Subject:Cause
Entries
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 4163
Yuh kin take dere chamber lye an' stop it up in a bottle. Evah mawnin' hit de stoppah. It'll have yuh so yuh'll have gravel stones or can't pee - ruin yuh dataway. (Hit it for nine morn- ings.) Nine mawnin's. Jis' one little lick.
Entry 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 4231
Evah time have tuh ketch some of 'er watah, an' she be lak dat [preg- nant], dey stop it up. An' dey put diff'ren' thin's. Dey puts graveyard dirt an' diff'ren' thin's in 'er wa- tah, an' fix evahthin' bad in dat bottle an' seal it up an' put it upside down. An' den de baby git crossed in 'er an' apt tuh kill 'er an' de baby.
(That's to fix a woman who is carrying a baby.)
Entry 4475
Yuh kin git some of a person passage an' kin take dat passage an' yuh care it tuh a tree, a pine tree. Well, it don't make no diff'rence whut kinda tree. Yuh take dat, jis' some dey passage, yuh undahstan', an' yuh nail it up in dat tree, yuh see. Now, dey tell me fo' a fac' dat will kill yuh if dat ain't relieved. Yuh put dat passage in dat tree an' take yuh a augah an' bo' a hole in dat tree an' yuh put dey passage in dat tree. Yuh take yuh a wedge an' put dat wedge in dat. Now, if yuh wanta kill 'em yuh drive dat thin' up in dere. Well, yuh drive da thin' evah mawnin' befo' de sun rise. Yuh'll drive dat, hit dat peg. Well, now, if yuh wanta kill 'em yuh'll drive dat - de ninth mawnin' yuh'll drive in dat peg, yuh'll find 'em purtty real sick. Den yuh go ovah dere tuh dat same wedge befo' sunrise evah mawnin' an' hit it seven mo' mawnin's. Nine mawnin's, yuh undahstan', [and] seven mawnin's. An' den about de eighth mawnin', den he'll be jis' about dead. An' now, if yuh jis' wanta put 'em in a lingahin' condition wit dat, yuh jis' - don't have it too tight, don't drive it in. Dat jis' lingah' dem long as yuh got dat wedge in dere [not too tight]. Dat's tuh put 'em in a lingahin' condition. Dat's wit dey passage.
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 4534
I had a half brothah an' he wuz goin' wit a girl in Washington [D. C.]. Her name wuz Cornelia A. An' so he stopped goin' wit [her] an' went tuh goin' wit anothah girl. Den like a crazy he turned dis othah [second] girl down an' went goin' back wit 'er [first girl] again. So he tells mah mothah. I don't know, but he said he had a straw hat. She takes 'is hat an' she put somepin, I don't know, in dere. But anyhow, his whole eyes became jis' as white as dis papah [probably my open Numbers Book on the table], black an' all. He got so he couldn't see a wink. He died in jis' about three months afterwards.
[Snow Hill, Md., (Informant 93).]
Entry 4793
Take nine needles an' stick 'em in de seat of a man's pants, or eithah a woman's, eithah one. It'll cause dem tuh have pyorrhea at de private [see later] - jis' a dirty garment. Yuh take a dirty garment an' yuh kin mo' lak [likely] do anythin wit a dirty garment den when it's clean. When de dirt's washed out, den yuh cain't handle it - not as good. (A person wouldn't sit on those or anything of that sort? You just do it to the old garment?) To de ole garment de're not wearin'.
(That would give them what kind of a disease?)
DE PYORRHEA. It's somepin jis' 1 lak, ALMOST LAK PILES. IT WILL START WIT A EETCHIN' an' it jis' EETCH AN' EETCH AN' EETCH till it Will jis' TURN WRONGSIDES OUT DOWN DERE.
Entry 5719
Take yo' track an' rake it from de toe back tuh de heel. Dey take dat sand an' dey tie it up in a rag an' it hangs dere fer so many days. Have it tied up in a tree or a ceilin'. Hangs it in de centah dere. Dey puts nine stick pins in it, two needles. Go across lak dat [demonstrates], pins lak dis; jis' put de needles up an' down, right across dere. Now, dat's tuh run yo' away from dere. Do yo' harm so dat yo' can't git along wit nobody dere. (Now they take up that track, they get six [nine] pins. and two needles. And what do they do with those?) Take an' put de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Put the pins one way.)
Put de pins dis way an' dis way, an' de middle pin goin' cross dem two needles right 'cross dere.
(I see, they make a cross. Then what do they do with those things?)
Tie de things up.
(I see, they tie that foot track and these needles and pins in a rag.)
Dat's de one dat... [I interrupt. Informant was about to say, "Dat's de one dat keep yo' confus- ed."]
(Then what do they do with that rag?)
Take an' tie it up an' put it at de cornah of yo' baid. [Previously inform- ant said center of ceiling. Bed or ceiling causes confusion in home.] Dey takes de track an' yo' tie dat dirt up in a tree, tuh a limb tuh a tree. Dat's tuhmake yo' leave.
(What foot track do they take?)
De lef' foot track.
(What do they tie it up in?)
Piece of rag, jis' in any kinda rag. (What do they do with that foot track with those needles and pins in? What do they do with that?) Tie it undah yore baid. Dat's tuh keep yo' confused. Yo' an' yore family are confused.
Entry 5916
(All right, you were going to tell me?)
If dey git some of yore hair. Now, sometime dey lose on dat an' sometime dey don't lose. If dey git de hair from yore head - remembah dey kin take dat hair. ALL BIRDS DON'T USE HUMAN HAIR. But dis guinea hen chick bird [I interrupt]. (What kind of bird?) Guinea hen chick bird. (Guinea hen chick bird?) Yes, if dey kin GIT DAT BIRD - TO TAKE DAT HAIR AN' PUT IT INTO HER NEST. YOU'LL SUFFOCATE WIT A HEAD- ACHE TILL YO' GO BLIND. I kin take dat hair. Oh my! An' bore holes - wrap it into a silvah thimble an' put a silvah dime against it [open end of thimble] an bury it in de ground an' make warts come out on yore head. (Now, that guinea hen. You mean the ordinary guinea hen that runs around the yard. I see.) Yeah, yeah.
Entry 6048
I'll tell you one thing that was asked my grandmother. There was a lady that called on my grandmother in Macon, Ga.], and there had just been a divorce proceedings in the paper, so hese two old ladies got to talking. And the visiting lady said, "Frances, did you hear the terrible disgrace in the paper?" Of course my grandmother said, "No." She said, "Miss So-and-so got a divorce." So this old lady said, "Well, it beats my time." She says, "Since these new- fangled things come about you can't expect the men and women to stay together." She said, "In my day they had a whiskey barrel sawn in two and made two tubs out of it, and took our baths in those tubs and got their hidden hair together, and wore it in a little bag in our corsets, and we never heard of divorces. Since the bathtub has come in fashion, of course this has gone out of style, and men and women will never stick together because they can't keep their hidden hair together." [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 6495
Well, dey take yo' toenails or eithah yo' fingahnails an' go out tuh a green tree an' has yo' augah wit ja [with you]. Yo' bores yo' a little hole in- tuh dat tree, an' carry yo' hammah 'long witja, an' drive it up in dat tree as fur as yo' kin git it. An dat will cause a stroke tuh jump on yo' from dat. See? An' yo' be lame fo'evah an' yo' wouldn't know whut happened tuh yo'. Yo' enemies done dressed yo' up, done got chure fingahnails an' toenails drove intuh a tree fo' de balance yo' days, an' yo' cain't nevah trace it up findin' it out.
Entry 6523
Wash de feet well an' scrape dat dead skin. Fo' instance, if a man is accustomed tuh drinkin' wine, when he drink, yo' see, take dat dead skin tied up in a piece, put it down in dat bottle, an' full dat bottle full of wine. Leave it stay in dere three days. Restrain it an' give him dat tuh drink. Dat's caused aplenty ulcahs in de stomach an' things, but it gen'ly [generally] makes de man, yo' undahstan', he have a certain amount of de woman's blood [essence that comes from the skin of her feet] it seens lak, an it make him [his] whole ambition an' mind be directed on 'er.
(I see.)
Entry 6768
Yes, sir, she eats that herself. Well, she eats that for to do away with children. She eats that, fourteen of them [the insects] to destroy her kids, if she is more than two months gone. If she is less than two months, she takes less than that - less dirt dauber - to destroy her kid.
Entry 7197
Yo' see, jis' lak if yo' been messin' wit a woman an' she take yore nature 'way lak dat, de way fo' her tuh do dat, she git some dis heah clovah root. She takes some of dat clovah root an' boil it intuh a tea. Well, quite natchel [natural] in de sum- mahtime yo' drink ice tea. She'll take some of dat an' go ahaid an' she put it in dat [tea] watah, an' yo' drink it an' yore courage will leave. An' de fus' thin' yo' know, yo' cain't [do] nuthin. An' it's quite natchel she'll say attah while, say, "Yo' know, Conn, ah'm goin' leave yo'." An' she'll leave yo'. Dat de way Women do. An' anothah thin' she kin do, she kin take red shank root. She'll take dat red shank root an' gi' yo' dat air [give you that there] an' three raw aigs a day herself. Not have a thing on 'em. An' yo' suck dem aigs fo' nine days, an it'll bring yo' [nature] back. She'll bring yo' back.
Entry 7367
[I am adding a number merely to call attention to several unusual rites that could have been included here: (l)
Break a straw into two pieces and cross them on the forehead of the murdered man. Each suspected person must then step over the dead body. As the murderer steps across, the corpse will begin to bleed (see No.109, p.40); (2) Two straws are crossed on the murdered man's stomach and a new pair of scissors is also used
(see No.7421, p.3273).]
Entry 7642
Well, dey takes a tombstone, from mah undahstandin', from a person dat dey knows is very evil an' lived a wretched life. Jis' lak if ah wanted tuh have disturbance in de home or anythin', well, ah take dat from dere an' ah put it anywhere aroun' yore house. (What do you take, the whole tomb- stone?) Take de whole tombstone - de dirt on it. (Oh, the dirt on it?) Yes, an' put it anywhere roun' yore house an' dat. Yo' ain't goin' tuh live in dat house. Yo' undahstan'?
(How do you get that dirt off this tombstone, how do you get it?)
Dig it.
(Oh, you dig it near the tombstone?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 8714
Well, yo' take her name an' yo' write her name down three times. Yo' write yore name three times. Yo' want her now, yo' want her. (Now where would I write my name?) Yo' write her name here first [demonstrates]. Put chure name heah [underneath]. Yo' Yo' write her name heah an' put chure name in dere. Yo' write it three of each, three of each. An' yo' take den an' yo' sprinkle a li'le salt an' a li'le sugah on dis, white sugah. De sugah tuh sweeten it. Salt saves it an' sugah sweetens it. An' sprinkle dat. Yo' put dat on top of a heater an' yo' let dat brown. When yo' let dat brown, her mind will come to yo'. Dat sveetness of dat sugah will sweeten her mind tuhwards yo'. Yo' git 'er. Well, now, if yo' wanta jes', say, carry her off from where she stayin' or make confusion ovah dere first, yo' put red peppah, sulphur an' gunpowdah on dere. Put 'er husban' name or whosomevah man she got, yo' put dat on dere. Dat's tuh confuse dem. Den when yo' confuse 'em, yo' got 'em. Den yo' put dat sugah on dere to sweeten, an' dat salt to save 'er fo' yo'. Yo' put dat on dere tuh bring 'er tuh yo'.
Entry 8775
Ah heard dey take new war watah an' dey sprinkle it aroun' yore do's an' dey'd call yore name. An' den when yore husband or yore wife come in de night, yo' an' dem would have de biggest kind of humbug. Yo' wouldn't know whut is all de fuss. De' sprinkle war watah all up onto de do'.
Entry 9198
Get a black hen's egg. Yo' take it an' write - make a mark across it, around it - an' aroun' de long side; de long side an' de round side, twice. An den go tuh a house, if yo' wanta make a person fall out, go tuh a house an' throw it ovah de house.
Entry 9236
[Well, now yo' kin take a black - it's gotta be a solid black hen. Yo' kin take a black hen aig an' write chure enemy's name on dere an' yo' kin bury it, if yo' wan' 'em tuh leave town or leave from aroun' yore neighborhood. Yo' put de lit- tle end out. (Out from what?) From de do'. Put de little end out. Jes' bury it right in front of yore do'. An' dat will run 'em away, but yo' will have tuh write dere name on dat aig an' it has tuh be a black hen aig. Then yo' kin take a black hen aig an' yo' kin throw it, but yo' have tuh be shore [sure] dat yo' hit right on de do'knob wit it. Yo' kin throw it an' let it strike right ag'inst a person's do'knob an' it'll cuz all kinda confusion in dat home, an' yo' can't stay dere in no peace.
Entry 9255
Ah would git me a egg from a frizzly hen [for frizzly chicken, see p.59f. and elsewhere] an' ah would put it undah de steps. Den, aftah nine days, yo' see, dat egg would bus [burst]. Dat would make con- fusibn an' de landlord would put 'em out de house.
Entry 9499
Jis' sprinkle table salt... [I stopped recording machine too soon, then decided to repeat informant's words.]
(You just sprinkle this table salt and that will cause a quarrel in the house?)
It sure goin' tuh duz one evah time.
Entry 9660
Sprinkle coal oil down and salt down. That makes a fuss. Now, to stop the fuss, how would you stop it? All right, I'd stop the fuss in this manner. If I find out they throw oil down there, anything like that, they got that down to fuss and fight. I'd take sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of that, and then I'd burn that. Right wheresomever the spot is where that oil is, I'd Pat the cinnamon and the sugar there and light it and let it burn. It's not going to burn the floor at all. It's going to burn until that floor come back natural just the same as it was before that oil got on there. And then that would be all over with, wouldn't be no more quarrelin' then.
Entry 9823
Dey kin bury nine needles. Point de nine needles up an' put dem intuh de groun'. An' yo' walk ovah dem nine needles. An' dey have de points right straight up from de groun' an' put dat right in de mid- dle of yore do'. An' den dey kin put nine nails. Put nine nails wit dose nine needles an' yo' walk ovah dose nails, yo' see, an' dose points. Dat goes intuh yuh.
(You don't have to step on them?)
No, yo' don' have tuh step on 'em. Dey have 'em buried, but dey have 'em pointed upwards. Yeah, dey has 'em pointed upwards.
(What would that do to you then?)
Dat would give yuh pains.
Entry 9825
[That] create dissatisfaction in a man's home. They kin take and bot- tle them. Take so many pins and so many needles - about nine [each] - so it's a odd number. You put them pins and needles, stick them through a piece of flannel. Roll 'em up and drop 'em in a bag. Well, natchly in pass- ing in de house, in and out, if you kin get some of de dust that they sweep up off the floor, yo' puts that in that bottle too. And as long as you keep it, why it causes a great dissatisfaction in the home, so as to completely break it up. It's never known but dey use them needles and pins that way to cause dis- satisfaction in the home.
Entry 9829
Dey put nine needles, dey say, in a snuffbox an' bury 'em at a do'step. Dat'll make de person be painful as long as dey cross 'em.
Entry 9837
Why ah heard dat chew git needles an' yo' git a piece of red flannel. An' yo' take nine needles an' fold dat flannel. Take nine needles, stick five dis way an' fo' de nex' [opposite] way. Den yo' git Heart Cologne an' wet dat an' sew dat up in somepin. Place it anywhere an' dere will be confusion in your house from den until yo' move.
Entry 9843
Dey said git a wasps' nest with nine needles, brand-new needles an' nine brand-new pins an' put de pins dis way an' de needle haid dat way, object [opposite] each othah. An' take dat an' yo' know, 'vide [divide] 'em up in nine pieces, split it, stick it intuh de Wasps' nest, holes [cells of the nest] yo' know. An' go 'long where dis person at an' jis' drop it, an' dey'll walk ovah it.
(That will harm them? What will it do to them?)
Well, it will jis' cuz 'em tuh rave an' go on home an' raise disturbances wit mos' evahbody dey meet. (You take these nine needles and nine pins, and you stick them into that wasps' nest.) Make nine holes an' stick each one in dose nine holes an' let 'em walk ovah it an' dat would make 'em very cross.
(You bury that in the ground, then?)
Bury it right in de ground.
(You leave those needles sticking in that wasp's nest?)
Dat's right. (That will cause confusion and quarrels and things of that sort.)
Entry 9849
Take nine needles an' stick it in a piece of cloth an' jis' nail it right in de cornah [of] yuh house [demonstrates] jis' lak dat: five dis-a-way an' five [four] dat-a-way.
(The needles are parallel and alternately pointing in the opposite direction.)
An' den [or either] yuh pu'tit [put it] undahneat' [demonstrates] jis' lak dat bo'd yondah.
[The top of doorsill - see explanation later.]
Teah [tear] yuh off a bo'd an' take a nail an' tack it up. [This "up] means 'down", where you will walk over it, not "up so that you walk under it." This is a "tacking down" rite.] Dat keeps yuh fussin', yuh cain't stay dere in no peace. [I have copied this rite from my own transcription, a rough one, made in pencil a short time after the interview. Whether there was a saddle at the door - many of them were sad- dleless - either I could not remember or else my notations would improve with experience.]
Entry 9923
Ketch a toadfrog an' put warts all ovah yo'. Take dat an'.git 'is oranoah lye, yo' know, when he make watah, an' git warts all ovah yo'. Take dat an' put dat chamber lye on yo' an' dere comes warts all ovah yo'... (How would they put that on a person?) They would throw it on 'em. [Wilson, N. Car., (1573),! 2680:3.]
Entry 9924
Ketch a frog an' put 'im on somebody, yo' know, an' when he makes watah, dat makes de warts. [Warts are usually attributed to a toad, not frog.]
Entry 9935
Git de toadfrog. Yo' take him an' kill 'im an' aftah yo' kill 'im, plug 'is eyes out an' leave it dry an' makin' a powdah wit it. Yo' throw dat in de person's stockin's or in dey undahweah or anywheah [in clothing] an' in a length of time it'll go in de po's [pores] dat-a-way, an' it'll create one de baddest so [sores] an' ah don' care whut de phi-si-ci-an will give yo', he ain't goin' tuh stop it. It'll become tuh be kinda lak a cancah.
(Just a bad sore?)
Yes.
Entry 10153
(Tell me that again. What did you hear?)
Ah hear'd yuh could take a black cat bone an' give someone a stroke.
(Give them a stroke?)
Yes.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Take de bone an' it's some kinda 'gredient, turpentine, dey mix in wit de bone. Says, if yo' git a chance tuh rub de person, dat part of dere body'll ache dem. Dere's a lady out in Kings now, she suffahs from a black cat bone.
(It gives them a stroke?)
Uh huh. She has a stroke from 'er body on down. (All they do is to rub that bone on a person?) Dat bone an' grease an' turpentine, pure lard. (Pure lard and turpentine?) Yes. (I see. How would you get that black cat bone? Where would you get that?)
Entry 10218
Ah've heard dat if a man wanted to ketch his wife, why he would be dit her an' he would take a han'kerchief an' ketch de discharge from her, an' git I piece of her hair, an' he would put it in a cloth wit dat discharge an' dry it; br he yould wrap dis hair in wit dat an' wear it. An' if she have connection wit a man why he would swell so he couldn't git out of her, an' dat would cause de husban' tuh ketch her. (Then he would use the hair from her head.) [The discharge here is not menstrual blood but the substanceformerlythoughtto resemble man's semen and to cooperate with it in the production of life. Folk- lore knew nothing about a woman's ova or eggs. Elsewhere I have called her dis- charge 'female semen in accordance with folk belief - No.3196, p.2359, v.3.]
Entry 10262
Ah heard dey said yo' could take yo' discharge an' put it in a rag an' put it where no air kin git to it, an' put it in yore pillah, an' he cain't do nuthin off nowheres else, an' he'll have tuh stay home.
Entry 10640
Go to a ants' bed an' git dat sand an' sprinkle it round someone's house dat chew didn't like an' dat will also cause trouble. (What kind of trouble?) Like fights an' probably would end up into killin'. Dat's de red ants' nest.
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 10697
Yo' go to a fortuneteller or Hoodoo and pay them a certain amount of money to have what is known as good luck to follow your home while you are gone. And it is said that she would tell you for this amount [of money given to her] to buy de Bible and not open it. Open it in de house [itself] and find de 17 division of Psalms, Psalms of David, [close Bible] and walk in yore garden and git as near de center as possible [here is a quincunx rite!] not yet opening Bible. And turn yore face as near towards de east as possible, and valk 17 steps and stop, and read de 17 division of de Psalms, and den close de book. And no harm will befall yore home or nuthin will happen to yore wife. (This is to sort of to protect your family; especially if a man is going away from home?) Yes, that's on leaving home. The same thing holds good, de wuman tole me, if a man's wife leaves him and he wants her to return.
Entry 10780
Usin' a broom - if yo' set a broom up, yo' see, set de strau up dis way [demonstrates] yo' be's in a uproar all de time. If yo' sets it down, dat makes things better roun' home an' roun' wit de neighbors an' all lak dat.
Entry 10802
Yo' take a broom. A broom is a concern, jes' say fo' instance, yo' vorkin' wit someone, yo' know, an' dey smart or sompin lak dat, an' yo' jes' haul off an' hit 'em wit de broom. Dat will make a person have bad luck. Put bad luck on dem. Dey'll either git fi'ed [fired from his work] or sompin vill bg pen to him. [For hitting person with broom, also see JAIL margin title under BROOM later.]
Entry 10879
Now, yo' see dis heah - dis may sound crazy tuh yo'. Yo' kin ketch yo a cat an' git two of his whiskers, any kinda cat black or white. Yo' kin git two of his whiskers. Jis' lak i yo' mah husban' an' ah want chew fo' mah man. Jis' take 'em in de house an' have 'em crossed, an' jis' walk on de flo' lak dis, jis' lak yo' sittin', an' drop 'em down behin' [you], yo' know, an' walk on out. An' he'll strictly leave there. [Did she demonstrate this rite!] Ah'm tellin' yo' whut ah know. See, mah daddy befo' he died [told me things?]. He wuz kinda smart... Ah don't know things good enough but some things ah really knows. Yo' ketcha live cat an' pull 'em outa his whiskers; see, a live cat, an' drop 'em an' walk on outa dere. Drop 'em in there. They can't git along fo' quarrel- in' an' arguin'. Quite natural yo' cain't live with a person fo' quarrelin' an' arguin'. Yo' ain't goin' stay there no mo'. It'll sure break it up [the home].
Entry 10903
Well, yo' take de hair off a bad dog's back, de hair off a cat's back, an' take a woman's underwear when it's dirty, an' wash it, taking dat watah an' applyin' it wit dat hair off de dog's back an' off de cat's back, an' puttin' turpentine wit it, an' shuttin' de bottle up, an' throw it in de Miss'ippi Rivah. It will cause one de greatest rows in dat house yo' evah did see.
Entry 10907
Git de cat hair an' de dog hair an' mix it together, an'( den when yo' mix it toget- her, den yo' git chew some dis same brimstone; an' burn anywhere outdo's, an' it will 'sturb a community, 'cause confusion.
Entry 10908
An' den, too, ag'in, if yo' want 'em tuh move, if yo' wanta upset peoples an' have confusion, yo' git chew a small little [young] cat an' a [young] dog: Yo' know, when a cat an a dog git tuhgethah, his bris- tles raises. Well, yo' takes dat cat an' put him tuh where a dog kin see 'em; an' when dey bristles raise up, clip de bristles off de cat an' offa de dog an' mix it tuhget- hah. An' if yo' kin git in dey house, why yo' carry it in dere an' throw it about in de house an' walk on out. Well, dat breaks 'em up an' keeps 'em always stirred up, confused tuh death.
Entry 11317
(What's that?)
(Bull dog manure?)
Bull dog manure. They'll take bull dog manure and wasp nest. Parch them down to a powder. It'll 'come pulverized like powder. Put them together and mix them. Come to your home where you and your wife been getting along nice and smooth Walk right in that home and talk with your old woman, just come right in the house and throw it around.
(Just sprinkle it around?)
Yes. You begin to squabble and fight and the next thing you know, why one of you is gone away from there.
(I see.) I see.)
Entry 11327
(Your mother was sick?)
Uh-huh an' de doctor said dat somebody had put somepin down for 'er. So I kin remembah dat he dug up - you know, dey had dese fireplaces, an' he had taken up threw whole bricks. [I] remembah when he'd taken up dese bricks. Dey had a bot- tle buried an' had a form as a baby wit feathahs. Dat Was sewed up in a piece of yellah cotton [or unbleached homespun] an' in dat - see, he opened it - an' in dat dey had a red piece of flannen an' red cayenne peppah intuh dis bag. An' dis baby had its legs an' feet an' arms made outa feathahs.
Chicken feathahs. An' some of 'er hair was in dis bag. An' so he tole my mothah tuh leave it tuh him, dat he would 'tend tuh dat bag. So, well, I don' think he did anythin' good enough. But still he put somepin else down dere, but my mothah always said dat whoevah put dat stuff down; dat dis man instead of workin' fuh 'er, he was workin' fuh de people what put it down. An' she didn't give him dat. [Patient keeping doll baby is most unusual. Poor doctor!] (Well, how was your mother sick? I mean - how did she happen to call him in? How did it start?) She had, she was kept wit dese wretched headaches, you know, an' she had de [medical] doctor, couldn't do nuthin. She kept sick all de time an' was jes' pinin' away tuh nuthin. An' so somebody told 'er tuh see one of dese root doc- tors. An' so she got one. An' de time he come dere, he says, "Yes, dere's somepin right here." An' she [said], "Dere's somepin dere? Go get it." He went an' got it. Looked like he know right where 'twas.
(Was it inside of the house or outside?)
Inside de house, in dat hearth, 'neath de three bricks, an' dere it was all laid out fer 'er. (Was this thing in a - what did you say the name of the thing, this feather thing was in?) In a, you know, a bag, in a yellah cotton bag. Was made on purpose fer it, so it would be shaped all of de baby.
(The bag was in that shape, too.)
[The bag was a baby doll form stuffed with feathers.]
Uh-huh. Dey done fixed it an' had made it out of feathahs, an' put it down fer 'er. Now, my mother's ['s = was] sick all de time.
Entry 11720
She [hoodoo woman] tell me, if you wan'a make a man an' a girl break up, jis beat up some glass right fine an' put it in a bottle with a little whis- key on it. Drain it [the glass] off of dat whiskey - strain it [the glass] off [of the whiskey], you know. An' when yo's having a party or somepin, jes' slip dat [strained whiskey] into de drink dat you gon'a give dis person. [The person who drinks this strained whiskey will have in him or her a part of the spirit of the broken glass, because spirits share a weakness for whiskey and PART OF THE SPIRIT EQUALS WHOLE OF SPIRIT, No.24, p.21, v.1. Even so the rite is dangerous.]
Entry 12318
If yo' burn a tree - if yo' wuz out with a person an' yo' take an' note where there's a lightnin'-struck tree, an' yo' split it up an' carry it to 'em fo' wood an' he burn it, even unknowingly, he'll lose his home. It's bad luck to him. (You give the fellow bad luck by giving him this wood from this tree?) Even if he didn't know it - he might not have but two pieces of dat, but he'd lose whatevah he had.
Entry 12696
Mah wife got sick, she^ wuz sick a month. Ah pray tuh God tuh learn me, to teach me dese things. Ah goes an' git - she wuz washing some clothes out dere. Ah wuz goin' wit a woman dat didn't live so fur from dere. Dis woman done put some kinda powder or dust or sompin in mah ole woman's dresses an' dat put a spell on her - paralyzed her, mah wife. Ah pray tuh God tuh teach me in learning dese things.
Entry 12921
(They shoot the shadow, you say?)
Yeah. Well, dey do dat to harm a pusson, get him into trouble - harm 'em. Yo' be up dere - standin' dere - of co's [course] dis de individual, yo' understand. Yo' have a walkin' stick, see. While he standin' up, yo' be mark- in' in de ground. Yo' mark where his shadah is, yo' know. Well, after he go yo' know, yo' shoot dat shadow an' yo' shoot right in de heart. See, wheah yo' heart is, yo' know.
(And what will that do to them?)
Dat give dem heart trouble.
Entry 13418
If yo' wants tuh make a person move lak dat, well yo' go an' buy some war watah. Yo' understan', dat war watah, an' yo' pass in front of de do' lak if yo' had tuh pass in front of de do', an' if yo' have tuh throw de bottle across de house, yo' make yore wish. If yo' jis' break de bottle in front of de house an' make yore wish, why yo' could break 'em up an' make a big disturbance. Make 'em move an' de house would be upsetted. Yo' could upset de home.