Subject:Knot
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Entry 2051
A stockin' - yo' kin take a stockin' an' yo' kin tie a knot in that stockin'. Say, now, if yo' got business out there an' ah won't want yo' to run that business an' ah wanta put chew outa there, ah kin tie that knot in that stockin' an' draw it right tight an' ah kin take that stockin' and conceal that stockin' into the dark - in a dark place. An' every time - well, say, every three hours ah kin go to that stockin' an' draw that knot a little tighter, see. An' as ah draw that knot yo'll begin tuh draw outa that place. Yo'll git so worried an' everything will go wrong with yo', yo' can't be no success. Yo'll leave outa there.
(Whose stocking will you use?)
Well, any ole stockin' at all - jest so it's an ole stockin'. (And you conceal it in your own house.) [I am repeating what he said after I had turned off the machine.]
Entry 2052
A root doctor tole me dat if anybody was trying to harm you in any Way - like telling de police to come to yore house and different things or you in some kind of a business - you could go in de woods and ketch a black snake. Ketch him and yo' skin it - kill him and skin right there while he alive, and take that wet skin and you tie it in a bowknot and you take it home, and you sleep with it under yore pillah always. Don't ever move it from undah yore pillah. Even when you change beds let it stay right in the same spot - let it stay dere no matter how stinking it gits, let it stay dere. De law would even come at yo' doorstep but he never would wanta come in. [Jacksonville, Fla., (562), 699:5.]
[For more knots, see Spirit Caught in Knot, p.389f., and Index.]
Entry 3375
[The following margin titles could also have been indexed later under subsubdivision KNOTS AND TYING, but they logically belong here.] Yo' say, now, to influence a person - yo' wouldn't want dis person to leave, or dis person would go away an' yo' want dis person to come back. Say, now fo instance, yo' were mah husban' an' have decided prob'bly dat yo' didn't want me. I say, "Well, yo' an' I come back home an' stay - anything. Yo' prob'bly say, "No, I don't want chew." Well, now, ah go to a neighbor's house unaware - when de neighbor steps out. I go in de neighbor's house and steal 'er dishrag. I let dis dishrag dry. Well, den when yo' come back ag'in, if yo' do come back - well, yo' said yo' don't want me or anything. Well, sup- pose I ask yo' to do me a favor. Yo' come in an' I let chew be wit me, yo' see.
(The last time. I understand.)
Well, now, I use dis towel [dishrag as a towel].
(On yourself or on him?)
[I evidently was not too keen about being the guinea pig!]
On mahself aftah yo' do what chew do. But ah don't do anythin'. Well, I take dis an' even wet it an' let it dry, an' den I take dis an' bring it ovah lak dis [demonstrates]. I tie a knot in dis an' ah pull dis tuh me, yo' see [demon- strates].
(YOU TIE THE KNOT TOWARD YOU.)
Yes, an' den ah say, "Now, ah want chew to stay wit me always, an' should ah be no mo' service to yo', no one evah will." Ah twist dis. Ah tear a place in ah pillah an' ah put dis in de pillah, an' ah sew dat up. An' ah put dat on de side dat yo' sleep on when yo' are dere, if yo' are not dere. It is a positive fact dat yo' will nevah be able to be yoreself.
(With any other woman.)
Not wit - whenevah yo' start, yo' might have a desire, but jes' at dat pah- tic'lah time when yo' get to [approach] dat person, yo' will fail. BUT DAT IS NO JOKE. (I've heard about the dishrag, but you are telling me something that is a different version of it.)
Entry 3376
Take de dishrag when yo' mess togethah, only de woman mustn't dis- charge. Gen'ally de men do all dat. Den yo' take dat dishrag an' yo' clean 'i off wit it. An' take de hair out de top of 'is haid an tie it togethah, an' put it up 'tween de mattress an' put one knot in it in de cornah, an' put it right in de middle of de mattress. An' he stays dere, he won't go. (You said the hair from the top of his head and the hair from down below, and you put it in the dishrag - tie it up in the dishrag. Then you put one knot in the dishrag.) Dat's right.
Entry 3377
Well, jes' lak yo' has a husban' an' yo' don' wan' 'im tuh make no co'se [intercourse] wit no othah woman, yo' go somewhere an' yo' steal a dish- rag - doesn't use yore own dishrag, yo' steal some othah woman's dishrag. An' why latah in de night when yo' wit 'i, make lak [pretend] yo' also wit 'im an' yore not. See, yo' git yores an' not his'n. Well, yo' take yo' a piece of money an' tie it up in a rag an' yo' wipe 'im off wit dat same dishrag. Well, ah would tote it an' ah wouldn't throw it away. An' he couldn't have no othah woman den but chew [me].
(You say he doesn't wipe with that rag at all?)
No sir. Yo' wipe him, see. Yo' don't wipe yores atall. He won't undahstan' whut chure doin', see. Yo' don't make connection wit 'i - may pertend yo' do's. (And you put a piece of money in that rag and TIE IT UP IN A CORNER. WHY DO YOU PUT THAT MONEY IN THAT RAG?) Yes - well, de rag will keep him down. See, dat's money, an' dat makes yo' git de money.
Entry 3378
Take a string an' measure 'im when, yo' know, de full length. She'll measure 'im wit dat string, wit 'er undahskirt string. If she have a undahskirt on, she'll have a string on dat. She'll take dat undahskirt string an' she'll measure his length. She take it an' tie it in a hard knot to dat same length. Tie it right in a hard knot an' tie it to her waist, an' at night she take dat string an' break it off. She go to her table an' she git a dishrag, an' she take dat dishrag an' wipe it down by dat string. Pull de string through dat dishrag three times an' roll de string up an' throw it behind de door - or hang it up ovah de door. Throw it behin' dere an' dat will tie him up. He nevah kin have any truckin'. (Now she takes this string from her underclothes and she gets his measure. Then she ties one knot in it. And what piece does she bring out of that, then?) De same end - jes' see [demonstrates] lak he's [his] length heah, she tie it right dere. She tie de knot in dat string to jes' de length of 'i. Yes, she break dat off.
(It's his length then that she pulls through the dishrag?)
Pull through de dishrag.
Entry 3457
Well, ah got a girl fren' or wife an' she's runnin' wit some.an an' ah reckon ah wanta ketch 'er, go tuh where two bulldogs tied up. An' take a pockt han'ke'chuf or eithah a new piece of vhite boe spun cloth an' vipe dose dogs off wit it, an' yo' ties it up. Yo' ties it in a knot, a hard knot, an' yo' totes it; an' whenevah yo' have connection wit dis woman, yo' wipes 'er wit it. Yo' totes it in yore pocket.
(What does that do?)
Dat makes yo' ketch 'er.
(What will that do to that woman then?)
It will make her an' a man git tied up.
(If she goes with another man.)
Entry 3466
Now a man connect wit 'is wife or woman, whatsomevah it is. He git a bran'-new piece of yellah cotton, unbleached dey call dat. Don' chew discharge, yolet im discharge anketch, yo see. An' yo' take hit an' use a cose [coarse] stran' of black thread, an' yo' tie dat. Yo' fol' dat piece an yo' tie it. Yo' tie it, yo' tie it till evah piece is offa dat spool of thread. Now yo' lie dat right on de side dat he sleep on an' dat keep 'im home. An' dat keep 'im dat he don' want nobody but chew.
(How do you wrap that thread? Away from you like that?)
[My preceding words are an attempt to avoid a leading question.]
No, yo' wrap it to yo', an' tight as beeswax, until evah stran' is offa de spool. An' den yo' put it straightways, 'cuz it's gonna be stiff aftah it's wound tight, an' right on de side dat chew sleep on. An' dat man don' ca' [care] fo' nobody but chew.
Entry 3473
When he go tuh sleep a woman take a string an' measure de length of 'i [his body] from de haid to de foot, an' tie jis' as many knots in it as yo' are tall, see, an' tie it aroun' 'er waist. Den she measure yo' othahwise, straight down, jis' de length dat [penis] is. She tie it in a knot an' tie it roun' 'er ankle an' wear it. One roun' one ankle an' one roun' de othah one - den dat roun' 'er waist. [This ambiguous statement sounds like 3 places the cause of my close questioning that soon follows.] Yo' cain't have no nature fo' no othah woman. (With THE FIRST STRING SHE MEASURES FROM THE HEAD TO THE FOOT? And tie as many knots?) As yo' [he] is high - de height of 'em, see. Yo' kin take dat string an' measure his height by dat string.
(You have to put a knot at each foot?)
No, yo' jis' take de string jis' how many foot yo' is an' put dem little knots in dere. Don't make no diff'rence whereabouts yo' put 'em, jis' yo' tie 'em in dere.
(Where does she wear that string then?)
She wear it roun' 'er waist.
(WHAT DOES SHE DO WITH THE OTHER STRING?)
Take de othah string an' measure othahwise, yo' undahstan' - de privates, yes- suh.
(The second piece of string, and she only ties one knot in that?)
"Cordin' tuh how long he is, jis' de length of it.
(For how long?)
Ah dunno, jis' as many knots - yo' see jis' lak if it's seven inches lak dat, yo' puts seven knots in it.
(Where does she wear that?)
Aroun' 'er ankle, eithah one. Or she have tuh put it roun' both 'er ankles, one on each foot.
(SHE'S GOT THESE TWO STRINGS THEN?)
Yessuh.
(She only uses the string for measurements?)
Yessuh. (You say the man can do the same thing to the woman.)
Entry 3474
Ah ties 'er against 'em.
(You what?)
Against de othahs.
(What do they say about that?)
Well, it's - lots of 'em will take an' use a cord string. If yo' can't git a good cord string, yo' kin some stuff dey call catgut - see, if yo' kin make it long enough. An' yo' dresses dat stuff wit 'er when yo' have intahco'se wit 'er. An' if ah wanta be away from dere four weeks, ah put four knots in dere an' I keep dem knots tied [around my waist - see later].
(What will that do?)
Jes' lak evah day, why yo' take a man he step off sometime, lak he wanta uri- nate or somepin. Yo' go, why yo' jes' take dis han', yo' know, sometime, an' urinate in 'is han' an' kin'a keep dat string aroun"is waist livened up. Jes' lak, [you are] goin' away, befo' yo' put it [string or catgut] on yo', jes' lak fo' instance, ah have dis night-glass [empty glass jar] or somepin settin' behin' on dis floor. Well, he not supposed to use dat, if he wanta dress dat string. He takes hisself an' let 'er use an' he wets dat in dere, takes it out an' puts it on 'im. Well, he ties dem knots in it first. An' aftah tyin' dem knots in it - well, dat will keep 'er straight prob'ly till he gits back.
(And how many knots do you tie in that string?)
Well, now, yo' have - it's accordin' if yo' goin' to be gone six weeks, well yo' put six knots in dat. If yo' be gone four weeks, yo' put four knots in it.
Entry 3475
They tie knots in a string. If they get a new cord, you see, and tie that, and that's for to make a man or a woman come under their control. They wear that around the waist. You doesn't buy a new ball [of string] for that. Just like you go to the grocery store or some store, you see, and you take it and just break you off a piece the length that you want. And each knot that you tie you make your wish, vbatever that you wish 'em to do. If you wish 'em to get the money, or wish for them to stay away from a certain home, or you wish for 'em to come to your home all the time, each knot that you tie you make a wish. And then the last knot that chew tie, if yo' want 'em to come under your control, you wish then for them to come under your control, to be controlled by you and you alone. And then you tie that around your waist, you see, and wear it. You do that on the last quar- ter of the moon.
Entry 3484
Jes' lak now if yo' wanta keep 'im an' yo' have a intahco'se wit 'im, jes' lak yo' mess up wit 'im, why yo' git chure han'scheff yo' know an' git dat [semen] an' tie it in de cornah of de han'- sheff an' bury dat undah yore do'step. An' see, dey can't leave but so fur, dey can't go outa town or nuthin, until yo' git ready tuh go yoreself, ah reckon.
Entry 3493
Ah've heard dat chew kin take a cord string an' measure de man an' tie a lnot in de centah, an' de woman could tell aftah he had gone out. She could tell aftah he'd leaver [leave her] where he wuz tryin' to have a connection wit dis woman. Dey said dis knot, why she could tie it as tight as she could, but it would loosen. She could tell if he tried, bat he couldn't have dis woman.
(That is, if he were trying, this knot would get loose in the string?)
Git loose in de string. See, she would keep de string dat she measure. She beasured de length of 'im an' den she'd tie a knot in de centah of de string. An' if he goes, wherevah he goes, de minute dat he'd try to have de woman, why dis knot would loosen. An' dat's why - or how she could tell whut he wuz doin'.
Entry 3496
If yo' wanted 'im ag'in, yo' could take a piece of new yellah domestic an' use de intahco'se, use it nine times, an' take an' cut out a piece about as big as a quarter [25 cent piece] an' put it in yore left-foot shoe an' wear it in dere, an' yo'll come tuh conker 'im lak yo' want 'im, if yo' wanted 'im. Yo' could take, say fo' in- stance - yo' could take a piece of cloth an' nuse [use] it an' tie a love knot in it. Take a teaspoon fulla sugan an' put in dere an' tie a love knot an' put it in yore mattress, an' dat'll make him be closer to yo' an' no one else.
(What kind of cloth do you take did you say?)
Yallah domestic - new, dat nevah been nused. An' yo' nuse dat nine times, an' when yo' have it, YO' NOT SUPPOSED TUH HAVE NO INTAHCO'SE WIT 'IM YO'SELF, YO' KETCH HIS'N. An' den yo' take an' put hit undah yore bed in yore mattress where yo' sleep on it. An' dat'll make him close to yo'. De man kin do it if he wants a woman. He kin take his new pocket han'ke'chuf an' nuse dat, han'ke'chuf dat ain't nevah been used, an' take it an' nuse it all de time an' tote it in 'is pocket, an' dat woman, she cain't have nuthin tuh do wit nobody but 'im.
(How does he use that handkerchief?)
He jes' nuse it in wipin' 'isself. See, it's a bran'-new han'ke'chuf, a white linen han'ke'chuf dat ain't nevah been nused. An' he take dat han'ke'chuf, see she jes' ain't payin' no 'tenshun, he jes' take, yo' know, an' dry hisself off. An' den he take an' put it in 'is pocket an' wear it.
Entry 3497
Now, it's somepin how to make a person cold towards de othah one, cold towards evahone. Yo' go git chew a piece of new cloth, linen cloth, white cloth, 18 x 18 inches, an' yo'hem dat. An dis pahtic'lah person dat chure inter- sted in, yo' wan'a use dem - yo' use dat, yo' see. Yo' put it out an' let it dry an' den yo' tie dat as ah tole yo' about de dishrag. "Membah me tellin' yo' 'bout de dishrag? [Informant's material had been badly recorded several days before, she is now repeating.]
(Yes, but you better tell it over.)
Well, but dis doesn't go wit dat, dis is diff'ren' thing. Yo' use dat as yo' did dat, an' yo' tie de knot in it aftah yo' dry it, an' yo' stick dese points in lak yo' make a love knot, yo' know. Do it at twelve 'clock at night, if yo' have some person or frien' dat chew know is dead, yo go to dat grave of someone dat chew know dat have kept secrets fer yo'. Yo' stick yore han' down in dis grave wit a new dime. Yo' say, "Yo' have always been a friend to me, indeed an' yo' have always kept mah secrets. Now dis is one thing ah want chew to keep always, an' ah want chew to keep dis person evah near me an' no one else." An' yo' bury dis wit dat there person.
(The handkerchief you bury there?)
Dat's right, an' dis person will remain cold to evahone except yo'. Dat new dime, yo' pay 'em fer keepin' de secret.
(Where do you put that new dime?)
Right where, yo' know, where yo' dig de place to bury dat - de silvah, an' not two nickels but a dime.
Entry 3498
All right, dey tell me dat when yo' have intahco'se wit 'er, dat she could take a piece of new cloth of any kind an' use it an' let chew use it, den could take it an' tie it in a little knot, ball it up an' put it undah de mattress right undah yore haid, dat chew will nevah go out any mo'.
(With other women?)
Yes sir.
Entry 3503
Gittin' a woman down - ah mean down in mah part of de country, down dis side [southeastern Atlantic coast] down heah, ah'm goin' tell yo' whut dey does. See, go to yo'self an' want action an' all, don't tell 'em 'bout no othah man atall. Jes' look 'em in de eyes an' tell 'em, an' ah tell yo', if she'd make a date wit chew, yo' take a bran'-new pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' use dat fo' de rag. De man will carry de han'- ke'ch'ef off, he carry de han'ke'- ch'ef off 'er an' tie it roun' in a knot, turn it in a knot an' put it up ovah de do', anywhere ovah de do'. Or tie it in a green tree. Dat be all de got'a do. Be wit nobody but chew. De man do dat, yes sir.
(Over the door or where?)
Ovah de do' or tie it on a green tree. If yo' git to a little green tree dat's slindah enough in de woods, kin draw it roun' dere, draw it in tight dis way. Git a new pocket han'ke'ch'ef, one ain't not been used.
Entry 3510
Well, jis' like if she wanted havin' a man, yo' know, an' yo' don't wan' 'im to have no one else. Dey say dat dere's two ways yo' kin do dat, but de surest way to do it is to go to de store - yo' don't have to buy but about a half a yard of white homespun. I've tried dat mahself. An' when yo' make connection, jis' before he have a good time, dat he takes it out - an' of co'se some draps on de baid. Yo' take an' grab like dat an' wipe it choo know. An' den yo' tie yo' a hard knot in dat homespun. I guess it'll be about dat long. Yo' got to buy about a half a yard anyhow. Yo' might have to splice it, yo' know, so it be long enough to go roun' yore waist an' tie it, an' also tie de knot [here are the two knots]. Yo' wear it nine days an' den yo' take it an' put it somewhere 'bout chah baid, an' he can't mess wit nobody else. He be on level all de time. I did it fer curiosity. I did a man like dat an' he had to pay a man, he told me, ten dollars to git dat thing offa him.
Entry 3518
Yo' kin keep 'im from goin' wit a woman. Git chew a cord string an' measure 'im, hisself yo' know, an' yo' git de length of 'im, an' den yo' measure aroun' 'is waist [the thickness or circumference], an' tie a knot in it, see. (You get the measure around his waist with the same string or a different De same one. Look heah. Yo' see [demonstrates] de string is long, an' yo' measure it sompin lak dat, an' yo' tie a knot at dis end an' yo' tie one in de middle. An' yo' done tie it dat far roun' yo' see. Den yo' take an' measure dat dis way. (The same as the length.) Yes, an' tie a knot dere, an' den yo' tie it all de way aroun' yore waist an' den [or] yo' wear it aroun' yores right in yore laigs an' dat keeps 'im from - he cain't do it wit anyone else. [This should probably be classified under 4 knots, usually reserved for the 4 corners of a handkerchief. Here, however: lst knot is tied in the end of the string; 2nd at end of length; 3rd at end of added circumference; and 4th about the waist.]
Entry 3521
[The following rite is a good example of what happens when you do not turn on or have turned off your machine because informant is "less than fair" - so evaluated at the time. When I ask for a repe- tition of the rite, here is usually what happens - I have to drag it out of informant.] (She takes a cord string and measures a man, how long, and she puts a knot in each end.) In each end.
(And then she puts it in turpentine, you say, and wears it around her waist.)
Around her waist.
[Here, tying string about her waist makes the third knot.]
(And he is no good with other women.)
No, no good whatever.
Entry 3527
Listen, dat is fo' a man an' woman dat has sexual intahco'se tuhgethah. Now, dis man perhaps wants tuh fix dat woman so she kin be wit no othah man. She wanta fix 'im so he can't be wit no othah woman. Yo' take yo' a piece of new homespun dat's nevah been used. Yo' take it tuh bed wit yo' an' use it an' take dat an' yo' put it catahcornah - lak yo' would a han'- ke'ch'ef, three-cornahed-lak. Yo' tie one knot right in de middle [at the apex of the triangle] an' one near each end [each angle of the base]. An' yo' take it an' yo' go undah yore bed an' tie it undah de middle part of de springs or de slat - jis' tie it an' leave it dere. [This tying under the center of the bed creates a fourth knot, also a quin- cunx made with a triangle.]
(That's all you have to do.)
Entry 3534
See, ah taken a pocket han'ke'ch'ef, bought me a bran'-new pocket han'ke'ch'ef have nevah been used. Take dis pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' aftah yo' have intahco'se wit one 'nothah, take dis pocket han'ke'ch'ef den an' tie de fo' cornahs.
(How do you mean you tie each corner?)
Tie each cornah. - Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft Rootwork - (Into a knot?) Into a knot, bury it undah de do'step an' jes' let it lay right dere undah dat do'step. (What would that do then?) She be lak a lamb, jes' follah me wherevah ah goes.
(You do that so that girl will stay with you?)
Yes.
Entry 3537
Or else, yo' could take a han'ke'chi'f an' each time dat dey has a Intahco'se wit one anothah, take it an' tie a knot in de cornah of it, until yo' git all fo' cornahs of it tied, an' put it away somewheres. Be very pahtic'lah where yo' put it, where it wouldn't, be found, an' yo' wouldn't nevah have any trouble wit dat one.
Entry 3539
Now, if a man wanta trick a woman, he buys 'im a bran'-new pocket han'- kerchuff, piece of cloth dat nevah been used. Den he goes an' he has a date wit dis woman, but he don't do nuthin 'isself. He dries dis woman thoroughly wit dis pocket han'kerchuff an' he ties two knots in each cornah. (One knot in each corner.) Oné knot in each cornah, yessuh, an' when he fold it, he fold it wit de two knots hangin' down an' two points right disaway an' he irons it jes' lak dat. An' he kin wear it up ovah de do' - [I mean] put it up ovah de do'. An' when she trans- fah ovah [under] dat, it takes effect on 'er. She can't have no othah man. She won' have no feelin' fo' no othah man but yo' in person. [Sumter, S. Car.,
(1363), 2405:9.]
(df). KNOTS FIVE: A CAUSE OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE
Entry 3556
Fo' instance, when she have a intahco'se wit 'im, whensomevah he would discharge, instead of 'im wipin', she would take an' wipe him wit de rag. Den tearin' a strip off de rag an' tyin' nine knots in it an' wearin' it roun' 'er waist, an' when he'd go wit othah women dataway he'll be ambitious fo' 'em, but he won' do anythin' until he git dat way fo' her.
Entry 3558
(What do they do to cause trouble in the home, that is, break up a man and woman - cause them to fight, that sort of thing?) Well, ah an' 'im would be togethah. Well, instead of wipin' mahself, wipes 'im. Well, ah'd take dem pieces, dat cloth, an' cut it up in nine pieces an' tie it in nine knots, an' put it tuh mah side an' wear it evah day. Ah don't keer anywhere he be's at, he can't be uit nobody in de world - he'd fall evah time. (How do you mean you would tie nine knots? You would tie one knot in each one of these pieces?) Ef ah would - jes' lak ah an' mah husban' would be togethah, undahstan'. Well ah would take de towel an' wipe him. Ah ain't gon'a wipe mahself, only wipes 'im. Well, when ah an' 'im gits away awhile ah'm goin' tuh take dis same towel [cloth she calls it the first time - cloth used as towel] an' ah'm gon' tuh cut dis string [narrow pieces of cloth] about de length of mah fingah, an' ah'm goin' tuh tie it. Ah'm goin' tuh cut nine pieces in de string [cloth] jis' lak mah fingah.. [She is going to make a string of 9 finger-length pieces tied together.]
(Cut this towel?)
Yeah de towel, an' ah'm go'na tie it in nine knots, each piece. Ah'm go'na tie a knot in each piece an' have nine knots in it. Well, ah'm goin' tuh put de [nine-knotted] string around mah waist jes' de same as mah sanitary belt [rare term in hoodoo at this date] an' ah'm goin' tuh wear it evah day aroun' tuh mah side, right side, an' he can't have no woman in de world. He may try but he will fall evahy time - can't have nobody but mahself.
Entry 3562
Yo' take a string an' measure dis person, an' tie a knot at de end of dat string. Yo' see, tie a knot at de end of dat string. Yo' see, tie a knot at de end of dat string, at de firs measurin' place an' den yo' tie it, an' from dere on yo' tie eight more which makes nine, an' den yo' kin eithah pin it aroun' yore ankle wit a sil- vah dime. Stick a hole in a silvah dime an' wear it aroun' de ankle, dey won't love no one but yo'. Well, NOW SOME PEOPLE SAY DEY USE IT FER CRAMPS [see Nos.1516-1517], BUT DAT'S ALWAYS AS AN ALIBI. DAT'S [LOVE IS] WHUT DE USE IT FO'.
(They say they use it for cramps, but they really want to keep a man.)
Entry 3564
Yo' goin' wit dis woman an' she want yo' all to herself, wit all yore affection to her, why she jis' git a little string of some kine - some kinda fine cord or even a piece of thread. When yo' an' 'er go to bed, measure - put one knot in de end, an' she measure yo', yore instrument, see, tie dat knot. Well, aftah she measure yo', den she tie a knot dere. Den [after] yo' - all's up [yo' all is up], an' yo' is gone, or somepin, she put jis' as many knots in dere: if she wan' chew to stay wit 'er a lifetime, jis' put nine knots, see, in dat space of yore instrument, yo' undahstan'.
(Nine knots [including those] between those two end knots?)
Yeah, nine knots in dere, an' take dat right in dere, an' if it's not long enough, put anothah piece on it an' pin it aroun' 'er waist. As long as it stay dere, why yo'll fall fo' her all de time. Regardless of who yo' have any affec- tion about, why yore mind will be on 'er.
Entry 3567
Den she kin take a bran'-new cord string an' put it up in 'er, an' aftah takin' dat string an' puttin' it up in her - take a cord string an' put it up in yo'. Double it three times fo' tuh wear it aroun' yore waist, an' have him. An' don't chew come, let 'im come. Take dat string out of yo' an' put it roun' yore waist, an' fo' nine mawnin's tie nine knots in it evah mawnin' put a knot in it. An' he won't have nobody.
Entry 3570
Well, dey has nine knot to tie, dey tie 'em in a length of dat length [demonstrates].
(About a foot.)
[These knots on the string are tied a foot apart.]
Yo' tie eight. Evah knot chew tie, yo' names whoevah yo' want dere love. Yo' name dem, yo' want dere love an' bring 'em back to yo'. De last [ninth] knot chew tie, yo' tie dat knot, yo' tie dat string roun' yo' an' yo' wear it; but chew 'noint it wit dat holy oil (see p.588) an' den yo' wear it roun' yore waist. An' dose people will love yo' an' always be dere. Ah know dat pos'tively fo' mahself. (You take any kind of string to do that?) Yes - no, ah take a cord string, yo' know, jes' lak yo' buy a package. Yo' take a cord string an' do dat.
Entry 3572
Well, yo' could take socks an' ah could let 'im - jes' lak he mess wit me, ah could let 'im wipe on dat sock an' ah not wipe on it. An' ah could tie it to de.spring of de bed - not on de sock, a rag. Dat do jes' as good as de sock. An' ah could tie it in nine hard knots an' let it stay to de spring of de bed, an' he nevah mess wit anothah woman long as dat sock [rag] tied dere.
Entry 3573
Yo' wear it. Yo' tie nine knots in dat string fo' nine mawnin's, yo' see. Yo' sleep wit 'im nine mawnin's an' git up on dem nine mawnin's an' tie a knot in dat string fo' nine mawnin's an' wear it aroun' 'er waist. (You tie one knot each morning?) Yeah, each morning. (What do you do with the string? Do you have to do anything with the string first?) Yes, wear it around - no, I nevah heard dat, nevah heard it. She jes' wear it aroun' 'er waist.
(I see.)
Entry 3574
Dat's tuh make a man love yo'. Well, if yo' goin' wit a man an' evah time yo'all go tuh bed togethah, evah time yo'all go out togethah, well yo' tie a knot in dis. Git chew a piece of yellah homespun an' yo' tie a knot in dis homespun until yo' git nine knots. An' aftah yo' git dose nine knots in it, yo' put it in a jar an' shet it up tight, an' den yo' take it an' bury it. An' aftah yo' bury it, dis man will - he jes' can't keep away from yore house.
Entry 3575
Yo' supposed tuh wear a cord string roun' yore wais'.... Fust [first] yo' buy de cord string from de grocery man [so that it will be new]. When yo' have anything [to do with a man], look lak, yo' PUT see. When yo' have sompin tuh do wit 'im, don't chew do nuthin. Let 'im do whut he go'na do. Den yo' take de cord string out. De first time, night, yo' put a knot in it de next mawnin', yo' put anothah knot in it fo' nine mawnin's. Keep de string roun' yore wais'. Low [allow] length enough yo' know till yo' kin put nine knots in dere, an' let it be loose 'nough till yo' put nine knots in it, see. Den yo' put de nine knots in dere an' yo' kin hold 'im.
(But you always wear this string inside yourself?)
No, no. See, de first time yo' put de string [in] an' den yo' have a intah- co'se on de string, see. An' den yo' tie de string aroun' yore wais' an' den evah mawnin' yo' ties a knot in it fo' nine mawnin's. See, dat ties 'im up. (THAT WOMAN WHO WAS IN HERE TALKING TO ME, HAS TO SPIT. SHE IS CHEWING [TO- BACCO, NOT A "ROOT'l AND HAS GONE OUT TO SPIT, AND IS COMING BACK IN AGAIN. NO WONDER SHE COULDN'T TALR!)
Entry 3576
She'll take a cotton string, an' she said she use dat cotton string evah time she have dealin's wit 'er husban'; an' jis' how many times, she'd tie a knot in it. An' den she wear it roun' 'er waist fo so many days, an' den she take it an' put it undah de leak of a house an' bury it dere. An' den he wouldn't run aroun', he'd stay home.
(Do you know how many days she wore that?)
She said she wore it three days.
(That kept him from running around with other women?)
Yes.
Entry 3577
If yo've got a man fren' an' he don't come tuh see yo' as reg'lah as yoo want 'im tuh come, yo' git chew a nail an' a string an' tie nine knots in it [demonstrates]. Yo' wrap dat string an' yo' tie a knot, wrap. it roun' an' tie a knot till yo' git nine. Take dat an' stick it down dere to de do'step an' yo' make a wish whut chew want. Dat will make him come. (You just wrap the string around your finger [serving as a nail] and tie it around, tie it around [9 times].) Yes.
Entry 3578
Say in case now, if yo' gotta wife - yo' wanta learn dis?
(Yes, go ahead.)
Case if yo' gotta woman or wife or somepin lak dat, an' dis othah man is goin' wit 'er, an' yo' wanta break de man who goin' wit 'er. Yo' wanta know dat? All right. Yo' go to de sto' an' git chew a piece of new white cloth, an' yo' git dat white cloth an' tears a strip off it like dat, see [demon- strates]. Well now, lak if yo' goin' wit dis woman an' don't want nobody else tuh go wit 'er but chew. Yo' see, if yo' take dat piece of cloth WHEN SHE HAS CONNECTION, DON' CHEW HAVE NO CONNECTION AT ALL. Jes' tear a strip offa dat an' den tie nine knots in dat - see, nine knots in dat strip. Well, all right, when yo' tie dem nine knots in dere den yo' puts it inside dat piece of cloth jes' lak dat yo' see. [demonstrates]. (You put this strip that you tore off, that you put the nine knots in, you put it in this other piece of cloth that you didn't tear.) See, dis strip dat chew to' [tore] off, now.
(This is the cloth that she's wiped with?)
Yeah, yo' tear dat off an' yo' put nine knots in dat, yo' see. An' jes' lak if my name Dawson [his name was Dawson], yo' say, "Dawson." All right. An' yo draw dat knot to yo', see. Well, lak 'er name So-an'-so, yo' say, "So-an'-so, I an'"So-an'-so," an - see, yo' call yore name evah othah [each] time till yo git nine [knots and names]. Den, when yo' git nine, den yo' take dat an' roll dat to yo' lak dis, yo' see [demonstrates], an' den yo' git chew - go to de store an' git chew a bran'-new spool of thread No.8 an' a needle - big needle - an' put dat in dere an' sew dat up an' wear it roun' yore waist. No man can't go wit 'er to save dere life - TO YORE LIFE AN' MINE'S EITHAH.
(The man does: this to the woman.)
Entry 3580
Yo' take a cotton string - all dat's tyin' 'em. Yo' take dat cotton string an' yo' git yo' a bottle of Heart Cologne an' yo' drop it in dat bottle as yo' tyin' dem knots, see. An' yo' drop it in dat bottle an' name dem, tie a knot, den drop it in - tie it nine times.
(Each time you tie a knot you let the string fall down into that bottle?)
Down in de bottle till de las' one git on it [string]. Take de string den an' yo' tie it roun' yore waist, an' yo' wear it roun' yore waist. An' yo' git chew a piece of hair from de top [of the head] an' a piece from down dere an' make a li'l' ball - jes' a li'l' ball about as big as a match, de fiah part of de match, an' put a little piece of cloth to it, an' tie it in one dem knots an' let it hang right down, right down on dere.
(On the privates?)
Yeah. An' dey'd wear it. An' see, dat's tyin' 'em.
Entry 3581
Tie knots, as many as yo' want, an' tie a person's name [in the knot]. Jes' lak yo' want dat person tuh do somepin, yo' tie 'em an' yo' call dere name, say, "Well, So-an'-so, an' So- an'-so, ah'm tyin' dese knots heah fo' yo'." An' yo' tie dose knots hard, den yo' wear 'em, an' yo' kin wear 'em round yore waist or undah yore feet. An' dat controls 'em, dey have tuh be submissive to yo'.
(How many knots did you say to tie?)
Nine.
Entry 3582
When yore husban' lie down to take his rest, when he git tuh sleep good, git chew a cord string. Git chew a cord string an' take it an' measure it an' tie nine knots in it. (Measure him. Where does she measure him?) Start tuh measure him from de head down to de toe, an' put nine knots in dere, an' take it an' tie it - tie nine knots in dere an' wear it aroun' yore waist.
(What will that do?)
Evah time yo' tie it yo' call 'is name an' tell 'im tuh come back to yo'.
(What are you doing that for, tying those knots for?)
Well, dat's tuh bring him back home.
(Make him stay home?)
He'll stay home when he come back.
Entry 3616
Well, yo' kin take a woman's sanitary cloth [a term rarely used at this date by informants], aftah she'd put it dere somewhere. Yo' kin take it an' tie it in nine knots - not take nine knots in de cloth an' tie it, but yo' know yo' kin take a piece of cord string an' tie nine knots hard dis way, yo' undahstan'. Tie nine knots in. An' yo' take it aftah yo' tie dose nine knots in it, an' put turpentine on it an' burn it up.
(You mean you tie this string around the cloth?)
Roun' de cloth wit nine knots in it.
(And then you put nine knots in the string after you tie it?)
Shu' [sure] - no, tie knots wit de string. See, wrap it roun' an' tie dat one dere; den wrap it roun' ag'in, see. (This string, you wrap it around once, around the sanitary cloth, and tie it Once; wrap it around again and tie a knot; wrap it around again and tie a knot. Get nine knots?) Git nine knots. She won' be no mo' [good] to 'erself or no one else.
Entry 3625
An' den anothah thing, if yo' away ah kin bring yo' to me. Yo' kin bring a man tuh yo' in nine days time, or eithah a woman. Yo' take yo' a cord string. Dat's simple but it's a fact, ah done tried dat. Yo' take a cord string an' tie nine knots in it a inch apart. An' evah mawnin' yo' urinate on dat string an' tie yo' a knot [inch apart] an' yo' repeat dat verse, have God's Name in it, say, "Ah do dis In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, fo' yo' to come an' nevah return [away again]." An' tie dat knot when yo' say dat, call im by his name, an' tie dat knot, an' de ninth knot, why he'll be dere in three days time aftahward. (What do you do with that after those knots are tied in? What do you do with that string then?) Wear it. Keep it wit yo' till he comes.
Entry 3705
Well, when she have intahco'se wit a man, well she kin take dat string yo' see, aftah evahthing is ovah, an' she'll jis' dry wit dat string, yo' know [wiping] to huh. Git it right wet an' she'll tie a knot in it an' jis' as many ties as she has interco'se wit dis man, she'll tie a knot in dat an' jis' keep on till she git nine knots an' wear it roun' her laig or eithah roun' her waist an' he cain't bothah nobody else.
(She just uses a string for this doesn't she?)
Yessuh, a cord string.
(She doesn't measure him or anything of that sort?)
She measured 'im, she measured 'im first.
(She ties it later on?)
Yessuh, aftah. Aftah wearin' dat string aroun' 'er waist or eithah roun' 'er laig, take dat an' burn it up an' he'll git rid of dat.
(He'll get his nature back again.)
Yes sir.
Entry 3771
Well, if a woman got a man tied up an' he comes tuh yo' an' he's yore fren' an' cain't, yo' know, go tuh bed wit yo' an' cain't do no business. Well, if he don' wear no tie, make him wear a tie when he comes tuh yore house, an' when he cain't git up an' still cain't do nuthin, let 'i go home an wear dat tie tuh 'is house, back tuh 'is house where he come from an' untie dis tie, an' tie it on de foot of de bed, anywhere on de bed in a hard knot. He take de tie off an' when he take it off, jis' tie it in a hard knot. Den leave it dere an' let de white folks, or whosomevah works dere untie it. Yo' see. Don't chew untie it. Let 'er untie it. She tie yo', let 'er untie yo'. Den yo come.back. Yo' go back an' don' go tuh bed wit 'er, cuz yo' see she'll take it off de nex' day. Den dat night yo' go back tuh yore fren' an' den yo' go tuh bed an' yo' kin go wit 'er.
(He leaves his tie on the bed and his wife will untie it? Then he's untied?)
Yeah.
Entry 3908
Git a string an' tie three knots, a man would do dis, an' git a drop or two of blood from a woman an' wear it aroun' 'is waist, an' he'll be able tuh hold dat woman. (Where would he get the blood from her?) Durin' de time of 'er ministration.
Entry 4605
Take de bow from de back of a man's hat, dat is [if] a woman is got a sweetheart an' she don' wants tuh git rid of 'im. She takes dat bow from de back of 'is hat an' sews it in de seat of 'er clothes, an' wears dat bow. She wears dat bow in de seat of 'er clothes an' when he wears 'is hat so long till dat bow gits sweaty an' greasy, well she takes dat bow an' untie it, an' takes an' puts some of 'er hair wit it, an' sews it in de seat of 'er clothes, or up undah 'er arm where her clothes sweats, an' wears it.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im dere.
Entry 4606
Dey tell me back in [the old days] de girls used tuh take de bows out chure hat tuh make yuh love 'em. [They still did during my collecting days.] An' dey said dat dey would take dose bows an' tie it into a knot an' dey would keep it. An' evah time dat chew feel dat yuh wanta be weanin' off, dat dey would renew it ovah, dat dey had somepin dey would fix it wit an' dat dey'd always double dat knot ag'in. Evah time it seem dat yuh pull- in' away, dey double dat knot ag'in. An' dey had a way dat dey wear it intuh dere shoes.
(What did they put on that knot did you say?)
Ah don't know whut de stuff dey would use, but dey jes' tell me it wus some stuff dey would use. Still ah figure dat it wus de stuff from deyselfs - de periods or...
(Something of that sort.)
Entry 4777
Well, if ah'm a enemy tuh yuh an' wants tuh confuse yuh in yore home, ah mah- self, ah cain't do it. Got'a git someone tuh help me tuh do it, an' dat's by goin' an' gittin' a piece of yore clothes, sompin othah dat chew wears, don't chew know - sompin dat chew wears. An' ah takes dat an' tear it up, makes a very small string out of it. Take it an' twist it.
(Tear the whole piece of cloth up?)
Not de whole cloth, jis' git yuh a strip off about lak dat [demonstrates], whatevah it is, an' jis' tear it up in small strips. Take an' twist it dis away [demonstrates]. One [strip] dis way an' one dis way, jis' lak dat, yuh know. Jis' keep atwisting it till yuh git right intuh a fine - down-lak yuh know, tuh a string. Yuh take it den an' yuh put it - draw a knot intuh it. Yuh know how yuh tie a knot intuh anything. Well, yuh take dat an' git it intuh whatevah yuh kin git it intuh [a jar, see later]. Den yuh take some salt an' take some vine- gah an' anything dat dey'd use lak a garlic. Yuh git yuh some garlic tuh put in dere an' nine drops of turpentine. An' tighten dat up real - tighten it down howevah yuh wanta tighten it down.
(Tighten that jar down?)
Tighten de jar down, yassuh, an' den yuh prob'ly cain't git tuh de house; but git somebody tuh bury it tuh de back of de steps.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will - dey cain't git along in dere.
Entry 4786
Diff'ren' ways tuh do dat. Yuh take an' ketch any live animal dat yuh know dat is a ramblin' animal dat goes away. Yuh git somepin dat belongs tuh a man an' yuh knot it up an' fasten it tuh 'im [wild animal]. Well, as long as it stays fastened tuh what- evah animal yuh fasten it tuh an' he continues tuh go, why whoevah it belong tuh is goin' tuh follah, is goin' right along behin' 'im.
Entry 4948
Yuh kin take a man's socks, tie both of 'em tuhgethah an' wear 'em aroun' yore waist, a woman kin, an' dat he'ps 'er tuh hold a man.
Entry 4949
Dey kin take his socks an' tie 'em in a knot, an' put 'em in de baid where he lays at - on de side he lays at, in de mattress. (What will that do?) Well, wherevah he's at, he cain't rest yuh see. First an' last he'll stray back home tuh where he come from.
Entry 4951
A [dirty] stockin', yuh takes it an' ties three knots [one on top of the other - a threefold knot] in it. Dey say yuh take yeh right one. Gits yuh some Hearts Cologne, po' it in dere. Gits yuh nine pins, nine needles, an call dis person by name, whosomevah it is. Make yeh heart wish. See, jis' like if yuh wants yeh sweetheart tuh do sompin, tie dis tuh yuh. Every time yuh make a knot, pull yeh string [stocking] tuhwards yeh an' call dere name three times. An' put dem pins an' needles in dere [in the threefold knot]. Yuh takes dem pins, yeh lays de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Alternate heads and points.)
An' yuh puts dis cologne on dere. An' yuh kin weah dat in yeh pocket. Dat'll make yuh - if yeh girl away from yeh, she'll come tuh yeh.
Entry 4961
Ah'll tell yuh whut ah know 'bout dat - tain't whut ah heered. Ah got a sistah an' 'er husban' lef' 'er. He wuz atter [after] othah wimmins an' he jis' got so fur gone till he went off from 'er. An' she took eithah of 'is socks jis' lak he pulled 'em off, an' she pulled a thread out from de hollah of 'is foot. An' she tied it in nine knots, tied it fo' nine mawnin's.
(Nine knots each morning or one knot a morning?)
One knot a mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' de ninth mawnin' he come home dat night.
(She took a thread out of both of them or one of them?)
One, jis' 'is right stockin'.
Entry 5042
Den dey take de worn stockin' - change de stockin's an' den dey take de stockin's an' put 'em in a bundle in de mattress, yuh know. An' yuh put dem stockin's an' tie it tight dataway - tie two stockin's tuhgethah an' yuh put it in de middle of yore bed, undah de sheet of de bed. De stock- in' will be up heah. An' den dey'll have ah - dey'll put some strings in dere. Dey'll have a string tied. An' dey draws a pitchure of dereself wit a pencil. Ah seed [saw] a woman do dat mahself. Ah know she done dis. She takes a pencil an' she draws. Ah don' know what pitchure she did draw, but she'll take dat sock an' she'll put it down dere. An' she'll take dat thing dat she draws an' she'll put undah dat same place. An' dat man cain't leave her.
(You don't know what she draws on there?)
No, she won't let me see dat.
Entry 5547
Git chew a bran'-new piece of cord string, cord string. Go an' buy yo' a ball a nickel[!] ball of cord string, undahstan'. An' yo' ketch dat track. Yo' watch 'em where dey pass an' yo' go dere an' yo' measure dat from yore toe to yuh heel. Tie dat knot in dere [at the length] an' put it in yore pocket. Den yo' got 'em.
(How do you mean you got them?)
If yo' wanta bring 'em tuh yo' or whut chew wanta do. Tuh stop 'em from walkin' or fix 'em any Way yo' want, well yo' got 'em, yo' see.
Entry 5958
If yo' wanted to keep a person, yo' take de hair out of de mole of dere head, an' yo' take dis wit othah things dat I tole yo' 'bout concernin' de cloth dat dey use. An' yo' wrap dis togethah around. Jes' take yo' a cotton string an' ball dis hair togethah an' tie it jes' as tight as yo' kin. An' tie it in a little bag wit de bow of de hat.
Entry 5959
Take some of yore hair out de temple an' take a piece of band outa yore hat, an' sew it up in a piece of cloth an' wear [tie] it between dere laigs. Dat'll make yo' love 'er. (Who would do this, the woman?) Yes sir.
Entry 5960
Dey kin take yore hair an', yo' know, tear a piece off yore shirttail, an' wear [tie] it roun' dere laig an' dat'll make a man love yuh. Well, ah've tried dat.
(Well now, what do they do with this hair?) Wear it roun' dere laig. (Oh, they put this hair in this shirttail.) An' wear it roun' dere laig. (Either leg?)
Yore right laig.
Entry 5961
Well, if dey git some of yore hair, dey could take it in de lock [hinge] of de knee heah.
(In what?)
Yo' know, right roun' de knee heah. Tie it roun' wit sompin, a string or sompin lak dat, an' make yo' love 'em lak dat. Or eithah put it into some perfume.
Entry 5962
Ah don't know how much truth is in it, but ah have heard dat dey take yore hair from de mole of a man's head, but he mus' be asleep an' not know anythin' about dis bein' done. An' in doin' dat, tie it in a piece of cloth an' wear it aroun' yore left laig, an' dey say dat if he nevah gits aholt of dat - nevah finds out dat chew have it - yo'll be able tuh control 'im an' keep 'im.
Entry 5963
Yo' kin take it [hair], jes' cut a stran' or so, a long stran', an' tie it in a knot jes' lak dat [demonstrates]. An' yo' kin burn it or yo' kin bury it. (What will that do to me?) It'll hurt chah in a way, or eithah it will run yo' crazy, or keep yo' wit a terrible headache or sompin lak dat.
Entry 5964
Yo' kin take a lady's hair an' make her love yo' all right, if it's lady yo' want an' yo' kin git a chance tuh play wit 'er an' git a stran' of 'er hair. Take it an' wrap it up in some sulphur an' burn it in sompin, but don' burn it up. See, burn it in sulphur, put it in sompin an' burn it. An' take some mo' an' mix all in dat, an' take yore hair an' wrap it up in dat, an' tie it in de cornah of yore pocket han'kechuf an' tote' it in yore pocket. It will draw de woman to yo', so dey tell me. Ah nevah experienced it.
(This hair from the top of her head?)
Yassuh, have tuh git it from de roots.
Entry 6808
(Suppose I have come to you about taking a spell off?)
Well, ah nuse [use] dis salt, peppah, sage an' stuff - salt, sugah, sage, alum an' saltpetah. Ah got dat ovah in a box, see. An' ah take some new string, nuthin have been worn, an' ah tie dem, an' whatsomevah ah Want chew tuh do [demon- strates]. (Just tie a knot.) Yeah, tie a knot, an' den ah take dat, dis stuff an' sprin- kle it ovah dere, see. An' den if dis spell [is] on me [you], see. An' whosomevah put it on yo', if yo' know dere names, yo' jis' call dere name an' tell 'em yo' want 'em to take dis spell offa yo'. Well, if dey don't, yo' wish bad luck onto dem, see. An' yo' burn dis stuff. An' den YO' STRIP BUCK NECKED [NAKED] AN' DEN TAKE DIS BLANKET AN' PUT IT: OVAH YORE HAID. AN' DIS SMOKE, YO' CAIN'T HAR'LY [HARDLY] STAND IT. If dere's anything in yo' in any way, shape, form or fashion, it'll come out, see. [The preceding term suck necked [[naked]] may be its only use in Hoodoo.] An' den yo' take a li'le whiskey glass an' yo' boil dis heah gourd tea - yo know gourds - an' yo' boil dis gourd tea an' yo' take three glasses of dis gourd tea evah day. An' dat'll take de spell off yo'.
(Especially if they have something inside of you.)
Entry 6880
Well, a woman kin be in de family way an' aftah she in de family way, why den yo' takes whut yo' call a mare rope. Listen good. (I understand.) An' aftah dat mare rope dere, it's tied. Yo' takes dat mare an' let 'im [!!!] cross de rope nine times. Yo' fix dat, run 'em cross. Den yo' cut dat rope, cut it off from dat mare an', if yo' kin, put it in 'er room anywhere dat she livin' at. An' any time dat she cross dat rope dere twice, she shall have dat child crossways in 'er an' dey have tuh take it from 'er.
(All right. Now, how can you take this off of her?)
Well, aftah yo' go tuh work an' fin' dat, dat is a fact dere. DEN YO' BEIN' WHUT YO' CALL A "TWO-HEADED DOCTOR" DERE, an' yo' wanta git 'er off it. Den yo' go tuh work an' yo' go down tuh a runnin' stream, an' yo' git dat same rope. De people goin' tuh bring yo' de rope, yo' know, when dey come tuh do yo'. Den yo' take dat rope dere an' yo' wait 'till night, twelve o'clock at night. Den yo take dat rope an' tie nine knots. An' de people dat she say dat put dat rope dere, down dere fo' her, take dere name an' put it dere nine times in dis knot. Yo'll throw it dataway [into the running streom] an' let it go down. Yo'll find dat de rope will pull a li'le bit tuh yo', but dat ain't nuthin 'bout dat dere. It'll go right on. [That Pull a Zi'le bit tuh yo' by the rope, is that the spir- it within trying to prevent being thrown into the water?]
(And the spell is off?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 7155
Home at night? Take yore shoes, turn one tuh de head an' de othah back tuh de foot; yo' know, jis' de opposite ways, yo' see, wit sugah in each one of dem shoe, an' sleep lak dat. Tie one knot in 'uh undahskirt or 'er chemise, whatevah she has, an' sleep until she returns. She jis' has tuh keep it on, de one she has on. (Put one shoe with the toe pointing to the head and one to the foot. You put the shoes upside down, together, or one at the foot and one at the head?) Upside down, one at de head an' one at de foot. Set 'em nex' tuh each othah right in a row, right foot at de head of de man; one fo' de head an' one fo' de foot.
Entry 7963
Measure a person's foot with any kind of string and tie a knot in each end of it...put it in a box the shape of a coffin...bury it; as hit grow old, as
[in like manner] you fade away.
Entry 8577
Yo' could take a silk stockin' dat anybody's used an' had dey sweat on it, an' go tuh de fo'k of de road at twelve a'clock at night an' bury it. Yo'll take a brand-new pocket han'ke'ch'ef, any kin' dat a person is got dat sweat on, an' yo' kin put dere name down wit it an' tie it up nine times, an' bury it right at de fo'k of dat road at de hours of twelve a'clock at night. (What will that do?) Whut dat do? Well, dat's if yo' wants tuh do a person harm. Yo': see, dat's whut dere sweat take, any- thing dat have been used. But chew kin git de new pocket han'ke'ch'ef, an' dey don' have tuh use it, an' git dere name an' yo' kin do 'em harm.
(You tie that handkerchief nine times.)
Yo' tie it nine times lak dis. Say fo' instance if dis is de han'ke'ch'ef. Well, if yo' wanta do anythin' an' yo' wanta do anybody harm, yo' don' bring it to yo', yo' bring it from yo'. See, an' evah time yo' tie it, lak yo' take de end of de pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' yo' tie it once. Yo' have dat one piece of papah dere wit de names on dere. Yo' take an' put anothah piece 'cross dat an yo' tie it ag'in, until yo' make dem nine. Git de han'ke'ch'ef big enough dat chew kin make dem nine knots. An' yo' buries hit. Nine pieces of papah wit de name on it.
(The name of the person on each piece of paper written once.)
See, until yo' put nine pieces of papah, an' each piece of papah wit de knot. An' yo' bury it.
Entry 8686
[To stop a person influencin' in de world an' cut his success off, de way yo' do dat. Yo' git, yo' know, some of dis copris [copper] wiah. Yo' know dis roun' wiah kinda lak gold wiah. (Like the electric light wire?) Yes. Well, yo' take dat an' den yo' call this individual's name an' yo' tie three knots in it an' tie it roun' a green 'simmon tree. His success or his influence will be cut off. (A piece of copper wire, any kind of copper wire.) [These two notations of mine emphasize the confusion some informants had between copperas and copper. Present informant says copris.]
Entry 8743
Dat chew kin take an' go out into de woods, if yo' want tuh keep yore girl fren', so's people say - if it seems lak she's gittin' off from yo', goin' wit anothah fellah - take some of de young boughs on dat tree an' tie yo' a knot in dat tree an' make yore wishes, an' name it. An' she goin' stay dere wid joo until dat tree's cut down, or until somebody come along an' break dat limb off de tree, so dat knot will come untied. (You take one of those limbs and tie it in a knot.)
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 9865
All right. Chew take a long homespun string jes' about long enough tuh make nine knots. Den yo' ketch dis frog an' a - yo' don' want him daid, keep him alive. An' which is dis about, if yo' wanta run a person? If yo' take dis heah homespun - take a string an' tie it nine times an' yo' tie it tuh 'is laig. Den yo' go tuh de person's house, dere do'step, dere front do'step, an' put it undahneat' of de do'steps. Den yo' let de frog stay dere till nine mawnin's an whosomevah de party dat [is] yo' calls dere name, an' let 'em walk ovah dat fo' nine mawnin's, den dey will die, if de frog dies. If de frog is goin' tuh die de ninth mawnin' yo' goin' also die.
(You simply tie this string around the frog's leg?)
Aroun' de lef' laig, nine times [demonstrates]. (You just loop this around his leg and tie a knot. Then loop it around his leg and tie a knot again. And you tie nine knots in string on frog's leg and bury frog under the door.)
[Here for informant's word put I substitute bury!]
Bury him undah de door right at de steps lak when yo' come out. Put it right up undah de sill of de steps. [The frog is not buried but kept alive: yo' don' want him daid, keep him alive.] Well, when he come out well - well, he kin stay dere nine mawnin's, nine days, dat frog is compelled tuh die wit'out food. Well, he'll die an' den yo'll pass also wit de frog.
(You actually bury that under the ground?)
[Here again I am suggesting the frog is buried!]
Yo' bury de frog under de ground.
(That's to kill the person living in the house?)
Yessuh. [Magically we have enough here to kill anyone: the intention, home- spun = new string, 9 knots in, tied about left [back] leg, animal buried under step victim must walk over, victim's name called, etc. For something similar, including steps, see No.9871, six rites forward.]
Entry 10239
Keep a man from runnin' roun'. Well, now, yo' kin take a woman - jes' lak if she got a husban' an' he likes tuh run roun', why yo' [she] take dem bed rags dey use. Why she kin jes' take dat an' tie a knot in 'em after yo' [he] git through with it, an' jes' keep it up in de bed somewhere. Why he can't run out after no other woman but dem [her].
Entry 10240
New pocket handkerchief - woman wipes man - rolls up handkerchief to her [making long roll or cylinder, a phallic symbol] - ties into a hard knot - unties knot - unrolls hand- kerchief - spread it out flat and keeps it that way under bedtick - in middleways of bed [creating the fifth or center point among the four bedposts, making a quincunx]. [Bedtick is a spring- less mattress filled with dried moss, leaves, cornhusks, dried grass, all sorts of things. This impotence magic is my condensed transcription of long rite missed by transcriber.]
Entry 11172
Git a devil's-shoestring 'bout dat long an' tie it [demonstrates]. Jis' take it, it's jis' about dat long, an' bring a knot in it lak dat. Well, yo' kin keep it or yo' bury it. Jis' put it in a secret place. (Is that all she has to do to bring the man back?) He'll stay right dere [he will not leave].
Entry 11183
Yo' go out early in de morning in de summertime when de bushes is blossoming yo' know. Yo' take dat string 'fore day at sunup an' pull dat string up. (What kind of string?) Devil's-shoestring. It's a long root. Yo' pull dat up an' yo' bring it round yore finger seven time. Dere seven day in de week, isn't it?
(You bend that root around your finger seven times. Any particular finger?)
Seven times, jes' any two [adjoining] fingers. Yo' see dere seven days in de week, yo' know. Seven times. An' jes' tie de thing in yore pocket, yo' know. An' keep it dressed with alcohol, yo' know. An' chew dat an' go to a man an' ask fo' a job, why he more den apt to give you a job.
(You only go out there once to get that root?)
Yes sir, one time. (And you bend this around your finger [2 fingers] seven times. That's to get a job.) Yes sir.
Entry 12281
Yo' kin during so many days tie knots in a string an' dey say dere a way of dressing dat. Git chure clothes an' put [knots] in dat an' bury it. When dem 9 days out yo'll be a corpse. (How would you dress those strings, those knots?) Dey dress with whut chew call - it's a root dey call a ~uampole root." It grows lak a great big white onion...
[I turned off machine and turned it on again.]
(It's a bitter weed, you say.)
[Is informant talking about wild onion?]
Yes sir, a hog loves it, de bitterest in de world. He scream when eatin' it. [This screaming sounds like folklore.] An' if yo' bite it an' swallow dat, it Will tie yo' up inside an' kill yo'. [Is this based upon pigs hunting for truf- fles, the pig being hit on the nose when he finds one (the cause of the squeal) so that he does not eat it?]
(Constipate you?)
Yo' kin bite it but don't swallow it.
(That's warpole root?)
Yes, wampole root. Dey takes dat string an' de salt[?] outa wampole root until dat thing git wet through an' through an' put dem knots in it. It will tie yo' up jes' lak...
(That is to tie your bowels up?)
Yes sir. Yo' heard of people wit locked bowels from dat. (What do they do with this string first? Do they have to get it out of your clothing or something?) Dey git chure clothing an' wrap dat string wit it. (Oh, you wrap that string around your piece of clothing.)
Entry 12284
Yo' kin git saltpetah, sage, alum, sugah an' salt - yo' know - stuff, yo' know, whut he nuse [use]. Yo' know, salt an' sugah an' stuff lak dat whut chew wanta know in dose strings. Yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son, ah'm bringin' yo' back tuh me." Call his name, see, an' say, "Long as yo' eat sage, as long as yo' eat sugah, drink sugah in yore coffee" - sompin lak dat. An' call dose names, an' tie dose strings, an' tell him yo' want him tuh come back tuh yo'. Well, he'll come den. An' aftah yo' tie dose strings, put dose strings in a pile an' sprinkle dis saltpetah an' stuff ovah it, an' red peppah, an' yo' take kerosene. An' den yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son, ' an' burn it. An' put it out in de yard an' let it smoke.
Entry 12288
Ah heard tell of a person takin' a string - a cord jes' like dey ties - if yo' want a person hurt. Why, where it will kill 'em, yo' know, or sompin like dat. Jes' git some of dis heah string an tie 9 knots in it, jes' as tight as yo' kin. An' bo' a hole into a green tree, any kind of a tree, jes' so it's green, an' put dat knot in it, dat dere string dat chew tied dem knots into dat tree, an' stop it up.
(Don't you say anything or do anything?)
Nosuh, jes' makes 'em sick till dey dies.
(You have to get a string from them, or what?)
Yassuh, from dey house. Anywhere roun' dere house yo' git dat string dat dey been usin'.
Entry 12290
Go tuh any groc'ry an' git chew a new piece of cord dat haven't been used, whut chew tie up packages with, an' jes' lak anything dat yo' wish, an' nine is yore... [What? Number?] Take nine tuh do it. Yo': can't do nuthin until nine days. Jes' lak yo' git up dis mawnin', say, "Ah'm goin' start dis mawnin' an' ah want sech- an'-sech a thing tuh happen.' Jes' tie one knot [in] it an' make yore wish re- gardin' tuh whut it is. An' de nex' mawnin' de same thing fo' nine mawnin's. It'll come true.
(What do you do with this string after all these knots are tied in it then?)
Let it hang right dere, an' when de nine days up, an' yo' sure yo' got de nine knots, jes' take it an' git chew some sulphur an' some salt an' burn it right in yore fiahplace.
Entry 12292
Dat's in de lines of castin' a spell upon a person. Go tuh work an ties 36 knots, if yo' wanta cast a spell upon a person. Put a spell upon a per- son, ties thirty-six knots. Take a strand of thread and tie 36 knots an' let 'em be three inches apart. Dose knots, let 'em be three inches apart 'sposed tuh be in dat thread. An' yo' wil] throw dat thread, after yo' git dose 36 knots tied in it, why den yo'll throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' yo'll step out de road - anywhere's dere a road - from de middle of de road, throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' dat will really, de fac' 'bout it, suh, will give dem a purtty tight time. Make 'em crazy - whushy in dey mind.
(How do you know you've got the right person when you are tying those knots?)
Why dere 36 knots! "Cos' yo' know yo' absolutely got de right person.
Entry 12892
I've heard of a case of that kind, where he runs around and she don't want him to run around. You go to the drug store and get you some sterile cot- ton. When you go to bed at night, and if you have connection With him, you give him a towel to use on himself, and after you have connection with him, let him do everything, don't you do nothing. And when you have finished, you use that cotton, and give him a towel to use. You take that and get you a man's pocket handkerchief. You take and tie it up in the middle of that handkerchief, the cotton that I've used. [A quincunx rite, the center of 4 corners ] I've used the cotton myself. He'll never know the difference you see. I'll tie it up in that handkerchief like this [demonstrates]. Be sure it's linen. Get a brand-new handkerchief and tie in there, and cut the ends of that handkerchief off, open my mattress and put it in that mattress, and he'll never run around no more.
Entry 2750
[Here is another example of the glove-shaped hand, but unlike the former rite (1990, p.584) we now have one in a candle atmosphere - New Orleans is near. More important, the following story shows some of the listening prob- lems of collecting, among them - speedy talker, confusing pro- nouns and references to persons, delayed explanation, all sorts of things.] Well, they say if you were living here and they wanted tuh move you and run you away - well ah know of a lady, she fo' every morning fo' 'bout nine mornings - she bought a bran'-new box of salt and she took dis salt and cayenne pepper and she would sprinkle it, yo' know, from de front to de back and fo' that reason it would cause a confusion, you know, in the house and they all wouldn't live so good, you know. An' so she would take it and she would sprinkle all over when everyone, say, Wouldn't be noticing, you know. She would do that and then when they all would leave, she would take. She went out to the graveyard early one morning and she got some graveyard dust offa someone's grave, and she brought this dirt back, yo' know, and she'd taken it and where this landlady lived, slept, she unraveled [took out a few stitches of] her pillah and she put it [graveyard dust] in dis pillah. And she had a glove - [look] like it was a han' - and it [the graveyard dust] was in this. And she stuffed it with this graveyard dirt. And she says she mixed it [the graveyard dust] with a - wherever she got dis rattlesnake dust from, ah don't know, but she musta got it from a rattlesnake or something, and she mixed it with somethin' and she stuffed, sewed it in dis pillah while de landlady was gone. [She starts to say the graveyard dust was mixed with rattlesnake dust. Was it? For snake dust, see No. 690, p.230; also No. 1433, p.468 - "an original and brilliant piece of therapeutic thinking."] So after, for about a couple of weeks this lady suffered from her head laying on dis pillah. She suffered severely from her head, you know, and she didn't know what it was, you know. She begin to git dizzy and feel bad, and so she said she was going to see what caused dese headaches. And everything she could take Wouldn't do her any good and so she went tuh a couple of fortunetellers. And so finally a ole lady tole her, fortuneteller told her, said, "Well, yo' ought to look about yore bed," say, "it look like you can't get along in de house, there's always a confusion and everything." And so she said, "You go look up in your mattress, your pillahs or something." So she didn't pay any attention to it all [atall = at all]. So finally she made up her mind to do that. Took her pillahs out and she un- raveled de pillah and she found dis glove stiff like a hand, yo' hand, and so she opened it and she found all de stuff in dere, those different things. An' she didn't know what de cause of it, you see. And so she was afraid and she got someone to look after it fo' her. Well, she'd taken it to dis lady and ast her, and de lady tole her it was graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust and she wanted tuh - someone wanted to make her move or either kill her or something like that. [The preceding account is one of our many examples of that important element in hoodoo theory and practice - the doctor's ability to analyze and identify immediately the nature and cause of an ailment. To look at a handful of dirt and say that it is a mixture of graveyard dust and rattlesnake dust is quite a trick. Only our former doctor-druggist-chemist could have done as well (see No. 1593, p.498). To say these two dusts in a glove in a pillow caused the headache is quite a - well, even doctors admit this knowledge is a gift. At least, though on a lower level, we can now answer our former question - "Was it?"] An' so dis lady [roomer] in de house, you see, she would every morning [for 9 mornings] she would sprinkle dis here cayenne pepper and dis salt all ovah de house. And so after a while they [landlady] asked - cause dey [landlady and roomer]didn't 'gree, yo' know, 'count de fuss and everything - after while they asked her to move out and she [roomer] said she was going to return it back to this person [landlady].
(Was that here in Alabama?)
Yes.
(Well now, go right ahead.)
Well, after she did that - yo' know, she [landlady] did that to make 'em [her] move or to keep her [landlady's] husband, you see. So she [landlady] kept her
[own] husband. And so this other hoodoo lady [roomer because she used hoodoo]
tole her [landlady] that she would return it back. So she [evicted roomer] comes and gits dis hen's aig - a black hen laid dis egg, and she wrote the name [see later] on it. They were living in a house kinda lak dis [house in which I was interviewing] wit a glass do' in de front, chew know, in de house. So soon, early one mawnin' she comes an' throws dis aig up side de door and broke de glass, yo' know - throw de black hen's aig up there. So when he [landlady's husband] goes out - get up dat mawnin' soon - he didn't know - so when he looked all de egg spattered in front of de do' and de glass was out, yo' see, and he walked ovah it befo' he knew it, yo' see, so he looked on de shell and saw where de name was wrote chew know - her [his wife's] name and his name was wrote on dere. And so she said, "Well, dey did dat to break us up - broke dat aig up side de do' to break us up." So she said - an' so she got lye and swept - yo' know, swept it all out an' cleaned it up, yo' know. An' so dis lady [roomer] wrote her a letter and tole her that "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to weah a ruffle-bosomed shirt. That's the way she spoke. (Wait, will you talk a little bit slowly. "Seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffle-bosom shirt?") That means she would get her, yo' know. An' so dat was de words she wrote to her. [I know nothing about this stylish raccoon. He sounds like early American ruffled shirts, but the saying or proverb may come from the stage or radio.l An' so finally she would - yo' know, she would burn candles on dis man. She went got - an' got a candle and every time on a certain hour, noonday an' like dat, she would burn dese candles wit his name wrote on it. Black candles, yo' know, and she wrote it on dere. Well, he couldn't stay here and he couldn't stay there, yo' know. He was jest kept, yo' know, like he was, yo' know, de mind up- set all de time, yo' see. And so he got so that he didn't [live] peacefully wit dis woman, because every morning fo' nine mornings, she would come there and had something like - ah don't know whut kind of dust it was - but it was - when you look at it, it looked something like black peppah, yo' know, powdered peppah. She'd sprinkle it all roun' dere do'step, yo' know, fo' nine mawnings. An' he came there and so she took one little piece of his hair out de top of his head while he was asleep, and she sewed that up, and had that fixed with something and put it in a little red bag and sewed dis little red bag up, an' taken a cord string like and put nine knots in dis cord string and she wore it around her waist.
(What else did she do with that string first? Anything else?)
When she took dat string she rolled it in something, yo' know, in some kinda dust, yo' know. She rolled dis string in some kind of a dust, dipped it in dis dust and jest as yo' tie those knots, jest like dat dust would be in dose knots, too, yo' see, because it would wear off, you know, say, just straight round her Waist, but it would be in dat knot, yo' see. An' nine knots she tied it around her waist wit dis little red bag wit his hair in it. An' she took one of his socks - yo' know, one his left socks, and she carried it and had dis sock dressed, vo' know, and she buried dis sock at de foot of her steps, underneath her steps, she buried his sock so he couldn't stay 'way from there, yo' see. Said that she had him so that he had tuh come there. See. And so yo' see, well, he would get so he wouldn't give her any money and some- thin' like that, and so dis ole hoodoo lady tole her to get him to give her one silver dime, yo' know, of his money. And so he didn't know what she wanted him to give her dis dime fo', but she got a dime out of him. And she went an' she had dis dime dressed until it turn almost black like a penny, and she put a hole in it and she wore it around her laig, yo' know. And that's where so she could git his money, you see. She was trying to git him away from dis yere woman [his wife], yo'see. An' so, see, she didn't know that this other woman had his sock buried at her do'step. She had his sock buried there and she was still continuously burning dose candles. And every time she'd come roun' she had some kind a powder tied up in her hans'cuff that she would sprinkle. He thought it was jest powder whut chew powder yore face. It smelled sweet but it was some kin' of love powder yo see. An' she had a little somethin' like a tablet. She'd offer him meals. She would [drop] that in his tea or his coffee.
(Like a tablet?)
Like a little tablet, yes. It would dissolve, you know, an' you couldn't see the mixture in there. You couldn't see the mixture, you know, and you couldn't taste it, see. Well, he would drink this, see. Well, he would drink this and therefo' he couldn't stay away for she had that in him, yo' see. Well, see, she wanted to git dis other woman [wife] out de way, and that's [the reason] she went there and broke dis aig up side her do'. An' she give him those little tablets in his coffee or tea to drink, see, and he begin to suffer wit his stomach badly, an' all like that, and he began to look frail, and look bad, yo' know, because she said if she didn't have him, he could not do her [his wife] no good. See. An' he begin to look frail and bad, an' so no doctor's medicine didn't do him any good. Every time he'd go tuh a doctor, it would make him worser. Yo' know, when you've hoodooed anybody, doctor's medicine not good fo' you, you know. An' so he went - and every time he'd take a doctor's medicine, it would make him worser. And so an' ole lady came by one day and tole him dat he was fixed, chew know, that he was hoodooed, see, because he never would git well, yo' know. And on a certain kinda moon he would git like - git in a fit chew know, kinda rave. And so the ole lady told him that if he'd pay her a sum of money, she could cure him - yo' know, she could git him outa dis kinda fix: An' so, he finally jest scuffled up de money some kind of way. And so she'd taken and brought some saltpeter an' tole him fo' 'bout nine or ten mawnin's to take a bath every mawnin', every day, in dat saltpeter - bathe in that. An' she went out and got some roots out of de woods, some kin'a calomel roots and every- thing and he had to chew dose roots, yo' know - calomel roots, like white-look- ing roots, and she tole him to chew a piece of dat, chew know. An' he had to chew dose roots and he had to take a bath in saltpeter fo' nine mawnings. She made him up a mixture of medicine, chew know. She put so much of turpentine - looked like coffee, somethin', where you see it would settle at de bottom. Well, he had to shake it up and yo' know he would take that, chew know. And after he would bathe in dat saltpeter, he had to take dat medicine and then chew dat root, chew see. An' den she told him at certain time - if he would chew it often - that would pass from him. See, when he chews dose roots, dat calomel yo' know worked up in him. Well, yo' see, after he'd taken that and she tole him that ninth or de tenth day something would pass from him, yo' see - but sure enuff it did. When hit pass from him, yo' know, like de calomel worked him yo' know, it passed somethin' looked like little worms - passed from him little bita worms. An' she tole him that if those worms hada stayed [in] him, it would form like little frogs, and things like that was goin' form in his intestines, inside, chew know. And it pass from him like little worms. And when it passed out, she showed it to him, iThis whut pass from yo', this whut they was puttin' in yo'." [There is one strange feature about so many of these passages of worms, snakes, or lizards. The patient does not see them until the doctor has made an examination and then shows them, or sometimes merely tells about them. No doc- tor has ever gone so far as to say, "If you see them you will die." For further accounts, see Live Things In You, Pp.227-239, and Index.] See, that would kill him slowly, yo' know, and so he was pinin' up and every- thing. So he passed little worms from him in de tenth day - little worms and little somethin' she said was gon'a form frogs. Whatever this was dis woman put in his coffee for him, yo' see, that was forming in him - that would form in him, see, because she got these little tablets and she got this rattlesnake dust - some dust from under a rattlesnake, wherever she got it from and say - and put it in dere, put it in him, fix him so he would stay with her. [Choppy place in cylinder. The old hoodoo woman told wife] if she could get holt of him, she say, if she could get a holt of him and git a little piece of his shirt, she could, yo' know, could stop dis fit on him. See, every change of moon he'd have these spells. [Here are four similar beliefs about fits from general folklore: (1) "Epilep- tic fits...more frequent and...severe during the increase of the moon...." (2) "If anyone has fits, take off their shirt...while having it, cut out the piece over their chest and boil...when cool...give to the person to drink...." (3) "He was having one of these fits. She pull his shirt off over his head, put it on a pan and set it on fire...took the ashes...to feed him a spoonful before each meal...." (4) "Remove the person's undershirt...after an attack, let it smolder on live coals, mix a teaspoonful of these ashes in a glass of holy water, and say In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost...must be administered three times a day." From FACI, 2ed., p.248.] Well, this ole lady, finally this ole lady died, see - dis ole lady whut was fixing him, yo' know. Well, she died. Well, yo' see, dey found all kinds of stuff, different hoodoo stuff in her place, where dey went tuh see, yo' know, when she died, an' everything. [For finding spells at hoodoo woman's home when she dies, see No. 239, p.66.] Well, this lady, every change of de moon, she still havin' fits. Yo' know, when de person die and fixed yuh, yo' know, yo' don't nevah git ovah it, yo' see. Yo' see, because dey died befo' dey could take it off dem. See. An' she still had those fits after and nobody couldn't take it off because dis was de woman dat put de spell on, see. [See If Evildoer Dies Spell Incurable, p.396.] And so everytime de moon would change she would go crazy-like and see dis man. See. And then when she seen, she didn't want him. Well, finally, this woman went crazy and nobody couldn't do anything for her because she was de one put de spell on her, yo' see, and after she went crazy, well, dey sent her to asylum and after she went tuh de 'sylum, den she died, you see. But de spell was still on dis man, yo' see, after she died. Yo' see, she never did git her mind back. An' so dis man, yo' see - after he come back - he was already heah, and so after she died, it was still on him. He couldn't git it off him because dis ole lady was de one had buried his socks fo' him and he didn't know where. Differ- ent fortunetellers had tole him that she had somethin' of his'n buried somewhere and if he could find it and dig it up, why that could git him bettah, yo' see, because she had got the worms out of him. See. So she had his left sock buried, took his left dirty sock. She fixed it an' buried it underneath de step. And so he would dig all in de yard to try to find where she had buried it. Well, finally, he jest - seemed like he said he had a dream one night to look under his step: They something tole him to look under his steps. [For spirits warning in dreams, see pp.27,116, and Index.] An' so he got up early hisself one morning and went out there an' was digging around under his steps. And when he dug aroun' he struck something like a little can, and when he opened de little can - de top of dat little can, de dust jest flew out, and when he pulled it out he saw one his dirty sock had been buried under there. And in that sock, he opened it, it had some kind of powder and a little rag, and it had nine needles and nine pins sticking in it - nine wit de heads down and nine needles wit de head up. See - in dat sock and so it was sewed up in dat little rag in his sock. And he'd taken dis sock, de whole thing and he carried it tuh a ole man. Yo' see, he carried it tuh a fortuneteller and tole him, say, "Well, dat's whut she had buried, yo' see - why you couldn't stay away from her." An' so, when he'd taken dat and dose little needles - dose needles been in dere so long dey was rusty. An' sos he'd taken dat herself and she washed it in saltpeter - see, she washed dat in saltpeter and he thought she was curing him, but she was making him worser fo' it - 'cause he wanted tuh go back to his wife, yo' see. De woman died dat broke him from his wife. Dat's de one made him move out de house and break up his home, yo' see. An' so he went back then to his wife and try to live with her, see, an' everything. Well, he couldn't live with her because they both died and de spell was on him, yo' see.
(This happened right here in Mobile?)
Yes.
(All right, go right ahead now.)
Well, he'd gone back to his wife, yo' see, after a certain length of time - so many years, yo' see. An', yo' know, he begged her pardon for the way he did her and de woman. She knew dis woman had broke up her home, yo' know, what she did, because afterwards she found out what she had sprinkled all around in her home, yo' know, fo' de confusion and fo' him tuh mistreat her, yo' see. Well, he'd gone back to try to live with her again, yo' see. And so his wife was afraid and so she thought she would have him fixed her- self. After this woman had him that way, she thought she would go an' git some- one to do him the same way, see. So she goes to a fortuneteller and dey tell her that the only way she could do anything with him was to have him dressed. See, was to have him dressed so that - if she don't, he would leave her again because dis spell was still on him and de woman was dead and every change of de moon, he would leave her. See, he had dis spell on him, and said de woman was dead and she was de one had to git it off him. Well, sure enough, every change of de moon he would leave her but she wanted tuh have him dressed. So this fortuneteller wouldn't tell her whut to do, but she sent her to some- body else. So she went - say she jest tell de fortune but de lady had to go to an ole hoodoo. So she goes out in de woods to an ole hoodoo lady and dis ole lady tole her that yes, she could dress him and fix him so that he couldn't leave her. He would have to stay right there, you know, he couldn't leave her. And so she tole her to git her a sum of money and bring it back and she would dress it. [In the preceding paragraph: (1) Some fortunetellers do all types of hoodoo work, or put another way, some hoodoos and doctors tell fortunes; other fortune- tellers, like this one, refer patients to a hoodoo doctor or a specialist. Even I the, Author Becomes a Specialist, on page 278. Is there another example of hoodoos imitating modern medical practice? Yes and no. Specialization in heal- ing is as old as primitive medicine-man and witch-doctor. Temple incubation Was a speciality of early Greek healers, ancestors of present-day Doctors of Medi- cine. (2) "out in de woods." Here is the old witch of fairy tales and reality. For this isolation as well as personal appearance, see pp.294-301, especially Nos. 849 and 859. (3) For dressing the money, see one man's remarkable version of this rite - Trickery by Doctor. Cast it into Oblivion, p.268. However, not all dressing of money is trickery.] Well, she did that. She went to this ole lady, and dis ole lady tole her that every three hours - she give her some kind of something like incense to burn. Tole her to burn this incense every three hours, and sulphur. Tole her to burn incense and sulphur and write his name on a white candle and roll it in some sugar. See, she said sugar, seemed like that would make everything sweet fo' him, yo' see. Salt is for confusion, chew know and sugar is for sweet. See, that's the way it works. Tole her to roll dis candle in sugar and write his name backwards on dere, yo' see, and stick it in a little saucer and put it in de cor- ner of her room. See. And jest 'bout time de spell come on him, fo' her to burn it. See. An' dat would make it sweet and de spell wouldn't be on him. An' so tole her to take dat candle and burn it and then to burn dis here sulphur every three hours in her home - this here sulphur and this incense. The incense is sweet too. That makes a sweet smell in yore home. Well, she did that. An' she tole her whenever he take a bath - see, next time he'd take a bath - tuh bring a little of his bathwater. Put it in a little cup or something, stop it up and bring it tuh her - what he bathe in. Well, she fixed his water. He didn't know, yo' know, she was goin' tuh pore de water out after he'd taken a bath. She took some water in de cup, some of his dirty water, and she carried it to dis lady. She stopped it up in a little bottle and carried dis dirty water to dis ole woman. Well, dis ole woman, she took his bathwater that he bathed in and she mixed it with something else in a bottle and shook it up and tole her to take dis bottle and bring it back and stand it up in de corner of her room where ain't no one kin see, and everytime he'd go out de do', she goes an' watch his feet and git his left track and bring de dirt back to her. Yo' know, jest take her han' and rake dat track back and wrap it up in some paper and keep it in her purse. Well, every time he would leave dat would make him come back. See, when you git his tracks dat'll make him come back. Well, whenever he would leave out, sure enough she went and got his track. See, she got dat track and she wrapped it up in de paper and had it in her purse and she had dis water in her room, yo' know. An' so, every three hours in de day she would burn dis here stuff, yo' know [this candle and incense and sulphur]. It acted all right for a good long while but see, every once a while, it would die down - it would die down and den she had to go an' do it again. Dis acted all right for a little while, till he begin to git in a rage agin, yo' see. So dis lady tole her that on the way she had to get something in him. See, she had to fix him in that way. Yo' see. [The preceding paragraph reveals one of the great principles of magic, perhaps the greatest after intention - magic power is not permanent. Our best examples of this are those magic objects closest to the believer's heart and mind - the hands. Among their many characteristics, these helpers: (1) have degrees of power (p.576), (2), observe a time limit (p.577), (3) must be fed (p.578f.), and (4) need recharging, which sometimes requires a doctor or a specialist, a hand- maker. A hand lives and helps only because a spirit dwells in it. Even when all amenities and regulations have been kept and the indwelling spirit is contended, it can be killed - chased from its temporary home - by the spirit of a stronger hand. Killing happens often in a gambling game where every man carries a hand. So, here is another rule of magic - a weaker spirit cannot function in the presence of a stronger spirit. But the owner of the weaker hand can kill the spirit or power of the stronger hand - page 641 and Index.] Well, she thought she was fixing hi - instead of fixing him fo' good, she was fixing him fo' bad looked like, don't you see, because whut dis woman give her, de mixture in his food, see. She wouldn't eat what he eat, yo' see, because she Was putting it in his stuff and sprinkling it on his meat. You see she would put it on de meat that he would eat. An' so when he taste it - de different taste in de meal yo' know and wanted her to taste, she proclaimed that she didn't like that kind of meat. Yo' know, she'd make excuse to keep from eatin' it herself. See. And see, every time he'd eat dis meat hit would make him sicker, see. But she put it on his meat. Dis woman give it to her and told her to put it on there and so he found dis here dirt in her purse, yo' see. He opened de pa- per - he went in her purse and he found dis dirt in dere, see, but she didn't know that he found the dirt. He kept the dirt fo' to carry it tuh see what it was. See. An' so he carried dis dirt to see whut it was. And dey told him it was his tracks - one dem hoodoos, another one, tole him it was his tracks, and says, this woman is giving him something in his food. Well, see, he would eat this food, yo' see, and he got so that he would dry up - dried up jest as little as he could be. It was whut she was feeding him off of.
(Put them [his foot tracks] in the grave?)
Yes. An' she tole him - dis hoodoo lady tole him that it wouldn't be long 'fore dey be burying her by she burying dese tracks. And so dis hoodoo woman gave him something. Yo' know, he didn't know that this woman was dressing dis other one fo' him, see, an' so when he goes back to her, something she puts on him, well he got it on her, see, by being close together, got it on her and she come with something like a itch, yo' know, all over her. [For an amazing example of this common trick, see No. 10, p.7.] She had an itch all over her and she'd go to doctors an' everything and de more they would treat her fo' dis itch, de worser it would git. And so it kept itching till all between her fingers got sore - see, all between her fingers become broke out like you would have pellegra yo' know, all that itch. But it would git between her fingers and all her nails and it got between her toenails. See. An' she broke out in sores, sores all be- tween her nails an' everything tull they had to bathe her hands and wrap 'em up in a piece yo' know. And all between her body - all down there between her body, she broke out in sores and everything, yo' see. And so she thought about this letter dis woman wrote an' tole her that seven years wouldn't be too long for a raccoon to wear a ruffled-bosom shirt. See, that whut she meant, she was goin' tuh kill her - see, tuh get dis man, see. An' she had dis man dressed fo' her. See. Well, after she broke out in sores and everything like dat, well, see, he had done buried her tracks to de graveyard, you see. Well, finally dey couldn't cure her and she broke dese sores all out and it come on de inside eatin' her up. Whut she had got inside her, it would just ete her on through, ete her up. An' she died. Finally she did bury her. See. An' so this woman told her dat, see, and dey all remembered whut she said - that she would do that to get her. An' after she do that - after she [roomer] got this man, yo' see, then this man disliked her. After he had done killed his wife and hoodooed her, well, he disliked her, see. He turned against her then, and so after he turned against her, he say, jest like she killed his wife, he would turn that right back on her and do her de same way, and she told him that he couldn't do it. See. An' so he said, "Surely could." Well, after dis man tried to fix her she would go an' git cured, see, bathing in dat saltpeter and salt, see, and that would keep everything off of her. And she wouldn't eat anything from him, see. An' so finally, he brought her some ice cream and she ate the ice cream. She didn't think anything Would hurt her, see. An' she ate de ice cream and after she ate de ice cream, dis man tole her he would get her. See, 'cause he had done went back to dis ole [hoodoo] lady dat killed his wife, to fix her. An' dat ole lady put de stuff in de ice cream - gave it to him and he put it in de ice cream.... [The hoodoo woman told the wife to] "Get a piece of his shirt-tail and his bathwater." Yo' got whut she got, yo' know, from him. She had tole her to take that bathwater and she put dat piece of shirt-tail in dis bottle, see, and she sticks nine needles and pins in it and shook it up and told her to take that and go in one fo' corner of de house and bury that.
(One of the four corners of her house.)
Outside - not under the steps - de fourth corner of her house and bury it and then jest, as she burying it, she had to say some kind of hoodoo and put a evil curse on. Cause she knew that the water had him fixed - his bathwater - and he had to go cross de water. So finally he takes a notion to leave - to leave her, see. And so she said, well, to cross water - well, that would make all that go back [on person fixing his bathwater]. So he left here and so he went an' got on a ship and went away cross de water. He was leaving across de water to git dat off him. Said that this woman know that he was going away, said she'd rather fo' him to leave and not come back. The one he went back to - de woman died.
(The woman killed his wife and then he killed this woman. That the idea?)
No, de woman got killed - dat de one he was running around wit. He couldn't git de spell off him an' so he goes back and makes up with his wife. See. This woman was living in the house and broke his wife and him up, yo' see, and tore up de home and the wife left and that give her a chance. See, she put dis stuff in her pillah, and so then after the woman got out, de wife turned it back on her. See. An' so she [roomer] lost her mind an' everything and de ole woman dat fixed de wife, she died, see, and dey couldn't git de spell off [the wife]. See. And dis woman [roomer] went crazy and dey sent her away and she died. Then he finally makes up his mind to go back to his wife, yo' see, to git a reconcilia- tion with her, yo' know, tuh beg her pardon, after so many years. Well, you see after he went back with his wife - she knew that this woman had done her that and broke up her home - well she didn't care for him much. But he wanted - but he had dis spell on him - dey both [women - roomer and hoodoo woman] died and dey couldn't git de spell off him. And every change of de moon he'd have these spells, see, because dis woman throwed dis egg and put dis spell on him. He had these spells and so the wife said that she would go have him fixed so she could keep him. So she goes tuh have his fixed, yo' see, and dis woman tole his wife to git his bathwater, see; and then git dis candle and roll it in sugar - see, that was to make him sweet.
(Well, now, whose track was buried out in the grave?)
Oh, it was this woman's track that was buried out in de grave.
(Which woman, the first one?)
The first woman - she was de one.
(There are only two women in the story?)
That was all - one man - two womens and one man. De wife and de woman and dis man. (The woman who was trying to take him away died in the asylum. Then the wife died too, didn't she?) Well, later - after - but he went back to the wife. See. And after de wife didn't care fo' him, see, then she fixed him so he wouldn't have these spells - she tried to git these spells off him, so she would git de candle and roll it in sugar an' everything. An' so then she seen she didn't care for him and then [he] goes and has her tracks buried in de graveyard, see. Dis man fixed her.
(What was he fixing her for?)
Cause she didn't want him. (Was she trying to kill him or was he trying to kill her? Or was he trying to make her take him back or what?) Well, he wanted her to take him back. Well, after she took him back, you see he would git dem spells on the change of de moon and he would leave again. He wouldn't act right. See.
(When did he cross water?)
Well, he crossed water when de woman tole him dat de only way he would git dis spell off him, he would have to cross de water. See.
(The spell his wife put on him or the spell the other woman put on him?)
It's de spell the other woman put on him.
(The part that was in the beginning of the story?)
Yes, that goes in the beginning of it. You see, de wife is de one that burned de candles on him and tried to git de spell off him. So he goes and gits his wife track - he's de one - de hoodoo woman told him to bury it in de graveyard, and he went and buried it out dere like she told him.
(That's what killed her?)
That whut killed her and that's whut made her think of de letter that she re- ceived a long time ago. See, dis ole lady was working on 'em both. See, she was pretending to be friends to each one of 'em, but she wasn't. [For doctor "pretending to be friends to each one of 'em," see two excellent examples, No. 780, p.257, and No. 782, p.258.] See, dis same ole lady died, yo' see, who was pretending to be friends to both of them, but she wasn't. Yeah, he had to cross water to git rid of his sins, because she had his water and everything buried in de fourth corner of her house. So, that itch when she broke out like that, that whut killed her. And he couldn't git those spells off at de change of de moon - he would go crazy and everything. They both [women] got out of dere [died] and dat's when dis [hoodoo] woman [told] him he would cross water. See, he took a voyage away cross water - see, he left to get rid of this. And de last that they heard from him, dey said he was gittin' better of those spells.
intended household discord attributed to salt/cayenne sprinkling. No clinical diagnosis, proven causation or definite aggressor/victim identity is inferred. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
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Entry 232
Well, now dat's done fo' hosses [horses] an' fo' humans, too. Fo' ninstance, say if yo' wanta buy a hoss - a nice fine hoss, fat an' all an' yo' Wanta buy 'im an' de man wants too much fo' him or he don't wanta sell him to yo'. Well, yo' take - git chew a brand new piece of homespun an' start from his hip-bone an' make one knot, an' go up. Ev'ry time yo' come up to ev'ry joint, yo' make a knot, an' yo' take an' bury it in dat hoss's track an' he'll become tuh be lame - crippled an' he lay down an' he can't git up. Well, de man maybe Wanted de hoss, but he take most any kinda price - well, he take it den.
Entry 457
I remember at one time the hags used to ride our horses. A young man and I - it was in the summertime in the month of July - we had been out visiting and in coming home, its being so hot, we decided to go up in the barn loft to sleep. That was right over de horses stable: So we opened both doors [of the loft] and there is where we laid. So each of us went to sleep. And at one time he was asleep and I was awake, and I heard the horses scrumbling in the stable. What was the matter I did not know. So finally, I got up and went downstairs in the stable, and when I got down there, the doors was open and the horses were out in the yard running to and fro. But what was on the horses I know not. I did see that there was a little knot upon their manes up around the shoulders. They tie this knot in his mane and use it as stirrups [witches' stirrups] and ride it until it drops dead. When we got the horses in the stable the horses were all wringing wet. [old Point Comfort, Va., (27), Ed.; Norfolk Co., Va.,1929.]
Entry 1017
[Another illogical result of catching a spirit or a person's mind is making it wander:] Take a pocket handkerchief and ketch yore mind. Tie nine knots in it and take dat handkerchief and tote it, and everywhere you go you carry dat handkerchief and dat's got de person mind. You ketch his mind when you talking to him, you see. He don't know what you doing you see, but all de time you talking you keep tying dem knots you see - tying dem knots, getting dem knots, you git him tied you see and getting his mind. And you got his mind and that makes him wander - you see, he be wandering from place to place. You see, he wanta go. I've been thataway, I've been in dat, under dat influence. (I see. If I wanted to make you walk, then all I would do, take his handker- chief and go on talking to you and just tie nine knots in it, and that catches your mind.) Catches my mind - you see, gets my mind.
(That puts you to walking?)
Put me to walking.
Entry 1019
[While tying knots in the following cures the operator need not call a name, because the simple-minded spirit causing the disease is so curious about the loose knot that he ventures too near. Suddenly jerked tight the hard knot grasps a piece of the spirit - part of spirit equals whole of spirit (p.21).] Tie nine knots in a string, soak in turpentine, tie around waist and no one can harm you...tie nine knots in a cord string and wet it with turpentine; hit'll stop children's fever - tie it around your [child's] waist.
Entry 3907
Get menstrual cloth [one of her old ones], write [a note into it], "1 don't want choo to deliver this baby." Then yo' tie knot in it an' twist. Bury.
Entry 7117
Yes, ah have heard of dat, too. Say, if she wanta git out - jis' lak she wanta git off. An' she take his two shoes an' tie dem tuhgethah an' hang 'em ovah 'is haid, an' put 'is two pants laigs ovah 'is haid. Dey say he wouldn't wake up. (What do you mean, tie his shoes together?) Jis' take his two shoe- strings an' tie a knot in it an' throw 'em cross de haid of de bed. Yo' takes 'is pants an' straddle dem cross de haid of de bed, an' put one laig on one side an' one on dis side; an' put one shoe on one side an' one on de othah. An' dey say dat would keep 'im asleep.
(Make him stay home while she's gone out?)
Yes. She would take an' take 'em by de laig an' hang 'em up. Jis' lak if he wuz tuh be bad about runnin' roun' an' she would take 'em an' hang 'em up on de foot of de bed an' hang de part, yo' know, dat fits on 'er, she hang dat right ovah de place where he supposed tuh sleep. An' let it hang dere fo' five or six nights an' dat would make him stay home. Ah know a lady dat do dat now.
(Well, she doesn't let them [stay] there while he's there in the day?)
See, she waits till he goes tuh bed an' den she hang's 'em up. An' dey tell me, while - whenevah she got 'em hangin' dere, he can't go no place. An' den whenevah she hang 'em dere fo' a certain numbah of nights, he don't wanta go.
Entry 10677
And if she can have the baby, they'll fix her so she'll tie. Well, she'll go with her husband - make her go with her husband like that - and make it cross. All they do is they put somepin on her husband and it get on her. She'd have to carry that baby overtime. She carry that baby overtime and that baby'll get all up in a knot and get all doubled up; it can't come. If it will start to come, it comes foot foremost - the butt will come out first. Well, she crossed. You see, the butt shove out first. Well, she's done crossed and the doctor have to take his tools and cut the baby up to save her; to get it out, you see. [This woman, whose baby was cut from her, was fixed by another woman who put something on the baby's father to carry home to cross his wife, so that the baby would be tied!]
Entry 11070
If a woman is got a man an' she don' want him tuh leave her, she takes one of his dirty socks - de same as ah said about her stockin'. Well, ah take one of his dirty socks - she takes it, an' she ties it up in a knot an' she keeps dat sock tied dere fo' fifteen days. An' wherevah he be's he gotta come back tuh her. He cain't leave her, an' if he done left her he's comin' back aftah she have dat sock. He's comin' back tuh her. She could take a string an' she wear dat [sock] round her waist fo' nine days, an' nine knots in it. He cain't have nobody. See, all of dat is in de way of hoodooin' somebody tuh keep 'em from doin' right.
Entry 11088
"She'll git his shirt tail and [to make man stay home] cut it and tie it in jes' about 3 knots, tight as she could git it; take it and bury it under de steps." [Charleston 606:5.]
Entry 1517
Well, you take a silver dime and you tie nine knots in a cord string and you wear them in turpentine [knots soaked in turpentine, see Turpentine title later] - [or] six of them in green coal oil, and you bore a hole in that dime and wear it around your ankle, and you take the dust that you bored the hole outa that dime and put it in vaseline and make a salve and rub it around your waist, and they can't do you anything. Yes, if they put it down for you, it won't take on you. That silver, it'll keep it from taking on you. [No question asked at the time indicated I thought I knew the meaning of green coal oil. This could be crude oil, green indicating unrefined rather than color; otherwise, a coal oil (kerosene) colored green sounds like a hoodoo commercial firm product. The choice is between 9 knots in turpentine or 6 in qreen coal oil.] [New Orleans, La., (851), 1317:6; informant "excellent."] 011.
Entry 2762
Well, my wife.
(You what?)
[He's a little hesitant, nervous at first.]
I had went there over the river for my wife - to Miss Helen. [Long pause.]
(Yes?)
Yes, sir. My wife had left me. [Long pause.]
(Yes. All right.)
So, when she left me, I went over in Algiers to a lady by the name of Miss Helen.
(Miss Helen?)
Yes, Miss Helen.
(I see. All right.)
So she charged me $50. So ah paid her $25 down. So she called me in a room like this [my interviewing room at Patterson Hotel]. So she sat me down and so she made me take everything out of my pockets.
(How was the room - was it decorated or furnished with anything?)
It had candles. It had an altar - like an altar. It had candles.
(How many candles were there?)
They had about twenty diff'rent candles.
(Different?)
Some reds - some blue - black - green.
(Anything on the walls?)
Anything on the walls? No, they didn't have anything but some pictures on there. [Pictures of saints?]
(I see. Was she dressed in any special way? This Miss Helen?)
Yes, she was dressed at that time when she called me in. They told me to wait a minute she Was busy, but in a short while she dressed and she called me in. Well, she had a hat like a cap on, a silk cap, and a big robe - a robe on. You know, a robe.
(A robe?)
A robe, yes sir.
(Any special color - different colors?)
It was a purple robe.
(Purple robe?)
Yes, sir, with a big key - a chain with a big key like the oldtime door key hanging in front of her. (I see. Now, tell me when you went to visit her, just exactly what she told you - everything she told you to do, now. All right.) Well, when she told me, she say for me to go ahead and burn a candle.
(Wait a minute. What about your pockets? She told you about your pockets?)
Yes, sir, she told me to take everything out of my pockets and I done taken everything out. And I left some silver money in my pocket and when I left the silver money in my pocket, she say, "You ain't right, ' says, "ah cain't do any- thing for you 'cept you take everything out."
(Why did you keep that silver in your pocket?)
[I was trying to discover whether silver was for protection.]
I didn't want to come up with all my money.
(Oh, I see. I see.)
And so, after I take the silver money out, I lays it on the table. All right, she takes the other money out of the pocketbook and she lay it all down straight. She asked me, did I stay in town or did I stay out of town. I told her I was staying out of town. Then I was in Vicera. I was staying out of town at that time. She say, "Well, how much is your train fare?" I told her my train fare was $3.35 at that time.
(You were staying where?)
In Vicera.
(In Vicera, Louisiana. I see. All right.) [Nearest I can come to name.]
So she asked me what was the price of the train fare. So I told her the train fare. So she put the money aside and so, she said, "Well, I charge you $50." I say, "I haven't got $50." She say, "How near up to $50 you can come to?" I say, ''$25." She say, "Well, all right." And so she writ me out a receipt and when she writ me out a receipt she give me the receipt but it didn't have no price on it. So she tole me, "Don't send no money by the mail, just send it in a plain letter." So I sent her money just like she said. I sent $5.00 on the first pay- ment. She asked me how I got paid. I told her I got paid according to what I was doing - that I was picking, picking cotton. And so she said to me, "Well, all right." She said, "Don't send the money in no letter - registered letter. She say, "Send it just like - put it in there - a bill - you put it in there." She say, "I'll get it all right." So, I says, "All right." So, I written back to her to lets see if she got the money. So I didn't get my wife back at that time. See? But finally I got her back, but now I don't know if I got her back through that way or not. (What did she tell you to do? To do anything special? What did she tell you to do? Did she do anything?) Well, she told me to send a pictchure back.
(Her picture back.)
And she said I was crossed - see, the reason my wife left.
(Did she tell you how?)
She say how I was crossed. She say the woman had taken my thing and measured it and tied nine knots and put it around her waist. And say that there was some- thing buried - my pictchure was buried underneath the steps, beside the steps'. So she told me where I could find that pictchure. But I found that pictchure though.
(I see. Now, who took that measure? Your wife or some other woman?)
The wife takes it - it's supposed to be my wife what taken the measure of it on the cord. See. Nine knots they put in it. (Now, this woman Madam Helen, she didn't do anything - give you any treatment or anything when you were in her room did she?) No, she give me some powder.
(What did she call that?)
It's luck powder.
(Iuck powder.) )
She give me some other stuff they call van-van. (Well, what did she tell you? How to handle those or anything? What you were to do with them?) She say that when I pass by the house I throw it - throw it over my shoulder. And she give me another thing by the name of John the Conker root. She told me to chew that, see. And she give me another oil to keep and rub, see. She say nobody could hurt me after that.
(I see. What kind of oil was that?)
That was a green looking oil.
(It had no name?)
No name.
(I see. And your wife finally came back?)
She finally came back.
Entry 3148
I get me - DO YOU KNOW WHAT BUMBLEBEES ARE? You know what they are?
(Yes, wild bees.)
Yo' have tuh do dis in de summahtime. Yo' have tuh git someone tuh ketch dese fo' yo'. Yo' take dese nine bumblebees an' brown 'em in de stove. Jes' put 'em in an' cook 'em dere. An' den yo' jes' git yo' a hammah an' put 'em in a piece of new cloth of some kine, an' jes' take yo' a hammah an jes' poun' dem intuh powdah. Well, now, say yore husban', yo' don't wan' 'im tuh be wit no othah woman. Yo' wan'a keep 'im away from dis pahtic'lah person. So aftah yo' have - yo' take dis befo' yo' go tuh bed, yo' see, put dis in dis cloth an' rub it tuhgethah yo' kngu. Be sure yo' got dis powdah all in dis cloth. Have anothah one fo' yoreself. Yo' an' 'im both don't use de same - let 'im use dis cloth fo' 'imself. Yo' know, some people are not very careful tuh take a bath. If he should take a bath, don' give it tuh 'im until he dries. If he dries 'imself wit it befo' he takes a bath- when he gits ready tuh dry 'imself, den give 'im dat an' rub 'im wit de powdahs on it. Well, he gits finished wit dat an' he goes tuh see dis person, whenevah he has intahco'se wit dat person, dey will have a burnin' sensation. Dey will come tuh yo' an' tell yo' how somepin has happened tuh dem an' yo' will know dat dat is de person. Den take dis cloth an' fold it ovah an' tie it in a real hard knot, as hard as yo' kin draw it, an' den yo' stick dese nine small needles in dere. Dat is tuh keep yo' away from dis person. Dey always have some kin'a complaint. Yo' know yo' heah of people always havin' aches an' pains - down here in pahtic'lah. Well, dat is part of de spell tuh keep dem away from dat person.
(What do you do with the cloth then?)
Yo' go an' bury dat. An' dat will stick fast until he when [you, another woman] go wit 'em [him] dey [he] be lak dey [he] be dead. [RUBE GOLDBERG THE CARTOONIST MUST HAVE DESIGNED THIS RITE!]
Entry 7520
[Florence, South Carolina - scene of my following experience with a doctor in 1939 - was with the surrounding country still a prominent hoodoo lo- cality. For years before my time it had been ranked along the Atlantic Coast as second only to Beaufort (Bū'fert) of the same state. My question to the doc- tor is unrecorded but easily recoverable from what he says. Here we have an expert at work.] Now dey've put it [witchcraft] on yo' an' sont [sent] chew 'way from heah. All right, yo' come tuh me, er [or] some of yore folks come tuh me an' say, "Mah husban', er mah son, er mah sistah, er mah fathah, er [mah] mothah's gone away an' ah haven't done anythin' in de worl' tuh 'em." All right. Dey'll come tuh me an' ah'll say, "Well, yo' come back heah in de mawnin'." Ah wouldn't do anythin' in dat time [in the meantime]. [Here is the magic delay frequently found in Hoodoo but prominently mentioned 329.6 only once - see 964, p.361.] Yo' come back dere in de mawnin'. Yo' lay yore han's upon mine an' ah'll look up tuh de no'th an' ah'll talk tuh God. An' aftah ah talk wit God, ah take a piece of red flannel cloth an' take two pennies. Ah'll tie nine knots in dat cloth an' ah'll give it tuh yo'. Ah'll say, "At twelve a'clock tuhnight or twelve a'clock tuhmorrah, yo' be at de ceme- tery. Be dere at twelve on de minute." Aftah yo' be dere, yo' go down an' yo' take de haidbo'd [headboard] up, take up de haidbo'd an' say, "Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah son is gone away, " er "mah hus- ban'" - jes' eithah one [who left] yo' know. "Ah want dem tuh return." Take dat haidbo'd an' care [carry] it tuh de foots, an' pull de feet up an' stick it dowa dere.
(Stick the headboard down at the foot?)
Yes sir. Come on roun' wit dat foot tuh de haid, an' git tuh de feet chewself. "Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah some is gone away from me. Ah wants 'im tuh return." Turn dat on roun' heah. Yo' git dere at de haid." 'Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah son is gone away. Ah want 'im tuh return." Take dose two pennies an' stick 'em right down in dere.
(In that hole at the head?)
At de haid. An' stick dat haidbo'd [footboard] down in dere. Undahstan' me plainly. Stick it down in dere. An' git chews up, call 'em three times at ary [each] place an' take up three [demonstrates]. Dat's one, two, dat's three, handfuls of dat sand dirt.
(Where are you picking that up from, now?)
Out de haid. Den yo' put dose pennies down in dere. Den yo' take dat dirt an' put it in a piece of red flannel cloth an' tie nine knots in it, an' take it tuh yore house, at twelve a'clock an' put it in de chimley. Take nine little bits outa dat [graveyard dirt] befo' yo' put it in dere, an' go tuh evah cornah of yore house an' put [demonstrates] one dere, one dere an' one dere, an' one heah - dat's fo' cornahs. Put 'em dere an' den put dat in de chimley. An' don' Say nuthin tO nObody an' gO on out. DON'T LOOK BACKWARD OR YO' BE IN DE CEMETERY. Don't say nuthin tuh nobody until yo' git home tuh yore gate. DOSE ARE THIN'S DAT CHANGES FATE.
(When you go out there at twelve o'clock what is it, day or night?)
Don't make any diff'rence. (When you first go there, you take the footboard up - no, you take the head- board up and you put it down at the foot. Then you take the footboard up and put it down at the head. Then you take them again?) Oh, nO! Yo' CHANGE DE END WIT DE WORL'. IT'S WHAT CHEW WILL, yo' understan'.
[Here is the importance of will or intention.]
(This is to bring them back?)
An' when ah change de end wit de worl' he comin' back. [As an explanation of change de end wit de worl', I can only repeat informant's preceding words: Dose are things dat changes fate.]
(And when you get this dirt, you only get it from the head?)
From de haid. (And you put those pennies down in the headboard hole, and you take the dirt out of the head [board] hole and take it back to the house.) Yes.
Entry 12663
All right, if yo' got this thing dey call de a - we call it ole di- arrhea or dysentery, go tuh a persimmon tree an' git chew six switches. Yo' kin have it on yo' today an' dat go down in yore stomach an' den yore bowel be choked up an' de doctor [M.D.] can't hardly break it. Yo' go tuh a persimmon tree an' git chew six switches offa dere an' don't peep? 'em, understan', take dem [just as they are] an' chew 'em an' swallow de juice. An' when yo' swallow dat juice at night befo' sundown, yo' won't know yo' got no such a thing as [running off]. Yo' won't know yo' have it. Yore bowels will be tied up, tied up in a knot jes' lak dat knot [informant refers to a knot of some sort]. Tie yo' jes' lak dat. Yo' gotta take salts an' all tuh loosen up yore bowels ag'in. Dat whut 'simmon tree is good fo'. [I do not know the meaning of the preceding word peep. Some- thing is done to persimmon switches before using them. What? For one of then see following rite.]
Entry 13161
Get 'em some gun powder an' some black pepper, an' put in dat sock. an' get 'em some salt, an' tie dat sock 3 different knots, an' turn dat sock bottom upwards in runnin' water, an' yo' goin' go crazy. They don't take but one [sock] to kill you. [Vicksburg 1004:7.]
Entry 13199
Take yo' socks if yo' are away an' make yo' stay home: that's by putting a silver dime in it, an' put 3 knots, an' call your name, and bury it at de foot of your steps; jes' like you cut off a dog's tail if you want him to stay home and mind de house. [Left foot after questioning.] [Charleston 615:2.]
Entry 239
There was a woman that died - the night before she died, we was crossing Gilmore and Moore Street, going to church and her snake got away.
(Her snake?) Her snake got away from her. (Did she have a snake?)
Yes, kept two snakes in de house - say she could send 'em anywhere/ she wanted to.
(Oh, I see.)
And those snakes got away and come out and one run down de culver' [one ran into a culvert and was lost] and a man killed one, and when the one he killed - when he killed that snake she drahpped [dropped] sick in de chair. So I went around next morning to see her and she made me open de drawers. I was about twenty-nine years old then. And she had a drawer on side of de wall there - settin' up in a rack - and she made me open that drawer and pull out about half a dozen socks, tied in a knot in the middle and pins were up in de toes. And then she had pieces belongs to diff'rent women, and one of the women that the pieces belonged to lived right up in the square, and she got that when she give birth to a baby, and she was ridden down, but she didn't die till recently because somebody - they cleaned the place up and burnt up all them rags. She had rags - she had hair - she had pieces cut out the seat of a person's pants - oh, she had everything, in a jar about that tall. (Well, why did she die when these snakes were killed - what did she say about that?) [He doesn't understand me. He would have, had he known the answer.] She takes the snakes - she say she could take them snakes and. make 'em go anywhere she wanted 'em and sprinkle the dust.
(Well, that's what she did - but she died when those snakes were killed?)
She died - well, they say that that was all her company. [He almost has the answer. She and the snakes are really one spirit; her life being magically bound up with the lives of the snakes.]
(Well now, this woman you say, that was going to have a baby or something?)
She had a baby. And she paid five dollars for somebody to get one of her sanitary pieces and she had that stopped up there in a box.
(Trying to harm her or something?)
Harm her, which she did harm her. Whatever she did, now, I didn't know; but whatever she did it jest rid her down.
Entry 1818
Take a woman's hair, from a dead woman an' cut de little tip end of her hair an' cut it off an' git it out chew know. An' yo' kin count nine strands of it out an' tie dat in a knot an' wear it aroun' yo'. Dey tell me yo' kin git a job anywhere yo goes.
Entry 715
Mah mothah, she tole me once dat huh sistah, huh oldest sistah - dey all wus livin' in de house togethah - one mawnin' she woke up an' 'uh laig wus all swollen. An' dey taken 'uh tuh tuh-three doctahs - livin' in de country - didn't seem to do 'uh any good. An' aftah while huh laigs - hard knots came in it, in huh laigs an' nuthin' wouldn't do 'er no good. So an' ole man tole 'em about a doctah, some kin'a root doctah, an' dey got 'im to come to de house. An' he taken up a bottle from de front doah an' one from de back doah. Den he make some liquid medicine. Whut was in de bottle wus red flannen, strands of hayah (hair), an' fo' brass-eyed needles. It wus in each bottle. An' whut he done, he taken tuh silvah dimes an' balled [boiled] dem. He gave 'uh de water to drink off it an' she throwed up dose black things. They couldn't make out whut dey wus. Den he got some runnin' huckleberry - grows down on de ground, it don' have a huckleberry, it's jis' de vine named dat - den some alter [alder] tags. It's a bush grows an' has little tags on it jis' about dat long. An' dey made a - yo' know, ball [boil] it an' got enough water to bathe in and bath-d 'uh all ovah in dat. Taken dese bottles an' burn 'em in some cayenne peppah, jis' un- stopped 'em an' burned 'em; jis' sprinkle de cayenne peppah ovah 'em an' set 'em - you know, put enough trash tuh 'em to burn an' burn 'em up. An' in about a day or tuh she got well.
Entry 905
[Dey put] on me a sleepin' spell - jes' sleep all de time, sleep, sleep. And so all the man did when he'd taken that spell off of me - he came there and he measured each one of my fingernails on my fingers from here to here, from my fingernails to there [demonstrates]. (Up to your wrist - that bone in the wrist.) Measured 'em nine times. Den he tied nine knots in de strings that he measured 'em, and he asked me if I knew de lady and had any idea who it was or was it a man. He say, "I know who it is, but I just want to see if you got any idea." I told him, no, I didn't know who it was. He said, "Well, I know who it is." And he said, "I'm goin' throw dis in runnin Water," he say, "but before I do this, I'm goin' to send her here," he say, "it's one of your best friends." And it was - a woman that I'd taken for a particular friend of mine. Well, I know that she went on to the God that giveth; she Went to the God that giveth. He sent her dere like dis morning and the next night she was dead. I don't know what he said to it when it got to the water, but I know what he done at my house. Maybe he make a wish [when] he got to the Water and throw it overboard. And he guarantee me that she go to the God that giveth.
(Which hand did he measure?)
Dis hand - de left hand, next to your heart.
(Did he tell you what she had done to make you sleep that way?)
No, he tole me lak dis - I don't want to excite you in your nervous condition, he didn't tell me.
Entry 1016
[In addition to the bottle catching of a spirit (p.24) a spirit can be caught while operator ties a knot:] Take a piece of string. Well, you may hear someone call yo' in yore sleep. You may be sleep or may be in my house. I'll say, "John, ' or whatever yore name is. Well, whenever I say John or Charlie, that spirit will answer me and I snap dat string and I've got yore spirit.
(You just hold a piece of string in one hand?)
Two hands - jest a small piece of cotton string and tie a knot in it but don't draw it tight yet. And I call dat name and as quick as dat name ah call it, "Charlie?" Charlie will say, "Hunh?" I'll snatch it, I've gotcha. (What would you do with that string, after you get that in there? What would you do, then?) What would I do after I gets it? Fasten it right down and tie it up and put it in my purse.
(And you have the spirit then. Well, what would a person do that for?)
What would you do dat for? When yo's in love. A woman would do that when she's in love wid yuh and she wanta gain yuh.
Entry 1018
[Instead of both hands holding the string or cloth parallel to the body, sometimes the left hand is against the body while the right hand extended in front of the body jerks the string outwards. This is called tying a knot away from you:] You take a new strip of cloth and tie nine knots in it - jerk 'em from you and you tie 'em, snatch 'em from you. If you got an enemy and you calls his name, you won't never be worried with him no more.
Entry 1020
Take a string an' tie nine knots in it an' put it roun' yore finger - I mean roun' yore wrist fo' cramps. Dat's good fo' cramps.
(Any place you have the cramps?)
Any place - jes' tie nine knots in it an' put it roun' yore arm. Dat will certainly cure de cramps.
Entry 1022
Dey tell me tuh break de chills on anybody yo' take a cotton string an' tie nine knots in dat an' insert it in turpentine, but don't tie de nine knots all at once. Yo' tie one knot dis mawnin', put it around yore patient - tie de string around yore patient, around de body. De next mornin' yo' take it off an' tie another knot, but chew always insert it in turpentine every time yo' put it on till de nine mornings up. Dem chills is gone fo'evah from dem.
Entry 1023
If yo've got chills or anything lak dat an' yo' wanta break 'em on a person, yo' kin tie nine knots into a cotton thread an' tie it around his waist right next to his skin. If yo' tie it today at 'leven a'clock - if yo' have dat chill today at 'leven a'clock, yo' tie dat string round dere today at 'leven a'clock. An' den tomorrow at 'leven a'clock when dat hand gits jes' 'bout on dere at 'leven, why den he takes dat string from round his waist an' goes to the closest black gum tree it is to dat house, an' tie dat string around dat tree, around dat black gum tree, an' go on off an' leave dat. Dat'll break dem chills on him - he won't nevah have another one.
Entry 1024
People tie - hear of 'em take thread-string an' tie nine knots in it an' tie it roun' dey haid.
(What will that do?)
Well, dey claim dat stop de headache.
Entry 1140
Heard of 'em usin' a broom string - dey use dat fo' cramps. If someone have tricked yo', yo' take a broom string. First yo' take it from de opposite end an' den dip it in some vinegar, an' den take it an' bring it roun' yore waist an' tie it in nine knots all de way. An' dat drives de cramps away. (You said, when you have cramps you tie this string, from the broom, round your waist, and tie nine knots in it and let the knots stay over your navel.) Let it hang ovah de navel. [You unwind the string backwards from the broom, beginning at de opposite end, the last part of the string sewed to the broom. This is a backwards rite, one of many reversing actions in magicl]
Entry 1203
In some parts of the South they claim, if you get some dirt from the cemetery and put it in a box and place it under the steps of your enemy, it will cause trouble in their home. And oft times they sought a cunjure man and he in turn gives them a piece of rawhide and tells them at intervals to tie a knot till that string is exhausted. That will do away with the evil spirit. [See Spirit Caught in Knot, p.389.]
Entry 1376
Yo' git yo' a little bit of saltpeter and a little table salt and a little tiny bit of lodestone and yo' put dat together. Git yo' a piece of red flannel - jes' a red little shallow cloth like, and roll it up in a piece of red flannel and make a knot out of it, and you take that flannel and yo' take you a string and tie it and wear it around yore waist. And yo' take that thing and yo' reduce [feed] that thing with Hearts Cologne fer nine days, and den that breaks it up - dey can't come dere.
(What can't?)
If dey tryin' do somepin to yuh - keep it away.
Entry 1516
Well, ah haven't heard of 'em doin' anything but jes' borin' a hole in a dime an' puttin' nine kmots on a piece of cotton string an' tyin' it through the dime an' puttin' one around each laig fo' cramps an' sprains an' things.
Entry 1590
If anybody harm yo' or try to hurt chew in some way, yo' take a cotton string. Take dat cotton string an' yo' kin tie it in nine knots, see. An' yo' bind it around yore waist an' keep it thoroughly moist wit turpentine. Dat wus good.
Entry 1819
[In my earlier collecting days a hairball among white inform- ants was: "A cow licks her hair and that hair goes down in the left side of the pouch and that forms a ball, and if you have one of those in your hand you can bewitch anyone." This object is sometimes called a witch-ball: "One morning the cow didn't come up for milking and they went out to find the cow and found it dead. It had been shot in the thigh with a hair-ball.... You see, a witch always uses a silver bullet or a hair-ball to kill anything, and this man [witch] had shot the cow with one of those witch hair-balls." FACI, 2ed., Nos. 15884 & 15885, p.797; see also No. 16151, p.827.]
[In the following account we have a different hairbalZ:]
Now, dere's a hairball - dat's concernin' a lady, misfortune between yo' an' her. Now, yo' kin wear dis hairball tuh keep in contact with her an' yo' kin wear it dat chew may nevah git in contact with her no mo'.
(What kind of a hairbalZ do you mean?)
It's an ordinary hairball.
(Well, where do you get that hair?)
Well, it's hair dat's from ole dead people, yo' know, befo' it's event'lly decayed - it's spoiled. Put it in a thimble or somethin' round that chew may put it in a ball. Quite natural, by it gittin' air it will not, yo' know whut ah mean - fade away. Quite natural if yo' know de person that die - everythin' all right. Now, this hairball - it comes in a ball. To keep in contact with this party, yo must put this in a bag - yo' know, somethin' lak a Bull Durham sack. [The latter was a small cloth sack containing a cigarette mixture used in "rolling your own" - making your own cigarettes. The paper label on the sack had the picture of a bull.] Yo' make a small bag small enough fo' it tuh git in. Now, tuh keep in contact with this person, yo' must put this hairball in that bag an' sew it. Make nine stitches, an' dere's three words yo' must say while sewin', "With me Fo'evah." Yo' know, as yo' make a stitch, jes' say a word. Now at de end, when yo' git tuh de end of de bag, do not make a knot in it. Make three turns wit chure needle - yo' know, lak yo' be sewin' dis, jes pass it roun dere three times. Den yo git chew a string an' put nine knots in dis string an' de ninth knot, yo' take a needle an' attach it to dat bag an' wear that next to yore skin. Now, tuh git rid of dis lady event ally, wear dis hairbalZ jes' outright - don't put it nex' tuh yore skin. Fo' instant [instance], lak yo' got chure coat on dere, dis top pocket heah - jes' keep it in dat pocket, jes' outside from yo'. See. An' yo' wear it thataway yo'll nevah come in contact with her. That's all it is to the hairball.
Hyatt quotes earlier FACI material comparing a silver bullet with a hair-ball as alternatives. The quoted cow account uses the hair-ball. The following Algiers informant describes a different hair-ball; the quoted bullet is not part of that later recipe.
Read full source (printed page 544) · Read full source (printed page 545)
Entry 2047
Now, Jest lak if yo' goin' tuh have a trial in co't. They tell me yo' tie nine knots in - tie a knot each morning fo' nine mornings befo' de trial is tuh come up - a big case yo know. Well, each morning yo' tie a knot an' yo' say, "Let me win dis case," 'long lak dat chew know fo' nine mornings. An' each morning why yo' dip this string into de Hearts Perfume an' yo' tie that round yore waist. An' more den likely yo' will win yore case - a big case dat's in de big co't.
Entry 2048
Dis wus a man dat wus buried in de undertaker [was at undertaker's place]. An' she took a long string an' she wet dat an' measured dis man from his haid tuh his toes, see. Den she, yo' know, jes' fold dat string up tuhwards her an' tied nine knots in it, an' she wear dat round her waist. She had dat round her waist when she died an' she tole de wumman tuh take it off. [Auto horn.] Well, she turned round den an' she measured [horn] a live man - see, jest lak yo'd be lyin' down an' somebody come in dere an' measure yo' an' she done hit de same way. An' now you talk about lucky woman - she wus lucky a wumman as ah evah seen in mah life.
(What did she do with the other string then?)
She wear both them strings.
(She measured the live man from his head to his feet?)
Yes sir, an' de dead man from his head to his feet. Ah wus scared tuh do it, you see. And she kept it. An' she tole a wumman befo' she died - if she died first, fo' her to come an' git her strings offa her. She took it off her. So ah went down dere an' ah ast her did she git it off her an' she say, "Yes." She had done it.
Entry 2049
Way ah heard a story - ah heard dat if yo' got a man an' he run out, yo' git chew a string an' git a piece of his underpiece, drawers or anything lak dat, an' yo' take an' tie nine knots in de string an' yo' take an' sew dis piece onto dis string an' wear it round her waist. Dat'll keep him dere.
(You don't do anything with that string first?)
No, don't do anything with it.
Entry 2050
Ah heard agin if yo' got a man an' yo' love him - see, yo' could take an' mess wit him an' tie him up in nine knots an' he couldn't mess wit no one else but chew.
(What would you tie the nine knots in?)
Entry 2343
Ah've heard dat chew kin git dose trumpet roots, git five trumpet roots - de little bush which grows about dat high an' it got a top like dat. Yo' git dose little round roots - kind round like a ball - marble. An' yo' git five of dose an' tie 'em in a rag - tie a knot - put one in each knot.
(Like a necklace - like a string of beads?)
Yes, and have it long enough to go around your waist. An' if yo' wear dat up, why dey claims it takes a great influence, if yo' go up in co't or anything lak dat. (When you go up before the judge. Where do you find these roots? On the ground or in the water?) Dey don't grow in de water - they grow right in a flat place yo' know - course not up on a hill but on de side of a falls like, yo' know. Yo' see 'em, dey got a white top.
(White top and a green stem.)
Entry 3467
Git holt of a man's pocket han'ke'chuf an' tie it up - lak yo' wish 'im tuh have trouble in two or three places, lak yo' runnin' a business ovah yondah an' want yo' tuh lose, runnin' a farm an' want chew to lose yore farm an' yo' stock. Tie knots to evah - cuss de devil an' God an' tie a knot fo' evah- thin' yo' want done. An' take dat han'ke'chuf an' burn it up, an' dat'll make yo' have hard luck.
Entry 3468
If he's goin' wit 'er, she kin take de measure of 'is a - 'hawk. (What?) His 'hawk, his tomahawk. If it's seven or eight inches, den she t take a string see, an' she measure dat; an' if eight inches, why she tie eight knots in dat an' wears dat in 'er purse.
(What if it's seven inches?)
Jis' tie seven knots. Yes, she kin fix 'im so dat he can't have anything to do wit any othah woman but 'er. [There are 1 or 2 other examples of tomahawk in HOODOO.]
Entry 3469
Yo' take a piece of string, any kin'a string, a cord string mo' spec- ially. An' de length of de string, yo' see, evah inch - if it's nine inches, evah one of dose inches yo' tie a knot to each one of dose inches, yo' see. Git de measure an' den evah inch, tie a knot in it. Well, den dey sav dey could take dat an', yo' know, dey could take it an' tie it on 'em an' carry it wit 'em. An' dat would have yo' to de place dat yo' wouldn't have no feelin's fo' no othah woman, jes' dat one pahtic'lah woman, de one dat do yo' dat way.
Entry 3471
Dere's two ways a woman kin fix a man so he couldn't have nobody but 'er. Take a cord string an' measure 'im in 'is sleep an' git de many inches as he is long down dere, yo' see. She take an' tie dem many knots in dere, walk to de side of de house an' WRAP IT AROUN' A NAIL. Well, he kin git ready fo' a woman, but when he git up on 'er - well, he gits down.
(That nail is in the side of the house?)
Yessuh.
Entry 3486
Dere's several diff'ren' ways about dat. Dere's such a thing as a woman takin' a gartah dat she wears 'erself, an' if she kin measure de man wit it, she will tie it in a knot; an' as long as dat knot is tied in 'er gartah an' she keeps it anywhere on 'er body, all de nature dat he has for any person is gone. (I see. You said they just take either garter?) Eithah one of 'em, jes' so it's somepin she person'ly wears. An' as long as she keeps dat gartah wit dat knot in dere, she kin trust 'im any- where in de world.
Entry 3490
Well, usely [usually] when a man don't want 'is wife to be in service to anothah man, or a woman don't want 'er husban' to be of service to anothah woman, well usely when dey go in an' have a intahco'se, she'll take a han'ke'chuf. De han'ke'chuf dat she use, why she'll tie a knot in it, an' when she ties dat knot in dere, if he don't know about it - ah don't care who he goes wit, why it won't do him any good.
(What does she do with that handkerchief after she ties the knot?)
She don't do anythin' wit it, jes' tied it an' let it stay in dere. Long as dat knot stays in dere, why he's no good - no one but [to] her.
Entry 3502
Ah know dat chew kin take a rag when yo' have intahco'se wit 'em, an ulpe 'im an' bring it towards yo', an' tie it up an' put it in de middle of yore bed undah de mattress, an' dey can't go wit nobody else but chew. (What do you mean by bringing the rag toward you?) Yo' wipe it, his thing, towards yo' an' den ball it up dght in a hard knot, an' den put it in de middle of de mattress up undah de bed, an' he can't go wit nobody else. [The middle of the mattress and its 4 corners are the 5 points of a quincunx, see p.710 and many places in HOODOO.]
Entry 3508
All right, chew take a white had- ke'chuf an' jes' lak a man an' a woman is - urinate togethah [see later], well yo' take de urinate an' tie it in de middle of de han'ke'chuf, tie it in a hard knot an' den yo' wet it evah mawnin' fo' nine - wit watah fo' nine mawnin' an' keep it in de hot sun.
(What will that do?)
Dat makes [them] love yo' an' dey can't git rid of yo'.
[URINATE USUALLY MEANS URINE BUT NOT ALWAYS.]
(You don't use their urine, do you?)
Yes suh, dat's whut ah mean.
(How do you mean that?)
Jes' lak if dey go wid yo', yo' jes' take dere urinate an' jes' tie it in de middle of a han'ke'chuf. (WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THEIR URINATE? DO YOU MEAN THEIR PEE WATER OR WHAT?) No sir, dey come. (You mean the other stuff [semen from man] that comes out.)
Entry 3516
If a man leaves home an' a woman wants a man back, he's easy tuh git back. It's very easy tuh git 'im back. She haven't got anything tuh do but go 'head an' have a intahco'se wit 'im an' when dey have intahco'se wit 'im an' git de measure of 'is, yo' undahstan', an' den she'll tie three knots in dat string an' ca'y [carry] it aroun' 'er waist. Ain't no way in de world he kin git up anothah heart fo' anothah woman. He goin' come back where she is.
Entry 3555
An' den ag'in she kin git a new han'ke'chuf an' she kin wipe him up an' wipe her down, tie it in nine knots, an' den dat will make him stay home. (What will that do to him?) Dat'll make him so he can't have no othah woman, won't have no min' fo' runnin' roun'. [The magic of up or down is quite common, but up and down magic appears to be rare, I recalling but two examples: To make a baby long lived the person who serves as midwife should carry upstairs and then downstairs a thimbleful of the water used in washing the baby; and also: By running up and down the stairs with a baby you will make it spry. FACI 2nd ed., 3204 and 3206, p.145.]
Entry 3557
Make nine knots.
(What?)
Nine knots, as I undahstan' it, an' tie dat. Take de rag where dey had de intahco'se wit an' dey wet it [by wiping with it], see. An' take a piece off dat rag where dat fluid is an' extract, it offen de fellah - from de germ cell. Take dat an' tie dat aroun' dere waist, see. An' dey'll usely [usually] will wear dat an' fo' some - fo' some reason, why it creates a kin' of a feelin' in a man's system. Me myself, I know of co'se about dem things cuz I stopped - I was messed in dat pahtic'lah position.
Entry 3579
Ah've heard of 'em tyin' knots in strings, women. Dat's whut ah heard dey do. Dey'll tie dem strings in nine knots an' EVAH TIME DEY TIE ONE DEM KNOTS DEY CALL DE PERSON'S NAME, who dey in love wit, an' if dey Want 'em to love dem, dey'll tie de string in dem nine knots. An' den dey'll put it roun' dere waist an' dey'll wear dat a certain many days, an' in dem certain many days dat person who dey want will cling'to dem. Don't kere who it is, if it's a man's wife, she'll cling to dat man. Or if it's a woman's husban', he'll cling to dat woman.
Entry 3585
Yo' kin take - when yo' have intahco'se wit chure wife, or wit anybody yo' like, jes' take dat string, don't chew know, an' as long as - skuse [excuse] me dat expression [which is the following] as long as it is. Yo' jes' tie nine knots on dere an' jes' wear it roun' yo'. Even if yo' [a man] are wit yore wife, or de othah woman, or eithah de man [can measure a woman]. Take a cord string an' jes' tie nine knots an' de way she is yo' jes' tie nine knots an' yo' know, rub some of dat stuff on it an' jes' wear it roun' yore waist. An' dat'll make 'em jes' git crazy ovah yuh.
Entry 3586
Yo' know dese little wrappin' strings yo' wrap wit. An' when he's daid asleep at night, measure him wit dis.
(With that string?)
Yeah, measure him wit dis yo' see, from de bottom-lak [to] de tip-end - yo' know whut ah'm talkin' about. An' tie nine hard knots in dat string yo' see, an' den tie it undah her [bed] springs, or eithah roun' de bed somewhere; an' if he goes off tuh fool wit anothah woman, he cain't do it tuh save his life. Hit'll go an' fall.
Entry 3587
Take a string an' measure de length of 'im an' tie it in nine knots an' hang it up an' he become to de place where he nevah would care fo' her [the other woman].
(Where would she hang that string?)
Anywhere about in de house where dat he can't reach it, or where it won't be reached - so anyone won't evah bothah it.
Entry 3588
Bran'-new cord string jes' off de grocery or wheresomevah yo' git it, but it must be bran'-new. Well, all right, yo' measure his private. Yo' measure dat wit dat cord string. An' yo' take dat cord string where yo' measured it, how big - how long dat so-an'-so is, an' yo' make dem nine knots how long dat is, right on dat, an' yo' puts dat roun' yore waist. Yo' wear dat roun' yore waist. Dat keeps 'im tuh come tuh yo' an' don' want no worry wit nobody but chew.
Entry 3589
Fo' instance, de man would be asleep at night an' de woman would take a string an' measure him, de length of it. She would tie nine knots in dat string. She would wear dat aroun' 'er waist, an' de woman dat he would have am- bition fo', an' he go on away to her, an' he have it till he git to her, den it would fall. An' he won't be able to do anything to her, yo' see. He have ambi- tion befo' he git to her.
Entry 3596
If yo' got a boy fren' an' don' want 'im tuh intahco'se wit anothah girl, yo' take a cotton string an' tie it in nine knots, in de cotton string, an' when yo' have intahco'se, take dat cotton string an' wipe him off an' tie it roun' yore laig dere, an' he cain't have no intahco'se wit nobody else.
(How many knots?)
Nine knots.
Entry 3608
Ah've heard of womens tyin' knots in little strings lak dat an' wearin' fo' menfolkses dat have quit 'em, jes' as yo' spoke 'bout while ago, an' go away. Why yo' kin tie nine knots in a string an' wear it roun' yore waist. Dey claim dat will bring 'em back.
(Do they do anything to the string first?)
Dat's all ah've heard.
Entry 3785
Yo' kin take a penny yo' see, an' drill a hole in it yo' see, an' put a string in it yo' see, an' tie it down - tie it chew know where it will rest, yo' know right in yore privates down dere, an' dey tell me dat will kill it. (That is if his wife has tied him up.)
Entry 3802
Well, if a person go tuh work an' take de measure of yore private an place it on a piece of paper, yo' take an' go tuh work an' git to de place dat chew can't be social wit no othah man, yo' take de five dimes an' swallah dem. When de five dimes came back in passes, why yo'll be a perfect person ag'in. Yo' kin go all de way an' love wit anyone dat chew want to:
(You say a woman will take a man's measure on what?)
On de private.
(How does she measure that?)
Wit 'er fingahs.
(Then what does she do with that, then?)
Take dat an' tie nine knots wit a cord string.
(Then what does she do with that string?)
She take dat string an' place it aroun' 'er waist.
(And that takes the man's nature away?)
Yes.
(Now, how is he going to get his nature back?)
He will have to go tuh work an' [provide himself] wit de five silvah dimes, jes' lak she will. Swallah five silvah dimes.
(Swallow the whole dime?)
All whole.
Entry 3807
She takes like - like when yo' have intahco'se wit 'er, yo' know. All women always has a towel or something in dere bed what dey use. If yo' want to - if yo' want to run aroun' wit othah women, yo' take dis woman an' new- ah allow 'er to wipe yoreself. Always watch yoreself. If she takes yo' an' measure yo', takes a string an' ties nine knots in it an' wear on 'er laig or aroun' 'er waist. I don't care how much pep yo' have in yo', yo won't have pep fo' no othah woman.
(Well, can you get rid of that?)
Yeah, yo' kin git rid of it, but de onliest: way dat chew kin git rid of dat, yo' gotta steal dat - yo' gotta git dat string from 'er.
Entry 4006
Dey stop up yore [urine, see later] - tie yore guts up. Take yore chamber lye an put it in a bottle an' bottle it up airtight, too - airtight. An' put sulphuh into it an' close it up tight. An' carry it in de east cornah of yore garden, an' turn de head [of the bottle] towards de east [and bury it] an' covah it up. Let it stay dere till dat it rot. Dat chamber lye slll rot. It will do de work fo' yo'.
(How will it affect you?)
It will kill yo'. It effects yore guts - tie yore guts all up in knots.
Entry 4366
If de person know de man name - yuh goes an' know de man name. Yuh care [carry] a li'le bottle, dis cologne bottle, an' yuh call 'is name an' stop 'im up - jes' bottle up de man [see 38, p.24f.] in yuh fob pocket. An' den yuh [go] talk tuh 'im an' he say he ain't got no job. All right, chew go back home an' fer de nex' nine mawnin's - an' yuh got 'is name all right - yuh take a cord an' tie it aroun' yuh waist an' double it nine times. Make yuh chamber lye on it an' put it in de bottle. An' go back [to the boss] an' call 'is name ag'in, stop 'im up, an' den he'll give yuh a job.
(I see, you get the spirit of his voice in this bottle.)
[An old comment of mine in pencil about this rite reads Use with care. This rite is quite all right, except I failed to understand the word double when first checking transcription with the cylinder. Thinking that the waist measure was increased 9 times, I wondered how such a long string could be squeezed into one of those tiny bottles of perfume then sold for lOc at the Five-and-Ten-Cents Store. At the time of recording I probably knew the meaning of double because I do not ask a question about it, but I must not rule out knowledge coming from later experience. Here is what happens. The man wraps a piece of ordinary pack- age-wrapping string about his waist, ties a knot, and cuts off the two unneeded ends. He now has a loop or circle of string, say about 30 inches in circumfer- ence, which he pushes down over his thighs and off his body. This string he stretches out into a straight line of double string 15 inches long and at a right angle to his body; the knot being at one end, this end away from hi. This knot he now folds toward him until it coincides with the other end of the string. This once-folded string is now 4 parallel strings each 7 1/2 inches long. Turn- ing this shortened string 180°, so that the knot is again away from him, he a second time folds the knot to him, reducing the multiple strings to a 33/4 inches length. Remember, he is folding strings soaked with his urine. The strings are folded to him 9 times, at least theoretically. All this is not stated explicitly in the rite itself; it is implicit in this type of folding rite. No boss having his spirit triply captured - tied into a knot about applican'ts body, folded up towards applicant and in applicant's urine, and finally stopped up in a bottle - no boss could possibly resist such multiple magic.] [Charleston, S. Car., (519), 616:3.] [Human excrement rites are less numerous than those about urine. Numerically the ratio is perhaps 1 to 10. As a special feature, most of them concern trees - two-thirds to be exact. The best one, an unusual love story, will be found else- where in 822, p.284.]
Entry 4714
She used it tuh bring 'er man back. Heah's whut she does. She eithah take a piece of undahshirt where he sweats undah heah, undah de lef' arm. An' she takes dat an' balls it up in a knot an' dress it wit Hearts Cologne an' buries it undah de step. An' usely [usually] he comes back.
Entry 5070
Yuh kin take a woman's stockin' an' a co'se a [and of course al woman's stockin' - but ah tell yuh whut have tuh be done. A woman's stockin' have tuh be washed in Lysol, dat's Lysol whut chew take a douche wit. [Lysol is a trademark for a solution of cresols in soap, used as disinfectant and antiseptic.] Well now, yuh gotta take dat stockin' an' wash it in Lysol, an' den when yuh git through, don't rench [rinse], jis' wash it in de Lysol an' don't rench it. Hang it up an' let it dry, an' den when yuh git ready tuh press it, de way yuh do, yuh have tuh press it in dere, now. Yuh take dat stockin' an' den yuh git chew a dime an' put it right in de toe of dat stockin', where de big toe go at, an' yuh tie dat dime up in dat stockin'. An' aftah yuh tied dat dime up in dat stockin' yuh done tied 'er up in a knot wit dat Lysol. Don't take none of dat germ outa her feet whut's in 'er stockin' an' yuh'll have her.
(What do you do with that stocking after you get it prepared?)
Aftah yuh git dat stockin' 'pared, put it intuh de bottom of yore trunk an' lay [it] between a papah, or [and] lay it between de bottom of yore trunk.
(Who does this, the man?)
De man or woman, eithah one of 'em.
Entry 5422
Makes some crosses intuh a crossroads. Make a cross in three forms - see, kinda, ah couldn't explain dat to yo'. (Well, just make it right there. You sit down and make it there and I'll see it.) Jis' lak dis, see [demonstrates]. Now dis de crossroads, an' dey makes it in dis mannah. Right lak dat, kin' of a "Y" shaped. Undahstan' dis way?
(Yes, like a "Y".)
Well, right up - jis' lak [demonstrates] dey come in heah [at the crossroads]. Ah come disaway - dis is de way ah live. An' dis de way - say, dat's where yo' live.
(The two prongs of the "Y" - all right, comin' together, to a meeting.)
Comin' together. An' if dey jis' take yore track from dis place, an' tie it up in a pocket hank'scuff or rag or sompin lak dat, an' tie it in a knot an' put it down undah de cornah of de do'step, yo' have tuh go.
(Go where?)
Go 'way from de city, if yo' wus in de city. (Whose doorstep do you put it under? [Your doorstepl or under the other fel- low's? This track you pick up?) De one yo' got de track off.
Entry 5659
Lak in de centah of it, lak in de ball of 'is foot chew know, right ohere he press down in de sand, an' jes' make up a little knot, an' dey even tie dat chew know in de knot. Yo' know, make a li'le knot an' tie dat ovah yo' haid lak where yo' walk undah. (What will that do?) Dat will make him stay home. (What do you tie in a knot now?) Yo' git de stockin'. Yo' tie it right up ovah de do' where he valk in, jis' a knot in dat stockin'.
Entry 6878
Take a horse mane - dat's from back of de horse - yo' know dat long mane, an' yo' put nine knots in it. Lak if she gotta come out of 'er gate - an' bury it right at dat gate. An' if she walk ovah it, she can't birth 'er child. (You take the mane off the horse?) Yeah, yo' gotta take it off.
(You don't take the whole mane, just some of his hair?)
Yo' know, not de whole mane, jis' some of de hair, by 'is haid.
Entry 6881
A horse is tied wit a rope an' she pass ovah de rope. She's crossed. An' if anyone have any of 'er pieces dat she had befo' she got dat way, yo' see, dey kin tie nine knots in dat piece an' hang it up in a place - not tuh burn in de chimley, not tuh burn; only tuh smoke, yo' see, dataway. De child have tuh be taken from 'er by a physicianah.
(I see.)
Entry 6885
Yo' takes an' yo' git chew a spool of thread, white thread, an' yo'll measure from de length of where she walks at, an' in de ninth day she'll delivah dis baby. Dat chile will grow in 'er an' be almos'roun' about dis high, when it will delivah. She wouldn't be able tuh delivah it.
(All you have to do is to measure her what?)
[I now have quite a time learning what is measured, despite my knowing the answer.] Git a white spool of thread, No.8.
(Yes.)
An' yo' take dat thread an' wheresomevah yo' know she passes, always take de length.
(The length of what?)
De length wit de thread, jis' lak yo'd have a measure fo' twine, yo' know, an' yo'd be takin' a stretch.
(Well, what do you measure?)
Yo' measure where she walks at.
(What do you mean 'where she walks at?")
[I stop recording machine, she answered!]
(Well now, that's what I want to know. You measure her footsteps.)
Yo' measure her footsteps.
(All right.)
Now, wherevah yo' know she's stayin', yo'll come dere lak nuthin an' yo' jis' take de length of it an' den, as she go on, wherevah she makes [a track], yo' stop an' take de measure of it.
(Then what do you do with that?)
Yo' ties dat up, yo' ties dat thread up in knots. Yo'll count how many knots, intuh nine knots. An' de measure of 'er, all de steps dat yo' takes from 'er, if she stand - don' care how [many steps].
Entry 7213
Ah'm purtty shure 'bout dat becuz ah'm constant comin' in contact wit somepin lak dat. Maybe it be rattlesnake mastah, High John de Conkah an' Low John de Conkah, wild sprig of Sweet John - some people call it St. John. Dat's- ain't evahbody knows, but dey would know, yo' know, whut color it has. Git chew dose, yo' know, five or six tuhgethah, an' den have real good gin. Three times a week. An' red flannel. (You take red flannel. I see. You get this good gin then?) Yes, sir. Yo' know, yo' don' sew it. Be sure not tuh sew it becuz in sewin', why yo' might stick de needle in de roots don't chew know. Yo' don' wan'a sew wit de needle becuz dat is steel, unlessen yo' wan'a include somepin in it. But chew fold it up propahly tight an' yo' roll with black thread [demonstrates].
(And you roll it towards you.)
An' don't make no knot. Roll it an' carry de ends loose. Yo' know, don' tie a knot. IF YO' TIE A KNOT, WHY YUH WORK IS BROKEN. An' whenevah yo' gO out lookin' fer a job, why, when yo' dress, take it [this hand] in yuh hand befo' yo' left de house. Yo' be on hand an' made de wish lak yo' desires, an' take dat [hand] an' put it back intuh whatevah pocket yo' carry it an' den yo' wipe it right down tuh yuh waist [privates] three times. An' ah don' cā [care] if dey don't hire anybody else on de job, yo' will be hired.
(You will be hired?)
Cuz dat's not takin' advantage of no one. [597:5.] Whut ah learned ah learned from a well-learned man, great-experienced man, an' who really did delivah de goods.
(Where, by the way, did you learn?)
Part of what ah learned, in Jamaica.
(Oh, in Jamaica. Where were you born?)
Born and reared right in this city.
(Oh, you were born in this city.)
But ah wuz travelin' at large aroun' de Bahamas and down de British West Indies as far as Kingston, Jamaica. Ah begin tuh practice wit a girl, whut ah supposed tuh be a girl, but ah found she wuz a woman. She really could do things. An' dey wuz so simple an' so - lak it wuz impossible.
(Where was this? Where was this girl?)
In the Bahamas.
(Oh, she was down in the Bahamas?)
And dat's all right. An' ah come on up an' came tuh Kingston, Jamaica, an' ah found many more. Dey could meet chew an' look yo' up an' down, an' dey could do certain things, an' tuhmorrah yo'd be as crazy as a fool. An' ah wasn't sat- isfied until ah learned dat. An' de thing tuh do, yo' know, wuz tuh git right intuh 'em. Aftah ah could git dem tuh undahstand me [my English] an' ah undah- stand dem. An' dey simply do dis. Ah tried dat out while it wuz not mah desire, an' ah tried dat out an' ah found it true tuh de lettah. (Well, did you learn all these things in the West Indies, or have you learned some of them in this country?) In dis country. Now, dis partic'lah thing is de question dat chew ast me 'bout takin' a person's track tuh harm 'em. [Charleston, S. Car., (514 Doctor Glover) 597:5 and 594:1.]
Entry 7382
Dey say if a man falls on 'is face, dey say dat man ill be caught. Den dey take some of dis man's clothes an' dey tie knots in 'em an' put some othah man's devilment [= urine or excrement] on dere an' dat will make dis man come back.
(The man that killed him.)
Entry 10250
What would she do to fix him up? She would take a string while he is asleep and get the length of his private. And she'll tie that string in nine knots and she'll wear that string around her waist. And when he goes on the street amongst other womens, why his private will fall, it will never raise up for no one but her, as long as she wears that string. And she don't have to wear the string unless she wants to, for she can easily bury the string. The string will do its work either on her body or in the ground, as long as it is tied and she got the right length of it. It'll never raise up for no woman but her.
Entry 10253
Ah tell you now, the Way ah understand the thing, it's jes' as good. Jes' like yo' have a interco'se with a woman, you tie nine knots in de string and she ain't going have nobody but you. If ah'd have fifty gals, ah betcha she'd wanta come [to me only].
(What would you do with that string after you put those nine knots in it?)
Tie it around your waist or tie it around your laig - right up above your kneecap here [demonstrates]. Co'se ah'm dirty [as I could see]. You know, ah'm a [house] painter you see. Ah betcha she won't have 'em [other men].
[While machine turned off informant says something.]
(Yes, and do what?)
You tie nine knots in the string.
(Yes, but didn't you say you did something else with it?)
Yes, jes' after you have interco'se with a woman [you do this. If some man] Wanta steal your wife, do this. You tie it around your waist. Ah betcha she won't have no one else.
Entry 10255
Ah heard dat chew kin take a cord string dat chew buy on a package an' measure his private, an' make nine knots in it an' wear it round yore waist, am' he can't go out an' have nobody else.
Entry 10365
Measure man with string or rag, tie into knot and wear about waist.
[Fredericksburg, by Ediphone.]
Entry 10367
Woman wipes man with handkerchief, ties knot in middle, puts cologne on, carries [Wilmington, 99:6].
Entry 10370
Wipe man with dishrag, tie rag in one hard knot, put under step or under bed [Wilmington, 254:5].
Entry 10372
Measure man, tie a knot in each end of string, and put under her steps. She may put salt and pepper with it [Petersburg, 418:2].
Entry 11284
Ah went to a hoodoo an' he tole me to git a silver dollar. Ah don't know why ah should 'splain diz or not. Whut [ah] am goin' say now, yo' know it's kinda bad thing to explain. He tole me say, "Yo' git on a woman an' while yo' on dat woman, yo' have her to tie dat knot into yore shirttail on yore back. An' dat's de best experience ah evah had in mah life.
(Tie what knot?)
Tie a knot into my shirttail - dat silver dollar tied up into mah shirttail in dat knot. Dat's de best experience ah evah had. She did it. Ah did dat.
(What kind of luck did that give you?)
Well, ah wus lucky all de time.
(In all sorts of ways?)
Yes suh.
(You mean you had to be actually on her while she tied that?)
While she tied dat knot ah'd have to be on her. An' ah tole her whut ah want to do, a silver dollar. [For a man to tie 9 knots in a string and to tie it on woman's back while loving her, compare 10678, p.4044, v.5.]
Entry 11664
Go to the forks of the road. You gotta get - there's a certain dust on the middle part of the forks of the road. Well, they take that and they put it in a clean cloth and they make nine knots - tie it in nine knots. And they take that and wear it around their waist, and now they got you stopped. [This is a protection against con- juration.] (Well, what do they wear that for?) Well, they - what they wear that for? Well, they kin harm you a whole lot, see. They kin make you go to a certain distance as they want you to go, and they kin stop you at a certain distance, if they wanta stop you, see.
(Well, how would they use that?)
[Informant has already answered my question.]
How they?
(Do they use it in any way? Or do they just wear it around their waist?)
Just keep it around their waist [for protection]. [New Orleans, La., (884), 1457:5 0r 4.]
The informant describes dust from the middle of road forks tied in a clean cloth with nine knots and worn at the waist, discussing control or harm. Hyatt labels it protection, including a final bracketed gloss. Preserve that difference in purpose and the interviewer's repeated questions without converting editorial protection into the informant's explanation.
Entry 12043
Woman makes wishes while tying knots in some of man's hair and bury- ing it in the plaster of her house. [Elizabeth City 406:5.]
Entry 12774
If I wanta harm yuh - if I wants tuh harm yuh, I'm goin' show yuh de way I'd harm yuh. Now, ah've got somepin dat ah wants to git nex' to yo' fo'. Ah'll come to yore house an' sit down an' talk wit chew today. Dat to git de sense to see what chew, yuh notice me about, if yo' don' notice me too much. Den tomorrah when ah come back, ah bring my dose [mix- ture] what I wants to git nex' to yo', an' sprinkle it in yore house. An' de day what chew got - understand, dat what chew got. When ah leave yo' house, [you] will always wanta see me all de time.
(Well, what sort of dose would you fix up?)
Well, ah'll fix up sompin wit lobelia and hippo - lobelia and hippo root. [This may be my only example of Hippo, the name of the blood flower from the Bahamas.] Now ah git blacksnake powder or rattlesnake powder an' tie yo' up.
(Rattlesnake powder?)
Rattlesnake powder an' tie yuh up. Yo' take dis rattlesnake powder - yo' take it an' bring it wit chew out de Woods an' yo' put one knot in it. Git de blacksnake-shoestring [he means] de devil's-shoestring. Tie dat together an' ah've got chew.
(What is this blacksnake root that you tie up?)
Blacksnake root? Blacksnake root supposed to conkah anything yo' start after, an' rattlesnake powder...
(Rattlesnake powder?)
Rattlesnake powder, dat's a big bush grows about dat high an' grows about dat wide [demonstrates]. Yo' kin take it - yo' kin go to de woods an' take it an put it in yore yard or plant it in yore flowers. But it's no good heah to yuh, yo' gotta git it out de woods. Git chew five-fingah grass. It grows about dat high [demonstrates]. Yo've seen snake's tongue, ain't chew? Well it jes' like a snake's tongue. It grows about dat high [demonstrates], from de ground an' it spread out jes' like a snake's tongue.
(Well, what do you do with that five-finger grass?)
Yo' take dat an' bring it to yore house an' conkah anybody dat chew wanta come by. Anything dat come to yo' mind to do, yo' kin do it. Yo' don't miss nuthin.
Entry 13180
He done left home and she want him back, she'll get [one of his socks] an' wear it around her waist. Get her a cotton thread string an' tie 9 knots in it, put dat around her waist. Write his name an' wear dat in her shoe. An' dat draws him. [Vicksburg 996:8.]
Entry 13181
His left sock an' tie it up, the woman can, an' put 9 knots in it an' wear it around her waist. That's a good way of tyin' him up. [Mobile 977:7.]
Entry 13200
Take your socks, the left foot...tie 9 knots in dem an' dey'll bring you from anyw'ure you was...bury it. [Charleston 602:6.]
Entry 3544
Yo' put nine knots in a bran'-new piece of cloth - yo' know, jes' lak yo' wanted to keep yore husban' from goin' out wit a woman, yo' know. Well, yo' jes' yo' know jes' lak yo' an' 'im be's connected togeth- ah, why den yo' an' 'er use dis new piece of cloth wit nine knots in it an' keep it undah yore bed mattress. An' he can't go out wit no othah woman but chew.
Entry 3545
Now, if yo' don't want 'im to go wit nobody but chew, yo' go to de sto' an' buy yo' a bran'-new - uh yahd [yard] of unbleached cotton, yeah. (Unbleached?) Cotton, yeah. Dat's yallah [yellow] cotton, unbleached - not bleached, unbleached. An' yo'll spread [it] right where he lays at. An' when yo' git ready to go wit 'im, have connection wit 'im, now don't chew discharge. Ah'm not goin' to discharge wit 'im, he goin' to discharge by 'isself. Ah takes dat an' ah'll tear a string off it, an' ah'll put nine knots in it an' ah'll wear it aroun' mah wais'. Now, when he git ready to go to see anothah woman, he can't see her. Ah'll stop 'im wit dat.
Entry 3548
She'll take a string, see, an' if the man's asleep, you know, she'll take it out an' she'll git the full measure, see. An' then she'll go to work an' she'll tie nine knots in there, in this piece of new twine. An' she'll tie it right around the calf of her leg:
(Which leg?)
Either one, an' that's got chah. You won't want no other woman until you git where she is.
Entry 3551
Ah've heard of fellahs takin' part of dere wives' undahweah, takin' an' tied it in nine knots. Well, he could take dat an' keep it in 'is back pocket all de time. An' anywhere he go, no mattah where, she go she be wit 'im. She can't have anything to do wit anothah man, seemed lak she'd jes' be sickly all de time - always sick, she can't do any- thing.
Entry 3552
Den if yo' want to, yo' kin stop 'em from havin' a intahco'se wit any- body but chew. Yo' take dat raw cotton string, jes' a cord string an' use it when yo' have intahco'se. Yo' take dat an' ketch dat an' tie nine knots in it, an' draw 'em to yo', an' tie it aroun' yore waist, an' evah time he goes out, den he cain't have nobody but chew.
Entry 149
Chunk a knot, a lighter knot in it, a lightwood knot.
(A knot from a lighter pine?)
Dat's right. Well, dey say yo' kin take an' chunk one of them in it an' it will whirl away. Yessuh, whut ah mean, it will jes' go on away. An' some say it's spells [someone is trying to put a spell on you] an' some say it's de sign of a quarrel.
The informant names the knot for a proposed act; the target of it is not named in this excerpt.