Subject:Bowl
Entries
Entry 2856
You see when a man is fooling around with another woman, a woman she'll take - she double-cross him. She'll get three candles. (Three candles.) Three candles. She'll get a yellow candle, a white candle and she'll get a blue candle. She'll take these three candles and she's got a bowl on her dresser or vanity, whatever she got. Now, she'll light these candles in this bowl. She'll get her five cents of ice, which is 25 pounds of ice. She'll take your name and this woman's name and write it 18 times [each 9 times]. Now, she'll put this name [these names] under this ice upside down and burn these candles on it for nine days. She got you.
(That will separate me and the other woman, and I go back to my wife?)
You gotta go back. If you don't go back to her, you going to go back to some other one; but she's going to break you and this other woman up - you and her can't stay together.
Entry 4787
I have had de luck tuh see 'em brought back. If dat man leaves dat house an' he leaves any of 'is clothes dere, especially socks, undahweah or 'is top-shirt, or SOMPIN DAT REALLY HE OWNS, yuh kin cut a piece outa de seat of dose undahweahs, or a piece outa de tail of 'is shirt - anywhere roun' de privates, yuh see. Put it in a alcohol bottle an' stop it up, preserve it, an' hide it somewhere he cain't see it. Git it intuh dat lamp. An' dat man's comin' back dere, if yuh kin preserve 'im [preserve his piece of clothes]. Well, when he comes, yuh know what he's goin' tuh say? Yuh know what I heered a fellah say? An' ah seed de woman do dis. Ah know she done dis. I seed de woman when she done it. An' he come back, back dere on about de fo'th day, an' he walks up de steps he says tuh 'er, he says, "Hello, Honey." She says, "Lawd, where did yuh come from?" He sayed, "Ah come home tuh die." He say, "Looked lak ah'd git worried tuh death. Couldn't stay away no more." He say, "Ah'll nevah leave yuh no more long as ah live." He say, "Ah wanta stay here."
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 8578
[The lamp rites of this margin title once belonged to the New Orleans area of influence; itself and across the Mississippi River in Algiers, Mobile, Vicksburg, and Memphis. Whether these beliefs collected more than a generation ago are still popular, I do not know at the moment - June 12, 1974. Fashions in magic and witchcraft are constant- ly changing.] (What about that?) Well, that's like - the same as that is, but yo' is separated because yo' got another wife and she [the first wife or woman] loves yo' an' she wants yo' back. An' she write your name [nine times] - her name nine times backwards, an' yours nine times forwards on top of yours [see later expla- nation]. Well, yo' see, then she takes that and she folds it to her an' puts it in a lamp an' burns it. That cause zhoo to come back.
(What will she write first nine times, her name or his name?)
She writes your name first.
(The man's name first?)
First.
(Then - the woman writes her name then?)
On top of yours.
(Which one does she write forwards and backwards?)
WRITE BOTH OF 'EM BACKWARDS.
(Both of them backwards.)
Entry 8588
Then if ah want this woman an' ah can't get to her, ah kin take mah e 'er name first at de top, my name second at de bottom, her name third an' my name fourth. See, ah ain't got to write it but four times. An' ah fold dat papah. Every time ah fold dat papah, ah fold it to me, an' ah leave it wit three corners, an' have all three of those corners turned to me. An' ah put dat in de lamp, an' ah lights dat lamp, an' ah'll burn dat lamp slowly. Ah turn dat lamp on at seven o'clock. (Seven o'clock in the morning or the evening?) Seven o'clock in de mawn- in'. Ah burn dat lamp slowly till six in de evening. Den ah turn dat lamp down low. See, ah won't blow dis lamp out. Instead of me blowing de lamp out, ah ketch it an' pinch de wick of it. An' see every time ah pinch de wick of it, dat makes it burn on your mind. Dat burn yore name into mine an' my name into yours. Well, dat draws de mind of yo' to me, see. Dat drawin' yore mind.
(You pinch the wick out?)
Ah pinch de wick out.
(Out of where?)
Pinch it plumb out, pinch it till it goes out. See.
(I see.)
As long as it burn - pinching on dat wick [demonstrates] ah'll pinch dat lamp, pinch dat wick plumb out.
(You pinch it with both hands?)
Yassuh, wit both hands till ah pinch it out.
Entry 8591
~ Den if he's in Chicago, Detroit, or any place, sits down an' gits chew a clean sheet of papah, an' write his name nine times on dat piece of papah. An' aftah writin' it nine times, yo' walks tuh de do' an' yo' says de Lord's Prayer nine times. Takes an' lights yore lamp an' put it in dat lamp, an' 'bout one grain of sugah in dere. Yo' know whut ah mean, not a grain but nearly 'bout a half a teaspoonful, into dat lamp wit dat coal oil in it. Light dat lamp an' turn it down real low, an' burn dat fo' nine days, nine days an' nights, an' wherevah he may be, he come dere. He cain't stay away.
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 8611
I wouldn't have to come back over this at all would I? Yo' know, there wouldn't be no hereafter [bad consequences for me] about it would there? (Oh! No! No! You just simply tell me as if you were talk- ing to anybody on the street or to any of your friends.) [This is the latter part of the preliminary. conversation I had with all informants as soon as they entered the interviewing room. These becoming-acquainted conversa- tions Varied in length and substance. UNFORTUNATELY IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME YEARS AGO THAT ANYONE, EVEN MYSELF YEARS LATER, WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THESE PREPARATORY DETAILS. FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MY CONVER- SATIONAL METHODS HAVE BEEN PRESERVED IN THE INTERVIEWS THEMSELVES. Well, ah tell yuh, ah have heard 'em say that they could write his name nine times, de husband's name. De wife could do dis. She could write his name nine times an' then she would write her name nine times across his, so that his name Would be first and be lookin' up towards her. An' put it in de bottom of a lamp, oil-boinin' lamp, an' let this boin an' refill de lamp. Jes' put it in de bottom of a lamp under de wick an' as dat boin - let this boin night an' day, an' finally, they say, yo' know, dat he'll come home.
(Do you put that piece of paper in the lamp in any particular way?)
Yo' jes' drop it - let this writin' be up. De writin' must be up. (Do you put the oil in the lamp before you put the note in or do you put the note in and then put the oil on top of it?) [There is no answer and I did not continue for one that evidently would have been a guess or made no difference.]
Entry 8766
Yo've got to get a plain piece of papah wit no lines drawn on it. Now, ah'm goin' tuh give yo' an idea. Ah'm goin' tuh write yore name. If yo' want tuh get even wit [someone], ah'll write yore name dis way nine times, an' ah'll turn dis papah aroun' an' ah'll write my name nine times until ah get it across yores. Den ah'll fold dat papah two turns, an' den ah'll put dat in a lamp...
(Fold that paper kitty-corner.)
[I try a folk term rather than catercornered.]
Now, dis what yo' call kitty-corner, see [demonstrates] ah'll take it jes' lak dis an' den ah'll take it again jes' lak dis. An' now when it's off, dat gives me a cornah here an' a cornah here. When dis is off, dat'll give me a cornah here.
(It's in the shape of a triangle.)
[Here as often, I am annotating for my future understanding.]
Ah'll put dat in a lamp or undah a candle an' ah'll burn it an' ah can make whatevah ah burn it fo'. Ah can wish fo' what ah want an' ah'll get it in dat papah what yore name wrote on. [For names in oil bowl of burning lamp, see, many rites under margin title LAMP RITES AND NAMES in present section NAMES; for ob- jects beneath burning candles, see section CANDLES, Pp.797-862.]
Entry 8850
Take de lettah...
(This letter that I wrote to you?)
Yessuh, an' git a lamp - dey burn on yo' - burn it lak dey burn a candle [on you]. Dey put de lettah aroun' de lamp, outside de lamp an' put de lamp in a da'k [dark] cornah an' make a wish an' burn it 24 days, whatevah dey wan' tuh happen tuh yuh. [This hand- Writing is not wrapped round the lamp chimney, which would immediately cause a fire, but as informant says burn it lak dey burn a candle (for burning candles, see pp.797- 862). Unwatched candles are always placed on a saucer or tin lid of some sort beneath which the object burned on is placed.]
Entry 12293
(If somebody stole this thing, how would you get him to bring it back, now?) If yo' know they stole it, why yo' know dey name. Yo write dey name 9 times [on piece of paper] an' put it in de [oil bowl of] lamp wit some sugah on it, an' let dat lamp burn fo' nine mawnin's. Dey'll come back [with it].
Entry 12496
Write name, put an "o" [or circle?] under each letter of name, take oil of bergamine [bergamot], oil of anise and put in lamp with the kerosene, keep burning very low for 9 mornings and 9 nights, light before 6 o'clock in morning, to bring person to you. [Presumably lamp is extinguished at bedtime. This is my original resume attached to original manuscript. Informant was outstanding. Letter "o" surely needs no comment.]