical doctor is no good." So he referred to ole man Frank Bethe, Dunn, North Carolina, which is not quite a hunderd mile from here. I guess it'll run between ninety an' a hunderd. "I guess we kin git dat boy [well] if you kin git dat boy dere," he said, "Ole Man Frank will see him." Dat's de root doctor. [Here is one of the few documented cases - among numerous possible ones - of a person looking about for clients to send to a root doctor, a doctor almost one- hundred miles distant. The woman in No. 10, p.7, also went to Dunn, 24 miles northeast of Fayetteville where she then lived. Does the person sending in patients receive a kickback? As I from personal experience have explained in the Introduction, it is not easy to find or meet a doctor without a go between.] So mah stepfathah had a little ole Buick automobile. He takes dat ole car an' he goes on to Dunn. So, aftah we got in front of the door, stopped de car, Ole Man Frank walks out. He's a ole man who wears his pants backwards - de front part of his pants is backward. Dat's a'showing, de sign dat he's a root doctor, indiff'rent [diff'rent] from anybody else. Not all of 'em will do dat. So it was five of us in de crowd. He walks out, "That fellah there, he's hot [has a spell on him]." That was before I had said anything to him. An' so Ole Man Frank he turnt around to mah stepfathah an' says, "Well, why don't choo buy you some tires?" Mah stepfathah says, "I got purtty good tires." He says, "Wha choo had two punctures for?" Well, we did had two. We run ovah a nail - it was in a board, it was two punctures, but the punctures were all at de same time but two holes. So mah stepfathah he didn't git [didn't understand] - he said, "I haven't had but one puncture." He says, "You have." He says, "No, I haven't stopped but one time to fix tires, I didn't stop no more." He says, "You had two holes in that tube didn't you?" Mah stepfathah says, "Yes." He says, "Well, you all kin march in an' line up." So we lined up. Now, we walked straight on in past the first and second room and stopped in the third [see the three little rooms in my interview of Informant 1532 of Memphis]. An' he had a long bench an' a nice line of chairs on the left-hand side. He says, "You wanta sit on that long bench?" We all sit on de bench. So we went on in an' we did jis' as he said. Well, he wasn't in there at present then. Well, we was in there awhile there came a light. It was a light lit up the room. It come jes' about dark when we got there. I didn't see [a] light - I didn't see no lamp or nuthin. The room lit up an' aftah the room lit up 'an [= than = then] the light went right out. The ole man aftah awhile come in. He walked on down the crowd and looked ovah them [for the culprit] - before I go any further I'll tell you what was said. This ole man had a very nice lookin' daughter. You know exactly how mens will talk about 'em, about womenfolks. When we was comin' up in the car, one of the boys said, the same boy that was drivin' the automobile, a man, he said, "I would like to, for dat girl to be mine. I'd like to be wit her." So, [we] was waiting for Ole Man Frank to appear when we first come in. Ole Man Frank come in and he says, "There's one of you fellahs" - he say, "who was it spoke slack about her?" Nobody didn't say anything. He looked directly at us an' said, "Listen," he say, "I want you to treat mah house with respect." He say, "I didn't think you comin up here for any devilment or disrespectable manner." He says, "I thought youse comin' up here to bring this patient." He say, "Wha' choo wanna come here an'" he said, "you said when you saw mah daughter aroun' the edge of the field there tha' choo wanted to be with 'er." Well, God knows he said so. Well, I said [to myself], "This ole man here knows somepin." [My informant's reaction, contained in the preceding underlined words, is just what Frank wanted - the mysterious light and two punctures also preparing for it. This reminds me of a man interviewed in Petersburg, Virginia; former owner of a traveling medicine-show - himself, a traveling-bag, and great experience. As a part of the tune-up for the sales-pitch, he would call out to an old man in the audience; first having secretly learned his name and local reputation. Pointing at the man, "You, out there, old Uncle Ben Smith! [[Dramatic pause.]] Everybody for miles knows you - knows you're a honest man. But, you don't look too healthy to me. Don't be frightened! I'm going to tell you what's the matter with you. Better, I'm going to give, present you with a free bottle of my medicine, which will cure you before morning. First, however, I'm going to ask you a question. These people know you will give me a truthful answer. Listen carefully. Every night, don't you have to get up and go outside to the bathroom?" The old man shouted, "Amen! AmenI That's the truth! This man knows somepin!"] An' so I sat down there awhile. He'd stopped you from sayin' anything. He said, "You go here and sit in that chair." I sit on the chair. I was sittin' [in] chair I reckon 'bout five minutes. He say, "Kin you read?" I says, "Yes." He handed me a book. He says, "Why don' choo read?" I started to readin'. I didn't know thing - I was asleep: He put ever'body in the room asleep: [If a buzzard can row Doctor Buzzard's boat - see margin-title Doctor Buzzard - don't be too skeptical.] Well, I woke up before anybody - he woke me up first. Ever'body sittin' over there asleep - snorin'. Then he ast me mah trouble. [He did nothing of the sort as we will see.] He says, "I knowed it was a black woman that's put a spell on yah," and he say, "it's two girls you was goin' with, one of them's daughter [niece] an' she jes' put a spell on you." He says, "I know exactly what's the matter with you. [Doctor Frank is merely repeating the information he had received in a letter from the white-man faith-doctor, Ole Man Stuckey. The latter could have sent the letter sometime before he called on the prospective patient - he says, "Ole Man Frank will see him.] He says, "I'm not goin' wake a one up in the house now until I fix you." He says, "You got any money?" I says, "Well, yes, I got a little bit." He says, "I don't want a dime but, '" he said, "I'm goin' fix yeh." [Frank is now preparing to advertise himself in the patient's community.] I says, "Well, Frank [I doubt that!]," I says, "I'll have to pay you, won't I?" We all knowed his name. You could see the big letters all around the wall - F-R-A-N-K B-E-T-H-E, Frank Bethe. He set down. "Well," he say, "I'm goin' fix it for you." He say, "I'll fix what I'm gon'a use." He said, "You jis' take mah money an' carry it on the back of your house, on the east end, an' put it in a piece of paper - don't bury it - a piece of newspaper an' wrap it up," he says, "I'll git it." [He means] back of mah house aftah I get back home - don't live in no Wilmington, I lived with mah mothah. I lived in Castel [North Carolina]. [What Doctor Bethe should have said, "My co-worker, white-man faith doctor, Ole Man Stuckey, will pick it up for me some night."] [A doctor picking up his fee at a distance or through the air is not rare - see No. 13, p.12 and in Index, Doctor fee.] And so I reckon I'd have spells right aroun' eight an' nine o'clock at night. It was gittin' roun' eight or nine o'clock then and I commence havin' a spell, commence gittin' dizzy an' funny an' sort of shakey, jis' like I ever was. [The Spell happens at the same time it was cast - see margin-title 11:30-5:30 Trains.] [This dizziness could explain his being put to sleep - a sudden blackout.] He come an' put his hand ovah mah forehead an' ever'thing's bright [the bright light again] an' I could look up an' talk to him till he say, "Well, I think ever'thing will be all right." And he told me to go home an' put dat money dere. He ast me how far I lived from there [Dunn]. I told him where I lived. He says, "If you live less than a hunderd miles, I kin work for you aftah I send you home. He couldn't work over a hunderd mile wid jore cast - it had to come in the percentage of a hunderd-mile list before that he could reach you case. But - he didn't want to work on you in his house. And so I left him that night. He told me, he said, "Now, you go on home and in the mornin'," he said, "you won't have any more of these spells but," he said, "you'll be weak for ovah a week." He fixed me a bottle before I left there. And so he told me about this bottle he fixed - the bottle of medicine. He told me, he says, "Now, I want you take this at nine o'clock in the morning [reverse magic - opposite to nine o'clock at night]. I wants you to take on Eastern Standard Time [just to be different or mystifying or to allow for extra hour "eight or nine"]. I said, "Well, listen, I don't know if my clock is Eastern Standard Time or not." He say, "Well, I want choo to take the medicine by one o'clock." He say, "You take it nine o'clock by your clock, take it one the next, and three the next [odd hours] and then you'll git all right." And then he said, "I'll wan' choo to come back to see me aftah you put this money in the paper. So aftah I put the money in the paper like he tole me and commence takin' the medicine, I was goin' strong, feelin' good - I didn't have any more shaking spells. So I return back and I saw him and he told me, he say, "Lewis"-he called my name, I nevah told 'im mah name. He say, "Lewis," he say, "you're coming along all right now, aren't chah?" I told 'im, "Yes sir." Do you think you kin get your money?" I says, "Yes sir, I got it." [Several preceding pieces of bad recording, very short ones, confuse the flow of events here. I am copying the text from my original pencil transcription made soon after the cylinder was recorded; an original I will now attach to this final manuscript ready for publication. The money hidden in the newspaper was not the complete fee; it was two things - (1) more atmosphere, this for local advertising about a doctor who could pick up his fee at a distance, and (2) the kickback to Old Man Stuckey who picked it up. The real fee, no price set, to be paid later.] He say, "Well now, you owe me fifteen dollars. You got it?" I told him, 'Yes sir, I got it." I thought he was goin' to charge me about hunderd dollars. I'd been borr'in' money from ever'body in de neighborhood - the man I was workin' fer I done borr'ed fifty dollars from him, and the ole lady [mother] had to mortgage de place. [This borrowing is like the expression I had ever' doctor in town. So he said, "Well, all right, give me fifteen dollars." So I paid him. I say, "Weli, Doc," I say, "look here." I say, "That medicine done me so much good," I said, "what did you put in it?" He says, "Now, if you want me to learn you what to put in this medicine," he said, "I'll have to tell you but," he said, "it'll cost you five more dollars to learn about it." I says, "I'd rather pay you five dollars," says I, "cause I like to have some more of this medicine - you see, this bottle's gone." He says, "Now, if you'll stay up here this afternoon" - he says, "I'm busy." He say, "I like the folks [patients] to be here this part of the day [all healing is done with the rising sun] but, '' says, "if you'll stay up here dis afternoon, he says, "I'll show you the ingredients that I put in the bottle." So I decided. I told 'im yes I'd stay. And so that afternoon, after he got done with his business, him and I went on out in the woods. And so he got a root that's called Eve and Adam. He showed that 'erb which I knowed today - which I could go git a piece now in less than thirty minutes. He showed me the qroundhoa, the sow and the boar, that's a 'erb that grows - not de groundhog that we talk about, I mean dat fix up de weather - female and male. And de nex' 'erb he showed me was de high John de Conker; the nex', low John de Conker. He told me to take those things an' boil 'em for four hours, add one gallon of water to it and boil it till it come down to one quart [magic of diminishing amount]. Take it jes' 'fore sunrise and go out to de east corner of de buildin', sit de bottle down jes' before sunrise, take nine steps backwards, go back an' pick de bottle up, an' ever'thing will be O.K. until the sundown. Jes' a few minutes before the sun leaves the edges of the trees, take it and carry it away - walk nine steps backwards [pick up the bottle], walk direct west nine steps, turn back and your medicine is finish.
(Did he say how this woman had tricked you?)
Yes, sir. He told me she tricked me in drinkin'.
(He didn't tell you what she had put in it?)
Yes, he did, but I've nevah been able to do nuthin to her. But I'll nevah forgit de name he called it. He told me this woman had [gone] down side de back and got a weed that was called mint calZow[?]. That's what he told me. And he said she'd boiled the weed, that mint calZow, into a quart of water down to a pint [magic of diminishing amount] and he said she poured it into one quart of wine. And he said ever'time that I'd go there she'd give me to drink out of dat, and de rest de fellahs out of what she was sellin'. [I have a feeling that Doctor Frank was pleased to be rid of this patient. Once a woman on leaving me threw a fit out in the hall; again, two doctors out- side got into a fight - see Introduction. You don't want too much of this sort of thing. The preceding medicine-show man - my failure to take down the account of his work was one of my great failures - see Introduction.]
Entry 2818
Yo' use the black candle. Dey says yo' git a lemon an' yo' use cai- yanne peppah, yo' use black peppah, an' de name wrote backwards. Lak mah name is Viola, see - Dorsey, dat's mah name. All right. Well, yo write Dorsey Viola. Each form dey cross it. De name's back- wards, yo' see, an' yo' put de cai-yanne peppah an' all kinds of peppah an' cut that lemon an' put that down in there, yo' see. An' put it upside down, an' yo' put dat black candle on dere. Dat kin be used fo' breakin' up men an' wimmin - yo see, lak a man is with anothah woman. Mah husban' would be wit anothah woman an' he wus tryin' tuh fo'saken me an' ah'd break dem up. Well, yo' kin use a black candle an' [or] yo' kin use a green candle - dat's fo' sweetenin', yo' see. An yo' use dat upside down - stead of usin' de stem [wick] yo' use it upside down an' light dat candle into a tin cup, yo' see, but down in dat lemon - an' de name down in de lemon. (Whose name would you write? Your husband's name in there and this woman's name? Both?) Yes, but write 'em backwards an' crossways. See, heah ah come [demonstrates]. Lak it's me, yo' see, ah come straight. Heah de husban' right cross dere, but it all must be backwards. Let de las' name be de first, an' de first name be las'.
(How long do you burn that candle on there?)
Well, you burn that candle. Dey supposed tuh burn it nine days - nine days dat's tuh break 'em up.
(Do you light it any particular time? Put it out any particular time?)
Well, no, she goes out herself. Now, yo' see yo' light that light at six a'clock. She supposed tuh burn from six tuh six, yo' see, if it's not too warm, or not too much air dat would git to it. See, burn it from six tuh six an' if yo' wanted to, jes' keep it on till it burn, until it six in de night. She burn it from six dat mawnin' till dat night. She put it agin at six in de evenin' an' keep a'goin' till dose nine days is up.
(You say that you would use a green candle if you wanted to break them up?)
That's fo'saken 'em.
(And you use a black candle if you want to do what?)
Tuh break 'em up, too. Dat's breakin' up, too; green an' black. Dat's right.
Entry 2820
To burn a black candle - they takes a black candle - they burns a black candle when they's - like if you going get - like you done got arrested. You understand what I mean? (I got arrested?) You got arrested - the policeman done arrest you, you understand. Now 'fore your trial come up, well they'll carry - some of your people, you know, go to this hoodoo doctor and he'll take this black candle and take the judge's and the policeman name and write that - you understand, write that down three times. After they write that down.
(On what?)
On a piece of paper - tablet, you know, a clean sheet of paper. Write that down three times backward. They'll put it underneath of the candle and put it in a cup. And put it underneath of the candle and set this candle on top of that cup and light it two or two and a half days before the trial come up. You under- stand, just before the trial come up. And then when the trial do come up, the policeman, he more than apt to appear against you. You understand. See, even if he do appear against you, he'll be with you and the judge will dismiss you.
Entry 2825
When yo' wants tuh bring one back - dey gone an' yo' wants dem tuh git back. Well, den yo' go tuh work den an' git a candle, an' have dis name wrote nine times backwards - not correct writin', backwards yo' see. An' put it undah de candle an' light de candle, an' let de candle burn till one a'clock. Yo' light it at twelve an' let it burn till one, yo' see. An' den if he's away, when dat candle burn out he'll be back, yo' see.
(What kind of candle would you use in a case like that?)
In a case lak dat why yo' use one of dese heah red candles.
Entry 2951
Well, whenever they're trying to harm you, if it's with a candle, you take the Bible and you get up every morning fust before sunrise, look to the east and you make a prayer. Then you read a verse in the Psalms, the 9lst Psalm, which is supposed to be one of the strongest Psalms of David. You read it - a verse out of that back- Wards. Stead of reading it down, you reads it backwards every morning for nine mornings straight.
(Would that make the candle go out?)
Yeah, reading this Bible backwards for nine mornings, that'll put that candle out and set the house on fire.
(I see. And set the house on fire?)
It'll set the house on fire.
(I see, I see.)
Cause they generally have the candle in a closed space and wherever that is, the heat'll be so that it will ignite. The way the candle'll do it, it will bend over and eventually burn the paper - whatever they got under there. Sometimes they writes your name for nine times on this paper, backwards and forwards, prob- ably crossways. But you must use an indelible pencil, see. And sometimes the candle drops over - it's always a matter that it looks like it's a accidental way to do. It'll drop over and probably burn the scarf or ketch the paper wherever the wax have run, you see, and it will set fire. I've seen it happen many times.
Entry 3116
Yo' kin take a pocket han'ch'ef which yo' kin use wit chure wife, an a new nail an' place it intuh a tree [root] jes' beneat' de groun' an' nail it in dere an' kiver up an' leave. Back nine steps away from de han'ch'ef back [back- wards] an' den turn an' call de woman's name de third time [call her name 3 times] an' leave from dere. Dey won't have - evah time dey [other men] begin tuh top 'er wit dat, ah've been able tuh know dat dey've [demonstrates with finger, letting it fall over].
(They [the other man's tool] will just fold up. I see.)
(You nail this handkerchief on the tree down under the ground, but you will vipe her off with this handkerchief?) Yes sir. [Savannah. Ga., (538). 658:1+85.]
Entry 3315
Well, if a person wanted to trick yo' some way in de chamber lye. All right, yo' have to eithah ketch dere natchal [natural] chamber lye or either ketch where dey put de chamber lye at. It's lak if he go out dere an' he let it on de ground some place it will always leaves a little hole in de ground. Well, yo' prob'bly take a pocketknife or sompin an' cut dat hole out. Den yo' take itan punch it into a bottle, an' yo' take aftah yo' punch it into dat bottle, yo' git some John de Conkah root an' yo' put dat John de Conkah root in dat bottle an' stop it up. Den yo' walk fo' steps farwards, eight steps backwards, an' turn facin' to de watah stream, an' walk to de watah stream an' throw it in dere. Dat's de last of yo'.
(Well, just what would that do to me?)
It will take yo' courage clean from yo'. Yo' wouldn't have any courage fo' no woman whatevah, no mo', long as yo' live on land. No doctors kin bring it back, unlessen. (These steps forwards and backwards, do you do that before you go down to the running water? Or do you go down to the running water to do those?) Yo' go to de runnin' watah, an' den, aftah yo' git to de runnin' watah, yo make - jes' close enough fo' yo' to throw it in. Yo' make three [four] steps backwards, den eight steps farwards [informant inverts or transposes number of steps] an' den throw yo' bottle ovahbo'd.
Entry 3338
De way to deal wit 'er. She git 'er a dishrag an' he come out, she say, "Wait a minute fo' yo' git out." An' when he come out she would reach down, 'er han' down dere, an' she take dat rag an' she ketch 'im right dere right down close dere, an' he'll pull it out. Got 'im dere an' drop 'im to her. To keep 'im from othah womens, go to de windah dere an' throw it out an' don't turn aroun' an' walk back an' don't nevah look back. He's fixed den.
(Is there anything he can do to get rid of that?)
He kin do dis. Yo' kin fix up some way dat nobody deals wit 'er but chew, an' dat dishrag ain't goin' keep 'em apart.
(How do they do that?)
Don't use it - jes' got 'er. Yo' keeps dat wit yo', yo've got 'er. Aftah yo' take dat dishrag an' do dat an' den throws it out de windah.
[I stop machine and then informant continues about times.]
(How many times do they wipe with the dishrag?)
Wipe right across dere three times, an' when yo' do dat, go to de windah an' throw it out an' don't nevah look back.
(And nobody can fool around with her.)
Entry 3918
I can send 'em away in dis mannah. Now, if I would - say fo' ninstance if I wanted to kill a person or somepin of dat sort, why den, man or woman. If it wus a woman, I could take an' - I'd take her pieces, yo' know, when dey dirty. I'd fold 'em up an' put nine needles in 'em. I'd take an' I'd go to de riv- ah, but when I get to de rivah, when I gets jes' about twenty feets of de end of de walk where I'm goin' to stand at - dere's de wall [of the room] heah, when I get jes' about twenty feets right heah, I'd back myself back to dat, see. An I wouldn't look back, jes' back up to dere. When I gets dere I throws dat over mah left shouldah. When I throw dat in de rivah ovah mah left shouldah. I throws a silvah dime behind me, an' dat'll make her drift. She'll pine away to nuthin an' when yo' look again, why she'll be in de cemetery.
(Well, what do you throw over your shoulder?)
[I know, but I am continuing for the dime later.]
I throw 'er pieces ovah my shouldah.
(Oh! What do you mean, her monthly pieces?)
Yes, sir.
(Her monthly pieces?)
Yes.
(Well, why do you throw that dime over your shoulder?)
Dat dime is fo' death. Dat dime is to carry her on - see, dat dime is to carry her on. She's got to go.
(Does anybody get that dime? Pay her?)
[Informant already has said that dime is: for death, but I am trying to obtain a fuller statement without suggesting what I want - the dime pays the spirit for doing the desired work.] No, no, sir, nobody gets dat dime. Dat dime goes in de rivah. Nobody gets dat dime.
Entry 4503
Ah heard about 'um takin' de watah yuh wash in, bath in, an' yuh take it an' throw it in a certain direction. Yuh step back - dey step back certain amount of step, ah think it's seven, an call de indiwidual name. If dey git a holt dat watah now, dey gotta git dat watah in a jug or somepin, er a basin. But it gotta be in [when] evahbody absent, when only yuh de one, yuh alone. Yuh take dat watah an' yuh step back seven times an' yuh call de indiwidual name, an yuh throw dat watah tuh de sundown side, an' dat will cause dat person tuh becom Puny, Puny, Puny, puny. Dey will nevah keep good health, dey always will be puny.
Entry 4721
If yuh kin git holt of 'is photograph or anythin', yuh kin git 'im back ag'in.
(Do you know just how they do that?)
Well, yuh git holt a piece of 'is clothin'. Now, if it's a woman dat wants 'im back ag'in, yuh git aholt of a piece of 'is clothes an' yuh dress it in cologne. Yuh take it an' fold it de way [direction] he is. If he is east, no'th, west, or south, yuh take dat piece of clothin', a small piece of it, an' fold it [demonstrates] an' make yore wishes.
(Fold it toward you.)
Towards yuh evah time. Points it de way he is an' fold it back evah time. An' yuh git yuh a couple of needles an' pin it each way, bottom an' top, an yuh split dat needle. Lets 'er wear one in 'er right shoe here, an' give her de othah one an' let 'er hold it in 'er han'. An' she kin walk - an' let 'er go straight tuh runnin' watah an' drop it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind - she has tuh do dis on de grown [growing] of de moon an' ketch de wind blowin' towards de way she wants 'im tuh come. If she is in New York, ketch de wind blowin' disaway.
(Blowing south?)
Dat's right. Drop dis ovahbo'd an' walk backwards from it about nine steps, turn tuh left an' go on. Make her wishes an' he'll come right - in nine days he'll be dere.
(I didn't quite understand you about putting these needles?)
Yuh see, if yuh fold de clothes, prob'ly fold it dis way. Well aftah yuh git a little pad of it made, git yuh a needle on each side of it. Git chew a pair of keen - anythin' dat's sharp an' split dem needles in two.
(Oh, I see! You cut the whole package in half.)
De needles den will be on each side of it.
(Two halves of the needles will be in each side of the package.)
An' have dem needles so dey won't injure her foot an' let 'er wear it right in 'er shoe. Fasten it in dere in a way dat it won't slide backwards an' for- wards. Take dis half an' fold it in yore han' an' when it gits warm, when yuh go tuh de watah wit it - an' throw it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind blowin' from de Way dat yuh want 'im tuh come home.
Entry 4861
Ah knows about how a man kin take an' cut de seat out of a soiled pair of bloomahs whut de woman wore. An' he kin take it an' go tuh de rivah when de tide goin' down, an' he kin throw it in de watah ten steps backwards from dat an' don' look back, an' dat will always keep 'er wit him. See, dat will keep 'er mind on 'im all de time. [Normally I would say this rite sends her away, but intention is everything. Besides, clothes going out with the tide will come back with the tide. Or to put it another way; if she ever leaves she will return. Then again, the clothes could be thrown backwards towards the retreating Water but not actually into it. Symbolically he invites the woman to leave, just as he departs without looking back; then, before the tide turns, he retrieves the clothes.]
Entry 4883
When yuh meet 'im [at the door], put chure sock on, p'int 'em upside down. Stid [instead] a-puttin' de heel tuh de heel, put de heel tuh de foot [toe]. Put yore stockin's on tuh meet 'i. Meet de man whut chew want: de col- lectah, or yore rent man, anyone. Jis' meet 'em an' salute 'em. An' when dey salute 'em an' turn right from de do's - salute an' turn right on back an' go on in. Dey goin' on about dere business an' won' bothah yuh no mo'.
(You put the socks on wrongside outward?)
No, right straight. Don' turn it, jis' put de sock heel tuh de toe, an' de toe tuh de heel.
Entry 5327
Git chure track - yes, git chure foot track an' take an' bottle it up. An' den [they] say yo' back back nine steps, an' den turn roun' an' make three wishes. Say an' yo' make dem three wishes, den yo' handle 'em lak yo' want. (You can handle them anyway you want to. What do they do with that bottle?) Dey takes an' puts chure track in dat bottle.
(Yes, but what do they do with the track then in the bottle?)
Back back nine steps.
(No, what will finally happen to that bottle?)
Say dat bottle will turn purpole [purple] an' say dat will start tuh workin' in dere. It'll start tuh workin' in dere. An' say yo' should make nine wishes [instead of former three]. Yo' make nine wishes an' whatsomevah yo' wish, it vill [happen]. Keep bottle sewed up in pillah [pillow].
Entry 5352
If yo' take up a man's track an' put nine buckshot in a little piece of cloth wit dat track, an' go tuh runnin' watah an' walk off five steps from de stream, an' den walk backwards an' chunk it ovah yore lef' shouldah - let him go.
(Which track do you get?)
Either one, jes' so it's dey track.
(Do you get that any particular way out of there?)
Grab it from de toe an' drag it back tuh de heel.
(And you put it with nine buckshots into this little cloth.)
Yes.
Entry 5540
Now, dey kin take dat foot track of yores an' use it jis' lak dey wan'a. Well, dey takes a knife an' a rule an' measure yore foot tracks an' print it on a piece of papah. Den yo' carries de name. Jis' lak yo' say, ah wan'a do as ah wan'a wit dis person. Yo' carry de name three times. Write yore name. (They measure that foot track with the ruler and then take a piece of paper, a piece of paper the length of the foot track.) Dat's right an' den dey take yore name an' dey draws yore name in a box, in a square, in the box, diamond and heart. Dey write yore name. Yore name would be Jones Johnson. Dey put it backwards, yore name would be Johnson Jones, yo' undahstan'. An' dey cast dat in de light in de lamp, an' have yo' do jis' whut dey want yo' tuh do. Dat's right, dat's fer quick wishes.
Entry 5541
Yo' take dat foot track, try tuh git it wit'out breakin' it. Yo' lay it on a piece of brown papäh an' yo'll take de measure [of] dat track. An' yo'll write dis person name crossways in it nine times. Yo' git some dirt offa sinnah -bad person died bad - yo' git dat offa dere grave, dat dirt. An' yo' put dat [grave dirt] on dere [the track]. Den yo' git chew some John de Conkah root powdah [hoo- doo drug store or mail order house product] an' yo' spread it in [the 2 dirts]. Den yo' bury dat track backwards: lak yo' gon'a walk intuh dis doah, well yo' wan'a put de foot print comin' in - yo' put de heel part comin' in. Dat'll make yer brains - mos' people bury it any way - it'll run yo' crazy, if yo' use it lak dat.
Entry 5542
Dey would take de cord an' dey'll measure it, an' yo'd draw [stretch that cord over the length of] dat foot track. An' yo'd take dat cord aftah it wus drawed [stretched], an' yo' put it in a bottle wit some devil vinegah. An' write his name in dere nine times backwards [like Smith John instead of John Smith] an' nine times frontwards, dat's 18 times, an' keep it in dere fo' nine days. An' at de end of de nine days he goin' die.
(But you have to find this foot track some place first?)
Yes.
(Where do you get this devil's vinegar? Do you buy it some place?)
In de drug sto'.
(The Crackerjack [Drug Store]?)
Any one of 'em [any New Orleans' drug store].
Entry 5571
Ah kin tell yo' how tuh hol' yore husban' or yore sweetheart. Yo' go an' take his track if he's goin' out de do'. Take a teaspoon an' git a teaspoon- ful of de lef' foot, of dirt. Rake it backwards tuhwards yore house. An' yo take dat an' carry it in de house an' a teaspoonful of table salt, a tea- spoonful of red peppah, an' write de name of 'im an' a woman, a woman dat he used tuh go wit, or eithah he goin' wit den [at the present time], three times, an' fol' it up an' burn it up in de stove. An' yo' take a teaspoonful of red peppah an' tie it up in a papah, an' write de name three times, an' put it undahneat' de bed. An' dat'll break den up, an' he'll come right on back home. (Now what you do: when he leaves home you take a teaspoon and you take a Spoonful of dirt out of his left track and you bring it in and put these things with it. Then you take a piece of paper and you write his name on it three times, and then the woman he used to go with or the woman he is going with now, you write her name down three times, each one three times, then you put something in that paper?) Put the salt and de peppah in de paper, a teaspoonful of each one. (Then you burn it up. Then you write the names down again? Three times each on another piece of paper?) Yes - yes.
(And you put a teaspoonful of pepper in that?)
Salt, don't put de peppah.
(The salt. Then what do you do with that?)
Fol' it up an' tie it wit a string an' put it right undahneat' de bed where he sleep at.
(That will break him and the other woman up?)
Yes.
Entry 5582
Beginning Norfolk, Va. [This is the first rite from Norfolk.] Take right foot track an' put nine needles in it. [Of] co'se I'd git 'em in a bottle, nine needles, an' yo' goes to de rivahside, see, nine mawnin's. See, you got nine nee- dles in dis here bottle wit de dirt in [from the right foot track]. An' goes down to de rivah nine mawnin's. An' when yo' gits down dere yo' walks backwards so many feet - yo' walks backwards nine times [9 steps] each mawnin'. An' de las' mawnin', yo' throw dat bottle ovahbo'd. Nine needles an' go down to de rivah nine mawnin's an' de las' mawnin' yo' throw dis bottle ovahbo'd.
(I see. Well now, what is this supposed to do to a person?)
Dat will cuz a person to leave his job, or cuz fuss 'tween man an' woman. If a woman want tuh git de man from 'er husban' [a bad influence on her husband, gambles, etc.], dat would make him leave. Dat's how a woman out here - a woman said dat 'er sistah had been did [sister had been sent away by some man's wife].
(Now, what foot track do they dig that dirt from...both feet or...)
Naw, dis one - de right foot.
(The right one.)
De right foot. Take dat dirt outen de right foot. Go on dere jis' as soon as de sun rise - see, 'fore de sun gits hot an' dat sun rise. [I stop recording here but informant continues. I try to recover missed words.]
(What carries it out, did you say?)
De tide, de water. You know, when de tide goes out, takes dat bottle out wit it.
(Yes, and after that carries it out, what does it do then?)
Dat cause dat man to leave, see.
(Carries him out.)
Carries 'im out, carries 'im from 'is work or 'is wife.
Entry 5594
Dey would pick up evah othah one of yore tracks for nine tracks, but dey take de right feet fer nine tracks. An' dey would take it off an' place dat into a bottle. Aftah placin' into a bottle dey would take - yo've seen dese pickanettle roots. People call 'em [par?] nettles.
(No, I don't know them [pickanettle] but I know what you are talking about.)
[This is probably the horse nettle, which appears several times in Hoodoo.]
It grows wit a white blossom into de top. Take dis blossom an' put it into a pot an' boil it. An' put a little linament, Sloan Linament into dat one, an' put watah onto de linament an' some kinda flesh meat. An' take it out an' yo' got a linament of yo' own creatin'. An' put on top of dat - stop it up tight [in a bottle] - write chure name onto de linament [bottle] be- fo' yo' put it [lina- ment] in dere. Write chure name an' turn it into de bottle, an' turn de bottle down to de groun' dis way.
(Turn that bottle down like that. All right. Then what do you do?)
Yes, sir, turn de bottle down dis way. Turn it down an' put chure name on it. Write chure name on it an' use a verse in de Bible.
(Do you know what verse in the Bible?)
Yes, sir, an' use de Second Kings but read it backwards, see. Read it back- wards an' write chure name. Writes chure verse three times an' write chure name three times. It must be backwards. Put on de linament in de bottle an' turn de bottle downward, down dis way [demonstrates].
(Cork down.)
An' dat'll take 'fect on 'em.
(Well, where are these foot tracks now? Where are the foot tracks?)
De dirt ah got from de foot tracks ah got it in de bottle.
(How much dirt did you take up?)
Jis' a small little.
Entry 5676
Well, yo' take a person's foot track. Jis' lak if yo' wanta run some body 'way from town, move 'em, yo' take dere track. An' if dey goin' dataway, jis' go by an' ketch it from de toe heah, ketch it up from de toe back tuh de heel. Walk along an' don' stop an' pick up de track from de toe tuh de heel. Yo' jis' come 'long dataway an' carry it on home. An' soon as yo' git furt [far] as yore fron' do'step, yo' back back three steps from it an' throw it right ovah yore lef' shouldah. Take a li'le bit of sulphur in dis han' an' throw it ovah de right shouldah. An' yo' take de broom an' go tuh sweepin' it tuh de outside of de yard, an' dem people in less time den three days, dey goin' move 'way from dere. (The track you put it in your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder, and the sulphur you put it in your left hand and throw it over your right shoul- der.) Yo' take de track, see [demonstrates] dis is mah lef' [side]. Throw dat ovah yore lef' shouldah. An' de sulphuh yo' put it ovah yore right shouldah at de same place.
(You use the dirt from either track?)
Yo' use it from de right track.
(That is to make a person leave.)
Entry 5703
Take frogs - jis' lak if yo' wanta run a person off, ketch a live frog an' split 'im wide open. Yo' take a person track - yo' take both of 'is track an' put one crossways, cut it dis way Idemonstratesl. (You cut that frog lengthwise and cross- wise - cross like an "x". All right.) Yo' put de right track straight up an' down, de left track yo' crosses dat. Dat crosses up 'is mind an' he'll drift an' drift an' drift. Dat crosses up 'is mind, see. An' den yo' sew 'im back up an' yo Pat 'im into a green gourd. Put 'im in an' stop it up. A green gourd, dat's right, an' go where de tide is gotta go a long ways, an' yo' walk dere, an' when yo' git tuh dis rivah yo' walk nine steps backwards an throw it ovah, say, "Go, Go." An' throw it ovah. Don' look back, jis' walk from de rivah an' keep agoin'. An' he'll go.
(You say "Go" twice?)
Yassuh.
Entry 6849
If anyone gets scalded they say you say the Lord's Prayer whilst shoo kin take your finger an' go all over this burn repeating the Lord's Prayer back- Wards. That takes the fire out. [Deal Island, Md., 24:3.] ["This is my orig- inal transcription made almost immedi- ately, Harry M. Hyatt, Mar.8, 1971." On original I learn: "Didn't want to tell it to me." This is a very old belief though I did not hear it often in Hoodoo.]
Entry 6870
[Instead of scattering the following cures and protective devices throughout this subsection, I have gathered them here under one submargin title:] Before the Civil War they wouldn't put a woman to make soap that was in a family way. She could turn it backwards and it wouldn't make. And it won't neither. You take a woman in a family Way, she can take a spoon and turn cream backwards and can't git it to come [[to butter]]. And you can't neither. ["This old man was a boy of eleven when the Civil War started." I am quoting the notation on my pencil transcription made almost immediately after the recording. Yes, he must have said Civil War, though in his younger years he may have spoken of the "War between the States." For the power and peculiarities of women during pregnancy, See FACI, 2nd ed., 1965.] [Fredericksburg, Va., informant 44, by Ediphone.]
Entry 6879
(How can that be done?)
Well, yo' see, de way dat dey do it, dey git a rope. Yo' know a woman's iml pregnant. Dey goes tuh de step an' dey come ovah de step.
(Wait a minute. What do they do with that rope now?)
Dey take de rope offa de mule.
(Oh, this rope is around the mule?)
De rope is aroun' de mule. Dey git tuh de step an' dey come over dat rope nine times backwards. See, dey jump ovah de rope once an' dey walk aroun' it an' dey jump ovah it ag'in. An' when dey git ovah dat rope, den dey jump up lak a mule. Now, when dis lady comes out, dat's crossin' 'er as a mule [woman's period will be as long as a mule's]. Now tuh git dis cross off 'er before dis child is born, yo' git chew a Bull Durham [tobacco] sack. Yo' take dat Bull Durham sack an' yo' wash it clean, clean, clean. Yo' go tuh one a dese big sand places such as Jenkins, Watts-Cornell [or] J. J. Cox, sand dat's nevah been used, jis' come in. Yo' fill dat bag about three-qurtah full of dat sand. It's purtty white sand. Yo' git chew nine silvah dimes an' yo' put in dat sand an' yo' git chew, git chew a half a cupa vinegah. Yo' take dat an' yo' put it intuh a pot an' yo' boil. An' aftah yo' boil, yo' boil yo' an' yo' boil it down an' yo' see dis sack done boiled enough, tuh where yo' want it tuh boil at, den yo' take dis sack an' yo' go an' throw it undah 'er steps. Dat's de woman impregnant. Yo' throws it right undah 'er step wit dese dimes an' dis sand intuh it. Now, de liquid dat's lef' from dis, from dat vinegah, yo' got dat dere. Now, she mus' take a sip of dis evah mawnin' fer nine mawnin's. An' ah'll guarantee yuh it'll knock dat off. (That checks that cross that's on that woman, checks it right away. You can't do any harm at all.)
Entry 6981
If you have a [social] disease and have a running, they claim if you take some of that and go backward to a stream of running water and throw it over your left shoulder, it will cause that running to stop. [That word social within bracket, originally a parenthesis, is mine. What it replaces I no longer remember. Above it I have a note copy myself! Back in 1936 when this belief was collected, everything about a venereal disease was taboo. A final note of mine reads My original [[pencil]] copy never typed, dated H. M. H. note Aug. 1971.]
Entry 7275
When dey kill a man, if he fall on 'is face, why if he fall on 'is face lak dat, yo' step like dis [demonstrates] step backwards ovah him. If he fall any way [you step backwards over him], but more specially if he fall on 'is face lak dat. Yo' come round dis way [demonstrates] an' step back- wards ovah him. Dey won't ketch yo'.
Entry 7276
To keep from being caught, let murderer jump backwards across the corpse and then put turpentine on feet.
Entry 7277
Said dat he could take de man dat he killed an' jump ovah him dis way [demonstrates] an' den jump backwards, but he do's it fo' three times an' den he goes on away. An' dey said he can't be caught, de hounds can't trail 'im. [Forwards and backwards is one time; do three times.]
Entry 7279
Fo' instance, if a man would kill a man an' he would cross 'im three times.
(Here is the body. Now, how would he cross him?)
[For the body I probably used my Numbers Book, small note book containing the number of each informant and brief information about him after he left.1 He'd cross him dis way [demonstrates] an' den he'd come back dis way. Den he'd come farward ag'in. Dat's three times [forward, back- Ward, forward - each on an angle to form an X or cross.] Den he'd go away an' he won't be ketched by comin' back. Yo' may ketch him in California or somewhere but not by him returnin' back hisself, yo' see. But, if yo' know de party dat commit de crime an' will take dat chicken aig an' write his name on de aig nine time backwards. If his name Charles Smith, write Smith Charles, burying dat party wit dat aig in dere. Ah guarantee yo' in about three or fo' mont' time, yo' will ketch him near de place where he commit de crime, comin' back fo' some reason. He won't stay 'way. Well, if he [you or I] commit de crime, an' havin' trouble - so no dog, no law, nuthin could find out mah business or nuthin'; but if yo' kin git to it, de turpentine swamps. yo' git de turpentine an' put it at de bottom of his feet, rub it at de bottom in de shoe sole an' de dogs won't trail him. He'll be caught by someone else, but de dogs won' trail wit turpentine.
Entry 7281
If a man killed anybody an' don't want 'em tuh ketch 'im, he kin - de one dat he killed, he kin step backwards ovah 'im three times an' hug 'im an' kiss 'im, go to de graveyard an' put some dirt in each one of 'is shoes, an' dey can't ketch 'im.
Entry 7282
Ah've undahstood it dis way, dat when dey kills a man - aftah dey kill de man - dey turn an' walk backwards ovah 'im, for five paces I believe, back- Wards ovah de man; den dey turn facewards an' go in de same direction dat you turned an' dey couldn't ketch chew. [The murderer faces his victim while killing him, and then with his back to the corpse so that he can take one step backwards over the fall- en body, he continues five more steps backwards. At this spot the killer again turns 180 degrees to look towards the original or attack direction, the direction in which he now walks or runs away.]
Entry 7283
After, if a man kilt a [man], dey walk backwards nine steps, see, and den step across [the corpse]. Co'se if he can't go away [author interrupts]...
(He steps nine steps backwards and then waht do they do?)
Den dey'll step across - yeah, to de right [demonstrates].
(I see, make a cross.)
Yes, an' cross 'im an' he can git away. [Any stepping backwards across a corpse on the ground makes the sign of the cross: the stepping being one arm of the cross, the corpse the other. The step- per or killer is crossing or crossing up the ghost of his victim rather than trying to evade the police. The cross of our present rite is more complicated. Lay a broom on the floor to represent the dead body. Stand with your back to the broom and feet to- gether so that they touch the handle. Lift your right foot back to the right, diagonally, over the handle (body) so that it comes to rest solidly on the floor (ground). Then steady yourself on right foot while you move left foot to right until it, on other side of handle (body), is almost opposite right foot. Final- ly, lift up left foot, bringing it backwards to the left, diagonally, across handle (body). Your feet have made a cross as diagrammed: BROOM L-R Ｌ Ｌ
Entry 7284
Aftah he wuz killed, ah heard dat he could take an' step nine steps backwards, an' when he steps nine steps backwards, he would whirl round on de left heel an' pick up a strand of hair outa dat track an' call 'is name - name an' a lock of 'is hair. Ah heard dat's de way yo' git 'em back. (You call the man's name that wus kill- ed?) Call de nam dat killed 'im. (Well, how did they know it was that man?) Well, when dey step backwards nine steps an' whirl round an' dey git de strand of 'is hair, dey would know dat hair on account dey have seen dat man. An' den, his 'nitials - his 'nitials be cut in dat hair.
(You mean that would be the hair of the man that did the killing?)
Yessuh. [To whirl round on the heel (usually right) and find a hair in the heel mark is a common rite: In the hole you make by turning around three times on your right heel you will find a hair like that of your destined mate's (FACI 1st ed., No.7037; cf.7038-7039). For finding hair in shoe or stocking, see 2nd ed., 9105-9115.1 [Informant is describing the work of a doctor, who could recognize the hair and see the initials; a simple task for a gifted person, as anyone familiar with these volumes of Hoodoo knows.]
Entry 7318
Go to de graveyard right heah and bury it right chere [demonstrates]. Like dis is mah head heah and dis is mah foot, an' walk backwards - turn yore back an' walk backwards toward mah face, walk all roun' tull [till] yo' git to de headbo'd.
(Wait! You walk back like that, around the grave. And then what?)
[Informant probably demonstrated by walking backwards round his chair.]
An' den yo' put chure han' right down dere an' git a han'ful of dirt an' put yore han' in yore pocket an' turn yore back.
(What does that do?)
If dey do [give] yo' trouble any way, dey can't ketch yuh - de dogs won't run yo' wit it. (Suppose they are trying to catch me and I go out to the cemetery, to the graveyard, and I turn my back and I walk round the grave.) Yes, sir. (I walk back over [round] the head down to the foot. Where do I get this dirt?) Git it right out de head of de - at de headbo'd. See, de bo'd nail down dere. Yo' reach right down dere at de head an' git it.
(Do you get it at the footboard or the headboard?)
De headbo'd.
Entry 7416
(Yes, what do they do out there?)
When yo' git in de fo'ks of de road, yo' makes a cross. Yo' make a cross dere in de fo'k of de road, an' den yo' turn backwards - make three steps backwards.
(What will that do?)
Whadyado? [= What do you do?] Make three steps backwards? Yo' goes dere along. See, dat's in ordah to cross up de othah person dat supposed to follah yo'. (I see.) Yeah, dat's whut dat's fo'. Yo' go out dere an' yo' make a cross right down in de road an' den yo' back three steps backwards. Well, dat's prevents de person from follahin' yo', which way yo' goin'. Dat stops 'em.
(I see.)
Entry 7701
Dey'll go tuh de graveyard at midnight jis' befo' de clock strikes twelve, an' dey'll make a cross mark - dat is a X - right acrost de footbo'd an' de haidbo'd [that is 2 crosses]. Dey go tuh de foot firs', den dey take nine steps backwards, back de way yuh come in [the graveyard], den yuh kin come on out. Dat's fo' luck.
Entry 7839
Ah heard dey kin take graveyard dirt an' sprinkle it all roun' yore do' an' make yo' move. [I stop machine so that we can begin on something not so well known.] An' yo' kin take graveyard dirt an' yore name an' put it in a bot- tle wit some watah, an' if yo' drink coffee, put coffee in dere an' make yo' commit suicide. (How many times do I write that name, just once on that paper?) No, nine times. (How do you write it?) Write it back dis way [demonstrates] dat's if yo' wanta do harm wit it, yo' write it backwards. Lak yore name's John Henry, ah write Henry John.
(Write it nine times?)
Yeah. Den yo' write it chere [here] an' yo' write it 'cross dere [demon- strates]. (Always keep crossing it up all the time.)
Entry 7849
Lak dey wanted tuh trick yo' or wanted tuh put sompin in yo' [poison you], well, dey go tuh de graveyard yo' see, an' git graveyard dust. Den dey take dat graveyard dust an' put some red peppah in it, an' sew it up, an' walk in de no'th cornah of dat house an' hide it; but dey have tuh put it in between somepin dat it Wouldn't be seen. An' den when dey walk, dey walk backwards wit dere face tuh de wall of dat house till dey got tuh de centah of de do'. When dey got tuh de centah of de do', dey turn aroun' an' walk on. An' wit'in a short while dat dust, why it will eithah draw yo' or send yo'.
(According to what you want done.)
Yessuh, jes' 'cordin' tuh what chew want done. If yo' want it tuh draw yo', den yo' turn aroun', see. If yo' want it tuh send yo', yo' walk backwards. An' when yo' turn, don' turn tuh de right, but tuh de left.
Entry 8207
Well, yo' take - git chew dis name on a tintype an' turn dat bottom upwards, an' bury it undah jis' six inches of soil [symbolical of 6 feet]. An back off ten steps, ah mean nine steps befo' yo' turn yuh back tuh it. An' den walk away an' don't evah look back tuh it ag'in. (And what will that do?) Well, dey claim dat if dey tryin' tuh do somepin tuh yuh, say anything dat dey want did, it will happen dat way. (Well, will that do anything particular to you, burying the photograph that way, that tintype?) It won't even kill yuh or anything, jis' make yuh be through wit 'em so ah undahstand.
(I see.)
Entry 8319
Take a person's photograph an' yo' go on de no'th side of a tree. An' yo' take dat tree an' hew dat bark offa dere, an' put dat photograph in dere an' nail it up. An' yo' Walk back from dat tree nine times [steps] an' cuss, an' say whutevah yo' cuss, an' whosevah name yo' call, dat person die.
(You just fasten that on the north side of the tree?)
Yes, cut de bark out an' put de photograph intuh it. (And walk backwards nine steps and cuss and call their name.)
Entry 8481
Dey kin walk backwards an' call a person name, an' if dey continue tuh do dat fo' a certain many days, dat'll run yo' crazy.
Entry 8483
Take de black bottle an' set it 'hin' de baid, dat's whut ah heard, an' dey said tuh write chure name on dat bottle nine times. An' let de bottle stay 'hun' [behind] de baid fo' nine mawnin's, an' den yo'll come back home. Dat's if yore gone, see. (How do you write the name on that bottle?) Yo' write de name goin' dis Way [demonstrates] fo' nine times, den yo' turn dat roun' an' yo' write it comin' back 'cross dat way [demonstrates]. See, dat's de way yo' should write it.
(You mean you write it on the glass?)
[I knew the name was not written on the glass, but I needed an explanation without suggesting it.] Take a piece of papah an' write it on dat, put it around dat.
(Put this paper around the bottle.)
Yessuh, around de bottle, an' write de name dis way nine times an' den write it back dis way nine times. [After first name is written forwards, turn the paper upside down and write second name beneath first. This is called writing backwards, or forwards and backwards, or back and forth.]
Entry 8512
Take nine needles an' nine nails, an' also nine pins, an' a coconut wit a eggshell.
(An eggshell?)
A eggshell, an' dis quicksilvah papah.
Quicksilvah.
(You mean the paper they put around tobacco?)
[I am referring to tin foil.]
Yes, sir. Yo' take a indelible pencil an' write someone name on it nine times across.
(Over that silver paper?)
Yes. An' yo' write it nine times across dis way [demonstrates].
(You mean cross them like that, like an "x"?)
Yeah, an' den yo' cross dat again. See, jis' keep it all covahed up. Yo' are writing dere name backwards doh [though]. Yo' don't write it, yo' know, lak it should be, but yo' write it backwards. See, lak if yure name is WELLS, well yo' start wit dat SLLEW an' go right on lak dat. Write it fo' nine times, jis' lak dat, each way, backwards an' forwards, same way. Den, yo' take an' jis' put it inside of de coconut - take dis inside of de coconut an' take it tuh a midstream, an' throw it upstream, but it must be flowin' down, lak a drift [cur- rent], see. Yo' take dis coconut an' throw it out [into the stream] an' when dis coconut go down, dis person whatevah yo' wish tuh drift, dey'll come tuh dey can't be satisfied nowhere neah. If dey have no place, dey'll set out. Dey know dat yo' live in dere, an' dey'll come in an' dey won't see no peace at home. Dey are always on de go. Dat's if dey stay dere. Finally, dey'll git so dat dey can't stay in de house. Dey'll pack up whut dey got an' if de things dat dey have is too much trouble fo' 'em, dey'll take an' pro'bly sell it an' jis' go on adriftin'. Yo' pro'bly may nevah see 'em no mo'.
(What do you do with that eggshell and that stuff?)
De eggshell, dat goes intuh de coconut.
(Oh, that goes into the coconut.)
Egg, [coconut] milk, de quicksilvah, evahthing inside of dis coconut. An' yo' put it in dere an' yo' throw it ovahbo'd.
(I see.)
Entry 8551
Take a fish an' yo' write a person's name backwards, de two parties, if it's two, lak yore husban' is wit a woman.an' yo' cain't break 'em up, an' yo' wants 'em clean away from round yo'. Yo' don't wanta see 'em. Den yo' gits yo' a fish an' yo' dry it, but chew dries it into a perch fish. Dries hit into salt, yo' know, lak yore mack- eral - salt 'em down. Now - but chew have hit open already. Now, yo' takes dem nails backwards lak ah told yo' concerning de lemon, an' put it into dat fish an' sew dat fish up. An' carry 'im an' put 'im into runnin' watah, an' dat run de two away - dey couldn't stay dere. Dey have tuh go.
(The fish is killed before you put it into salt?)
Yes.
(How do you write those names on that?)
BACKWARDS. ALL RIGHT, MAH NAME IS VIOLA DORSEY. DORSEY VIOLA, DAT'S BACK- WARDS. Yores [if it] is Freddy Jones, [write] Jones Freddy. Dat cuts across dere.
[Freddy bisects Jones, the two names forming a cross.]
(That cuts across dere, cross the names?)
Dat's de idea, an' backwards. Cain't be straight fo' good.
Entry 8571
Fur ninstance [for an instance] yo' kin take an' yo' kin write a pusson name frontwards an' den yo' kin write it backwards. An' den yo' could take some salt an' put in dat an' yo' could keep dat pusson down by putting it under yo' feet. (What do you mean under your feet?) Well, yo' see, jes' like my name David. Yo' write David Chislow, den yo' write backwards Chislow David. [This is the normal writing backwards and not preceding margin title BACK- WARDS.] See what yo' mean. Then yo' take some salt an' yo' put in dat, a little piece of cloth, an' yo'll fix dem. Make a little flat piece of cloth an' lay it right in yo' shoe, an' then yo' put on your shoe, an' yo' put your foot right on that an' keep me right down.
Entry 8590
If a man leaves home, leaves his wife and he wants - she wants him back. Well, she will take his name an' she will write it nine times backwards. See, she take his last name and bring that first. And de woman dat he is goin' wit, well, she'll write her name on top of his name, an' she'll get her some he lodestone. (He lodestone?) He lodestone. See, they got two kinds. They got the she an' they got de he. Get de he lodestone an' yo' put it in a coal-oil lamp. An' yo' take an' attach it into dat wick. An' yo' keep dat lamp burnin' all day, but yo' turn dat lamp down low. An' yo' see yo' got his name burning in dat he lodestone, an' dat draws him right back tuh yo'. (And whose name - did you write that woman's name he is running around with, or the wife's name?) No, yo' write de woman's name when he is runnin' wit an' his name.
(I see, that'll bring him back. Bring him back.)
Entry 8609
If a man got a wife an' she's away from him an' he wants tuh bring her to him, he gits cinnamon an' he gits sugah an' he git honey an' he puts it in dat lamp an' he'll write his indivi- dual name down nine times on a piece of papah straight one aftah de othah... [demonstrates]. (The first name first and the last name last.) Yassuh. An' then he'll write his name down across that with a indelible pencil, an' he takes dat papah...
[I interrupt.]
(How many times does he write his own name?)
His name nine times right cross hers. Den he takes dat papah an' he folds it three times towards him. An' he'll git him some No.8 black thread an' he wraps it roun' dat papah an' ties it up, an' put it in dat rag an' burn it [in the lamp]. An' that'll draw de individual to him.
Entry 8633
If he be done left her, you mean?
(Yes.)
An' he living with another woman? Well, yo' take an' write his name down again, an' yo' get yo' some red peppah - yo' see, this cayenne red peppah. Well, yo' get yo' some red peppah an' yo' get yo' nine needles, brand-new needles what have never been used. An' yo' get yo' nine new pins. An' yo' stick all of dem needles an' dem pins in de wall cater- corner. An' yo' put it in dere, wit yo' know, hot peppah what yo' put on yore food [pepper sauce]. Yo' take de cayenne red peppah an' de hot peppah [sauce] an' de nine needles an' de nine pins [and the name see later] an' yo' put dat in a lemon. An' yo' bury it anywhere in de back yard, see. An' dat will break dem two people up, an' make yo' an' him come back to- gethah again. I done seen dat did.
(Well, how did she write his name in the beginning?)
Write his name? Well, just like a person's first name, like somebody is named Andrew Edmund or any name like dat. Well, yo' see, yo' put [instead of putting] Andred Edmund, put Edmund Andrew. See, yo' put it backwards, till yo' write it nine times. An' den yo' FOLD IT LIKE A HEART, COMIN' TO YO', & an' dat foldin' 'im to yo' all de time. An' yo' bury it in de backyard. An' yo' just leave it stay dere until it molds away. An' in about nine or ten day's time, his mind gets off of this othah woman an' gets back on yo', an' dat makes him leave 'er an' comes back to yo'.
(I see.) You put this name and that other mixture?)
Yes, de pins an' de needles all togethah.
Entry 8693
They can go to the end of a railroad track and put your name down in there an' yo'll drift. Yes, right up on the side of the [railroad] tie. Well, you write the name backwards [last name first]. You write it up an' then yo' write it across [write it in the form of an 'x or cross] an' let it be nine times. Put it right there [on the railroad track]. Put it in a can, though, see, so it won't blow away.
Entry 8729
Yo' see, yo' can take a terrapin an' write-like my name nine times backwards, if somebody don't like me, yo' know. An' catch 'im alive an' open his mouth an' put dat down in his mouth, an' den throw 'i back in de watah. Jes' as long as he stay in de watah, dat will make yo' drift, drift up an' down de watah, jes' make yo' go first one place to anothah.
(Just write this on a piece of paper?)
On a piece of papah.
Entry 8940
Somebody stealin' anything from you an' he passes.through de door - he's gotta, yo' know. Yo' take a axe an' go right over de door, on de inside an' on de outside, cut off little splinters, don't care how small it is. An' go right out into the yard where there's a cart, or a wagon or automobile or anything. If it's a automobile, you've got to jack the wheel up. Then yo' lose it so yo' kin pull it off de axle an' put de two splinters right in there, an' shove it right back on. An' yo' call this thief: Thief, turn your ways backwards. Oh, Thief, yo' shall be turned back. Yo' shall stand up in your track. Yo' shall not walk one inch front nor back until yo' come back an' bring my stolen' goods to me. Say that three times. An' stop asking him to bring it back and walk away. In less time than thirty minutes, yo'll see someone coming.
Entry 8943
De do' what chew goin' thru, de threshhold of de do', an' yo' cut a piece of chip from dere.
(A chip out of that door, that the thief has gone out.)
Yes. An' den ag'in, dey gits a wagon in de yard. Put dose chips into de axle of de Wagon an' den turn it backwards. An' call de thief name: In de Name of de Father an' of de Son an' de Holy Ghost, bring back whut chew done took. See, say dat, an' turn de wheel backwards. Say [turn] it backwards fast. An' yo' turn dat backwards fast. An' fo' [before] three times three days, dem people come back. If dey don't bring dat, dey'll put it on a place somewhere yo' kin find it. (This thing they took from you.)
Entry 8944
" Jes' lak somebody take somepin outa dis room heah. Yo' kin take a knife an' trim off a li'le trimmin' off dat do' dere, where yo' go out. An' yo' kin take an' care [carry] it - go tuh a man who got a wagon an' take de left-hand reah [rear] wheel off. An' put dat on dat spindle where dat[wheel] turn ovah on - put dat trimmin' whut chew got off dat do'. An' put de wheel back on dere an' yo' say, Thief, return, an' yo' turn dat wheel far- vards three times an' den yo' turn it backwards. Say, Thief, return de stolen goods which was taken outen mah possession. An' in seven days he'll return dose goods back to yo' - money or anything else. An' if he haven't got de goods, he'll come an' tell yo' dat he'll pay yo' fo' dose goods.
Entry 9001
Uses de Bible on dat. Ah uses - take de 13 chaptah of Ezekiel [for] dat, but ah takes it backwards, read it backwards. Aftah when ah read it back- wards an' sit down an' write chure name, yore crime dat chew committed, an' yore luck [fortune], all onto hit. See. Fold it up an' give to yo' an' sent yo' tuh court say, "Go an' ah'll go wit chew." Yo' go tuh co't at nine 'clock. Ah'm goin' be workin' directly fo' yuh at nine 'clock through de Bible, an' light two candles. On dese candles ah have judge's name an' yore name. De candles is a Wax candle. Lights a black candle. An' ah would have 'em white an' colored - all, tuh git a very low sentence an' a lot of 'em would git loose.
(Where do you buy these candles?)
Ah orders all of mine from Kingston, Jamaica.
(Kingston, Jamaica - I see. What is the name of the firm down there?)
Peterburg Factory - Peelburg, Pillsburg. Dat's where ah orders all mine, dese candles from.
Entry 9065
Well, yo' could take an' go down [to buy bluestone] an' yo' would place dis bluestone intuh yore hat; see, bluestone an' saltpetah intuh yore hat - see, intuh yore hatband - an' turn yore hat [backwards]. Jes', say, fur an instant [instance] yo' take dis hat [my black hat on interviewing table] an' turn it backwards onto yore haid.
(Just turn your hat all the way around backwards. Wear it backwards.)
Turn de front intuh de back, see. An' he - he couldn't do nuthin.
(The judge wouldn't do anything to you?)
Nawsir [no sir]. Jes' turn yo' loose. To wear anything backwards or wrong- side out protects against ghosts, witches and trouble.]
Entry 9088
De judge - goin' up befo' de judge? An' yo' don' want no trouble wit de judge. Yo' take his name befo' yo' go up dere. Yo' take de judge's name. Don't care if yo' don' know him, yo' jis' try tuh fin' somebody dat knows his name - de district attorney's name. Yo' take dere names an' yo' write 'em, yo' write 'em fo' times backwards - his last name firs'. An' yo' turn right aroun' den an' take dat firs' name an' write it last an' fold it up. An' always try tuh put it some place on yuh where yo' will have when yo' go in fo' law - when yo' go in fo co't. Always try tuh have dat. All right. If yo' kin, yo' try tuh git chew a John de Conkah root. Anyone dat yo' think [of] kin go tuh de drug sto' some- where, an' which is very easily found. Dere's people dat have 'em in drug sto's. A drug sto' have dat, dat John de Conkah root. Yo' chew dat.
Entry 9183
If somebody is troublin' yuh an' yo' don't wants 'em aroun' heah, yo' take a aig an' yo' write dey name on it nine times. An' yo' go tuh runnin' watah an' turn yuh back tuh it befo' yo' git tuh de watah, an' yo' make nine steps backwards tuh de watah an' yo' tell 'em, jes' call dey name: "Ah wants chew tuh go an' stay from aroun' me, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, an' Name of de Holy Ghost." An' throw it ovah yuh left shouldah jis' as fur as yo' kin. Don't look back. Yo' walk right on off. Now, dat'll work. Dat will run yo' off.
Entry 9244
In case yo' wanta do anything wit it, yo' go dere an' yo' take two pennies. Yo' take a aig. Yo' still take a aig an' yo' take two pennies an' yo' go dere at twelve a'clock at night. Yo' bust dat aig right across of dat road. See, what- somevah yo' want, if it's evil, by dat bustin' dat aig, yo' pay de mean spirit two cents. Yo' drop dat two cents in dere [the bursted egg]. An' yo' bust dat aig right across de road at twelve a'clock at night, an' turn right an' go backwards an' don' look back.
[You probably walk backwards as long as you can see the forks of the road.]
(And then you make a wish for something that you want done?)
Dat's right.
(You do that down at the forks of the road.)
Dat's right.
Entry 9247
Ah heard if yo' wants tuh move someone out of de house neah yo', or eithah yo' wanta break someone up, dey tell me yo' go dere an' 'bout seven-thirty dat night, an' take yo' fo' solid aigs, chicken aigs, an' bust 'em on de top of de house an' yo' won't have any mo' trouble. Dey move out de house an' nobody won't know how dey move out dere or why dey gone.
(You take four eggs?)
Yassuh, fo' solid aigs. Back up fo' steps from de house, walk backwards fo' steps tuh de house an' bust dem fo' aigs on top of de house, see. An' yo' won't have any mo' trouble wit dem den. [Remember, we are not talking here about a mansion, but about a small one-story structure of cabin proportions. Walking backwards four steps and tossing four eggs over your shoulder on to the roof Would not require much skill or strength.]
Entry 9402
Jes' lak dis man is heah in dis house an' ah didn't want 'im livin' heah - jis' lak fo' 'im tuh move outa heah - ah'd git me three aigs an' dey have tuh be rotten dough [though], dey have tuh be rotten eggs. Ah throw dem aigs ag'inst dis house, but ah goes nine steps backwards an' ah throw 'em ovah mah shouldah. Dat's whut ah do wit dem aigs den. It be any time of night or any time of day. An' den ah come dere an' sprinkle a li'le dust aroun' dere, dis same dust whut ah got, graveyard dust, an' dey couldn't stay dere. Dey gotta leave.
(You walk backwards from the house?)
Nine steps, nine steps backwards. Not backwards from de house, backwards tuh de house. Jis' lak if ah wuz 'cross de street, ah'd walk backwards tuh de house, not from it, den throw 'em ovah mah lef' shouldah.
Entry 9465
Put some cookin' salt right in de do', in fron' of de do' yo' see; an' put some backwards tuh de kitchen where dey be walkin' in. An' dey walk in ovah dat salt, he'll have good luck de balance of dey days.
(Who would do this?)
De man, or anybody wus runnin' de house.
(Of any kind [of business] - selling what?)
Sellin' moonshine or....
Entry 9684
Jis' like if your husband was goin' with someone else, [I know] of a remedy that would break that up, and that is one heaping tablespoonful of salt. You dip up this here, a tablespoonful of salt, pick it up, an' you take yuh hand an' brush it off [level the salt]. An' you pour that over there on the Papah. Then do the same with de sulphur. An' you brush that off [take a table- Spoon level-full of sulphur] an' pour it into this [salt]. Then take one pinch of saltpeter an' you put this into this [salt and sulphur]. Then you make [mix] it up real good an' start from the front door, go upstairs, you go backwards, sprinkle this. An' they say when he walks over this, it'll break 'em up.
Entry 9685
An' if yo' don't want 'em tuh come tuh yore house, yo' take table salt an' snake dust - cos' [of course] snake dust will kill yo'. Dey throw it at chew when yo' goin' tuh de house. Yo' take dat an' chunk it. Dey call it throwin' it at chew, but dey don't throw it at chew, dey put it down fo' yo' tuh walk ovah it. But if dey don't want chew tuh come tuh de house, yo' take one of yore right-foot shoes, an' sweep dat shoe, dirt an' all out de do', an' den dey'll walk backward from dat shoe in de house. Dey ain't comin' back no mo'.
(Whose shoe do they put out there?)
Yores. Jes' put a little table salt in dere. Dat will carry dem away.
(What do you do with the snake dust?)
Dat snake dust? Well, now, dat's tuh kill yo'. Dey won' do nuthin but jes' pur dat down, right down in yore pathway.
(Where you can walk over it?)
Yessuh, an' yo' walk ovah it. (But if they want to get rid of you, they just put that salt in your shoe and seep it out?) Yessuh. But dat snake dust, if yo' walks ovah dat snake dust an' dey got it in dere, why dat'll git chew, see, 'cuz dey got dat lodestone in it, yo' see.
Entry 9772
[In the margin title I have called this rite amazing because I had com- pletely forgotten about it and its future significance. The person I am inter- viewing here is J. R. Patterson, proprietor of the black hotel, Patterson Hotel, in New Orleans. Among the illustrations at end of HOODOO, volume 2, see the Patterson Hotel letterhead containing pictures of the hotel, the proprietor, and his signature on Wednesday, March 9, 1938, for rent on room No.17, including elec- tricity for my machine, and room space for my clients downstairs. I paid my rent each day before returning to my own hotel, the old St. Charles. To give Mr. Patterson some idea of my work, I suggested that he himself be interviewed. His following rite tells how he could be driven from his own hotel. Neither of us realized at the time that before a year had passed, Mr. Patterson would lose his hotel and I myself would be chased from the black hotel in Memphis by the police. For this later surprise, see Introduction to HOODOO, volume 1, page XxxIV, line 9 following.] De first thing yo' do, git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. De nex' thing tuh do is git chew a box of cinnamon, a box of cloves. Git chew a nickel's worth of new tenpenny nails, an' den git chew one quart of gasoline. Den git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. Go by dose person's house an' pick up, whethah it's mud, dirt or sand, take it up an' put it in de bucket wit dose nails. Po' yuh gasoline in dere an' strike a match an' light it, [let it burn] until it comes tuh be dry an' sandy. Den yo' take it an' go backwards from de do' where dey livin' at an' sprinkle it crossways dat way tuh de fo' cornahs of de world: [demonstrates by pointing] dat cornah, dis cornah, dis one, and dat one cross de street. In 24 hours de're [they are] gone. (You just sprinkle it like this [I demonstrate], like a wingy motion all around, cross that house?) [My demonstration of wingy motion must have been a fluttering or flipping motion like a bird. Informant misunderstands my word cross, meaning to put a hoodoo on the house, not throwing back and forth across the house.] No [you don't throw back and forth across the house] yo' tro' it from de house [demonstrates]. Yes, lak dis is de back, dis is de sidewalk out heah [demonstrates], sprinkle it dis way [demonstrates], cross ovah [demonstrates].
[I describe his demonstrations:]
(From the house out to the gutter, you sprinkle it back and forth, like a "v".)
[This "v" or triangle is the 3 Holy Names.]
One block each way, one block each way from de house. Lak Patterson [the speaker] whut chew [suppose you] wanted him tuh move. Well, yo'd git some dirt. See dat cigah ashes [he points to ashtray containing ashes of my cigar] an' [also] pick it from de sidewalk [get sidewalk dirt], an' git some dirt an' sprin- kle it aroun' dere - some sand. An' befo' he sweeps de banquette [= sidewalk in New Orleans] up in de mawnin', yo' jes' come aroun' dere an' brush up a little bit, jes' enough tuh git in yore fingahs an' put in dere. Den yo' come back heah dat night, yo' see, an' sprinkle from his do' crossways de banquette tuh dat cornah. Den yo' go tuh dis cornah an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Yo' go dat way an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Den yo' go ovah heah tuh garage. See. In 24 hours dey are moved.
(You have to throw it to the four corners of the world.)
Yes. [New Orleans, La., (1566, J. R. Patterson, proprietor of black hotel, Patterson Hotel), 2866:3.] [The title of this section could have been either Pins and Needles or Needles and Pins, both having tradition behind them; the first because a person is some- times said to walk on pins and needles; the second according to the folklore couplet: Needles and pins, needles and pins; when a man marries, his trouble begins. As in the case of the preceding section about nails, most rites about these objects have already appeared elsewhere in the printed text as parts of rites with other ingredients. The following rites will be listed according to number of pins and needles: 1, 2, 3, etc.1
Entry 10035
It's awful [dreadful] tuh say so, but chew kin take a black cat. Ah've seen a fellah dat did try dat. Ah had a brothah dat tried it. Put it in de watah an' boil it an' take de bone out, see. Take all de bones. Boil it till it's boiled all tuh pieces, see. An' den aftah it's boiled all tuh pieces - don't go in de home of no one, boil it out [outdoors]. An' let all de meat fall from de bones, an' take it an' carry it tuh a branch - a creek, a small creek ~ an' put it in dere. An' de bone dat go backwards, yo' kin take dat bone. An' den yo' [can] go an' steal an' all lak dat [probably because you can make yourself invisible].
Entry 10498
Go to de forks of de road an' walk back cross de road nine times, an' look up an' cuss God 9 times. An' walk backwards cross de road. Dey say yo done sold yo'self to de devil. (Now here's the forks of the road. [I demonstrate.] I walk over the forks of the road.) Nine times backwards. (Nine times backwards and I look up into the air and curse God nine times. Then I've sold myself to the devil. And then what do I do?) Yo' kin go back an' do anything yo' wanta do den.
Entry 10773
Ah heard sompin 'bout a broom. Now, yo take a broom now - dey claim dat yo' take a broom an' yo'll sweep with it. Well, now, if yo' take a broom an' lay it down an' step ovah it, it will give yo' bad luck. Always, if yo' step ovah a broom forward, step backwards ovah it an' dat give yo' good luck.
Entry 10774
Well, whut ah've heard is this. Yo' git some snuff - that whut chew dip [what you pick up by dipping thumb and forefinger into it] an' mix some dirt with it, jes' dis natural dirt out heah [in the yard or field]. Mix it together an' sprinkle on de po'ch. An' den take a broom an' go backward, sweep backwards that-a-way [demonstrates]. Sweep it on out backwards that-away. An' then aftah yo' do that, then mop de po'ch with some Red Seal Lye an' [or] Red Devil lye. That's [use] one of 'em.
(What will that do now?)
That'll make 'em move, an' ah mean make 'em move right now. (Well, where would that be. In case, like right over here, if I wanted to get rid of them, I would do that in my own house?) Yessuh, make them move.
Entry 10874
If yo' happen to see a cat - if it passes dat road, if it's a black cat, walk backwards, dey says, an' yo'll always succeed. But if he's a gray cat or a white cat, says step right on ovah it. (Over the cat.) Yeah, step right on ovah where he walks, but walk backwards if he's black an' yo' shore will have better luck.
Entry 11189
De dirt dauber.
(Sort of like a wasp or a bee?)
Yes. Well, didja evah see de little cells dat dey build?
(Yes.)
Well, now, de people down dis way - especially in dis part of de world at one tine - now ah know dis tuh be a fact. We were living in Conecuh County, Ala. We had a very disagreeable neighbor lived across de street from us, an' she rented from some white people, but we owned our property. And dis person was disagreeable. And de white people dat she liked, dey like her so well, un- til dey wouldn't have her move just tuh please someone else, you see. Well, mah mother told many different people about her. De woman was named Ada Sonworth [Stallworth] - of course I don't have to tell [her name]. Anyway, she was very disagreeable and she would argue. Well, anyway, as I started tuh tell you, dis woman was very disagreeable and it wasn't no possible chance of getting her tuh move. We wasn't going tuh move. And mah mother told an old man 'bout it. An' he was a man supposed tuh have some super-power.
(Did they have any special name for this man? Did they call him anything?)
Yes, dey called him a cunjure, as far as dat is concerned. Well, he told mah mother tuh go and get some of dis dirt dauber cells and pound dem up, and mix one cup of ground pepper and one of black pepper, and one of salt, and have us tuh go tuh her do', you see, at night when dey was 'sleep, and sprinkle it. Said tuh give it tuh us children [to sprinkle] and not her [the mother]. And when you go and sprinkle dat down at de door and walk backwards, you get tuh de gate and throw dat de way you Wanted her tuh go, and said she would leave within nine days. So mah mother didn't believe much about it but she said, well it wouldn't hurt tuh try. It would be so inexpensive until it wouldn't make any difference. So she prepared dis concotion dat we'd have heard, you see, and we did dat - mah brother. Mah brother lives here [Mobile] too, now. We tried dat when we were children and she really disappeared in de next two weeks. Dat's positive.
(How many years ago when you were a child?)
When I was a child dat was in 1915...it was in 1915, and dis little town where dis happened, was in Evergreen. Mah grandfather died in 1917. He was a man dat was very stingy. He was born a slave. "Corse ah don't have tuh tell you but our name is Dubon. Mah grand- father was owned by some French people and dey came from down New Orleans way some place and dey established up here in Conecuh County, and mah grandfather...
Entry 11691
Well, yo' take de colored folk graveyard - yo' nevah been dere, is yo'?
(No.)
Well 'scuse me - dis heah is de white folks graveyard [demonstrates], yo' undahstan', an' de colored folk graveyard come lak dat dere tuh de fo'ks of de road lak dat. Well, yo' kin go right chere 'tween de colored folk graveyard an' de white folk grave- yard, an' any man whut owe yo', take an' write a let- tah, yo' undahstan'. Yo' ain't gotta git no lawyah tuh 'rest him. Yo' go right tuh de fo'ks of de road lak ah tell yo' an' jes' pick up lak dis heah jes' pick up lak dis heah [demonstrates] de white folks graveyard in dis graveyard, yo' understan'. Yo' go right dere tuh dis heah an' take yore han' backwards an' take it up...
(Pick up what?)
Pick up his track backward. An' don't cay [care] if ah owe yo' or anybody owe yo', pick it up backwards, yo' undahstan', an' don' say nuthin 'tall. Jes go home.
(Tell that over again.)
Ah said, any colored man - if yo' open up a place right heah - yo' got dis place right heah now. If ah pass by or anythin' an' yo' not friends wit me, understan'. Well, lak ah wus walkin' from dis side, an' den - well, yo' jes' ketch mah track lak dis heah [demonstrates] undahstan'. An' de sulphur, so dat yo' don't go out dere an' fight dere in de [street]. Yo' go round back in de sto', undahstan', an' set it right dere in de cornah an' yo' jes' shake dat sul- phur up fine, undahstan'. "Fore dat sulphur git burnin' good, yo' undahstan', in dat fo' cornah of de house. See, dat's a cornah of de house, dis a cornah, an' dis a cornah, an' dis a cornah. Well, when yo' set dat table yo' gits a little bit an' sprinkle in dat cornah, dat cornah, dat cornah an' dat cornah. Dat fo' cornah of de house. An' den de man ovah nex' do' can't - de Irishman or Jew or [who?], yo' undahstan', he say tuh dem, "Dis man has opened a place of business heah. Ah been befo' he come heah an' he got mo' customahs den ah got. Ah think ah'm goin' move."
Entry 12461
Wit silver money dey have good luck. An' show it to de moon, an' he Walk back fo' so many - 'bout nine steps backwards; an' then yo' turn roun' an' hit those steps wit dat money, an' say de moon give yo' good luck. [This is a tricky rite to perform in moonlight. I suggest it could be come as follows: facing moon and holding silver coin in right hand, if you are right-handed, step backward with right foot, kneel down, touch track made with coin. Now step back with left foot, kneel down, touching this track with coin. Continue for the 9 steps and tracks.]
Entry 12544
Dey tell me yo' git some lodestone an' git chew some sen-sen an' a red onion. An' yo' peel dis red onion an' take de hull an' drop de sen-sen down in it. [Sen-sen Was or is trade name of small lozenges to suck to sweeten breath.] An' yo' look in de east an' ask de Lord tuh move yore enemies an' bring yo' luck an' peace. An' den yo' sprinkle de sugah ovah dis same thing an' dis red onion. An' yo' walk to yore front do' an' walk back- vards to yore back do' nine times, aftah yo' fire it back. Dat will bring yo' peace an' yo' be's successful wit chure friends.
Entry 12866
I know an old woman that said if a man kept on living on the place and got disagreeable, she said she used to go out in the morning before day and walk backwards and throw that saltpeter in his path in [the form of] a cross and wish him bad luck and he would leave that farm. They say saltpeter is a great hand to destory any- thing you don't like. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 13218
Dat's done dis Way. Say, fo' ninstan' now, dat a spirit is worryin yo', maybe yo' done perhaps kill somebody maybe yeahs ago, an' dey spirit keep worryin' yo'. Yo' go to a small stream where it's a bridge an' yo' git a lighter [fat-lighter stick] an' peg, an' drive it down at chure left toe, den yo' walk backwards cross dat stream an' drive an- othah peg down at chure right toe, an' yo' tie dat spirit betwixt dere - cross de water an' dey won' follow yo' no mo'. (What do you mean you tie it across the water?) Well, yo' see, when yo' drive de peg down, an' yo' call de person's name three times, den yo' know he's wit chew, dat de spirit is. Den when yo walk backwards, cross de bridge, he still following yo' in front, but when yo' stoop down an' drive anothah peg at chure toe, yo've got him. In othah words, dat's whut chew might call dat chew bury de spirits. [As I say in margin title, our doctor here is a law unto himself, since a spirit cannot cross running water; but here doctor pegs sprit across running water so that his client can return to his own side of the stream. Nice Work!]
Entry 56
If yo' evah had a child be bo'ned veiled - yo' know, yo' heard of 'em being veiled. Well, yo' take dat veil an' don' nevah throw it off; always take it off farwards, don't take it off backwards. Sometimes - now ah have two tuh be bo'ned wit dat - two twins. It takes de luck away from 'em to take 'em off this way, jes' [demonstrates].
(Over their heads - forward.)
Jes' lak yo' take yore dress off dis-a-way. An' den yo' take those veils - yo' have tuh keep 'em. Sew 'em up in somepin where dey'll keep 'em, yo' know. Co'se, yo' may have tuh resew 'em or else dey supposed tuh be split heah, an' put in dere an' sew it up. Yo' see [why] some people be so lucky an' so successful.
Entry 275
They go out to the graveyard at midnight and they ketch a black cat and boil him good in a kettle of water. They suck the tail of the cat until they git to the last bone [joint at rectum]. Then they say the Lord's Prayer backwards. Then they're supposed to have a hand to do anything they want to do.
Entry 345
Dey tell me dat chew take a Bible an' go to de crossroads on a Sunday night at twelve a'clock an' yo' read, but chew have tuh read it backwards - an' when yo' read one verse, dey say yo' hear de voice of de next verse somewhere in de woods; an' when yo' finish it up, dat chew have sold yoreself to de devil. Dat's all ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 346
You meet there every morning regular for nine mornings at the same hour or late at night [to] get [learn] your music. And I was told you get on yore knees and prays backwards, but pray not to God but to the devil - see, you pray backwards. And the devil will assist you along dat line, if you kin stand there. If you kin stand the test, den you would get graduated. But I did never go out - don't know whether you get graduated or not.
Entry 404
Now, yo' take huntin' money - jest lak money's buried. Yo' go to work an' yo'll git a machine an' go where de money is. An' dey takes a person tuh read de Bible backwards - one who read it backwards. De other one takes de machine an' dey - yo' take a new shovel whut ain't nevah been used, a new pick, a new axe ain't nevah been used. Well now, yo' git to usin' dat - an' de one readin' de Bible backwards, dat's to keep de money from goin' any further down. As long as he reads an' de other works, why dey'll git to it; but if yo' don't go to read, de mo' yo' git to it, de deeper it'll sink.
Entry 462
They claim that a witch-hag would go to a stable and get a horse and get on his back backwards and come to your house and go through the keyhole while you were sleeping and ride you to death. That is [now] called stagnation of the blood.
Entry 481
Put a Bible under your pillow. A witch will have to read that Bible backwards before she can ride you. Sometimes it takes much longer - if they miss one word in one chapter the witch must go straight on back [start] again, and by dat time it's daybreak and they can't ride you.
Entry 805
[While on the subject of becoming a doctor and dwelling with spirits and beina called a radio broadcaster, I might as well pause to describe a few other accomplishments attributed me. Further see interviews with the Mojo Expert of Memphis and the Patient Doctor of Waycross; also Hyatt, H. M., in Index:] Well, ah've heard of people who - of course, mah father used tuh tell stories of this kind because he dealt in this matter. An' he said, if yo' git someone's foot track an' yo' do not want den round, why yo' take dis foot track of the left or de right an' yo' kin bind it with some salt an' throw it in de fire backward ovah yore shoulder an say dey can't come back. [Salt and dirt from foot track are tied up in a small paper package.]
(Which shoulder do you throw it over?)
Over the left one.
(And which track do you throw?)
Out de left foot.
(Did your father work here in Georgia?)
Yeah, he worked - he was doin' de same work that chure doin'.
Entry 1036
If yo' find dat anything occurs, yo' walk backwards three or fo' steps, backwards de same as yo' go farwards an' yo' walk ovah it, an' yo' cut de extents of it by walkin' ovah it, yo' know. Why aftah yo' walk backwards three or fo' steps an' then go back the same way three or fo' steps an' go on ovah it - dat cuts de extents of it, dere no trouble in it.
(You do that in case there is any harm in it - to protect yourself from it?)
Yes.
Entry 1037
If a person have did somepin tuh yo' an' yo' wanta try tuh git it off yo', yo'( come out every mawnin' a little befo' de sunrise an' yo' make nine steps backwards in de backyard - make nine steps backwards fo' nine mawnin's an' dey tell me dat will git off dem. Jes' lak if yo' have a spell - yo' havin' a spell an' if ah could git up nine mawnin's 'fore dat spell come on an' walk backwards nine mawnin's - make nine steps backwards an' forwards, dey tell me dat's gon'a leave me.
Entry 1118
I know on one occasion John Crutchfield was telling me he stayed at a house one night; nobody could stay there and he went in there. And things got so disagreeable in there: that he couldn't do nothing - very noisey, threw the cover off of him, moved his stuff around. Finally, he got a Bible that he had and started reading it backwards, and he began to pray, and the spirit left and he got along all right. [Fredericksburg, Va., (37), Ed.; King George Co., Va.,1906.]
Entry 1161
Go in the fowl coop - you know, go in backwards while the chickens are in there, an' as the chickens start to flyin' out, why you come out an' let them fly over you one by one as they comin' out. You jis' come from the back of the coop, an' comin' out like that an' let them fly over you, an' that care [carry] the chickenpox away.
Entry 3823
[I am repeating what informant told me before I turned on recording machine:] (You get this cord away from this woman - from around her waist. What do you say you do with it?) Yo' take it out an' throw it in de rivah. Yo' go tuh de rivah bank an' make three steps backward, throw it ovah de lef' shouldah intuh de rivah. Aftah yo' throw it ovah yo' lef' shouldah, den yo' go right on an' come on back. An' den yo' go right on home an' lives lak yo' have no mo' trouble atall. Yes, that takes the spell off you.
Entry 7262
Heard in de ole times dey say if a person would kill somebody an' he [victim] would fall on his face, de man [killer] might go off but he couldn't stay. He'd return back in a short while an' give up. When he fall on his face he couldn't stand to stay away. In case he fall ovah backwards, the fellow might make his escape.
Entry 11255
An' when ah wuz gittin' roun', 'fore ah wuz married, ah messed up a young girl an' dey had me in co't an' mah daddy got me out of it. Well, dis girl's daddy met mah fathah one day, he says, "Well, yo' beat me outa dat case but, " he say, "ah've got anothah case yo' won't beat me outa." Mah dad say, "Whut chew talkin' 'bout?" He say, "Dat's all right, you'll see one day." Mah ole man say, "Yo' do somepin tuh mah boy, "' say, "ah'm goin' kill yo'." He say, "Ah won' do nuthin tuh him." He say, "Yo'll see it an' yo'll regret it." An' ah wuz sleepin' by mahself. Ah wuz in a room an' mah mothah an' father wuz 'cross from dere, an' ah wuz on de bed wit de covah pulled up, up on me 'bout so long up heah [demon- strates]. (How old were you then?) "Bout fo'teen. An' sompin pulled de covah offa me an' ah taken an' pull it back. Ah thought it wuz some of de chillen in dere tryin' tuh scare me. Pulled de covah offa me several time - pulled de covah offa de third time an' ah say, "Heah, quit pullin' dat covah offa me." Pulled it offa me ag'in an' laid me out. Ah said, "Yo' git a whippin' if yo' don' git 'way from me." An' de time ah says dat, dere sompin struck me resemblin' a pin, an' when it struck me, ah jumped an turn ovah. An' when ah jumped an' turn ovah, dere it wuz, de shape of sompin in de cornah lean ovah me jes' lak dis, but ah couldn't discovah whut it wuz, but it was shape lak a man. An' den ah hollahed an' de ole man come aroun' wit de lamp. Dere nuthin dere. An' in five minutes ah wuzn't normal mah size. Mah arm jes' roun' as [demonstrates] dis heah [shows me his bare arm].
(Right there, oh yes.)
[I failed to describe what I saw. Was it worth describing?)
Well, he took me and carried me down in Georgia, tuh Augusta, Ga. Went tuh a lady down dere, a ole lady. She tole him, said, "Yes, dey git him." She said, "Ah kin he'p him." She said, "But it will cost yo' $50." Mah ole [man] said, "All right, yo' straighten him out." She tole him - she gave him some stuff - it was real black. Look lak shoe polish in a box. She tole him... [I interrupt.]
(Was it a salve?)
Yeah, a salve-lak. But it felt lak it wuz grit in it. She said, "Rub him nine mawnin's wit dat salve." An' she give him some white stuff look lak milk in a bottle. She tole him, ah wuz jes' tuh drink dat nine mawnin's. An' de ninth mawnin' tuh carry me tuh three fo'ks of de road an' walk three fo'ks of de road backwards, in every fo'k, an' walk three straight farwards, an' when ah started out de way ah come, throw it cross mah left shoulder an' don' look back.
(What would you throw across your shoulder?)
She give me a lil' ball - a lil' round ball an' tolt me tuh carry dat, an' throw dat 'cross mah left shoulder. Ah did dat an' so ah [the lump on him] went don tuh dere, see [demonstrates].
(The lump did go down?)
Yessuh, de lump went down.
(That was when you were fourteen years old?)
Yes.
(How long ago was that - ten years ago?)
Yessuh, about ten yeahs ago. Ah wuz married in 1930.
Entry 12483
Jis' kill yo' an' jump ovah yo' backwards an' he's gone. Dey can't ketch him. [This is known everywhere.] [Algiers 2954:7.]
Entry 12684
Or either git their picture an' turn it backwards to de wall, face to de wall, in a dark place, without anybody see it, an' they'll return. [Memphis 2675:7.]
Entry 2437
An' den dere's another way - jest lak if yo' wus living heah an' ah wus a enemy to yo'. Yo' felt dat ah wus a enemy tuh yo', dat ah put bad luck on yo' or somethin', or if yo' owed bills or somethin' of de kinds. It's a simple thing dat chew have, dat everybody keeps in dey own home yo' kin use. Yo' take sulphur, salt, spice an' red peppah, yo' powder dat up together an yo' keep dat. Jest lak if ah wus heah today. Well, yo' expectin' me tuh be back an' yo' knew ah wus a enemy. Well, somebody who knowed how to do to keep me 'way from heah, understand, dey done put chew wise. Well yo' git dat an' have it ready, so when ah leave, yo' see, as ah walk out yo' sprinkle dat stuff right out behin'me. Den goes back an' git chure broom an' sweep it out backwards. Don't nevah turn yore face - sweep it out backwards on out to de street. Dat keep 'em 'way.
Entry 2690
Dat good to make a linament out of it - anything of garlic lak dat. Git six red onions an' she kin boil all dat up some day when dere ain't nobody dere, an' git a bunch of cedar [branches] an' mop yore flo's wit it; keep it secret yo' know from anybody. Mop up flo's an' dat's luck - make her have hustlin' luck - customers, anything she wants - sellin' whiskey or anything.
(Now what would she boil up together, you say?)
Cedar, garlic - one dose little burr of garlic, an' git a nickel worth of red onion an' jes' chop it up, an' chamber lye - git a whole quart of chamber lye. Mop dat flo' wit it. Don't mop outside an' don't sweep de dirt out de room out- side - take it up on a dustpan an' burn on de flo'. Always go backwards wit de mop. Don't mop out. Yo' know a lotta people mop out. Dat's yore luck goin' outdo's - mop back.
Entry 11121
Jis' like you have a funeral for a person, take picture, graveyard dirt and salt, saltpeter [3 ingredients], mash 3 eggs together, put into a little shroud [black piece of cloth], make a casket [coffin], go to cemetery, bary, says Lord's Prayer backwards.
Entry 11676
If somebody put a spell on you, or evil verk [work] on yuh, ah kin take yuh any night at twelve 'clock an' go tuh de fork of de road. An' lak at a certain time [I will] fetch yuh on back home an' fix de door tuh yuh step - an' den yuh'll go back- ward an' go tuh yuh baid- room an' git a pair of 'is socks or some othah thing. An' nine days aftah dat yuh would be off from home. Nine days aftah dat yuh'll commence tuh... [I inter- rupt.] (Well what would you do at the crossroads? What Would you do down at the crossroads to cure a person?) Why yuh want me tuh tell yuh secret information? (I'm not going to be here to go into business again- st you or anything of that sort, you understand. [Long silence and I continue.] You see, what you tell me is confidential. It doesn't go any farther, you see.) Well, I'll tell yuh anyhow. Now yuh, if anybody harm yuh, hurt chuh, an' yuh Wan'a put a spell on dem [this is called "returning the spell"]. Yuh go an' git a frog, one frog. Git chuh nine, nine eightpenny cut nails. Yo' know what a cut nail is?
(Yes, a square nail.)
Mm [whatever that means!]. An' go carry it tuh de crossroads, jes' go ovah de dirt where his feet print [leave footprints]. Do lak dat [demonstrates] an do lak dat [demonstrates again] an' be raising de nail.
[I describe his actions.]
(The person puts his hands down on the ground.)
[The hands are spread out flat on the ground.]
Gotta have [demonstrates] ground gotta go through his hand, you know [demon- strates].
(Through his fingers.)
[He continues to demonstrate.]
Yuh put yuh fingahs here and den yuh put de nails right here.
[Demonstrates a hammer.]
(A special hammer you use for that purpose.)
[While this is going on.] De devil will come along. Nevah go up to him. Go back home as slow as yuh kin an' carry dat nailed-down [prints] an' take de sand wit it. Nail dem tuh de steps an' yuh do de same thing. Let him go in de house backwards. As he go at de step goes on up, go in backwards an' lay down [to rest]. He gonna git up early - sunrise. Aftah sunrise de nex' mawnin'. An' den yuh give him a quart of vinegah an' sulphuh, an' in dat bottle. An' put it dere an' throw it in runnin' watah, den dat will [begin to work]. An' in nine days time, if he ain't too long [gone, he will begin to recover].
[While machine stopped I ask a question.]
No, yo'll start at de do' an' den take five more [steps] an' git some vinegah. Tie it right togethah wit a piece of cord string an' put about a spoonful of sulphur, wit a quart of vinegah. But chew have dat fixed. Now you have dat fixed a couple of days, yuh undahstan'. Den aftah yuh do it, git de person an' let 'im take a dose three times a day.
(That'll cure him?)
In nine days now dat person week is up an' de reason it is done. If it's recently done, dey has de party dyin' in t'ree days. [Presumably the longer the spell in time, the longer it takes to cure it.]
(The person that put the spell on him.)
Yeah, goes back [to him] see. [This is called returning the spell and by other names.]
[To be on the safe side I continue.]
(As I pass, I put them [my feet] down there and make my footprints and my handprints right at the crossroads.) Right at de cross of de road [making this the center of a square and a quin- cunx rite] and come right back to de steps and do de same thing. An' he'll [doctor] have to carry yuh back as yuh go backwards an' lay in de baid.
Entry 13410
If somebody left home an' chew wanta bring dem back - yo' dunno why dey left an' yo' wanta bring 'em back. Yo'll go out to a lot an' dey have wag- ons, yo' know, an' dey let chure wagon stand, yo' know, stand in de lot. Git de wheel an' rock it backwards an' farwards an' den yo' git a shoe dey wear an' yo' put it on, have it boilin' about dat time, a few hours, while yo' do dat an' dey'll come back.
(You have this shoe boiling while you are turning that wagon wheel?)
Yes.
(You don't say anything?)
No, yo' jes' put it on an' let it boil, yo' know, jes' lak 'supposin' yo' go- in' cook dinnah. Have it all cookin', put chure fire, an' turn it [wheel] an' she'll come back.
(Either shoe or both of them?)
Yassuh. [Good answer to a useless question!]
Entry 983
[To throw objects into running water as in the preceding story is among the great magic rites, but this throwing must be done in various specified ways:] Now, aftah it's been discovered - whut happen tuh put chew in de luck yore in, tuh make sick - take dis thing whatevah it might be an' go to the runnin' watah, an' turn yore back to it an' throw it ovah an' nevah look back an' come on away. Dat supposed tuh be gittin' rid of dis fo'evah.
Entry 38
[To catch a spirit or to protect your spirit against the catching or to release your caught spirit - this is the complete theory and practice of hoodoo.] Ah kin ketch yore spirit easy. A person kin - jes' lak yo' settin' dere an' ah kin be talkin' to yo'. Yo' talkin' tuh me an' I be walkin' back an' ah got a bottle. Ev'ry word chew says, I ease dat stopper down - ev'ry word yo' say until yo' git to de end, den yo' stop it down. Well, then yo' won't be sick but yo'll jes' be lak a bird flyin' - here an' yon - an' de moment dat yo' kin git to it an' pull de stopper yo'll be yoreself all de same.
(You have to walk backwards while you are pushing that cork down?)
Yes sir.
Entry 298
Ah heard chew git a black cat an' yo' take dis cat an' put him in de pot - put dis cat in de pot an' put dis pot on de fiah an' yo' gits a Bible an' in Revelation, dat's where yo' read it, ovah there. An' yo' git the Bible an' yo' read the Bible the whole time that cat is in that pot boilin' an' that cat will - yo' know, yo' will pray in yore mind. An' den when dat cat's got done, yo' take that cat an' git chew - yo' take dat bone when dat cat cook all tuh pieces an' yo' take dat black cat bone - jis' a solid black cat, nuthin', no white about it or nuthin' - and when he gits done yo' bring dat pot dere an' yo' put dat pot an' ever' time you take out a bone - git chew a glass an' yo' sit an' look in dat lookin' glass an' put a bone in yore mouth, an' when yo' git de right bone yo' cain't see yo'self in dat glass. See. An' den yo' kin do any- thing, cain't nobody see. Yo' kin go tuh de bank an' git money out de bank but cain't nobody see yo', 'long as yo' got dat black cat bone in yore mouth. Well, yo' have sold yo'self to de devil, becuz' dat's mo' fo' evil. (Do you know in what part of Revelations they read, or just any part of Revelations?) No, jis' read any part of Revelations, but 'stid readin' it farwards, read it backwards - read it backwards.
Entry 919
I had a son named Addison and he and myself was away in Pennsylvania and he went to New Jersey. And when he got out of a job I wrote him a letter to come on out here [where the father was in Pennsylvania] and he'd get all the work he Wanted. And he came then. And he taken with going with a young lady and this lady fixed him. And I brought him home [to Stafford County, Virginia]. And when I brought him home he breaken out with sores all over one side. This girl told him that if he didn't marry her he wouldn't do nobody no good. And I taken him to a fortune teller and he ask the boy what he wanted done. And the boy told him he wanted this taken off of him and put on /the person who put it on him. And I said to him [the fortune tellerl. "What could you do with a person three or four hundred miles away from here?" And he say, "I could send this just as far as the wind blowed." And I said, "Don't let it come close to me." But he said, "I can't get the one who fixed this [doctor who prepared the spell] but I will get the one [girl] who put it down for you." This girl what put it down for you." This girl what put it down, she was rolling up her sleeves to wash her clothes and she fell backwards and died right there.
Entry 1852
Some people down there [round Charleston, South Carolina], they claim they have the evil eye. Whenever they meet one of these persons, especially if they look them right in the eye, they're supposed to walk backward and count ten. That is to break the bad luck spell.
Entry 1922
You goes tuh work an' git dat graveyard dirt an' yo' pays de dead when yo' go dere an' git it. Pay 'em 'leven cent or much as yo' wanta, den yo' git dat graveyard dirt. An' yo' goes into de graveyard backwards an' go up to one of de graves - jes' whatevah one yo' git to - go into to it backwards an' jes' call de dead an' tell 'em whut yo' want, an' carry a white piece of cloth an' put dat in dere. Den yo' carry dat white piece of cloth, yo' stoop down dere an' git dat graveyard dirt, git it right from de heart. Git dat graveyard dirt right in dere. Take dat dirt an' it do de work.
(What do they do with that dirt?)
Take dat dirt an' carry it an' wheresomevah yo' wanta put it, carry dat dirt dere an' put it down dere.
(What do you put that dirt there for?)
Yo' put it dere tuh run a person - a man or a woman off from dere home. Mah husban' wus run off from home.
Entry 1937
See, ah'm gwine wit a girl. Ah have did dat mahself. An' go tuh de graveyard, carry nine pennies yo' see, an' yo' put dem nine pennies down three each time - one fo' de daid, an' one fo' de livin', an' one fo' de girl. See. An' den yo' pay a penny fo' dat graveyard bo'd, fo' dat headbo'd, an' yo' stick it down - walk backwards an' stick it down an' go home. Ah didn't have tuh use no dirt. An' ah did see her de nex' mawnin'. (Well, did you say anything or do anything out there when you were doing all this?) Ah went there an' - git somepin tuh dig a hole. Put three penny in one hole - dat's fo' de dead. It a good many yeahs since ah did it. Ah jes' remembah. Ah put down first de three penny in de girl name. Den ah put three penny down in my name, an' ah put three penny down fo' de dead, an' ah put three penny down fo' de headbo'd, yo' see. An' den ah take dis bo'd, de headbo'd up In de Name of de Lord an' ah stick it back down In de Name of de Lord, but ah stick it back down dere backwards an' walk on out of there, an' ah call dis girl name ever' time, an' de next mawnin' ah did see her.
(You do this in order to see this girl?)
Dat's it, yessuh.
Entry 2431
Walk backwards ovah yore broom evah Monday mawnin' fo' times an' dat'll keep all de law from yore house. Ah nevah be bothered wit de law. Lay it, yo know, right in yore do'.
(The front door or the back?)
Eithah one yore do's. Step backwards ovah it fo' times evah Monday mawnin' an' it keeps down all de laws.
(What time do you do that Monday morning?)
About nine a'clock jis' 'fore yo' git up - so yo' do it in de mawnin'.
Entry 2475
Do something to git renters for that house. You know what you do?
(No.)
All you just go - for that you go to the drug store. You go there and you get you some mixture. Now, you just ask for mixture. They going to give you the mixture for it. Now, it somethin' smells like perfume. It's called fast luck. You go there and you get that fast luck and you bring it there, sprinkle it right in front of that building. There be people there - ah don't know - there be a crowd of people. Just as though if you had a place that you'd already rented [and were in business] and couldn't get a crowd for it, go there and get you some of that fast luck and sprinkle it. But you gotta sprinkle, you gotta know how to walk with it. See, you sprinkle it - walk backwards. You don't walk forwards and sprinkle it, you know. Start out at the front and walk backwards.
(I see. That'll bring a crowd - bring a crowd.)
There - there even be people there that will rent that house and look for - rent in a day.
Entry 2804
(Dr. Lemson used to use?)
Yes. It was a tall candle - it was a black candle. They call that a death candle. And when that one finished burning, after burning on the individual name - sign the individual name nine ways, see, backwards though, and burn that candle. And as the candle burn, as [so] they begin to droop away; when the candle is done - well, they done.
Entry 2840
Ah tole yo' ah said, if you wanted a person tuh come to yuh in peace, ah said yo' take dat candle and yo' roll it in sugar. See.
(What candle?)
Well, yo' take a pink candle and a white candle and yo' kin roll that in sugar, and on dose certain hours yo' burn it - jes' like de woman did fo' to bring de fellah back. Now, if you wanta worry a person or jes' like a per- son wanted to do harm to a person or kill a person, dey take a black candle and yo' burn dat black candle at night. Take a jet black candle and put it in yore room and yo' burn it slowly at night, see. An' when dat black candle burn out that makes a person go down - a black candle. But if you wants peace, yo' take a pink or white candle and yo' roll it in Sugar, and whoever name yo' want it to burn on you write it with de name back- wards - de last name yo' write it first, three times around de candle.
Entry 2845
Take de knife an' fo'k lak yo' fixin' de table, an' de parties dat chew - but dat kills people, dey tell me. Yessuh. An' yo' puts dat black candle in dere an' dere name wrote jes' lak ah tole yo', but it's gotta be on a brand-new white plate wit dat name underneat' dat plate where dat knife an' fo'k is set around dat candle, crossed, yo' understand, an' dat name underneat' dat, underneat' dat plate, with de black candle. Dat runs 'em crazy with their haid.
(How do you write that name on that piece of paper?)
Yo' write it backwards, jes' dat one party's name dat chew wanta do dat to.
(Just once?)
Yessuh.
Entry 3107
If she'd [some woman had] gone away from you, she'd [Zippy Tull would] tell you, "Bring me the right shoe an' the last track she made of goin' from home" - take the dirt from that track goin' from home, an' her right shoe, an' bring it to her. She'd take this shoe, she dressed this shoe an' had this shoe - you see, the toe wus goin' from the house, she'd have you to bury it, the toe goin' to de house; the shoe, you change it right around. She put that [track] in the shoe. An' in nine day's time she'd tell you she'd [be] there, she come very near bein' there.
Entry 3729
Mine wus caught. Mah watah wus caught in a bottle an' wus buried, an' dey took it up an' put graveyard dirt wit it, an' ah didn't have no nature to- wards mah life. Well, on account of dat ah wus in bad luck. Me an' mah wife couldn't git along, an' dey [a rootman] tole me dat it wus somepin wus against me. An' dis man told me dat de only thing dat ah would do, ah would have tuh go at twelve a'clock at night in de cemetery. Well, dat's somepin ah wus scared tuh do, but ah had tuh do it. An' ah went an' found - [this man] say, ah must find where a little one wus buried an' jump across de grave three times, jes' frontwards dis way an' dis way backwards, an' frontwards ag'in, an' walk away from it an' don't look back at all, jes' keep on goin' regardless to whut chew hear, don't look back, until yo' git to de public highway and dat mean [here, public] street, an' den mah [bad] luck leave me. Ah [before this] wus out of a job, couldn't git no job or nuthin. An' ah felt dat it [the spell on me and the cure] wus true, 'cuz ah got a good job an' been workin' evah since.
(What cemetery did you go to?)
Laurel Grove, colored section dere. Yes sir, dere's white an' colored yo' know dere.
Entry 5398
Dey say yo' take yore foot track an' pull it, if yo' wan' de person tuh go 'way from yo' - wan'a run 'em. Yo' drive 'em away from yo'. See, yo' take it from de heel an' carry it back from yo'. Take it an' put it in a box of some kin' - lak a li'le snuffbox. Or some people say yo' kin put it in a aigshell an' carry it tuh de rivah an' name dat person. When yo' put it in dat box [or eggshell] yo' name de person. Den yo' carry it tuh de rivah an' yo' stan' backwards tuh de rivah an' den yo' drive dis person from yo'. Tell 'em - throw it ovah yore shouldah an' don't look back. Tell 'em, "Go! Yo' devil, yo'. Go!"
Entry 5475
Well, dey take yore foot track - ah'm tellin' yo' lak ah've heard it - take yore foot track. Say dey take it up backwards, don't take it up goin'. Some of 'em say take it up goin', some says take it up backwards. Well, yo' git nine of dose tracks. An' den dey take dem tracks an' go tuh de graveyard an' git dirt. Any- body dat's not scared kin do dat. Git de dirt an' mix it tuhgethah. Carry it an' chunk ovah dey lef' shouldah in de rivah, yo' know, an' don't look back at it. An' jes' say, "Yo' drift on 'way from heah." An' dey say yo'll have tuh jis' wandah an' keep goin'.
Entry 5537
Jis' lak if yo' go an' make a footstep, dey go an' measure dat track... wit a cord string - jis' de way yo' goin' - an' dey picks it up from dere toe an' bring it backwards...put it in runnin' watah an' have yo' walkin'.
Entry 5759
Now, yo' kin go in de woods an' DERE SOME LI'LE VINES DAT GROWS WHERE A LOTTA ROTTEN WOOD GROWS, STRINGY VINE WIT WORM-LAK HAIDS. YO'VE SEEN DESE KINDA EARTHWORMS WIT NO PAHTIC'LAH Well, dere's a vine grows in rotten wood in de earth, grows'mingled an' tangled wit de rotten wood. Both of 'ems [plant and animal has] got sharp ends. Yo' go an' git some of dat vine.
(What is the vine called?)
AH DON'T KNOW, IT JIS' COME UP IN DAT ROTTEN WOOD. AH RECKON AH WOULD CALL II DE ROTTEN-WOOD VINE, 'CUZ DERE NO OTHAH VINE GROW LAK DAT. [Take] dat vine an' take de same dust outa de instep. In othah words, git dat an' turn de person. Lak de person goin' dataway, yo' take de dirt outa his feet goin' backwards. Ketch it from 'is toes an' take it backward dat way, an' bary dem things aroun' de home. Put a li'le table salt in it. Dere yo' got 'em. Dose three compositions will drive 'em away outa de home.
(That will drive them out of the home.)
Entry 6054
Jes' lak yo'd cut de hair out de mole of yore haid an' take de hair from de othah place, an' put both of dem hair togethah an' take dat hair an' sew it up in a bag. Dat's when yo' wanta keep yore man, yo' see, or yore wife or whoevah it is. An' seu it up in hah pillah or 'is pillah. Well, dat'll keep 'em right dere. But of co'se if yo' wan' 'im tuh leave, yo' wan'a run 'im off in de rivah, why yo' take dat hair an' yo' ketch a catfish. An' yo' take a stick an' jes' stuff it down in dat catfish's mouth right good an' den throw dat catfish, throw 'im backwards [demonstrates] out in de rivah. An' jes' as fur as dat fish goin', dat person, uboevah goin', tryin' tuh ketch up wit dat catfish, an' aftah while he'll drown.
(You throw that over your left shoulder.)
Yessuh.
Entry 6308
An' if dey wanta drive yuh away, dey kin take yuh hair an' take it tuh a runnin' stream of watah. An' don't nevah go fa'wahds, go backwahds. Take dat hair an' go tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' throw it ovah de lef' shouldah an' nevah look back. Dat'll drive yuh away. It will cause yuh tuh wandah from place tuh place - all lak dat.
Entry 8679
[The doctor in the following rite for a job has an organized mind, though I was too recent in New Orleans at that time to realize it. In face, on this original transcription I formerly had a note use with care, which can still be seen despite my later erasure.] When yo' go to get a job - ah'll tell yo' about de job proposi- tion. It just like if yo' was out of a job an' yo' runnin' in bad luck. Yo' can't be success- ful in nuthin dat yo' start. Well, yo' get yo' some of dis seniment. Yo' get some of dis seniment with this rain water. (What is seniment? What is that?) Dat's a powder. (What does it look like?) It look just like - yo' ever seen this powder what they call that brown-skin powder? (You mean cinnamon powder?) Yeah. (Cinnamon powder. All right.) [How did I ever guess it!] Yo' take dat seniment powder. An' yo' get some of dis seniment powder an' yo' get what yo' call this lodestone; but ask for lodestone, see, with candy stripes. It's got a little stripe.
(What kind of stripes?)
Candy stripes. Just say, "Give me some of de lodestone." (Like this candy - now wait a minute! It's like this candy they got in the country stores, candy stripes?) Yes, just like that; round, see.
(And what do they call that?)
Lodestone.
(You said something about four-something. Four what?)
[Informant said it while recording machine turned off.1 Fo' corners. Yo' just get de fo' corners. Well, if it ain't got fo' corners, vell yo' just take anything, a file or somepin like dat an' put 'em there.
(You have to make it square. Four corners. All right.)
Yeah. Yo' go anywhere they got them rams - yo' see, them rams, or anywhere yo' know them ramhorns at. [Cowhorn appears several times in Hoodoo. This could be the only ramhorn.] Yo' gets a file an' yo' file some of that dust down there [with the lodestone dust]. Then yo' get some of this here oil what yo' call that green - Wintergreen Pasture Oil.
(Wintergreen?)
Wintergreen Pastures Oil.
(GREEN PASTURES OIL?)
[SURELY THE ENTERPRISING HOODOO-PRODUCTS SALESMAN SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT "PSALM 23 OIL"!] Yeah, an' yo' take some sugar an' seniment an' lodestone. An' take a silver dime an' yo' file dat silver dime on a piece of paper just where yo' got this stuff [various ingredients] at. Yo' take a piece of yellah paper - it [lode- stone?] comes with yellah paper - an' yo' wrap it up twice. Yo' fold it coming to you. Then, after yo' take this Wintergreen Pasture Oil an' yo' put over it, am' yo' put it in your pocket. Keep that in yore left pocket. Then yo' goes back an' yo' get this he Eve [Adam and Eve] root, see. He Eve root.
(He Eve root?)
Yeah, yo' go back an' get that an' yo' got hit, yo' got de she root in yore pocket, yo' understand. Yo' take that - powder up that. piece there - an' yo' get some rain water an' river water or hydrant water [3 running Waters], or anything like that, an' yo' put it in two glasses. Put it in two glasses like that an' yo' let it set, after yo've mixed it. Well, heap up just about de same amount in each glass. Yo' leave it set there fo' three days. Aftah yo' leave it set there fo' three days, yo' take it an' yo' pour it into one glass. Then yo' take this here - this seniment, lodestone an' dis Wintergreen Pasture Oil. Well, yo' Put it in de glass, in one glass, an' yo' let it set there fo' three days. Den take that water off - take dat watah off before yo' go out to see about a job. Just like, if yo' know the foreman's name, yo' take his name an' yo' write his name nine times backwards, just like if yo' write it backwards this Way nine times [demonstrates]. Then yo' fold it, fold it comin' to yo' like dat [demonstrates]. Then yo' write yore name on de top of it, but yo' must write yore name forwards.
(Write your name what?)
The right way.
(You write your name forwards. All right.)
Then yo' take dat an' yo' put it down in dat water where all yore stuff is in the morning when yo' going out - just when yo' going out to the foreman. Yo' got his name. Well, when yo' get ready to go there, yo' take this water out of Chere. Yo' pour it out in a basin or anything like that, an' yo' take it an' yo' wash yo' hands good with it, an' yo' wash yore fingers. Yo' takes this here lodestone an' yo' put it in yore pocket with this she Eve root. Yo' walk to him a'when yo' get there, before yo' ask, just like yo' take a piece of chewing tobacco, cut a little piece off dat she root an' put it in your mouth. An' get this here lodestone thing in your hand like that an' rub it, an' make yore wishes, as yo' walk up to him an' ask 'im for a job. Probably he may not have nuthin to do right then, but he'll run his hand in his pocket if he got any money an' he'll give yo' a piece of money. The first opening that he have - WHEN YO' LEAVE FROM THERE, YO'LL MAKE A WISH FOR ANY - JUST LIKE ANY JOB YO' WANT AROUND THERE, YO' MAKE A WISH FOR ANY BAD LUCK TO HAPPEN TO 'EM PEOPLE AT THAT PLACE. SAY PRAYERS, AN' IN A WEEK'S TIME [7 DAYS] YO'LL HAVE A JOB. There no favor that yo' ask 'im that he could turn yo' down. If he ain't got it at de present time, he will tell yo' a way to come an' get it.
foreman’s name written nine times backwards, contrasted with own name forwards. Keep foreman nine-times-backwards versus applicant forwards on top; not all names backwards. manually inscribed arrangement of foreman’s and applicant’s names. Retain foreman backwards nine times and own name forwards on top, followed by the use of the inscribed paper in the preparation. employment sought from a foreman, with conditional intermediate outcomes and harmful wish. No immediate job guarantee: preserve probably no work, money if he has it, the first opening, and the subsequent one-week claim as attributed. river as a stated possible source of water, alongside rain/hydrant wording. Keep literal rain water an’ river water or hydrant water and or anything like that; do not convert ambiguous conjunctions into an all-three requirement or flatten all alternatives. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3556) · Read full source (printed page 3557) · Read full source (printed page 3558)
Entry 7309
Ah say if a person kill a person - jes' lak de detectives is now - yo' could kill a person an' go to de graveyard an' git some of dat graveyard dirt. Go to a fresh grave, as fresh a grave as yo' could find, an' git some of dat graveyard dirt and put it in yore shoe. An' den git some an' put in yore left-hand hip pocket an' aftah yo' - don't go out of de gate, git ovah de fence. An' don't nevah look back, jes' keep a-goin' an' yo' kin git plumb away. Ah've heard dat.
Entry 7311
A man 'at [that] kills yuh - say, fo' ninstance, ah shoo' choo an' yo' die, ah stay in ambush an' hid aroun' heah until yo' are buried. Ah go to yore grave an' step backwards over dere an' git some of de dirt, an' ah nevah will be apprehended. (What do you do with that dirt then, after you get it?) Care [carry] it in yore pocket, stick it in yore pocket. Long as yo' keep dat, yo'll go free.
Entry 7923
Dey puts it in a cloth or anything an' wraps it up, an' yo'll have tuh pass backwards an' forwards ovah it.
(And then? What happens to you then?) Yo'll become tuh be sickly. (I see. You walk over this graveyard dirt.)
Yeah, an' it puts yo' in hard luck.
Entry 8327
Nail it tuh de.tree - nail de face up tuh a tree. In othah words, nail it up backwards, an' dat supposed tuh run 'em crazy.
Entry 8359
Upside down on de no'th side of a.tree. Jis' lak if it's a woman's photograph an' yo' dislak dese people, an' as it fades yo'll fade away wit it. On de no'th side of de tree bury it bottom upwards. An' as dat pichure fades yo'll fade away wit it.
(You mean standing on their head bottom upwards?)
Bottom upwards on its haid.
Entry 8624
Just like ah may have a friend. I could be a woman an' I'd have a friend, an' I wants to part from my friend. I'll take de lemon. I'll get me some beer. After I'd get de beer, I get me a candle. Well, I take de candle an' take de lemon an' bore a hole through de lemon. Put de lemon [candle] down in de candle [lemon]. Put dat beer down in de can. When. I get the beer down in de can, an' start tuh burnin' my black candle, well, de woman couldn't stay dere ten days.
[I now try to understand the preceding confusion.]
(Now wait a minute. Here's your can of beer. Now where's your lemon?)
Yo' see, I put my beer first.
(Yes.)
Put de note second.
(What note?)
De woman name.
(Well, you didn't tell me that before.)
Yes. Mark nine times backwards. After yo' mark it nine times backwards yo' put de note in dere. After yo' put de note in dere, yo' stick de candle down in dere, an'.leave it down in dere fo' ten days, she can't stay wit yo' no more.
(What happened to the lemon?)
De lemon'll be right dere in de beer. Yo' see, like. (I see. Now, wait a minute, let me untwist these things for you: Here's the can of beer. You put this woman's name in there. You take a lemon and you put this black candle in the lemon and put that lemon down in the beer, and then you light the candle. How long do you burn that candle?) Yo' burn dat candle ten days.
(I see. Then what happens?)
De woman can't stay there no mo'.
(You just drive the woman away?)
Dat's to drive 'er away.
(Why do you use beer?)
De beer is down in de can.
(Well, why do you use the beer?)
Yo've gotta use so de lemon could have some kind of different juice to it. Dat de reason yo' use de beer.
Entry 8752
Write his name on one of dose little fryin' pie-a-pans, tin plates, yes sir. Write his name in dere an' write de 13th chapter of Psalms. An' den write his name three times an' Write de Psalms twice, but chew must read dose verses backwards. Place 'em underneath of de steps with very little over earth over it, dat means de dirt over it, an' leave it underneath of dere from nine to eight- teen days. He'll be back dere.
Entry 8763
Yo' buy a brand-new tin pan out de stā' an' do' nuse [don't use] it fo' nuthin an' don' set it dwon on nuthin [don't touch the earth theme]. Yo' git it an' come right back home. Yo' gits yo' a pencil an' mark it disaway an' data- way. [I interrupt.] (Just like you were quartering a pie - into four parts.) [If informant did not under- stand guartering, I added four parts.j Yes sir. Yo' put his name heah, put chure name heah, an' den yo' put his name ovah dere an' his name heah... (Wait a minute! In this [I demonstrate on paper] upper left-hand corner as you are looking at it, you put his name. Underneath that you put your name. Then up above in the right hand corner you put your name, and then his name underneath. In other words, his name and your name are opposites.) [See my diagram for quartered pie.] Yes sir.
(All right. Then what do you do with that pan?)
Yo' take it an' turn it bottomside upwards an' walk out de do' backwards, see, an' shove it right underneat' yore do'step. Yo' don't bury it. Jes' put enough sand ovah it, yo' see, to keep anybody from seein' it. It won't be two weeks [2 seven-day periods] befo' he'll be back there. Ah've tried dat mahself.
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 8975
All right, yo' git chew a beef tongue an' yo' write everyone of 'em name in de co'thouse down nine times backwards. [Instead of writing John Smith, write Smith John.1 Yo' git] chew nine new needles, nine new pins, an' nine new tacks, an' yo' crosses dem as yo' be's stickin' 'em in dat tongue. Den yo' pack dat tongue down wit sawdust. Af- tah yo' pack it down, yo' sew it up wit black thread; an' befo' it's time fo' de co't, put it on ice an' thaws it. Dat's tuh beat a case in co't.
Entry 9101
[Here we have a remarkable rite, a rare glimpse at how a hoodoo doctor prepares his client or patient for a possible death sentence. Equally interest- ing, the greatest small book in the World, The Gospel of John, is unable to coml pete with a book of magic! The statement firs', secon', an' third chaptah of Psalms confuses because the word chapter here cannot mean com- plete Psalms,1,2, and 3 not applying to the present situ- ation. Chapters also means verses. I suggest, as in several other cases, inform- ant has Psalm 23 in mind here, especially verses 1,4, and 6.] In case if a fellah wuz seized fo' murdah, sompin lak dat, an' yo' wanted tuh git 'im off lightly. Not say 'zactly bring 'im out altuhgethah, but yo' see, yo' read de firs', secon' an' third chap- tah of Psalms, Let thy heart not be troubled [not from Psalms but from Gospel of John, 14:1, Let not your heart be troubled, King James Version.] But write it off. Yo' write de Psalms off an' weahs 'em in yore shoe, one in each shoe. An' yo' takes de second chaptah of Psalms an' git dat down by yeah [learn it by "ear," by memory]. An' evah night an' evah mawnin' dat yo' lays down an' git up, repeats dat in yore mind. When yo' git ready tuh go tuh de co'thouse, yo' change yore undahsuit, change it on de Wronghan' side, back up nine step backwards an' say de firs' miracle: Christ, Jesus, turnt watah tuh wine. Speak dat in yore mind. Say: Lord, yo' go tuh prepare de way fo' me but yo' come ag'in tuh see me in yo'self. Yo' goes downstā's intuh de co'troom. An' as de judge be tryin' yo', yo' be still 'peatin' [repeating] de secon' Psalm in yore min'. An' when de judge will call yo' in front of 'i, de powah [power], say from de Six an' Seven Books of Moses, dat powah would come an' change de judge min'. If yo' goin' git lifetime, he would change tuh manslaughtah.
[After I turned off machine, informant said something.]
(What did Christ do?)
Change watah into wine. Dat de firs' miracle he done.
Entry 9487
Take some salt an' throw it in fo' corners of dat place, an' take yo' two sticks an' cross 'em in de middle of de flo', an' walk out backwards. Did ju' [you] heah me? (Yes. Now what would that do?) Dat would keep de landlord from rentin' de place. (That is to cross up the house so that the landlord can't rent the place after he has moved you out.)
Entry 9728
Ah hear'd dat dey takes three sixtypenny nails.
(What size is that?)
Jes' 'bout lak dat - jes' about dat long, yo' see [demonstrates].
(Oh, long as your hand.)
About seven inches. (About seven [actually six] inches long. Three sixtypenny nails. I never heard of a sixtypenny nail.) Yeah, dere's plenty of 'em. An' drive it down at de steps, yo' undahstan', kinda in a fo'kway [forkway]: one dis way, one dat way, an' one dat way [demon- strates].
(Like a "v": one here, one each end like a "v.") Yeah. (Which way would that "v" point now at the steps?)
East. (What I mean, would these two ends point away from the house or to the house?) Way from de house.
[They point away from the house.]
(And do they point in any particular direction?)
An' de ''v' points tuh de house. [Informant means small end of "v", but actually the stem of the "Y" points to the house.]
(You mean the ends of the "v"?)
Kinda "x" yeah. [Informant is actually talking about a "Y", my "v" having caused the confusion.] Dere's one, dere's one, an' here's one ovah dere, see. Well [that last one, the stem of the "Y"] dat's nex' tuh de steps. Dat's de way.
(Then what happens?)
Den yo' jes' walks on, goes on 'way from dat backwards an' nevah looks back at dem [after once turning round]. An' dat's all dat ah know of tuh be done. Dat de way dey tell me.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat make yo' move or git chew sep'rated of whatsomevah it is fo'. [The two persons inside the house walk out on a single road, soon come to the "Y" fork where they separate, one going to the right, the other to the left.
Entry 10680
Well, jes' lak if somebody poison yo' an' yo' puttin' stuff down [to counteract it] yo' jes' put it down an' walk backwards.
Entry 10681
Dey say when yo' go tuh put down sompin to a person's house, yo' kin go backwards three steps or nine steps an' jes' put it down an' make yore wish an' walk away from it an' don't look back until yo' git to where yo' live. (That is if you are putting down some- thing for a person to walk over?) Yeah an' harm 'em. Dat evil work.
Entry 10800
When yo' sweep de flo' always start at de front an' sweep yore trash on backwards. Don't nevah carry [sweep] it out de front. (That will bring in customers?) [Customers or good business were men- tioned before present recording began; I am not asking a leading question.] Dat brings in customers, see, cause dat sweeps de customers in instead of sweepin' 'em away from yo'.
Entry 11628
Like someone you want to drift away, you write the name three times; ooman or man, three times. You go to running water, fresh water, and you ketch you a scale fish. (What kind?) A scale fish, any kind of fish that's got scales on it - a small fish. All right, you write her name down three times and you take that blood from that fish and you dot each one; you understand, dot them periods. You go to running water and turn your back on it and throw it away. Turn your back, don't look back at it - but turn your back until you get so many paces off from it and go. All right, they commence to drifting - you understand - they don't know. Just like you want 'em out of your way, you understand. They commence to drifting. (Now, look. You only put three drops - you put a drop on each one of these names - from the fish.) Yes, you know, just drop like that period; just like you writing a line, you know, you put a period on each one of them. Well, you dot a period.
(You dot each name with one drop of fish blood.)
Yes.
(Well, what do you do with the fish then?)
The fish? All right I fixin' to tell you. When you get through with that, you take that fish and stick that paper, that name in there and go to running water and throw it, and turn.your back. When you throw it, don't throw it with your face toward the water. Always when you walk there - if you [came] in your car or whatever you in, on the bridge, over the running water - you throw it backwards.
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 4136
Yo' git in dat fo'ks of de road an' yo' pee, jis' so many fo'ks as dere is in dat road yo' pee, an' turn backwards an' walk backwards out dat road, Dat's all yo' got'a do. Yo' stop dem an' dey can't go nowhere. (Who can't go' nowhere?) Whosomevah yo' wan'a - anybody, yo' or me or anybody. Yo' see, dey cain't move - DEY CAIN'T "GEE" AN' DEY CAIN'T "HAW". [To haw and gee (about) is to lead this way and that at will, that is, the person cannot turn this way or that.] Yo' got 'em.
(What would be your purpose in going to this crossroad now?)
Go tuh de crossroad cuz ah wan'a stop 'em from walkin' - anywhere dey wan'a go. If ah wan'a stop 'em from goin' anywhere an' ah'm ag'ins' dem an' ah wan'a stop 'em, well ah'll stop 'em from goin'. Dey cain't gee an' dey cain't how.
Entry 13409
Yo' take a sock dat a man or woman worn, an' in- sert it in dat wagon wheel - jes' pull it off de axle an' set it in dat wagon wheel.
(You insert it in the hub.)
An' yo' put it back on dere an' turn de wheel backwards slowly an' he'll... yo' turn it backwards, three times backwards.
(That will send him away.)
unconfirmed interviewer-stated sending-away interpretation. Retain exact interviewer-only origin and selector; never turn it into informant agreement or fill the unfinished he’ll. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.