Subject:Key
Entries
Entry 2260
De herb men see somepin dey call Peter's Protection. Key - and anoint that seven mornin's with Lucky Holy Oil and wear it on yore person.
(What will that do?)
That to protect yo', if people tryin' to do things to you. (What does this key look like?) It look like aluminum or silver or some kind of shiny stuff. It made like a key but it don't fit no lock on a door - made fer dat [protection] purpose. [This key sold by herb men, who buy it from mail-order firms or religious supplies shops, is worn for protection. The same or similar key in New Orleans area is offered to picture or statue of St. Peter (see margin-title St. Peter).]
Entry 2919
If they stole somepin from you and you want to get it back, if you know the person. If you didn't know 'em, you could get it back. If you wanted to know who the party Was, you could get the Bible and you could find out who the party Was and then you could get to 'em more so. But now, if a person would steal somepin from you and you want to get it back; if you could get a key - see, if you could get a key and get that party's name. See. You get that key and put it on a string. You get this party's name and you get you one of these dark candles - it's not a black one, it's a lavender-looking candle but it looks like its black. You get you one of them and you get these people's name and you write that name on that candle, but you take this candle and you burn the candle upside down in- stead of burning his name upside down. You turn your candle over and you trim the ends - the opposite end of it - you trim it and light that part of the can- dle. You got his name and you write his name on that candle, see. But the deeper it is - you write his name as deep in the candle as you can get it. If you can get his name, write it as deep in there as you can get it. You take that key and you put that key just like this [demonstrates]. Here's your candle here and you lay that key right across by that candle in this manner - just like that.
(Sort of like a cross.)
Yes, sir. Just like [demonstrates] I got my finger - see, on that angle just like that. That's the candle here, and lay that key just like that.
(It isn't a right angle, but it's about a 45 degree angle.)
A 45 degree angle, yes sir. Just a cross. [Candle and key are crossed. The key is laid flat on the surface of the candle-container so that it touches the bottom of the candle. As you look at the candle, the key is not horizontal or at right angles to your vision; it is at a 45 degree angle. If you mentally prolong the bottom of the candle, key and candle would form a flat letter 'X' cross or a flattened St. Andrew cross. As a matter of fact this is an upside-down (reversed) tau cross or "T" cross, also called St. Anthony cross. If we include the circular bottom of the candle or circular hole through the key, we have the crux ansata or Egyptian ankh, symbol of life and prosperity.] And he going to come back and he come back with a piece of yours that he's done taken from you. He might - he ain't going to come back to you but he going to come close around wheresomever you are at, trying to sell it. See, he may not know it's yours. He going to try to be selling it or something of that sort, or maybe have it on, and you going to recognize it and you can catch him thataway. That'll bring him back.
Entry 3906
De only thing ah heard of 'em usin' a person's blood is fo' love. Dey generally use dat an' take nine ole keys, an' sprinkle it ovah dose nine ole keys an' tie it up with a cloth, an' put it undah yore bedhead. Yo' usually git 'long wit dat person quiet [quite] well. (Where do you get this blood?) Where do yo' git it? Easy enough. All yo' gotta do, yo' know, de womens - from dey periods.
(Put it on the nine keys. Well, what is that supposed to do?)
Dat supposed tuh make a woman [man] love yo'.
Entry 7502
But de way dis would be done, yo'd have to know de person name - yo' have to know de person name. (The man who killed this man.) Lak yo' knew 'is name an' yo' know he done it, dey ain't caught 'im yet. Well, now yo' could take de Bible an' a key an' dere certain words yo' could say den an' dat pahtiklah [particular] person when yo' git to dat name, dat Bible would turn an' fall. [For Bible and key rites, See 550f., p.167f., and elsewhere.]
Entry 8882
A brass key, dat's lak a coppah key, Git chew one of dose coppah keys an' put it right in de Bible at a certain chaptah. An' den he'd wrop [profes- sional worker visited by informant would wrap] dis Bible wit a string an' let chew hold dat key lak dat [demonstrates]. Ah've helt [held] it mahself an' den he [hoodoo man] read a chaptah [from the Bible]. It says: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, by de Lord dat made us all, if sech-an'-sech Q man - jes' call de name, see yo' have tuh git de name - is got chure money, ah pray dis Bible turn an' fall. An' it shore will fall when yo' hit it right. Ah've tried it, helt dat [Bible]. But ah don't know as ah could do it lak he [doctor] did. [Informant thinks this by-St. Peter rhyme is a chapter from the Bible! How our hoodoo man and informant held Bible and key will become apparent as we proceed.]
Entry 8885
Yo' kin find out an' it [the rite] don' tell no lie. Yo' go git aBible an' yo' gits a brass key, an' yo' put dat brass key in dat Bible an' yo' ties it up tight, an' yo' holds it in yore han' lak dis - lak dat [demonstrates]. (With two fingers.) Yes, two fingahs. If not dat, chew kin git somebody else tuh hold one of de fingahs, an' yo' hold one an' say: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, 'tain't but de one God saves us all; if Sech-an'-sech a one stole mah money or anythin', any article, ah pray Bible wheel an' fall. An' dat Bible wouldn't move until yo' call de right one's name whut stole it. An' dat Bible jes' ease, ease roun' till it drops.
Entry 8886
Use de Bible an' git de 50 Psalms [Psalm 50] of David in de Bible an' yo' read it three times. An' yo' git chew a do' key, a large do' key. Aftah yo' read dat Psalms, yo' write dat Psalm down on a piece of papah. An' yo' take dat do' key an' yo' put it on dat Psalm, an' yo' tie it wit string an' yo' read de Psalms. An' aftah yo' read dem Psalms, yo' call dis person name three time an' yo' hold dat do' key; an' if it's de individual name yo' call, dat done took sompin from yo', when yo' read de Psalm, dat do' key goin' turn roun' in dat Bible. Jes' lak yo' turn it in de lock of a do', jes' turn; an' if it ain't de individual whut took it, de do' key goin' tuh stay still. But if it's anyone dat took it an' yo' know dere name, yo' call dere name, dat key is gonna turn in dat Bible. (You write this 5Oth Psalm on a piece of paper and then you wrap that around the key?) No suh, de key is tied intuh de Bible on de 5Oth Psalm aftah yo' write it down. See, yo' write it down so yo' kin read it, an' yo' readin' it three times. An' aftah yo' read - while yo' readin' it, yo' don' call de individual [name]. Aftah yo' read it, den yo' call de individual name an' yo' hold dat key. Hold de Bible an' hold de top end of de key, an' when yo' hold dat key yo' have it tied tight in dat Bible; an' if it's dat individual, dat key's gonna turn in dat Bible jes' lak it would in de do'.
[Since key does not fall, By St. Peter rhyme not used.]
(This key though is put into the Bible where this Psalm is. The only reason that you write that 5Oth Psalm is that - so when the Bible is closed, you can read the 50th Psalm?) Yes.
Entry 8887
As the proof, yo' will take a Bible, the Testament. Yo'll take a great big brass key. Yo'll place it in that Bible. Tyin' it well, hold it with two individual forefingers sayin' this word: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by the Lord that made us all, if Chester have my pocketbook, leave the Bible, key, turn an' fall. An' if he's got it, it'll turn an' fall. Yo' kin call twenty differen' men's names an' when yo' get de right one, it turns. De other individuals, it stays neutral.
(I see. Then what Would you do to make him bring it back, anything?)
Why yo' go to 'im an' yo' tell 'im to bring it back, if yo' found out fo' sure he got it.
Entry 8888
Say fer instance if someone stole somepin from me, ah'd take de gartah offa mah laig an' put it aroun' de Bible, an' [I would get] yore front do' key, an' get someone else [to help me] with our big two [two big] fingahs, jis' lak dat [demon- stratesl.an' hole [hold] dat key undah dere [the garter]. Ah've seen dis done. Hole dat Bible right straight, don't let it move, an' yo' say: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by de God dat made us all, if So-an'-so stole of mine, whutsomevah it is, de Bible turn an' fall. Well, if dey didn't take it, dat Bible won't move; an' if dey did take it, it'll jis' whirl aroun' offa yore fingah. [For similar rites, See BIBLE-DIME-GARTER, P.167f.]
Entry 8889
Yo' go an' git chew a brass key. Yo' walk on an' yo' git de Bible. Yo' look up on de Ten Commandments. Yo' place dis key dere on dis Bible, turn de Bible. If yo' got 'em on one [a Bible], yo' turm 'em upside... (Wait a minute! You say you look up the Ten Commandments. Then what do you do with them?) Put de key on de Ten Commandments. All right. Brass key. Den yo' turn de Bible up an' call dis fellah by his name, an' 20 minutes from den he may don't come. If he won't, yo' git two brand-new needles - needles, yo' know, dat yo' sew wit. An' yo' stick dem dataway - open de Bible an' yo' stick dem dataway in de Bible [demonstrates].
(Under the leaves.)
Yeah, undah de leaves, by de key - one on each side of de key. Den yo' call dis fellah. Soon he may don't come, but a couple of hours he come an' ast yo fer somepin, lak he wanta borrah somepin. [To borrow something is from well- lmown witch rites.] He may ast yo' to lend 'im a iron or any kind of instrument in de house, see. [To borrow iron is unusual.] Well, now yo' know dat's de fellah cuz yo' done call 'is name on dat commandment. (You know that's the man that stole the thing from you.)
Entry 8890
If yo' wanta find out de person dat done de stealin', yo'll git de Bible an' git a brass key, an' find de middle verse of de Bible - de very middle leaf an also de middle verse in dere. Ah don't know now [what it is], yo' see, 'cuz ah not much of a Bible readah. An' yo' jis' take dat [place] an' take dat key an' put it in de centah, an' tie a string on it an' tie it aroun' on de backside of de book, see. An' den'yo' git chew anothah fel- lah, yo' an' 'im tuhgethah, an' he put it on 'is fingah an' let de othah fellah bold it on 'is fingah. See, jis' put one fingah apiece on it, two persons. All right. Den de man whut wanna find out who did de stealin' - jis' lak us all be lined up, chew say, By St. Peter, by St. Paul, ain't but one God made us all. See. An' yo' supposed tuh say somepin else wit it but ah don't know jis' zactly [exactly] whut chew say, yo' see. An' den yo' say, If so, Henry stole so-an'- s0 - dis box or book - Bible please reel an' fall. An' if he stole it sure 'nuff [enough], dat Bible'll turn ovah. See, dat Bible'll turn right on 'is han' [hand] an' fall on de table or on de flo' on de [Bible's] face; but if not, it won't move. Dat whut chew do tuh find out.
Entry 8893
Well, ah'll tell yuh, yo' take a brass key, if yo' [want to] find out who it is; an' aftah tyin' de brass key in de Bible, put de brass key down in dat Bible, takin' two men - a woman must nevah hold any of dose keys - sayin', By St. Petah, by St. Paul; by de Lord dat made us all; if Such-an'-such has mah money or watch, leave de [= dere= there] key Bible an' all. [For preceding obscurity see later.] It has been proven dat way. De party dat chew had no suspicion for, would feel guilty an' return it. He will volunteer to come back with it. [THIS IS MY ONLY EXAMPLE OF A WOMAN FORBIDDEN TO HOLD A KEY! The reason is obvious. A key is something that goes into a hole, unlocks. Elsewhere in the text I have written about former moral theology forbidding women to assume the superior position, either she lying or sitting. Folklore cautions her against stepping over a man lying on the floor or crawling over him in bed. Here We also have the locked-room theme of Blue- beard, who gave the keys of the castle to his wife, forbidding her to unlock one room.] [The preceding bracket [[= dere = there]] properly placed in its context reads: leave there key, [[leave]] Bible an' aZl.]
Entry 8894
If yo' wanta find sompin dat's stolen - if somebody steal sompin from yuh - yo' take dat Bible an' git chew a brass key whut we call a skeleton key, but it's brass. Yo' take dat key an' a cord string an' run de string through de Bible dat way [demonstratesl, an' twist it on de string, dis end, an' twist it on de othah end de same way. Each end of de string is wrapped ovah on de key. An' yo' kin take dat key, yo' an' anothah person, an' hold yore fingah upon dat key, an' dat Bible ain't goin' move till yo' call de right name. An' whoevah yo' thinks got it - yo' call several names befo' dem tuh be shore yo's undahstandin' whut chure doin'. An' when yo' git tuh de right person, dat Bible will turn roun' an' fall.
Entry 8896
Well, lak if ah would steal sompin from yo' an' yo' know dat ah wuz de only one dere, but yo' didn't know whethah person'ly dat wuz me. Well, yo' kin git de Bible an' tell dat. Dat tell yo', de Bible an' a key. Well, yo' kin git de Bible an' yo' read de firs' verse of Psalms an' yo' close de Bible. An' yo' ties a string roun' de centah of de Bible. An' yo' gits a key, a do' key, an' hangs on dat string. Hangs it on each string where it hang steady, an' let it stay dere until it git perfectly still. Den yo' say: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, if John took so-an'-so from me, turn Bible an' fall. An' he didn't, dat Bible will not move; but if he did, yo cannot hol' [hold] it till it turn.
Entry 8897
Then, you want to find out who it was, stealing? Well you get the Bible and put the key on the Seven Songs of Moses [whatever that is] and turn it [key] nine times. [Does in- formant mean the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, the hoodoo or witchcraft man- ual?] If you think of that person - you mean, if you want to know who it was?
(Yes, and then I want to make them pay [bring] it back, too.)
Turn that key on 'im an' jes' say: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by the Lord and God who made us all; if So-and-so took it, turn key, Bible, and fall. If it's him, it'll fall. If it's this man it'll fall. And if it falls on this man [when his name is called], what you do, you get some lodestone; if you know where he lives. You got'a know where he lives to make him bring it back. Get some lodestone and put it up under his step in a little sack. Put nine pearl buttons in there. And if he walks over that, he will bring back whatever he took, right back where he got it from. But you got'a put that name what you called in that sack at the bottom step.
Entry 8898
Take a Bible, a small Bible. with a new do' key. an hang de new do' key - tie de Bible aroun' disaway, six times wit a cord. Tie de key into de leaves of de Bible, intuh Genesis chaptah. Hang it on a nail an' name it. An' de nex' mawnin' dat Bible will be turned right tuh de direction of de one who did de damage.
(Whoever stole the stuff?)
Yes.
Entry 8900
[These two unusual rites demand two explanations: (1) an illustration of the crossed-keys design, which has been a detail of the Papal coats of arms for centuries; and (2) a reference to my experience with this ancient symbol. 2+ Since these crossed keys point upward symbolically unlocking the gate of heaven, they are important indeed. How important they become in hoodoo we can learn by reading the remarkable interview called CROSSED KEYS AND VISIONS, Pp.1048-1059, vol.2. The doctor who granted me this interview will now be quoted in the following italicized words; my comments during the interview will be as usual in parentheses, my later-dated comments in brackets:] Ah'm 79 an' ah works mah business [healing and hoodoo] wit de "works of gifts." Ah'm "gifted" - "born gifted, " "born wit a sign." Ah make mah own medicine an' "doctor" people. An' den ah works wit people dat gits in trouble, lawsuits an' all sech things [for this latter type of work, see the following section CoURT CASEs]... Ah was born wit a cross mark on my forehead, an' ah was twenty years [old] befo' ah evah come in contact wit any "workin'" [of healing or conjuration].
[He now tells why and how he started this work.]
Blasting rock way back [years aqo] in mah home ah found dat key undah a rock, stronge form [for a key]. Ah work dat key fo' evahthing.
[He shows me the key and here is my immediate description of it.]
(They are double keys, the keys that are crossed.)
Ah worked evahthing by dem, don't care if yo' in a lawsuit or whut. Ah don't give yo' no "roots, " don't make no "hand" tuh send yo'. [For HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS see pp.519-669 and everywhere.]
(You found this key?)
Yes.
(You had a mark on your forehead, you say?)
One lak dat, de mark of dat [crossed] key, right in mah forehead. [This "x" on his forehead was not a birthmark but some prominent crossing in the web or netting of that part of the amnion forming the caul at his birth. I was especially interested in this "x" because two years previously at Charleston, S. Car., Doctor Brown could see the same mark on my, the author's forehead: "The mark that Doctor Brown inwardly saw on my forehead was the tav or taw =.sign or cross, 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Presumably - or at least I hope - I bore the mark of the elect or chosen of God (Ezk.9:3-7); not the mark of the beast (Rev.14:9)" - p.1290, v.2.]
(And then later on you found this [double key in the.form of a cross]?)
Yeah, aftah twenty yeahs. Now, ah was born wit dat mark on mah forehead. Ah found dat key undah a rock where we's [we was] blastin! one day, I an' daddy. We went back to take up de rock an' we found dat key, an' it wus jes' as bright as it wus [is] today. An' ah kin do evahthing ah want. Ah kin work business by dat ring [in the key, he points to it].
(That little ring on the end.)
Ah kin work diff'rent object [parts of the ringl, 'cordin' to whut yore case is. Ah kin work dat mark [something on key] an' ah kin work dis heah key up heah - jes' 'cordin' to whut de case is.
(You use various parts of that key for various cases?)
Yessuh. [Though informant's double key is appropriate here, one problem remains. Did he lie about finding the key 60 years before my arrival? Even a lie would not invalidate his actual work. Another fact we must remember, the difference be- tween the real world and the world of dreams and wishes is very thin in hoodoo. What I mean can be learned by reading the interview, SHE FORESAW AUTHOR IN A DREAM, PP.1085-1097, vol.2. Finally, WHAT A REVERSAL OF CLAIMED HISTORY IT WAS TO FIND THIS KEY UNDER RATHER THAN UPON A ROCK!] [These Papal keys, stamped from metal, were formerly sold in religious, curio, occult, and hoodoo shops, as well as by mail-order firms. Also used, especially as good luck pieces, were old coins and medallions. One of the latter was given to me by an informant back in the late 1930's. It reads on one side, Bullock Electric Mfg. Co. Cincinnati; on the other side, National Association of Station- Hrmy Engineers, Boston, Sept. 2-6, 1902. One of the most interesting of these many devices were the two colored stones or rocks used by a doctor in New Orleans, see margin title ROCKS, pp.198-204, vol.1. What I found in the field among be- lievers back in the late 1930's and early 1940's may not be there today. Fashions in this sort of thing change rapidly in the world of wishful thinking and commer- cial magic.]
[We have not reached the actual rite:]
You can take the Bible and you put a key - you get the KEY OF ST. PETER. You take that key and you wrap it with the handkershief. See you wrap the Bible with handkershief. And you have the key in the Bible. And you get another friend with you which is going to talk with you, he has gotta say the same thing you say. Well, each side you hold the Bible and then you speak. Each of you use one finger. You don't leave any other finger touch it but those two. And you hold it. And then you say this little prayer. You say: By St. Peter and St. Paul, the one who stole my things, turn Bible and fall. Now, if you say: Mack or Henry stole it from me, turn key, Bible and fall, then if Henry stole it, that Bible will turn and you can go right to Henry and get the goods. Go right to Henry, or George or Peter or whosomever it may be and that's the words they use: By St. Peter. [New Orleans, La., (809), 1137:4.] [For anyone interested in the development and use of the preceding keys, see David Lindsay Galbreath, A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry, Part I, Papal Heraldry, Cambridge, England, W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 1930. This learned work, well illustrated and docu- mented, gives many arrangements of the keys from coats of arms, seals, bookstamps or bookplates, architectural decorations, gonfalons, etc.]
Entry 8901
It's a different key from any. It's not lak de ordinary key dat we has. It's a key dat's shaped kinda lak a scissors. Yeah, shaped kinda lak a scissors. An' yo' take dat key an' yo' hold it up. Yo' git up evah mawnin' 'fore de sun rise an' yo' take dat key an' stan' up in de direction de sun's risin'. An' tell dat key whut yo' want, whoevah it wuz dat stole anythin' from yo' or whoevah yo' wanted 'em tuh bring it back, an' dat key will turn in yore han'. An' as dat key turn in yore han', if he stole anythin', he's goin' bring it back. An' if it don't turn, why yo'won't git it back. It's a key dat isn't made lak de ordinary key. It's a key shaped jes' lak a scissors, crossed.
(It's two keys crossed - like two keys crossed?)
Yes.
Entry 10703
Yo' kin take de Bible, fo' one thing with a key, an' if yo' an' I wus in heah. or three - foah of us, yo' kin call de rights one name. see. an' yo' kip tell exactly who it is, if yo' know how tuh turn it. It goin' tell de truth. Now bringin' it [stolen article back, ah don't know 'bout bringin' it back, but yo' kin tell who it is. True. [This is an incomplete Bible and key rite, a very common type of divination. You ask the Bible "yes' and "no answer ques- tions: Did John Jones take my pocketbook? If so, the Bible will turn and the key will fall, meaning "yes." There are examples of this rite scattered in HOODO0.]
Entry 83
I went to Pittsburgh from Staunton, Virginia, and my husband had rented me a house there. So one night while I was setting there sewing, I was very much disturbed about my children, so I sent the girl I had living with me upstairs to look after them. She came down and said, "Mrs. Baker, what is the matter with you?" She said, "The children is all right." So after awhile in about ten or fifteen minutes I heard someone put the key in the door and unlock it. But no one had a key but my husband. So I heard the tips [tiptoes] going up the steps - you could hear the steps cracking. So I said to Mr. Davis and Mr. Walker, they were boarding with me, "Do you hear that?" And they said, "Yes." And Mr. Davis said, "That ain't nobody but Bummie" - that's what they called my husband. And I say, "Oh, he would not do that." So we got up and we went upstairs to look and see what was going on. Well, I didn't see anything. I didn't hear anything up there. I said to Mr. Davis and Mr. Walker, 'I guess that's a token of the man who lives on the third floor, for his wife." She had gone to the hospital. In the meantime then I had forgot my own people. And in a week's time my husband was sick and died. And I never believe anything that that was a token of his death.
Entry 93
On the Old Dominion Lines a boy, a room steward, stopped a passenger and told him to go forward, for what reason I don't know and the captain met him on the starboard side and asked him what did he want. And the man that [was] told to go forward said he was looking for a room. The captain sent the boy back with the passenger and he went down to the second deck and opened the room, left the passenger outside, put the baggage in, locked the door and left the key in. The passenger stopped and was talking to someone right near there. When he went to the door the door was locked and the key gone. They never did find that key. They accused the boy of taking it. They sent for the chief engineer to open the door. When they opened the door the baggage was scattered all over the room and the beds unmade and everything upside down. And everything Was all right when the boy left the room. Here's what the boys thought about it. That was the Jamestown under Captain Tapley. She got into a big storm and around Boston Light, before they got to Boston, this Was several trips before this [the present story} happened, and they lost two passengers and they were in this room. And they thought the ghost of those people done it.
Entry 482
Dey put the Bible under dey haid - yeah, open it to any chapter in the Bible, iest put a key in it and close it back up and put it under their haid.
(What will that do?)
That keeps the hag from riding them.
Entry 550
Take an' pick - pick yore left, dis fingah right heah.
(The finger next to the little finger on the left hand.)
Yes, an' put it - take a key an' put it in de Bible an' de place where yo' turn dat book open, if it turns to "Now, an' it came to pass," whatevah yo' want tuh happen will happen.
(Where do you put this blood?)
On de key. Yo' put de key in de Bible an' jes' - well, yo' don' be lookin'. Yo' know, yo' drop de blood on it jest anywhere in dere an' then yo' place that key in dere. Den yo' turn open de book an' if yo' open it to a place whatevah yo' - yo' already make yore wish or whatevah yo' find out, whether it's goin' tuh happen or not - an' if it comes, "An' den it came to pass" or "now it came to pass it'll happen, but if yo' don't turn to that, it won't.
(The blood is put on the key, though, isn't it?)
Yes, it's put on de key an' it placed in de Bible.
Entry 3028
Now, St. Peter is another saint. He don't pray. St. Peter don't pray atall. He's - he don't stand no foolishness. Now, St. Peter is a man who'll do anything that you ask him to do, for this simple reason - he's got the keys of heaven, see. Now, you get down and you get to St. Peter and you ask him for things, he'll open the way for you. You ask him to open the way for you and he'll open the way for you and he'll let you get jobs. You promise him something, give it to him. Now, the biggest thing you can give St. Peter is a key. You get you a key and get you a piece of blue ribbon. Put that key on a piece of blue ribbon and hang it around his neck; give it to him and you'll have success in every way and in every respect that you undertake. Understand.
(Where do you have St. Peter? In the church you mean?)
St. Peter's in the church. Course you could have 'im at the house, if you have 'im blest, but you got to always be sure you know what you are doing when you talking to saints. Course we talking to the saints, but we talking to The Man Above, too, because He's got something to do with this, you see. But when you.talking to the saints and you promise them things, if you don't hold to your promise you're just blowed up - that's all there's to it.
Entry 3030
Yessuh, ah burns a red light to St. Peter or eithah a green light.
(How would you burn that?)
Ah burns a red light to St. Peter - ah burns it lak ah wants a job, ah wants mah do's tuh be open. Ah want mah man behin' me in mah work. Ah sets mah green light fo' nine days an' if ah wus in de night, ah'd raps fo' him an' ah calls him, 'St. Peter, open do's - let no man kin close 'em, because ah know yo' got de key. Ah know yo' have de key an' open do's." An' ah'll set him a bouquet of flowers an' ah'll let mah light burn fo' nine days. An' at de end of de nine days he'll give me mah wish.
(You burn these lights at any particular time?)
Ah burns 'em diff'rent days. Ah burns it on Wednesdays, Mondays - all day.
(All day, just during the daylight?)
Or de nighttime.
Entry 3032
St. Peter, he opens the doors for anybody - you know, who has bad luck and can't get anything. You have to get a key and put it up over the door, you see, and put a light to him. You put a green light for him, that's for money. They do this in the house, and then you can put it in the church too. [Informant does not mean Roman Catholic Church but the private church I call a public shrine (pp.770-773).] But you can keep all that I'm telling you in the house. But in the church too you can make your prayers. You can make the prayers at the house, it's all the same thing.
Entry 3033
(St. Peter with the key?)
Yeah. I kept it [his picture] in the corner on a little shelf-like - little altar-like. That's where I kept it at. [Here is another example of the cater-cornered altar - see 2870, p.827; p.129, line 45.]
(You promise him what?)
A bran'-new key. An' you promise him flowers or a light. If you ain't got the money right there an' then, when you have de money you put a key there or either put a nickel or light - anything tha' choo open de way to get.
Entry 3039
(What about St. Peter?)
He is - he totes the key. He unlocks the door to yuh, but if you don't give him what you promise, he'll burn you out. He burnt me out once, that's how I know.
(How did he burn you out?)
Well, you see, I had promised him a quarter. Well, I wasn't able to give him that quarter that certain day, and I left a little bit of fire in my furnace in my room, locked up, and goes out. When I comes back - I didn't see no way in the world that that fire could pop out and set nothing afire. All my clothes and one side of the house was in a light blaze. You gotta give him what you promise him.
Entry 8884
Lak if yo' lose somepin in dis room - if yo' or me lost somepin. Well, yo' see, yo' take a brass key an' let somebody put it in de page where St. John, yo' know [see comment later]. An' den yo' put - dey hold it don' chew know an' dey call evahbody name dat wus in dis room. Yo' say a little prayah, say, "By St. Petah, by St. Paul, by de grace of de good Lord who made us all." Den dey call de name, dey said, "If Sech-an'-sech a one stole sech-an'-sech a thing, pray Bible wheel an' fall." An' it fall on de name who took it. Well, ah've seen dat done. [St. John here is evidently the author of Revelation, not of Gospel, and the passage could be: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the KEY OF DAVID, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth (King James version, Rev.3:7). Informant considers By St. Peter rhyme a prayer!]
Entry 8891
Put it on a glass, see. An' yo' put a brass key on top of de Bible. Put dis Bible on a glass first, an' a brass key on top of de Bible; but yo' gotta be a Christian, can't be a sinnah. Yo' undahstan' whut ah'm talkin' about. An' yo' kin call a person name three times. Or yo' kin git some Christian somebody tuh do it fo' yuh. Yo' kin call a person name three time an' de third time yo' calls dat first person yo' called, dat Bible will turn aroun' jes' like dat [demonstrates].
(Right on top of the glass.)
Right on top of de glass. Nobody don't touch it. Ah've seen it done. An' jis' as sure as it turn, dey goin' bring it back tuh 'im.
(If they have anything they've stolen from you.)
Entry 8892
Well, de 12th Psalms... [I mean] de 24 Psalms an' de 12th verse. Yo' read it fo' nine mawnin's an' put a key intuh it, an' dey says dat if yo' read dat fo' 'bout nine mawnin's an' make yore wish, an' de man whut did it, dey say he'll come back. He'll come right back tuh yo'. (You put the key into what?) Intuh de Bible. Yo' have tuh put de key in dere an' fine [find] dis chaptah an' read it. Yo' place de key in de centah [of Bible? or of Psalm?] an' yo' close de Bible up, an' yo' make wish, an' yo' have tuh do dat fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey says he certainly will come back. Ah've heard dat.
(What did you read now? What Psalm?)
De 12th Psalm an' de 14th verse. [Informant's Psalms and verses are meaning- less in this present rite.]
Entry 8899
Git chew a bran'-new nail an' put it in de Bible an' git a key. Yo' git de key. Yo' git de key, say: By St. Petah, by St. Paul, by de Lawd God dat made us all, whosomevah did so- an'-so must come tuh me or fall. Call dere names an' it might be [one of] a dozen of dem roun' dere. All yo' gotta do is takes yore li'le fingah - see, say, By St. Peter....
Entry 12271
If you jes' fin' a key - if yo' fin' one, dey say it's good luck if yo' keep it. [Florence 2198:13.]
Entry 12272
A good luck key or luck key, these are sold everywhere, carry in pocket or purse. [Wilmington 243:7+85.]
Entry 625
Well, ah had a sister an' ah know that was true. An' a rootman told her he [her sister's husband] had a sweetheart woman he was living with befo' he married mah sister. An' he told her, said that he would nevah live with mah sister, which he didn't live with her no longer den but about a month or little better. An' she [sweetheart woman] had some of her friends to slip in dere some Way or 'nother an' she had seven ole rusty keys an' seven pods of peppah an' seven needles - well, she had 'em ovah each do', one ovah de back do' an' one ovah de front. Dey nevah woulda found it unless [as] ah said, de spirit brought it to her mind. At last one day she spoke, said, "Ah believe ah'll look up ovah dis do' an' see whut's heah." She looked up dere an' dat's where she found it. Well, mah mother, she'd taken these to a man in [name of town not clear] an' this man tole her, said, "That was to keep her out all dem many years - keep her out de house, dat she nevah would live dere any mo'." But after she had found these things why he could turn it back on de woman, an' so mah mother tole him, why she didn't care fo' it to be turned back, an' so she left de keys an' thing dere with him. Say, she nevah would live with him. An' then, too, after she did that - we had been doin' some washing yo' know, an' her ministratin' clothes, yo' know, we didn't git through washin' dat - at least dat day, an' we jest left 'em out do's in de tub. She went dere an' stole dem an' taken 'em off an' buried 'em fo' 'em to kill her. An' so dis cunjureman tole mah mother, say, after them things rot, why yo' could jest pick 'em up an' dey fall, yo' know, to pieces jest lak a ole rotten rag or somepin lak dat. See, an' she would fin'lly die. Well, she did suffer, yo' know, a long time till mama got her cured by diff'rent mens yo' know. When- evah she'd go to ministrate oncest a month, why she looked like she was gon'a soon go to bed - git confined an' knots would come in her stomach as large as yore fist, an' when dat passed through - it passed through in knots like dat.
(Do you know anything - what they did to cure her?)
Yes sir. Well, a man by de name of Mr. Oleberry, he cured her - he cured her wit jest an ole green gourd. She had to make teas oncest a month outa green gourd. An' when she couldn't git de green gourd why he tole her jest to save up some dry gourds an' jest put a little turpentine in it, an' dat got her well.
(That's all that cured her?)
Dat's de only thing dat cured her. An' we had taken her to medical doctors an' all - an' all kinds of doctors an' dis man wus de only man dat reached her case. An' then sometime ago ah had a brother - he wus out in Tennessee, ah believe where he got hurt. Some wimmins hurt him. Ah don't know jest how it wus done, but anyway they had him dead from heah on down to his feet.
(From his stomach on down to his feet?)
Yes sir, an' dis same man cured him with jest de simplest thing. Yo' could jest stick a pin in him an' he couldn't feel it from his stomach on down. An' he said two wimmins an' one man fixed him lak dat out in Tennessee. An' he didn't do anything but jest had us tuh git green pine tops an' give him - bathe him, yo' know, from there on down an' give him some to drink. An' he tole him everything he do from de first day he started taking it. He hadn't walked none in twelve months, not nary a step had he walked. Yes sir, he tole him dat after de first day he'd sit up - he'd have to lay down most of de time after he had taken his bath in dis green pine-top tea an' given him some to drink an' tole him on de second day he would stand up, an' say, an' de third day, he said, "Yo' gon'a walk wit a stick out to de toilet" - de toilet wus out do's yo' know. An' really he did it. An' so we kept dat up fo' about two months, an' now he's in Florida, married an' got three children.
Entry 2753
Because that I was kind of out and down, and that's why I went there to 'em. And so, as I goes there to 'em, they tells me what candles to light. Some- times they tell me to go light - put a light. (What did you see when you went into the room?) What did I see when I went in the room? Well, the room was dark and I just see them little lights - them little lights burning. They have the room dark and them little lights burning at the altar.
(What was the person wearing?)
They was wearing a robe.
(What color was it?)
A lavender robe.
(Anything on their head?)
Yeah, they wear a crown on their head.
(What was the color of the crown?)
The crown was lavender and had a little silver on it - little silver spangles on top of it.
(Then, were you supposed to do anything when you came in or went out?)
Yeah, when I'd come in, I'd get on my knees like this [demonstrates].
(Down on your knees.)
Uh-huh - and do this here [demonstrates].
(Make the sign of the cross.)
Yes sir. And after I'd get on my knees, I'd go to this altar and I'd get on my knees at that place and pray to that saint - for that saint to do things for me. And after I gets through praying to that saint, if I wants the other [saint] to do something, I'd go to the other one [saint] and say something. (Do you mean that this person you went to - they have these various saints in the room?) Yes, in the room. (Well, when you first came in did they ask you what you wanted? Or anything? Or did they speak to you? What did they say when you first came in?) When I first come in, she'd ask me - no, when I first come in there, I'd make that sign of the cross. And then I'd go to one of them saints and then she'd ask me what did I want, and she'd tell - and she'd tell me what candle to go and make my wish to. And then I'd make my wish and if I want to put a silver offering, I'd put that dime there. And if I'd go to St. Peter, I'd put that key there.
(That woman you went to had these various things around her room?)
Around in her room.
(With candles?)
With candles.
(I see. What did she call herself? A fortuneteller, a spiritualist or what?)
She would call herself a spiritualist.
(What did she charge you for your trip?)
She would just - I would donate to her.
Entry 3029
Mah brother had done got to be a young man, see, and dis lady whut - dis woman whut he was in trouble wit was after him. She Was kinda ole - see, too ole fo' him, he was 18. All right. Well, she begin to buy candles - see, burn candles on him. She burned 'em a little bit at de time - every 20 minutes. All right. He begin to weaken down, suffer, nowhere he went he was satisfied - nowhere he went. Well she took his socks - see, the left. And his dirty garment, you know de BD's [= B. V. D.'s - unionsuit], took dat.
(What do you mean, took his garment? That had something on it from him?)
Yeah. She took dat and she took penny nails. She had a drier in her yard in de back - you know, in de back yard. She had his hands stretched out like dis [demonstrates] and de toes. See, dey were dem long shirt - well, de BD whut dey were, long ones.
(B. V. D.'s. You mean underclothing?)
That's it. And she had him laid - you know, tacked down wit penny nails. Eight penny nails it was. And she had dat dirty sock - were right in de middle of it.
[I now describe informant's demonstrations.]
(She put this underclothing - stretched it out and she tacked it down on top of the ground, and then she put this left sock in the middle of that, and then she covered it all over with dirt.) Well, mah brother wasn't satisfied nowhere. He had to leave from out of town. He left and he wun't [would not] come back. Don't care who send or write fo' him, he wun't come back.
(What did she do this for? To run him away? She didn't want him any more?)
Naw, she got mad cause he wouldn't marry her. She say she don't want him do nobody else no good. An' she done that. Well, ah prays to St. Ann, to Blessed Mother - that's is, to Blessed Mother. I prays and prays. Well, ah tell you what ah'll do, I say, I kin make him come back. Well, I got dem blessed holy candle, dem pure white candles.
(Where did you get it? From the church?)
I got it from de church, from de Fathers from St. Joseph's here. See, I bought it. I tole him to bless dat candle.
(You didn't tell him what you wanted to use it for?)
No, ah didn't tole him - ain't no use. An' ah got St. Peter. Ah sent away and ah got St. Peter - ah couldn't buy St. Peter nowheres here in Mobile. Got a brand-new key and a piece of blue, you know, ribbon [and made] a bow-like.
(Wait a minute! You got a St. Peter's key. Where did you send to get that?)
No, ah got St. Peter's photo. Ah send to mah niece to New Orleans to get it.
(Where did you send to get that, the photo?)
From New Orleans. That was the only place. Mah little niece sent it back to me in a hurry. All right. Ah went down there to the Catholic church to Father X and told him to bless this photo for me of St. Peter, see. I wanted a holy candle right away. He blessed that all at one time. He blessed that key, too. He say, "You want de key blessed, too."
(What kind of key did you have?)
Key like you unlock de door with.
(Where did you get the key?)
Ah bought dat key.
(A new key?)
Yeah, a brand-new key ain't never been used. All right. Well he blest it and before he blest it ah tacked dis key on to St. Peter, see. Ah put on there any kind of bow mah mind made me. Tied a big bow, a brand new piece - ah got a halfa yard fer ten cents.
(A ribbon - blue ribbon.)
Tie on St. Peter and nailed St. Peter up right over mah door, where you come in. Light dat holy candle and ah burned it only three days, on Wednesday, Friday and Monday - only three days, jest had one candle. Ah sweeten it down wit some sugar. Ah burn dat and ah call mah brother's name three times, see; call mah brother's name three times and den ah put mah name on with it see, one time - only one time.
(You call your name once.)
Call mah name once and call mah brother's name three times; and dis woman's name, ah call her two times. Well, mah brother came home. In three days he came, and he say, "Sister, ah got something bad on mah mind." Ah say, "What is it?"
[Recording is bad but he was going to kill the woman.]
She was burning a black candle on him.... Well, he gave her up. He almost like tuh kill her. He hated her. He drew her blood and he left her. [Drawing blood is an old remedy to kill a witch's power, see 485-487, p.148 and Index.] He came to Mobile.
(How long ago did this happen?)
Well that happen about five years ago right here in Mobile.
Entry 3036
Well, St. Peter, he's good and he's bad, but you gotta handle St. Peter so rough.
(You got to do what with him? Handle him rough?)
Yes, you gotta treat him dirty, whatever words I mean. If you drink, you gotta wet him with liquor. [See BEER FOR ST. PETER], and if you curse and live a bad life, you gotta be cursing. You gotta git up and pull your clothes up and pat yourself down there and all that. Then, if you promise him something and don't give it to him, he'll set your house afire. He won't burn up the whole house but he'll burn everything you got in the house and then the fire'll go out.
(How do you mean you pull your clothes up and pat yourself?)
Your backside to him.
(You show him your backside?)
Yes. You have to treat him dirty, treat him mean, on account of he was so mean. He wasn't what he professed to be. He was a follower of Christ and when Christ got into the judgment hall he didn't know nuthin about him. He got outside and go to fightin'. He cut the man's ear off. He was just a bad man, don't you see. And so you gotta handle him just like now as when he was on earth. Then [after you "treat him dirty"], you gotta handle him nice or he won't be bothered with you. You gotta give him keys too, because if you don't give him a key he'll keep every door shut and he'll not open the door for you.
Entry 198
It was tole to me that a woman took - stole another woman's door key and took it out to de forks of de road and buried it - buried dat key - sprinkle some dat - wrote dat woman's name five times on a piece of paper and sprinkled some salt and cayenne pepper - de pulverized cayenne pepper and dis heah hard ice- cream salt, but chew beat it up - not de fine table salt but ice-cream salt. An' taken dis salt and pepper and put it in dis paper wit dem names on it and put de woman's do' key in dat salt and pepper and rolled it up and jest cussed de woman; jest called her bad names and rolled it up tight and buried it right in de forks of de road. Well, de woman had to walk all on her feet for days, but still an' all de mo' dat key rusted in dat salt de worser de woman got. And when dat key rusted in dat, rust in two, dey tell me dat woman died. Yes sir, gotten rid of her.
Entry 455
(Did you ever hear that story about the old witch that got out of her skin - some old witch got out of her skin or something?) Well, yes, I heerd of dat. They tell me once that a witch used to go through the keyhole, get out and go to riding people. They'd get out of dere skin and they'd turn round in de room and say, "Round about, round about, and out you go. Well, they'd go through de keyhole. And they tell me once that a ole man was laying dere - it was chilly, you know, and he happen to watch dis witch. When she'd get out of her skin, he slips dere and takes salt and pepper and peppered dis skin; you know, filled it full of pepper as he could get it. And after he filled it full of pepper, why dis witch come back and went to get in dis skin, dis skin would burn her. Well, she was running round dere and she was hollering, "Skinny, don't choo know me! Skinny, don't choo know me!" Finally she couldn't stand it to get back in her hide, and finally she died.
Entry 551
You kin take a Bible and tie a white string aroun' it, any kin'a cord string aroun' it, and lash a key onto it - whenever you tie dat string aroun' dere let de key be hangin' onto dat string. And take de Bible, jis' like you take de Bible up - jis' like dis here, like dis is de string and de key is fastened on dat [demonstrates - lifts up on the string, lifting up the Bible], and you say, "If Sich-and-Sich - if anybody has did anything to me, let me know by movin'." And see, dat Bible will be right still, it'll stay right still if dere's nothin' wrong wid jeh; but if 'tis anything wrong wid jeh, it'll swing jis' like dis here [demonstrates - Bible swings back and forth]. If you say, "If dere's anything here on me, swing and drop." Then it'll swing and fall. De Bible will fall. It'll slip right outch your han' regardless of how tight choo hold it - it'll come out. But after dat it swings like dat and let choo know dere's somebody has done somepin, dat'll let yo' know whether to go to a doctor a medical doctor either [or] a root doctor. And after you do dat, why, you kin go to de root doctor and tell him dat you ain't feeling - [you do feel] like somebody has did somepin to you, and then he'll know 'zackly what, you know, start doin' for yeh.
Entry 2749
Dey way 'twas, him and her was frens' an' he got holt of her pocketbook and he stole 'em out dere - took 'em, yo' know. He stole 'em out of her pocket- book. (Took what out?) Papers whut b'long to a car or automobile and some keys and she had two dollars an' he'd taken that. Well, she was doin' that - wanted to make him come back but he wouldn't send 'em. She sent after 'em and he wouldn't send 'em.
(Why didn't she go after them?)
She was 'fraid tuh go, an' she went an' got a man [hoodoo doctor]. He tole her he'd make him bring them back.
(Was this man her husband or?)
No, dis man whut took de things was her friend. An' dis man, after she tole dis man about it, he said, "Well, ah'll make him bring dem back." He went to de drug store and got two candles - red ones. He say, "what is his name?" She told him. He wrote his name on dere, on both de candles, and after he wrote his name - he wrote 'em jest like he wrote 'cross - dey would come right back crossways again on dem candles. He burns out one and start on de other - he give 'em back.
(What happened then?)
Didn't anything. He brought her paper, her keys and her money. And den he went on about his business. Got rid of him. She ain't been bothered with him since.
Entry 2769
Well, sometime ah haven't got bread in mah han's, ah have set a light tuh St. Anthony an' ah pray tuh him an' ah gives him a light. Ah gives him a white light an' ah sets mah light at nine, twelve an' three tuh him. An' ah axe St. Anthony fo' bread an' ah keep prayin' fo' bread an' ah raps, an' he gives me a rap back. An' at de end of nine days mah way would be open. (Now, in this rapping. Do you rap just once each time you set that candle? Or just once during the day? Or just once altogether?) Ah raps when ah set the candle.
(Just once. And he raps just once. When would he answer?)
In de noon of de day. [St. Anthony answered my informant's rap by rapping back; but not all saints answer in the same manner, as we shall now learn.] St. Jude.
(St. Jude. What do they say about him )
Well, he's a good saint. Ah set lights to him. Now ah sets a green or either a yallah light to him, an' ah raps fo' St. Jude an' he would conquer yo' enemies. He would make de way smooth fo' yo' an' in all sickness he heals yo'. Ah set mah light at night or in de day fo' him an' ah raps, but now he sends me a light - lak a star appeahs in mah house. Anybody could see it.
(You say this light appears in the house someplace.)
[Light in many forms is probably considered the greatest manifestation of the spirit - see Spririt Light, p.43f., and for general folklore, FACI,2ed., Pp.761- 768.] Lak if yo' know dere name.
(This person you know has stolen something from you?)
Yeah, an' yo' call dat name, write dat name an' yo' set chew a St. Michael or a St. Peter candle, an' yo' rap, yo' see, an' each time yo' rap, yo' call his [thief's] name, an' he gon'a come. (He's going to come and tell you that he stole this article from you or bring it back?) Or either take de Bible an' put de key in de Bible. Yo' gotta take dat Bible an' dat key an' yo' put it in dere an' yo' say a sincere prayer - Our Father's Prayer, an' yo' take dat key an' yo' turn it all aroun' in dat Bible. An' yo' see yo' call de fellah's name dat took dat, dat key goin' move jes' lak dat. [The key itself will move.] Den it gon'a stop. In nine days dat party will come back. Ah would take me a candle an' light it. Jes' say dat dis wus mah saint, what- evah saint ah'm usin' - say it wus St. Espedee. An' ah calls his [the saint's] name an' ah would rap fo' him [the saint]. An' ah would call his name [husband's name], rap fo' him [husband]. An' den he's comin' home. Ef ah got any of his shoes, ah take an' turn it bottom upwards an' he's comin' home.
(You call your husband's name?)
Yes. [This woman is a professional hoodoo doctor with a little spiritual thrown in. Her husband, Peg-leg, did some work for me on my first trip to New Orleans, but she refused to see me - afraid until my second trip two years later. These four statements about rapping were taken from her long interview broken up years ago. More of her material probably appears in the text.]
Entry 3031
St. Peter, he'll open the door for you.
(Well, how would you do that? What would you do for St. Peter?)
St. Peter, you carry him a key.
(Where? To the church or?)
Yeah, to the church. But if you got a key to your house - and you tell St. Peter to open the door for you, you give him that key. Well, you've got to give him that key. And if you tell St. Raymond to do good for you, you give him a flower or piece of money - dime like that, you give him that. Whatever promise you make him, you got to give it to him though; and if you don't, he take it away from you.
(Where do you buy these keys to give St. Peter?)
You have to buy it from the store. But don't let nobody use that key, but get that key and buy that key yourself.
(You can't buy those keys at the church then?)
No, you can't buy them at the church. (Now, if they have these saints at home, how would they do - what would they do wi th them at home?) They takes 'em and puts them on the mantelpiece - sometimes they puts 'em on the mantelpiece, sometimes they have a little altar. You know what an altar is. Well they have a little altar and they have a candle at each one of those saints, burning in there.
Entry 8883
Put a key intuh a Bible an' hole [hold up] de Bible by de tip comahs wit dat [key in- side] an' yo' say de verse in de Bible: By St. Petah, by St. Paul; by de good Lord dat made us all; if So-an'-so has - name de person - taken so-an'-so, spin n' fall. An' it's true dat dat will happen.
(You can find out who stole the thing.)