Subject:Cloth/Clean cloth
Entries
Entry 3927
Anyway, she lef' me. She wus good to me. I an' huh wus livin' togeth- ah good, an' it seems to me dat she lef' me becuz I couldn't get no money togeth- ah. (I see.) It seems like she lef' me becuz I couldn't get no money. An' I wanted mah ole lady becuz I loveded us. An' I went to dis same fellah on Messanine[?] an' Williard. Keeler[?] [Healer?] dey call 'im.
(What name?)
Messanine[?].
(I see. All right.)
[Useless to ask him to spell it.]
Well, anyway, when I went to him, I ast 'im what should I do to get mah ole lady becuz I like-ted 'er, an' she had been good to me. So he tole me. He said, "You get - try to get one of 'er pieces."
(What kind of pieces?)
Dat's one of 'er pieces dat she wears, yo' know, evah month. So I got a girl frien' of mine to get a piece - a girl frien's of 'er, too. I tole de girl, I didn't want to hahm 'er. She say, "Yo' don't wanta hahm [harm] 'er." I say, "No, I'm not gon'a hahm 'er." I say, "I wouldn't ha'm 'er, I want to do somepin to make peace, cuz I love mah ole lady." Anyways, she got dis piece fo' me. So, I took it an' I wrahpped it up in a cloth, clean cloth.
(Did he tell you to do this?)
Yes, sir.
(What did he tell you to do?)
He tole me to get dis cloth of hers an' wrop it up in a clean piece an' den sprinkle some powdah, jes' any kin'a sweet-smellin' powdah to kill odor, an' put it in mah left pocket an' wear it - jes' take it evahwhere I go, yo' know. An he guarantee me I'll git mah ole lady" - jes' evahwhere I heard talk of she's at an' soon she goin' commence followin' me places she know I be. Well, I did dat, an' I wasn't a week befo' me an' mah ole lady was back.
Entry 2182
Take a red onion an' cut it in four pieces an' sprinkle salt on it an' tie it up tight in a hand'chief or jis' any ole kin' of cloth, a clean cloth, an' tote dat aroun' in yore [left] pocket an' when yo' go dere yo' sprinkle a little sulphur at de door an' when yo' be talkin' [to the boss] jis' mash de onion down in yore han's tight, hol' it tight.
Entry 3185
Take an' git some of 'is nature yo' know, when she have anythin' to do wit 'im. Have a clean cloth. Take a clean cloth an' use dat, but chew don't have connection wit 'im. Take dat cloth an' fold it fo' times. Fold it one time dis way, an' den fold it dat way. Fold it dis way an' fold dis end in. An' put it [demonstrates]. (You fold that handkerchief [I describe informant's actions]. You fold it to you one fold. Then you come to this other end and fold it the other way, and you fold it again in the middle, and you fold this other side in the middle. That's four folds. You make two [by folding top to you, then folding bottom away from you, making 3 oblongs] and then fold them over [fold the 3 oblongs, left side to right past center, right side to left past center, creating 9 squares and you have a tick-tack-toe design.].) Dat's right, den yo' put it in de middle of de bed undah de Eattress. [For another folding 4 times, see 3162, p.2352.]
Entry 11664
Go to the forks of the road. You gotta get - there's a certain dust on the middle part of the forks of the road. Well, they take that and they put it in a clean cloth and they make nine knots - tie it in nine knots. And they take that and wear it around their waist, and now they got you stopped. [This is a protection against con- juration.] (Well, what do they wear that for?) Well, they - what they wear that for? Well, they kin harm you a whole lot, see. They kin make you go to a certain distance as they want you to go, and they kin stop you at a certain distance, if they wanta stop you, see.
(Well, how would they use that?)
[Informant has already answered my question.]
How they?
(Do they use it in any way? Or do they just wear it around their waist?)
Just keep it around their waist [for protection]. [New Orleans, La., (884), 1457:5 0r 4.]
The informant describes dust from the middle of road forks tied in a clean cloth with nine knots and worn at the waist, discussing control or harm. Hyatt labels it protection, including a final bracketed gloss. Preserve that difference in purpose and the interviewer's repeated questions without converting editorial protection into the informant's explanation.