Subject:Brass
Entries
Entry 1753
Go an' git a brass ring. Ah kin go an' git a brass ring an' wear that ring on yore [my] finger - what they call the ring finger on your right hand. (On which finger of the right hand?) The ring finger - the second finger - next to the little finger. The brass ring there. An' that will help yo' git a job.
Entry 3146
Well, when yo' an' he's doin' yo' git choo a brass pin an' put it in yore mouth up undah yore tongue, an' yo' hold yore breath. An' whilst yo' hold- in' yore breath, yo' jes' sayin', be repeatin' tuh yo' heart what choo don't wan' tim [want him] to do to nobody but choo. An' den when yo' git through, well yo' take dat brass pin an' tie it in a rag an' wear it. An' any time he go tuh anothah woman, well it'll fall.
Entry 3246
A pin, a brass pin. You can take a brass pin - like if she - if a woman's goin' an' she get after you and she wants to give yo' a vener'al disease, you understand. (She wants to give you a venereal disease?) Yes. (I understand.) She take dat pin - she'll take a brass pin when yo' havin' intahco'se wit 'er. An' she'll take dat brass pin an' she'll hold it in 'er mouth, see. Well, she hold it in 'er mouth. Well, all right. Aftah yo' have yore intahco'se wit 'er, see, well nine days aftahwards, if yo' don't have no idea about it, why dat thing will start to run, an' stay on if, if yo' don't know what to do. If yo' don't know whut to do to cure it, why it, jes keeP gIttin' WOrSe. An' I DON'T CARE NUTHIN ABOUT DOCTORS [M.D.'s]. HEDICINE WILL NOT CURE IT.
(I see. That's if she wants to give you a venereal disease.)
Yes, if she want to give it to yo', yo' undahstan'.
(Well, ISN'T THERE ANY WAY YOU GET RID OF IT, if she gives it tO you?)
Yes. Well, de way yo' git rid of dat, yo' go to de woods. Yo' go to de woods or a swamp somewhere an' yo' git Swamp root or de watah lily.
(The what?)
De watah lily root - swamp root.
(Water lily. All right.)
[This is probably the swamp lily, a white flowered lily (Crinum americanun) of the southern United States.] Swamp root, yo' boil dat. Yo' boil it down an' yo' take one tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon of sulphur. Yo' mix dat togethah into a quart of watah. Yo' take three tablespoonsful a day. Before each meal yo' take a tablespoonful. Dat'll cure it. But not wit'out some Swamp root. Somepin ah'll do it wit, it'll nevah nOt cure It. DOCTORS SHOOTIN AN' ALL DAT KIN'A SHOTS WILL NOT GIT RID OF IT, AN' I HAD IT. SO MANY PERSONS A DAY IN TOWN DAT DIES FROM DAT GOIN' TUH HOS- PITALS AN' NEVAH BE'S CURED. YO' GOTA GIT SOME MAN OUTA DE WOODS, OR SOME MAN TO GIT SOMEPIN OUTA DE GROUN' TO CURE DAT.
Entry 4178
Yo' kin git ten penny nails, don't chew undahstan', an' brass pins. Yo' kin put 'em in a bottle wit de urine an' stop it up an' it'll set choo crazy. It'll stay in dere an' yo'll suffah clean till dey let choo out. Well, dat's mean, don't choo know. When dey let choo out, yo' got tuh git somebody [to help yuh], don't choo undahstan'.
(Why do they do that?)
Becuz dey're mad an' jealous of yo' gittin' along, an' do somepin tuh yo', don't choo know, so dat choo cain't have no luck.
(What do they do with this bottle?)
Dey buries it, buries it down in de groun' bottom upwards dey tell me.
Entry 4198
Yuh kin take a person chamber lye an' put nine brass pins in it - any- body chamber lye - kin put nine brass pins in it an' put it intuh a dry place where it will be air- tight, where no light can't hit it, an' as long as dat pins an' dat chamber lye is stopped up in dat bottle, dat person al- ways complain of pains in dere stomick.
(That gives them stomach pains.)
Entry 5034
[They] take 'em an' dey buries 'em. Jis' like I got a woman an' she lef' me, an' I got 'er socks or anything dere. Well, I takes it an' I buries it undahneath de steps wit de white of an egg.
(With what?)
De white of a egg.
(Well, how do you do that? Do you mean just pour the white of an egg on it?)
Take it an' cobweb it an' mix it up tuhgethah. See, an' I folds it, dis stocking tuh me dataway, undahstan', an' I buries it right at mah step wit nine brass tacks. (This white of an egg. You just simply take the white out of an egg and put it on the stockings, and then roll it toward you?) [The verb cobweb is so unusual I missed the full meaning at the time of record- ing. Informant takes the white of an egg and cobwebs, pours a network design over the stocking, a magic entrapment and holding device.] Yes sir.
(And you put it under the steps and you use nine brass tacks?)
Yes sir.
(I see, and you tack it up under the steps?)
Yes sir.
(Anything else? That all you do?)
Dat's to - dat's if dey gone away, see. An' if yuh wanta draw 'em tuh you, well yuh have dat settin' dere. See, it's a way yuh kin draw 'em tuh yuh, when yuh have dat settin' dere fo' 'em tuh step ovah.
Entry 5155
Ah know a case in Beaver Falls, Pa., dat a incident of dat kind hap- pened a year ago [1936]. Wus a woman whut lived dere, an' 'er husban' wure very cruel tuh 'er. An' he begin tuh stay out all night, an' he beat 'er an' knock 'er out. So she begin tuh study de Sixth an' de Seventh Book of Moses. An' wit- in studyin' dat, she found out jis' whut tuh do tuh send 'im away from 'er. An' she tole me dat she'd taken 'is lef' shoe, an' cut 'is 'nitial on de inside of it in de instep. An' taken 'is - one of 'is lef' dirty socks, an' put nine brass pins in it, an' nailed [pinned] it tuh de instep of 'is shoe, an' threw it ovah 'er lef' shouldah at sundown. Ah know he left dere an' he hadn't been back a month or so ago.
Entry 8238
Take dey photograph an' put brass pins in it an' bury it wit de face down an' dat'll cuz 'em tuh die. (How many brass pins do you take?) Fo' on each cornah.
Entry 8472
Now, if I wan'a keep yo' in trouble - kin yo' hear me? [I probably nodded yes.] If I wan'a keep yo' in trouble, I get a glassful of whiskey, half full, and turn you [your photograph] down in [not on] that glass, and put [in] three old brass pen- nies, yo' know. Pennies, yo' know. And let it [photograph] stay upside down in there, and you will be in trouble the balance of yore days. [3 pennies symbolize Three Holy Names or are taken over from payment to grave spirit for graveyard dirt.]
Entry 8762
Ah tell whut chew kin do, if yo's outa yore home right now an' ah Wanted yo' tuh come back heah in yore home. Ah don't think yo're treated right, dat somebody has runned yo away. Ah'm goin' write chure name on a tin plate an' mah name, but me an' yo'd be good friends an' bring yo' back in dis home. An' turn dat new tin- plate an' write chure name in it an' den dere's a brass thimble an' three teaspoons. [The name is written on and the thimble and 3 teaspoons are in the right-side-up plate.] An' turn dat plate an' turn it fo' nine mawnin's - turn it roun' nine times fo' nine mawnin's. An' sleep wit it up undah de head of yore bed. He'll come back home. [The right- side-up plate is turned on its bottom and probably turned anti-clockwise, revers- ing time to bring man home.]
Entry 8882
A brass key, dat's lak a coppah key, Git chew one of dose coppah keys an' put it right in de Bible at a certain chaptah. An' den he'd wrop [profes- sional worker visited by informant would wrap] dis Bible wit a string an' let chew hold dat key lak dat [demonstrates]. Ah've helt [held] it mahself an' den he [hoodoo man] read a chaptah [from the Bible]. It says: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, by de Lord dat made us all, if sech-an'-sech Q man - jes' call de name, see yo' have tuh git de name - is got chure money, ah pray dis Bible turn an' fall. An' it shore will fall when yo' hit it right. Ah've tried it, helt dat [Bible]. But ah don't know as ah could do it lak he [doctor] did. [Informant thinks this by-St. Peter rhyme is a chapter from the Bible! How our hoodoo man and informant held Bible and key will become apparent as we proceed.]
Entry 8885
Yo' kin find out an' it [the rite] don' tell no lie. Yo' go git aBible an' yo' gits a brass key, an' yo' put dat brass key in dat Bible an' yo' ties it up tight, an' yo' holds it in yore han' lak dis - lak dat [demonstrates]. (With two fingers.) Yes, two fingahs. If not dat, chew kin git somebody else tuh hold one of de fingahs, an' yo' hold one an' say: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, 'tain't but de one God saves us all; if Sech-an'-sech a one stole mah money or anythin', any article, ah pray Bible wheel an' fall. An' dat Bible wouldn't move until yo' call de right one's name whut stole it. An' dat Bible jes' ease, ease roun' till it drops.
Entry 8887
As the proof, yo' will take a Bible, the Testament. Yo'll take a great big brass key. Yo'll place it in that Bible. Tyin' it well, hold it with two individual forefingers sayin' this word: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by the Lord that made us all, if Chester have my pocketbook, leave the Bible, key, turn an' fall. An' if he's got it, it'll turn an' fall. Yo' kin call twenty differen' men's names an' when yo' get de right one, it turns. De other individuals, it stays neutral.
(I see. Then what Would you do to make him bring it back, anything?)
Why yo' go to 'im an' yo' tell 'im to bring it back, if yo' found out fo' sure he got it.
Entry 8889
Yo' go an' git chew a brass key. Yo' walk on an' yo' git de Bible. Yo' look up on de Ten Commandments. Yo' place dis key dere on dis Bible, turn de Bible. If yo' got 'em on one [a Bible], yo' turm 'em upside... (Wait a minute! You say you look up the Ten Commandments. Then what do you do with them?) Put de key on de Ten Commandments. All right. Brass key. Den yo' turn de Bible up an' call dis fellah by his name, an' 20 minutes from den he may don't come. If he won't, yo' git two brand-new needles - needles, yo' know, dat yo' sew wit. An' yo' stick dem dataway - open de Bible an' yo' stick dem dataway in de Bible [demonstrates].
(Under the leaves.)
Yeah, undah de leaves, by de key - one on each side of de key. Den yo' call dis fellah. Soon he may don't come, but a couple of hours he come an' ast yo fer somepin, lak he wanta borrah somepin. [To borrow something is from well- lmown witch rites.] He may ast yo' to lend 'im a iron or any kind of instrument in de house, see. [To borrow iron is unusual.] Well, now yo' know dat's de fellah cuz yo' done call 'is name on dat commandment. (You know that's the man that stole the thing from you.)
Entry 8894
If yo' wanta find sompin dat's stolen - if somebody steal sompin from yuh - yo' take dat Bible an' git chew a brass key whut we call a skeleton key, but it's brass. Yo' take dat key an' a cord string an' run de string through de Bible dat way [demonstratesl, an' twist it on de string, dis end, an' twist it on de othah end de same way. Each end of de string is wrapped ovah on de key. An' yo' kin take dat key, yo' an' anothah person, an' hold yore fingah upon dat key, an' dat Bible ain't goin' move till yo' call de right name. An' whoevah yo' thinks got it - yo' call several names befo' dem tuh be shore yo's undahstandin' whut chure doin'. An' when yo' git tuh de right person, dat Bible will turn roun' an' fall.
Entry 9115
Yo' kin do dis. Yo' kin take nine brass pins an' go where yo' see some li'le hickories [young hickory trees] growin'. Twist 'em up tuhgethah an' den take dose pins, nine of 'em tuhgethah, an' pin dat tuhgethah. Twist 'em till yo' kin pin it tuhgethah. Let [demonstrates] one haid be dis way an' one haid dataway an' de points come tuhgethah. (All the points and the heads come together?) Come tuhgethah, an' pin it tuh- gethah. An' hit'll stay right dere. An' dat'll shet de mouth up, of all of 'em.
(In a court case or anything of that sort?)
Yes.
Entry 9857
I have seen them use brass tacks to use in a house, see, after they move out - to keep anyone else from renting this house or from staying in the house. They make it with a sign of a cross. First, let it straight go up like this, and then they cross it like that. (Across like that. Well, where do they put those?) Puts 'em in the wall. (In the wall. Is that all they do?) That's all they do. [This is to cross up the house; tacks usually new.l new.]
Entry 11582
Why dey'll jest chip off a piece from de toes or de heels [foot track from informant's preceding rite] dere. An' dere's somepin dat dey has dey put it in [it in, a cloth] and dey sews hit up tight wit a brass pin. An' dat sup- posed - an' dey jest put dat anywheres in de house, or buries it underneath de steps. An' if dere is anybody around dat dey don't keer much about, why yo' won't go back to dat house no more.
Entry 11658
When yore man's wit a woman an' yo' want her tuh quit him or sompin, jes' git chew a ole brass fo'k an' go tuh de do' late at night. Jes' knock on de do' an' curse, say, "Come outa dat, come outa dat," three times. An' dey say dat'll break 'em up. (What do you do with the fork?) Jes' stick it in de do', "Come outa dere." Junk it in de do' lak dat, 'Come outa dere," an' curse it. Dey say dat'll really break 'em up. Dat jes' cuts 'em right in two.
Entry 13228
If yo' wanta keep yore wife wit yo' always - jes' lak if yo' got a wife yo' know an' yo' can't keep her home an' she love tuh go all de time. Jes' take a brass spoon an' dip it into yore sugah dish an' sweeten her coffee. Yo' put it in dere yo'self an' let her take it herself an' stir it. An' yo' evah will have a wife tuh stay at home. Let it stay in dere a few minutes 'fore yo' call her. Yo' understan' me, an' yo'll evah have a wife tuh stay at home - wit dat brass spoon.
Entry 2925
(She gets the photograph and what does she do then?)
She takes and she lays it out in ink.
(In ink? What do you mean in ink?)
Ink that you write with - black ink, and she lays it out in there. (You mean she puts the ink down there and then she puts the photograph on top of the ink?) She puts it in the ink.
(Oh, this saucer or something - puts it in there?)
Yes.
(All right.)
And she puts these brass tacks around it, nine brass tacks, and nine candles.
(What do you mean the brass tacks? Just lay them around there?)
No, just lay - they's real coffin tacks.
(And she just lays them around the saucer?)
No, she sticks them in the wood, what she got laying out there. See, she have a special desk [altar] for that.
(I see.)
That's when you go to somebody that do that kind of work for you, you see. They got a special desk [altar] for that, you understand. She put these nine brass tacks down [round] in there and set your picture in it, and she speak to hit, just like as if I was, "I'm going to kill you." Well, that's the way she talk to this photograph. And she light these nine [black] candles there and in nine days wheresomever you at, it'll kill you.
(The photograph has to be a tintype, I see.)
No, paper.
Entry 62
I wus livin' with a woman once on Mulberry Street an' this woman claimed that she could - we had a little fuss - she claimed that she could have me kilt. So she goes down on the Eastern Shore [that part of Maryland east of Chesapeake Bay] to see Mr. Bayhan' - he wus a man dey call Mr. Bayhan' [white man] - gon'a have me shot wit' a ball. He's gon'a shoot me through de ball an' I wus to be dead inside of twenty-four hours. She paid him $35. An' then he give her some stuff to come home to sprinkle all through the house. She start at de back doah an' sprinkle to the dining room doah an' starts from the dining room doah an' sprinkle upstairs - sprinkle de whole house ovah. An' he give her somepin to put under de runner where I walked when I come in de front doah - where dat I would walk over this, this would trick me. So, I worked [nights] to the steel plant, an' I came home [very early] one mornin'. She's asleep. Jis' as I opened the front doah, I start to steppin', somepin says, "Raise de runner up - jis' that way, jis' the same as if somebody wus speakin' to me. An' I thought it wus her. I says, "Frances! Frances!" No one answered. Well, I come up to a standstill. I stop [at] de doah an' looked. After awhile I started to take another one [step]. It says, "Raise de runner up. Well, then I kin'a got uneasy, you know. Then I called 'er an' called 'er, but I couldn't git no answer. Well, I say, "Well, I don't believe I'll raise it myself. I'll go across over de street," I says, "I'll git this man up" - the man across the street kept a little resturrant. So I went across de street an' got him to come over with me. I says, "Do you wan'a raise that runner for me?" I says, "cuz there's somepin told me twice to raise that runner up," I says, "an' I think my wife, '' I says, "must be asleep - I called 'er an' she didn't answer." So he said, "I'll raise it up. So he raise the runner up. It wus a black stockin', about that long, across underneath de runner. It wus a ten-cent piece in the center, an' two brass tacks in the toes an' two brass tacks in the end [the topl of it. He looked at me an' said, "Oh!" he said, "I ain't gon'a put my hands on it." I say, "Well," I say, "they say the grace of God is sufficient for all things. It can't hurt me." I says, "I'm gon'a pick it up, but I'm not gon'a pick the stockin' up, but I'm gon'a git de ten-cent piece up." So I reached over an' took my penknife [steel = protection] an' picked the ten-cent piece up an' dropped it in my pocket. I goes back in the house, I walks up an' I walks aroun' the runner, an' gits a fahk [fork]. I takes de end of the fahk an' folds it [stocking] up, [beginning at] de toe end, an' keeps rollin' it up. An' when I got it [rolled] up, you see, then I picked it up on de fahk an' carried it through in de kitchen, an' drops it in de stove an' put salt on it, touch a match to it an' starts it to burnin'. So when it starts to burnin', I goes to call her. I says, "Frances!" She says, "LET ME ALoNE!" I says, "Whut's wrong?" She says, "You's done concern with somepin that don't concern you." She says, "Mr. Bayhan' will get even wit you." Well, if ever I'd walk over it - well, she would git [hear] de shot from it, choo know. Well, [then] I got [would get] the dose. See, as soon as I touched it, why I guess it roused her up, you know. You see? (As soon as you walked over that stocking, that was to shoot the gun off down there where he was?) Yes, sure. That would kill me, you see.
(What kind of a gun did he have?)
He had some kin'a glass, suppose to shoot you through the glass with the gun. That wus suppose to kill me in twenty-four hours. But the Lord's grace is suffi- cient for all things. De spirit put me wise to it befo' I got to it. [Baltimore, Md., (157), 148:1.] [The amazing thing about this story, despite the protective fork, is a man risking his life for a ten-cent piece!]
Entry 181
Ah know dey say yo' could throw a brass pin in dere an' yo' see de devil - a lil' brass safety pin. Ah know yo' seen dese lil' yellow pins. (You throw it into the whirlwind and you'll see the devil.)
Entry 3242
(Begin at the beginning.)
A bad disease. See, her have a pox.
(She has it?)
Yes, she has it. He hasn't got anythin'. Now, she'll take a penny, a brass penny, an' put it into her mout' undah her tongue, an' she'll lay down in bed wit dis man. Now, when he git up outa baid, from affiliatin' wit 'er, he's got a dose dat he'll nevah git rid of. (What has that brass penny got to do with it?) Well, dat penny, dat gives it - you know, dat makes it mo' strongah dan what it would, if a man bein' ketched wit it jis' by himself.
(I see, that makes it stronger.)
Strongah.
Entry 4828
Aftah dey steal dis piece from yuh, yuh turn roun' an' yuh git chew, if yuh got a piece of yore own clothes - mind yuh, if yuh got one piece of yore own clothes an' dey ain't stole dem all. Dat dey lef' jis' one piece dey didn't steal dough [though]. Well yuh git dat piece or dat sock. An' yuh take it an' yuh nail it de front of yore do'. An' aftah yuh nail it in de front of dat do' yuh take three little brass tacks an' yuh put it in dere but let de toe be comin' disaway. Well, aftah yo' let...
(Toward the house or away from the house?)
No, into de house.
(I see, into the house.)
So dat'll bring 'em back. But aftah yuh put tuh de do', nail 'em three brass tacks in dere an' aftah yuh nail 'em three brass tacks, say, "I nail dese tacks In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son an' de Holy Ghost." An' dey bring 'em back.
(They'll bring back what they stole.)
Bring back what dey stole. Dey cain't keep 'em.
Entry 5241
Ah heard tell dat yo' could take a person's shoes an' put red peppah in 'em an' salt an' some coppahs. Yo' have tuh take a penny. Take a coppah or brass, dat jis' whut dey use, an' take an' scrape it. Take a file an' scrape. An' put all dis heah stuff tuhgethah an' git it in yore shoes some way or othah. Den aftah yo' git dat in yore shoes, den dey cain't wear no shoes.
[To scrape a silver dime is common; to scrape a penny is rare.]
(What will happen to him?)
Well, his [skin] will begin tuh itch. All.de shoes he'll wear will have tuh be jis' de same as sandals. Yo' know yo' cain't weah a good pair of shoes on yore feet counta [on account of] dey disfigured yo' know.
(It hurts his feet when he gets this stuff on them?)
Yessuh.