Subject:Chimney
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Entry 3839
[Ah] heah 'em say, if yo' got a man, someone yo' love an' he leave yo', yo' haven't got 'is pichure, why yo' take a needle an' pick till yo' git de blood out de little fingah heah [demonstrates].
(That's the little finger of the left hand.)
Yes, an' yo' git de blood out of it an' yo' have a pen, yo' know a ink pen, an' a piece of papah. An' yo' write it jis' like yo' would be writin', an' write his name, an' denwrite yores undah it; an' draw 'is pichure, if yo' haven't nary one of 'is pichure. An' nine a'clock at night yo'll put it undahneat' de chimley, de no't [north] cornah, de no't side of de chimley. Put 'is pichure dere an' 'is name an' yore name. An' put it - life up de foot of yore baid an' put it undahneat' dere nine days. He comin' back.
Entry 3867
Mah gran'fathah taught me about it - fo' de woman, fo' instan', woman when she has 'er co'ses [courses] on see. Dey take one of dose pieces whut she have - listen well! - if dey hang it up in de chimley where it smokes by de fiah, she will dry up in de smoke. Yo' see women dat git so small an' thin, an' take treatment from de doctor [M.D.] an' don' get any bettah. She dries up. Now, take dat [piece] an' burn it to a powdah. Take a augah [auger] an' bo' a hole in a tree. [Stop that powder up] when dat sap is down, an' when dat sap goes up dat's whut stops [it]. She's biowed [bloated] up. When de sap goes up, she's blowed up, yo' undahstan'.
Entry 4074
Dey could do dat. De way ah know dey do dat, dey take a ole gun. Yo've seen dese ole-time guns, de ole muskets we call 'em, shot wit a cap on 'em. Yo take yore chamber lye an' den po' it in dat gun an' stop it up an' put de gun up de chimley. Let de barrel be pointed out. An' dat will hol' yo' watah - yo' can't make watah. [Freud would have had a field day, had a patient seen this rite in a dream!]
Entry 4075
In a old-fashioned house, yo' know, dey go roun' in de cornah of de chimley. Well yo' go roun' in de cornah of de chimley an' git a pinch of dat dirt roun' in dere, scrape it up from de earth. An' den yo take some of dat dirt an' go anywhere dat a person is livin' at an' make 'em leave. [For other ex- amples of this outside chimney watercloset, see 203, p.57, lines 3-11; 3092, p.913, lines 5-9.]
Entry 4076
Git de feathah from a black chicken, if yo' a man thirsty fo' a woman, in love wit 'er. Yo' take dat feathah from a black chicken an' yo' manage tuh git some of 'er ministra- tion. Now, de way ah've heard dis: if yo' kin git some of 'er ministration, an' yo' put dat wit dat feathah in dere. Den yo' take dat feathah an' put it in a bottle an' yo' put yo'self some spirits of tur- pentine in dere. Yo' put some dis othah stuff [urine? semen?]. Put some quinine in dere. An' den yo' take dat piece [hatband] or de bow, eithah one, outa yore hat, an' put it in dere. Let dat stay right dere nine days. [Auto horn.] Aftah nine days yo' bury dat thin' right somewhere 'bout de no'th cornah of yore chim- ley in de groun'. Den yo' go out dere an' yo' make watah on dat dere fo' nine days. Yo' pee on dat fo' nine days. Den dat dere - dat draws 'er 'fection to yo'.
Entry 5464
Lak yo' wan'a make yo' git yo' a job, yo'll go an' git 'is [the boss's] track. Pull up 'is track ag'in [as in a preceding rite]. Go an' git it, but yo' shove his toe back tuh 'is heel. Go an' git chew nine pinches of salt, an' nine pinches of peppah an' nine pinches of sulphuh. Now, undahstan' whut ah'm sayin'. An' nine pinches of dat - dis heah dirt, dat graveyard dirt, an' yores too, tuhgethah, yo' know.
(Your what?)
Yore track, too. Fix his track an' yore track tuhgethah, an' shuffle itaroun' yo' know. An' den take it an' make a li'le ball. Stick it up de chimley an' let de smoke git in it, an' yo'll git work. (You fix some of his track and your track all together with nine pinches of that other stuff. That is to get a job?) Dat's right.
Entry 5549
I did [this]. Take it an' measure it, yore foot tracks. Take it an' take a rule an' yo' measure dat foot track.
(Both of them?)
Well, not necess'ry. Try tuh git de right feet. Git de right feet where de heart's on, de side de heart's on - git de right[!] feet. Yo' take dat. Take it an' measure it, den yo' bring it back home. Aftah yo' bring it back home [I interrupt]. (Do you bring it [foot track] back or the measure?)[Informant does not understand my noun use of word measure. Measurement would have been better.] No, yo' take a rule an' measure de foot track. Or prob'ly, yo' may not have a rule, might take a stick an' break it off, measure it. Yo' taken an' yo' bring it [rule or stick] back home. An' yo' git yo' a toadfrog, not a bull frog. Take it an' put 'im in a stove an' parch 'im. An' take some - well, yo' kin take or'nary [ordinary] papah, take a papah bag, if it's nes'ry [necessary] an' cut dat foot step out an' wrap dat up, an' tie it up in de chimley.
(Wrap this frog stuff [powder] in this paper that you cut out?)
Yes, wrap it all up in dat, an' wrap it - don't wrap it from yo', WRAP IT TUH YO', ALL DE WAY WIT YORE LEF' HAN' 'CUZ YO' SUPPOSED TUH BE DOIN' A PIECE OF EVIL WORK. DAT'S ALONG DE LINE LUCIFAH WORRED, DAT'S NOT ALONG DE LINE WHAT CONCEN- TRATED IN WIT WILL POWAH, WHAT SUPPOSED TUH BE DEALIN' WIT' DE ASTRAL FORCE. (Well, now what will that do, when you fix my foot track that way? What will that do to me?) Well, if yo' runnin' off, it make yo' come back.
(Oh, that brings you back.)
Entry 6607
Yo' run 'im.
(Either the frog or the snake.)
Until he gits real hot. Yo' git chew a forked stick like dat [demonstrates] chew know. Yo' grab 'is haid while he's hot. Yo' cut dat haid off, yo' see. Yo' take it an' carry it tuh yore home, an' put intuh a chimley tuh dry tull it git so yo' kin jis' do it dataway [demonstrates] de dust of it. An' if yo' don' like a person, like ah don' like yo' an' pertend [pretend] like ah like yuh, yo' sprinkle it intuh dere food. An' dey tell me dat will certainly bring live things intuh de stomic.
Entry 6608
Well, ah heard tell of 'em usin' snakes fo' killin' peoples. Well, ah've heard tell of 'em takin' snakes - take de snake haid, cut de snake haid off whilst he's live. Make him angry an' cut 'is haid off short. Take dat snake haid - cut: 'is haid off whilst he's real short, yo' know, whilst he's live. Don't cut it off aftah 'e's daid. Cut it off whilst 'e's life [alive]. Den yo' take dat snake haid an' yo' dry it. Hang it up yore chimley dey say an' dry it fo' nine days. Den yo' kin take dat snake powdahs whut chew git from dat snake haid, an' it supposed tuh lill yo' daid. If dey kin git it intuh coffee, food, anythin' - dat snake powdah It'll be so dry till yo' kin jis' pound it up yo' know. An' den yo' take dat poudah, an' yo' kin sprinkle it in anythin' an' dat'll kill a person.
Entry 6652
Well, dey tell me dat if a person wanta poison anothah one, jis' lak - AH RECKON DEY CALL IT WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW WHUT DEY CALL WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW EVEN WHUT DAT IS. But anyway, ah'm talkin' 'bout whut ah have heard, whut folks tell me. Say, jis' lak yo' might wanta poison a man or woman, or somebody else ah didn't lak, ah would hunt a snake, de skin offa dat snake, dey shed. Ah take dat shed an' ah would carry dat an' pound it up an' put it intuh dis an' hang dat up in de chimley where it keep warm an' hot fo' nine days. Den yo' take dat aftah yo' let it stay nine days, take it down an' yo' kin - dere'll come live thin's in it from dat shed. An' yo' take dat den an' put it in othah whiskies an' give it tuh someone an' dere come live things in 'em.
Entry 6881
A horse is tied wit a rope an' she pass ovah de rope. She's crossed. An' if anyone have any of 'er pieces dat she had befo' she got dat way, yo' see, dey kin tie nine knots in dat piece an' hang it up in a place - not tuh burn in de chimley, not tuh burn; only tuh smoke, yo' see, dataway. De child have tuh be taken from 'er by a physicianah.
(I see.)
Entry 8230
Yo' take yore pichure. Ah've heah dat yo' take yore pichure. See, jis' lak if a person didn't lak yo' or wanted tuh git chew outa de way. Yo'd take dat pichure an' go outdo's. If yo' wanted tuh, go right in yore yard at de lef' cornah, [or] de no'th cornah of yore chimley, an' dig a hole an' bury it on yore face. Bury de pichure on de face. Well, yo' see, as long as it lay on yore face, fades away, dat person will die.
Entry 8546
(Give me that parable again now. Tell me the whole thing.)
Just like I come to see you to your house and your fire hearth got a end of brick loosened somewhere. Well, I take a piece of paper and write your name down on it unknowst to yo', an' I slip your name up under that brick, and they say, your wife would leave you. (My wife would leave me and go with you?) Yes, go away. [We must remember here, that name is not enough; there is also the mental intention for woman to leave and come to you.]
(Well, is there any way, you can check that? Cross that up?)
Yes, yo' kin check that, cross it up.
(How would you do that?)
Well, the way yo' do that, yo' get yo' some parsley, and yo' tell her put: 'er underclothing wrongside out, after yo' get de parsley. Yo' put that parsley in de bottom part of her shoe an' put some garlic in de bottom part of her [other] shoe an' make her wear that. That'll check it up. [Wrongside out, parsley and garlic are well-known witchcraft deterrents.]
Entry 8548
Ah've heard that if dere's two people dat chew wanted, tuh break up, yo' kin take two names an' yo' give 'em names of each one of dem two people an' drive 'em in de back of a chimley [fireplace] an' that will separate 'em.
(In whose chimney would you put those two names?)
Yores.
Entry 8956
If they got any kind of a witness that would speak against yo', well yo' gets their name an' yo' writes it upon this beef tongue. And you kicks it around the floor and you takes it and you put it up in the chimney. You hangs it up in there and they couldn't speak against you
[at court]. [Kicking is a frequent magic act.]
Entry 8957
(What do they do with that?) They go to the slaughterhouse an' get it [a fresh tongue is required]. (What do they get?) Get a tongue, a beef tongue, yeah. And you make a fire in the ole chimley when yo' going for trial, an' burn that On the judge. Put his name there [on tongue]. An' burn that on the judge. That changes his mind.
Entry 8958
Yo' take a portion and yo' put it in each shoe.
(You mean the oil. The oil?)
Yes, yo' put it in each shoe. An' there's three oils yo' get. Yo' get this oil of muritel.
(You get what?)
Murotel, yeah. That [is] if you out, yo' understand, goin' to meet co't. If yo're not in jail, yo' can take oil of murotel and cedar oil an' labena [ver- bena]. An' yo' mix them three oils together. [First oil is surely myrtle!] (What kind? Labena?) Labena [verbena], yes sir. An' yo' bathe yoreself in it that morning before going before the judge. An' if yo' have any witness, well yo' take a beef tongue. An' yo' know the right names, yo' writes the name upon dat tongue. An' if yo' got a chimley anywhere in de house, yo' hangs dat up in there, an' your witness can't speak clearly. (Well, what do you hang that beef tongue in that chimney for? What - how do you do that?) Just take it and [first] you roll it around with your feet [it is kicked in No.8956] and hangs it up in there and smoke it.
(Oh, you smoke it! I see.)
Entry 8980
Now if yo' go before de iudge, de judge goin' to discharge yo', ac- cording to what kind of case, yo' know, yo'll have. Well, if yo' got people against yo', yo' know, an' yo' don't want to have dem part of de jury. Yo' going before de judge, like if it's a criminal case, yo' know, yo' got to have de jury. Yo' see, dey have [a panel of] 75 jurors [to select jurors from]. Well, yo' don't know what people [will be on the jury]. They don't pick out but twelve. Now, yo' don't know what twelve dey going to pick out. Dat makes yo' gotta use de whole panel. Yo' see, ah [in my work] done use 'em all.[ Well, now, de person - what jurors is against yo'. Yo' go an' get yo' a beef tongue, a fresh beef tongue. Pay odd money fo' it, not even money - 25 or 35 cents or somepin like dat. Let de money be odd money. An' yo' go an' take dat tongue an' yo' get these peoples names what is against yo', what done harm yo', don't yo' see or what yo' done harm. Yo'll take dat tongue, yo'll write de names on a piece of papah, an' yo'll write all dem jurymen's names, de dis- trict attorney.
(The whole 75 of those names?)
Yeah, just put de whole 75. Yo' have to use de 75, because outa dem yo' get twelve.
(I see. All right.)
Now, yo' get de district attorney what is de man to prosecute yo'. Yo'll get his name an' put it on dere, but not de judge in dat part. An' yo'll -git yo' dat tongue. Yo' get yo' nine needles an' nine pins. Yo'll get yo' dese people names an' yo'll put down on dere an' yo'll put dat down in de throat of dat tongue. Yo'll take dat tongue an' yo'll hang it up in de chimney. An' den aftah dat, yo'll take an' git yo' some watah an' yo'll get yo' some peppah. Yo' git yo some coarse snuff an' yo'll burn a - light a candle.
(Coarse snuff?)
Coarse snuff, dat coarse snuff; not dat in a box. An' yo'll light dat candle an' yo'll put it.in dere. Now, yo' want to come clear an' yo' want de judge to be lenient wit yo', so yo' take de judge's name. An' yo'll take de judge ame, den yo'll git yo' a block of ice, 'bout fifty pounds of ice. Yo' put it in a little pail an' yo'll sweeten it. Den yo'll light de candle, but yo'll light it straight up [the candle will be standing upl. An' den yo' see, sweeten de judge. But this othah part what yo' do, yo' take an' yo' put de candle - yo' turn 'em upside down, yo' get dat coarse snuff an' all dat, an' put in dere. Well dat make de district attorney be fightin' against dem. An' de people, what he got fo' witness, goin' to speak against yo'. Anything dey drink, perhaps dey drink whiskey. Some might drink gin or somepin like dat. Well yo'll get dat [liquor] an' yo' put dere name an' set yo' a little glass. An' put dat candle on dat [name and liquor in the glass] an' ah'll guarantee every one of 'em will go to court drunk. An' yo'll come out clear 'cause dey'll be drunk. Dey won't know what they're sayin'. They'll be lying backwards and forwards.
(What'll that ice do?)
Well, yo' see, de ice, dat's to cool, dat's fo' yore part. De ice makes yo' cool. Yo' know ice makes yo' cool. [Usually ice freezes apponent's tongue.] Well, de judge won't be fiery wit yo'. See, he'll be cool an' calm. But on dis othah side, yo' get dat snuff an' yo' put dem names in dere an' yo' get dat beef tongue. Yo' put dem things in dere an' shove dat tongue, all down in de throat, an' just hang dat tongue up an' den yo'll see. Yo'll see an' dey'll be lyin' an' dey'll be drunk. Just what dey drink, yo' set dat candle in dere [in the glass]. An' dey'll be lyin' an' dey won't say a thing against yo'. What color...just what candles you select. Don't try de black candles.
(Anything but black?)
But black candles.
(How many do you burn?)
Yo' burn - see, if dere's five people, yo' put five candles. An' if it's three, yo' put three; just accordin' to how many is against yo', yo' put dem many candles. An' den what they drink, yo' get a little glass, just what fit de candle an' put dat [liquor] in dere, an' ah'll guarantee yo' every one will be drunk.
Entry 9439
Dey git a black hen aig. Dey take it an' write some kinda - what dey want done on dere. Dey take it way late [at night] or soon in de mawnin' 'fore de sun rise, dey chuck it on yore po'ch. If dey can't git ontuh yore house, dey put it on yore po'ch, see; an' puts some kinda peppah on topa it an' busts it. Dat make yuh move. (What do you mean by getting on top of your house?) Well, dey can throw it but let it hit de fiahplace [chimney]. Makes yuh git out de house.
Entry 9954
Dey could take a frog an' put 'im in a box an' git nine goldeye needles an' bur'[ [bury] 'em am [around] a chimley or some place lak dat. An' go dere evah mawnin' about nine o'- clock, an' fuh nine mavnin's. Yo' bur' de box, den stick de needles up on top, an let it be crossed up; stick de nee- dles [crossing one another] all aroun' on top of it [box]. Yuh go dere nine panin's an' pray fuh de person tuh die. [In country districts years ago around the chimney was sometimes the toilet and a convenient place to hoodoo a person by buried object. For a remarkable example of this see the woman haunted by a buzzard.]
Entry 10463
"Put salt and pepper in yore chimley [fireplace] and keep your rooms sprinkle round in de corners, you know. That will keep them witches out." [Chim- ney or fireplace is used here because witches sometimes go up or come down the chimney. Since fireplace is the fifth point within the four corners of the room, we have here a quincunx rite.]
Entry 10717
Ah'll tell yo', whether it's a woman or man, if she leaves yo' an' yo' wanta git her back, why yo' git chew three grains of cor [maize], an' three strands of her hair, an' if dere any way yo' kin git her track, pick up yo' [your] dirt out of each one of her track - three tracks. An' yo' put dat in yore shoe, umdah yore bottom shoe [insole] whut yo' wear. Lift dat [insole] up an' put it udah dere, an' yo' wear dat. An' she'll come back. See, an' when she come back, an' den, if yo' want her tuh stay dere, yo' go an' git chew a bird nest an' yo' put some sulphur an' salt in dat bird nest an' burn it. Make yo' a little fire an' burn it in de chimley so yo' kin git de scent of it, an' she can't leave yo' no way; can't go an' leave him, de man or woman, which one wanta do it.
(Do you wear that corn in your shoe also?)
Put dat cor an' de hair an' dat sand in yore shoe.
Entry 10783
They take - you see, some people cross it [a house]. They have dif- ferent ways that they cross it. Now, they got some lady people when they living in a house, before they move, like if they living in this home here, they're sore with the landlord. (They're sore with the land- lord? All right.) The landlord wants them to move. He done give them a notice to move. They'll take and they'll take a old mop or old broom, they'll break the part off that you sweep or scrub with. They will put that into the chimley [chimney] crossways. It'll be months and Sundays before they kin rent the house. [That expression could be months of Sundays.]
Entry 11060
Dey tell me, says, if yo' wanta make dat person move out, dey tell me yo' git some stuff [soot] from up de chimley an' sprinkle it round de do' evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey'll sweep dey ownself away 'cause dey'll sweep dat dust - soot - away from de do'. (They are sweeping their own chimney away?) Yes sir.