Subject:Headache
Entries
Entry 935
Yo' git a thresher bird [a brown thrasher], yo' know. Yo' git to a thresher's nest an' yo' git nine straws out of his nest an' if yo' git to dis man hat, yo' kin put jes' nine straws in his hat, jes if he went to be - yo' understand whut ah mean, Doc - i an' when he put on his hat he'll have a severe headache an' he won't come back to yore house any mo'. An' ev'ry summer dat headache will worry him till it kill him - he die, he die wit de headache.
(Why will the headache worry him in the summer?)
"Cause it in de summer - in de spring of de year when de birds are makin' dere nests, dat's de time his head will ache him.
Entry 2896
If you wanta do some dirty work with a black candle, you do the same as you would the green candle - cut the top of it off. And always turn it bottom up - don't take the little tail [wick] that lights and set it straight, but cut that off and turn it bottom up with that name on it. And they'll always suffer with a pain in the head at certain times - like you light it fer six, that misery'll start at six; if you light it at nine, that misery'll start at nine; if you light it at twelve or three in the evening, [that misery'll start at twelve or three]. That misery will last at least a hour.
Entry 2898
Now, you take that [hat] bow and you puts it in a enve- lope, you see. And after you puts it in an envelope, you takes a black candle and you light that candle and you write your name, you see, and lay your name in there, you see, with that bow, and you burn that candle on it, you see. When you burn the candle on it, well, that'll get you - it don't do you no harm, but it get you the headache. You always suffering with the headache all the time - misery of the head.
(Do you mean if I were burning it to someone I would write my name on it?)
No, nol What the person name.
(Oh, that person you are trying to harm?)
Yeah, the one you going to harm, you see. Not your name, the one you are going to harm, you see.
Entry 4673
(How do you do that?)
About de hatban' dat yuh use. Yuh ast [asked] me 'bout de hatban' a minute ago. Yuh take de person dat yuh have de name out of de hat - dat little bow-like in de hat? An' yuh gO tuh de bird's nes'. LET IT BE DE SPARRAH'S NES', WHICH IF IT'S A SPARRAH'S NES', DE SPARRAHS USE DE SAME NEST ALL DE YEAH ROUN'. BUT A BLUEBIRD CHANGES "IS NES', AN' ALSO A PIGEON. Aftah a pigeon has used 'is nest, de pigeon tears de nes' up an' makes a fresh nest, but a sparrah use de same nes'. As long as de sparrah use de same nest, de person will con- tinue tuh have de headache, if yuh put dis bow of de hat intuh de sparrah's nes'.
(Just go to the sparrow's nest and put the bow into the nest?)
Jis' put de bow intuh de nes'. Dat's all. An' yuh could constantly happen tuh have a headache. But if - YUH KIN TRY IT YUHSELF SOMETIME OR EITHAH HAVE SOMEBODY EXPERIMENT IT FO' YUH. AN' WHENEVAH YUH REMOVE DAT OUT OF DERE, DE HEADACHE WILL BE BROKEN. BUT YUH KINNOT BREAK DAT HEADACHE BY BURNIN' CANDLES OR ANYTHING. DAT NES HAS TUH BE TORN UP, EITHAH DE BOW TAKEN OUTA DE NES'. Eithah one of de two will stop de headache, but nuthin else. An' ah betcha, becuz mah grandmothah tried it on 'er own daughter, mah sistah. [The latter relationship frequently happened, the sister being the mother whose child
(informant's) was brought up as the grandmother's.]
Entry 4709
She likes yuh very much an' she wants tuh keep yuh. Well, she takes dat bow out see, an' she puts dat in a rag. She puts it in 'er mattress an' keeps it. She do dat in ordah tuh keep yuh. An' if yuh go away from 'er, evah time yuh go tuh go across watah, why it will cuz yore head tuh have an ache in yore head all de time. [That hat bow contains a part of the man's spirit and therefore his whole spirit (see HooDOO p.21). A spirit cannot cross water (see FACI, 2nd ed., p.754, and several places in HOODOO).l (If you go across water, you will get a headache; then, while she has this bow tied up in the mattress, you will come back to her.)
Entry 5824
[Fortunately the headache said to be caused by human hair in a bird nest does not last indefinitely.] You kin take your hair in the spring of the year and ball it up and put it in a tree, in a bird's nest, or any place obere a bird kin git it, and they claim you'll continue to have a headache until the season is over.
Entry 6000
The following expression was surely devised by someone tired of hearing the well-known expression: You give me a headache! Yo' wuz speakin' of hair. A person kin do yo' a great deal of trouble wit yore hair. Prob'ly git yuh 'sleep or git some of yore hair unbeknown to yo' - git dis hair unbeknown to yo'. Yo' take dis hair an' git yo' a little Hearts Cologne an' put it into a bottle an' yo' git choo a small piece of flannen an' cross yore needles between dat flannen an' put it in dere.
(What do you mean cross your needles?)
Make a kind of a X [a cross] out of it [the 2 needles].
(Two needles?)
Two needles, an' make yo' kind of a X out of it. An' twist dis hair aroun' dese needles an' place it in dat cologne, but don't stop yore bottle stoppah tight - prob'ly fo' nine mawnin's. Yo'll leave dat stoppah in dere fo' nine mawn- in's, if yo' should git a chance to git co mah bed or to mah do'step, an' let dat bottle [stand] straight up so I got to valk ovah it, it will keep me suffahin' wid a headache. I'll lingah aftah yo'. I still suffah wid dat headache, but when I gits where yo' is, look lak it kinda Vanishes away-lak. I'll jis' lust aftah yo'. A man do a woman dat way or awoman dat way or a woman kin do a man dat way.
(You only have the headache when you are away from them?)
When yo' are away from 'em yo' have a dull headache an' yore mind, look lak yo' is worried. An' yo' arn't [are not] - it jes' stays on dem.
(You never put that cork in tight. You never put that in tight?)
Don't put it in tight, jes' leave it so yo' kin go dere an' touch it fo' nine Mvnin's, becuz de ninth mawnin' yo'll push it in tight.
Entry 6720
If yo're hurt from sompin somebody have did yo' lak cunjurin' yo' lak dat, yo' take de dirt from undahneat' of yore toenails. An' take it an' wet it wit dis oil of cedah an' weah it in a piece of cotton in each one of yore ears. Yo' stop yore headache, if yo're hurt in sompin.
(That is if you have a headache from being hurt?)
Dat's whut ah said. Lak if somebody, yo' know, do sompin tuh yo' lak dat cunjure. Not if yo' jis' git hit about de haid [and get a headache]. [Even being hit on the head and getting a headache could be caused by conjuration, evil wishing, etc.]
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 10179
Yo' couldn't zakly [exactly] make de candle go out, but chew could fix it so it wouldn't do yo' no harm. (How would you do that?) Git chew some red peppah, saltpeter, tie it up in a rag an' a li'l piece of root dey call John de Conkah root, an' yo' weah dat in yuh pocket. An' dey couldn't hurt yo' no way.
Entry 10726
Boil blacksnake root and lizard [a trouble combination], put under enemry's doorstep; if he walks over them, he'll have a headache and then loose teeth.
Entry 11857
I could take just about three strands of hair of your head and go to a tree. And I would put it on the sunset side of that tree, where the sun goes down on that hair. And just take a long spike nail and bore a hole in that tree. And ball all that hair up on the sunset side of the tree, but it has got to be when the sap is up in the tree. By what I mean by the sap is when the leaves is on the tree. And bore a hole in that tree and stick that hair up in there, and drive that nail in there behind it. And when the sun commence to go down, that cause you to have headache, don't you see. And this headache will get worse every day, and from that it will drive you crazy, and from crazy it will kill you. [you do this] when the sap is up, because when the sap begins to go down you won't live very long.
Entry 1021
Well, ah got tuh feelin' yo' know - jis' funny in de haid, yo' know - started wit a kinda runnin' spells like - jis' took me all at once yo' see - jis' got to runnin' an' screamin' an' hollerin' an' goin' on. Mah head got to hurtin' an' dey didn't know hardly whut ailed me - ah didn't know mahself. Jis' took, yo' know, lak at once. Had done swole - mah stomach had done swole up so. Well, mah brother-in-law knowed a fellah ovah in Augusta, Georgia, yo' know. Well, he'd taken me ovah dere. Well, dis fellah had put dem nine notches [knots] around mah laig - a cord, an' he say, "In de ninth mornin', '' say, "yo' take it off an' throw it in de fire." An' dat's whut ah done. An' ah got rid of it.
(Did you throw it into the fire in any particular Way?)
Yes suh.
(How did he tell you to throw it?)
Ah throwed backwards.
Entry 1136
Dey take two broomstraws an' wear it right in de mole [mold] of dey haid. Well, dat's jes' only a little simple remedy fo' headaches - lak if some people got a headache, well dat broomstraw is fo' dat purpose. It's no evil purpose in that.
Entry 1372
If yo' have de headache, ah've heard dat one. Jes' lak yo' have de headache an' can't git rid of de headache - headache's worryin' yo' all de time. Every time yo' turn roun' de headache worryin' yo', yo' go ahead an' take yo' a thread string an' tie nine knots in it - take it to de back of yore haid an' tie nine in de back. Jes' take it aftah yo' tie nine heah - tie nine heah at de back of it but tie nine heah, too. Nine on de fo'head an' nine on dat rope [string] behin', see. Jes' tie nine back dere an' dat'll stop de headache.
Entry 1699
They take and cross three matches in the haid - that's if you got a headache.
Entry 1700
Ah heard of 'em takin' nine matches, if yo' have a severe headache. Yo' take nine matches an' yo' cross them nine matches an' yo' put 'em diff'rent places - jes' diff'rent places in yore home, an' if it's anyone causin' yo' tuh have that headache or that pain, or anything yo' might have, in nine hours or nine days dey'll appeah dere.
Entry 1701
Say, if you got headache and you done taken things to cure it and it don't cure it - so, you see, they got two color matches in a box. You see, you take a red match - you know them red p'ints, and you take a blue one. Well, you put one in your hair like this, and you put the other one like that - see, you cross 'em in your hair.
(Like an "x" - like a cross?)
Just like "x" - and you wear it in your hair for nine days and then your head- ache begin to pass off.
Entry 1871
They say that if you walk in the same track a person do, you'll give him a headache. Only children do that [now]. [Originally, adults did this, walking in someone's barefoot tracks.]
Entry 3037
There's St. Peter. St. Peter is a saint they use with a black candle.
(A black candle? What dc they do with St. Peter?)
You see, you set that candle to St. Peter and you light this candle to St. Peter and you say to St. Peter - and you make a prayer - make a prayer, but have these people - their name. When you are prayin', you call these people name, and you set this black candle there, and this black candle has got so many days to burn. And you begin to suffer with a headache or dizziness in the head - well, this black candle then is burnin' on you. After this candle is burned out, then you begin to feel droopy - feel like you don't care about gettin' up in the mornin'. Then, fin'lly, in the longer run you begin to get weak. The first thing, you'll take to your bed; but that can be stopped, if a person know how to stop it.
Entry 996
[Everything in witchcraft and hoodoo is spirit - even bad luck (see Hard-luck Spirits, No. 895, p.328; also Spirits in Index). Since you cannot kill spirit, you are unable to cure or to destroy disease, sickness, body disability, or symptom like headache - you get rid of it normally by transfer- ring it to something else. This is very dangerous work for the doctor-yourself addict; it is quite hazardous for the doctor him- self. Heed the words of a Master of Spirits:] ["If de evil spirit (here, your control, the spirit working for you) take yo' misery an' yo' troubles away, well, he goin' want somebody else to put it on (transference) - he turn right round (unless you are careful) an' put it on you (the doctor). Well, if you ain't got sense 'nuff to protect yoreself, why he'll take de misery offa de person yo' (the doctor) cure an' bring it right back to you" (Doctor Yousee speaks on p.ll81, line 43f., parentheses author's).] [There are many kinds of transference; the most usual probably being turning back (reversing) the spell onto the person casting it. Equally common is any type of trouble transferred to a stranger.]
Entry 871
I was hurt myself - I was hurt in whiskey and I started with a little pain back of my head. And it keep hurtin' and hurtin' and I thought it was from a - I caught cold. And so I went to the doctor and I got some medicine but that made me still worse and so I got down in the bed. And so they keep gavin' me medicine and that wouldn't do no good, and so my aunt went and seen a root doctor. I was so sick I couldn't go myself. Well, she got him and bring him up to the house and he look after me. And he went and got some mustard and got some salt from the drug store, and some black pepper, and take a little bit of dat salt and black pepper and put it in the mole [mold] of my head, and when he put it in there he said, "In the Father and in the Son and Three in One." And when he did that he took that mustard and some black pepper and salt and a little flour and mixed it together, and he take it and made a plaster and he put it under the bottom of my feet. And I was so I couldn't sleep that night. And after he did that and I got relief in less than thirty minutes. If he hadn't of done somepin to me under twenty-four hours, you see, I would of been dead [thig is what the doctor told her]. He said I get it in this whiskey give me by my friend.
Entry 4544
Dey take dat [sweatband] bow an' dey preserve it in alcohol in a bottle, stop it up tight, an' yuh won't only have de headache, sick tuh de stomick, it'll continue on yuh from one thing tuh anothah until finely [finally] yuh'll jis' git down like a man wit T. B. [tuberculosis], an' yuh'll jis' drift away tuh nuthin. [Informant may be mistaken about the alcohol preserving the bottled bow, or is this his way for saying that alcohol feeds the bow? See p.578, also margin title WHISKEY later on among these bow rites.]
Entry 6683
[This fortuneteller woman or healer] tole me dat somebody, a woman had taken mah sistah's hat an' dressed it, dressed it up fo' her, an' she suffabed Wit headaches. She tole us whut she done wit dese earthworms - yo' know, dese fishing worns about dis big [demonstrates]. Take dem fishin' worms an' parch 'em up. An' so dat dust wus sprinkled aroun' in mah sistah's hat, an' as she wore it, well, de perspiration got tuh it an' drive it on tuh 'er brain. An' SHE WENT JIS' AS CRAZY AS ANY FOOL IN DE WORLD. But aftah while We got 'er back again.
Entry 13090
Well, now this was mah experience, ah'm telling yo' experiments from mahself. Once ah had a hat ah give $7 for it. It was blue an' lavendah an' it was awful beautiful. An' ah didn't know anybody [would do suh a thing]. Ah nevah did believe in such as dis. Well, we wus goin' tuh a circles [circus] an' ah nevah wore dat hat only when ah wus goin' out to a dance or some kind of date or social like dat or party. Well, yo' kin [take] dat hat, yo' see, an' yo' hin dress it. But yo' didn't axe me about de hat. Yo' axed me 'bout de hair. An' dat hat was even dressed from de binding of it up heah. When ah placed dat hat on mah head, oh mah God, looked like mah head would bust open. Ah ddn't know nuthin but ah jes' thought ah had jes' a normal headache but, oh, it seemed dat pins was in it. Hah sistah-in-law, she had taken me about fifteen miles in de country tuh a hite man [root doctor] an' ah didn't axe him nuthin because really ah didn't know nuthin tuh axe 'im. He says tuh me, "Oh gully [girly], yore hat is dressed." Says, "Wouldn't chew go home an' burn dat hat up?" An' ah said, "Whut would yo' call dressed?" He said, "De idea is it's dressed around dat band," said, "it's got 'er..." It was rattlesnake.... It was a rattlesnake had shed it [it's hide] yo' see. Dey got de shed of dat rattlesnake an' dey parched it up yo' know. Dey jes' beat it up an' dey sprinkled dat.rattlesnake shed all 'round. An' den dey put somepin else in dere, an' dat took effects on mah eyes, an' dat give me a real headache.
(Do you know what else they put in there with that rattlesnake dust?)
Well, dey tell me dey put rattlesnake dust an' dry saltpetah, somepin like dat. An' dey said why dat it didn't make me go blind, yo' know, because dey put too much saltpetah in it chew see. Yo' know, saltpetah supposed tuh kill off any kind of germs like dat, yo' see.
(What did this man do to cure that?)
Well, ah tell yo' whut he did. Ah don't know whut it was, but he give me a little small bottle of medicine tuh rub mah head with. Seemed like it had sompin like sasparilla oil in it, chew know, an' he had me tuh take mah urinate an' fo' nine mawnin's. Ah take dat urinate every night an' ah put it in a pan, a bakin' pan by it- self yo' know, an' fo' 9 mawnin's befo' de sun rise ah bathes mah face with dat an' throw it out towards de sunrise, an' fo' 9 nights ah bathes mah feets in real hot watah an' saltpetah, an' den he gives me a medicine...ah couldn't tell yo' tuhday what it was, but in de 9 mornings, why, ah didn't have dose ole bad feel- in' - dose blind spells an' headaches. All of it was gone away.
(What did you do with this medicine he gave you?)
Ah 'nointed mah head with it.
(And did you burn the hat too?)
Ah burned mah hat away.
Entry 2816
(What other illustration could you give me now, if they were burning a black candle on you?) If they burning a black candle on you? Well, you take - go and get you. (What do they do now?) Take a black candle and a piece of yellow paper, wrapping paper, and they writes the name down on it nine times, and then they writes the name of you on that candle, around that candle, and they wraps that paper around that candle and light it. And as this candle burns down, well, it's burning your name. They calls it to drag you - you'll suffer with headaches and all that stuff.
Entry 2984
You could make the candle go out easy. It's a simple thing. Get to running water. Go there three times a day - any running water you go to, if you can get to the river. You can tell w'ah [whether] ah got a candle burning or not on you, because your head's done always feel hurted. Regardless of what you use, it's not going to stop your head from hurting. But if you think of it, go to the river - that's running water. Bathe your head three times. I mean - you see, just put your head - take your hand and throw water and let it run back to your neck and run on down there. It's nothing if you wet your clothes. Just let it run on down, see. Three times. You just duck your head three times and let that water run back on you like that. You do that three times a day and that will put the candles out.
Entry 6205
A person kin git holt of some of yore hair an' quite natchul [natural] yo' take dat hair, yo' see, to a hollah tree, a tree's got a hollah in it, an dey buries dat hair in dat tree. Co'se quite natchully [naturally], dey puts some more devilment wit it an' dat'll git chew tuh goin' - it jis' git chure head tuh hurtin'. Prob'ly it will git chew tuh de place where yo' can't stay no place long at de time.
Entry 6216
Dey say dat chew take de hair outa person's het [head] an' take it to a tree an' a eight-penny nail, an' reach jes' as high up dat tree as yo' kin reach, an' nail dat hair up in dat tree jes' as high as yo' kin, an' den nail dat nail down an' dat hair in dere. An' says dt vill give yo' de headache an' yo' would die.
Entry 6244
They take your hair an' pluggin' it up in de sunny side of a tree an then your haid begin tuh ache. When de sun rises, your haid begin tuh ache an' ache till de sun go down.
Entry 6279
Dey kin take yore hair an' run yo' crazy. Dey cut chure hair right out de top of yore haid an' take it an' put nine grains of red peppah an' nine grains of black pepper, an' git a cup of yore watah [and soil] where yo' wet [urinated] an' put it togethah an' bury it. (Get some of your urine.) An' bury it. or eithah put it in runnin' watah, or eithab stop it up in a tree. Dat will cause yo' - commence de haid tuh ache an' have misery in yo' haid till yo' go crazy.
Entry 8055
Well, de pichure - see, lak mah pichure an' yuh pichure, it's in a frame, in a big frame.... Take dat pichure an' put it intuh a basket upside down, an' aftah dat, about three or fo' days, yo' begin tuh have a misery in yuh haid an' yo' don' even know whut it is all about. Come tuh find out, de pichure lak dis will run yo' stone crazy, if yo' don' go see [a doctor] about it right away... [I turn off machine too soon].
(You put this picture into what?)
Intuh a basket. Put chure face upside down, any kinda basket, turn yo' upside down.
Entry 8081
Ah've heard dat if it's on tin an' yo' bury it, dat gives yo' de head- ache.
(The photograph.)
Entry 1024
People tie - hear of 'em take thread-string an' tie nine knots in it an' tie it roun' dey haid.
(What will that do?)
Well, dey claim dat stop de headache.
Entry 1371
Git chew a string an' tie nine knots into that string an' dip it in de turpentine an' tie it roun' dey haid an' dat a good cure fo' headache. Ah've tried that, yes. [Cf. No.1024, p.391.]
Entry 1599
Well they claim, if you near-sighted or somepin like that in your eyes an' mis'ry in yore haid all the while, they say you take chamber lye an' heat wit salt you know for pains. You bathe the haid an' the steam that choo - hol' [hold your head] you know over the bucket like that. You put salt in it. Sometime it git ole. They say the older it gits you know an' smell [the better]. A man, his daughter use it one day. She was near-sighted. She couldn't see atall. An' she bathe in that for a week [7 days] an' when de week out after she'd used it, then she could see.
Entry 2821
Yes, it make fuss and trouble. Well, they'd write your name on that candle. Take a black candle and write your name on it - into that candle ~ three times around each side of it. And they'd light that candle, and when that candle is lit - when that candle burn down, you suffer with a miserable headache, and it goes down with the candle.
Entry 2943
If I was burning a candle on you here and you'd be in Chicago, the way to make that candle go out, if it was an evil [candle] - if it would be working - if it was a black candle and [or] it would be a red candle - [I] would be burning that candle on you. And the moment you burn an evil candle on you, why it starts with a head - you have a ten- dency to have a headache. That's first starting off you have headaches. Well you light that black candle. I turns around - the moment I find out I may go to some hoodoo or go to a fortune- teller, and she might ketch the vibration right away, if she's pretty well up on clairvoyance work, the first thing she would offer up, that is, to set a pure white light. Then sends her thought direct with concentrating and with will power, and demand- ing whatsomever she desire with controlling power, and that light immediately over there - after she would burn her light one inch - it would say - Pop! - pop! - pop! Burn down at once. It won't go out, though - it just burn clean down. Now, I've seen that over there at de house,1917, right here in Lafayette Street.
(That candle that's burning against you would melt right away?)
Melt jist like - right down like that, just push down.
(It would give her controlling power?)
Yeah, controlling power - using controlling in dealing direct with the astral plane.
Entry 2945
Use de straw jis' fo' de haid business. Jis' lak ah wus tellin' yo' when a person's haid is all upsetted, dey jis' didn't know whut tuh do. Ah've heard dey'll go tuh work an' dey'll go to a store or to yore place an' if dey see a new broom, dey'll take a straw outa dat new broom an' dey'll put it in dey haid an' dey'll use three words, "In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost." Dey'll put dat - dat's tuh ease dey haid. Some of 'em will ease dey haid wit dat straw.
(Just one straw?)
One straw, and dey'll stick it up in de top of dey haid. Yo'll say three saints' words, see. Dat'll give it easement but it'll nevah stop. [This informant's belief is more hopeless than the preceding rite. There the candle would go out if you did not deserve it, here your headache (caused by a candle burning or burnt against you) can never be cured.]
Entry 2980
I know once someone was burnin' a candle on mah brother. A two-headed person told him. So he told us what to do to put de candle out. You git chew a quart bottle. Yo' fill dat bottle with water and put dat stopper in dere jes' as tight as yo' kin git it. Yo' turn dat bottle up on de neck and leave dat way, and de candle can't burn.
(Where do you put that bottle?)
At de head of de bed.
(You turn it upside down.)
On de neck and stop it so dere won't none of de water git out [demonstrates].
(Turn it just like that [upside down].)
An' de candle cannot burn. Ah believe dat. Dat's one thing ah believe because he was sufferin' wit de headache an' 'bout to go crazy and ah declare de minute dey did dat, it stopped. Ah believe dat. Now dat's one thing ah re'lly believe.
Entry 2982
Take yore pitchure an' burn candles on yore pitchure. Well, if dey Want it fo' good, dey use it wit sugah or honey. If not, if dey want it fo' bad, dey take dat candle - dey take de bottom part of dat candle an' cut it an' dat's de part dey light, light it bottom upwards. Dey put dat candle in a lemon an' set dat lemon on yore pitchure. Dat's whut dey do when dey wanta burn it tuh give yo' a headache or any kinda misery or anything lak dat - burns de candle bottoms upwards on top of dat pitchure.
(Do they use any particular color or does it make any difference?)
Well, dey - yo' kin use white. It's jes' as good as any othah color. Yo' use black if yo' wants tuh run 'em away.
(Do you light that candle at any particular time?)
Six in de mawnin', twelve at noon an' six at night. Ketch watah. Take an' leave yore haid - hol' yore haid down anywhere where yo' kin have some watah run on it. Ketch it in a pan an' take dat watah an' put it in a bottle. An' git chew nine needles an' nine tacks an' nine pins dat's nevah been used. Write dere name down nine time an' take dat bottle an' put some cayenne peppah an' table salt in it an' turn dat bottle - stop it up an' turn dat bottom upwards an' dat will put any candle out. An' yo' take yore left-foot shoe an' turn it bottom upwards under de side of de bed where yo' sleep at night. An' draw a glass of watah befo' de sunrise, an' put dat glass of watah undah yore bed an' when de sun goin' down, yo' throws it ovah yore left shoulder.
(What will that do?)
Dat puts de candles out. (That's another way of putting it out. Those are two different Ways of putting the candle out?) Both. All those ingredients goes tugethah. Yes, yo' see, when yo' usin' de watah, when yo' got de name in de watah, yo' gotta have dat shoe. Yo' take dat shoe an' turn dat shoe bottom upwards undah yore bed on de side where yo' sleep. Yo' draw a glass of watah befo' sunrise an' yo' leave it stay undah de side of de bed where yo' sleep till aftah de sun goes down. When de sun goin' down, yo' stan's an' yo' throws dat watah ovah yore left shoulder an' don't cross it [walk over it] - no suh, yo' don't look back at it.
(All that will put the candle out.)
Entry 3870
Ah know it tuh be a fac', if a girl break up - lak if yo' didn't love 'er so good, yo' know, an' if she be sick or sompin othah lak dat. Well, dere's one thin' dat she kin [do], if she's sick, to he'p'er- self. If she kin git yo' tuh eat anythin', or drink watah, den she take a little of 'er sickness, in 'bout a teaspoonfulla watah, an' a li'le bit of red shank, an' boil it intuh de watah. She kin po' dis stuff, jes' 'bout a halfa teaspoonfulla in some watah an' gi' yo' [give you]. Why yo's a fool about 'er, see.
(You put a piece of red shank root into that water?)
Dat right. An' if yo' wanta, dere's a way dat yo' find out dat she did do yo' dat way. Yo' goes in de woods an' gits yo' de devil's shoestring. Den yo' comes back wit dat an' yo' boil it an' take yo' a piece of mullein. Dem [mullein plant] a flat weed sompin lak 'bacca [tobacco], lak a head of 'bacca, yo' know, but it be's somewhut flattah yo' know - it don't be high, yo' know. An' yo' take dat an' yo' take nine strands of dat mullein root an' ball [boil] it, an' two leaves. De way yo' gotta do, yo' git some whiskey an' put on it, on dat, an' git chew a piece of camphor an' put it on it. Well, yo' tote dat in yore pocket fo' 'bout two or three days an' pass 'er do', an' she'll tell yo' she got de headache one day when yo' pass dere. Inside of eight days she'll tell yo' she got de head- ache. Well, yo' jes' say to her, says, "Well, dat's mighty bad but ah got some camphor heah." Well, yo' go ahead by dere an' let 'er rub 'er haid wit it. Yo got 'er an' it's offa yo' den. Well, she git tuh lovin' yo' den. Maybe, if yo' wanta love 'er an' want 'er tuh love yo' - well, it jes' quite natural if a man love a woman, he want 'er tuh love him yo' know.
Entry 4561
Out chure hat. It's a certain thing about a woman, she kin take dat bow an' take it home an' run yuh stone crazy wit headache.
(What would she do with that bow?)
She would take it out an' sew in 'er undahskirt an' she tote dat bow. An when she tote dat bow yuh always have de headache, furious headache. Yuh don't know whut de mattah an' yuh look in yore hat, de bow's gone.
(What would she do that for?)
Dat's tuh keep 'im down.
Entry 4913
De woman's stockin's, put 'em up ovah de sill of de do'. An' dat steel dust, as yuh call it, put it up dere wit cayenne peppah wit it, in a bottle, stoppin' it tight. Write her name in it an' dat run 'er stone crazy. Dat give mah mamma de haidache so, she didn't know her haid from her arm or 'er feets.
Entry 5555
Dey take chure track up, jis' lak if dey would do sompin tuh yuh tuh set yuh down an' make yuh suffah, an' cain't do nut'in tuh he'p yuhself. Dey take yuh track lak dis, see [demonstrates] - lak dat right from in de middle ["hollow" of track]. An' take up jis' about - ah know dat is de truth - take up de dirt, yuh know, an' dey put 'em on a piece of papah. Dey take de othah one disaway [demonstrates]. (They take one track - they pull it towards them and one they pull away from them.) Dat's de way de' do. An' dey take dat an' dey put it tuhgethah. An' den dey git tuh put it tuhgethah, dey goes tuh work an' dey take a little pot salt [com- Ron name for ordinary salt in a pot before salt-shaker days] an' dey put in dere. Dey sew it up in a piece of red flannel or new homespun. An' dey take dat on de young moon, now. On de' young moon de' do dat. An' dey take dat t'in' an' dey'll bury it in de earth. Well, yuh is punished. Yuh go an' cain't do nut'in. It'll git chew in hard luck. Well, den dey kin take dat an' when de tide comin' up, t'row 'em down in de watah - jis' toss 'em in de rivah. An' de rivah runnin' lak dat, go right dere an' t'row it lak dat. Dey cain't stop. T'row it in de rivah an' den yuh wheel aroun' lak dat, an' turn [your] back an' say, "Go on." Yuh kin be all right fer days. Dis mont' yuh'll have sompin, de nex' mont' yuh go 'long an' have headache an' evaht'in'. Yuh'll take dat an' dis an' dis [medicine] till it become....
Entry 5846
Ah've seen people roun' heah take feathahs or toothpick an' dey dress 'em some way an' den cross 'em in yore hair an' keep yo' wit a severe headache. It's not tuh kill yo' but it keep yo', yo know, a-lingahin' wit a severe headache. (Do you know how they dress them?) No sir, ah'm not positive.
Entry 5880
Dey say dey take three strand of yore hair an' dey would put dat in a piece of brown papah [for the black victim]. Dey would wrap some white bread Wit a piece of candy dat wus made up of coconut [sweets to entice victim's spir- it.] Dis thing is all wrapped togethah, [with] dis thread, an' den it would be cast behin' somepin dat wouldn't move, lak a piano, or some of dose thin's. Den fer nine mawnin's yo' go to dis place an' make a wish ovah dis thin', an' it would prob'ly make yo' suffah wit headaches, or prob'ly make yo' lose yore nid. Worry yo' so - evahthin' would worry, yo' jes' git vor- ried all de tlme. Dat is a thin' what dey clain Would do dat to yo' - wit chure hair.
Entry 5896
Well now, whut about de frog. Dat's about a woman's hair. Well, yo' din take her hair an' TIE IT TO A TOADFROG an' he'll hop aWay wit it, an' DAT'LL DC HER SIT DOWN AN' SLEEP ALL DE TIME. An' if yo' TIE IT TO A BIRD an' let 'im fly away, dat'll MAKE HER HAVE DE aDaCHE all de time. Yo' PUT IT IN A BOTTLE AN' STOP IT UP an' go to runnin' watah an' throW it in rumin' watah, an' dat'll run 'er off. An' a man kin take it an' PUT IT IN 'IS WATCH FOB or EITHAH TIE IT UP IN A RAG, THREE KNOTS in a rag, an' put it in his Watch pocket an' dat'll make her love him.
Entry 5916
(All right, you were going to tell me?)
If dey git some of yore hair. Now, sometime dey lose on dat an' sometime dey don't lose. If dey git de hair from yore head - remembah dey kin take dat hair. ALL BIRDS DON'T USE HUMAN HAIR. But dis guinea hen chick bird [I interrupt]. (What kind of bird?) Guinea hen chick bird. (Guinea hen chick bird?) Yes, if dey kin GIT DAT BIRD - TO TAKE DAT HAIR AN' PUT IT INTO HER NEST. YOU'LL SUFFOCATE WIT A HEAD- ACHE TILL YO' GO BLIND. I kin take dat hair. Oh my! An' bore holes - wrap it into a silvah thimble an' put a silvah dime against it [open end of thimble] an bury it in de ground an' make warts come out on yore head. (Now, that guinea hen. You mean the ordinary guinea hen that runs around the yard. I see.) Yeah, yeah.
Entry 5963
Yo' kin take it [hair], jes' cut a stran' or so, a long stran', an' tie it in a knot jes' lak dat [demonstrates]. An' yo' kin burn it or yo' kin bury it. (What will that do to me?) It'll hurt chah in a way, or eithah it will run yo' crazy, or keep yo' wit a terrible headache or sompin lak dat.
Entry 5974
Yo' kin take some of a person hair an' put in a bottle an' stop it up an' yo' carry dat bottle wit yo' evahwhere yo' go. An' dat person, nowhere dey go - an' dey keep a headache, dey keep sick - an' nowhere dey go dey would be satisfied. Yo' kin take nine stran's of a person's hair an' Put nine knots in it an' throw it in runnin' watah, an' in nine days dat person sull die.
(Take nine strands of their hair and you tie nine knots in that hair?)
An' yo' kin throw it in runnin' watah an' in nine days dey'll be daid.
Entry 6014
Yo' kin take a person's hair now, an' yo' kin take yo' nine needles up an' down [demonstrates], an' wrap dat hair between 'em wit black thread. (One needle is pointed that way and one that way.) Dat's right. Head an' tail dey call it. Yo' take dat an' wrap dat an' put chew - git chew a little red flannel bag an' git chew a dime's wut [worth] of lodestone dust an' put in dat, an' put dat in yore pocket. Yo' have de headache de balance of yore days.
Entry 6099
Git de hair out chure haid an' mix it wit bluestone, red peppah, gunpowdah, thundah- strucken wood an' put it in a bottle an' bear [bury] it, an' dat'll give yo' headache for- evah an' eternal until yo' go some place an' see somebody an' git 'em to dig dat stuff up.
(What was that last thing you put in the bottle?)
Ah said, bluestone, gunpowdah, an' red peppah an' stops it up in a red bottle an' bear [bury] it. [I was trying to obtain a repetition of thundah-strucken wood, a rare term for the more usual liahtnina-struck wood (see p.599). Thundah-strucken wood of course is associated with the thunderbolt and thunderbolt hand (p.655). For thumderbolt see FACI, 1st ed., No.5380; 2nd ed., No.5786. Informant in present rite ismarked good]
Entry 6146
Take yore hair an' git yore hair outa yore head an' bury it in a snail shell undah de door- step or at de back windah, an' put yo' to gwinin' [going] an' have yo' where dat yo' won't know - dey'll put aspell or headache onyo' see, an' dat head- aohe will jes' lingah an' lingah undah until it kill yo'. Ain't no cure fo' it, crs de doctor can't cure it, de hoodoo gotta cure it. Yo' can't git it cured un- til yo' be lucky enough to git some hoodoo to go back undah dat windah, undah dat doorstep an' dig dat up an' give it to yo'. Well, when he dig it up an' tell yo' vat to do wit it, den it's to hell an' gone. (I see.) [The hoodoo doctor sends it back to hell whence it came.]
Entry 6203
Dey say if yo' take it [hair] outa de mole of yore head - dat's what dey say. Dey say yo' get it from de centah, from de mole of yore haid yo' call it. Yo' pull it out until yo' kin see dat littlewhite. It looks lak de root of yore hair, yo' see. An' yo' take it up on a hilltop an' take a augah an' bore a hole in a green tree. When yo bore dat out yo' stick dat [hair] in dere an' den take eithah cement or mortah or somepin an' covah dat up in dere an' dis person will always suffah wit de beadache an' have a wandahin' mind.
Entry 6238
They kin take your hair from out of your temple. See, jis' a small pinch, two or three grains; that is, if they Wanta do you harm - make you sick, headache all de time. An' bore a hole in a tree befo' de sap rise, an' put it in there an' plug it up right tight. You'll have a headache an' die purtty soon afterwards.
Entry 6246
Dey kin take yuh hair an' bury it, yuh see, an' dat'll run yuh crazy. Dey'll bury it wit de same hot stuff, gunpowder, red peppah. Dat's when dey wan'a run yuh crazy. An' dey'll take dat wasp nestes. Yuh know de wasp look lak dey goin' fly at chew an' goin' sting yuh. Yo'll take de wasp nestses an' take dat [wasp] powdah. Take dem little waspses outa de nest an' takes de dirt an' dey makes a little powdah. Dey makes a little powdah wit dat an' dey'll go tuh work an' dey'll.... Whut did yuh ast me? Uh-huh, yuh hair. An' dey'll take dat hair an' dey'll put all dat togethah an' dey'll bury it, or eithah put it in [a tree]. Dey'll go in de woods somewhere an' dey'll put it in a tree toward de sunrise, an' yo'll always have achin's an' achin's in yore haid an' be crazy.
Entry 6262
[After that long parade of submargin titles about TREES, we now return to our normal alphabetical order with TWISTING, an important magic rite often Ignored. Probably ten or more examples of it will be found in HOODOO. Twisting, of course, is related to knot tying, also to bending - the bending of nails and plns for instance.] Well, yo' kin take hair from a person's haid - say ah like 'em, see, an' carry it in yore hip pocket. Yo' twist up an' twist up de hair an' put it in yore hip pocket an' carry it in yore hip pocket. [Informant gives another rite.] An' den yo' kin take an' go tuh a tree an' bo' a bole in de tree an' put dat hair in de tree an' dat person - whut chew mean? Tnyin' tuh drive somebody crazy or what? Well, dat whut dat hair do. Yo' kin cate dat hair an' jes' take yo' a lil' auger an' bo' a hole in de tree. See, jes' put chew a hole right in de tree an' put dat hair in dat tree an' stop it. where it airtight an' nuthin will git to it, an' dey'll suffer wit de head- ache. Dey will keep on wit it an' dey'll die wit it. DERE AIN'T NO DOCTAH IN LHORL' KIN CURE 'EM.
[We return to twisted hair.]
(Now what about twisting that hair and putting it in your pocket. What will
(dhat do?)
Hell, now yo' take de hair an' put it in yore pocket. An' well, dat will pt dem people tuh come tuh love yo'. Yo' carry 'em all de time. Make 'em lore yo'.
Entry 6297
A person could take a stran' of hair outa mole of yuh haid, direc'ly outa de mole, an' put it in a glass vial - sompin lak a li'le vial dey use at de drug sto' fo' dang'rous medicine. Put dat hair in dere an' cork it up right tight an' throw it intuh run- nin' watah. An' dey say it will run yuh wit a bad haidache all yuh live, an' almos' run yuh crazy.
Entry 6305
Take yuh hair an' dey bury it an' put - even dey kin put it in a bottle am' stop it up an' take it tuh driftin' watah. Dey'll throw it in dere. It'll keep yuh wit de headache an' make yuh drift.
Entry 6311
Dey tell me dat dey could take yuh hair an' put it in a bottle. Den. take de bottle out dere an' stop it up, an' take it tuh some runnin' watah, an' throw it in any runnin' watah wit'out lookin', an' let it float on down stream, see. Dat's dat.
(What will that do?)
Says dat will continue 'em wit a headache.
Entry 6334
Dey git holt of yore hair an' dey take an' dey gits a - put it in a bottle, an' put red peppah, cayenne, an' salt in dere an' yore name, an' stop it up in a bottle. Dat'll make yo' have de headache all de time, an' make yo' feel if yo' ain't satisfied nowhere yo' move. In no time yo' go. Git dat bottle an' throw it. (What do you do with that bottle?) Yo' take an' throw it in de rivah. An' [or] den yo' kin take an' yo' kin put it up ovah 'is do' where [he walks under it] or if yo' [ain't] scared he'll find it dere, if yo' a friend of 'em an' yo' visit 'em, yo' take an' yo' git it in de mattress or undah dat [bed].
Entry 7234
Ah wus goin' wit a girl about six yeahs ago an' ah quit dis girl. An aftah ah quit dis girl, ah started goin' wit anothah girl. An' dis othah [first] girl got acquainted wit dis othah [second] girl. An' so she [first girl] got acquainted wit de girl ah wus goin' wit, dis othah [second] girl. Co'se [Of course] ah didn't tell 'er dat ah had evah been wit dis girl. An' so dis [first] girl had a party one Satiday night an' she got me dis girl dat ah didn't wan' 'er tuh know of. Quite natchel ah wen' tuh de party. So she had a Victrola, wusn't no radio den. In fac' [fact] she didn't [would- n't?] have one no way. An' she had a li'le whiskey fer de party dat night. An' so, all de while ah wus goin' wit 'er de ole Victrola, de spring 'ud [spring would] jump off sometimes an' ah used tuh fix it fer 'er, while ah wus goin' wit 'er. So she, aftah de music stopped, she tole dem dat ah could fix de Victrola. An' she'd [she had] taken de Victrola in de kitchen an' put it on de table. An ah went in dere an' see zactly [exactly] whut wus de mattah wit it an' fixed it. An' she put a pint of whiskey on de table up dere. Well AH DIDN'T PAY NO 'TEN- TION 'CUZ AH NEVAH DID BELIEVE IN DIS STUFF [HOODOO]. SO AH DRINK SOME OF DIS WHISKEY. MATTAH OF FACT AH'D TAKEN SEV'RAL DRINKS OF DIS WHISKEY. An' so, aftah ah got de Victrola completed an' evahbody got tuh dancin', an' den ah started takin' a couple a dances mahself. Well, when ah started takin' dese few dances mahself, ah got dizzy; got a li'le dizzy an' got a haidache an' got out mah haid some. An' de girl frien' ah wus goin' wit den, she'd taken me tuh 'er apartment. Aftah she'd taken me tuh 'er apartment, ah woke up nex' mawn- in' an' found mahself dere. So ah kinda come tuh mah haid a li'le bit. An' den she rent de cah [car] tuh take me home. So dey'd taken me home. An' when ah got home - ah don' remembah when ah got home or nuthin of de kin' lak dat. So 'bout nine o'clock Sunday mawnin', well ah started havin' fits, one right behin' de othah. So dey tell me, ah don' know anythin' about it. Ah fell unconscious den. So dey spent dat Sunday. DEY HAD ALL KINDA DOCTORS. DEY SPENT $74 ON ME DAT SUNDAY ON DIFF'REN' DOCTORS AN' NOBODY WOULD TAKE DE CASE. SOME DOCTORS WOULD COME IN AN' TREAT ME FER SOMPIN - DIABETES AN' DIFF'REN' THIN'S - AN' MAH REG'- LAH FAMILY DOCTOR, HE COULDN'T TAKE DE CASE. So he tole mah uncle an' evahbody dat he didn't know whut wus de mattah. It wus a case tuh 'im. So den ah stayed unconscious from dat Sunday mawnin' at nine o'clock until dat Monday night at half past eleven. Well a frien' of mine - didn't tell me - ah wus still unconscious, but he tole mah uncle. "WE DONE TRIED EVAHBODY ELSE CHERE [HERE], SUPPOSE WE TRY A HOODOO DOCTOR. IF HE DON' DO NO GOOD, WE JIS' WON' PAY 'IM. He [this doctor] run worms out mah mothah, but she [mother] said, "Ah know anothah good lady [but she is too far away], but anyway, by he bein' so bad off, we'll go up an' see dis one firs'." So dis fellah came in - so dey tell me, see ah wus still unconscious - said, "Yes, " S SAID AH WUS POISONED, AN' HE WOULD HAVE ME ON MAH FEET IN 45 MINUTES. Well, it wus about eleven-thirty den.
(In the morning or night?)
In de night. An' dis wus on a Monday night. Ah had been unconscious since Sunday mawnin' nine o'clock till ovah dat Monday night at eleven. SO HE COME IN AN' COMMENCES TUH WORKIN' ON ME. SAYS MY BOWELS WAS LOCKED AN' DIFF'REN' THIN'S. HE GIVE ME SOAP AN' BITTAH ALOES...
[I interrupt.]
(How did he give you the soap?)
He taken de soap an' he jis' mixed it up in a glass; yo' know, jis' watah enough tuh make de soap dissolve. Yo' know, Octagon soap, an' made somepin lak a pill outa it an' jis' held mah mouth an' rubbed mah throat - so dey tell me - until ah swallah dat. An' den dey give me bittah aloes an' dat unlocked mah bowels. AN' SOON AS IT UNLOCKED MAH BOWELS, AH COME TO. When ah cOme to, ah knows mahself. When ah wus on de party ah wusn't able tuh go tuh de bathroom. AN' [AFTER MY BOWELS MOVED] DEY SHOED ME A ANIMAL COME OUTA ME 'BOUT - AH GUESS ABOUT DAT LONG [DEMONSTRATES].
(As long as your little finger.)
YEAH AN IT LOOKED SOMEPIN LAK DE COLAH OF A ORANGE PEELIN', AN' IT RAN UP ON DE MEDICINE GLASS TRYIN' TUH GIT OUT. Ah [had] come tuh, den. Co'se ah wuS weak aplenty. Ah wus weak aplenty from havin' dose fits. Ah wusn't any good. De fact is, he tole me it would take aroun' a couple a yeahs tuh git so ah wus well ag'in. In fact it did. So ah commence tuh askin' question Who did it. HE'D TAKEN A NEWSPAPAH AN' PLACED IT IN A PAN OF WATAH AN' LET IT SET IN DIS PAN A WATAH SOMEWHEAH ROUN' ABOUT AH THINK - IT WUS NINE MINUTES AH THINK, AN' DIS WOMAN'S PICHURE COME ON DAT NECKED [NAKED] JIS' LAK SHE WORN NUTHIN ON 'ER - NECKED ABSOLUTELY.
(The woman that did this to you?)
Yeah. So he ast me did ah know dat woman. Ah say, "Yes." He say, "Well do yo' wan' tuh have her tuh come here an' confess tuh yo'?" DE PICHURE APPEAHED ON DE NEWSPAPAH RIGHT LAK DAT AN' HE TOLE ME TUH LOOK AT IT QUICK. AN' AH LOOKED AT. IT QUICK AN' AH RECOGNIZED IT AN' IT JIS' FADED AWAY AN' JIS' STAYED LAK DAT. [Before proceeding to the doctor's magic-mirror trick, let me pause in an attempt to explain his pan-of-water trick, the latter an excellent example of hydromancy. The doctor had brought in his usual medical kit a newspaper folded into folds about 3 inches wide; the top fold containing type only, the bottom fold also the picture of a scantily dressed woman. He then holds the newspaper several inches under the Water, type side up and picture side down. Patient is instructed to free his mind of all thought except the identity of the spellcaster soon to be revealed. Gaze at the water constantly without blinking. After a long period, as much as 9 minutes, the doctor begins to rotate the newspaper so that the picture suddenly appears and disappears. He tole me tuh look at it quick an' ah looked at it quick an' ah recognized it an' it faded away.] So he said, now ah'll have her tuh come here an' confess tuh yo' dat she did it, if yo' want me tuh. Ah tole him, ah said, "Yeah, ah'll be glad tuh." He'd taken a mirrah an' turn it bottom upwards; taken a mirrah an' turn de face up lak dat [demonstrates].
(The face of the mirror up.)
Lak dat. An' he said - ast me whut wus 'er name. An' ah tole 'im 'er name. Ast me whut wus mah name, an' ah tole him mah name. He wrote mah name at de top an' 'er name at de bottom.
(On this mirror?)
On a piece of papah an' placed it on topa dis mirrah. An' den he'd taken a clock an' turned it face down, almos' right on topa de mirrah, an' let dat stay dere fo' five minutes. An' he'd taken it up in fo' an' a half minutes, an' put it down fō' a few seconds, den picked it up. He tole me she would be dere in five minutes. Ah don' know where she wus. She wus away cross town, somewhere. But he tole me tuh watch out fer 'er, she would be dere in five minutes. Ah Wus wondahin' how she goin' tuh git dere. She lived on Marshall Avenue 'bout fō' or five blocks from dere. Well in fō' an' a half minutes from de clock she wus dere. She come up on - man had a automobile, a taxi. Ah don' know whethah she wus on 'er way dere or whut, but in fō' an' a half minutes she wus dere. She tole me dat she did it an' she wus sorry. She says she didn't do it 'erself, said she got somebody else tuh do it, an' tole me his name an' evahthin'. (Do you know what they put in the whiskey to hurt you that Way? What she put into the whiskey?) Yes, dis fellah had taken two grains of snake dust an' put in de whiskey. But dat wasn't did dat Satiday night. Had it been did dat Satiday night, it wouldn't a worked so fast, see. She had did it somewhere roun' about three months agO, an' DAT LIVE ANIMAL HAD BEEN PERFORMED FROM DAT SNAKE DUST. An' den ah had been away from 'er fō' fō' or five months, an' had been goin' wit anothah girl an' had passed 'er up. Well dis girl wus teachin' school. Well ah wouldn't let dis girl know dat ah had evah been wit 'er, cuz ah thought dere would be a lot a jealouSy dere. WELL, WHEN AH WENT BACK DAT NIGHT, DEY STIRRED IT UP, YO' SEE, AN' DAT MADE DIS LIVE ANIMAL LOCK MAH BOWELS. AN' IT HAD TUH PASS THROUGH OR ELSE AH'D A LIVED SO MANY HOURS HAVIN' DOSE FITS AN' DIED.
Entry 7841
Dey kin take dat bow an' keep yo' wit a headache all de time. Dey odll take dat bow an' take it tuh de cemetery tuh a ole grave an' go tuh de haid of de grave an' call yore name an' bury dis dere, an' say tuh de spirit in de grave, "Why, keep dis till ah come fo' it." An' until dey come, why yo'll have de head- ache. If it's a stockin' dat's been worn, if it's a dirty sock, not one been washed, dat dirty, dat have de sweat or presparin' [perspiring] from 'er feet, don' chew undahstan', den yo' kin take dat an' take hit tuh de cemetery. An' put [it] down at de foot of de grave, not de haid but de foot, an' say tuh dat spirit: Keep dis till ah come back. An' dat puts dis woman's mind on yo'. Now, when yo' git tired of 'er, yo' have tuh go an' git it up an' throw hit in runnin' watah.
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 11913
You can give a person a headache by boring a hole in a tree and plug- ging up some of his hair. [Old Point Comfort, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 11914
By boring a hole in a tree and stopping up in it some of victim's hair, you give him a headache. [Wilmington 116:7+85.]
Entry 11920
If you wind a person's hair around a small nail and drive it into a tree, that person will have a headache the rest of his life. [Fredericksburg by Ediphone.]
Entry 11935
Bore hole on east side of tree and stop up person's hair to give him a headache. [Richmond 333:9.]
Entry 11937
If you wrap victim's hair in a piece of paper and nail it into a tree with a new nail at sunrise, this will give the victim a headache. [Baltimore 46:10.]
Entry 11943
If you thread a needle with a person's hair and drive the needle into a tree, that will give the person a headache. [Norfolk 476:10.]
Entry 12040
If you throw out a person's hair so that a bird can get it for making a nest, that person will have a headache as long as that hair is there. [Rich- mond 384:6.]
Entry 12070
Dey say dey kin bury yore hat an' it will kill yo', make yo' suffer with headaches an' things. [Algiers (1584) 2953:2.]
Entry 12297
They take your hair and bury your hair, see. They'll get two brass tacks and a brass pin [three brass objects] and they can put your hair in a lem- on, and then they'll turn that lemon upside down [unusual express- ion!] and bury it. And that'll give you a thun- dering headache. Now, for to cross that, you take that out. Now, you get you some war water and you get you [war water is omitted]. You go to the hydrant for nine mornings and just put your head under the hydrant like that, and let the water run on your head and say, "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, please let this affliction go from me."
Entry 12022
If someone buries your hair in a graveyard, you will never recover from the headache it will cause you. [Wilmington 90:2+85.]
Entry 12126
Bury dat bow wit diff'ren' things in it, sech as peppah an' first one ole stuff an' den anothah.
(Keep them with the headache?)
Keep 'em with a headache. [Algiers, La., 1954:10.]
Entry 13105
Dey put dust in your hat so you'll go blind. Accordin' you'll lose your hair. (What would they do? How would they use the dust that way? Have you any idea?) Well, they'll go ahead and, you know, dere's somepin dey calls dragon's blood dat you get from de drug store. You kin get dat ole dragon's blood from de drug store. You kin get dat ole dra- gon's blood from de drug store and you sprinkle it on de inside of your hat, an' a little small piece of dis ole snake's shed. Or place it in de binding of your cap or hat, somepin like dat. And when you begin to sweat den de effect will take on you, sometimes you'll go blind from it an' you taken wit de headache.
(It runs down into your eyes?)
Dat's de idea and cause you to go blind and you are taken wit de headache.
Entry 13129
If you mix rattlesnake-shed powder with graveyard dirt and put it in person's hat, he or she will never get over headaches unless hat is undressed.
[The latter word heard only several times.] [Mobile 875:8.]
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 2966
If yo' got bad headaches an' dat headache is not natural, yo' take dat matches, two of 'em, an' cross dem in de mole of de haid. First yo' go to de hydrant an' yo' take an' let de hydrant run on yore haid in de mole fo' fifteen minutes. Now, yo' come back an' yo' 'noint dat [with what?] an' den yo' put dose matches dere an' cross 'em in yore haid. An' dat puts any lightnin' in de world out - dat puts de lights out. [Crossed matches a protection against lightning.]
(If somebody is burning a light on you, that will put it out?)
Dat will put hit out.
Entry 2967
Dey say if a person is burning candles on you an' yo' feel - you see it gives you awful headaches and you go fo' days in and days out with headaches, don't chew know, and you turns real dark under yore eyes. Andthenyo'takeand git some matches and stick them in your hair.
(How many did you say you get?)
Three. Stick one like that, one like that, and one like that [demonstrates]. (You make a cross - one match one way and then two crossing it. Put it in your hair and what will that do?) Wear it in your hair - that will outen the candles.
Entry 4404
Dey tell me dat chew kin take dat [human excrement] an' bo' a hole into a tree an' peg it tight, where it can't git out, an' it'll rush yo' wit headache all de time. Whut ah learned about dat.
Entry 4584
Dey takes dat bow an' dey carry it home an' dey bury it undah a brick in dey fiahplace, an' he can't no mo' stay wit dat woman no mo'. Evah time he goes tuh dat woman house, his haid begin tuh hurt 'im an' he cripple himself up an' den he fall. Evah time he see her he gits maddah an' maddah wit 'er. She puts it undah a brick, de cen- tah brick in de pipe [flue] - undah de centah brick.
(Well, who would do that?)
Now lak yo' wanted tuh - see heah, if she wanted 'im tuh leave dat house ovah yondah an' come heah. Well, she git dat bow an' she carries it an' put it right down dere undah dere. See, dat man can't visit yondah no mo'.
Entry 12041
Some say the headache of the preceding will last only until mating season is over. [Richmond 334:9.]
The item reports that some say the preceding headache lasts only until mating season ends; the preceding account is not supplied here.
Entry 2941
[How do you feel when a candle is burning against you? You almost always have a headache. On rare occasions instead of headache you are over- powered by restlessness.] You kin feel it when they're burnin' - you can't be, you know, satisfied. You can't stay nowhere long in peace - you're jis' walkin'.
The editor's bracketed framing names headache. The following informant words describe feeling unsettled and walking; no diagnosis or candle-caused effect is established.