Subject:Grass
Entries
Entry 1262
A grass known as five-finger grass, they say, if you git a hold of that grass and take a piece of - a real light piece of papah and write the 23rd Psalms on this piece of papah, tie this piece of papah and this five-finger grass up with some clean piece of cloth and wear it next to your body [skin], no one can't harm you with any tricks and things. [This cloth-paper package is a hand.]
Entry 3549
(Well, how does she tie up a man. She takes a piece of what yo' call a grass rope an' whilst he's asleep, she'll take de measure of 'is body. She'll take de full measure of it.
(Of his body?) Yes, sir. What I mean, I can't explain rlght [I don't want to come right out and name it]. (Oh, I see. Yes.) [Yes = continue.]
Well, she put nine knots in dat an' she takes nine hairs from right close to his body. Yo' undahstan' what I mean?
(Right near it?)
Yes. Well, she takes dis an' she ties it in dere an' she ties it aroun' 'er wais'. An' she puts nine knots in dere an' she wears it aroun' 'er wais', an any woman he go to fool wit, he cannot have her.
(I see. But she must have those nine knots.)
An' evah knot supposed to have dis hair in dere. Yo' undahstan' what I mean?)
(She what?)
Evah knot she made [in the grass rope], she have a stran' of dis hair in dat. (Oh! Each one of these knots she made, she has a hair in that knot - one of these nine hairs in that knot. I see.) Yes, sir.
(And she wears it around her waist like a string, and it must be a grassrope.)
Yeah, grass rope.
(Grass-rope string. I see.)
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 10629
Take Eve-an'-Adam root an' Queen Elizabeth root an' five-finger grass an' bind dem together an' put on [them] whiskey, an' let it soak fo' seven days to abstract dere pow- ers. An' yo' take yore- self: yo' bathe yore body, anoint yore body [with this concotion] an' dey say dat will bring back love an' luck to yore lose ones, put man an' wife back together.
Entry 11144
All yo' gotta do, go to yo' do' and make a cross on it.
(Cross on it like an "x".)
Yeah, an' put some joint grass in both sides.
(What?)
Joint grass.
(Joint grass.)
Yeah. Put one so, and one so. Cover 'em up. Nevah go dere.
(Under your door?)
Yeah.
(Where do you make this crossmark? On the door or doorsill?)
No, on de ground, in de dirt. You put it in de dirt, dat way, den yoa pat one dat way and covah it up like nuth [is there].
(Where do you put this grass?)
Right front of yo' do'. Den throw some night watah [urine] on it and it's okay, or some green moss, and [or] cow manure. (The law won't be able to come in then?) No, they won't find you. You'd walk right by 'em and he wouldn't bothah you. (You don't cover up this grass?) Yeah, cover 'em up. (You bury the grass, I see.) Nobody see you.
Entry 11646
(Five-finger grass.)
Five-finger grass, and I'll put this five-finger grass in under the faucet.
(Near the faucet?)
Yes. And I'll take me a piece of John de Conquer and go out like that and that long a piece too - have it in my mouth, go out like that - I will be chewing as I go on [to see the boss]. And while I'a approaching you, I'll do like that [demonstrates].
(Spit around.)
Yes. Then I go begin ask you my favor and I won't go away unheard.
(I see, I see, but you must have that five-finger grass in your pocket.)
Yes. Yes, sir.
(I see. What do you carry that for? What's the idea of that?)
That five-finger grass, that's attractive; more, that's to make things at- tractive, that's John the Conguer's master. Must break down all the friction in between you [two], you understand. [As I have probably explained else- where, originally five-finger grass was the name five-finger given to 4 plants: the common cinquefoil, oxlip, bird's-foot trefoil, and Virginia creeper. The hoodoo root shop, mail-order firms, and individual root collectors surely extend- ed the list.]
Entry 11647
Dey tell me yo' kin take de grass dey call de five-finger grass in yore pocket, wear it in yore pocket in yore pocketbook, an' de judge, de jury or de magistrate cannot convict yo'.
Entry 11648
Bringing in customers. Well, first start yo' off burnin' some incense. Yo burn yore incense an' den yo' use de five-finger grass. Hang it up anywhere in yore place of business. Den yo' keep a High John de Conkah roots. Dat would increase yore business.
Entry 11732
They kin hant [= hoodoo here] choo to death by throwin' a ole grass around yuh do'; yo' know, dried-up grass. An' you git you some kerosene oil [kerosene] an' some ashes [from fireplace or stove] an' all like that, an' throw it right around your do' an' dat'll make you move out. [Informant here has combined two separate rites: first one, anything dead left or thrown at your door will hant (haunt) or hoodoo you; second one, fireplace ashes (originally) or kerosene (another substance connected with fire) will conquer the dead grass.]
Entry 11733
He'd git dis green grass an' take that grass an' put it in the stove an' let it git real dry. An' after it git real dry, he'll take it an' ball it like that [demonstrated by balling an imaginary handful of grass in his hands]. An' yo' kin take that, an' at twelve o'clock at nighttime, jis' put it in front of your door. An' do that evrey [every] night at twelve o'clock, and the Law [police] won't bother you.
Entry 12721
An' anothah thing, yo' ketch a rabbit an' yo' cut his foot off, his left foot, an' turn him loose an' let him go. An' git chew a piece of devil's- shoestrings an' a piece of five-finger root. An' yo' put them three things tol gethah. An' yo' jes' take it an' wrap dat devil's-shoestrings round dat rabbit foot, an' yo' sew it up in a piece of red cloth, an' yo' make a sack out of it, bag-like, an' yo' feed hit on Hearts Col Ogne. An' dat's anothah thing fo' a job - good luck. Long as yo' tote dat yo'll git a job anywhere.
(You get the left foot. Which one? He had two left feet.)
De left front feet.
Entry 12774
If I wanta harm yuh - if I wants tuh harm yuh, I'm goin' show yuh de way I'd harm yuh. Now, ah've got somepin dat ah wants to git nex' to yo' fo'. Ah'll come to yore house an' sit down an' talk wit chew today. Dat to git de sense to see what chew, yuh notice me about, if yo' don' notice me too much. Den tomorrah when ah come back, ah bring my dose [mix- ture] what I wants to git nex' to yo', an' sprinkle it in yore house. An' de day what chew got - understand, dat what chew got. When ah leave yo' house, [you] will always wanta see me all de time.
(Well, what sort of dose would you fix up?)
Well, ah'll fix up sompin wit lobelia and hippo - lobelia and hippo root. [This may be my only example of Hippo, the name of the blood flower from the Bahamas.] Now ah git blacksnake powder or rattlesnake powder an' tie yo' up.
(Rattlesnake powder?)
Rattlesnake powder an' tie yuh up. Yo' take dis rattlesnake powder - yo' take it an' bring it wit chew out de Woods an' yo' put one knot in it. Git de blacksnake-shoestring [he means] de devil's-shoestring. Tie dat together an' ah've got chew.
(What is this blacksnake root that you tie up?)
Blacksnake root? Blacksnake root supposed to conkah anything yo' start after, an' rattlesnake powder...
(Rattlesnake powder?)
Rattlesnake powder, dat's a big bush grows about dat high an' grows about dat wide [demonstrates]. Yo' kin take it - yo' kin go to de woods an' take it an put it in yore yard or plant it in yore flowers. But it's no good heah to yuh, yo' gotta git it out de woods. Git chew five-fingah grass. It grows about dat high [demonstrates]. Yo've seen snake's tongue, ain't chew? Well it jes' like a snake's tongue. It grows about dat high [demonstrates], from de ground an' it spread out jes' like a snake's tongue.
(Well, what do you do with that five-finger grass?)
Yo' take dat an' bring it to yore house an' conkah anybody dat chew wanta come by. Anything dat come to yo' mind to do, yo' kin do it. Yo' don't miss nuthin.
Entry 12927
(How do they use that?)
Well, they tell me that you have to get it at midnight.
(This shame grass.)
Shame grass.
(What does it look like?)
Well, it's, has thick leaf and if you run your hand over it, the leaf will wither up. If you put your hand over it, you can tell it. (I see.) And you can take the root of that and mens carries it in their pockets or either chew it in their mouths. And every what [whatever] they walks up to a woman and wants her to [do], command her to do, she'll have to do just what he says do. You takes it - you can tell it. It's a herb that grows and runs on the ground like a vine, and the minute you do like that [touch it] the leaves will close together.
(That's all he does, just chew it?)
You chew it or either carry it in your pocket. And any time you rubs it in your hands and lays your hands on her body anywhere, she'll do just what you Want her to do.
Entry 11649
You collect 3 things by moonlight: five-finger grass, wild peppermint leaves, and clear water [pure at a spring or well]. You prepare and drink this concoction [by moonlight?] and you can conquer anything. [Memphis, excellent informant, 965:10.]
Entry 12355
Lodestone, John de Conkah, five-finger grass, Low John de Conkah and White Rose Oil in a bag. [Mobile 967:10.]
Entry 671
Ah have heard that goofer dust is jes' diff'rent roots for whatevah kinda work it is yo' wanted tuh do or anything bad; dat's de kind of roots dat chew would git. Dere's some kinda root - devil grass root.
(It has no other name?)
No othah name. Take devil grass an' snake's head an' grind it up togethah an' make a powder out of it. See, fo' instance, if yo' wanted tuh hurt someone or somepin othah lak dat, an' sprinkle it in dey hat, de bandin' of dey hat. It Would run 'em blind. Do different things with it.
Entry 743
An' den dere's anothah way yo' kin do it. Yo' kin take up a fellah's [foot] track. Yo' kin write his name in his track - if yo' know his name, jes' write his full name in his track.
(With what?)
Yo' know, wit yore finger. Take yore finger, dis finger, an' write his full name in his track. Take up dat track [demonstrates].
(You use that right - index finger of the right hand.)
Yes, sir. Take up that track an' go to de woods. Have yo' seen wire grass up heah in No'th Georgia?
(Wire grass? I know what it is.)
[This means I had seen a wild grass. I did not and do not know its name.]
Yes, sir. Yo' go to a big bunch of wire grass an' dig up dat wire grass by de roots; jes' take yore shovel an' have yo' another shovel - dig up dat wire grass by de root, de whole root of dat wire grass. [Presumably two spades are needed for a clump of wild grass.] Yo' dig up de whole root of dat wire grass an' jes put dat track in dere. When yo' put dat track in dere, hit on top of it three times like this, "God de Father, God de Son, God de Holy Ghost" - jes' like dat.
(What do you hit it with - your hand or the shovel?)
De shovel. An' say, "Whosoevah passes dis track with not good things in his mind" - be sure to put it though along where dis fellah travels at, yo' know he travels long dere where yo' carry dat - "whosomevah passes dis track with not good things on his mind, he shall be buried jes' de same as this dirt." An' walk away after yo' say them three words.
(You do that in case he has any hard feeling against you?)
Yes, sir - in case me an' him would git in some kind of a dispute or somepin an' ah thought he wus tryin' tuh harm me any way or he would harm me some way, an' it would better fo' me tuh do dat den to have to hurt him an' den have to go befo' de law, see.
Entry 797
(How did you happen to learn this work - did you pick it uP yourself or did someone teach you?) Naw sir, ah was gifted to dat. All ah'm talkin' about ah was gifted - took it up mah ownself. When ah was twelve years old ah was showed de spirit - diff'rent herbs jes' fer about twelve-thirteen nights, until ah could go to 'um and tell dem, go to 'em. De five-finger grass dat's one of de luckiest grasses in de world - jes' like yore han'. Juh evah seen dat? (No, I never saw it.) Wall, dat's in dis country - it's hard to find without yo' know dere's some at. An' ah kin go to it right now. (Well, you were shown in this spirit. Did you make any effort to let the spirit teach you these things or what?) It showed me. Den ah went anywhere in de woods to find the same stuff what ah seed in mah sleep and bring it back to de house and showed de people and de older people say, "Well, dat [boy] must goin' be a doctor [or] somepin." Wall, then another night ah lay down and them things arrive befo' me agin and ah see lest little things, but ah go in de woods and ah couldn't find them. Wall, de. same thing arrive befo' me de next night; ah go in de woods an ah keep ahuntin till ah find that thing - dig it up and carry it back to de house. Sell dem jes like he [spirit?] said untul a doctor [which kind?], a white man who Was a doctor, said, "Well," he said, "how old is he?" Said, "He is twelve years old gwine on thirteen." He said, "Well, I would like to have this boy wit me." Wal, ah did not have no mother an' no father. Ah was jest a motherless child, jes' like ah am now - ain't know mah mother and mah father, be's a step-baby. But he's mah step-daddy. So he raised me - ah wasn't no, but get de idea. They knowed mah father and mother when they died and vo' see mah mother and father was under slavery. So dese people have dere freedom dey just taken us and raised us after dey give us freedom. An' so dey didn't have nowhere to go and so fer several nights - ah kin remember as good, we slept in de woods until de lady, name some- thing or other, that they knowed, let 'em have a ole log house to sleep in. Ah remember ah was on de floor. An' so ah kept on selling dem herbs to de white party. So den de doctor tole 'em, said, "Let him stay with me, ah'll give him good wages." And then he'd taken de roots after ah showed him how and tested 'em out and made medicine out of 'em hisself. And yo' see, he wasn't -
(You were born in Como, Georgia?)
Yes. You've heard talk of dat? [I certainly said Como, unless while my machine was turned off he had said something like Comah - in either case, it must have been Comer, a village 75 miles northwest of Augusta. My following yes to his question shows me thinking of two things at once - Lake Como in the summer of 1923, and don't interrupt.] (Yes, but you spent your manhood mostly in Augusta - you went there after you started to grow up.) Mostly in Augusta and here.
Entry 7251
If yuh evah wanta cross [the spell] anybody hurt, where somebody done witchcraft 'em - yo' undahstan', yo' don' do did but three times. [In the cure Something must be done or used 3 times.] Now de spirit brought dat tuh me an' ah see de way it works, see. Yo' do dis before sundown. Yo' go out an' any sort of green grass - yo' know whut moody grass is. Yeah dat's dat flat grass, sompin lak ole flat grass dey call moody grass. Chew know whut dat is. An' yo' whut a dog fennel is. All right. Now yo' do dis befo' sundown. Yo' turn yore face to de east right in dat grass an' yo' pull up one bunch. Pull up dat bunch of moody grass, dat flat grass. Yo' pull up dat an' call anybody, jis' anybody yo think what done it. See. Now, if dey ain't did anything tuh yuh, hit goin' give dem good luck; but if dey did sompin tuh yuh, hit goin' back tuh 'em. Ah know dat by experiment. Yo' pull up a bunch of de grass an' call dere name, yo' pull up anothah bunch an' call dey name, yo' pull it up three times an' call dere name [three times] an' say, "Ah wan' chew tuh take yore trouble offa me, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, Name of de Holy Ghost." An' yo' lay it out, see. Yo' dig a li'le trench, lay dat grass in dere an' yo' call dem people name an' talk tuh 'em lak yo' talkin' tuh 'em. Yo' take some red peppah, some cooking salt, yo' put it on it. Yo' pō' jisa li'le bit of kerosene on it an' yo' take an' stick a match tuh it. Put a piece of papah where it will smoke a li'le. See. An' while dat thing burn, yo' continue callin' dere name. So yo' call it nine times an' tell 'em yo' wan' it so. Say, "Ah wan' chew tuh take yore trouble on back, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, Name of de Holy Ghost." An' yo' kivah [cover] dat up an' step ovah it backwards, an' don't look back. An' it ain't goin' be but nine days befo' - if dey did it - dey goin' go down vury sick, an if dey ain't right sharp dey goin' die. But it goin' be offa yo'. See, it will be gone from yo'.
(I see, throws it back on them.)
But chew do dat wit dem green weeds. See dem weeds goin' die an'...
(You do this with that moody grass.)
All right yo' git dat bunch of moody grass, an' den yo' kin git a dog fennel or: any kinda othah green weed.
(What do you do with that other weed?)
Well, yo' jis' call de name, but yo' gotta have dis dog fennel an' dat moody grass. See, yo' gotta work three. Yo' know anything de spirits do is three of it all de time: Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost.
Entry 9725
Dey use nails fo' sep'ratin' a man an' a woman, or eithah de husban' an' wife, whatevah yo' wan' tuh do. Yo' take de three nails an' cross; 'em dis way. See, cross 'em dat way, yo' see, an' den yo' have anothah one comin' cross dis way. (They are crossed one on top of the other like a rail fence.) Yes. An' den git chew a twine string an' yo' wrap it till - have de twine string about a-like dat [meas- ures].
(Four or five feet long.)
Yes. An' wrap it till dat string is out; all de way in all dose things [dem- onstrates].
(In all those corners?)
[In the V's between the spokes of the wheel.]
Yes. An' den when yo' git it wrapped, den yo' take it an' whosomevah house it is, yo' go tuh dere house. An' yo' go in, yo' know, an' sit down an' talk or sompin lak dat. An' den go tuh de backdo' an' throw it east, jes' as fur as yo' kin in de grass. Den yo' come on back. Dat's de way tuh separate a man an' wife.
(You just throw the whole thing altogether, just throw the whole thing away?)
Yes, de whole thing away. Dat's tuh separate a man an' wife. [There are several of these rimless wheel rites in HOODOO.]