Subject:Empty
Entries
Entry 3466
Now a man connect wit 'is wife or woman, whatsomevah it is. He git a bran'-new piece of yellah cotton, unbleached dey call dat. Don' chew discharge, yolet im discharge anketch, yo see. An' yo' take hit an' use a cose [coarse] stran' of black thread, an' yo' tie dat. Yo' fol' dat piece an yo' tie it. Yo' tie it, yo' tie it till evah piece is offa dat spool of thread. Now yo' lie dat right on de side dat he sleep on an' dat keep 'im home. An' dat keep 'im dat he don' want nobody but chew.
(How do you wrap that thread? Away from you like that?)
[My preceding words are an attempt to avoid a leading question.]
No, yo' wrap it to yo', an' tight as beeswax, until evah stran' is offa de spool. An' den yo' put it straightways, 'cuz it's gonna be stiff aftah it's wound tight, an' right on de side dat chew sleep on. An' dat man don' ca' [care] fo' nobody but chew.
Entry 4227
If yuh wanta make a person move, now yuh could do dis. Co'se dis is ve'y har' [hard] tuh git tuh do. Now, yuh know, de usual thin' de ladies use chambahs. Now if it's any way yuh kin git tuh dere house an' empty dat chamber lye on dere po'ch, well dat'll make dem move. Dat's kinda har' tuh git tuh do, but dat will make dem move. (If some woman was living here and I would want to make her move, I'd come here and take her chamber and empty it on the porch?) No, yuh wouldn't do dat, yuh wouldn't have tuh do dat. If she wuz livin' heah an' yuh want tuh make her move, yuh wouldn't empty hers; yuh would bring yuh's an' throw it on de po'ch. Yuh bring yores an' throw it on dat po'ch.
Entry 5595
If yo' love a man an' a man don' care very much about chew an' he, yo know, come tuh yore house sometime an' sometime he doesn't. Well, yo' take a snuffbox an' [put] evah othah one of 'is tracks in dis snuffbox. Yo' put a li'le pinch of dirt in dis snuffbox out of evah one of 'is track - evah othah one.
(How many?)
Nine - till yo' git tuh nine. An' when yo' git tuh nine, yo' take dis snuff- box an' shet it up. An' yo' shet it up an' tote it fo' nine days in yore pocket. An' when yo' tote it fo' nine days in yore pocket, yo' come tuh yore step an' po' de dirt out intuh yore step. An' ah'll guarantee dat'll make him love yo'.
(You pour this track dirt of his under your step then?)
Yes.
Entry 8616
If yore landlord comin' as ah tole yo', write his name - write chure name an' write his name first. Write chure name twice on top of his'n an' take yo' a bottle about dat tall [demon- strates] or eithah a Coca-Cola bot- tle. Now, dis is fo' de rent. An' take yo' teaspoonful of dat lead sugah. [For lead sugar, see end of rite.] An' aftah yo' write dat name, yo' fold it dat way [demonstrates] an' den fold it dat way. Den take an' set dat bottle on top of dat name. Yo' put dat sugah [lead sugar] on dere first. Den yo' set dat bottle on top of dat. Den in less - in nine days dat'll take effect. In nine days yore rentman come, yo' kin tell 'im, "Ah ain't got all yore money, today." "Well, all right, dat's all right." Well, de next time he come yo' tell 'im yo' ain't got none. Well, yo see how it works.
(How do you fold that paper, now? Show me again?)
Jes' fold it lak dis [demonstrates].
(You fold it to you once.)
Yes, fold it to yo' dat way an' den yo' turn to de othah side an' den yo' fold it ag'in [demonstrates].
(Fold it to you again.)
Den yo' fold it back dis way [demonstrates] jes' enough fo' de bottle tuh sit on dat. [Here I turn off recording machine but turn it on again pick up the additional information.]
(You put the bottle and everything under the steps?)
Everythin' undah de steps. Yo' gotta put dat undah dere at night or sometime when dere ain't nobody around. [Since I did not ask for the identity of lead sugar, I must have assumed that it was sugar of lead or lead acetate, formerly used in dyeing and calico printing, a poison with a sweet, astringent, and me- tallic taSte. PUTTING A BITTER-SWEET POISON ON THE RENT COLLECTOR'S OR LANDLORD'S NAME I CAN UNDERSTAND, BUT WHY STAND AN EMPTY BOTTLE ON BOTH? COULD THE EMPTY BOTTLE BE A THREAT TO BOTTLE HIM UP NEXT TIME AND KILL HIM?]
Entry 8628
A lemon is a sour thing, 'vided [provided] whut chew wanta do wit it. Yo' take dis lemon an' yo' take all de fillin' out of it, an' yo' fill it up fulla salt, table salt. An' yo' carry it to a crossroad an' den yo' call dis indivi- dual's name. If it's three or fo' [times] it makes no difference how many it is. Yo' call dere name de third time In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. An' den mention whut cheW want tuh be done. An' den turn yore back on it an' GO ON BACK [HOME] AN' TRUST IN DE LORD. It'll be done.
(What do you do with that lemon out there at the crossroad?)
Yo' leave it dere, jes' leave it dere. Don't chew pick it up at all.
Entry 9144
Ah said if yo' wanta throw out a case, why yo' kin git a box of soda [see also No.91491 an' yo' kin put a tablespoonful of salt in dat soda. An' don} let nobody use none out of it. An' take an' carry it in a lavatory an' throw it - yo' know, empty evah bit of it in dere an' throw de box away. An' in nine days yo'll heah nuthin else from it, becuz dey would have tuh throw it [court case] out, cuz ah seen dat done. (Well, when you throw this stuff into the lavatory, is there anything you do or say or anything of that sort?) Don't say anythin'. Jes' don' let nobody see yo' when yo' do it. Yo' do it complete tuh yoreself.
(But you have the case in mind while you are doing it?)
Dat's right. (That is to throw the case out of court. All you use is just ordinary salt with just ordinary soda?) A tablespoonful of cookin' salt inside de box of soda, an' don' let nobody use any out of it. Jes' throw it away. An' throw it, yo' know, make it de sun- rise side [throw to the east].
Entry 9406
Git chew a fresh hen, black hen aig an' yo' put a hole in it, an' aftah dat stuff outa dat aig [come] outa dere, git chew a bottle of turpentine. An' fill dat aig up wit dat turpen- tine an' bury it right where dey have tuh pass ovah it. Sure tuh move.
(That drives them out of the house.)
Entry 10176
A bird's nest - a person can take some of your hair and put it in that bird's nest, you see. And take some of that bird's feathers and put that in there and then take your hair and put it in there. And then every, every morn- ing they take and set a light [candle] right in there [the nest] but not burn the nest. Just take that light and set that light in there [in a drinking glass]. And if they want to do you harm, get you some coarse snuff [often leaf of dried tobacco rubbed in hands] some hot pepper [sauce] and put it in there. And burn a light on it for nine mornings - you see, one hour for [each] nine days.
Entry 11327
(Your mother was sick?)
Uh-huh an' de doctor said dat somebody had put somepin down for 'er. So I kin remembah dat he dug up - you know, dey had dese fireplaces, an' he had taken up threw whole bricks. [I] remembah when he'd taken up dese bricks. Dey had a bot- tle buried an' had a form as a baby wit feathahs. Dat Was sewed up in a piece of yellah cotton [or unbleached homespun] an' in dat - see, he opened it - an' in dat dey had a red piece of flannen an' red cayenne peppah intuh dis bag. An' dis baby had its legs an' feet an' arms made outa feathahs.
Chicken feathahs. An' some of 'er hair was in dis bag. An' so he tole my mothah tuh leave it tuh him, dat he would 'tend tuh dat bag. So, well, I don' think he did anythin' good enough. But still he put somepin else down dere, but my mothah always said dat whoevah put dat stuff down; dat dis man instead of workin' fuh 'er, he was workin' fuh de people what put it down. An' she didn't give him dat. [Patient keeping doll baby is most unusual. Poor doctor!] (Well, how was your mother sick? I mean - how did she happen to call him in? How did it start?) She had, she was kept wit dese wretched headaches, you know, an' she had de [medical] doctor, couldn't do nuthin. She kept sick all de time an' was jes' pinin' away tuh nuthin. An' so somebody told 'er tuh see one of dese root doc- tors. An' so she got one. An' de time he come dere, he says, "Yes, dere's somepin right here." An' she [said], "Dere's somepin dere? Go get it." He went an' got it. Looked like he know right where 'twas.
(Was it inside of the house or outside?)
Inside de house, in dat hearth, 'neath de three bricks, an' dere it was all laid out fer 'er. (Was this thing in a - what did you say the name of the thing, this feather thing was in?) In a, you know, a bag, in a yellah cotton bag. Was made on purpose fer it, so it would be shaped all of de baby.
(The bag was in that shape, too.)
[The bag was a baby doll form stuffed with feathers.]
Uh-huh. Dey done fixed it an' had made it out of feathahs, an' put it down fer 'er. Now, my mother's ['s = was] sick all de time.
Entry 12541
Well, now dey say if yo' take dat red onion wit red pep- pah an' dat salt, everybody go in dere will be dissatisfied. (What will you do with that?) Take it an' mix it together an' put it in dere whilst de house is empty. Take it an' put it in every corner of de house, make no difference how many rooms it is. Yo' put it in dere, an' anybody go dere dey won't be satisfied wit dere house.
(That is crossing up the house?)
Yes.
(Do you put it in the corner in any special way?)
Put it in each corner jes' as close as yo' git it up 'side de corner of de house. Tuh uncross it.
(To uncross this, all right.)
Yo' take garlic an' dis oil of cinnamon an' red peppah an' mop wit it an' dat'll uncross 'em.
(So that you can move into the house if you want to?)
Yes.
Entry 13219
To ketch a spirit - I know a fellow who done it. You take and you gets you books [a writing tablet], gets you a pen and ink. (You get what? Pen and ink?) Yes, sir, pen and ink, writ- ing tablet and get you a bottle. Get you one of these small center tables, get you a chair, and put them in an empty room, but let that room be dark. And put these things in there. Put you a light on the table but don't light the light. Put you a lamp - you know what I mean, put your lamp on the table but don't light it. If it's a good spirit, he'll come in there and he'll write everything that's been done to you. He'll write everything that'll be done to you, he'll write that down in that book [tablet]. Next morn- ing you get up and you'll find that in that book [tablet]. You can read it for yourself. That's what a good spirit will do. But that evil spirit, he'll turn everything over in that room, and liable to come in your room and run you out of there, if there is a evil spirit there. [Rites similar to present one I have collected under DIAGNOSIS, pp.165-217, v.l. Similar ones are scattered through- out HOODOO. In the present rite I do not ask purpose of empty bottle. Could it be a lingering vestige from an earlier day, holder for a candle? I doubt it. That stopperless bottle is to entice my spirit passing by. For catching these spirits with curiosities, see TO CATCH A SPIRIT, Nos.38-47, v.1, and frequently in HOODOO.]
Entry 13236
That is only used in a drink. Now if you know a person is an ex- cessive drunkard, you know that you can always give them in something to drink- mostly using wine, or where eggnogs or cocktails are concerned. You get a little bag, a little new bag - linen or domestic white cloth, cotton. You put three tablespoons of sugar in this little bag and sew it up. You have seen a sachet bag. You make a sachet bag out of that and wear it under the arms, where you know nearly everyone will perspire under de arms. (Which arm do you wear it under?) Under the left. You wear that for nine days and then you take this and add it to the per- son - well, even if they drink coffee, you mix that in the coffee. But be sure that chew don't drink it, you see. [In hoodoo is is always dangerous to sample any of your own work!] But you'll put that in the sugar dish after you wear it, but if not, if they drink, you put it in their drink. That is the way that is done. [Despite this reference this rite continues as follows: Mobile, Ala.,
(650), 866:3.]
[The preceding account comes from a Mrs. Brady, a woman with great experience in the world I wanted to meet, she having sold curios, given advice to women in trouble, told fortunes, made hands, etc. In fact she became one of my helpers. Unfortunately my first day recordings were so bad I had everyone back for another session. Here is what she said the secone time - substantially the same, but of greater interest.] Git chew a piece of new domestic, any kind of new white cloth, and you make these little bags [as I said, she made hands]. You've seen little sachet bags. Put about three tablespoons of sugar in each one and sew it up, and then you pin it under the pits of the arms.
(Both arms?)
Sure.
(One under each arm.)
There are other people wear 'em other places but it's not so nice. They do that. But ah tell you it really does have a strange effect on people. Ah've seen things carried out like that - it really does. And then after they have worn that nine days, then it will absolutely do the work.
(Then what do they do with that?)
You put it in the coffee or in wine, anything that you have to use anything sweet in.
(And what will that do - hold them?)
It will hold them, influence them towards you.
Entry 13442
If yo' got okra dat won' bear, yo' jes' take yo' a switch every mawnin' an' go dere an' whip dat bush lightly an' it start tuh bearin' jes' lak any othah bush. (That okra is the same thing as gumbo, isn't it?) [The two African words refer to the plant, gumbo in the U. S. A. usually means a cooked product.]
(That is to make the thing bear?)
Yes.
[Informant now gives another method for making okra bear.]
Yo' kin take a sifter an' go out dere an' yo' sift it ovah de okra lak dat, an' if it won't bear, it will start bearin'.
(Do you put anything in the sifter or just the empty sifter?)
Jes' de empty sifter.