Subject:Cayenne
Entries
Entry 4036
Yo' takes a man's chamber lye an' yo' puts it in a bottle. Git chew some cayenne peppah, an' yo' git chew some long red peppahs, an' yo'mu all dat up intuh dat chamber lye, see. An' yo' bury dat down In de ground by de steps, by de front steps or de back steps, or de centah underneat' de house [a quincunx]. Dey pass away, jis' molts away - see, jis' molts away tuh nuthin.
Entry 4044
Ah've heard 'em say dat choo kin take some chamber lye, cayenne peppah, sulphur an' go dere an' cross it fuh three times in de night, choo know, an' dey say dat'll make 'em move. Dat'll make 'em have a big fuss an' dey'll move.
(You go there and cross them?)
Yes sir, yuh go across [and cross] 'em three time.
(How do you mean?)
Jes' go dere - jes' lak dis de steps [demonstrates] po' it dis way, an' back by an' po' it ag'in [I interrupt].
(Making the form of a cross?)
Yes sir, a cross lak a [letter] X, three mawnin's straight, an' tell 'em to, "Go." An' de house will be vacant an' dey will move.
Entry 4154
Yuh kin take de individual's cham- ber lye an' some cayenne peppah an' also some of dere hair, an' yuh kin run 'em outa town. (What do you do with all that stuff then?) Yuh bury it.
Entry 4996
Dey had mah husban' [fixed] now. His sock in a bran'-new white han'- ke'ch'ef, nine needles an' nine pins - new pins [and surely also new needles] - graveyard dirt, cayenne pepper, an' dey wuz all in dat bottle what ah foun' undah mah steps. An' so [it] wuz mah husban's dirty sock. Dey had it fixed wit somepin in it an' wearin' it roun' 'er waist. Ah sees dat mah- self.
[Not round the woman's waist! She saw the sock showed to her by the doctor!]
(What did that do to him?)
Well, he recognized it [the sock produced by the doctor] - saw de whole thing. An' so ah got somebody look at 'im an' de woman dat looked at 'im tole me dat dere wuz a girl aftah 'im befo' he started courtin' me. De girl went 'erself an' she stole his dirty sock, had it fixed [by a doctor] an' wore - had it roun er wais'. (Well, did this woman [doctor] tell you how to get rid of that? What to do to get rid of it?) She give me some medicine, but what de medicine wuz ah don't know. [She give me some medicine is ambiguous. Was it for herself or husband? If for her, then we have one of those rare examples of MEDICINE BY PROXY - margin title p.365. This story came early in my hoodoo collecting days, otherwise I would have asked for further details. It is evident that the woman on finding the bottle took it to a Woman, who told her what was inside and why the ingredi- ents had been planted at the steps.]
Entry 6901
Anything wrong, yo' kin take some sweet milk an' heat it real hot, an' put some red cayenne peppah in it an' put some red pod peppah in it. An' scrape some silvah off de dime an' put in de glass, an' put some gun- powdahs in it, an' yo' drink it. An' when yo' drink it, jis' makes yo' bu'st out in a big sweat an' den yo' kin vomit it up.
(This poison?)
Yeah.
Entry 7195
Well, now, you uses flaxseed for one, slippery elm for two and then you get you some filet gumbo.
(Some what?)
Filet gumbo.
(Filet gumbo?)
[Filet (ground sassafras leaves) for gumbo is described several places in Boodoo.] Yes sir, that's green stuff that you uses for to cook with, see. And then you takes that and then you throws it around; around the house, see. And then you walks - steps in that and then you walks back and gets in the house with that, and that stuff will make you move. Now, another question is, if yo' don' wanta move. If I want you to stay, I just will get you some vinegar and the landlord's name, and fix that up with cayenne peppah, and then put his name down in there in a lemon, and then roll this lemon. And then take you a carrot and plant it.
(A what?)
A carrot.
(A carrot?)
Carrot, a carrot what you eat. Carrot. And take that carrot and plant it 'fore your door, and let it grow there. And just as it grows, you will remain there, right there. You never will move out of there, out of that house.
(Out of that house. Who will do this? The landlord, is he doing that?)
No.
(Who would do this to keep me in there?)
I would do that.
(I see.)
I would do that, make you stay there. You never would move, don't care how they don't like you, and how they would find fault of you. But you would stay there as long as that carrot is there with the landlord's name in the carrot and growing.
(I see.)
Entry 7722
Go tuh de cemetery an' make de changes wit de bo'ds out dere. Put three pennies intuh de groun', intuh de grave. Bring some of dat dirt back wit chew an' put some red peppah an' some cay- enne peppah in dere wit it, an' burn it intuh de fire, call- in'; In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, dat yo' may have luck in gainin' de influence of all of yore frien's. An' yo' will have luck.
(That is to get customers if you are bootlegging?)
Yes.
Entry 8511
(What do you do with that graveyard dust?)
Well, yo' take graveyard dust an' put it wit - tuh break up a woman an' a man.
[Long pause by informant.]
(How would they handle that? How would they use that?)
Well, dey take de graveyard dust an' steel dust an' guinea seeds an' war wa- tah, an' put it intuh a coconut, yo' see, an' red peppah, cayenne peppah, Epsom salts an' bittah apple an' bury it. An' yo' see, dat cuz a 'sturbance. Den dey writes de man's name an' de woman's name nine times an' dat break 'em up, cuz dem tuh make terrible 'sturbance. An' dat cuz dem tuh break up, see. (Where do they bury this?) Well, dey bury it undah de porch - bury it in de ground, bury it in de ground. [For preceding guinea seeds, see long margin title GUINEA SEEDS... GRAINS OF PARADISE, p.57Of. Red pepper in present margin title could be a repetition for preceding cayenne pepper, but more likely it means a piece of hot red-pepper pod. The preceding bitter apple - also called bitter cucunber and bitter gourd - is the colocynth (Citrullis colocynthis), a Medi- terranean and African vine related to the watermelon.]
Entry 8633
If he be done left her, you mean?
(Yes.)
An' he living with another woman? Well, yo' take an' write his name down again, an' yo' get yo' some red peppah - yo' see, this cayenne red peppah. Well, yo' get yo' some red peppah an' yo' get yo' nine needles, brand-new needles what have never been used. An' yo' get yo' nine new pins. An' yo' stick all of dem needles an' dem pins in de wall cater- corner. An' yo' put it in dere, wit yo' know, hot peppah what yo' put on yore food [pepper sauce]. Yo' take de cayenne red peppah an' de hot peppah [sauce] an' de nine needles an' de nine pins [and the name see later] an' yo' put dat in a lemon. An' yo' bury it anywhere in de back yard, see. An' dat will break dem two people up, an' make yo' an' him come back to- gethah again. I done seen dat did.
(Well, how did she write his name in the beginning?)
Write his name? Well, just like a person's first name, like somebody is named Andrew Edmund or any name like dat. Well, yo' see, yo' put [instead of putting] Andred Edmund, put Edmund Andrew. See, yo' put it backwards, till yo' write it nine times. An' den yo' FOLD IT LIKE A HEART, COMIN' TO YO', & an' dat foldin' 'im to yo' all de time. An' yo' bury it in de backyard. An' yo' just leave it stay dere until it molds away. An' in about nine or ten day's time, his mind gets off of this othah woman an' gets back on yo', an' dat makes him leave 'er an' comes back to yo'.
(I see.) You put this name and that other mixture?)
Yes, de pins an' de needles all togethah.
Entry 8640
Well, a lemon, if yo' wanta break somebody up ag'in, lak a man an' 'is wife or sompin lak dat, yo' could take such a-thing as a lemon an' yo' could take that same cayenne peppah. An' yo' write their [man's] name down nine times an' de woman who yo' wanta break 'em up from Yo' could write their name, but whosomevah doin' it, well, dey could do it, dey could fold it, fold it but always fold it from dem. An' if yo' wants tuh put some- body togethah, yo' take that man's name, if it's a woman, an' yo' write his name down first an' that woman, write her name down. An' den she takes de papah an' she fold it comin' tuh her, see. Lak yo' take a papah an' fold it comin' tuh yo' an' make yore wish when yo' fold de papah. An' den yo' take nine dressin' [ordinary] pins, eithah yo' could use needles, but de goldhead needles would be bettah - nine goldhead needles. An' de top whut chew cut off de lemon - see, yo' cut de top off de lemon an' yo' fold dat papah tight an' yo' push it down in dat lemon. An' yo' take de top whut chew put an' stick dem nine needles, yo' know, shut it back up but stick it all de Way roun'. An' if yo' got anyway a [old-fashioned] icebox an' yo' [have a drain to the outside for] dis icebox an' [or] yo' have de foam [gutter or drainage ditch] go through [by] yore house. Well, yo' dig a hole an' yo' put it [lemon] in a moist place where it goin' be wet all de time, so it could rotten. See, an' as dat lemon rot away, yo' see, it'll break 'em up.
Entry 8641
Well, if a woman's got a man - well jis' like I've got a husband an' a woman wants to break me an' my husband up. I'll say like that. Yo' get a lemon an' get yo' some cayenne pepper an' get yo' some gunpowder. Yo' take that lemon, you wouldn't cut it half in two, you only cut that top around the top, yo' know, an' yo' raise it up like that and yo' bore a hole in that lemon. (You cut the top like a lid and you bore a hole under that?) Yes. Then yo' will write this man's name nine times, and yours nine times over it, an' yo' stick that down in that lemon an' put that gunpowder - that gunpowder's for confusion, that what's it for - an' the red pepper. Then yo' would take that lid an' put it back over there like that. Yo' get yo' some black thread an' yo' tie that lemon tight, so to be sure that nuthin that's in there won't come out, an' put it up over the door anywhere. An' when [as] that lemon dries up, they'll fuss an' fight an finally dey'll break up an' never go back together again. (Do you put your husband's name in there and your name, or your husband's name and her name?) My husband's name and her name.
Entry 8645
They takes the lemon and they roll it soft, and they take that name and they write it nine times, just like I showed you just now. And they take that name and they shove it down in that lemon, and they put them some cayenne pepper in there. And they get a little small stopper and they stop that lemon up, and they keep it up in the corner of the house. And every day, three times a day, they get that lemon and they roll it backwards and forwards. They roll it to them and they roll it from them. That's their husband name they got up in there. That's to keep their husband there with them.
Entry 8647
Now, yo' take a lemon an' put nine needles - nine goldeye needles - an' take cinnamon an' cayenne peppah an' sugah. Aftah dat chew take an' sew it up. Aftah yo' sew it up. take 'an' put it into de sock. Yo' Write de name nine times an' put it into dat sock. Aftah dat yo' jes' keep it. Dat is really goin' tuh stop de fellah from gamblin' an' won' fool aroun' wit any woman, anybody. If he have anything to say about anybody [woman] he see, he hate 'em, git against 'em. An' along fin- ally, naturally he leaves away. He leave heah lak on Friday, an' yo' won' see him no mo' at all, he disappeah. An' yo' come tuh find 'im an' he's somewheres layin' on de road daid.
Entry 8655
They use bluestone into a lemon, an' salt, black pepper, an' cayenne pepper, an' the woman's an' man's name, an' throw it in the river. That makes them drift. (You put this all inside the lemon?) Yes, sir.
Entry 8698
Then you can git a bottle of vinegar an' write de name upon a piece of Venrick parchment.
(What kind of parchment?)
Venrick [a trade name?] parchment. An' they put this in this bottle of vine- gar with cayenne peppah, see. An' they roll this bottle aroun'. Go to de back door an' roll it all de Way tuh de front. (Just a moment. Do they roll it with their hands or feet?) De feet. Dey kick it wit de feet an' as dey kickin' it, dey use de words, "As dis bottle rō' [rolls] ah wan' choo to do de same." (I see.) An' they take it an' dey bury it on de science [signs of the Zodiac]. Dey will do this work by science, by de twelve science [signs].
(Well, what sign would they use on that?)
On de Balance.
(Oh, the sign of the Balance.)
Yes, on de Balance; yes, sir. See, dat's when de earth has power. An' dey buries dis bottle bottom upwards. An' de next mawnin' they get up before de sun rise an' dey pour dat hot water on dat an' de bottle busts [bursts]. Den dey move.
(I see, it will make them move.
Entry 8717
Well, de socks, yo' take de man's socks but yo' don' have tuh nuse
[use] all of it if yo' don' wan' tuh. Yo' write his name down an' yo' [lay]
dose nine needles, de goldhead needles, an' yo' roll dat sock up. But chew put de cayenne peppah in dat name - de salt an' cayenne peppah in dat. An' to take an' nuse yore cross- in' yo' cross 'em up in dat. An' aftah yo' cross 'em up, yo' take dat an' yo' put it in dat sock. An' yo' roll it an' yo' take de pins an' yo' stick 'em, but evah time yo' stick 'em yo' cross dem. An' dat - dat part would make de man, if yo' want tuh keep de man at chure house, tuh always [stay there] when yo' bury. But yo' don' have tuh bury it all de time. Yo' could jis' put it ovah a joice [joist] somewhere. [Burying the sock could be a nuisance, if you wanted to get rid of the man later; but I suppose the sock could be dug up.]
Entry 8776
[Late in turning on recording machine] put chew some cayenne peppah an' some steel dust in dat [lemon, see later] an' yo' sews it up an' throw it in de rivah. Now, if yo' can't git de lemon an' yo' wants tuh use a bottle, yo' gits dat bottle an' yo' git chew some war watah. Yo' puts dere name down up in dere. All right, yo' use dis cayenne peppah an' git chew nine tacks down up in dere vinegah. All right, yo' kin stop dat up an' throw 'em in de rivah.
Entry 8785
See, lak yo' start today. Well, yo' jes' git chew some steel dust an' sprinkle it all roun' dat house. An' git dere name an' some cayenne peppah an put it all - mix it all up dere togethah, wit some brown cinna- mon an' sugah. An' shake all dat aroun' dere. Throw it all up on dat window sill. An' curse 'em. Yo' know, give 'em a bad name. An' den take dey name an' jes' bring dat name in de window, yo' know, an' tie it up in a pocket han'ke'ch'ef. See, lak dat, an' ah guarantee yo' in two days he done left. He be walkin'. He cain't find no place in world tuh stay. Nobody want 'im. Wanta git rid of 'im an' all. Won't leave him stay. [To get rid of the man in the house, his spirit is tricked by carrying his name, his captured spirit, into house through a window. This confuses the spirit so that it no longer knows how to enter normally through the door. We have a similar piece of magic in the funeral rite in which coffin is' removed from house through window instead of door.]
Entry 8800
If yo' got a purtty han'writin' an' a person don't lak it, an' if dey get a holda yore writin', dey'll take yuh writin' an' burn it up wit cayenne peppah an' salt, an' dat'll get choo nervous in yuh writin', yo' know, when yo' start tuh write, an' yo' can't write a nice decent hand as yo' once did, yo' know, cuz yo' can't hold it [pencil or pen] level.
Entry 8930
Well now, if you - like you was to take a dollah, say fo' 'ninstan' [an instant = an instance], if you'd take a dollah, or if yo' took mah glasses, or if yo' took anything out mah house, or anything yo' take from me, if yo' steal it from me in the street, I gits a red onion. Listen at me good. I splits dis red onion, but not let it come apart. See, yo' jis'gash it like that [demonstrates].
(You turn it like that, gash it through the side, not from top to bottom.)
Well now, you take an' git five drops spirits turpentine. Yo'll write your name on a cigarette papah. Like your name John James, I'll put in on a ciga- rette papah, put five drops of spirits turpentine, put that name [in the split onion], then put about two little pinches of cayenne pepper, an' spit in it five times, an' make yo' a woosh [wish]. An' then I take yeh [the onion holding your name] an' bur' [bury] mah things back. If yo' don't it'll run yo' crazy, if yo' didn't. See, that will drindle right on your mind 'bout choo takin' mah glasses.
Entry 9152
Say fo' instance, now, dat yo' wus mah boss an' yo' done sompin tuh someone in de wrong [you wrong someone]. Well, yo' in jail an' yo' know yo' goin' [be] sent up de road [to the penitentiary, state prison in U. S. A.]. Ah goes an' gits 20 cents wuth of black peppah, 25 cents wuth of cai-yanne [cayenne] pep- pah, one pound of grana- lated [granulated] sugah, one package of Rex cloves, an' one package of Rex cinnamon.
(That's [Rex is] the name of the Brand?)
Dat's right,15 cents wuth of spice. An' mix all dat tuhgethah an' go in de co'troom dat mawnin'. Sprinkle some roun' de judge's stand an' some roun' de vitness stand. Den start tuh sprinklin' it out de do' tuh two blocks away from de place. An' when de witness gits dere, he's goin' back [especially if he sees anything sprinkled]. He's not comin' dere. He ain't goin' come dere.
(That is if he is coming there to talk against me?)
[I have not forgotten that I am the guinea pig: yo' know yo' goin' be sent up de road. No suh. He ain't goin' come dere. Dey'll call yore case up maybe three times, an' each time ah'm doin' dat fo' yo'. See, yo' in dere an' ah'm out. An' de third time he call it up or de fo'th time, he'll dismiss yo'. We cain't git de witness an' he cain't be located. He ain't goin' be at 'is house.
Entry 9172
Well, all right. Well, say fo'stance [for instance] now, yo' done some hangin' crime ovah yondah [where you came from] - done some bad crime, ah mean a hangin' crime ag'in. All right. Say fo'stance yo've did dat. Yo' say, "Well, Lawd, ah don't know whut ah'm goin' do, ah don' know whut's goin 'come [going to become] of me." Yo' come tuh me an' say, "Well, Dawson, listen, ah've did a bad crime. What's ah'm done goin' do? Ah know dey goin' hang me." [Up to this point I have done as guinea pig all sorts of crimes in the text, but this appears to be my first murders!] Ah say, "Well, ah don't believe dey will." Yo' say, "Well, whut must ah do?" [Here Dawson, one of my contact workers in Mobile, answering for me recalls Doctor Washington of Charleston, S. Car.; see No.9024, p.3660, v.4.] Ah says, "We'll go tuh de sto', yo' wait till ah come back." Ah'll go tuh de sto' den an' ah'll git me a package of red cayenne peppah. See, ah'll git dat. Ah'll walk out in de woods aftah ah git dat cayenne peppah an' ah'll go ahead an' ah'll git me a dog-brindle weed.
[My following question shows I completely misunderstood dog-brindle weed.]
(Dog brindle or dog fennel?)
Dog brinnel [dog-brindle = dog color]. [The preceding brackets were originally parentheses and the comment is not mine but my transcriber's. She Was correct. The weed had dark streaks or spots on a gray or tawny ground.]
(What does it look like?)
It's got a little - it grows tall, about dis big [demonstrates]. Got little leaves on it, no flowahs at all. Well, yo' kin call it dog fennel if yo' wanta [or] dogwood. It's a doa-fana? weed, yo' know. [The preceding question mark following dog. fang? is above fang in the tran- scription. I was unable to improve transcriber's fang part of it. Since the next sentence says wring that off, I suspected the identity of this weed as hound's-tongue, but informant's no flowahs at all eliminated the identification. Finally, could fang be bane? How about dogbane? Is our plant any species of the genus Apocynum? The latter name alludes to the poisonous milky juice, hence the bane of dogs. (A piece of poison in your pocket and shoe could be a good defense against a poisonous sentence by the judge.) Here again we are confronted by flowers. As I have said somewhere, the old-time root men who dug their own roots were fast disappearing when I began to collect back in the 30's. Most doctors in my time bought roots from a root shop, if there was one in the town, or sent away for them. We must not accept Dawson's no flowahs as the absolute truth. An ex- pert may be able to name the plant from the little information here.] Well, yo' git dat an' yo' wring dat off an' put piece of dat in yore pocket, an' yo' put tothah [the other] one in yore shoe. Put dat in yore shoe an' den dis here cayenne peppah yo' got. Now it's lak if yo' settin' an' if yo' stepped out dere an' go tuh dat toilet dere an' nurinate [urinate]. [Whereas at the beginning of this rite author was the defendant on a hangin' crime, suddenly I find myself a judge on the bench! And momentarily leaving the courtroom!] Well, ah take dat cayenne peppah an' ah sprinkle dat cayenne peppah in yore chair, where yo' was settin' at, an' jes' sprinkle it round in heah, see. Well, when yo'[author as judge] come back heah an' set down, an' yo' go tuh talkin' an' says, "Well, Dawson, ah don't see dere's nuthin in heah ag'in yo'." See, yo' say, "Go ahead up an' go on home an' don't come back heah no mo'." See, dat weed is jes' got chure mind, it's [your mind is] jes' up in a uproah [uproar]. An' dat cayenne peppah done changed yore mind all de Way round, so yo' can't do nuthin. Yo' tell me tuh go on home.
Entry 9362
Dey say dat chew kin take a aig, rotten aig an' put peppah, cayenne pep- pah in it. Jab a little hole, yo' know, in it [the egg]. Put cayenne peppah in it an' shake it up, an' throw it ontuh yuh do' nine days, mawnin's. An' den, whenevah yo' git up in mawnin', take peppah an' salt, an' where yo' walk 'long, jis' sprinkle it all behin' dem. An' dey tell me dat'll make a person move away from dat place. (Now, you mean you take a different egg each morning?) No sir - yes, sir, a diff'- ren' aig fo' nine mawnin's. Dat's whut dey tell me. (In addition to that, you have to put this other stuff in there?) Dey tell me yo' jis' jab a little hole in it [the egg]. (You do both of them, to make them move.) Yes, tuh make dem move.
Entry 9430
They take a black hen egg an' cayenne peppah an' guinea watah - er, yes - an' chuck it at yore door.
(What is that? What else do they take, now?)
Cayenne peppah, yes; a black hen egg...
(A black hen egg and then what?)
An' guinea - not guinea. Aw shucks they call it...
A black chicken egg, cayenne peppah...
(Yes, all right.)
An' yo' mix dat togethah.
(What do you mix now, what kind of water?)
War water!
(Oh! All right!)
An' yo' take an' yo' chuck it at dere door. Now, yo' see, yo' take a black hen egg by itself an' yo' chuck dat at yore door fo' nine mornings, an' dat makes yo' move an' makes yo' an' yore husband or yo' an' yore neighbor fight until yo' go to jail. (I see. All right.) Now, dat war water, just sprinkle it all around yore door. An' yo' just take a whole bottle of it an' mix it wit cayenne peppah an' den chunk it an' it busts at yore door. Yo' are sure to go to jail.
(I see.)
Entry 9617
(To make somebody move?) Yeah. Yo' git salt an' yo' git sugah an' yo' git cayenne peppah an' yo' mix dose tuhgethah. An' as dis person goin' outa de house, why yo' jis' sprinkle dat on behin' 'em. Dey're goin' some place.
Entry 9635
Yo' kin take yo' some ground red peppah [cayenne pepper], sulphuh an' table salt. An' yo' kin throw dat roun' yore do', or yo' kin put dat in yore shoes - sulphur in yore shoes. Yo' kin walk on dat sulphuh an' nobody can't harm yo'.
Entry 9636
If dey put anything down fo' yo', yo' undahstan' to hurt chew or cripple yo' or anythin' so yo' can't walk. Yo' take dat peppah, cayenne peppah an' salt an' sulphuh, an' mix dat tuhgethah an' sprinkle it aroun' undah yore do'step, an' aroun' yore place whare yo' walk. Quite nec'sary [necessary] yo' weah some of dat in yore shoes. Well yo' see, dey can't do anythin' to yo', can't hurt chew when yo' got dat peppah in dere. It keeps dat down.
Entry 9638
Ah tell yo' whut chew kin do. Yo' read de 54th Psalm. Yo' evah read de Bible? [Since I do not answer, did I nod my head up and down, or shake it sideways. Informant did not know he was talking to a clergyman.] An' yo' takes saltpetah, take cay- enne peppah, an' yo' takes table salt. An' yo' take each one-a yore shoes an' yo' sprinkle yore shoes wit dat sulphur, a teaspoonful'a sulphur. Jes' sprinkle yore shoes wit dat an' walk anywhere yo' want. Nobody can't do nuthin tuh yo' about chew walkin' on anythin'. Nevah min' [mind] about dat [walking on anything].
Entry 9641
It was once a rootworker told me to take some urinate some cayenne pepper and salt - half full from the urinate to de top of the bottle and the other [half fill] with sugar. An' take you a piece of cotton and stick down in there, and stick two needles in there, and keep that. That's luck to you.
Entry 10714
Yo' take de bird nest an' yo' git cayenne peppah an' salt, an' yo' put it down where a person has tuh walk.
(What are you going to do with that salt and pepper?)
Yo' mix it with de bird nest. Destroy de bird nest an' yo' sprinkle dat salt an' peppah with it, an' sprinkle it where a person has tuh walk, dat yore enemy, an' he wouldn't harm yo' in any way. (What will that make them do?) Dat will make dem leave.
Entry 10884
If you want to break up a person, you kin take the dog hair, you know; like the bristles of cat's neck. You know, where bristles up, you understand. Where she bris- tles up back there. And then oa the dog's tail you cut out some hair, like if you Wanta break up a person. And you take and put that stuff together and puts some salt and some cayenne pep- per with it. And you write their name down 9 times. And you go and throw it in the fire, you say, "I wan' choo to fuss, fight and bust up: In the Name of the Lord." That's wha' choo do with that dog hair and that cat hair and things. Or else you kin take doze things, the cat hair and that, and you kin take it, you kin make a fuss in the home. You kin break up a person. Put the sugar and cay- enne pepper with it. You kin throw it all through the house, under the house.
Entry 10902
You clip de hair off de dog W'ere he bris'led up, a bad dog, an' a he cat. An' yo' mix that hair together jis' like yo'd mix up salt an' peppah. Then mix that wit de person name. You kin use like that an' yo' kin make a per- son move. You take de dog hair an' cat hair, an' yo' mix it jis' like yo' do salt an' peppah, an' yo' put this red ciyine [cayenne] peppah wit it. Yo' git bitter aloes, Yo' git yo' some John de Conkah root; not the powder, yo' git de root, yo' boil that. Yo' mix this dog hair an' cat hair together, an' yo' have that in a big bucket with hot peppah [pepper sauce] in there and war watah. An' whosomevah it is you want to move you take it to de house an' sprinkle de porch, chuck it back under de steps. An' de next day they cross over it, de next mornin', comin' out. It jis' make 'em move.
Entry 10906
Take the - like they got a white dog. Well, you see, they [white dogs] make white - white stuff you know, down here. Well, you take that [white manure] and when that's dry, get the dirt dau- ber and get that cay- enne pepper, Epso salts, black pepper, salt, and red pepper- the red cayenne pep- per. You [know] the regular red cayenne pepper. And take some of the hair out of the dog's back and some out of the cat's back. You know cats and dogs can't agree. You know they'll fight. Well, they put all that together and fix it up, and then throw it around peoples' houses and make them fight.
Entry 10914
I know what they do with that. Just like if you has a sweetheart and she done left you and is living with someone else, well you take this dog hair and cat hair and you mix it to- gether, see. And you get you a lemon. (A lemon?) Yes, and you cut this lemon open and you stick this dog hair and cat hair in there with their name - their full name. Put it in there and mix it together with cayenne pepper - in the lemon - and bury it and they never get along.
Entry 11134
Take it [manure] from a bull and yo' mix cayenne pepper and salt and saltpeter together, and carry it tuh someone's home dat you dislike. Yo' mix it all together and you put it out and let it dry. After it dries you crumble it up and powder it. Jest like someone would live here. You wouldn't want all tuh come out; jest want one person tuh leave dis place. Well, you would take it den and go and sprinkle in de yard and around de do' and call dis person's name. Dey can't stay dere. Dey'll have to move out, go some- where. Dey can't stay dere.
Entry 11190
Ah heard dey go an' git a dirt dauber nest an' some cayenne peppah an' sprinkle it undah de do'step an' turn yore back an' nevah look back, an' nevah look back, an' say "good-by." An' dat'll make 'em move an' dey cain't come back again.
Entry 11194
When yo' got somebody an' wanta make 'em move out chure house, [or] out de house nex' tuh yo', yo' git chew some dirt dabahs [larvae and their cells] but de wasp makes de nest. Yo' git dat dirt [and larvae]. Yo' git chew some cayenne peppah an' some Epsom salts and gunpowdahs, an' yo' mixes all dat up tuh- gethah. An' when yo' mixes dat up tuhgethah, yo' t'rows dat aroun' 'bout twelve a'clock at night - not in de day, at night. At twelve a'clock at night yo' t'rose it undah de step, an' when yo' t'ro' it yo' say, "Jes' lak ah t'row dis heah powdah, dat's de way ah want dem [you] tuh move out dis house." [For a special appreciation of the mud dauber and its larvae, see interview "TOMB OF DE BABE OF BETHLEHEM," Pp.1325-1335, v.2.]
Entry 11201
They will spring your doors and things. (Well, how would they do that?) They'll take that - they'll go to three people's house and you can steal you some salt from three people's house, and take that cayenne pep- per and that black pepper and dirt dauber's nest and beat it together and sprinkle your door and you'll move.
(I see. And you'll move. But you only steal the salt?)
Steal the salt.
(The other things you don't take?)
No, you just steal that from somebody's house.
(Just the salt. Those other things you take from your own house?)
Yeah.
(I see. That will make you move out?)
Yes.
Entry 11202
Git 'em out of a house. Dey got some of 'em back dere now. Yo' kin git dirt dauber nest. Yo' know whut dey call dirt daubers. Well, yo' git dat an' cayenne peppah, but yo' have tuh git in de house tuh do dat. Yo' cain't do dat on de out- side of de house. See, cayenne peppah, Epsom salts, sulphur an' powdered asafetidy. Yo' know whut dey call powder asafetidy. Well, dey mix dat tuhgether. Well, if yo' cain't git chure tobacca, yo' kin git dis scotch snuff an' yo' mix dat, but chew gotta git in de house dat yo' kin sling it back in dere. Yo' know, an' 'noint de house, an' dey'll move.
(You just throw that in the house and these people will move away.)
Yes.
Entry 11223
Take dirt dauber, cai-yanne peppah an' grave- yard dirt. Dat's tuh make people move, too. Yo' puts dem things intuh a ole cup an' yo' make a powdah of it, an' yo' go an' throw it aroun' dis place where yo' want de people tuh go.
Entry 11228
Well, yo' supposed tuh git it offa sinner, like yo' know a person's died a sinner - git it offa de breast of him. Imagine where de breast should be. Yo' git dat dirt. Take yo' left han' an' git dat, a left handful of dat dirt. Well, yo' takes cayenne pepper and table salt and dis ole dirt dauber dat be's in houses up in de walls. Yo' mix dat tuhgethah. Say dat'll make a fuss anywhere. It will even cause de law tuh come tuh yore place.
(Well, what do you do with this after you mix it up?)
After yo' mix it up, jest put it where yo' want it tuh be. Jest like if yo' are angry wit someone, or somebody yo' know is bothering yo' or sompin. Well, yo' wants dem tuh move or git on out de way. Yo' jest throw it where it can be tracked in dat house. Dey'll go tuh fighting and de law goin' come.
Entry 11229
Take graveyard dirt and dirt dauber's nest and cayenne pepper and new salt and parch it - you mix it and parch it and make a powder. And throw it Monday night, Wednesday night and Friday night where they walk over. They change their mind and they go on about their business. They move off and go off.
(They leave the house?)
Yes.
(You sow this on these nights. Do you throw it or sow it?)
You throw it around. (Oh, you throw it around.) [The preceding combination of 3 days is common in New Orleans for burning candles - see p.830, v.1.]
Entry 11236
[Since we are now in the letter "D" of CHANNEL DE WORLD material - a division arranged alphabetically instead of sectionally to avoid typing compli- cations - the following 30 pages or more will be concerned with doctors, something by them or about them. Doctors of course will appear among later letters of the alphabet, but here was a convenient place to concentrate some of them. I begin with a folding rite that contains a close relative, a wrapping rite. The verb to fold does not appear in the index of Folklore from Adams County Illinois, 1st ed., 1935, and I doubt its appearance in the indexless 2nd ed. There is an index only in the files of the Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology, University of California, Los Angeles, California. De- spite rarity, HOODOO has a number of folding rites, some of them quite compli- cated: Nos.3126, 3182-3190, etc., v.3 and elsewhere. To fold to you or away from you is a usual theme, but our present rite is an accordian fold. Especially interesting to me is the doctor, place of hearing, and time. My record concern- ing him reads: "Thurs. Feb. 15, 1940, informant No.1565, man 45, Crackerjack Store, paid, ng." (From note books E Series, 2nd New Orleans trip, numbers of informants 1558 to 1605). More about that ng in a moment. Informant was brought to me by the black man preceding him, a man who worked at the Crackerjack Store - sometimes called drug store - a famous hoodoo emporiun of that date. During the following interview I was utterly unaware that this would be my last dat at Pat- terson Hotel, 759 S. Rampart St., corner of Julia, New Orleans, La. Years later I would pay my respects to the old building by printing her picture at the end of HOODOO volume 2! The folding rite follows:] Say fo' instance yo' wanta git rid of a man. All right yo'd git his photo- graph, not a tintype. Git a cardboard [photograph] an' de medium size. Git it an' fold it in half an' find, say lak a dead chicken or a dead dog or somepin aroun' [or lying about] wit maggots. Ah mean large-size maggots as dey walkin'.... Well, yo' crease de photograph in nine folds an' as yo fold it in de nine folds, yo' drop a maggot in each one of 'em; in every fold until yo' git de nine mag- gots. Den yo' git chew a piece of separate black cord an' tie it [folded photo] nine times; den yo' git chew a piece of red [cord] an' yo' make six knots [about folded photo]. An' put in dem nine knots an' six knots.... Dat [package] is representin' dey cof- fin. Aftah yo' git through wit dat, den yo' wrap it up in a piece of cloth, which would be about fully de same size, an' git chew de nine of spades, an' wrap dat up nine times, an' jes' take an' fold it wit [3 ingredients]: one flake [flick = pinch] of salt, an' one flake of black peppah, an' one flake of red pep- pah - cayenne peppah. An' wrap 'em all up. An' yo' close it up an' regardless of whut de individual's name may be, yo' put it down nine times in a piece of silk tissue papah, fold it every time nine times. Take a match an' burn it, an' as yo' burn it, leave dem ashes go right on top.... Den yo' take all dat cloth [the several packages together] tuhgethah an' reenfold it [in one cloth] an' git chew some rivah sand, an' jes' put it in dere an' dry [tie] it up [into one pack- age]. Den yo' goes on tuh de neahest runnin' watah dat yo' kin git tuh an' dig yo' a small pit, jes' a small hole.... Dig it out six inches, jes' as dere grave. Aftah yo' do it, den yo' says - be mastah of de ceremony which is his funeral. As yo' be blessin' de body as it goin' down, every word yo' say yo' curse in between it, which is his name in between. An' as yo' doin' dat, den yo' throws a little bit of sherry wine, or if he drinks, regardless of whatevah it is, jes' throw it right on in dere....an' covah it up - an' drop it as it [coffin] goin' doup: [After this mock funeral ceremony] nine words yo' says, every day nine words, an' in de 18th day whoevah de individual will be, dey comin' unnormal deathly sick. De doctor [M.D.] or no othah one will undahstan' his case no kinda way. He'll die an' swell up [he'll swell up and die] in de next, say six or seven months, or maybe in de comin' future yeahs, from dat date.... (And you say you say nine words to that thing each day. Have you any special words you say?) Lak if de individual wuz a gamblah or a thief or a murderah, he may come home an' he'll be worried or somepin. Well yo' jes' curse him in dat name, "Yo' son of bitch. Yo' bastard. Yore mothah's no good. Yore fathah's no good. An aftah yo' hit me, whut ah won't do tuh yo'." An' aftah whut chew do to him, yo' say a prayah, "Name de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, Amen. "... Every day [the unrecorded things done I pick up in my following comment].
(You say just nine prayers like that. Nine things you say.)
Cussin' him all de time.... [Informant had seen his best days as a doctor, that is why I preserved the remainder of his interview under the last alphabetical division XYZ. Those 4....indicate repetition of what had been said.]
Entry 11626
Like if I want a person to go on a drift and don't stay anywheres they go. Well, I ketch me a fresh fish and I cut him open. And after I cut him open, I take the full name and I write it upon this Venrick parchment and I puts it in that fish [a parchment-like paper made by or called Venrick (this may not be the exact name) and sold by a hoodoo shop]. And after I put it in this fish, I get some moving oil and I drap three drops on there. [And I goes to the river afterward.] And I sew the fish back up - put cayenne pepper in it and I sews it back up. And I goes to any - where it's a running stream, you see, and I throws it out in there and I speaks, I say, "As this fish go, I want you to do the same."
Entry 11627
Well, you can take a fish and make a person drift from one place to another, never will stay nowhere or know where they going. You take this fish and you cut him open, and you takes their name and you put it up in there, and you pours moving oil and cayenne pepper and vinegar in there, and sews this fish back up. And you go to any running stream of water and you throws it in there, and you use the three god- heads, which I mean are: 'God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: I wish as this fish float, I want you to drift the same way."
Entry 11672
Take de dirt out de fork of de road, if you don't want 'em to leave. Take de dirt out of de fork of de road and put it in a bag and hold it there. Keep it, that will keep them from going away. (You just go out to the forks of the road and pick up that dirt.) Yes, an' put cayenne pepper with that, and hold it. That's what ah heard.
Entry 12179
Dey could burn sulphur an' salt. Salt an' sulphur is good fo' any- thing, good fo' killin' poison an' it's good luck. [Having turned off machine because material did not sound promising, I now restart machine by repeating what had been lost.]
(Is it good for, if they want to rent the room or rent the house?)
Yes. Well, ah tell yo' sulphur an' cayenne peppah an' salt - yo' burn dat an' yo' kin git de hoofs off a shoe, yo' know de hosses hoof, an' burn it every night befo' yo' go tuh bed an' yo' stay dere an' inhale dat. Well, den whatevah kind of luck yo' want or whatevah yo' ask it tuh do, why it mo' den apt tuh come out all round...
[Again I turn off machine too soon and must restart it.]
(If you are selling anything or anything of that sort? Would that help bring in trade?) Yes. Keep de police off yo' if yo' sellin' whiskey.
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12598
Jes' lak ah come to yore house an' ah misplace sompin of yores. When ah leave, yo' won't be mad wit me in one way, an' den in anothah way yo' will. But still yo' goin' be laughin' an' talkin' tuh me. Well, dere ain't but one thing yo' gotta do. Dat is tuh carry yo' a little bit of peppah in yore pocket an' throw it in dat fire, an' ah'll forget an' speak about sompin nothah - ah'll go git it dere an' show it tuh yo' an'( den yo'll know it's yores. But it gotta be red cayenne peppah, dat ground-up peppah. See, yo' jes' put some of dat in a piece of papah see. An' yo' go tuh dat person's house, yo' know jes' visitin' yo' see, an' it jes' might be in de wintahtime or somepin othah - dey got a fish in de stove. Yo' make out [pretend] lak yo' vanta light out de stove. Yo' drop some of dat papah [holding pepper] in dere. See, ah'll fo'git, so busy talkin' tuh yo'. Say, "Oh, yo' know ah got sech-an'-sech a thing, ah wanta show it to yo'.: Shore is purty."
Entry 12599
Now a fellow told me, said, that if a person, no matter if they a woman or who it was; said, if you get cayenne pepper and some - yes, cayenne pepper, I think it was - and go to de north winder [window] of your house and take it and sling it out and say, "Go, you son-of- a bitch, go." They say she'll go and never will come back, or de person will go and they never will come back.
(You throw it out the window?)
Yes, throw it out de window on de side of house...
[I stopped machine but turn it on for lost words.]
(North side of the house, but you must get red pepper?)
Yes. (I see, if you want to get rid of a woman or get rid of anybody.)
Entry 12600
An' den anothah thing dat chew kin do, to cause 'sturbance in de home dat will break up a man an' a woman. Yo' kin take dis cayenne peppeh an' some red peppah out de garden. Let dis [garden] peppah dry an' get dis [cayenne] peppah an' mash it all up togethah, an' put it in a piece of papah or eithah a piece of cloth. It will do it bettah if it a piece of cloth. An' roll it up an' tie it up good. An' den yo', if yo' kin git in de house, git somebody tuh bury it in de hearth. Jes' take up a brick yo' know an' place it undah dat brick, so when dey'll build a fiah, it will keep dat stuff warm. An' yo' be su'prised at de racket yo' heah in dat house yo'self. It will be a few days befo' yo' see [them] go apart.
Entry 12926
Tuh make de boss give yo' jobs, now. Now, if yo' wanta job an' if yo' goin' down dere. See, if de boss is mean to all de rest of de people - mean to yo' - he give everybody a job but chew. All right, well yo' git chew a lit- tle piece of saltpeter an' put into yore pocket. Well, den yo' see yo' git dis heah be 'shamed brier root, as ah tole yo', an' have dat in yore mouth an' spit down to his feets. An' den if he's very mean - if he's very hard - yo' sprinkle a little dis heah cayenne pepper cross his path like if dis he office heah. Ah sprinkle little dis cross yore office where.yo' go in to go into yore place of business an' ah have dat in mah mouth, an' ah says, "Say, Captain." Yo' know it's quite natural fo' a colored man to call a white man "Captain" or "Boss, " see. Well, "Say, Boss, listen, whut about a job dis mornin'." Den he'll look around - an be done crossed dis peppah, yo' see - he look around an' he say, "Well, old Doc, yo' don't wanna work if ah done give yo' a job." Yo' say, "Well, all right, yo try me." He say, "Well, den go on out an' see whut chew kin do." Yo' see, he done changed his mind. Yes sir, his mind is changed completely.
Entry 12991
Take a thin dime [well- used or old] yo' see an' put it in a sack, an' some cayenne pepper an' salt in it, an' hang it up ovah yore do'. As he come in, yo' see, back an' fo'th, an' jis' keep it ovah de do'.
(What will that do?)
That will stop yo' [him] off from de [other] woman.
(From this other woman?)
Yessuh.
Entry 13430
If you been tricked and have dese fainting spells - any kind of spells been put on you. See, dere's a way fer you to do - is fer you to go to de person dat you think put 'em on you. Speak to him about it. Well, you see him den and you tell him how you been tricked and all like dat. Say, dey can't look at you straight to save his life because he put it on yo'. Den after yo' git dat, den you go to swift water, ah've been told. And git dat swift water and bring it back and boil it and put cayen- ne pepper in it. See, cayenne pepper and ginger. See, dat's power - dat's strong. See, dat have a great odor to it. Take dat and boil it and salt, an' carry it to his doorsteps an' yo' kin take yore time. Let it be 'way in de night, way about twelve or one clock an' pour it at his doorstep. An' it will turn de trick right back on it. Yo'll git well and it will go right back on him.