Subject:Eye
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Entry 851
I ast a lady how she knowed anybody ever was hurt. She said she was hurt. I ast her how was she hurt. She said that one day a lady come to her house an' she was angry with her sister. She say she ast fer some snuff. She told her that she didn't use snuff, she said, but her sister used snuff, an' she told her, she said, "But I can't give you any because she's not here." An' she said this woman looked at her an' tole her, she said, "I'll get some snuff an' I'll get choo." An' she said the next day she began to swellin'. An' she said the lady over next doah came an' ast her had she had any words wit anyone, an' she said, "Well, I saw this same woman" - she called her name - "hangin' aroun' the steps." She said, "She must of put somepin under the steps for you." An' she said, "Well, I did cross the step." An' she said that they didn't get it out. They didn't found whut it was, she said, but her mother went to a lady. She [the mother] said this woman had blue eyes an' she was re'l funny lookin'. She must of been a root woman, she said she looked so funny.
(A colored woman?)
A colored woman. An' she said dis woman tole her, she said, "You go back home an' get some low John the Conquer an' high John the Conquer." She said, "It's a root." An' she said, "You boil it," an' said, "after you boil it, choo put spirits of turpentine in there," an' said, "jes' rub her good with it." An' she said, joo could see that snake, she said. It would start in her laig an' it would go clean up here, up her thigh an', she said, you could see the snake. An' she said her mother taken her the next day back to this woman. An' she said this woman set her in the chair an' she said she looked right straight at her an' talked a lot, an' she said after while the snake jumped right out of her leg an' she said this woman took this snake an' put it in a bottle an' stopped it up in there, an' she said she ain't seen the snake any more. An' she said she har'ly has been worried with this leg, but the place was in her feet [through which the snake came out].
Entry 4064
Ah heard dat wit chamber lye, if yuh would lak tuh blind a person, if yo' dash it in dey'r eye while dey sleep, see, er [or] dash it in dey'r eye whn dey not expectin' it, an' it'lll blin' dem. [I always asked in some form or other the important question: Have you ever heard of anything being done With human urine? Or if late during a long interview: What about urine? Never did I ask: What would happen if you [[or I]] threw urine into a person's eyes? The answer many times would have a guess. Consequently, how widespread this belief is, except here and following rite and perhaps one or two more, I do not know.]
Entry 4534
I had a half brothah an' he wuz goin' wit a girl in Washington [D. C.]. Her name wuz Cornelia A. An' so he stopped goin' wit [her] an' went tuh goin' wit anothah girl. Den like a crazy he turned dis othah [second] girl down an' went goin' back wit 'er [first girl] again. So he tells mah mothah. I don't know, but he said he had a straw hat. She takes 'is hat an' she put somepin, I don't know, in dere. But anyhow, his whole eyes became jis' as white as dis papah [probably my open Numbers Book on the table], black an' all. He got so he couldn't see a wink. He died in jis' about three months afterwards.
[Snow Hill, Md., (Informant 93).]
Entry 7004
Yo' git a catfish. An' it's got one drop of blood in it, in fron' of it between 'is eyes. Yo' take yuh ice pick, yo' git dat dropa [drop of] blood outa de catfish while he's alive. An' yo' drop it in dat likkah. Yo' shake it an' give it 'im tuh drink. An' whenevah he drink it, dat'll make him sick.
Entry 7033
Well, yo' git de left of a goose eye [the left eye of a goose], take it outa his haid, strain it intuh a bot- tle [containing whiskey] an' let 'im drink offa dat unbeknownst tuh 'im. Dat'll stop 'im from drinkin'.
Entry 7508
I have often times hear, that if you kill a man and it is not proven that you killed him, and you really did kill him, and you go in his presence, and his eyes being shut and he is dead, you take an eye prop and open this man's eyes with the eye prop. And the last man that was in his presence of the dead man, his picture will be in the eyes of the dead man. [This belief known everywhere, see Fayetteville, N. Car., No.94, p.37.]
Entry 7509
If murdered person's eyes remain open, the eyes will follow 'em [murder- er]; gazing in direction murderer went.
[For the same belief from Wilson, N. Car., see No.95, p.37.]
Entry 8089
If a party writes a party a lettah an' sends 'is pitchure in it, an' he take it an' jab both of de eyes out of de party, an' burn two cornahs, dat's bad business
(What will it do?)
Give yo' hard luck de balance of yore days, an' yo' liable tuh go blind.
(What two corners do you burn?)
Burn de right an' left - burn de bottom one left an' burn de top one right.
Entry 8095
Yo' kin take a man's pichure or a man kin take a woman's pichure. If yo' wan' de person tuh stay aroun', yo' kin turn it up an' dey'll be aroun' if yo' walk on tuh 'em. If yo want 'em tuh come rushin' right tuh yo' at once, turn it down. Dat puts 'em on dere haid, dey can't stay away. Den yo' kin take de pichure ag'in an' punch de eyes out, put a "x" in de mouth, an' bury it on de face of it, but punch de eyes out an' dat'll run 'em blind.
Entry 8097
Yo' take de pichure an' yo' plug both eyes out. Den yo' take an' yo' put two cross mark right across lak dat [demonstrates] an' den yo' carry it tuh de right- han' cornah of de house on de Do'theast side, an' carry it an' put it undahneat' of de house up on top of de sill an' turn de face down. An' dey'll perish [you] away. (Now, after you cut the eyes out of that picture, you just cross it like that [demonstrate] twice. You make diagonals across the picture in the shape of a cross like that twice. Then you bury it under - [demonstrate] here's the house and here's the northwest corner. Now, where would you bury it under the north- east corner?) Yo' jis' put it right along - now heah's [demonstrates] de no'theast cornah. Jis' put it about lak dat, up on top of de sill of de house an' turn it face down.
Entry 8117
Ah have mah pichure made an' den de person who made mah pichure would bring it an' ah refuse tuh take it out [to pay for it?l. Somebody would take dat pichure an' scratch out de eyes an' turn de head-part down, an' dat would run yo' blind.
(How do you mean put the head down? Where do you put it down?)
Ah don't know dat. Dey jis' tell me dat.
(Where do you set it down though?)
Yo' jis' set it down any place, anywhere yo' kin.
(You mean on a table or something of that sort?)
Jis' lak yo' walk tuh de house an' set it down tuh de side of de house lak dat.
Entry 8121
De photograph, turd it down yo' know. Yeah, bury it on its face. See heah, cut de eyes out an' bury it on de face, an' walk on off an' don't look back.
(What will that do?)
He'll die.
(What did you say about the eyes?)
Cut de eyes out de pichure. Yo' kin jis' mark cross dem, cut de eyes out. Carry it wherever yo' Wanta carry, don't let nobody see yo' [dig a hole], covah it up lak yo' bury a grave.
Entry 8458
Yes, ah've heard 'em tell of dat. Lak if yo' got dey pitchure an' yo' wanta git rid of a man, want 'im tuh leave or somepin lak dat, yo' take dis pitchure an' yo' cut it up. Jes' take an' cut it up in fine pieces. Take an' cut it up in a jumple. Well, yo' take an' fix yo' a kinda a li'le sack, kinda lak a woman has fo' change - keeps a li'le money sack about dat long an' it got a zippah on it. Dey take dat pitchure an' dey chip it up fine an' take yo' some salt an' jes' mash it on dere. Sprinkle dat salt intuh dat pitchure. An' den take yo' some sulphuh an' put dat sulphuh intuh it. Den yo' take an' put dis zippah on dere an' tie it up good an' tight. Well, yo' leave home, ah reckin, 'bout twelve aclock, jes' long as it round midnight on a dark, cloudy night. When yo' leave dere, go right straight tuh a stream of strong runnin' watah. An' yo' take dis zippah [sack] whut dis pitchure an' stuff is in, an' yo' take yore pocket han'ke'- chef an' yo' blindfold yo'self. an' den yo' throw it right in dat stream of run- nin' watah. An' dat's de way yo' git rid of 'em.
(That's to get rid of them. That means to run them away, send them away?)
Dat's right, tuh drive 'em outa dere.
Entry 8522
(How do you do that?)
Well, yo' use a coconut to make a person come to yo'. Yo' take an' pluck out de eyes, but yo' don't let that water come out of there. And you take the name and put it upon this Venrick [brand name?] parch- ment [paper imitation] and put it in there, inside, and you seals it up with the wax that drops from the candle. And just roll it. Start from the front door and be rollin' back inside an' speak to it just like yo' speakin' to 'em an' call 'em by their name. That'll draw 'em to you.
(That will make them come back.)
Entry 8910
If yo' had a idea of who it wuz. (That stole this thing.) Dat stole de stuff. Sometime when dey wuzn't thinkin', yo' take an' throw somepin at 'em, an' if dey blink dey eyes, yo' know dat dey stolt it.
Entry 9862
Yo' git chew fo' toadfrogs an' yo' tie dem by a laig - by one laig, not tuhgethah but one laig at de time - an' yo'll hang dat fellah [frog] deah wit 'is haid down. Yo' tie de othah one an' yo' hang 'is haid down. An' yo' tie all fo [frogs]. Hang 'em separates [separately] down. Pluck dere eyes out an' dat'll run somebody crazy in dey house. (Wait a minute! You are not telling the story the way you told it before. How long do you leave them there and all that sort of thing? Tell me the whole story now.) All right. Dey hangs dere fo' day, foah nights. Lak yo' put 'em heah tuh- aight. Starts from tuhnight. Be shuh [sure] yo' got dose foah nights out. Well yo'kow de days is gotta come in. Each day yo' go dere an' pluck out one's eye [the eyes of one frog]. Dat takin' de eyesight from whosomevah in dat house from 'e. [4 frogs and 4 nights here does not mean 4 victims but thoroughness, deriv- ed from the "4 corners of the earth" (in Biblical Apocalypse of John,7:1) or 4 directions everywhere.]
(Wouldn't they see those frogs hanging there on the wall?)
Uell, ah don't think she saw 'em. But she cert'inly went blind.
(When do you pick out the eye, in the daytime or at night?)
[I am afraid my question was a little disconcerting.]
Night. Ah think it's night becuz yo' have dem dere dat foah nights. [In- formant himself has not performed this rite; he merely heard about it, saw the frogs, and knew the woman went blind.]
Entry 9863
Ah'd get me a frog an' ah'd squeeze the left eye, squeeze de milk out of it...ah'd put it in a bottle an' put it right by my steps an' de law can't come in my house. [This blinding of frog blinds the law!]
Entry 9864
[As another protective device by using a frog eye, we have the follow- ing rite:] If someone wants tuh harm you, to keep 'em from harming you, you must get a frog. You gets a frog and you kill de frog. After you kill the frog, you just take the heart and the gizzard out. You take the heart and the gizzard out. [I failed to ask for a description of a frog gizzard, probably assuming stomach was meant. The true gizzard of course, is the second (posterior) stomach of birds.] Then you dry it - you dry it right in the sun-like. Just good sunny days put it out. After you dry the frog eye and it's heart, you take...
(Just a moment, you said the frog's heart and gizzard before?)
Heart and gizzard, yes.
(Yes.)
[Yet, I still think the word is eye rather than gizzard.]
After you dry it thoroughly, then you put it - you could put it in your purse and just tote all the time and no one can harm yuh.
Entry 9934
Ah'd get me a frog an' ah'd squeeze de left eye, squeeze de milk out of it...ah'd put it in a bottle an' put it right by mah steps an' de law can't come in mah house.
Entry 9935
Git de toadfrog. Yo' take him an' kill 'im an' aftah yo' kill 'im, plug 'is eyes out an' leave it dry an' makin' a powdah wit it. Yo' throw dat in de person's stockin's or in dey undahweah or anywheah [in clothing] an' in a length of time it'll go in de po's [pores] dat-a-way, an' it'll create one de baddest so [sores] an' ah don' care whut de phi-si-ci-an will give yo', he ain't goin' tuh stop it. It'll become tuh be kinda lak a cancah.
(Just a bad sore?)
Yes.
Entry 10106
Take de black cat an' git one of 'is eyes, his lef' eye, an' take it an' boil it an' yo' git dat bead. Yo' know it's a li'le white hard bead in it, dat's whut dey sight is. Yo' take dat an' mix it up wit - put some lodestone in it an' put some lucky oil, an' take dat an' weah it. (What do you wear that for?) Dat's fo' tuh keep any luck, a job or anythin' yuh wanta keep. Dat's fo' tuh be successful in mos' anythin' yo' want. [For eye of black cat and its hardness, see No.10046.]
Entry 10942
Cream of sweet milk ovah your eye - will take de cataract eye soeebody put ovah your eye [= cream of sweet milk put in your eye will take off or cure into your eye]. [This is surely my only example of cataract being caused by hoodoo!] ]
Entry 11023
jes' lak yo' have a sweetheart an' yo' want him tuh come tuh love yo' [want him to fall in love with you]. Yo' want him tuh come tuh love yo', yo' take an' draw de feathers out of dat cock's tail, an yo' press 'em three times in his hand. An' den yo' take his [dis?] hand [hand] an put it into yore right hand pocket an' look him dead in his eyes an' den kiss 'im, an' he will take sides with yo'.
(You take the feathers out of any cock's tail?)
Yes sir. [Surely the woman does not put the man's hand into her right pocket! She takes feathers, probably 3, from the rooster's tail and presses them into the man's hand 3 times to absorb his perspiration. The feathers themselves become a hand or jomo. This she puts into her own right pocket.]
Entry 12753
De rattlesnake master [plant not snake] hit got dust in it dat will blind a person. Well, yo' see, keep it till it git dry. When it git dry jes' shake dat dust out of it into sompin an' den when yo' shake it into sompin, yo' gi' where somebody wanta blin' somebody wit it. Throw it at 'em, throw it in his face. [Whether rattlesnake master powder actually blinds, I do not know. Anything into eyes would be dangerous. There are a number of these throwing- into-the eyes rites in HOODOO.]
Entry 12928
Yo' walk down de railroad [track] to a bramble brier an' when dis brier leaves begin tuh [turn up], yo' gits down an' git a piece of de root. Chew jes' a little piece an' keep a little piece in yore hand. Yo' walks up to him an' says, "Boss, ah'm down, ah want a job today." Well, if yo' jes don' let him look around an' yo' keep his eye right into yore eyes [looking boss in the eyes is a common feature of many job rites] an' if anything roun dere he goin' give yo' a job dat day.
Entry 13257
All yo' have tuh do is tuh git chew some sulphur an burn an' all. Yo' ketch his [policeman's] eyes whensomevah he come in an' look after him, an' let him walk across it, see. (This burnt sulpbur?) Yes sir, burnt sulpbur, an' when he come in yo be lookin' after 'in. Try tuh ketch his eyes. An' he nevah come tuh yore house no mo'. Or yo' could jes' take some - if yo' sellin' whiskey, each maslin' befo' yo' open yore do', befo' anyone come in, yo' jes' take jes' a certain aomt of it [whiskey] an' jes' throw it ovah yore do', both doors, as de customers comes in an' out, see. An' then yo' be fixed - de law will nevah bother yo'.
(You mean you throw the salt and sulphur over the door?)
No, yo' kin take some of yore whiskey.
(Oh, the whiskey. That's to keep the law away, too.)
See, when yo' burn dis sulphur, den yo' throw de whiskey ovah de head - yo' know whut ah mean, jes' throw some ovah de head of de do' up there an' dey won't nevah bother yo'.
Entry 13430
If you been tricked and have dese fainting spells - any kind of spells been put on you. See, dere's a way fer you to do - is fer you to go to de person dat you think put 'em on you. Speak to him about it. Well, you see him den and you tell him how you been tricked and all like dat. Say, dey can't look at you straight to save his life because he put it on yo'. Den after yo' git dat, den you go to swift water, ah've been told. And git dat swift water and bring it back and boil it and put cayen- ne pepper in it. See, cayenne pepper and ginger. See, dat's power - dat's strong. See, dat have a great odor to it. Take dat and boil it and salt, an' carry it to his doorsteps an' yo' kin take yore time. Let it be 'way in de night, way about twelve or one clock an' pour it at his doorstep. An' it will turn de trick right back on it. Yo'll git well and it will go right back on him.