Subject:Lay
Entries
Entry 3756
(How would you take that away?)
Well, de first thing yo' would do, would git dis thing - it's in a powdahed form an' den it's in a lump form, but dey call it dragon blood. Yo' take dat an' yo' wear dat intuh yore shoes, jis' de same as ah wuz tellin' yo' 'bout dat othah thing. Yo' wear dat nine days. Den yo' suppose tuh take dat out, an' den yo' supposed tuh take it an' put it on a piece of papah wit dose names written jis' lak ah done tole yo' befo'. Now yo' write mah name in one direction [demonstrates]. Dat's one person's name nine times.
(What one do you write first?)
Write eithah one, don't make any diff'rence, jis' since dey crossed. Yo' undahstan', yo' cross de othah name wit de othah nine. An' aftah yo' do dat yo' supposed tuh take dis piece of papah an' sprinkle it wit dragon blood dat yo' wo' in yo' shoe on it. Den yo' supposed tuh put a half box of salt on dat. Now yo' know how cookstoves are made, dose dat burn wood. Yo' supposed to put it in de ashpan of dat. An' it ain't supposed tuh burn all at once, but as de hot coals drop down, yo' undahstan', den yo' supposed to be rid of dat. (That will get rid of this thing, that woman did to tie him up - [this re- stores] his nature.)
Entry 5655
Yes, take up yore track. Sho' [sure] take up yore track an' carry it to de rivah an' put it down 'side de rivahside an' yo' will leave. (How would I put it down beside the river? How do you mean put it down?) Take a stick or a spoon an' git de dirt from de hollah of de foot an' carry it tuh dat rivah. Yo' couldn't stay dere. Yo' lay it down side of de rivah bank, jis' on de dirt.
(Do you take either track or both of them?)
Only de right foot track.
Entry 6656
Whilst doin' dat, somebody gota go tuh de country an' git a he an' a she moccasin snake.
(Moccasin snake?)
Moccasin snake an' lays 'em head tuh tails, puts 'em down undah - buries 'em in de north cornah.
(North corner of what?)
Of de fence - right down undah de fence, undah a sill lak dis an' den...:
(Do they bury this under a sill or under a fence out in the yard?)
Out in de yard. It's nobody dat knows it dere but dem. It lays dere nine mawnin's an' dey'll begin to molt. Yo' go dere de nex' nine mawnin's an' turn 'em ovah, an' let 'em lay dere anothah nine mawnin's. After dat is ovah, dem nine maw- nin's, evah time dey touch 'em dey makes a oath. Dey goes dere den an' gits de snakes an' cuts de head off an' puts dem heads tuhgethah an' put 'em up ovah de do'sill an' let 'em dry - make an oath - lay 'em up there an' let 'em dry. Then they gets dry good, they crumbles them up right fine an' gets a powder - beats 'em up fine. Then they take 'em an' put 'em in a bag. Well, enybody they want, they go an' gets de dust of de snake head an' sprinkle it in whatever they gives 'em - they gives a party of some kind, an' they wants to go tuh, they gives it to 'em in somethin' to drink.
(What will that do to them then?)
Kill'em. [Richmond, Va., (?), 380:2. A similar method for killing with graveyard dirt is given by same informant in 300: l&3.]
Entry 7081
Ah had a girl one time. Ah wus ovah in Lockenberry den an' ah wuz quite a kid. Ah reckon ah wus 'bout 18. She's a fast woman yo' know. Ah didn't make no money 'en jis' give it tuh 'er jis' as fast as ah git it, yo' know. Well, she figured 'cuz ah bein' young an' drinkin' a lotta whiskey, undahstan', she figured ah might ketch 'er in wrong-doin' an' kill 'er, don't chew see. Cuz some time ah'd follah 'er don't chew know. So she worked a trick on me one night. An' ah wus lucky enough fo' de boy in de nex' room tuh wake me up 'fo' she come back in. But ah wuz hard tuh wake up. Ah could heah 'im talkin'. Looked lak ah wus half drunk, an' ah hadn't drink a drop. So dis boy he come in an' jis' kept acallin' an' acallin' me. So aftah while ah woke up. An' when ah come tuh mah senses, he says, "Look up. Don't look at me, look up." So ah looked up lak dat right at de haid of de baid. Dere wus 'er bloomahs hangin' ovah mah haid. So ah wus jis' layin' up dere sleepin' lak a [dog or] frog wit 'er bloomahs hangin' up dere. So ah took it. So - he wus oldah den me, yo' see - so he tole me, said, "Well, now, yo' jis go put it back up dere an' lay down an' don' bothah, an' make lak yo' don' know nuthin 'bout it, undahstan'." An' say, "An' de nex' time she pull dat trick," Say, "ah'm goin' watch her." An' says, "If yo' be asleep, ah'm goin' take it from ovah yore haid an' let yo' go out an' ketch 'er." So dat's whut she done to me, put de bloomahs ovah mah head.
Entry 7181
An' dey kin [go] right straight along ag'in, an' yo' kin go tuh sleep. An' yo' have any money, yo' kin go tuh sleep, an' if ah kin git tuh yo' - yo' done dead tuh de worl' when yo' drop tuh sleep. Dere's dis han' layin' on de kivah [cover], dis han' - dere's de right han' [demonstrates]. De lef han' is jis' lak dat [demonstrates]. An' yo' sleep dere till ah git anythin' dat ah want in yo' home.
(What do you do with that left hand?)
Git a basin of watah - an' yo' be sleepin' now - an' set it right side de baid an' lay yo' han' in it jis' lak dat [demonstrates] in yo' sleep, an' yo' sleep right on dere until dey git jis' whut de wants. Den when dey gits whut dey wants, dey'll make a li'le racket an' throw de watah out an' yo'll wake up. Ah knowdat, mahself.
Entry 7674
Dey say if yo' wanted luck, if yo' havin' bad luck, dat chew could go tuh de graveyard an' dig down wit chure hand a certain depth an' git some dust near where de corpse lay at. An' tie dat up in a bag an' carry it roun' wit yo', an' yo' kin lead anybody roun' wit yo' lak dat. Dey would believe in yo' most gener'ly [generally].
Entry 7833
Ah heard dem say dey take a person's height, jis' ord'n'ry [ordinary], why yo' bein' a low man, why jis' git somepin, objek[object] neah yuh height, yo' know. Well, yo' keep yuh eye on dat an' when yo' go out, why dey take de rule an' measure dat. Dat'll be yuh height den. Den dey take dat length an' go in de graveyard an' measure dat off on a grave. Say yo'd soon somehow git afflicted an' die, jis' from puttin' yuh measure in de graveyard, right on top of a grave. Makes a long switch an' put a mark on it - lak [as the measurement].
(Do they leave the stick there?)
No sir, jis' go ahaid an' take yuh measurement down dere, so many feet, right on top de grave, yo' know, where dey goes. Jes' make a mark right 'cross dere an' it some kinda li'le funny word dey would say, some kinda li'le message. Yo' goin' die or somepin happen.
Entry 7982
If they wanted you for to stay, they wouldn't take dose leaves [4 el- derberry leaves in a preceding rite]. Dey jis' take de back off yuh pitchure an' - jis' lak, dig a hole about, say as large as dis table [that is, an oblong or a square hole, a cof- fin symbol] an' put watah in it, which it can't run [away], an' dey'd put dat pitchure in dere an' let it stay.
(How do they take the back off a picture?)
What? Take the back off a pitchure?
(You said they take the back off a picture?)
Dey take de back off de pitchure - de back be, yo' know, de back of yuh pit- chure, if it's in a frame, an' jis' leave dat pitchure in de form dere an' dig a hole an' put dis stale [still] watah [in the hole].
(How would they put it in that water?)
Jis' drop it down dere an' don't look at it. Turn around an' walk off.
(I see.)
Entry 8194
Well, yes. Ah tell yo'. Now yo' kin take a man's pichure an' carry it an' put it in yure mattress, an' sew it up; an' if he bit wit choo an' lay on dat mattress, undahstan', dat wo would cuz 'im tuh love yuh.
Entry 8197
Take yure pitchure an' put it in a looking glass [the carboard behind the small.hand mirror having been removed]. An' turn it [photo] upside down [against mercury backing of mirror, restoring card- board back] an' put it undahneat' [you] an' sleep on it or walk on it or put it somewhere somebody'll tread on it an' break de glass, an' yo' [person of photo] got tuh come back. Go tuh de do' an' burn some disinfect [disinfectant] an' make yure wish [wish] an' burn it in de house. Den go to de do' an' make yuh wush [again] an' come back. An' 'at [that] been done in Short[?] William Street alley [here in Richmond]. Den [another method] yo' put it [photo without mirror] undah- neat' de carpet or in a trunk upside down tuh draw yuh back. Well keep yuh on yure haid or yuh feet till yuh git back home. An' use dat powdah, insex, love insex [love incense] dey call it. Burn it on a stove.
Entry 8300
Well, yore photograph, dey kin weah it in de hose tuh make yo' love 'em or eithah put it ovah a glass of watah, if yo' off from 'em an' draw yo' tuh 'em. (You just lay this photograph over the water?) Yes sir, turn it down ovah a glass of watah an' dat'll draw yo' tuh 'em.
Entry 8474
When yo' call a person's spirit, twelve 'clock at night, yo' draws on a person.
(Draw her picture?)
Draw his pichure. Git 'is name an' address. Yo' set [in] a dark room by yo'- self. Yo' take a sheet an' put it ovah yo' haid, wit chure eyes out so yo' kin see. Yo' set a li'le bit of whiskey in a glass [to draw his spirit back, spirits lov- ing whiskey, see ALCOHOL FOR an' yo' gotta memorize de person name, an' yo' call 'is name three times. Durin' de time yo's callin' 'is name, take a needle wit chure lef' han' an' punch nine holes in it. (Nine holes in what?) Nine holes in de pichure, in de form what chew draws. An' when yo' done cut de nine holes in it an' yo' watch de pichure an' blow on it. An' durin' de time aftah yo' done blowin' on it, an' if yo' hit it again tuh [do something] den chew light yo' lamp. Aftah dat, den yo' set a match tuh it. See what side she [match] bendin'; if she bend going, if she bend comin' back. She'll [match will] fall back in yuh hands. If she [match] bend goin', goin' de direc- tion she [or hel was [had departedl. she'll [match'll] fall dat way; an' if she [match leans to] dis side, she'll fall dat side; an' if she's [woman's] comin' back, she'll [match'll] fall right up in de woman form. [She] come right on back tuh you. [Informant alternating the sexes is confusing.] An' durin' de time dat dey bring 'er back, yo' git up an' yo' take yo' dishrag an' wring it ovah de do' an' call 'er name. Dat's cases if she gone an' leave yo'. If she gone an' leave yuh, if she leave any she [not her] clothes in dere lak a dress or pettycoat, lak dat, jes' take an' ball it up an' put it 'neat' chure pillah an' she will come back less dan three day's time, if she's able tuh, if she's in de city.
(That's to bring the woman back. You are calling her spirit back that way.)
Yes sir.
Entry 8479
Well, you open that banana - you see, not far enough for it to be shown - and write that name and put it in, and put it up overhead and the apple too. That will keep them right there with you, just like that urine. That is supposed to make them care for you. [While recording Was stopped I asked informant about the 9 times previously mentioned.] You write the name nine times on the paper, yes sir, and put it in the hole, stick in the hole in the apple or orange or banana; just fix it up, you know, so it won't be laid open. Then you wrap it up into somepin. And then you put it up overhead, anywhere high. When you wrap it, you wrap to you like this [demon- strates] and put it up overhead where they pass by. [Wrapping, as here, is often a magic rite - see later margin title WRAPPING.]
Entry 8542
I will.
(All right.)
Well, the things that have been used to do such things as that is take a couple of things what is called bluestone, brown sugar, write the name of a per- son nine times on a piece of paper, wrap that to- gether. If by any chance you can hide or bury that under the steps of that person, sort of in a position where it can face with the name reading from east to west, where the sun rise and go down, place it under the steps of the people and face it from east to west. And you then will be able to take a power over them people by using that in that way.
(I mean just what kind of power do you want to have over them?)
A power, the person not being [stationary] at no certain place, and the per- son not being able to stop as long as you have that stuff under his steps that they lives in. But wrap it in red flannel.
(I see. Will that make them move or it just gives you the power over them?)
Give you the power over them that will keep them on the move.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 8840
Yo' have tuh go tuh de grave tuh do dis. Go tuh de graveyard an' go down in a man's grave an' yo' have a penny in yore hand. Run yore han' down in de grave - it make no diff'- rent which han' - run yore han' down in de grave an' leave dis penny an' come up wit de dirt. An' take dis writin' an' sprinkle it [dirt] right 'cross dat writin', an' fold it up, an' lay it undah de lid [cover] of de Bible. An' ah don't care whut she done or nuthin, yo' kin 'tract [attract] her anywhere he want tuh by dis dirt. (You take her writing? Her handwriting, a letter she wrote to you, and you can make any kind of a wish and she'll do anything you want her to do?) Yes.
Entry 8889
Yo' go an' git chew a brass key. Yo' walk on an' yo' git de Bible. Yo' look up on de Ten Commandments. Yo' place dis key dere on dis Bible, turn de Bible. If yo' got 'em on one [a Bible], yo' turm 'em upside... (Wait a minute! You say you look up the Ten Commandments. Then what do you do with them?) Put de key on de Ten Commandments. All right. Brass key. Den yo' turn de Bible up an' call dis fellah by his name, an' 20 minutes from den he may don't come. If he won't, yo' git two brand-new needles - needles, yo' know, dat yo' sew wit. An' yo' stick dem dataway - open de Bible an' yo' stick dem dataway in de Bible [demonstrates].
(Under the leaves.)
Yeah, undah de leaves, by de key - one on each side of de key. Den yo' call dis fellah. Soon he may don't come, but a couple of hours he come an' ast yo fer somepin, lak he wanta borrah somepin. [To borrow something is from well- lmown witch rites.] He may ast yo' to lend 'im a iron or any kind of instrument in de house, see. [To borrow iron is unusual.] Well, now yo' know dat's de fellah cuz yo' done call 'is name on dat commandment. (You know that's the man that stole the thing from you.)
Entry 9018
If yo' git in trouble, see if yo' in trouble, in jail, or some of yore relatives in jail, or friends an' dey want out. Well, yo' kin take three aigs, right fresh aigs - see, right from de henhouse. See, not cold storage aigs. An' take an' write - yo' know de judge dat's goin' try yuh, put his name on de aig. (On just one egg?) No, on de three aigs. Put his name on de three aigs, de judge'g name. Yo' know he's goin' try yuh. An' de man dat caught chew, goin' up on de stand against yo', see, yo' put his name down on de aig. All right. Den yo' take dat aig an' chunk it up on de top of de buildin'. If yo' can't git a chance tuh chunk it up on de top of de buildin', if yo's in jail, send out someone an' git chew three aigs an' jes' in dis li'le stall [cell] heah, when de gang away, jes' put it up against de wall, say, "Ah put dis aig up 'ginst de wall In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, an' ah'll' [add any petition]. An' yo'll come out okay.
Entry 9344
Says take a black hen aig an' lay it on dey private. Dat whut she tole me. An' write de person's name on it, an' carry it to a runnin' watah, an' she says dey'll travel. [Here is one of the amazing rites of Hoodoo! Where did it come from? Is its origin a hoodoo book written by someone who understood Hebrew? It is quite Biblical except for the purpose intended: And Abraham said unto his eldest servant... Put I pray thee thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the Lord... Genesis, 24:1 (King James Version). Likewise The New English Bible uses under my thigh to translate privates or genitals. In the present rite a woman writes her man's name on the egg, lays it against herself and throws it into running water to get rid of him. His spirit in the name follows her spirit in the scent!]
Entry 9775
Take a needle an' - take a part of a needle [break needle in half] an' thread dis needle an' stick it up ovah de do'. An' dat's [to] cause if yo' has a young girl roun' or sompin lak dat, dat'll cause whenevah a man comes aroun' dat chew wants fo' her husban'. Yo' take de needle down an' pin it neahby in a chair where he sits. An' she kin git dis heah man fo' a husban' wit de needle. Wit a pin point [the point broken from pre- ceding needle] yo' gotta find a pin point dat's real sharp an' use it. Jes' lak, say if a hustlah, differen' hustlahs come roun' yore house. An' if yo' kin ketch 'im tuh set in a closed place - yo' know whut ah mean, jes' lak prob'bly dey settin' right where dat back. Yo' jes' - prob'bly yo' might walk ovah an' say somepin tuh 'em an' use dis pin point fo' hustlahs. Dat is tuh make 'em sharp. Dey call 'em [pin points] sharp luck.
(What do you do with that pin point?)
What would yo' do wit de pin point? Oh, yo' gits de pin point an' keeps it. See, jes' lak, even de men jes' lak whut ah's sayin' 'bout fo' de girl's mar- riage, yo' takes de point off dose needles an' [or] de pin point an' keeps 'em yo'self. See, dat's luck fo' tuh bring tuh yore house.
Entry 9813
Well, yo' go git chew nine needles, nine pins; jes' take nine needles an' nine safety pins. Jes' cross de needles an' put de pins up an' dom. See, heah's de needles crossed an' heah's de safety pins across dem. Lak if yo' have a piece of cloth heah [demon- strates] an' yo' stick a needle across in it dere, yo' stick a safety pin lak dat [demonstrates] but don't hook it.
(You put the safety pin across this needle right in the cloth.)
Dat's right, but don' hook it, undahstan'. An' yo' take dat den - aftah yo' git 'em in dere, yo' take dat piece of cloth, if dey anywhere aroun' neah an' jes' take it - yo' ain't gotta bury it if yo' don' wanta. Yo' kin wrap it. Yo' kin bury it middleways of de steps, if yo' git undah dere. Go right middleway of yore steps. Don't have [to] bury it or yo' kin do it, jes' in de middleways of de steps. Dey ain't goin' stay dere long 'fore dey be gone.
(This will move them out.)
Yes sir, dey won' come roun'. Dey won' even come up dat steps no mo'. Dem same nine needles ah's tellin' yo' 'bout, dem same nine needles, yo'll cross de firs' one across. Put de needles 'cross an' de pins straight up an' down - de safety pins.
(Get a piece of cloth like that?)
Yes, an' put dem in dere an' let 'em stay in dere, an' put it 'way somewhere. "Stead [instead] of 'im goin' off, he'll stay roun' dere. De person dat's been bothahin' yo' is goin' tuh leave dere, an' de law ain't hardly goin' come. Dat's whensomevah yo' wants tuh run dis person dat's bothahin' yo', an' whensomevah yo' wants yore customah tuh come tuh yore house an' de police tuh stay away.
Entry 9842
(Tell me how they make a person stay at home?)
Wit dere sock. Well, take dis sock an' put chure sugah an' yore cinnamon in dis sock, an' take yo' nine needles an' nine pins an' - fold yore sock an' put [in] dem nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' use 'em all, gotta git 'em all in dere. See, dem eighteen sticks [sticking ob- jects] gotta be in dere. An' yo' take three tacks an' nail 'em down at de front of yore do', or eithah if yo' got a fiah hearth, yo' take a brick up an' yo' lay dat brick dere. Lay it dere an' put it on top dat. An' yo'll nevah git rid of 'em. Dat'll hold 'em.
Entry 9845
Yo' kin take nine needles an' sulphuh an' salt an' put it undah yore do'steps, an' if yo' walk ovah it - it be about nine days befo' it start tuh burn an' de ninth day yo'll feel somepin up an' down yore laigs lak needles an' pins. An' dat'll be cun- juration workin'. Co's' ah've had experience of dat 'cuz ah wus hurt lak dat once. Den dey could take nine pins, lak if yo' wanta bring some- body back or if dey off stay- in' wit anothah woman. Yo' git nine - git a pack [package] of [new] pins an' take nine out of dat an' put 'em up ovah yore do' where dey'll come in an' out. Co's' if dey're not dere, why dey won't; but dey's away, yo' git up evah mawnin' befo' sunrise an' yo' go tuh dat do', an' open dat do' an' say, "Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, an' Name Of de Holy Ghost, ah want mah husban' tuh come back tuh me." Or whoevah it is, "Ah want dem come back in Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost." An' in de ninth day, if dey don' come in dat do' - den yo' keep it up an' yo' don' take it down. Yo' keep 'em up dere, where dey walk in. Aftah dey come back, den yo' know where dey walks in an' out. Den yo' don't do it right on lak, yo' kow, right fo' de nine days, but chew do it occasion'ly, in case it die down. Yo know yo' do it occasion'ly, jes' keep it on. Don't do it [all the time], keep it right on straight.
Entry 9905
Tell yo' about frogs. Take a frog an' put 'im in a snuffbox an' punch holes in it, an' ca' it down tuh de fo'ks of de road. An' at de twil of day go back fo' nine mawnin's, an' de las' mawnin' he'll be et up by de antses. An' take him den an' take de bone outa his haid, an' keep it in yuh pockit. An' if yo' wan' someone tuh do whut chew ast 'im [ask him] take an' put dat somewheah neah dem, an' dey'll do anything yo' as'cum [ask them].
(When do you take that frog down there to the road?)
At de 'twill of day - yes sir, jis' befo' daylight. (The twill of day, that means just before daylight.) [This last remark of mine is merely an editorial comment for the future. I may have another example of twil but I am not sure. Does it mean at the twilight of day? Somewhere in HOODOO I think we have the expression first Light. Does the latter equal dawn?]
Entry 10099
Dat black cat by de watah's got tuh be at twelve 'clock at night. An' if dey ain't good, dey can't stay dere. Cain't stay dere. Ain't no way fer yuh tuh stay dere. Yuh take dat black cat bone. Yuh take dat black cat an' yuh boil all de meat off 'is bone. Dey says yuh goes tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' put dat cat bones in dat place an' do dat business. Well, ah believe dat's a mistake. Dat's mah belief. But chew take dat black cat bone an' yo' boil dat black cat down, an' when all de meat fall off de bone, yo' take dat black cat up [from the pot] an' yo' wash dem bones off wit cleah watah. Aftah yuh wash dem bones off in cleah watah, yuh take evah bone, evah bone dat Was in de cat, an' put 'em in yore mouth. An' de right bone is goin' tuh turn yuh blind as a bat. Dat's de bone.
(That's the bone you use.)
Entry 10208
If there's something that you don't want taken regardless of what it is, if you don't want it taken - for an instance if you take, if you lock your house they going to break in, and you don't know how to do for to keep 'em from taking your things. Well, then, first I would go and I would get me some sassafras [roots or pieces of bark]. I'd get some sassafras and I'd get me a knife and I'd trim this sassafras, see. I'd trim it and every little piece that I'd whittle off it [demonstrates].
(Every piece that comes off, what do you do with that?)
Every piece I trim off - I'm going to trim it off until I get to nine pieces, and every time I get the nine pieces, I'd count the nine pieces. I'd get them nine pieces and I'm going to put nine pieces here [demonstrates]. I cut off until I get nine more pieces and I'm going to put that there until I get four times nine. See? Well, all right. Now, I'm going to set it on the outside of my door. That's the corner of my house and that's the corner of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces there and nine pieces there, and at the back end of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces.
(You have nine pieces in each corner of the house.)
In each corner of the house, but on the outside. Under my house, if I can get under there and get to where the fire part is - the fire-hearth part is; under the house, you know.
(You what?)
Get under the house, underneath the house and get to the fire-hearth, see.
(Oh, the chimney - the fire-hearth.)
Yes, the chimney. I take and I put me a Bible there. I put that Bible there. I puts the Bible up under that house and I puts a candle there, and I leave that candle burning, see, and I leave the Bible open. But I put a piece of something in front where nobody can't learn that candle's burning there, you see, and leave it burning there. And then I come out from under that house and I locks my door, and as I'm coming out I'm sprinkling a little sugar, you see. I sprin- kle sugar as I come out, you see, until I get at least fifty feet from my house, you see. Then I won't sprinkle no more sugar and I can go and stay from three or four days and come back. Nobody will go in that house, nobody never go in there.
(What sort of a candle do you burn on that chimney?)
I'm got a ordinary white candle. (A white candle, I see.) [Here we have a quincunx, 4 corners and a double central point - Bible and candle.] [New Orleans, La., (832), 1249:2.] [If the reader is approaching this multi-volumed HOODOO archive for the first time, he or she must be told that the present beliefs and rites about sex are perely a continuation of 167 pages of similar material published in volume 3, Nos.3ll0-3830, Pp.2341-2509; material listed in logical sequence according to the Table of Contents for volumes 5, 4 and 3. The material now following could not be so conveniently arranged, though it does have a certain amount of alpha- betical order and other continuity. I am dividing this section into two parts: (1) COMPLETE RITES and (2) CONDENSED RITES, these latter sometimes a reference oaly.]
Entry 10209
I hear'd about a woman taking a man's nature sure 'nough. After she menstr'ate two days, she'll take off dat piece, put dat piece down dere an' put it jes' in dat water and soak it. She takes a new linen han'ke'ch'ef and wash it. (A new red handkerchief.) No, linen. Linen, so it get soft. When he discharge, she ketch it on the han'ke'ch'ef. All right. She get bolt of dat noy and she put it in dat water to soak it, and she wring it out. And vring Lc dirty piece out and pour it in a bottle, and go down at lou water, lov tide, and when the tide is out, and put it in dere. When dat tide come in, she [tide] carries it with her, and the tide carry it out. No matter how many years, he's in for life. He's gone dere. (Is there any way he can get that off of him?) [There is no answer. It may have been lost.l
Entry 10419
If witches start to ride you, all you've got to do is lay a new broom at your door and she has to count every straw in it before she passes over it. By that time you'll be out of your bed and gone on to work.
Entry 10556
Now yo' kin take a bullbat an' if yo' wanta tuh, jes' lak if some people, yo' know, dey play de bolito or somepin an' dey wanta dream a good num- ber. Well dey take dat bullbat an' dey goes out an' dey kill him an' git some of de blood, yo' know when it's running from him an' take it an' jes', anything yo' know, an' [with this blood] jes' write jes' whatever yo' wanta know, yo' see, onto dat paper, an' place it under yore head dat night, an't [and it] will come tuh yo' in yore dreams, jes' whatever yo' wanta know. Yeah, if yo' wanta git de right number.
Entry 10724
Yo' kin go down to de forks of de road, an' yo' kin put something in a path. Yo' kin git dis root dat's called a blacksnake root. Take dis black- snake root an' yo' kin lay it at de fork of de road like dis an' [demonstrates]. Dis is de fork an' yo' lay dat root jes' at de fork, an' yo' step ovah dat place where dat root is, why yo'll go crazy. (You place that root pointing down each of these roads that meet - the forks of the road like a "Y"?) Yes sir, jest de way de roads fork, why yo' put de root. Dat's de blacksnake root.
Entry 10779
Take a broom an' turn dat broom bottom upward - de part dat chew sweep wit, turn it upwards, an' git chew a clean towel an' put ovah dat broom an' call dere name. Call de person name an' dey cain't cross de sill of yo' door. Dey kin stay outside an' wanta come in, but dey cain't come in. (You leave this towel right over the broom?) Right ovah de broom. An' yo' call de name just once. Call it mine times. Anything yo' do in dat line yo' supposed to use nine or seven.
Entry 10789
If someone come to de house an' dey don't trus' yo' or didn't wan' choo to come dere, an' dey'll take a broom yo' see an' lay de broom across de [door on the] floah. An' whenever yo' come in dere, den yo'll have to move dat broom. Dey won't step over dat broom. An' as long as dat broom is dere, dey won't come in atall.
Entry 10791
If yo' once were marl ried, an' yo' have a broos an jes' throw it ovah yore dining room back do' an' step ovah it, yo' won't nevah marry no mo'.
(You'll never marry again. Do you put that broom down, you say?)
"Cross de dining room do', jest lay it dere an' step ovah it, an' yo' nevah will marry any mo'.
Entry 11123
If someone dies, a person whom you have mistreated, put a piece of money in the coffin and he or she cannot come back to hant you. Must stay and guard the money.
Entry 11173
Lots of people talk about different things dat ah have nevah tried. but dis heah whut ah'm tellin' yo' now, ah've tried dis mahself, yo' see. If a person wants to mistreat yo' an' dis is yore place heah, yo' take devil's- shoestring - ah don't know whether yo' evah hear tell of it - devil's-shoestring an' blacksnake root. "Co'rse dey roots whut grows in de wood. An' yo' kin twist dem dere roots together [probably tie together so that they will not unravel], put them between yore mat- tress whut chew lay on. Dat'll constipate yore bowels where yo' can't have action an' well, den dat cause yo' to git in misery, make yo' sick. Unless some man come long wise enough to detect dat, dat devil- ment is undah dat mattress, why de doctors [M.D.'s] dey can't save yo', yo' see. But now, if a man come along have done experienced dis devilment, he knows jest exactly whut tuh take an' whut tuh tell yo' tuh do tuh git dat devilment. Look under dat mattress. [Waycross, Ga.,. (1120a), 1798:6.]
Entry 11181
Now they take the nails an' they drive them down into - jes' lak yo' take dat Red Seal Lye, dat has five holes in it, an' they take an' drive a nail in each hole of the lye. An' they bury this lye undah the house an' they git it near as they possibly kin ovah that lye [devil's-shoestrings] on the inside of the house. They put whut they call de devil's-shoestring, that's a little weed- as near ovah the top of that [can of lye] as they possibly kin. That's tuh make this person weak, sickly. (They put this devil's- shoestring over that and they bury that can of lye.) Bury that can of lye jis' undah de house as near as they kin. Jis' say fo' in- stance, if dis wuz his bed, they bury it undah that as near as they kin git to it undah there. They then come up an' try tuh put whut they call de devil's-shoestring - which is jis' a little weed-lak, yo' know - put it as near undah [center] de bed as they kin.
[This is surely a quincunx rite.]
Entry 11381
Or yo' kin take a file an' yo' kin write a man's name an' keep him at home wit a file - keep him, make yore husband stay at home. Yo' kin buy a brand-new file, be shore it's a brand-new file, one of those flat files, an' name it yore husban'. Yo' take it home an' yo' write his name comin' tuh yo' on dat file. Dat's kinda hard tuh do but chew kin do it. Write his name on each side of dat file. An' den lay it up where he tranferrin' in an' out, an' dat'll make him stay at home.
Entry 11751
They kin take some graveyard dirt and people's hair and some of their clothes, and they would soaken it in vinegar and turpentine and wrap it up tight in some kind of jar, and put it underneath of the people's [victim's] steps that they may walk over it. It would cause an infection or transaction between the two. The person would git in contact with the person with whom he want to git to. That would bring the one whom that they wanted to them. [The person who walks over the bottle will find and visit the person who prepared the bottle.]
Entry 12615
Take red pepper an' sulphur, put it in a little bag, put it all to- gether, sew it up. An' yo' lay it right down at de step where yo' have to walk over it, goin' in an' comin' out. Dat'll make yo' [man and woman] separate sure as de worl' [goes round or something]. (That will cause confusion?) That will cause confusion dere. Bust up.
Entry 13142
Ah experienced dat. Ah've had dat done on me, take your sock and cut de heel out of it, a pair you been wearing. Get your socks and cut de heel out of both of 'em, an' take de heel and put some salt in it, snakehead or some kind of worms [to make you crawl]. And bury de heel of dat sock under de doorstep and put de other part of it [heel] over de door, over your haid. And every time you go in and out dere, you gittin' dat, and first thing you know yo' goin' way from dere. Yo' done left, you see. Your wife, she done put you outten from dere and you gone, and you won't know how you gone. And you done missed your socks and everything. You don't know nothin' at all about it or you jest...and done you dataway, but you gone - jest gone along. Don't wanta run off, but you won't never come back until you find it. And you find dat, you come back home.
(I see. Do you put one sock down there or just one piece of the sock?)
A [2] piece [2 pieces are used].
(I see.)