Subject:Bath
Entries
Entry 985
Well, this party had a shawl and she loaned it to another friend of hers and when that friend brought it back - she Worn it over her head and whutever was in that shawl caused her to lose all of her hair. She became bald and blind. And she went to a so- called hoodoo doctor and that doctor gave her something to take, and then she went to running water nine mornings and washed her eyes, and threw that bag over the left shoulder and in the running water, and she began to have sight. She was to wear that for nine mornings but she must Wash her eyes in this running water with this bag around her neck.
Entry 986
(Tell what you told me coming over on the ferry about the day in May.)
[While collecting hoodoo in Algiers, I lived in New Orleans where we had been working: Each day Edward, Marshall and his taxi and I went back and forth across the Mississippi River. After I had set up my Teledi- phone on reaching Algiers, I had Marshall repeat the story; as usual details being lost in the retelling.] Ah - ah dunno zactly. Ah think it's de first day of May. No, de first day of April. No, it's May. If yo' have any trouble, worry, any hard burden an' yo' couldn't git rid of it, jis' been worried all de yeah, jis' up an' down, sickness or anything. Well, yo' go tuh de rivah dat first day [of May]. An' yo' go an git down tuh de watah an' yo' wash yore han's an' yore feet good, an' face, an' let de watah drip from yo' lak dat - jis' throw de watah from yo' lak dat, shake it off. An' as dat watah hit's de stream an' - it carries it off.
(Do many people do that around here?)
Many folks still do - ah dunno heah lately, but ah know yeahs ago. Now, dis late generation, dey don't fool wit it so much. But ah remembah about eight or nine yeahs ago, an' yo' know, life an' people wus bettah den. Dey wait till May tuh git rid of dey troubles.
(You used to see them at the river?)
See 'em at de rivah - each fellah jump ovahbo'd. He [an ole felZah] stepped ovah yo' know an' ovah balanced, an' de rivah wus a little bit low dere an' de [young] fellah had tuh run lak anythin' tuh ketch de ole fellah. [The preceding rite was picked up on a Mississippi River ferry. Somewhere I have material collected from my Pullman porter on a Pennsylvania train near Baltimore, Maryland.] [At the end of an interview I often made a comment to my microphone, just in case my memory failed or my notes were lost:] (That was Marshall talking, who just told me about the first of May. He is the man that I hired as a chauffeur here and in New Orleans. End of 1599.)
Entry 3119
Yuh take dat [bath] watah, put it in a bottle an' mix it wit wo watah, adx it wit salt an' gunpowdah. Throw dat in de runnin' watah, see. Dat will keeps yuh tied up. Well, it will make yuh lose ami bition fo' de woman dat yuh have, yuh undahstan'; an' it will keep yuh wit a mind - yuh undahstan', yuh will nevah be satisfied where yuh be yet.
Entry 3692
Dey take a snail yo' know to stop a man from bein' wit a woman.
(How would they do that?)
Dey put dat snail - de woman will fix dat water in de tub. She'll fix de watah in de tub fo' de man an' den she'll put dat snail - wash dat snail all roun' in dat watah, an' when [then] he go to take a bath yo' see. An' evah time dat he go to be wit anothah woman outside of 'er, he'll fall.
Entry 3816
Take a bran'-new knife an' po' - make urinate [urinate] down dat knife- blade evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' wash 'isself wit whut chew call dis stuff dey use in prison. (Saltpeter?) Saltpetah. Take dat an' wash it [his tool] an' throw it to de sundown. Take dat an' wash it an' throw it to de sundown. If he done wash 'isself off an' throw it de way de sun goes down, he kin git ovah [cure] it dataway - git along to where he kin handle anybody he want to.
(That will take off this spell that took his nature away.)
Dat'll take off dat.
(He did that before sunrise did you say?)
[He did not give the time, that is what I wanted to learn.]
Aftah sun risin' an' jes' as de sun liable to set, see yo' put it in dere den, den it [ailment] will go away den. Yo' have to do dat fo' nine evenin's an' po' dat watah down dat knife fo' nine mawnin's.
(You urinate down the knife in the morning, and you throw it away at night?)
Yeah, yo' washes wit dat saltpetah in de aftahnoon. [For the general reader may I add:. The peter part of saltpeter, being one of the many names for the penis, has magic value in this impotence cure; so also has the magic salt portion of saltpeter.]
Entry 4480
Taken [taking] de watah dat yuh bathe in an' stoppin' it up into a bot- tle, an' if dey kin git yuh urine along wit it an' stoppin' it up in a bottle, it'll cause yuh tuh drag - drag sick.
Entry 4481
[While my machine was stopped, informant mentioned bath water.]
(What can you do with that?)
Well, dey kin take [bath water] an' put it in a bottle an' go tuh a green tree. What I mean by a green tree, when de sap is runnin'. Understan'? An' put it in dat tree, stop it up in dere jis' de same as takin' dere urine an' do de same thin'. Or if dey make a passage [of excrement], do de same thin'. An' dey'll pale yuh away jis' dry yuh up, yuh see. Jes' a slow death from mah undahstan'in'.
(They use your bath water the same way?)
[This question is to make certain the word bath water was recorded.]
Yes sir.
Entry 4482
(How do you do that?)
Yuh kin take bath watah an' jes' make a person jes' pale away. Dey won't be sick or nuthin of de kin' like dat, but yuh kin put 'em on a [what? Drag?].
(How do you do it?)
Yuh takes an' yuh bottles it up an' yuh buries it. (This bath water?) Yes sir. (I see. What does that do to them?) Jes' pale 'em - make 'em pale away.
(Oh! it makes him pale away.)
Entry 4483
Wal, yuh'll take a bath in de watah. Dey kin git a chance tuh git tuh dat watah an' dey'll take a bottleful. Take a bottleful of dat watah. If dey wanta conkah yuh, dey'll take a bottleful of dat watah an' put a stoppah in it. Pack it down tight an' put it down to yuh steps, er [or] tuh dey steps. Dat'll draw all yuh attention tuh nobody but dem.
Entry 4484
Take dat where yuh take a bath an' put it in a hole. (What kind of a hole?) Any roun' hole. (Where is this hole made?) Yuh put it in yuh backyard. (Oh, a hole in the ground.) Yeah, see he'd come out an' hafta [have to] walk ovah it, an' dat will strip 'em [him] up, peel 'em up - yeah, jes' like dey have de measles or sompin like dat.
[Walking over his bath water is walking over a part of himself.]
(I see, make this skin - give them skin trouble.)
Yeah, skin trouble call it.
Entry 4485
They kin take the water that you bathe in and use it, and if properly used give you some kind of a ailments in your skin. If they take that water and put sulphur in it and put it in a bottle and stop it up, your skin will break out with some kind of disease - something like itch or nettZe- rash or something. It will always continue to be thataway. Of course, I don't know that you couldn't go to a doctor [M.D.] and get shots or somepin. [HERE IS A MEMORABLE STATEMENT! INFORMANT THINKS IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE TO GO TO A DOCTOR (M.D.) FOR SHOTS TO CURE AN ITCH CAUSED BY HOODOO! A hundred times or more in HOODOO a Doctor of Medicine is dismissed as useless for hoodoo; in fact for most ailments. FOR A GOOD ACCOUNT OF THIS SITUATION BACK IN 1938 AT MOBILE, DESCRIBED BY PROFESSIONAL ROOT SELLER, See 12, p.11f.]
Entry 4487
Like yuh bath [not bathe], she'd get a quart bottle, get dat quart bottle of watah out chure - de watah dat yuh bath in.
(Yes?)
Aftah yuh bath, she'd take it an' gets a quart bottle of dat watah, an' she bury it about one a'clock dat night at de east cornah of de house, an' derefo' yuh can't 'scape no way. (You can't do what?) Yuh can't leave no way. [You] jes' be goin' all de time [and that stops it].
(That will keep you [from] going all the time?)
Yes.
Entry 4488
Well, dey jes' take de watah an' kinda jes' skim it off de top-like de grease-like.
(Of your bath water?)
Uh-huh an' dey'd put it in a bottle an' stop it down an' - dat's if dey is against yuh - an' dat will jes' run yo' away from around dem, too. [Intention here is more important than symbolism.]
Entry 4489
De dirt from undah dere, an' take de watah - go right in yuh bathtub, don't use no zinc tub, skim dat grease off round dere an' mix it wit dere fingahnails an' toenail. An' den yuh kin - if yuh want a man or anything like dat, good luck, jes' use it. Wear it an' anoint wit it an' he'll do anything yuh want 'im to. Give yuh money or anythin' like dat - HURT 'IS WIFE FO' YUH. (I see. You put these things in a bag or something with your fingernails and the toenails?) Yes, sir, an' den dat grease, yuh know, when yuh bathe, dat stuff comes aroun' dere [the edge of the bathtub].
(That grease, that scum. And then you say you anoint that with something?)
Yuh anoint yuh body.
(Oh, you anoint your body, I see.)
Yes.
(Oh, I see - make sort of a salve?)
Yes, an' den put some dat heart - put dat old-time perfume.
(Heart's Cologne.)
Old-time perfume.
(Heart's Perfume, put that in with it. Make it smell nice. I see.)
Yes. [While machine is stopped I must have asked about the fingernails and toe- nails.] Claim dey get de toenails, fingahnails, something like dat. Hit jes' de same thing.
(I see, and that [the nails] will repeat the same thing.)
Yes.
Entry 4491
Dey say yuh could take de dirt an' let it get dry. (What dirt?) De dirt what's lef' aftah yuh use - when yuh drain de watah out, an' de dirt dat's lef' in de tub. An' let it get dry an' keep it fo' nine days, an' dat will make yuh husban' stay home. I don't know all dat, whut it's fo'.
Entry 4492
Yuh could take de bath watah.
(The water you take a bath in?)
Yeah. Put it in a quart bottle, or a pint bottle - any [either] one. Yuh gets yuh 9 needles - yuh buy 'em what ain't been used out of - 9 needles, 9 pins. Put 'em in dat [bottle], a bran'- new stoppah. Yuh stop dat [bot- tle] up tight, tight. Turn it like dis, upside down. Bury it undah de hydrant where de watah runnin'. When yuh put dat dere, dat will run 'em crazy.
(I see.)
Entry 4493
Dey'll take dat watah dat yuh bath in an' dey'll take an' put dat watah in a bottle. Well, dey gon'a git chew. Like if yuh take a bath an' yuh wantsme, don' take dat watah an' [throw it away]. Den yuh put dat watah in a bottle an' evah ah come an' ask yuh fer a bottle of watah, drink of watah, yuh'll give dat watah [to me]. An' den dat'll make mah 'fluence [feelings] go towards yuh.
Entry 4498
When yuh wash yuh face an' han's, dey kin jes' take a little watah an' ketch some of dat watah an' stop it up befo' yuh throw it out. Dat'll.bring yuh back. An' dey say yuh kin go roun' de cornah [of house? street?] an' dey shake it an' yuh gotta come back.
Entry 4499
Well, if yuh've taken a bath in watah. Yuh see, when yuh bath yuhself, dat gets a certaln portion of yuh body off - dat perspiration of yuh body, see. Yuh washes off in dat. Dey take dat watah an' dey will stop it up in a bottle, yuh see. Well, it's quite natchal [natural] dat watah will sour, yuh see. Den dey take some sugah an' dey sweeten dat watah. Well, anything dat yuh sweeten will create an asick [acid] right away, yuh see. Dey take an' put dat in a bottle. Dey stop it up, see. Aftah dey stops it up, dey sets dat bottle upside down, yuh undahstan'. Evah once in awhile dey go in an' dey shake dat up. Dat shakes dat asick up in dat bottle, yuh see. An' when dey shakes dat asick up in dat bottle, dat starts yuh tuh burnin' an' eetchin' [itch- ing] all ovah, yuh see, an' yuh can't be peaceful nowheres. Yuh can't rest, it keep yuh tormented all de time.
Entry 4500
Yuh take dat watah an' put it aside an' let it git sour.
(This bath water.)
An' it get sour de suds goin' come tuh de top. Skim off dat suds an' pour all dat [water] out an' dere'll be groun's [dirt] undahneat' dere. Yuh take dat, de groun's undahneat' dere, too. Yuh know, gon'a be suds on de top, an' po' de watah off de top, den dere'll be drugs [dregs] at de bottom. Yuh take dat [dregs] an' yuh put dat in a bottle an' git dere name, write on a piece of papah nine times, nine needles, nine pins an' three nails, an' put 'em in dat bottle. See, if dey is from yuh [informant demonstrates by shaking imaginary bottle]. See, git dem tuh come tuh yuh. (Oh! You shake that bottle and the person will come to you. I see. Well, how do you get this scraping off their feet then? That off your feet or off their feet?) Dat off dey're foot, yuh know. (Oh! This is the bath water, that's right.)
Entry 4502
Well, yuh take dat [bath water] an' throw a little of it behin' ieh evah time yuh leave. It'll draw yuh back. [There is a considerable amount of material about throwing articles behind you - when leaving for court, etc.]
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 4505
Well, now, dey kin take yuh watah whut chew bath in an' yuh kin take dat watah an' po' out jes' like de sediment - dey ketch de sediment, de bottom. Dey don't ketch de top, git de bottom part of de dirt. It's from, yuh know, what comes from de hide. Yuh undahstan' me, from yuh hide. See, de sediment goes into de bottom. De watah dirty on top, but chew kin take time an' po' it out an' ketch de drainin's. Ketch dat dust. All right. Yuh'll take dat an keep it fer twelve days, undahstan' me. Den aftah de twelve days, yuh'll take it an' yuh'll go tuh a creek, forward, an' don't nevah look back. Whilst yuh's goin' it's diff'run', yuh mind is on goin' to dat creek. Don't look back'tall fer nuthin. When yuh get to de creek - yuh gets tuh de creek or rivah or what- somevah it is an' throw it back like dat. Yuh take dis han' heah [demonstrates].
(Your left hand.)
Dis han' here, dis yore heart. Throw it ovah dere an' go on about chure business. Don't look back.
(You throw it over your right shoulder?)
Yes, take dat lef' han'
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat is - dat man dat yuh wants tuh do dat tuh, dat gives 'i, he cain't stay nowheres. He has tuh jes' - see, de creek is got dat goin', an' jes' like he is goin'. He be here an' aroun' tuhday an' tuhmorrah in anothah little town somewheres, an' on an' on, unless yuh save a little of dat watah an' yuh git tired of 'im goin'. Yuh save a little watah an' change it. Go tuh a creek an' take dis han' an' throw it ovah. An' aftah it gits far as yuh wanta - if it git fer enough from yuh, dere ain't no way fer 'im tuh git back, becuz he'll nevah have de mind tuh git back tuh yuh. (In other words, if you want him to stop roaming, you take the other hand, the right hand, and throw this stuff over the left shoulder.) Yes sir, ovah de right shouldah [see correction later]. Take yuh lef' han' an' throw it ovah yuh right shouldah [see correction later].
(That's to get rid of him?)
Yes. (What's to make him stop then, when you take that other piece of dirt? When you go back to the creek the second time?) Well, yuh save some of dat sediment an' throw it ovah yuh left-han' shouldah [here is the correction] but don't look back. Well dat stops 'im. (You take the right hand and throw it over the left shoulder. I see.)
Entry 4506
An' throw it [bath water] in runnin' watah an' yuh'll drift - you'd drift, you'd drift from dere. (You throw my bath water into the water?) Yeah, in de watah, in de runnin' watah. (I see.) Dat's tuh put yuh on a draa tuh drift an' wandah. Yuh won't be satisfied no place. Yuh drift.
Entry 4507
Take dat watah an' stop it up an' go throw it in de Mis'sippi Rivah. An' if dey throw it in de Mis'sippi Rivah, yuh'll keep on jes' like de watah drift, yuh'll drift like dat.
(What would you stop up?) Take dat watah an' ketch it. (What water?) Take de watah yuh take a bath in. (I see.)
An' stop it up in a bottle right tight, an' take it an' throw it in de Mis'sippi Rivah; an' if dey throw it in de Mis'sippi Rivah, de cork can't come out. Jes' as long as dat bottle is stopped up, dat bottle goin' tuh float. An' yuh'll go.
(You'll go. What's going to happen to you?)
Huh? Yuh'll get drownded.
(I see.)
Entry 4509
Dey take dis watah dat yuh bath in, if dey wanted tuh hurt cha. Dey git holt of dis watah dat yo' bath in. Dey take an' make some sea watah an' mix it wit it, dis watah yuh bath in, an' dig a hole durin' de night an' po' it down in dere. Dat'll put yuh down in bed.
Entry 4510
Dey git hold of yuh [bath] watah. Dey take dat watah, see. Well, if dey wanta drown yuh, if dey wanta make yuh drown, yuh see, dey take dat watah an' carry it tuh a well, sompin like dat, an' dey'll throw dat dirty watah into de good watah. Well, yuh know when yuh don' bath yuh dirt an' all will come up in dat watah, yuh see. Well, when yuh bath yuh mind is on nuthin else but dat bath, see. Yuh realize dat when yuh bath, ain't it? All right, yuh look all ovah yuhself. Yuh take a nice bath an', why yuh figah [figure] how ah'm nice an' clean. Well, yuh look at de watah an' say, "Well, dat watah mighty dirty. Well, dat sure is dirty." Like dat or sompin like dat. Well, if de watah was not soil much, yuh say, "Well, ah sure wasn't dirty, but ah take a bath anyhow an' now ah feel bettah." Dey'll [an enemy] take dat dirty watah an' dey will carry it tuh de well an' dey will throw it in de well, see. Dey will throw it in de well an' perhaps somebody might go dere an' fin' yuh dere in dat well drownded. [Charleston, S. Car., (511), 575:5.] [If hat as a whole does not appeal to the hoodoo believer, sweatband and especially sweatband bow do; the former as a place to hide cunjure, the latter as a small pliable object full of symbolism, easily concealed, and usually worn or kept for a love hand. The preceding title I have separated into three head- ingS: HAT AS A WHOLE, SWEATBAND OF HAT EXCLUDING BOW, and BOW FROM SWEATBAND OF HAT.]
Entry 6721
Yo' kin take cedah an' make a bath, in yore feets or laigs where yo' have swellin' lak dat. Yo' boil dat an' make a tea-lak an' bath. An' also grapevine.
Entry 6752
Dey tell me dat chew git a po'tion [por- tion not potion] of rat- tlesnake dust, red peppah, gunpowdah in yore shoes, dat'll cuz [cause] yo' tuh have achin' an' swellin' j'ints an' stuff. Dat'll put a spell on yo'.
(Sort of swell up your feet or make your joints ache?)
Yeah, yore j'ints ache, an' swell yore j'ints up, too.
(Well, is there any way you can cure that, I wonder?)
Yessir, yo' go tuh a cow stall an' yo' git dat dung, dat rakin' of de cow stall where de cow trample.
(The cow manure?)
Yeah. Yo' take dat an' yo' boil dat an' yo' bathe yore feets in dere. Yo' dilute dat an' put a li'le salt in it. Bathe yore feets in dere wit dat. An' yo' take dat an' yo' THROW DAT SUNDOWN SIDE. DAT MEANS FO' DE MISERY TUH GO DOWN, de sweat of it goes down an' de mis'ry [misery] tuh go out. Yo' throw dat sundown side.
Entry 6953
Spidahs are good fo' fevah. Say yo' take de spidahs an' yo' boils 'em an' bath [not bathe] patient's body in de watah, an' dey'll recovah from fevah.
Entry 8509
Dey take dat an' dey put it in a coconut.
(This bath water?)
Dis bath watah.
(What else do they do?)
An' dey write yure name nine times each way [forwards and backwards] on a piece of papah, an' put it in a coconut an' chuck it in de rivah. An' dey call it a dirty name, what- evah dey wanta call it, an' tell it tuh go. Well, dat floats yuh on away, dat coconut. Long as dat coconut go, it keeps yuh on de go.
Entry 8955
Lak if yo' got a co't case an' in de mawnin' when dat individual [you] git up, leave de house be upsetted, leave de chamber lye stay in de house an' de clothes whut dey have on. First dey take a bath. An' yo' git honeysuckle an' bay rum an' den yo' make yo' a bath wit dat. An' yo' take dat bath when yo' fixin' tuh go tuh meet de co't. An' yo' put on clean clothes. An' de ole clothes whut chew put off, yo' nail a nail up at de do' whut chew goin' out, an' yo' turn yore underwears wrongside out an' yo' hang 'em up upside down. An' yo' hang yore pantses up upside down, an' yo' turn yore shoes upside down. An' as yo' go out de do', make yore wish an' don' look back. But leaves de house dere - upset de house as much as yo' kin. Yo' wins dat [case]. Ah have win.
Entry 8958
Yo' take a portion and yo' put it in each shoe.
(You mean the oil. The oil?)
Yes, yo' put it in each shoe. An' there's three oils yo' get. Yo' get this oil of muritel.
(You get what?)
Murotel, yeah. That [is] if you out, yo' understand, goin' to meet co't. If yo're not in jail, yo' can take oil of murotel and cedar oil an' labena [ver- bena]. An' yo' mix them three oils together. [First oil is surely myrtle!] (What kind? Labena?) Labena [verbena], yes sir. An' yo' bathe yoreself in it that morning before going before the judge. An' if yo' have any witness, well yo' take a beef tongue. An' yo' know the right names, yo' writes the name upon dat tongue. An' if yo' got a chimley anywhere in de house, yo' hangs dat up in there, an' your witness can't speak clearly. (Well, what do you hang that beef tongue in that chimney for? What - how do you do that?) Just take it and [first] you roll it around with your feet [it is kicked in No.8956] and hangs it up in there and smoke it.
(Oh, you smoke it! I see.)
Entry 10189
Bottle oil of bergamine [bergamot], box cooking soda, teaspoon salt- peter, take bath in that. Break a candle, make a wish, light [same] candle, let candle burn out. Then get brimstone, burn brimstone Monday, Wednes- day and Friday and make wish. Put sugar in it [brimstone], throw into fire. Can make money. [This is a rite for business.]
Entry 10687
[There are two types of baths in HOODOO: the ordinary bath to clean yourself, the real bath water, and the ceremonial bath for numerous purposes such as gambling luck (see PARSLEY in this section), for health, love, etc.] Stop up bath water in a bottle, set it in sun until hot and foamy, add salt and pepper; you'll begin to itch and burn, "you have come under their curse."
[Washington, D. C., 822:6.]
Entry 10688
After you have taken a bath, they can get some of that water and stop it up in a bottle, and of course they can bury that, and that will cause your body to dry up and waste away - something like you have a wasting disease.
Entry 10689
They skim de bath water an' they cooks that in with de husband's food an' that'll make him have a weak stomach. He will always feel sick an' he won't want to go anywhere an' per- haps - de woman do that to keep him at home, to keep him from running around. It ties up his nachure [na- ture]. He don't have any feeling towards her at all, no more than a - be a slave in de home for her, while she'll be out running around with different other guys. That puts her to be free amongst men an' him a slave at home. Use de bath water.
Entry 10759
After you have a bath in that water, you put household ammonia and some sugar and some blueing [in the used] water, and that will uncross your bad luck, and bring you success- ful. An' yo' take that and you throw it where the sun rise.
Entry 11112
They take a bath and leave the bath water. They [an enemy kin take that water and get war water from the pharmacy and mix it into that water. Take it and stop it up in a bottle or a coconut - anything that is air- tight - throwing it in the Mississippi River, in a flowing stream, and just as it flow away, just as you'll drift away from town to town.
(I see.)
With that dirty [bath] water.
Entry 11731
Lak dis house - yo' got a house. An' dat grapevine, yo' takes off so much of it [indicate length] an' burn it. An' dem ashes yo' put around dat do', in front of de do', an' sweep [ashes out door] an' use dat grapevine fo' dat. An' yo' kin take a bath with grapevine.
(What does that do?)
Dat's fo' luck. Keep people 'way; bring folks in an' he'p yo' undertake [overcome], yo' know, de devil.
(Overtake the devil.)
Keep de devil away.
Entry 12141
Well, ah wuz sellin' whiskey once mahself, yo' see. Ah got me one bottle of Hearts Cologne an' put it on a table an' some powder. (What kind of powder?) Well, ah got dis heah regular bath powder. An' ah put it dere on de table where it would perfume roun' in de house. Mens comes in, different ones comin' in, well, de luck's on de house. Dat heart is lucky perfume yo' understand. Well, dey spends lots of money.
Entry 12429
Well the fact is, if yo' wan'a job, they have Mind Oil. You hear of it? Mind Oil. Well, suppose the boss's name John Henry. You sign his name to that parchment paper, put it in that Mind Oil. You will get you some paradise seed, get you some parsley. You take a bath with that. After taking bath, you must stay in that building all night, and throw the water out into the Middle of the street, see. And anything that instead of going contrary, you ill have a success with. [For "paradise seed" see margin title GUINEA SEEDS etc., P.570, v.1. Throwing bath water into street is a transference rite and remaining instead in building all night recalls ancient incubation rites.]
Entry 12886
To keep the laws away, stick that lye and keep scrubbing lye - chan- ber-lye [urine] - use that and scrub well with it, all around the door place, the doors and on the porch where they go backwards and forwards at. And then you - you get some oil of bergamine [bergamot].
(Oil of what?)
Oil of bergamine.
(Berg...)
Bergumine - oil of bergumine.
(What's that?)
[Here may be the first time I ever heard this troublesome word bergamine. Other hearings of the word followed. The long process by which I came up with bergamot I no longer remember. Many words gave me trouble.] That's a oil jest like oil of cinnamon. It's got a scent, only de scent is different. See. And you put that in your bath water and bathe with it.
(What do you do that for?)
What do you do that for? Well, anytime you come in contact with the law, you kin almost - always square 'em up.
(I see.)
Entry 13256
Ah heard dat too. Lak if yo' a big bootleggah an' dere's several people dat chew want tuh come tuh yore house, an' yo' wanta keep de law away from yore house or somepin lak dat. Yo' take [and] burn dis sulphur an' ole shoes dat will stink, an' whilst yo' take an' burn dat sulphur an' dem shoes - git up first thin' in de mawnin' - take an' burn dis sulphur an' dem shoes an' aftah yo' burnin' dis stuff, yo' git up an' take a bath round about 'leven a'clock [at night].'Fore yo' take a bath, yo' take dis stuff an' put it in de watah dat chew take a bath in. Yo' take dis stuff an' put it in yore watah an' yo' set dere [until] ah reckon round twelve or one 'clock at night. Well, yo' git up an' yo' burn dis stuff ag'in - dis sulphur an' dis ole shoes an' sprinkle sulphur lak dat. Yo' git up an' den yo' put dis back in de same watah where de sulphur is. When yo' git up jes' about sunrise, jes' as de sun in peepin' up above de trees, an' yo' take dis tub of watah an' yo' go an' po' it out on de opposite of de sun - opposite where de sun rises, but de same side where de sun rise on. Yo' take dis watah jes' 'bout sunrise, dis tub of watah, an' yo' take an' dash it out on de opposite side of de sunrise. An' dis watah will jes' run right on down - dat drive 'em 'way lak dat.
(You do this early in the morning?)
Yessuh, early in de mawnin' jes' about sunrise. (Do you pour this water out on the side where the sun is rising up or where the sun sets down?) Where de sun rise - de same side de sun rise on, de same side yo' po' dis watah out.
(That brings in trade.)
Entry 13310
Dey kin take yo' bath water - like you washes, yo' know. Dey take dat. Like dey have to have somepin from yo', dey kin take dat and take a pair of socks of yours. And dey have to throw it in de tide going out. When it comin' up it ain't no good, when it goin' back down ev'ry time it come up, you'll be all right, but when it goin' back down, yo' mind goin' jes' dataway. I see all dat happen. I see dat an' know dat's a fact.