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Entry 917
I heard of two old devil-heads. They used to call a cunjure devil-head. They had a lot and they had a tree on the line. One said, "I'm going to cut the tree down." The other one said, "Don't cut it." He goes there and starts to cutting in this tree and the other man come out and told him to stop. So they go to arguing. And he [the second man] say, "Now, I want you to cut this tree down. I'm just as strong as you are." So this other fellow starts to cutting and he can't do a thing. Then this other fellow gets a axe and Was going to show him he could cut it down. He couldn't do nothing - the other fellow used his power against him. Then both of 'em devil-heads start to cutting and they couldn't even skin the bark of that tree. That tree is still standing there. That is up in Glouster County [Virginia]. That was in slavery times.
Entry 4177
De chamber lye - yuh takes dis chamber lye an' put it in a jar an' git chew eight nails. Yo' turn fo' of 'em haid down an' fo' haid up. De down head is de woman, an' up is de man. Dat will break dem up. Yuh bury it right undah dey steps where yuh [they] kin walk ovah it.
(Well, whose chamber lye do you use?)
Use de man only. If yo' de man's wife, use de man only. If ah has a husban' an', yuh see, he's goin' wit anothah woman. Ah take his nurine an' put it in a jar wit eight nails, fo' nails haid down an' fo' up, an' close it up good in a jar tight. (What do those nails rep- resent now, what do they represent?) Dose fo' [down] de woman an' dose fo' up represent de man. Yuh take an' put de top on it tight, seal it tight, an' yuh take it an' go dig a deep hole an' yuh bury it. Den yuh covah it up real good, dat he may leave, go roun' 'er no mo'. He'll stay home.
(You don't call their names or anything like that?)
Don't call dere name.
Entry 4951
A [dirty] stockin', yuh takes it an' ties three knots [one on top of the other - a threefold knot] in it. Dey say yuh take yeh right one. Gits yuh some Hearts Cologne, po' it in dere. Gits yuh nine pins, nine needles, an call dis person by name, whosomevah it is. Make yeh heart wish. See, jis' like if yuh wants yeh sweetheart tuh do sompin, tie dis tuh yuh. Every time yuh make a knot, pull yeh string [stocking] tuhwards yeh an' call dere name three times. An' put dem pins an' needles in dere [in the threefold knot]. Yuh takes dem pins, yeh lays de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Alternate heads and points.)
An' yuh puts dis cologne on dere. An' yuh kin weah dat in yeh pocket. Dat'll make yuh - if yeh girl away from yeh, she'll come tuh yeh.
Entry 5562
You get a pinch of dirt out of their left-foot track, bind that in a package, an' put seven nails in that package. You put three nails with the point [head] up, and four with the head down. Take that to running water and throw it over your left shoulder. Go on away and don't look back. And you won't be both- ered with them no more, so I have heard old people say.
Entry 5887
Yo' kin take a pinch of dere hair, out chure hair, an' den some undah yore arms, an' burn it up to a ashes. Yo' kin take it an' sprinkle it in dey food, or else yo' kin take it an' sprinkle it in dey plate, an' dat'll make 'em stay wit yo'. Jis' burn all dat hair togethah. [Memphis, Tenn., 1542:6.]
Entry 6091
Yessuh, yo' kin take a woman, she kin take her hair an' take yore hair. (The woman would take some of her hair from her head and some of your hair, and what else?) An' take yore private [hair] while yo' sleepin' an' wrap it aroun' an' tie three knots in it an' put it in a bottle of Hearts Cologne.
(How would she get that off then?)
Yo' see she tied it in knots, yo' see, an' slip it off lak dat, an' take it an' put it in a bottle of ten-cent Heart Cologne, an' yo' can't fool wit any othah woman but 'er. (You can go with other women but you can't do anything with them, but you can still do something with her?) Yo' kin still do something wit 'er.
Entry 6656
Whilst doin' dat, somebody gota go tuh de country an' git a he an' a she moccasin snake.
(Moccasin snake?)
Moccasin snake an' lays 'em head tuh tails, puts 'em down undah - buries 'em in de north cornah.
(North corner of what?)
Of de fence - right down undah de fence, undah a sill lak dis an' den...:
(Do they bury this under a sill or under a fence out in the yard?)
Out in de yard. It's nobody dat knows it dere but dem. It lays dere nine mawnin's an' dey'll begin to molt. Yo' go dere de nex' nine mawnin's an' turn 'em ovah, an' let 'em lay dere anothah nine mawnin's. After dat is ovah, dem nine maw- nin's, evah time dey touch 'em dey makes a oath. Dey goes dere den an' gits de snakes an' cuts de head off an' puts dem heads tuhgethah an' put 'em up ovah de do'sill an' let 'em dry - make an oath - lay 'em up there an' let 'em dry. Then they gets dry good, they crumbles them up right fine an' gets a powder - beats 'em up fine. Then they take 'em an' put 'em in a bag. Well, enybody they want, they go an' gets de dust of de snake head an' sprinkle it in whatever they gives 'em - they gives a party of some kind, an' they wants to go tuh, they gives it to 'em in somethin' to drink.
(What will that do to them then?)
Kill'em. [Richmond, Va., (?), 380:2. A similar method for killing with graveyard dirt is given by same informant in 300: l&3.]
Entry 9836
Git chew nine needles. Yo' have tuh git de goldhead [usually goldeye] needles an' put five of 'em haids up an' turn fo' of 'em [heads] points down. An' yo' kin bury dem at chure gate where de people walk ovah - at de front gate. An' nuthin in de world will do yo' any harm.
Entry 9843
Dey said git a wasps' nest with nine needles, brand-new needles an' nine brand-new pins an' put de pins dis way an' de needle haid dat way, object [opposite] each othah. An' take dat an' yo' know, 'vide [divide] 'em up in nine pieces, split it, stick it intuh de Wasps' nest, holes [cells of the nest] yo' know. An' go 'long where dis person at an' jis' drop it, an' dey'll walk ovah it.
(That will harm them? What will it do to them?)
Well, it will jis' cuz 'em tuh rave an' go on home an' raise disturbances wit mos' evahbody dey meet. (You take these nine needles and nine pins, and you stick them into that wasps' nest.) Make nine holes an' stick each one in dose nine holes an' let 'em walk ovah it an' dat would make 'em very cross.
(You bury that in the ground, then?)
Bury it right in de ground.
(You leave those needles sticking in that wasp's nest?)
Dat's right. (That will cause confusion and quarrels and things of that sort.)
Entry 10877
Git two cats, yes- suh, an' rub dere haids tohl gethah till dey git nad l till dey git real mad at one anothah. Den yo' smarch a lock of hair outa each cat's hzid, yo' know, an' yo' fold it togethah. An' put some red peppah an' salt in it 血' care it an' put it in de no'th cornah of dere house. Dey'll leave, dey'll part. Dat's whut separate 'em.
(Separate this man and woman?)
Ub-hah.
Entry 10913
Jes' lak if yo' got a dog an' a cat - ain't chew seen two dogs and two cats meet, an' de cat make up his bristles an' de dog make up his bristles? An' while dey got dere bristles made up, yo'll git de hair behin' both of 'em's neck, see; an' put it in a piece of cloth an' fold up de cloth, an' pin nine straight pins in it - one each way. See [demonstrates] pin one in it [cloth] dat way - an' one in it dat way [heads and points, alternated] an' dat jes' will make 'em fuss an' fight. (Well, now what do they do with that cloth after they pin it up? Where do they put that?) Yo' tote dat in yore pocket, see. When dey git together jes' lak dat dog an' cat fight yo' see; jes' fuss an' fight, be mad [every] time dey see one 'nother. Do dat wit de hair. (But they have to get near one another.) [Here without suggesting an answer, I am asking informant how all these concerns the two victims. Do they walk over Package? Is it thrown into their house? Does he name pins them? Without some such device all this is done by informant's intention.]
Entry 12406
Take them [matches] and take their heads off and put 'em with Capricorna, and put it in the top [sweatband] of your hat, it will run you crazy.
(Cat foot corner?)
[This is what my transcriber thinks I say, but actually I say the preceding capricorna and informant now tells us what it was.] It's little brown powder just like snuff. [I also add the preceding comment, dust from drug store - hoodoo drug store. I never attempted to investigate these hoodoo drug stores and mail order houses, that would be a life-time task in itself!]
Entry 12407
If yo' take mat- ches an' take an' cut de haids of 'em off, an' put 'em in your husban's clothes, say dat will make him love yo'. Jes' cut de haids of de matches off an' 'solve [dissolve] 'em yo' see, an' take de watah off of dem an' cook his food with it. That will make him love yo'.
(Well, how do you mean make him love you?)
Jes' take, lak if he didn't ca' fo' terbacca [tobacco] wus runnin' roun' an' wouldn't stay home, den yo' could take dose matches an' take de sulphur out of 'em an' make him stay home.
Entry 12418
They take the matches an' take the head off 'em an' beat 'em up an' sew 'em up in jes' a small piece of new cloth - 10 matches. An' put 'em up ovah yuh doah faced [top of the door] or eithah down where yo' have to walk ovah it. An' [they] say that'll keep down quarrels, if he's fussin' or anything like that.
Entry 12743
I have heard that in some parts of South Carolina - of course it seems as though they have quite a...something against South Carolina - that you crush snake heads. One woman would pay so much for rattlesnake heads, just cut this rattlesnake head off and make a powder from then. And they would send these to the people who were envious towards the others, and that would cause snakes to come in their bodies. I imagine this povder they put in their food.