Subject:Breath
Entries
Entry 1054
Really, de fac' 'bout it suh, yo' kin take a piece of new cloth an' yo' kin put it into a glass of watah an' let it wet good - dat is soak good an' den open it out. Yo' kin take a penny an' put on dat new cloth an' blow yore breath through it three times dat is a penny. Sew it up an' put it roun' yore neck or anywheres roun' yore waist, an' dere's no harm dat dey kin do to yo'.
(They can't put anything down for you to walk over or anything of that sort?)
Not a bit in de world. [For penny in cures, see next subsection and Index.]
Entry 3144
(Have you ever heard? They tell me a woman does something to a man to make him lose his courage?) Oh! Oh! Yes, sir! She holds 'er breath on 'im. (Holds her breath on him?) Yes, sir! Takes his nachure away from 'im.
(How does she do that?)
Well, when he git ready tuh make a 'nection [connection] tuh her, she ketches her breath on 'im. Dat knocks zim out.
Entry 3145
Ah heard dat, jes' lak if a man wus tuh be runnin' aroun' wit anothah woman, an' she [wife] wanted tuh do somepin tuh stop 'im. No doubt if dis othah woman didn't expect dat dis heah man prob'ly wus bettah in some instance den prob'ly any othah. Well, ah heard dat if dis woman [wife] an' dis man [husband] could evah be tuhgethah, dis husban an' wife could evah be tuhgethah, an' dis woman [wife] could git a chance tuh hold huh breath on 'im while he wus at 'is work, JEs' FO' "BOUT DE SPACE OF TEN MINUTES, TUH HOLD 'ER BREATH ON 'IM JES' FO' DE TIME AS LONG AS SHE COULD, FO' 'BOUT TEN MINUTES FO' NINE TIMES, Well den dat WOuld cause 'im tuh git weak an' he couldn't do jes' lak he wanted tuh do wit de othah lady.
(You mean nine different days? Not on the same day?)
Yes.
[Nine breath-holdings on one occasion for a total of ten minutes.]
Jes' lak evah time dey have a intahco'se she would do dat fo' nine times. An' den dey said dat would cause him tuh git weak an' weaken down an' he couldn't hol' up. (He couldn't do anything with other. women except her.
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 3239
You see, if a woman has a man an' she wants to fool a long time, you understan' - don't want him to git there an' git right away - w'y she jis' take this penny an' put it right on her tongue - you under- stan', on top of de tongue - an' he can have all de fun he want but every time he starts to git there, you know, she'll suck down on that penny, that'll go back. [For holding breath, see also margin titles on p.2348.]
Entry 3240
If a woman wants tuh kill a man - jis' lak if dat's 'er sweetheart an' she wants to git 'im out 'er way, [they] say she kin take a penny an' put it undah her tongue while dey's makin' a connection togeth- ah an' says, whenevah he goes to make his end, well she's gwine [to] hol' 'er breath while dat penny's undah de tongue. An' dey say dat'll paralyze him. Say it won't kill 'im right den, it'll jis' give him a stroke, he can't walk - he won't be no mo' service to hisself.
Entry 4719
Yuh has some dirty undahweahs. Dey will go take yore undahweahs an dey will burn 'em. Dey have tuh burn 'em tuh ashes. Dey take it an' take 'em [ashes] wit 'em, see, an' blow it away dataway an' dat'll keep yuh on de drag, so when yuh got shoes, yuh need a hat; when yuh got a hat, chew need a coat; when yuh got coats, yuh need a pants. Dat keep yuh on de drag. Now, if yuh kin - if anybody yuh suspect, yuh undahstan', or whosomevah dat did so, yuh see, yuh take yuh dat parchment papah an' yo'd write dere name on dat. Den yuh write chure name roun' dat. See [demonstrates].
(You write the [your] name right around the [in a] circle?)
Yeah, yuh got dem in a circle. Take dat same papah an' burn it tuh a powdah. Put it in a plate an' blow. Yuh blow dat same luck back on 'em [this is return- ing the spell].
Entry 4720
If she kin git any of 'is clothes dat he weah, she kin git 'im back. Now, if he done lef' home an' aftah he lef' home, if she want 'im back - she feel dat he didn't do right, an' she try tuh git'im back. She'll take de seat of 'is undahweah an' cut dat out an' den she'll fold it, blow 'er breath on it an' fold it. An' she'll sit down - wheresomevah he may be or where he live - if she writes 'im. She'll heah where he at, she'll git 'im a lettah. He's gotta git de lettah. She'll go tuh de sto' an' buy 'er some love powdahs an' put in dat lettah. An' den she'll fol' dat piece an' weah it undah 'er right-foot shoe, nex' tuh 'er flesh between 'er stockin' an' 'er shoe. An' five days from de day he sees dat lettah, he'll come home. (She puts the love powder in this letter, and she wears this piece of the drawers in her shoe.) Yes, in 'er right-foot shoe.
Entry 5334
[For another rite of blowing foot track, see later margin title DEVIL'S SNUFF.] If yo' kin be roun' de bossman an' pick up 'is lef' foot track - but grab dat track from de heel tuh de toe, an' grab yore own track from de toe tuh heel, but try tuh git - an' tie dat up intuh li'le bottle an' wear it on yore lef' side. An' den go on an' talk wit man fo' a job. Take dat bottle out an' [demonstrates].
(Blow on it - three times - rub it down your face.)
Yes, an' go on tuh 'im. He give yo' a job.
Entry 6193
They tell me you take a live person's hair and bore a hole into a tree, a live tree of course, place this hair in it. You blow your breath in it, in that hole, and force this hair in that hole. And that tree will drindle and finally die. And as that tree dies, their health will decay. And when that tree is dead, they will be dead. [Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone, Cyl.61.]
Entry 6790
If a person bites yo' wit blue gums, yo' kin take a li'le of yore action, yore action an' put it on dere an' rub it in dere roun' good. (Rub it into the bite?) Yeah, an' go git chew some sulphuh an' burn it an' put it on dere, an' slip tuh 'is house. When yo' git dere, an' jis' lak yo' wanta a drink of watah, say, "Git me a glass of watah - git me some watah." An' carry a li'le dat burnt sulphuh wit chew an' - now, lak yo' wan' some watah. Rub it roun' intuh dat glass an' blow yore breath in it three times an' set it down nice, an' tell 'em tuh 'ave a drink of watah. He'll take a drink of watah an' he'll start tuh sufferin' wit de pyorrhea, los' [lostl de teeth outa his haid. (That burnt sulphur that you use in putting on your arm, that is out of the same batch of stuff?) Yes.
Entry 6792
Know dey taken fish fo' a person dat dey win' [wind] is short [luag trouble]. Take a fish whut got dose bladdahs in 'em whut holds win'. Yo' diy dat, an' aftah dryin' dat, if a person is short-winded, yo' take an' bust it an' swallah [swallow] dat air, an' dat gives yore lungs fresh air.
Entry 9119
(1) Dey could git a big sage leaf an' write de Ten Commandment on dat sage leaf an' take it tuh de co't an' yo' make out anybody dere an' jes' throw it. (2) Eithah yo' could take a red onion an' split it in fo' parts an' sprinkle salt in it an' carry it in yore pocket han'ke'- ch'ef, an' whilst in dere, blow yore breath once in awhile. (3) Or eithah yo' kin take a [silver] ten cents an' put it undah yore tongue an' hold it dere, an' dat will make de party dat's against yo', 'sturbed [dis- turbed].
Entry 9719
And dey wanted tuh, dey could take a big nail an' carry it tuh a oak Tree on de [property] line of dis man's land, yuh undahstan', an' drive dis nail in dere an' make a wish when he'd drive it in dere. An' he.could stay down dere an' do as hdchase as long as he wants. De man voeld never put 'im away - put him off [the land]. (Off, I see. If some man is on a piece of ground - land out here - and he wnts to stay and he doesn't want to be put off, he will go to this oak tree. Ad where would this oak tree be?) Neah de line, de [boundary] line of de land.
(Oh, it must be near the line?)
His land an' somebody else's, yo' know. Yo' see, gen'ly [generally] dere's a line of trees out on dere [property line of farm]. Yo' know, there is de line of orees somewhere neah it. An' drive it in a oak tree, yo' see. Blow 'is breath on it three times an' make a wish [also 3 magic actions: drive, wish, breathe].
(What will that do for him then?)
Hell, he kin stay dere long as he choose.
(He just stays there as long as he wants to?)
Yeah, an' he don't pay no rent.
Entry 10412
Dey call yo' like when yo' sleepin'. An' dey has de bottle fixed an dey calls yo' an' soon as yo' answer, den dey put dat stopper in an' knock it down tight. Well, dat's supposed to be if a hag is ridin' dem an' dey think it's yo'. Well, dat's de way dey ketch chah. [For catching person's spirit in bottle, see Nos.38-41, P.24f., v.l; in the latter of these rites, performer substituting his own breath for victim's!]
Entry 10871
If yo' were asleep, a person kin take dat cat - pretend like yo' playing with de pet cat or somepin like dat. Well yo' [they] put dat cat hair in yo' food, see. An' yo' [someone] kin take a cat, if yo' sleeping, and lay dat cat right up dere aside of yo', and let dat cat inhale yo' breath an' yo' inhale de cat's breath. See, dat cat inhale yore breath, dat cat will draw yore breath jes' like yo' will draw anything else an' yo'll draw de cat. Jes' let him git close tuh yo' tuh inhale yore breath, jes' like anything else, an' den aftah he inhale yore breath yo'll nevah be de same. Jes' like yo' see a cat be, yo'll be jes' like dat.
Entry 12244
(Now you are going into the woods to: do some- thing. What do you do in the woods?) Well, if yo' didn't wanta do dat, yo' could go in de woods an' git some King over King. Hit's a leaf, it's a leafy hair [ leaf with hairs?]. Well, yo' could put it - jes' lak yo' wus comin' behin' me fo' a job, yo' could divide it. Yo' could [put] one part in yore bottom lip an' another part in yore top lip, an' spit in yuh han' an' tap it on yuh fo'head an' jes' say, "Well, ah Want chew to do so-an'-so an' sich an' sich a thing." All right, ah spit [it out of my mouth] jes' so ah [you] could git de wind of yuh breath.
Entry 12249
Well, de fac' about it, suh, yo' uses whut root dey call High John de Conker root. Yo' see, yo' goes tuh work an' yo' put a piece of dat root in yore mouth when yo' goin' tuh be tried. Yo' chews it an' hold yore breath [before speaking] an' be slow in speakin' - be very slow in speakin'.
(And the judge will let you go?)
He will absolutely, de really fac' about it - have [you be] sent away [case dismissed].