Subject:Hurt
Entries
Entry 6606
Snakes, any kinda snakes, any kinda insex [insects], if dere somebody yo' wanta put snakes an' scorpions in an' kill 'em. Yo' kin take de snake an' kill it, any kinda snake yo' wanta be in a person. Yo' kill dis snake an' aftah yo' kill dis snake yo' name de person whosom- evah yo' wanta kill. Yo' would name 'em. An' fo' nine days yo'd go dere an' turn 'im ovah. He'd be dead. Yo' turn 'im ovah callin' de person's name fo' nine days. An' de ninth day yo' go dere an' take dat thin' an' parch 'im up, yo' know, an' jis' make a dust outa it. An' if yo' wanta put it in whiskey or amythin', or pat it in some tea or anythin' lak dat, yo' put de dust in yo' knoy vtut cheo make from dat dead snake, or scorpion or spidah or anythin', an' den yo' give it to den. It won't hurt nobody but dem dat chew called dere name. An' den when de ninth day's up dey'll take sick, an' den yo' know, dem dere snakes an' scorpions ll be livin' in dem people, whut yo' give dat dust to - in nine days tine.
Entry 6796
People sometimes claim that when you go out to a road like that [cross- road or forks of road] they've been hurt. They say they go to a tree, the tree after the crossroad, a birch tree. They're off from the forks of the road because most of the time the roads go dead off from a birch. And they get a certain bark off of that tree, and take it back home and keep it four or five days, and take it to a river of running water and throw it over their left shoulder. And they claim they will come all right again.
Entry 9477
Once someone had did somepin tuh hurt me an' dey tole me whut tuh do. Dey said go back home an' look undah de flo' - undah de step an' dig undah dere an' git some salt an' sprin- kle in dat hole. Dat would kill dat whut dey had fo'me. Wahl, ah did dat but ah don' know wus it. Ah did whut dey said all right. Dat'a de best ah knowed of it [to] do.
Entry 10151
(This black cat lucky bone?) Yes. Yo' take some sugah an' some salt an' put it on dis bone, an' let dis bone soak in it fo' an hour. An' den yo' take it an' yo' take dis bone an' put it in yore pocket. An' yo' kin go anywheah yo' wanta, an' do anythin' yo' wanta wit dat, tuh anybody yo' wanta, an' dis bone won' let nuthin hurt chew.
Entry 10213
She kin measure him if she wanta with a string or with ribbon when he goes tuh sleep. She kin tie that roun' her laig or she kin put it in her pocketbook or in her pillow an' she kin control him, but that will lead to accidents in de long run. He'll hurt her.
Entry 11129
Dey scrape it off a black cow horn, dey say, if anybody is bothahin' yo', to mix some John de Conker wit it an' some kinda dust. Mix dat togethah. Ah fo'got whut kinda dust dey call it. Ah cain't rem- embah de name of dat dust, but anyhow yo' put dose three things togethah an' dey say put it 'roun' yore do'step an' in de cornah of yore house. Say nobody can't hurt chew. [Four corners of house and door the fifth point, rite which occurs frequently, is a type of quincunx.]
Entry 11742
Dey kin take an' dress 'em [shoes up with graveyard dirt an' cayenne pepper.
(How do they do that?)
Why, they kin put it inside of a shoe; or they kin take that little leather [insole] out at de bottom [of the shoe] and they kin dress up. Take that out an' bury it. [That makes] feet ache and hurt all de time. (Well, now, are those two different things you have told me or are they all the same thing; that stuff in your shoe and bury it? Do that at the same time or do they do them at different times?) Well, see, these are all right separate, but they be all right together. So one at de time probably dis month and next month, probably two, three months afterwards - something like that - but it be all right together. [This is a skillful piece of tact!]
Entry 12224
If yo' know fo' certain dat somebody had carried somepin roun' yore house an' yo' didn't wanta git hurt, why it's no way dat dey kin hurt chew den. Well, now de only way dat yo' git hurt by anythin' lak dat is not knowin'; but 'long as yo' have anything on yore mind 'bout anybody trickin' yo' or anything lak dat, it kinnot happen, unless dey git it inside of yo'. [This reminds me of the old saying: Shoot a ghost and you will always draw blood.]
Entry 12378
Git chew - if it's two do's heah [in this house] yo' go tuh de grocery sto' an' git chew a can of whut chew call dis Red Devil Iye, which Southerners use down heah as potash, an' open it. Lye and pot- ash are the same in these rites, because that Red Devil Lye can has a real red devil on it!] Take yo' a tablespoon an' dig a hole jes' wit dat tablespoon, an' put de dirt outa dere track, an' yo' bury it down dere, one [can] tuh yore front an' one tuh yore back, when yo' go tuh work, an' it wouldn't hurt chew.
Entry 12616
Well, when yo' know [someone] goin' harm yo', comin' to yore house tuh harm yo', dere ain't nuthin fo' yo' tuh do, but jes' take yore shoes off, both yore shoes, an' put chew some sul- phur an' red peppah in 'em an' wear 'em, an' yo' kin walk ovah anything.
Entry 726
Once a young man dat love a gurl an' anothah boy done love dis gurl too, an' de othah [first boy] wus, yo' see, hol'in [holding] de bes' han' wit de gurl, an' he [second boy] put down a root down to dis [first boy's] do'step. It wus a snake, somepin fixed like a snake in a sack [this is a hand] undahneat' de do'- step; it wus a root like a snake, it jis' wus a little long thing imitate a snake. An' dat wus in de mawnin' early dat de young man walk out, an' he walk ovah it an' a pain take 'im, you know, in his laig an' he couldn't walk. An' he try all doctahs on it an' no doctah couldn't do 'im no good. His laig wus start tuh swollen. An' dey went an' git a root doctor an' car'ed a woman [to him] an' de woman tole it, she say, "Ain't choo go wit a gurl?" De young man said, "Yes 'am." She says, "Well," she says, "you is fixed." She says, "Dey got a hand on yo' tuh keep yo' from walkin' tuh go tuh see dis gurl.' She says, "Now, yo' come on now an' I'm gon'a care [take] yo' tuh de very spot dis hand wus put down fer yo'." An' she tuk de hoe an' she went undahneat' de do'step an' she dig up, an' when she dig it wus somepin imitate a snake tied up in a sack. An' she tuk it out [the sack] an' show it to de family. Aftah dat de boy wus ease, he git bettah.
(What did they do with the root?)
Put it in a glass of watah. An' kep' it three days an' ever' time he looked at it - the watah turned yellah sometime, an' it turned green sometime, an' it turned red sometime. An' it keep on like dat until, yo' know, dey git tired of lookin' at it an' throw it out. "
Entry 1040
I have a cousin, first cousin of mine, she was hurt. A spell was put onto her about fifteen-twenty years ago and she never gotten over it at all because the man died that did it. He put scorpions and lizards in her and dey bother her now. They say they was put on her in through candy. [The preceding belief is known everywhere (see Doctor in Index). It shows the hopelessness of medical practice in hoodoo and witchcraft; you can never be sure whether person casting the spell is alive or dead, his identity being unknown.]
Entry 1601
It's a way dey kin throw dere water [urine] befo' de sun rise.
(How do they do that?)
Well, dey takes saltpeter, dat's whenevah a person is hurt - ah knows dey take saltpeter an' red peppah an' chamber lye an' bath [not bathe] in it an' take it an' throw it out befo' de sun rise.
(That will cure them?)
Yes sir.
Entry 7088
It wus a woman, a [something] woman bein' wit a young girl an' she wus actin' as a man. An' she would take her [girl] home an' put it [some article of clothing] ovah de haid of 'er baid an' be wit dis girl. An' den when she would finish whut she wus doin', she would take 'em down an' de chile would wake up de nex' day's time. But de girl didn't even know she wus bein' wit 'er, but she wus sickly an' weak. Ah wus at de [next door house] when ah heard dat.
(Well, what did this woman do? What did that other woman do?)
She wus actin' as a man wit de girl, bein' wit 'er, yo' know, an' it wus 'ginst de chile's health. De girl wus ill.
(Were they white or colored?)
Dey were colored. [I have forgotten the name my contact man Edward Bufford called these women. It may be somewhere in Hoodoo. In any case, he had a theory that education made homosexuals of women! They did not want to marry uneducated men!]
Entry 11417
Skin from the bottoms of your feet and salt tossed into running water hurts you in some way or runs you crazy. [Wilmington 270:8+85.]
Entry 12832
"Sprinkle salt and pepper around there at twelve o'clock at night, and they claim when they walks through this, they gets their feet hurtin'. They eventually leave there [their home] completely." [Richmond 459:1.]
Entry 13011
"Hold it in your mouth...if you is always hurt like dat, dat dime will turn black." [Mobile 950:2.]
Entry 13049
Whut ah heard wus dis. Yo' could take a silver dime, if it's any- thing yo' could walk ovah, an' put it on yore laig - see, each laig - an' as yo' walk ovah, dat silver dime would ketch onto dat harms, see, dat's down fo' yo'. [Notice those words down fo' you. Theoretically loo people could walk over that dime and not be hurt. The intention is for a specific person or perhaps a family.]
Entry 560
I've been hurted with this here witchcrafter twicet in my life. The first in 1918, I was workin' down to the Broadford [Bradford?] Iron Works- dat's down here to foot of Church Street - an' I was a mechanic helper an' I was installin' a motor there one day. They'd pull de truck from de river up to de machine shop that was to haul de heavy tools out from de water up to de shop an' one day I was workin' along an' workin' along an' didn't thought about anything. That night I come on home an' de nex' mornin' I got up, aimed to get up - this ahrm heah felt like it weighed hunderd pounds. It would carry me down lak dis, as fer as that [demonstrates].
(Bend you over.)
Look like it would weigh me on down like that. I laid down [on] de cot in there an' hold it up like that an' kinda feeled it. So I called my wife, I said, "Look here," I said, "this ahrm look to me lak it weighed a hunderd pounds." I thought it would pull my head off of me. She said, "Well, whut's de matter with it?" I say, "I don't know. I jis' can't hold my shoulder up heah an' dis ahrm jis' heavy. "` "Well," she say, "if you can't go to work today, well you'd better git de doctor." Well, I got Du Bose[?], he was de family doctor. So, she went out there an' called him up. He came there an' gave me his medicine. He give me some rubbin' medicine to rub it with an' some internal medicine to take an' I took that about two months. That didn't do me any good atall - it jis' look like it was gittin' worser an' worser an' worser an' worser. I jis' had to put that hand an' hold it in a sling like that. There came a man heah from Greenville, South Carolina. His name was Doctor Daniel - Daniel somepin, I can't remember his whole name now. But he claimed to be a medical doctor - he was a medical doctor an' he was also witchcraft doctor. So I went to him. I heerd about it, I went to him that day. I told him about how this ahrm was an' I had my family doctor workin' on it an' he seemed to not do me no good. He say, "Well, I will examine it an' see what's de matter." He say, "I don't care what's de matter wit joo or anybody," he says, "fis' as long as you're hurted by witchcraft, an' if you's hurted, if it s rheumatism or your blood or somepin like that, I can git you all right." So, he set me upon [a] chair an' we set down there in the bedroom an' [he] took a bag [imitating doctor's kit]. He looked down an' he looked in it an' got out a glass - it wasn't a water glass - about - it was about dat high [see later] an' set it down. An' he brought out a great big white ball [demonstrates].
(Three or four inches in diameter.)
An' set it on de table. An' he put that ball right on top of de glass [stand or base], an' he set there, an' the ball started to turnin' right on top of de glass. He says, "Now, if anything [is] wrong wit you," he say, "after de date that you was hurted," he say, "you'll see what'll be the consequence nine days after they hurt choo." After that the ball kin'a stop. The ball stop, it got as black on de other side yonder as that table there [which I was using]l, an then it [this side towards informant] was jis' like a lookin'-glass then, only turn to me. An' I looked on that glass like that an' seen a man comin' from down out de boiler shop wit somepin in his hand jis' about that long - it looked like a feathah about that long, about a foot long, an' he comes there where dat I was installin' some motor up to de shed up there, an' [demonstrates] he picks up mah hammah an' took de hammah up by de ball [steel head], an' hold dat hammah up an' took dis thing out of his hand an' hold de hammah down on dat side an' hold de hammah down on dat side, an' hold de hammah down on dat side. [I now comment:] (Holding the iron head of the hammer, with the handle pointed downward, the man took this dressed feather and rubbed it down both sides of the handle and he did this three times on each side.) An' I was lookin' [at] him jis' de same as I'm lookin' at you. An' he laid the hammah down. So, he went on back down de shop an' then I come out de shop an' go up there an' got up mah hammah, I nailed the motor down an' started de motor, then went on back de shop. I was feelin' jis' as good as any- thing in de world. I went back de shop an' went on to work - worked on aroun' an' worked on aroun' that after he had did that. Well, I set there. He told me, "Well, now you see - you see what's happened to you," he say, "now you were hurted nine days 'fore dis thing [pain] happened." He says, "Now I kin cure you." I says, "Well, all right; if you can cure me cure me." He says, '"Now, you do what I'll tell you to do - you take jis' whut I tell you to do an' I'll guarantee you I'll cure it. I'll cure it for forty-five dollahs an' you give me fifteen dollahs now an' the others after you're cured." I say, "All right." I give him fifteen dollahs. He say, "Now, you go back home." He say, "You got any red peppah?" I told him, "Yes sir." He say, '"You got any saltpeter?" I told him, "Yes sir." "Well, you go on back home an' git joo about a quarter of a pound of red peppah an' get choo two balls of saltpeter about as large as the end of your finger. An' grind that red peppah up good an' fine an' put it in a pint of Water, an' grind that saltpeter up an' put it in with that - saltpeper an' dat red peppah together. An' git choo" - then I went an' got a five-cent box of sulphah - "take a half a teaspoon of that sulphah ever' night an' mornin', take a teaspoonful of dat peppah-water three time a day, '' an' that was fer nine days a piece. It cured me.
Entry 753
Yo' kin go out to de fo'ks of de road an' if yo' got anything tuh use, why yo' kin turn either way - dis fo'k of de road run dat-a-way and de othah fo'k go dat-a-way. Yo' turn each fo'k an' throw fo' whosomevah yo' got backwards. Go ahead an' tell de Lord dat he go.
(What would you throw down in that road backwards? What would you throw?)
Well, ah had a fellah heah some yeahs ago dat ah went tuh when ah first got dis stroke, an' he said dat somebody had fixed me dat way - dat had some aigs, and he tole me tuh git nine aigs. Ever' night roun' midnight ah was tuh take mah car an' go down to dat fo'k of de road an' turn backwards an' throw one of de aigs 'ginst it, an' say to de Lord aftah ah throw de aig, "He's [You're] able tuh do all things," an' throw de aig away.
(Do you throw that down in both forks of the road?)
Yeah, but not de same night. Yo' got'a ketch all fo' of de fo'ks, yo' see, at diff'rent nights de same hour.
(Suppose you tell me the whole story of how it happened to you - it began.)
Well, some yeahs ago ah used tuh be with a woman sometime an' ah got married agin - ah didn't marry her. An' she got mad at me an' she wanta hurt me. So she went to a man up heah an' ask him tuh kill me. Dis man came [to my] home an' he gave some medicine tuh rub me. Ah got up outa de bed an' took hol' him an' said, "Captain, yo' cain't kill me - yo' cain't kill me." So he went away an' tole de woman dat he couldn't do anything to me. She went den - paid a transfer - paid seven dollars tuh go tuh Beaufort [South Carolina] - ovah heah to dis man, an' de man all he done was dis - fes' take [the use of] dis han' away. Ah don't know whut he did now, but he's a fellah - whatsomevah he did [in Beaufort] it come ovah heah [to Sumter - ninety-nine miles by crow-flight]. De woman, she sent me five dollahs by another fellah an' prob'bly dat might be how de way dey do it, too - when ah took de money put dis fellah han', dat might cause dis han' tuh git 'flicted.
(What happened to your hand?)
It kinda lak a stroke - paralyzed - de left hand.
(What did you do then? Tell me the whole story of what you have done.)
Well, ah begin workin' on mahself then. Ah went to a woman ovah heah - little burg, Holly Hill, near Columbia. An' aftah ah gotten dere, dis woman says to me, says - after she look ovah her cards, she says, "A woman hurt chew - she's got yo' so dat chew can't make an intercourse wit chure wife." So she tole me, says, ah must go back home an' take a aig - de white of an aig ev'ry mawning in a tea- spoonful of whiskey. Ah did that. Well, ah found that come straight. Then she work on me till she dies and after de death of her then ah had to went to anothah man. So ah went to anothah fellah back ovah heah an' he tole me 'bout dem nine aigs.
(What did he say to do? Tell me the whole story?)
He said tuh git mah nerves back in dis han's, ah'd have to carry those aigs back ovah there each night - nine nights he said. Aftah ah'd work them fo' fo'k [crossroad] ovah there, ah had tuh hunt anothah fo'k - fo' nine nights. Aftah ah'd pitch de aig yo' see, an' turn backward an' say, "Nuthin' could [can] ovah- power God," and throw de aig backwards in dat road, an' come back de next night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an', when ah git through wit dat, ah'd hunt anothah fo'k till ah work up tuh nine aigs.
(What happened then?)
Well, ah got 'long purtty good. Ah kin use de han' where ah couldn't use it 'tall. Ah couldn't pick up nuthin' in dis han' but ah kin pick up dis penny [demonstrates] - ah kin plow wit dis han' an' shovel wit mah han' all right now - purtty good.
The informant recounts a paralysis experience and later instructions involving nine eggs thrown backwards at road forks around midnight, rotating forks across nights with spoken religious formulas. The account includes unknown cause, other treatment and reported improvement; it does not establish the eggs as a medical cause of recovery. Quoted voices and Hyatt's corrections remain distinct.
Entry 5134
Naow [now], dey kin take dem shoes - either one or two, but always seem lak tuh me dat lef'-foot shoe. Take dat lef'-foot shoe an' put some cay- enne peppah an' some saltpetah. An' if dey tryin' tuh hurtcha, gitcha down some way, tuh gitcha past walkin' or swell yuh up, yo' see, put some salt- petah in dem shoes, an' some cayenne peppah, an' some dragon blood. An' put it in dat shoe an' po' some kerosene on it, an' burn dat shoe grajly [gradually] about ten minutes evah mawnin'. An' aftah de shoe burn up, well dat individual will begin tuh suffah wit, 'is knees an' laigs, an' continue lak dat.
Entry 5148
Yuh take de lef' shoe an' cut a square outa de centah of de shoe.
(The center, the bottom or the top part of it?)
De bottom, jis' where yore feet fit right in de bottom of dat shoe. Yuh jis' cut a square outa de inside of de bottom of de shoe. [A square piece is cut out of the center of the insole.] An' yuh bury it.
(What will that do?)
Yuh cut de square outa de shoe an' put it in a li'le sulphuh an' red peppah an' graveyard dirt, an' yo' sew it in a li'le bag an' bury it. An' if yuh wanta hurt a person, well dat will cuz whatevah shoe it is, if it's de right shoe, why dey'll grow lame in dat side. An' dere's no doctah [M.D.] kin cure dem until yuh fin' de person dat has dat [square piece of insole] an' git it from dem. An' de only way tuh find out is tuh [see a] fortunetellah an' let 'em tell yuh how tuh git it.
(I thought it was the left shoe?)
Well, it's de left shoe dat ah'm speakin' about.
(This is out of the left shoe?)
Yes.
(You don't get the right then at all?)
Well, ah nevah learn of de right. It's de left.
Entry 10965
You don' need so much and yo' don' need so much doin', understand? You take a ten-cent piece, a ten-cent piece and put it in de bottom of your foot in de sock, in de bottom of your foot. You understand me? Well, all right, and you git chew a black hen egg. A black hen don't lay a black hen egg.
(I unders tand.)
And if you want a pal's lady friend and you know her name, you write her name on de egg and you, in two minutes, go down to de river and throw it in de river, and don't turn or look back until after you gone about two squares. Don't look back at all. [Preceding squares instead of blocks very un- usual.] (You throw it over your shoulder then?) No, you don' throw dat over your shoulder. (Oh, you just throw it right in the river and then turn around and go right back?) Throw it right in de river and go turn on back [home]. You understand me?
(I understand.)
And dat will drive dem away from you. You understand me? And you will have no more trouble or nothin'. And dis [ten-cent] piece you put under de bottom of your foot, you wear it in dere two-three days, and den after two-three days...
[I turn off machine, then restart it.]
(You what?)
After two-three days you wear dat piece in de bottom of your foot, let me see it.
(Let me see it?)
Let me see it. (Who sees it? Do you mean? Oh, the woman whose name is on the egg. You let them see it?) No, you let me see it.
(Well, why did you see it?)
Yeah. Now, I goin' tell dat. You put dis piece in de bottom of your foot, and if it turns black - you understand me - if it turns black, dey have hurt chah.
(Oh, I see. I understand now.)
You understand me, now? Well, if it do turn black, it is somepin in you. Understand me? Yeah, but - and den... (Well, now, just a moment. You mean - now suppose I am doing this. Suppose I am doing this to someone. I get this egg and I wear this silver piece. Which shoe do I wear that in?) In the bottom of the foot in the shoe.
(Either shoe? In your left or?)
In the sock, yeah - right.
(The right shoe.)
Entry 8406
If ah wanted tuh hurt anybody really bad - well, if yo' have anybody photograph an' dey don't want chew, yo' want dem, yo' take it an' turn it on de face in a basin of watah. An' if yo' want dem tuh die, yo' could repeat dis word, "Let I be true, In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost." (Will that kill them?) No, not tuh kill 'em, but dey'll come back tuh yo'.
Entry 103
Once upon a time I heard the story that a man - two men were at variance with each other and one of the men died. After two or three months this living man was passing along the road near this house where the other man that was dead did live. And all of a sudden he imagined he saw something and kinda hesitated, and something slapped him, and his head became one-sided and he had to move through life that way. He was never able to turn his head around straight again.
Entry 582
I used to go to an old man's house and he had a bag and he called that bag Jack. It was long and big at one end and kinda small at the other end. The string Was tied to the small end - red flannel covered the bag. And then when you would ask him any questions he would take this bag and hold it up [by the stringl and stand still and let it strike the question you asked. If you asked him if this person was hurt, this bag would spin around like a top; if he wasn't hurt, it would stand still. You asked the question, he didn't say anything at all.
Entry 1102
If yo' were hurted - if someone take an' done somepin to yo', yo' see - take a red ant an' boil 'im. Take two or three of 'em, yo' know - two or three of 'em an' jes' boil 'em, boil down. Take 'em an' put 'em in a pan of water an' let 'em boil down to a tea an' drink dat, dat will take dat thing off yo'.
Entry 1207
Dat devil-shoestring [goat's-rue - Tephrosia virginiana] - well, if anyone hurt chew, why yo' jis' git it an' jis' wear it in yore purse or pocket- book an' also dat John de Conker root. Yo' jis' wear it round yo'. An' den it's lucky, too.
Entry 1351
I know of another lady, she had a swell leg, an' she went right in the back of the field an' she got some bushes - I reckon you have heerd talk about jimson weeds. Well, they got some jimson weeds an' put vinegar on 'em - put 'em in vinegar - an' put 'em to her leg, an' the leg completely went down.
(How did she get that swollen leg?)
She think dat she was hurt.
Entry 1606
Ah hear dey say if yo' git hurted an' it ain't inside yo', yo' 'noint wheresomevah dis mis'ry is fo' nine mornin's an' de last morning dat chew 'noint it, why yo' throw de chamber lye whut yo' 'noint yoreself with - throw it sunrise an' it would kill it.
Entry 1608
Yo' kin take and get saltpeter, you kin get the brine offa mack'rel fish, mix chamber lye with this. Now, I know this is real 'cause I did this - that happened to me. You bathe in that but you set in yore door, if you got a door facing the east. You set there, you bathe whatever parts that hurts you or that feels peculiar. You bathe that for nine mornings and yo' be all right.
(But you must sit right in that door facing the east?)
As the sun rise and do that for nine mornings, and as you do that, you mention the Lord's Name - say this, "In the Father, Son and de Holy Ghost."
(And you bathe. What time do you bathe yourself?)
Jest as the sun rise.
Entry 4016
Now whut dey do wit dat, dat's anothah thing right prob'ly in de same direction as chamber lye. Dey take dat - dey take dat an' put it into a bottle an' dey kin hurt chew wit dat. Put dat into a bottle an' stop dat up. S'long as dey keep dat stopped up in dat vessel where it git no air, dat'll jes' - yo' jes' weaken, yo' git all outa sorts an' event'ly [eventually], if dey would nevah take it out [of the bottle], yo' would die from dat, from chamber lye.
Entry 4019
Dey say dat dey kin take yore chamber lye an' put it in a bottle an stop dat bottle up real tight, an' dig a hole 'roun' yore home an' bury dat bot- tle wit de stopper - neck, yo' know, settin' up - tight. Now, jes' as long as yore watah stay in dat bottle, yo' will continue tuh dreen [drain] away. Dey hurt yo' den, yo' see. Normally you dreen away only when the bottle is tilted or slanted and has a stopper purposely made leaky [see margin title DRIPPING later], but in boodoo and witchcraft intention is everything.]
Entry 4509
Dey take dis watah dat yuh bath in, if dey wanted tuh hurt cha. Dey git holt of dis watah dat yo' bath in. Dey take an' make some sea watah an' mix it wit it, dis watah yuh bath in, an' dig a hole durin' de night an' po' it down in dere. Dat'll put yuh down in bed.
Entry 4889
You take that sock off that right foot and carry it somewhere and bury it and you hurt that foot. It cause pains to come in your leg. [Richmond, Va.,
(385. Doctor Johnson, see p.1620f.) 333:4.]
Entry 6507
[I heard'em] say yo' could take, yo' know, if dey git yer fingahnails or somepin lak dat - said dey could take an' put it in a bottle of watah. Dey say, if yo' be any- where, dey say yo' jis' painin' all de time. Yo' know somebody - jis' lak yo's goin' wit somebody an' dey git mad wit yeh, dey fix yah lak dat so yo' jis' be painin' an' hurtin' all de time. Put it in some watah - put it in a bottle of watah an' put it in a dark place somewhere lak a closet.
Entry 6512
De toenails - de trimmings of yo' toenails an' put it in, git some run- nin' watah an' put it in a bottle an' bury dat undah yo' do'. Dat'll give yo' bad luck, makes yo' ail in de feet or sompin lak dat. (You have to take the running water though and put it in a bottle.)
Entry 6520
Lak yo' go tuh somebody's house an' dey'd be cuttin' dey fingahnails an' yo' wan'a hurt 'em. Yo' take one of de fingahnails an' put it in a bottle half camphor an' half whiskey. An' dey say dat'll make dem go crazy tuh lose dere mind [not crazy with love]. An' dey don't think lak a normal person, an' dey do jis' silly things.
Entry 6675
Now a terrapin is a thing, he crawls late at night, an' he crawls at certain times of de day an' he go tuh sleep. Now, dat terrapin yo' wanta wakes 'im at night. Dat terrapin will crawl out de day, an' if chew wanta git dat terrapin tuh hurt chew at night, dey'll capsize 'im from 'is den. Dey'll grab 'im an' dey may cut off 'is right laig an' call yore name. An' dey carries it tuh dey house, bury dat [leg] an' dey'll turn dat ter- rapin loose live. An' quick as dat swell up, where he cut off dat laig, dat right foot - quick as dat swell up, why yo' is a sick man. (That is one way, they use it. What about the other way?)
Entry 9636
If dey put anything down fo' yo', yo' undahstan' to hurt chew or cripple yo' or anythin' so yo' can't walk. Yo' take dat peppah, cayenne peppah an' salt an' sulphuh, an' mix dat tuhgethah an' sprinkle it aroun' undah yore do'step, an' aroun' yore place whare yo' walk. Quite nec'sary [necessary] yo' weah some of dat in yore shoes. Well yo' see, dey can't do anythin' to yo', can't hurt chew when yo' got dat peppah in dere. It keeps dat down.
conditional threat of injury contrasted with a claimed protective negation. Preserve cripple/cannot-walk threat and can’t hurt negation; no diagnosis or proven protection. mixing cayenne pepper, salt and sulphur in a reported protective preparation. Keep the literal uppercase MIX destination, named ingredients, page order and the adjacent protection claim without efficacy. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3812) · Read full source (printed page 3813)
Entry 6785
Jis' lak yo' git hurt or anythin', somebody done fixed yo', well yo' lin [get] dat [dogwood] an' bathe in it. Yo' put bluestone, yo' take de bark off de dogwood tree, take de bark offa de east side an' de west side an' kinda boil it yo' know down. Yo' drinks dat. Well, dat'll bring dat stuff on back oh yo'.
(If anybody has put any stuff [hoodoo] in you?)
Yeah.
Entry 6817
Take guts from a grain [green] gourd and make a tea. Drink, and if hurt inside, you will vomit.
Entry 6860
Take a nail - jis' lak if yo' wuz tuh git hurt or sompin, git cut or sompin, yo' take a nail an' put it up ovah yuh do'. Says dat would heal de wound up.
Entry 6928
Well, dey say if yo' are hurt, yo' kin put a dime in yuh mouth, a sil- vah dime, an' de dime will burn black. Dat's de way yo' kin tell if yo're hurt.
Entry 6937
One thing you can do to keep anybody in the world from doing anything to you, you get a silver dime, grate it, put it in water and drink it. Put a dime in each shoe. I guarantee you that you'll never be hurt. That silver dust will stick to the lining of your stomach and remain there indefinitely, and if it is not right, it will come right straight back up.
[Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 6944
Well, dey say yo's hurt if it turns black, if somebody's hurt chew or tricked yo' some way, it turns black. Said yo' kin put it in yore mouth an' it will turn black, dat dime, or yo' kin weah it. Eithah a fifty cent piece or a quartah, an' it will turn black if somebody has hurt chew.
Entry 7892
Said dey kin take an' git some dirt from de graveyard, an' if dey kin git one of yuh shoes an' put some of dat in it, dey kin hurt choo lak dat; make yo' cripple or lame or somepin lak dat.
The informant reports what others are said to do with dirt from a graveyard and a shoe. The injury claim remains reported rather than independently established.
Entry 8219
Dey take de pichure tuh hurt or tuh do good. Tuh do good, tuh keep yure man, yo' take dat pichure an' yo' take a needle, an' yo' stick a needle right through it jis' lak dat. Right through de pi- chure, right crossways of de pichure lak dat, a sharp needle. An' yo' weah it, jis' lak yo' has a sack [nation sack, See p.1449f., THE NATION SACK WOMAN, first quotation] or anywhere. Yo' kin put it in a li'le sack an' weah it on yo', an' yo' put it down in dat; but yo' turns 'is haid dis way, right dere, see. An' yo' weah dat. An' ah don' care whut direction he's in, dat keeps: 'is mind tumbled up. He's gotta come.
(You wear that any place on your body?)
Yes, in undah yure clothes.
Entry 8309
It has been said dat if yo' take de photo- graph of a person an'.shuts it up in a enclosed tight place, an' de nex' day dey takes it an' tear it up tuh pieces an' throw it away, say dat will also cuz de person tuh be hurt some way lak dat. [For tearing up photo, see preceding margin title GUN WADDING, p.3460.]
(Why do they put this photograph in some tight place?)
In some tight place - wedge it up in some close place somewhere where dere no draft. An' take it de nex' day an' tear it up. Tear it up in pieces an' throw it away.
Entry 8356
Ah learnt dat chew kin take dose nine nails an' dey would be rusty nails, undahstand. Ah learnt dat chew kin take an' drive 'em intuh a person's pichure, undahstand, an' dat would injure dem. In othah words dey would die, wit dose rusty nails, nine of 'em. (Where would you drive them? Into that... Where would you tack them? Against the wall or what?) No, intuh a tree.
[I stop machine too soon and must restart to add word heart.]
(All nine nails into the heart you say?)
Well, as neah as yo' kin git 'em intuh it.
Entry 9604
Take yo' some red peppah, sulphuh an' table salt, or eithah graveyard dirt, an' put it in a little cloth an' put it in de bottom of de shoe an' weah it. [That graveyard dirt is a part of preceding com- bination and not a substitute for it, see following rite about graveyard dirt from near headboard of grave.]
(What will that do then?)
Dey can't hurt chew.
(You walk over anything and it couldn't hurt you?)
Yes.
The informant describes a shoe-cloth treatment and protection claim, using the words 'or eithah graveyard dirt'. Hyatt's bracketed note instead treats dirt as part of the combination and refers to the next rite. Preserve that difference and the red pepper, sulphur and salt as distinct ingredients.
Entry 9752
Say, if anybody wuz hurt chew or git chure min' confusin', an' make yo' don't know whut chew wanta do half de time, dey could take a oak stick an' put nine notches an' ninepenny nail an' put it at chure step. Use new nail. Yessuh, say dat'll shure hurt chew.
(How would they put the nails in, in the stick?)
No suh, nail it down roun' dat stick. Jes' lak if yo' put it in de centah, nail 'em all roun' dat stick. Say yo' couldn't stay tuh yore own house in no peace.
Entry 11168
Yo' kin take a person's shoes an' go ahead an' dress 'en an' have dey foots all swell up.
(How do you dress those shoes?)
How would dey dress dose shoe? Well, yo' kin take dose shoes an' yo' kin go tuh work an' git chew some John de Conkah an' devil's-shoestring, an' make yo' a powder an' yo' kin sprinkle it all in dose shoes. An' dat person will go an git dose shoes an' put 'em on an' dat'll hurt his foot.
(Make sore feet.) [Feet are more than sore! Only a root doctor can cure them!]
Entry 12133
Heard of 'em usin' a hawk's right foot. Well, yo' take de hawk's right foot, de one dat carryin' a claw [what the other one did I forgot to ask!]. Got a claw like a rooster have on his feet. Yo' take dat foot an' yo' take an' wrap it in a piece of flan- nel cloth wit sulphur an' den wit peppah an' salt mixed [3 ingredients]. Well, dat's fo' good luck in gamblin' an' things lak dat. An' ag'in dey takes de bird [hawk's] head or snake head. Take snake head an' beat it up into a powder an' dat will cripple someone, because ah wus crippled once on dat mahself.
(Just how would that cripple them?)
Dat will cause snakes an' things in dem - sompin of that kind.
Entry 12537
Ah heard of 'em using onions an' garlic - fo' being hurted - in sweet milk. Dat's good, too. (Well, how do they do that?) Well, yo' makes a tea out of it but chew cooks it all together - onions an' the garlic an' the sweet milk. Yo' puts it on an' yo' cook it together. Yo' strains it, an' then give it to 'em to drink. Well, if yo' poisoned, well, that's good fo' poison [also].
Entry 12650
Git some red peppah an' sulphur an' wear it in yore shoe, or either yo' kin git a [silver] dime an' wear it round yore laig. That'll keep 'em from hurtin' yo'. [Waycross 1757:15.]
Entry 13010
A dime under the tongue turns black if you are hurt. [Charleston 624:3.] [Or poisoned.] [Vicksburg, 1006:5; Richmond, 276:3; everywhere.]
Entry 13029
This root doctor boiled 2 dimes coined in 1926. While boiling they came together to show that patient was hurt. Two dimes of any year may be used.
[Wilmington 221:1+85.]
Entry 13036
If you are hurt, file portion of silver quarter or 25c pence, boil this dust and drink, and you will become well. [Wilmington 73:3+85.]
Entry 13042
If the quarter or dime tied on your leg turns black, you are hurt.
[Vicksburg 1018:7.]
Entry 13043
If yo' think anybody hurt chew or anything lak dat, yo' put a dime round yore laig an' if anybody done anything to yo', dat dime will turn black.
[Savannah 2140:16.]
Entry 13056
To wear a dime on your ankle against cunjuration, the dime must be new and of the current year. This will turn black if you are hurt. [Charles- ton 575:4.]
Entry 1238
Git some de bark off it an' git about ten rusty nails.
(You go to a dogwood tree?)
Yessuh, an' boil dat together an' den git chew some heart leaves an' put in it, an' if anybody gits hurt - dat's whut ah heard. [If these are not heart-shaped (cordate) leaves, they are leaves of the heart- leaf - several American species of Asarum.]
(What do you do with that? How do you give it to them?)
Yo' give it to 'em - yo' makes a tea out of it.
(You make the tea out of this dogwood and these nails and the heart leaves?)
Yes.
Entry 1263
[Three men together are talking about two absent men:]
Ah've [informant] seen a [doctor] man take a [culprit] man's shoes an' seen 'im, you know, dressin' dem. An' so dis [third] man axed 'im [doctor], say, "Whut chew goin' do wit dis fellah [culprit]?" An' he say, "Well, he [culprit] been givin' de man [doctor's client] trouble to 'is house 'bout 'is wife." See. An' dis [client] man had hired dis [doctor] man to fix dis [culprit] man up. An' so dis happened, you know, up de country. The three men are in town.] An' so dis [third or objector] man tole 'im, say, "Ah wouldn't do dat." He say, "Yes, dat's mah job." An' so he [doctor continues] says, "Yo' ain't got nuthin to do wit it." So he went to work and he dressed dis [culprit] fellah. He say, "Ah'm goin' have to fix dis shoe and den ah have tuh [fix] dat pedal, ' say, "if ah can't git tuh fix his shoe lak ah wanta." See, he [culprit] was a truckdriver. He say, "Ah go an' dress dat dere clutch' - yo' know, where yo' have tuh put in clutch, yo' know, tuh change gears. "Ah kin git 'im good on dat." So he fixed up de shoe and dis fellah, yo' know, jes' lak ah say ah'm gon'a.
(How did he dress the shoe?)
Well, he took dat shoe and he took two toadyfrogs - see, took two toadyfrogs and he cut dat toadyfrog wide open live, see, an' got dat blood and put it down in dat man's shoe, spread it down in dere. [A frog for each shoe.] An' den he put somethin' else in dere. Whut it was ah don't know, but he put something else in dere. An' dis heah [objector] fellah heah, tole 'im, say, "Would it hurt me now if ah wear his shoes back to 'im? See, 'cause ah jes' borrowed his shoes playing partner wit 'im, see, 'cause make out lak mine was too little and want 'im to break 'em out. Ah swap wit him tull I git a chance tuh fix 'em?" He [doctor] says, "No, it ain't goin' hurt chew. It jes' goin' hurt de one hit was fixed fo'."
[Why objector borrowed shoes and then objected, I do not know.]
An' so dis fellah wears de shoes back an' so dis [culprit] man den puts on his shoes, see. Well, he goes down de next morning tuh git his truck. Well, dey got 'is clutch fixed on 'is truck. Well, when he went an' got on de truck, well dat night he wasn't able to walk home. He was hoppin'. His laig was hurtin' all up, clean up tuh 'is knee. An' yo' kin hear 'im hollerin'. Ah heard 'im my ownself. You could hear 'im hollerin' two blocks. De doctor he come. De doctor couldn't do no good. Dey had to go git another hoodoo woman - big hoodoo woman stay out from Bergen Junction, back out dere - ole lady Rivers [Ridders?]. Well, she goes tuh work an' she come dere an' she lays her han' on 'im jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates] an' drag it over 'is face - we was all standin' dere lookin' at 'em - bring 'er han' right down ovah his face jes' lak dat an' carried it straight on down, right ovah dat laig. An' she done dat three times, an' when she done dat three times, two toadyfrogs hopped outa dat man's laig, an' dat man got all right. Come out back dere where de two places 'bout tuh come to a haid - where it done, you know, formed a corruption.
(What was this woman's name?)
Rivah - Ridder.
(Is she near St. Petersburg?)
No sir, she stay right up 'cross de rivah from Rocky Ford, Georgia. [Speaker is from Georgia.]
Entry 1270
I've heard they use a frog, but it must be a toadfrog. You know what a toadfrog is?
(No, what is a toadfrog?)
Well, he's a thing he abides on dry land. He's not a water animal. Course he kin swim but he abides on dry land, see. And now, I've heard that you gets the toadfrog but you don't get him dead - don't let him be dead. You wants to let the toadfrog be alive and when you get him, you take him and you puts him - well, you may have you a little box made. You put him in this box and you go get you some salt and you sprinkle that on him. You goes and you gets you some baking powder and you sprinkle that over him, and after you sprinkle that over this frog you don't want - don't kill him, you may be hurt. You bind this frog to the place where you hurted and just leave him lie there, see, with that pepper and baking powder on him, but brang him to the place where you hurted, and in seven days that place will come to a head and whatever in that place it will run out. Where doctors have failed to do you any good, well, that frog will kill it.
Entry 4530
Den dey kin wheel aroun' [change about] an' take yuh hat. Dey take yuh hat, dis ban' off yore hat, an' dey take de ban' tuh hurt cha. An' when dey take it off dere, dey keep dat. (They take that bow off.) Yes sir, dey keep dat. Den dey done take dat, dey keep dat. If dey kin git tuh yore shoes, dey take yore right foot shoe an dey'll burn it up tuh ashes, an' de oddah foot de same way. An' dey kin take dat ban' off de hat an' put it in deah, in heah, an' bury 'em an' keep yuh down.
Entry 12729
Left-hind foot of rabbit and hawk foot, dressed in urinate and Hearts Cologne; that keeps anyone from hurtin' yuh, all enemies away, an' give her good luck." [Wilmington 249:2.]
The item attributes protection from being hurt to a described preparation; the source also mentions enemies and luck without establishing those effects.