Subject:Dirty
Related combinations
- Dirty dishrag
- Dirty pan
- Dirty sock
- Dirty stocking
- Dirty underwear
- Dirty water
- Dirty-sock water
- Dirty-underclothes ashes
Entries
Entry 8509
Dey take dat an' dey put it in a coconut.
(This bath water?)
Dis bath watah.
(What else do they do?)
An' dey write yure name nine times each way [forwards and backwards] on a piece of papah, an' put it in a coconut an' chuck it in de rivah. An' dey call it a dirty name, what- evah dey wanta call it, an' tell it tuh go. Well, dat floats yuh on away, dat coconut. Long as dat coconut go, it keeps yuh on de go.
Entry 12666
An' de woman takes de watah from [under] her ahm. Take a rag an' git watah. Takes a rag an' she take a bath from undah her ahm an' her person. Well, now, she'll take dat watah an' she won' take a whole lotta it, jis' take enough tuh git enough tuh do dirty work, yo' see. She'll take dat watah an' when de man come tuh fix his food, she'll have dat watah settin' maybe some- where. She'll take dat an' she'll put it ovah his food. Dat'll keep him home an' keep him in touch with her, keep him lovin' her mo' an' mo'.
Entry 11074
They'd [they had] crossed her.
(How did they cross her?)
Well, they gets hold of her dirty linen. You understand? One of her old dirty linens and bury that. Bury it in a place where they don't walk at, nobody walks; up close to a corner, up close to the wall where people don't walk over it. That's dirtv. [If her linen had been buried where people could walk over it, victim would have died quickly, called a fast death. Here we have a slow death rite, the reason informant calls it dirty. These terms slow death and fast death are mentioned early in HooDOO.]
Entry 6331
I've heard dey kin git some of dere sweaty clo's an' take de dirty watah from dere clo's. An' dey use dat like dey use in a bottle. An' git some mol' offa his hair [hair from the mold of the head] an' put it in theah, an' some bah'k [bark] offa [birch] tree. An' put dat [bottle] tuh floatin'. An' dey say dat'll run 'im crazy.
Entry 4719
Yuh has some dirty undahweahs. Dey will go take yore undahweahs an dey will burn 'em. Dey have tuh burn 'em tuh ashes. Dey take it an' take 'em [ashes] wit 'em, see, an' blow it away dataway an' dat'll keep yuh on de drag, so when yuh got shoes, yuh need a hat; when yuh got a hat, chew need a coat; when yuh got coats, yuh need a pants. Dat keep yuh on de drag. Now, if yuh kin - if anybody yuh suspect, yuh undahstan', or whosomevah dat did so, yuh see, yuh take yuh dat parchment papah an' yo'd write dere name on dat. Den yuh write chure name roun' dat. See [demonstrates].
(You write the [your] name right around the [in a] circle?)
Yeah, yuh got dem in a circle. Take dat same papah an' burn it tuh a powdah. Put it in a plate an' blow. Yuh blow dat same luck back on 'em [this is return- ing the spell].
Entry 4788
Now, if ah an' mah husban' git tuh disagree an' he leave me. Jis' lak he leave his undahclothes dere or somepin dirty, well, ah tell yuh whut ah'll do wit dat. Ah'll take dat an' - ah'll take dat an' fold it jis' lak, jis' lak it be yore shorts. Mos'ly [mostly] mens weah shorts. If yuh leave dat dirty dere, ah'll take it an' weah it between mah laigs an' in nine day's time he be back dere - bring 'im right back.
Entry 4819
[The following shirttail-tea rites are more frequently called shimmy- tail tea (see p.647 and elsewhere).] A woman kin taken - say fo' ninstance, if yuh wuz goin', keepin' comp'ny wit a woman, or if yuh wuzn't keepin' comp'ny wit 'er. If yuh wuz aroun' some place dat she had a chance tuh serve yuh yore meals or tuh fix yore meals, den she have a chance tuh do anythin' she wan'uh duh along dat line. Ah saw here in Fairfield, Md., in suburb of Baltimore in 1914, a woman dere by de name of Belle X. She's dead now. Huh husban' used tuh work at Oyster [Austin's?] Fertilizah. An' she had anothah man. Her husban' would sleep in de middle room an' 'er an' 'er man would sleep in de front up- stairs.
(You mean they were?)
Suah. Well, dis man when she firs' met 'im didn't care anythin' fo' 'er, but still he wuz bo'din' [boarding] dere. Well, she said tuh me, she said, "Ah'll git 'im. If yuh don't b'lieve ah'll [get him], jis' come on an' watch me." So ah did watch 'er. She goes tuh work an' gits some of 'er dirty pieces an' put 'em in hot watah an' boils 'em. She had taken dat hot watah an' mixed it wit 'is coffee. An' she served it tuh 'im an' he drank it, an' he become crazy about Ter, craziah dan 'er husban' evah wuz.
(If a man is in that condition, is there anything he can do to get rid of it?)
Oh, yeah. He kin git rid of it all right. Well, in ordah tuh git rid of it, de firs' thin' he would have tuh do. He go tuh work an' have connection wit 'er. Take an' git a bottle of sweet milk [and put it in] an' give it tuh 'er, or [put it in] anythin' sweet dat she likes [and] give it tuh 'er. Even'tly [eventually] all de feelin' he had fo' her in dat way will go right back where it came from.
Entry 4888
De stockin's an' de shoes or de socks. If yuh want someone tuh con- tinue comin' tuh yore place of business, if yuh kin git dere socks - not washed, let it be dirty. Or if it's a woman, let it be her stockin's, an' dey be dirty when she done wore it an' it ain't been washed. An' if it's a man an' it is sock, yuh take an' bury it anywhere aroun' de house- anywhere, don't mattah where. An' dey'll always be wit yuh - always be dere.
Entry 4891
Dey kin take you sock an' specially a dirty sock, an' dey kin take you sock an' jis' like a woman git ti'ed [tired] of 'er husban' an' wan'a sen' 'im away from 'er. She kin take an' bur' it on de south side of de house, de way she wan' 'im tuh go. [Or if] it's de north side de house, de [any] way she wan' 'im tuh go. An' some way dat dey put in some salt, dat she put in dis hole wuh [where] she bur's [buries] de sock fer three days. An' a certain numbah of days dat she perfer [prefer] fer 'im tuh go 'way, she'll take two fingahs [holding a pinch of salt] an' say if she wan"i tuh go in [how many] days. Den jis' drop nine times [drop 9 pinches of salt] in dat hole an' covah it up. Den in dat time he'll leave.
(How does she bury that sock?)
She jis' put it in ball [make a ball of it] fer three days, den she put it undah 'is baid. Take it out de [pronounce outd] groun', put it undah 'is baid at night, an' fer de certain numbah days dat she wan' 'im tuh go away. If it stay in de groun' three days, den dat make yuh have tuh take it out fer six days an' put it undah 'is baid. An' den take dem nine pinches of salt an' drop in dat hole. Well, if she wan' 'im tuh go east, she'll make dat hole [on the east side of the house]; if she wan' 'im tuh go west, she'll make dat hole [on the west side of the house].
Entry 7080
Or eithah yore dirty bloomahs an' hang 'em ovah de haid of de baid right ovah 'is haid. An' fan it nine times dataway ovah 'is face while he's sleep an' make a wish, fo' nine times. Make a wish fo' nine times dat he stays asleep. An' den hang 'em up ovah de haid of de baid right ovah 'is haid. An' he won' vake up. Yo' kin go all ovah town an' come back, an' he be sleepin' sound.
Entry 7938
Take any yore clothes, yore dirty clothes an' put down in dat coffin an' bury it, or ei- thah bury it undah yore steps. An' when yo' cross dat, dat where yo' dies at.
Entry 11071
Dey say if a man's runnin' round - jest lak ah'm got a husband an mah husband would be runnin' with a other lady, an' ah want 'im to break off. Ah could take a garment dat he wear next to him. Let it be dirty, have his scent in it, an' sleep on it every night. Put it between mah sheet an' de mattress an' sleep on it every night, an' dat'll make him stay home. Ah have tried dat an' dat worked.