Subject:Holes
Entries
Entry 4942
Heah's somepin ah heard about dis an' it hasn't been long ago. A fellah, his wife an' 'im couldn't git along. So he missed a pair of 'is socks. An' one day ah wus down tuh de laundry where he wus - he fired [was fireman] down to de laundry. An' he tole me, say, "Yuh know, heah lately me an' mah wife cain't make it no way," say, "an' ah missed a pair of mah socks." An' he said, "Mah wife is tryin' tuh drive me away from 'er." Ah said, tole him, ah says, "Yuh shore dat she haven't misplaced yore socks." He says, "Yes, she's misplaced 'em." Ah knowed de people. Ah know 'em person'lly, who lived nex' do', an' ah've visit 'em a whole lot. So aftah he were gone ah wus in de house an' ah ast 'er, ah says, "Whut's de mattah wit chew an' yore husban'? Why yuh all cain't git along?" She says, "Aw, it's jis' a simple thin' ah did." Ah said, "Well, ah'd like tuh know about it." Yuh know ah wuz playin' aroun'. She said, "Aw, ah cain't tell yuh." An' de socks dat he los' ah wuz in min' of seein' dem de mos', see. [Most of all, he wanted to see the socks.] An' AH PLUNDAHS AROUN' until ah foun' dose socks. Ah foun' one sock [cylinder changed] - ah foun' one of 'is socks. [THE CHANGING OF A CYLINDER IS OFTEN FOLLOWED BY A REPETITION, OR I ASK A QUESTION.] It had three holes cut right in de bottom of it, plate of it, where his feet fit in de sock. [For word plate see comment following rite.]. An' dere wuz two stran's of 'is hair tied in one side of it. Den she had a wad of - where it looked like he [she?] cut a piece out of 'is hat, an' hit wuz placed in dere good an' nice. An' she had it sew - had it sewed in de sock. So ah got de sock. An' three or fo' days latah AH WENT PLUNDERIN' fo' de othah sock. So ah found it. When ah foun' de othah sock, she had tuk [took] de toe offa his sock an' had some othah kinda toe of a sock sewed back on dere. An' whut she had did wit de othah piece of sock, ah don't know, but she wuz goin' give him de sock back. She wuz goin' place it where he could find 'em an' wear 'em. An' by dis, she havin' [had] one piece [sock] an' had de othah one clipped. So ah taken dese socks mah- self an' ah examined 'em good an' ah foun' dat hair in dere. An' ah taken it loose an' taken de socks an' burned 'em up. An' now 'im an' 'er is back togethah an' jis' as good as dey evah were. [Though I originally had doubts about the preceding story, it is what some of my informants call a parable - like the Prodigal Son. I sometimes say, "Give me a parable, " rather than example, illustration, or story; the latter too often suggesting a lie to many informants. All elements in our story belong to hoodoo. Later I found informant's story interesting. The word he pronounces plate is an obsolete meaning of plat, the sole of the foot. This is the only time I have ever heard the word so used. I like his usage of plunder: Ah plundahed aroun' until ah foun' dose socks. He was also rather free and easy with a neighbor's house, unless this is a part of the parable!]
Entry 5238
De inside sole from yo' shoe - dat little piece yo' walk on - dey cuts three holes right in de centah. Now dat's if yo' wanta, yo' kin drive a person or yo' kin hold a person wit it. If yo' wanta drive 'em, yo' got'a fix it in sompin light [weight], an' put it in runnin' watah wheres it will jis' keep agoin'. An' if yo' wanta keep 'em, yo' take dat an' bury it at chure home.
(Do you take both those inner soles?)
One, de lef' one. DAT'S WONDAHFUL FOOT, DE LEF' ONE.
Entry 7726
Yo' take de foot- bo'd tuh de haid an' jes' whatevah yo' want done, vell yo' gotta say dat fo' yo'self yo' see; but chew take it, an' see how it's turnt one way, den yo' pull it up an' den yo' turn it roun' de othah way. See.
(You mean you put the head part [headboard] down to the foot?)
Yeah, yo' take de haid part - yo' take it from de haid an' put it tuh de foot an' den yo' - but chew turn it upside down. Don't turn it lak yo' pull it up. (You put the top [part.of graveboard] down into the hole. What do you do with the footboard then?) Yo' do de same thing. Yo' take de footbo'd an' put it to de haid an' yo' take de haid an' put it tuh de foot.
(But you must put them upside down?)
Upside down. Jes' whutevah yo' want did, den yo' ast dis dead body tuh do dat fo' yo' - jes' whutevah wish yo' want, whutevah yo' want did, yo' do dat. [Sumter, S. Car., (1348), 2330:9.] With all the graveyard dirt previously given and more to follow this subsec- tion (2), what is the reader to do? Remember only, graveyard dirt full of the spirit refuses to be confined within man-made schemes of order.]
Entry 7947
Dey take yore shoes an' measure yore shoes. Take a needle, a needle dat's been sewed through a corpse - see, when yo' make a shroud an' dey [I inter- rupt]. (Use a needle that has been used in making a shroud?) Make de shroud tuh bury some- one, yes. Take dat needle an' put it through yore shoes, through de eyeholes yore shoes - see, three times. Den take dat needle an' carry it home an' stick it on de east side, an' yo'll stay dere wit 'em. Yo' cain't go nowhere. Yo' stay right dere at home an' be subject tuh dem in evahthing dey want.
(What about measuring the foot? Do they measure the shoe first?)
Dey measure de shoe first, den put dis needle through de eyehole three times. (Do they do anything with the measurement of that shoe? After they take the measurement of the shoe?) De measurement of dat shoe dey bury dat. Dey bury it undah de do'step.
Entry 8240
Dey kin take yore pichure - ah ain't nevah done it but ah've heered dis, undahstan'. Dey stick nine holes in it, one hole evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's. An' de ninth mawnin' aftah dey stick dat las' hole in it - when dey put de firs' hole in dere, in dat pichure, in de heart of dat pichure - lak dis is mah pi- chure an' dis is mah heart. Jes' take dat pin an' stick a hole in dat heart on dat pichure. Stick one dis mawnin', one tuhmorrah mawnin', an' one de nex' mawn- in', until de ninth mawnin'. An' de ninth mawnin', when dat last hole will be stuck in dere, de man will be in bad condition. Dere can't nobody do him no good. Can't nobody do him no good nohow unless dey kin git dat air [that there] pichure an' kin remend dem holes. But if dey don't do dat, why dat'll kill 'im.
Entry 8307
Yo' could take a pichure. Now, if yo' wanta do good, if yo' wanted de person tuh love yo' or somepin an' - yo' put dat pichure tuh de haid of yore bed, an' call de person's name nine mawnin's. An' wit a pin dat's nevah been used, a new pin, yo' put nine holes intuh dis pichure fo' nine mawnin's. An' while yo' punch dose holes, yo' talk tuh de pichure jis' lak yo' talkin' tuh de person. An' aftah de nine mawnin's, jis' whatevah de statements were dat chew made, dat person will do jis' lak yo' ast dem tuh do, but chew must keep dat pichure dere.
(You punch one hole each morning or nine holes?)
Nine holes for nine mawnin's.
(That's nine times nine?)
Eighty-one.
(And you keep it at the head of the bed?)
Yo' keep it dere tuh de haid of yore bed.
(Now you do harm you say with the photograph. Tell me about that.)
Well, if yo' wanta do harm wit de pichure, yo' could take dat pichure an' yo' take dat tuh de graveyard, an' yo' go an' yo' call de spirits of de dead. When yo' think dat de spirit is dere, yo' take out nine han'fuls of dirt out of dat grave. Den yo' place dis pichure down dere an' yo' explain tuh de spirit jis' whut yo' want 'em tuh do tuh dat pahticlah [particular] person, see. An' what- evah yo' say, den yo' pay dat spirit.
(Well, now. What do you usually pay the spirit?)
Well, it goes - Well, NOW DE FIRST DEGREE IS THREE PENNIES. DE SECOND IS NINE AN' DE THIRD IS THIRTEEN. [I do not recall that these sums of money paid the spirit are called degree elsewhere in Hoodoo.]
(Then you cover that picture up in there?)
Let it stay dere. An' yo' have tuh explain tuh dis spirit whut tuh do tuh dat pahticlah person, an' pay dem tuh do dat. Dey'll do it jis' lak yo' ast dem tuh do.
Entry 8335
Well, yo' kin take her pichure an' carry it tuh a tree an' nail it three times, nail a hole in it three times. An' take it an' put it in runnin' watah, an' dat will make a person leave yo'. (You take this picture to a tree an' you take one nail?) Yeah, yo' nail it three times. (Against the tree?) Against de tree, an' den yo' take de pichure down an' put it in runnin' watah an' dat person will keep goin'.
(You only use one nail though? Just make three holes in it against the tree?)
Yes, against de tree, an' den yo' jes' take de pichure out an' put it in run- nin' watah. (This is the woman that went out when the root doctor came in.)
Entry 8474
When yo' call a person's spirit, twelve 'clock at night, yo' draws on a person.
(Draw her picture?)
Draw his pichure. Git 'is name an' address. Yo' set [in] a dark room by yo'- self. Yo' take a sheet an' put it ovah yo' haid, wit chure eyes out so yo' kin see. Yo' set a li'le bit of whiskey in a glass [to draw his spirit back, spirits lov- ing whiskey, see ALCOHOL FOR an' yo' gotta memorize de person name, an' yo' call 'is name three times. Durin' de time yo's callin' 'is name, take a needle wit chure lef' han' an' punch nine holes in it. (Nine holes in what?) Nine holes in de pichure, in de form what chew draws. An' when yo' done cut de nine holes in it an' yo' watch de pichure an' blow on it. An' durin' de time aftah yo' done blowin' on it, an' if yo' hit it again tuh [do something] den chew light yo' lamp. Aftah dat, den yo' set a match tuh it. See what side she [match] bendin'; if she bend going, if she bend comin' back. She'll [match will] fall back in yuh hands. If she [match] bend goin', goin' de direc- tion she [or hel was [had departedl. she'll [match'll] fall dat way; an' if she [match leans to] dis side, she'll fall dat side; an' if she's [woman's] comin' back, she'll [match'll] fall right up in de woman form. [She] come right on back tuh you. [Informant alternating the sexes is confusing.] An' durin' de time dat dey bring 'er back, yo' git up an' yo' take yo' dishrag an' wring it ovah de do' an' call 'er name. Dat's cases if she gone an' leave yo'. If she gone an' leave yuh, if she leave any she [not her] clothes in dere lak a dress or pettycoat, lak dat, jes' take an' ball it up an' put it 'neat' chure pillah an' she will come back less dan three day's time, if she's able tuh, if she's in de city.
(That's to bring the woman back. You are calling her spirit back that way.)
Yes sir.
Entry 9111
[The red onion is one of the well-known objects in hoodoo, having been inherited from folk medicine as well as what passed for the scientific medicine of the day. A few examples of its use will be found in margin title ONION, Pp.622-626, v.1. 0n p.625, line 6f., I find a note of my own: 'Red onion - like red flannel ball or (red) bag for hands - symbolizes the human heart." Where that came from I no longer remember. Perhaps an informant in Hoodoo says it. Since the rite about to be given is a squeezing rite (another type of magic often ignored and unindexed), see No.2188, p.625, for another red onion squeezed in court.] If yo' goin' up befo' de judge an' yo' don' want de judge tuh put no sentence on yuh atall, yo' wanta come cleah of whut chew done. Git chew a red onion an' yo' cut a roun' hole in dere, cut a roun' hole in dat onion. An' aftah cuttin' de hole in dat onion, yo' take yo' some salt an' full it up, full dem holes wit dat salt.
(How many holes?)
Fo' [demonstrates]: one heah, one dere, one dere, an' one dere - de fo' holes. An' evahone dat yo' thinks ag'inst chew, yo' take yo' pins - stickpins [ordinary pins], an' evahone yo' learn ag'inst chew, call dere name an' punch it down in dere. Evahone yo' thinks ag'ins' chew, call dere name, "By de he'p [of God] ah wan' chew tuh git me off." Do dat in de mawnin' or any time in de day, jes' put 'im down in dere. Put 'im down in dere, evahone yo' think ag'ins' yuh, jes' stick 'em down in dat onion. An' aftah stickin' 'em in dat onion, take dat onion an' take an' put it in yore pocket. But be sure tuh hold it [keep your hand on it]. Jes' lak yo' put dese pins down in dere, be sure tuh hold it in yore han's jes' lak dat [demonstrates] jes' dat-a-way. (Bring your fingers over the top of the onion, and have the heads of the pins under them.) Yes, dat's right. Keep it in yore pocket. Keep it tight an' he can't do anything wit chew. He'll turn yo' loose.
Entry 9710
If yo' mad wit a man an' wan'a kill 'is timbah or ruin 'is timbah on 'is place [farm], yo' go dere an' bo' li'l' holes in it an' put sulphuh an' salt in dem holes. Dat'll kill 'is timbah.
Entry 9898
Tuh make dem have a tendency tuh love anyone - yo' know, gain de in- fluence of anyone yo' wanta love - yo' gits a grown live frog. Let 'im be well- grown, healthy. An' gits yo' a pastebo'd box an' a darnin' needle an' thread. An' take yo' a pair of scissors an' cut a deep hole in dis box, an' yo' put dis live frog in dis box, but let it be at de twilight of de night. An' take yore scissahs an' cut holes in dis box. An' den take dis needle an' thing an' sew up dis box. An' take it an' don' say nuthin tuh nobody. Yo' take it an' go tuh a ants nest an' den yo' put it right in de ants nest. An' den aftah seven days yo' go back tuh de frog an' den de frog will be a skeleton. An' den it's two pieces about de skeleton yo' want. One look lak a fish scale an' one look lak a fishhook. An' yo' git dem two pieces an' yo' keep de fish scale. An' den yo' take de fishhook an' jes' lak if yo' wanta - intend tuh love anyone, yo' pin it anywhere on 'em fo' about thirty seconds, an' yo' tote it den. An' 'long as yo' keep dat fish scale yo'll have dem undah con- trol an' do anything yo' want 'em tuh do.
(What do you do with that fishhook?)
Yo' take that fishhook an' put it on his shirt or anybody dress or anything. Yo' know, hook it roun' dere. Yo' leave it dere fo' thirty seconds.
(Then what do you do with it?)
If yo' wanta yo' kin take it off.
Entry 9903
There was one trick they had. They used to ketch a frog and take this old frog, kill an ole land frog, an ole toad. And put him in a little box and make holes in it supin like yo'd a pepperbox. Little ants would crawl in there and them ants would go in there and destroy the body of this ole frog. And after he was dead, eat him up. You put that box into run- ulag water, whare there's a place of water running right steady down, until it washed all that ole filth, that ole eat-up flesh, away from that frog, yo' know, and leave nuthin but de bone there. And there was a certain bone there, I don't know what it was, but I've heared them tell it. There was a certain bone in that frog that they'd take that out and go around de girl's house. And if she was walkin' around, cookin' an' doin' anything, she had no knowledge of what was goin' on, why you could hang that in her dress.
(Hang it on the clothesline?)
No, her dress on her. She'd have a dress on. But, if you's to take that ole bone and stick it in her clothes somewhares, she passin' around de house an' you's settin' there talkin' with her, and she couldn't git clear of you.
Entry 10468
Well, dey tell me how tuh ketch 'em [hags] is [tol git a sifter yo see, an' dey'll come in dere roun' 'fore day, yo' see, an' dey count de holes dere an' right dere's where it be yo' ketch [her] countin' dem holes in de sifter. So dey caught a ole lady lak dat once. (What did she look like when they caught her?) Well, she looked lak sompin didn't have no skin on, jes' kinda like butter - not butter, jelly yo' know. So dey caught her an' dey beat her. De ole lady was staying dere herself [living in same house].
Entry 10471
"The old-fashioned sifter is supposed to have a thousand holes in it." [My only example of this, informant lOl, near Snow Hill, Md., by hand.]
Entry 10472
Take fo' instance if yo' in bed an' a witch begin riding yo', why dey calls it de witch; but my education place me in a position to know whut dey calls dose, but at de same time we calls it de witch. Well, yo' go to bed an' de witch rides yo' quite a bit, jes' put a sifter at de head of yo' bed, by a chair dere. [Why near or on a chair? Make yourself at home?] An' it's quite natural de next morning when yo' git up, why yo'll ketch de witch dere counting dose holes over an' over, cause dey afraid dey made a mistake an' dey count 'em over an' over until day.
[I ask a question too far away from microphone to be understood.]
Well, dey claim dat chew kin see it. An' then when yo' see this person - well quite natural when it sunup - yo' say, "Leave!" It will leave.
Entry 10490
[An unusual variation]: "Put down sifter [at night], you will find a bug in the morning. You then take a needle and count the holes in the sifter
[you are playing the witch's part!] and before you have finished, some- one will come in and ask you to turn him loose."
Entry 11181
Now they take the nails an' they drive them down into - jes' lak yo' take dat Red Seal Lye, dat has five holes in it, an' they take an' drive a nail in each hole of the lye. An' they bury this lye undah the house an' they git it near as they possibly kin ovah that lye [devil's-shoestrings] on the inside of the house. They put whut they call de devil's-shoestring, that's a little weed- as near ovah the top of that [can of lye] as they possibly kin. That's tuh make this person weak, sickly. (They put this devil's- shoestring over that and they bury that can of lye.) Bury that can of lye jis' undah de house as near as they kin. Jis' say fo' in- stance, if dis wuz his bed, they bury it undah that as near as they kin git to it undah there. They then come up an' try tuh put whut they call de devil's-shoestring - which is jis' a little weed-lak, yo' know - put it as near undah [center] de bed as they kin.
[This is surely a quincunx rite.]