Subject:Baptize
Entries
Entry 2835
Dey baptize 'em in alcohol. Baptize three of 'em in alcohol. Them are tuh kill yo'. (You have to have two or three - you have to have three black candles in this alcohol. How do you baptize them?) Tie 'em together an' po' yo' alcohol in somepin an' baptize 'em. If yo' want dose black candles tuh kill somebody, yo' let 'em burn down to de end. (How do you use them?) Set 'em all afiah at once, those three, an' make yore wish who it's on an' write their name, an' turn they name down to de table, an' set dem candles. (Write the name on three pieces of paper and put a candle on each piece of paper.) Turn de name down, den put de candle an' let 'em burn down to the bottom of de candle. Won't know whut dey did [what hit them]. It'll kill 'em. Dey'll die.
Entry 3060
(What did you do to get your husband back?)
Well, I went to her [St. Rita] again and prayed. Well, when I went to her and prayed, I burned incense in my house and scrubbed incense in my house. Well, it was a woman that took my husband clean from me. I couldn't do anything in the world with him. He wouldn't stay home. He wouldn't pay no rent at home. I is a mother with children for him and he wouldn't pay no rent, he wouldn't support me, and I didn't have no cause to go to the white folks to make him support me no nothing. But I took and went on there and prayed, and after I went there, I just took holy water and scrubbed my house out and sprinkled holy water in my house, and light that candle and got me a little altar and put her in there, got her saint and put her in there, and I had three lights. And I had his name writ nine times frontwards and nine times backwards, and I lighted her candle on him - you see, where a little base.
(Oh! What kind of a candle?)
A white candle. But I had one white candle what I had his picture and his name - you know, right on it. And I had his name nine times thisaway and nine times thataway.
(Across. In a cross?)
Yes, just like you'd make a cross. You understand?) Well, all right. I laid that down just like this [demonstrates]. See, that's his picture there. I laid his name over that and set the [white] light on top of it. (You laid the names crosswise, across the picture, and now you put the candle on top of that - this white candle.) Yes, sir.
(Was it a picture or a statue of the saint?)
No, it was a statue of my saint, but I had the picture of my husband - that was his'n.
(But the saint was a statue?)
A statue - little white statue. You can get it in any Catholic church; you can get a little white statue. They give you ary one you want - any one of them.
(I see.)
So, I had my light there, but I had her back here. You see.
(Her light.)
Her light - was supposed to put her light here.
(What color was her light?)
Her light was a blue light I give her. See, that's when you wanta get your husband back. And if you have a dark light, it's for the woman what's got your husband. That white light, that's hers [the saint's] but she's working on that for you. See, she's bringing him home. And my husband come home one night at twelve o'clock and I wouldn't get no upstirring about him - you see, one, two, three, my mind was gone off of him. He stayed away from me three weeks, and when he come back home, he come right home and went and called on the landlord and paid him hisself; asked the landlord how much I'd owed him, and the landlord told him, "Well, she owe for three week's rent." And I was paying $3 a week. And he went there and he paid him. He was working right there on the riverfront, and he really did come back home and I ain't never had no trouble wit him since. That's been three year ago and I don't never move that light - I always keep that light. I always go to church every morning at six clock. You'll find me in that church on Halsey Avenue and Cologne. I'll be to that Catholic church there on my knees.
(Do you do that every morning now?)
Every morning.
(Are you a Catholic?)
Yes, sir
(Well, were you Catholic before then?)
No sir, I was no Catholic then. I was a Methodist.
(I see, you become a Catholic.)
After. I came to be a Catholic after.
(Were you confirmed or anything in the Catholic Church or did you just go in?)
Well, I ioined the Catholic Church, you understand.
(Were you baptised in the Catholic Church?)
No, I wasn't baptised yet. I wasn't supposed to get baptised until Easter Sunday. That's when they supposed to baptize me, Easter Sunday Morning.
(You haven't been baptised yet. You are going to be though?)
Yes, sir. Easter Sunday morning.
(I see.)
Easter Sunday morning.
(And you have this altar in your house and you still burn these candles?)
Yes, sir.
(And you burn the blue and the white ones?)
Yes, sir.
(You put three candles?)
I put three candles for the man - like if you wants your husband back, like if a woman want her husband back.
(One was blue?)
One was blue and one was white and the other one was blue [black]. The blue one was for the saint, but the white one was for the husband [see later]. That dark candle - the black candle was for the woman what was, you know, have took your husband from you. That was against her. [Originally she says the white candle sat on her husband's picture and name - it being the candle for him. Later she calls the white candle the saint's, but only because the saint is working through it. The blue candle is for the saint alone.]
(How did you have this arranged on the altar?)
Well, you see, just have.
(Here's the altar.)
[To represent altar, I open my small spiral-bound Numbers Book on table.]
That's the altar. Now you see, just hold this up just like this here. That's the altar here. You understand?
(Yes.)
Well, all right. That's the Virgin Mary - the Virgin right here, see.
(That's St. Rita?) [She means St. Rita.]
Yeah, that's St. Rita, right there. All right, you takes right here, right in front of the altar, you understand, that's her in here.- in that little hole. Well, you take right in front of the altar, right here [also], that's where you put - lay your husband's picture there and the name nine times, one time cross- way like that, nine time crossway like that, and once like dis, and you lay that right up on here. And you take his picture - have his picture like that with it, but you have his picture laying crossways - see, just like his head would rise to the sun, well, you make his feet get to the sun and you put it right here. Lay that on top of that and put that white candle on top of this. Then you turn round and take that dark candle and put it right here.
(On the left hand [north] side of the altar you put the dark candle?)
Yeah, put it the side of the altar but on this side. See, [evil] all the time on the left side. On the right side put the man's candle - put it right here. That saint's candle, put it right here - that blue one, that's for her, see. (I see. The white one is in the center and the blue one is on the right side of the [statue of the] saint?) Yes, sir. Then, see when you light it, you can light.
(When you light those candles, you do what?)
When you light the candles, see, you light her candle first - that's that blue candle.
(I see.)
You see, all them candles are nickel candles apiece - cost a nickel apiece. Well, you see, you light her candle first. Well, you says your wish. You make your wish to her - just like you wish for him to come home, or you wish for him to stay away. See. Any wish that you make her, say, "Well, I wish that you would send my husband home. You understand, I am in need." And you make that wish for her and light her candle first, and you turn around and you come across there and pass him up, and light the dark candle after you light hers first.
(Then you light the black candle?)
Yes. And you come right on back [to the white candle].
(What do you say when you light that black candle?)
That black candle, "Take him away from this woman, if it's your spirit will." See, that's the way you have to have your hands - just thataway. (Up against the side of your face - folded [in prayer]. Yes, just thataway.
(After you repeat the prayer?)
And after you prays the Lord's Prayer. And after the Lord's Prayer is said, you takes and [hold a match like] that to the light. And you take another match, not the same match - take another match and light this husband's candle, the white candle. And you take and set ~ burn - take all them [matches] and burn them [matches] up. And you set right there and you make the Lord's Prayers to the saint.
(You use three different matches?)
Yes, sir.
(What do you do with those matches after you light them?)
You can't use but one on that one candle.
(No, what do you do with those matches after you use them?)
You take them and throw them in the fire and burn them up. See, you can't use the same [matches again] and drag 'em around. And you make your wishes and you prays to her. And I guarantee you in three days time your husband will be back home. [Here is the prepared or dressed altar: Parentheses in diagram = spiral binding that divides Numbers Book into halves
(p.886, line one) = little hole (line 8).]
Entry 657
[Closely associated with graveyard dirt and also dangerous is goofer dust. Since descriptions of this substance are usually brief and inadequate, I begin with an account by a doctor:] An' agin we carry de dust wit us [probably John the Conker], we carry de Adam and Eve root and whut we call goofer dust. (What is goofer dust?) Goofer dust is dust right from de cemetery, but it's gittin' out from undah de footstone - whut ah mean, de footboard yo' see. Yo' go down undah dere an' git de dust out from undah dere. Yo' tie it up an'. Yo' go tuh run - yo' cross runnin' watah an' yo' bless it in de watah. Yo' carry it through de watah an' de watah puts whut chew call a Christian spirit on it. An yo' carry dat an' during de time yo' gamblin' yo' keeps yore mind on de gamblin', it's true, but chew let chure mind think about whut chew got - de dust in mah pocket. Think about yore dust. Den luck will come.
(Do you combine the dust with this Adam and Eve root?)
No, dat's separate.
(This is separate. All you need is the goofer dust for luck in gambling?)
Yes. (But you have to get it in a special way - from under the footboard of the grave?) Yessuh.
(Then you have to carry it through running water?)
Dat's right.
(You just carry this dust loose in your pocket?) )[He had said, "Tie it up."]
Yo' give it a spirit of imagination wonder - den yo' carry it in yore pocket. [So far as I can recall, this is my only example of graveyard dirt being carried across running water - a brillant operation, a daring use of the magic of the contrary or opposite, because everyone knows that the spirit in this grave- yard dirt can not cross running water. Yet, if the doctor says, "You bless it in de watah...carry it through de watah...de watah puts...a Christian spirit on it," that is just what happens. A doctor's intention can violate any magic law in hoodoo or create a new law. This is actually a baptismal rite. All graveyard dirt being of uncertain spiritual quality for our doctor, he gives it a Christian spirit. Spirit of imagination wonder = power = the primitive mana.] (Now what about that Adam and Eve root? Do they use that in any special way for luck in gambling?) Well, yo' use Adam an' Eve root - chew carry it fo' luck in gamblin' an' luck in any kinda thing; use it in anything, business or anything.
(How do you do that - just carry it loose in your pocket?)
No,- yo' sews it in a lil' bag an' carries it. It's put up lak a little fuzzy nut of some kind. [This is a hand.] Now, when people talk of putting de goofer on yo', they do that to either run yo or bring yo' undah dere control. Lotta people say, "Well, we'll goofer sech an' sech a person because ah cares fo' dem" - cause dey care fo' a person, prob'bly loves 'em an' wants dem tuh be around all de time. Lotta po' people use dat word goofer. Dey has somebody workin' fo' 'em pract'lly all de time, settin' up. Yo' know it's a lotta people has a ole man settin' around. He ain't fittin' fo' nuthin' but tuh work an' dey jes' wanta git whut support dey kin git outa him, so dey puts de goofer dust on him. Dey ties him so he can't git away. He wants tuh go free yo' see, but dat stuff is workin' on his conscience an' mind so strong so dat he jes' hang all round dere. An' dey git dat goofer dust tuh workin' - prob'bly bury it undah de step, in de back yard or somewhere else. Conceal it from him where he won't know nuthin' about it an' jes' keep it right dere, an' long as dey hold it dere dey got him.
Baptismal rite is the editor's characterization of the water-blessing account; the informant's descriptions remain separate.