Subject:Knife
Entries
Entry 589
Ah kin tell yo' a way dat he kin find out whether dat wus so. Jes' say dat wus his wife down dere - when he wants tuh go out with another woman, take his pocketknife, an' when him an' her git down to, yo' know - stick it right up in de ground or in de flo' by dem, an' if his nature won't come, why she's [wife has] got him tied [unable to have another woman]. Now to loose dat, ah don't know, but ah have been told two ways on dat - wear a silver dime in de left shoe fo' de woman. Den ah wus told another one - take a silver dime an' - see, dis is his private - fo' nine mornin's rub it up dere - dat silver dime once fo' nine mornin's. (Rub the silver dime on the side of his - once each morning for nine mornings. That is supposed to restore his nature.)
Entry 1872
Well, dey say dey kin take a fo'k an' a knife. (A fork and a knife.) Yeah, dey kin take a fo'k and knife and dey cross it like dat.
(Put it down for those people to cross over?)
Yeah, fo'k and a knife - ole knife and a fork, and dey kin put it down in de ground. Make a mark you know and put it down in de ground at dere house - put it down in dere yard, anywhere, just so it's put down. Put it 'bout two feet in de ground or a foot an' a half, maybe. Dey say dat dey'll keep you so dat you can't come dere - have to stay away, they says.
Entry 2845
Take de knife an' fo'k lak yo' fixin' de table, an' de parties dat chew - but dat kills people, dey tell me. Yessuh. An' yo' puts dat black candle in dere an' dere name wrote jes' lak ah tole yo', but it's gotta be on a brand-new white plate wit dat name underneat' dat plate where dat knife an' fo'k is set around dat candle, crossed, yo' understand, an' dat name underneat' dat, underneat' dat plate, with de black candle. Dat runs 'em crazy with their haid.
(How do you write that name on that piece of paper?)
Yo' write it backwards, jes' dat one party's name dat chew wanta do dat to.
(Just once?)
Yessuh.
Entry 3276
I know anothah remedy, would stop 'im. I'll take a knife or fork an' go to bed an' he'll tell me, he say, "Come on, let's give a piece." But I say, "I don't feel lak it." I feel bad or somepin. He'll start to fussin'. I'll get up an' I go get me a fork dat yo' eat wit. I take dat fork an' I place it right back here in my back, an I lay down on it. When he get ready to go wit me, when he get right dere, he gona fall - fall. Dat fork, de way I've got dat fork, I've got dat fork stickin' de point towards mah head. But I'm layin' down right here - yo' see, right in dere [demonstrates].
(In the hollow of your back?)
In de hollah of mah back. So, he can't raise no heart. He'll have one when he git ready to go dere, but he won't - he can't put it in, he'll go fall evah time.
Entry 3810
An' he told me. I knew de girl dat did it. Well, I'm goin' to tell yo' now how it started. I heard of it befo'. I wuz goin' wit 'er, an' I had been goin' wit 'er, an' I wuz in good health, evahthing. An' de way I wuz, dis girl wuz crooked on me, an' I say, "I'm goin' quit messin' roun' wit yo', I ain't goin' to" - well I got me anothah girl, started wit 'er, went wit 'er a time or two. An' I got hold of dis girl's pit- chure whut I wuz goin' wit. I had been messed up in dat stuff befo' but not wit dis girl. An' she wuz from de same place dat I wuz. She knowed broad people, all dose people down dere roun' South Carolina an' way to Georgia. Dere's a whole lot of people down dere dat knows a lot of stuff, dere's lot of em down dere dat knows plenty. I says - I been wit dis girl a time or two - I says, "I ain't goin' to hide yore pitchure, goin' to leave it in my pocket." Dis girl got dis girl's pitchure. She seed it but she wuz scared to bother wit it. I says, "Well.... [A short lacuna appears on the cylinder, probably an accidental rather than intended stoppage.] Seem lak evah time I'd go roun' where she wuz - where she wuz at - I would get cowardah [cowarder] an' cowardah [more and more he lacked courage], didn't have any manhood atall. I goes on. I [finally] went to a doctor [M.D.] an' he gived me some medicine. Kept on havin' de medicine, kept on havin' it. Well, I'd taken it fer about six months an' nevah seen it [the ailing member], gotten no manhood atall. I wuz workin' an' I says, "Hell, somepin's gotta be done." I went to see dis person [a man mentioned later] an' [he] says, "What's de mattah wit yo'?" [I] say, "He's [ailing member is] sick. He can't do nuthin. He haven't [had] a woman. It must be woman [causing this trouble]." I kept a- thinkin' about 'er if I didn't seen 'er [he kept thinking about the first woman though he had not seen her]. I wuz talkin' to a man about dis an' he told me who to go to. I went to a ole lady dat had one leg longah den de othah, an' she told me, said, "Boy," said, "time yo' got here." [Her opening words are quite professional - see CONSULTATION TECHNIQUE, Pp.307- 319. Her long leg and short leg were good for business - see NAMES FOR DOCTORS and PERSONAL APPEARANCE, PP.293-301.] She told me how I wuz messed up wit - how my manhood wuz cut down, an' she said, "But I kin fix yo' all right." I says, "Yo' can?" She say, "Yes." says, "Well, what yo' goin' do?" She says, "Well, dat's all right about whut I do. I'll fix yo' all right." An' she say, "Well, I tell yo' what yo' do. Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey." I say, "Sure enuff." I says, "If yo want a drink of whiskey, " I say, "I'll give yo' a drink of whiskey, but yo' say yo' kin fix me. Yo' told me somepin an' yo' must know somepin, ain't it?" She say, "Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey, an' if yo' wanta give me a drink, buy yo' one an' me one, an' I'm goin' to give yo' nuthin out of dat." She told me - she took a knife, jes' about a, lak a case knife, an' black gun- powdah, an' a little bit of sulphur, an' a little bit of salt, an' a little bit of red peppah, an' told me how to use it - how to take dis, put it in de whiskey an' shake it up. She got a piece of flannel - said white flannel or eithah red flannel would do, which she preferred white flannel. She had de scissors an' she cut it off an' had taken some mutton suet. She told me to take dis den an' jes' lathah [lather] it wit dis mutton suet befo' a hot stove, or anything, dat a lamp would do if it were hot enough, an' put in on jes' lak dis [demonstrates] an' give a wish.
(And pull it up three times.)
An' it would stay dere, keep it stayin' dere. Told me if when I got dere, if it would fall down, to come on back. So. I didn't pay, didn't pay 'er a thing until I came back - if I didn't want to, see. Well, it did an' it's been stand- in' evah since.
(Well, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THIS WHISKEY, then?)
I take a swallah of it three times a day. An' it nevah bothahed me no more. Told me evah time when I started wit anybody dat I wuz payin' attention to, if I thought dey had any underworld ideas - but I nevah had nuthin to do ag'in. [The preceding experience was given on cylinder 482:9. Before that, on 482:6, came the tying-up rite, and now follows on 482:7, the pre-statement for the ex-perience:] Dere's a way dat yo' kin take some salt, an' a little bit a pinch of sulphur on a knife blade, an' somepin lak some sheep suet an' heat it ovah a red hot - somepin lak a red-hot stove. If yo' reach down lak dat an' git it when it cools, an' make a wish, yo' see if it stand up [demonstrates].
(How do you pull it down?)
No, yo' pulls it up, three times.
(Three times?)
Pull it three times an' make a wish.
(And then it stays up itself.)
Yeah.
Entry 3816
Take a bran'-new knife an' po' - make urinate [urinate] down dat knife- blade evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' wash 'isself wit whut chew call dis stuff dey use in prison. (Saltpeter?) Saltpetah. Take dat an' wash it [his tool] an' throw it to de sundown. Take dat an' wash it an' throw it to de sundown. If he done wash 'isself off an' throw it de way de sun goes down, he kin git ovah [cure] it dataway - git along to where he kin handle anybody he want to.
(That will take off this spell that took his nature away.)
Dat'll take off dat.
(He did that before sunrise did you say?)
[He did not give the time, that is what I wanted to learn.]
Aftah sun risin' an' jes' as de sun liable to set, see yo' put it in dere den, den it [ailment] will go away den. Yo' have to do dat fo' nine evenin's an' po' dat watah down dat knife fo' nine mawnin's.
(You urinate down the knife in the morning, and you throw it away at night?)
Yeah, yo' washes wit dat saltpetah in de aftahnoon. [For the general reader may I add:. The peter part of saltpeter, being one of the many names for the penis, has magic value in this impotence cure; so also has the magic salt portion of saltpeter.]
Entry 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 4947
It wuz a lady had - she took me.
(Who was this?)
It was a lady had 'em.
(These socks?)
Uh huh, an' she wanted tuh git rid of 'er frien'. So she take a pair of 'is stockings an' one of 'is ole shoes - it didn't make any diff'rence which one it wuz - an' [she put those socks in the shoe]. She taken a pocketknife an' she put dat knife [in the shoe]. (She put those socks in the shoe?) Yeah. (Now, don't forget, don't leave anything out.) An' she taken dat knife an' she put it in dat shoe wit de point tuh de toe. An' she buried dat shoe undah 'er steps dat he come in, [the shoe] goin' from de house. An' he left, he really left. He nevah did hang roun' 'er any more.
Entry 6884
Cross dis woman up. Dey takes - dey gits right where dis woman'll pass at. Yo' undahstan'? Dey takes a knife an' a fo'k an' put dat knife in de fo'k disaway [demonstrates by crossing knife in fork] an' put it right where she goin' tuh cross ovah at. Yo' undahstan'? An' jis' as sure as she cross ovah dat knife an' fo'k dis- away, she cain't birth dat child. Dat child turn upside in 'er stomic.
(I see. All you do is cross the knife into the fork?)
Put de knife in de fork lak dis here [demonstrates] an' let 'er cross ovah it. Stand it up lak dat [demonstrates].
Entry 7169
A woman kin have her husban' an' jis' go - it's lak he's workin' at night, an' he be here sleepin' an' she may wanta go off, yo' see, wit some other man or somepin othah. An' she - aftah he goes tuh sleep, she wan's tuh keep 'im asleep. She kin take a plate an' a knife an' fork, an' put it undah de head of dat bed right dere. De knife an' fork cross- ed in de plate undah de head of de bed. She kin put a candle undah de foot of dat bed an' light it, an' take her shimmy or 'er petticoat or somepin lak dat, an' hang it right up ovah 'is face - say prob'ly eight or ten inches from 'is face. An' he'll be sleepin' right dere when she come back home an' wake him up. He won' even wake up while she's gone. She be gone all day an' he'll sleep all day.
(She puts the candle on the foot of the bed?)
Yes, sir, puts de candle right on de foot. Yes, sir, he'll sleep.
(A candle of any particular color or just any kind of candle?)
Oh, jis' git dese big white - two for a nickel candles. [This was back in 1937 during the Great Depression!] Go dere an' buy a candle.
(All right, I see.)
See, she's going tuh make it back dere befo' dat candle goes out.
(I see.)
NOW, DIS IS BY EXPERIENCE. I SAW MAH BROTHAH'S WIFE DO DIS. See. An' she tol' me, say, "Brothah, he don' wan' me tuh go up tuh 'is mothah, " she say, "an' ah'm goin' an' ah know whut tuh do tuh keep 'im asleep." I SAY, "WELL, DO ANY- THIN' YO' WANTA DO ONLY DON'T KILL 'IM." An' ah sits dere an' looked at 'er do dis an' ah walked out an' set on dose row boats right ovah dere across de river in Bellpoint 'till she come back. An' when she come back, I come on ovah dere an' meet 'er an' went in de house, an' de candle done burned down about dat much [demonstrates]. An' he jis' alayin' dere dead to de world. An' she did all dem thin's.
(What did you say? Bell - where is that?)
Bellpoint. It's a li'le small town jis' across de rivah.
(Over in Louisiana?)
Yes, sir - tothah [the other] end of de bridge.
(I see.)
Entry 8183
De only thing ah know 'bout photo- graph, ah heard 'em say - say, if yo' poke a pin, or othahwise a knife right through a pusson's heart, chew know, poke a hole through it, say dat pusson wouldn't live long aftah dat, aftah 'bout two days aftah dat. [Fayetteville, N. Car., (1403). 2527:7.]
Entry 8188
Take de photograph an' stick it up de side of a post an' say yo' could shoot at it, an' it will cause yo' to be run out. Somepin will happen to yo' soon. (What about that cutting?) Or eithah dey take a pocketknife an' gash it up in diff'ren' ways an' yo'll git cut lak dat.
Entry 8338
Kin do in de tree. Co'se now yo' kin take if yo' kin git a tintype photograph, yo' know, whut takes only dese li'le tencent tintypes, see. An' dat will do anything. An' if yo' wanta ruin a person wit it, yo' kin go right tuh a young pine, a young tree, an' yo' kin jes' take yore knife an' yo' cut chew a deep hole in dat tree, see. An' yo' drive yo' a li'le tack. Yo' tack dat tintype pichure upside down on dat tree, yo' see. Den, if yo' wanta, yo' kin tack sompin ovah it, yo' see. An' dat tree be drawin' [growing] up. An' yo' kin mess a man up, yo' see. Yo' kin lock 'is bowels or yo' kin jes' keep 'im....
Entry 8362
Ah heah dey say dey take a person's photograph an' carry it tuh de woods tuh a tree, an' stick a knife in de side an' stick nine pins in dere, an' dat'll kill yo'...
[Recording stopped too soon for following north side.]
(It must be on the north side of the tree?)
Yes.
Entry 8737
Like if anyone yo' love real good an' yo' wan'a bring 'em back to yo', for three times a day when yo' fix [prepare] zhor meal or set de table yo' kin set their plate an' de spoon an' fork [and knife] jes' like yo' set for 'em when they were there. An' call their name three times an' tell 'em to come to their dinnah or somepin or breakfas', whichevah it is, an' in nine mawnin's dey'll be back.
Entry 8849
Dey say dey kin take yuh han'writin', eithah yuh pitture [picture] an' hang it up on de wall, an' p'int [point] at choo fer nine mawnin' wit a knife, eithah icepick, an' some kin'a words dey use. An' aftah dey u' [use] dat - dey said yuh do dat fer nine mawnin' - an' dey call yuh some bad name jis' lak a bad cuss-word. Jis' whut dey don't lak, dey call yuh dat. An' somepin would happen tuh yuh bad.
Entry 9778
A sewin' needle, where a woman been sewin'. If her an' a woman had been havin' some kinda dispute ovah 'er or eithah a man, yo' kin take dat nee- dle an' carry it an' yo' burn de point of it. Jes' lak if me an' yo' had de [argument or quarrel], well, if ah kin git a needle, or eithah a pin, or borrah yore pocketknife [because you are a man], carry it home an' burn it. Ah burn it off good. Take it an' put it in some sulphah an' burn it ag'in. An' ah put some Hearts Cologne on it [knife or needle] an' sprinkle it [perfume] roun' [where I picked up object] an' put it right back where yo' kin git it.
(What would that do then?)
Well, dat will - if me an' yo' been havin' fusses an' things an' we be bad Out, well dat will gain de influence of me an' yo' back [together again].
(You will be on good terms again?)
Be on good terms.
Entry 9804
If yo's a keen farmah an' lookin' fo' 'em tuh break yo' up, yo' go git chew six needles, bran' new, an' take yore - now, heah's yore barn-facin', yore barn door facing.
(Facing of barn door?)
Yes. Yo' make a way [split with knife] in dere an' place dem needles in dere. Make a crack in dere wit chure knife so yo' kin place dem needles in dere. But de eyes [of the needles], three of 'em, an' place 'em jes' about de height of a man's body. Go up tuh dat do' an' put three [needles] on each side [of the door]. An' yo'll find no breakin' up of yore farm.
Entry 9859
Yo' kin kill a person wit a toadfrog. Yo' kin git a toadfrog an' jis' lak yo' had a enemah [enemy] an' yo' didn't wanta go tuh 'im an' jis' shoot 'im down perhaps. Yo' would git chew a toadfrog an' tie 'im up an' den talk tuh 'im jis' lak yo' wuz talkin' tuh dat individual [you intended to kill]: [1] YO'S MAH ENEMAH AN' YO'S DIS, [2] DAT, [3] AN' DE OTHAH, AN' YO' DONE DIS THING. [1] AN' AH'M GOIN' KILL YUH, [2] AN' AH WAN' CHEW TUH LEAVE, [3] AN' AH DON' WANT CHEW TUH BE IN MAH WAY. An' take a bran'-new knife dat hasn't been used, an' aftah yo' git through talkin' wit 'im, aftah yo' tied 'im [toadfrog] up lak dat, talk tuh 'im lak yo' wuz in a fuss wit dis enemy of yores. Yo's re'lly mad wit 'im an' yo' start tuh cuttin' 'im wit dat bran'-new knife, jis' sayin' things tuh 'im: [1] AH WAN' CHEW TUH DIE, [2] AH WAN' CHEW TUH DIE, [3] AH WANT CHEW TUH TAKE SICK AN' DIE. Aftah yo' git through cuttin' 'im, call 'im [toadfrog] a bad name. Dat individual will take sick an' jis' dwindle away, jis' lak yo' killed dat frog [toadfrog] an' named 'im dat individual.
Entry 10441
Knife and fork crossed under the pillow to keep witch away [Mobile, 861:2.] or to keep witch from riding you [Fred- ericksburg, 67 by Ediphone].
Entry 10442
A witch will ride yo'. Yo' kin take a silver knife an' fo'k an' cross it, put it in yore bed an' dey won't bother yo'. Den yo' kin take a sharp knife, pocketknife, an' put it in dere - put it under de bed. Ah use one dese witchin' Knives undah mah bed all de time. Dat cut's 'em off.
Entry 11375
De fig tree - take a bottle an' urinate in de bottle. An' it's jes' lak if yo' got it in fo' me an' yo' wanta hurt me, urinate in de bottle an' den take somepin else [what?] an' po' in dat urinate, an' take dis red string an' tvist it real tight an' slash it to de main root of dat fig tree. Anybody go to dat fig tree an' eat it dey poisoned. If dey eat a fig offa dat tree dey's poi- soned. [The preceding word slash I evidently understood as lash according to my following question.]
(How do you tie this string around it?)
See, yo' takes de cork stop- per an' puts it into dis bottle. An' yo' takes a small nail an' makes a hole right into de center of dis stopper, right down in de cork, see. An' de end of it, take it out an' jes' twist it real tight an' jes' take yore knife an' jes' open de end of a tendril, jes' break off de tendril an' jes' let de thread in dere, an' jes' let it close right back up. See, dat urinate po' right into de tree.
(You have part of the string into the bottle and part of it hanging outside?)
[This is one of several transfusion rites in HooDoO, another example of how doc- tors imitated M.D.'s.] Yes.
Entry 11659
An' if yo' already outdo's, yo' git a knife an' a fo'k an' yo' bury it undah dere [front doorstep] an' see if yo' cain't conker de rent man. Ah done tried dat. Ah know dat from self experience.
(Just how do you bury that knife and fork, any special way?)
Bury de knife dis-a-way [demonstrates] an' de fo'k dis way. (The fork crossing the knife.)
Entry 12275
Yo' kin take a file or a knife an' go to de corner of yo' place an' yo' stick it down in de left-han' side an' name it. An' ever' day go dere an' push it down a little bit, an' when it git down to de last, whosomevah dey name is yo' goin' fix dat fo', dey'll fall. Dey'll fall lak dat. When it git down to de last it will fall. Dey'll nevah git ovah it.
Entry 12277
Why yo' jes' take de knife an' de fo'k an' yo' cross dem, an' dere's a verse in de Bible, an' yo' jes' say, In Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, an' put 'em in de mattress an' let de person sleep on dat, an' 'cos' if dis man is used tuh visitin' yo'...yo' jes' keep dis in yore mattress. (What will that do?) Well, dat will jes' make de man stick aroum' yo' mo' so.
Entry 12278
Ah tell yo' whut chew kin do, yo' kin take a fo'k an' a knife an' wipe dat plate. Git chew a clean rag an' wipe dat plate, his plate, or his fo'k or her fo'k, an' let him eat out it aftah yo' wipe wit it, ev'ry mawnin' fo' 9 mawnin's. An' if he don' stay dere, he'll come tuh stay. (What do you wipe that plate with?) With a clean cloth. Yo' wipe yo'self in heah umndah yore arms, undah both arms, an' in heah, an' den yo' take an' wipe yore plate. An' always yo' wipe it tuh yo' [demonstrates].
(With a circular motion?)
Yassuh, wipe it tuh yo' lak dat. He'll come tuh yo' if he's not staying dere.
(You don't do anything with that knife and fork then?)
Nuthin but wipe it tuh yo', jes' when yo' wipe dat fo'k yo' wipe it dataway. An' yo' wipe it up. (You have to wipe the fork the same as the plate, to you? You wipe the plate and the knife and the fork?) Yassuh, wipe all three of 'em.
Entry 12302
Yo' take a lemon an' take a knife, a new knife, an' yo' mark yore vishes, jes' whatevah yo' want to, aroun' an' aroun' dat lemon - befo' six a'clock - aroun' an' roun'. Make all dose wishes, but yo' must be very careful whut chew wishin', 'cause dat's comin', an' yo' stick dat up dere inside de house, not on de outside. Then at six a'clock in de evenin' yo' change it ovah.
(To the west side?)
Stick it up an' let it stay up dere till de next mawnin' at six, then take it down an' git chew anothah lemon. Do that fo' nine mawnin's, an' anything yo' vish fo' will come. (You just take this lemon and then just take a knife and cut a little cut around it?) No, jes." slice it down as yo' wish - slice it down - don't cut it all de way through, an' all roun' dere. Slice it down jes' as many times as yo' Wanta wish. An' take de knife an' stick it right through de mid- dle of it, on de east side of de house, or room, an' let it stay dere till six a'clock in de evening, an' den yo' take it down.
(You stick that knife right into the wall.)
Yes.
(You hold the lemon up and stick the knife through the wall?)
Yes, an' yo' jes' leave de lemon an' de knife sticking right up dere until six a'clock in de evening. Den yo' take it down an' put it up on de west side.
Entry 12303
Ah'll take an' go tuh Krese [Kresge] an' git me a brand-new knife.
(You told her?)
Yes, an' git me a lemon an' cut de lemon up in fine pieces, jes' as many tuh eat. Start off walkin', git off, an' don't pay no attention an' chunk dem lemon seed in behin' 'em. Take dat brand-new knife an bury it under her front do'step: "De Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, ah hope ah nevah see yo' any mo'." (She wanted to get rid of him and she came and asked you how to do it?) Yes.
(She hid that under her own step?)
Yes.
Entry 70
I heard of a ghost coming in once - there was an old house - my mother tole me this. They was a family that owned the home and they couldn't rent it to anyone because people had gone there to live and wasn't able to stay on account of ghosts. The last family that had any trouble, when they went to stay there, the first night, a dog came in and walked around the room. They tried to chase him out and struck at him and he turned into a cat. And they struck at it again and it turned into a hand, a human hand. The next time they took a knife and cut at it and actually cut it then [drew blood] and then it disappeared and they never seen the ghost in the house evermore.
Entry 136
They say when a jack-a-ma-lantern gets after you you either have to turn one of your pockets wrongside outwards of it. You got a two-blade knife you can open that and they won't lead you nowhere.
Entry 171
Dey tole dat wus de devil. (That whirlwind is the devil? Did you ever hear them say that they could do anything to it?) Say yo' go dere an' take yore knife an' cut through It, it will be bloody when yo' tuk it out.
Entry 175
Dey say yo' throw yore pocketknife in it an' yo'll see de devil.
(The whirlwind.)
[Informant is old man 87 who came barefoot according to note at end of inter- view - he also sat on the floor during the interview and I had to stand up to see him.]
Entry 177
De devil - dey say yo' kin jump in an' open yore pocketknife an' yo' see de devil. Ah've nevah seen anything to it mahself.
(That's this whirlwind.)
Entry 468
I remember one time about a shoemaker. He had a wife and three children. And one night this shoemaker was at his work late. So another woman went to the shoemaker's wife's home and began to talk to her, and as they began to talk, one says to the other, "Leave us transform ourselves." And they did so. And they turned to cats and went down to the shoe shop where her husband was working. And after they got there they set and watched him work on the shoes. And one of the cats pawed at this man, and while she did it, he grabbed a shoe knife and hacked at this cat with the knife and cut one of the cat's forefeet off. He left it standing there and the cats went away and he didn't see them any more. While he Was at his Work, the foot being lying on the floor, he got ready to go home. He picked up the foot and looked at it. And while he had it in his hand the foot turned to a natural hand. And on this hand was a ring. It was the engagement ring he had gave his wife before he married her, not knowing that he had married a hag.
Entry 469
"I heard a story of a man who had a mill. The miller died that owned the mill. There couldn't nobody work in that mill. They could go there all right in the day but at night there couldn't nobody stay there. This woman that owned the mill was a witch and turned into a cat. This cat would just dance around and all at once she would light on whoever was staying at the mill at night. So nobody couldn't stay there. One man said, "I'll stay there." He went to the mill. He had a very sharp knife. And when this cat commenced to dancing around and around he watched her. She lit on him and he cut her front paw off. It was the man's
[dead miller] wife's hand with a gold ring on.
Entry 470
An old witch used to worry the miller. He sat one night for to catch her. She came in the form of a cat. She put her paw through the hole to raise the latch up and he took a knife and chopped it off. She had her gold ring on her finger. He took the ring and carried it to her husband next morning and this finger. And he looked at the ring and knowed the ring, and he said, "This is my wife's ring." And he went upstairs and she was in the bed with her hand wrapped up. And he asked her what was the matter and she told him, "Nothing." He told her, "There is something the matter, '' and showed her the ring and said, "Ain't this your ring?" She tried to deny it but he wouldn't let her. I heard that he killed her.
Entry 471
I have heard that a miller was at his mill one night grinding corn. There was a big cat came in and put its paws upon him. He was setting down. So he took his knife and cut this cat's paw off. After awhile he began to examine it, and instead of seeing a cat's paw, it was a woman's hand. So when he goes home next morning he found his wife in bed. He asked her what was the matter. And she said she didn't feel very good. So he goes and turns the cover down and looks. And he had cut her finger off that had her engagement ring on. So his wife was a witch. That was down in Culpeper [County, Virginia] some place. They say it was done there.
Entry 472
Well, they tell me a man once lived by himself and there must have been a woman who had something against him for she turned herself into a witch and the form she taken was a cat, a black cat. So the man when he come in from work, he set down to eat, and the cat would grab at his food. He would just shoo the cat away. Finally the cat continued to do so and he kinda got angry and took his knife and when the cat grabbed at him again he chopped off his paw. When he chopped off the paw the cat disappeared. He was holding the paw of the cat and it turned into a woman's hand. So he decided to investigate. Next day he heard of this woman being sick who he knew. So he decided to visit her. So he went there to enquire of her what was the trouble. And she said, "Oh, nothing." And he said, "What's the matter with your hand?" She had it covered. She said, "Nothing." Then he pulled the cover back and found her hand was missing.
Entry 478
There's something on you riding and you can't speak. You get up and put de Bible under your head; open de Bible and put it under your head, then you'll - they come back there no more. Or you take a open knife or put a ice pick under there. See, those are evil spirits bothering you - see - and it won't bother you no more.
Entry 516
An' then yo' kin use a knife crossways jes' lak we wus speakin' about - not straight up an' down - Jes' cross undah yore pillah - cross de bed - right crossways of yore haid, where yo' sleep at night. Dat keep 'em from ridin' yo'.
Entry 517
Take yo' pocketknife, de knife yo' tote in yore pocket, an' de witch bothers yo' or mess around wit yo', yo' jes' open dat knife ev'ry night befo' yo' go to bed an' turn de point of it towards yore bed [see No. 436]. Yo'll never have no trouble.
(What else did you say would keep that witch out of the house?)
Dat stuff right heah, dat garlic up over de do'. Yes sir.
Entry 525
If yo' in a house or somepin of de kind an' sleepin' in dere an' witches an' things, sech things lak dat, ridin' yo', tell yo' whut's good fo' yo'. Some- time yo' put chure Bible undah yore haid. If yo' don't do dat, sometimes yo' kin take a knife an' fo'k an' cross it - cross it dataway yo' know an' lay hit undah yore haid. Sometimes dey say yo' kin put a sifter undah yore haid - dat'll stop dat. [Sifter under head but on floor.]
Entry 1012
Well, ah tell you, jes' like now if a person got a spell on you - well, you have to git next to his friends see and git his friend to pull off a job for yuh. Well, you will have to just take a knife and draw his blood see, and de minute you draw his blood, why that spell is all ovah wit.
Entry 1364
If a spirit-lak worryin' yo', well yo' kin open a pocketknife an' put it in yore pocket an' no spirit can't harm yo' - any kind of pocket- knife an' put it in yore pocket an' walk off.
[See jack-o'-lantern, No. 136, p.46.]
Entry 4875
[The woman speaking is a professional worker we have already met. ( (See 291, p.85; 593, p.194; 638, p.216; 647, p.222; 869, p.307; and 1271, p.442.) Her words that follow give the hidden mystery of the silver knife making a cross over socks before burial beneath a brick in the hearth. She calls this markin' yuh and says it's sacred tuh yuh. For the sacredness of the cross mark, see my explanation of the mark "Doctor" Brown saw on my forehead, in my comment at the beginning of his main interview on p.1290.] Yes, ah heard about de socks. Dey take de socks an' dey - evah'body don' have de [same] idea 'bout de socks. Some don' care de socks de same way. [Care de socks = take care of the socks = handle the socks.] Some take de socks an' put 'em down in de hearth - take up a brick an' lay it down undah dere. Long as dese things work, fine - jis' as long as dey keep 'em concealed anywheres. But if a person be's wise an' seekin' information from any othah source [from fortune- teller or doctor], dey tells 'em where dese lost an' hidden mysteries is; an' if he [doctor] gits it [gits the buried sock] up, den he's [patient is] all right.
(What is it supposed to do, when they put those socks down in the hearth?)
Well now, dey doesn't do a thing but use a silver knife, jis' lay it across dere. Mark it, jis' make a cross across it jis' lak dat [demonstrates], an' put de sock down dere. Don' put anything else jis' lak dat. An' lay de brick on it.
(What is that supposed to do to me then?)
Well, dat's not put dere tuh destroy yore life. Dat's put dere tuh make yuh turn some object whatsomevah dey may [have] in view - whut dey want chew tuh do. It might be a love case, it might be somepin dat dey wan' chew tuh put ovah fo' dem. An' dey jis' go tuh work an' jis' mark yuh - call dat jis' markin' yuh. Well, if yuh mark a thing up lak dat, she knows dat it's sacred tuh yuh. Dey call dat markin' an' dey do it wit a silvah knife, a sterlin' silvah knife.
Entry 6410
Yo' wash yore feet clean. Den sit down an' git chew a knife, see, an' jis' start. Yo' see, dat jis' a skin. Jis' take yo' a piece of papah an' scrape it off an' carry it off. See, yo' take dat an' put it on de stove an' let it dry till it gits brown, jis' lak yo' did this othah, an' put dat in dere food. Dat's tuh keep 'em.
Entry 6411
If yo' wan'a woman tuh go yore way or if she wan'a man tuh go her way, it works fifty-fifty. Sometimes de woman wants de man tuh go her way an' some- times de man wants de woman tuh go his way. Well, when yo' wash yore feet, yo' kin jis' take yore pocketknife an' scrape dis off undahneat' yore feet. Yo' git off some li'le fine stuff an' dat jis' fall on a papah, an' git dat in somepin tuh drink. Jis' a li'le bit of it, don' take but a leetle bit of it. Put dat in somepin fo' de man or de woman, either one, an' dey goes jis' lak yo' say. BE UNDAH YORE FEET.
Entry 11717
Heat a case knife in the stove and mark crossmarks on windows and doors.
Entry 7170
[This is my resume' of rite transcriber failed to copy.] "Cross knife and fork under his pillow or under mattress. Shimmy over head. Broom stood in corner with brush part up. Keep asleep."
Entry 467
They said there was some men traveling and they had no place to stay: They came to this house. This man told them there was a house there and there couldn't nobody stay in it. He give them some matches to make them a fire, he give them some potatoes and said they could roast them if they Wanted to. They made a fire and roasted these potatoes. Something came down the chimley and scratched the fire out. They had nerve enough to make the fire again. They scratched the fire out again. They decided they Wouldn't make the fire again. They blowed the light out. They lit the lamp and they blowed that out. They said they wouldn't light the lamp again. So they laid down to go to sleep. One man watched. After awhile a whole lot of people came in and began to dance. Then they went out and brought the card table in and began to play cards. Then they went out. And after awhile - this man was still watching - the door flew open. He fastened the door and the door flew open a second time. He fastened it a third time and the door blew open again. Then he happened to look up and this cat had her paw through the door. He said, "Now, I'm going to get that." He got up and goes around the side of the house and taken his knife and whacked off the paw. The ring dropped on the floor. He taken the ring up and put it in his pocket. So the next morning he walks on up to the house and this man says, "Well, you made a night of it." He says, "Yes sir." He said, "Well, did you see anything?" He said, "A plenty. There's one thing I want to tell you. Look what I got," and he held the ring up. He said, "Let me see that. Do you mind if I show this to my wife?" 'Not at all if you bring it back." So he went upstairs. And his wife was in bed. He said, "Haven't you got up yet?" She said, "Go away, I don't feel well." He said, "Look, I got something to show you." "Go on away from here, I don't want to see nothing." He pulled her over and took her by her hand and her finger was gone. That was his wife's ring. He said, "Well, if that's what you are, I'm going." So he left her. I heard that story ever since I was a little girl [in Orange County, Virginia,1886].
Entry 2763
Well, now, I tell you about the hair. A person takes some of your hair and cut it out of your head. I know a man did me that - that's the reason I tell you so good about it. My husband was laying and I was laying down in the bed and I was asleep - laying down on my back. He couldn't find my scissors, he got up and got the case knife. I heard something going - saw - saw - saw - you know, and I woke up like that. He was setting up in the bed - had my hair sawing a piece of it, got it out. So I went to the hair-dresser and she said, "What is your hair doing cut out." I said, "My hair ain't cut out my head." She missed it, and she say, "Yes, it is." I say, "Oh, Lord, I don't remember cutting my hair out for nobody." I say, "Gee, I'm going to watch my husband tonight when he come." He was working in the swamp and when he take a bath that night, I goes in his clothes and I look and he had a plat of my hair in his pocket. I said, "What you going to do with that hair?" He say, "I cut this here, Daisy, ' he call me Daisy, "to keep you with me 'cause I love you" - to keep me from going away from him. A Egyptian woman told me - I went to her - she say, "You suffering with your head." I say, "Yes." She say, "Some man cut your hair out your head and he dead." [See margin-title If Evildoer Dies Spell Incurable, p.396.] I say, "Yes, what did he do with it?" She say, "He take it to a tree in the woods and he bore a hole in that tree," and she say, "while he may - he put that hair in the tree," she say, "and then he closed it." That what the Egyptian woman told me. I say, "Well, what you think he want to do that for?" She told me, she say, "He didn't Want to kill you, but he wanted you to be crazy about him - cause that would make you crazy, make you follow him everywhere." Because he wanted me to go to that [camp something?] and he working there - and he wanted me to go and I didn't go. She say, "Well, you go on with him." So, well, my husband he got - he put my hair in the tree. He bore towards the sunrise. He got on the side of the sunrise and he dug the hole and she told me how to go there to get that hair. I went there right away and just like she told me, it was true - my hair absolutely Was there. I went and I take a knife and I dug the plug out. And my hair had done growed long and I taken it out and it cold-like. And I say [to myself], "Well, I declare." I say, "I never did dream about any hoodoo or nothing like that. I said [to myself], "Why she told me." I went to the hoodoo woman 'over the river" - she's dead now. She say, "Don't let no hoodoo and no fortuneteller or none 'em son-of-bitch tell you that you are fixed. You're not fixed," she say, "it's your blood cause you suffer with your head."
(Who told you that?)
Miss Helen - that was a hoodoo woman told me that. She say, "I could fool you out of money just like the rest of 'em fool you out of it," she say, "but there ain't anything ailin' you but your head." Well, that's just what the Egyptian woman had done tole me [that I was fixed]. Well, I was on two opinions. I didn't know 'aht to do. The Egyptian Woman had told me about my hair and Miss Helen done told me it was the blood. Well, I got operated on. That didn't do no good and I said it must be true what the Egyptian woman say. And I go - what the Egyptian woman told me - and I goes and that's where I found my hair was in the tree. And I say to my husband, "Well, what you want do with my hair?" He say, "Oh, I love you so much," he say, "and I don't want you to have nobody else but me and that's the only thing I'se wantin'." I say, "Well, listen."
(Did your husband die after that, then?)
Ohyeah, he got drownded.
(I see.)
He was working, he got drownded - he fell overboard, he got drowned. After I'd taken [found] that [first] piece, he cut another piece and he got drownded with the piece - that piece in his pocket. Because when they caught him [his body with a grappling hook] he was just so bad, they had to bury him with every- thing on 'em, you know, and that's why my hair is in the graveyard.
(He was so bad what?)
It did up - the fishes and things had did him so bad, you know.
(Oh, I see.)
Yeah, they had did him up so bad, so that's why they had to bury him with his pockets - with all his clothes what he had on, his working clothes. So that's.
(And he still had some of your hair? He didn't put it in a tree?)
Yeah, he still had it. And I went to hoodoos and all. I went to all. I have been to a lot of them and they tell me - some would say I was sick and [some would say]. [Egyptian woman is a fortuneteller wearing large earrings and sometimes a head covering; usually a Negro, occasionally a white woman, rarely a gypsy. Along the Mississippi River a drowned body is ''dragged for with grappling hook. For folk- lore methods to recover the body, see FACI,2ed., Nos. 15127-15136, pp.696-697.]
Entry 6211
Or take yore hair out de haid an' go tuh a tree, a green tree, an' take yore knife an' split a place in dere, an' pack dat hair in de tree an' shet it up an' let de tree grow on it. Yo'll go crazy.
Entry 132
A man followed one of those jack-o'-lanterns. He took him everywhere. It led him a mile through the brush and through the water. Yes, that's just what I was coming to. He began to guess it was a jack-o'-lantern and as soon as he thought of his knife and opened it, it turned into a lump of jelly. No, he did not know it then. It just disappear. But next morning when he went back he found the lump of jelly.
Entry 374
[Years ago when the informant lived in Louisville, Kentucky, he did a great amount of gambling without much success. A friend offered to make him a successful gambler, provided he would participate in a certain rite. To perform this ceremony, both men one dark night went out in the woods, where the friend immediately made a large mud pie. Then, taking from his pocket a red-flannel ball which he began to roll round the outside of the pie, he asked the informant to cut the pie with a knife. But, before the latter could overcome his timidity, things began to happen. It lightened and thundered. Dishes dropped from the sky and broke on the ground. A cock appeared and began to crow. Knowing the cock to be the devil, the informant began to run and never stopped until he reached Louisville.]
Entry 483
I was living in a lady's house. I couldn't sleep in de bed for nothing. And I used to hate to go upstairs to bed because every night after I would go to bed I would hear something tipping on the steps. So when it would get about middleways on the floor it would jump on me and just nearly mash the life out of me. I waked up in de morning, the lady's grandmother lived across the street, I went over there and was telling her about it. And she said, "Honey, that's an old witch." She say, "You put a knife and de Bible under your head and she won't come back no more." So I put the Bible and knife under my head and never heard of her or seen her no more.
Entry 489
[The following eight beliefs are variations on the bottle rite for catching a person's spirit - see Nos. 38-44.] I heard about my uncle catching a witch. They hung a bottle up the chimney and crossed a knife and fork. It was bothering and bothering him every night. Somebody told him to do this and he did it. And the next morning he taken this bottle down and something was in it. He left it stopped up. Somebody told him this woman who was bothering him was sick. He didn't go to see her. Finally, she says for him to come and see her. She said, "For the Lord's sake, please let me out, I'll never bother you again." He turned her out and the woman got well.
Entry 1857
A man learnt me, a hoodoo man, to take a crocus fish - it's a little fish called crocus fish, an' yo' take dat head off, an' yo' take a knife an' split dat head open an' dere's two rocks in dere. Well, yo' git dem two rocks out an' yo' put dem two rocks in a little bag an' yo' sew dat bag up. Well, when yo' sew dat bag up den, yo' give it to de party an' den he goes to de man an reports for a job, an' yo' can't hardly be turned down. An' ah have seen dat an' he have done me dataway de reason ah know. An' dat's de way he said and dat was de end of dat.
Entry 1935
Ah've heard tell of 'em using, gittin' a chip off de headbo'd, gittin' a piece off de headbo'd of de grave an' using it fo' luck.
(Well, how do they use that?)
Well, yo' scrape it. Yo' take a knife an' yo' scrape de - shave it off de lefthand side of it. Git dat off de lefthand side, yo' scrape it tuh yo'. Yo' scrape it to yo' an' yo' say, "Lord, let dere be luck. Lord, let dere be luck." Yo' say dat three times an' yo' scrape dis knife to yo' - yo' bring it to yo'. Yo' bring yore knife to yo', not from yo' - dat's lucky.
(Well, what would you do with it after you get those scrapings?)
Well, yo' take dat scraping an' wear it. Yo' take yore little fine scraping an' put it in a little bag an' yo' wear it round yore waist, if yo' a person out fo' luck in numbahs or somethin' lak dat.
Entry 3416
Jes' lak if yo' wanted to tie a woman an' a man togethah. Jes' lak if a woman wus goin' wit chure husban', or he wus goin' wit 'er. Jes' lak hen yo's dog be matin', yo' kin take yore pocketknife an' cut dat dog enough tuh bleed. Ah mean jes' in a piece of cloth or sompin. An' aftah it bleed on dis cloth, yo' take it an' carry it home wit yo' an' put it undah yore mattress, an' dey'll be tied togethah. Jes' fold it up in two ways - jes' lak heah mah han'kchuff now. Aftah yo' git de blood on dat - YO' DON'T MIND ME STANDIN' UP? Aftah yo' 股商 git de blood on dere, jes' fold it lak dis[demonstrates]. (Wait a minute! You fold one half to the middle and then the other half. You fold one half to the middle and the other opposite half to the middle. Then you fold it lengthwise to the middle, each side.) Den yo' put it right undah yore mattress where [the side] yo' sleep at.
(Nine folds.)
[Only one way can I understand nine folds. Surely the design here is 9 squares, a tick-tack-toe diagram, several examples of which appear in HOODOO. The handkerchief is folded twice, the two folds overlapping evenly, creating 3 equal and horizontal oblongs. These are turned vertically and folded twice, again both folds overlapping evenly, creating a stack of 9 squares. Instead of saying You fold one half to the middle, I should have said You fold one half toward the middle.] (Well, don't you do anything else with that blood first before you put it under your mattress?) No, jes' take dat blood on dis han'kschuff, lak ah got mah han'kschuff in mah han', an' put undah de mattress. In three days time dey'll git tied up.
(You don't put the blood on them or anything?)
No.
(Which dog do you get the blood from, the male or the female dog?)
De male dog.
Entry 3697
[To draw blood is a common remedy against witchcraft - see Nos.485-487 and elsewhere in HOODOO. That explains the use of many of the sharp-pointed instruments in hoodoo; the witch being afraid of cutting herself and drawing blood. Penis captivus and impotence, like all ailments and disabilities - in fact just about every misfortune in life - comes from a spell put on you.]
(Well, is there any way of getting them apart?)
De only way to git 'em apart is fer dem to git a ole doctor - young doctor don't know of it, but git a ole doctor. Ah've been told by mah fathah to take a penknife, a penknife an' stick it right in de hollah of de foot, an' den he'll bleed an' dat will disconnect 'im.
(What is a penknife?)
[Even in my boyhood penknife was becoming rare.]
Very small.
Entry 3916
Ah'm goin' tell yo' somepin dat I saw here in '23 - was in '23. Ah wus workin' fo' Halstrom Brothers. An' my firs' wife - it was a girl lived right side of us named Theresa Jackson, an' my firs' wife helped to raise dis girl. Well, dis girl, she was a stout girl, an' she was workin' fo' Dr. Knox[?]. All at once she'd taken sick an' we couldn't undahstan' why she wus sick all de time. An' ah says to her, say, "You're workin' fo' dat doctah, say, "whyn't yo' tell de doc- tah 'bout it, how bad yo' feel?" Well, dere she would go to work an' have to leave work to come home. An' she tole de doctah 'bout it. Well, de doctah say he couldn't fin' no trouble - yo' know, what was 'er complaint. So she wus off on 'er off-day an' she said, "Ah'm goin' clean up my house. Ah'm goin' from de stern-wheel to de rudder" [surely an old Mississippi River expression]. Says, "All right." Ah was layin' down sleepin'. Ah been workin' at night. An' dis girl goin' to clean up 'er house. An' right behind de middle door, she found a bottle an' a little bag. Well, when she found dis bottle an' little bag, she brought it an' showed it to my wife. My wife said to her, "Ah'm goin' to wake Steve up an' tell 'im 'bout it." Which she did wake me up. When she woke me up, ah took it an' ah looked at it, say, "Dis looks mighty funny to me. I said, give me a knife." I said, "I'm goin' open dis bag." Ah opened de bag. It had a plat of 'er hair, outa her head. It had three pieces outa her pieces, yo' know, about dat size.
(Out of her monthly clothes?)
Yes. An' it had some lodestone in dere an' it had some needles an' some pins crossed dataway [demonstrates], see.
(Held that way with two crosses in it?)
Yes, sir. An' it had dat hair undah dere an' jes' like - jes' like my thumb is de hair, an' right along dere was de lodestone, see, into dis piece, an' dey had it sewed up. See. And he [the man who had tricked her] had de bottle wit 'er mon'ses [months] in hit.
(Which?)
[I either did not grasp mon'ses or wanted a fuller explanation.]
It had, yo' know, change over de moon in de bottle.
(I see.)
An' I opened it an' taked de stoppah outa de bottle an' it was jes' worsen [worse than] anythin' yo' evah smelled in yore life. Ah says to her, ah says, "Yo' take dis out dere" - ah always heard my ole uncle say dese things - ah say, "and throw it in dat runnin' watah." Dere was a little bayou - part of de bayou right back dere - part of de bridge an' de little bayou run undahneat' dere.
(Where?)
Little bayou right out chere on Rogers Street. An' she - ah say, "Now, you throw dat ovah yore left shoulder an' don't look back." An' she went out dere an' throwed it ovah her lef' shouldah in dat runnin' watah. An' he left. Dat fellow come home, but when he come home he rushed right on in de house. He says to her, "What yo' been doin' here?" She say, "Ah been cleanin' up." He say, "Yo' don't nevah clean up." He said, "Did yo' find anything of mine?" She said, "No, I find somepin of mine." He says, "What wus it?" Ah says, "If he hits yo today, I'm goin' woop 'im an' [or] he gon'a woop me eithah one." So he hauled away an' he hit 'er, an' when he hit 'er, I grabbed 'im. An' he lef' an' went to Paducah, Ky. He lef' dere an' went to Oil City, Ill. He lef' dere an' come back here to her an' stayed three days, an' went to Natchez an' she ain't been worried wit 'im since. An' she's married an' she is jes' as stout as she evah wus, an' de mothah of a child.
(She got rid of him, got rid of the fellow.)
Entry 4682
Dey kin take dat, take dat bow from mah hat, if anybody git holt of it, lak dat [shows his hat]. Yuh see, dere it's hot now. Yuh see ah'm sweatin'. Sit down dere, yuh undahstan', an' takin' a knife an' scrape it outa dere, jis' lak dat, an' take all dat dirt an' sweat out of dere tuhgethah, an' git it outa dere till dey git quite a nice bladeful. Git about a knifebladeful out de bow of de hat, yuh undahstan'. An' yuh take dat an' yuh go tuh work, yuh undahstan', an' go tuh a tree an' digs yuh a hole in dere. Gits yuh somepin othah tuh gouge yuh a hole in dat tree lak dat dere. An' den take dat knife an' wipe dat thing off on a li'le piece of rag, an' take an' shove it back in dere. An' git chew a stoppah, make yuh a peg tuh fit dat hole an' drive it in dere. Drive it in dere tight jis' lak dat. Yuh kill 'em, bash it - hit ovah 'is haid.
(That gives him a bad headache and kills him?)
Kill 'im.
Entry 4732
Well, jis' lak yuh would have a lady fren' - yuh undahstan' whut ah mean. She would ran off from yuh, but she'd be in de neighbahhood in de town some place - yuh know whut ah mean. Well, if it wuz possible yuh could git a pa'r of 'er step-ins - yuh undahstan' whut ah mean. Well, yuh would take dose step-ins an' yuh take intuh de laig, well about dat fur. Yuh take yore razor blade or knife an' yuh cut a hole roun' intuh it. Yuh would take 'cordin' tuh how many sills undah de house, maybe it be three or maybe it be five or six. Anyway it would be, yuh would have tuh put it in de centah of dat house. Undah- stan' whut ah mean. Well, yuh would bury dat, well dey say about six inches. Well, yo'd go tuh any hardware place an' git chew one dose ole nickel [5 cents!] files, an' right in de centah of de file - dose nickel files whut chew use tuh file de knife wit. Git one dose nickel files. Ah guess it would be 'bout dat long. Well, in bearin' [buryin'] dat, it gotta be in de centah of dat hole yuh dug wit dat. Drive it down an' leave jis' about dat much on top, an' in de run of 13 days, if she's livin' an' could walk, she come back.
(You just peg this file down with this piece of round cloth from her step-in?)
Dat's right.
(And you bury it under the center of the house?)
Right undah de centah of de house. In de run of thirteen days, ah guarantee yuh, she'll return.
Entry 5221
If yore wife or anyone is gone 'way from yo', yo'll take dat shoe an' scrape de toe out of it wit yore pocketknife, on de inside. (Both shoes or just one?) Well, one of 'em will do - eithah one. An' yo' take dat scrapin' an' yo' put dat in a bottle an' yo' bury dat. Dat will turn dem aroun' - turn 'em back tuh yo'.
(Do you bury that bottle in any particular way or just any old way?)
Well, yo' should bury dat bottle tuh de sunrise.
Entry 5296
Eithah one of yo' shoes, take de inside sole of dat shoe. He takes a knife an' he'll chip it up real fine, an' he'll take some sulphur an' some black peppah, an' he'll mix it all tuhgethah. Aftah he mix it tuhgethah he'll take it an' carry it tuh a stream of watah dat's runnin'. An' he kin sprinkle de least bit of it in dat sole an' he cain't stay nowhere. He start tuh travel. He cain't be satisfied nowhere he goes.
Entry 5540
Now, dey kin take dat foot track of yores an' use it jis' lak dey wan'a. Well, dey takes a knife an' a rule an' measure yore foot tracks an' print it on a piece of papah. Den yo' carries de name. Jis' lak yo' say, ah wan'a do as ah wan'a wit dis person. Yo' carry de name three times. Write yore name. (They measure that foot track with the ruler and then take a piece of paper, a piece of paper the length of the foot track.) Dat's right an' den dey take yore name an' dey draws yore name in a box, in a square, in the box, diamond and heart. Dey write yore name. Yore name would be Jones Johnson. Dey put it backwards, yore name would be Johnson Jones, yo' undahstan'. An' dey cast dat in de light in de lamp, an' have yo' do jis' whut dey want yo' tuh do. Dat's right, dat's fer quick wishes.
Entry 6242
Yo' kin take a person's hair - [even] a little hairout Le comb - an' take it an' go to a 'simmon tree an' split it. Take yore knife an split it down a little bit an' put dat hair in dat tree an' dey'll nevah part - dg'll nevah go from yo' until dat tree rot down. (Now, I would take some woman's hair and put it in there. Just her hair alone?) Yassuh, jis' 'er hair alone.
Entry 6384
Dat he tole yo' concernin' scrapin' part of de foot, didn't he [my contact man]? [My contact man always required a rite before anyone could enter interviewing room. We wanted to be certain informant knew what we wanted. The rite in- formant gave now follows.] Yo' wash 'am an' evahthin' an' yo' take an' yo' scrape a li'le bit of de skin off yore foot. Ah don' know if white folks do or not. Ah know colored do, but now yo' - co'se ah nevah knowed zactly whut dey [white folks] do. Yo' take an' scrape de foot an' - take a knife, a dull knife so yo' won' cut chure foot, an' scrape it lak dat. Yo' take an' put it in a li'le [can or jar] top an' put it in de stove [oven] an' brown it. When it brown - yo' mix it [with] black peppah an' put it in de stove. An' whoevahyo' Wanta see, dat all yo've gotta do. An' whoevah dat chew want - whatevah one yo' want, yo'll have 'em right down undah yore foot. Dey'll come an' give yo' evah- thin' an' stick right tuh yo'.
Entry 6488
Take de skin from undah yore feet. Yo' wash yore feet clean an' den yo' take a knife, jis' lak yo' scrapin' yore feet an' carry it back dat way, back tuh yo'. An' take dat an' mix it wit some sugah an' put dat in sompin tuh eat. Yo' give dat tuh 'em.
(What will that do?)
Dat will make 'em bring yo' evah cent dat dey git.
Entry 7209
Many yeahs ago [this happened]. An' dis woman tole me. She wuz mah fathah's sistah. She tole me dat a man came from de country tuh de city an' stopped wit a woman, yo' know, an' got work heah an' stayed in de house wit 'er. Dat Woman Wanted 'im tuh stay dere [per- manently] an' dat man couldn't git tuh 'is wife. He couldn't go home. So he talked tuh a frien' an' he says, "Don' chew know ah've got a wife an' ah cain't go home. Evah time ah start tuh go, it seems dat dere's somepin dat ah cannot go." Well, dis man tole 'im somebody did sompin tuh 'im. He tuk [took] 'im some- whah whah he found out - some fortunetellah, ah guess or medium. Dey [fortuneteller or medium] says, "Yes, dis woman has done somepin tuh yo' tuh keep yo'." Says, "She has a bag sewed up in a flannel an' she keeps it 'roun 'er laig." He says, "If yo' kin git dat, yo' kin git back tuh yer wife." So dis woman had a way of settin' up wit 'er laigs crossed, so Aunt Julia tole me. So he jis' watched an' had a penknife an' he jis' saw dat bag. An' he clipped it an' ran outa de house, an' she woke up an' right behind 'im. He flew. An' he took de train an' went home tuh 'is wife. She dashed aftah 'im fer evah inch of 'er life, but she didn't ketch 'im.
(What did she have in that bag?)
Ah don't know whut wuz fn dere. [Hoodoo has a hundred examples of what a woman or man can put in similar bags or hands.]
Entry 7570
Dey go tuh de cemetery - now listen, accordin' tuh de Bible, some people believe dey got a God an' some don't. Well de man or woman dat die dat don' believe dey got a God [is] an' infidn [infidel]. Or a man dat gambles prak'ly practically] all 'is life, an' he dies, dey figure dat he is gone tuh hell. He don' dwell where de good dwells at, see. Well, dey go up at twelve a'clock at night an' take a knife an' take some of dat mud, see. Dey take dat mud, dey bring it on back an' dey leave it dry well. Dey git some hot red peppah, dey mix dat up tuhgethah, an' if dey wan'a disturb here, dey jis' sprinkle dat here. An' de two parties, ah guarantee dey won't be tuhgethah long.
Entry 7706
Dey say dey take it if yo' wan'a person tuh leave home. Jis' lak yo' stay roun' a family of people an' yo' didn't want dem tuh stay dere or dey were sturbin' yo'. Well, yo go to de graveyard an' yo' git some dirt offa grave. Yo' know about where a per- son's heart is an' yo' take a knife an' yo' cut a splintah offa dat haidbo'd an' a splintah offa de footbo'd. Say den yo' take dat splintah an' make a cross out it. Chew know, lak yo'd make a cross.
(Just a little bit louder.)
Yo' make a cross outa dem two splintahs an' yo' take dat dirt an' yo' put it undah dere do'step an' make a grave out of it. An' den yo' take dat cross an' stick to de haid of it jis' lak it wus tuh de haid of a grave. Well, dey will have tuh move 'way from dere. Dey cain't stay dere. [Here we have 2 splinters from the graveboards making a cross for a mock grave, a subtect to be explored later in this section DEATH.]
Entry 8581
(How do you do that?)
Well, yo' write that down nine times on a piece of brown paper an' yo' fold it. Always fold it to yo'. Bring it to yo'. Make a wish every time yo' fold it. Wish that. An' put that in a lamp an' burn it. (Just burn the light in there?) Burn it, a low light all day. Never let it go out. And if yo' see it ain't workin' quick enough, then yo' take an' get yo' a candle. An' get yo' a pink candle an' bite de [bottom] end off it an' light it. An' put that - lay that [paper with names] down under it an' set that [candle] right on top like that.
(What do you mean bite the end off it?)
Just take it in your teeth and bite the [bottom] end off, that end what lights. Light it from de other end. Then take a knife an' cut down - make it, light it from de bottom.
(I see, turn the candle upside down.)
Entry 8944
" Jes' lak somebody take somepin outa dis room heah. Yo' kin take a knife an' trim off a li'le trimmin' off dat do' dere, where yo' go out. An' yo' kin take an' care [carry] it - go tuh a man who got a wagon an' take de left-hand reah [rear] wheel off. An' put dat on dat spindle where dat[wheel] turn ovah on - put dat trimmin' whut chew got off dat do'. An' put de wheel back on dere an' yo' say, Thief, return, an' yo' turn dat wheel far- vards three times an' den yo' turn it backwards. Say, Thief, return de stolen goods which was taken outen mah possession. An' in seven days he'll return dose goods back to yo' - money or anything else. An' if he haven't got de goods, he'll come an' tell yo' dat he'll pay yo' fo' dose goods.
Entry 10208
If there's something that you don't want taken regardless of what it is, if you don't want it taken - for an instance if you take, if you lock your house they going to break in, and you don't know how to do for to keep 'em from taking your things. Well, then, first I would go and I would get me some sassafras [roots or pieces of bark]. I'd get some sassafras and I'd get me a knife and I'd trim this sassafras, see. I'd trim it and every little piece that I'd whittle off it [demonstrates].
(Every piece that comes off, what do you do with that?)
Every piece I trim off - I'm going to trim it off until I get to nine pieces, and every time I get the nine pieces, I'd count the nine pieces. I'd get them nine pieces and I'm going to put nine pieces here [demonstrates]. I cut off until I get nine more pieces and I'm going to put that there until I get four times nine. See? Well, all right. Now, I'm going to set it on the outside of my door. That's the corner of my house and that's the corner of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces there and nine pieces there, and at the back end of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces.
(You have nine pieces in each corner of the house.)
In each corner of the house, but on the outside. Under my house, if I can get under there and get to where the fire part is - the fire-hearth part is; under the house, you know.
(You what?)
Get under the house, underneath the house and get to the fire-hearth, see.
(Oh, the chimney - the fire-hearth.)
Yes, the chimney. I take and I put me a Bible there. I put that Bible there. I puts the Bible up under that house and I puts a candle there, and I leave that candle burning, see, and I leave the Bible open. But I put a piece of something in front where nobody can't learn that candle's burning there, you see, and leave it burning there. And then I come out from under that house and I locks my door, and as I'm coming out I'm sprinkling a little sugar, you see. I sprin- kle sugar as I come out, you see, until I get at least fifty feet from my house, you see. Then I won't sprinkle no more sugar and I can go and stay from three or four days and come back. Nobody will go in that house, nobody never go in there.
(What sort of a candle do you burn on that chimney?)
I'm got a ordinary white candle. (A white candle, I see.) [Here we have a quincunx, 4 corners and a double central point - Bible and candle.] [New Orleans, La., (832), 1249:2.] [If the reader is approaching this multi-volumed HOODOO archive for the first time, he or she must be told that the present beliefs and rites about sex are perely a continuation of 167 pages of similar material published in volume 3, Nos.3ll0-3830, Pp.2341-2509; material listed in logical sequence according to the Table of Contents for volumes 5, 4 and 3. The material now following could not be so conveniently arranged, though it does have a certain amount of alpha- betical order and other continuity. I am dividing this section into two parts: (1) COMPLETE RITES and (2) CONDENSED RITES, these latter sometimes a reference oaly.]
Entry 10591
A leather-wing bat, now, understan'. Now, if yo' wanta sell a fellah a hot hand fo' gamblin', go an' ketch yo' a leather-wing bat. Git him alive. Sometime dey go in people's house an' dey knock 'em down wit brooms, in de summertime, dey fly in [there being no screens]. Knock 'em down wit a ole broom, or yo' kin go in ole stumps or ole logs where dey roost at an' yo' kin git 'em out dat-a-way. Yo' can't find 'em in daytime. Yo' take de leather-wing bat an' yo' set right down an' take yore kife, a ole lknife or somepin lak dat an' split him right open in de back. Jes' split it right open while he's live, split him right open in de back jes' lak dat, zo'reach up dere in his left side an' git his little heart out. It's a little ean, de biggest one dey is about lak dat [demonstrates]. Git his little beart ota dere 'bout lak dat. An' he ain't even daid. While he 'live git dat heart ou of dere. Jes' take yore finger an' pull dat heart out. Take dat heart an' go on back wit it, don' wash de blood off, not nuthin. An' git chew a red, an' ah mean red, too; a red an' blue piece of ribbon. Jes' as red [informant points] as dat ring round dat big coffee cup. [In Fayetteville, N. Car., I worked in a kitchen-dining room and I still remember it vaguely.] Let it be jes' 'bout dat wide, an' take it an' set it right down an' lay dat heart in dere, an' sew dat heart up in dat ribbon. Have it long enough an' sew it up in dere good an' tight. Take dat bat heart an' yo' wear it on yo' right han' [see later]. Take dat bat heart in dat piece of ribbon, sew it, make it kind of a belt-lak an' carry it up dere round yore wrist yo' understand, above de elbow, up heah, understand. Fit it up dere, sew dat on dere tight so it fit lak a belt, won't slip off, an' wear it on dere. Sleep wit it on dere. As long as dat bat heart stays in dere lak dat, yo' kin do any kinda bettin' dat yo' want done. Yo' kin win money an' gamble wit it, understand, an' yo' kin go out an' steal it. Go out an' do anything lak dat, an' people could shoot at chew, an' nine times to one, dey nevah hit chew. Wit dat bat heart yo' kin dodge bullets yo' kin dodge a shot.
Entry 10933
Like a man is a heavy drinker. You go to the river and catch you a catfish and git home with him as quick as you can, before he dies. Now, buy gin, wine - whaever he drinks. And take a knife and put it in that catfish's tail and hold him up and let three drops of blood drop in that whiskey or wine, whatever you [he] drink. And shake it up and put there for you [him] when you [he] come. Now when you drink this, it's goin' to make you sick. It make yo' so sick it'll almost kill yo'. And it'll give yo' no more taste for liquor.
Entry 11336
(Well, tell me about the dove's heart then.)
Just like I and you is enemies. I get me a dove and I'll take the dove and call your name, you see, at twelve o'clock at night. And I'll take that dove and I'll stab that dove through the heart and call your name In the Name of God, the Father, the Son. And when that 股中 dove - when that pain hit that dove it supposed to hit you, you see, and that will effect you, and you will wilt down just as that dove die. You see. But you gotta call your name and hit that dove through the heart with the knife. (I see.) [This is only one of many times in HOODOO I was used as a guinea pig.]
Entry 12156
But on de othah hand, yo' take dat hickory tree as yo' calls it - not no fig tree, yo' take dat hickory. Yo' go in de woods an' see yo' kin find a hickory tree of twelve months growth - a young hickory tree. It must be a young one, an' yo' find lotta of dem is down dere wit forked limbs, too. Yo' find one wit de forked limb of twelve months young growth, if yo' kin gits it, an' yo' takes dat dere hickory tree, dat forked one." Yo' kin take it, understan', an' work any kind of a little conjurin' things with it, an' set pegs to people's house.
(What do they do with that hickory tree?)
That hickory tree, yo' jes' cut off that forked limb. Yo' jes' take yore knife an' cut it off up there. Cut it off 'bout lak dat [demonstrates], de forked limb, cuts off 'bout lak dat yo' see. Well, now yo' take dat dere fo'k an' yo' wanta go keep yore ole lady from runnin' round.
(You take this hickory limb and you do what with it? You....?)
Yo' cut it off an' yo' take yore knife an' cut lil' notches 'long dere lak dat, yo' know, an' yo' name dem notches whatevah yo' wanta call it or whatevah yo' want done to it. Whatevah yo' want. Yo' want, 'Well, ah want this much done." Yo' say, "Look heah, ah'm cuttin' yo' an' dat's whut ah want chew tuh git me. Ah want chew tuh he'p me git her loose" [from the man she's running around with]. An' yo' cut de next notch an' say, "Look heah, ah tell yo' whut ah want chew tuh do." talkin' to it right dere. "Ah want [chew] tuh go tuh de bank an' borrah me a hundred dollahs, without no' - don' sign no papahs up fo' it, ah mean tuh pay 'em back by an' by." Well, yo' kin take dat thing, dat dere with de three notches in it, an' yo' go to de [some shopping place]. [I] says, yo' go to a big grocery sto' an' keep dat thing in yore pocket.
Entry 8912
Den if yo' got a idea dat I stole it - yo' know, like if I steal somepin from yo' an' yo' got a idea - I seen yo' come aroun', I mean. Yo' kin get some of my foot track or anythin' an' I'll bring it back, but if yo' don't know.... [I tum off recording machine here because rite did not sound promising. Then he says something about foot track and I begin to record.]
(What do they use?)
Well, yo' know, wheresomevah yo' step like dat, see right between de palm of yore foot an' de heel; see, yo' get a knifebladeful an' yo' put it in a handker- chief an' fold it.
(How do they fold it?)
[Informant begins to demonstrate.]
Fold it to yo' an' den fold it...yo' fold it like dat, an' den back like dat, but yo' don't want a rag as large as dis, see. An' den double it over like dis, back like dat. Well yo' won't want no - no piece no bigger'n [bigger than] dat in dere. An' den put it undah yore do'step an' cross it evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' name it, like if my name are John, see. Yo' cross it evah mawnin fo' nine mawnin's an' call my name 'fo' sunrise. De ninth mawnin' yo' go dere an' take it up, an' den yo' pick it up an' put it in yore pants, anyhow yore belt, an' de ninth mawnin' ah'll be dere.
Entry 10881
Well, jes' lak dis, if ah wus de type of dis kind, dat ah wouldn't wanta see a woman an' a man gittin' along, see, an' ah wanted tuh part dem. Listen good - an' when dis dog an' ket. Yo' know kets an' dogs will quarrel some- time. Well, when dis dog make dis ket kinda angry, dis cat will bring up her fur on her back. Well, an' de same time yo' take a knife or scissors - shears, at least yo' should call 'em, an' cut a little piece of dat.
(Cut a little piece of what?)
De hair out de ket's back. Listen, an' a little of de dog, when dey in dat angry nood [mood] - jes' lak dey would be angry, yo' know. An' yo' take dat an' sew it up in piece of black cloth, whut chew would call broadcloth. An' bury it under de steps, an' dey couldn't git along nohow in de world.
Entry 11296
You wanta man stay away from your house, sompin like dat, why you git a hair from one dese man [male] dogs. See. And jest - I'm making reference [giving an illustration] now - jest like you wants a man, you figure dat a man worryin' you, wit you and your family. Why you'd git some hair from a dog. You git it right off de - you know where his tether at, you git some hair right from de end of dat. All right, you git dat hair and you take a knife and you cut it up, cut it up fine. All right, after you cut dat hair up fine you carry it and you put it to dis.fellah door, right under de step. See, and bury it about three or four inches. See. After you bury it about three or four inches, you walk away from de house about ten steps. After walking away from de house about ten steps all right, you walk backward about five steps - backwards. See. You walk five steps backwards. All right, don't walk de way you walked de first time, dose ten feet. [Walk backwards at an angle.] All right, after you walk backward now, gotta walk side- Ways about 20 feet - sideways. And then you keep on about chure business and go on home. That'll keep him away from your house. See, he'll never come back. [Those preceding words hair right from de end of dat I understood at the time but failed to annotate their meaning to the cylinder. They could signify the end of the rope and hair from around the male dog's neck. These hairs then would have tied the victim down to his own home, kept him away. If so, surely the hairs would not have been cut up. Or would they? I still think these are phallic dog hairs cut up and buried at the victim's door. That leaving, the steps forwards, walking backwards at an angle, and finally sideways at a right angle, is my only example in HOODOO, though there are many examples of magic walking away.]
Entry 13229
A man kin go tuh work jes' like yo' workin' fo' a man. He kin go tuh dat man house where yo' handle roun' an' drive a spear down fo' yo' sharp - sharpen at both ends an' drive it down, it's not - it's sorta flat yo' see. See, den yo' sit dere an' dig a hole round it enough tuh take his knife an' whittle it up sharp. Den cover it ovah where yo' can't find nuthin. An' yo' ain't goin' stay dere, yo've gotta go. Yo'll be on pins all de time. Dat's whut chew call settin' 'em on pins.
(You put this piece of wood down in the ground around his house?)
Yes sir, sharpen it tuh de end an' sharpen it tuh de top but chew drive it down befo' yo' sharpen it. Den yo' take yore knife an' sharpen de top part. Den cover it up.
Entry 486
We were setting there talking. Somebody went to tell a tale. He said his mother said a witch rode her at night. Being much worried about it she told her parents and her parents told her to place a knife under her pillow at night. She did this. And they told her if the witch came, to cut it with the knife [to draw blood]. She did this the next time the witch came. Later on in the day she found out it was her brother. He had a cut arm. I don't know how true it is. [The knife (with Bible) under pillow (No. 483) is not used for drawing witch's blood - witch keeps away from it, afraid she will cut herself.]
Entry 1365
A root fellah tole me de way he done tuh keep 'em off him. Ah axed him, 'How come, '' ah said, "dey don't bother you?" He showed me, he said, "Yo' see dat knife sticking up dere on dat tree - sticking right opposite to de way dey come?" See, he had a pocketknife sticking right up in de tree, de forks of 'em. An' he say dat pocketknife is to keep dem offa him. An' ah axed him what did he do wit dat pocketknife. He say he had written de name down on a bar of soap - Oxol Soap, an' den he take dat bar of Oxol Soap an' go to de washstand and wash it away, and dat mean dat wash dem peoples, if dere's any of 'em his enemies jes' clean away from 'im. He can't be bothered about 'em.
(What kind of soap? What color is it?)
Brown Oxol [Oxydol] Soap. Lak if ah don't want tuh be bothered wit a person an' ah know he worrying me, ah write his name wit a piece of - take a match stem, anything, an' jes' write his name on dat bar of soap and go out dere to de washstand and jes' wash your hands till yo' wash it aways. Dat gits rid of dat.
Entry 8637
Yeah, new live lemon. Go to de store an' buy dem eny price, an' yo' kin cut it. Take an' buy a new-brand [brand-new] knife, cut into it [lemon] an' stop it up an' cork it up with a nail, an' will cause 'em to have heart trouble.
(What do you put in that lemon?)
Nothin' in de worl' absolutely.
(Cut into it, that all?)
Jist a lemon an' a new-brand knife.
(Well how would you cut into that lemon?)
Stobb [stab] it like yo' stobbin' a person, an' call dey name.
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- Knife — Volume 1, entries 589. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → DIAGNOSIS.
- Fork and Knife — Volume 1, entries 1872. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS.
- New White Plate Holding Black Candle, Crossed Knife and Fork — Volume 1, entries 2845. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → SHRINES: ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS; NEW ORLEANS AREA → (2) CANDLES.
- STEEL - FORK OR KNIFE — Volume 3, entries 3276. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CAUSES OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → MISCELLANEOUS.
- KNIFE CROSSED IN FORK; FOR PREGNANT WOMAN TO WALK OVER — Volume 4, entries 6884. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- (7) 3 TIMES DAILY FIXING MEALS - SET TABLE; WITH EXTRA PLATE - SPOON - FORK - KNIFE; CALL NAME 3 TIMES - TELL HIM TO COME TO; WHATEVER MEAL - HE'LL RETURN IN 9 DAYS — Volume 4, entries 8737. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- KNIFE AND FORK CROSSED UNDER PILLOW — Volume 5, entries 10441. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → HAG AND WITCH RETURN.
- URINATE INTO BOTTLE - POUR SOMETHING [WHAT?] INTO; BOTTLE - CORK UP BOTTLE - MAKE HOLE THROUGH CORK; USING NAIL - PUSH RED STRING THROUGH HOLE IN CORK; INTO URINE - WITH KNIFE SLIT OPEN FIG TREE ROOT; ATTACH STRING - TIE - LIQUID FROM BOTTLE INTO TREE; HOODOO TRANSFUSION - ANYONE EATING FIG IS POISONED — Volume 5, entries 11375. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- KNIFE AND FORK CROSSED UNDER DOORSTEP - FOR RENTMAN — Volume 5, entries 11659. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- KNIFE AND FORK - CROSS THEM - WITH WORDS INFORMANT; THINKS BIBLICAL: IN DE NAME OF DE FATHAH, DE SON; AN' DE HOLY GHOST - UNDER MATTRESS WHERE HE SLEEPS — Volume 5, entries 12277. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- KNIFE - FORK - PLATE - WOMAN WIPES TO HER 9 MORNINGS; AFTER SHE HAS USED CLOTH TO WIPE UNDER ARMS AND; ELSEWHERE - HAVING EATEN FROM PLATE HE REMAINS THERE — Volume 5, entries 12278. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".