Subject:Confusion
Entries
Entry 1809
Dere's some kind of powder dat chew git - confusion powder. (What do you do with that?) Of co'se yo' goes dere an' dusts where dey live at, in de house where dey walk at, someway, and jes' cause dissatisfaction between de two.
Entry 5101
Has a sweetheart dat he may lak 'er. He may wanta git hold of 'er. Whut he'll do. He'll take - go tuh yuh front gate an' he may put 'er shoe on de right-han' side, take one of yuh ole shoe or eithah a sock, an' place it on de left. An' he'll git a bay bush, he'll stick it between dem shoe - jis' a li'le small piece. An' jis' as de wind blow dis li'le bush, den dey'll be agru- in' [arguing] an' quarrelin' - raisin' cain. An' de minute dat dis bush - de wind blow dis bush down on de ground, an' she [the bush] fall, dere's where dey part.
(That's when they'll part. That's if you want to separate these people?)
Separate dem, yeah. (But you must do that at the gate. You just get a bay bush and stick it in the ground?) Yeah, a li'le small piece of bay bush.
(A twig or something?)
Dat's de idea. Don' have it so large cuz dey might be able to find it befo' de wind blows it down. When it fall from de wind, dere's where yo' got 'em. [Norfolk, Va., No.466, Doctor Paul Bowes, see 300, p.89; 337, P.99; 410, p.122; 455, p.141;614, p.206.]
Entry 5719
Take yo' track an' rake it from de toe back tuh de heel. Dey take dat sand an' dey tie it up in a rag an' it hangs dere fer so many days. Have it tied up in a tree or a ceilin'. Hangs it in de centah dere. Dey puts nine stick pins in it, two needles. Go across lak dat [demonstrates], pins lak dis; jis' put de needles up an' down, right across dere. Now, dat's tuh run yo' away from dere. Do yo' harm so dat yo' can't git along wit nobody dere. (Now they take up that track, they get six [nine] pins. and two needles. And what do they do with those?) Take an' put de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Put the pins one way.)
Put de pins dis way an' dis way, an' de middle pin goin' cross dem two needles right 'cross dere.
(I see, they make a cross. Then what do they do with those things?)
Tie de things up.
(I see, they tie that foot track and these needles and pins in a rag.)
Dat's de one dat... [I interrupt. Informant was about to say, "Dat's de one dat keep yo' confus- ed."]
(Then what do they do with that rag?)
Take an' tie it up an' put it at de cornah of yo' baid. [Previously inform- ant said center of ceiling. Bed or ceiling causes confusion in home.] Dey takes de track an' yo' tie dat dirt up in a tree, tuh a limb tuh a tree. Dat's tuhmake yo' leave.
(What foot track do they take?)
De lef' foot track.
(What do they tie it up in?)
Piece of rag, jis' in any kinda rag. (What do they do with that foot track with those needles and pins in? What do they do with that?) Tie it undah yore baid. Dat's tuh keep yo' confused. Yo' an' yore family are confused.
Entry 7619
(What do you know about graveyard dirt?)
Well, ah tell yuh, yuh kin take graveyard dirt - now, yuh kin go tuh de grave- yard jis' lak if yuh wanted tuh do anybody any harm. Well, yuh kin go dere. Well, yuh kin carry - it's a cert'in 'mount of pennies fo' yuh tuh carry, see. Well, yuh kin carry dem eight pennies an' yuh go tuh de haid of de person, see. Well, yuh ast dem fo' some of de dirt, see; an' tell 'em dat chew'll pay dem fo' it, see. Well, yuh drop dese pennies intuh de dirt right tuh de haid of dem, see. Den yuh take some of de dirt. Git some of de dirt an' put it in a papah an' yuh kin bring it on back home, see. Well, yuh kin take dat dirt an' jis' lak yuh go tuh a person's house, or yuh kin git someone tuh do it fo' yo'. Yuh kin go in dere an' sprinkle dat dirt roun' in dere, see. Well, it will cause dat whole room tuh git upstarted, see. Dere'll be fussin' an' fightin' an' goin' on until dey [man and woman] be separated, see.
Entry 8019
Take de bone of a wicked person an' puttin' it in a secret place in dere house an' it will cuz confusion. (How would it cause confusion?) De spirit will wisit dat house. (The spirit comes to the house.) It wisit dat house an' nobody nevah be able tuh live in dat house.
Entry 8029
Well, dey sprinkle it roun' yore house in yore home, de dust of dat dead person - de dead folks' dust yo' know roun' yuh home. Dat creates confusion. If dey want chew tuhleave, dey do dat jis' tuh run yo' 'way from dere. From de dead person bone, dis ole dust from de bones rotten.
Entry 8714
Well, yo' take her name an' yo' write her name down three times. Yo' write yore name three times. Yo' want her now, yo' want her. (Now where would I write my name?) Yo' write her name here first [demonstrates]. Put chure name heah [underneath]. Yo' Yo' write her name heah an' put chure name in dere. Yo' write it three of each, three of each. An' yo' take den an' yo' sprinkle a li'le salt an' a li'le sugah on dis, white sugah. De sugah tuh sweeten it. Salt saves it an' sugah sweetens it. An' sprinkle dat. Yo' put dat on top of a heater an' yo' let dat brown. When yo' let dat brown, her mind will come to yo'. Dat sveetness of dat sugah will sweeten her mind tuhwards yo'. Yo' git 'er. Well, now, if yo' wanta jes', say, carry her off from where she stayin' or make confusion ovah dere first, yo' put red peppah, sulphur an' gunpowdah on dere. Put 'er husban' name or whosomevah man she got, yo' put dat on dere. Dat's tuh confuse dem. Den when yo' confuse 'em, yo' got 'em. Den yo' put dat sugah on dere to sweeten, an' dat salt to save 'er fo' yo'. Yo' put dat on dere tuh bring 'er tuh yo'.
Entry 8775
Ah heard dey take new war watah an' dey sprinkle it aroun' yore do's an' dey'd call yore name. An' den when yore husband or yore wife come in de night, yo' an' dem would have de biggest kind of humbug. Yo' wouldn't know whut is all de fuss. De' sprinkle war watah all up onto de do'.
Entry 9138
Well, now de best ah learned about a case in co't, dey had me in fo' gamblin'. Ah goes up dere dat mawnin' - ah wus out on a bond - taken up some salt an' throw it fo' diff'ren' ways an' den goes out. [You] say, evah time yo' throw it... [cylinder changed]. (You throw that four different Ways in the courthouse. All right.) Right in de fo' cornahs, an' say, "Bring peace out of confusion." Go in de othah cornah, "Bring peace out of confusion." Ovah dere, "Bring peace out of confusion." [Informant forgets fourth corner.] Take some of dat an' throw some on de judge's seat, an' on de grand jury stand. Two tuh one, dey'll turn yo' loose.
Entry 9236
[Well, now yo' kin take a black - it's gotta be a solid black hen. Yo' kin take a black hen aig an' write chure enemy's name on dere an' yo' kin bury it, if yo' wan' 'em tuh leave town or leave from aroun' yore neighborhood. Yo' put de lit- tle end out. (Out from what?) From de do'. Put de little end out. Jes' bury it right in front of yore do'. An' dat will run 'em away, but yo' will have tuh write dere name on dat aig an' it has tuh be a black hen aig. Then yo' kin take a black hen aig an' yo' kin throw it, but yo' have tuh be shore [sure] dat yo' hit right on de do'knob wit it. Yo' kin throw it an' let it strike right ag'inst a person's do'knob an' it'll cuz all kinda confusion in dat home, an' yo' can't stay dere in no peace.
Entry 9255
Ah would git me a egg from a frizzly hen [for frizzly chicken, see p.59f. and elsewhere] an' ah would put it undah de steps. Den, aftah nine days, yo' see, dat egg would bus [burst]. Dat would make con- fusibn an' de landlord would put 'em out de house.
Entry 9256
[A frizzly hen egg] take it an' write de name on de egg an' bust it in front of de person's do', will cuz a separation in de home.
(That has to be a egg from a...?)
From a frizzly hen. Only one ah was evah tole dey could use. Ah don't know about othahs.
Entry 9284
People say dat chew could take an' write a person's name on de aig an' throw it ovah de top of dey house.
(What will that do?)
Dat will cuz dem tuh move. An' den too, dey say it cuzes confusion. An' sometimes dey say, if yo' sellin' whiskey, it will cuz de law yo' know, tuh stay round de.house all de time. (It will cause the law to stay around?) If de aig busts, but if de aig don' bust, why dere ain't nuthin tuh it. (Do you use any kind of an egg?) Yo' use a black - no, it's gotta be a round aig, a real round aig; no square aig atall. It's gotta be round. [For shapes of eggs, see also R00STER EGG, No.9348f., p.3753.1
(From any kind of a chicken?)
Any kind of a chicken, jes' so's [so is] it a round aig.
Entry 9408
She says she had some trouble with her stepchildren - she married this man.- of co'se they [she and stepchildren] couldn't get along. An' so she was ready to give up everything and leave. So somebody directed her to some woman down in Augusta, Georgia. Ah was from Augusta. So she went down there to see this woman. So after talk- ing with this woman, this woman advised her instead of giving up her home to just go back home and: Get a fresh egg, a fresh-layed egg, and take this egg and place it in - [place] the tip of the egg in salt halfway, and finish covering this egg with sulphur, [let it stand] for twelve hours. Remove this egg then from the sulphur and write the parties' names all over this egg with a lead pen- cil. Take this egg and go outdoors to the room where these parties sleep [the room was in her own house and occupied by the stepchildren] and throw it against the house. And as you throw this egg, call this parties' names. And this egg will bust, and you turn right around and go on about your business and don't look back. And she said, "Within nine days somepin will happen [egg supposed to bust in 9 days - see elsewhere] and that somepin would be some confusion in the home with these parties that is causing the trouble with you and your husband; or, these children would be forced to move away." Well, she says she did that. And of course after - she said the eleventh day though, the eleventh day, this row came up and these children moved out. They were all grown and married. And she said for six years they hadn't been back. And they've gotten along just fine, she says, she and her husband.
Entry 9425
(A black hen egg? What do they do with that?)
Well, dey claims dat dey write chure name on dat an' yo' put dat in vinegah an' let it stay dere nine days. An' den yo' break it ovah de person's do', if yo' wanta make 'em move. (You just write the name on this egg, just once?) Yeah, once on de aig, an' yo' put it in vinegah. Leave it stay dere nine days, an' den yo' throw it ovah dey do'. Also a guinea aig. A guinea aig is mostly bettah den de black hen aig. [THIS MAY BE MY ( ONLY EXAMPLE OF A GUINEA EGG.] Although lotsa people believes in de black hen aig, but a guinea goes roun' de house makin' fuss all de time. Yo' know, yo' notice dat? [Guinea fowls considered as good as a watch dog.] An' if yo' wanta make fuss an' keep confusion, yo' git dat guinea aig, yo' see, an' dat keeps de confusion. (You do the same thing as you did with the black hen egg.)
Entry 9560
Well, jes' lak yo' got a good ole man an' sometimes dey begrudge yo', well, yo' jes' sprinkle salt an' cayenne peppah aroun' every mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' dat keeps up a disturbance - keep 'em fightin' an' fussin'.
(That breaks you [a family] up.)
Entry 9843
Dey said git a wasps' nest with nine needles, brand-new needles an' nine brand-new pins an' put de pins dis way an' de needle haid dat way, object [opposite] each othah. An' take dat an' yo' know, 'vide [divide] 'em up in nine pieces, split it, stick it intuh de Wasps' nest, holes [cells of the nest] yo' know. An' go 'long where dis person at an' jis' drop it, an' dey'll walk ovah it.
(That will harm them? What will it do to them?)
Well, it will jis' cuz 'em tuh rave an' go on home an' raise disturbances wit mos' evahbody dey meet. (You take these nine needles and nine pins, and you stick them into that wasps' nest.) Make nine holes an' stick each one in dose nine holes an' let 'em walk ovah it an' dat would make 'em very cross.
(You bury that in the ground, then?)
Bury it right in de ground.
(You leave those needles sticking in that wasp's nest?)
Dat's right. (That will cause confusion and quarrels and things of that sort.)
Entry 9849
Take nine needles an' stick it in a piece of cloth an' jis' nail it right in de cornah [of] yuh house [demonstrates] jis' lak dat: five dis-a-way an' five [four] dat-a-way.
(The needles are parallel and alternately pointing in the opposite direction.)
An' den [or either] yuh pu'tit [put it] undahneat' [demonstrates] jis' lak dat bo'd yondah.
[The top of doorsill - see explanation later.]
Teah [tear] yuh off a bo'd an' take a nail an' tack it up. [This "up] means 'down", where you will walk over it, not "up so that you walk under it." This is a "tacking down" rite.] Dat keeps yuh fussin', yuh cain't stay dere in no peace. [I have copied this rite from my own transcription, a rough one, made in pencil a short time after the interview. Whether there was a saddle at the door - many of them were sad- dleless - either I could not remember or else my notations would improve with experience.]
Entry 10191
[White candles are lucky and white candles are unlucky. Black candle is a death symbol. When you burn a black candle on a person that's for their death. And white candle is for luck and peace. Black candles are confus- ion. (Red candles are what?) Bloodshed.
Entry 10600
Yeah, we call dem bullbats.
(What do you hear they say they do with those?)
Well, yo' take dat bullbat an' yo' take de wing of de bullbat - his vings - aa'yo' put dat with some graveyard dirt. An' put dat in a li'l' bundle an' yo' put it up anywhere umdah a person's house or anything lak dat. Dat'll cause 'em to be confusd an' fly around jes' lak de bullbat; case 'em to fly aroun' lak dey don't have good sense. [My note on this sheet reads: "R.D. (root doctor) unusual but legitimate. The man is not lying. No two per- sons work alike. R.D., good, but broke up his material, too late to preserve
(as a whole for an interview). Good.]
The informant describes a bullbat wing bundled with graveyard dirt beneath a house, with a claimed confusion effect. The interviewer asks what people do. Hyatt's separate quoted notebook appraisal describes this informant and the broken-up interview material; it does not independently establish the rite's effects.
Entry 10822
To make a husband an' wife be cross with one another all de time - look like dey jes' can't git along - de lady might use de broom on sweepin' off de table an' dat'll cause confusion 'tween her an' her husband. Seemed like dey'd be cross wit one another. Well, anybody oughtn't tuh do dat, but sometimes people wull do it 'cuse ah've seen 'em do it.
(Who would sweep the table with the broom?)
De lady, de man's wife.
(Well, what would she do that for?)
Dat easy cleaning de table, ah reckon. [This may not be the floor broom but the hand broom I describe elsewhere: long slender twigs, reeds or grass bent together and tied with same material just below bend - about two feet long.]
(Sweeping the table off with the broom will cause confusion in the house.)
[This is merely my comment for the microphone.]
Entry 10907
Git de cat hair an' de dog hair an' mix it together, an'( den when yo' mix it toget- her, den yo' git chew some dis same brimstone; an' burn anywhere outdo's, an' it will 'sturb a community, 'cause confusion.
Entry 10908
An' den, too, ag'in, if yo' want 'em tuh move, if yo' wanta upset peoples an' have confusion, yo' git chew a small little [young] cat an' a [young] dog: Yo' know, when a cat an a dog git tuhgethah, his bris- tles raises. Well, yo' takes dat cat an' put him tuh where a dog kin see 'em; an' when dey bristles raise up, clip de bristles off de cat an' offa de dog an' mix it tuhget- hah. An' if yo' kin git in dey house, why yo' carry it in dere an' throw it about in de house an' walk on out. Well, dat breaks 'em up an' keeps 'em always stirred up, confused tuh death.
Entry 10943
Dey take cedar an' buy [bury] undah - lak if yo' wanta do sompin tuh somebody, take cedar an' bury it undah de do'step or place where dey have tuh go in an' out. Or either put undah de do' an' it will cause a con- fusion or keep yore husband from runnin'. Lak if yore husband is goin' tuh dis woman's house, an' yo' jes' git some of it [wood] an' take it dere an' put it, dat'll cause 'em tuh break up.
(You put this cedar in her house?)
Yeah, go dere at night.
Entry 11133
Reach arm as far as possible in wicked per- son's grave, mix with bull dung, sprinkle at house, causes confusion.
Entry 11163
Devil's-shoestring keep confusion in a house until yo' break up; yo' gotta move, yo' can't stay dere. (How would you use that devil's-shoestring?) Well, yo' have to cake dat whilst it's green [fresh] and stick it roun' anywhere in de house an' de older it git, de longer it stay dere, de quicker dat's going to happen.
(This confusion in the house?)
Yes sir, it keep confusion - somebody gotta go.
Entry 11192
To break up house, beat up dirt dauber's nest, salt in it, pepper [black or redi in it, sprinkle around or through house.
Entry 11217
Yo' kin take, yo' know, if yo' an' yore husband ain't gittin' long good in yore house, yo' kin take some spice an' dirt dauber nest an' mash it up together; an' after yo' sweep, sprinkle it in each corner of de house. Every- thing will git 'long lovely. Dat's all ah know it's good fo'; yo' know, killin' anything lak dat. Wear it in yore shoe for a fuss lak dat an' sprinkle it round yore house. Dat's all ah know dat it's good fo'.
Entry 11299
If yo' have a little dog of some sort, cut dis dog tail off [hair from tail?] an' burn it. An' git chew some gunpowder an' some gasoline an' burn it [hair up. An' take de ashes an' carry it dere. Set it dere - don't let no one see - by night. Throw it in dere front do' an' go off on by. Dey never will wanta live dere any mo'.
(What do you do that for?)
Dat's to run 'em out from dere. (Run them out of the house, to cause confusion in the home, chase them out so they finally break up.
Entry 11624
Jis' like if yo' - like if you are separated from your wife and the man is always getting in trouble about it, you catches a live fish and you write his name on it. And cut that fish open while him alive and sew him up with that name in it, and throw it in the pond where you catch him from. The more the fish go, the more they going.
(What do you do that for, now? If I'm separated from my wife and she's what?)
And uh - you and your wife - this man is always keeping your wife on distur- ban', in confusion all the time, and always with him. Write his name and catch that live fish and cut him open and sew him back up with that name inside of him and turn him loose.
(This other man - that will send the other man far away from your wife?)
Yes, it will run him away.
(When the other man's running after your wife.)
Entry 12279
De' take de gunpowder an' de sulphur dust - dat not de lump sulphur - an' mix it together an' put it in a quill or some fish-pole. An' go by a per- son's house an' go dat- away three times. (Knocking three times.) [Also blowing 3 times.] An' de persons in dat yard, dey goin' have a uproar in dere. It will make a confusion between everybody. See, somebody in dere is gotta move out. If dere some enemies in dere, well dey gotta git out. [It would probably be safer to try this rite during day when no one was home. There are similar blowing through tube rites in HOODOO.1
Entry 12296
Like if they would like for you to move out of that house, they'd keep you in confusion all the time, if they couldn't git chew to move other w'are [other where]. They would use salt, lemon and rice. (They would use salt, lemon and rice?) Lemon and rice. (Well, how would they use that?) They'd take the salt and the rice and lemon, where- ever you got to walk over. If it's coming to a step, over a step, they would plant it under the step. Dig a hole and plant it under there. And ever time you walk over that and go back and forth, it'll always keep you in some kind of confusion in that house, and you won't never feel so very well right in that house.
(I see.)
As long as that salt and lemon sours this rice. See. And as it sours, things is getting sourer and sourer towards you in that house.
(I see. Well, do they bury the whole lemon or just the juice?)
They take a lemon. They take this lemon and stuff this lemon with that rice and salt.
(Oh! I see, I understand.)
Stuff it.
(Oh! I see, stuff it. I see, now. All right.)
Entry 12410
Why dey tell me it's danger of lending matches out chure own home. Dey tell me by lending matches out chure home dat a person kin take it to dey house an' use sulphur wit it in a way dat it'll keep confusion in yore home all de time.
(Do you know how they use it? What they do?)
Well, dey say, if yo' loan a person - a person come to yore house an' borrow three or foah matches from yo'. Dey'll go back home - if dey got a nice box wit sulphur inside, dey scrape dat sulphur off de side of de box an' put two of dose matches in de box. Put dat sulphur in dat box an' go to de sto' an' buy yo' a bottle of dis stuff whut chew call sweet spirit of niter. An' fo' three mornin's, drop a drop on each three mornin's - keep it closed - dey say dat will keep confusion an' fussin' in yore house all de time between yo' an' yore folks.
Entry 12614
Ah've heard people say yo' could take red pep- pah an' throw it round de house. Yo' know red peppah is fussin' anyway [causes a fuss]. Take red peppah an' throw it around de house. Or eithah burn it an' sulphur where dey kin git de scent of it, chew know.
(What would that do to them, then?)
It would cause confusion an' fussin' an' fights.
Entry 12620
Red peppah, brimstone, sulphur an' burn it an' blow de smoke [towards house] nex' to 'em an' [if people there] don' be in dey house - but if yo' burn it, yo' kin burn it in yore own house an' name it an' blow it nex' their house. Or git some of de garments of de house or somepin othah out of de house jes' since it's been worn. Well, yo' git a garment an' then yo' wrop de brim- stone, sulphur an' red peppah, an' wrop up in de garment. Take de garments to de woods an' bury it undah an' ole rotten log, an' that'll tear de home up altogethah.
(You mean after this stuff is burnt?)
Yes, in dat ole garment, jes' since it somepin out de house. Den de people all in de house - de man or de woman - well, yo' jes' take it an' bury it in de woods undah a ole rotten log.
(That is after you burn all that stuff?)
Yes, put it in that garment.
Entry 13413
They say you can put some kind of powder on you - call it war powder war water. They say you can put that down there at their door. See, you wait until they come out and after they come out you put that down there at their door. And when they go back in, well they will create trouble. Seems their husband and them will start to fight and then their minds be all upsetted and they don't stay at that house no more. They moves away, you see. That's how you do to get rid of them.
Entry 13414
I have heard and they said they would take and put such as war water to make you - to disturb you, see. They say they sprinkle that around your door and that'll upset your mind so or somepin of the kind, if you walk over it; that if you step in it, you walk it all through the house and everybody in there would get upset. And that'll worry them and get them all upset, their mind all upset, so they'll leave you - leave the house. [This informant, 35 persons after informant in preceding rite, shows present rite a common one in New Orleans.]
Entry 166
Sometime dey say it's confusion, sometime dey say death; but whensomevah yo' see dat whirlwind go round an' round lak dat, yo' watch it an' dere'll be a fuss or a fight or somebody probably git killed, jes' where it stop. Dat's whut dey say about dat.
(Do you know what they used to say about that?)
Yeah. Well, dey say some ole devil died dere, somepin lak dat - yo' know, some bad person. Some evil spirit or somepin lak dat. Dat's whut dey call dat evil spirit.
Entry 2377
Dey say yo' kin cross 'em like that.
(How do they do that?)
They take and make the mark this Way [demonstrates by drawing a cross mark] and then they go to the drug store an' git de water dat dey sell, called war water, and pour it around yore do' and that will cause confusion and fighting - disagreeable, even until you move.
(They pour this war water right in the mark of the cross?)
Yes, sir - right in this way, right at chure door, and that will create con- fusion and you will have to leave. [See Marks, p.254.]
Entry 3019
(What do they say about St. Michael?)
Ef ah'm in a confusion with mah neighbors an' ah wants mah neighbors tuh be - yo' know, ah wants tuh be a bettah woman, ah prays tuh St. Michael. Ah prays tuh all of 'em. Ah axe St. Michael tuh please come tuh mah aid. He rides a white horse. An' ah sets him a red light fo' peace an' ah raps fo' him. An' ah fixes de red light at six, twelve an' three.
(Six, twelve and three in the afternoon?)
Yes.
(How long do you burn it each time?)
Ah burn it 'bout ten minutes.
Entry 7560
Dey kin take graveyard dust an' sprinkle it aroun' yore home an' dat will break up yuh an' yore husban'. See, dat will make confusion in yore home, but yuh have tuh git it off a sinnah's grave..
Entry 7567
Dat kin cuz a whole lotta confusion in de house, by takin' graveyard dirt, red peppah, an' if he died - fo' instance if de man is a gamblin' man, a man dat swear all about chew choo, see de baddah de fella act durin' de time he Wuz livin', de worsah it will make de people act, yuh undah- stan', dat chew use it on. If yuh take graveyard dirt from a christian person dat died, yuh undahstan', it won' do anythin' becuz dat's a good spirit. It's de evil spirit, de man dat died, yuh undah- stan', dat been a ganblah or a dunkard dataway. Dey say de way he act when he guz livin', de same dat dirt would taken effect, yuh undahstan'. Takin' dat graveyard [dirt] an' de red peppah an' black peppah an' sprinkle -it in de house znywhere - dat dirt is dry yuh see - dat will cuz confusion in de house wit de san an' 'is wife.
Entry 12064
In a piece of cloth [puts your handwriting] and ties it up, and dey vill put [shut it] up an' you will wanta go and you can't go. It'll keep you tied dere all de time and hit'll make you go out your mind too.
(Your handwriting. I see.) [Charleston 555:7.]
Entry 9542
Well, they say that they could get a - can you hear what ah say?
(I heard you.)
Well, they tell me they can take a red pepper [cayenne pepper] and salt and sprinkle that in front of your door. That's to make confusion and you can't get along there and that [sort of thing]. Why, you'll move.
Entry 9552
Well, they say that they could get a - can you hear what ah say?
(I heard you.)
Well, they tell me they can take a red pepper [ground cayenne pepper from a box] and salt and sprinkle that in front of your door. That's to make confusion and you can't get along there and that [sort of thing]. Why, you'll move.
Entry 104
(This is the old witch who wouldn't come around to see me?)
Yes sir.
(What did she do?)
She went to de graveyard an' went to a new grave, and she run her hand down in de dirt, way down about up to her elbow, and got her a handful of dirt, three handful of dirt, put it in a tin cup, an' then, she taken a penny an' put it down in de hole to pay de spirit fer de dust dat she took from de grave dirt, an' it had to be a wicked person wus buried dah. An' she went on den an' fixed de dirt an' made some bluestone dust. An' she put de bluestone dust an' de graveyard dust togethah, an' den she went to de church an' dusted it all around in de church. An' de people got so angry an' got so - an' she said to de ghost, "Go theah an' terrify 'em, terrify 'em." An' de ghost went to de church an' jis' kept ever'body confused all de time in dah an' de preacher had to leave. [A note on my original transcription reads, "Informant repeating a story he had just heard about a woman who wouldn't come to see me." This was just about the first colored witch or hoodoo who refused to meet me; also first boy friend or girl friend to investigate me for the professional worker - see Introduction.]
Entry 1308
Yo' take anyone dat chew wanta die - it's accordin' to whut chew want done - if it's anything yo' want done good - anything dat chew want done good, yo' know a person dat died good, well yo' go to their grave at twelve a'clock at night. When yo' go dere yo' have prayer, see. After yo' have prayer, yo' tell de - yo' talk to dem jes' lak ah'm talkin' to yo', "Ah am takin' dis dirt from yore grave for yo' tuh take care of me. Yo' know, when yo' wus livin' yo' always believed in things that were right. Things is goin' wrong wit me an' now ah want chew to drive away all evil spirits an' bring good things towards me - guide me, lead me. An' ah'll take dis dirt from yore grave dat chew protect from now.on, In Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost." Well when yo' take dis dirt yo' place a dime in dis place an' cover it back ovah. Den yo' take dis dirt. If yo' wanta use it fo' yo' own home affairs, yo' take it an' place it in yore home - see, a secret place.
(What would that do? What is the idea of putting it in your home?)
If it's evil spirits dat cause yo' tuh [be] like unhappy in yore home, dose good spirits will drive dose evil spirits away. Now, if yo' wanta do harm wit dat graveyard dirt, yo' goes to a sinner grave. Yo' go dere to a sinner grave; yo' don't have tuh pray wit a sinner. Yo' go dere an' git dat dirt, yo' go dere an' cuss em. Yo' cuss em jes' like he did - jes' de life dat he lived. Yo' go to his grave an' git it an' act jes' lak ah'm tellin' yo'. Yo' say, "Yo' know yo' raised hell an' made things go jes' yore way. An' now, ah'm comin' heah tuh git dis dirt from yo' tuh make things go mah way: -jes lak yodid when yo wus livin". An git it.
(When you got that graveyard dirt, how could you cause harm with it?)
Well, when yo' go fo' harm yo' go rough. Well, now, jes' lak yo' go git dis dirt, yo' see, yo' know dis person died bad - yo' low his life yo' see, yo' know how he lived. If he was a gambler yo kin git it fo' gamblin', an' if he wus a man dat raise hell an' bring confusion git it fo'that. Well, now, yo' go an' git dat dirt an' throw it on a person do' or steps an' ease it underneat' dere house, see. Well, it penetratin' dere. Yo' can't so well throw it in de yard because dey'll 'scover it, but chew kin put underneat' dere steps where dey transfer over it. De evil spirits will follow 'em all de time an' dey can't live in peace.
Entry 2352
[Undersleeve work is an unusual term for the frequently used expression underworld work (see rite following this one). Does undersleeve come from the stage magician who has something hidden up his sleeve?] An' dere wus a - family 'fairs, yo' might call it. Dey had chillen, ah had chillen, an' yo've got chillen. Well dey's always runnin' togethah - jes' a-fussin' an' a- fussin' an' keepin' a confusion all in de homes. Yo' stay dere, ah stay back heah. Well ah gits ti'ed of dat fussin' an' messin' an' messin' an' fussin'. Jes' somethin' othah - somethin' othah all de time. Well, ah goes ovah an' tells Fannie, "Yo' keep yore chillen home in yore yard an' ah'll keep mine." See. Okay. "Huh [she says]!" Ah walks back. "Ah don't care - care whut ah do. Kill 'em." Says, "If dey hit chew, yo' take ca' of 'em. If dey hit chew, yo' hit 'em back." It jes' kept on lak dat. Well, one day ah wus settin' in de house. Ah wus watchin'. An' so dis othah lady ovah heah [her] lil boy hit mine a bad lick, yo' know. Ah got mad. Ah'm not goin' take dat no longah. Ah'm goin' try me some luck. So dis heah whut ah did. Ah ain't goin' out dere tuh fight an' goin' turn out to de jailhouse. Ah'm goin' work undersleeve works. Okay. Well, ah got me a cah an' ah goes ovah - ah tells dis man, ah says, "Ah'm worried in mah home. Dey keeps on a confusion all de time wit mah kids an' ah want chew stop 'em. "Well, ah kin stop it an' be glad tuh stop it." "Well now, how much yo' charge tuh stop dis?" "All right. Well, yo' go forth an' tell me all about it." "Well, it's not anythin' fo' me tuh tell yo'. All it is, mah chillen an' 'nothah lady's chillen keeps a fuss all de time an' keeps us always mad an' all lak dat," says, "an' ah want chew tuh give me somethin' to avoid all dat - anyway yo' want it." He says, "Well, ah have several thoughts. Ah kin make 'em come jes' lak yo' want 'em tuh be. Jes' quietly 'nuff an' dey kin stay right dere an' be yore bes' fren's." "Well, ah dunno which would be de best. What would yo' think?" "Well, ah think if yo' could jes' make peace." "Well, okay. Ah'll make peace den." Well he tells me, says, "De very nex' time dey git yore chillen an' de othah lady's chillen - git togethah, git tuh brawlin' 'long an' all lak dat," say, ''don't chew pay no mind. Jes' take it. An' yo' tell dem chillen tuh watch an in dey lil play-housin' - probably sometime, yo' know, dey go in an' say, "Well, ah'm goin' play mothah an' daddy, ' yo' know. Well, dey git mothah's dress an' put it on, yo' see. An' de boys put on pants an' things lak dat." So he say, "When yo' git dis dress," say, "yo' tear it an' git a piece of de garment chew know." So sho' 'nuff dey did dat. So he said, "Then, when yo' git this piece of cloth," said, "yo' take this piece of cloth an' yo' sew it up in any part - in yore underpiece. Yo' sew it up in somethin' an' let it stay dere. Yo' don't wear dis piece but it's jes' a piece of yore garment. Jes' take a piece of hers an' sew it up in a piece of yores an' put nine needles in it. An' put it on top de windah sill." Up dere lak dat, yo' know [demonstrates].
(Up over the door?)
Uh-huh, up ovah de do', an' yo' jes' put it - fold it right back ovah dere, an' yo' jes' speak to it. Jes' lak yo' want peace, see, yo' jes' speak, "Peace, go wit dis, peace." An' dat'll take ca' of dat.
(That is all you had to do?)
Dat's all.
Entry 2669
Yo' could take dis same perfume stuff - de Three Jacks an' Three Kings [see p.728] an' Three S's [three different perfumes]. Yo' kin take it jis' alone - ah say alone in a way, but chew could git othah things tuh go with it. Take sugah an' yo' git dat brown sugah, or any kind, but de brown sugah is much bettah an' yo' urinate in it an' yo' scrub yore place, if yo' wants tuh git yore business line up. Scrub yore place out thor'ly [thoroughly]. Dat's de right way [with brown sugar and urine]. Yo' take an' clean it out with othah watah, yo' know, jis' clear watah good - scrub it out good. Den yo' take this othah stuff an' sprinkle it lak wit a mop or somethin', an' yo' put it in de fo' corners of yore house. Sprinkle it in de fo' corners of yore house, de same watah, an' scrub with it. All dat'll keep, keep confusin' down - whatevah business yo' got an' keep de law from yore house. Everybody will come to yore house beside de law.
(What do you sprinkle down? Just the sugar and this urine?)
No, wit de Three Jacks an' diff'rent othah perfumes. Yo' know whut ah mean - yeah, de Three Jacks, de Three Kings an' de Three S's. [ssS is a brand name.] (After you cleaned my house, then you put all that other stuff [perfume] to- gether and then sprinkle around the house?) Yessuh, but yo' have tuh git the first dirt out [dirt out first].
Entry 4012
Well, it's a powdahs dat ah have used but ah don't know de name of dat powdah. Dey use de chamber lye fo' two-three diff'ren' things.
(Tell me one of them first.)
Well, yo' kin take - if yo' kin ketch any of dey own, jis' lak, yo' know, dey go in a bucket at night. Well, yo' kin go dere an' git it. Yo' go dere an' git it an' boil it. Yo' gotta boil it thoroughly. Yo' take de white of a aig an break it in dere. An' yo' take de white of de aig an' let it stay in dere till it cook up, an' take it right back an' put it in a bottle. Take some Hearts Cologne an' po' in dere wit it, an' yo' go right back an' bury it right at de gate where dey have tuh walk ovah it.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat's fo' givin' people luck when stayin' at a house, where dey been in bad luck an' been havin' confusion.
Entry 8627
Yo' kin take an' break anybody up if it's a woman or a man, if yo' wants tuh break 'em up. Yo' take an' yo' write dere name down nine times wit indelible pencil, but chew make nine strips, an' as yo put one strip - yo put one strip straight an' yo' put one strip across. See, lak dat [demonstrates]. Yo' git chew some gunpowder, Epsom salts, some cayenne peppah an' some vinegar an' yo' puts dat in dat lemon. Yo' bo's [bores] a hole in de lemon an' yo' stick dat name down in dere an' po' all dat ingredient on top of it. But yo' have dem papahs crossed. Po' [pour] all dat ingredient on top of dat. When yo' po' it on top of dat, yo' git chew a cork stoppah an' yo' put it on dere. An' den yo' take dat piece of skin, de top skin, dat chew cuts back [end of lemon cut back as lid], an' yo' takes an' yo' sew it wit some black thread, an' yo' buries dat to de sunrise. Dat make confusion within de hour. (Now, the name is written once on nine different strips of paper. The name is written like John Edwards, just as we would write our name?) Yessuh.
(And you write this with just ordinary pencil?)
Yo' write dat wit indelible pencil.
Entry 12298
(What do they do with that cat hair?)
They take that cat hair and they put it with a piece of woman's shimmy or petticoat or anything of that kind. Put it into a lemon, throwing it into the Mississippi River, after putting War water in there. They'll keep that woman all upset. If she's gotten a job anywhere, she'll walk away from her job. She'll quit working. Her husband can't do anything to sat- isfy her. Everything that they do it just look like it wrong to her. See. It practically looks like it takes her mind from her. See. She don't have no presence of mind. See. By using it, she have...get a...
(She what?)
Get a animal amibition-like. See.
Entry 2202
Dey says about doin' away with yo' with yore photograph picture - jes' lak yo' say if dere someone dey gits chure photograph an' dey keep it turnt bottom upwards on a mantle or somepin lak dat, dey say an' dat'll kind upset yore mind - things that yo' start tuh do, yo' would have no presence of mind to go to work an' tuh do it.
Entry 545
Now in case a man's child - somebody has caused a man's child to wander about from the house, won't stay home, yo'll see the 'fect of it aroun' de fire- place. Dere'll come a drove of ants, black antses, all on de mantelpiece comin' in droves, some goin' an' some comin', an' will cross each othah this way, cross each othah goin' to an' fro. Well, people have oftentime wondered whut does that mean. Yore child will wander aroun' an' can't stay home. Well, now there's remedy fo' that. The remedy is, if yo' would like to heah it, take some salt - Epsom salts, some quinine an' black peppah an' mix it together three days continuous, an' sprinkle it all on de edge of de mantelpiece all aroun' it an' those antses will leave. Any child mind will become settled.
(Well, why are those ants there? Have you any idea?)
Well, it's a sign your child's mind is not right - it is unsettled. Where dey come from ah don't know, but dey will cease to come.
(Well, what causes that? Somebody has done something to the child?)
Somebody have done something to de child to cause de child not to stay home an' aggravate de parents, keep de parents confused an' dey don't know whut's de matter with de child. He will come home an' his mind become settled fo' a while. Event'lv de chile go clean off an' won't stay at home none at all - dat's a sign of dat.
Entry 920
("I had a travelin' spell put on me one time," you said?)
Yeah, an' de way dat ah wus told 'at it was done. Dis fellah went an' got mah [foot] track an' he goes to de graveyard an' he took a silver dime jes' like if to buy some graveyard dirt from a person, but he said dat de person would have to be a wicked person yo' see, jes' lak a person dat live a - yo' know, dat live a wicked life an' den have been murdered someway. An' yo' kin go there an' buy some dirt from them. Dey say yo' go down a certain distant in de earth, you see, right by de tombstone an' yo' take a lighter peg - a piece of fat lighter [pine] - an' jes' stick it down dere with dat dime an' [that's] buyin' dat dirt from de dead, you see. An' den, jes' whatsomevah dat yo' want tuh happen, in buyin' dis dirt from dem, well, den yo' could put it in action. Well, dis guy went to work an' got dis graveyard dirt - de way ah wus told - an' he took hit an' mah track an' put it into a bottle an' he corked dis bottle up. Throwed it into de rivah. Well, dat's to git mah mind goin' - yo' see, as de tide comes an' goes, well, dis man tole me dat mah mind would travel ies dat way. Well, ah noticed, ah leaved home. Ah didn't know nuthin whut it wus all about - ah jes' picked up an' leaved. Well, after ah crossed de rivah - de first rivah dat wus between mah home an' where ah wus goin' ovah in Brunswick - well, ah didn't have no more thoughts or no mo' ideas about home den if ah didn't have one. Well, ah went ovah dere [to Brunswick] an' remained dere fo' awhile. Mah mind wus all confused, ah jes' didn't have no pers'nal judgment about nuthin. An' dere wus a friend of mine took me to a man called a doctor - a hoodoo doctor of some kind. Well, he tole me -
(Where was he - in Brunswick?)
Yes sir.
(This was in Brunswick - all right.)
This [doctor] was in Waycross - an' he told him - yo' know, whut they did. Well, he tole me de same thing. He said, dis guy had this thing fixed in order fo' it tuh float so many days. An' whenevah dat thing - he had it fixed in a leaky condition - wherevah it leak in dat water dat dis thing could sink, then ah would go ovahbo'd. They Wanted tuh kill me - git rid of me - but dey didn't want to do it, yo' know, deyself. But dey wanted it fixed so dat ah would do it mahself. Well, ah notice while dis thing wus goin' dat way, all of mah days ah'd nevah be satisfied no place unless ah wus round de rivah. (Well, did this fellah tell you how to get rid of it - did he help you get rid of it?) Shore, he tole me dat he had to git it - he had tuh overtake it somehow. Ah don't know how he went into de rivah to git it, but he ovahtaken it befo' it sunk [see No. 921]. Soon as he did dat den, ah got all right. Took 'im about three weeks, though, befo' ah got straight. Now, dat's a pers'nal experience.
Entry 1755
(What makes confusion?)
Brimstone. Yeah, yo' jes' take that an' if somebody dey are angry with yo' an' dey fussin' or quarrelin' an' yo' don't like it, why yo' put dat where they have to cross ovah it or pass by it - jes' put dat down fo' 'em, de brimstone.
(What will that do?)
That will make the two peoples angry with each othah - jes' say fo' instance, ah make it plain fo' yo', Doctor, so yo' know. [For the many times I was called doctor, see Hyatt, H. M., in Index.] Now, for confusion, lak de neighbors next do' - ah don't want 'em, lak dat. Well, ah'll put down dis brimstone where they have tuh cross ovah it an' they'll git together an' start fussin' an' quarrelin' - they nevah live in peace.
Entry 2138
You can buy oil at the drug store called moving oil - confusion oil they call it, and you sprinkle in front of the door in the night, you know, slip around and do in front where they pass, and that will make them move in a certain length of time. They get a disturbance in the house and they will move. Moving oil or confusion, either one of them.
Entry 2747
They goes to a woman across the creek over there right in front of the Catholic cemetery and they got five gray candles. (Is she a young woman or an elderly woman?) This is a woman around forty, jes' a little older woman than me. So they goes to this woman and git five gray candles, as I was told - of my next experi- ence of that kind of work. An' they'd taken those five candles and they wrote my name and they put my name under each one of those five candles. They burn one on Monday for me. De one that was burned on Monday for me that I would be disappointed at de first day of the week. They burned that one all day Monday. That's when ah went out to work that ah'd be confused - nuthin would go right with me, that ah'd lose out, ah'd lose mah job, couldn't keep any jobs. The second one that would be burned on me would be burned on Tuesday. That candle was burned fo' me. That was always mah lucky day when ah wanted to put ovah any business or to go to anyone for any favor. Ah would always make Tuesday mah business day to go fo' money or to transact any business. That Was to defeat me from having any business - to making any progress in any business. The one that they would burn on Wednesday, which would be the third candle - that usually was my general work day, that ah did mah washing and mah ironing. That was to take mah energy away from me that ah couldn't work on Wednesday. Ah would jest pass that day away as a no-good day. Thursday was always a time that ah usually would go to clubs and do different things like that. The candle that they burned on me fo' Thursday would be the candle that ah wouldn't have any vim to do anything in social work, as I have been doing. The one that they burned on me Friday, the whole week that has been wasted, that ah wouldn't have any money coming in to meet my demands for Saturday. And those candles was called hard-time candles, as ah was told. But ah kin tell yo' from self experience ah certainly was hard-timed. Ah've had some of the very best jobs, which at de Country Club, for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance man, at Ryker[son?] School, and would walk away from them without any reason, an' have came to the place that I has nuthin besides three dollars worth of work to support mahself and four children. So ah jes' atchly been hard-timed.
(When did they do this? How long ago did they burn these candles?)
Oh, it's been about - all of this trouble that I have had, that I can atchly relate to you, I have come in contact with it all in the past two years - from one degree on to another.
Entry 2838
White candles or blue candles for peace; black candles for danger or for to kill you or to run you crazy or something like dat. (Just how would they burn them? How do you mean they burn them?) Well, they say that they kin stick pins in black can- dles and roll them in pepper and salt and burn them at seven o'clock in the morning, you know, or eleven o'clock - some [uneven] hour like that, eleven or seven in the morning and the same at night. That will run you crazy or confuse you or something of the kind. That's a black candle. And the white one, they say you sprinkle them with sugar and burn them - you know, at the hours of seven-eleven, or a blue candle for love. Ah've heard that.
Entry 2850
(Take this foot track?)
Take that foot track and bury it and burn candles over that, and keep you under almost hypnotic power. (How do they burn candles over it? How do you mean?) Burn the candles? A continous burning. Long as they burn candles over that, it will keep you with an upsetted mind - a roving mind by doing that.
Entry 2855
To git them confused, you write it on a piece of paper and set a black candle on it and set it burning. [You write], "Ah want confusion," [and] put both of their names [on that paper]. You draw a heart with it. Draw their heart, I want it bad [badly drawn]. Yo' kin write bad in there. An' set that black candle on there burning with both of their names, "I want confusion." (You take a piece of paper and you draw a heart and you write in there bad. Where do you put their names?) You put their names in there - you write their names in, I want it bad. You don't draw the heart good - you even try to draw it, you know, as ugly as yo possibly can make things; and yo' say, "I want bad, I want it confused, I want thus and so, such parties." And set that candle right on their names and let it burn. (Do you burn that candle any special time? Or any length of time? Or any- thing like that?) Well, yo' would need to burn it a length of time but ah gen'rally would think that six 'clock and again in the evening time - let it burn at night.
Entry 2877
If yo' have confusion in yore home and want peace, yo' burn a red candle. Yo' set it at six in de morning and burn one hour, and yo' set it at twelve and burn one hour, and at six at night and burn one hour, and make a wish.
Entry 4260
Yo' wanta heah 'bout de cleah nurinate. Well, de nurinate, yo' see - yo' take a person's nurinate, jis' de cleah nurinate an' yo' put it in a bottle wit salt an' cayenne peppah an' [or] red pappah [see later]. Yo' put it in dere an' dere name nine times in de bottle, an' yo' shake it up. (How do you write that name nine times?) Well, yo' see yo' write de name nine times - de party's name, yo' know whut ah mean - jis' dey whole firs' name. Jis' lak yo' want two people dere separations. Well, yo' put one of 'em tuh de top an' one of 'em to de bottom, jis' zakly [exactly] dat way nine times [demonstrates]. (The first one nine times that way, and the other one nine times on top of it.) On top of it. Jis' lak two han' on each othah lak dat [demonstrates]. [Two hands is a good illustration, each hand pointed in the opposite direc- tion. Normally the first 9 names are written one under the other and to the right, then the paper is turned upside down and the other 9 names are written to the right over the first 9 names - each group in the opposite direction. Ex- amples occur in the text.]
(Do you put this whole piece of paper in there?)
De whole piece of papah, don' teah [tear] it up; jis' de whole piece of papah wit de whole two peoples name, one on de top an' one onto de bottom. An' yo' shake it up wit de cayenne peppah [showing red pepper the same thing] an' de salt. An' den if yo' wanta, yo' could put de steel dust in it; it'll keep 'em togethah - tuh keep 'em renited [united]. An' [but to separate them] shake it up at six a'clock in de mawnin' an' at twelve or else nine. Yo' undahstan', nine in de mawnin' an' at twelve. Jis' keep 'em a-goin' [at each other]. Dere's cer- tain days lak Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays - see, three days a week. [Another magic combination is Monday, Wednesday and Friday - see p.830.] Jis' keep 'em humbuggin' all de time. [The word may mean humming and buzzing at each other rather than, though perhaps including, cheating and deceiving.] Dat's if yo' wanta break peace. An' den AG'IN IF YO' WANTA HEAH AG'IN ABOUT KILLIN' SOMEBODY. Keep it [bot- tle] in a cornah of a house, in yore house if yo' care to, where nobody tuh dis- turb it, if yo' wanta keep shakin' it up. Keep de confusin', yo' undahstan', an' it gon'a break de home up, wit de woman an' man.
Entry 4554
Take de bow inside of a man's hat dey claim an' run 'im crazy. Dey use dat an' burn a black light on it - called a black candle. Set dis black candle on it an' burn it 21 days, an' it will make him absent-minded. [For Sims see 34, p.23; 532, p.157;2091 p.608.]
Entry 4777
Well, if ah'm a enemy tuh yuh an' wants tuh confuse yuh in yore home, ah mah- self, ah cain't do it. Got'a git someone tuh help me tuh do it, an' dat's by goin' an' gittin' a piece of yore clothes, sompin othah dat chew wears, don't chew know - sompin dat chew wears. An' ah takes dat an' tear it up, makes a very small string out of it. Take it an' twist it.
(Tear the whole piece of cloth up?)
Not de whole cloth, jis' git yuh a strip off about lak dat [demonstrates], whatevah it is, an' jis' tear it up in small strips. Take an' twist it dis away [demonstrates]. One [strip] dis way an' one dis way, jis' lak dat, yuh know. Jis' keep atwisting it till yuh git right intuh a fine - down-lak yuh know, tuh a string. Yuh take it den an' yuh put it - draw a knot intuh it. Yuh know how yuh tie a knot intuh anything. Well, yuh take dat an' git it intuh whatevah yuh kin git it intuh [a jar, see later]. Den yuh take some salt an' take some vine- gah an' anything dat dey'd use lak a garlic. Yuh git yuh some garlic tuh put in dere an' nine drops of turpentine. An' tighten dat up real - tighten it down howevah yuh wanta tighten it down.
(Tighten that jar down?)
Tighten de jar down, yassuh, an' den yuh prob'ly cain't git tuh de house; but git somebody tuh bury it tuh de back of de steps.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will - dey cain't git along in dere.
Entry 5138
It's a - people go out tuh de fo'k [fork] of de road. Fo' instance, de fo'k of de road made in dis position [demonstrates].: See, dey'll go at de end of dat fo'k. Dey'll take an' dey'll dig down dere an' dey'll git a certain amount of dirt. Dey'll come back wit dat dirt an' dey'll git de sole of a - a individual's shoe. (The outside sole?) De inside sole, see, of de shoes wit dat dirt. Mix dat [fork-of-road dirt] up wit dat insole. Bury it undahneat' de step where de party pass goin' in an' out. Dat will git 'is mind intuh two channels.
(I see.)
He won't have a stationary mind, yuh see. Yuh'd have his mind, always keep 'im cross-minded. He'll be here, he won't be satisfied; he'll go tuh dat town, an' he'll figure he should move outa dat town. It jis' keep 'im always upstirred anyway.
(His mind will be in two channels just as that road forks into two roads?)
Absolutely - dat's de idea.
(You get that dirt right from that "Y" at the fork?)
Absolutely - dat's de place.
(I see.)
Entry 5168
Yo' git de inside sole of a man's shoe. All right now. Yo' git some lightnin'-struck wood an' yo' take some sweet milk, an' yo' soak dat three days. Den yo' make a dress of dat [dressing or hand of wood and milk] an' yo' go tuh de crossroad where hit like dat, see [demonstrates a crossroad]. Den yo' call - git some salt.
[Here is an example of details often omitted in an interview.]
(Wait a minute! What do you mean you call?)
Call 'is name, say, "Ah wanta run So-an'-so." YO' HAVE TUH CALL 'EM TUH RUN "EM. Git chew some salt an' yo' make a dressin' of dat an' yo' bury dat. An' YO' TELL IT WHUT CHEW WANT IT TUH DO. An' evah - in about three days yo' go back there an' make yore dressin' an' tell it whut chew want it tuh do. DAT LIGHTNIN'-STRUCK WOOD GIT'S 'EM CONFUSED IN 'IS MIND. Yo' haVe tuh work 'is mind to do anythin' wit it. [This piece of wood dressed with lightning, milk and salt, 3 things, becomes a hand.]
Entry 5498
Well, yo' take a stran' or two of yore hair out chure haid an' dey'll take an' git de bow out de back of yore hat. Yo' take dat hair an' de bow out chure hat an' yo' git a few grains of sand outa yore shoe track - out de streets an' den take an' put it tuhgethah. Sew it up in a little bag an' put it undah yore steps an' yo' cross ovah it. Why dat jes' upsets yore mind altuh- gethah. Dat's de way dey trick yo' dataway.
(Now whose steps would they put this under, mine or...?)
Dey put it undah de steps where yo' come ovah. (Well, now suppose they got all that stuff from me. Would they put it under Ty step or under your step?) Undah de step dat chew goes ovah.
(That is to upset my mind?)
Yassuh.
Entry 5917
Well, if yo' wanta do dat, dat's very simple. Joo git chew nine pods of dis heah whut chew call guinea peppah an' den yo' slip it round dere, yo' see. Yo' git some of dis heah woman's hair an' put it in dere an' place it into her room where she sleep - into one of de cornahs where she'll nevah find it. An' it will cuz confusion dere, cuz confusion in de home, an' fin'ly in de long run dey'll break an' leave one anothah off.
Entry 6008
An' jis' lak if someone in yore church is givin' yo' trouble in de chrch, yo' know, causin' confusion an' splits in church lak mos' people do's. Why yo' go out in de woods an' yo' ketch yo' one of 'em whut chew call dese heah red-back scorpiens [scorpions]. Ah mean a red-belly. Dey got a red stripe undah 'is stomic. An' yo' take dat scorpien an' put 'im into a pillah where dey sleep, see.
(Alive or dead?)
"Live. Den yo' git some hair outa dere haid. Git someone - if yo' cain't git tuh 'em - tuh git some hair outa dere haid an' place it in a piece[of cloth]. An' yo' take fo' pins an' - not needles but pins - an' jis' win' dat hair an' twist it up yo' know in dem pins, an' jis' ben' dem pins jis' as many ways, jis' bend 'um lak evah way yo' kin. Den yo' take dat live scorpien an' dose pins an' dat hair an' sew it up in a piece [of cloth]. An' den place it in dat pillah whare he sleep at an' he'll take a deadly misery in dere haids an' event'ly [even- tually] dey'll jis' - yo' know IT NO USE GOIN' TUH DOCTAHS [M.D.'s]. NO DOCTAH [M.D.] KIN DO ANY GOOD. An' event'ly dey jis' 中 start to pinin' away an' dat's de end of 'um.
Entry 6314
Take it an' take his hair an' tie it up [in cloth or other article such as paper] an' putting it in running water an' let it go down a running stream, dat'll git chure mind all messed up.
Entry 2750
[Here is another example of the glove-shaped hand, but unlike the former rite (1990, p.584) we now have one in a candle atmosphere - New Orleans is near. More important, the following story shows some of the listening prob- lems of collecting, among them - speedy talker, confusing pro- nouns and references to persons, delayed explanation, all sorts of things.] Well, they say if you were living here and they wanted tuh move you and run you away - well ah know of a lady, she fo' every morning fo' 'bout nine mornings - she bought a bran'-new box of salt and she took dis salt and cayenne pepper and she would sprinkle it, yo' know, from de front to de back and fo' that reason it would cause a confusion, you know, in the house and they all wouldn't live so good, you know. An' so she would take it and she would sprinkle all over when everyone, say, Wouldn't be noticing, you know. She would do that and then when they all would leave, she would take. She went out to the graveyard early one morning and she got some graveyard dust offa someone's grave, and she brought this dirt back, yo' know, and she'd taken it and where this landlady lived, slept, she unraveled [took out a few stitches of] her pillah and she put it [graveyard dust] in dis pillah. And she had a glove - [look] like it was a han' - and it [the graveyard dust] was in this. And she stuffed it with this graveyard dirt. And she says she mixed it [the graveyard dust] with a - wherever she got dis rattlesnake dust from, ah don't know, but she musta got it from a rattlesnake or something, and she mixed it with somethin' and she stuffed, sewed it in dis pillah while de landlady was gone. [She starts to say the graveyard dust was mixed with rattlesnake dust. Was it? For snake dust, see No. 690, p.230; also No. 1433, p.468 - "an original and brilliant piece of therapeutic thinking."] So after, for about a couple of weeks this lady suffered from her head laying on dis pillah. She suffered severely from her head, you know, and she didn't know what it was, you know. She begin to git dizzy and feel bad, and so she said she was going to see what caused dese headaches. And everything she could take Wouldn't do her any good and so she went tuh a couple of fortunetellers. And so finally a ole lady tole her, fortuneteller told her, said, "Well, yo' ought to look about yore bed," say, "it look like you can't get along in de house, there's always a confusion and everything." And so she said, "You go look up in your mattress, your pillahs or something." So she didn't pay any attention to it all [atall = at all]. So finally she made up her mind to do that. Took her pillahs out and she un- raveled de pillah and she found dis glove stiff like a hand, yo' hand, and so she opened it and she found all de stuff in dere, those different things. An' she didn't know what de cause of it, you see. And so she was afraid and she got someone to look after it fo' her. Well, she'd taken it to dis lady and ast her, and de lady tole her it was graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust and she wanted tuh - someone wanted to make her move or either kill her or something like that. [The preceding account is one of our many examples of that important element in hoodoo theory and practice - the doctor's ability to analyze and identify immediately the nature and cause of an ailment. To look at a handful of dirt and say that it is a mixture of graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust is quite a trick. Only our former doctor-druggist-chemist could have done as well (see No. 1593, p.498). To say these two dusts in a glove in a pillow caused the headache is quite a - well, even doctors admit this knowledge is a gift. At least, though on a lower level, we can now answer our former question - "Was it?"] An' so dis lady [roomer] in de house, you see, she would every morning [for 9 mornings] she would sprinkle dis here cayenne pepper and dis salt all ovah de house. And so after a while they [landlady] asked - cause dey [landlady and roomer]didn't 'gree, yo' know, 'count de fuss and everything - after while they asked her to move out and she [roomer] said she was going to return it back to this person [landlady].
(Was that here in Alabama?)
Yes.
(Well now, go right ahead.)
Well, after she did that - yo' know, she [landlady] did that to make 'em [her] move or to keep her [landlady's] husband, you see. So she [landlady] kept her
[own] husband. And so this other hoodoo lady [roomer because she used hoodoo]
tole her [landlady] that she would return it back. So she [evicted roomer] comes and gits dis hen's aig - a black hen laid dis egg, and she wrote the name [see later] on it. They were living in a house kinda lak dis [house in which I was interviewing] wit a glass do' in de front, chew know, in de house. So soon, early one mawnin' she comes an' throws dis aig up side de door and broke de glass, yo' know - throw de black hen's aig up there. So when he [landlady's husband] goes out - get up dat mawnin' soon - he didn't know - so when he looked all de egg spattered in front of de do' and de glass was out, yo' see, and he walked ovah it befo' he knew it, yo' see, so he looked on de shell and saw where de name was wrote chew know - her [his wife's] name and his name was wrote on dere. And so she said, "Well, dey did dat to break us up - broke dat aig up side de do' to break us up." So she said - an' so she got lye and swept - yo' know, swept it all out an' cleaned it up, yo' know. An' so dis lady [roomer] wrote her a letter and tole her that "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to weah a ruffle-bosomed shirt. That's the way she spoke. (Wait, will you talk a little bit slowly. "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffle-bosom shirt?") That means she would get her, yo' know. An' so dat was de words she wrote to her. [I know nothing about this stylish raccoon. He sounds like early American ruffled shirts, but the saying or proverb may come from the stage or radio.l An' so finally she would - yo' know, she would burn candles on dis man. She went got - an' got a candle and every time on a certain hour, noonday an' like dat, she would burn dese candles wit his name wrote on it. Black candles, yo' know, and she wrote it on dere. Well, he couldn't stay here and he couldn't stay there, yo' know. He was jest kept, yo' know, like he was, yo' know, de mind up- set all de time, yo' see. And so he got so that he didn't [live] peacefully wit dis woman, because every morning fo' nine mornings, she would come there and had something like - ah don't know whut kind of dust it was - but it was - when you look at it, it looked something like black peppah, yo' know, powdered peppah. She'd sprinkle it all roun' dere do'step, yo' know, fo' nine mawnings. An' he came there and so she took one little piece of his hair out de top of his head while he was asleep, and she sewed that up, and had that fixed with something and put it in a little red bag and sewed dis little red bag up, an' taken a cord string like and put nine knots in dis cord string and she wore it around her waist.
(What else did she do with that string first? Anything else?)
When she took dat string she rolled it in something, yo' know, in some kinda dust, yo' know. She rolled dis string in some kind of a dust, dipped it in dis dust and jest as yo' tie those knots, jest like dat dust would be in dose knots, too, yo' see, because it would wear off, you know, say, just straight round her Waist, but it would be in dat knot, yo' see. An' nine knots she tied it around her waist wit dis little red bag wit his hair in it. An' she took one of his socks - yo' know, one his left socks, and she carried it and had dis sock dressed, vo' know, and she buried dis sock at de foot of her steps, underneath her steps, she buried his sock so he couldn't stay 'way from there, yo' see. Said that she had him so that he had tuh come there. See. And so yo' see, well, he would get so he wouldn't give her any money and some- thin' like that, and so dis ole hoodoo lady tole her to get him to give her one silver dime, yo' know, of his money. And so he didn't know what she wanted him to give her dis dime fo', but she got a dime out of him. And she went an' she had dis dime dressed until it turn almost black like a penny, and she put a hole in it and she wore it around her laig, yo' know. And that's where so she could git his money, you see. She was trying to git him away from dis yere woman [his wife], yo'see. An' so, see, she didn't know that this other woman had his sock buried at her do'step. She had his sock buried there and she was still continuously burning dose candles. And every time she'd come roun' she had some kind a powder tied up in her hans'cuff that she would sprinkle. He thought it was jest powder whut chew powder yore face. It smelled sweet but it was some kin' of love powder yo see. An' she had a little somethin' like a tablet. She'd offer him meals. She would [drop] that in his tea or his coffee.
(Like a tablet?)
Like a little tablet, yes. It would dissolve, you know, an' you couldn't see the mixture in there. You couldn't see the mixture, you know, and you couldn't taste it, see. Well, he would drink this, see. Well, he would drink this and therefo' he couldn't stay away for she had that in him, yo' see. Well, see, she wanted to git dis other woman [wife] out de way, and that's [the reason] she went there and broke dis aig up side her do'. An' she give him those little tablets in his coffee or tea to drink, see, and he begin to suffer wit his stomach badly, an' all like that, and he began to look frail, and look bad, yo' know, because she said if she didn't have him, he could not do her [his wife] no good. See. An' he begin to look frail and bad, an' so no doctor's medicine didn't do him any good. Every time he'd go tuh a doctor, it would make him worser. Yo' know, when you've hoodooed anybody, doctor's medicine not good fo' you, you know. An' so he went - and every time he'd take a doctor's medicine, it would make him worser. And so an' ole lady came by one day and tole him dat he was fixed, chew know, that he was hoodooed, see, because he never would git well, yo' know. And on a certain kinda moon he would git like - git in a fit chew know, kinda rave. And so the ole lady told him that if he'd pay her a sum of money, she could cure him - yo' know, she could git him outa dis kinda fix: An' so, he finally jest scuffled up de money some kind of way. And so she'd taken and brought some saltpeter an' tole him fo' 'bout nine or ten mawnin's to take a bath every mawnin', every day, in dat saltpeter - bathe in that. An' she went out and got some roots out of de woods, some kin'a calomel roots and every- thing and he had to chew dose roots, yo' know - calomel roots, like white-look- ing roots, and she tole him to chew a piece of dat, chew know. An' he had to chew dose roots and he had to take a bath in saltpeter fo' nine mawnings. She made him up a mixture of medicine, chew know. She put so much of turpentine - looked like coffee, somethin', where you see it would settle at de bottom. Well, he had to shake it up and yo' know he would take that, chew know. And after he would bathe in dat saltpeter, he had to take dat medicine and then chew dat root, chew see. An' den she told him at certain time - if he would chew it often - that would pass from him. See, when he chews dose roots, dat calomel yo' know worked up in him. Well, yo' see, after he'd taken that and she tole him that ninth or de tenth day something would pass from him, yo' see - but sure enuff it did. When hit pass from him, yo' know, like de calomel worked him yo' know, it passed somethin' looked like little worms - passed from him little bita worms. An' she tole him that if those worms hada stayed [in] him, it would form like little frogs, and things like that was goin' form in his intestines, inside, chew know. And it pass from him like little worms. And when it passed out, she showed it to him, iThis whut pass from yo', this whut they was puttin' in yo'." [There is one strange feature about so many of these passages of worms, snakes, or lizards. The patient does not see them until the doctor has made an examination and then shows them, or sometimes merely tells about them. No doc- tor has ever gone so far as to say, "If you see them you will die." For further accounts, see Live Things In You, Pp.227-239, and Index.] See, that would kill him slowly, yo' know, and so he was pinin' up and every- thing. So he passed little worms from him in de tenth day - little worms and little somethin' she said was gon'a form frogs. Whatever this was dis woman put in his coffee for him, yo' see, that was forming in him - that would form in him, see, because she got these little tablets and she got this rattlesnake dust - some dust from under a rattlesnake, wherever she got it from and say - and put it in dere, put it in him, fix him so he would stay with her. [Choppy place in cylinder. The old hoodoo woman told wife] if she could get holt of him, she say, if she could get a holt of him and git a little piece of his shirt, she could, yo' know, could stop dis fit on him. See, every change of moon he'd have these spells. [Here are four similar beliefs about fits from general folklore: (1) "Epilep- tic fits...more frequent and...severe during the increase of the moon...." (2) "If anyone has fits, take off their shirt...while having it, cut out the piece over their chest and boil...when cool...give to the person to drink...." (3) "He was having one of these fits. She pull his shirt off over his head, put it on a pan and set it on fire...took the ashes...to feed him a spoonful before each meal...." (4) "Remove the person's undershirt...after an attack, let it smolder on live coals, mix a teaspoonful of these ashes in a glass of holy water, and say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost...must be administered three times a day." From FACI, 2ed., p.248.] Well, this ole lady, finally this ole lady died, see - dis ole lady whut was fixing him, yo' know. Well, she died. Well, yo' see, dey found all kinds of stuff, different hoodoo stuff in her place, where dey went tuh see, yo' know, when she died, an' everything. [For finding spells at hoodoo woman's home when she dies, see No. 239, p.66.] Well, this lady, every change of de moon, she still havin' fits. Yo' know, when de person die and fixed yuh, yo' know, yo' don't nevah git ovah it, yo' see. Yo' see, because dey died befo' dey could take it off dem. See. An' she still had those fits after and nobody couldn't take it off because dis was de woman dat put de spell on, see. [See If Evildoer Dies Spell Incurable, p.396.] And so everytime de moon would change she would go crazy-like and see dis man. See. And then when she seen, she didn't want him. Well, finally, this woman went crazy and nobody couldn't do anything for her because she was de one put de spell on her, yo' see, and after she went crazy, well, dey sent her to asylum and after she went tuh de 'sylum, den she died, you see. But de spell was still on dis man, yo' see, after she died. Yo' see, she never did git her mind back. An' so dis man, yo' see - after he come back - he was already heah, and so after she died, it was still on him. He couldn't git it off him because dis ole lady was de one had buried his socks fo' him and he didn't know where. Differ- ent fortunetellers had tole him that she had somethin' of his'n buried somewhere and if he could find it and dig it up, why that could git him bettah, yo' see, because she had got the worms out of him. See. So she had his left sock buried, took his left dirty sock. She fixed it an' buried it underneath de step. And so he would dig all in de yard to try to find where she had buried it. Well, finally, he jest - seemed like he said he had a dream one night to look under his step: They something tole him to look under his steps. [For spirits warning in dreams, see pp.27,116, and Index.] An' so he got up early hisself one morning and went out there an' was digging around under his steps. And when he dug aroun' he struck something like a little can, and when he opened de little can - de top of dat little can, de dust jest flew out, and when he pulled it out he saw one his dirty sock had been buried under there. And in that sock, he opened it, it had some kind of powder and a little rag, and it had nine needles and nine pins sticking in it - nine wit de heads down and nine needles wit de head up. See - in dat sock and so it was sewed up in dat little rag in his sock. And he'd taken dis sock, de whole thing and he carried it tuh a ole man. Yo' see, he carried it tuh a fortuneteller and tole him, say, "Well, dat's whut she had buried, yo' see - why you couldn't stay away from her." An' so, when he'd taken dat and dose little needles - dose needles been in dere so long dey was rusty. An' sos he'd taken dat herself and she washed it in saltpeter - see, she washed dat in saltpeter and he thought she was curing him, but she was making him worser fo' it - 'cause he wanted tuh go back to his wife, yo' see. De woman died dat broke him from his wife. Dat's de one made him move out de house and break up his home, yo' see. An' so he went back then to his wife and try to live with her, see, an' everything. Well, he couldn't live with her because they both died and de spell was on him, yo' see.
(This happened right here in Mobile?)
Yes.
(All right, go right ahead now.)
Well, he'd gone back to his wife, yo' see, after a certain length of time - so many years, yo' see. An', yo' know, he begged her pardon for the way he did her and de woman. She knew dis woman had broke up her home, yo' know, what she did, because afterwards she found out what she had sprinkled all around in her home, yo' know, fo' de confusion and fo' him tuh mistreat her, yo' see. Well, he'd gone back to try to live with her again, yo' see. And so his wife was afraid and so she thought she would have him fixed her- self. After this woman had him that way, she thought she would go an' git some- one to do him the same way, see. So she goes to a fortuneteller and dey tell her that the only way she could do anything with him was to have him dressed. See, was to have him dressed so that - if she don't, he would leave her again because dis spell was still on him and de woman was dead and every change of de moon, he would leave her. See, he had dis spell on him, and said de woman was dead and she was de one had to git it off him. Well, sure enough, every change of de moon he would leave her but she wanted tuh have him dressed. So this fortuneteller wouldn't tell her whut to do, but she sent her to some- body else. So she went - say she jest tell de fortune but de lady had to go to an ole hoodoo. So she goes out in de woods to an ole hoodoo lady and dis ole lady tole her that yes, she could dress him and fix him so that he couldn't leave her. He would have to stay right there, you know, he couldn't leave her. And so she tole her to git her a sum of money and bring it back and she would dress it. [In the preceding paragraph: (1) Some fortunetellers do all types of hoodoo work, or put another way, some hoodoos and doctors tell fortunes; other fortune- tellers, like this one, refer patients to a hoodoo doctor or a specialist. Even I the, Author Becomes a Specialist, on page 278. Is there another example of hoodoos imitating modern medical practice? Yes and no. Specialization in heal- ing is as old as primitive medicine-man and witch-doctor. Temple incubation Was a speciality of early Greek healers, ancestors of present-day Doctors of Medi- cine. (2) "out in de woods." Here is the old witch of fairy tales and reality. For this isolation as well as personal appearance, see pp.294-301, especially Nos. 849 and 859. (3) For dressing the money, see one man's remarkable version of this rite - Trickery by Doctor. Cast it into Oblivion, p.268. However, not all dressing of money is trickery.] Well, she did that. She went to this ole lady, and dis ole lady tole her that every three hours - she give her some kind of something like incense to burn. Tole her to burn this incense every three hours, and sulphur. Tole her to burn incense and sulphur and write his name on a white candle and roll it in some sugar. See, she said sugar, seemed like that would make everything sweet fo' him, yo' see. Salt is for confusion, chew know and sugar is for sweet. See, that's the way it works. Tole her to roll dis candle in sugar and write his name backwards on dere, yo' see, and stick it in a little saucer and put it in de cor- ner of her room. See. And jest 'bout time de spell come on him, fo' her to burn it. See. An' dat would make it sweet and de spell wouldn't be on him. An' so tole her to take dat candle and burn it and then to burn dis here sulphur every three hours in her home - this here sulphur and this incense. The incense is sweet too. That makes a sweet smell in yore home. Well, she did that. An' she tole her whenever he take a bath - see, next time he'd take a bath - tuh bring a little of his bathwater. Put it in a little cup or something, stop it up and bring it tuh her - what he bathe in. Well, she fixed his water. He didn't know, yo' know, she was goin' tuh pore de water out after he'd taken a bath. She took some water in de cup, some of his dirty water, and she carried it to dis lady. She stopped it up in a little bottle and carried dis dirty water to dis ole woman. Well, dis ole woman, she took his bathwater that he bathed in and she mixed it with something else in a bottle and shook it up and tole her to take dis bottle and bring it back and stand it up in de corner of her room where ain't no one kin see, and everytime he'd go out de do', she goes an' watch his feet and git his left track and bring de dirt back to her. Yo' know, jest take her han' and rake dat track back and wrap it up in some paper and keep it in her purse. Well, every time he would leave dat would make him come back. See, when you git his tracks dat'll make him come back. Well, whenever he would leave out, sure enough she went and got his track. See, she got dat track and she wrapped it up in de paper and had it in her purse and she had dis water in her room, yo' know. An' so, every three hours in de day she would burn dis here stuff, yo' know [this candle and incense and sulphur]. It acted all right for a good long while but see, every once a while, it would die down - it would die down and den she had to go an' do it again. Dis acted all right for a little while, till he begin to git in a rage agin, yo' see. So dis lady tole her that on the way she had to get something in him. See, she had to fix him in that way. Yo' see. [The preceding paragraph reveals one of the great principles of magic, perhaps the greatest after intention - magic power is not permanent. Our best examples of this are those magic objects closest to the believer's heart and mind - the hands. Among their many characteristics, these helpers: (1) have degrees of power (p.576), (2), observe a time limit (p.577), (3) must be fed (p.578f.), and (4) need recharging, which sometimes requires a doctor or a specialist, a hand- maker. A hand lives and helps only because a spirit dwells in it. Even when all amenities and regulations have been kept and the indwelling spirit is contended, it can be killed - chased from its temporary home - by the spirit of a stronger hand. Killing happens often in a gambling game where every man carries a hand. So, here is another rule of magic - a weaker spirit cannot function in the presence of a stronger spirit. But the owner of the weaker hand can kill the spirit or power of the stronger hand - page 641 and Index.] Well, she thought she was fixing hi - instead of fixing him fo' good, she was fixing him fo' bad looked like, don't you see, because whut dis woman give her, de mixture in his food, see. She wouldn't eat what he eat, yo' see, because she Was putting it in his stuff and sprinkling it on his meat. You see she would put it on de meat that he would eat. An' so when he taste it - de different taste in de meal yo' know and wanted her to taste, she proclaimed that she didn't like that kind of meat. Yo' know, she'd make excuse to keep from eatin' it herself. See. And see, every time he'd eat dis meat hit would make him sicker, see. But she put it on his meat. Dis woman give it to her and told her to put it on there and so he found dis here dirt in her purse, yo' see. He opened de pa- per - he went in her purse and he found dis dirt in dere, see, but she didn't know that he found the dirt. He kept the dirt fo' to carry it tuh see what it was. See. An' so he carried dis dirt to see whut it was. And dey told him it was his tracks - one dem hoodoos, another one, tole him it was his tracks, and says, this woman is giving him something in his food. Well, see, he would eat this food, yo' see, and he got so that he would dry up - dried up jest as little as he could be. It was whut she was feeding him off of.
(Put them [his foot tracks] in the grave?)
Yes. An' she tole him - dis hoodoo lady tole him that it wouldn't be long 'fore dey be burying her by she burying dese tracks. And so dis hoodoo woman gave him something. Yo' know, he didn't know that this woman was dressing dis other one fo' him, see, an' so when he goes back to her, something she puts on him, well he got it on her, see, by being close together, got it on her and she come with something like a itch, yo' know, all over her. [For an amazing example of this common trick, see No. 10, p.7.] She had an itch all over her and she'd go to doctors an' everything and de more they would treat her fo' dis itch, de worser it would git. And so it kept itching till all between her fingers got sore - see, all between her fingers become broke out like you would have pellegra yo' know, all that itch. But it would git between her fingers and all her nails and it got between her toenails. See. An' she broke out in sores, sores all be- tween her nails an' everything tull they had to bathe her hands and wrap 'em up in a piece yo' know. And all between her body - all down there between her body, she broke out in sores and everything, yo' see. And so she thought about this letter dis woman wrote an' tole her that seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffled-bosom shirt. See, that whut she meant, she was goin' tuh kill her - see, tuh get dis man, see. An' she had dis man dressed fo' her. See. Well, after she broke out in sores and everything like dat, well, see, he had done buried her tracks to de graveyard, you see. Well, finally dey couldn't cure her and she broke dese sores all out and it come on de inside eatin' her up. Whut she had got inside her, it would just ete her on through, ete her up. An' she died. Finally she did bury her. See. An' so this woman told her dat, see, and dey all remembered whut she said - that she would do that to get her. An' after she do that - after she [roomer] got this man, yo' see, then this man disliked her. After he had done killed his wife and hoodooed her, well, he disliked her, see. He turned against her then, and so after he turned against her, he say, jest like she killed his wife, he would turn that right back on her and do her de same way, and she told him that he couldn't do it. See. An' so he said, "Surely could." Well, after dis man tried to fix her she would go an' git cured, see, bathing in dat saltpeter and salt, see, and that would keep everything off of her. And she wouldn't eat anything from him, see. An' so finally, he brought her some ice cream and she ate the ice cream. She didn't think anything Would hurt her, see. An' she ate de ice cream and after she ate de ice cream, dis man tole her he would get her. See, 'cause he had done went back to dis ole [hoodoo] lady dat killed his wife, to fix her. An' dat ole lady put de stuff in de ice cream - gave it to him and he put it in de ice cream.... [The hoodoo woman told the wife to] "Get a piece of his shirt-tail and his bathwater." Yo' got whut she got, yo' know, from him. She had tole her to take that bathwater and she put dat piece of shirt-tail in dis bottle, see, and she sticks nine needles and pins in it and shook it up and told her to take that and go in one fo' corner of de house and bury that.
(One of the four corners of her house.)
Outside - not under the steps - de fourth corner of her house and bury it and then jest, as she burying it, she had to say some kind of hoodoo and put a evil curse on. Cause she knew that the water had him fixed - his bathwater - and he had to go cross de water. So finally he takes a notion to leave - to leave her, see. And so she said, well, to cross water - well, that would make all that go back [on person fixing his bathwater]. So he left here and so he went an' got on a ship and went away cross de water. He was leaving across de water to git dat off him. Said that this woman know that he was going away, said she'd rather fo' him to leave and not come back. The one he went back to - de woman died.
(The woman killed his wife and then he killed this woman. That the idea?)
No, de woman got killed - dat de one he was running around wit. He couldn't git de spell off him an' so he goes back and makes up with his wife. See. This woman was living in the house and broke his wife and him up, yo' see, and tore up de home and the wife left and that give her a chance. See, she put dis stuff in her pillah, and so then after the woman got out, de wife turned it back on her. See. An' so she [roomer] lost her mind an' everything and de ole woman dat fixed de wife, she died, see, and dey couldn't git de spell off [the wife]. See. And dis woman [roomer] went crazy and dey sent her away and she died. Then he finally makes up his mind to go back to his wife, yo' see, to git a reconcilia- tion with her, yo' know, tuh beg her pardon, after so many years. Well, you see after he went back with his wife - she knew that this woman had done her that and broke up her home - well she didn't care for him much. But he wanted - but he had dis spell on him - dey both [women - roomer and hoodoo woman] died and dey couldn't git de spell off him. And every change of de moon he'd have these spells, see, because dis woman throwed dis egg and put dis spell on him. He had these spells and so the wife said that she would go have him fixed so she could keep him. So she goes tuh have his fixed, yo' see, and dis woman tole his wife to git his bathwater, see; and then git dis candle and roll it in sugar - see, that was to make him sweet.
(Well, now, whose track was buried out in the grave?)
Oh, it was this woman's track that was buried out in de grave.
(Which woman, the first one?)
The first woman - she was de one.
(There are only two women in the story?)
That was all - one man - two womens and one man. De wife and de woman and dis man. (The woman who was trying to take him away died in the asylum. Then the wife died too, didn't she?) Well, later - after - but he went back to the wife. See. And after de wife didn't care fo' him, see, then she fixed him so he wouldn't have these spells - she tried to git these spells off him, so she would git de candle and roll it in sugar an' everything. An' so then she seen she didn't care for him and then [he] goes and has her tracks buried in de graveyard, see. Dis man fixed her.
(What was he fixing her for?)
Cause she didn't want him. (Was she trying to kill him or was he trying to kill her? Or was he trying to make her take him back or what?) Well, he wanted her to take him back. Well, after she took him back, you see he would git dem spells on the change of de moon and he would leave again. He wouldn't act right. See.
(When did he cross water?)
Well, he crossed water when de woman tole him dat de only way he would git dis spell off him, he would have to cross de water. See.
(The spell his wife put on him or the spell the other woman put on him?)
It's de spell the other woman put on him.
(The part that was in the beginning of the story?)
Yes, that goes in the beginning of it. You see, de wife is de one that burned de candles on him and tried to git de spell off him. So he goes and gits his wife track - he's de one - de hoodoo woman told him to bury it in de graveyard, and he went and buried it out dere like she told him.
(That's what killed her?)
That whut killed her and that's whut made her think of de letter that she re- ceived a long time ago. See, dis ole lady was working on 'em both. See, she was pretending to be friends to each one of 'em, but she wasn't. [For doctor "pretending to be friends to each one of 'em," see two excellent examples, No. 780, p.257, and No. 782, p.258.] See, dis same ole lady died, yo' see, who was pretending to be friends to both of them, but she wasn't. Yeah, he had to cross water to git rid of his sins, because she had his water and everything buried in de fourth corner of her house. So, that itch when she broke out like that, that whut killed her. And he couldn't git those spells off at de change of de moon - he would go crazy and everything. They both [women] got out of dere [died] and dat's when dis [hoodoo] woman [told] him he would cross water. See, he took a voyage away cross water - see, he left to get rid of this. And de last that they heard from him, dey said he was gittin' better of those spells.
intended household discord attributed to salt/cayenne sprinkling. No clinical diagnosis, proven causation or definite aggressor/victim identity is inferred. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
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Entry 6930
Take a dime, ah think, or somepin othah, whut it is, an' boil it. Boil it good an' let 'im drink de watah off it. Take silvah an' let 'im drink de watah off it. Boil it an' let it git as strong as yo' kin, an' den drink de watah from dat. If dey drinks de watah from dat, dat will cuz some confusion down in dere [stomach] an' den dey'll vomit it up. At least dat's whut ah heard.
Entry 7556
Well, yuh could take graveyard dirt an' make anothah separation, keep confusion. Jis' lak somebody livin' nex' do' tuh yuh. Well, yuh go out in de graveyard an' git some evil - if yuh know someone died evil. Yuh know whut ah mean. Yuh drop dat [dirt] an' sprinkle it an' wish 'em bad luck tuh move 'em.
Entry 7571
Now, if dere's anythin' done dat gon'a run in yore mind, or jis' [any- thing done] tuh yore home, [or] ef somebody gits yuh [hoodoos you] tuh keep yuh from a job. Which an' why, yuh jis' use yore method dere. If a man know how tuh do - a spiritual man, yuh kin. Yuh have tuh do it. Yuh take a penny an' goes tuh work an' yuh take dat penny an' yuh put it in de middle of de grave. Dat in case of emergency if de person, yo' know or not, is a religious person died. Yo' undahstan', dey know who dat is. Well, dey give 'em a penny an' dey takes some dirt. "Fore dey takes dat dirt, which an' why, dat will make an evil spirit follow yuh, becuz yuh got somepin belongs tuh 'im. Now, dey git in aroun' yore home, it will always keep a confusion an' make a separation. Now, yo'll have tuh be aroun' an' take de method wit a good man. Wit a spirit- ual man, he meet de spirit. He kin set home an' when de spirits come, yuh know what time tuh meet 'im, an' yuh kin cure 'im, if it's not too long [too far gone]. [InfOrmant SayS, IF YOU ARE HOODOOED, A SPIRITUAL MAN WOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO. You must pay for graveyard dirt, otherwise the spirit will follow you, evil or good, depending upon who is buried there. A SPIRITUAL MAN (USUALLY A PERSON WORKING LARGELY WITH SPIRITS) can sit at home and wait for the coming of a good- man spirit and use it for curing, if the sick or hoodooed patient is not too far gone.]
Entry 7606
Well, yo' go tuh de graveyard roun' about twelve a'clock at night tuh some sinnah's grave or murdahah have been killed [or executed] an' on de side de heart's on yuh put a penny down dere an' git a handful of dat dirt. An' while yo' gittin' yo' usin' a oath. An' yo' bring it back tuh de house an' take it an' put chew salt an' peppah an' sulphur in it an' yuh keep it. Put it in a jar an' anybody dat chew don't like or wheresomevah yo' go at an' yo' wanta start I confusion, yo' Jes' take dat 'long wit chew an' jes' sprinkle it all aroun' as yo' go. Dat will certainly cuz confusion wit yore enemies.
Entry 7625
Now, if yo' know of a wicked pusson dat dies, an' yo' wanta create confusion in a home - dis pusson if yo' know where his haid lies in 'is grave, yo' know where de ahms fold...
(Where the arms fold over.)
Sure, yo' reach yuh right han' down de length of yuh ahm, as fah as yo' kin reach, an' git out - jis' squeeze yuh hand up wit de dirt, all de dirt yo' kin draW Out. Den yo' TAKE A GLASS OF WHISKEY AN' SET IT DOWN AN' PAY 'IM FER DE DIRT AN' TELL 'IM, SAYS, "NOW, AH'M PAY- IN' YUH FER DIS DIRT." An' yo' take dat dirt an' throw it in de yard or in de home of de pusson dat chew Wanta create a disturbance, an' dey'111 continue tuh have a confusion dere as long as dis dirt remains.
(Do you put that dirt at any special time?)
Yes, yo' put it eithah at de goin' down or de risin' of de sun.
(Do you get that dirt from the grave at any particular time?)
Gen'ly at midnight.
The informant describes taking dirt from a deceased person's grave, paying with whiskey and casting it into a yard or home for reported conflict while the dirt remains. Collection is generally at midnight; placement is at sunrise or sunset. The capitalized payment formula is prescribed speech, and the interviewer's clarifications remain separate.
Entry 7643
Well, yo' goes tuh de graveyard an' yo' gits some graveyard dust. Now yo' don't git it off de haid, yo' git it off de foot. Dat mean travelin', see. (When you get it off the foot, neans traveling.) Yo' git it off de foot of de person off de grave, see. All right, den yo' come back an' yo' mix dat up wit a li'le pot salt an' jis' go tuh 'er doah, yo' un'ahstan' [understand] an' yo' take dat jis' lak yo' would go in a field an' sow rice, peas or spring cotton or somepin lak dat, yo' know. Yo' jis' sprinkle it fronta her house, right on until all of it give out, an' she'll have tuh leave dere. She couldn't stay dere. She will be all mixed up; he or she, whosomevah it is. All mixed up, jis' couldn't stay dere.
Entry 7647
Dey says dat yo' kin go tuh a graveyard an' take de dirt off de centah of de grave, an' put it intuh a box an' carry it a few days wit yo'; but put red peppah intuh dat box. An' yo' kin take dat same thing an' mix it up an' use it in de woman's mind tuh git 'er confused, an' she won't be satisfied wher- evah she goes.
Entry 7671
Yo' kin bring up confusion by goin' tuh de graveyard an' gittin' some graveyard dirt, but yo' have tuh run yore han' as fur down in dere as yo' poss'ly kin; but chew mus' carry three pennies, brass pen- nies. Dese pennies, yo' know, jes' carry dat 'long dit chew, when yo' go out dere. Den when yo' bring yore han' up dat pays off, a'yo' do's dat.
(What do you do with it then?)
Well, yo' kin jes' use it eithah way. Yo' kin make him stay home or yo' kin make him go wit de same dirt.
(Tell me how you would use it?)
Well, yo' could put some sulphur an' brimstone wit dat. Put dem three tuh- gethah. Yo' takes dat an' carry dat an' put it inside de house an' dat will cuz confusion.
Entry 7700
They say that chew can take the headboards of a dead person, I mean where they're placed at their grave, or footboards, either one, and burn them; and then get some of that dust of the grave with that, those ashes, and put them down under a door- step of an indivi- dual, and they'll become effected so that they can't handle themselves. They become tricked so they don't have any definite understanding about anything.
Entry 7713
Dey say yo' take graveyard dirt. It's accordin' tuh where yo' git it from, whut side yo' git it when yo' goin' git graveyard dirt. Yo' go tuh de graveyard an' take de footbo'd an' put it tuh de haid; take de haidbo'd an' yo' put it tuh de foot. An' yo' take dat graveyard dirt right about at de centah, about tuh dis fah [far] at de centah [demonstrates].
(Up to the elbow.)
Yes, about tuh de elbow. An' yo' take dat graveyard dirt an' yo' could do mos' anythin' wit dat, see. Sprinkle it roun' a person house, dat'll confuse 'em, cuz 'em tuh leave home. Sometimes cuz 'em tuh be spellbound, go crazy. Dis graveyard dirt, jes' [sprinkle it] somewhere where dey kin pass ovah it, walk ovah it. Dey tell me dat whut graveyard dirt will do.
Entry 7809
Dey say yo' kin take dat dirt, graveyard dirt, an' put it in de fo' cornah of de house, an' put some right tuh de front of yore do' where yo' walk cross it. Dey say dat'll stop confusion all in yore home.
(How would they put this dirt in the four corners? How?)
Jis' put it onto dere, sprinkle it down. (You put it something like that. Well, you told me before that you cross it. What do you mean by that?) No sir, jis' sprinkle it. [Waycross, Ga., (1098).1775:1.]
Entry 7811
Fo' mahself, lak dis mah house, ah could put it in all fo' cornahs.
(This graveyard dirt.)
Jis' lak three times a week - ah mean three mawnin's but till nine mawnin's pass, an' den yo' stop, an' den yo' wait nine mawnin's an' yo' put it roun' ag'in. Dat will keep down confusion in yore house.
Entry 8021
Ah tole yo' 95 percent of de people in dis town an' othah towns have got frauded outa money goin' tuh people, yo' undahstan', who claim dey kin do dose things an' frauded 'em outa money wit'out any proof. Yo' git a bone, a dead person's bone, yo' undahstan' an' yo' Would bury it undah de step where de party is at, tying nine knots in dat bone, yo' see, an' it will keep sickness in de house, yo' see. It will keep de people who can't undahstan' one anothah - man, wife and daughter, dey can't undahstan' one anothah. Dey all pull contrary somehow or anothah, see. An' dey will nevah make de end Iends] meet.
(Well, how do you tie the knots in that bone?)
Tie them in a cord an' den tie de bone wit de cord.
Entry 8102
Ah heard dat yo' could take yore photograph on a tintype - on a tin- type. Take yore photograph, if dey wanted tuh do anything tuh yo', an' keep it layin' on de face undah de do', an' dat'll make his mind, yo' know, ramble. He cain't stay dere, he gotta go. He'll wanta be goin' all de time. Jis' yore mind be's all aflustery an' yo' don't know whut tuh do. Yo' ain't satisfied an' yo' cain't do yore work, jis' unhappy.
(Why would that cause that?)
Well, de pichure is layin' on it's face. Dat's whut de ole lady tole me.
Entry 8205
Well, dey can't do anything now wit de photograph, not de late one dat's made, but de one wit de tintype, dey would take dem an' bury dem upside down, see, wit two nails. Look [demonstrates] two nails crossed dataway, an' bury de photograph upside down. An' dat would keep yo' wit a mixed-up mind always, an' prack'ly [practically] wit a bulgin' headache, contin'ly [continually].
(I see.)
BUT RECENTLY DEY DON'T USE DOSE TINTYPES ANY MORE. WELL, DEY DID ONCE UPON A TIME. DEY HAD DE BIGGEST PART OF DE PEOPLE, YO' COULDN'T GIT 'EM TUH TAKE DERE PHOTOGRAPH, UNLESS YO' JIS' STEAL UP ON DEM TUH TAKE IT, BECUZ DEY KNOWED WHAT WOULD BE DE RESULT.
(I see.)
Entry 8219
Dey take de pichure tuh hurt or tuh do good. Tuh do good, tuh keep yure man, yo' take dat pichure an' yo' take a needle, an' yo' stick a needle right through it jis' lak dat. Right through de pi- chure, right crossways of de pichure lak dat, a sharp needle. An' yo' weah it, jis' lak yo' has a sack [nation sack, See p.1449f., THE NATION SACK WOMAN, first quotation] or anywhere. Yo' kin put it in a li'le sack an' weah it on yo', an' yo' put it down in dat; but yo' turns 'is haid dis way, right dere, see. An' yo' weah dat. An' ah don' care whut direction he's in, dat keeps: 'is mind tumbled up. He's gotta come.
(You wear that any place on your body?)
Yes, in undah yure clothes.
Entry 8539
They tell me that if a person will cross two sticks and then make a cross mark, and have those sticks standing up cross each other right in that cross mark, and put nine pins in there, in that same mark around there, that whichever one that has the longest end to it, the indi- vidual that you have something against, if he has to go that direction [in the direction of the longest mark], put it down there and he'll cross over it for nine days, and then finally his mind'll get confused and he'll wander away from home.
Entry 8641
Well, if a woman's got a man - well jis' like I've got a husband an' a woman wants to break me an' my husband up. I'll say like that. Yo' get a lemon an' get yo' some cayenne pepper an' get yo' some gunpowder. Yo' take that lemon, you wouldn't cut it half in two, you only cut that top around the top, yo' know, an' yo' raise it up like that and yo' bore a hole in that lemon. (You cut the top like a lid and you bore a hole under that?) Yes. Then yo' will write this man's name nine times, and yours nine times over it, an' yo' stick that down in that lemon an' put that gunpowder - that gunpowder's for confusion, that what's it for - an' the red pepper. Then yo' would take that lid an' put it back over there like that. Yo' get yo' some black thread an' yo' tie that lemon tight, so to be sure that nuthin that's in there won't come out, an' put it up over the door anywhere. An' when [as] that lemon dries up, they'll fuss an' fight an finally dey'll break up an' never go back together again. (Do you put your husband's name in there and your name, or your husband's name and her name?) My husband's name and her name.
Entry 8722
They take sulphur and saltpeter and incense an' burn it together, but chew got to name it, dey claim. An' as it goes up, de effect of it, de scent dat goes out, comes out from it, de individual dat happens to inhale it, why dey get to a place dat dey can't stand anythin'. Makes dem fickle-minded dey tell me. An' dey get so after while dat yo' get 'em confused about anything. They finally lose dere mind.
Entry 8782
Well, if yo' got a person - yo' kin take peoples' name an' put it in a bottle. Well, yo' take de name an' yo' write de name as ah tole yo', nine time, but yo' write it on a straight [ruled] piece of papah. Yo' kin put it in a bottle an' yo' kin take dat bottle an' yo' kin stan' anywheres off where yo' kin whip it; but yo' sup- posed tuh put peppah, vinegah an' Epsom salts an' gunpowdah wit anythin' evil dat yo' wants tuh do. Dat's in de bottle. See, yo' put all dat in dat bottle wit vinegah. An' yo' takes dat bottle an' git it on anythin' soft lak a cushion or pillah, anythin', an' yo' whips dat bottle. An' as yo' whip it yo' call dere name. An' when yo' do's dat, yo' doin' dat tuh make confusion. (And in writing those names, you write one right under each other nine times. And what do you write that with?) Yo' write it wit any kinda pencil.
Entry 8939
If yo' got any way of leaving your friends, if yo' got a idea of that, of somebody goin' to come there an' trouble yo', yo' understand. Yo' know, all yo' have to do, use this here steel dust and this cinnamon an' sugar. That will sweeten up the place there and they will change their mind. Yo' see, yo' takes a bottle of vinegar and the apartment have - probably may two or three windows into the apartment where you at. Well, yo' take this fresh bottle of vinegar - yo' could get a nickeZ[!] bottle of vinegar - an' yo' put it in a dif- ferent bottle [bottles numbering] just how many windows or doors that you got. Yo' take your cinnamon an' this steel dust an' yo' put down in there [bottles] an' sugar. Put it [bottle] down beneath any window or any door, where they could enter into the building. Just put that there. Every time they get there, their mind is upsetted - changed.
(Do you mix this stuff with the vinegar or use the vinegar alone?)
The vinegar and this here steel dust and this [cinnamon and sugar].
(What do you use the vinegar for?)
The vinegar, that's the strength - to strengthen, to sour it.
(Oh! To strengthen it.)
And sour it. Yo' see, that's to sour that - just like that sugah, that sugah sweetenin' that vinegar. Yo' see? Then yo' take lemons, such as lemon juice, an' squeeze it down in there. Well, yo' put it at all the windows in any little bit of bottle - small little bottle - an' just shake it. An' yo' put it in dere. Well, anywhere round that building they come at, that sugar an' sweetening. When they get there, they'll say, "Oh, well, I'll delay that for another day."
(They won't take anything from there? Won't steal anything from there?)
No, never would take nuthin.
Entry 9331
Dey tell, yo' kin take a aig, jes' take yo' a aig, a hen's aig, if dey's bothahin' yo' an' go tuh de house. An' go tuh de house an' git chew mo' [eggs], git chew nine aigs. Take nine of 'em - yes sir, nine aigs. An' den which- evah way dis person lives from yo', east or west - if yo' lives east, yo' git on de west side.of yuh house. An' he's comin' intuh yuh house maybe, say, talkin' tuh yuh wife, or keepin' a confusion in yuh family, an' yo' want 'im tuh stay 'way. Keep 'im from talkin' tuh dem, why yo' git on dis side of de house an' he stays east. Yo' git ovah on de west say evah mawnin' an' throw one dem aigs across de house, an' let it bust on de othah side. Says evah time dat he comes tuh do dat till yo' bust de whole nine aigs - nine mawnin's. Well den, if he come up, whoevah he is, dey say he can't stay in dat house no mo'.
Entry 9550
Git a bran'-new box of salt an' cayenne peppah an' yo' sprinkle it aroun' in de porch an' in de rooms. Salt an' peppah makes confusion. Cayenne peppah.
Entry 9559
Jes' take some red peppah, dis cayenne peppah an' salt, table salt an' jes' sprinkle it all in de house, an' dat'll cuz confusion or a bad sepa- ration.
Entry 9611
They say they take pepper and onions and table salt, and put that to- gether and name it, and throw it in the fire and burn it, and it will cause a confusion in the family between a man and his wife.
Entry 9752
Say, if anybody wuz hurt chew or git chure min' confusin', an' make yo' don't know whut chew wanta do half de time, dey could take a oak stick an' put nine notches an' ninepenny nail an' put it at chure step. Use new nail. Yessuh, say dat'll shure hurt chew.
(How would they put the nails in, in the stick?)
No suh, nail it down roun' dat stick. Jes' lak if yo' put it in de centah, nail 'em all roun' dat stick. Say yo' couldn't stay tuh yore own house in no peace.
Entry 9809
Well, now if yo' is livin' neah me an' dey brings on confusion between I an' yo' which we can't git along or make us bat up wit one 'nothah, yo' kin take eight straight pins. Eight straight pins now. Yo' lay fo' of 'em tuh yore front do'. Yo' lays fo' tuh yore back do'. An' yo' goin' have tuh move 'way from dere. Yo' can't stay. (Do they lay those in any particular way?) Well, yes, yo' lay all de p'ints back out at de front steps, see. Jes' lak yo' go in de house, yo' come up an' go in de house over de step, well, yo' lay dose pins lak dat, de p'ints p'intin' out p'intin' 'way from de house back an' front.
(That makes you move.)
Entry 10847
Ah learnt dat if a person kill a buzzard an' jest like if I had a friend - a wife or anything - an' dey wants tuh take de "upper turns" of me an' take away from me, well dey kin kill a buzzard. Dey say a buzzard got one lump of grease in him. Take dat lump of grease out an' fry it an' put it in a little vial an' keep it around wit dem. An' say, if ever occasion fo' dey comin' to mah house, dey kin take a drop or two an' run in dere han', an' when dey git to mah house, say if dey kin git clost enough to mah folks to rub dey han' on 'em, it will keep mah folks in confusion, an' dey'll have de influence of mah home.
(They just rub it over their clothes?)
Ovah de clothes, head, anywhere. (That is if someone is trying to break up you and your family.)
Entry 10890
Take cat hairs an' dog hairs an' mix it together an' throw it around undah that house, an' nobody lives there. (Why won't they live there?) Why? Because when they git in there, it'll be confused so they cain't stay there. Dog and cats don' like each othah. Dat's whut chew call a black art trick.
Entry 10900
Say, for instance, if you was mah husband and you was living with another woman and ah didn't want chew to live with this woman, and I could get familiar enough with this woman to get in her house, or get someone to go to her house. I would cut the hair from under the chin of a dog, right under here [dem- onstrates], and under the chin of a cat, and under their tails, and wrap it up into a cigarette paper. And when I go to their house, have occasion to smoke or do something, if they have fire in the grate, I throw that hair in the fire. Put a little pepper in it - red pepper. And they positively will fight, [even] if they haven't been used to it. They will continue to fight and be in confusion all the time.
Entry 10989
To break up, or confusion between man and your woman, black hen egg under door. [Norfolk, Va., 493:25.]
Entry 10990
I would get me a egg from a frizzly hen an' I would put it under the steps; then after 9 or 7 days, you see, that egg would bus'. That would make confusion and the landlord would put 'em out de house.
Entry 11200
Yo' take a dirt dauber nest an' anything, jes' lak say, yo' wanta cause confusion or sompin lak dat in a home. Yo' take a dirt dauber nest an' yo' go dere a certain hour of de night an' yo' use dat jes' lak yo' do de aig. Jes' lak dirt dauber keep a-goin' an' conin', dat person keep a-goinin' an' comin'.
(What would you do with the dirt dauber's nest when you took it to that house?)
Yo' jes' carry it an' bust it ovah de house at twelve a'clock at night, jes' lak yo' bust a aig.
Entry 11257
[The following document and the one preceding it, mentioned later, are of social significance, the effect of hoodoo on mornings and family relationships. This woman was merely one of many informants who could express herself fluently and idiomatically.1 The next experience that I had, I had a visitor to come to see me; a daughter [husband's] from Detroit and a daughter [husband's] from New Orleans, and a new- phew [husband's] and a [his] girl friend. After they left, they made the remark, "If it's the last thing we could do, we goin' to see her losing her home and not living with our father." Mah husband - ah am his fo'th wife - he has three sets of children. They gets their youngest sis- ter - they would get the ingredients of what dey call go powder or get away powder. This go powder would be placed on mah front porch and burned. It would leave a white acid spot on de floor. Dat didn't seem to make me go. They went an' got a oil an' po'd it at mah front gate - ah kept in touch with all of this work as they were going along.
(What did they call this oil, did they have a name for that?)
Well, the oil, as the get away powder didn't work, they got what they call de get away oil - a liquid oil so that they could pour it and it would git on de ground so I would walk on it. Don't chew see, that carried it in de house, and to be confused with it in there to git it on mah feet when ah'd pull mah shoes off. Well, that didn't seem to work very much. They got a ole white woman [hoodoo doctor] to come to mah house at the absence of me in the presence of mah husband. She poured a liquid - something looks like lead melted - ah don't know the name of it [quicksilver?], but she poured that on de floor. And that was poured on de floor that I would have five years of hard luck there - that I would be defeated finishing paying for that home - that everything, every effort I made I would be defeated in it, because I was determined to pay for it. Well, after doing that they found I had begin to drift, begin to lose interest in the home - begin to lose interest in everything. Then the person of itself and the daughter had got in a conversation together, from whom I had bought - bargained to buy de place. She gave me a warranted deed, and this warranted deed stated that there was no lien, no incumberance on the said property that's locat- ed at the corner of St. Peter Street and Plum Street. I paid on that warranted deed, believed the statement after having two lawyers to examine the papers. They stated that it was all right. Going on through this daughter and the individual that I bought from, they did something, ah don't know what it was, but ah became confused and left home and went to New York. Jest picked right up and taken mah jewelry and went on up to New York. Ah stayed up there three months and three days. On the 27th day of June ah had a job working fo' Dr. Friedman on 9Oth and Broadway. Ah was lying on de bed an' - it was a Friday.
(What year was this?)
That was last year.
(1937.)
1937. Ah got up and ah said to the madam of the house, ah said, "Ah'm going home, mah mind leads me tuh go home." I had got a letter that day and that letter, it jes' looked like to me - it worked me up jes' in de mood to leave. I couldn't understand why it was. It was nuthin wrote on the letter that was confused but only the letter said like this: Dear Elsie: When I sit on the front porch each day ah think of you and the children - it makes me feel so blue, until I feel like screaming. Well dat letter jest worked me all up.
(Who wrote this letter?)
Mah husband wrote the letter but the daughter done de fixing to the letter. Whatever they done to that letter confused me so that I had to come home. My money that I made [author interrupts].
(That was your stepdaughter?)
That was mah stepchild. The money that ah made - ah bought mahself $1.27 dress - ah made $347.80. Ah had that much besides paying mah bus fare and mah two other children's bus fare. I come back home and turned that money over to mah husband. Instead of him paying the money on that place - yo' see that how ah was hardtimed all de way through. It was understooden between the daughter, the person that ah bought it from, and the husband - to overthrow me in mah way, to defeat me of the home. He didn't pay it, he jest done away with it. When ah ast him about it, he jest put me off and ah never could get any information. So ah became grevious. Ah goes back to this same person [black doctor] that ah carried these first things to [in rite 975, pp.369-372]. Ah said to her, ah said, "Please mam, tell me what is the trouble with me that I am defeated in everything that I put forth efforts to try to exist to make a living." She says, "You have fought a good fight." She says, "Yo' goin tuh be defeat- ed, yo' goin' tuh be put out of doors. That's the very best you can do because the things that they have done is to turn everybody against chew, not to believe your statements of whut chew say; whut yo' would tell 'em when you would go to 'en, that chew can't keep a job an' yo' can't keep any money.' Ah could have. Ah have had as much as $25. It would go away from me, and in three days. Ah couldn't tell whut that money was spent for. She said, "Yo' are fixed so that everything, all de money an' everything yo' git will go away from yo' an' yo' can't tell what it's goin' fo'." Part of it ah'd give it to him - give it to mah sisters. Ah would buy things with it. Ah jest destroy it. Through the year until November, that same trouble of last year that I was having - I go to the party that I had bought from and ah said to her, I says, "I can't continue - couldn't no longer continue to pay yo' on this property until yo' go an' straighten yore taxes up. Ah have been smart enough to find by the Home Owners Loan that chew had a mortgage on it." And ah said, "You have got the biggest po'tion of the money, which leaves me a small sum." Ah say, "You owes $276.67." Ah says, "Ah owes yo' $325." Ah said, "When ah'd gone today to the tax office, de man down there refuses to take mah money." Ah said, "Now, let us get together as friends, go down and pay those taxes off, ' and ah says, "an yo' turn the Home Owners Loan over to me that ah kin continue mah payments, that I would have a clear title according to yore warranty deed dat yo' gave me." Ah said, "Then ah kin proceed to pay yo'." She says, "Well, all right ah'll go." She went off and she brought me back a verbally statement. You see, mah hus- band, the stepdaughter and de woman all understood each other. So she came back and brought me a verbally statement. The statement was this: "Mr. Tooart said that the County and State taxes was mo' important to pay then the city tax." Ah said, "Well, ah don't keer whut Mr. Tuart says."
(Truehart?)
Tooart - ah don't know how to spell it. He's a tax man. So she said to me - ah said, "Ah don't care what Mr. Tooart says to you, " ah says, "it is necessary for all taxes to be paid to be a loyal citizen." Ah says, "And that's why we pay our taxes - that our city kin be properly cared fo' and our school funds can be raised for our children to go to school, " and ah says, "ah believe in doing the things that's right." 'Now, " I say, "if he tells you that it's more - one tax is more valuable to pay than the other - they all are valuable the same way." Ah said, "Now, ah can't pay you any money until you do this - until you turn this Home Owners Loan over to me and let us go and pay the taxes. I have the money to pay you." So she shut her mouth and talked with mah husband and this [step]daughter. They let it rot on from November up until the 5th of February. She never said anything at all to me whut was her intention. She then, when ah came in on Sat'day afternoon which was the 5th day of February - a neighbor called me as I was pass'n by, she called me by name, she said, "Do you know you are write up in de papers in Mobile [newspaper]?" [I] tole her, "No, " I says, "it's good thing, " I says, "that ah am." She says, "Yore place is to be sold on the 28th day of this month for cash to the highest bidder." Ah said, "Where is it?" She said, "Do you take The Press?" Ah say, "Ah do." Ah goes on home and I look in it and ah found it and ah read it. Ah goes to her and ah says, "Belle, " I says, "ah don't feel that you have treated me right." Ah said, "Ah give you mah money three months in advance," said, "me and mah chillun didn't even have their gruel cooked on Friday - didn't even have wood [to cook it] - to pay yo', an' ah advanced yo' three months at de time." And ah says, "However, if you feel that chew dealt square with me by treating me that way, it's all right." I then leaves her and ah goes downtown. To show you how ah have been actually defeated every way. Ah come back home. When ah come back home, it was something spreaded - ah didn't git back home till late. When ah got back there ah felt dubious about something, and it looked like to me it was a lotta white beach sand - sand that come off near a creek where it was real clean - spreaded all over de gallery [porch]. And as I walked up on the gallery ah begin to do mah feet that way [scrapes her feet] - it was so thick on mah feet - scrape mah feet and ah went on in de house. And ah said to mah husband, ah says, "There's some- thing goin' on wrong since ah left here and went to town - ah'm jest confused to death." So ah didn't say anything else to him. He said, "What did you learn when you went down town?" Ah said, "Ah went down there to Lawyer Gaston[?] and Gostrom[?], an' they told me that they had come in touch with Mr. Vickers, the Home Owners laywer, and he had stated to them that ah would have to pay $407.25 or else the fore- closure would be offered on the 28th day of this month." He [husband] said, "That's funny." He said, "Well, ah guess you have got yore just desserts. You've been defeated in everything. Ah'm goin' take mah clothes and ah'm goin' ovah there."
(Going where?)
He's going over the bay - over to Locksley, over at Dafney - 'I'm goin' ovah the bay." So he did. So this morning - after they had treated me like they did, and ah was defeated and all of mah lawyers and everything with the disadvantages that they had on me, that they had turned their backs against me - this morning, ah had a barn in de back yard was lOxl5 feet. Ah sent mah brother word, tole him to come an' tear the barn down, take it off. So he came to tear the barn down to take it off. To prove all the statements of the advantages she had been taking, she came out this morning and emptied it all open to me - tole me right to mah face. She walked out to him and she said, "Have the law give yo' permission to tear dat barn down?" He say, "What chew talking about?" An' ah was looking out of the window, the kitchen window and ah could see her out there. So ah walked out and ah said, "Good morning, " ah said, "what is it all about?" She 'lowed [allowed = declared her opinion or intention], "Heah yo' come to interfere. You cannot take anything out of that house. You cannot take anything offa this property. It's orders by the law. And if you do, you'll be dead, " she says, "damned and will live less than 24 hours, because whom ah got working fo' me determined to kill yo', if ah can't git chew outa dis house by law." Ah looked at her and ah says to her, I says, "Now, ah'll tell you one thing, " ah said, "for the respect that ah have for mah brother and mah children, " ah said, "ah'll see you an' all yo' cohorts in hell an' me pissin' on top of yo', " ah says, "befo' ah'm goin' be actually defeated in everythin' ah do." Ah says, "Ah still have a chance." I says, "Ah'ms not a tramp, ah'ms a citizen." An' ah says, "Now yo' have come out verbally an' told me whut yo' intends to do and whut yo' has tole me an' all of yore advantages." Ah says, "Tear de barn down, '' Ah says, "ah'll stand de conseguences. So he toe [tore] de barn down and when he left, she commence takin' somethin' in her hand [demonstrates] that way throwing at him. She says, "Well, if yo don't die, he will." Ah says, "By God, ah come from a family of folks that lives from 75 to 115 an'," ah said, "ah'll live that long too." So ah've been defeated in everything through the advantages that they have taken of me. Ah can't git nuthin. Today I hasn't got one penny in de vorld.
(What is the outcome of that story - what happened to the property, then?)
The property - they supposed to put me out doors Monday morning.
(This happened recently?)
This jes' happened today - happening today - working up to Monday - ah'm sup- posed to put out Monday. (Then your story about your husband leaving goes on to this story?) [Her husband's leaving is a separate story. Where is it?] Goes right on to the same thing. Yo' see, his advantage was to make me leave.
(He was also trying to make you leave.)
He was the real object [instigator] of it all. He was to make me leave, don' yo' see; den before de foreclosure was, that he could have it to say that ah walked off an' left him.
Entry 11744
If it's someone behind yuh, the one - you know, someone behind yuh what rid them[-selves] of other people, they will pick it [your foot track] up and mix it with graveyard dust. [Long pause.]
(All right, go ahead. What else?)
And they, they'll take that and mix it with graveyard dust, and they will take and fix it together and sprinkle it around your door, yuh see. And they will take and make - mix it with pepper, black pepper and cayenne pepper, you see. They mix all that up together and they sprinkle it around your house, and that will make for confusion with you and your neighbors, and that will cause you to have to move.
Entry 11821
Graveyard dust sprinkled around house causes confusion in home.
[Elizabeth City, 403:6.]
Entry 11843
You got to take and burn de gunpowder and get the scent - not de scent but de gas from this gunpowder - and take a stran' of yuh hair, or eithah a piece of cloth or sompin dat joo have, dat de person you tryin' to hurt had, and put it in this bottle. And shut it up in this bottle. And they say that'll make de person lose de min', or eithah make 'em sore in some parts of de body.
Entry 12689
(Do what?)
You kin take a pigeon's blood, you know. And you take nine drops of a pigeon's blood an' take you some - just ltke you urinated or somepin like that. You take nine drops of that pigeon's blood and you drop it down in there. See, anywhere what you want me to go that's considered like a woman want a man, you understand. She ketch pigeon's blood and she takes your urinate and put it down in there, an' just do any way she wanta use you. Any Way she wants to do with you, she could do with you. You understand.
(How?)
"Cause she have your name and that blood, you know, all mixed up together with that urinate. See. And then they could take you, with that pigeon's blood again and plant you with that blood. You understand? Put your name and stain it with the pigeon blood and then they tie [that to pigeon and] unloose that pigeon and let that pigeon go. Den see, long as that pigeon flying, you just flying and going with a waverish mind, you understand. That pigeon just flying everywhere but still you don't know what it is all about. You see. And you - they got you tied up with pigeon blood, just long as it fly.
[I turn off machine too quickly.]
(What did you say then?)
See, like the pigeon'll die, yo'll die too.
Entry 12745
Dey tells me of a root - dat's a rattlesnake master. Yo' use dat an' put it in de whiskey an' stroke his step down different ways wit dat, an' den point de way to yore house. Dat'll [that] man will walk ovah dere, he'll go an' git dem things, an' come back to you wit it. (You don't give this man any whiskey to drink?) No sir. (You just soak the root in the whiskey.) Den take it an' go to his doorstep an' wipe it on dere an' point [the root] de way to yore house. He come out dat do' de next mawnin', his mind will git so fuddled, he'll go back an' git dem things an' bring dem to you.
Entry 8635
Now, ef ah see a person livin' good togethah an' ah want 'em confused, ah kin take a lemon. Take a lemon an' cut it in half, write their two names, the woman and the man. Then ah'd put it in there, saying, Depart, be confused. Then sew it back together with black thread and bury that. And that will cause that party, that woman to be con- fused. (You write their names on a piece of paper and put this paper in the lemon and sew it up.) An' sew it back up.
Entry 12283
I've heard that they take a string, one that you've worn, and take it and get hold of it, and tie a knot in it and name the knot, and ever knot is named, and they tie so many knots in that string; and then they take those knots and put them down where the individual has to walk over them. And after he's walked over 'em as many times as there are knots in that string, then that individual will become confused in his busi- ness affairs and also in any kind of work that he has to do, and he gits so he can't do it.
Entry 12381
Dey tell me de way to do, if yo' wanta put a confusion, yo' know, in a person's home. Yo' see dat way to keep 'im confused, dat chew take a box of potash yo' see, an' Red Devil lye - potash, yo' see [Red Devil tye and potash the same]. An' dig a hole at chure back steps or either yore front steps an' cover dat [can] up, an' dat person won't see no mo' peace in dat home. Dey will nevah be satis- fied while in dere. De home yo' know would be a nuisance to him, cause dat stuff yo' see is hot dataway an' it will keep him hot.
Entry 12816
Take salt, jis' table salt and throw it all around the steps, and that will make confusion. [New Orleans 1158:7.]
Entry 13110
Dry a rattlesnake head, powder it, sprinkle the dust in the 4 corners of a house, and it will cause confusion between man and wife. [Charleston 623:10.]
Entry 4292
Yuh go dere early in de mawnin' jis' a little befo' day - tuh dis house, yassuh, an' yuh sprinkle red peppah all around it, all in de yard, an' heavy undah de steps where dey have tuh go in an' out. When yuh git through sprinklin' dis red peppah, den yuh take yuh some chamber lye an' throw it undah de steps on de peppah dat's undah de steps. An' den yuh leave. Dat brings up confusion between 'im an' 'is family an' de person dat he's dealin' wit, an' he'll have tuh leave dere.
(That is to get even with the landlord? To keep people out of the house?)
Yessuh.
Entry 13420
Well, they have war water. See, you get a small bottle of war water and sprinkle it wherever this - jes' like if a person is - you is close neigh- bors to them, you can put it in their scrub water, you know, when you see them mopping or anything like that. You kin put it in their scrub water. If not, you can take war water and jes' sprinkle it around that house and the police will come there and they'll have all kinds of confusion - they jes' be fighting all the time, will soon break up.
(I see. This man and woman.)
Entry 13426
I've hearn it like this: if you had a neighbor and you couldn't get along, see. You would take and get you - if you wanted them to move, you under- stand, why you could make a quarrel between the people in the house an' that would cause the landlord to put them out, see. Well, you would use an egg. You could use salt or war water, see. (Just how Would you use these, now?) Well, now, you'd take - you'd get - use the war water which the war water would be the best. See, there's two things you use, you use either the powder or the water.
(Well, explain the war water.)
Well, you take the war water and you would sprinkle that war water. You would use salt - salt makes fuss anywhere.
(How would you use that salt there?)
You would take and you would sprinkle that salt at the four corners of the house and then you'd take this war water and as you - if you can enter into the place, jes' in the alley. You don't have to go in the house. Like if - like I enter this door here. I would walk to the back door which would be the kitchen. If I could get to the kitchen, I would start to sprinkle there.
(You say you begin at the back door?)
At the back door, yes, sir.
(I see. Then what do you do?)
I'm going to sprinkle this water, see. As I come out, I sprinkle the water, letting the water run out of my hand, as I'm coming out the door, jes' as I'm walking [demonstrates] and the water's coming out. And, when I gets to the door, I takes salt and I cross it [make a cross with it] right at the gate. And at the steps, I cross [make another cross at] the steps with salt. And under the steps I jes' take and I sprinkle war water, and I take salt and jes' throw it thataway, see. That's all you have to do, salt and that war water. It'll sort of confuse 'em. You can take salt and make a confusion any kind of way. Now, that would start a confusion in the house with the husband and wife. If it's the people you don't like, see, regardless of who they are, if it be the mother and the daughter, the mother and the son, then the people that you would want to get out, why that would start a confusion. Somebody would have to go. See.
Entry 11004
Dye an egg red or black, bury or throw at person's home; causes con- fusion in house. [Mobile, Ala., 874:2.]
The account claims confusion in the house following alternative acts. It establishes neither performance, causation nor a clinical condition.