Subject:Egg
More specific topics
Entries
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.
Read full source (printed page 758) · Read full source (printed page 759) · Read full source (printed page 760) · Read full source (printed page 761) · Read full source (printed page 762) · Read full source (printed page 763) · Read full source (printed page 764) · Read full source (printed page 765) · Read full source (printed page 766) · Read full source (printed page 767)
Entry 97
If yo' kin git de blood, if yo' kin git a shirt - [anything] dat got blood on his garment where he got killed - if yo' kin git a piece of that, take it an' git a aig, jes' a aig, an' bury it in his han', an' open his eye up first an' look in his eye, den take that aig an' put it in his han', an' dey say dat de person whut kilt him will appeah befo' yo' in his eye, will appeah befo' 'em in his eye. An' put dis heah piece of his garment whut's got his blood on it - say, yo' tack it to de no'th side of yore house. An' dat person-will come back whut kilt dis person, dey will come right to yore house.
Entry 218
One time a fellow was frying some eggs. He was setting down there cook- ing and looking things over. He heard a voice. He looked around to see where it was at and couldn't find it. So he goes to the stove and something up on top of the chimley said, "I'm gon'a drop." He said, "You can drop all you want, so you don't drop in my pan of slop." Finally, a cat leg fell down the chimley, went in the corner and set down. The fellow looked at it, then at the pan, and something on top of the house said, "I'm gon'a drop." Another leg fell down the chimley and went over there and both got together. When the two legs commenced to get- ting together he said, "It's getting kin'a tight in here. The legs said, "That's nothing. Wait till my body comes down." Something on top of the chimley said, "I'm gon'a drop." That cat's body fell down the chimley. It went over and got with them legs. The fellow look at them again and the pan of slop and said, "It's getting kin'a tight in here." Then they said, "Wait until them front legs get down here." Something said, "I'm gon'a drop." He said, "You can drop all you want to just so you don't drop in the slop." The front legs dropped and went over there and got together. He said, "It's tight in here now sure enough." Then it said, "Yes, but you wait until the head comes down." The man said, "The back legs is here, the body is here, the front legs is here, but when that head gets down I'm gon'a be gone."
Entry 571
Yo' take a chicken aig - yo' take that aig an' hold it up, look at it jest that very way. Well, now, if dere's a person have did anything an' yo' Wants tuh find out 'bout it, yo' take that aig an' yo' hold it up that-a- way: Now, dere's a certain Way to break dat aig, an' yo' kin go directly to de person whut did dese thing: Yo' break de aig - some folks break it 'cross, but chew break it straight.
(Break it the long way.)
Yeah, de long way. De reason yo' break it de long way - dat holds all de yellow part right together. Take dat yellow den an' put it in a glass. Yo' put it in a glass an' yo' take a magnifying glass an' look through it an' yo' kin see de streets an' de shape of de person, de way dey goin'.
(This is to find out who your enemy is and where he lives.)
That's right, anywhere yo' enemy is why yo' kin take it dere - take a magnifying glass an' look through it an' yo' kin tell 'zactly which side dey coming or which way dey is.
Entry 1155
A buzzard lays twelve eggs, you see, just like twelve and - and all of the eggs hatches. Now, it got a buzzard test - that's for a man to do anything, but you gotta make the buzzard get the test. Now, the buzzard, she sets on her eggs and after she sets on her eggs, she goes off to feed exactly thirty minutes. You gotta go to the nest and take one of them eggs out of the nest when she go off the nest feeding. You know she feeds thirty minutes, [therefore] you boil the egg about fifteen minutes and then you slip back there and put that egg in the nest. Now she going to hatch all them buzzards but that one egg, and she going to sit on that one egg nine days. After she see that egg don't hatch, she going off and get something and put on [test] the egg. Then she see that egg was not good. And then, when she see that egg was not good, she going to take all her young ones away from there and she going to leave that test there. What she left there - a little rock or something and you going to get that little rock. You take that little rock and do anything in the world with it, but you gotta make the buzzard get it though.
(You mean she goes away to feed herself for thirty minutes?)
Yeah, goes feeds herself and that's the time you get the egg out of that nest and you get that buzzard test. If you get that, why you kin go any place without being seen.
(I see. They can't see you.)
They can't see you.
(This egg that isn't any good - it turns to a rock?)
No, the egg don't turn to a rock. She goes off and gets something - we li'ble be walking over it but you don't know what it is. She goes gets it. You gotta make her go get it. And she put it on her egg to see was the egg good, and after she find out the egg was no good and it didn't hatch, then she going to leave there, but [before the test] she going to sit on the egg nine days. (After she finds out that egg is no good with that rock - she tests that egg with the rock?) Yeah, she tests that - we call it a buzzard test.
(A buzzard test. And she finds out that that egg is no good.)
No good.
(Then she just goes on away.)
She go on away.
(And she leaves both the egg and the rock in the nest?)
Leaves the egg and the rock and you goes there and gets that.
(You just take the rock - you don't get the egg?)
You don't get the egg, just get the rock. [There are similar stories of the raven.]
Entry 1156
Go to a buzzard. Well, now ah have heard of a lotta people dat seen it but ah have nevah seen it done yet. Dey tell me dat chew kin go to a buzzard nest when dis hen is on her nest layin' - ready fo' hatchin'. Dey tell me dat a buzzard nest is made on de ground, not built up high in de trees. Yo' go to dis nest an' yo' takes yo' a stick - a long stick dat chew kin stand about five feet from dis nest - an' yo' push de aigs out dis nest. An' she has one big aig in de middle - a large aig in de middle. See, yo' take dat stick an' yo' rake dat aig to you, an' yo' puts dat aig in yore pocket. Den yo' takes dose othah aigs an' yo' takes yore han' an' put 'em back in dere. Don't put 'em back with de stick, jes' put 'em back wit chure han'. Now when she come to git on dis nest, yo' see, she ain't gon'a git on dis nest 'fore she know dat somethin' wrong 'cause dat big aig not dere. An' after she git on de nest, [if she doesn't see the big aig], she gon'a git off an' she gon'a fly away, an' when she come back she gon'a bring whut dey call a male or man buzzard back with her. An' after she bring him back he gon'a have a root. Dey tell me he gon'a have a root in his mouth an' he gon'a test de aigs by dis root. Now, if anybody put dey hands on dose aigs, dat root is to let him know and he ain't gon'a let 'er git on de nest. Well, now dey tell me if yo' kin git a chance to hit 'im hard enough to git dat root dat he put down dere, dey says dat root's good fo' diff rent othah things. But ah don't see how it could be good fo' somethin'- - yo' don't put nuthin with it, jest a lucky root. Jt jes' lak a person use a black cat bone or lak dat - if yo' don't put nuthin on it, dey tell it's better luck wit hit.
Entry 1166
Ah've heard dat chew could take a black hen's aig an' it would cure a hunyun [hernia] on a baby's navel. Yo' know, jes' like a baby have a large navel an' dey wear a bandage around it - dat chew could take a black hen's aig, a fresh hen aig soon as she lay it an' take it an' rub it on a baby's navel. Rub down his navel three times an' bury it under de do'step, an' it will carry dat away.
(You mean that big bump on the navel?)
Yes sir - it would carry it away.
Entry 1167
Yo' kin take a chicken aig - if yo' have a young child born, take a fresh chicken aig an' tie it up ovah de do' an' he cut all his teeth an' yo' won't know when he cut 'em.
Entry 1170
They say if you've got a spell on you, you take a black hen egg - jis' wear it in your bosom for three days. Then, at night, take it out an' put it under your bed, under your bed on the floor [each night during the three days]. They say that spell'll leave right on you an' go into that egg. Go out in the morning [of fourth day] and put it in de runnin' water - break it.
Entry 1172
Anybody would be botherin' yo', git chew two aigs, yessuh, an' have some of yore fren's tuh throw 'em at chew. Yo' walk from yore place yo' see, an' have dem jes' throw dose aigs in yore back an' vo' feel dey bust, an' den dere's nobody kin trouble yo' or nobody will bother yo' atall.
(They just have to break these eggs on your own back.)
Jes'- no suh, don't break 'em on yore back, jes' throw 'em right tuh yore feet chew know.
(Break them behind you?)
Right behin' yo' at chure feet - any kinda chicken aigs. (Two of them. That'll keep the law away or anybody that is trying to disturb you?) Yes, dey even cain't fin' yo' wheresomevah yo's at.
Entry 1193
[The preceding teeth rites using chicken manure are usual; not so usual are teeth rites using chicken eggs that follow:] A black hen egg is for to rot your teeth out, something like that if a person bites cha.
(How would you do that?)
Well, if I'd bite you and put a bad bite on you, you would take a black hen's egg: You'd take that egg and break the egg and rubs it on this place. When this place gets well your teeth gon'a fall out. But you gotta shorely get a black hen's egg.
Entry 1312
Yo' kin take maybe half a pint of likker or half a dozen aigs an' go to de graveyard, an' right down somewheres on de breast of someone dat yo' knows is buried dere, an' git up some dirt. Put dis down in dere, de aigs or de whiskey.
(How many eggs do you put in?)
Half a dozen.
(Half a dozen and a pint of whiskey do you say?)
Yessuh, tuh pay him tuh take care - tell 'em, "Ah'm payin' yo' tuh take care of de situation." Carry it on back with yo', dis dirt - carry it at chure home. Starts to de right corner of de house an' sow it clean back on round and yo's jes' taken pretty well care of - de house is taken care of.
(What will that do to the house?)
Den yore enemies won't bother yo'.
(You do this to your own house?)
Yessuh, to yore house.
The opening offers half a pint of liquor or half a dozen eggs; the interviewer later combines eggs with a pint of whiskey and receives confirmation. These differences remain unresolved. The quoted payment words are prescribed speech, and the protection claim is source-reported.
Entry 1388
Only, lessen it was a kid or somepin couldn't talk plain: yo' know, an' anybody else dat, yo' know, dey say couldn't explain de words plain enough. Yo' takes a mockingbird egg an' cook it chew know good an' hard, an' eat it an' put a little vinegar on it. Dat'll make 'em talk plain. (Where did you hear that?) Dat was done in my country - ah experienced dat.
(In Georgia?)
Yes, sir. [After No. 1035, p.395, was typed I found this more detailed belief.] [St. Petersburg, Fla., (1021), 1652:11.]
[There are dangers in the preceding rite:]
Entry 1390
Say if yo' eat de mockingbird's egg why yo' couldn't keep nuthin but whut yo'd tell it tuh ever' an' ever'body - say if yo' eat de mockingbird's egg, but ah haven't tried it.
(What would it do if you eat those eggs?)
Say if yo' eat de mockingbird's eggs why yo' couldn't keep no secrets atall - yo' tell ever'thing yo' know.
Entry 1391
Well now, jest lak a woman in a pregnant condition - now, ah kin take dat mockingbird aig an' fix it an' go scatter it in her tea an' give dat woman some, an' dat chile will nevah be nuthin but a tattler an' news-carrier, be jest busy bee or anything.
Entry 1392
A mockin'bird to make a man always untruthful - cook it an' put it in his food, cook de mockin'bird aig. Yes sir, tell lies in ever'thing he mention.
Entry 1848
Now, heah's anothah instant [instance] - if yo' wanta run a person outa town, yo' write dere name. Yo' git a hen aig an' yo' write dere name dis way nine times all ovah de aig, an' take it to de rivah an' throw it in de rivah an' make a wish. Yo' got tuh always make a evil wish jis' lak you said, "That son-of-a-bitch leave town. See, an' throw it in de rivah - lak de Mississippi Rivah out dere, yo' know dat goes ever'where. An' dat'll give 'em de walkin' blues - dey'll walk outa town.
Entry 2160
Take de chicken aig an' let de aig dry until - yo' break.de aig an' aftah it dry, yo' use dat yallah. Wear it in a little bag dey call a nation bag an' sew it up with white thread an' let de person wear it. [In the New Orleans area, which includes upriver Memphis, some Women wear a concealed bag or sack containing one or more objects: good-luck piece, hand, article to hold man, money, just about anything. I never saw one of these bags. My impression before World War II was that formerly they had been frequently used but were becoming old-fashioned, scarce. Women, of course, have known treasure bags for centuries. The reader may recall the French widow who carried her husband's ashes about her neck! Nation bag or sack was unknown by this name on the East Coast during my collecting days.] [I have left this old comment despite the preceding, newer one.]
(What do you do that for?)
Dat's tuh keep 'em in a home, tuh keep 'em from movin'. Yo' take dat yallah of an aig an' sew it in a little sack an' wear it, an' de person dat tryin' tuh make 'em move.cain't do 'em any harm. Whenevah dey have any intention tuh do anything to yo', why dat'll take an' relieve 'em - dat pertection from yore enemies. Take de yellah of an aig.
(You have to let.that egg dry first.)
An' den take it an' put it in a little bag an' sew it an' wear it on yore person.
Entry 2450
Said yo' could take a aig from a black hen an' jes' peck a hole in it an' run de stuff out of de aig, an' dry de shell or either pound it - cook it an' pound it up an' wear hit in yore pocket, in yore left pocket. Said dat would give yo' luck in business.
Entry 2960
(Tell me about burning that candle now.)
If somebody burning a candle, how to put it out? You could take you some holy water. After you take the holy water - and you goes to work, your head will be hurting you all the time if they be burning that candle. They'll be burning the candle and you take that holy water and you put the holy water - but you gotta go to a two-headed person to find out who is that that burning that candle on you. After they burning that candle on you, you carries that holy water there and after you let that holy water there three nights, that candle'll go out.
(What do you mean that holy water will be let there?)
Put it with the holy water.
[The preceding it means another candle, we learn later.]
(Oh, you put it with the holy water?)
Yes, sir. (And you take this to the two-headed person and you leave it with them three nights?) Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
(Then what do you do with it?)
Then, what he going to - he going to put a candle, another candle, in the cup and burn that candle and have the white of the egg in the bottom of de cup. Just like you'd stick a candle [to the bottom of the cup with egg white instead of melted candle wax] and have de holy water [in the cup], you know. [Candle is often burned in a cup of water.] And when that holy water drain [evaporate] - you put about this much - then, why, the candle'll go out. That why the other candle will go out on you.
Entry 5403
An' jis' lak if yo' wanta run somebody 'way from a place, if dey done yo' harm or somepin othah. Roun' - yo' don' wan' 'em roun' yo'. Jis' git dere lef' track an' put it in aigshell, in a black hen's aigshell, an' yo' drop it in runnin' watah; an' as long as dat aigshell go, dey'll go.
Entry 6552
Take a frog or a lizard. Yo' know a frog is spawned with a little egg. Yo' kin take dat. It will more or less go to de bottom. If dere anybody yo' wants hurt, yo' kin take it [frog egg] an' dey'll drink it, an' dey'll form an' dey'll grow in 'em - grow in dat person. Ah have seen 'em. An' yo' kin take snakes' eggs an' do de same thing, an' dey'll crawl aroun' in a human bein's body.
Entry 6570
Ah know a man dat a woman fixed 'im. She took a grasshoppah aig an' give tuh 'im in 'is buttahmilk. An' evah time he sneezed he sneezed grasshoppahs out 'is nose.
(How do they get rid of a trick like that?)
Ah dun [don't] know dey got rid of it, but he's livin' today.
Entry 7363
Now, yo' kin take a man, jes' lak ah jes' go out dere an' kill a man. Well, ah'd make mah escape an' dere didn't nobody know who did it. Den yo' know somebody has fresh hen aigs fresh. Yo' goes an' gits two aigs an' put one in each one of mah han's - in de daid man's han's, an' den keep 'im out de ground 24 hours. An' at de end of 24 hours ah'll be standin' right dere.
[For use of eggs to discover or bring back murderer, see later.]
[Another method:]
Dey'd have me put mah han' on 'im, an' de minute ah put mah han' on 'im, de blood goin' go free from him lak ah jes' done it.
Entry 7442
Jes' lak if ah had a frien' now an' he should git killed an' de man should escape, jes' put a aig in 'is mouth - any kinda aig yo' kin git from de sto', de grocery sto'. He'll come back.
(Put an egg in whose mouth?)
In de man who's daid.
(Just one egg, you men, in his mouth. Any kind of an egg?)
Any kind.
Entry 7449
If de man daid an' dey wanta know who killed 'im. Well, dey take dis daid man an' put a aig in each one of 'is han's an' yo' bury'i on 'is face. De person dat done dat will return an' acknowledge dat dey did dat. Dat's whut dey tell me.
Entry 7450
Put an egg in each hand of the murdered man, bury him face doon, and that will bring murderer back.
Entry 7451
All yo' do, go whah dey got, yo' know in de country whah dey got fresh- laid aigs. An' dat daid man, yo' take 'im an' bury 'im wit one fresh aig in each han'. An' in two or three weeks time, dat man whut did de killin', he gon'a come right back.
Entry 7584
Well, ah knows dis to be did. Why dey'd go tuh work an' dey'd go an' fin' where dere's some- body buried, a young person dat is twelve yeahs old. An' dey'd take a can, yuh know.
(A cane?)
A cane.
(Yes?)
An' bo' [bore] dis cane through an' through.
(You mean sugar cane?)
No sir, a cane whut grows in de groun' - what yuh fish wit, yuh see. Don't have tuh be a fishin' cane, but it have tuh be a certain size fo' tuh git de dirt yuh know. [This is probably the cane-reed or southern cane, common names for Arrondinami macrosperma, a tall grass native to wet ground from Virginia to the Gulf States.]
(I see.)
From right off de haid of dat corpse, see. Dey drive dat [hollow cane] down tuh de bottom of dat grave. [This is a slight. exaggeration; a foot would be a good trick.] An' dey gits dat dirt. Well, dey take dat dirt an' dey will loosen it in dat cane enough tuh throw it across de house. Well, aftah dey do dat, well dey'll git a egg den. An' dey'll bust dat egg at de bottom of yore steps, an' bury de hulls [shell]. An' den yuh'll git in a axe so dat yuh can't stay dere - yuh won't stay dere. Yore min' will be always tuh go. Yuh'll go leave dere. Ah've knowed sich as dat tuh be did. Ah lived by some ole people dat used tuh do sich things as dat. People used tuh come tuh 'em tuh do sich things as dat.
(You say you are living by them now?)
No, sir, ah ain't livin' by dem now, but ah used tuh live by them.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 9012
Now, yo' goin' tuh handle a case in co't. Whut chew wanta do, yo' goes anywhere dat anybody is got any rotten aigs. An' if yo' kin find out de judge's name, yo' writes de name on it, an' let dat be jes' befo' de case come off - yo' undahstand, befo' han', when yo' write 'is name on it. An' jes' lak if yo' got somebody dat's goin' be tried dere tuhday, yo' jes' take it an' throw it up on de co'thouse an' let it bust an' run down - whensomevah dey git ready tuh be tried. Dey mo' den apt tuh come cleah.
Entry 9178
Ah've used chicken eggs mahself. Well, a lady had me tuh do it. Ah had got a gurl pregnant yo' know - got her pregnant an' dey wanted tuh git rid of it, see. Take dese eggs an' put 'em in de chambah pot whut she have tuh use. An' she go out dere an' when she sit on dat, why she'd strain - strain - strain - two or three times a day an' a...see, dey use three eggs, six eggs, an' when dem use up, dem six eggs, mo' or less, natchly [naturally] it would come. Ah tried dat.
(Well, what did she do with those eggs?)
Dose eggs? She took 'em an' buried dose eggs, buried 'em; well, anywheres out - jes' buried 'em. Or threw 'em away ah suppose. [Eggs here concern me only as a magic symbol.]
Entry 9218
(Get a black hen egg.) Yes, yo' go dere twelve a'clock in de night an' yo' smash de black hen aig against de do' or de do'post of de house.
Entry 9222
Take a egg to move you away, too. Well, they'll write the person's name on this egg. See, and at a certain hour in the night they'll throw that egg on your door and then, providing from time to time, you are in hard luck or get despondent - but it gotta be a black hen egg to do it with.
(What will that finally do, then?)
That will move you away. (Move you out of the house.)
Entry 9225
Take a aig an' bust it in front of yo' do', an' call yore name or de man's name, an' yo' would have tuh move becuz de aig wus busted.
(What kind of egg do you use?)
Ah'd take a black hen's aig.
Entry 9229
An' if yo' kin leave a aig ovah a place - ovah a do' - de skin of de aigshell aftah breakin' de aig, an' take de white of it an' fasten it [skin] ovah dat do' an' covahate [= coverate - cover] dat, dat will affect chew. (What will that do?) Dat will leave 'em fes' safe, run a enemy away. If yo' got a enemy anywhere roun' yore home, dat'll spite dem away.
(If you put that eggskin over the door?)
De inside skin of de aigshell an' de white of de aig. An' wipe it up dere [with the egg white]. Git de yellah from dere an' den wipe de white of de aig up dere. An' take dat inside skin - jes' a small piece of: it - place it up dere. Hit'll stick. When it weah out an' dry off, jes' let it go on an' sweep it all out. He's gone away, too. Dat's de enemy. (How do you know you are getting the right fellow? How do you know you are sending the right man away?) Well, yo' writes de name - by name yo' know. If yo' know - jes' lak yo's a enemy tuh me an' ah knowed yore name. Ah didn't want yo' tuh come to mah house no mo'. Ah'd write a name yo' know an' write it on dere an' den stick dat - dis question on dere. Take de white of de aig an' scrape it up dere an' de inside skin an' stick it up dere. When it git dry an' fade away an' fall off, sweep it on out. He's gone off, too.
Entry 9257
Take a black hen's egg and take a needle, punch it. Take a little of gingsing oil an' pur [pour] it in an' take de cement an' plaster it right up. Take it an' drop it right on top of de house an' it bursts, an' dey will move, yo' understand. [I understood at the time but uncertainty came with the transcription, in which the key word sounded like gingsing oil. Oil? Was this oil from the aromatic ginseng root, perhaps sold by a hoodoo shop? Even with one having a Chinese proprietor? They did exist, though primarily as incense and curio centers. Ginseng, known among root collectors for years before my work began, appears rarely in Hoodoo. The importance of root shapes, once considered desirable in Chinese medicine, is also known in hoodoo, but none of these examples concerns ginseng, as far as I know. The North American plant is Panax quinquefolium, the Chinese P. schinseng.]
Entry 9263
Yo' kin take a aig, jes' lak a settin' hen yo' know, an' jes' lak yo' know somebody yo' wanta run crazy or yo' wanta kill, sompin othah lak dat, yo' kin write de name on dis aig, an' carry it tuh a grave dat chew know an' bury de aig, see. When de aig bust, dey tell me dem folks will die.
(You mean you have to know the grave?)
Yo' have tuh know somebody.
(You have to know who is buried in that grave.)
Yo' have tuh know who buried in dat grave.
Entry 9273
Ah said, three aigs, graveyard dirt, if he or she are gone away, it will bring dem back.
(What do you do with those three eggs to bring them back?)
Bury them.
(Where?)
Anywhere.
(Anything else you have to do?)
Nothing.
Entry 9287
Or ah kin take a black hen's aig - see, lak de hens lay out dere, take a black hen aig an' throw it cross yore house, an' de nex' day at sundown yo'll be gone.
Entry 9291
Yo' ties it up in a black cloth, dis black hen's aig.
(What are you going to do with that, now?)
Aftah yo' ties it up in de black cloth, yo' take it an' chunk it ovah de house tuh de sundown side. Dat's one way. (What will that do?) Dat will jes' break up de house an' family, jes' make 'em move.
Entry 9316
Git a egg from a black hen an' write dere name on it nine times, an' bear [bury] it undahneat' dere steps an' make dem move.
Entry 9351
Take a aig an' if it's a person dat chew dislike livin' in a house, yo' take a rotten aig an' take it an' throw it on dat do' an' splattah it all on dat po'ch an' dey will move.
Entry 9355
Lak ah want a fellah's ole lady, see. Well, ah'll git me a - ah'm goin' visit dere house an' have me a rotten aig dere, an' when ah git a chance, ah put it in de baid. See, dey'll fall out of dat [not bed but relationship] den. An' she want 'im back...
(She wants him back.)
An' she want 'im back, well she have tuh go tuh de hoodoo den.
Entry 9431
[I now repeat in form of question what informant had said before recording began.]
(How do you run them crazy with an egg?)
Well, yo' kin take dat aig an' put dey name on it an' throw it in runnin' watah. Run' 'em crazy.
Entry 9433
Take a black hen chicken egg an' it's lak - dat's anothah way yo' kin do a person hahm [harm]. Yo' know, lak yo' wanted tuh git rid of somebody or run 'em off or sompin. Yo'd write dere name on a black hen aig an' throw it in de rivah an' dat'll run 'em off yo' know.
Entry 10979
Put an egg in a bag, drop bag between man and woman so it will spatter, and say, "Separate." Black hen egg not necessary.
Entry 10985
To make move, burst against door a black hen egg laid on Friday.
[Mobile, Ala., 877:11.]
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 10992
Get a egg from a black hen an' write their name upon it 9 times, an' bury it underneath their steps an' make 'em move.
Entry 11007
Write person's name 9 times on fresh egg, throw across house to make move. [Charleston, S. Car., 610:10.]
Entry 11009
Put crossmark on large end of egg and hide in west part of person's house to move. [Washington, D. C., 625:2.]
Entry 11010
To make person move, throw egg or eggs against house on Wednesday or Friday. [Vicksburg, Miss., 1011:1.]
Entry 11011
Hole in frizzly chicken egg, put in graveyard dust and pepper, throw against house to make move. [Charleston, S. Car., 543:6.]
Entry 11012
Soak black hen egg in vinegar 9 days, throw against house, you move.
[Mobile, Ala., 944:6.]
Entry 11015
Break egg against side of house, do for 3 mornings, read 23rd Psalm for 9 mornings. you'll move. [Mobile, Ala., 967:1.]
Entry 12436
They say if yo' eat mockin'bird aigs or eat a mockin'bird, either one, yo' can't keep a secret. [Sumter 2462:11.]
Entry 12437
When yo' eat a mockin'bird's aig, dat makes yo' tell yo' everything; in other words, yo' tell that chew don' know an' that chew do know. [Fayette- ville 2506:10.]
Entry 12438
About de bird - dat a mockin'bird. Ain't nuthin much to dat. If yo' eat a mockin'bird's aig, why hit'll make yo' lie. Yo' know, tell stories.
[Waycross 1850:4.]
Entry 12442
Heard dat chew take a mockin'bird aig, if yo' wanta run a person away. Take a mockin'bird aig an' carry it to de person house an' bury it undah de step, an' dat will run dem away. [Sumter 2411:7.]
Entry 12444
Take a woman dat's goin' roun' wit yore husban', yo' git six mockin'- bird aigs an' jes' put 'em in watah jes' long enough tuh git hot - not boil 'em. Yo' take dem out an' yo' put 'em in cold watah, an' let dem set dere jes' 'bout a hour. An' den take 'em tuh dis woman's house an' put 'em andah huh pillah, dat is if yo' kin git 'em undah dere, yo' know. An' she'll nevah bothah wit yore husban' no mo'.
Entry 12917
Snail, yolk of egg, sugar, close up, in 3 days snail dies, use for impotence. [Memphis 1564:3.]
Entry 569
When ah was twelve years old, people used to come to mah house and git mah daddy to let me come cut cards fo' 'um - see, it was a gift to me. Ah nevah been to school two months in mah life but I musta had [something?] down in mah heart, but ah got wicked and got to cursin', tellin' lies and it left me. Now, for experient [experience], for self- experient about mahself, about mah wife - ah tole you about my wife. Ah'm got a wife an' fo' kids. My wife, somebody put a spell on her in liquor [see No. 78]. She got it in whiskey and she done walked off. She been gone now fer about round three months. [This was not the first time she had left home.] Ah done spent money, all ah had - ah been to Beaufort, South Carolina, ah been to other people.
(Whom did you see at Beaufort?)
A man dey call Dr. Robinson - j'ever hear talk about him - live on an island?
(I never heard of Robinson - I know Rikker who is there.)
(Did he live in Beaufort or outside of town?)
He lived outside of town on a little island.
(Oh, yes, I know him - I know him.) [See Robinson in Index.]
Well, anyways he lived on a little island.
(What did he do for you when you went there?)
He tole me if I could get my wife hair - he put somepin to his ear, see - he say, "Yore wife got a spell on her in whiskey," which ah knows that, but I ain't said nothing. He put somepin to his ear and ah hear him talking and it look to like - and he say, "What dis boy done?" [He say] "Ain't done nothin'?" He say, "Uh-huh." He say, "Two wimmins put a spell on your wife in liquor." [The moment informant said the doctor had put somepin to his ear, I suspected Doctor Robinson had used an old-fashioned ear trumpet to consult a spirit. My informant could hear him talking - both spirit and doctor. Ventriloquism? I doubt it - it was unnecessary. Instead of asking his patient what was wrong, the doctor inquired of the spirit, What dis boy done? Presumably the spirit replied, Ain't done nothin', for doctor somewhat surprised repeats, Ain't done nothin'? And then he knowingly comments, Uh-huh. If the reader is skeptical about method and belief here, remember that the Tomb-of-de-Babe-of-Bethlehem preacher (see Contents or Index) could hold a sea shell to his ear and hear the roaring of the primordial ocean of Genesis - first book in the Bible. See also No. 242 for talking snake.] He say, "If yo' kin bring her to me," say, "ah'll cure her." Ah say, "Well, ah ain't got no way bringin' her - she done left home." He say, in seven days from den she goin' be back - and she was back de seventh day. She come back, but he say, "She won't stay without chew bring her to me." But ah never did get enough money to take my wife. All right, she left again. An' ah went to different people right here in town and dey couldn't make her come back. An' you know what I hear oncet? I did oncet, heah about two weeks ago, ah went to de people and tole 'em, ah said, "Don't work on her no mo' - jes' let her go." But dat day when ah come, heah she was sweeping de house. [At this point in the transcription an original note of mine reads, "Hayes (my transcriber) left out material about spirits - my use of silver." What this silver means I no longer know.] Ah give mah wife up. She wouldn't come near. She would come dere when ah wouldn't answer [while he was away from home] and go along. It come to me to take a aig, write her name on it three times and ah put it in a glass and bury it under - right near de house under a tree, see.
(Near her house or your house?)
To my house - right in mah yard.
(You didn't break the egg?)
Didn't break it. All right. Now, here where dis come. Ah have a little ole plum tree, too, out in de yard. Jest as plain as ah'm talkin' to you, it come to me in mah sleep - a man tole me - to take a white pine - piece of white pine - yo' know what a white pine is - go to dat tree three nights and three days and call her name nine times fore ah hit one of those - see, jest like a leaf - a tree done sprung from it [a come] - call her name and hit on it three times fer three nights and three days. All right. Ah tole de ole man yestiday she done workin' around somebody - seems she done gettin' worried. See, last night was de last night after sundown - she come home last night at twelve 'clock with her clothes and so help me, God, and she tole me, she said she ain't going leave no more. So I musta done git de spirit [the man in his sleep], see. Now, dat's the truf, if I never speak agin. An' she's gittin' jest further - she wouldn't come near me atall. Dey man moved in, say de spell was put on her to make her hate me - say two wimmin did it wit whiskey and one man. But now, this thing heah what ah'm tellin' yo' 'bout with that piece of white pine, and go to that tree after sundown and call her name three times an' jest tell her what chew want, tell her that you want her to come home and stay home.
(When you call her name, do you hit the tree with that thing?)
Jest knock a leaf off it. Yo' jest pick yo' one of 'em dat grows, see - tain't no pine, jest any kind of tree, but you git a piece of white pine to do it wit. You got'a go to a little ole green tree - somepin like a plum tree or any kind of a green tree. That what the man tole me and what ah did.
(Who told you this?)
A spirit tole me.
(Oh, a spirit man - I see.)
Dat's right - come to me in mah sleep - wasn't no man - jist come to me in mah sleep - a man tole me to do it and ah did it and last night made de six days - my wife walked in de house last night after twelve 'clock - knocked on de do' and tole me to let her come in. [At this point in the transcription an original note of mine reads, "Some untranscribed material about his wife."] No, heah how it started. Dey tuk de liquor and dey put somepin in it. See, when dey put stuff in dere like dat, no telling what - it gits yore mind, gits yo' dull and gits in yore brains. See. Every month, jest de date dey give it to you, every month dat dat you gits foolish head - den you Wanta do jest what dey Want chew to do. [See subsection Time in this section.] See. De chillun kept tellin' me about it - say, "Mama jest sets round dere an' cry-babying an' [we] say what de matter and she say dere ain't nothin' in her." Dey say, "Dere's somepin in her." Dat spell was working on her more an more and at last one Saturday night ah go home and to de chillun, ah say, "Where yo' mama?" They say] "Mama tuk her coat and left," and she stayed about a day. Ah went and talked with her and ah said, "What's the matter sweetheart?" And she jest cried and cried, "Ah don't know." Well, ah said, "Yo' come on home." She come on back home. About two months after that she was gone agin - she stayed about three days den. Ah go talk wit her and she come back home agin. But ah'd taken her to dis Father Abraham and he told her she was witchcrafted. He give her somepin out of de Bible to drink and some water -
(He had taken something out of the Bible and some what?)
He'd taken what he got out de Bible - some sort somepin, he made a little pill out of and give it to her [probably a Bible-text pill]. She got all right den, see, fer about a month. (Father Abraham is up here at Lottie, Florida Lottie, Florida - dey buried him last week. An' he say, "Yo' witchcraft - dat's your trouble." And he prayed some kind of prayer over her - put his hand on her haid. She got all right fer about a couple of months. Ah go home and she was laying on de floor stiff. Ah pick her up and say, "What de matter." She didn't know nothing. Next morning I'd taken her back to him. Ah give dat fellah $200. All right, she got all right fer about a couple of months. He says fer to stay from around dem people, say, "You'll be all right, but every time you go around dem, dey doubles yore dose on yo'. See. An' she laid [stayed] home agin. Ah'm telling you she stayed den three weeks. All right, ah goes to Beaufort, where ah was telling you about where ah went. Ah give dat fellah three dollars - Dr. Robinson - and I mean he had plenty people round dere to see him. He put that thing to his ear and he say, "Seven days and if she ain't come back under seven days - seven days, she'll be dere. But she ain't gon'a be stationery - she ain't going to stay." [He] say, "You bring her here to me and ah'll take it off her." But ah never be able to take her dere. She come back in de seven days. She come back in de seven days jest lak ah count de days, see, de seventh day on de minute she walks in after sundown.
(She came back last night, did you say?) [No, I am mistaken.]
Dat de seven days he talking about, see. She worked all right fer about two months round dere er [or] three months. Three months after that, three months from last night she was gone - walked out agin and she been gone three months. Ah went to diff'rent root people, ah been all over. Dere's plenty of dem here in dis town - plenty of 'em tell yo' dey kin do things, whether they done do it er not, see. And ah spent money with white wimmens, colored wimmins, colored men jest thrown mah money away and so ah been worried. You know about how ah been feeling - every time ah go home, de chillun say, "When yo' goin' git mama to come home?" Ah say, "Ah don't know." She'd go out once a week and see de chillun but she sneak away fore ah git dere. Dey put a spell on her to make her spirit die - make her hate me, see. An' dat spirit brought dat to me what to do, see. Dat's why ah'm telling yuh, I know it goin' work - nobody have to tell me. Now, you know when ah started to work on that - last Sunday night. It ain't been six days. See, you go to dat tree jest like ah tell you with a piece of pine board - don't make no diff'rent whether it is big or not - and yo' looking at de good limb wit de leaves on it, see, and you start to de head and call her name three times and you knock off some of dem leaves each time you call - jest three times - and stick dat stick in de ground, not up on de tree - stick it where nobody won't see it. See. An' you go back dere - you do's it fer three days and three nights. And de last night she walk in dere twelve 'clock wit her clothes under her arm. Dis mawnin' ah said, "Well." Ah knowed she was coming, see, 'cause de spirit had done showed it to me dat night wit her clothes coming - ah seed her plain wit her clothes coming. All right.
(What did she have to say?)
She knock on de door an' ah say, "Who dere?" She say, "Git up and open de door." She come in and ah say, "Why, you comin"' and she say, "Yeah, ah'm goin' stay now - ah ain't goin' no more - ah'm tired." Ah know where she was stayin'. She was stayin' tuh her aunty a while, stayin' over tuh her cousin a while - see jest scabering aroun' jest like somebody goin' away when she got her own home dere to stay tuh. But dey put a spell on her - she couldn't he'p it. Dis mawning she tole me. De chillun.say dey sure is glad to git her home. But she ain't exactly right yet - de spirits tell me it goin' wear off of her more and more.
Entry 753
Yo' kin go out to de fo'ks of de road an' if yo' got anything tuh use, why yo' kin turn either way - dis fo'k of de road run dat-a-way and de othah fo'k go dat-a-way. Yo' turn each fo'k an' throw fo' whosomevah yo' got backwards. Go ahead an' tell de Lord dat he go.
(What would you throw down in that road backwards? What would you throw?)
Well, ah had a fellah heah some yeahs ago dat ah went tuh when ah first got dis stroke, an' he said dat somebody had fixed me dat way - dat had some aigs, and he tole me tuh git nine aigs. Ever' night roun' midnight ah was tuh take mah car an' go down to dat fo'k of de road an' turn backwards an' throw one of de aigs 'ginst it, an' say to de Lord aftah ah throw de aig, "He's [You're] able tuh do all things," an' throw de aig away.
(Do you throw that down in both forks of the road?)
Yeah, but not de same night. Yo' got'a ketch all fo' of de fo'ks, yo' see, at diff'rent nights de same hour.
(Suppose you tell me the whole story of how it happened to you - it began.)
Well, some yeahs ago ah used tuh be with a woman sometime an' ah got married agin - ah didn't marry her. An' she got mad at me an' she wanta hurt me. So she went to a man up heah an' ask him tuh kill me. Dis man came [to my] home an' he gave some medicine tuh rub me. Ah got up outa de bed an' took hol' him an' said, "Captain, yo' cain't kill me - yo' cain't kill me." So he went away an' tole de woman dat he couldn't do anything to me. She went den - paid a transfer - paid seven dollars tuh go tuh Beaufort [South Carolina] - ovah heah to dis man, an' de man all he done was dis - fes' take [the use of] dis han' away. Ah don't know whut he did now, but he's a fellah - whatsomevah he did [in Beaufort] it come ovah heah [to Sumter - ninety-nine miles by crow-flight]. De woman, she sent me five dollahs by another fellah an' prob'bly dat might be how de way dey do it, too - when ah took de money put dis fellah han', dat might cause dis han' tuh git 'flicted.
(What happened to your hand?)
It kinda lak a stroke - paralyzed - de left hand.
(What did you do then? Tell me the whole story of what you have done.)
Well, ah begin workin' on mahself then. Ah went to a woman ovah heah - little burg, Holly Hill, near Columbia. An' aftah ah gotten dere, dis woman says to me, says - after she look ovah her cards, she says, "A woman hurt chew - she's got yo' so dat chew can't make an intercourse wit chure wife." So she tole me, says, ah must go back home an' take a aig - de white of an aig ev'ry mawning in a tea- spoonful of whiskey. Ah did that. Well, ah found that come straight. Then she work on me till she dies and after de death of her then ah had to went to anothah man. So ah went to anothah fellah back ovah heah an' he tole me 'bout dem nine aigs.
(What did he say to do? Tell me the whole story?)
He said tuh git mah nerves back in dis han's, ah'd have to carry those aigs back ovah there each night - nine nights he said. Aftah ah'd work them fo' fo'k [crossroad] ovah there, ah had tuh hunt anothah fo'k - fo' nine nights. Aftah ah'd pitch de aig yo' see, an' turn backward an' say, "Nuthin' could [can] ovah- power God," and throw de aig backwards in dat road, an' come back de next night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an', when ah git through wit dat, ah'd hunt anothah fo'k till ah work up tuh nine aigs.
(What happened then?)
Well, ah got 'long purtty good. Ah kin use de han' where ah couldn't use it 'tall. Ah couldn't pick up nuthin' in dis han' but ah kin pick up dis penny [demonstrates] - ah kin plow wit dis han' an' shovel wit mah han' all right now - purtty good.
The informant recounts a paralysis experience and later instructions involving nine eggs thrown backwards at road forks around midnight, rotating forks across nights with spoken religious formulas. The account includes unknown cause, other treatment and reported improvement; it does not establish the eggs as a medical cause of recovery. Quoted voices and Hyatt's corrections remain distinct.
Entry 1691
Ah'm gon'a tell yo' - yo' wanta know whut would yo' do to keep 'em from harmin' yo'. Well, yo'll git in a path or road dat come from yore do'. Yo'll dig a hole wit chure tablespoon and when yo' dig that hole, yo'll go an' take a aig - any kind of a hen aig, jes' long as it a aig, and den yo'll take two sticks of a lightnin'-strike tree - yo' know what ah mean, an' yo'll nail them down on each side of that aig - wit dat aig down in de hole. [This is a mock burial - the egg a body and the two sticks the headboard and footboard of a grave.] An' then yo'll take yo' some physic salts, an' yo'll take that physic salts an' sulphur an' bluestone an' make a powders of that, an' yo' kin put it down dere where that aig is, an' yo' set it down an' kiver it up. De parties who dat yo' say, or anybody who yo' think will harm yo', why then when yo' done put dat down, yo'll curse it. An' when yo' curse it yo' jes' kick at 'em, and den go turn yore back - don't nevah look back. Now, that's the story of that as fur as ah know. Well, now if a man walk ovah that and if yo' do lak that, it causes me, if ah aim tuh do yo' some harm - all of that will come back to me.
Entry 2773
[I made no special effort to collect material about Marie Laveau, the second, or the hoodoo dance. It was too late for either one and besides I am not a historian. There will probably be a little more material about both in the text somewhere.] Well, dat's a person will do yo' somethin' dat chew go - it sup- posed tuh be mean things when yo' go to a fo'k of de road. Dat supposed tuh be very mean but den dere ain't nuthin whut a mean person won't do at times. Well, yo' take yo' a aig an' yo' soak it in vinegah an' dis cayenne peppah, but chew put de names of de party on dat aig. Yo' understand, put de name of the party on that aig an' put it in a jar an' soak it in vinegah fo' nine days in dis peppah an' salt. An' den yo' goes tuh de fo'k of de road an' make yore wish, an' yo' dance an' ever'thing, an' break it, but nevah look back at it - jis' break it an' leave it dere.
(What will happen to that person then?)
He'll leave direct - won't be a long time leaving, leave town. Yo'll send him away.
(The way she explained it to you?)
Well, she tole me dat dere wus a woman by de name of Marie Baptiste. She had two daughters an' she liked fo' her daughters tuh outdress de girls down in de 7th Ward. Dat's whare ah wus bo'n in de 7th Ward. An' she sol' herself to de devil at twelve a'clock at night wit de fire of furnace - a furnace fire, yo know, at de fo'k of de road in de woods.
(What kind of a fire? A furnace? How'd she get the furnace out there?)
[I soon realized she was talking about a charcoal brazier, when her furnace becomes a hot pot.] Well, she brought it out dere. She had it out dere an' she sol' herself to him dat she could git anything she wanted so she could go in de sto's an' any- thing she take dey couldn't see her.
(What did she do when she got out there? Didn't she do anything?)
Well, dey had some kin' of a dance dey danced, de hoodoo dance - dey danced wit a'kinda meetin' lak. Dey danced an' dat's de way she sol' herself tuh de devil an' dey had de devil tuh git her away from de devil.
(Have you ever heard of that woman Marie Laveau?)
Yessuh, ah've heard of her.
(What have you ever heard said or told about her?)
Well, dere's so many things tole about her. Well, ah tell yo', her an' mah mothah used tuh be friends an' ah used tuh be in her house. Some of 'em claimed ah wus partly christened at her house, an' she done everything she could do. She used tuh use dem furnace an' fiah too, an' hot pots on her. Ah kin carry yo' tuh de same spot of ground where her house wus on - yessuh, St. Ann between Rampart an'Burgundy.
(She was pretty good wasn't she?)
Yessuh, she wus fine.
(Did they used to have those old hoodoo dances when you were a girl?)
Yessuh.
(What did they used to do?)
Dance in dey petticoat tail an' dey shimmy tail - dance.
(Did you ever hear of them dancing a person to death?)
No, ah nevah heard of that.
(They just had those dances for good-time dances?)
De good-time dance an' dey wus doin' dey work at de meantime, but dey wus doin' hoodoo work when dey used tuh dance. Plenty tuh eat an' plenty tuh drink, an' if it wus anything tuh harm, dey would have hearts - raw hearts an' dey would eat that.
(What kind of hearts?)
Beef hearts. (Can you tell me any particular whole story about any one particular thing that you used to do?) No, ah wus too young tuh remember.
(Does any of that go on today or has it all died out?)
Well, ah think it's all died out an' dere ain't nuthin of that much now. It's gone. It's mo' de spiritual whut's goin' on now. (All that ole-time stuff has all died out? Those dances and things of that sort?) Jis' de time dey has it at de ole lake every 24th day of June. Yo' know dat's St. John's day an' dat's mah day. At de lake [Pontchartrain].
(What would they do?)
De hoodoo dance. Dey dance an' dey has a meeting, an' anything dat dey would want tuh do, dey does it that day. If it's good or bad they does it that day. An' anybody could go out dere if dey would wanta go. [After she leaves, my contact man Edward and I talk, though a part of the opening conversation is unrecorded.] Dat her name non est.
(How do you spell that?)
Ah don' know.
(Is that her real name or just a?)
Jis' a nickname we give her. [If Edward actually used the words non est, they were something our assistant Mack, old-time taximan, had picked up in New Orleans.]
(She is supposed to be pretty good?)
Yes, she's a spiritualist.
(That woman that was just in here?)
Yes. End 1584. ["Algiers, La., Fri., Feb. 23, 1940 - 1584 - old woman - several things - Ph [[something looking like Phillip - probably name of person who brought her]]." Numbers Book 1558-1605. Almost anyone would have been described as giving "several things" after following 1583, Nahnee - see her long interview. I did not know that the next woman to walk through the door would be - DARK LADY - DARK GLASSES - DARK DEEDS - See her interview.]
Entry 3840
Ah heard yo' could take a hen aig. Take an' draw blood out dis fingah [demonstrates]. (The index finger of the right hand.) An' take an' write chure name an' 'is name on dat aig an' it would make him love 'er.
(What would you do with that egg then?)
Well, yo' would take an' bury dis egg, bury it undah yore steps.
(You write his name and your name in the blood.)
Entry 9021
Now, ah don't know whut dey do, but dere wus a man in West Florida, his daughtah killed a woman. Dey come from up heah in Georgia somewhere. An' he'd taken three hen aigs. De reason ah know how he done dis, ah wus wit 'im. (Any kind of hen eggs?) Not a duck's or lak dat - jes' hen's, chicken's. So he'd taken dem three aigs - ah don't know whethah he cooked dem, or whethah he did or not. An' 'fo' dat co't set, he went dere dat night - befo' co't settin' tuhmahrah. He went dere at twelve a'clock an' he chunked one of dem aigs ovah dat co'thouse. He chunked dat firs' aig back towards de nō't. Well, he come back in de mawnin' jes' at daylight an' he chunked dat othah aig back ovah tuh- vards de west. De mawnin' dey carried 'is daughtah up fo' trial, when dey called co't tuh ordah - people all rushin' in tuh co't - he throws dat othah aig out tuhwards de east. Dey didn't try 'er. De reason ah know he done dese things, becuz ah wus transferrin' 'im in mah car back tuh de house, but he would nevah tell me who tole 'im dis. Tell me jes'...
(They set his daughter free.)
Entry 9262
If yo' got a man an' he runs out, yo' kin take a chicken, hen aig, an' den yo' kin take an' write his name on it good as yo' kin. An' den yo' kin go tuh de graveyard tuh a wicked person's grave, an' dig as fur as yo' kin git chure han' down in dere, an' git some of dat dirt, an' yo' put a dime in dere. An' den yo' come back an' yo sprinkle dat dirt undah de do'steps. See. Den yo' take dat aig an' yo' throw it hard as yo' kin an' break it [against the door of the other woman]. Dat'll break dem up an' yo' won't have no mo' trouble at all. She'll have tuh leave town. (You throw that egg against the door under which you have buried this grave- yard dirt. That's the black hen egg.)
Entry 9268
Yo' kin take a chick- en aig an' it kin be dressed wit sulphuh, graveyard dirt an' peppah, but it has tuh be a rotten aig. An' if ah don' wan' chew tuh come in dis do' no mo', aftah ah git dat dressed, ah come 'long heah early in de mawnin' an' throw it up 'ginst dat do'. Yo' know, right ovah de facin' of dat do' an' let it bust ovah dat do'. Yo' ain't comin' in heal no mo'. (How do you dress it with that graveyard dirt? Just roll the egg around in that sulphur?) [Here is a leading question, more to keep the conversation going than anything else.] Yo' make a hole in it yo' see, jes' a small hole in it, if it wus a rotten aig. Jes' lak yo' goin' suck it [if it was fresh instead of rotten]. An' den yo' pinch dat graveyard dirt in dere, jes' a li'le bit. Yo' know, don' take verah much, an' a li'le sulphuh. Take a match stem or a toothpick an' shove it down in dere. Yo' take a small piece of papah an' wet it an' put ovah dat hole an' stop it up. Put it in yore han' an' come on by dis do' in de mawnin' soon [early] or at night, an' throw it up 'ginst dat do'. Jes' say right in de middle of dat do' where it will bust, an' jes' let it run down dere. Yo' ain't comin' heah no mo'. [Intention is everything here. A woman throws this egg against another woman's door to keep a man or husband from going there, or a man similar- ly drives away another man from some woman's door. Sucking a fresh raw egg, an old custom, may be unknown to a few readers in modern cities. During my boyhood at the turn of the century, when even a city boy could live among chickens and horses, and farms were only a mile or two away, some people would make a small hole in the end of a fresh egg to suck out the contents. From this custom comes the well-known proverb: Go teach your grandmother to suck eggs.]
Entry 9269
Take graveyard dirt an' sulphah an' put people back tuhgethah, an' yo' kin take it an' part 'em. Well, yo' take dat sulphuh an' table salt an' grave~ yard dirt, take it an' break yo' a aig an' put jes' a lit- tle of it in a aig if yo' wanta run 'em now. An' den yo' stick nine pins in dat aig. Den yo' take dat aig an' write de name cross it an' den write de name straight up an' down dat aig. Den yo' take dat aig at twelve'clock in de night an' bust it up onto dere house. Dey gotta go.
(How do you get those pins into the egg?)
Jes' punch 'em in dere, jes' stick dem in dere till de haid go down.
Entry 9270
Tuh make yo' move out of de house, kin go git a black hen's egg an' bust dat egg on yuh porch an' spattah de egg on it. Gotta be de black hen's egg. An' throw dat egg on yuh porch. Yo' gotta move, yo' cain't stay dere. Take dat black hen's egg an' throw it at chure do' an' say fer nine times: Ah hope yo'll nevah stay here, yo' cain't stay.
(Do you do that all in one day.)
In one day. Yo' won't stay. An' git a little dirt from de cemetery. Go tuh de cemetery an' git chew a little dirt. An' de aig of a black hen.
Entry 9271
Yo' take a black hen egg. Yo' boil dat. Yo' git graveyard dust. Yo' git dirt dauber. Yo' boil dat togethah. Den yo' git war watah. An' yo' mix that up together an' put it back in this egg shell. Yo' put it in red, a flannel yo' know, [in] somepin or othah, [because] yo' t'row it [and the mix- ture must not fall outl. In nine days time de person will move aftah dey walk over dis. Yo' t'row it on top of de house.
(What do you do with that egg?)
Yo' break de egg. Yo' boil it see, first. Den yo' break it in dis dirt dauber.
(I want to know just how they use the egg.)
Yo' take de whole [boiled] egg out de shell. Den mash it like yo' gon'a mash- mash potato wit a fork. Yo' take de dirt dauber nest. Yo' mash dat up in dere. Yo' take graveyard dirt off a bad sinner's grave. An' yo' mix dat all up tuh- gethah an' yo' put it in de stoVe. An' yo' kin GIT SOME OF DIS RED GROUND PEPPAH [ground red pepper] FROM DE HOODOO DRUG STORE an' yo' mix dat [in there]. Den yo' stuff dis shell back wit dat egg an' tie it up [in the red flannel] dis way [demonstrates, probably wrapping the string away from you, though a notation of the manner was not made at the time]. An' yo' gon'a t'row it upon dat house. Yo' t'row it in a manners so it'll roll [off and break]. An' de folks won't stay dere long.
Entry 10896
You take a black hen's egg, be sure it's a black hen's egg, and you boil it, and you doesn't get it completely done. Then you take and cut it in two, half in two, and if it's a woman and a man you want to break apart, separate, you get a male cat and a female dog, and give one half of the egg to the dog and the other half to the cat. And then they say after the dog and cat eat this egg, why, you make them fight. That's what separates them.
(Which half do you give to the dog and which half do you give to the cat?)
You take an indelible pencil and you write the man's name on one end and the woman's name on the other end of the egg. And you see, when it boiling, see, the name's right on through on the egg. And you see, you gave the man's name to the [male] cat and the woman's name to the [female] dog.
Entry 697
Her first husband's sister had two daughters and this younger girl married. But when she married this young man there was quite a bit of confusion. They didn't want her to marry this young man, so she married this man any Way. And after some considerable time everybody thought she was pregnant, but she stayed right under the care of a physician. And she didn't seem to revive, So the physician just gave her up. So her mother got very interested in her, she got interested. So she went to this same Woman down in [Augusta] Georgia. And when she took this girl to this doctor [recommended by the Augusta woman] it was too late that night for her to see him, so of course they had to go over until the next morning. So the next morning they went again to call on him. So he said to this girl, he said, "Well, you're in right bad shape," he said, "but you'll have to eat breakfast with me this morning." So he got an egg and he broke this egg, and he put the white of it in one dish and the yolk in another. And he whipped this [white of the] egg up to a froth and he took something and shook over it. She says she thought it Was salt. She don't know what in the world it was. And he said, "Now, you eat this and I'll watch this" - he's speaking of the yolk of the egg. He handed this plate to the girl, and a fork, and told her to eat it. She ate that and he watched the egg [yolk]. And when she had finished eating this white of the egg, why this yolk had turned as white as the white Was. So he said to her then, he says, "How do you feel now?" She said, "Well, I'm not hurting like I was, but I don't feel very good." So she leant over and he says, "What's the matter?" She say, "I'm having such cramps." So she said to him, she said, "I'll have to go to the bathroom." So he rung his bell and a woman came in. So he turned around and got a sanitary plate - one of these paper plates - and give her and told her, "Now, you use this instead of the commode. You use this." So she took that. And she said when she went to herself and her bowels passed, this plate was just piled up with long and short warms [worms], just as long as one could stay on there. And he told her in the meantime, he said, "Now you watch your action." So she went on out and that was the results from the medicine. So then she went back again to him. She told him. And he said, "Well, you didn't get frightened did jeh?" She said to him, she say, "I'm so nervous, '' she say, "I never saw any- thing like that." And he said, "Well," he say, "you're in bad shape- But after you were able to pass those warms [worms]," he said, "now I can cure you." So he gave her some medicine. And she's a perfectly well woman today, but she doesn't have any children. He said this thing that was put on her interfered with her organs and so she doesn't have any children.
Entry 932
Now, dere's a girl down on de street where ah live at now, she wus fixed up heah summer 'fore last an' she ain't straightened out yet. An' we carried her to a man. An' de way she got hers, it wus a girl give her some aigs - dey said dey wus lil' snake aigs in some whiskey. An' de snake aigs bust in her body dere an' yo' see dem snakes create. An' at one a'clock, de time dat she got dat stuff - any day at one a'clock - yo' see dem snakes runnin' in her veins.
(You say these eggs busted some place?)
De lil' aigs - when she drunk 'em, yo' see de whiskey cooked dem-in de person in whut dey develop an' it made lil' snakes.
(Oh, they developed into little snakes.)
Yes.
(And she hasn't been cured yet?)
No - she's gittin' it outa her but she ain't got [cured yet].
Entry 1171
A fresh aig an' git to de middle of dem steps an' dig yo' a hole an' turn de sharp end of it up an' cover it up wit salt - cover it up an' all de roots an' things dey put down can't hurt me. Dat fresh aig an' salt sucks it all up.
Entry 1218
If anybody's tryin' tuh harm yo' - 'specially if it's round yore neighborhood roun' dere - jes' git some of de graveyard dirt an' fix it up, an' fix de dauber nest an' de graveyard dirt an' de cookin' salt an' de sulphur undah de steps - or take a aig -
(What are you doing that for now?)
Put it up undah de step an' run dem away - keep dem from harmin' yo'. [For dirt dauber protection and health, see Tomb of the Babe of Bethlehem in Interview section.]
Entry 1561
Ah knowed mah uncle. See, he's crazy in de haid - yo' know, jes' have crazy fits, an' he git unfixed wit a snail. Took a snail an' breaks him an' put him in bottle an' den git some sweet oil an' mix dat in de bottle an' den a fresh aig whut jes' laid an' put dat in de bottle. Stir all dat up at night, 'noint it fo' several days an' dat crazy spell he had went away. Fo' several days jes' 'noint his haid wit it.
Entry 1657
A boy in de country said dat somebody gave 'im some whiskey. He had a snake into 'um. He said ev'ry now an' then it would turn in 'im. An' he said he went to somebody an' dey tole 'im to take a egg an' fifty-cents an' walk 'cross some runnin' wadah. He said he did dat an' he said it was all ovah. He jis took de egg an' when he got ready to go 'cross de wadah, he broke it an' suck it; he took de fifty-cent an' held it in [left] hand an' went on 'cross, went 'cross an' then came back. [The word "left" within brackets is in my original pencil transcription attached to MS; also a later note, "Check [[recheck]] for left." This means I asked, "Which hand," and informant replied, "Left," showing that I eliminated question and answer to save space. My failure to recheck indicates my later conviction that "yes or no" or "two-choice" questions are meaningless.]
reported literal breaking of an egg before sucking it and crossing water. The boy's experience and recovery are reported, not independently established. reported sucking of the broken egg. Preserve the original dialect/tense and the boy's nested reported action, not a firsthand performance by this narrator. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 1851
If yo' wants tuh be lucky in a game, yo' gits a hen aig an' each one who's in dere, yo' know, dat playin' in dis game - dey go dere an' look at it, an' write each one name down on de aig, an' take it an' put it in yore pocket an' go on. Yo'll be lucky in de game. (Well, who - you mean the people who are playing in this game?) Well, jes' lak ah wants to git - yo' know, go in dis game an' somebody wanta give me somepin fo' luck. Well, he'll jes' git a hen aig, yo' know, an' go up dere an' see who all in de house playin' in common - see whut dere name. Write each person down dat playin' in de game on de aig. Well, go out [to write these names] an' come back an' put de aig in his pocket. He'll be lucky in dat game.
(Any kind of chicken egg?)
Yes sir - hen aig, any kinda aig.
Entry 2204
Ah've heard of 'em writin' on a black hen aig. Well, dey say yo' would specify - git a black hen aig an' yo' would take an' draw dis person's pitchure on dis black hen aig jes' in - yo' know de best dat chew could draw his pitchure or kind remind him of it. If he wear a cap, draw a cap on his haid; if he wear a hat, draw a hat on his haid. Well, yo' would write his name on there - that is him or her, don't yo' see. [The name is the person.] An' yo' would take dis black hen aig an' yo' would carry it to a stream of watah an' yo' would chunk it upstream, yo' see, an' dey say dat would git rid of him.
Entry 2372
My mother didn't believe in anything like superstition but my aunt did. I was working in Newport News, Virginia, with my uncle and one Saturday afternoon when I came home I found my aunt had gone down and had mama arrested. She was mama's sister-in-law, not her sister. My aunt found a bottle underneath her house, it wasn't buried in the ground, and swore that mama had put that bottle there. It had vinegar, salt and pepper, and a hard boiled egg cut up in it. An officer came out to serve a warrant on mama and when she heard about it she went over after my aunt. She lived next door. She figured she was a better woman and she was going to beat her up. Before she could beat up my aunt the officer took her down to the judge. The justice fined her $6.90 for trespassing. He didn't do anything about the bottle.
Entry 3790
Ah've heard dat she kin gain mah thoughts. She kin take some sulphur - take some sulphur an' vinegar an' a red onion an' cook it up. Put a white of a aig wit it an' give it to him an' let him eat it. (What will that do then?) Dat will take his nature away from him. He kin git it back if he go tuh someone. Dat dere [is] where he tell 'im. He git a red onion, he git six aigs - a dozen aigs. Mix de onions an' de aigs. Eat de onions raw an' six raw aigs a day - two in de mornin' an' two at twelve a'clock an' two at night - five days, red onions an' de aigs.
(That'll bring his nature back.)
Entry 4038
Fer a instant [instance], ah wanted mah ole lady - she wuz doin' bad things, see. I would take an' place a aig up undah de steps an' ah would put it in some urinate. An' ah would place dat egg up undah de front steps, jes' put dis aig in dere - jes' de natchal [natural] eggshell - ah could make her stay at home. Ain't any way she could leave home, long as dat aig an' urinate is undah de steps. (You take just the fresh egg. You don't take the yellow or white or anything out. The whole egg. Just any kind of a chicken egg?) No, de whole aig, any kinda chicken aig. An' place - stick a pin into de end of it. Long as dat aig stay undah dere. See, put de urinate intuh a can, an' place de egg intuh de urinate, an' place in undah de steps.
(Where she can see it?)
Where she can't see it. An' evah time she walk ovah it, she'll gits worsah [worser]. Ain't no way she kin leave home, cuz when she walks dere fo' 'bout two-three mawnin's it takes de 'vantage of 'er.
Entry 4737
Now, if I got any of 'er undahweahs or anythin', well I takes dat an' I buries it. An' she ain't goin' tuh rest in peace until she come back tuh me. See, I takes it an' I mix it wit- git some cobweb. (Cobweb, spider web.) Yeah, dat's whut I mean. An' I gits me a white of a egg. I beats it up an' I mix dese up tuhgethah. Well, I takes dis - yo' know whut I mean - I mean 'er clothes, an' I folds dat tuh me an' I take an' I bury it right by de steps. An' she ain't goin' tuh be satis- fied until she come back.
(Comes back to you.)
She ain't goin' tuh git along wit no othah man. Den I kin take dat cloth, dat same cloth, an' git me some lodestone - git a live lodestone, got life in it - an' I makes a powdah wit it, an' I wraps dat up wit dat. See? I puts mah name on dis end an' 'er name here - goin' tuh make a separation, yo' see. An' I folds it so it be jis' dat much apart. See? An' I draw it tuhgethah. An' when I draw it tuhgethah dataway, well she comin' on back. No mattah where I'm at, she is comin' back.
Entry 4747
Jis' lak a woman got a husban' runnin' roun', or yuh got a woman run- nin' roun' an' yuh wanta stop 'er. Yuh know wha' chew kin do wit dey socks or dey undahclothes. Yuh kin take de socks or eithah dey undahclothes wha' dey wore nex' tuh 'um an' bury dem. Put dat salt on it. Put a boil aig in it. Take a boiled aig an' put in dere an' dat salt.
(Leave the shell on or off?)
Leave de shell on - jis' a boil aig hot. Wrap it right up in dat clothes, see, an' bury it down undahneat' de front steps. MAN, DAT'S ONE OF DE WORST THINGS YUH EVAH. IT WEAKENS DOWN YUH MIND, YUH THINK YUH GOIN' DIE. Dey gits sick, jis' weaken down. Don't have no mo' strength atall. Dat's if a man is runnin' roun' an' yuh cain't stop 'em, see. An' yuh kin take it up, if yuh wanta ease de pain; but if dey start in ag'in, put it right back down an' dey git right back down ag'in. (That is if they are running around.)
Entry 5034
[They] take 'em an' dey buries 'em. Jis' like I got a woman an' she lef' me, an' I got 'er socks or anything dere. Well, I takes it an' I buries it undahneath de steps wit de white of an egg.
(With what?)
De white of a egg.
(Well, how do you do that? Do you mean just pour the white of an egg on it?)
Take it an' cobweb it an' mix it up tuhgethah. See, an' I folds it, dis stocking tuh me dataway, undahstan', an' I buries it right at mah step wit nine brass tacks. (This white of an egg. You just simply take the white out of an egg and put it on the stockings, and then roll it toward you?) [The verb cobweb is so unusual I missed the full meaning at the time of record- ing. Informant takes the white of an egg and cobwebs, pours a network design over the stocking, a magic entrapment and holding device.] Yes sir.
(And you put it under the steps and you use nine brass tacks?)
Yes sir.
(I see, and you tack it up under the steps?)
Yes sir.
(Anything else? That all you do?)
Dat's to - dat's if dey gone away, see. An' if yuh wanta draw 'em tuh you, well yuh have dat settin' dere. See, it's a way yuh kin draw 'em tuh yuh, when yuh have dat settin' dere fo' 'em tuh step ovah.
Entry 5192
Take a person's shoe an' take an' burn it, an' yo' crimp it jis' lak yo' would when yo' take livah sometime. Ah mean yo' may not have nevah did it but Jews does it. Yo' put livah intuh - jis' lak yo' take a shoe yo' put it inside de stove. Now, yo' don't burn it. Yo' put it in- side de stove an' let it burn from de inside of de stove. See, yo' take an' let it burn from de inside of de stove an', den yo' take dis shoes leathah an' yo' git chew some of dis quicksilvah an' drop it all roun' in dat thing. An' den yo' git chew a white of aig wit dis quicksilvah, an' den yo' take dis an' whip it right good an' put dis quicksilvah in dere. See. An' den yo' jis' put it all in dat shoe an' powdah dat shoe all up wit - jis' let it go all up, yo' know. An' den yo' jis' take an' sew hit up, but choo sew it up in a silk cloth. An' den yo' puts a red piece of ribbon aroun' it. See. An' whatevah yo' wanta do wit dat - if yo' fixin' fo' tuh do anybody harm or do anybody good. [If harm], dey'll git tuh walkin'.
(What do you do with it after you put it in the bag? What happens then?)
Tote it in yore pocketbook or tote it...
(You take either shoe? Take one of your own?)
Take de lef' shoe. Always take a lef' shoe.
(Take your own?)
No, don't none of yore own. Yo' got tuh take one of his'n. (What are you going to do this stuff. What are you making this preparation for, now?) Why do you do it? Well now, dat starts 'im walkin'. When yo' fool wit a person's shoe, yo' know, dat's de scent from 'is feet zhoo know. Dat's de nature of 'im, yo' see. (This starts him walking. Well, what do you do with that bag that has this stuff in it?) Jis' take an' tote it, make 'im start walkin'.
Entry 5395
Take dere track don't chew know an' stick it - an' put all of it in a bottle. An' den aftah yo' git it in a bottle, yo' stop it up an' take a aig an' write de name - de individual's name on de aig an' bury it in de groun' an' call dem three times. An' take a bah [bar] of Octagon Soap [trade name] an' take off de top wrappah an' de othah [inner] wrappah. An' take yo' a nail an' write de name on de bah of Octagon Soap, an' wrap up dat slick thin' on it [rewrap soap in slick thin', inner wrap- per], don't chew know, an' throw it in runnin' watah an' dat will mun 'em.
(You do all these things together?)
Yes sir, dose tuhgethah.
(You throw all these things at once into running water?)
No sir. Yo' take de aig an' bury de aig roun' yore do'step. An' den git de bah Octagon Soap, don't chew know, an' take de top slip off an' den dat [presum- ably inner wrapper, but I interrupt].
(What do you do with that soap then?)
Take dat soap an' git chew a nail. Write de name of dat individual dat chew wanta run. An' den put dat slick thin' back on dere an' throw it intuh runnin' watah.
(And what do you do with the foot track?)
Take hit an' stick it in a bottle an' throw it in de watah too.
(You do all these things together?)
Yes sir. Hit concludes tuhgethah.
(What do you bury that egg for?)
Bury dat egg tuh make 'em go. [To bury the preceding egg in the ground to send a person away looks more like a rite to hold the person. Yet similar burial rites with the same purpose will be found in Hoodoo. As always, intention is everything. Here the egg belongs to a tripartite rite; the other two parts being definitely send away rites. Is the egg a possible recall rite? If the sender away regrets the sending away, the egg stands ready to bring back the person. We must also note the egg has a double dressing; the name written on it, and the name called 3 times.]
Entry 5396
Dey say yo' kin take dat track - jes' lak dey wanta run yo' away - dey'll pull de track from de heel tuh de toe. An' take dat track an' take a aig, an' bo' a li'le hole in de aig an' dreen de contents of de aig out. An' put dat track in dat shell an' put a li'le bit of papah ovah it. An' go tuh a rivah, a stream or somepin dat's runnin', an' turn dat back an' throw it ovah de shouldah an' use three words dey say. Dey says, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, let dis evil one leave." But de 'Father, Son an' HolyGhost' is de word de' speak. An' throw it ovah de shouldah an' walk away an' not look back. An' dey say long as dat aig float, yo'll continue tuh go.
(Do they take either foot track?)
Eithah one or both.
(If they want to bring you to them?)
Dey git in fron' of yore track, yo' see. Let see, yes, an' pull it from de toe tuh de heel. Well, den dey don' throw dat in no rivah. Dey take dat an' fill it full of de track, de aig, an' put sompin aroun' tuh keep it from break- in' - real tight. An' dey bury dat egg undah yore steps or put it in de middle of a loose mattress where yo' sleep. An' yo' can't leave dere. Yo'll go but yo'll come right back.
Entry 5402
Say yo' could take any kinda chicken aig an' make 'em move. Ah heah yo' could take a black chicken aig an' sees where dey walk, an' git dere track an' crack de aig, an' put de track in dis aig an' carry it to de runnin' watah, an' throw it ovah in dere an' dey be goin' off.
Entry 5570
If a man leaves home an' a woman wants 'im tuh come back, if she kin git one of 'is track, his right track comin' from de toe, bring it back tuhwards 'er, jis' de top of it yo' know, an' git a black- hen aig an' write bis name on dat aig, an' roll dat aig an' dat sand an' dat sock up tuhgethah, put de sand in de sock or eithah any way yo' fix it tuhgethah, an' bury it undah de do'step, an' dat'll bring 'im back.
Entry 5695
Yo' take de foot tracks aftah it rains. Wait till it rains. An' when it rains yo' watch fo' dat person whosomevah yo' wanted tuh harm. Yo' watch fo' dem, an' when he done pass an' gone by on 'is business, why yo' come out an' git three tracks up. (How do you pick them up now?) Well, yo' pick 'em up wit chure han', jis' de whole track, yo' see. Yo' pick one up [demonstrates] lak dis an' yo' go an' yo' pick de othah one up. Yo' have a papah bag an' put dat in dere.
(You pick up three tracks?)
Yeah, an' yo' take a papah bag an' put dat in. All right yo' take dat an' put dat in, an' yo' go home an' yo' git chew a aig, yo' git chew some hot stuff an' some yeast box - de ten-cent box yeast box, do' [though] dey got a big box, an' yo' be ballin' dat up. An' yo' take dat an' throw dat in de rivah.
(What do you throw in the river?)
De tracks.
(What do you do with the stuff you whip up?)
Yo' whip all that up tuhgethah, yo' undahstan', den yo' put it back in a heaviah papah bag, an' yo' throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah out tuh de Miss'ippi Rivah, yo' undahstan'. Or if it's a guttah where it's runnin' watah it's all right. [RUNNING WATER IN A GUTTER IS MENTIONED HERE THE FIRST TIME IN HOODOO.] Well, dat'll be all of it, see.
(What will that do?)
Dat'll jis' send 'im down, dat he won' talk. Yeah, dat cripples 'im.
(It won't send him away or anything?)
No, it jis' sends 'im down, he cain't do nuthin.
Entry 6533
Dey put dat in yo'. Jis' lak yo' know, it's not de ants, it's de aigs from de ants. Jis' lak yo' know yo're [you are] sore [angry] wit a person an' dis person drinks. Well, if yo' kin git - yo' know dese ants' aigs intuh dis whiskey, yo' kin give 'em dat. An' it jis' supposed tuh hatch an' run 'em crazy.
Entry 6535
If anybody poisons yo', yo' git dem red ants - de red ants. Ah don' know nuthin 'bout nuthin but de red ants. An' yo' git dem red antses an' yo' put it in a li'le bit of whiskey, an' yo' put some gunpowdahs wit it. An' when yo' put it in dat whiskey an' de gunpowdah, yo' make it out a liquid yo' see, of a mub. An' den yo' put it down dere an' yo' git de white of a aig, an' yo' mix dat up as a rub stuff. An' rub yoreself wit it, an' if dere an' insect in yo', why dat'll cuz dem tuh leave. As fur as ah heard of dat.
Entry 6540
Take a dirt daubah. See, dey builds dere nestses up side de house. Yo' takes a dirt daubah nes' an' yo' take dat an' yo' put it in watah or in anything, an' a person will eat dat. As it git inside of 'em, dey claim, it will be young eggs er sompin in dere. An' aftah dey git inside of 'em, by it bein' warm in dere, dey creates. An' when dey do anything, why it's jis' lak a dirt daubah's makin' a house.
Entry 6553
They take a frog and they keep that frog until he has eggs. And when the frog has the eggs, they take those and put in the beer, and they will give that to the enemy to drink. Well, inside of about four or five months, those eggs will hatch and in the person's stomach, and they will have frogs in their stomach. And there is but one way to get those frog eggs out of that person's stomach, out of the belly to keep them from hatching. You would have to go under a operation. The way you can get them out without going under a operation is if you learn they are in there before four months. You can easily get them out with black molasses and burnt sulphur, becuz that ties them up, that brings them right out when you are passing. You pass them right out.
Entry 6587
They tell me that you can take an egg and cut off a scorpion's head and put with that egg, and then take the blood and mark it around that egg so many times, nine times they claim, and then take the blood of an individ- ual and do the same thing. And then take that egg and that scorpion head and bury that, and the individual who has to travel and walk over that will get to a place they claim that he'll have scorpions in him.
Entry 6598
[I follow the preceding snake story with a rare account of a woman with cancer, who, after hospital treatments and as a last resort, visits a spiritualist or hoodoo. About as revealing as the material itself, is my pencil note written on the original transcription sheets within a year of the original interview: MisceZl [miscellaneous material] several small things - will take [choose] one out later. The present cancer ex- perience is the only small thing I took out. Twenty or thirty years later I put over that old comment of mine 3 large exclamation marks in red ink!!!] Dis lady, she wus a frien' of mine, but ah knew 'er fer a long while. An' she had firs' - supposed tuh be a tumor on 'er arm. Had de tumor taken off an' she went on fer years an' anothah one came a'out some place else. She had dat taken off. An' fine'ly [finally] she had trouble wit 'er stomic. She wus comin' from work one day an' she wus comin' up de steps an' a pain struck 'er an' dey had tuh bring 'er in. She couldn't walk. Dey brought 'er in an' put 'er tuh baid an called de doctor. She wus swollen up from 'er toes all de way up tuh 'er hips. De doctor said she had a tumor an' made arrangements fer 'er tuh go tuh de hos- pital. She went tuh de hospital on Sunday an' she wus tuh be operated on Monday, but dey kept aftah 'er so. An' dey couldn't git 'er in any kinda condition fer operatin'." Dey had 'er dere a month 'fo' dey operated on 'er. Aftah dey operat- ed on 'er, dey'd taken a'out a very peculiah tumor. She tole me it had knots on it like a knotty white potato. [Potato in the Southern States usually meant sweet potato.] An' so aftah dey'd taken dis tumor a'out she stayed in de hos- pital a week, two weeks, an' den she went tuh 'er son so she could git 'er strength tuh come home. She wus at 'er son's, she had anothah one come out on 'er neck - up heah on 'er neck - an' she wus so dat she couldn't swallah. An' she said she could feel sompin movin'. She could feel sompin movin' in 'er throat. An' she would go tuh cleah 'er throat an' she would feel sompin like a claw, very painful an' 'er throat wus very sore. Ah know mahself she couldn't swallah. It would take her all day long. She couldn't git down so much as a glass or orange juice. [There is material in Hoodoo showing that live things in a person sometimes try to leave the body through the person's mouth; this being one of the causes of serious choking spells.l So a frien' of mine tole her about goin' tuh see somebody dat supposed tuh be A SPIRITUALIST OR HOODOO, or whutevah yo' might call 'em, an' - aw, she wus very sick, she couldn't eat anythin'. So dis girl [taking care of patient] she went tuh see dis [hoodoo] woman. Ah don' know where de woman is [her street ad- dress]. Anyhow, dis woman she tole her tuh come see her, an' she say she didn't go out, de woman would have tuh come tuh 'er. An' we [corrected later to girl] tole her de woman wus too ill - de girl tole her de woman wus too ill. So she said bring 'er in a taxi. So ah mahself helped tuh git 'er ready, but ah didn't go tuh de woman wit 'er. She went tuh see dis woman, an' dis woman tole her dat it had been seven years ago dat it had been snake aigs wus powdahed an' put in 'er icebox in watah, an' she drank dis watah an' dese aigs 'cumulated in 'er. Yo' see, an' yo' know, dey jis' had formed in 'er an' dis woman said 'er insides wus scally like a fish. An' so, at first she tole her she didn't know whethah she could do her any good or not, but fer 'er tuh come back de nex' day [THE MAGIC DELAY SO OFTEN ENCOUNTERED IN HOODOO]. An' IN DE MEANTIME SHE GAVE HER, SHE CALLED IT GRAVEYARD DUST, IN SOME WATER. [This graveyard dirt was probably a blackish powder known as black draft or black drink, two different preparations, cathartics, frequently mentioned in Hoodoo.] She vomited up. De girl wus wit 'er. Now, ah wusn't wit 'er, de girl wus wit dis woman. She tole me she vomited up absolutely little yallah eggs. An' dis woman [hoodoo] said she had been so long [in finding out what was wrong with her] she wus jis' bedded wit aigs. See? An' she vomited up dese aigs in a pan. She give her a bucket aftah she give her dis graveyard dust. She vomited up dese aigs in dis pan. An' she tole her tuh stop by de store on de way home an' git mack'rel an' take it right a'out, salt mack'rel, an' take it right a'out de, yo' know, a'out de brine, jis' as it wus, an' don' wash it off or anythin'. Don' care whut it had on it, jis' take evah- thin' along wit it an' eat de belly of de mack'rel. Now dis is de truth. Now ah know dis fer mahself. An' she et [ate] dis mack'rel an' she said dis thin' dat wus up along 'er neck - it wus a snake in 'er neck, see - an' SHE SAY DIS BELLY OF A MACK'REL WOULD TURN DIS SNAKE DOWN, SEE. AN' SHE WOULD GIVE HER TREATMENTS AN' WORK IT DOWN TUH 'ER STOMACH [so that it could gO out through the bowels]. Well, she did an' she hadn't et anything fer a long time. She did. She et [ate] dis belly of dis mack'rel an' dat's de firs' thin' she had swallah- ed fer ovah a month. Yo' know, she couldn't swallah anythin' hard. An' den aftah dat, nachur'ly [naturally] she got bettah an' dis woman tole her if she Would keep on comin' tuh 'er she could cure her. NOT TUH GO BACK TUH DE HOSPITAL 'CUZ DE DOCTORS DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO FO' HER.
(What sort of treatment did she give her when she went to her house?)
She give her dis snake dust, er [I mean] graveyard dust. Dis made her vomit up dose aigs, yo' see. An' ah don' know whut she did. Ah guess she continue givin' 'er dat so much each time she would go dere. But anyhow she got bettah an' she got so she could go tuh dis woman 'erself. Now dis is de truth 'cuz ah know dis mahself. Ah seen 'er. Ah know 'er. She wus a frien' of mine. An' she WuS gittin' along fine an' CO'SE SHE WEN' TUH DE HOSPITAL TAKIN' RADIUM TREAT- MENTS FER A CANCER, yo' see. An' it burned 'er neck, yo' see, an' of co'se her son bein' [modern and insisting that she go to the hospital, etc.] [Something must have happened here. Machine turned off. I ask her to re- peat.] Yes, she wus goin' tuh de hospital takin' radium treatments an' yo' know dat hot thin' had burned 'er. An' see in de co'se of time it made her neck sore, an' of co'se as she wus sick she wasn't able tuh work den, an' 'er son he wus 'er main support. He started tuh go work fer [against] dis woman [hoodoo], an' den she went back, started goin' back tuh de hospital again. But dey didn't do her any good in de hospital. But dis thing it did git out of 'er neck. Whatevah it was it got out of 'er neck, an' she got so dat she could eat, 'cuz ah used tuh carry 'er food mahself, so dat she could eat. Of co'se, aftah 'er son wouldn't give 'er money [to go to the hoodoo], I give her money two or three times mah- self tuh go tuh dis woman. An' so in de co'se of time - an' in de meantime dis woman tole 'er dat dis woman had got mad wit 'er an' dey fell out about sompin othahs. Dis woman wus a roomah intuh 'er house. Dis woman put de stuff in 'er. An' dat had been seven yeahs ago dat stuff had been in 'er. See, it wus jis' workin' on 'er grajly [gradually]. Dat wus in '35. She wus supposed tuh die in '35. Well, she didn't die in '35. Well she died de fifth of [5th month] '36 - 1936. [I interviewed this informant, March, 1938.1 An' so ah used tuh go ahead an' bath 'er. Ah don' know whut it wus, but her had a big knot almos' as big as mah fist, she had it right undah 'er arm. She had a big knot an' truly yo' put chure han' on dat, it would move. Yo' know, yo' put chure han' right on it dere an' yo' could feel it slip. Ah don' know whut it wus.
(Where was this woman living when this happened?)
Yes, indeed, right heah in Washington, D. C.,
(And the root or hoodoo doctor lives right here in Washington, too?)
Uh-huh, she lived here in Washington City. An' she jis' continue tuh git wuse [worse] an' wuse an' got so bad off. She an' 'er son were livin' tuhgethah an' yo' know, she wus 'fraid tuh leave her home by 'erself an' all, she got so weak an' all. Dey'd taken 'er back tuh de hospital ag'in, right down heah to de [?] Hospital. Dey had taken 'er down to Doctor Reed [Walter Reed] Hospital. An' she jis' continued tuh grow weakah an' weakah, an' den, ah don't know whut it wus, but she had somepin othah an' she lost mo' strength. But dat thin' dat she had in 'er arm would achly [actually] make her arm jump, jis' dis Way [demon- strates]. An' it did like dat until she died.
(What did the doctors say was wrong with her?)
Ah nevah had nerve enough tuh ast de: son, but ah heah 'im talk dat ovah aftah she died.
Entry 6621
Yo' kin take a snake, mos' any kinda snake - ain't got'a be no special snake, mos' any kind. An' if yo' kin gi t'is aig an' break it intuh a cup of coffee or anythin' dat chew drink, an' whosomevah drink it; well, when dey drink it it'll come tuh be snakes in dere laigs. Dat's de way dat do.
Entry 6622
Ah nevah tried it but dey tell me yo' kin take a snake aig. When yo' find a snake aig, break it intuh likkah or somepin. Whutevah a man drinks or a Woman drinks, an' put dat aig in dat likkah. An' if he evah drinks dat likkah dat will cuz a live snake tuh come in 'is body. But whethah it's true or not, ah don't know.
[After I turned off recording machine, informant added lizard.]
(They do the same thing with a lizard egg?)
Yes.
human body as the alleged destination of a live snake after drinking. Retain both nonperformance and uncertainty, without upgrading either to confirmed disbelief or confirmed fact. conditional drinking as the delivery route in an untried snake-egg report. Keep never tried and whether true I do not know with the whole selected claim. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 6660
Sleepin' on a feathah mattress. Yo' kin take snake eggs an' put 'em in a chicken - [I mean] in a mattress where de feathahs is, yo' undahstan'. An' dem feathahs goin' birth dem eggs. Yo' undahstan'. See, dey got li'le bits of eggs an' dey'll birth dem eggs. An dem feathahs birth dem eggs. An' long as dem - aftah dem eggs hatched, dem snakes'll be in dere, yo' undahstan'. An' yo' sleep on dere an' it'll dry yo' up, jis' lak if yo' had consumption. An' yore lungs will be jis'as solid as dey is right now. [Solid lungs right now I do not understand.]
Entry 6673
(A turtle. What do they do with a turtle?)
Well, ah see a person take a turtle aig. Take a turtle aig an' break it raw an' put alcohol on it, an' yo' save it. (You save it?) Yo' put it aside. But ah think a fellah mean an'( dirty enough tuh take dat few drops of al- cohol off dat turtle egg. An' yo' put it in some whiskey or somepin an' give somebody dat tuh drink. It will kill 'em right away. Dat's de way yo' kill people dataway.
Entry 6724
Yo' take a black hen aig an' write on it, if yo' think anybody is tryin' tuh rootwork yo' or anythin' lak dat. Yo' write on it whut chew want dat aig tuh do, tuh protect yo' in whut way, an' bury it at de centah of yore gate. An' if anybody come in yore yard wit anythin' dat means yo' any harm, why it will turn back tuh dem.
[This is called returning the spell.]
Entry 6759
Cure for blindness caused by spell. Bathe eyes every mawnin' with fresh cow milk and beaten-up egg. Do for seven [consecutive] mawnin's.
Entry 7196
[I do not know whether this doctor's given name Was Tobey or it came to him because he made Tobeys, meaning luck pieces or hands or jomoes. He is the man who drives out disease spirit on p.2259f., vol.3.]
(Doctor Casson?)
Cating.
(How do you spell it?)
Casing[?]. (I am glad to see you, Doctor. I want you to talk loud to me, I don't hear so well.) Me too. (All right, we will both talk loud then. All right. Well, tell me something about yourself.) About mahself? Me or mah trouble? [Dis Cason come to tell me his own troubles thinking as some informants before and after him did, that I was a root doctor from New York City:] (Anything. I've talked to a lot of very good root doctors and I - just tell me anything you want to tell me. I want to hear about how they say people harm you, you know; or how they say to cure you; or things of that sort.)
[There being a brief silence I continue.]
(Did you know old Doctor Buzzard?)
Ah know 'im but he died.
[The ice having been broken I continue.]
(How long has he been dead?)
He wuz about sixty some odd yeahs ole, but he wuz a good doctor. Ah learned many incidents from undah 'im 'fo' he died away. He'd git a man outa trouble. Ah learned a few turns from 'im.
(Well, would you tell me some of the things you learned from Doctor Buzzard?)
Ah learned usin' a bee.
(All right, how did you use that?)
[A unique technique follows:]
Has yo' got a hive of a bee, yo' kin take one of bee drones outa de hive, take a paah [pair] an' yo' kin learn 'em some a [of] de people. Ah putten sveet- nin' tuh de table an' putten dat bee intuh it tuh feed. When yo' wan' 'in tuh go out, yo' kin name a puhson [person] man, jis' call 'is name an' putten spots of white on 'is ahm, his back, not on 'is haid. An' he goes tuh dat same puhson dat chew call 'is name. An' when he's got through wit yo' business dat chev'd sent 'im, he'd come back tuh yo' an' yo'd undahstan'. If yo' say tuh 'im tuh come back, he'll come back; an' if yo' say tuh 'im tuh stay, he won' come back. But he's [he has] two [things he can do]. One, tuh travel wit chew 'cordin' tuh yo' case, whut yo' case would be. See whut ah mean. Ah wan' 'im tuh bring a message back when yo' conkah yo' bettah [when you outwit the enemy]. If yo' is in a lawsuit an' is sent intuh de jail fo' tuh be in co't [court] an' if yo' miss an' tell tuh 'im 'fo' [before] yo' git dere, yo' trail'll almos would be ovah den. But chew see in dose time dose people used tuh walk - work at short ends 'fo' yo' could start a trial dat yo'd be dere. De jury'd cut chew off, dat [becausel yo' shall not come up tuh de requirements. [In olden days it was sometimes difficult to meet the requirements for attend- ing courts and juries would not wait. To be on the safe side you either slept the preceding night in jail or had Doctor Buzzard send his bee specially fed to delay jury action. This information Was on a cylinder pause but is known from my following questions.]
(You say Doctor Buzzard taught you that, told you that?)
Yeah.
(What did you say you fed this bee?)
Feed dese bees on honey an' syrup, but use de ingredients of yo' scent.
(Of your what?)
Of yo' scent.
(Scent? You mean sweat of the body? Perspiration?)
Yeah. Put it on a piece of bread dat has sorghum an' dey suck dat from it. AN' ALL DE TIME DEY COME JIS' LAK A PET CAT TUH YO', AN' WHEN HE LET DOWN [ALIGHTS], YO' KIN RUB YO' HAN' ON 'IM AN' HE'D KNOW YO' FROM ME. See whut ah mean?
(And then you send this bee out to do your work?)
Anythin' yo' wanta send 'em [to do] an' dey care [carry] it out.
(DOES HE CARRY MESSAGES THEN?)
CARE A MESSAGE - JIS' WHUT CHEW TELL 'IM.
(HE'D TELL THE PERSON?)
ALL YO' GOTTA DO IS TUH TALK TUH DE BEE JIS' LAK YO'D TALK TUH RADIO OR ANY- THIN' DAT CAIES [CARRIES] A MESSAGE. AN' CALL DE MAN NAME. TEACH 'IM DAT.
[Few more lines to this but nothing new.] [Charleston, S. Car., (503), 547:1.]
Well, listen here an' ah'll tell it tuh yo'. AH LISTEN N IN DE WORLD ON DIS. DEY ARE IN DE WORLD. DERE'S A STORY SAYS DAT DIS WORLD IS KINDA ROUND, FO'[FOUR] CORNAHS OF IT. DERE AH HAS A FO' [FOUR] SQUARE [PROPOSITION]. Here is eas', sō't, no't - eas', wes', sō't, nō't - fō' [four] part[s] an' DE TERR'TORY WHEAH YO' HAS TUH GIT A PERSON OR KNOW A PERSON. [You are WOrking in a four- sided world.] [To] git a puson [it is necessary] DAT CHEW KNOW DERE NAME. Yo' Wan' 'em tuh come back home. Dey go off an' yo' wan' 'em tuh come back home. Make a fo' square [draw a square]. Write in dere: 1 an' 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7- 8. [He draws a square and writes in the numerals.] SEE, DIS IS DE WORLD, IF DEY IS IN DE WORLD AT ALL. DAT IS, HERE'S DE CENTAH OF DE EART'. All right.
[He begins to fold up the paper.]
(You fold that up.)
Fold it up, see. Yo' fole dat fo' cornah up an' de way dat chew put dat, de way dey come back. Now here is some question ah have tuh tell yo' 'bout. OUR MOTHAH HAS TUH TOTE US NINE MONT'S TUH BRING US IN DIS WORLD, SO DEY GOTTA CALL [A PERSON'S NAME] NINE TIMES. An' aftah [as?] dey call nine times, dey gotta stay in a cer- tain position, somepin lak dis [demonstrates]. Not lyin' up by raisin' it ovah yo' haid, an' puts it down. Put it down undah de foot of de do' [door]. An' in nine days time he'll walk in de house.
(Walk in the house. That's to bring the man back.)
Or a woman back.
(DO YOU WANT TO KEEP THAT PIECE OF PAPER?)
WELL, AH GOTTA KEEP DIS BECUZ DIS IS SOMEBODY ELSE'S STUFF DAT AH'M USIN'.
(OH, WELL, COULD YOU LET ME COPY IT BEFORE YOU GO?)
YEAH, YO' KIN COPY IT. [I believe that piece of paper, the world diagram, is copied in my Numbers Book.]
[Doctor Cason's material on p.2259f. in vol.3 comes in here.] [548:1.]
(What can I do to keep them from harming me?)
Well, yo' is travelin' ovah de worl'. Yo're travelin' ovah de world, yo' UndahSaN', de WOrld. AH TOTES A LI'LE BAG AROUN' MAH WAIS'. AH TOTE NINE KNOTS, ONE DIME AN' TWO PENNIES. Dem li'le articles stuck in dere. An' when ah gwine out, regardless of where ah goes, ah fin' dat somebody has done talk about me or no.
(Well what if they put something in the ground for you to walk over?)
Dat don' make no diff'rence. (What else do you put in that bag, besides those dimes and pennies? What else do you put in that bag?) I put a powdah in it. (What do you call that powder? Do you know the name? Can you think of the name?) Ah don' know. Lemme see.
(And a string that has nine knots.)
No string, a cord.
[He produces a ball of cord string.]
(Is that the cord, the ball of cord that you use?)
See [demonstrates] ah double dat up. Make nine knots outa dat. [Tie nine knots in the doubled cord, 1 Den ah ties a li'le roots.
(You tie some roots on that cord?)
Naw, ah don' put dat on dere.
(This powder that you use, what is the name supposed to be?)
Well, ah buy it an' den ah'll use diff'ren' article dat ah fix.
(Well has this powder a name?)
Yah, is a name but ah jis' cain't call de name of de powdah now.
(You send away and get it some place?)
Yes, any one of dese ten-cent box, big boxes, ten-cent box. Ah use dat. An', if dey not frien'ly an' yo' wan'a be coaxin' a pusson, yo' mix up certain amounts of dat an' about two teaspoonsfula cocoa.
(For to drink?)
Yes, sir. Dat says yo're coaxin' de mind of a pusson wit dis powdah. Yo'll use one or two spoonsfula powdah in dere. (You take one or two spoonsful of this powder. And then what do you put that in? What do you do with that?) Well, yo' fix up dat. Put roots an' stuff an' yo' pennies an' things whut yo' gona put in de bag. See whut chew kin make a bag outa firs'.
(What do you do with that cocoa [powder] then?)
Well yo' put about a teaspoonful in dat. Put it in, mix it wit de powdah.
(I see. Well, what sort of roots do you put in there?)
Well, yo' use de devil's-shoestring. Yo' unnahstan' dat? Do yo' know dat?
(I understand. Yes, ah know that.)
If yo' see it, yo' know it? (No, I wouldn't know it if I saw it, but I know of the root. I mean I've heard of it.)
(This is to coax the person?)
[I refer to the doctor's preceding words: yo're coaxin' de mind of a person.]
Yas. He comes tuh yo' ways. He's gotta come. Dey ain't no way in de worl' dat he kin git aroun' from it. An' while he might have made up in 'is mind tuh do harm, he's gotta come tuh do good.
(What did you just say, if things are what?)
[I had turned off machine and am now asking him to repeat.]
Ah said if thing goin' bad wit chu, yo' goin' tuh be at trial in de mawnin', yo' put a piece of dat root in de mout' an' pass it between yuh laigs. PASS IT BETWEEN YUH LAIGS ONE TIME.
(Pass it between your legs one time.)
Care [carry] it in yuh mout' - care it in yuh hip pocket on de wrong side an de case'll be thrown out. [549:4.] (Now suppose I'm not feeling well and I come to your house and I say, "Doctor, I don't know whether I'm sick or whether someone has put a spell on me." Now, COULD YOU TELL WHETHER I'M JUST ORDINARY SICK OR WHETHER I HAVE A SPELL ON ME?) Yas.
(How would you tell that?)
I'd feel yuh breath [pulse?].
(What do you do then?)
Well, ah tell yo' by yuh breath an' ah test yo' by yuh speakin'. An' ah come aroun' an' tell yo' whut it is.
(Well, how would you test me by speaking?)
Well, yo'd have tuh talk an' ah test yo'. Ah kin tell yo' feelin' 'cuz yo' son't be feelin' all right. Yo' kin talk so's ah kin git anythin' outa yo'.
[550:2.]
Ah nevah have experienced dat aroun', but ah have take de linin' outa man's bat an' put watah on 'is brains.
(Well, how do they do that?)
Well, dey do's somepin wit dat.
(What for example?)
Well, dey git dat linin' out - see, of co'se [course] ah don' follah dat [he does not do evil work].
(I understand.)
AH THINK AH'VE GOT TUH GO BACK TUH MAH BOOK TUH GIT DAT.
[To do this type of work he would have to consult his hoodoo book.]
(I see. What book do you use?)
AH USE DE "PSALM OF MOSES."
(The 6th or 7th Book of Moses?)
[I turned off recording too fast for an answer.] [551:1.]
(HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED THIS WORK?)
WELL, AH WUZ ABOUT FORTY.
(HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO GET INTO IT? HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO TAKE UP THIS WORK?)
Well, I WaS - had a jOb. AH WUZ 'TENDIN' TUH DIFF'REN' SICK. AH LEARNED TUH NURSE. Ah used tuh tend tuh git medicine fo' womens dat wuz havin' de baby. Ah took dem up by mah brain. An' ah studied a whole lot of it, dat tell about de practice of it. Ah didn't have tuh study no book fer dat, but ah knows a whole lot. Ah learned about John de Conkah, Adam-an'-Eve, rattlesnake root [I mean] mastah. All diff'ren' thin's. An' ah know whut dey fer. [551:2.] (WHEN YOU MEET ANOTHER ROOT DOCTOR AND HE HAS SOME GOOD REMEDY, WILL YOU USE THAT REMEDY THEN FOR YOURSELF?) WELL, AH TELL YO'. DON'T CARE WHO AH MEET, AH DON' WORRIES [BOTHER] WIT NONE OF DEM. DEY HARDLY WORRIES ME BECUZ DEY ARE NOT TUHGETHAH. [THERE IS NO ORGAN- IZATION OR FRIENDSHIP AMONG DOCTORS.] YO' WALKS AT ME AN' AH WALKS AT YO'. AH TRY TUH GIT IN YUH PATH AN' YO' TRY TUH GIT IN MINE. AN' AH DON' WORRY WIT CHEW. (I see, you work for yourself alone. Some of these root doctors will do things against you?) Yes, sir.
(And I suppose there are some who claim to be root doctors and are not.)
AH - AH'VE GOT MORE [TO MY WORK THAN BE] WIT 'EM. DEY ONLY TRY TUH MAKES MONEY AN' DAT'S ALL, BUT AH TRIES BY DE GOOD LORD TUH DO WHUT AH SAYS.
(I understand.) [551:3.]
Take yuh chamber lye an' put it in a bottle an' cork it up tight. An' goes tuh de watah's side an' [when] de tide goin' down. Yo' wave dat ovah yuh haid nine times an' throw it back ovah de shouldah an' walk aways from dere. An' wherevah de tide care [carry] 'im, it'll care dat outside; an' wherevah it'll lodge, wherevah de chamber lye drop out, [that] draps yo'. Ah knows. Ah hear'd dat done all right.
(You throw it back over your left shoulder or your right?)
Left. [551:6.] An' de way dat dey used - dere's two wavs tuh usin' 'em.
(There's two ways [I begin by repeating his words] to use these chicken eggs?)
Yes, two ways dat ah know of. Dey will write yuh name on dere an' yuh street an' yuh numbah. An' dey will write out de numbah of yuh days on dere.
(The number of your day. What day?)
Any day dey Wanta give, nine days or ten days, or anythin', any days dey Wanta give. An' dey'll take dat an' put it in a careful place, a certain place where no one kin see it. Or dey kin bury it where dey don't want 'em tuh see. Den, if anybody do anythin' tuh yo' fam'ly, any of yuh fam'ly people, yo'll write on de egg an' 'is street numbah of 'is place. An' anybody yo' know daid, yo' go out tuh de cemetery 'fo' he's buried, an' put dat [egg] in 'is lef' han' an' shut 'im [egg with name] up. An' put 'im [named egg] in. An' dey cain't stick [the town]. "When dat breaks, dey gone.
Entry 7279
Fo' instance, if a man would kill a man an' he would cross 'im three times.
(Here is the body. Now, how would he cross him?)
[For the body I probably used my Numbers Book, small note book containing the number of each informant and brief information about him after he left.1 He'd cross him dis way [demonstrates] an' den he'd come back dis way. Den he'd come farward ag'in. Dat's three times [forward, back- Ward, forward - each on an angle to form an X or cross.] Den he'd go away an' he won't be ketched by comin' back. Yo' may ketch him in California or somewhere but not by him returnin' back hisself, yo' see. But, if yo' know de party dat commit de crime an' will take dat chicken aig an' write his name on de aig nine time backwards. If his name Charles Smith, write Smith Charles, burying dat party wit dat aig in dere. Ah guarantee yo' in about three or fo' mont' time, yo' will ketch him near de place where he commit de crime, comin' back fo' some reason. He won't stay 'way. Well, if he [you or I] commit de crime, an' havin' trouble - so no dog, no law, nuthin could find out mah business or nuthin'; but if yo' kin git to it, de turpentine swamps. yo' git de turpentine an' put it at de bottom of his feet, rub it at de bottom in de shoe sole an' de dogs won't trail him. He'll be caught by someone else, but de dogs won' trail wit turpentine.
Entry 7387
Yo' [he] could kill a man an' he [murderer] goes away. Well, yo' take dat man's [killer's] name or take some of 'is clothes. Yo' take his clothes. Yo' take his clothes, de man's - if yo' can get some of de man's [killer's] clothes or something of de man's, de man dat's gone. Yo' take dat an' yo' put on de man dat he killed. Or, eithah, if yo' don't do dat, yo' take two hen egg8 an' put 'em in 'is han's an' turn 'im flat on 'is belly, an' fo' nine days when dem eggs bust, de man'll come in - he'll come an' give up. (And you say the other way of doing it is to get some clothes from the fellow who ran away.) Yeah, takes 'is clothes - take some of 'is clothes an' bury 'em wit dat [dead] man.
Entry 7427
De man what dey bury, whut got killed, bury 'im wit a - wit a egg in his lef' han', a egg, an' dis fellah cain't stay away.
Entry 7430
Put egg in hand, tie hands together, murderer can- not escape. [Mobile, Ala., (669 t0 671), 883:8.]
Entry 7432
I used to hear it said, that if you get a black hen's egg and put it in his hand that was killed, either hand, you can tell exactly who killed him. That will keep him from nmniag away. He will come right back to that house. If that party touches him [corpse] it will bleed where he touches then. [This old woman was a young girl (almost grown) before Civil War, near Woodville, Mississippi. I interviewed her in my study, 130 East End Ave., N. Y. C., in 1936, March?]
Entry 7434
Jes' lak if a man gits killed, some man gits killed, somebody gits killed an' yo' don't know who killed 'em. Fin' somebody dead an' dey run off an' don' know who kill 'em. Yo' take a black hen egg, but have to be sure it's a black hen. Yo' take a black hen egg an' yo' bury de people wit de egg in 'is lef' han', an' in two week's time, jes' wheresomevah dat people bury dat, well, whosomevah kill 'im will come dere an' give hisself up. Ah've seen dat did.
Entry 7435
Yo' go to work an' yo' git choo a black hen's aig. Yo' take dat aig an' yo' bring it back to de party whut dat he killed, if yo' could git to 'em [the corpse]. Yo' put dat aig into his right han', yo' shet dat han' up on it, an' bury 'im wit dat aig in dere han'. An' he [the killer] boun' to come back to 'im. He'll come right back to dat same house where dey killed dat pusson [person].
Entry 7437
I would git a fresh yard egg from a frizzly hen an' I would take an' place it in dis man's right han', de dead man's right han', an' I would bury 'im on 'is face. An' aftah nine days he be in de groun', de egg would bust an' dis man would come an' give himself up.
Entry 7440
Yo' jes' go right an' take a aig.
(Any kind of an egg?)
Jes' any kinda aig but let dat aig be lay on Friday. Bury it to de no'th cor- nah of de house in a piece of cloth an' dat bring dat person back.
(Bring who back?)
De person who killed de man. (Whose house do you bury that at?) Well, yo' bury it to yore house.
Entry 7444
[Well, when dey bury de man dat's dead, well, dey gen'ly [generally]
write de man's name dat is gone an' put it undah 'is feet an' up undah 'is haid, an' put a aig in 'is right han', an' when dat aig bust, an' as long as dat paper wit dat name is dere, when dat name goin' to rot, de man will re- turn. He got to come back. (You mean when the name is going to rot?) Rotten in dat papah, dat will cause him to [come back].
(You put one paper at his foot and one at his head.)
De man's name dat did de killin'.
Entry 7445
[My recording machine was 3 or 4 words late starting.] An' runs away, yo' take a dead person, yo' bury 'em on dere face, lak dat. Yo' take de man dat killed 'im an' yo' write his name three times. If it's possible dat chew kin git dis [dead] person's han' open, yo' put one name in dis han' [demonstrates].
(The right hand.)
See, an' yo' take a egg from a hen, white hen, if yo' kin git it. (A white hen.) If yo' kin git it, an' put dat egg in dat hand [demon- strates]. (In the left hand.) [Explained later.] If yo' can't git it in de han', put it as neah de body as yo' kin. Be sure dat dis name is in dis han' an' dat party'll come back an' give up.
(There's one thing about that. What do you do with the other two names?)
Jes' write de three names in dere an' put it in dis right hand. An' yo' put de egg in de lef' han'.
(You put the name three times on a piece of paper?)
Yes.
(I see.)
An' put it in dis han' [demonstrates].
(In the right hand.)
An' den yo' put de egg in dis han'.
(Put the egg in the left hand. All right.)
Entry 7446
Yo' take yo' a aig an' yo' write his name on it.
(Whose name?)
De fellah's name whut did de killin', nine times, an' yo' bury it. An' in nine days he will come back. Dat's if he's run away some place an' dey cain't ketch 'im, cain't git 'im. (Where do you bury that egg?) Yo' bury dat aig right undah yore steps.
Entry 7448
(How long ago did it happen?)
Long as they make [I interrupt].
(This story that you are going to tell me, how long ago did it take place?)
What about, de eggs?
(Yes.)
Of a man killin' a man?
(Yes, well, you said it was about three months ago?)
Yeah, about three months ago I saw dat happen, jes' whut I'm speakin' about now.
(Well, tell me the whole story.)
[This murder occurred near the end of 1937.]
A man, he wus livin' wit a woman an' him an' dis woman had separated. Dis wo- nan mixed up wit anothah man. An' so, well, dis man what had been livin' wit de woman come by de house. So dis [new] man, he hadn't been roun' dere long, no one knows nuthin of 'im. So he told dis man, he say, "Listen," he said, "I'm livin' here now," he say, '"I don't wan' choo to come nowhere roun' where I'm livin' at, I don't wan' choo a-comin' wit dis woman." So, he [former man] say, "All right." So he leaves dere. So one day de man wus off workin' an' he came by dere an' somebody told 'im dat de nan had been by dis house again. So it wus dat Saturday night. So dat Saturday night he couldn't fin' dis fellah. Dat Sundah jes' about twelve o'clock, he finded dis fellah. He wus playin' cards - him an' anothah fellah vus playin' a game dey call Coon Can.
(Coon Can?)
Coon Can, yes, dat's a game dey play wit ten cards - [something] was 'leven. An' when dis [former] fellah saw 'im - he had told people all up an' down Morris- town, dat anywhere he see dis fellah, he wus goin' to kill 'im.
(That was here in New Orleans?)
No, dis was out in de country at a little town dey call Morristown. I was done raised dere. An' so when dis fellah gits near 'im - some of 'is frien's had told 'im dat dis fellah had been lookin' fer 'im wit a pistol to kill 'im. Well, when he saw dis fellah, he wus settin' down behind a barrel. An' when dis fellah walked aroun' de barrel, well, dis fellah saw 'im an' he jumps up an' run. But he had de seven of di'monds in 'is han'. He shot 'im four times - four times - shot him twice through de heart, once in de leg an' in de side - killed 'im an' lef'. Nobody knows nuthin of 'im, didn't know where he had came from or nuthin of de kin'. So, a old lady, she took two eggs an' put 'em in 'is han's befo' he got stiff, put two eggs. Dey waked 'im [held a wake for the corpse] wit two eggs in 'is han's. Well, when dey comin' down to bury 'em dat nex' day, dey buried 'em - she told 'em, she say, "Now listen, dis man gone. We knows nuthin' about 'im, don't know whut way he gone, or nuthin of de kin'." An' so dey buried dis man on 'is face. An' she say, "De day when dem eggs bust, dis man will be back." Sure 'nuff, dey did dat, de family agreed to do it. Well, in about eight or nine days, close as I could guess, dem eggs must-a busted, cuz de man comes an' gives up 'imself. He walked into a big old, tavern-like, a white fellah has. Mr. Tim [Somebody], he runs a big ole place of business, yo' know, like dat, an' he walks up in dere. So, Stinwall was de sheriff, yo' know. Someone undah 'im [deputy], so he told 'im, he said, "Well, I come to give myself up." An' he wus speakin' to Stinwall's brother at de time - dey call 'im Amos. He said, "Give yourself up?" He said, "Yeah." Well, he didn't know 'im. He said, "Who are yo'." An' he said, "I'm de one dat killed de fellah in Morris- town." He said, "Well, mah brothah ain't here, "' he said, ''but wait a few min- utes." Like dat - which he didn't have no business comin' up in dat white de- partment, you see. So dey rings 'is brothah up an' de brothah came down dere an' got 'im an' carried 'im to Pepulo? jail. Dey ast 'im why had he come back. He said, he jes' couldn't have no peace of 'im leavin' from dere. He didn't think he'd done jes' right, dat he had taken somepin dat he couldn't give. (HOW DO THEY WAKE A PERSON UP THERE IN THAT PART OF THE COUNTRY? What do they do?) Well, jes' like you die. Well, out in de country dere ain't no place fo' to embalm 'em, see. Dey jes' have to keep yo' ovahnight, but here dey takes yo' an' jes' like de undahtakah gits us - well, dey take yo' an' dey embalm yo'. Well, dey don't have nuthin but singin' an' prayin' ovah yo', yo' know, like dat. Jes' like if any of yo' is Baptist or Methodist or Cath'lic, or anythin' like dat. Well, if dey's Cath'lic, well dey don't have no wake, dey'll jes' be a-settin' up dere wit yo'. Den de priest - befo' yo' die, de priest comes an' gives yo' a blessing.
(Well, how do they wake them out in the country?)
[I want a few more details about the country wake.]
Out in de country, well dey jes' preach a funeral or tell 'em yore life - yo' know, jes' de life yo' lived, if yo' wus a Christian.
(If you had a good or bad life?)
Yeah, if yo' followed Christianity.
[I do not forget the eggs!]
(Well, when they buried this fellow, did they take the eggs out of his hand?)
Left 'em in 'is han' - buried 'im wit de eggs in 'is han's.
Entry 7452
Ah tell yo' whut chew do, if a man git killed an' yo' don' know who did it, tryin' tuh find out. Yo' kin take two fresh hen aigs an' put 'em in each han'. Now lotsa times yo' jes' write de man's name yo' think it is, or sompin lak dat, but de main point, yo' jes' write, "Murderer give up. ". Jes' write on it, "Murderer, give up, " an' "In the Name of God." An' put it in 'is han's. Keep 'im out de groun' 36 hours, den go 'head an' bury 'im, if he's not come. But ah'd be willin' tuh bet he'll be dere befo yo' bury 'im.
(You don't bury him with those eggs in his hands?)
Yessuh, de aig in each han', let 'em stay in dere, hen aig. Jes' so it's a fresh one. Now yo' don' want no cold storage aig. Yo' wants a fresh hen aig. An' if he hasn't give up in de 36 hours, he will give up an' it 'twon't be long.
Entry 7453
An' den yo' kin take a egg, or de same egg, same kin'a egg, if somebody kill someone, an' aftah dey kill someone - well a fellah killed one of us color- ed an' my grandfathah did dis. I know dis. An' he take dem eggs an' he put 'em in de person's han's an' cross de han's jes' lak dat, an' dey caught 'im. (When they put those eggs in the hands, they had to cross the hands?) Yes sir, cross de han's jes' dat way witeggs. (Cross the breast?) Cross de breast, an' he couldn't go away. Dey caught 'im.
Entry 7455
Put an egg under each arm of the mur- dered man and leave three days and break them just before burial.
Entry 7458
Yo' take two black hen aigs. Yo' take one an' put it at his haid on de left side in de coffin or casket or whatevah it is, an' yo' take one an' put it in his left hand. Dat's whut ah've heard, an' say when dat aig bursts, dey'll have tuh come back. Say, dey'll have tuh come back an' surrender.
Entry 7459
Yo' take a black hen aig, jes' lak anybody git killed, an' yo' put one in de man's han' when yo' bury 'im. Den yo' bury one at de haid of de grave an' de person cain't go no place. Dey'll come back an' admit whut dey did.
(Which hand do you bury it in, either hand?) Let's see, ah think it's de left hand. Turn it down, yo' know de sharp point down. (When you bury these eggs, at the head of the grave, bury with the sharp point down.) At de haid of de grave, yes.
Entry 7460
(Do you take these two black eggs from the same hen, then?) No, sir. Yo' have to get a egg from each hen. (From each black hen?) Each black hen. (That you put in this man's hands?) In his hands. (To bring back the fellow that ran away, that killed this man?) To bring back the fellah dat killed 'im.
Entry 7461
Get two black hen eggs, Write mur- derer's name all over eggs, put one in each hand.
Entry 7462
Dey put two fresh eggs in de dead person's hands an' bury 'im wit dem two fresh eggs - black hen eggs - an' he'll come right straight back to where he done it den.
Entry 7463
This is only a small parable I want to give as an idea. If a young girl would go out wit some boy [if] he would drown this girl. Af- ter this girl had been drowned, she would rise in three day's time. All right. They go to some foreteller an' she say, "Yes, that's what you want." Well, the final facts - if the people want to see the facts - wants this boy to do the same thing that this girl did, commit suicide. Yo' may go to work an' take a rope, before buryin' dis girl, an' place aroun' 'er neck. Tie it, bring through each arm an' tie each arm.
(Tie her arms behind her?)
No, tie 'em down.
(I see, tie them down.)
The next knot goes in around her waist, but a piece of new rope. Then tie the legs together. May look an' git two black hen eggs, put in each hand an' cross 'em up in each hand. Bury the girl on 'er face. In nine days time or five days, this fellow will be floatin' round the same place where this girl was picked up from.
Entry 7464
Bury 'im on 'is face wit a aig in each han' an' tie him wit a piece of seagrass rope. Dat wuz done heah not so long ago right in dis town, ovah de ri- vah at least. (What will that do then?) Dat'll make 'im come back an' give himself up. (You tie that on his hands or?) Tie de feets togethah wit dat piece of seagrass rope, an' dey han's wit de two aigs. Not at dey face, but dere han's wit de two aigs, an' dey'll sho' come back. Any kinda chicken aigs, hen aigs, yo' know.
(You bury the man on his back?)
On 'is face.
Entry 7465
Yo' kin take, yo' see, lak if a man would kill a person, go to a stream an' take three eggs, jes' git yo' three eggs an' bur' 'em in de watah in somepin dat de eggs'll stay down dere 'til dey rot. Take dem eggs an' bur' 'em until dey git soaked in watah. Take three eggs while dis pusson is bein' waked - lak at a wake. An' bur' 'em. Bury dat per- son wit dem eggs in dere han's. Put de eggs in dere han's. An' when dat pusson is buried, if dem eggs bu'st in dere han's, aftah dey are buried - when dem eggs bu'st, aftah dem eggs bu'st, dat pusson dat kill dat pusson is comin' back to dat same scene at where he committed de crime.
(What did you bury those eggs in the water for?)
Yo' take dose eggs an' bur' dem in de watah, if yo' don't bur' dem, don't git a chance to bur' dem in de pusson's han's when he's bein' bur-ried, yo' kin take dose eggs an' wrap 'em in somepin an' bur' 'em in de watah. Yo' undahstan'?
(Oh! I see.)
An' bur' dem in de watah. But be sure dat de eggs dat yo' use come out of de house where's de pusson who is waked. Dat's been - dat's in dat house dat night, dat pusson who is waked in dat house. An' bury 'em undah watah, bury 'em in somepin so dey can't come up on de top of de watah. An' when dem eggs bu'st undah dat watah, dat pusson'll come back jes' de same if dose eggs were buried in de han's of dat pusson.
(How many eggs did you say you used?)
Take yo' three if yo' bury 'em in de watah. If yo' bury de pusson [use two eggs], put a egg in each han' - in each han' of de pusson.
(Well, why do you take three if you bury them in the water?)
Becuz yo' got no body - yo' buryin' two eggs wit de body. But when yo' bury de three eggs, one egg represents de body, an' de othah two eggs represent de han's of de pusson dat dey in.
(Oh! I see.)
Yo' undahstan' now? How it is?
(Yeah, I undahstan'.)
Yo' got no body in de watah.
(Any particular kind of eggs?)
Hen eggs.
(From any kind of a chicken?)
Take a black chicken. Eggs from a black chicken. Git yo' three eggs from a black chicken.
Entry 7466
If a man killed somebody an' run away, yo' will take de daid one an lay 'im on 'is face. An' yo' git three fresh aigs an' put one in each han'. Put one in each one of 'is han's an' lay one undah heah, right up undah his chin heah. Lay 'im on 'is face, de daid one. Dat's if yo' cain't identify de fellah, yo' lay de dead one on 'is face an' put one dem fresh aigs in each han' an' lay de one right undah his neck heah undah his face. If dat man, if he won' come back dere, he be put where he kin be seen.
Entry 7470
Put two eggs under each arm and one under the head of the murdered aan, and after these five eggs rot and bu'st in the grave the murderer will return.
Entry 7761
Dey tell me yo' kin take graveyard dirt an' aig an' put it tuhgethah an' throw it on - somewhere roun' de house an' dat will cuz dem tuh be in hard luck all de time.
(How do you put that graveyard dirt and egg together?) Dey jes' have it mixed tuhgethah.
Entry 7787
Take a chicken alg an' go tuh a ant hill an' dig down in dat hill an' git some dirt an' a red ant. An' den go tuh de woods an' git a young oak tree, a oak tree dat's got jis' kinda sprouts tuh it. An' dey come back wit it an' take it, an' go intuh a kinda forks in de road 'bout where anybody, yo' know, 'spect [expect] tuh walk on. An' den if fellah [lover] or fren' is gone away, take an' bury dat. Yo' know, bury dose things down tuh de ground an'take dat red ant, egg an' all, an' put ovah de top of it, an' dey say dat will bring 'em back.
[Informant now illustrates rite with following story:]
Dey talk about a ole man an' he didn't want 'is daughtah tuh stay 'way. He vent out tuh de red ants' baid an' he got de fo'ks of a li'le tree, an' buried it down tuh de fo'ks of road in de direction which she went, wit graveyard dirt, an' told it whut he want done. An' 'is daughtah came back an' she's up dere tuh 'is house right now.
(You mean just this little small fork off the tree?)
Yes jis' a li'le small fo'k about where it will not be noticed. An' bury it in de direction in which she's gone. Jis' use de graveyard dirt an' tell it whut chew want done an' sprinkle dat graveyard dirt ovah it. (You mean the fork at the tip of a [branch], you cut that off that red oak tree?) Yessuh.
Entry 7834
Take twelve - yo' kin go tuh de graveyard, lak some fellah yo' know has been bad, bad. Ah mean a bad fellah, he died bad. Yo' go intuh de cemetery, yo' git jis' anywhere 'bout a handful of dust offa his grave. Yo' don't want no mud, yo' jis' want de dust offa his grave. Yo' take dat dust an' yo' come back. Yo' git chew one fresh egg. Yo' git chew some lōg oil.
(What kind of oil?)
Log, loggah oil.
(Lōg? Lōg oil?)
Lōg oil, de name of it is Loggah.
(How do you spell it?)
Well, ah don't know de name of it, but yo' explain dat tuh de druggist. He'd know whut yo' want, if yo' go tuh de right place.
(Oh, all right.)
[I KNEW THE DRUGGIST HE MEANT. I GUESSED THAT INFORMANT MEANT LOGy, A WORD IN U. S. A., MEANING SLUGGISH = sluggish Oil!] Yo' git chew some Miner's oil.
(Miner's oil?)
(Mines with - minus - mind this - mindless?)
Minus.
(Mindless! Like you lose your mind?)
Dat's it!
(Mindless oil?)
Dat's whut choo want.
(All right.)
[We now have logy oil and mindless oil.]
An' yo' take dat oil an' mix it up. Yo' take nine drops of each oil. Co'se dey give yuh a li'le perfume bottle full. Yo' can't buy under 50c worth, dat's de less he'll sell yuh. An' yo' git - befo' yo' - yo' know, befo' yo' leave de druggist, yo' git chew ten cents of John de Conkah root. Yo' git de log oil [lōgy oil] an' de mindless oil an' yo' take dese an' yo' mix it up all intuh dat dust, until it git tuh a real powdah. An' yo' kin do wondahful wit dat, wit dat powdah. Kin do anything yo' want. Yo' kin do good or bad.
(Just using that powder?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 7885
Go tuh a graveyard an' git graveyard dirt an' mix salt wit it an' whut's dis dey call some kinda sulphur.
(Sulphur?)
An' jes' sprinkle it round in de house and sprinkle it de way dey want chew tuh go. Sprinkle it all de way through de house. Well, dey gits chure track an' take it an' wrap it up in somepin - a cloth - put graveyard dirt wit it an' if dey goin' down to runnin' watah, throw it down in runnin' watah. (These are two different ways of making you move?) Yes. An' dey take an aig an' write chure name on de side of it an' throw it cross yore house an' break it: if it breaks cross dere, yo' gotta move; if it don't yo' git sick. If somebody [root man] don't do somepin fo' yo', yo' liable tuh die.
The informant reports two dirt-related ways to make someone move: a graveyard-dirt mixture scattered in a house, and a track wrapped with graveyard dirt and cast into running water. A subsequent named-egg rite is separate and does not establish dirt use there. Departure, illness and death remain reported claims.
Entry 8116
They kin take a egg, draw their pitchure on dis egg, bury it with the face to the sun, an' it will cause 'em to be in trouble.
Entry 8403
Dey take a photograph an' place it in vinegah, turn de photograph down. See, yo' know what ah mean, turn de face down an' place it in vinegah. An' den let it stay in vinegah fo' - ah think it's nine mawnin's. An' den yo' take it, aftah yo' let it stay in dat vin- egah - see, it fades, yo' know. Den yo' take a hen aig an' push a li'le tiny hole in de hen egg an' let it drip right on dat pichure.
(What will that do?)
What dat will 'fect - it's almost similah tuh yore hair [in a previous rite by informant], but it jis' won't run yuh as bad. It will cuz yuh tuh have a Wondah- in' [wandering] mind, yo' know, become dissatisfied.
Entry 8482
Jes' lak yo' were enemies tuhgethah, sompin lak dat, an' yo' wanted dem tuh go, why den yo' go ahaid an' take dere name. Take dere name - jes' lak ah'm enemies ag'inst yo' - take dere name an' write it nine times. An' wrap it up in a piece of papah wit de bird aigs an' put it in de bird nest. An' den dat'll make dem, yo' know, go wild; have a wild mind, a goin' mind tuh go. Dey won' be satisfied nowhere dey go.
Entry 8543
Take a chicken egg and write a person's name on it and bury it. Can make 'em come your way. Just bury it right underneath of your step. Not flat, but turn it this way [demonstrates]. Write the name upon there nine times and bury it. (You mean with the little point down?) Yes, sir. (Well, how do you mean, you make 'em come your way?) Well, just like they off somewhere and you wants: 'em to come to yo'.
Entry 8913
Take de white of an aig an' beat it, an' if yo' know which way dey come in yore house, providin' if yo' wasn't dere - see, if yo' knew which way dey come in, yo' take dat white of a aig an' beat it. Take yo' some brown sugah an' lay it on de stove. Burn dat sugah an' take de white of dat aig an' put it where he came in de do'way. An' he will be de second one or de first. Yo' cooks de yellah but don' eat it. An' he'll be de nex' one come back to yore house, de one dat stole it from yo'.
(What do you mean you put that white of the egg where he came in?)
Yo' takes de white of dat aig.an' if yo' kin find his track, puts it in his track an' takes it up. Yo' takes up his track an' ties it up in a cloth an' put it up ovah yore do'. Quite natural he will come back [for his track which is a part of him].
(What do you do with that yellow of the egg if you don't eat it?)
Yo' takes de yellah of dat aig an' cooks it, dries it up. Yo' cooks it hard an' let it dry lak. Yo' boil it an' grind it up in de palm of yore han' lak dat, until it come to a dust. Yo' takes de dust of dat an' mix it wit dat whut yo' have taken up from his feet, an' dat would draw him back. Wit dat alum dat would draw him back. Yo' takes de alum an' put it in it. Dat alum is a drawin' somepin. See, ALUM WILL DRAW ANYTHIN DAT CHEW PUT IT ON MOSTLY. YO' take N put it on dere an' it will draw him back. [It is a common belief in hoodoo that alum draws, draws up, but I wonder about alum being used here. Is informant confusing the albumen of egg white with alum? Is he calling egg white alum?]
Entry 9006
Yo' got a case yo' know. If a person has got a case in co't, yo' use a black hen aig, de yellah of a black hen aig. Have tuh throw de white away an' use de yellah. Take some rum an'
[this egg yolk and] make pills an' give 'em. Dat's all ah've evah seen 'em do wit dat.
Entry 9008
Dey say dat yo' could take a aig from a black hen an' if yo' in any kinda trouble or wanta git out, an' yo' bust it up ovah yore do' or eithah jes' on a gatepost. Jes' lak dat yo' could even go tuh de place where, where yo' are tuh be tried at, an' bust it up on dere. Dey say dat yo' would come clear. [In this rite and the two preceding, we must remember that intention, though unexpressed, is the magic power. The following rite expresses the intention.]
Entry 9013
Take lak mah brothah wuz in jail fo' makin' whiskey. Ah'm jes' sayin' dis. Well, ah go tuh a [hoodoo] man an' tell 'im - go an' jes' take de case tuh him. An' he ask whut sheriff caught him. Well, yo' give him de sheriff's name. An' lak de recordah, yo' tell 'im where de recorder works. Well, he say, "When dey goin' have him tried?" Yo' say, "Dey might have it 'bout Wednesday, Monday or Wednesday." Says, "Well, ah does it fo' five dollahs." Yo' pay 'im five dollahs, an' he say, "Take a aig an' write dis one's name on it, who in trouble. Write his name on it an' de sheriff's name who cause it. Write an' jes' makes a list, yo' know, de clerk of de co't, an' write all dose name on dere. An' go right roun' de co'thouse an' throw it 'cross de co'thouse, an' it'll bust on dere, if yo' throw it hard enuff tuh throw it 'cross de co't- house, or bust on top of de co'thouse. If yo' cain't throw it up dat high, throw it high up on dere as yo' kin, jes' 'ginst de co'troom wherevah dey's goin' have de trial at. An' he'll tell yo', say, "Ah carry it clean out." Yo' know, ah carry, bring 'em out, de sheriff or nobody. If dey can't clear yo', dey git chew a stay.
Entry 9014
Well, ah heard dat chew kin git chew a black hen aig, see, an' carry it home an' boil it. But yo' have tuh go tuh de graveyard fo' dat. Yo' have tuh go tuh de graveyard an' dig down in dere by de person's haid where he was buried, up tuh yore elbows, yo' know, an' git a handful of dust an' come back, an' put it intuh dis pot what chew boil dat aig in. Put dat dirt dataway an' den take de aig an' carry it on up tuh de co'thouse. Jes' lak yo' de one wants tuh git out an' ah slip yo' de aig, an' yo' carries dat dere wit chew. Den yo' jes' let it drop somewhere on de floor an' bust it, an' dat'll help yo' tuh git a light fine. Sometime it cleahs yo'.
Entry 9016
Well, dere wus a guy roun' heah dat supposed tuh been a wise man. An' So ah'd got in a li'le trouble. An' mah wife she went tuh 'im tuh see could he he'p 'er. Well, he claimed tuh he'p 'er. He give her a red onion dat wus fulla straight pins, fo' her tuh keep. [A number of examples of the term wise man occur in Hoodoo as a synonym for witchcrafter, herb doctor, hoodoo, healer, two-head, etc. This word, old in English, is familiar to use from wise men from the East (Matt.2:1) King James Version; but translated by the New English Version as astrologers.]
(For your wife to keep?)
An' he give her a couple of aigs to bring to de jail where ah wus, an' when she start up de stairs, to drop one an' bust it. An' in de way of comin' in, take one an' throw up against de side of de jail, but how it wus fixed ah do not know - how it wus dressed.
Entry 9017
(You do what?) Dey take a frizzly aig from a frizzly chicken. [For friz- zly chicken, see Doctor Friz- zly, p.59f. and elsewhere.]
Yes, an' write on dat aig an' go roun' de co'thouse three time an' throw it on dere, an' if yo' got anybody in prison, dey will come out.
(What do you write on that egg?)
"Lord depart chew from dat trouble."
(Then you throw it on that courthouse.)
Entry 9020
All right, if yo' got some of yore friends in trouble an' wants tuh git 'em out. Prob'ly yo' got a purtty bad case an' yo' wants tuh git 'em out. Well, yo' kin go tuh de graveyard at night, twelve a'clock at night - let it be daid on de minute twelve aclock. Yo' go dere at night at twelve aclock an' yo' run yore arm down in de graveyard as fur as yo' kin git it down dere, right in de centah [a quincunx rite]. Yo' git a han'fulla dirt an' yo' take dat dirt an' git chew a plain white pocket han'ke'ch'ef dat don't have any streaks atall about de pocket han'ke'ch'ef - so it's plain white. An' yo' take dat dirt an' tie it up in de cornah de han'ke'ch'ef, puts it in yore pocket an' brings it on back. Well, yo' bring it back tuh de house an' when yo' git back tuh de house, yo' git chew some sage or sompin at night. Do all dat dat night. Bring it back tuh de house an' git chew some sage or sompin an' tie it up in dere wit dis dirt an' yo' takes it up in de jail, wheresomevah dey's in jail at, an' give it tuh de person an' tell 'em tuh weah it in de bottom of dey shoes. Well, dey weah dat in de bottom of dere shoes dat night. Prob'ly dey goin' have trial tuhmahah. An' dat night befo' dey goin' have de trial, yo' have some of yore friends tuh go tuh dat co'thouse, dat nex' mawnin' or dat mawnin' befo' day - sometime befo' dey'll have de trial - an' throw three aigs on topa de buildin'. An' be shu' dat evah' one of 'em is bust. If dey don't bust, it's not any good; but chew have tuh be shu' dat de aigs is bust. An' let 'em weah dat sage an' dirt in de bottom of dere shoes, an' dat'll cleah hit up.
Entry 9022
It jes' lak if yo' Wanta go tuh win a case. Yo' take dese three black hen aigs an' do de same thing. (How do you do that?) Well, yo' take de three aigs an' go tuh de fo' cornahs of de road, gotta be where dirt at. (And these three eggs are black hen eggs?) Black hen aigs, yeah. An' yo' jes' set [demonstrates] one heah an' one heah - undah de sand jes' lak dat, not too deep, so de automobile couldn't mash it. [Egg buried at right angle, not in a straight line.] Set de othah one on dis cornah an' set one on dis cornah...each automobile jes' accordin' tuh how it's [egg is] set, jes' go by dese two aigs an dey bust on dat side. Den de othah yo' could take it an' bring it back. Write an' tell 'im whut chew want done. Pass de case [to the eggl. Man goin' be 'lectricuted. Dat goin' bring 'im back.
(You write this all on the egg. What time do you go out to that crossroad?)
Yo' be dere twelve on de minute. Yo' start dis off at three minutes tuh twelve. THIS IS A SINGLE DIRT ROAD - YOU CAN TAKE ONLY 1 OF 3 (At night.) ROADS AHEAD - SET EGG IN RUT EITHER SIDE OF ROADS Dat's right an' yo' stay dere an' watch dat job.... 3 DOTS OF DIAGRAM =
(Until the automobile runs over it?)
3 NAILS OR NAMES. Dat's right. Yo' see a man on each one of dem automobile.
Entry 9180
Ah hear'd dat chew could take a chidken aig an' carry it tuh a red ants baid an' break it an' yo' know, dat's if yo' wanted anybody tuh leave a place. An' po' it down in dere an' call dere name an' tell 'em tuh go an' not come back. Jes' po' it. Yo' know it take it a long time tuh drip. An' jes' po' it. Dey say soon as dem ants tote de las' bit of it down in dere [the person named] dey'll disappeah.
Entry 9183
If somebody is troublin' yuh an' yo' don't wants 'em aroun' heah, yo' take a aig an' yo' write dey name on it nine times. An' yo' go tuh runnin' watah an' turn yuh back tuh it befo' yo' git tuh de watah, an' yo' make nine steps backwards tuh de watah an' yo' tell 'em, jes' call dey name: "Ah wants chew tuh go an' stay from aroun' me, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, an' Name of de Holy Ghost." An' throw it ovah yuh left shouldah jis' as fur as yo' kin. Don't look back. Yo' walk right on off. Now, dat'll work. Dat will run yo' off.
Entry 9185
Take a black hen aig an' write his name all ovah dat aig, an' place it right in de cellah where dey bed's at, up undah de house, an' dey goin' move out dere de nex' day- dey might move out dat night.
Entry 9187
Ah've: heard of 'em usin' a aig from a black hen. If dere's anything dat dey didn't want a person tuh do at de time dat dey had dat black hen's aig, dey take it an' carry it tuh de do wit a black cloth, an' hit it against de do' of de wall dere, an' dey couldn't go back in dat house. Dey would soon disappeah. Ah've hear'd tell of dat. (You said you put the black cloth around that egg.) [This rite is more seri- ous than merely driving out the dwellers within, it warns either move from the house or have a crepe on your door. Informant's word disappear has a direful meaning.]
Entry 9189
Dey say yo's kin git a black hen aig, dat wus fo' bad luck. Dey say if yo' git a black hen aig an' somebody take it an' break it, an place it roun' where yo' gotta travel ovah, say dat will put bad luck on yo' bad luck will follow yo'.
Entry 9191
Whut ah heard dat dey could do wit chicken aigs. It's two or three diff'ren' ways tuh use chicken aigs. First, yo' kin take a chicken aig, a black hen aig, an' throw it on someone po'ch an' it'll cuz dem tuh move. Next, yo' could take a chicken aig an' write de name on it an' carry it out in de woods an' bury it, an' don't look back, an' it'll run 'em outa town. An' den... (Wait a minute! This second egg is a black chicken egg or any kind of chicken egg?) De firs' aig yo' throw in de house is a black chicken aig. De nex' aigs is any kinda aig, 80 long as it a fresh aig. Write her name on it an' carry it [out in de woods] an' bury it an' don't look back, an' come on [back home]. It run 'em outa town. Den, next - dat's de second aig. De nex' aig yo' kin take - yo' kin put it in blueing ovahnight an' hide it undah de house, an' [that] would cuz dem tuh be tire-nated [worn out] an' don' wanta be bothahed 'bout livin' in de neighbor- hood no mo'. Dey don't wanta live in de neighborhood no mo'. Dem de three aigs [3 things you can do with eggs].
(And the last egg is any kind of egg?)
De last aig is any kinda aig, but if yo' goin' tuh run yore neighbors....
Entry 9193
Ah know dis much about a nest of hen aigs, dat yo' kin go tuh work an' take a nest of hen aigs. Jes' lak, now, if ah wanted tuh really git chew, make yo' lost yore job, or git chew out wit anyone atall [at all], all de way roun' where yo' won't have any friends. Ah knew dat yo' kin take one of dose eggs outa dat nest, an yo' kin stand off an' yo' kin name 'em. Call dat aig a name. Jes' lak evahwhat are my name [whatever my name is], why den yo' call dat aig dat same name, an' set it back intuh de nest. An' den yo' will notice, see, jes' how many aigs. Well, de really fac' 'bout it, how many aigs yo' upsot wit dat. Yo' may really upsot two or three or fo'. One Way, dey says, crack 'em or break 'em wit dat [named egg]. An' dat will put chew where yo' can't git along wit nobody nowhere. Ah knews dat tuh be de fac'.
Entry 9194
Den yo' kin take a aig, a fresh laid aig dat de hen, de fowl, laid. Well, jes' so it's an' aig of some little fowl on de yard - guinea or turkey or fowl-hen, eithah one - so it fresh, laid tuhday. An' yo' kin take it an' go out, if dis person goin' roun' makin"sturb- ment wit chew an' havin' a con- fusion in de neighborhood. Call dere name, yo' have dere name down good in yore mind an' says, "Now, by de he'p of de true livin' God, ah want dis thing settled. Wham! Pow! Bamm!" He's set- tled, don' know anything 'bout dat 'tall.
(You hit him any place you want to?)
Any place.
Entry 9196
If yo' wants tuh git outa trouble or anything lak dat, dey say if yo' take a aig - some people say if yo' take de aig at twelve a'clock in de night an' write de person's name on dis aig, an' yo' kin eithah go in one cornah of yore house an' bus' dat aig In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost at twelve a'clock... An' some people say tuh go in fronta de co'thouse or de jailhouse or wheresomevah de person am, see. An' take de aig an' throw it ovah dat an' let it bust ovah de topa it.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Any kind from whut ah heard. Ah heard dat yo' kin take dis aig an' yo' kin take dat an' yo' kin make a wish In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Tell it whut chew want it tuh do fo' yuh an' bury it undah yore steps. Say dat will come true.
Entry 9197
Well, dey say dat chew could take a aig an' put yore name on it.
(Put my name on it if I am in jail.)
Yeah, put mah name on it, an' say two or three good words tuh it an' carry...
(What kind of good words?)
Well, ah fo'got now whut de words is [probably 3 Highest Names]. An' carry dat aig 'fo' de sunrise dat mawnin' an' bust it on de co'thouse steps, an' dat would change dere min' from whut dey wanta do tuh yo'. Dey wouldn't give yo' as heavy a fine as dey woulda. [For other egg rites at courthouse, see Nos.9006-9022, Pp.3656- 3660.
Entry 9198
Get a black hen's egg. Yo' take it an' write - make a mark across it, around it - an' aroun' de long side; de long side an' de round side, twice. An den go tuh a house, if yo' wanta make a person fall out, go tuh a house an' throw it ovah de house.
Entry 9200
Yo' take de black hen aig an' put a cross mark on it an' write de person name on it an' name, yo' say: De Son an' de Fathah an' de Holy Ghost, an' den if yo' in trouble, yo' turn yore back an' bust dat aig up by de tree, an' it break an' yore trouble break.
Entry 9203
Yes sir, yo' kin take sulphuh an' de aig an' table salt an' some kinda perfume. Ah doesn't know whut kinda perfume dey use intuh it, but dey git it from de drug sto'. Dey say it's lucky perfume. Yo' kin take dat perfume yo' see an' po' dat perfume in [on] dat aig but yo' jes' wrap dat aig up in de sulphuh an' de salt, an' put it undah de do'step. Dat brings 'em back.
(Well, do you do anything with that egg, write their name on it or anything?)
[I am not asking a leading question here but trying to make informant repeat what had already been said. A note of mine on the original manuscript reads: This was explained in egg rite C688:14 (informant's rite preceding this one) which I am unable to find at the moment. It may be that C688:14 was discarded, everything being in present rite, or it may turn up in the printed text.] Yes sir, yo' write de name on it an' call 'em. Yo' know if yo' put call on dere it'll bring dem back. Jes' take dat aig tuh bring 'em home; yo' put chure sulphur an' yore table salt an' yore red peppah in dere. Well, yo' see, yo' don't break de egg an' put it in dere, yo' jes' wrap de egg up in dere. Yo' write de name straight up an down de aig. An' den yo' put de name cross de aig [making a cross]. Den yo' write on de side of it. Call "Come back," see. An' den yo' place it in dat cloth an' bury it down undah de do'step to about dis deep [demonstrates].
(What do you do with that perfume?)
Yo' wet it in de perfume. Dat's lucky. Wet de aig an' de sulphuh [etc.] an' wrap it all an' put it underneat' de step.
Entry 9206
Well, if yo' wanta do anybody any harm, go tuh work an' yo' take a penny an' put it right in de crossin' of de road. An' yo' goes tuh work an' yo' take dat aig, an' yo' bust it right on dat penny. An' if dey wanta cross dat, dey can't cross.
Entry 9207
Ah've heard 'em say put dis person name on a aig. An' go tuh dis person house twelve a'clock at night an' curse dis person, an' bust dis aig an' tell 'em, say, "Ah want chew tuh leave." Dey'll leave - move.
(Where do you bust that egg?)
[Notice that I frequently repeat informant's word. Frequently informant repeats mine.] Anywhere on de house, eithah on topa de house twelve a'clock at night. Dey always tell me dat. Sometime dey say a black hen aig is good. Sometime dey use a dauber nest. Dey sprinkle hit. Dey use dat sometime to bust on de house.
Entry 9208
Ah had a job workin' an' ah lose de job. No, ah didn't lose de job. De man jes' say he didn't have nuthin tuh do. All right, lattah ah went tuh a lady [doctor] an' she say - peoples talkin' about [her] say she wus good. All right, she tells me, say, "Ah'll git yuh job back, [you] git fired offa." Git fired off [of job] on Sunday night. She says, "Ah'm goin' tell yo' whut tuh do. Yo' take dis heah rotten aig an' yo' go tuh dis heah place where yo' wus workin' at.' Say, "Yo' take it an' chunk it up ovah de do' an' cuss." Yo' undahstand. See, yo'd cuss an' yo'd walk off. An' she says, "Don't look back." An' she say, "In two or three days yo'll git de job back." An' ah done dat. She gimme dat aig. Ah give her de money. Ah done dat. AH NEVAH GOT DAT JOB BACK AG'IN.
(You never got the job back?)
No, ah nevah got dat one back.
Entry 9209
Take a hen egg an' if ah wanted tuh run yuh away from here, ah'll write yuh name on dat egg all 'round dere in diff'ren' words. An' ah'll pass by yuh house an' ah'll throw dat egg. Ah'll throw it ag'in yuh do', see. An' if dat egg bust on yuh do', yo' goin' leave. Yo' goin' git up an' leave from dere. An' yo' go on about chure business, go on. Break dat egg on de do' at night. [Informant says something after recording machine stopped.] (And you write that name in what words? What kind of words do you write?) Well, yo' use in vain [the Lord's Name in vain]. Yo' use it. Yo' take de Lawd an' den yo' cuss 'im.
(You cuss him and then you use it [the Lord's Name] in vain?)
An' use it in vain. Write dat on dat egg all around, yo' see.
Entry 9213
Yo' kin take - AH HATE TUH GIVE YO' ALL MAH SECRETS. But ah will tell yo' dis. Yo' take yo' a black hen aig an' yo' pass longside of de street an' throw it an' let it splatter on dat porch against dat do'. Dat's dat [to move you].
Entry 9215
Well, if ah had a woman cross de street an' a man run ovah dere aftah dis Woman an' ah don' want him ovah dere, ah'll go git me a black hen aig, a fresh one jes' laid, an' ah'll write his name on dat. Ah'll go an' bust dat aig up de front of dat do'. Well, he cain't go dere no mo'.
Entry 9217
Ah heard of 'em usin' black hen aigs fo' somepin else. Yo' take 'em an' if anybody in a house has done done anything tuh yo', or somepin lak dat, an' yo' want tuh run 'em away. Well, yo take dat hen aig, dat black hen aig an' go dere at nine a'clock in de night. It have tuh be at nine a'clock in de night, an' bust dat aig up ovah de do'.
Entry 9224
Git a chicken aig an' take it tuh dere home an' bust it up 'ginst de do' an' call de person name dat dey wants tuh leave from dere an' dey will leave.
(Just one egg?)
Yes sir, but it will be A FRESH EGG. (Any kind of a chicken egg.) From a black hen, special. (And you call the name once, to run them away.) An' throw it up 'ginst de do' an' it would make dem leave from dere.
Entry 9226
Said dey take a black hen aig an' go tuh de woman's house, an' if yo' man goin' dere, if yo' wanta bust 'im up from dere an' run 'im away from dere, bust 'im an' de woman up, yo' take a black-hen aig an' go an' throw it up against de do', an' say jes' whut chew want tuh de aig. An' throwin de aig at de do', bust it, an' he cain't go dere.
Entry 9227
Yo' know whut chew do, yo' git a black hen aig. Git a black hen aig an' yo' take de black hen aig an' go tuh dat house wherevah dey livin' at. An' dat's breakin' 'em up. An' yo' take an' throw dat black-hen aig against de do' bust it, an' say, "Stay away." (You say, "Stay away." What will that do when you break the egg on the door? You say it breaks them up?) Breaks 'em up.
Entry 9228
Lak if someone comin' tuh see yo'. Prob'ly yo' don't keer [care] tuh have dem come dere no mo'. Well, yo' kin take a egg, yo' un'erstan', an' when dey leave - when dey come out dere by de do', yo' see, yo' must take dat egg an' pitch dat egg ag'inst de do'. Break dat egg ag'inst de do' an' dey'll nevah return ag'in. (They will never come back to see you again.) When dat egg breaks, dat breaks up friendship.
Entry 9230
Take chicken aigs an' bury 'em undah de do'step an' a lady an' 'er husband tuh separate. (Any kind of chicken egg?) Black chicken aig. (Any number of eggs? How many?) Two an' [or] three. [Waycross, Ga., (1133), 1937:14. Two cylinders later in- formant returns to same subject.]: [I heard] of 'em usin' black hen aigs an' [or] usin' black hen dung.
(What would they do with that black hen egg?)
Bury 'em undah yore steps tuh part chew an' yore husband, cuz yo' tuh have back luck. [Waycross, Ga., (1133), 1839:10.]
Entry 9232
Ah heard dat chew could take a black hen's aig an' bury it at chure do', an' aftah buryin' dis black hen's aig at chure do', when yo' make yore wishes an' whatevah yo' make yore wish, it will come. (You bury this black hen egg at your own door?) Yessuh. (And make your wish for anything?) Yessuh. Ah heard dat chew could do dat an' dat yore wishes would come.
Entry 9234
Jes' lak if yo' got a fren' an' he's away from yo', yo' use a chicken aig lak dis. Yo' put it in de mun of de house [under eaves] wit de end [small end of egg] down an' yo' writes 'is name on dat an' yo' puts it dat deep in de groun' [demon- strates]. (About as deep as your hand.) Yes sir, at de drain of yore house, an' yo' call 'im, an' yo' put sulphuh, sugah - all dat mixture is sweet don't chew know. Put sulphuh, sugah an' brim- stone. An' each mawnin' yo' call 'im fo' nine mawnin's. [Brimstone and sulphur raise hell with him, sugar sweetens him.] Yo' call 'im an' he boun' tuh come, he cain't stay away - he gotta come. One aig an' write his name on de aig. Ah'm goin' call yore name, see. Say, "Ah'm callin' yo' an' ah wan' chew tuh come on back home heah tuh me." Write dat on de aig. See, write his name on dere [egg]. Call 'is name an' write dat [name] on dat aig. An' put dat aig right down in dis guttah [in the ground under the eaves].
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
It would be bettah if it wuz a black hen aig.
Entry 9235
Wal, yo' take de eggs from a chicken an' yo' take de shell an' yo' grind 'em up, jes' mash 'em up real fine. An' yo' take dose shell - eggs out dem shells an' yo' put 'em intuh a glass of watah an' let 'em set fo' nine days. An' den yo' take dat glass of watah an' yo' strain it out until it come tuh be perfect cleah, an' den yo' give dat to anyone. Jes' lak someone come tuh yore house an' want a drink of watah, yo' take some of dat watah an' po' in anothah glass, an' put some mo' watah intuh it an' give it tuh dem tuh drink. Dey'll certainly love yo'.
Entry 9237
If yo' got a woman, or eithah if yo' wanta see a fren' of yor'n an' yo' wants dis woman, an' yo' don' know how tuh git up tuh 'er. Yo' take dis aig, a white fresh aig, an' yo' writes her name on dis aig, an' how ole she are, an' her address. An' jis' howsom- evah her facin', her house turn, yo' digs right down at de steps an' plant it at 'er do'. Go tuh 'er house an' digs dat down dere jis' about, say about fo' inches. An' yo' turn de edge [end] of de aig out tuhwards de streets, de small end tuh de streets. Yo' know, jis' ary way her house turnt tuhwards de streets, yo' turn dat sharp end [of egg] tuhwards de streets. Dat supposed tuh git dis woman undah yore control.
Entry 9239
Take a black hen's aigs fo' somebody yo' want tuh have bad luck or sompin bad happen tuh 'em; git 'im from out de way, mark himself off de earth. Take a pencil an' write his name tuh de bottom of de aig on de little end. Write yore name - jes' lak yo' wanted tuh run me off or ah wanted tuh run yo' off, or do 'way wid yuh, ah would write chure name on de bottom of dat aig; see, on de little end. Write mah name on de top, on de big end of de aig. Go dere an' bury it right down where yo' had tuh walk ovah dat aig.
(How would you bury that egg?)
Neah de do'steps.
(How would you bury it, little end up or big end up?)
Little end down, big end up. Befo' long dat egg will come tuh git hot, or sour or bust. Dat locks chure bowels. Ain't a doctor [M.D.] 'tween heah an' nowhere kin do yo' no good. Whenevah dat aig bust down dere, yore bowels will lock an' bust inside. Right den all yore action will be on de inside yo' know, an' yo' won't be no mo' good. Won't be long 'fo' yo' be gone.
Entry 9241
Wanta make dem move out, yo' come out heah an' take a aig an' bust it up ovah his front do'. Yo' git some of his dirt, some of his track yo' know, an' den pat it down good an' stick some nails in it, sompin lak dat, an' turn sompin tuh covah ovah it. In a few days he'll be gone away.
(Where do you put this stuff?)
Under de steps.
(Put a few nails in?)
Yes. Make it good, yo' know, lak a cake, an' stick some nails in it, an put it undah de steps.
Entry 9245
If yo' have anything dat chew wants done ag'in wit a aig - a aig is a valuable thing. If it's anything dat chew want done wit a aig, write upon yore aig whut chew want an' put it in yore mouth. See, put de whole aig in yore mouth. Write jis' whut chew want On dat aig an' put it in yore mouth, an' walk tuh de east cornah an' west cornah an' de south cornah - jis' walk in evah cornah of de house, an' turn yore face tuh de east an' make yore wishes wit de aig in yore mouth. Yo' gits yore.wishes.
(You do that at any time?)
Jis' any time. If yo' wants sompin tuh happen, anything dat chew want [to] happen.
Entry 9247
Ah heard if yo' wants tuh move someone out of de house neah yo', or eithah yo' wanta break someone up, dey tell me yo' go dere an' 'bout seven-thirty dat night, an' take yo' fo' solid aigs, chicken aigs, an' bust 'em on de top of de house an' yo' won't have any mo' trouble. Dey move out de house an' nobody won't know how dey move out dere or why dey gone.
(You take four eggs?)
Yassuh, fo' solid aigs. Back up fo' steps from de house, walk backwards fo' steps tuh de house an' bust dem fo' aigs on top of de house, see. An' yo' won't have any mo' trouble wit dem den. [Remember, we are not talking here about a mansion, but about a small one-story structure of cabin proportions. Walking backwards four steps and tossing four eggs over your shoulder on to the roof Would not require much skill or strength.]
Entry 9250
Yo' can take yore fingahnails an' cut nine pieces - cut off nine fin- gahnails - an' get nine pieces of yore toenails, an' put it into a little bag put some asafetida in there with it. Then you bust a hen egg an' get de thread [the skin in the end] of it an' put in there, an' that'll be all right fo' de purpose. Yo' take an' carry it an' put it at or undah de house. Dat'll make dem leave, put dem to walkin'. [Out in country from Suffolk, Nansemond Co., Va., (Doctor Frank Hall) by hand.1
Entry 9251
Kin take a black hen's aig on Friday, dat's laid on Friday, an' write dere name on it. Write it roun' de aig an' den write it crossways de aig, an' den take it an' go an' throw it on dere do'. Dat will make dem move. (Now here is the egg. Do you write that name down like that? [I dem- onstrate.l And then you write it across like that?) Yes.
(You make a cross by writing the names that way?)
Yes.
Entry 9252
Yo' git a black hen's egg dat was laid on Friday an' write dere name all ovah it backwards [= last name written first] an' put it in coffee grounds three days, an' den throw it on dat do' an' tell 'em to go an' not return, an' dey'll sure go.
Entry 9253
Ah tole yo' dat, see. Now, lak ef yo' wanted me tuh git outa heah. Ef ah was in dis house heah an' yo' wanted me - yo' couldn't git me outa heah. Yo' go an' git a black hen's aig Was laid on a Friday, see. An' yo' write dat person's name on dat aig. An' yo' take dat aig an' put it intuh a teacup wit de handle - a teacup whut ain't got no han- dle, a new teacup, not a ole one, a new one whut ain't got no handle. [A new teacup with- out a handle? Did a person buy a new teacup and break off the handle? Or was a handleless teacup, small bowl, conveniently sold by hoodoo shops?] An' den yo' write de name on dat [egg] good. Well, yo' write it seven or nine times, but it's gotta be seven or nine times, not eight. Seven or nine, see. Well, den yo' shet dat ovah wit coffee grounds an' let it set in dere three days zactly. Well, den yo' make it back tuh mah do' dere at night, twelve 'clock in de night, an' jes' throw dat egg an' let it hit mah do', de cup an' all, an' say, "Go! Yo' son-of-a-bitch." An' dat egg hits dat do' it busts. De nex' mawnin' ah'm goin' git a wagon an' ah'm goin' move out dat place, can't stay dere fo' save mah life. Dere ain't no way fo me tuh stay dere.
Entry 9254
Well, ah tell yo'. Yo' kin git a aig dat is laid on Friday an' write de name of dese people on dat aig an' de nex' Friday night choo take dat aig an' throw it ovah de house an' dey'll move - all de way [over the] house, de nex' Friday.
(Take the egg from any kind of a chicken?)
Any kind of a chicken aig. Jis' throw dat aig ovah dat house.
Entry 9258
What ah heard 'em say, said dey take a hen egg, a black hen's egg an' some - an' tuh go out tuh de graveyard an' git a han'ful of graveyard dirt, an sprinkle dat dirt on de porch, an' take de egg an' bust it up side de do'. Dat sup- posed tuh make yo' move, if dey didn't lak yo'.
Entry 9260
Eithah yo' kin take a aig an' rub graveyard dirt on it, an' throw it ovah from de front tuh de back an' if it busts, dey'll move or git sick; most of 'em die.
(Throw it over the house from the front to the back?)
Yessuh.
Entry 9265
Git a hen aig an' some graveyard dirt an' bluestone an' jes' keep a-throwin' it on dere front - yo' break dat aig in de front do'. Dat graveyard dirt yo' throw it all aroun' de house an' dat bluestone. Dey can't stay dere tuh save dere life.
(That drives them away.)
Yes sir.
Entry 9266
Dey tell me dey take a black hen aig, if yo' wanta run a person. Ah'm using mah seriance [experience] 'bout dis. Ah believe dat dis graveyard dirt an' gunpowdah dey puts in dat egg, dat black hen's egg, bust it in yore do'. Jis' throw it ag'inst yore do' an' bust it. Dat'll bust yo' an' dat woman up.
Entry 9267
Dey tell me dat dey bust rotten eggs on yore do' an' put graveyard dirt from dere to de gate. [For more rotten-eggs rites, see following rite and later in section.] (What's that for?) Tuh make yo' move.
Entry 9272
(This is to separate people?)
Yes. Take a aig. Ah uses de aig: Ah'm talkin' 'bout whut ah use mahself. Ah ain't talkin' about whut nobody tell me. Ah use de aigs fo' separation. Yo' take three aigs regardless tuh how fresh dey is an' how ole dey is. Yo' take three aigs an' write de person's name. If it's yore wife an' yo' wanta separate her from a man, or sbe Wants [to] separate chew from a woman, well both dere names should be written, yore name an' dis woman's name or de man's name or de woman's name. Yo' understan' whut ah mean. Dat's tuh separate chew [man] from dis.othah woman fo' yore wife, or separate yore wife from dat man. Yo' take her name an' 'is name an' put it on de aig, take three aigs.
(Do you write my name any number of times on each egg? Once?)
Once all around each one. Yo' know, each one de name. Yo' make as much as fo' or [I mean] three time, each one of de names, [one] on each one of de aigs, on de three aigs. An' den yo' take yore needles, yore nine needles an' yo' pass 'em through cross [crossed]. Cross dem nine needles through de aigs, all de way through, all three of dem aigs [demonstrates], one dis way an' one dataway an' one dataway.
(You put three needles in each egg?)
In each aig an' den yo' take 'em an' yo' put 'em in a sack or pan where yo' gonna carry 'em, an' yo' got 'em far apart. But it's mostly done at de grave- yard. Yo' bury 'em a foot apart an' dat's a broke up scrape [a broken up affair]. (That is to separate this woman and this man. His name is written on the egg and her name is written on the egg? Just once on each egg?) No, two an' three times on each aig. See, ah could put between de needles - de needles gotta go between de two names, don't chew understan', go through dem names. See, her name at de top or his at de top, anyway, see, an' gotta go in between dem. Turn it lak dat [needle is forced through egg by turning] an' go in between it [the names]. See, an' when yo' turn it lak dat go in between it. Yo' write disaway an' disaway an' write it 'cross lak dat. Jis' lak yo' stick yore needles, jis' lak yo' make yore names - three of yore name an' three of 'er name yo' see on each aig.
(On each egg, and you stick three needles in each egg?)
Three needles. (You write those two names three different places on the egg so that you can cross those needles three times on the eggs, and the needles are crossed through those names.
Entry 9274
An' den if a woman wants a man tuh leave ag'in, why she kin git a aig an' she break dat aig jis' roun' - roun' jis' as neah as she kin, yo' know, in half a shell, an' po' de inside of it out. An' when she po' it out why take dat shell an' write his name in dat shell - inside of it. Yo' see yo' drēne [drain] all dat out an' den take yore fingah an' wipe it out, so yo' kin write. An' write it on de inside of dat shell an' git chew some 'hesive [adhesive] tape an' put aroun' dat shell so it won' - stick it back tuhgethah an' den put dat 'hesive tape, so no watah kin git in it. An' den walk tuh a stream of watah dat's runnin' an' throw it in dere an' say: In de Name of de Fathah, go! An he'll go an' won' evah come back.
(Does she do anything with that raw egg she has taken out?)
Nawsuh, she jis' use it fo' anything she want. She only use de shell, dat's all.
Entry 9275
[For more house-and-egg rites, see margin title DooR in this section.]
Dey say if yo' got somebody in de house an' yo' do wan'a [want to] see dat some- body in de house, well yo' git yore- self a fresh egg - a thoroughly fresh egg: An' yo' take dat egg an' jes' slam it against de house, an' go on about chure business. An' jes' soon as yo' go, dat same somebody, who yo' Wanta see in dat house, is comin' where yo' is.
(The person who is in that house is coming to where you are?)
Yes, sir, if dere's a woman dere an' yo' wanna see dat woman, why all yo' gotta do, take dat fresh egg an' smash it right against de house. An' she gon'a come zactly where yo' is, or if she can't find yo', she will inquire until she do.
Entry 9276
Git a black hen aig. Yo' take it an' throw it on de house an' dat'll make 'em - make 'em all stir up in de house, an' make 'em fuss all de time wit dat.
Entry 9277
Take a fresh aig an' throw it - jes' throw, jes' at de house where dat chew feel dat yore enemy at. Throw it tuh de house where dey at an' don't nevah look back at it, jes' go ahead an' dey'll nevah harm yo'. A fresh hen aig.
Entry 9281
Well, yo' kin take a aig, any kinda aig, black hen aig, any kinda aig. Jes' lak dose folks stay ovah dere dey fuss wit chew all de time an' yo' cain't live by 'em atall. Yo' wait until one night when dey go tuh baid, an' jes' take dat aig an' throw it ovah on top de house, an' let it break anywhere, say: Yo' son of bitch, go! De nex' mawnin' dey be moved.
Entry 9283
If yo' wanta run a person away or somepin, take a hen aig an' write dere name ovah it. An' if dey's in dere - jes' lak if dey's in dis room - throw it ovah de house an' let it fall an' bust on de othah side.
(What will that do?)
Dat will run 'em away.
Entry 9285
Yo' kin write a person's name on a aig. Dat's de onliest thing ah know, an' throw it ovah, yo' know, dere house, an' dat'll run 'em from dat place. Jis' lak, yo' know, if a person is quarrelin' wit a person or sompin an' yo' don't want 'em roun' yore place. Well, dat's de onliest thing ah know about writin' de name only.
Entry 9289
If yo' wanta run a person off, dey say git chew a black hen aig an' go tuh a fellah's house, an' chunk it right 'cross de house jes' as hard as yo' kin at midnight or 'fore day - befo' sunrise.
(That will run him out? You throw this egg right over the house?)
Yes, throw it jes' as hard as yo' kin an' say, "Go!"
(Do you break it against the house or throw it over the house?)
Throw it ovah de house fur as it will go.
Entry 9293
If yo' be in trouble, yo' take a hen aig an' throw it up undah de house an' let it break apart.
(Any kind of a hen egg?)
A black hen.
(And that will get you out of this trouble?)
Yes sir.
(Just let it break up there and run down on the house - that the idea?)
[My preceding break up there followed by and run down on the house can be confusing, but informant's double preposition up under confused me at the time. Remember, we are talking about a special type of house. As I have said frequently in the text, most of these small houses in the lowlands along the coast are raised a foot or more aboveground. Mistakenly or not, I am here thinking of a person reaching down and smashing the egg so that it will run down one of the corner posts, rocks or bricks upon which the house rests; a sort of foundation or at least a reded- ication rite - for a foundation rite, see margin title BLOOD FOR THE SPIRIT, p.33, v.1.] Yes sir.
Entry 9294
Ah went an' seen dat one mawnin', where a lady throwed some chicken aigs out de house, an' said dey broke up housekeepin'. (Broke up the people that were in there?) Yes sir. (Did she throw any particular number or any particular kind of chicken egg?) No sir. [This rare rite I should have had explained fully. Presumably the lady wanted a separation from her husband. Or did she accidentally throw out a few eggs and only later connect them with the family breakup?]
Entry 9295
Jes' lak anyone stayin' by yo' an' yo' wants 'em tuh move, sompin lak dat. Now, yo' kin take a fresh hen aig an' write dere name on dat fresh hen aig an' den throw dat aig away. Well, dey'll move.
(Throw it away where?)
Throw de aig - jes' lak yo' jes' to dere house. But dey'll move.
Entry 9296
Yo' could write de name of whoevah is away dat yo' wanta come, on a egg wit an indelible pencil. An' bury it at yo' steps wit de name tuhwards de house, comin' in de house, an' dey'll come regardless of how far dey are away. [For name coming into or pointing towards house and how this can be done, see No.9409, p.3769.]
Entry 9297
Take a rotten aig an' 'delible pencils, lak if yo' don' lak a person, write dere name on it an' jes' let it stan' dere until it busts. When it busts dat'll kill dat person. (Where do you let that egg stay?) Jes' bury it anywhere in de groun', jes' anywhere in de ground an' when dat aig busts, why dat person will die.
Entry 9298
It will run you away.
(Well, how are they supposed to do that?)
Well, they say they write your name on it, on the egg - say they write chure name on the egg with indelible ink. An' they'll take it when de tide is goin' out an' say, as the tide goin' out, you'll be on shore yo' know an' throw it. An' let de tide go with it an' say, "Go, yo' rascal, yo', " or "go yo', enemy, yo', " or something like that yo' know. An' they say, they'il go on away from yo' - say they'll leave here. An' I tell yo' a few weeks ago - no, it was about a month ago now, a woman told me that a lady told her to do that to run a man away from here an' I know he's gone. An' I say, "What did yo' do?" She say, "Why the woman say she went out in de country an' got me a black hen's egg, she say no other egg will work 'ceptin' [excepting] a black hen's egg." I said, "Well, HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS A BLACK HEN'S EGG FROM ANY OTHER EGG?" SHE SAID, See, be- cause people buys them so much from her to do that.
Entry 9303
Take a chicken aig an' boil it, boil it done. An' yo' take dat chicken aig an' put it in de mattress, de side dat he sleeps on, an' he'll nevah leave. (Any kind of a chicken egg?) Yes sir, any kind. (This should be a black hen's egg.) [This comment of mine shows that I restarted recording machine to add the unrecorded black-hen information.]
Entry 9305
Yo' take a black hen aig if a person has murdered somebody, take two. Lak if de person wuz murdered, yo' put a aig in each one of dere han's, a black hen aig. An' be shuh [sure] it's a black hen aig, an' put it in each one of dere han's. Git a piece of grass rope. (What's that?) Dese heah ropes whut people ties bundles an' things with. An' yo' git a piece of dat an' yo' make nine knots in it, an' yo' tie it on dere wrist. An' when yo' git ready tuh bury dat person, yo' turn dere face bottom upwards [back of head upwards]. An' de one whosomevah murdered 'em gotta come back where dey did dat murdah. Wit dat black hen aig.
(Do you tie that rope on just one wrist?)
On both of 'em, both wristses, put a aig in each han' an' shut dat han' up. An' when yo' git ready tuh bury 'em, yo' turn dere face down. Yo' see, dey gen'ly [generally] bury people wit dere face up, in place of puttin' de face down tuh de bottom of de coffin.
Entry 9306
Lak de man is daid, yo' put a aig in his han' an' de man's.name whut done it on dat aig, an' put it in his hand an' he supposed tuh come back in 24 hours.
Entry 9307
Take a chicken aig an' beat it up fine an' put plenty black peppah an' salt in it. Git chew two nails an' put it in dere mattress, if dere any way yo' kin git it in de mattress, an' sew de mat- tress back up. Anyone in dat house, dat'll run 'em outa dere.
(How would you put these two nails in that egg?)
[Since I did not kid my informant's, my mind here must have been tired!]
Yo' take two bran'-new nails an' jes' wrap it up wit de aig an' black peppah an' dat stuff an' jes' put it in de mattress.
(Use any kind of egg?)
Yes sir. any kind of hen aig.
Entry 9309
Well, some folks say, it's jes' lak ah have a fren' an' de othah woman is gittin' de bes' time. Say, yo' write his or her name on de aig an' throw it ag'inst her house an' break it, an' it will break 'im an' 'er up.
Entry 9310
Git a hen aig an' take dat hen aig an' write dere name on it, both of 'em. Jis' write roun' an' roun', de man's an' de woman's tuh bust 'em up. Jis' write dat all ovah dat aig, jis' as many times as yo' see space dere tuh write it, if yo' have tuh tangle it up tuhgethah At twelve a'clock yo' gotta tote dat aig an' go tuh dere own house an' chunk it right up ovah de do' facin'. Dat aig will bust. Dat's de way dey will bust up.
Entry 9315
They take black hen egg an' put yore name on it nine times an' bury it. It'll run yo' crazy, make yo' die.
(What's that?)
Control of yore mind.
Entry 9322
(What are you going to do this for? What is the purpose of this thing?) Dat's tuh make 'em commit suicide. Yo' take 'er undahclothes an' her name, an' put it down nine ways. Yo' jes' write de writin' out till yo' cain't undahstan' it. [The writing becomes illeg- ible.] Yo' don't know whatsomevah it is. Den yo' kin take an' put it in a aig, see, an' throw dat ovahbo'd. Dat make dere mind, dey jes' go an' commit suicide. (You put this underclothing and this name - written on a piece of paper nine times - and put that all into an egg and throw that overboard. Then she will commit suicide in nine days.) [This rite is similar to preceding one, the piece of underclothing being very small.]
Entry 9323
Well, yo' write a person's name on dere, write it nine times on de aig - jis' write de name on dere nine times. Ah don't care if he done did or didn't. Write it nine times an' yore name on it, an' dat person - don' care whah he is, if yo' haven't seen 'im in yeahs - he'll come home.
Entry 9324
Well, go dere an' break up people. Well, yo' gits a fresh egg. If yo' can't git a black hen aig, yo' git a fresh egg. Write de individual name on it nine times, an' write one name goin' dis way [away from you] an' don't write no name so dey comin' dis way [towards you]. See, dat writin' mean dey go de othah way. (They write one going away from writer, and one going down nine times.) [The first name is written away from the writer, the other eight names are written down and across the first name. This is an elaborate crossing of the victim.] Dey'll put nine "J's" on each one [one "J" on each name], go tuh de fork of de road twelve o'clock in day or twelve at night, eithah one, an' broke de egg an' call dere name. Smash it up. [The letter "J" could stand for the obsolete word "Holy Jakes" we met in No.9068, p.3676.]
(What will that do?)
Dat will smash up de life of de couple. De individual yo' wanta break up, put dere name on it.
Entry 9326
Take a aig - lak yo' wan' somebody tuh move, somebody wus livin' in a house an' yo' wanted 'em tuh move; or some woman wus lakin' yuh husban' an' yo' wanted 'er out chuh way or wanted 'er tuh git away from de neighbah- hood. Yo' take a fresh aig. Let de chicken lay de aig in de mawn- in', lak yo' go out in de chickenyard about seven a'clock, git dat fresh aig dat de chicken layed, yo' know soon in de mawnin', an' t'row it. An' git a fresh aig eve'y mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' t'row it on dat pō'ch. An' de tenth mawnin' when yo' look ovah dere, de person da' choo wan' tuh move will be gittin' ready tuh move.
Entry 9327
An' yo' kin take a aig an' run a person away from a place, if yo' got a neighbah an' yo' don't want 'em round dere. Yo' kin take dat aig an' bust it on dere house. Say fo' nine diff'ren' mawnin's yo' kin bust a aig on dey house an dey'll have tuh move.
(You just bust the egg on the side of the house, you mean?)
Yes.
Entry 9330
(Will you tell me that again, now?)
If yo' have someone dat yo' want tuh leave yo', git chew nine eggs. Evah mawnin' yo' write de person's name on de egg, evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey'll have tuh go, can't stay. (Well, then - what do you do with those eggs, then?) Well, dose eggs, throw 'em away; othahwise dey won't be no good no mo'.
(I see.)
Entry 9333
Well, de way dey tells me, an' ah have seen it did. Dey gits nine eggs.
(Nine eggs.)
Nine mawnin's. Yo' start 'fo' day in de mawnin', on a Tuesday, evah Tuesday. Yo' git up 'fo' day in de mawnin' an' take one-a [one of] dem eggs. Co'se yo' take de eggs, dem nine eggs, yo soak 'em in de chamber lye... [Here informant leaves chair and starts to demonstrate away from interviewing table and micro- phone. I often describe such demonstrations, but here I wanted a repetition of the words given before recording began.]
(Wait a minute! Will you come over here?)
[Informant returns to chair and repeats.]
Take nine eggs an' soak 'em in chamber lye, see. An' nine mawnin's see, 'fo' day, yo' take one-a dem eggs evah Tuesday mawnin' an' bust it ag'inst dat house. An' den yo' bust de last one, dat be de ninth egg an' dat be de ninth Tuesday. See. Well, in nine davs. ah'll betcha dey'll leave.
(I see. After the last egg has been thrown, then nine days later they'll go?)
"Fo' dem nine days latah. (Oh! I see.) [They will leave long before the 9 days!]
Entry 9335
Yo' mean tuh keep de officahs off. Well, it's jes' dis much about. it. Yo' kin go tuh work, yo' do's dat - supposed tuh be - wit hen aigs. Yo' kin go tuh work an' git chew nine hen aigs. No, don't make any diff'rence, any kinda aigs, yo' know. Yo' git chew nine aigs an' yo' kin go tuh work an' take yo' a hat whut chew weah on yore haid, an' yo' put dose nine aigs in dat hat an' set it at chure do' - ah mean, anywheres at chure do'. An' take yo' nine sewin' needles, stickin' needles. Put de needles intuh dat hat. An' den de really fac' 'bout it, keep it covahed up an' see dat nobody puts dere han's nowheres about it. An' 'long as it really sets dere, why co'se de law nevah goin' worry yo'.
(You don't have to keep that hidden?)
Oh yes, yo' must put sompin ovah it. Yo' know, have it some place or 'nothah where nobody's li'ble [liable to] 'sturb [disturb] it.
(Where do you put those needles now?)
Yo' drop dose needles right in de hat.
Entry 9340
At a certain time of de yeah - ah tell yo' 'bout de hen aigs. Dey say yo' kin take de aigs an' draw peoples pitchures on 'em. Dat's whut ah hear'd. An' yo' know, put de person's 'nitials undah de aig. An' dey say yo' go where dat person walk an' put de aig dere, an' say whut chew wanta say an' throw it down. When dat person walk ovah it, it'll happen lak yo' wanted it tuh happen. Dat de only [thing] ah hear'd about de aig.
Entry 9341
Dey can do a lot of things with chicken eggs.
(Well, for instance?)
Ah saw a woman once with a chicken egg. She had 'im - her man an' her was mad an' she wanted him tuh, yo' know, die, bump him off. She had his pitchure drawed on dat egg, an' she taken dat egg an' she had hulled a lemon out, a large lemon, an' she put it in dere. An' she went back an' buried it in de cornah of de yard, undah de steps at de cornah of de yard.
(What happened?)
Well, he died.
(It killed him?)
Killed him.
(Was that all she had to do?)
Yes, dat was all she had tuh do.
Entry 9343
Ah kin move yo' wit a black hen's egg. Ah kin take dat an' go tuh yo' po'ch now an' bust one ovah dere, an' yo' sho' won't be dere. Yo'll move. [Porch is mentioned in a number of egg rites given elsewhere.]
Entry 9345
Sometime yo' got a enemy in yore way an' yo' don' have a chance tuh do anything, yo' git chew a aig. An' yo' write de firs' Psalms on it, an' write chure enemy's name on dat aig an' carry it tuh de swamp, de rivah, by de woods an' yo' cast dat from yo'. An' yo' see as dat goes, wherevah it goes, dey'll start tuh travelin' an' dey have tuh follah dat, until it don' git no place. [Psalm I is unsuitable here, being used out of context: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, etc. ". King James Version.]
Entry 9347
Yo' kin roll it on yore hearth, a chicken aig. An' roll it on yore hearth an' say de Lord's Prayah. Call de guy's name dat chew wants. Whosomevah yo' want, he'll come. He will, so dey tells me wit dat chicken aig. [To roll is an important and common rite in Hoodoo. Rolling commonly means to you or away from you.]
Entry 9348
Well, yo' see, de aigs, dere are two kinds of aigs. A roostah's aig is long an' de hen's aigs are round. Well, yo' git two hen aigs an' some salt an' black peppah. Well, yo' git on dis hen aig whut chew want done. Den yo' go an dig a hole de way yo' want tuh run it - tuhwards runnin' watah. Yo' dig a hole to- Wards runnin' watah an' den yo' put dis aig down in dere an' de black peppah an' salt, an' tell it evah whut chew want it tuh do. An' dey'll come back.
(You leave it there. You use two eggs though?)
Yeah, yeah, two aigs. Dey're round aigs. Yo' see, a roostah's aig is long an' de hen aig is round [the words long or round being words based upon sexual symbolism, not biology]. Well, yo' use de hen aigs. [For long eggs and round eggs see also following rite, and for round eggs and square eggs see also No.9284, p.3738.]
(You dig a sort of a ditch?)
No, a hole tuhwards runnin' watah. Yo' know, sometime yo' have ditches run- nin'. Well, yo' kin tell which way de watah is runnin'. Well, yo' dig de hole tuhwards runnin' watah.
(You mean between your house and the running water?)
Well, if de ditch is runnin' between yore house, yo' kin dig it right in front of de ditch, jes' so's it's runnin' which way de watah is runnin'.
(You mean you dig the hole away from you, down the way the water is running?)
Yeah, well, yo' take nine steps tuhwards de runnin' watah an' dig yore hole, an' den aftah yo' dig yore hole, yo' put chure aig an' salt an' black peppah down in dere. Co'se dis aig already has on it whut chew want it tuh do. An' den yo' have it bring 'em back.
(That is to bring them back?)
Yes.
Entry 9349
Well, jes' if anybody yo' want tuh move, if any of yore neighbahs is not so good an' yo' wanta move 'em.] But chew have tuh git a aig from a hen dat's been wit a roostah. De diff'- rence in dose aigs - yo' know de diff'rence in dose aigs? (No, I don't. Tell me about them?) Well, de hen dat doesn't be wlt a roostah, her aigs are round. An' de hen dat does be wit a roostah, her aigs is long. [Here as in the preceding rite, the symbolism of added length to the egg is obvious.] Well, yo' take one of dose long aigs an' yo' gits tuh de front do', an' yo' throws it ovah her house an' if dat aig busts yo're gone.
Entry 9350
Ah heard dat yo' could take a rotten aig an' make a person move out of de house. Break it on dere do'sill an' dat will make 'em move.
Entry 9354
[This rite and the two following ones come from Vicksburg, Miss. These three informants bear informant numbers 734, 736 and 738. Three consecutive informants telling the same story is not a chance occurrence, one of them having given the material to the other two. Two persons occasionally did this, especially man and wife, sisters or brothers, but the present three are probably my only example. May I add that this sort of thing never happened among professional informants.] If yo' got a wife an' ah wants tuh separate yo'all... (If I have a wife and you want to separate me.)...an' wants to separate chew, see. Ah don't have tuh take an' go tuh work an' git no lodestone or nuthin tuh separate chuh. Ah come tuh yuh house an' sit down dere an' talk wit chuh. Ah have a rotten aig in mah pocket. Ah'll git tuh yuh baid an' ah'll slip it in yuh baid, right where yo' lay. Ah'll slip it in de middle of yuh baid. Yo' go tuh baid at night, yo'all. Yo' an' 'er may lay down dere laughin' an' talkin' an' playin'. See, good humored wit one anothah, but whenevah yo' turn ovah on dat aig an' bust dat aig, yo' see, it'll fill de baid wit scent. Right dere where's it's goin' tuh start de devil in yuh house, yo' see. De minute dat chew ketch dat scent, yo' gon'a wanta know from dat wo- man whut de heck. What kinda scent dis in heah. See. "Yo' done had some man in dis baid." See. Well, right dere where's be a fussin' an' fightin'. Yo' goin' tuh jump up an' beat dat woman right away from dere. Well, yo' see, dat woman ain't comin' back 'cuz yo' beat 'er up, accuse 'er fo' nuthin.
(I see.)
Entry 9358
Say fo' instance if yo' own a piece of property, or if yo' don' own a piece of property. Heah's a fellah livin' intuh a house dat chew would lak tuh move in. Yo' take a aig an' yo' write de person's name, whoevah it might be, on de aig three times. Yo' take dat aig, aftah yo' write de name, an' shake it lak dat [dem- onstrates] an' dat'll make it, de white an' yallah come tuhgethah yo' know. An' yo' put dat aig away fo' nine days, see, an' it'll spoil. An' den yo' take dis aig an' throw it on de top of de house dat de person is livin' in. An' dey'll move.
Entry 9359
Yo' could do dat - yeah, sure. All yo' gotta do, take yuh three rotten aigs, see. Take yuh three rotten aigs. Yo' bury one-a dem [one of them] right at de steps. De othah two jis' hit 'em against de house. Nobody come in dere. (That crosses up the landlord. He can't rent the house after I leave there.) Dat's whut ah'm talkin' about. Aftah yo' bury one in front of de steps an' yo' throw two against de house right ovah yuh shouldah. GOTTA THROW 'EM OVAH YUH LEFT SHOULDAH. See, IF YO' THROW 'EM FACEWARDS, DON' AMOUNT TUH NUTHIN. Jis' throW 'em ovah yuh left shoul- dah against de house, aftah yo' done bury dat one in dere [at the steps]. Can't rent, not at all.
Entry 9360
Yo' kin have a wife. Yo' an' yore wife - yo' kin have a wife an' she leave home. An' yo' kin take three rotten aig an' throw 'em up side de wall on de house an' dat will bring her back home. (That will bring her back home. On the outside wall?) Yes sir. [This rite of breaking eggs, normally to send away or cause confusion, is made legiti- mate only by the intention to bring the woman back.1
Entry 9361
Dem rotten eggs, yo' could take nine of 'em an' put dem undah anybody's house an' dey will move.
(What do you mean, you just put them under the house?) Write dere name an' throw 'em undahneath de house. (Make them move.)
Entry 9363
Take a black hen's aig an' put a little salt in it an' bury it at dey do'steps. Say dat would run 'em. (How do you put that salt in that egg?) Put de salt in it, yo' peck a little hole.
Entry 9364
Well, now, yo' git a black hen, yeah. An' git dat aig from a black hen, yo' undahstan'. Yeah. An' den yo' take dat aig an' keep it in salty watah fo' two days. An' den yo' git dat aig an' care [carry] it. Yo' go tuh de steps, though, yo' know, an' bury it undah de steps. Dat's whut yo' do wit dat aig, if yo' wanta git 'em 'way from dere. Yo' undahstan' dat.
(That's all you have to do?)
Yes.
Entry 9370
Ah heard dat dey take a hen aig an' boil it an' bust it in de shoe, an' dat will make a man stay home an' nevah quit chew. (So he wouldn't know it?) No, hide de shoe. (Some shoe he isn't using?) Sho'[sure].
Entry 9374
Den yo' kin take his socks, de left-foot socks, an' yo' kin put a hen aig in dere. Write his name on dat aig an' plant it on de no'th side of de do' an' dat'll bring 'im back.
(What do you mean by the north side of the doorstep?) Well, jes' lak de house is set- tin' dis way, on dat side [demon- strates]. (The north side of the steps.) Yessuh.
Entry 9375
Jes' lak now if yo' [ah] want someone tuh move, prob'ly it may be yo'. Ah'm jis' goin say it fo' a instance. Yo' in dis house an' ah don't want chew in heah. Well, ah'll take dat aig an' bust it on yore do', but ah gotta put a li'le sulphuh wit it first an' throw it on yuh do' an' yo' bound tuh move.
(You put some sulphur on that egg?)
Yes, an' bust it on yuh do'.
(Any kind of chicken egg?)
No, a black chicken aig. Put some sulphah on it befo' ah use it an' when ah throw it dere, say, "Ah'm doin' dis In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost. Ah want chew tuh move." An' when ah do dat, why yo' bound tuh go.
Entry 9376
A black hen chicken aig, well dey take an' load it wit sulphuh an' gunpowdah [punch a hole in the egg and insert sulphur and gunpowder]. An' take it an' pass by yuh house an' throw it ag'inst chure house lak dat, de front do' dat way demonstrates]. Splash it dat way. It usely [usually] makes yo' move.
Entry 9377
Yo' take a aig if yo' wanta run a person away. Yo' take dat aig an' de sharp point of it an' go tuh de rivah, go down tuh de rivah in de mawnin', soon in de mawnin' 'fo' sunrise, an' turn yore back tuh it, tuh de rivah, an' throw it ovah yuh lef' shouldah. An' if anybody anywhere roun' dat chew don' want aroun' yuh, dat aig will float down [the river] an' jes' as long as dat aig goes, dey'll go. (What do you do with that egg? Do you do anything with that egg before you throw it in?) Don't do nuthin tuh it but chew take dat aig an' write dere name on it. Yo' write dere name all roun' on dat aig. Don't write it on de edge [ends] nowhere, write it around dat, all around on dat aig.
(Throw it over what?)
Throw it ovah de lef' shouldah, an' den yo' come [home]. Don't look back at it.
Entry 9379
Ah've hear'd once dat - a woman come an' tole me, ah don't know how true dis is. But a woman come an' tole me once dat she could do anything dat she wanted. Said she could make me do anything dat ah wanted tuh do wit a woman. Said she'd bring me one aig an' ah'm goin' take dat aig, aftah she look at it, an' ah must walk tuh de rivah, an' don' say a word tuh nobody, don' care who meet me, don' say a word tuh nobody, don' care who meet me, don' say a word tuh nobody till ah git tuh de rivah an' throw it in dere an den come back. She say dat aig will make 'em leave town. [Informant's intention of making the person move is the power here.]
Entry 9380
Yo' kin take a black hen's egg, soak it in vinegah 3 days an' go out at midnight at 12 o'clock, de time de clock strike 12 o'clock, an' throw it ovah de house an' dey'll move.
Entry 9381
Yo' kin git dose chicken aigs an' go tuh a individual do'. Take de aig an' throw it on de steps an' crack it. Well, dat's a warnin' tuh yuh dat chew gonna move sometime but yo' don' know when. But whenevah dey take dose aigs an' dey have sompin ag'inst yuh, why dey'll bust three. Well, den when dey bust dose three aigs at yuh do'step, nuthin undah de sun kin keep yuh dere.
(Just any old kind of chicken egg?)
Any kind. It de very same as de chicken egg, de bird egg [ = you can do the same thing with a bird eggl. Regardless tuh whut kinda aig it is, if yo' bust dose three, it's real dat chure leavin'. [The use of bird eggs is rare for this kind of work.]
Entry 9383
If a man had a posi- tion here an' yo' didn't want 'im here, well yo' kin go tuh 'is do' fo' three mawnin's early an' bust a fresh egg at 'is do'. Bust it dere fo' three mawnin's early an' bust a fresh egg at 'is do'. Bust it dere fo' three mawnin's, de fourth mawnin' why he'll leave dat business.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Any kind of a fresh egg, jis' bust one of 'em fo' three mawnin's. (That will make him leave that place of business.)
Entry 9385
An' den ah know anothah way tuh break up two people. Yo' know jis' lak if ah had a wife an' jis' say fo' instance, if mah wife would be goin' tuh some fellah or 'nothah, an' ah wus tuh find out dat she wus goin' wit 'em, an' dey wus layin'up at a certain hour, jis' any house dat dey wus layin' up at. [I do not believe I had heard the expression shack up at this date.] Ah'd walk tuh de front do' - git chew three aigs, three hen aigs. Yo' walk tuh de front do' an' yo' bust one of dem hen aigs tuh de front do'. Go tuh de back do', bust it on de [back] do'. Hit it up 'ginst de [back] do'. Bust it on de front do', den yo' go tuh de back do' an' bust dat othah one on de back do'. An' when yo' walk out de gate, jis' lak yo' walk out de gate dere, git right in front of dis do' an' throw de othah aig down on de ground an' bust it.
(That other egg?)
Yes sir. Dat'll bust dem up. Don't cay [care] how much she in love wit 'im or whut kinda lovin' 'fair [affair] dey have, dat's a guaranteed fact tuh break 'em up.
(Any kind of chicken eggs?)
Yes sir, any kinda chicken eggs. It don't make no diff'rence whut kind.
Entry 9386
Jes' lak if yo' wanted tuh move anybody from heah dataway, or move 'em out of a house or anythin' of de kin', why yo' go tuh work an' yo' take a hen aig an' yo' write three letters of dey name. (Three letters of their name. What three letters do you write?) Well, yo' kin go tuh work an' yo' kin write evah third lettah, jes' evah third lettah. An' yo'll take it an throw it up 'ginst dere do' at night, anywheres 'ginst de wall of dere house, an' let it run down. Bust it. Well, dey can't stay dere, dey'll move.
Entry 9387
Ah've heard dat dey take a black hen, three black hen aigs an' go to, put undah yuh steps, an' yo'll leave - can't stay dere.
Entry 9390
Take a black hen's aig - three hen aigs, black hen aigs. Lak a person bothahin' yo' fo' rent an' tellin' yo' tuh move, yo' kin take three of dose aigs an' throw it ovah yore house, an' dat'll keep 'im away from bothahin' yuh. (Just throw them over your own house?) Yes, sir, jis' chunk 'em cross de house.
Entry 9392
If yo' stayin' at a place an' don't wanta go, git three aigs of a black hen an' throw 'em right ovah de house, across, tuhwards sunset. Throw 'em right ovah yore house an' yo' nevah go till yo' git ready. Dey can't put chew out do's [doors], dey won't bothtah yuh.
Entry 9393
Ah would git a aig an' ah would write chure name on dat aig three times, an' ah would throw dat aig ovah de house an' bust it. An' ah guarantee in three or fo' day's time yo's [you is] gone.
Entry 9395
Take a aig yo' know an' write his name on it, his full name. Write it all de way round about three times, see. An' go tuh 'is house late at night about twelve or one o'clock, an' jis' throw it out an' say, "Go"! Like dat. An' turn aroun' an' don't look back an' go on.
Entry 9397
Dey kin take yuh han'writin' an' draw yuh from home, an' dey kin run yuh from home.
(Well, how do they do that?)
Dat's by - jis' as ah fo'say, ah kin take dat an' calls yuh name. Callin' yuh name ah go tuh de shop an' ah buy me three aigs, but ah gotta guarantee dey gotta be black hen aigs. [How informant knows eggs come from a black hen is not explained.] An' twelve 'clock at night, jes' de direction yo' is, ah throw dat aig an' bust it. An' jis' where she fall, SHE RUN YUH AWAY OR BRING YO' BACK.
(Well, how do you accomplish that?)
Becuz yo' are comin' - write chure [= victim's] name on de aig: "God de Fathah, God de Son an' God de Holy Ghost, Power." Den yore name come aftah it on de aig. De direction yo' are tuhward de street outside, twelve 'clock on de minute.
(You throw the three eggs?)
Throw de three aigs.
(That's to bring you?)
Bring yuh or run yuh, eithah one, whichevah yo' want done. Dat's right. (Well, how do you signify that you Want to run them away or to bring them back. How do you do that?) Tell dem on de egg, yo' write it. If yo' right in town - jis' right heah now yo' wanta run dat feliah dat be nex' do', yo' jis' come right by an' if 'is baid in de middle room, yo' throw dat right dere. Well he gone.
Entry 9398
Ah hear'd dat chew could take a ole black, coal-black hen an' take three of her aigs. Co'se, ah've hear'd it diff'ren' ways, but dis is de way ah hear'd it. An' take [the] three [eggs] an' run through de [your] house an' [reach- ing the outside] chunk de whole three aigs back 'cross de house. An' go back [go to other side of house where eggs fell] an' de one of dose aigs dat doesn't bust, yo' take it. An' take it right [back into the house] in de middle of de house an' drop it, an' let it bust right in de flo' where dat stain will be dere. [Breaking the egg in center of house establishes the fifth point, making this a quincunx rite.] An' if someone Wanted tuh git yuh some way, yore nex'-do' neighbahs [for example] or somepin; Wanted yuh tuh git out or wanted tuh move yuh, couldn't anything harm yo'. (You run through your own house and you throw these eggs. How do you throw. them now?) Yo' jis' run through de house an' when yo' hit de ground [reach outside] yo' throw all three of 'em 'cross de.house. An' dere's one ole lady used tuh...
[I interrupt.]
(Oh, you run through your house and throw those eggs over your house. Then you go to the other side and the egg that doesn't burst...
[Informant interrupts me.]
Dat doesn't bust, why yo' take it in de house an' drop it right in [on] de flo' an' let it bust, where de stain will be in de flo'.
Entry 9403
An' if yo' got any enemy roun' joo anywhere dat chew wanta git rid of 'im, an' fo'evah git rid of 'im, yo' got chure walkway intuh yuh house, goin' in. Git chew three aigs an' bury dose three on dat side an' three on dat side. An' dig a hole in both end of it [egg]. Dig a hole in de ground about dat deep [demonstrates].
(About seven or eight inches deep.)
Yeah, an' stick it down in dere, an' kivah it up, an' when dem aigs drene out from dere, dey'll be away from dere, an' dey won't - dey won't give yuh no more trouble. (You can use six eggs altogether, three on each side of the walk, the walk coming into the house.) Yes sir.
(Do you put those eggs down in the ground in any special way?)
Jis' put 'em down in any way yo' want, jis' since yo' pick a hole in both ends of'em.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Yes.
(Raw egg?)
Yes. An' whenevah dem aigs drene out, why dey'll drene wit 'em. An' dey won't give yo' no mo' trouble, dey won't come back dere no mo'.
Entry 9405
Git three fresh aigs an' bust 'em on de do' face fo' nine mawnin's. Dat'll make 'em move. (How could you bust those on the door-face for nine mornings if you only had three eggs?) Ah could. Evah nine mawnin's bust three fresh aigs on de do' 'fo' day. (For how long do you do that?) Fo' nine mawnin's. (You only use three eggs altogether?) Ah said three aigs evah mawnin' - three aigs, fo' nine mawnin's. An' bust 'em on de face of de do' an' dat'll make 'em move. [This is an excessive number of eggs but anything is possible in hoodoo.]
Entry 9407
AH TAKES A DOZEN AIGS. ALL RIGHT. AN' AH'LL BRING 'EM UP HEAH [I AM INTERVIEWING ON SECOND FLOOR OF DOWNTOWN BLACK HOTEL] AN' AH'LL SET DOWN AN' ASK YO' WHAT'S CHURE NAME. AN' YO' BE SETTIN' DOWN ON ONE SIDE AN' AH BE SETTIN' DOWN ON DE OTHAH JIS' LAK WE BE'S SETTIN' NOW. AN' AH HAVE A DOZEN. AIGS AN' YO' DON'T KNOW NUTHIN ABOUT IT, AH HAVIN' MAH HAT LAYIN' OVAH DEM. AN' EVAH TIME AH ASTS [ASK] YO' WHAT CHURE NAME AN' AH JIS' KEEP A-WRITIN' IT ON DE AIGS AN' TALK- IN' WIT CHEW RIGHT ON. ALL RIGHT. AN' DEN DEY TAKES DEM AIGS AN' PUTS 'EM, AN' PUTS CHURE NAME ON 'EM AN' DYES 'EM JIS' ABOUT DE COLAH OF DAT WALL DERE, DARK BLUE. An' dey take dem aigs, dey takes one tuh de windah, fo' at de steps, an' de rest of 'em at de back do'. All dem is left, chew know, from gwine roun' to de windah an' de front steps. But chew puts even [number of] aigs on de front steps, but chure name is on dem aigs. An' dey'll let 'em stay undah dere so many days [or] so many weeks. An' den dey'll go an' dig dem aigs up. If yo' don' go out dere yuhself, someone goin' tell yuh tuh go an' dig aroun' undah yuh do'step. An' when yo' dig roun' undah yuh do'step, see dem aigs settin' down dere, an' suddenly yo' goin' be hunt [hunting] fer 'em. Yo' jis' a feelin' in yuh mind yo' be hunt [hunting] fer dem. An' when yo' go dere yo' dig down. All right yo'll pick up dem eggs an' dey'll jis' bust away, jis' bust, an' all de stuff git right on yuh an' dat's de end.
(What will that do? Why do they bury those eggs under the doorstep?)
Dat's tuh run yo' crazy. Jis' lak - dere's two things dat dey'll do tuh yuh. Dey kin run yo' crazy wit 'em. An' den if yo' got a wife - jis' [like] ah got a wife heah an' she done quit me. Ef ah go an' take dem eggs an' bury 'em undah 'er do'step an' she don' come back, she'll go crazy. An' when she come back tuh me, she can't leave me no mo'. An' she kin take 'em an' go an' bury 'em undah yuh do'step, an' if yo' don' go back tuh 'er yo'll go crazy or eithah yo' won't live wit nobody else but 'er, until she dig 'em up. (The first you said, it was to set somebody crazy, but they have to find those eggs though. Doesn't somebody break them or they won't work? That right?) Yo' ain't gotta bothah. Yo' jis' goin' tuh feel tuh go out dere an' dig round undah yore do'step, or maybe jis' yo' wanta see sompin an' yo' jis' diggin' undah dere or somepin. (If they bury those eggs under your doorstep and you don't find them, does that have any effect on you?) Yes, if she don't nevah go an' find dem, dey do's jis' as much harm if she don' go an' fine [find] dem as it does tuh fine dem. De name is on dem eggs.
Entry 9410
Ah'd git me two aigs. Ah'd break dem both 'cross mah house - see, 'cross on de top - befo' de sunrise. Break dem both 'cross mah house. Ah says, "Go! Ah nevah be's seein' yuh no mo'." Dat's befo' ah break mah aigs. Ah'm breakin' 'em all de time right 'cross mah house. Dey'll move out an' yo' nevah will see 'em no mo'. (Do you throw that across your own house or across the house of the person that you wanta move?) Throw it 'cross yo' own house an' dey'll move clean out an' yo' nevah will see 'em no mo'. Throw it across yuh own house.
Entry 9411
Take de aigs sometime, don't chew know, an' jes' lak if anybody have a house again, take two aigs, see, an' put undah dat house an' dey'll move.
(Any kind of eggs.)
Any kind of eggs.
Entry 9415
Den yo' kin take two aigs an' write dey name on 'em, jes' lak yo' Wanted a person drove away from heah. If dey cain't do yo' no good, dey won't do nobody else. Yo' kin take two aigs an' write dere name on 'em an' throw 'em in runnin' watah. Go tuh de rivah an' throw 'em in runnin' watah. Dat'll keep 'em goin' all de time, dey min' [mind] goin' all de time. Dat'll fin'ly run 'em crazy.
(Any kind of chicken egg?)
Fresh chicken aigs.
Entry 9416
An' den ah kin [take] a aig ag'in - JIS' LAK YO' WUZ MAH OLE MAN OR SOMEPIN ANOTHAH an' yo' had a woman an' ah knew 'er name. Write both of yo'all [you all] name on each one of dese aigs jis' lak ah wuz showin' yo' [Cylinder changed, also author's sex!] [nO- tice lady not woman]. Ah heard yo' were wit mah hus- ban' an' ah knew yuh name. Well, ah would put yuh name on one egg an' mah husban' on de othah one. Good fresh aigs. An' ah'd [I would] go tuh de rivah an' ah wanted yo'all to scat out an' separated, why ah'd go to de rivah an' jis' In de Name of de Lord, say, well, "Ah bus' [bust] yo'all up In de Name of de Lord." Jis' take dose eggs an' jis' smash 'em tuhgethah. Jis' stan' dere an' hol' dem [hold them over the water] until dey dreens [drain] out [of the shells]. Den yo' takes dese shells an' yo' bring dese shell home. Well, yo' put dis shell on top of yuh stove if yo' kin, or somepin clean glittah [glitter], where dere ain't no grease at, an' parch dat shell good an' brown. An' take dat [powdered or small pieces of shell] an' sprinkle it all ovah yuh house, an' all in yuh baid, an' all aroun' yuh doah jis' as much - lightly, yo' know, take an' sprinkle. He wu'd [would] nevah think of 'er [again]. [Memphis, Tenn., (962), 1553: loa.]
Entry 9417
Now, if yo' constantly come tuh mah house, an' maybe ah'm carryin' on somepin dat ah wouldn't Want chew tuh come in mah house, ah wouldn't wan' tuh be bothahed wit chew. Ah wan' tuh make yo' leave an' don' come back. Ah go an' borrah two eggs from yuh, says, "Ah jes' gotta have some aigs. Will yo' loan me two until ah gits some more? Ah'll give dem back tuh yuh tuh- morrah or such a day." If yo' go past dere house at night, at six or twelve...
[I interrupt.]
(In the morning or night?)
In de morning or night, at six or twelve. Ah dig a hole dere an' ah put de eggs down dere an' ah say, "Now dis is tuh divide yo' an' me." An' ah put an inch space between de aigs. "Ah don' want chew tuh cross ovah heah no mo'." Ah Say dat when ah put 'em down. "Now ah wan' chew tuh stay on dis side an' ah'm gon'a stay ovah here." Don' let yo' cross, yo' see.
Entry 9426
Ah don' know whethah it's so or not, but dey tell me yo' kin take a black hen aig an' yo' kin - if yo' wants a person tuh stay 'way from yuh house- take a black hen aig an' put it up in vinegah till it becomes long, yo' know. Yo' know vinegah will make a aig git small as dis fingah [demonstrates finger], jis' stretch it. An' says, an' aftah dat aig gits where 'bout it stretches, yo'...if yo' put a aig in vinegah - ah don' know whethah yo' have experienced dat or not, but vinegah will make a aig stretch. [If reader does not believe this, an egg and vinegar are an inexpensive experiment.] Jis' put a aig in a bottle. Yo' kin put a aig in one small bottle, ain't no mo' 'en [more than] hole dat big [demonstrates]. Yo' kin put a hen aig in dere by puttin' dat hen aig in vinegah. Yo' see, vinegah will make dat hen aig stretch lak a string. Well, yo' kin put it in vinegah, a black hen aig. Dey tell me dey do dis. An' yo' kin take dat black hen aig an' if ah don' wan' chew tuh mah house, ah kin break dat aig whilst it's got dat vinegah in it, an' ah kin jis' strow [archaic for strew = to scatter] it around mah do'step or eithah way, mah entrance way, an' yo' cānt [can not] come in dere. Anybody kin come dere 'scusin' [excusing = eXCePt] yo'. IF YO' START IN DERE WHY YO'D HAVE SECH PAIN YO'D FALL 'FORE YO' COULD MAKE IT. But whethah dat dere is true, now ah don't say dat is true.
Entry 9427
That's when you want to break up a man an' woman.
(How would they do that?)
Yo' write de names. Yo' write yore name on dat aig an' den yo' - yo' can break it. Yo' break dat egg just wherevah dat man or woman walks - just break it. Dat breaks things. Any little thing she... [I interrupt.] (Whose name do you write on this egg?) De man's, just whoevah yo' want to break 'em up. Just like if yo' want to write - just like if yo' want to break up [a man] an' a woman, well yo' write their name on dat.
(Oh! I see.)
Each name, all de way around dat egg. Den take it some place an' break it, right where dey have to walk on.
(I see.)
Entry 9428
An' den yo' kin take a black hen aig an' yo' kin write - jis' lak yo' Wanta run me off or somepin lak dat. Yo' kin write mah name on dat black hen's aig. Jis' run me off an' mah wife will still be dere. Or eithah yo' kin run mah wife off an' ah stay dere - ah still be dere. Bust it up against dat house where de haid of dat baid turnt [the foot of the bed being in a direction opposite from the operator of the rite facilitates the victim's departure and avoids any possible collision between the two].
Entry 9437
Tuh make 'em stay.away, yo' kin take a black hen's aig an' at night, ovahnight, yo' go dere an' take dat aig an' chunk it ovah on top of dere house, anywhere an' make a wish, say, "Ah wish dey'd stay from mah house. Ah'm tired of dem worryin' me. Ah'm tired of 'em." Jes' chunk dat black hen's aig, yo' know, ovah de - on de house, on de porch, anywhere. An' den de nex' mawnin' dey mo' den apt tuh git up an' move. Dey move out from de house. [I frequently heard preceding word tired as tied, the past tense and past participle of verb to tie.]
Entry 9438
If ah wus wit a man in a lawsuit, an' ah wus afraid he wus goin' tuh win de case, why at night ah would take a black hen aig an' ah write on dat an' he leave heah, "Don't nevah come back no mo'." Well, ah take dat egg at twelve a'clock at night. Ah take mah search- light out dere at twelve a'clock at night, an' ah would go dere quietly. An' at de hour of twelve ah would chunk it ovah his house an' let it fall on 'is house. In seven days he would be gone.
Entry 9439
Dey git a black hen aig. Dey take it an' write some kinda - what dey want done on dere. Dey take it way late [at night] or soon in de mawnin' 'fore de sun rise, dey chuck it on yore po'ch. If dey can't git ontuh yore house, dey put it on yore po'ch, see; an' puts some kinda peppah on topa it an' busts it. Dat make yuh move. (What do you mean by getting on top of your house?) Well, dey can throw it but let it hit de fiahplace [chimney]. Makes yuh git out de house.
Entry 9440
Yo' take a black hen's aig an' break it an' git de yellah an' put it on a rag. Mix it wit some sulphuh an' some salt an' wrap it up in a rag an' tote dat.
[Informant had given rite before recording began.]
(What will that give you? Luck for what?)
Luck fo' anythin' yo' want, gamblin'.
Entry 10235
Yo' kin take a black hen's aig an' take a wet new cloth an' wipe dat aig, an' ball dat cloth up an' sew it in de pillah, an' dey said dat man can't go wit anothah woman to save his life; an' if he do, he can't come to save his life. Ah seen a man fixed fo' dat last week. (You mean sew that up in his pil- low?) In his pillah whut he sleep on evah night.
Entry 10840
Ah hear 'em say dat dey take a buzzard aig. Yo' git hit dey said an' yo' heat it hot.but not cook it, an' yo' could carry it to a certain place around a person's house, de do' where dey visit around. An' yo' put dat - name it, yo' see. Yo' write dere name on it an' it'll either run 'em away from dere or dey nevah would have no success dere. Ah heard dat.
Entry 10858
( Git de hairs from a black cat's neck, right back of de neck an' take a aig. Take a black hen's aig, hairs from a black cat's neck - dat's if yo' wanta draw a person - an' write dat per- son's name on dat aig. An' put dat hair in dere, wrop it up, an' bury it undah yo' do'steps, an' dat'll draw 'em.
(Do you put the hair on the inside of the egg or just on the outside?)
Write de name on dere an' put de hair right on top of where yo' write de name on it, an' jes' put chew a little cloth around it.
Entry 10967
Take the aig and boil it.
(What kind of an egg?)
Hen aig. And take the yellow out of it, de yellow core out of it, and take de white and - take de shell of hit and you wrap it up in somepin. Put it up under his head, under de mattress up where he sleep - under his head. (What will that do?) Make him be honest and loving, leave other women alone. (I see. Well, now do you put this yellow and the white together, or separately or what?) Take de yellow out of it, de yellow ain't no good - jest use de white.
(Oh, I see. And you put this white - what do you put it in?)
Jest wrap it up in somepin like a cloth, and put it under de mattress - up in under his haid. [White of chicken egg - cooked or raw, especially the latter- is a symbol for human semen: see rites under IMPOTENCE.]
Entry 10969
For asthma, take water from horse trough and white part of raw egg, hite of 6 eggs in quart of water, but catch the water while horse is drinking. [Richmond, Va., (404 = "Humpadee," a professional worker, woman of hugh size and frequent laughter, whose material is scattered throughout HOODOO; see Bo.1338, p.453; No.1711, p.521, v.1, etc.), 358:4.]
Entry 10970
Take a aig an' boil it, cut it half in two, an' take de yelloo part out an' fill that up with salt, an' take it an' eat it without drintdn'gyatah at all. An' ask to see de man dat chure goin' tuh marry or the w yo goin' tuh marry, an' yo'll see 'em when yo' drink dat watah. [You vill see the that night in a dream. This is ordinary folklore. I have included it bere becamse divination is part of a hoo- doo or root doctor's work. He or she might offer this advice to a client.] [Fay- etteville, N. Car., 2572:16.]
Entry 10971
(What would you use that egg for?) Yo' fast all day on Thursday to turn [improve] yore mem- ory, dat chew will git de right understanding. You fast de entire day. And den you boil dat aig and remove de shell. After you remove de shell, den you write de 4th and 8th verse, I think it is, [of Psalm lO4] on dis aig. Anyhow you write as much as about ten or twelve verses on dis aig, and put de egg in yo' mouth whole, and dat will turn yore mem- ory, will help you to keep your memory and get some [knowledge] of things which you wanta do. Dat's one thing egg will do. Dat's de only thing I know about de egg, but chew must put de whole egg in de mouth, when you have wrote dis on dis egg: Remove de shell and write dis on dere. De egg must not be broken.
(What do you write that with?)
Ink. Dere's nothing else will write on it but ink, on a boiled egg.
(And what verses of what?)
De 104th Psalm.
Entry 12349
[The first page of this rite has been lost or misplaced. From the rite that follows this one and similar rites elsewhere, the meaning is somewhat clear.] (You mean this silverlode? That's the stuff, the silver you get off of a thermometer. That's that kind of silver?) Not [silver or lodestone] from a factory of some kind. They call it Eagle Lodestone [brand name]. That's what they call it. [It is called Eagle Lodestone because it is found in an eagle's nest! The eagle humnts for and picks up this silverlode or lodestone or whatever it is called in order to test the fertility of eggs slow in hatching! Other birds are said to do the same thing - a number of examples in HOODO0.]
(You take drops of that, you say?)
Yes, sir, I uses drops of it. An' ah have been able to reach all complaints within with it. [An early note in pencil on this page reads: A silver dime or silver load (stone?) take 7 drops, can't "poison" you (no one can "poison" you). The sil- ver dime of course, is worn to prevent hoodoo, the 7 drops I am unable to recall at the moment. But to take or prescribe them internally! Compare this rite with the one now following.1 (You mean this silverlode that's that stuff - the silver you get off a thermometer - that's that kind of silver....) Not from a factory of some kind - they call it eagle lodestone...that's what they call it.
(You take drops of that, you say?)
Yes, sir I uses drops of it - an' ah have been able to reach all complaints within with it.
Entry 12439
If yo' wanted a woman or somepin [someone] tuh tell yo' everythin', anything she knows, ever'thing she do's well. Nowa durin' de spring of de yeah when de bird's startin' tuh layin', yo' go out an' find a mockin'bird's nest an' come back heah an' take de yellah of de aig, an' place it wit de yellah of a hen aig an' cook it. Fix her a sandwich an' she eat it. She'll tell yo' everything be done an' everything she knows.
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12698
Now, if you start off in time, you use fresh aigs and the best of sherry wine. When you are carrying it... [I turn off machine not looking for ordinary folklore at this time].
(How?)
[I am asking informant to repeat what I missed.]
A boy lays to the left side and a girl lays to the right, and in the front where they push out, a boy sticks out sharp and a girl makes you have a round stomach. [Boy to left nearer to mother's heart. Boy sticking out and girl rounded are sexual images.]
Entry 13280
Ah went in de woods in de spring of de year - it been about three years ago now. If yo' know a swallah [swallow] bird - do yo' know a swallah bird? Well, yo' kin take one of de eggs outa dere nest an' bring it home anl boil it. An' den put it back in dat nest. Well, when dat bird come back, she know dat egg ain't jes' lak she left it. Well, she goes somewhere in de woods an' get a root an' bring it dere an' put it in dat nest. Dat suppose to make dat egg right. An' yo' kin git dat an' jes' keep it in yore pocket an' yo' more den apt to keep a dollah all de time, 'long as yo' keep it.
(You'll get the root out of the nest then?)
Yes sir. She puts de root in de nest. (Then you go and take the root out of the nest. Did you try that? Did it work?) Yes sir, it worked. Fact ah kept money, ah reckon it musta been somepin'.
Entry 13281
Ah hear tell if yo' know where de swallow hatching at - de little birds hatchin' - an' yo' kin git his aig while he off his nest, an' bring it in an' boil it, an' carry it back an' put it to de nest, dat yo' kin conquer anything in de world on it. But ah ain't been able tuh find dat swallow. Ah been try- in' tuh find dat nest but ah ain't nevah found it. Dey say it be somewhere by de chimley somewhere - de' claim. [Somewhere in text I have a note about confus- ion between chimney swift and swallow.] Say dat bird is a shore fact. Say if yo' git dat aig from dat bird, dat bird he'll come an' bring yo' three roots in de place of dem aigs, after yo' take dem aigs out an' boil 'em. Yo' take de aigs an' dat bird'll come back an' bring yo' three roots an' say he'll take dem roots an' do as he wants tuh do.
Entry 13282
Well, yo' kin take a swallow's aig. Go to a swallow's nest. Yo' know in dat swallow's nest yo'll find a little stone. They always have a little stone in dere nest. An' yo' kin take dat stone - dere always be a stone in a swallow's nest - an' yo' kin go to a swallow's nest an' take out one dose aigs an' keep it out. Say a day or two days - long as yo' wanta an' return it back there. An' when yo' return it back dere, yo' git dat stone an' yo' tote that stone with yo', an' dat 'cumulate all kinda money. Dat's good fo' money matters.
Entry 13294
Ah hear a lady say she taken a turtle aig an' dry it up an' put it - jes' beat it up, jes' grind it up jes' lak she wus goin' tuh make somepin out of it, a powder of some kind. An' she taken dis turtle aig an' she put it in a turtle. She cooked de turtle fo' a lady - a sick lady - about dis lady's hus- about dis lady's hus- band. She cooked de aig in de turtle an' when de lady eat de turtle she loved de turtle. Whenevah she eat dis turtle - she et it every dat - it wus a certain time on de moon dat de turtle would come in her right breast over her heart. An' ever' time it would come out it would draw her [breast?] right down to her knees. It looked jes' lak rubber - jes' lak she stretch rubber. Dey take it an' stretch it down to her knees!
(What time of the moon?)
On de growin' of de moon.
Entry 13369
Yo' kin take a aig. Yo' kin take one aig an' yo' kin put dat aig intuh chamber lye an' let it lay fo' 9 days, see. Well, den yo' kin take dat aig, jes' lak yo' goin' tuh fix a person. Well, yo' go tuh fix 'em, well yo' kin take dat aig aftah 9 days an' yo' kin take it an' throw it ovahbo'd. See. An' if a person's aftah yo', well yo' could - yo' know - git rid of 'em. (How do you throw that egg overboard?) Yo' throw it overbo'd tuh eithah run de person crazy or make 'em leave town. (Well, how do I know I've got the right person? By just using that egg? What else do I do with that egg?) Whut else? Well, ah don't know nuthin' else except yo' know, yo' go some- wheres an' yo' git information, see.
(The egg is supposed to represent the person you are to send away?)
Shore.
(Well, how do I know it's representing that person?)
Sign dere name on de aig.
(Oh! Did you tell me that before?) [Notice the answer.]
No, ah wasn't in heah befo' tuh yo'.
(I mean, did you tell me that a moment ago?)
No.
(Did you tell me you had signed the egg?)
[Here is a good example of working hard for information informant thinks you know.] See, yo' sign dat person name on dat aig.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Yeah, jes' ole black hen aig.
(You didn't tell me that before, see.)
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 1849
Once a ole man wus goin' wit me, an' ah had a very triflin' husband, an' he [ole man] went away on a Saturday to [Somebody] Mammy [root doctor], an' he come Sunday night an' he come between twelve an' one a'clock, so he said [later], an' put a aig undah de steps. An' when he [husband] got up tuh go to de fiel' Monday mawnin' to de cotton, de aig wus layin' out in de yard. An' mah husban' made known to me, say, "Ah wonder where dat dirty lookin' aig come from?" An' he walked ovah de aig. An' when ah speak about it in de cotton patch 'fore his [ole man] chillern, an' his chillern tell it to his wife, he come back an ast me why did I talk about dat aig - he put it there [because] he hate tuh see a triflin' man destroy a good woman. So dat's whut ah know 'bout dat part. An' fin'llv, aftah all, mah husban' went away an' he's contin'lly goin' till yet. An' ah done heared twice since then.
The informant describes an aig and walking over it. Placement includes reported information; the later departure is not established as its effect.