Subject:Job
Entries
Entry 2889
If you out of a job and you want a job, you have to take and burn your candle for so many days. If you couldn't get a job and it's real like times are now - you can't get a job [this is during the Great Depression of 1930's] - you really have to burn candles if you want a real good job. Of course, you can get jobs but they ain't paying nothing. But if a man want a job that's going to pay him something, he'll get him a candle. And you burn your candle, you burn your candle three times a day - keep a candle burning if you can. If you can keep it burning all day, it'd be better. Every morning you get to that candle and you say your prayers. You can light it or keep it lit.
(Oh, you keep it lit?)
You can keep it lit all day. It'd be best to keep it lit. But whichever you do at a particular time, you get to the candle and you pray. All right, when you pray at that candle, you pray like you got - you just say - well, you say th 35th [23rd] Psalm of David: The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want. Make me lie down in green pas- tures and stir up my soul. Lead me in the path of rightness for his name's sake. Either I walks in the valley in the shadow of death - I'll fear no evil. Should I weakeneth, thou rod and staff comforth me. Prepare... (etc. etc. etc.) [Comment by transcriber]...and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. See. Well, all right, you says that. Now, when you say that, don't make the sign of the cross, see. Don't make no sign of the cross at all, cause you be crossing your ownself, see. Now, you say it maybe at six in the morning, twelve O'clock you do the same thing again. Three o'clock you do it, and at six in the evening you do it, see. All right. Now, for an instance, you do that at six o'clock in the morning - five or ten minutes after six, when you get up, see. Or if you need, you go on about your daily occupation or wheresomever you going. Or [if] you're looking for a job - you're seeking for a job - well, you go along, and if there's any jobs to be gotten anywhere, you'll get one. If it ain't but for the day, you'll get you one. That's the end of it. See, now you can demand your money. If a man wants to pay you $1.50, you can get $2.00, see. You'll get a job on that [candle and prayer].
(You burn a white candle for that?)
A white candle.
Entry 3988
Some say take an' wash yuh face in chamber lye in de mawnin's when yuh goin tuh hunt a job.
Entry 3994
( Git up soon in de mawnin', pee in yore han', an' if yo' gotta do [some- thing?], put dat stool in yore han' an' rub it [in your hand], go 'head an' go tuh de bossman, an' he'll give yo' a job. [My something? shows a lacuna of 10 periods left by transcriber for a colloquial expression meaning excrement, which I also did not fill in years ago. The word stool in the text indicates what the omission was. For- tunately there is at least one, if not two rites in HooDoO using excrement in the hand when asking for a job! Most amazing of all, we have one of the finest things in HOODOO, the incredible excrement rite of love - see 822, p.284f.]
Entry 3996
Yo' put some yore chamber lye intuh a vial, an' put some Heart Cologne in dere, put some Eve-an'-Adam in dere. Den yo' po' de least bit of dat watah out of dat vial in yore han's an' rub it In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost, an' den goes tuh work an' shuffle yore cards. An' derefo' yo' will have luck ingamblin'. (What is the other way of getting a job?) De nex' way dat chew could git it, take yore same watah dat chew shuffle yore cards wit. Take some of yore chamber lye an' put it into a vial an' put some Heart Cologne in dat, an' Eve-an'-Adam into it - dat vial. Rub it into yore han's thoroughly, In de Name of de Fathah, an' dress yo'self down three times an' make yore wish. An' go an' have a talk wit 'im an' he'll think about it.
(You get the job from the boss?)
Yes.
Entry 4187
Me, fo' mahself, dis whut wuz tol' me tuh do: tuh git two needles, two bran'-new needles, an' put urine in de bottle, mine. Put it in a li'le bottle 'bout dat long, jis' big enough tuh hol' dem needles, yuh know, an' - ah kin go an' git dat an' show it tuh yuh where it's right dere now in mah trunk, ah kin show yuh - dat [2 needles and urine in bottle] an' some red peppah an' some salt an' some spice. An' put it all in a bottle an' stop it up tight, an' wear it on yuh. Dey said da' chew go tuh any man or any woman an' secure a job, see. Well dat somepin tuh git money.
(WHO TOLD YOU THIS?)
SOME OLE FORTUNETELLAH FELLAH DAT HANG AROUN' MAH HOUSE RIGHT - SEE AH LIVE UP DE HILL DERE.
(DID IT HELP YOU?)
NAW, AH DON'T SEE DAT IT BENEFIT ME ANYTHING.
Entry 4366
If de person know de man name - yuh goes an' know de man name. Yuh care [carry] a li'le bottle, dis cologne bottle, an' yuh call 'is name an' stop 'im up - jes' bottle up de man [see 38, p.24f.] in yuh fob pocket. An' den yuh [go] talk tuh 'im an' he say he ain't got no job. All right, chew go back home an' fer de nex' nine mawnin's - an' yuh got 'is name all right - yuh take a cord an' tie it aroun' yuh waist an' double it nine times. Make yuh chamber lye on it an' put it in de bottle. An' go back [to the boss] an' call 'is name ag'in, stop 'im up, an' den he'll give yuh a job.
(I see, you get the spirit of his voice in this bottle.)
[An old comment of mine in pencil about this rite reads Use with care. This rite is quite all right, except I failed to understand the word double when first checking transcription with the cylinder. Thinking that the waist measure was increased 9 times, I wondered how such a long string could be squeezed into one of those tiny bottles of perfume then sold for lOc at the Five-and-Ten-Cents Store. At the time of recording I probably knew the meaning of double because I do not ask a question about it, but I must not rule out knowledge coming from later experience. Here is what happens. The man wraps a piece of ordinary pack- age-wrapping string about his waist, ties a knot, and cuts off the two unneeded ends. He now has a loop or circle of string, say about 30 inches in circumfer- ence, which he pushes down over his thighs and off his body. This string he stretches out into a straight line of double string 15 inches long and at a right angle to his body; the knot being at one end, this end away from hi. This knot he now folds toward him until it coincides with the other end of the string. This once-folded string is now 4 parallel strings each 7 1/2 inches long. Turn- ing this shortened string 180°, so that the knot is again away from him, he a second time folds the knot to him, reducing the multiple strings to a 33/4 inches length. Remember, he is folding strings soaked with his urine. The strings are folded to him 9 times, at least theoretically. All this is not stated explicitly in the rite itself; it is implicit in this type of folding rite. No boss having his spirit triply captured - tied into a knot about applican'ts body, folded up towards applicant and in applicant's urine, and finally stopped up in a bottle - no boss could possibly resist such multiple magic.] [Charleston, S. Car., (519), 616:3.] [Human excrement rites are less numerous than those about urine. Numerically the ratio is perhaps 1 to 10. As a special feature, most of them concern trees - two-thirds to be exact. The best one, an unusual love story, will be found else- where in 822, p.284.]
Entry 5642
[This is a job-stealing rite! There are a number of them in Hoodoo. To obtain a job is an important rite in hoodoo thought.] Fo' instance, yo'd walk on out dere lak yo' attah [after] quittin' a job, a feller not wantin' a job. All right, yo' could take a shovel an' pick dis [other feller's] track up, de right track, an turn it roun'. An' den de nex' mawnin' yo' kin go dere an' ast dis man fo' de [other man's] job. See? Go dere fo' - well, 'bout three mawnin's, somepin lak dat. But on de third mawnin' yo' go, de man [boss] will give yo' de job. (He would take my job away from me and give it to you, if you turned my foot track around?) Yes.
(But you must get my foot track while I am going to the job?)
Dere yo' are [exactly]. Yore right foot track whilst yo' goin' to de job.
Entry 5745
If a man wants tuh hold 'is job wit a man, dey take an' git 'is right foot, right track, right in de heart [hollow of foot]. Pick it up three times, d'; not comin' back, goin'. An' git dat track somepin lak dis heah [demon- scates] lak he come, goin' disaway. Yo' walk behin' 'im an' git it disaway [demonstrates]. (He's going one way and you walk behind him and pick it up the opposite way. Bring it back to you. I mean, back from the way he is going.) Now dat's three times. Den yo' git one of yours. Keep agoin' an' don't look back. Take dem two tracks an' yo' put dem two tracks tuhgethah. (His and yours.) Yourn an' his'n, an' yo' take dem two tracks an' yo' go right at 'is office, an' yo' put dat undah dere jis' about dat deep [demonstrates].
(Couple of inches deep.)
Git chew a pin or needle that nevah been stuck an' a piece of cloth, an' stick dat pin down in dere. Let de point be up an' let 'im walk ovah dat. Den yo' gain his influence. Dat's de way ah heard 'em say.
(I see, that is to get a job or hold it.)
Entry 6156
Yo' jis' git some his hair out de top of de mole of 'is haid, an' git choo a golgree [?] stick about de size of yore fingah. Dat's a flowah dat grow in de swamp wintah an' summah, white as ivory. An' yo' split dat stick in two. Yo' take dat hair an' put hair in dere, an' yo' kin jis' cord it [urap it with cord string] an' stick in yore pocket dataway. An' yo' [ask for 1 job] an' yo' got a job fer life.
[Is this the swamp lily, the white-flowered species of Crinum (C. americum)
found in the southern states of U. S. A? This flower appears elsewhere in the text. I first saw it in a roadside pond on my trip through Virginia and Kentucky in 1922 - see Intro. v.1, p. XxvIII, last paragraph.]
(You get some of the boss' hair [for that stick]?)
No, DON'T GIT IT OUT OF 'IS HAID. GREAT GOD! DAT'LL RUN 'IM CRAZY! [A split or cleft-stick rite is rare (except a dog's hair in, to keep him wne) but it must appear 7 or 8 times in HOODOO.]
Entry 7213
Ah'm purtty shure 'bout dat becuz ah'm constant comin' in contact wit somepin lak dat. Maybe it be rattlesnake mastah, High John de Conkah an' Low John de Conkah, wild sprig of Sweet John - some people call it St. John. Dat's- ain't evahbody knows, but dey would know, yo' know, whut color it has. Git chew dose, yo' know, five or six tuhgethah, an' den have real good gin. Three times a week. An' red flannel. (You take red flannel. I see. You get this good gin then?) Yes, sir. Yo' know, yo' don' sew it. Be sure not tuh sew it becuz in sewin', why yo' might stick de needle in de roots don't chew know. Yo' don' wan'a sew wit de needle becuz dat is steel, unlessen yo' wan'a include somepin in it. But chew fold it up propahly tight an' yo' roll with black thread [demonstrates].
(And you roll it towards you.)
An' don't make no knot. Roll it an' carry de ends loose. Yo' know, don' tie a knot. IF YO' TIE A KNOT, WHY YUH WORK IS BROKEN. An' whenevah yo' gO out lookin' fer a job, why, when yo' dress, take it [this hand] in yuh hand befo' yo' left de house. Yo' be on hand an' made de wish lak yo' desires, an' take dat [hand] an' put it back intuh whatevah pocket yo' carry it an' den yo' wipe it right down tuh yuh waist [privates] three times. An' ah don' cā [care] if dey don't hire anybody else on de job, yo' will be hired.
(You will be hired?)
Cuz dat's not takin' advantage of no one. [597:5.] Whut ah learned ah learned from a well-learned man, great-experienced man, an' who really did delivah de goods.
(Where, by the way, did you learn?)
Part of what ah learned, in Jamaica.
(Oh, in Jamaica. Where were you born?)
Born and reared right in this city.
(Oh, you were born in this city.)
But ah wuz travelin' at large aroun' de Bahamas and down de British West Indies as far as Kingston, Jamaica. Ah begin tuh practice wit a girl, whut ah supposed tuh be a girl, but ah found she wuz a woman. She really could do things. An' dey wuz so simple an' so - lak it wuz impossible.
(Where was this? Where was this girl?)
In the Bahamas.
(Oh, she was down in the Bahamas?)
And dat's all right. An' ah come on up an' came tuh Kingston, Jamaica, an' ah found many more. Dey could meet chew an' look yo' up an' down, an' dey could do certain things, an' tuhmorrah yo'd be as crazy as a fool. An' ah wasn't sat- isfied until ah learned dat. An' de thing tuh do, yo' know, wuz tuh git right intuh 'em. Aftah ah could git dem tuh undahstand me [my English] an' ah undah- stand dem. An' dey simply do dis. Ah tried dat out while it wuz not mah desire, an' ah tried dat out an' ah found it true tuh de lettah. (Well, did you learn all these things in the West Indies, or have you learned some of them in this country?) In dis country. Now, dis partic'lah thing is de question dat chew ast me 'bout takin' a person's track tuh harm 'em. [Charleston, S. Car., (514 Doctor Glover) 597:5 and 594:1.]
Entry 7255
Dem [= them = hel wus a hoodoo doctor. [I] knew all dat. Dat's all dat wus. [He] gived me one an' it looked lak it wus a toby tuh me or somepin, [a piece of] cattle [ani- mal] heart. It wus nuthin but a plain dried cattle [animal] heart, which dey [he] had placed in it [bag with] luck pins, looked lak it wus. (What did you carry that for? You carried it? Were you supposed to carry that?) Yes, ah carried it. It looked lak ah would git a job. An' ah played - if ah played politics ah would git it [the job], until ah lost it [the bag].
(Well, how did you carry that?)
Jis' tied it up in a red bag.
(In a red what?)
In a red bag, rag, a li'le small piece, yo' know, an' ah wore it around mah waist.
(I see.)
[This toby was a small piece of dried animal heart [chicken?] with several luck pins in it, carried in a red flannel bag.] [Vicksburg, Miss., (772) 991:4.]
Entry 7258
Now, if ah wanta give yo' a job - [you] come tuh me fer a job. Fer a mattah lak dat, de firs' thing ah'd say tuh [yuh], see mah firs' word tuh yuh, "Have yuh known dis gentleman?" [You answer] "Yes." "Have yuh evah worked fer 'im?" "Yes." "Why did yuh stop?" [Doctor Washington is using the new psychology and business methods floating about in the air about 1937.] Well, he explain tuh yuh. An' while he explain tuh yuh, ah'm gittin' de foundation tuh work on, 'cuz he mighta been workin' ovah in de market an' dere mighta been a fallin' out. Now befō' remarkin' on de fallin', out ah gotta go an' hunt de man whut carry de bone [of contention?] dat where de [trouble?] come from [originally?]. Go back an' search an' den he say, "All right, yuh ali. Well see me tuhmorrah evenin', [or] come back tuhmorrah mawnin' 'tween two and three 'clock. Knock on dō' an' dō' be opened, an' come on in de room an git choo outa baid. An' ah be lookin' fer people an' ah sleep dere all alone, no one but mahself. An' mah street do' an' mah room dō' stay open. Come in dere an' shake me an' ah raise up an' turns ovah an' go on out. When yo' come back, ah say, "Well, have yuh got nine dimes? Dat's whut ah want. Well, git nine. Ah Want 19, firs' an' second half. Dat's all de job. Don't gotta [ask for more] until ah git de man, git de boss right tuh de place ah want. Gotta turn on dis man t'ree [three] times. An' de fot [fourth] time, if ah don't git [him] de t'ree [third time]. All right. Well, do whut yuh could. Now ah might go an' take yuh drawahs. Don't wash de whole, [only] right in de seat. Put 'em in a basin jis' lak dat till dat watah turn black. Wait till it [turn black] now. All right, an' take dat watah in a rag, a cotton rag an' soak it all up in dat rag, an' den use dat watah in de basin an' git it on yuh arm, both sides.
(You Wash your arms?)
All yuh arms. Den take dat same watah, wash it off de rag. Yuh goin' fer de job de second time. Wash yuh face wit it jis' lak dat.
(Won't it smell?)
Yes, it smell. SOME PEOPLE SO CRAZY FER SMELLS.- DAT'S A JOB-JOKE - but do it an' yuh go dere. "Well, Cap [Captain] ah come fer a job dis mawnin'. How about it?" "Ah don' know. Come back latah, ah may see yuh between now an' Monday mawn- in'." "All right, thankee [thank you] sir."
(You salute him with your right hand.)
Yuh salute 'im wit yuh right hand - made de connection - t'ree times. Don't hesitate now. [He] tells yuh, "Ah ain't got nuthin tuh do, but ah'll see yuh maybe 'bout Monday mawnin'. Come back an' ah'll see whut ah kin do fer yuh. Talk tuh yuh surely." "Thankee sir; thankee, sir." Right off dere yuh goes. Come on back wit yuh. Come an' 'is thought wit yuh be. Yuh comin' back an' sleepin'. Yo' go back dere Monday mawnin' an' yo' got de job. Well, whut if yo' bein' treated now, ah wus de person aftah it mahself. Give perfect satisfaction. When yuh come back tuh me, ah done knowed whut ah done wid yuh, wit de watah. Den ah want chew tuh take dat same basin or pan an' git choo some physic salts an' some sulphur. Watch me. Some vaseline, half a bottle of vaseline, an' put about a quart of hot watah in it, an' put 'em intuh a round basin an' fetch yuh. An' wash from yuh navel down. [Here is the magic bath.] Sets de whole body in an' wash from de navel right on troo [through], all troo. An' dat watah turn black. An' den Wash yuh whole haid wit dat all up on yuh arms, all yuh neck an' let it dry. Don't wipe a thing, jis' let it stay on dere an' dry on yuh. Now dat man send fer yuh.
(He'll send for you?)
Dat's right. He'll have de job [for you]. Dat man send fer yuh.
Entry 7813
You get some graveyard dust and, when you go out to seek a job, you are talking to the boss, you sprinkle a little bit near him. You put some of that on his hat, if you can get it - that's better.
Entry 7908
If yo' want a job, when yo' git ready fo' dis job, yo' go an' git chew some sulphuh an' git chew some dirt from de graveyard. An' yo' - jes' lak yo' goin' tuh dis job - yo' git tuh de house, yo' sprinkle dis roun' de house. An' when yo' sprinkle dis roun' de house, den yo' could walk up on de do' an' knock at de do'. An' ask fo' de job an' yo' do dat fo' nine mawnin's, an' in de ninth mawnin' yo'll git dis job.
(You mean you sprinkle this in front of the boss' house or the job?)
Yes [at the home of the boss].
(All the way round the house?)
Not all de way roun' de house, jes' from de front. Lak dat's de cornah [demon- strates], from dere tuh de cornah of de house.
(Just to the front of the house?)
Yes.
Entry 8032
Git chew some Heart Cologne, git chew some black gunpowdah. Go tuh de graveyard an' go down dere as fer as yo' kin reach. If yo' kin reach de casket an' git a bone - jis' any bone yo' git - take it, specially a ole graveyard where de bones is awfully rotten. Git it an' make a dust [of it]. Jis' git bone enough tuh make a dust out of it. Make it kinda in a powdah. Go dere - [I mean] go back home an' put it in a flannel [cloth] an' weah it undah yuh left arm. Git chew a piece of blacksnake root dey calls it, git hit an' put it in yuh mouth. Chew it up. Aftah six days yo' dere, go tuh dis place where yo' wanta git dis job an' git tuh talkin' tuh dis fellah, an' evah now an' den yo' spit. An' he might herd joo off de firs' time, but de second time yo' go back dere an' yo' git a job.
(You wear this stuff under your arm?)
Yo' weahs it fo' six days, goes down tuh de office an' carries it on. Nevah take it off until nine days aftah yo' git chure job. (Don't take this away until you have been on the job for nine days. And then you don't have to wear it any more.)
Entry 8490
Ah heard dat, an' ah heard dat de way dey do, is tuh go ovah tuh dem an' git de folkses name who are runnin' dis business. An' dey will write dere name on a piece of papah. An' say yo' will go back an' stick it undah where dey have tuh come along [and walk over it]. Dat whut dey tell yo' would git a job dere.
Entry 8495
If yo' wants tuh be on de job or anything an' yo' want tuh stand in good wit yuh boss, yo' takes 'is name an' yo' git some loaf sugah, yo' put it in a bottle, yo' writes 'is name nine times, writes it tuh yuh, not from yuh. An' ah put's mah name on top of 'is, an' ah folds it tuh me, an' ah puts it in dis bottle. (You cross it or what?) Ah puts it ovah his'n an' ah crosses it, too. See, ah write his name first dis way an' den ah changes it an' write it dataway, an' ah switches ag'in - forward an' backward, undahstand.
(I see. All right.)
See, den ah folds it up an' ah puts it in dis bottle wit cinnamon an' sugah, an' ah buries it. An' ah weahs his name in mah shoe an' keeps it dere in mah shoe. An' when ah weahs it out, well ah puts anothah one in dere. See, dat's tuh stay on de job.
Entry 8658
Ah know yo' take a weepin' willow an' yo' put as many notches on it as lettahs in yore name, an' den tie it across an' throw it in de yard where yo' Work at, an' de woman dat yo' think's got yore job, say, "Yo' shall leave dere." An' yo' kin git chure job de next mawnin'. (That is to get the other per- son's job?) She take [took] mah job. Ah Want mah job back. (To get your job back, you take a willow switch and you tie as many notches in it, cut notches in it as many letters as she has in her name.) Yes, an' den tie it dataway an' tro' [throw] it in de yard an' she'll leave dere.
(You tie it like this? What - you cut it in two then?)
Yes. Nawsuh [no sir], we don' cut it in two. Jes' take de two willows an' tie a string aroun' 'em an' throw it in de yard an' dey'll leave dere.
(And you cut the notches in these willows?)
Yessuh, as many [notches as] lettahs in her name yo' see. If she got five lettahs in her name or six or seven lettahs, maybe, cut dem many. (Here are two willow switches. Now she has five letters in her name. You cut five on each stick then?) Yessuh, an' den tie it togethah an' tro' it in de yard where she take de job 'way from yo', an' she'll leave dere.
(You just make an "x"?)
[After restudying this rite I am afraid my questioning may have complicated it. Surely one switch instead of two was used, this stick being bent and tied in a circle so that the two ends formed a cross. To regain her job my informant vas crossing her successor out of the job. Two separate willow switches could have been crossed and tied for the same purpose.]
Entry 8828
If ah wanted a job wit chew an' yo' didn't want tuh have me, if ah git aholt of yore han'writin', ah could take hit an' bury it where yo' have tuh walk, wit a li'le sul- phah in it. An' tuhmorrah mawnin' ah come back, yo' be jes' [friendly and give me a job].
Entry 8861
If yo' wanted a job from a fellah, dere a man - jis' lak yo' wanted a job uptown an' yo' done been dere two or three times an' yo' can't git dat job. Well, yo' goes back an' yo' gits a piece of papah an' yo' write on it, write on dat papah an' carry it dere.
(Where do you write on it?)
Jis' write any place, jis' mark on it. Yo' take some talcum powdah an' put it in dere. Put it in de papah an' yo' jis' put it right where de man have tuh walk ovah it fo' 'bout five or six mawnin's. (And then he'll have to give you the job?) [In this and the two following beliefs, TALCUM POWDER sounds very much like TALKIN' POWDER!]
Entry 9208
Ah had a job workin' an' ah lose de job. No, ah didn't lose de job. De man jes' say he didn't have nuthin tuh do. All right, lattah ah went tuh a lady [doctor] an' she say - peoples talkin' about [her] say she wus good. All right, she tells me, say, "Ah'll git yuh job back, [you] git fired offa." Git fired off [of job] on Sunday night. She says, "Ah'm goin' tell yo' whut tuh do. Yo' take dis heah rotten aig an' yo' go tuh dis heah place where yo' wus workin' at.' Say, "Yo' take it an' chunk it up ovah de do' an' cuss." Yo' undahstand. See, yo'd cuss an' yo'd walk off. An' she says, "Don't look back." An' she say, "In two or three days yo'll git de job back." An' ah done dat. She gimme dat aig. Ah give her de money. Ah done dat. AH NEVAH GOT DAT JOB BACK AG'IN.
(You never got the job back?)
No, ah nevah got dat one back.
Entry 9259
Ah heard dat if yo' - jes' lak yo're workin' on a job an' dere's somebody dere dat try tuh work ag'inst yo', an' yo' wanta put 'em away from dere (2)1 an' yo' take his place, dey tell me dat yo' kin take a fresh hen aig an' go tuh de graveyard and git some graveyard dirt, an' bury it tuh de pahticlah [particular] place dat he always stand at, an' in a few days time he'll be gone from dere an' yo' have his place.
(You use any kind of a chicken egg?)
A black hen aig.
Entry 9342
Lak if ah been workin' in a place a long time, an' ah wants tuh stay dere, ah gits me a fresh yard aig [chicken egg laid in an old-fashioned henhouse and not on the modern commercial production line!] right aftah de hen lay it. An' ah take some straight stickin' pins [ordinary pins], dey gotta [be] new, an' ah put one right through it lak dis, see [demon- strates]. An' den ah run one across it, yo' see [demonstrates]. An' fo'evah weah dat. Even in mah pocket, jis' lak ah have a pocket, an' weah dat in dere, see [demonstrates]. An' yo' be dere [on the job] fo' a long time. Dey'll nevah fiah [fire = discharge] yo'.
Entry 9346
Take a aig an' put some quicksilvah in it. (A chicken egg?) Yes, sir. Make a little hole in it, chew know, an' put quicksilvah in it chew know. An' stop de hole up an' plant it right down at de place wheah yo' workin' at, an' dere can't nobody take dat job away from yuh.
Entry 9450
Take some table salt an' yo' wrop it up in a little piece of white rag, an' tie it up an' tote it in yore pocket. An' aftah yo' tote it in yore pocket, yo' take a little bit in yore han' an' jes' rub it right lak dat [demonstrates]. An' rub it all ovah yore haid an' face an' all lak dat.
(Over your hands?)
Yes sir, an' aftah yo' done rub it all in yore han's, jes' go [to the boss] an' he'll look out fo' yo'. Prob'ly yo' don' git de job tuhday, prob'ly not tuhmahrah, but befo' dat week or so out he'll give yo' sompin tuh do.
Entry 9451
If yo' goin' tuh hunt a job an' yo' think yo' not goin' be a success, yo' always tote yo' a li'le salt in yore pocket. Have salt in yore pocket evah mawnin' when yo' on dat job or when yo' goin' jes' tuh look fo' a job, see. An' jes"fore yo' git tuh yore boss, yo' put a li'le bita dat salt in yore han' an' goes up wit chure han' lak dat [demon- strates] an' jes' rub. An' go on tuh yore boss.
Entry 9453
Ah hear'd if yo's [you is] workin' or eithah want a job, an' somebody else was workin' dere, dat yo' could take a li'le salt, an' when de boss walkin' outa de do', an' throw it on 'is coattail, dat yo'd [you would] always have a job. [If you threw salt on the bossman's coat while he was leaving or going out a door, he would not return (see No.9442 following), but here intention is more powerful than action.
Entry 9519
Whut ah heard about de job proposition - whut chew kin do tuh make him give yo' a job or tuh make peace. Yo' undahstand me? Well, all yo' have tuh do is buy yo' a fresh box of Jack Frost [trade name] salt an' put it in yore pocket an' put some in yore shoes an' go on tuh him. (Go down to the boss and ask him for a job?) Yeah, dat'll make peace. Dat's right, dat's all yo' gotta do.
Entry 9544
.. Take de peppah an' salt an' press it tuhgethah an' burn it, an' put it in yore pocket an' carry it wit yo' when yo' goin' tuh look fo' a job, if yo' want luck. An' if yo' talkin' tuh yore man, yore bossman, dat's yo's tryin' tuh git a job wit, have dat in yore han' an' [they say yo'll git yo' a job if anybody gits one. [Wilson, N. Car., (1486), cylinder 2660: item No?]
Entry 9623
Yo' git some sulphuh an red peppah an' strew roun' yore house fo' ten nin's befo' de sunrise - sulphuh an' peppah an' table salt, an' jes' throw it roun' yuh house fo' ten mawn- in's, evah mawnin' befo' de sun rise. An' if yo' know where dis man lives, yo' go tuh 'is house an' do de same thing. Jes' throw dat peppah jes' as yo' go in. Yo' jes' throw dat peppah up an' down until yo' git tuh de do'.an' yo' throw it out lak dat an' make yore wish. An' de 'leventh mawnin dey say yo'll git a job.
Entry 9628
Yo' kin git chew sulphuh an' salt an' red peppah an' tie it up an' whenevah yo' gits roun' 'im... (Round the boss.) Yo' be talkin' tuh 'im - an' Hearts Cologne, git dat Hearts Cologne. Yo' keep it wet chew know. Yo' talkin' tuh 'im. He give yo' a job.
Entry 9673
If yo' wan'a a job, yo' don' wan'a eat no breakfus'. Jis' put a red onion in yuh pocket wit yuh salt, mos'ly in de right pocket. Keep it in a rag. An' go tuh a man fo' a job. Yo always be dere befo' he do.
Entry 9694
Anyone take salt an' li'l' sugah an' sprinkle it rom', an' dat brings luck tuh yo'. Dat's tuh keep a job, so no man kin mow yo' doon - tuh hold a job.
Entry 9695
Git some sulphur an' some table salt - not physic salt - table salt, an' lay it in yore shoe when yo' certain... [informant is re- peating].
(They can't put anything down for you to walk over it.)
No sir, dat sulphur an' salt supposed tuh...
Entry 9697
Now in case yo' want a job, yo' coming on de job [you are at the place where you want the job], put de footprint of yuh boss between dis sulphuh an'black peppah. Yo' will make a bag out'a it an' keeps it aroun' yuh neck, yo see, an' de spirit of yuh boss will always be along wit chew; yo' see. An' fer dat reason, he will nevah have yuh runned aay, as long as he have any incidental business [usually called odd jobs] at aWl. An' now, in ordah tuh fin' dout [find out] from any man de truth about dese chings. It's nuthin but such a simple thing as sulphuh an' salt, dat chew'll put In yuh pocket. An' if he [boss] wants yuh aroun', he will tell yuh; an' if not, dy he'll run yuh out'a dere.
(That's if you are hunting a job?)
Yes. No suh! Dat in case dat chew huntin' one: jes' de same uh [as] many as [men], yo' know, goin' aftah a job an' dey [boss] always puttin' yo'off puttin' yo' off. Well, if yo' directly wanted tuh find out if he gona give yo' dis job or not, den yo' goes tuh work an' yo' put a li'l' sulphuh an' a li'l' salt in dis papah, an' yo' wrap it up verah carefully an' keep it in yuh Ppcket. An' when yo' go tuh 'im, why he'll have tuh tell yo' what he's goin' tuh do; vhethah he goin' tuh give somepin.
(I see. He has to tell you whether he is going to give you a job or not.)
Entry 9712
Lak if yo' wan'a job, dey tell me sompin but ah have nevah tried it. Lak if yo' wanted a job, ah heah de boys say, go tuh de bossman's house. An' aftah yo' go tuh 'is house - lak if yo' go dere an' try tuh git a li'l' work tuh do roun' dere. Prob'ly yo' fine some things roun' dere dat he's got or somepin he weahs or somepin lak dat. Yo' take dis. An' yo' come back an' take it tuh yore home. An' yo' come back an' yo' take dis turpentine an' olive oil an' salt. An' yo' take dis stuff an' yo' fix it up. Well, aftah yo' take dis stuff an' fix it up, yo' take an' care [carry] it back tuh dis bossman's house. An' yo' take an' hide it up undah, anywhere undah where he walks aroun' in 'is room. Yo' take dat stuff an' yo' care it right dere, an' put it somewheah in 'is room, wheah he kin walk ovah it. Well, yo' take it den. Yo' take an' go back an' git it if yo kin git back an' git it. Git back an' git it. Meanwhile he wuz workin' aroun'. An' yo' take an' bury it. Lak he's got a desk wheah he do's 'is writin', keepin' time, or sompin lak dat. Yo' take an' put it up undahneat' de desk or sompin othah lak dat. An' dey say dat stuff, whut chew put in dat stuff, will take effect on 'im. An' den yo'll come tuh 'im an' he says, "Well" - when yo' ast 'im fo' a job - "come to work." He'll give yo' job. Dat stuff will take effect on 'in, work on 'im in a way, an' he'll have tuh give yo' a job.
Entry 9956
To get a job, chew John de Conkah root while talking to the boss and carry a live frog in your pocket.
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 10070
You take a black cat and you kill it and pass with it through the graveyard.
(You pass it through the graveyard?)
Through the graveyard.
(How do you do that?)
Just like you go by a graveyard, when you'd have it; see, you is passing through the graveyard when you is going to a place for a job, and you pass it [cat] through there [graveyard] when you go there [for job]. And just like you got to go up to the office, right at his office, and you'd have some of that blood in a piece of paper, which you may call a little can. [The dead cat is not carried into office.] Well, you drop that blood on the [office] floor and you bury that cat right at his steps [steps of his house] overnight, what you may call "overnight" [is] at midnight. He'd be looking for you to give you a job.
(Just through that cat.)
[Informant having told story before recording began, I now start questions to check veracity. He is marked "ng" but here his tale held together.] (Now, what do you do? You take and catch [I am unknowingly using informant's ands] a black cat, don't you?) Yes, you ain't got to have no white one or brown one.
(Then you kill it. Then you carry him to the graveyard?)
Yes.
(Then you go and bury this cat under the boss's steps?)
Under his steps.
(That's all you have to do?)
That's all you have to do to him.
(To get a job?)
Yes, you get a job. (I thought you said something about cutting the hair off the cat's tail for something?) You cut the end, the end of his tail off - just like you see, the little tip end of his tail?
(Yes.)
Well, you would cut that off, and you would keep that with you.
(Oh! You keep that part.)
Keep that part with you. And the other, you bury it like that.
(I see, at the bottom of the step.)
At his step, and nobody can knock you from getting a job.
Entry 10146
A root doctor wrapped up a black cat bone in cloth, put in sack with salt, put in pocket on right side, go to boss for job. [Wilmington, N. Car., resume, 109:2.]
Entry 10200
St. Raymond, he's fo' tuh git chew jobs an' keep yo' in work. St. Michael is fo' peace. De Virgin Mary is tuh put bread in yore house, keep bread in yore house all de time. An' yo' use St. Michael ag'in fo' furniture dealers an' all. Lak ah owe yo' fo' furniture an' all lak dat an' yo' 'bout to take mah furniture 'way from me. Yo' see yo' set a light to St. Michael, an' yo' give him a green light, one right behin' one 'nothah fo' 'bout eight days or nine days. See. An' that'll cause yo' tuh have - yo' know whut ah mean - give me a chance tuh bring yo' some [green] money.
Entry 10611
Git dis heah Adam an' Eve, an' dis powders from Los Angeles, an' lode- stone, an' put it together. Wrop dat up together an' dat'll make a person, if yo' talk to him an' ask him fo' a job, he can't deny yo'. (What kind of powder is this from Los Ange- les. What do they call it?) It's called.... (It's sand, not a powder from some firm in Los Angeles. What is the name of the firm out there?) Yo' kin git some from de Modden?[or Molden?] Company. Dat's in Los Angeles. Don't know whether it's in Los Angeles or San Jose. It's Chicago, ah think. Yessuh. (What is the name of the company in Los Angeles?)
Entry 10615
Ah hear'd a fellah said he could take some Adam-an'-Eve an' John de Conkah an' put it in a red bag an' weah it aroun' yuh neck. De foreman he'll have some kinda feelin' or sompin an' let chuh go back tuh work.
Entry 10621
You kin take Adam-and-Eve in Hearts Cologne an' yo' kin hold your job. Like if you got a boss against yeh, you goin' to work that morning, you take an' put a little [Hearts Cologne] on yuh pocket hankechef. Jes' like I work fer you, I come here [he hems and coughs], "Good mawnin' boss, how yuh feelin'?" Dat stuff [scent] would fill over the house. You [I] keep your [my] job.
Entry 10626
Adam-an'-Eve an' High John, an' make a bag of it, an' put it cal gethah an' put a li'le sagah dd it - a teaspoonful of sugah vid it - or salt wid it. An' mix it tuhgethah an' sew it up an' care it wid joo. To'll git a job dat way.
Entry 10632
I've heard them claim that if you chew a certain root, that root is Ωlligator root, and also High John the Conquer, they claim, and chew that root and spit nine times before leaving the home, and nine time before you get to the place, and nine times after you reach the place, without speaking to anybody each time, and by doing that and just use the words, I want a job - you say that [these words] to yourself - that the individual will get a job. That's what they claim. {Alligator root here may be the root of the alligator tree, given to a sweet gum tree because its rough bark is supposed to look like alligator hide; or this may be any root, a rare one, faintly resembling an alligator. The shape of roots years ago, before my collecting days, played an important part in a doctor's pharmacopoeia.]
Entry 10671
Put red peppah in dere shoes; it's gotta be pod peppah. If yo' can't put red peppah in dere shoes [shoes guarded too well], yo' kin git chew some of dis asafitidy [asafetida]. Dat's plain asafitidy an' dis heah bor- acic watah, an' use it an' sprinkle it aroun' anywhere dat dey have tuh cross, anywhere in dere path. Yo' kin use dat to make 'em lose out [lose a job or have bad luck].
Entry 10708
Yo' take the Bible or a leave [leaf] out of the Bible an' wrap it in salt an' [red] peppah, wrap dis leaf up. An' it's jes' a few words that yo' pray ovah it. Then yo' take it wit yo' an' he'll come purtty near givin' yo' a job.
Entry 10720
You are hunting a job and you have a particular boss you want. Well, every time you go to that boss and ask him for a job, take cinnamon and sugar in your pocket and birdeye seed, and whenever you go on that job, put this [seed] down [where you Work and in] your pocketbook with the cinnamon and sugar and birdeye seed. That will make him have a sweet disposition towards you and keep a birdeye [bird's eye] upon you and always give you your job. [Birdeye or bird's-eye seed must be a package of seed sold by a hoodoo store.]
Entry 10834
Yo' go to somebody an' yo' git a little ole sompin dey calls a buck- eye, an' yo' tote dat in yore pocket. Sew it up in a lil' sack. An' yo' go to de drug sto' an' git some Heart Cologne an' po' dat on dere, an' jes' go an' ask fo' a job an' he git chew a job.
Entry 10835
Dere's a root dey call de little buckroot. It grows right straight down dere an' have sort of a fork down dere an' grows down. If yo' kin git dat an' yo's tuh tote dat an' chew a piece of it when yo' talkin' with him [boss] - yo' Want a job - an' look him right in de face an' don' look on de ground; jes' look towards his hat, dat will soften his mind, an' he'll quit talkin' tuh anyone else an' look right after yo'. An' yo' jes' talk an' tell him whut chew want, if yo' please do so-an'-so, whut yo' want. An' he'll yield to yo'. [Could little buckroot be the little buckeye = the red buckeye, a shrubby species of buckeye Aesculus pavia of Southern U. S. A?]
Entry 10855
If yo' wanted tuh git a job or sompin lak dat, git chew some dis heah pinewood honey. It's sompin dat grows on a tree, but chew gotta find dat. It's in different kind of cypress called swampy ground, an' low ground, jes' pinewood honey - pinewood honey.
(Is that the name of the tree?)
No, dat's de name of de stuff whut comes off de tree. Dey call it pinewood honey. It's a certain time of month dat chew kin git dis heah offa any tree, but it's dark sompin lak tar. But when de sap is in de tree [stops talking].
(The stuff that the children used to chew?)
Dat's it, but when de sap is in de tree.
(That thick sap that the children used to chew? They call it pinewood honey?)
Pinewood honey. An' yo' use dis pinewood honey an' yo' kin carry it in yore pocket. An' git chew some dis heah cinnamon powder an' burn it an' place it ovah dis heah [pinewood honey] an' wrap dat in red flannel an' wears it about chew, when yo' goes about dere [place of business] an' ast him fo' a job.
(Where do you burn this, in your own house?)
Uhmmuh. (But you have this pinewood honey in your pocket when you go to ask for a job?) Yeah, but chew gotta have dat pinewood honey an' de cinnamon. Yo' gotta burn dis cinnamon, burn it by itself an' den aftah it browns, see, sprinkle it ovah dis pinewood honey. See, an' den put it in a bag an' carry it in yore pocket, jes' lak de [they] call de [the] tobies [the singular is toby, the same name as the jug] whut people use.
(This is a toby?)
Uh-huh. Dey call 'em tobies an' han's.
Entry 10876
Ah heered people say tuh ketch a black cat, hold him back of his neck an' strip yore han' down de tail seven times an' count 'em, an' throw him from yo' an' cuss at him, an' don't look back at him. An' dat as good a luck fo' work as a man could do. (Well, after you have done this with the cat, then what do you do?) After ah throwed de cat away, yo' [ah] cuss at him. Why zh'd git out an' go an' ask some man fo' a job, an' ah would be lucky enough to git a job by dat.
Entry 10878
Yo' take a black cat, de same cat yo' got de [lucly] bope [froa]. Yo take dat hair an' yo' tie it up. Yo' gotta tie it in a rag an' yo' wear it in yore shirttail. When yo' wear it in yore shirttail, yo' kin conker anybody. (You get the hair from the top of his tail?) Right from de top of his tail, right from de butt of his tail. (And the man will give you a job?) "Cause him tuh give yo' a job or yo' kin git anything that chew want.
Entry 10949
We call dem "charity root" [see later]. An' dey go dere and dig: piece to [from] de sunrise an' piece to [from] de sundown [sides]. Take dat and put 'em in a towel, in a piece of cloth. Jest put de both together - in 'em in 'tween de cloth. Put dat in yore pocket and you be lucky if yo' git a job most anyway. [What he says here is not what he means.] Dat's de way dat I heard it. [I had trouble understanding some informants in Charleston. My informant called the root charity root, thought my transcriber; to me the root sounded like cherrytree or Cherokee root.]
Entry 10950
They call it the chew root, a small root, something like hickory bark, as you talk to this fellow for a job.
Entry 11041
Take a gizzard of black hen, a black pullet, an' dat thin skin inside, take an' sew it up in a sack. Den yo' kin go an' ask a man fo' a job an' he'll nevah turn yo' down.
Entry 11109
De cloves, take it an' beat it up fine, an' tie it up in a little piece of new cloth an' wear it in yore pocket. Dey say dat will make 'em give yo' a job.
Entry 11136
Not a milk cow, but git de whut-dey-call-it cow.
(The bull?)
Yes. If yo' kin git dat, den yo'll take dat an' a white dog's nunbah two. Dat [these two] be made up in a powdah an' yo'll sprinkle dat anywhere yo' passes an' de people pass, an' de' cain't git a job no way. Dey cain't git a job noway. But chew put peppah an' yo' put dat salt an' anything lak dat an' yo' put dem hot things in dere. Dat'll keep 'en aigoin'
[Number two = dung.]
Entry 11165
Dere's a root out dere, ah don't know whether it's round here or not. Dat comes out de woods. [Take that] an' saltpeter. It's de devil's-shoestring! Dat's whut dey call it, de devil's-shoestring. An' beat it up - jest beat it up an' put it in yore pock- et - yo' understand, an' walk on in. An' as yo' walk in de office - dis is de office heah [demonstrates] jest put it in yore pocket an' rub yore hand lak dat over it. An' bit off a little piece an' jest lak yo' chewin' a piece of chewin' gum or somepin lak dat, an' talk to him. He'll give yo' a job. Yes sir, he'll give yo' a job.
(Do you come from South Carolina?)
North Carolina.
Entry 11177
Yo' git devil's-shoe- string an' yo' cut it in three lengths in long strings. Yo' cut three pieces of it in three [long] lengths an' yo' git dat shoestring an' yo' go round a man's job an' chew dat shoestring an' spit all round, an' yo' could go to his steering wheel an' yo' spit some of de juice on yore han' an' wipe it on de steerin' wheel.
(The steering wheel of the boss' automobile.)
Entry 11183
Yo' go out early in de morning in de summertime when de bushes is blossoming yo' know. Yo' take dat string 'fore day at sunup an' pull dat string up. (What kind of string?) Devil's-shoestring. It's a long root. Yo' pull dat up an' yo' bring it round yore finger seven time. Dere seven day in de week, isn't it?
(You bend that root around your finger seven times. Any particular finger?)
Seven times, jes' any two [adjoining] fingers. Yo' see dere seven days in de week, yo' know. Seven times. An' jes' tie de thing in yore pocket, yo' know. An' keep it dressed with alcohol, yo' know. An' chew dat an' go to a man an' ask fo' a job, why he more den apt to give you a job.
(You only go out there once to get that root?)
Yes sir, one time. (And you bend this around your finger [2 fingers] seven times. That's to get a job.) Yes sir.
Entry 11232
When yo' wanta - if yo' be's on de job, an' yo' wanta keep it, an' if yo' be like a [something?] yo' jes' [go] an' wash yore face wit a dishrag an' they will keep likin' yo' all de time.
(Then you will stay on the job?)
Yes.
(That is if you are working some place?)
Yes.
Entry 11345
One way to do, dey go on dere and dey take an' burn sulphur and dra- goa's blood. Put it behin' de do'r, front do'r. Den dey go down to do'r, one dey go after to git dat jah - job. (I see, they burn that before they go down to the house [to get job].
Entry 11346
If you be out of work and you want's to get a job, you go to the drug swre and you get you some cinnamon bark - not the ground cinnamon - cinnamon bark. You chew that. You get you 25 cents of what you call - it's a drawing powder - and you gotta pay attention too when you get that. After you get that powder... Now, for you, you have to get pink. They got two kinds of it. got the pink and white. You get that drawing powder. Of course, you rub of it in the palm of your hand like that [demonstrates]. You take that cinnamon bark and you chew that cinnamon bark. And when you get around there where the boss is, of course, spit it but not enough so nobody will pay atten- tion to you. You take some of that powder and you put it in some of your pock- ets, and because it's got a sweet smell to it, nobody never pay attention to it anyway. In your pockets. When you close to him, spit that cinnamon bark around there. And that powder will draw him to the person [to you] and he will give you a job.
Entry 11371
Dey take de root of a fig tree from de no'th side an' hang it up ovah de do' dat chew go in an' out de most, an' it would make yo' be lucky in havin' a job or anything yo' wanta undertake tuh do.
Entry 11646
Five-finger grass, and I'll put this five-finger grass in under the faucet.
(Near the faucet?)
Yes. And I'll take me a piece of John de Conquer and go out like that and that long a piece too - have it in my mouth, go out like that - I will be chewing as I go on [to see the boss]. And while I'a approaching you, I'll do like that [demonstrates].
(Spit around.)
Yes. Then I go begin ask you my favor and I won't go away unheard.
(I see, I see, but you must have that five-finger grass in your pocket.)
Yes. Yes, sir.
(I see. What do you carry that for? What's the idea of that?)
That five-finger grass, that's attractive; more, that's to make things at- tractive, that's John the Conguer's master. Must break down all the friction in between you [two], you understand. [As I have probably explained else- where, originally five-finger grass was the name five-finger given to 4 plants: the common cinquefoil, oxlip, bird's-foot trefoil, and Virginia creeper. The hoodoo root shop, mail-order firms, and individual root collectors surely extend- ed the list.]
Entry 11708
Yo' kin take garlic an' if yo' wanta have good luck, take garlic an' put it in a bottle an' put some Hearts Cologne [in it]. Dat kills de odor of it. Take fo' instance, yo' go out an' yo' wanta git a job or anything or any kind of success. Jes' take some of dat garlic like dat an' rub it on yore hands an' on yore face, den yo' go out. An' yo' be - oh, yo' be too lucky. [Waycross (1093) 1762:12.]
Entry 11710
Now to get a job. Well, if you going out to hunt you a job, you always get up in the morning, don't be angry, get up with a good pleasant mind. And you always keep you some sugar or the middle part of garlic. Tote that in your pocket. Take and pull all the garlic out and just the little mid- dle - that part that's in the middle - tote that in your pocket.
(What will that do?)
That will give you luck. See.
(I see.)
Fast luck.
Entry 12050
[I hold in my hand and will attach to this manuscript an original notation made in 1937 while transcribing cylinders recently recorded at Wilming- ton, North Carolina. All these transcriptions are pencil written so that I could reduce the number of playbacks. Here is the brief nota- tion: '50ç for (hoodoo) bag to get job. Tel. (Telediphone cylinder No.) 221 (+85). Wil. (Wilmington) No.227 (informants number)." As you know, this hoodoo material of mine was collected out in the field, in the homes and hotels of black people during the Great Depression. Let no one tell you Black people preferred the meager dole to a job. There must be 200 rites in HOODOO for get- ting or keeping a job! That price 5Oç also shows the scarcity of money.]
Entry 12139
If yo' wanta go tuh git a job fo' good [a steady job], yo' go tuh dat job. If yo' kin git tuh de office where he's at, understan', git tuh de office where he's at, yo' kin git chew some dat stuff whut chew eat. Whut dey call - yo' kin git it at most any drug sto' - shellac. Yo' know, shellac, sompin dat chew paint things wit. Jes' take an' drop one drop anywhere. jes' lak yo' wuz heah [in this rooml, jes' drop one drop anywhere on de flo' heah where yo' step ovah it. An' den yo' go on back den an' take de rest of it. Go on back an' mix a little bit of Hearts Cologne, two or mo' drops of hit, an' puts hit in de bottle. Den yo' go tuh him, yo' may go ovah tuh him, dere ain't any jobs, an' if dere somebody else on de job, yo' tell him 'bout dat job. [He will ask], "Whut kin yo' do?" Yo' say, "Anything. All right, perhaps ah wants a job real bad. De next time yo' go to him, says, "Well, ah don't want but 75." [Is 75 cents an hour the wage back in 1937?] "Come back sech an' sech a time." An' when yo' go back de third time ag'in, yo' git dat job an' start workin' right off.
(And you just drop one drop of that shellac where the boss can walk over that?)
Dat's right, in de office.
Entry 12140
If you wanta get a job, work somewhere, you kin do that. And when you go round [to] 'proach a person, wet it [usually a handkerchief with what is coming later]. Well, when you first 'proach him, maybe he liable not to need no one. He liable to turn yuh down, say, "Well, now, I don't want no one. I couldn't do that now [at this time]. I ain't gonna do that." Somepin like that. You kind of fiddle around, put a little [of this liquid] round where he walk over it. Put some of that same stuff. If you kin get that close to the person at that time, and when you go back, you be around them a little bit. You not harmin' them with it or anything like that.
(What do you sprinkle around him now?)
You take - like if you got some of where he baths [bath water]. Somepin like that, you know. You take and put it with some nice Hearts Cologne. or somepin that smell, not too loud. And just be around, you know, like you be around talking with him and you just might put a little on your fingers or down on de floor or anywhere. Long as you keep that up, there'll always be harmony with you.
Entry 12162
Well, now, ah heard - now, yo' kin take some kind of dat oil dey call de holy oil. Dey kin take dat an' 'noint all ovah dey face 'fore dey goes. So when dey git dere, yo' know de boss, he might kinda drag a little bit, but he'll give 'em a job. He'll tell 'em, say, "Come back, yo'll be sure to git a job." He'll tell 'em come back an' dey git de job.
(Where do they get that holy oil?)
Ah don't know where they git it from, but dey has it.
Entry 12206
If you got a job an' wanta hold it, why yo' go out to any little place where you kin find an old horseshoe. An' take a couple of nails - horseshoe nails - nine of 'em, an' put round dat shoe. Take it back [to place where you work] and bring them with that, an' go under in de east corner of dat place, an' put dat horseshoe down. Put in dere so nobody kin dig it up, so it can't be found, an' leave it dere. Nobody kin have your job. (You find that horseshoe that has nine nails in it and you take that whole horseshoe. You don't take the nails out or anything like that?) No, leave 'em in dere, just as is.
Entry 12227
(When you go to get the job?) You get High John [de Conkah] and hartshorn [this name for an old- fashioned chemical some- times given to Hearts Cologne! Not a confu- sion, but a mispronun- ciation], honey suckle, crabapple [3 perfumes] and you put these in there with a teaspoonful of honey and a teaspoonful of allspice, these ground spices, cloves [other unnamed].
(cloves?)
Yes. (Well, how do they use that? I mean - you put it in this bottle. What do you do with that then, that bottle?) They puts it up on a shelf in the Name of the Lord.... (You put - grind it up and put a spoonful of High John the Conquer in this too. Put it in the bottle and then - what did you say you use the name of, when you [they] put it on themselves and when they go right down and they get the job?) Put it on yourself and you go right down [to see boss]. Course you got the odor on you too. (I see. That odor is on you while you are talking to the boss, so he's likely to give you the job. I see. And you say, In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.) After they do that, they anoint their feet, and then they turn their sock on the wrong side and use that same stuff. And turn the sock from the wrongside out, when they are going down there.
(Both socks or just one of them?)
Both of them.
(Put both of them wrongside out?)
Yes.
(They put the stuff on them that they use to get the job?)
Yes. (When they are going down, just turn their socks wrongside out on them. I see.)
Entry 12231
Yo' go git chew a piece of root - John de Conkah root - and bury it in de ground 'bout three days. Take it out and git chew a bottle of Hearts Cologne an' a little bit sugah and sew it up tight in a bag. And chew you a piece ob [of] dat John de Conkah root. And when you go an' knock de boss [knock on the door?] fer a job, jest look him right dead in de eye, says, "Captain, I want a job." An' jest look him right in de eye and spit. And he say, "All right, boy, come on heah." He'll give you a job. But look him in de eye, if you want a job - look right in de eye.
Entry 12232
Git you White John de Conkah root - piece of white - piece of white root and it's hard. [Only time I ever heard of white!] You take a knife or hatchet or somepin and cut it. And you put it in your mouth and whilst you goin' round to dose person where you wants a job, you talk to 'um, but you kinda spit real fine and let it get on dere clothes.
(Spit?)
Yes.
[I turn off recording machine but soon restart it.]
(To help you with this, to get that job, you get some lodestone.)
Get some lodestone. You get dat lodestone and put it in de red flannel and you ties it up with a ten cent piece [a silver dime] and needle point. When [then] you wear dat in de pocket separate from anything where no tobacco or noth- in' kin git with it, if you have to make you a little pocket [bag] you just wear it with dat, and you - de person you go to 'em and talk to 'em with dat, why you'll finally draw dere attention and you'll get de job.
Entry 12238
Git a piece of lodestone an' a piece of John de Conkah root an' a piece of Eve-an'-Adam root [Adam and Eve] root an' sew it up in a red piece of flannel an' wear dat. Dat's fo' luck an' jobs.
Entry 12343
Tuh git a job, yo' jis' have tuh dress yo'self an' ah tell yo' jis' whut chew have tuh do. Yo' have tuh dress yo'self wit lodestone an' quicksilvah an' Jockey Club Perfume - both togethah. Ah tell yo' jis' how yo' do now. Yo' git chew a red piece of flannel aftah yo' beat it all up dere to- gethah. Git chew a red piece of flannel an' den take a thread outa yore sock. See, jis' lak yo' got a pair of socks, but let it be a pair of socks yo' done worn amn' take a thread from dat sock an' tie it aroun' dis, an' den befo' yo' go in dere, yo' know, yo' kin'a run yore han's lak dis [demonstrates]. Yo' see, yo' rub yore han' lak dis an' den when he [boss] git tuh talkin' tuh yo', yo' have tuh kinda hold yore face lak dat. An' when yo' go, yo'll kin'a throw yore fingahs lak yo' kinda throwin' yore fingahs tuh him yo' know, an' he'll git de odor of it all right. Dat Jockey Club Perfume dere. The're [there are] two chances tuh one yo' won' be turned down.
(You rub this bag in your hand?)
Dat's right.
Entry 12344
(Lodestone.)
Keep it wet with perfume and tote that in your pocket. That will give you lock to get a job like that, even be able lucky for anything - luck for anything like that.
Entry 12345
Yo' git chew a piece of lode- stone an' yo' put it in a little piece [of cloth] or yo' kin put it in yore pocketbook, an' a piece of dat in- cense, an' put it together an' keep it. An' yo' tote it in yore pocketbook an' every time yo' go to work, why yo wash yore face an' hands in dat Van-Van an' dey won't turn yo' off.
Entry 12348
They tole me tuh git - they had me tuh git a piece of - a piece of drawing lodestone an' dis same mineral oil. Ah cain't think of it [name]. They still use it as mineral oil. Dis lodestone, dis drawin' stone, you buy, see, an' dis mineral oil and de dust from a comb, ah believe it was - a head comb, de dust. An' yo' 'solve [dissolve] dis dust into dis - dis mineral oil and dust all together, and you dress dis dust and de mineral [oil] and de lodestone wit perfume an' you wears it. But ah was successful.
(That's in hunting a job.)
In hunting a job. Least how, it worked. But thinking about it, ah didn't hole [hold] de job very long. So dat's why ah didn't think dere's much to it. [To be able to buy head-comb dust indicates the catholicity of products sold by some hoodoo shops!]
Entry 12364
Yeah, you can get some love powder and you can put that on you, and after you get the love powder put on you, they got some kind of oil: say, I think they calls it coconut oil, an' coconut butter, and witch hazel, and Van-Van. See, you put all them four diff'- ren' - it together. An' they say, when you get most to the place, you have it in your pocket, and you put red pepper with it. So when you get most there, see, you rub your hand with it like that. But don't let 'em see it on you. See, after you rubbing your hand with it like that, see, the bossman, he can't tell you "no." He got to give you something to do.
(I see.)
Entry 12365
A little powder, they call it a love sashay. They say you kin take it with you. You take an' tie it in your handkerchief, an' when you go down to git the job, they say you jis' shake your handker- chief [and you will get a job].
Entry 12404
Ah know dat chew could git a job jes' by goin' to a magnolia tree. Yo' take an' git - jes' a little piece of cloth an' den sew it up in a heart- style bag in shape of a heart. Yo' take dat heart- style an' yo' fill it up wit nuthin but table salt, salt dat nevah has been used. An' go to a magnolia tree wit three roots dat's runnin' east. Don't care how small or how large it is, an' yo' tie it up together an' feed it off de cologne. An' it's a certain chap- tah in Psalms in de Bible - de Psalms of David. Ah disremembah, but chew repeat dat three times in de mawnin' befo' yo' go fo' three mawnin's, an' aftah dat third mawnin' dat chew'll be successful in gittin' a iob an' holdin' it as long as yo' kin hold dat.
(You put these magnolia roots into this little bag?)
Yes sir, yo' puts it in dat an' sew it up right wit de salt in de heart- style [bag].
Entry 12429
Well the fact is, if yo' wan'a job, they have Mind Oil. You hear of it? Mind Oil. Well, suppose the boss's name John Henry. You sign his name to that parchment paper, put it in that Mind Oil. You will get you some paradise seed, get you some parsley. You take a bath with that. After taking bath, you must stay in that building all night, and throw the water out into the Middle of the street, see. And anything that instead of going contrary, you ill have a success with. [For "paradise seed" see margin title GUINEA SEEDS etc., P.570, v.1. Throwing bath water into street is a transference rite and remaining instead in building all night recalls ancient incubation rites.]
Entry 12596
She was working fer a private family, three of 'em working together and one of 'em was very disagreeable and dis was de cook. Well, an' de other one was de maid and one was de washwoman. Well, dis washwoman she didn't like de cook an' every night and every time she'd git a chance, she would go in de kit- chen an' sprinkle peppah around de floor in order to make de white lady fire her and probably give her de cook job and git another washwoman. Well, dey linger and linger and all like dat until finally dis girl did break a valuable dish and she lost her job and dis girl dat was washing she got de job, sure enuff and dey got another washwoman. Dese people tried to locate her but she was gone to New York [by] that time.
Entry 12609
I know my brother did it. You kin take a pound of black pepper - dis grain [whole] pepper - and a pound of sugar. And you kin sit down and bite dis pepper and sugar together and put it in your pocket and go on the job. The man will give you a job. (You say your brother did that?) Yes sir.
Entry 12623
A man said if: I could take a needle and 3 grains of pepper, red pepper, de seed of it, and some water and put in it, and salt, and then a few grains of black pepper. And take that needle and stick it down in that bottle. And when you get ready to go out, you go and take that bottle up and jis' shake [a magic act] it up and say, "Good luck and good prospire" [prosperity]. And go out. And he said, "You get a job." The man that told me that...and I declare I went and did it, I fixed it up, and I declare I git the job, the one I got now. And I've been with it over a year.
Entry 12660
Pulverize persimmon bark and sugar, and one teaspoonful of sulphur. Put that on yore stove, on de top of your stove, on a Monday and Wednesdays. That's to get a job. Then you hold it and then you always kin pick up - getting jobs. (Well, what if you have a job?) It will cause you to pick up more, cause you to pick up more, cause you get more extra jobs. [This shows a chronic condition of the times, the Great Depression, there were few jobs for these people, and had there been permanent jobs, few were trained to hold them. Forty years later, as I write, conditions have not improved much.]
Entry 12711
Now, lak if yo' wanta job, yo' git - lotsa people say yo' git rabbit foot. Mah ole grandmother used to say yo' could git rabbit foots an' ah think it's fly root. Anyway ah think it's a fly, ah think she say dey used to git. Hit's a root made up jes' lak a onion. [Fly root having a root like an onion I am unable to identify, but an obs6lete meaning for this word fly spirit or a witch's attendamt - should be a clue for a botanist or person interested in plant lore. Could this plant be the wild onion (sometimes called wild garlic, the Allium vineale about which there is a rite somewhere in HOODOO? Poisonous? Did a witch rub or eat this root for the sensation of flying?] Yo' take it an' yo' tack it on one end - put chew a string around de rabbit foot an' tie it on de other end an' put dat in yore pocket book. She say dat's good fo' tuh git a job anywhere yo' wanta git a job.... Well, nobody else couldn't stay dere but chew. In other words de job would come normal to yo'.
Entry 12721
An' anothah thing, yo' ketch a rabbit an' yo' cut his foot off, his left foot, an' turn him loose an' let him go. An' git chew a piece of devil's- shoestrings an' a piece of five-finger root. An' yo' put them three things tol gethah. An' yo' jes' take it an' wrap dat devil's-shoestrings round dat rabbit foot, an' yo' sew it up in a piece of red cloth, an' yo' make a sack out of it, bag-like, an' yo' feed hit on Hearts Col Ogne. An' dat's anothah thing fo' a job - good luck. Long as yo' tote dat yo'll git a job anywhere.
(You get the left foot. Which one? He had two left feet.)
De left front feet.
Entry 12726
Them goes to work and git a rabbit - a wood rabbit foot - and put salt on it and wrop it up tight and he nevah tell you no. (The boss won't.) No. You must go de same day [you catch rabbit]. If you kin know de day yo' birth, dey bery day yo' birth, go dat day. President Roosevelt can't tell you no. [Even President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not refuse you.]
(What foot do you take?)
Right one.
(Which one, front or back?)
De one in de front, de front foot.
Entry 12746
Rattlesnake marster like dat is good. Jes' take it yo' know an' wear it chew know in a piece of cloth yo' know. An' den every mawnin' yo' take an' rub it in yore han' jes' like dis heah [demon- strates], an' den rub it ovah yore face.
(What will that do for you?)
Git a job.
Entry 12747
Yo' kin take rattlesnake marster, spice an' yo' kin take Hearts Own Cologne an' alum an' yo' put dat in a little bag an' yo' kin carry it 'long wit chew in yore pocket, but chew wanta have yo' some Hearts Own Cologne aloag, yo' know, to 'noint it wit, yo' know, an' keep dat liven up. [Dressing or feeding a hand as here gives it life, power.] An' yo kin go an' yo' kin git a job most anywhere. An' when yo' git it chew be de last one to be cut off practically, if de [dey or dere] be any cutting off being done.
(You would be the last one fired.)
Entry 12750
Ah hear dat if a man wanted a job an' he couldn't git none no way, he go an' git one - ah ain't nevah tried it but ah hear de fact of it. Ah don't know whether yo' ever hear tell of dis rattlesnake marster root an' burn it into a powder, an' yo' take dat powder, jest lak dis is yore job heah. Well, ah come to de job an' ah sprinkle dat powder round dere. Den ah git me some of dis shame brier root, a little brier dat grows dey call de shame brier. Ah don't know whether yo' evah hear tell of it. [For shame brier and its various names, see No.2290, p.646f., v.1, and elsewhere.] An' ah'll take dat shame brier root an' den ah'll chew it, lak ah'm talkin' wid chew, [and say] "Ah wants a job, Captain." Why all de time dat me an' yo' talkin ah be chewin' dat root an' spittin'. Dey tell me if yo' do dat, why he'll do jest 'xactly whut chew tell 'im to do. He'll give yo' a job. Or if yo' wants money, yo' take dat shame brier root an' dat rattlesnake marster dust, after yo' pound dat root up, an' keep it in yore pocket whilst yo' talkin' [to boss]. Spit an' chew it an' have dat dust - throwin' dat dust out, yo' know.
Entry 12751
Well de first thing would be if yo' wanted a job. An' dat go fo' a job, a favor or money or anything. Dat chew would git chew some of dis root whut de' [they] call rat- tlesnake marster, an' spice. An' yo' take dat root an' yo' chew dat rat- tlesnake marster, but chew have [hold] de spice in yore mouth. An' yo' spit dat when yo' speakin' tuh him. "Fore yo' consult him yo' spit from him an' nevah spit tuh him. Den he cannot turn yo' down even [whether] it's money or job or whut. If he don't place yo den, he will place yo' [later], but don't nevah spit, jes' spit tuh him but [when] chew spit jes' turn away from him, turn yore haid from him an' spit.
Entry 12775
[Letter "s" in this long CHANNEL DE WORLD division begins perhaps with the largest sentence in HOODOO:] They say, if yo' take the Twelve Apos- tle's names like I told joo, an' write 'em on a piece of paper, or each Apostle's name on a sage leaf, an' have the Apos- tle's names on another piece of paper, fold them toward joo all the time, an' keeps 'em in your pocket an' have 'em whensomever yo' go for a job, they say he'll [you will] more than apt to be lucky. [For sage leaves and court see also No.9117-9137, some of which also contain 12 Apostles, v.4.]
Entry 12875
Well, dey got a root dey call de Sampson Giant root.
(Sampson what?)
Sampson Giant root. It's a root, it's impossible almost to break it. Well, it would, could stand a tremendous pressure to break it, but jis' hand it to a person ordinarily, they can't do anything with it. An' they call it the Samp- son Giant root. And they claim that you kin take it and by using it through a perfume, or else using a piece of gum, and you apply for a job, that nine times out of ten, whoever you ask for a job, he will write you up to go to work or give you a proposition to come back at another time. That there's no way to refuse you as long as you got a piece of it, and kin get around him so as to encircle him. Why you got him under your influence during that time.
(You have to go and circle around him?)
Circle and naturally he'll stop. And you tell him your business, that you come to apply for a job. And of course he's more 'an apt to look over and give you somepin to do. That's known as the Sampson Giant root.
Entry 12925
If a man huntin' a job an' he wanted a job, de first thing, he's got- ta make de man feel he's sorry fo' him, an' to do dat, he'd have to carry on him what is known as Shame Brier. But he mustn't git de Shame Brier until [FOR IDENTITY - NAMES - EXAMPLES - SEE v.1, p.646f.] it closes up. Yo' see, de leaves is open, an' deh, dey'll close up. But chew gotta pass de han' ovah dere an' say tuh de Shame Brier tuh "be shamed", or whatevah yo' wanta do, yo' tell de brier dat an' tell de brier tuh be shamed. An' den when it closes up - it will close up itself. Well, yo' git chew nine of dose leaves. Yo' wrap dem up an' den take 'em on tuh where yo' wanta go an' den ask fo' yo' job.
(That will get you the job.)
Entry 13077
Jes' lak if a fellah wanta git a job, ah hear 'em, dey take an' kill a snake an' let him dry, yo' know. An' take him yo' know, jes' lak he git into ashes, yo' know an' put him inside of a bottle. An' take - jes' lak a cigaret smoke an' blow it in dat bottle an' stop it up. An' dey says dat every time yo' open dat bottle, a little sompin will come up out dat bottle lak a snake, yo' know. Say if yo' tote dat in yore pocket an' tote it in yore pocket bottom upwards, yo' know, dat chew could git a job. But ah ain't nevah tried it. Ah had a ole fellah tell me dat once but ah ain't nevah tried it. Waycross, Ga., (1072), 173:3.]
Entry 13078
Yo' ask him fo' a job an' he says, "No, ah ain't got a job fo' yo'." Well, yo' go out in de woods an' find yo' a rattlesnake an' take off dose rattles, an' take an' cut one rattle an' bust it open, an' git de dust out from one dose rattlesnake rat- tles [or buttons] yo' know. An' git some gunpowders an' puts 'im in a little sack, an' tie it round yore waist an' go back to him. He'll give you a job, put chew to work.
Entry 13239
You go to a job, you have never been dere an' yo' look, yo' don't know de man when yo' walk in dere. Yo' have a little sugah in your pocket. Let it be brown sugah [if you are a black man]. An' ast 'em, if somebody [standing about], whoevah recommend to you [tell you], who is he [the boss] - de one dis [dat] de boss. An' sprinkle dat sugah [on the ground near the boss], say, De Name of de Father, de Son an' Holy Ghost, I guar'tee you git job.
Entry 13241
Sugar and cinnamon and mix it up well together and put it in your pocket. Jes' like I'd come in here and I'd wanta see you, I'd come in and I'd have my hand in my pocket, and as I'd enter the door, I'd jes get a little in my hand and sprinkle it about. And I ask you for a job. Well, you'd be more than apt to give it to me.
Entry 13313
Git choo some chewin' tobaccah an' jis' break off fo' corners of dat 'baccah an' chew it - dem fo' corners yo' chew it. Then put de otber piece In your pocket, an' go down there wheresomever you Suppose to git a job an' he'll purtty near give yo' one. [Years ago the old plug tobacco Was cut into oblong pieces as purchased. This is an unusual four corner rite, my only example of it.]
Entry 13329
You go out here an' git this trumpet root. That's a root that grows - it don't grow now'ere roun' here. It grows in the middle of a pond. When you git to that trumpet it's like a bugle. It's about that long [4 feet], it stays green winter an' summer. You take that trumpet root an' you pour some water in it [the flower] from a pump. Nuthin mus' be but de pump. An' take that water an' boil it. Yo' see, yo' boil that trumpet root all together. Well, when yo' git that water, yo' bottle it up an' take a drink. An' take that trumpet an' cut it up, an' put it out there an' let it git dry. Either put it in de stove an' let it dry. Well, yo' powder dat up. Yo' take that then an' yo' go to captain: 'Captain, I'm out of a job an' I wan'a job." Put some that [dust] on yo' [and take a drink of trumpet-root tea before you go] an' yo' got a job.
Entry 13348
(If you want to get a job from the boss, you try to get hold of some of his chamber lye and put it in a bottle airtight, and take it home and keep it. And that will make him like you and eventually he will give you a job?) Yes. [A pencil note of mine reads: "Something must have gone before. Something did go before but machine was not turned on. I am repeating as near as possible what informant had said. To bottle the boss's urine is a rare rite indeed!]