Subject:Jar
Entries
Entry 3326
If yo' wanta hol' a woman, yo' git a piece of new homespun about dat uide[demonstrates].
(About a foot and a half wide.)
Yeah, 'bout a foot an' a half wide, an' when yo' have connection wit 'er, why yo' wipe three times - yo' gotta wipe three times. Yo' know, Jes' lak yo' be wit er - jes' lak yo' got yore pocket han'chif - understan', dat's lak a pocket han'chif, lak dat. (You wipe her three times.) Yeah, see when yo' git up offa her, understan'. Yo' gotta have dis three times, see. An' den yo' wipe her wit dat an' yo' take a jar - understan', a quart jar but it gotta be new, nobody use it atall. An' den yo' screw it up in dere tight an' bury it underneat' de house. An yo' don' have tuh worry no mo'.
Entry 3928
An' a boy took a girl - a girl he wuz likin' at least - he taken 'er napkins an' stopped 'em up in a jar wit quinine an' sulphur, an' she cain't leave 'im. She tried evahtin' an she went to evah root doctor she could possibly go to, an' dey tole her dey couldn't do nuthin.
Entry 4039
Dey usely [usually] take yuh chamber lye an' stop it up in a jar, but yuh have tuh use cinnamon bark tuh put wit it, see, in ordah tuh tie up de kidneys tuh stop 'em from makin' watah. (What do you do with that jar?) De jar, yuh bury it. Bury it. Yuh put it where no one kin find it, yo' undahstan', tuh open it.
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 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 4777
Well, if ah'm a enemy tuh yuh an' wants tuh confuse yuh in yore home, ah mah- self, ah cain't do it. Got'a git someone tuh help me tuh do it, an' dat's by goin' an' gittin' a piece of yore clothes, sompin othah dat chew wears, don't chew know - sompin dat chew wears. An' ah takes dat an' tear it up, makes a very small string out of it. Take it an' twist it.
(Tear the whole piece of cloth up?)
Not de whole cloth, jis' git yuh a strip off about lak dat [demonstrates], whatevah it is, an' jis' tear it up in small strips. Take an' twist it dis away [demonstrates]. One [strip] dis way an' one dis way, jis' lak dat, yuh know. Jis' keep atwisting it till yuh git right intuh a fine - down-lak yuh know, tuh a string. Yuh take it den an' yuh put it - draw a knot intuh it. Yuh know how yuh tie a knot intuh anything. Well, yuh take dat an' git it intuh whatevah yuh kin git it intuh [a jar, see later]. Den yuh take some salt an' take some vine- gah an' anything dat dey'd use lak a garlic. Yuh git yuh some garlic tuh put in dere an' nine drops of turpentine. An' tighten dat up real - tighten it down howevah yuh wanta tighten it down.
(Tighten that jar down?)
Tighten de jar down, yassuh, an' den yuh prob'ly cain't git tuh de house; but git somebody tuh bury it tuh de back of de steps.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will - dey cain't git along in dere.
Entry 5313
Dey take yore tracks an' dey don't pick it up from yo' - [I mean] dey don't pick it up tuh yo', dey pick it from yo'. Pick it from yo'. An' dey take yore track an' put it intuh a jar. An' den dey says dey take it an' dey takes some antses, red antses, an' put dat in dere an' stop it up. An' aftah dey stop it up, dey takes it an carries it tuh some runnin' watah, an' cast it intuh de runnin' watah an' dat'll start chew tuh goin'. See de idea?
(Now what do you mean they take this track up from you?)
Take it up from yo' lak dis [demonstrates].
(You start at the heel and take it up like that. Both tracks?)
Take it up from yo' - jest one, dat's de right track. Dey put nine big red antses intuh yore track.
Entry 8393
Yo' kin take de photograph if yo' want tuh. Take dere photograph an' git chew some of yore chamber lye, an' yo' kin jes' keep dis face turned down tuhwards de - in de chamber lye, an' he'll be right dere. An' long as dat pi- chure stay dere, he'll be right dere. (You don't put the picture in the chamber lye?) No suh, jes' put it on top of it. See, jes' lak yo' got a li'le jar or sompin lak dat wit chure chamber lye, yo' undahstand. An' yo' put it [photo] right ovah dat [jar]. If he starts, yo' kin call 'im back by jes' goin' on back tuh dis chamber lye an' say, "Come on back heah tuh me. Where yo' goin'?" An' he'll make lak he leave sompin tuh de house or sompin of de kind, yo' undahstand [and come on back for it]. Well, he gotta come back dere.
Entry 8398
Nex' thin', yo' kin take a photograph an' use it. Lak some people use a jar lak dey make watah in, yo' know. Dey'll take dat photograph an' dip right down in dat watah nine times evah night fer three nights. Dat pusson come tuh yuh an' tell yo' evah- thin' dat on yuh mind.
Entry 8780
If yo' wants tuh make a person move ag'in [another method] eithah [or] make 'em live bad - it goes fo' both de things. If yo' wanta make 'em live bad, ah break some ice up, an' ah take dat beef gall, an' de dirt dauber - yo' knows dat - an' yo' roll it [dirt dauber]. Yo' know, yo' take a bottle an' put it [dirt dauber nest] in a piece of papah an' roll it up, yo' know lak yo' do bread crumbs. An' yo' take dat beef gall an' yo' take de same cayenne peppah. Yo' use a whole box of it an' de beef gall, an': yo' mix all dat up togethah. An' yo' write de individual name down nine times each way. Yo' see, yo' could write it nine times straight lak dat [demonstrates]. An' den whosomevah yo' breakin' up from, yo' could write dem on top. An' den yo' write 'em down nine times each way yo' see. Yo' write it straight lak dat, an' den urite it, yo' know, catacorner [catercornered]. Yo' undahstan' how ah mean? Write it across jis' lak a seal lak yo' make. [These 2 groups of names cross each other making an "x" or cross.] An' den yo' put it in dat piece of papah, but chew git a white piece of papah an' yo' write it in ink. An' yo' git it in dat papah an' yo' fold it up, an' when yo' fold it, don' fold it towards yo', always fold it from yo'. An' yo' put it in a jah. Yo' put all dat togethah in dat papah an' yo' put it in a jah an' yo' stop dat jah up tight an' yo' put it in a ole country toilet. Have tuh be shure tuh find a country toilet tuh put it in where nobody won' find it.
(What would that do then?)
Dat would break yo' up. Dat would break anybody up, if yo' want 'em tuh live bad an' not prosper or nuthin. Dat'll make 'em, yo' know, live bad.
(These two people.)
An' den ag'in, dat same thing yo' could do ag'in, if yo' wants tuh put some- body against - lak yo' have friends an' de people heah lak [like] yo'. If yo' put de othah person ag'inst dese othah people, yo' kin take dat same thing an orite dere name down an' den write de othah individual name on top an' put it down, an' dey'll come tuh lak yo' an' hate de othah one.
(You don't throw that in the toilet do you?)
Yes, de same thing. Yo' know it diff'ren ways yo' could do.
Entry 9732
If yo' want tuh kill a woman or a woman wants tuh kill yuh, she could take six rusty nails an' git a piece of yore undahclothes, an' [or] ole stockin'. Takes it an' drop it intuh a quart jah an' screw de top on it. An' left about three holes in it, where jes' a li'l' sand kin drop in dere. An' bury it undah yore steps, if yo' aren't scared. An' den yo' walk in an' out an' back an' fo'wards [over it]. Jes' as de sand drop in dere, yo' [inside the quart jar] gits sick. Well, yo' git tuh de play [place] yo' won' be no mo' good tuh yuhself or nobody else. An' de mo' sand drop in dere de mo' closah yo' gits tuh yuh grave. Jes' kill yuh, yo' know.
Entry 9884
Say fer instance if dere somebody livin' in dis house dat chew wanted tuh run 'em crazy. Well, yo' would git chew nine frogs an' put 'em in a jah. Covah dat jah up. Say [for instance] yo' know who's sleepin' in dis bed chere. Yo' take dat jah of frogs an' put it right undah de house, bur' it right undah dere baid, an' dey tell me dat in six days dat individual will go crazy an' de ninth day he'll die. [In dis bed chere means the bed in my interviewing room at a private home. Not my bedroom; I stayed at a hotel.]
Entry 10219
Say, now a woman and she has a husband, and she doesn't want him to have anything to do with any other woman in the sex line. She goes to the store and she buys a brand-new big [white] pocket han'ke'ch'ef. (What kind of a pocket handker- chief?) A brand-new white pocket han'ke'- ch'ef. She takes that back home to the bed and tonight she fool with him. She will use that to wipe him on, don't cha know. And she won't use that on herself. All right. She wait until he's gone and then she'll take that and she bury it in a small jar, don't cha know, right in front of the steps where he'll have to walk over that whensomever he comes. He kin go wherever he wants and be with whoever he wants to, but he can't have nothing to do with 'em.
(Well, suppose a man did that [to a woman]?)
That just reversing it. Reversed it. When she bury it, she'll bury it on the bottom [of jar]. He'll take it and bury it on de top, on end [turn it upside down so that handkerchief will be against reversed top of jar].
(Well, how do you mean she buries it on the bottom - bottom of what?)
Bottom of the jar. Put it in the jar, see, and she gotta set the jar down and bury it. Well, he'll go there, why he just take it and put it outside of that, the way she had - upside down, the bottle up.
(I see, that fixes her, sees that she can't get away.)
I mean that she can't get away. See, the only way she kin get away is when the top rots off and the rag rots up.
Entry 10246
Ah seen tie knots. Go off an' have intercourse with a woman an' tie knots in dat hans'cuff to tie her up.
(Just how would they do that?)
Well, dey take dere pocket hans'cuff an' de' tie it up, tie nine knots in it. Take de pocket hans' scuff den an' put it in a jar, an' put de jar down where she kin walk ovah it or walk undah it, eithah one, an' she'll always be fo' dat person.
(A man would do this to a woman.)
Uhmmm.
Entry 11033
Dey take a black hen feather an' take dat an' put it in some blood, an' den keep dat in a jar, an' dat'll keep yo' from bein' fussin' an' argument [arguing] all de time.
(What kind of blood do you put that in?)
Oh, yo' have to have some of de one whut chew thinkin' of, whut chew love. (Get some of their blood on this feather and keep it locked up and that is to make them love you?) Yes. Ah say yo' kin git a black hen an' take dat feather an' put it in blood of somebody whut chew love an' put it - but yo' gotta have it in dat jar or a bot- tle or sompin. Stop dat up an' keep it dere, so dat same party will be thick wit chew all de time.
Entry 11118
Yo' take de oil of a coconut an' put dat up intuh a little jar an' bury dat at de no'th side of de house. Dat's supposed tuh keep yore husband at home or yore wife at home. [Originally I considered this oil of a coconut as the usual pharmaceutical coconut oil, but it could be the coconut water or coconut milk, which confined in a coconut would have confining qualities in hoodoo. This could also be said about coconut 011.
Entry 11204
You get you a sock or sompin like that, anything you wear. Take that sock, ball it together, put it with some dirt dauber nest, roll 'em together [sock sprinkled with dirt dauber is rolled up] and you put it in a jar or any kind of bucket or anything that unleaks - what won't leak. Take it to the river, throw it in the river and let it go downstream. You'll be gone!
Entry 11213
Take the dirt dauber and take dis man's name.
(Yes?)
And you write the man's name and you set this in the bottle, and when you puts this in the bottle...
(Now what do you put in the Bible?)
You puts - in de bottle!
(Oh, in a bottle. You put all this in a bottle?)
All this in a bottle. Well, I call a bottle a jar - one of these pickle jars - and put the vinegar in there with the man's name in there. That's the dauber dust. Then you takes this man's name and you just put the pin and the tacks and the needles in there. And then you put it in there, and every day at twelve o'clock you shake it up and call this man's name. Every day you do the same thing until the ninth day that you see that you get your wishes.
(What kind of wishes do you make?)
Well, the wishes that I would make, would be the bad destruction on him. That'd be bad luck for him to have. That's the bad wishes.
Entry 11363
It's just like if you go out and have a passage. You will take that and put it any place that will do, put it in a jar. Get nine needles and nine pins and nine tacks, and put them in there and stop that up, and it will cause you not to move your bowels. They won't move. They'll pass through your mouth and finally it will kill you.
Entry 12699
And then this 109th Psalms. Jest like you know if someone has mis- treated you, and you didn't want to go right to their face to settle it. Well, you pray dis 109th Psalm for 3 days. Then you go and you get you a pint of new wine and put some mustard in there - new mustard - have a new jar - everything new and put it in there. And go to that person's door the fourth night, after you pray the third - the fourth night. Den you go there and put it right cross- Ways of that door, but don't ever let a drap get on you. And so he'll go to the God that gives it [this rite is evidently pow- ered by God!]. [The horizontal bottle, at the foot of the door or steps, does not coml pletely cross vertical door, only symbolically. Moreover the "T" cross is upside down
Entry 13138
Well, dere's a boy an' a girl dat's goin' tuhgethah. See. Dey got in good love. Yo' know, she got tuh lovin' him an' he got tuh lovin' her. Dey got big ages [they were grown up] yo' see. "Oh, ah got him so ah want him [to] stay wit me," an' "ah don't want him [to go nowhere." [Notice incomplete infinitives.] Well, he come tuh stayin' dere at night, see jes' lak man an' wife. Jes' stay an' stay an' stay. Well, somebody else got betwixt dat, "Ah want [to] tear dat up, ah don' lak dat. He ain't ma'ed tuh her. He ain't a much right man. He ain't much good. Ah'm goin' tear dat up." Undahstand. Well, so dey got mad an' so decided dey want tear hit up. So dey throws baa luck in dey way. So she says, Cora says, "Well, yo' know, he wuz so good tuh me an' all at once he's got bad. Ah don' know whut in de worl' mattah wit him." Say, "Ah cain't undahstand it." "Well, maybe somebody else is got a bettah haid den yo' are an' to' [tore] it up." "Well, ah'll find out." Says, "Ah knows a thing or two mahself. Ah'll take ca' of dat. Ah'll take ca' of dat." Okay, all right. She goes an' she takes his sock - de sock he weahs - de dirty sock he been Weahin'. She takes dat sock an' washes it, washes dat sock, yo' know, in jes' a leetle bit of watah, yo' know. Well, yo' might say, in a boil [water just coming to a boil]. Yo' take dat sock an' yo' boil it, yo' know, an' git dat dirt off whut he's been weahin'. An' take dat watah an' jah it up [put it in a jar] an' yo' put - ah dunno whut chew call dat kin'a powdah, it wuz a lucky powdah, she [hoodoo woman] put in dere an' 9 drops of Hearts Cologne. Yo' put dat tuhgethah. Yo' know, yo' boil dat lil' watah down right low, yo' know till it be jes' a lil' bit. Den yo' put nine drops of Heart Cologne in dat. Den yo' put it in a lil' bottle an' yo' stop it up. An' fo' 9 mawnin's yo' take dat an' yo' daubs yo'self wit dat fo' 9 mawnin's. Yo' all right. Yo' won't have no mo' trouble.
Entry 13368
If yo' wanta con ah a man, when he use de slop jar at night, says if yo' git dat an' take it wit yo'. Git chew some, about three drops of kerosene - about three or four drops of kerosene in it. An' puts chew quite a bit of sulphur in dere, in dis water [urine]. An' say yo' take dat an' throw it in a stream of water, turn yore back, dey say, an' walk away, or throw it over yore shoulder dis way [demonstrates] an' walk away. An' say if yo' home an' dey don't want chew dere, why yo' constantly will go away.
Entry 13454
An' if yo' wants tuh git rid of him an' don' want him nowhere aroun', go git chew a bottle of wine, black wine, an' git chew a little jar of mustard - git chew half a jar of mustard. Take half a jar of mus- tard into de wine, a quart of wine or half a gallon of wine 'cordin' tuh how yo' wanta use it. Take dat mustard an' beat it into dat wine lak dat, jes' continually beat it, until it all go tuhgether an' yo' cain't see it - de mustard. Take an' sprinkle dat when he leaves outa yore house, if he's stayin' dere yo' know. An' when he leave out, jes' sprinkle dat behin' him an' let him go. He ain't comin' back. He cain't come back. [The wine leads him out, the mustard keeps him away, and informant is marked excellent.]
Entry 13455
An' if ah have a enemy that's botherin' me, ah supposed tuh git - yo' know somebody coml' tuh me an' jis' botherin' me all de time an' ah wanted tuh run 'em away. Ah kin run 'em at twelve a'clock in de night. Ah'd buy me a jug of wine an' put a dime jar of mustard in a jug of vine, an' po' that jug of wine right at de hour of twelve a'clock right at de do'step, but be sho' [sure] not tuh let de wine, tetch me. [There are numberous varnings in HOODOO by professional workers not to let any of the in- gredients used touch you.]
Entry 8006
[I have two versions of the story about Bowizer and his two wives, a tale concerning his mistreatment of first wife and his enslavement by second wife. Whether this is the remnant of a folktale or the beginning of a new one, or something actually factual, I do not know.] FIRST VERSION OF BOWIZER TOLD BY COUSIN Mah Cousin's brothah's wife [not speaker's cousin but cousin by marriage who had a brother who had two wives, this one the second], she taken down sick an she had doctors an' doctors an' doctors of all kind, an' none of 'em seemed tuh not tuh do 'er any good. An' he wus settin' down one day an' - dat wus 'is sec- ond wife. He wusn't good tuh 'is firs' wife, but 'is second wife, he wus so good tuh 'er. He'd wash an' scrub fo' her an' evah- thing. Jis' cook an' evahthin'. So somepin come tuh 'im an' tole 'im, say, "Yo"go an' look in de bottom of yuh trunk. Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk." Well, he'd set down dere an' nod, an' nod, an' nod. Be settin' up wit 'er an' nod, an' nod, an' he'd drowse, an' sompin would tell im ag'in. "Go an' look in de bottom of yuh trunk." So fine'ly sompin tole 'im, "Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk, " fo' about two weeks. An' so de nex' time sompin tole him, "Go look in de bottom of yuh trunk, " he got up an' went on an' looked in de bottom of 'is trunk. All kinds of fine things, jis' fine dresses, de finest kind of step-ins, bloomahs an' a big ole automatic, he didn't even know it wus in de house, wus in de bottom of dat trunk. An'.den dere wus a li'le coffin down in dere - a li'le coffin. Dere wus de seat of 'is undahweah, de centah of undah each ahm [arm] in dere, an' some of dis here, whut dey call cayenne peppah sprinkled down on dere. An' it wus de image of a person made from a stick.
(From a stick?)
Right on a piece of a board, yo' know, jis' in a image. Yo' know, jis' lak yo' take a board an' cut a image of a person, yo' know. An' den dey had dat private an' evahthing cut down dere. Yo' know, had it crossed. An' so dey had jis' down in dere jis' lak a coffin, made in de shape of a coffin. An' it wus closed up an' dere wus 'is name wrote in dere nine times. His name wrote down in dat, right down in dat coffin nine times. Some kind of a powdah wus in dere. A li'le bottle about dat high of urinate wus in dere an' de cork, li'le cork stoppah wus in it, yo' see, well it wus cut on each side, see cut on each side fo' de air tuh git in dere, an' it kin come out, yo' see. An' it wus settin' right straight up right by dat li'le image of 'is private, yo' know, settin' right by it. An' it wus closed up right in de bottom of de trunk. An' so dat's whut had 'im, kept 'im down. He couldn't git away from 'er. She would do anything dat she Wanted tuh do an' he'd be pleased at it, he jis' stayed at home, but wit 'is firs' wife he didn't do it.
(What did he finally do? Did he get the spell off of him or anything?)
Yes, he took dat li'le box out of dere an' took it tuh two-three fortune- tellahs. An' dey tole him, ast 'im who fixed 'im, an' he tole 'em, said, "It wus mah wife." Dey say, "Well, do yo' want 'er?" So he tole 'em, 'Yeah, ah loves 'er." Dey say, "Well, if yo' love her, yo' take dat box right back, set it right back where yo' got it from; but if yo' don't want 'er no mo', yo' take a jar an' put dat box in dere dat jar big enough jar tuh slip dat box in dere" - dat box no biggah'n jis' lak dat - "an' den yo' close it up an' go tuh a runnin' stream an' throw it in dere an' say, "She'll leave yuh wandahin'.
(Leave you what?)
Leave yo' wandahin', she'll wandah away. An' he did dat an' dat woman got up dere one mawnin', she got well an' evahthin'. She wusn't all dat sick. She wus jis', yo' know, actin' lak dat, playin' sick fo' him tuh do de work. She got up from dere an' left, tole 'im dat she wus goin' tuh town. An' she left from dere, didn't eat or nuthin. She didn't even take time tuh git 'er clothes. She jis' got worried an' jis' half crazy, an' she left from dere an' he don't even know where she's at.
(I thought he wanted to keep her?)
You say, if he wanted to keep her?
(I thought he told the fortunetellers he wanted to keep her?)
Said he loved 'er. He [fortuneteller] ast 'im did he love 'er.
(Yes?)
An' he tole 'em, said, yeah, he loved 'er. "So, well, yo' take dat box den an' put it right back where yo' - where it wus.
(Well, why didn't he do that?)
Well, he wanted tuh git out of de fix he wus in. but he didn't.know it wus goin' tuh run 'er away.
(I see.)
[If the reader missed it, do turn back to the first sentence of this first version: "she had doctors an' doctors an' doctors of all kind." These are unique words because the usual expression is, with variations, 'she had every doctor in town. "[Mobile, Ala., (679), 975:3.] So mah brothah, Bowizah, had a wife, firs' wife. He didn't do nuthin jis' run roun' all de time. But ah'm tellin' yo' dis here whut ah know from experience. Ah ain't tellin' somepin whut somebody say dey know. So he ma'ied anothah woman an' she had 'im so she'd go out, she run roun' an' she do whut she please. He couldn't he'p 'imself. He wash an' he scrub an' sweep - do evahthin' in de worl' he could an' he couldn't quit 'er. So one day he wus 'tendin' our garden an' somepin tole him look in 'is trunk. So he went tuh de trunk an' looked in it an' seen all kin' raimints - clothes, shoes - evah- thin' wus in dere. An' he didn't know it wus in de house. So dis [same inner voice] says somepin tuh 'im, "Look in [the bottom of] dis trunk." An' so he looked in de bottom an' dere wus a small casten [or castit = casket] 'bout dat long [demonstrates].
(What?)
Casten - coffin. An' it had de seat of 'is undahweah cut out an' right up undah his sleeve [demonstrates].
(Under his arm, the left arm.)
Yes, sir, his left ahm. An' he got it out an' ca'd [carried] it tuh one of de men's [a doctor] an' de man put it in one dese fruit jahs [jars] an' screwed it tight an' put it in a runnin' stream. So he say one mawnin' she woke up an he run 'er out dat house an' he ain't saw 'er since.
Entry 423
When I was a child I hear'n of the old folks say they knew where there was some hidden money and they come to the conclusion that they would go and look for it. They wasn't positive sure it was there. And they appointed a night that they would go and try and see if something would happen. The leader was a woman. And when they got there they stop and draw a large circle on the ground. They drew that circle right around the money, where they had ideas to believe that it was there. And they was to come inside of that circle. And there must not be any conversation here at all inside of that circle. So she [the leader] said, "Lets try it." And so they got inside of that circle, and she took her stand about here, [demonstrates], and she was reading a lesson from the Bible. After that was over they had to go to work. She put her spur [spear] down into the ground, a rod, a money rod, right in the center of the circle. And there was something else they did but I can't think of that. But anyhow, this rod, after it got to a place so deep, it looked like somebody dancing - it just shivered. Then they start to dig and they got down to the money jar. They were.about to put it on top of the ground, and just as they reached down to get a hold of the jar, the woman said, "Up, up." Boom! it went back into the earth and disappear. So they didn't get it. But they say a fellow came back a couple of nights after that and got it. That happen sixty-four years ago [1872] down here near Snowhill [Marylandl. [Ocean Citv. Md., (16), Ed.
Entry 907
Once a woman hurted her husband. He didn't know who had hurt him. An' one he friends took him an' cared 'im to a root doctor. It was off from Georgia, [at] Aiken [S. Car.] or some'eres over there. An' this man wouldn't tell him who hurt him, but he knowed it was his wife. An' so he give him some medicine an' told him to go back home an' take some of his urinate an' put it in a jar, a one-quart jar, an' stop it up tight an' dig a hole in the middle of the road. An' he put it down in there. He watched an' this woman came [walked over the buried jar] an' she took the same kin'a disease that he took. An' then this man that told him to do this [told him that after she walked over itl to come back to him an' get instructions. An' he went back to de man an' told him how he done. This woman, swoll her up in all the same that he was in. Then this man told him to go back an' take the jar up an' throw that stuff out. An' he went there an' do that an' she got well.
Entry 3964
Well, yo' kin take a woman ag'in. Dis woman an' some of - mah ole lady, an' yore ole lady didn't lak her, or sompin lak dat. Dey had a fallin' out wit 'er, an' [or] anybody dat wanta fallen out wit 'er, dey kin study roun' 'er an' git some of 'er min'strate, an' take dat an' put in a closed jar an' bury dat head-side down. She won' have no mo trouble wit her no mo'.
Entry 4588
Dey kin run yuh crazy wit dat bow outa yuh hat easy, becus dey take dat bow outa de hat an' take it an' git some of dat stone outa graveyard - chip of stones off de [tombstone] out in de graveyard, graveyard dust, white sand out of de graveyard from de head of any grave. An' take it an' put it intuh a jar, altuhgethah, an' take it back an' plant it in dere, in de grave- yard. Dat easily kin run yuh crazy too, de same way as yuh hair.
Entry 4877
De only thing dat will work on anyone - an' heah's another little prop- osition. Yuh sure yuh're not goin' tuh print dose things [here in Mobile]?
[I must have shaken my head to say, no.]
Well, all right. Well now, say fo' instance now, yuh's a woman an' ah wanted yuh. HAVE YUH GOT A POCKET HAN'KECH'EF DERE? GIMME YUH POCKET HAN'KECH'EF. NOW say, fo' instance how, yuh wanted a woman an' yuh couldn't git 'er. Yuh come tuh me an' says, "DoC, mah wive [wife] is gone, an heah's lady 'cross de street ah is aftah, an ah can't git 'er." Ah say, "Aw, yes yuh kin. Have yuh got ten dollahs?" [Or] ah say, "What chew gimme tuh git 'er?" He say, "Ah give yuh ten dollahs." Ah tell yuh what chew do. Ah say, "Yuh go an' kin yuh git one of 'er ole dirty stockin's?" He say, "Yes." Ah say, "Well, yuh git one of 'er ole dirty stockin's." Yuh go an' git dat stockin'. Ah say, "All right." An' ah say, "Now bring me yuh own." All right. NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TUH ME. Take her stockin' jis' like dat [demonstrates]. Jis' like dis is heah, an' lay yores on top of it. YUH WATCH ME. See how dere [they are] straight. [He starts to roll them up.]
(You roll them up.)
Yo' roll 'em tuh yuh, jis' like dat. Roll 'em tuh yuh an' den when yuh git tuh de laig part, den yuh turn dat ovah tuh yuh an' roll yores ovah de top of dat jis' like dat, yuh see. Well, den yuh go ahead den an' git chew a jar, an' put nine grains of whole grain black peppah in dere - jis' drop 'em in dere. Den yuh write her name seven times an' put it in dere - an' roll it tuh yuh.
(The name must be rolled up with the stocking?)
Rolled wit de stockin'. Well, den yuh roll dat wit de stockin' into de jar, an' where yuh stay at, den yuh bury dat undah de step, see.
Entry 5751
If yo' got a girl, yo' know, an' she leave zhoo, ah know how yo' kin git 'er back. Jis' take huh feet tracks, yo' git de right one, put 'em in a jah an' urinate a li'le bit on it, an' jis' stop it up an' keep it right undah de baid. Dat'll bring 'er back. [Wilmington, N. Car., (205), 160:1+85].
Entry 6395
Take when yo' scrape de bottom of yore feet. Some people have crusts or whatsomevah, ole dead skin, up undah de bottom of dere feet. Yo' take dat an' yo' put it in a jar an' bury it up undah yore back do'step. An' aftah yo' bary it up undah yore back do'step, whutsomevah trouble yo' have wit dis persmn, it'll be all ovah.
(You take that to somebody you are having trouble with?)
Yes sir.
Entry 13156
Sock or stocking, put in jar, urinate on it, keep it hidden, make 'em love you. [Memphis 1550:3.]
Entry 1304
You can take the chamber lye and mix spirits of turpentine with it and then put it on and boil it until it dries up. That'll swell you up. {This bewitched condition, retention of the urine which causes hollering spells, is cured as follows:] You go right out and get one of these old fox grapes - some calls them tangle vines. Cut it off just about as high as your privates. Then you bend it over and put that right into a jar - the piece that's in the ground you bend over and put in the jar - and let stay twenty-four hours. Then, whatever [juice] you find in jar, you take a bath [with it] all over. That'll kill any 'craft [witchcraft] and hoZlering spells.
Entry 12313
Ah learnt dat you could take dat dere wood from a tree right where de lightnin' struck, turn in an' go dere an' git chew three pieces, tree lil' small pieces. An' take three [silver] dimes made in de same yeah. Take three dimes an' dat piece of wood, an' put dem dere three pieces, an' put one dime 'neath dat piece of wood [demonstrates] an' de next dime right next tuh de next top piece of wood, an' de next dime right in de bottom in de jar. An' take it tuh de watah an' throw it in de watah, an' says, Ah hope yo' come back tuh me, In Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost, come back. Let it go in de watah. Yo' see, yo' throw dat jar an' hit'll go so fur downstream, an' dat jar will turn roun' an' come back an' go in de bank where nobody will git dere han's on it. Dat jar will come back. Or eithah yo' kin take it lak dis: Yo' kin take a brick an' put it in dat jar wit dat, dat money an' dat piece of wood from de lightnin'-struck tree, an' it will stay down undah de watah three days. Dat's de best, it will stay undah de watah three days. Well, when dem three days out, she's back tuh yo'.
(This is bringing somebody back?)
Dat's right.
(Where do you get these dimes - get them out of your own pocket?)
Yeah, jes' go down an' try tuh git de dimes made in de same yeah.
Entry 239
There was a woman that died - the night before she died, we was crossing Gilmore and Moore Street, going to church and her snake got away.
(Her snake?) Her snake got away from her. (Did she have a snake?)
Yes, kept two snakes in de house - say she could send 'em anywhere/ she wanted to.
(Oh, I see.)
And those snakes got away and come out and one run down de culver' [one ran into a culvert and was lost] and a man killed one, and when the one he killed - when he killed that snake she drahpped [dropped] sick in de chair. So I went around next morning to see her and she made me open de drawers. I was about twenty-nine years old then. And she had a drawer on side of de wall there - settin' up in a rack - and she made me open that drawer and pull out about half a dozen socks, tied in a knot in the middle and pins were up in de toes. And then she had pieces belongs to diff'rent women, and one of the women that the pieces belonged to lived right up in the square, and she got that when she give birth to a baby, and she was ridden down, but she didn't die till recently because somebody - they cleaned the place up and burnt up all them rags. She had rags - she had hair - she had pieces cut out the seat of a person's pants - oh, she had everything, in a jar about that tall. (Well, why did she die when these snakes were killed - what did she say about that?) [He doesn't understand me. He would have, had he known the answer.] She takes the snakes - she say she could take them snakes and. make 'em go anywhere she wanted 'em and sprinkle the dust.
(Well, that's what she did - but she died when those snakes were killed?)
She died - well, they say that that was all her company. [He almost has the answer. She and the snakes are really one spirit; her life being magically bound up with the lives of the snakes.]
(Well now, this woman you say, that was going to have a baby or something?)
She had a baby. And she paid five dollars for somebody to get one of her sanitary pieces and she had that stopped up there in a box.
(Trying to harm her or something?)
Harm her, which she did harm her. Whatever she did, now, I didn't know; but whatever she did it jest rid her down.
Entry 964
Dere somepin did to mah sistah. She go fo' a ice cream sodee on a Friday night an' de othah girls dere didn't like her at all. So she went dere at night an' dey served her ice cream an' dey fixed her a saucer of it, an' after- wards she remembered dey speci'lly bring her saucerful. An' after- ward, purtty soon after she leave, de side of her laig all commence painin' her all de way up. An' purtty soon dey had taken an' carry her home, couldn't walk, where she got sick an' de doctah 'tended her [and could not help her]. An' dat laig had swole so, jes' to de knee - swole so dat it jes' be a bag of skin dere an' yo' see somepin like somepin wus crawlin' up an' down her laig. So mah father, he goes an' git him a ridge bass - a root worker, an' he looked at her an' he give her some tea, some kinda tea in a jar an' tole her she'd be all right in about eight or nine days. Didn't [give] her no 'tenshun an' she seem to be gittin' worse an' worse, an' in about a week an' a half he came dere - it wus in de mawnin', said, "Ah come tuh cure de girl." Father say, "Ah hope so - she didn't rest any last night an' she not restin' now." An' he give him three little tablets 'bout de size of an' aspirin tablet but they were black. He tole us, say, "Git the slop jar." She taken de three, an' in about five minutes time she commence gaggin' an' she gagged up a pure green frog: She re'lly did dere in de slop jar. Ah wus standin' right dere.
(End of 1429.)
(That story he told me about the envelope - throwing it up in the air and having it disappear - he said that the root doctor was old Doctor Harris down in Florence, S. Car.) [Fayetteville, N. Car., (1429), 2579:13.] [Folk Medicine I will divide into two subsections: (l) Principles of Healing, beginning here, and (2) Cure and Protection, which begins on page 410.] [A considerable amount of material about principles of healing, cures and protection has already been given. Here I would like to emphasize two things - folk cures about which we have heard little; and the fact that disease, sickness, pain, bad luck, everything in witchcraft and hoodoo is a spirit.] [The problems of health are many, difficult and expensive. It is unfortunate that they should also be encumbered with prejudice and superstition. Concerning the latter - believers in witchcraft, hoodoo and magic throw a halo about their heads, claiming as their authority the Bible, the Word of God: - (l)he [Manasseh] observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards (2 Ch.33:6) - (2) Saul had put away those that had faniliar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land (1 Sam.28:3)- (3) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Ex.22:18).] [One informant expresses the attitude of witchcraft and hoodoo believers as well as the view of Biblical fundamentalists:]
Entry 1597
At one time I was off from my work and my wife was sweeping our back yard and she swept over a jelly jar. It was stopped up and turned bottom up in the yard. By the sun shining I see that jar and I stopped and asked her what was that shining. I thought it was a piece of money. So I went there and dug it up out of the ground in my back yard. I came to the steps and I opened it. It had some kind of powder.
(Do you know what the powder was?)
No, I don't know what kind - it was a brown powder.
(All right - go ahead.)
And something like a sponge was mixed up and stopped in there. When I opened it, it knocked me down when I inhaled it. [As I explain elsewhere, this sort of thing is a hyperbole, not a lie.] Later on, my wife's leg broke out - swole up rather, and my leg swole up. And we heard of a man who could tell you things, and we went there and he told me that I had stepped over something. And I asked him what could he do for it. He told me that he believed through the help of God that he could cure me. And I told him that I would be pretty glad if he would. And he got some ashes, some salt, some red pepper and some chamber lye and he mixeded that up in a pan - stirred it thoroughly well and he took and got us there to the pan and washed our leg down, washed this leg down. So later on, two or three days maybe, the leg went down, and it broke out little skin - little dry lookin' skin on there. Well, all of that come off and my leg began to get all right.
Entry 2613
Yo' take a snail - if he crawlin' along, yo' picks him up - jes' lak he crawlin' dis way, yo' pick him up an' carry him back. All right yo' take dis snail an' yo' carry him home, an' yo' put dis snail in a jar an' let him git good an' dry, an' yo' goes to someone house, or either is someone come tuh yore house an' yo' don't want 'em roun' yore house. Yo' take dis snail an' jes' a little bit dis salt when dey goes back out, an' sprinkle it from where dey wus settin out to de do' - sweep it on out. Dey can't come back dere no mo'.
(What do you do with that snail?)
De snail - yo' take de snail an' put him in a jar an' let him stay in it till he git dry up - see. Den yo' take de whole shell, hull an' all an' beat it up fine. Take de salt an' put in dere wit it, an' right where dey's settin', yo' jes' sprinkle from dere right on out de steps, an' yo' sweeps right on behin'. Dey cain't come back dere no mo' den. [Snail slows up unwelcome visitor's return - see Snail, p.648.]
Entry 3236
Jis' lak if yo', yo' know, take yo' a little small towel. All right, an' yo' an' 'im do business togethah - at least [I mean] yo' don't do no business wit 'im yo' undahstan', he do de business, see. Well, if yo' goin' do de busi- ness, yo' do it aftah he do it. Undahstan', don't do it wit 'im. Well, yo' take dat towel an' yo' takes it an' ROLL IT TO YO' NINE TIMES, jis' lak yo' do a snake [demonstrates], yo' know [see later]. An' aftah dat, all right, yo' take nine needleS an' yo' PIN DEM NINE NEEDLES IN [IT], YO' KNOW, COMIN' TO YO'. An' den aftah yo' pin de nine needles in it, well yo' take it den an' roll it roun' nine times lak dat an' den git chew a fruit jar.
(You mean you would roll it around like you would coil a snake.)
Yes sir.
(The first time you roll it towards you nine times?)
Yassuh. An' git chew a package of brand-new needles [demonstrates]. (And after you get these needles in it, then you take that roll like a jelly roll, a cake, and you make it like the coil of a rope [or lak yo' do a snake].) Den yo' take an' git.chew a fruit jar an' put chew jis' enough watah in dere to covah dis heah towel, yo' undahstan', an' den take an' put chew a little sugah in dere an' airtight it, an' take an' bear [bury] it undah yore steps. He goin come back home - bring dat money.
Entry 3411
An' a woman take a man, if he mess wit anothah woman, an' she take a dishrag tuh wipe him wit it. If she want it tuh last always, take an' soak it in sugah, den wipe him wit it. Den yo' put it in a quart jar an' throw it in runnin' watah. Well, it jes' work fo' about thirty days. Jes' take de dishrag an' put it in a bottle up ovah 'is haid, yo' know, where no one won't git to it. It lasts thirty days.
(Where do they usually put it over his head?)
Jes' lak yo'd go out dis do' an' lak yo' comin' in from work, yo' come in dat do' - go back an' come in dat do'. He cain't mess wit no othah woman. Ah know dat's tuh be true. (You put that over the door, but if you soak that dishrag in sugar before you use it on him, then throw this into running water it will last all the time.) Yes. [Fayetteville, N. Car. (1504), 2571:11.]
Entry 3574
Dat's tuh make a man love yo'. Well, if yo' goin' wit a man an' evah time yo'all go tuh bed togethah, evah time yo'all go out togethah, well yo' tie a knot in dis. Git chew a piece of yellah homespun an' yo' tie a knot in dis homespun until yo' git nine knots. An' aftah yo' git dose nine knots in it, yo' put it in a jar an' shet it up tight, an' den yo' take it an' bury it. An' aftah yo' bury it, dis man will - he jes' can't keep away from yore house.
Entry 3967
Jes' lak if yo' wanta kill a woman, jes' lak if she should be mini- stratin'. Co'se ah wouldn't lak fo' dese things tuh happen. Take a piece of her guard whutsomevah she have, an' yo' know deses holes whut bring watah tuh yore house. Put it in a quart jar an' bury it undah dere, an' she'll nevah see any mo'. Doctors [M.D.'s] wouldn't do her any good, she'll die.
(These what that come in your house?)
watah holes - yo' know, de pipes, watah pipes. Jes' lay it undah dat so hit will be undah runnin' watah. (And what do they get? A piece of her guard, you say? What do you mean by her guard?) Whut she ministrate on.
(They call it a guard.)
Yes. Jes' take dat an' put it in dat jar, if yo' wanted tuh kill a woman, see. An' bury it undah dat place, bury it undah de runnin' hose [or horse] an' she'll die. No doctor [M.D.] couldn't start on her [stop the flow]. (You call that pipe a running horse [or hose] that brings the water into the house.)
Entry 4306
Yo' take dat yo' see - yo' take dat chamber lye an' yo' put it in a jar yo' know, an' a pair of a foot of 'is socks, an' yo' bury dat undah 'is step an' he couldn't, yo' know, go out lak he goin' tuh diff'ren' womenfolks. Yo' would have 'im, yo' see, he couldn't go.
Entry 5685
[You] kin take yore foot track an' take a thimble. Take it from de toe of de foot back to de heel. An' dey kin kill yo' wit dat. (Just how do they do that?) Well, dey take dat an' dey put nine needles in. Dey take de thimble an' dey puts a thimbleful of it, an' take it an' put nine needles in dat stuff an' put it in a jar, a bottle, an' drop it in floatin' watah an' yo' die from dat.
(Which track did you say they take, both of them?)
De lef' track. (Take a thimbleful of the dirt and put nine needles into and put it into a bottle. Do you cork it up or leave it open or what?) Stop it up tight as wax. Dat will kill de person.
Entry 5746
Git dem foot tracks. Ah use dat once. Ah had put mine in a jar, in a fruit jar. Ah turn dat jar down an' buried it undah mah house an' jis' lak ah wuz totin' yore'n, dat's de way it wuz done. Take dem foot steps up an' put 'em in a fruit jar an' put it down. Turn de jar down, tighten it tight an' turn it down dataway an' bury it.
(What will that do?)
Conkah 'im. Dat's conkahin' 'im.
Entry 5750
Ah heard dey pick up foot track, in hollah of it. Dey tell me dey puts dat in somepin an' puts quicksilvah wit it.
(What do you mean, they put it in something?)
Dey put it in somepin like a jar or a cup or anythin' like dat an' dey puts quicksilvah wit it. An' dey tells me, yo' know yore urinate, well dey tell me dey will po' dat ovah it fo' so many days. An' dey tells me de zo' dey po' dat ovah it an' keep it shet up tuh time dat dry, it dries up a per- son, drifts 'em away-lak.
(Whose chamber lye do they put on there?)
Dere own.
(The person that is doing the bad work?)
Yes.
(That's to dry them up.)
Entry 7606
Well, yo' go tuh de graveyard roun' about twelve a'clock at night tuh some sinnah's grave or murdahah have been killed [or executed] an' on de side de heart's on yuh put a penny down dere an' git a handful of dat dirt. An' while yo' gittin' yo' usin' a oath. An' yo' bring it back tuh de house an' take it an' put chew salt an' peppah an' sulphur in it an' yuh keep it. Put it in a jar an' anybody dat chew don't like or wheresomevah yo' go at an' yo' wanta start I confusion, yo' Jes' take dat 'long wit chew an' jes' sprinkle it all aroun' as yo' go. Dat will certainly cuz confusion wit yore enemies.
Entry 10622
Use Hearts Cologne on Adam-an'-Eve. They git a pair, which is Adam- an'-Eve an' 'noint it with this Hearts Cologne perfume. That is to draw the Woman friend to them in love. (What would they do after they anoint those roots? What would they do with those roots?) They keep those roots into a jar or either a bottle, an' they take this per- fume whut they roots is soakin' in an' 'noint themselves.
(That is to help them [women] get a man?)
Yes.
Entry 9538
If this person was an enemy to you, then you get some salt - out of a jar that has never been used - and when the person leaves, you sprinkle the salt behind them. You did it In the Name of the Lord. Then take a broom and sweep it out the way they went. Then set the broom bck in the house bottom side upward. And they wouldn't come back again. [For setting brushy part of broom up and handle down behind door, a rite widely spread, See 2432, Wilmington, N. Car., and 2433, New Orleans, La., both p.675, v.1, etc.]
[Old Point Comfort, Va., collected in 1936 by Ediphone.]
Entry 9970
Well, yo' kin take a frog, jes' a or'nary frog whut jup 'round de iouse, see. Yo' take dat frog alive an' yo' kin put 'im in a containah or jah or anythin' an' yo' kin jis' take alcohol, any kind of rubbin' [lotion] or any- ching [and fill bottle] an' let 'im stay in dere till he petrify. Well, yo' kin take dat frog an' put 'im in yore pocket an' yo' kin weah him in dere an' yo'll always be lucky. (With what in particular?) In keepin' a job an' stayin' in peace wit people an' havin'- yo' know, jes' socialize wit 'em.
Entry 12103
A woman kin take that [man's hat bow] an' sew that up in her gartah, you see. You understand, sew that up in her gartah an' put it in a jar, an' pour perfume on it, understand, an' a little of her chamber lye. An' sew it up, you lnow, on the inside an' put it in her gartah, an' wear it aroun' her leg.
(This bow out of his hat?)
This bow out of his hat. That'll hold 'im.
Entry 12024
To keep his love, woman takes piece of his clothes, graveyard dirt, soaks them in vinegar and turpentine, wraps tight, seals in jar, and buries under steps. [Richmond 341:6.]
Entry 3554
(How do they do that?)
Well, dey take yore chamber lye an' if dey're still in dat house, yo' go to dere house. An' if yo' want to urinate, say, "Well, ah'm goin' to go to de bath- room." She give a jar to yo' an' yo'll urinate. She'll take dat an' as long as it contain no othah but yourn, she'll take it an' stop it up in a bottle. She'll take dat an' hide it somewheres. An' aftah she hide it somewhere on yo' [not on the man's person but about the house], yo'll find dat yo'll nevah be able [to have another woman] - she only. She take - aftah she gits yore chamber lye, she takes a string an' she'll measure yore private. An' aftah she git de length of yore private, den she take an' she make nine knots in it, drawin' to her evah time. Each time she draw a knot, it's drawin' it to 'er. Den she'll take an' she'll wear dis string aroun' 'er waist nex' to her skin, mo' so. An' den she'll take yore chamber lye an' hide it. She hide dis from yo' an' evah time yo' try to take intahco'se wit some othah woman, it drop. Yo' nevah can do it.
Entry 4063
chamber lye is fo' all diff'ren things. Well, all right. Say fo' in- stance now, if yo' got a woman dat chew wanta 'er an' she's gone away from yo', an' she iis' come tuh yore house - ah mean at night dat way. Well any- hah, chew take yore slop jar an' set yore slop jar on de side of de bed, an' let 'er urinate in dat slop jar. Undahstan', she urinate in dere. ARE YO' GONA LET DESE BOOKS BE PRINTED CHERE?
[Same informant asks similar question elsewhere in text.]
(No, no.)
[All my informants, especially people known to be professional workers, were told I was writing a book - a book to them meaning a paperback hoodoo manual like the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses or Albertus Magnus. I was out in the field to learn from experts like themselves. This will partially explain why I was talked down to so much! At least I hope the reason was not, they had to talk down to me!] Well, she urinate in dat slop jar. Well, when she urinate in dere, yo' go down tuh de sto' an' git chew a nickel worth of whole grain black peppah. Don' git dis groun' peppah. An' yo' git chew a little vial an' po' her urinate, jis' about dat much [demonstrates] in dat little vial. An' den yo' put nine grains of black peppah in dere, see. Den yo' take yores an' put yores in dere on top of hers. See, dat's holdin' 'er down.
(Some of your urine?)
Yeah, put hers in dere firs' an' yores las'. Put dat nine grains of black peppah down in dere on dat. Den yo' git chew a little stoppah an' cut [demon- strates] one trench lak dis an' one trench dataway, yo' know so it'll ketch air. An' den yo' take dat an' bury dat undah de steps wit de mouth comin' dis way [demonstrates].
(With the mouth coming toward the house.)
She can't leave yo' tuh save her life.
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
Take nine ten-penny nails, dese wire nails about dat long
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
[denonstrates]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
, an' yo' puts 'em in a jar of watah, clear watah. Jes' go tuh de well an' drav a bocket - a bucket of watah, fill up de jar half-fuli. Put nine nalls in dere. Jes' lak now ah come tuh yore house an' ah want a drink of watah, an' ah ask yo fo' a drink of watah. Ah go git a drink of watah - go git dat jar an' po' out a glass of watah an' yo' drink off it. Yo' drink offen
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
[off of]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
dat satah fo' nine days, an' evah time yo' come dere ah give yo' some of dat watah. Bell, yo'll
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2100
come tuh be ailin' in yore stomach. Well, dem nails den, de mo' dey stay in dere, de mo' dey come tuh be rusty, an' all dat goes inside of yo'. Fin'ly kills yo' in so many days it kills yo'.
locally coherent printed subpassage
This is a printed hypothetical account of a harmful practice. Unclear source wording is retained; chemical or clinical effects are not established.
Changing first- and second-person positions remain as printed; no specific real victim or actor is established.
The source describes a claimed causal result, not a witnessed event or a recommendation.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 3, p. 2098 · Vol. 3, p. 2099 · Vol. 3, p. 2100 · Vol. 3, p. 2101 · Vol. 3, p. 2102