Subject:Eggshells
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Entry 9179
Ah've hear'd tell of 'em usin' eggshells, ah've hear'd tell dat chew kin take nine eggshells. An' if he drinks coffee, ah've hear'd tell of 'em takin' nine eggshells - yo' take de eggs of a black hen. An' yo' take nine eggshells an' if yo' kin beat those eggshells up, an' use dat intuh his coffee, ah've heard tell of dat stoppin' 'im from drinkin'.
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 2451
What you kin do to keep it there. You kin take a black hen eggshell - black hen, no other hen now, this a black hen. You take the shell, that white shell, and you put it in your oven of de stove and you'll toast it brown, and you put it under your steps. No one knows that but you. They will circle around but it's very seldom they kin come in. See, if they do, they can't find nothing - you'll be lucky. You'll get through it all right just as long as you keep dem eggshells under de front of your steps, or if you have no steps, just put it under dat doorsill. But it have to be a jet black hen with no white feathers at all.
(That's if the officers are trying to get something on you?)
Yes.
(What was that?)
[My question shows I had turned off machine and now want informant to repeat the lost words. This situation will be found many times in the text.] I said, if you was in bad luck and couldn't pay de collectors - you haven't got no money for to pay de collectors, but you say, "Well, I'll pay the Weekly man some way. Wait till I get some money." Well, you put 'em on back, he wasn't worrying you.
(You use these same eggshells for that?)
Yes. And didn't have no front, you keep 'em in your oven.
(Keep them right in the oven?)
Yeah, keep 'em right in your oven.
(If you are living upstairs?)
Yeah - keep 'em right in your oven.
Entry 5399
See, lak yo' walk out dere an' yore foot track, an' someone want chew leave heah - sompin lak dat. Dey jis' take a li'le sand out de hollah of yore foot an' put it in a eggshell, an' put some cayenne peppah in it. An' tie it up in a rag an' go tuh de watah an' do dis way [demonstrates] nine time ovah de lef' shouldah [see Later] an' throw it in de watah an' walk back. Walk on off an' don't look back. In nine days time dey be gone - walkin'. Say dey couldn't go back any mo'.
(What track? Where do they get this dirt?)
Outa one track - don't want it outa but one, de lef' track. (Now, SuPPOSe yOu Want this man to gO, YOU MAKE A MOTION AS IF YOU ARE THROWING IT.) YES, EIGHT TIME AN' DE NINTH TIME THROW IT OVAH.{ {THIS FEINTING 8 TIMES BEFORE THROWING AN OBJECT OVER THE SHOULDER IS A RARE RITE. For another feinting rite over the shoulder, also rare, see fourth margin title on p.2004.]
Entry 7582
Take broom straws an' some dirt on a baby [grave] whut didn't nevah cry, an' some parch eggshell an' put 'em up on a person's do'steps. An' dey say it will make 'em lame in dey laigs. (You take the broomstraw?) Yuh take de broomstraws, nine of 'em from de large part of de broom, an' eggshell, parch 'em, an' take some graveyard dirt, an' dis person in de hollah of dey [foot] track, an' mix it up. An' dey say dat makes 'em lame. Makes yuh laig bothah yo'.
(What about this baby that never cried?)
Yuh git some dirt offa de baby's grave whut nevah cried - yuh know, whut born daid or somepin.
Entry 7861
Take graveyard dirt an' spidahs an' eggshell an' dis stuff yo' call quicksil- vah, an' put it tuhgethah an' put it in person pump where dey pump. An' dey drink dat watah an' it will kill 'em. De ole people [in the country] uses pumps. Yo' put it in dere an' it kill 'em. [Somewhere we have a rite about quicksilver drying up a pond.]
Entry 8512
Take nine needles an' nine nails, an' also nine pins, an' a coconut wit a eggshell.
(An eggshell?)
A eggshell, an' dis quicksilvah papah.
Quicksilvah.
(You mean the paper they put around tobacco?)
[I am referring to tin foil.]
Yes, sir. Yo' take a indelible pencil an' write someone name on it nine times across.
(Over that silver paper?)
Yes. An' yo' write it nine times across dis way [demonstrates].
(You mean cross them like that, like an "x"?)
Yeah, an' den yo' cross dat again. See, jis' keep it all covahed up. Yo' are writing dere name backwards doh [though]. Yo' don't write it, yo' know, lak it should be, but yo' write it backwards. See, lak if yure name is WELLS, well yo' start wit dat SLLEW an' go right on lak dat. Write it fo' nine times, jis' lak dat, each way, backwards an' forwards, same way. Den, yo' take an' jis' put it inside of de coconut - take dis inside of de coconut an' take it tuh a midstream, an' throw it upstream, but it must be flowin' down, lak a drift [cur- rent], see. Yo' take dis coconut an' throw it out [into the stream] an' when dis coconut go down, dis person whatevah yo' wish tuh drift, dey'll come tuh dey can't be satisfied nowhere neah. If dey have no place, dey'll set out. Dey know dat yo' live in dere, an' dey'll come in an' dey won't see no peace at home. Dey are always on de go. Dat's if dey stay dere. Finally, dey'll git so dat dey can't stay in de house. Dey'll pack up whut dey got an' if de things dat dey have is too much trouble fo' 'em, dey'll take an' pro'bly sell it an' jis' go on adriftin'. Yo' pro'bly may nevah see 'em no mo'.
(What do you do with that eggshell and that stuff?)
De eggshell, dat goes intuh de coconut.
(Oh, that goes into the coconut.)
Egg, [coconut] milk, de quicksilvah, evahthing inside of dis coconut. An' yo' put it in dere an' yo' throw it ovahbo'd.
(I see.)
Entry 9195
Ah heard dat yo' take coffee groun's an' egg shells an' yo' beat dat up wit salt, an' yo' put dat undah de step. An' as de persons who live in de house track dat, well dey'll be disagreeable an' dey wouldn't be in dat premises long. Dey'll move out in perhaps a few days.
Entry 9369
Yo' kin take a aigshell an' yo' kin git some of 'is hair or have someone tuh git 'is hair. Have a barbah- shop or anywhere his hair cut at, yo' manage tuh git some of 'is hair. An' yo' bo' a hole in dat aig jis' as though a man gwine suck it an' yo' put some of dat hair in dat hole, an' yo' go tuh some runnin' watah. Now, dat's if yo' wanta git rid of individual. Yo' put dat - yo' go tuh some runnin' watah an' drap dat eggshell in dere. See, all de good [raw egg] is outa de aigshell. Yo' let it run out or suck it out lak some do. Yo' put dat aigshell in some runnin' watah an' 'long as dat aigshell drift, he ain't gwine be contented nowhere. He's travelin'. Dat's gittin' rid of - yo' might say of yore enemies or somepin lak dat.
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 11973
Pick a small hole into a raw chicken egg, remove the raw egg, insert a person's hair, toss the eggshell into running water, the person whose hair it is will go crazy. [Norfolk 492:10.]
Entry 12445
Ah've heard about a mockingbird. Now, yo' take a mockingbird - dey claim dat chew kin rob his nest. Yo' know he have two little aigs. If yo' rob his nest, break up his nest wit de aigs, de spots on dat eggshell, if yo've got time to, count half of 'em. Take dem spots after yo' count 'em, set 'em down on sompin [piece of paper], as many as yo' count. An' yo' take dat an' yo' carry it to run- nin' water. Yo' put it in a runnin' stream. Yo' stand wit chure back an' throw it back behin' yo' an' walk right on off. Well, now, dat's jes' lak if a person is gone off somewhere an' yo' want 'em to come back. Yo' count dem spots an' yo' throw dat piece of paper, whatevah yo' got it [number of spots on]. Throw it in running water behin' yo' an' don't look back at it. In a very short while dat person will come back. It jes' give 'em de mind to come on back to yo'.
Entry 8904
If a person stole a.thing from yo' an' yo' wanta find out if it's dem dat did it, yo' gotta git chew some coffee grinds [grounds] aftah de coffee's [coffee has] been made. Git dose coffee grinds. An' den yo' take some coffee grinds an' let dem set outdo's [outdoors]. Don't leave dem in de house, yo' let 'em set outdo's. An' den yo' will git chew a bottle of turpentine. Now, dey done stole it an' yo' wanta find out de fak' [fact]. An' den, when yo' git some turpentine an' dose coffee grinds - an' den yo' take dat eggshell an' brown hit an' put it in dere. An' den yo' take dat eggshell - aftah yo' take dat egg- shell. An' yo' make yore wish while yo' fixin' it up. Yo' make yore wish while yo' fix it up an' den yo' take dis eggshell. An' den yo' take an' beat up some garlic an' brown dat garlic. Yo' gotta brown evahthin' yo' use. An' den yo' take, if yo' have an idea who got it - if somebody tell yo' dese people got it an' yo' know where dey live at...
(If you have an idea who did, what do you do with it then?)
Take it tuh dere do' an' bury it right up undah de centah of dere do', right up undah de centah of dere house eithah much [if you prefer]. [Center of house makes this a quincunx rite.] An' if dey got it dey'll bring it back. Dey'll bring it back.
Entry 11297
If someone done any harm to yo', yo' ketch yo' a dog - not chure dog, neither yore cat - an' yo' take dis dog an' shave de hair from right underneath his tail, right dead up close to his tail as pos- sible. Shave it off an' take dat an' take an aig, an' break dis aig an' take de yellah out of it an' leave de white, an' den yo' put dis hair in dat shell. Den yo' set it in de stove wit a little sulphur in it an' parch it. Jes' set it in dere lak yo' bake a apple an' set it in dere till it's parched till it crumble down de center. Don't yo' have to mash it - jes' crumble down in de pan. Den yo' take it out an' bury it at de front step. Dis individual who have done somepin to yo' will come back - come back to yo' an' beg yore pardon - either [or] he will go so far away till yo'll nevah have no contact wit him any mo'. Dat's whut dat'111 do. (That is all you have to do - use that dog hair and that eggshell and the sulphur?) An' de sulphur.