Subject:Cinnamon
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Entry 1195
[Oil of cinnamon is usually confined to compounded ingredients.]
Now yo' go - ah go to de drug sto'. Yo' know oil of cinnamon? Ah go git dat. Dat cost a dime, oil of cinnamon - ten cents. An' ah go, ah'll git de oil of cinnamon, yo' see, an' yo' takes dat an' rub it on yore hands all de time. Well, dat will keep yo' out all de trouble in de world. [After this informant leaves I comment to Telediphone:] (End of 1250. That fellow was a fortune-teller. He didn't seem to know very much about my particular work.) [This means his unrecorded conversation lacked interest or was too diffuse. I probably appointed him an assistant contact man. For both of these See Introduction.]
Entry 1552
All right. You will take you some cinnamon powder, you will take some bluing, you will take you some Jockey Club Perfume. You.will mix that together. You will go to the market and get some parsley, you'll boil it well - after boiling it well, making a solution, putting that in their bathtub where the party bath at, leaving them bath in that tub, putting a amount of [silver] money in the water which you bath with. After that water - you bath with it, keeping it in the house overnight, 'fore day in the morning throwing it out into the street or the path wheresomever the people go to and fro. Leave them pick up that money and they will take your bad luck and you'll start off new again. [Cf. 997, p.384.]
(What will you do with that money then?)
The money that you throw out into the street?
(Oh, you throw the money out into the street?)
That's to keep them from passing by - anyone will pick up money if they practically see it in the street. Well, the solution that you see in the water, that's to wash all your bad luck off you, and the money draws it into the money, and throwing it out - well the one who picks up that, they picks up the bad luck.
(I see.) [For "the money draws it into the money," see No.1558, p.493.]
Entry 1739
Yo' use black stars an' oil of cinnamon an' oil of bergamot an' mix that together, an' rub it in mah han'. Jes' lak ah'm goin' out now an' ah wanta, ah open mah han' an' ah carry it back that way. Ah'm goin' out fo' good luck now, ah put a drop or two in mah han's heah - ah'm goin' out fo' luck. Ah put dem three things - mix 'em together.
(That is for luck in gambling?)
Yessuh.
(What is that black star?)
That's - hit's black but it's incense.
Entry 2001
It's lucky about gamblin' and business an' all. Yo' jes' git chew a bottle of Hearts Perfume an' a bottle of cinnamon oil an' mix dat together an' rub dat ovah yore han' and face. Rub that ovah yore han's and face an' undah both yore arms, an' dat's lucky for spo'tin' wimmins an' gamblin' an' all lak dat. Ah've tried dat mahself an' know it.
Entry 2459
Well, you got to get you some - if you want to scrub out door, you mean? Something to put at the door? Oil of cinnamon. You get you some [some- thing - this is mentioned later], pour in a clear bucket of water. You take that bucket of water and set it up there and do like this over it and say the Lord's Prayer [demonstrates].
(You put your right hand up to your brow.)
Yeah, right over the bucket.
(And look down into the bucket.)
That's right.
(And then say the Lord's Prayer.)
Yeah. Then you say - when you finish you say, "In the Name of the Father" - look at me [this addressed to me].
(Yes.)
"Of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
(Make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. "Amen, for luck and success." (Yes. Now, wait a minute. You have water in that bucket. What else do you use in that bucket?) Nothing but the water and the oil of cinnamon.
(Oh, all right.)
Pour it in there. Then you pray over it. And you say - the last you say, "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, for luck and success."
(While you make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. You right at your door like that, you go outside where the people coming in at and you bring it in with the broom - just have somebody washing in with the broom come in with it. Then mop all around neat with it. but alwavs bring it in the door - you bringing the luck in your door.
(I see.)
Anything you handle, whilst handling it, rub your hand in that oil of cinnamon when you go to send it off to the people. What you do for de people [customers], rub it [oil of cinnamon] on your hand, it coming back to you [in luck and money].
Entry 2464
You go to the drug store and you get some cinnamon and some oil of clover, and you get some of this yere steel dust and lodestone and you mix that together, and take some parsley and boil it down, and you mix that [all these] together and then you put that down and you sprinkle it all over your house - in the four corners of your house, you see. Sweep in inwards, don't sweep it out; sweep it inwards and then someone will rent the house.
Entry 2526
Oil of cinnamon, dragon's blood, an' den devil's-shoestring. [Three ingredients.]
(Well, now, how do you prepare those? What do you do with them?)
Yo' buys dat right out de druggist. Yo' burn 'em, burn 'em all together an' put 'em in de fo' corners of yore house - jes' same as yo' in heah now in dis house heah.
(What would that do for me then?)
Give luck - good luck an' successful.
(Bringing in customers to buy from me.)
Entry 2717
If you wants to draw them to you, you goes to the drug store and get you a dime's worth of steel dust. You get that steel dust and you get you a box of cinnamon. You can get a box of cinnamon for a nickel. After you getting the box of cinnamon, you take and get some van-van. This is supposed to be like - you mix that all together and you shakes it well. And you scrub out your place. You scrub out your place with this steel dust, van-van and cinnamon and sugar. You scrubs it out all around your place, around with that. When everybody is out you scrubs it out, and when you come in, as you come in, well, people come in and look like your business done pick up. That van-van done gives it a sweet smell.
Entry 8856
If a person gits a lettah of yores - lak if yo' are away, yo' write a lettah tuh dis person an' dey meant tuh do evil tuh yo', somepin lak dat - ah have heard people say, but ah don't care so much fo' de superstition. But dey would take yore lettah an' drop two drops of oil of cinnamon on dis lettah. An' whoevah yol was, if someone writes chew a 'nonymous lettah an' yo' wan' 'em tuh apologize wit choo, yo' bury it at de bottom of yore do'step. An' dis person would come an' if dey didn't confess tuh yo', it would be possible dat yo' would learn dat dey were de true person. But ah don't know, ah nevah tried it. Some of de things ah tell yuh ah have tried, especially concernin' de dishrag. Ah have actually tried dat.
Entry 11063
Cinnamon, fast luck, lucky oil. sugar and van-van in bottle [five ingredients] rub this mixture on hands for luck in gambling.
Entry 13393
Boil on your stove your urine, pepper, cinnamon and outside peeling of onion; this keeps undesirable persons away. [Washington, D. C., 814:1.]
Entry 1831
Fo' a gamblin' han' yo' git chew some blacksnake root an' some devil's- shoestring an' some John de Conker, an' some cinnamon, an' a van-van perfume. An' yo' git chew a piece of shammy. Yo' put dese ingredients in dere wit de silver dime, an' yo' takes dat perfume an' yo' dresses it an' yo' wears dat piece in yore pocket.
(What will that do then?)
That's supposed tuh be a gamblin' han - whut dey call it.
Entry 2053
Now, many people have used this partic'lar thing. If they have a job and - say they like it, like this job. They get 'em a piece of John de Conker root, piece of ladyfinger root, and a small piece of lode- stone. [Three ingredients.] It's not very good to use lodestone if you don't know how to use it. You use a very small piece about de size, I'd say, of a large-sized butter bean I think. You put these together with a few drops of oil of cinnamon - say about three drops. And you make of them - they call it a toby. You've heard of people saying they tote a tobu. Well. that's what they are talking about. And you carry that in your pocket - if it's a man he carries it in his pants pocket; if it's a woman she carries it somewhere on her person, where you kin always keep it. Well, every morning fo' nine mornings, drop a drop of oil of cinnamon and jest a little perfume - you see, the perfume on it jes' to rid the odor of the cinnamon. People gen'rally think when you got cinnamon, you got a toothache - it's used for somethin' like that. Well, you put that perfume on there...jes' you're using this on the job. You know people have to use this on the job to impress people. [Ladyfinger may be a variety of red pepper.]
Entry 2368
To make luck for gambling, there's quite a few articles you get to put together. Well, you get you some - get you some red flannel and you get lode- stone, steel dust, you see, and cinnamon. You put this together and a silver dime - put that in that little - put it in a little red bag, right in there. You sew it up. After you sew it up and [then] you pass it in a saucer in some luck you buy in the drug store.
(Luck?)
Yeah - it's luck, they call it. It's van-van. You put it in there and roll that in there like that. Then you present [sell] it to the person and you tell them ev'ry two or three weeks it have to be rubbed in some of this luck. That'll make 'em come to you. You'd have to get you - rub it over, you see, that luck.
Entry 2461
I would get me some cinnamon and I would get me some lump sugar and get me a spice. I would go and mix it all up together - see, grind the spice up. Take that and make a tea out of it, understand. Then I would take that tea and I would sprinkle my house, and then I would take me some water, see and I would take nine buckets of water and I would scrub my house. But I would take the Water and not throw it out the door but in the door toward my house. Then I would scrub that and I would take after I scrub my house, I would take and Sprinkle me some sugar, see, brown sugar made out of pure syrup, and sprinkle it at the bed. Well that for luck. That will bring you somebody - a tenant to rent your house.
Entry 2466
Git a codfish an' boil it. Git chew codfish an' sugah - codfish, cinnamon, sugah, bluein' an' van-van. Well, yo' boil yore codfish first an' yo' take yore watah an' yo' scrub wit chure watah. Yo' put all yore fixin's in dere an' scrub wit chure watah an' yo' take yore codfish an' put it up in a bag or somethin' an' hang it up in de place where nobody won't notice it so much - but back. Yo' know dis is de front do' an' hang
[it near] an' dat'll draw customers - any kinda business.
Entry 2467
Take codfish - you know codfish, and boil it and strain the water off, see. And you can put sugar and van-van and oil of geranium and fast luck - put those three in there and some sugar and you can use oil of cinnamon. And put that in a bottle and shake it up and just sprinkle it after you get it scrubbed out good with ammonia water. Just sprinkle it from the front to the back. That'll draw a crowd to spend money - and all with you.
(If you are a bootlegger.)
Entry 2468
Where people go in, you know, to see each other - bootlegging or some- thing like that. That what chew talking about? (That's right.) Business like that. Well, now this is something that is sold mostly in the South. Did you ever hear of Darby's fluid?
(What does it look like?)
It's blue - looks like garment blueing: It's something that is almost the same as, you might say, Zonite or - what is this other stuff we use, it's kind of like a disinfectant. You get this fluid - it looks like blueing but it's a fluid. Well, you mix a tablespoonful to a gallon of water. After you have mopped your floors, dey usually take about a quart of urine. Say now, if you dressed your house on a Monday and Fridays, you put a quart of this urine into this water. See. And you drop nine drops of oil of cinnamon in this water and when you dress your house you start at the door and never sweep out the door, because of the sill of the door coming in you see. Just get a mop just for that purpose and don't use it for anything else. Put a half cup of sugar in dis and get it well dissolved in this same water and you just mop your house from de front clean on back to the back. And when you have done that and it is well dried, you wanta be careful don't let anyone to come in your house before that time and you wanta do that before six clock in morning. At six 'clock you get de contents of a five-cent box of sulphur. Mix a teacup of sugar in dis sulphur and measure it out in exactly how many rooms you have. Say now, you might have five rooms or you might have seven. You divide this as near equal as possible with this sugar an' sulphur. You put it on a little tin pan. You don't have to buy a pan, you can get the top of a tin bucket of some kind - just since it's clear and bright. An' put a little of that ~ jest the same as you would a candle - stick it together an' let that burn, an' don't open your house up until this have burned. Befo' three hours time your house will be so crowded you can't hardly stay in it your- self. Now, that is a fact, too.
(You make as many piles as you have rooms.)
That's right. Now that is one thing I can substantiate. I tell you how I know about that. [During a pause she told me she had formerly lived in Cincinnati. I said I also had once lived there.] I used to live right down from Mound Street across from dat undertaker - had dat big house at 714 and times were very good at that time and people were paying pretty good money for rent. But it seems that - I had nice rooms and all, but it was just so hard for me to get people to come in and pay me. They would come in and pay the first, or they would come in and give me half of it and say, "Well, I'm sorry but I haven't got it all." Well, ah wouldn't want to put them out, you know. So I was telling a friend of mine about it. She said, "Well, I will come down and see what I kin do for you." She came down and fixed my house up like that - burned de stuff in de house, and she told me to do that every Monday and Friday. After that I just had so much trade. I tried it several times since then in different places and I found it to be true. It will absolutely do that - I found it to be a fact.
Entry 2509
Take some cinnamon bark - now, that's what they told me. Take you some cinnamon bark, holy water, and this Lucky Dog Perfume, wintergreen, devil-shoe- string and makes - boil that, mix it all together you understand. Mix all that together and every morning 'fore anybody come in there. You understand what I mean? You take that and you wash your place out. See. Start to washing it from right on into the back. And that make that - that'll draw the people in there. See. I guarantee you.
Entry 2513
You get this policeman's name and after you get this policeman's name, you get you some - it's called this here java water. But you got to go to Palmer's drug store down here and get it. And get this java water and you get you some, some pure holy water, JAVA WATER only you got to go on Friday and get that kind. That's to keep the law from your door.
(Where do you get that [pure] holy water?)
You have to go on Friday to the church. Then, after you go to the church, be sure and ask the priest or some other be sure to bless that holy water. Well, after you get this here java water from the drug store, you mix that with that holy water and with that essence of cinnamon and then you get that policeman's name and then you write ii - not no nine times, you write hit 15 times. And you take that policeman's name ard you ball right up into that, into that water and you sop that water up, and you take that Water and you hang it in - right behind your bed, and that policeman ain't coming nowhere around that house. Nowhere around he come.
Entry 2523
To have good luck with a boss for a job, yo' always use that sugar - 'vapored [evaporated = refined] sugar [don't use brown sugar on a white boss] - use your sulphur, sprinkle that in your pocket with your sugar. Yo' take your cinnamon bark - you put that in your pocket. All right, any time you go to speak to him, he's always willing [to speak to you]. [Another method.] You take his name and you write it three times - you lay it out on a piece of plain paper and you fold that to you. Don't never fold nothing from you if you want it to be close to you. If you running a place of business and you don't want the laws to bother you. You go to - like a blacksmith shop - like a - you know where they shoe horses at. You walk in there and you ask the man for a couple of [two] horseshoe nails, and he'll give 'em to you. Understand. But don't you take 'em, but you pay 'im for them. You understand. Now, in this you Wanta be lucky - you know, something like you running a place and you wanta have good luck at your place. You take them there [two nails] and you get you - buy you a pink ribbon - a little narrow pink ribbon, and you take them nails and you cross em like a cross, and you wrap that ribbon around 'em and hang it up over your front door where everyone comes in, comes in under that. And you always - when anyone comes, you going to have plenty, plenty, plenty trade. And they ain't going to bother looking. This man that give you them nails, now, when you offer to pay 'em for them, he don't want it, but you give him a nickel or dime or something for them nails any- how. He going to tell you, "Ah, they ain't worth nothing - take plenty." But you always hand him a nickel or dime, so you really having to buy 'em, you under- stand. And lay it down there for him. See. Course, if he just give 'em to you and you don't give him nuthin, they ain't any good to you. Anything that you can get - fust walk out and get it for nothing - that's no trouble for you to get, and you don't know how it come, then it s no benefit to you. Anything that you have trouble to get, why it's a benefit to you. You want to take care of it, you see.
(The law?)
You take the law's name - see, just like that law what you know is bad about raiding or something, you take his name and you write it nine times and fold it to you, you see. You fold it up and you wear it in your shoe. You take them horseshoe nails - them two nails that I told you - and cross 'em and put 'em up over your door. If he comes there, he ain't going to bother you. If any other law comes in town, he'll always know it, so he'll notify you or somebody - see, you ain't got no graft or nuthin to pay. Keep the graft and all out of your way.
Entry 2563
Like this [business] burns [flourishes] here and that one over there [burns] - well, if that burns out and the trade here - he ain't got no trade here. And I'll tell you I always seen it did, and I've did it myself during Prohibition. I'd scrub my place out - you see, sweep it out good. and scrub it. But as I said before [in another statement], I'd sweep in all the time, though - never sweep out. Sweep in. When you sweep, you take and get you nine buckets of water. You get you a box of lye, get a bottle of ammonia - get you a bottle of ammonia and a box of lye and use nine buckets of water. You put your lye - you take lye and you sprinkle it all around your floor first. See. You throw a bucket of water to your right, one to your left, but always throw it inside. Stand at your door and throw your water. Don't never let your water go out your door - throw that in your door, see. And when you starts scrubbing your place, you scrub to the back. Start right at the front of your door but be backing up all the time. Don't never walk - back up, see. As you scrubbin', back up. When you start sweepin', then you face your place - going in all the time, but don't use over nine buckets of water. And after you scrub your place good and you get it dried out, you puts you some cinnamon and sugar down. You get you - I think it costs ten or fifteen cents for a box of it, you get you some of that incense and you light that and you burn that in your place. Now, after you got all the inside of your place straightened out and scrubbed clean, you come to your banquette [sidewalk]. You get on the outside and you use nine more buckets of water on the outside. Now, vou sweep both ways there. All the time sweep to your door, you see. You sweep thisaway [to the right], you sweep to your door; you sweep thisaway [to the left], you sweep to your door. See. Now, sweep your water to your door - don't sweep it in the place, but sweep it to your door and let it run down to the ditch itself. And then you sprinkle your cinnamon and your sugar again. See. But you sprinkle it to your door and throw it from your door - throw it in, see. Well, that make that trade come across over there to here. And that'll make - you'll get all the business over here. And, if you see where you can't do no good there, just go over there and sprinkle you some salt after you done scrubbed your place - but you have to pay somebody [to do it]. Get them to go over there and throw some salt down, and it'll cause a big row over there. See, when they start to rumpus over there, everybody will run over here to this place here.
Entry 2571
The seed of paradise. [See margin-title Paradise Seed.] Then you kin get codfish balls. That's what you get - dried codfish, that's right dried cod- fish. You put the seed of paradise and the codfish tdgether and that fast luck together, cinnamon and sugar. And yoù must get 15c of sugar, you must get 15c of codfish, and you - everything you buy you must get 15c. And you boil that. Then you take - you must scrub before six o'clock in the morning. What I mean by six, I don't mean that you go at three o'clock in the morning. I mean two or three minutes before six - and the bell be ringing, you be scrubbing there.
(I see.)
And you scrub and go out of your door. You take and you get you some whole grain rice and take and be walking there throwing, throwing it there any place like - in all four of your corners.
(How do you throw that rice?)
Just take it in your hand [demonstrates].
(Yes?)
You sprinkle it on the sidewalk and when you be coming in, you walks along - Walk backwards like this, and then you walks over in this corner and you take it and throw it over your left shoulder.
(You throw it over your left shoulder. Yes?)
And go in this corner and you throw it over this left shoulder, and throw it here over your left shoulder.
(You throw it in all four corners. I see.)
That's right. And once in a while - you know when you be cleaning up some of it going to come out, but you make sure the first morning, and the next morning put some more there.
(I see. What did you say about when you do this?)
It must be done before six o'clock in morning when some of the bells ring.
(All right. What then? When? What day?)
What day that must be done? On the first Monday in the month.
Entry 2577
I tell you what you get. You get this yere - you get - you get some - you see that red, pure red, red brick. You got to go to the drug store to get that. It's powdered brick. Well, you get that pure red, red brick. (That's called redding?) Yeah. (All right.) You get that pure, red, red brick. You get you a bottle of essence of cinnamon from - from Crackerjack Drug Store. After you get that essence of cinnamon, you turn round and you get you a box of love powder and you. mix that with that, and you gets this here - what do they call that stuff? There's another powder you get too. It's van-van.
(Is it a powder?)
No, it's a liquid. Van-van is a liquid. You mix that together and you take nine buckets of water and you wash that place where your place of business at. And when you wash that place of business wash it with nine buckets of water, and then after you wash that place with nine buckets of water, don't say nothing to nobody when you wash that - don't even tell nobody good morning atall when you washing that place, and it going to smell very nice when you wash it, and people going just pouring in.
(You put this mixture in the water?)
In the water and wash it - wash that place with that. [See Red Brick Powder, p.470.]
Entry 2670
There's diff'rent kinds of perfume that you can get to wear on you and if you - it's the Three Jacks and the Three Kings and Jack of Clubs. You go to the drug store and you get two bits [25c] of that and have it mixed all together. Don't wear it on your clothes. If you go into a clubroom and sit down to gamble, you'll always have it handy where nobody kin detect you puttin' some on the floor in the clubroom. And then you take this incense, luck incense, you know, and a shoe, a old shoe, if you got a clubroom and you want your clubroom to be - to bring money and to bring plenty people there to gamble to make money. You scrub your place out just as I told you and use those nine buckets of water. And you put that old shoe with some sugar and cinnamon and burn that incense in there. Close the house up and that's luck for gambling. No, don't use lye here - just the nine buckets of water - clear water - and burn the old shoe. Let the last bucket, the ninth bucket be with sugar in it.
(You can do that for bootlegging too?)
Yeah, because I bootlegged several years. Sure.
Entry 2676
Well, you could take - you go to the grocery store. You buy you a two- pound box of sugar. You get you a five-cents can of cinnamon. Now, before you start to scrubbing in this house, you sweep this home. Don't ever sweep the dirt out; you sweep the dirt in. And after you pick up the dirt and throw it into the garbage can, then you take this cinnamon and sugar and you burn it. See, you gotta use it three ways. You must burn and you must sprinkle it on your floor [and scrub with it?], and in the next two or three days this house gotta be rented.
(You burn that sugar and the cinnamon - you burn it, don't you?)
You burn it.
(Then what do you do?)
After you burn it?
(Yes.)
Then you scrub this place. You see, you got this into a little powder or something like that, but it must be burned with white paper - not newspaper or no brown paper, or no other kind of paper.
(Well...after that's burned...what do you do with that?)
The powder, the paper that's left? You kin always throw that out, you don't have any special use [for it].
(Now, wait - just a minute.)
That cinnamon and sugar?
(Yes.)
Well, you don't have to do anything with it partic'larly - you know what I mean. You just - after you finish burning it, then you kin throw that right into the garbage can, too. And after you finish, then you turn your mop upside down right at the door, as you going out.
(Well...you haven't done any mopping yet. When you going to do the mopping?)
Well, I told you, you mop already.
(Oh, you mop first?)
Yes. You mop first. You see, you get you a - you got to mop this place - get you a bottle of ammonia, bottle of blueing, see. And then you get - you go to any drug store and you get you some Logger's Oil or Miner's Oil, or any of those oils, you understand, to scrub with. See, that's to rent the place. See, that's to rent the place.
(Well...do you scrub...before you burn the sugar or after?)
You have to scrub before you burn the sugar, you see. You see, the place is thoroughly clean. (Oh, I see. And what kind of oil? Any kind of oil. All right. Burn the sugar and cinnamon, don't you?) That's right.
(Then after you burn that, you throw it out?)
Yes, sir.
(Then you get this oil and stuff and scrub the place?)
Yes, sir.
(Then you set your mop behind the door upside down?)
That's right - mop and broom.
(And broom. And then you rent your house?)
Yes, sir.
(All right. I want to get those things in the right order.)
[I was trying to solve the problem of using sugar and cinnamon informant's three ways.] That's right.
Entry 2698
You can take cinnamon and sugar and clear water and oil of verbena. See, like this is your front - well you start ascrubbing from the front, back in but not out. See, and sweep it back in. You see. Then you get what you call dragon's powder [dragon's blood]. See. You smoke the four corners up with that. [See margin-title Smoke 'em, p.723; also Incense, p.700.] Natch'ly you'll be successful in a business.
Entry 2755
(Do the people over there have altars?)
Yes, they still got altars over there, yes sir. (How do they handle that? Supposing I'd go over to see one, what would they have me do? I wonder what would be the ceremony they'd go through?) Well now, you see, as you go in, the altar is setting just like this here [points] vanity [bureau] there - yes, sir. The altar is setting there. Well, it's always, the candles are always lit, you see, with saints all around it. It always stays lit night and day. See, you go in there, probably you put a nickel in the box and you light you a candle, if it's a penny even, you can put that in there and you light a candle. You get down on your knees and you prays. And whatsoever prayer you want and whatsomever you pray for or want done, you pray to the saint that you know would help you, understand. You get there and you pray to that saint. Now and then the mother of that church, she would come to you - see, she would talk to you and she would give you information. She would pray for you, and probably she may give you a medal. She'd bless the medal and everything - well, pray over it rather and give it to you. Then, she would tell you just what to do and how to do it. See, she liable to tell you, say, "Well, when you go back over to the New Orleans side," say, "you go to the Crackerjack Drug Store," and she say, "you go and get you some goat- weed." She say, "You get some goatweed and you go out in the woods - if you can get to the woods, if you know how. You go out in the woods and you get some banana leaves." You see. "But get the root of the banana tree, rather - get the root of that," she says, "and you come back and you bring it chere to me, but bring it back in nine days." She say, "Let it be dry when you bring it back." Well, you bring it back to her and she will fix that for you. Well now, when she fix it, she liable to tell you, she say, "I want $100 for it." You pay it to her because you wants something done for yourself. She going to use sugar with it, she is going to use cinnamon with that stuff. She gotta take and sprinkle vine- gar onto it and all that - cook all that together - take a red onion and cook all that together. Make one thing out of it. When she get through with it - it will be just about that much stuff when she finish. She tell you, now, put it in a sack or anything and put that in your pocket and go ahead on. And you have the luck and success in anything you undertake to do. (What do they call these people that do that sort of thing? What would you call her?) Well, we call 'em just by name - some people call 'em the hoodoos - some call 'em spirituals - some call 'em - ah forget the other name they call 'em - but we call 'em all kind of names - fortunetellers and all such things as that, you see.
(Well, does she wear a robe or dress up in any particular way?)
They generally wears a gown, yes sir - you know, a big white gown. Some of 'em be - have a black gown, you know. We call 'em gowns. They look more like gowns than they is robes - and tassel and all around - just in order - just on the order of a priest, you see.
Entry 2770
An' then der'e's somethin' else dat chew kin do if you wanta move 'em from dere - to make trouble fo' dem - is dis. You git their name, you under- stan', an' de lan'lord's name, an' you write it back- wards nine times. You understan' dat. (You write this person's name - that is in the house - you write his name backwards nine times. And you get the landlord's name and write his name backwards nine times.) On top. An' then you say, you do it this way, "Son-of-bitch, ah want chew tuh vacate" - whichevah way it is. You understan', you git very angry. You don't have the good spirit with you, you'd have the mean one with you. All right. Well, you do that nine times an' you git double-strength war watah - double- strength war watah you understan', an' you git wal-wal powder. [For War Water, see p.663.] You understan' dat. You git cayenne red peppah, an' you git black peppah, but it has tuh all be fresh. You git Epsom salts an' you git soda. An' den you put these ingrediments into a bottle, de amount dat chew kin git it into, an' remember wit dat yo're not pleased, lak you talkin' to me, listenin' an' shakin' - yo're very angry, you see. You want them tuh git out an' you tell 'em that they must, an' the whole while dat chure doin' that you concentrate wit that mean spirit that chew want them tuh git out. Then you mix the ingrediments to- gether an' you shake it an' you say the same thing an' as often as you shake it, an' you tell 'em, "You must go, you shall an' you must," an' you stomp, an' den you roll it [bottle] an' you put it down. You roll it down [under your foot]. Dat puts 'em undah yore feet, you see. An' if yo evah work wit lights, yo' work wit lights.
(What do you do with this bottle now?)
Yo' keep dis bottle, yo' understand. Yo' see, yo' shake it as often as yo' kin an' den yo' use lights if yo' want 'em tuh go quick, if yo' evah use lights. You wash yore han's. Dat's devil work you doin'. All right. You see, you understan'.
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then?)
Listen, if you kin git anywheres tuh throw it - you git chureself some rattle- snake dust. You know whut that is - rattlesnake dust. Graveyard dirt, you know whut dat is. An' you mix it in dat ingrediment, you understan', an' you sprinkle it with that cayenne peppah, an' at de same time you throw it, 'Son-of-bitch, yo must vacate." But throw it wit a mean spirit. An' if you kin git aroun', you keep it sprinkle. An' dat wal-wal powder is shure tuh make 'em move, as ah set in dis chair. Yo' see. (After you get all these things in this bottle, you throw the bottle at their house?) No, nol You don't throw that bottle at their house, you keep that bottle. No, nol You kin bury that bottle, if you wanta. Co'se it'll take a little time. You kin hasten it if yo've got a place dat chew kin burn dese lights. But be shure that chew don't burn the lights in yore home. You know dat's de devil, don't chew? You know each one of the ingrediment don't mean anything good. All right. Now, if you wanta use the light - if you would wanta use the light, you go to de graveyard. All right. You gits de graveyard dirt, a lump. Understan' dat. You gits de Epsom salts. Yo' gits de cayenne peppah. Yo' git the black peppah. You git the salt. Yo' understan' that. You git chureself St. Michael - yo' understan', his picture. An' de red lights. You write dere name de same way in puttin' dat down. You understan'. You use the nine lights, you know whut time tuh use it - at midnight, while de spirit is 'sleep, you ketch it, an' you do it for nine, an' then you repeats, you see, until it do. But it guaranteed tuh do it. See.
(You burn this thing in front of St. Michael's picture?)
Listen. Take St. Michael's picture an' you put it in de east corner an' call it, you understan'. An' you put chure light down but don't put it out underneath dere. He'll do yore work quicker, you understan'. An' yo'll keep him there an' yo'll burn it fo' twelve - you understan', every half hour. You see. An' you wanta draw him? All right. You git chew parchment papah. You under- stan' dat you please - you see, you want a sweet spirit [therefore you use parch- ment paper]. One, two, three (knocking). [Parenthesis is by transcriber because 3 knocks can be heard.j You call him. He'll come. He's lookin'. "Why did joo leave her? Whut did she do? Why don't chew come back?" [You knock for the spirit again.] One, two, three. He's lookin' agin, an' you tell him, "Now, ah Wants you James, tuh come back to me, Louella. James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella." Yo' continue an' yo' knock. Well now, you got his spirit to yo' into that house, fo' with papah yo' write on goin' dat way, yo' have goodness into you, an' while you writin' his name you tell him, "Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella." Whatevah name that is. See? Now, you git chew nine lumps of sugah - you know dat lump sugah. All right, you git chure money. All right, yo' git chure drawin' oil. All right, yo' git chure mind on him an' yo' git chew steel dust. You understan' dat. You git chew pink lights, cinnamon - you work wit pink. First you use yore lights. Dat is to make peace. Now, maybe he's all you have left in de worl'. Den, you understan', dat white [not pink] light is fo' peace. Den yo' use yore pink. Yo' understan'. Well, ah mostly use mine an' git results through de Sacred Heart of Jesus. He first united you together an' you use Him as a patron saint an' ask Him. Den you take St. Anthony an' you give him de brown lights, an' he brings him back. Den there's anothah remedy you wanta have. Co'se ah dunno if you would wanta give it tuh her. You know whut ah mean. You would like tuh keep it or you could give it to her, you see, tuh make money, because when dey git wise to yore reme- dies, yo cain't do anything. You git chew a choice apple, you understan' whut that is, an' you do de same thing. You know de remedies dat ah tole you into this, an' you put it into that apple, an' de same way yo'll dress that apple - you really dresses it. You kin git holy water an' you bless it wit chure Our Father ovah it. Den you wipe it [apple] with yore holy watah an' you cores dat apple an' you use the names an' you talk to him while yo're doin' it. Den yo' put the ingrediments - de same - you remembah de same ingrediments dat ah tole you dat chew do. An' you want him tuh reason with her in dis remedy an' you take nine raisins [because the English word raisin looks and sounds something like French word raison meaning reason]. You know whut that is, an' you put it into that. Well, you put that ingrediment in there - all de ingrediments dat ah told you to. An' you git chew first a white light, an' you light 'em into that. An' den you burn one pink light an' in burnin' it you put his name on each one of the pink lights an' hers on de top. Yo' first wipe it [apple] off undah yore faucet. Yo' don't know whut han' an' yo' don't know whut crossin' has been on it, an' yo wipe it dry an' yo' bless it wit chure holy watah. Den you take an' shet it up an' you stan' it up an' you wipe that off on a clean piece of papah, but you use parchment papah with their names. Yo' understan' that. An' yo' dress it - you dress it with that mind oil - dat's to keep his mind to 'em. An' dat dryin' oil, you put that on dere. You see, when you dressin' that mind oil, you put that steel dust - everything is tuh draw him. An' yo'll burn [one candle] one time into de apple. When that one light - that's the name on de light, it isn't lak ah told chew. Then you shet chure apple up, an' if it's de 23rd of that, you dress it every 23rd an' it don't bring him dere, he won't be brought back. Ah'm tellin' yo' remedies that ah used an' that have helped an' de lady dat recommend me, know that these things are really good because ah have been with her an' he'ped her in some things.
Entry 3038
Well, it's according - you can burn a pink one, you can burn a yellow one, you can burn a white one, for luck.
(Well, how do you burn those various candles?)
Now, you take - say for 'n'instance like when I was on my truck. I had a truck. I used to get me those yellow candles, you see. Either yellow or white will do. I get my candle and I'd light my candle in the mornings 'fore seven o'clock. I used to go to church for them. And 'fore seven o'clock I'm got my candle, I'd light my candle on my truck. I wouldn't got out of my truck. I'd burn the candle and whilst burning my candle, I'd use cinnamon and sugar. I'd burn that in my truck. I'd put that in the candle and I'd burn that in mv truck. I had St. Peter and I had St. Joseph. I'd light my candles to them and I'd pray to them.
(In your house?)
No sir, on my truck.
(Oh, you did this in the truck?)
In the street, no house at all - in the street, anywheres in the street, when the time comes. I would burn that. That was for my luck. All right. Twelve O'clock, I'd burn it - burn my candle again at three o'clock and during that day I never had a misfortune at all. During that day I made - if it wasn't but five or six dollars, I made that.
Entry 4220
chamber lye is fo' success. Dey put it in de watah dat chew mop yuh flo's wit. Put chamber lye an' put sugah in de watah an' oil of cinnamon, an scrub yuh flo's. Start at chure front do' an' scrub on back in de house. Scrub yuh do' facin's an' all, wash 'em down. If yuh got varnish do's an' yuh cain't scrub 'em, why yuh jis' sprinkle 'em; but yuh scrub yuh flo's wit it, mop 'em yuh know lak dat.
Entry 4281
Well, a lot of instan' [instances], like yuh's a man would have a wife, or she would have a husband, an' he would urinate yuh see. Now, if he spit in dere, it prakly [practically] kills it. If he don't, she takes dat an' she puts it in de bottle, nine pins an' nine needles, see, an' stops it up tight wit some cinnamon powdah, put it right where he passes at. By judge yuh can't git 'em apart regardless how she treat 'im.
(You mean she puts it where he can walk over it or under it?)
To walk ovah, like it be's a step tuh go upstairs, jis' put it right undah de step where he passes ovah.
Entry 8589
Yo' can draw a man to yo'. Like a woman an' her husban' is broke up, an' another woman done cause 'em to break up, see. Well, jest like yo' take an' bury his sock, well yo' take an' write his name nine times an' put dat cinnamon, sugar an' steel dust, an' dat white rum, an' put it into a lamp. An' put dat lamp in de corner of her house. An she knock fo' three times, every day see, fo' nine days, because he return dat ninth day. Dat sock belong wit it. Yo' know, yo' do dat wit it. Dat goes along wit dat.
Entry 8605
Now wit chure hair, lak if yo' an' yore ole man's tuhgethah an' if some woman is tryin' tuh bust yo' up from 'im, yo' kin take some of his hair an' put it in a lamp. An' yo' kin write this woman's name an' his name on a piece of papah an' fold it tuh yo', an' put it in dat lamp an' burn it fo' nine mawnin's. An' aftah de ninth mawnin', yo know, put de lamp out. An' den yo' 'noint chure room wit oil of [verbena probably]. Hearts Co- logne, an' scrub roun' yore flo' wit some urinate, sugah an' a li'le cinnamon. An' dat breaks dat [affair] up.
(You put his hair in this lamp?)
Yo' put his hair in de lamp an' yo' write dis woman's name who he's goin' with. Write her name crossways [this is crossing them up] an' bring his'n - yo' know write hers down first an' den bring his'n cross. An' yo' put it in a lamp an' burn off it fo' nine mawnin's. [A great many scrubbing rites are scattered through Hoodoo. That oil, instead of verbena, could be a word I eventually dis- covered was oil of Bergamot, this last word appearing in a variety of forms: bergamine, Essense instead of oil might have helped the decipherment.]
Entry 8979
(In this court case now.)
Now, if yo' got a case an' yo' know it's a bad case, well yo' go tuh de market an' git chew a beef tongue, an' aftah yo' git dat subpoenee. Den yo' git de iudge name an' yo' git chure witness name whut ag'inst yo'. An' yo' write all dat down on dat same subpoenee whut de judge name on it. Yo' git chew hot peppah tuh ketch 'em an' yo' put dat in yore lamp. Yo' burn dat until yo' go tuh co't., 'Fo' [before] yo' go yo' turn de chairs, mattress, bed, every- thing, upside down. De shoe, dat left-foot shoe, turn it upside down, whut chew ain't been wearin' fo' quite a while - turn dat upside down. An' yo' git chew a pink candle, a St. Raymond candle [St. Raymond's candle more likely to be green - see No.3042-3051, Pp.877-880] dat a pink candle. An' yo' leave somebody at de house an' dey'll burn it tuh keep it from ketchin' de house [afire] or anything. Yo' git dere an' yo' git chew some cinnamon, some ground cinnamon an' de brown sugah; an' yo' only have tuh have dat much in yore han', as yo' goin' up when de judge call yo'. Jis' have it lak dat an' jis' sprinkle it an' go ahead on up, sprinkle it aroun'. Den aftah evahthing is ovah, yo' come back an' yo' git dat tongue.
(After the case is all over?)
Aftah de case is all ovah, yo' come back an' git dat tongue an' yo' put it down in de ground an' yo' leave it stay in de ground three days. An' aftah dem three days, yo'll take it up an' let it stay up, a day an' a night, on top of de ground. Den yo' take it an' carry it tuh de graveyard an' bury it if yo' yanta. If not, yo' kin carry it tuh de rivah. BUT DE CASE IS OUT. IT'LL NEVAH BE CALL UP ANY MO' ON DIS SIDE OF JUDGMENT [DAY].
(Now, how is that pink candle burned while I am down at the court?)
Well, yo' have tuh have somebody dere tuh burn it all day - all day.
(Where is that tongue all this time? Where is that tongue?)
De tongue gonna be at de house in de smoke, in de smoke an' de needles - in de smoke of wood, papah, anything yo' kin keep it a-burnin' wit, until yo' git back.
(You keep it smoking and the candle is on a table burning?)
Well, de candle is jis' as good as de tongue. Let me tell yo' dat right now.
(Wait a minute! Are we using both the candle and the tongue or what?)
Yo' kin use both, both of 'em.
Entry 9160
Now, if you have to go before the judge, ah tell you what you do. Be fore you go away from your house, you take the chairs and you stand them upside down in the house, every one of them. Don't leave nary a one standing up like the one ah'm settin' in. Turn dem all upside down. An' yo' get yo' some sugah an' cin- namon an' holy oil, that's what you call virgin oil. Yo' get dat from certain drug stores. Yo' can't get it from everywhere. But wherever de place dat yo' can find it, yo' get dat virgin oil, and cinnamon and sugar and yo' mix all dat tuhgethah, don't yo' know. An' put it in some watah an' wash yore face an' hands good - just wash yore face an' hands. Wash all back of yore neck an' ears an' Wash on yore arms. An' turn those chairs upside down before yo' leave home. An' he will really dismiss it.
Entry 2722
For bootlegging or something like that, well you use cinnamon, rain water, or any water from any river.
(What do you do now?)
Get clear rain water and van-van - a oil you get from the drug store, they calls Van-van. You put three drops in there.
(In this rain water?)
Yes sir. And then scrub the place before the sun rise. You scrub it all round before the sun, but always scrub it coming in, not going out - see. And the law won't even trouble you, from my understandin'.
Entry 2723
Well, you have to take and - just like you scrub, you have to keep scrubbed up all the time. Then you take and write his name. You got to get the officer's on the beat, see, and write his name nine times. Put it into a bucket of water. You gotta throw - you throw eight buckets of water and scrub with that cinnamon and stuff, and then after that last bucket of water you have with his name, and talking to five people, and throw it in front of the door and that washes him away. (I see. Well, now, what do you put in those nine buckets of water? What solution do you put in that water, now?) The same things - cinnamon, steel dust, van-van, fast luck and white rum.
(White what?)
White rum.
(Is it liquor? The liquor rum?)
Well, it's rum. You can get that from the drug store. It's the white rum. I always bought it at the drug store.
(Is it [something]?)
It's licris [liquid]. Use that for drawing - it's for drawing [customers?].
(White rum?)
White rum.
(How do you spell that?)
R-O-N-E.
(It's made from sugar? Is that the liquor that's made from sugar cane?)
I don't know.
[He means white rum. White rum is used in candle rites later.]
(Eight buckets with this mixture - this water - and then you tear this offi- cer's name out and put it into?) Into that last bucket.
(Into the last bucket.)
[Talking to five people? After the eighth bucket, operator had to speak - good morning or something - to five persons passing by or within speaking dis- tance. If five were unavailable within reasonable time, an experienced operator would name five persons and pretend-talk to them. You tear this officer's name out? This can only mean the informant - either in a previous rite or while machine was turned off - pretended to write a name in an imaginary paper tablet and to tear out the sheet. Did my small Numbers Book with spiral binding in front of me suggest the idea?]
Entry 2724
[The preceding informant gives a similar rite as follows:]
Well, just you scrubs it. You gets van-van, steel dust, cinnamon, fast luck and scrub your house from front to back. Start at the front door and then you take and pour nine buckets of water and blueing, and throw that nine buckets of Water in front of your door, and that's to draw in a crowd.
(Either for bootlegging or [men for] women?)
Anything. It the same thing.
Entry 328
Well, ah've heard of de black cat. Yo' take dat black cat - ah've heard of dis. Yo' take him whilst he's 'live, take him an' boil him. Ketch him an' put him in hot watah an' boil him. An' yo' take dat watah an' let it cook down an' yo' take an' mix it wit sugah an' oil of bergamot an' oil of cinnamon. Aftah yo' git dat lucky bone - ah'll tell yo' dis first. Yo' take that an' have yo' a pan of watah, aftah yo boil him all tuh pieces. Den yo' take an' put it all in dat watah an' dat lucky bone will stay on top an' de others will go to de bottom. Yo' take dat bone out an' den yo' kin go by polices or anybody else. Yo' take that black cat bone an put it ovah yore do', up ovah yore do', or either undah yore step: De polices ain't comin' no further den dat. Dat's de way yo' got'a git dat bone.
(After you boiled that black cat, what do you do?)
Take an' mop yo' flo' with it [demonstrates while I comment]. (After you put that black cat bone over your door, then you use this black cat water and this oil of bergamot, that's to mop with.) With the sugah an' the concentrated lye. Put a teaspoonful dat concentrated lye in dat watah an' yo' mop yore po'ch early in de mawnin' befo' sunup. Dat keeps de police away an' draws de luck to yore house. [This is one of many ways to bring in customers - see Scrubbing and Mopping in Index.]
Entry 1491
If someone tryin' tuh harm yo' an' dey sprinkle somethin' down, yo' take yo' some saltpeter an' put it in de bottom of yore shoe an' some Epsom salts an' some sugah an' some cinnamon, an' yo' kin walk ovah it.
Entry 1741
You have to have black pepper and salt - see, black pepper and salt, and any time a man have a toby or anything of the kind that way he have to be very careful, and if it isn't charged up with the right material, it don't do him any good. For instance, he'll put the fifteen cents, which represent money - silver dime and nickel in the toby. He'll put nine needles and nine pins. He will use some cinnamon powder in there with Cashmere Bouquet perfume to 'noint it with. See, writing his name and diff'rent names, the players' names that he plays with, on parchment paper - the sure enough one. They have the imitation and they have the sure enough parchment paper - it's kind of imitate [imitation] of sheepskin - having the name on the parchment paper, putting it in the toby and wearing it in their right pocket. Now, you got steel dust in there, you have a certain amount of lodestone. Now, whensomever anything going to happen in there - like a fight or any killing thataway, you will take a fearful feeling: That's time for you to leave. If any cutting or anything, any blood is drawn around in there near that it don't work any more.
(It kills the toby?)
Yeah, if any blood is drawn, you see. Any blood is drawn, you understand, it will have to be renewed again.
(I understand.)
So that's why any time anything is happening around thataway, you always have a fear feeling, you leaves out. See. And the same as a battery or anything of the kind, after a certain amount of time, you have to recharge it again, because it don't holds up - it goes away the same as a battery on a automobile. [The preceding fifteen cents is the magic of odd number - see margin-title Money - Uneven.]
Entry 1814
Yo' kin sew it yo' see, aftah it's petrified - yo' kin sew it in a rag.
(This bone from the dead person?)
Yes, an' dress it ovah wit whiskey an' oil of cinnamon an' yo' be lucky fo' anything that chew be's trying tuh run.
Entry 2157
One I lived with about six years - the first girl I lived with - she had my name writ all kind of ways, and cinnamon and sugar wearing in the bottom of her shoe. That's for peace.
(How do you mean she had your name written all kinds of ways?)
She had it seven diff'rent ways, cause I looked at seven diff'rent ways - Thomas Keeler, Thomas Keeler, Thomas Keeler, Thomas Keeler - just cross, cross. And had cinnamon and sugar wearing in the bottom of her shoes. When I found it I was just setting on the side of the bed, you know, and I picked up her shoe. I and her used to fight quite a whole lot.
Entry 2315
De graveyard dirt by itself is not no good, but it's a certain time yo' gotta go git de graveyard, de dirt from de graveyard. One minute aftah twelve yo' supposed tuh be dere tuh git it from a fren' dat yo' an' him been long nice good - yo' an' him been good, see jes' lak a fren'. Yo' swap money wit him - could handle money wit him or somepin lak dat. One minute aftah twelve on de dot, yo call him by dey name when yo' go down dere by de graveyard, one minute aftah twelve. Say, "Joe, Jim, '' say, "come heah, ah want some luck from yo'. Ah wanta git a little de dirt." An' don't git de dirt right off de top of de groun'. Git it from as close by de casket [coffin], if de casket ain't rotted up, but it's bettah if yo' could git it right out it if de casket done been long 'nuff fo' it tuh done rotten. An' yo' take it an' mix it wit steel dust an' take yo' a silver dime - dat graveyard dust, de silver dime an' take yo' a piece of red flannen, an' git chew some oil of cinnamon an' mix wit dat an' make yo' a little bag an' wear it on yore left side. Dat's luck. Put de steel dust down in dere wit de silver dime, put it down in dere wit it an' wear dat on yore left side. Dat's luck fo' gamblin'. Success. But it's dangerous! Lightnin'! De dust, it draws. De steel dust is de same as lodestone, yo' know, it's always dangerous. Be sho' tuh take it off yo' in de case of thunder or lightnin' storm. Yo' should take it off yo'.
Entry 2374
Ah tell you what you can do. Yo' kin take some salt an' black pepper and some cinnamon and some cloves; an' yo' go to de drug store, yo' kin git chew some war water. (What's that?) It's water in a little bottle about that size, about that high. Yo' pay ten cents fo' it.
(War water. What do you use that water for?)
You put it with this mixture, ah mean.
(I mean, ordinarily [without ingredients], what do they use that for?)
They use that fo' runnin' yo' - kin use that. Take that water and pore it on de steps, understand, and if there's somebody in this house tha' chew don't want in here.
(You buy it at the drug store?)
Yes, sir.... Yo' jes' go tuh de drug sto' an' buy yo' a bottle of war water. Yo' get dat at Mr. [Somebody's] drug sto' ovah heah on [Something] Avenue, and it cost yo' ten cents.
(It's called like a war - like a battle?)
W-a-r - war water. And you take that an' put it on de steps out dere, and when ah cross dere ah ain't coming back in heah no mo' - ain't comin' back heah no mo'.
Entry 2403
And if you don't do it thataway, you takes cinnamon and sugar and you sprinkle that cinnamon and sugar in the front of the door, but be sure to scrub - use nine buckets of water, one bottle of the ammonia. But when you scrub, don't scrub out your door - scrub in. You understand what I mean. Scrub it inside. Sweep your water in all the time. And after you do that, then you can sprinkle ycur cinnamon and sugar and that house'll get rented. Yes, sir.
Entry 2426
Law bothering you, keep sugar and cinnamon around your house - just take and sprinkle it all around. Mix sugar, cinnamon and water and just get up and pour it right on out, the sugar and the cinnamon.
(What will that do?)
And pour it on out - dash it on out.
(That'll keep the law away?)
It keep them from coming to your place to bother you in any way. If they bother you too much, you get you a old broom and you take and you cut the straws all loose - them strings, you know that hold the broom together. Well, you take and you cut them loose. And get you a box of salt and sprinkle that whole box of salt down in there and wrap a white rag around it and set it behind the door. The law won't bother you at all.
(How do you set that broom down?)
Set the handle down and the straw part up.
Entry 2457
Yo' git chew some cinnamon barks an' yo' git some sugah an' yo' puts it in a pot, a big large pot of watah an' put dat on an' leave it boil, an' yo' take dat cinnamon bark an' dat sugah. Take an' strain de barks out de watah an' put it in a jug or bottle, either one yo' got, an' every time yo' git ready tuh scrub, yo' takes some clear watah an' yo' put dat in dere. Now, yo' scrub yore sidewalk, yo' scrub from de street back to yore do', an' yo' place of business yo' scrub from de do' where de people come in back to de back [door] wit clear watah.
(That'll bring in customers?)
YASSUH [emphatically], dat'll bring yo' in customers.
Entry 2460
If you have a business place - this is your business place an' you wan'a - now, you git up in the mornin', you throw three buckets water to the sun- rise, In the Name of the Father, the Son an' the Holy Ghost. You git choo some cinnamon an' sugah an' scrub your place. Don't scrub it out, scrub your trade in; you don't want chore trade to go out, choo want it to come in. An' you have all kinds of trade.
Entry 2481
Get you some mackerel brine - what I mean is mackerel brine off a mackerel fish. You take that brine - you gotta buy it, about fifteen or twenty cents worth - you take that brine and get you a bucket of water and put you some sugar and pulverized cinnamon in there and sprinkle it just as fer as your place extends; and whatever you got, you will sell out what you got. That mackerel brine, cinnamon and sugar in that water.
(That's for bootlegging?)
Any kind of business you're in you needn't a-worry.
Entry 2485
Wait until the first Friday of the month - the first Friday of each month - you get you some cinnamon and sugar and get you some lye water.
(What kind of water?)
Lye water - purely lye.
(Like concentrated lye?)
Concentrated lye, and scrub that house. And in the four corners of this house after you have scrubbed it, you set that house aburning in the four corners of that house, you see. Set some sugar and cinnamon, mix it and light it, and I'll guarantee you'll rent your house.
(You really will rent your house?)
You'll rent your house.
(What do you burn in those four corners?)
Cinnamon and sugar.
(I see. But you only scrub with the lye water?)
Only scrub with the lye water. [One cylinder later in answer to my question about how a business could bring in customers, informant begins to repeat what had been said about renting a house - a further detail being added.] (Now, wait a minute - if you were bootlegging now, what are you going to do about it to bring in trade?) To bring in trade?
(Yes.)
Well, you scrub your house - scrub your place of business and after you scrub it, you know.
(Now, wait a minute. Now, tell me what you told me before.)
Well, every first Friday of each month.
(Every first Friday of each month?)
Of each month, yes sir.
(All right.)
And then, after you scrub your house every first Friday of each month, see, you close it up and put you some cinnamon and some sugar and mix it thoroughly and put it in each corner of the house. See. And if it's a business place, put it right in the center of the floor. And burn it until all of it's burned up. And then the-next morning you get up and open the door, and you let all kind of trade in. You do that every first Friday.
Entry 2493
Now, this what you do if you want the house rented. You gotta use immaterials.
(Immaterials?)
What you call immaterials - prob'bly draw it by yourself - with 360 degrees of a person's mind to yourself. Then, you get what is called fast luck, [that's] No. 1. You get cinnamon, that's 2. Get oil of clover. (Oil of cloves or clover?) Yes, clover. (Oil of clover, yes.) You get these things together and you mops from front to back - not from back to front, start at the front. Get some woman to mop it from front to back, the corners and all round, and then you get you what they call Get Together. I ain't got none of it with me now. But it's a powder they call Get Together and Never Part Powder.
(What kind?)
Never Part.
(Never Part Powder.)
Yes. You take these things and you sprinkle all round that hall. Take the [something] of the immaterial spirit, like someone look like they was 'tracted by - more than anywhere else - by your place of business would be mor e'tractive to them than anywhere else, and they come and rent that place.
(I see.) [Did I?]
Entry 2535
Well, you will have to get some incense, lueky incense and brown sugar, and mix all that together and take - scrub the house out in the four corners and you burn your incense in the four corners in each room. You burn the incense in each room and then you wash your house out with oil of cinnamon and brown sugar and you scrub it out with that. Don't put no washing powders or nothing in it - just scrub it out with the clear water.
(What will that do then?)
That will give you luck to get your house rented.
Entry 2553
On bootleggin' it you have to - all bootleggers scrubs at four o'clock in the mornin' before de law's walkin'.
(Before the Lord's walking?) Yes, sir. (Before the Lord is walking?)
Before the lawr - like detectives - is walking.
(Oh, before the law is walking.)
Jis' like on your beat, dey scrubs so they'll pass up [police will pass by not bothering you]. You git dat cinnamon an' sugah, an' you git Jockey Club an' you put dat in an' scrub it - scrub your banquette, an' wash your banquette, an' you won't never be bother. Ah bootleggin's fo' fo' years an' never been caught. [This is banquette scrubbing, separate from house scrubbing.] [New Orleans, La.,
(790).1102:2.]
Entry 2567
You take cinnamon, parsley and you get you some sugar, Jockey Club, Mary Garden perfume and oil of geranium, you put that in there too, and you put all that together and you put it over in the east side of the corner in two cups, and you mix all that up - together, chop it up and put it in a cup and set it in a corner, and they [law] ain't going to bother you."
Entry 2573
You are bootlegging and want customers. You go, you git some good - some sugar. Git you some cinnamon powder and you git you some luck - some van- van. See. You take it and put it in a bottle and you boil it - see, parsley. (Yes.) You take some parsley and you take all that [other ingredients] and you put it down in a pot and you boil it - let it boil about a solid hour before you take it out. And you take it out, you take you a whole quart - boil it first, boil it down to a quart. Then you take and you go to the alley gate - see, go to your gate or whatever it is and when you git there you start to sprinkle it backwards, you know, coming back to the house. See, just like you walking and you walk back [backwards]. Just have your mind on what you want and sprinkle it down, and you go right on the inside and you puts your bottle down. The next few minutes you see customers startin' comin' in.
Entry 2580
Take cinnamon, brown sugah, reddenin' - it's jis' lak a powder but it's red, an' yo' scrubs with that. Yo' scrub with dat powders an' dat brings yo' luck. [Three ingredients.]
Entry 2663
For luck I burn sulphah ev'ry mornin' for luck - sulphah, cinnamon. I burn cinnamon an' sulphah. (You burn the cinnamon by itself or with the sulphur?) With sulphur an' sugar in it. Three ingredients togethah. When I want trade [informant a woman bootlegger] I wash up mah house with urine - when I want trade, wash it to me. Now, in New York [lived in New York City eight years] I could have trade. I had a plenty trade. I could draw my own trade, but here in Richmond I can't do it 'cus the people notice you too much. I had too much trade a few days ago, then I took mah sign down 'cus too many people was comin' in the house. [I can appreciate this woman's trouble. I, too, had too many people coming into the house or hotel where I worked.]
(Do you burn it at any special time?)
You suppose to burn it in the mornin' an' you read de 23rd chapter of Psalms in the Bible: The Lord is my shepherd. You suppose to burn it aroun' seven o'clock in the mornin'.
Entry 2689
You kin mop early in the morning 'fore the sunrise. You kin mop with oil of cinnamon and garlic, beat it up real fine, and your urinate overnight. Mix it with water and mop from the - start from the front steps and go back in your house and don't say nothing to nobody till you get done mopping. Jest hold your peace - don't say nothing to nobody - fore the sunrise....
(And mop it back?)
Yes, sir.
(That brings you trade - brings you customers if you are bootlegging?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 2725
We going to scrub the house out first with that Red Seal Lye. That's if anything is crossed in the house - the building is crossed before you occupy it. After scrubbing with that Red Seal Lye, you get you some cinnamon powder, you get you some oil of verbena, then you get you some granulated sugar. If you wants white and colored trade, you get that white syrup and you get that red syrup, mixing well, scrubbing from the front porch on to the rear, throwing a glassful in each direction of the globe after scrubbing, and I guarantee you burning cinnamon powder and burning incense in the building when you in there alone, leaving it smoke well, open up the door, and you can't keep the gang out of there.
(I see.)
[After machine stopped, I ask about keeping law away.]
The same though.
(The same thing will keep the law away from there?)
Absolutely.
Entry 2726
If yo' runnin' a place an' want luck fo' customers, yo'd git chew some cinnamon an' yo'd git some sugah an' git yo' some oil of verbena, an' take pars- ley - yo' know parsley whut chew season food with. Yo' put it in a bucket an' put it on de stove an' boil it well. Aftah it boil, yo' start tuh scrubbin' yo' business from de front to de back. When yo' git through scrubbin' it goin' to de back, dis same watah dat chew scrub wit, throw a glassful to each way - one tc de east, one to de west, one to de south. [Presumably, unlucky north purposely omitted.] All right. When yo' git through that, yo' take yo some cinnamon agin an' yo' take yo' three of those good incense, an' yo' let dat burn very slow. Take some sugah an' mix it up well, an' throw it right in front of de do', an' throw three buckets of watah on dat. Den de place won't be able tuh hold the people.
(What do you do with that incense?)
Burn it. Mix it wit de sugah. Have tuh sterilize de'sugah aftah yo' burn it, see. Well, throw it out an' throw three buckets of watah on it.
Entry 2757
[The following statements come from the interview with the girl men- tioned in the Introduction because of her youthful age for this kind of work. She - though familiar with usual hoodoo devices - is more interested in her own brand of spiritualism cen- tering around a special power rite. Two candles, one behind the other, are used - the forward blue candle named Uncle, the backward white candle named Master. Uncle or Unkas, a well-know spirit, we shall meet again (see, THE UNKAS MAN, in Interviews section). She does not say so, but any object upon which her candles rest - table, mantelpiece, bureau, box - must be called an altar. She operates a private shrine.] Well, yo' see, it's lak dis. Yo' take two candles an' yo' burn 'em. As yo' burn dese two candles, yo' tell 'em, say, "Well, Jesus, ah want chew tuh back me up. Ah want chew tuh back me up as ah go in back of mah spirit." An' as yo go, the man will tell yo', "Well, yo' come fo' a job. Well, ah kin give you a job." See, it be dat light is helpin' yo where yo' set dat light an' it burn itself. An as [before] yo' go dere yo' take an' git chew some bay rum an' yo' rub in yore han's. As yo' git dis bay rum, yo' take an' take yo' a piece of rag, an' as yo' take a piece of rag, yo' always keep dat rag movin' in yore han's, an'as yo' go in dis place when he begin' tuh ask yo' 'bout a job, well all yo' do yo remembah de light, an' if yo' say, "Lord, he'p me an' back mah light up," well, dat light will always give yo' power an' always help yo', an' yo' go dere an' dat person will give yo' a job. Maybe somebody's been dere a long time an' tryin' tuh git a job an' dey don't know how tuh git a job. All yo' do is set de light.
(What color of light? Any color?)
De bes' light is de white an' blue light, tuh git. De white one is Master an de blue one is Uncle. Yo' always say Master back of Uncle, an' yo' ast him tuh do sech-an'-sech a thing an' he'll do this thing. Yo' take a coconut but yo' must break it square. Yo' know a coconut is round but yo' must keep it square. Sometime yo' cain't break 'em - dey hard fo' yo tuh break 'em square, but it gotta be broke, yo' know, half in two in square. An' yo' take dat coconut an' yo' take de meat out of it an' yo' take a person name an' yo' write it down, but chew make a seal. Yo' evah saw a seal? [Evidently I nod, yes. I previously had seen at least one seal in St. Petersburg, Florida, see 2280, p.644.] Yo' makes a seal an' yo' take dat person's name an' yo' put it down in dat coconut an' dat Rabbit Syrup. Well, yo' take dat Rabbit Syrup an' dat cinnamon an' git chew some bay rum, an' yo' mix dat Rabbit Syrup an' dat pulverized sugah, dat fine, fine sugah whut chew buy in de box. Well, yo' sweeten it. Mix all dat together - de cayenne an' de Rabbit Syrup an' de cinnamon an' de bay rum. Yo' take his name an' yo' make a seal out dat papah, but chew must nuse brown Papah an' yo' put it down in dat coconut an' yo' take yo' a light. Yo' take yore light an' yo' put it - yo' see, yo' have dat seal made round, but chew have tuh cut it out round, yo' see, de brown papah, an' yo' put dat name, write it right in de middle of de seal.
(Just once?)
Yes, an' yo' put de light in de center of dat an' yo' burn it. Yo' make yore wish to dat light, whatsomevah yo' want, an' yo' burn it.
(What kind of light - any color?)
Well, yo' kin take Uncle light. It's a blue light, Uncle. Dat's a spirit. An' yo' kin take a lemon.
(Well, now what does that do? When you burn that in there?)
Well, yo' kin keep a person down - dey won't prosper, cain't git a job no way. Yo' understan' about dat. (To put the candle out [the candle someone is burning against you], every morning you say you get up and do what?) Yo' go to de hydrant befo' yo' say anything an' yo' let de hydrant run an' dat's tuh pray - dat's de way ah do's. Ah goes tuh de sun an' ah prays, an' whilst ah'm prayin' ah let de hydrant run an' ah take three drops - three glasses of watah, an' aftah de sun go down, yo' throw de watah tuh de sunset an' ast de spirit whatsomevah yo' dealin' with tuh give yo' power tuh put dat light out.
(What spirit would you deal with? Any spirit that you wanted to?)
Well, it's diff'rent people - de spirit contained wit yo', see. [Each person has a different or special spirit.] Yo' have a guide an' ah have a guide.
(It is your own spirit that you are getting?)
Yes. If a person tell yo', "Ah want chew tuh do sech-an'-sech a thing fo' me, '' an' [or] yo' want a person, a man. Lak yo' say, "Ah want dis man an' ah'm gon'a git dis man an' nobody have dis man." Well, yo' take a tub of watah an' yo' set dis tub ovah an' yo' take an' light a black candle. Yo' don't light dis candle, yo' put it in dis watah an' let dat watah trickle [from the faucet into the tub]. Put dis man name an' den yo' cut chew a coconut an' cut chew coconut an' put some dust [drops of melted wax] on it. Yo' evah heah dat? An' yo' let dat candle draw [drop] aroun' down in dis place heah. Dat be dat man name. [Melted wax from black candle drops on man's name written on brown paper at bottom of coconut.] Now, he's driftin' all aroun' an' aroun'. [Because his name under black candle in coconut is floating on the water in the tub; the dripping faucet makes it running Water.] He cain't nevah git a job. He nevah kin work. Every time he draw tuh yo', well he gittin' somewhere; but when he leave yo', look lak he driftin'; an' if he want any othah woman, yo' kin drift him away from dis woman - but nobody else, he's gotta have yo' an' nobody else. An' if yo' don't want give him nuthin, all yo' do, jis' put dat candle in dere an' let it drip an' so many hours. Yo' turn de chairs upside down. An' lak if a person goin' tuh co't an' dis person wanted tuh he'p yo' outa co't. All yo' take an' do, take St. Peter pit- chure an' turn it upside down, an' as yo' turn it upside down, dash some watah in [on] dat [picture] an' aftah yo' dash it, den dey come on outa jail. [See, BEER FOR ST. PETER - CIGAR FOR ST. ANTHONY, in InterviewS Section.] But chew de one he'p dem yo' see. Dat's de understandin' of luck. Yo' take an' do so many things with luck. See, den agin lak if yo' want a person - well, ah say, "Ah'm goin' make yo' drift." Well, yo' say, "Well, yo' cain't make me drift." Well, ah'll take an' take yore name, an' take a bottle of watah an' throw that bottle of watah undah mah laig or 'neath mah laig - mah left foot, an' throw it so [she demonstrates], an' tell it tuh go sech-an'-sech a place but don't nevah come back, an' as dat bottle go roun' an' jis work roun' an' roun' [under my foot], mah mind don't nevah come to me, but ah'm driftin' ever' day, goin' off an' off. Don't nevah see nobody, always thinkin' of things, always thinkin' things - diff'rent. [Her mind is faster than her words. My name is written on a piece of paper and stopped up in a bottle of water. She throws the bottle on the floor, puts her foot on it and begin to roll it back and forth. Sometimes, not here, the bottle is kicked about the room and cussed. At the last moment notice how she changes my name to her own. This is one of the many rolling rites in the New Orleans area - see margin-title St. John's Water, p.639, and Index.]
Entry 2920
A green candle's for money, see. (How would you burn that?) You take three green candles, just like this [demonstrates]. Fix 'em just like the - you know, kind of a round.
(You fix the three together? Tie in a circle?) [Tie into a triangle.]
Yes, into a shape. You cut the top of 'um off. You write the person's name nine times - whose ever name you wanta be on that candle, nine times. You put it in a saucer with some cinnamon, sugar, steel dust and quicksilver, and you let it burn out there. And whatever you want 'em to do, they come and do that, after that, after that candle's burned out.
Entry 3047
You burn a green candle to St. Raymond. You take your green candle and you got St. Raymond on your altar and you sit the green candle before the saint and then you make your wishes to him. If you want a job - and you want the boss to give you a job, if you know his name, you take his name and you write it down nine times. You get some cinnamon and you get some parsley and you get some of this garlic and you pound that all up together and you put that in. Put it before your candle, right in front of the'candle where your saint's at and burn that, and he'll give you a job and like you. You burn it before St. Raymond. You can use a green candle. Use the same green candle for him, that the onliest kind of candle to use. You burn a white candle for peace.
Entry 3758
(Well, suppose a man is tied up that way, how could he git rid of that?) Git rid of dat? He would take dat perfume whut de call Hearts Perfume, cinnamon, saltpetah an' chamber lye, his own, wit nine ten-penny nails. Takin' a bath from head to feet an' throwin' it out to- Wards sunrise. Den she cain't do anythin' unless she gits wit 'im [again]. Dat untie him.
Entry 4039
Dey usely [usually] take yuh chamber lye an' stop it up in a jar, but yuh have tuh use cinnamon bark tuh put wit it, see, in ordah tuh tie up de kidneys tuh stop 'em from makin' watah. (What do you do with that jar?) De jar, yuh bury it. Bury it. Yuh put it where no one kin find it, yo' undahstan', tuh open it.
Entry 4162
Yuh take it [urine] yuh know, an' keep it an' put it in a bottle. An' git 'er some sugah an' cinnamon an' write a person's name an' put it in dere. An' dey keep it lak dat an' dey say, if yuh have a hus- ban' - co'se ah don't have no husban'. Ah don't even do dat, cuz ah don't even have no husban'. Dey do dat, take it an' shake de bottle any time yuh want yuh husban' tuh come home. Or ah hit it on de flo' nine times an' he will certainly come home - if yuh got 'is name in dere.
(You hit it on the floor nine times?)
Right in de door nine times, an' dey say he'll certainly come home - don't care where he is. (But you have to hit it against the floor, hit it against the door-like
[saddle or floor at door], an' then you just shake it nine times?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 4955
Take de man dirty socks, or de woman's dirty socks, an' makes 'em tuh stay home if dey have de habit of runnin' out. Takin' sugah, cinnamon, a snail, an' puttin' it in dat socks, an' tyin' three knots in de socks, an' puttin' it in a closed place, where he won' find it. An' if he's a man accustom tuh spendin' 'is money 'fore he come home, finally, in a couple of days he'll start tuh stayin' home an' he don' know anythin' about it.
Entry 5089
Take yore shoes an' cuz yuh tuh fix 'em tuh keep yuh home, keep yuh from driftin' from pillah tuh post.
(How would they do that with your shoes?)
AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCE OF KEEPIN' YORE MIND TUHGETHAH WIT SHOES. Yuh gO tuh de store an' git yuh a box of cinnamon an' a box of allspice. Take-a ole pair of shoes dat yuh have worn, if a person's mind have been drifted so dat dey cain't stay tuhgethah, an' take de cinnamon an' all- spice an' sugar, an' mix it tuhgethah an' put intuh each shoe. Take de shoe an' turn de shoes tuhgethah an' plant 'em [demonstrates]. (I see. You put the two mouths of the shoes together, and the soles away from each other, like that.) An' de sole away from each othah, an' den yuh kin [plant] dose shoes down in de centah of yore steps. Dat's tuh keep a person's mind from driftin' [away from home]. AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCED DAT.
(Well, how do you mean, keep the person's mind from drifting?)
Jis' like if some one have put a spell on yuh, tuh be goin' from pillah tuh post, yuh see, an' by puttin' dis cinnamon an' allspice an' sugah in dat shoe, an' turn[ing] de soles of dat shoe tuhgethah [see later] an' plantin' it at de house where yuh live, it'll keep dere minds at home.
(You don't mean put the soles together, you mean put the tops together.)
De tops tuhgethah, yes. De soles go out.
(I see.)
[My correction of informant is one of the few times I ever did this sort of thing. I am not correcting her words but recalling her pantomimic actions I describe. Yet she was right the second time also, magically. What difference can there be whether the two MoUTHS of the shoes are together or the two soles (SOULS)? The significance is the same - love and peace. Significant also is the emptiness of the preceding magic. You are never responsible for any of your actions, because someone may have a spell on you. A perfect example of being irresponsible for your actions will be found in the alcoholic woman (No.78, p.33).]
Entry 5147
Take de graveyard dirt. An' yuh git a ole shoe an' yuh parch dat ole shoe until yuh kin jis' powdah it up. An' yuh mix dat graveyard dirt wit dat shoe dust an' yuh put sugah in dere an' cinnamon. An' yuh sprinkle dat roun' ovah yore flo's an' lak dat. Dat keeps peace in de home. Dat's fo' success.
Entry 5176
Dat's not handy fo' yo' tuh do. Yo' git de inside piece of 'is shoe, yo' undahstan', yo' kin git dat inside piece of 'is shoes an' yo'll take dat inside piece of 'is shoe wit 'is name an' yo'll write his name in dere on a piece of paper. But yo' got de measure of dat whole feet, yo' got de whole measure [when you have the insole]. Now, yo'll git chew a piece of papah an' yo'll put 'is name nine times. Yo'll put - lak if it wuz me - my name at de top, an' den yo'll write it crossways heah ag'in, nine times. Den yo'll take dat measure an' yo'll put cinnamon in it an' yo'll put White Rose Perfume, an' yo'll dampen it good, an' yo'll put dat an' yo'll roll it towards yo'. See, yo' fold it towards yo' jis' as many times as yo' kin. See. Den yo'll go tuh work an' yo'll put a bran'-new needle. Yo'll pin a bran'-new needle in dat yo' see, an' yo' kin eithah put it in a bag or eithah put it in yore pil- lah or yore mattress. Dat'll keep 'im home. (You take the inner sole and you write his name nine times and yours across it. You put that paper and the sole together, and put those ingredients in, and then you roll it to you. And you can put it anywhere around you or put it in the mattress.) Anywheres.
Entry 5280
Jes' lak yo' wanted tuh be lucky in keepin' dis job at dis place. When evahone is gone, take off yore left shoe an' turn it bottom upwards on de stove or somepin of de kind. Use a little tin pan, jes' somepin dat will keep from burnin' yore shoe sole. An' yo' put two or three drops'of cinnamon oil on de chairs. Git dese Ole Banum[?] Tears.
(You put some of these on this stove lid?)
Put chure shoe - turn yore shoe bottom upwards an' burn dat on dere, an' yo' make yore wish concernin' what chew want. If yo' want so much money, an' yo' make yore wish fo' dis or dat. An' it may be if dis person seem tuh be angry tuhwards yo', or treatin' yo' indiff'rent anyway, yo' wish fo' bettah coopera- tion. An' yo' burn dis an' yo' postively will see a change. An' if someone have dismissed yo' from yore job, yo' drop dese nine grains of spice in de bottle as ah have tole yo' [several days before in another rite]. Now tuhmorrah when ah come ah can demonstrate dat bettah tuh yo', jes' how dat is done. An' den all de times when yo' meet these partic'lah people, yo' wanta drop a drop or two on yore hands an' rub yore face before yo' come in con- tact wit 'em. [Mrs. Brady, one of my contact people in Mobile was a capable woman familiar with the hoodoo-fortune telling world. I had interviewed her several days be- fore, but the recording being bad she had returned for another interview.]
Entry 5756
Well, yo' see de foot track, takin' de foot track [demonstrates] wit dis fingah an' de tum' [thumb] an' jis' drawin' it tuh yo' dat way.
(That's the left hand with the thumb and the finger next to the index finger.)
Drawin' it tuh yo' dat way, pinch it tuhgethah. Take dat back an' put it in- tuh a bottle an' put nine needles in dere, nine needles in dat bottle; cinnamon powdah mixed in dat wit chamber lye of de woman. Buryin' it or put it in a very close place where she won't find it. If she a woman 'custom [accustomed] tuh bein' away from home an' stayin' away from home, she will come 'custom tuh stay at home.
(You take this dirt out of either foot track?)
Yessuh, eithah foot track. But de foot track must be prints in de groun' dat is damp, yo' undahstan'. De foot track must be prints yo' see.
Entry 6025
If a woman wants 'er man back, well she takes 'is hair off de top of 'is head an' down on de bottom, yo' know, of 'is trousers. [andl put de needles an' pins an' mind watah in a can, a ole can, any kine of can. Shut it up an' put it in a cornah of de house. Dat's what dat is fo' - 9 needles an' 9 pins. Well, dey bury yore hair in 9 nee- dles, 9 pins, an' cinnamon, an' put it in mind watah." Shet it up in a can. Dat's to keep yo' wit 'em. Dey put dat can in a cornah.
(Did you say mind water?)
Yes sir. Yo' buy dat. It's to keep yore mind wit 'em. Yo' put dat in a can wit 9 needles, 9 pins, an' yore hair, an' dey'll git yore hair from down in, yo' know, when yo' sleep. Dey put dat in a can where nobody kin run across it. Dat's jis' to keep yo' wit 'em, keep yore mind towards 'em. [These ingredients can also be put in a bottle.]
Entry 7039
Mah husband's a heavy likkah drinkah but he don' drink now see. He don' drink now becuz ah broke him of dat. Now, yo' have tuh ordah dis. Dey call it cinnamon bark. Dat's all ah evah known, dat ah evah did [for a heavy drinker]. An' it made as a tea, but chew cain't give him de reg'lah cinnamon bark. Well, yo' go tuh de [she could not think of blacksmith, if she knew it] - yo' know where did man fix horseshoe. Well, yo' gO an' GIT CHEW A LI'LE PIECE WHERE HE TRIM OFF DE HORSE HOOFS. YO' CAIN'T GIVE 'IM MUCH 'CUZ IT'S DANGEROUS. Yo' may git chew a piece, well say 'bout large as dis pea. An' yo' boil dat cinnamon bark an' dis heah horse hoof tuh- gethah, an' yo' strain dat an' put it intuh a extra li'le bottle. An' den when dey drink dat, drink coffee or tea, well yo' have tuh take a teaspoon; yo' know, jes' lak dey measure thin's as a medicine. Yo' take a teaspoon an' take it half full an' po' it in 'is coffee, where he cain't taste it, an' let 'im drink it an' he'll finely he nevah drink no mo' whiskey. Mah man a drinkah an' ah broke 'im from it.
(Well, you must know.)
Entry 8492
Put cinnamon an' sugah an' yo' weah it in both of yore shoes. Now if yo' know dere name, yo' kin take dere name an' put it in dere, an' whenevah yo' git tuh 'em dey'll give yo' a job.
Entry 8495
If yo' wants tuh be on de job or anything an' yo' want tuh stand in good wit yuh boss, yo' takes 'is name an' yo' git some loaf sugah, yo' put it in a bottle, yo' writes 'is name nine times, writes it tuh yuh, not from yuh. An' ah put's mah name on top of 'is, an' ah folds it tuh me, an' ah puts it in dis bottle. (You cross it or what?) Ah puts it ovah his'n an' ah crosses it, too. See, ah write his name first dis way an' den ah changes it an' write it dataway, an' ah switches ag'in - forward an' backward, undahstand.
(I see. All right.)
See, den ah folds it up an' ah puts it in dis bottle wit cinnamon an' sugah, an' ah buries it. An' ah weahs his name in mah shoe an' keeps it dere in mah shoe. An' when ah weahs it out, well ah puts anothah one in dere. See, dat's tuh stay on de job.
Entry 8519
Well, dey take de nine needles, an' aftah takin' de nine needles, write de name down nine times, whosomevah fellah it is, or de woman, den write chure name down nine times down on top of dat. Den aftah dat yo' put de cinnamon an' sugah in dere, an' de urinate, into de coconut. Den kick it from de front do' tuh de back do' nine times, fo' nine times. Take an' throw it ovah intuh de rivah. Dat guarantee tuh dry 'em up. Stop any woman in de worl'. Dry dem up, run 'em stoneZy crazy.
[The latter expression is usually stone crazy.]
(Dries up their urine? Kills them?)
Kills 'em yeah. (The person who is killed, you have to take that person's urine to put in that coconut?) Yeah, yo' take dat lady's urine, de one dat chew wanta fix, an' write dere name nine times. Den yore name on top of dat nine times. (You write his or her name nine times that way. Then you write yours on top of it like that?) Yeah. all on top of dat nine times. [New Orleans. La., (1561). 2857:7.]
Entry 8537
Go to this place and keep it sweetened down with sweetened water and cinnamon and sugar. (How would you do that?) Well, you'd take and write his name three times and write your name three times, see.
(How would you do that?)
Write your name three times up over his'n and write his name three times across, see. And put it in - fold the paper three times to you - and then put down into a glass or anything with water, sweetened water and cinnamon. And that keeps his name, his mind drawing for you all the time.
(Keeps drawing toward you. I see.)
Entry 8608
Well, yo' could take a person an' jis' put sugah, cinnamon an' steel dust, an' yo' put it in de lamp. An' write dere names fo' so many days, nine days or.three days or anything, an' put some oil of cinnamon or oil of rose. They have those kinda oils. Den yo' put it in dere. Well, that's fo tuh draw these people back to yo' ag'in. See, dey have tuh come back.
Entry 8609
If a man got a wife an' she's away from him an' he wants tuh bring her to him, he gits cinnamon an' he gits sugah an' he git honey an' he puts it in dat lamp an' he'll write his indivi- dual name down nine times on a piece of papah straight one aftah de othah... [demonstrates]. (The first name first and the last name last.) Yassuh. An' then he'll write his name down across that with a indelible pencil, an' he takes dat papah...
[I interrupt.]
(How many times does he write his own name?)
His name nine times right cross hers. Den he takes dat papah an' he folds it three times towards him. An' he'll git him some No.8 black thread an' he wraps it roun' dat papah an' ties it up, an' put it in dat rag an' burn it [in the lamp]. An' that'll draw de individual to him.
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 8660
(How do they do that?)
Well, they makes up a little bag an' takes an' puts lodestone in it, an' this here Conkah Root; put Conkah Root Powdah, cinnamon an' things, an' if dey wanted a man they sew de man's name up in dat, with a dime in dere an' den dey weah it. (I see.) [A gambling hand becomes a love hand by the addition of a person's name.]
Entry 8678
Take his name down nine times on a piece of papah an' yo' write her name down three times. All right an' she git her some sugah an' some cinnamon an' she put dat on dat papah an' fold it three times to her an' wear it in 'er left shoes. Dat's tuh git him back home. Now, when she gits him back home, tuh keep him from goin with any othah woman, she takes her fingernails an' her toenails an' git a part of her hair. An' grate dat all up togethah an' put it in whatevah she cooks, an' give it to him an' he cain't leave 'er.
Entry 8679
[The doctor in the following rite for a job has an organized mind, though I was too recent in New Orleans at that time to realize it. In face, on this original transcription I formerly had a note use with care, which can still be seen despite my later erasure.] When yo' go to get a job - ah'll tell yo' about de job proposi- tion. It just like if yo' was out of a job an' yo' runnin' in bad luck. Yo' can't be success- ful in nuthin dat yo' start. Well, yo' get yo' some of dis seniment. Yo' get some of dis seniment with this rain water. (What is seniment? What is that?) Dat's a powder. (What does it look like?) It look just like - yo' ever seen this powder what they call that brown-skin powder? (You mean cinnamon powder?) Yeah. (Cinnamon powder. All right.) [How did I ever guess it!] Yo' take dat seniment powder. An' yo' get some of dis seniment powder an' yo' get what yo' call this lodestone; but ask for lodestone, see, with candy stripes. It's got a little stripe.
(What kind of stripes?)
Candy stripes. Just say, "Give me some of de lodestone." (Like this candy - now wait a minute! It's like this candy they got in the country stores, candy stripes?) Yes, just like that; round, see.
(And what do they call that?)
Lodestone.
(You said something about four-something. Four what?)
[Informant said it while recording machine turned off.1 Fo' corners. Yo' just get de fo' corners. Well, if it ain't got fo' corners, vell yo' just take anything, a file or somepin like dat an' put 'em there.
(You have to make it square. Four corners. All right.)
Yeah. Yo' go anywhere they got them rams - yo' see, them rams, or anywhere yo' know them ramhorns at. [Cowhorn appears several times in Hoodoo. This could be the only ramhorn.] Yo' gets a file an' yo' file some of that dust down there [with the lodestone dust]. Then yo' get some of this here oil what yo' call that green - Wintergreen Pasture Oil.
(Wintergreen?)
Wintergreen Pastures Oil.
(GREEN PASTURES OIL?)
[SURELY THE ENTERPRISING HOODOO-PRODUCTS SALESMAN SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT "PSALM 23 OIL"!] Yeah, an' yo' take some sugar an' seniment an' lodestone. An' take a silver dime an' yo' file dat silver dime on a piece of paper just where yo' got this stuff [various ingredients] at. Yo' take a piece of yellah paper - it [lode- stone?] comes with yellah paper - an' yo' wrap it up twice. Yo' fold it coming to you. Then, after yo' take this Wintergreen Pasture Oil an' yo' put over it, am' yo' put it in your pocket. Keep that in yore left pocket. Then yo' goes back an' yo' get this he Eve [Adam and Eve] root, see. He Eve root.
(He Eve root?)
Yeah, yo' go back an' get that an' yo' got hit, yo' got de she root in yore pocket, yo' understand. Yo' take that - powder up that. piece there - an' yo' get some rain water an' river water or hydrant water [3 running Waters], or anything like that, an' yo' put it in two glasses. Put it in two glasses like that an' yo' let it set, after yo've mixed it. Well, heap up just about de same amount in each glass. Yo' leave it set there fo' three days. Aftah yo' leave it set there fo' three days, yo' take it an' yo' pour it into one glass. Then yo' take this here - this seniment, lodestone an' dis Wintergreen Pasture Oil. Well, yo' Put it in de glass, in one glass, an' yo' let it set there fo' three days. Den take that water off - take dat watah off before yo' go out to see about a job. Just like, if yo' know the foreman's name, yo' take his name an' yo' write his name nine times backwards, just like if yo' write it backwards this Way nine times [demonstrates]. Then yo' fold it, fold it comin' to yo' like dat [demonstrates]. Then yo' write yore name on de top of it, but yo' must write yore name forwards.
(Write your name what?)
The right way.
(You write your name forwards. All right.)
Then yo' take dat an' yo' put it down in dat water where all yore stuff is in the morning when yo' going out - just when yo' going out to the foreman. Yo' got his name. Well, when yo' get ready to go there, yo' take this water out of Chere. Yo' pour it out in a basin or anything like that, an' yo' take it an' yo' wash yo' hands good with it, an' yo' wash yore fingers. Yo' takes this here lodestone an' yo' put it in yore pocket with this she Eve root. Yo' walk to him a'when yo' get there, before yo' ask, just like yo' take a piece of chewing tobacco, cut a little piece off dat she root an' put it in your mouth. An' get this here lodestone thing in your hand like that an' rub it, an' make yore wishes, as yo' walk up to him an' ask 'im for a job. Probably he may not have nuthin to do right then, but he'll run his hand in his pocket if he got any money an' he'll give yo' a piece of money. The first opening that he have - WHEN YO' LEAVE FROM THERE, YO'LL MAKE A WISH FOR ANY - JUST LIKE ANY JOB YO' WANT AROUND THERE, YO' MAKE A WISH FOR ANY BAD LUCK TO HAPPEN TO 'EM PEOPLE AT THAT PLACE. SAY PRAYERS, AN' IN A WEEK'S TIME [7 DAYS] YO'LL HAVE A JOB. There no favor that yo' ask 'im that he could turn yo' down. If he ain't got it at de present time, he will tell yo' a way to come an' get it.
foreman’s name written nine times backwards, contrasted with own name forwards. Keep foreman nine-times-backwards versus applicant forwards on top; not all names backwards. manually inscribed arrangement of foreman’s and applicant’s names. Retain foreman backwards nine times and own name forwards on top, followed by the use of the inscribed paper in the preparation. employment sought from a foreman, with conditional intermediate outcomes and harmful wish. No immediate job guarantee: preserve probably no work, money if he has it, the first opening, and the subsequent one-week claim as attributed. river as a stated possible source of water, alongside rain/hydrant wording. Keep literal rain water an’ river water or hydrant water and or anything like that; do not convert ambiguous conjunctions into an all-three requirement or flatten all alternatives. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3556) · Read full source (printed page 3557) · Read full source (printed page 3558)
Entry 8711
Yo' go to a place - if yo' know de place where yo're goin' an' know de people's name [name of person who hires]. Yo' git chew a piece of pastebo'd an' yo' cut it down as a shoe sole, de print of a shoe sole [an insole]. Yo' write dem people name down nine times wit a indelible pencil. (You just write one right after the other?) One right aftah de othah, nine times. (Now, if the boss's name was Sam Jones, you just write Sam Jones right underneath Sam Jones?) Yassuh, an' den aftah yo' do dat, yo' git chew some cinnamon an' yo' git chew some sugah. An' yo' puts dat in yore shoe an' yo' weah dat. An' yo' git yo' a piece of John de Conkah root, an' yo' chews dat root, an' as yo' go in dere yo' spits, an' make yore wish fo' whut chew goin' dere, whut kinda job yo' goin' dere tuh be successful. Yo' git dis job.
(You just make one sole [insole] or two?)
Jes' one sole.
(For either shoe?)
Fo' either shoe, it don' make no diff'rence.
(It doesn't make any difference what shoe.)
Either one.
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 9000
If yo' know de judge's name. Yo' know 'is name? Two days 'fo' yuh is goin' tuh court - two days 'fo' yuh go dere...
(Yes?)
Listen me well now. Two days 'fo' yuh go dere, yuh know 'is name. Put 'em tuhgethah. Yuh puts some cinnamon an' sugah in a saucah, an' put 'is name undah dat saucah. Dat's tuh sweeten 'im up, yuh an' 'im. Dat's right. (That's all you have to do?) Dat's all yuh do. Jis' git 'is name an' yuh name tuhgethah, an' put de cinnamon an' sugah, an' put it in a saucah an' put de candle- on top 'is name, undah dat saucah on de table.
(What kind of candle do you put on that saucer?)
A black - ah, ah white candle.
(White candle.)
Plain white candle.
(I see.)
All yuh gotta do.
Entry 9030
Take his name and write it, the judge's name, [and] the district at- torney's name and all the high peoples names there. An' yo' write their name an' put it into yore left shoe, with that cinnamon, sugar an' steel dust, an' that sweeten 'em up. Put it in yore left shoe when yo' go in the courthouse. An' as yo' go in there, yo' cross yore fingers three times an' call their names.
(You do what with these fingers?)
Cross your fingers three times.
(Snap your fingers?)
Yeah, three times.
Entry 9141
Git some salt an' cinnamon an' yo' weah dat in yuh right pocket, an' when yo' talkin' wit de judge, why jis' empty salt as yo' talkin' an' dat'll bring yo' peace, luck.
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 10197
Yo' kin take candles if yo' want luck in yore house. Yo' kin take it an' burn it, burn it at de length of time, wit chure saltpetah an' some cinnamon an' sugar. Dat will bring yuh luck.
(Where do you put these ingredients?)
In a saucer an' den put chure candle on top of it. [Or fix candle in center and ingredients around it.]
Entry 10277
To fix him up. Now he wants to get his nature back, all he got to do, he take and he urine in a bottle. You see, he....
(He urinates into a bottle?)
In a bottle, you see. Now, he urinates in a bottle and, if he urinate in that bottle and he can get to some of hers, see, he pour hers on top of his. Now, when he put that together, he take sugar and cinnamon and he puts that all togethah. He mixes that up good. See. Now, he put that under the head of the bed; see, where he sleep at, where he knows she can't find it. If he's got time enough to do that and she's done fixed the bed herself, he puts that hisself there, you see, because he has to do hisself good, you understand. Now, at night when he comes in - if he done come from work or if he's got work anywhere - when he comes in, long about, prob'ly it might be midnight. He'll raise up, you see. He's going to raise up. Now, when he get [raise] up, he'll get there to her, see. And as long as he keep that there [under bed] until he get hisself back together, done got back all his nature again, why then he can take that same bottle of stuff and keep it hid on the top of anything that's high where she can't get to it. And she'll have more trouble with him than the day is long. She'll have plenty trouble with him then, because he'll always want to be on her, see. He done got his nature back. (I see, that's to bring his nature back, so that he can do this with his wife.) With his wife.
(I see.)
Entry 10278
Whut chew kin do with a dirty sock, least dat is tuh keep a man with a woman, dat is she's about tuh go or he's about tuh go from her, is dis: His urine is his nature. Yo' understan' dat. Yo' git de bottle an' git de urine an' yo' git de he lodestone, steel dust, cinnamon, sugah, drawin' oil, mind oil. Write de name nine times, nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' put dat ingrediment [ingredients] together, yo' understan', an' yo' shake it well an' put it undah de do'step. Be shure dat it crosses ovah it three times, an' den aftah yo' take it an' put it anywheres in yore place. Yes, ah kin guarantee yo' it bring de woman dat ah did de work fo' dat ah he'ped [helped] out with it, an' through prayers, goin' to de chapel an' makin' prayers.
(That'll hold the man?)
Listen, dat'll hold him an' yo'll nevah git, but don' evah - dat means a man'll kill yuh if he gits holt of dat, yo' see. Dat means death. An' it really will hold him.
Entry 10580
Takin' de bat yo' understan' an' capturin' him wit'out killin' him, see. An' cuttin' him open an' takin' his heart out. Takin' his heart an' sewin' it in a little red bag. An' put some perfume in dere wit de bat heart. Put some of dat cinnamon powder in dere an' put de controllin' powder in dere. An' make a little bag an' wear it in yore pocket. An' every game yo' go, yo' understan', yo'll be [something] lucky fo' gamblin'.
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 9772
[In the margin title I have called this rite amazing because I had com- pletely forgotten about it and its future significance. The person I am inter- viewing here is J. R. Patterson, proprietor of the black hotel, Patterson Hotel, in New Orleans. Among the illustrations at end of HOODOO, volume 2, see the Patterson Hotel letterhead containing pictures of the hotel, the proprietor, and his signature on Wednesday, March 9, 1938, for rent on room No.17, including elec- tricity for my machine, and room space for my clients downstairs. I paid my rent each day before returning to my own hotel, the old St. Charles. To give Mr. Patterson some idea of my work, I suggested that he himself be interviewed. His following rite tells how he could be driven from his own hotel. Neither of us realized at the time that before a year had passed, Mr. Patterson would lose his hotel and I myself would be chased from the black hotel in Memphis by the police. For this later surprise, see Introduction to HOODOO, volume 1, page XxxIV, line 9 following.] De first thing yo' do, git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. De nex' thing tuh do is git chew a box of cinnamon, a box of cloves. Git chew a nickel's worth of new tenpenny nails, an' den git chew one quart of gasoline. Den git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. Go by dose person's house an' pick up, whethah it's mud, dirt or sand, take it up an' put it in de bucket wit dose nails. Po' yuh gasoline in dere an' strike a match an' light it, [let it burn] until it comes tuh be dry an' sandy. Den yo' take it an' go backwards from de do' where dey livin' at an' sprinkle it crossways dat way tuh de fo' cornahs of de world: [demonstrates by pointing] dat cornah, dis cornah, dis one, and dat one cross de street. In 24 hours de're [they are] gone. (You just sprinkle it like this [I demonstrate], like a wingy motion all around, cross that house?) [My demonstration of wingy motion must have been a fluttering or flipping motion like a bird. Informant misunderstands my word cross, meaning to put a hoodoo on the house, not throwing back and forth across the house.] No [you don't throw back and forth across the house] yo' tro' it from de house [demonstrates]. Yes, lak dis is de back, dis is de sidewalk out heah [demonstrates], sprinkle it dis way [demonstrates], cross ovah [demonstrates].
[I describe his demonstrations:]
(From the house out to the gutter, you sprinkle it back and forth, like a "v".)
[This "v" or triangle is the 3 Holy Names.]
One block each way, one block each way from de house. Lak Patterson [the speaker] whut chew [suppose you] wanted him tuh move. Well, yo'd git some dirt. See dat cigah ashes [he points to ashtray containing ashes of my cigar] an' [also] pick it from de sidewalk [get sidewalk dirt], an' git some dirt an' sprin- kle it aroun' dere - some sand. An' befo' he sweeps de banquette [= sidewalk in New Orleans] up in de mawnin', yo' jes' come aroun' dere an' brush up a little bit, jes' enough tuh git in yore fingahs an' put in dere. Den yo' come back heah dat night, yo' see, an' sprinkle from his do' crossways de banquette tuh dat cornah. Den yo' go tuh dis cornah an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Yo' go dat way an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Den yo' go ovah heah tuh garage. See. In 24 hours dey are moved.
(You have to throw it to the four corners of the world.)
Yes. [New Orleans, La., (1566, J. R. Patterson, proprietor of black hotel, Patterson Hotel), 2866:3.] [The title of this section could have been either Pins and Needles or Needles and Pins, both having tradition behind them; the first because a person is some- times said to walk on pins and needles; the second according to the folklore couplet: Needles and pins, needles and pins; when a man marries, his trouble begins. As in the case of the preceding section about nails, most rites about these objects have already appeared elsewhere in the printed text as parts of rites with other ingredients. The following rites will be listed according to number of pins and needles: 1, 2, 3, etc.1
Entry 9842
(Tell me how they make a person stay at home?)
Wit dere sock. Well, take dis sock an' put chure sugah an' yore cinnamon in dis sock, an' take yo' nine needles an' nine pins an' - fold yore sock an' put [in] dem nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' use 'em all, gotta git 'em all in dere. See, dem eighteen sticks [sticking ob- jects] gotta be in dere. An' yo' take three tacks an' nail 'em down at de front of yore do', or eithah if yo' got a fiah hearth, yo' take a brick up an' yo' lay dat brick dere. Lay it dere an' put it on top dat. An' yo'll nevah git rid of 'em. Dat'll hold 'em.
Entry 10720
You are hunting a job and you have a particular boss you want. Well, every time you go to that boss and ask him for a job, take cinnamon and sugar in your pocket and birdeye seed, and whenever you go on that job, put this [seed] down [where you Work and in] your pocketbook with the cinnamon and sugar and birdeye seed. That will make him have a sweet disposition towards you and keep a birdeye [bird's eye] upon you and always give you your job. [Birdeye or bird's-eye seed must be a package of seed sold by a hoodoo store.]
Entry 10803
You get you some cinnamon and sugar. All right. You sweep. you go to sweep, don't sweep your dirt outside, you sweep your dirt in [into] the building. And you get this cinnamon and sugar and put it in the water, amd you scrub your floor. And then when you get through scrubbing that floor, you just take - get you some oil of clover. See, you buy some oil of clover at the drug store and you put water in there [scrub bucket] and you put a bottle of beer mixed in with it. (Bottle of beer?) Bottle of beer, yes. And you takes - start at the front door and you sprinkle it all the way back into the place, and your place will be packed.
(The place will be packed?)
Yes, sir, your place will be packed with people, all through the day.
Entry 10855
If yo' wanted tuh git a job or sompin lak dat, git chew some dis heah pinewood honey. It's sompin dat grows on a tree, but chew gotta find dat. It's in different kind of cypress called swampy ground, an' low ground, jes' pinewood honey - pinewood honey.
(Is that the name of the tree?)
No, dat's de name of de stuff whut comes off de tree. Dey call it pinewood honey. It's a certain time of month dat chew kin git dis heah offa any tree, but it's dark sompin lak tar. But when de sap is in de tree [stops talking].
(The stuff that the children used to chew?)
Dat's it, but when de sap is in de tree.
(That thick sap that the children used to chew? They call it pinewood honey?)
Pinewood honey. An' yo' use dis pinewood honey an' yo' kin carry it in yore pocket. An' git chew some dis heah cinnamon powder an' burn it an' place it ovah dis heah [pinewood honey] an' wrap dat in red flannel an' wears it about chew, when yo' goes about dere [place of business] an' ast him fo' a job.
(Where do you burn this, in your own house?)
Uhmmuh. (But you have this pinewood honey in your pocket when you go to ask for a job?) Yeah, but chew gotta have dat pinewood honey an' de cinnamon. Yo' gotta burn dis cinnamon, burn it by itself an' den aftah it browns, see, sprinkle it ovah dis pinewood honey. See, an' den put it in a bag an' carry it in yore pocket, jes' lak de [they] call de [the] tobies [the singular is toby, the same name as the jug] whut people use.
(This is a toby?)
Uh-huh. Dey call 'em tobies an' han's.
Entry 11346
If you be out of work and you want's to get a job, you go to the drug swre and you get you some cinnamon bark - not the ground cinnamon - cinnamon bark. You chew that. You get you 25 cents of what you call - it's a drawing powder - and you gotta pay attention too when you get that. After you get that powder... Now, for you, you have to get pink. They got two kinds of it. got the pink and white. You get that drawing powder. Of course, you rub of it in the palm of your hand like that [demonstrates]. You take that cinnamon bark and you chew that cinnamon bark. And when you get around there where the boss is, of course, spit it but not enough so nobody will pay atten- tion to you. You take some of that powder and you put it in some of your pock- ets, and because it's got a sweet smell to it, nobody never pay attention to it anyway. In your pockets. When you close to him, spit that cinnamon bark around there. And that powder will draw him to the person [to you] and he will give you a job.
Entry 11385
Policeman comes several times and you wanta keep him away, and you doin' underworld work. You have to get you oil of cinnamon, use your chamber lye, and cayenne pepper, and scrub every morning before the sunrise. Scrub into house [for trade], never out. Then you get you two brand-new files and you put 'em to your door and cross 'em. They can't come over that.
(Well, where did you put these at the door then? How would you put them?)
What, the files?
(Yes, at the door.)
You would put them underneath the doorstep.
(Underneath the doorstep. I see, so they won't come in.)
You have to use 'em in de back door like dat [also] if there is two entrances going in. Well they can't come across those two new files.
Entry 12234
If you is gambling and you wants luck, well you'll git you some steel dust. See. You git you a dime - a silver dime. Git that dime and you put it in a piece of flannel, and you take it and you git a piece of John de Conkah root. See, that John de Conkah root. You takes all that and you put it down in there. Steel dust, and then you get you some of that cinnamon powder. You understand. And you takes that down [from shelf] and put it in there, and then you git you some Van- van. You ever heard of that. Or some good Jockey Club Perfume. And you put it [flannel package or hand] in your pocket. See, that steel dust draws. Then you put it in your pocket and every time you wants to gamble with somebody, you take it and rub it like that in your hand. You see. Take it and rub it in your hand but don't let 'em see you. And whatever you doing, you going to be lucky.
Entry 12237
Dey got a lodestone dat's pretty good an' it's oil of cinnamon, an' yo' kin git - if yo' kin git John de Conkah - dat's good to use in spittin' when yo' go in, yo' know.
(To get a job?)
Yes.
Entry 12541
Well, now dey say if yo' take dat red onion wit red pep- pah an' dat salt, everybody go in dere will be dissatisfied. (What will you do with that?) Take it an' mix it together an' put it in dere whilst de house is empty. Take it an' put it in every corner of de house, make no difference how many rooms it is. Yo' put it in dere, an' anybody go dere dey won't be satisfied wit dere house.
(That is crossing up the house?)
Yes.
(Do you put it in the corner in any special way?)
Put it in each corner jes' as close as yo' git it up 'side de corner of de house. Tuh uncross it.
(To uncross this, all right.)
Yo' take garlic an' dis oil of cinnamon an' red peppah an' mop wit it an' dat'll uncross 'em.
(So that you can move into the house if you want to?)
Yes.
Entry 12295
A person did you somepin, and you take a lemon and you put some parsley in it, and you put some cinnamon in it and brown sugar in that lemon. [Brown sugar for a black person, white sugar for vhite person. Many examples in HOODOO of color scheme.]
(You put parsley, cinnamon and brown sugar. All right.)
Yeah, brown sugar, into the lemon, and you take that lemon and you go put it right under your step - under there - right under the middle part of your step, and bury it. They say that will move what they done did to you.
(Take it away.)
Yes.
Entry 12882
Scrub your home with sugar, cinnamon and wintergreen and you mop that out. Don't put no soap or no powder, just mop the place in. Always start at de sill of the door, mop it in. Then after that, take you some cinnamon and steel dust and sprin- kle all around into the home, just sprinkle it into the place - the four corners of the house. And that draws openers for you for business.
Entry 12884
Scrub it out good with Red Seal Lye, got the red seal [trademark] on it...an' yo' wrench [rinse] it good this day - like today - and tomorrow you go there and you use nine buckets of water. And the ninth bucket of water you put sugar and cinnamon and Burben fast luck in it, and it'll be lucky and you'll, can rent the house.
(What kind of fast luck?)
Berb - bur - I believe - Burbeans - you know that spells beans.
(Burbean's?)
Yeah, Burbean's Fast Luck.
(What is it, an oil or a powder?)
It's a oil-like. You gets that outa the drug store.
Entry 13234
Well, of course, if they got you in jail, of course, you done have somebody [usually a hoodoo doctor] on the outside to handle that for you. Now, you get you some sugar and you get you some cinnamon, you get some steel dust and lode- stone. You beat that all in a powder, you see. Now, when you beat that in a powder - now they got you before the judge, you have somebody come in the door, and when they [pris- oner] come in the door, in the judge's door - while he be coming in, he [your doctor] be dropping it and he be counting nine times, long as it take you - until you get clean up to the stand. See. Just drop a little of it on the floor the ninth time. I bet you walk out of that place.
(But somebody else has got to do that for you?)
Yeah, somebody got to do that for you, you see, because they already got you in there.
(I see.)
Entry 13241
Sugar and cinnamon and mix it up well together and put it in your pocket. Jes' like I'd come in here and I'd wanta see you, I'd come in and I'd have my hand in my pocket, and as I'd enter the door, I'd jes get a little in my hand and sprinkle it about. And I ask you for a job. Well, you'd be more than apt to give it to me.
Entry 4218
Well, yuh kin git dis chamber lye an' oil of cinnamon an' lye an' scrub yuh house each an' evah mawnin' an' dat brings luck tuh yuh house jis' as yo's - whut yuh'all desire.
Entry 4219
Go tuh de drug sto', if yuh want aplenty customahs. Jes' lak when yuh use yuh slopbucket at night an' have yuh urinate in dere. Git chew a dime of oil of cinnamon an' a ten-cent can of Red Devil Lye, an' yore urinate. Mix it in de bucket an' let somebody scour yuh front porch wit it, an' plenty customah come in tuh yuh - be comin' dere evah day.
Entry 4583
Yuh take dis little bow here an' take some devil's-shoestring dey call it. Take dat devil's-shoestring an' dis bow an' some cinnamon bark an' salt [and] black peppah. An' dey takes dis bow an' put it in de sole of yuh shoe. See, like yuh got a shoe, a woman would do dat. Dat's tuh make her - make yuh stay. Yuh goin' tuh stay right wit 'er. An' she'll take dat an' put it in de sole of 'er shoe an' wear it dere. As long as she got dat thing in dere, yuh can't leave her.
Entry 4630
(Do you know how they do that?)
Well, dey take dat bow an' dey take dat bow away from yuh hat an' dat thread off dat bow. Dey take dat an' dey sew it up intuh de mattress. An' aftah dey sew it up intuh de mattress, dey'll git some of dis here essence of cinnamon. Yuh know, de essence of cinnamon from de drug store - from de Crackahjack Drug Store. (Yes.) [= continue.] Well, dey git some of dat an' dey git two brass pins an' dey stick intuh dat bow an' aftah dat dey sew it up - evahthin' intuh de mattress. An' dey fix yuh wit dat.
(What will happen? What does it do to you?)
Dey'll fix yuh so dat yuh won't nevah be no help tuh yuhself or nobody else.
(I see. What do they call that stuff you get from the drug store?)
[A mumbled answer was almost unintelligible but it was essence of cinnamon, which may be the same thing as oil of cinnamon (2458-2459, p.681).]
Entry 2490
[The preceding fish fry and the one to follow are separated by 2 years and 709 informants; the former story from my first trip to New Orleans; the following story from my second trip:] Use cinnamon, sugah an' oil of geranium - nine drops of oil of geranium - de sugah an' de cinnamon mixed together. An' yo' puts dat in de fo' corners - puts it - first yo' come to de do' an yo' come in wit that, yo' see. An' den when yo' git in yo' puts it in de fo' corners of de house an' dat draws yore people. Dat's de way ah used tuh do when ah give fish fries an' bring 'em in.... (This is sort of a liquid, then? Or is it a powder?) [She had failed to say what was done with the oil of geranium.] Dat's a liquish - de oil of a-geranium is a liquish, an' de steel dust, well dat's dry. An' de cinnamon, yo' kin git dat from de drug sto', too. It's de best from de druggist den yo' git it from de grocery, because de grocery keeps it an' it's weak. But de drug sto's is strong. [The oil of geranium would have been used in water for scrubbing; the steel dust, a drawing power, would have been sprinkled in the four corners.]
The informant names cinnamon with sugar and mentions oil of geranium in a fish-fry account; the later scrubbing explanation is Hyatt's bracketed interpretation.
Entry 2492
I was in the bootlegging business - certainly I kin tell you more so 'bout that. Now, all you do is you get you some oil of geranium, oil of cinnamon and you mix it together, and you get you some sugar and a bucket of water and blueing, and when you startin' to sweep - like you sweep, you sweep in always from the street, you sweep in. After that you start to sprinkling that water, sprinkle that water coming in the door from the street. You start on the street and sprinkle right on straight in the back. You see. But you gotta put a little sugar in it to keep down the disturbance, you see. And you'll have the crowd. I used to be right round dere on Drive street. I kept the crowd in my place in bootlegging times.
(What did you put the sugar in for?)
The sugar is to keep down trouble - you see, you kin get a big crowd in your place but you kin have a lot of disturbance. You see that sugar is to keep down and ever'body be peaceful. You see that's what the sugar's for. See. And you scrub-like.
(You scrub when?)
Like on a Friday night - that's what I done did on a Friday night.
The informant names oil of cinnamon with oil of geranium in a sweeping-and-sprinkling account; sugar's stated purpose is keeping down disturbance.