Subject:Cloth/Menstrual
Entries
Entry 3908
Git a string an' tie three knots, a man would do dis, an' git a drop or two of blood from a woman an' wear it aroun' 'is waist, an' he'll be able tuh hold dat woman. (Where would he get the blood from her?) Durin' de time of 'er ministration.
Entry 5838
Yo' kin take cat hair an' yo' kin make a person love yo'. Well, yo' kin take de cat hair but yo' firs' gotta git a plait of hair, a stran' of hair from de person who yo' Wanta love yo', an' yo' take, burn dem togeth- ah. An' den yo' take some hair grease - dey call it hair grease. Yo' mix dat up togethah, undahstan'. An' den aftah mixin' it up togethah, den yo' tryin' tuh make yore lady fren'. Yo' try tuh git holt of some of 'er sickness, some piece, if 'er clothes dirty, some of 'er sickness, an' tie it up an' wear dat in yore fob [watch] pocket. Dat will cause her tuh love yo'.
Entry 10211
Well, yo' take one of 'er socks, jes' one of 'er stockin's, if yo' kin fin' dit, or eithah her menst'ration cloth. Well mos' people take de menst'ration cloth an' take a quart jah see, an' ketch [rain] watah. Jes' set yore quart jah out in de yard when it rains an' let it run full of watah [see comment later] an' take dat menst'ration cloth an' put it down in dere [the rain water] an' keep it [in the rain water] for nine days. An' aftah de ninth day she be - well, she'll go crazy for you. (Well, that breaks the spell, she had him tied up, when she ties up your [a man's] nature.) Yes sir. [First an empty quart jar set out in the yard during a rain is not going to fill up with water, despite the hoodoo powers of my informant. Finally: if a woman ties up a man, takes away his nature for all women except her, the present rite restores his nature completely.] [Rain water, like running Water, is a magic substance: see No.1431, p.467, v.1; etc.]
Entry 3941
A woman kin take an' go tuh de market an' she kin git a piece of steak or a piece of po'k [pork] livah, an' she kin put it on a cloth, jes' lak she put- tin' on a cloth fo' her monthly period - lay it between 'er laigs jes' lak she fixin' a cloth when she's sick. An' lay it right on dere an' pin it up on 'er, jes' lak she put on a towel. Put dat on dat mawnin' an' wear it until twelve a'clock. Take it off an' cook it an' give it to him, jes' 'nuff fo' him - nuthin tuh throw 'way, jes' 'nuff fo' him - an' let 'im eat it. An' when he eat, den she's got 'im so - she got 'im den.
Entry 3962
Yo' could get a piece of a woman's bloomahs - yo' know, de seat of 'er bloomahs, an' 'er menstr'ation cloth, piece of dat. An' put dat togethah an' take it an' shut it up in a [pasteboard] box, or eithah a little small wooden box. Somepin lak, yo' know, one of dese little ole small wooden boxes made about dat round [size], yo' see, an' shut it up in dere. An' dey tell me, yo' kin take dat an' turn it bottom up- wards, an' bury it right undahneat' of a person's steps, an' it will stop dem from menstr'ation. [Box is a symbol for a coffin.]
Entry 7173
De ministratin' rag an' put it undah- neat' de mattress where he sleep at, an' den take a nightgown or sompin an' throw in 'is face.
(What will that do?)
Den she kin go out an' stay out all night long an' come in de nex' mawnin'. She kin stay out all mawnin' too, from whut ah heard.
Entry 957
When the moon is on the wane, a person can take a woman's minstrational cloth and wash 'em and take that water and put 'em in a tree - you know, make a hole in the root of the tree and pour that down in that hole and stop that hole up. On the waste of the moon that person will jest waste away, they'll jest ministrate too much, jest flood to death. And they can take it on the full of the moon and do the same thing - well, the person will be ill from the idea that they don't ministrate at all. That's done wit the moon.
Entry 3864
Well, ah heard dat dey kin take - lak a man wants tuh do sompin wit a woman - he kin take a woman sanitaries an' put it into a black bottle an' bury it an' kill de woman. (He would take the sanitary piece from her and put it in this black bottle and stop it up and bury it and it would kill her.) Put devil vinegah wit it an' some cinnamon an' some steel dust [3 ingredients].
[For black bottle see BLACK BoTTLE, p.523.]
Entry 3866
Jis' lak yo' kin take a woman's sanitary napkin an' put it in a bucket or a can - anything containin' a top - an' jis' stop it up. An' see, dat stop 'er blood up an' she jis' - cain't no doctah [M.D.] start it. It won't start. Dey won't know whut tuh do about it. An' event'ly [even- tually] she'll go in bad health.
Entry 3874
Well, yo' kin take de ministrate cloth. Yo' take dat an' yo' wet it, jes' enough to wrings de stuff out of it, an' have it real thick. Well, yo' put it in a bottle an' yo' stop dat bottle up an' yo' take it an' bury it. Put it undah yore back do'step. An' dat'll make a woman weak or eithah sickly, or eithah make dem lose dere courage. Jes' lak if a woman goin' wit a man of mine yo' see, an' yo' don't want 'er tuh have no courage. Yo' take it an' put it undah yore back do'step an' have it airtight, an' yore man will stop wit de wo- man. Or eithah she'll won't have no courage fo' him er [or] nuthin lak dat, if he don't stop 'er.
Entry 3893
Yo' could take a person's monthly cloth, take it an' stop it up. Bury it in de graveyard. An' yo' kin go to dat place fo' nine mawnin's an' do de same way each time dat chew go dere. Do de same thing each time dat yo' go dere. Evah time yo' go dere, why yo' put a little bit mo' dirt on it - each time, fo' nine mawnin's. An' dey'll nevah do nuthin in dis worl' no mo'. [Here we have the symbolic grave mound, made by the magic of in- creasing amount, the opposite of magic of decreasing amount.]
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 3931
Dat piece she wears, yo' know, durin' de time all wimmins have dat. Yo' take a piece outa dat an' yo' cut a place in yore left shoe, an' yo' wear dat cloth in dere, an' all de time she cain't go outa de house. She gotta stay in de house whilst yo' wear dat.
Entry 3934
[Take] de toe of de socks, an' git a piece of de middle, an' take dat socks an' 'er periods cloth.
(NoW you are taking her sock and her period cloth or are you taking my socks?)
Her socks an' her periods cloth. An' git some of de hair from roun' 'er pri- vate down dere, an' a little from offa heah, de mole of 'er haid, an' put it all togethah an' step to de do'. If yo' see her go outside in de yard, step to de do' an' ketch up as much of 'er track, lak dat, an' put it altogethah dere. An' ball it up an' sew it up tight as yo' kin git it, see. An' bury dat an' put in de mattress or de pillah right where she puts 'er haid. An' yo' got 'er jes' as yo' wanta - like a footstool.
Entry 3946
If mah ole man wuz tuh go out an' wuz mean tuh me lak dat an' NO ONE GIVE ME NUTHIN, well ah could buy me a steak or sompin lak dat. Lak ah wanta cook 'is dinnah. Well, ah could wear it about two or three hours or sompin lak dat. Yo' know, cook it fo' him tuh eat his dinnah, sompin lak dat, see. An' jis' mah monthly sickness lak dat. Well, evah day lak dat, well ah pull off a fresh cloth. Well, ah squeeze de little blood-lak an' make him a cake or some kinda puddin'. Well DAT MAKE HIM GOOD TO ME AN' GIVE ME MONEY. If he be runnin' roun' wit wimmins lak dat, well ah kin make him stay at home wit me.
Entry 3952
Dey say dey take de stain of a person blood an' sew it up - make a li'le bag an' sew it up in dat li'le bag. Take it to any runnin' watah, eithah hang it high in a tree, where de dew an' de rain can lick [hit] ovah it an' drop ovah it. An' he kin git dem [periods] started an' dey won' evah stop. Dey always will run until it fin'lly run 'em crazy.
(The woman's blood on her monthly cloth?)
Yes.
Entry 3961
If she min'stratin', dey kin take her cloth an' put it in anythin', a hollow log an' stop it up whare it cain't git no air, an' she'll turn lak she got de consumption.
Entry 3966
Jes' lak ah wus goin' kill dis woman 'cross de street dere - she doin' me dirty. Ah takes an' hire somebody down heah tuh fumble round in 'er house an' git me her minstration, see. Well, now if dey got me her minstration, well ah take it an' bundle each cloth up an' take it in de back yard to a washpot an' bury it undah dis washpot, bury it deep so nuthin won't git it. Well now, yo' know evah week ah gotta do mah washin'. Well, as dat thing dry - see, as it dries, she'll begin tuh droop as it dry. Well, finely [finally] it dry an' molt away. An' when it [does], she jes' pine away. Dat's all ah kin tell yo' 'bout dat now, cuz ah don't wanta tell yo' no story. Ah wanta give yo' de straight tales.
Entry 3973
Dey tell me if yo' take one of woman's 'pearance rags, yo undahstan', while she ministratin', an' take it an' ball it up an' take it down to a running stream of watah an' throw it in it, dat runs her crazy.
(In what way will it make her lose her mind?)
Make her lose her mind, yeah.
Entry 3975
Well, she kin take her menstr'al - take dis woman's cloth an' carry it an' put it in a runnin' stream, an' dat woman, she'll nevah stop flowin', she'll flow until she git pale.
Entry 12427
Menstrual cloth bury or throw into running water, says she'll "never be any more good." [Wilmington 257:7.]
Entry 3131
Yo' kin take yore [a man's] hair an' kin run yo' crazy. Well, yo' kin take it an' tie it behin' a wumman - dat mean a wumman kin do it. A wumman kin take - whut ah mean, her ministrate an' wrap it [a man's hair] up an' tie it roun' 'er wais' an' it'll run yo' [him] crazy.
(The woman would take whose ministrate, her own?)
Yes.
(And wrap it around her own waist. That would run you [a man] crazy?)
Yes sir. (Well, what about - what is she going to do with your hair? Where do you put this hair?) Roun' yore wais'.
(What would she do with this hair?)
She wraps it up, yo' know, in one of de [her] towel. (She wraps it up in her menstruation cloth and wears it around her waist. That is to run you crazy about her?) Yes sir.
(0r to run you actually crazy?)
Well, it tuh run yo' actually crazy in dis way, run yo' where yo' couldn't have any othah woman but 'er. (She takes some of my hair, and then takes her menstrual cloth and wraps my hair up in it, and then wears it around her waist.) Yes.
Menstrual cloth is explicitly named in the interviewer's restatement. The exchange's 'crazy' wording remains a source claim rather than a clinical finding.
Entry 3891
Take a cloth, yo' know lak a woman menstrate, an' yo' kin take dat cloth an' get [go to] a fresh-dug grave, an' wrap dat cloth in dat. An' dig dat dust up, an' put dat cloth in dere, an' put dat dust back down on dat cloth, see. When dis cloth rots undah dis dust, dat person will pine away to nuthin.
The source links the cloth to menstruation in the instruction; the later pining-away statement is a claim. [go to] remains editorial.