Subject:Menstrual
Related combinations
Entries
Entry 956
An' de - fo' a woman - yo' kin take dis period fo' de woman on de young moon, it will work swell; but after dat it don't do no good. Dese woman, yo' know, know how to use dey period - give it to a man to eat. All right, but if dey don't git it on de young moon it can't do no good.
Entry 3124
Ah've heard dat if yo' could git a woman's periods an' keep 'em, she can't have nuthin tuh do wit no othah mens.
(Where do you keep it?)
Jes' keep it in yore house.
Entry 3862
Well, jes' lak a lady's 'pearance [appearance], yo' know. Well, yo' kin be careless wit dat an' somebody could git dat an' take it an' bury it. Well dat destroy yore whole health. Yo' can't nevah been well, cuz it stop yo' from menistratin' - can't ministrate.
Entry 3882
Dey do dat lotsa times. Well, ah tell yo', dey takes dere monthly due an' dey fix it - prepare it in de man's meals. Well, it's no way in de world dat he kin git away. She'll have destroy - break away from 'im, he can't git away from 'er.
Entry 3884
Ah do know things that will make a man stay at home an' ah know he will give yo' all he has. Yo' kin give him yore periods once a month. Git it as natural an' as fresh as yo' kin. An' even aftah yo' quit 'im fo' a yeah or two, dey jis' hang to yo'. Once a month.
Entry 3885
Well, she could jes' give him a little of her periods every month, but give it to him on de last day. See, on de last day yo' know, dat's de bad part of it. Give it to him on de last day, dat'll always keep him home wit chew. Ah know dat's de best.
Entry 3886
Ah've been told dat at 'er monthly periods dat she kin use dat some way in 'is food. He'll nevah leave her.
Entry 3888
Go to the fork of the road - people go there specifically for this reason: They go there for matrimony more than they do anything else. And for matrimonial trouble, they go there mostly for that - to unite or to separate somebody in matrimony. (How do they do that, do you know?) Now, if you got a person that's married, and you wants to separate that particular individual. Now, the best way you do, you've got t get a close piece on the woman. You've got to get a menistration piece that she has used, and bury that there. And she have - there is no way on earth she could stay with her husband 'cuz she have no sexual nature that give satisfaction to him. [This is perhaps the only example of the word nature preceded by the word sexual.] It would almost take her nature from her completely. And after that is achieved, you can even take that up if you want to do so; and if they went back together again, use the same thing again - bury that against her. That's one thing about a woman, if you take that and bury that in that particular way where it's passed over by anything, even a horse, or a person, or any way, it takes the natural sex power over her through her nature.
Entry 3889
Lak a lady, yo' know, could take yo' periods lak dat an' carry dat to de cemetery an' bury it. Jes' stop it up tight an' it would kill yo'. Dat's all dat ah heard.
Entry 3890
Once a woman come to mah sistah's house from a hoodoo. De hoodoo sent 'er dere to take mah sistah's menistration piece. Mah sistah stop menistratina. She menistrate through 'er bowels 'fore she died. Evah mawnin'-time fo' her to pass, she'd have pains in 'er stomick an' she couldn't. A woman tooked 'er piece an' carried it to de graveyard in de fo' cornahs an' buried it, an' when she - when dat piece rotted, mah sistah died.
(What do you mean, the four corners of the graveyard?)
De fo' cornahs, lak, yo' know, it's got fo' cornahs of dis house, yo' know?
(Yes.)
Well now, jes' lak ah'd come in dis do'. Well, ah'd go jes' lak dis [demon- strates]. Yo' see, ah'd put a piece dere, a piece dere, a piece dere, an' a piece dere. (Oh! YOu PUT A PIECE OF THIS CLOTH IN EACH OF THE FOUR CORNERS - a pieCe in each corner.) Yeah. Yeah, dat's what she did an' mah sistah, she went away. Mah mothah take her to a hoodoo an' de hoodoo say, "Well, your daughter is hurted. Someone taken 'er piece." Mah mothah say, "Well how did she do it." An' she [hoodoo] tole mah mothah how she take it. She say, "By yore daughtah havin' a frien', a trustin' frien'." She say, "Her enemy couldn't take it. She pull 'er piece off an' put it in away in de cornah or sompin. An' aftah while she have her frien' an' she come an' take it, an' give it to her frien', an' her frien' give it to her frien'. Dat's how she did to get it away."
Entry 3921
An' den a woman tole me dat she take an' she trick 'er husban' wit 'er periods. She take it an' she feed 'im wit fo' nine mawnin's. An' aftah dat nine mawnin's he would do anythin' dat she want 'im tuh do.[ When she tell 'im, "Yo' not goin' go no place, " he'd stay at home. She'd be able tuh change his mind.
Entry 3923
De othah way dey do dat, jes' lak a woman when she be's ministratin', she takes dat an' she puts it in a cake. An' she 'solve [dissolve] dat intuh dat cake, see. He eat dat an' he stop runnin' roun' wit evahbody else but.'er.
Entry 3925
An' dere anothah one. She kin take her monthlies an' if yo's eatin' dere, an' put it in a li'le bread, an' yo' go wit nobody else but 'er. It make no diff'rence how many wimmins or whut dey got, yo' don't care fo' nobody but 'er.
Entry 3938
If she wants 'im back she kin git 'im back. She jes' go an' maybe git sweet wit 'i, sometime want 'im come ovah an' take a meal wit 'er. Well, she may den buy a piece of steak or piece of sompin - pork chop. An' take it some- time an' if it while her monthlies on her, jes' run it 'tween 'er laigs an' fry dat fo' him, an' give it to him. IN NINE DAYS HE'LL BE BACK DERE.
Entry 3962
Yo' could get a piece of a woman's bloomahs - yo' know, de seat of 'er bloomahs, an' 'er menstr'ation cloth, piece of dat. An' put dat togethah an' take it an' shut it up in a [pasteboard] box, or eithah a little small wooden box. Somepin lak, yo' know, one of dese little ole small wooden boxes made about dat round [size], yo' see, an' shut it up in dere. An' dey tell me, yo' kin take dat an' turn it bottom up- wards, an' bury it right undahneat' of a person's steps, an' it will stop dem from menstr'ation. [Box is a symbol for a coffin.]
Entry 3978
A woman ministration, well, dey kin take dat, dey kin put it in runnin' watah, see, an' dat will keep it on - it [blood] will run all de time. Well, ah had a cousin did lak dat. We found out how it was did [by going to a root doc- tor].
Entry 12430
You see, if a person gets your urine or gets... I know, you under- stand, jis' like, yo'll excuse me, you know, you see, like de ministrate of a man. An' dey [an enemy] bury dat an' dat will make you [man] pine away an' dry up until yo' die - jis' keep yo' mopin [listless apathy] an' mopin'... [Ministrate is an unusual word for what is normally in HOODOO call- ed his come, semen. Ministrate, of course, is a term for menstruation. A wo- man in HOODOO also has come, whatever it means in addition to orgasm in her case; but this come has nothing to do with ova or ovulation, both these latter uknown in HOODOO.1
Entry 625
Well, ah had a sister an' ah know that was true. An' a rootman told her he [her sister's husband] had a sweetheart woman he was living with befo' he married mah sister. An' he told her, said that he would nevah live with mah sister, which he didn't live with her no longer den but about a month or little better. An' she [sweetheart woman] had some of her friends to slip in dere some Way or 'nother an' she had seven ole rusty keys an' seven pods of peppah an' seven needles - well, she had 'em ovah each do', one ovah de back do' an' one ovah de front. Dey nevah woulda found it unless [as] ah said, de spirit brought it to her mind. At last one day she spoke, said, "Ah believe ah'll look up ovah dis do' an' see whut's heah." She looked up dere an' dat's where she found it. Well, mah mother, she'd taken these to a man in [name of town not clear] an' this man tole her, said, "That was to keep her out all dem many years - keep her out de house, dat she nevah would live dere any mo'." But after she had found these things why he could turn it back on de woman, an' so mah mother tole him, why she didn't care fo' it to be turned back, an' so she left de keys an' thing dere with him. Say, she nevah would live with him. An' then, too, after she did that - we had been doin' some washing yo' know, an' her ministratin' clothes, yo' know, we didn't git through washin' dat - at least dat day, an' we jest left 'em out do's in de tub. She went dere an' stole dem an' taken 'em off an' buried 'em fo' 'em to kill her. An' so dis cunjureman tole mah mother, say, after them things rot, why yo' could jest pick 'em up an' dey fall, yo' know, to pieces jest lak a ole rotten rag or somepin lak dat. See, an' she would fin'lly die. Well, she did suffer, yo' know, a long time till mama got her cured by diff'rent mens yo' know. When- evah she'd go to ministrate oncest a month, why she looked like she was gon'a soon go to bed - git confined an' knots would come in her stomach as large as yore fist, an' when dat passed through - it passed through in knots like dat.
(Do you know anything - what they did to cure her?)
Yes sir. Well, a man by de name of Mr. Oleberry, he cured her - he cured her wit jest an ole green gourd. She had to make teas oncest a month outa green gourd. An' when she couldn't git de green gourd why he tole her jest to save up some dry gourds an' jest put a little turpentine in it, an' dat got her well.
(That's all that cured her?)
Dat's de only thing dat cured her. An' we had taken her to medical doctors an' all - an' all kinds of doctors an' dis man wus de only man dat reached her case. An' then sometime ago ah had a brother - he wus out in Tennessee, ah believe where he got hurt. Some wimmins hurt him. Ah don't know jest how it wus done, but anyway they had him dead from heah on down to his feet.
(From his stomach on down to his feet?)
Yes sir, an' dis same man cured him with jest de simplest thing. Yo' could jest stick a pin in him an' he couldn't feel it from his stomach on down. An' he said two wimmins an' one man fixed him lak dat out in Tennessee. An' he didn't do anything but jest had us tuh git green pine tops an' give him - bathe him, yo' know, from there on down an' give him some to drink. An' he tole him everything he do from de first day he started taking it. He hadn't walked none in twelve months, not nary a step had he walked. Yes sir, he tole him dat after de first day he'd sit up - he'd have to lay down most of de time after he had taken his bath in dis green pine-top tea an' given him some to drink an' tole him on de second day he would stand up, an' say, an' de third day, he said, "Yo' gon'a walk wit a stick out to de toilet" - de toilet wus out do's yo' know. An' really he did it. An' so we kept dat up fo' about two months, an' now he's in Florida, married an' got three children.
Entry 1009
An' git, yo' understan', her ministratin' - a woman's period an' put it in wit lodestone an' some of her hair, rusty needles an' rusty pins, an' bury dat undah her do'step an' that would run her away. Well, de thing that ah saw wus a person had buried this undah a girl's house name Josephine. Well, this Josephine wus livin' in a house an' she wus goin' with a man an' de people wanted her 'way from this place. See. An' somehow or othah they got her stockin' top an' some of her hair an' lodestone. Wrapped that hair aroun' the lodestone an' then she had three rusty needles an' three rusty pins stickin' in through de hair; yo' understan', aroun' dis lodestone, an' buried that undah her steps. An' that wus tuh drive her away. Well, her sistah, Missus Malone, lived 'way on the south end, supposed tuh be one those so-called hoodoos could do things an' drive yo' away. See. An' she told her - she went tuh Miz Malone an' Miz Malone told her about this stuff wus buried undah her do'step an' she got this stuff out - out from undah her do'step. Ah saw de stuff mahself. An' she tole her whut tuh do with it de nex' day. She tole her tuh git up that mawnin' befo' sunrise an' had tuh git three persons tuh burn this stuff. Well, one boy dat ah remembered had burn dis stuff - co'se he's daid now. His name wus - an' he wus de one got de stuff out from undah dat step an' burn it fo' her.
(How do you mean three persons to burn it?)
She meant three persons that she knew - see, tuh git it out an' den each three of these persons do dat tuh see it burn.
(Well, about that piece with the blood - what did they do with that?)
Well, that wus wrapped in with the hair too. Dis bloody piece wus mixed in lodestone an' de hair aroun' de lodestone.
(Did they burn it at any particular time or do anything after they burned it?)
Ah re'lly don't know whut they did aftah dey burn it.
Entry 10746
They say it'll stop your periods.
(Well, how do they do that?)
They say they take your chamber lye and put turpentine in it...
[While machine is off I ask for repetition.]
They take chamber lye and they put turpentine in it and they put cayenne red epper [to distinguish cayenne pepper from garden red peppers ground up] in it and there's some way they do with that that stops you. (Well, do you know how they fix it up?) Yeah, I seen it. (How?) They takes your chamber lue and put the cayenne pepper and the red pepper [the 2 peppers now separated] and they put it in a bottle and they bury it and that stops the periods on you.
(You heard this stops your water?)
Your periods.
(Oh, it stops your periods?)
Yeah, and it dries you up - just drift you away.
Entry 978
Earthworms - you know earthworms that you fish with. That's an experi- ence of myself - I did that. I was hurt. A lady wanted my husband. She caused me and my husband to get along bad. Well, I was working for some white people doin' days work. (She had what?) [Her word caused like cuzed or cussed.] She had I and my husband living disagreeable and we could not get along: I was finding a child every year and he was very whore-ish about running around at women. Now, I had days work from white people I was working for since I was a little girl. So she buried a bottle at my gate and I goes in the gate that evening from my work, a pain struck me in this foot. Well, I rubbed, I rubbed, I bathed and the more I rubbed the worser it'd get. And my foot busted open on top and worms like - you've seen wood sawyers, haven't you? Well, they's crawl out of my foot. [These beetles probably pine sawyers.] Well, there was an old man - he was a two-headed man - old man Ellis Perdue. He's dead now. He lived that far from me - from here [to] across the street.
(Here in New Orleans?)
No, that was in Alabama.
(What town in Alabama?)
Atmore, Alabama. He's dead though, now. He comes to my house and look at my foot. He takes a hoe and goes into my garden. He digs as many earthworms as you could: hold like that [demonstrates] - just as many as you could hold up in your hands. He puts 'em in a pot and boils 'em. He goes and buys this first hog lard - you know, the leaf like you buy and dry it up [render] yourself. He dried that up with some saltpeter - a nickel of saltpeter and a nickel of red pepper in it and made a salve to bathe my feet in. Then he told me to save my urinate. I saved my urinate until I got about a quart and I put that on with nine pods of red pepper and a nickel of saltpeter and a box of table salt and boiled it. That's to bathe me in all over, I start from here down [demonstrates].
(From your head down.)
For nine mornings, bathe me down in it to my feet. Then rubbed me down with that salve after he done made out of those earthworms, and on the ninth morning he say, "Now when you bathe yourself on the ninth morning, go in your back yard, facing the sunrise, go but turn your back to the sunrise and throw it over your left shoulder and don't look back and you'll walk." And I've been walking ever since. That's just the experience of me. My feet was layin' open, just like you about that far [demonstrates], like you take a knife and split it open and those worms crawled out. And he told me, he says, "Long as you live, you get you two silver dimes and wear 'em on your legs, to keep anybody from putting anything down for you. But I've been hurt since then because I got jealous. The strings of my dimes rotted and I lost 'em in the bed. Course I put 'em up but I never did put 'em back on, but I've been hurt through my minastratin'. Yes, sir, I was hurt here in New Orleans - next month it'll be five years ago.
(How did that happen?)
Well, my daughter died. My enemies through the death of my daughter come in my house. I was minastratin', you know, like women will pull their pieces off and be careless sometimes. I left one of my pieces and I put it down and the woman got my piece and buried me in the graveyard. Well, she stopped me up. I Was stopped up fifteen days before I could minastrate. I was took with pains in my stomach, in knots like that and I was turning dark. So on a Tuesday at twelve o'clock I was cutting some turnip greens at my table. I had boarders, you know - I was selling lunches and selling liquor - bootlegging. And a pain hit me right in here and right back here and throwed me just like you would knock me down. In the bottom part of my stomach, right down just above my cross-bone and just above my rectum back here, and I fell just like you would, you see, just somebody knock you down. So they come and they picked me up and they put me in the bed and I rang up for the doctor. He come and he give me a hyperdermic. That hyperdermic set me on fire. I looked like I was - I just clawed everything, my pain was so severe in my body that I just wanted to tear up everything I could get my hands on. So I had a white doctor - it was a colored doctor that come [the first time] - so I got my insurance doctor, a white doctor, and the more medicine he'd give me the worse I'd git. So there was an old lady in the block. She come to see me. She lives in the block where I live now. She told my mother, she said, "That girl is hurt." She said, "You go to the drug store and get ten cents of jumaca ginger," 'you know what that is, "and you boil it and you give her that tea, just as hot as she can drink it, three nights straight." I drank that tea. And then she said, "You soak her feet in that saltpeter, red pepper and table salt and her urinate." My feet was white as cotton without a drop of blood in 'em in my feet. I was burning up from here down to my feet and up here I was freezing to death. So my mother did that and when my minastratin' come on it Was black as that coat you have on [see Coat, author's black, in Index]. I stayed that way a solid month. I was weighin' 164 pounds - when I got up I Was weighin' 92. And 100 pounds of ice a day I used. I had a foot-tub and I had to crush that ice and lay on the side of the bed like this with a pillow at the foot of my bed to try to sleep with my feet in that tub of water until I was burning up. If I didn't have 'em in that ice water, it looked like you just had fire made against my feet, burning me up. I was burning up from my knees down and I was freezing here [from knees up]. And when I'd get tired of laying like this, my mother would put me in the bed and I bought one of these big hot-water bottles, and I'd crush the ice and put it in there and lay it against the foot of the bed and rest my feet on it, so I could rest my body. You see I'd get tired of being cramped like this. That's just the experience of me since I've been here. And after that, the old lady told me, she say, "Whatever you do, every month you come like that, you Wash your pieces as fast as you use them and don't leave away from home and leave them hanging outdoors; always keep your pieces in the house, 'cause another rap like that you'll never make it. Now, what dose medicines was she give me, I couldn't tell you because she didn't let me know that. But I do know about the Washing of my feet and my urniate in that tub of saltpeter and table salt, 'cause I had to do that myself.
Entry 1210
(They do what with the dirt dauber's nest?)
Make a tea out of it an' strain the tea an' give it to 'em to drink. Dey give it to 'em tuh drink. Dey give de girls in de home - young girls in de home an it will make dere periods start on 'em if dey have nevah start an' dey won't have any pains. Dat's de onlies' [only-est] thing dat ah heard dat wus good fo'.
Entry 2569
Ah heard 'em tell if yo' want people tuh come back to buy whiskey from yo' - if dey come dere tuh drink some whiskey, jes' befo', take an' put chew some urinate in dat whiskey, yo' understand, or either some of yore monthly discharge. If yo's a man, put some urinate; if yo's a woman, put some ministration in dere an' when dey come in dere drinkin', dey 11 come back. Dey jes' hang anto yo dey can't go nowhere else seem lak. Dey jes' come to yore place of business.
Entry 3454
Well, dey goes an' gits somepin from one dese heah whelp dogs [= a dog that brings forth young = female dog], yo' know. It's sompin she change de same as woman do's at a certain time of month. Cook it in some of yore food an' give it to yo' an' yo' come in contact wit dis man, de wife will, an' dey'll lock togethah.
(They put something in her food.)
Entry 3500
She be wit 'im an' she jis' takes, yo' know, his discharge [on a cloth] an' she folds it up or ties it up [which makes the 1 knot] an' wears it in 'er right-foot shoe; an' [or] she'll take some of 'er, yo' know, her period, an' she feeds 'im dat; or eithah some of 'er water an' give him dat. Dat breaks 'em up.
(That breaks him up with this other girl, you say.)
An' [or] take some of 'is hair an' put it in a bottle an' keep it wit 'er. Dat breaks 'em up.
Entry 3528
When a woman wanta make a man lose his nature, dat's by ovahfeedin' 'im wit dis monthly - a man, dey take his discharge an' take de pocket han'ke'ch'ef an' iron [it], tie three knots in it, an' throw it in de bottom of de trunk. He wouldn't fool wit 'em, not until he dead. (With any other woman.) No more good. All 'is nature will go to his head, an' den he'll come to be a man usin' wit 'is mouth. Dat's why a lotta fellahs use wit dey mouth an' can't use down below here, becuz dey nature is taken away from dem. [In hoodoo every ailment and misfortune, including impotence, is caused by a spell or conjuration.]
(They use this nature on the handkerchief and iron it.)
Iron it an' put three knots in it.
Entry 3611
Ah heard dat if yo' didn't want chure woman to leave fo' nobody else, dat chew take an' take a string outa her petticoat or 'er bloomahs or somepin lak dat an' git it wet wit some of 'er monthly stuff, an' take an' tie it in nine knots an' wear it roun' yore waist, dat no othah man can't mess wit 'er. Evah time he go dere he'll fall right down dere evah time.
Entry 3851
Ah says, if a man got a woman an' also, if he can't rule de woman, he kin jes' take a woman when a woman's periods rise, an' carry it an' find a big red ants' nest an' bury it direct in dat ants' nest. Dat's all he gotta do wit dat, jes' bury it right in dat ants' nest an' walk off. Back up to ten feet an' turn yore face an' go on about chure business, an' evahthin' is okay den.
(What will that do then?)
Keep her home - yes sir, keep 'er undah yore jurisdiction.
Entry 3853
I've heard dat if a woman leaves home - I mean a man leaves home, an' de woman wants to make him come back. De biggest idea in dealings such as dat, yo' deal wit de pieces yo' wears - de clothes yo' wears. Yo' takes de man's clothes, but yo' must wanta have an' undahpiece dat he wore. Yo' take dat undahshirt or pajama suit or anything dat de man have worn. Yo' takes it - she'll take dat, I heard, an' she will mix dat wit some of 'er personals. Yo' know vhat dat is?
(No.)
Her monthly personals.
(Her monthly personals. All right.)
Her monthly personals, yo' understan', an' she will take his shirt an' she will wrap it, yo' know, aroun' some of 'er personals. See! An' den she will take dat an' she will dig a hole jes' about undah de centah about where de bed sets [a quincunx]. Dat will be up and undah dere house - see, right in de soil. See, dig a hole down dere an' she'll bury dose two pieces togethah an' it's im- possible fo' him to stay away.
Entry 3875
Dey take de dirt from underneath de fingernails an' place it with periods an' give it to menfolks to cause 'em to love 'em an' give them all their earnings.
Entry 3877
Ah heard of people takin' women's monthlies an' hide it - put it in a tree an' smoke.
(How do you mean smoke it?)
Well, dey build a fiah up undah it an' leave it stay dere. Well, de fiah gotta go out, but den ag'in dat'll kill de tree, an' den it will kill de person. (Where do they put that cloth?) Put it in de hollow of a tree, see. Dey put dat cloth in dere an' when dat rottens, it rotten de tree an' dey rots down an' dey dies.
(How do they smoke it?)
Well, dey smoked it first fo' a purpose.
Entry 3878
Ah heard dem talk about usin' a fish. Now yo' take a fish. Well, now, yo' take a fish. See, jis' lak if a man an' a woman love one anothah, dey'll [a woman will] go to work an' take a fish, an' she'll cut 'im right straight down 'is back. Cut dat fish down 'is back an' she'll put in dat fish sompin lak black peppah. She split 'im down de back an' she'll put a little black peppah in 'im, an' she put buttah in 'i - cow buttah. She'll put dat in 'im [fish]. She'll go to work den an' she'll git some of her ministrate an' smear in dere. An' jes' by - say whut chew call a baked fish, see she'll bake it. See, dat makes somepin go all through it. When he [fish] git come, lay it on one side. Well de suction will go in dere. Well now, fish is special fo' one person. Well, now when he eat dat one fish - he eat dat fish, why regardless to who it [he] is, an' who it [she] is, dey goin' be togethah unless one 'tuthah [or the other] of 'em dies. Dere ain't no way fo' to keep 'em from bein' to- gethah.
Entry 3881
A woman, she take an' give yo' a drop of blood, if she's ministratin'. Dey say if she give yo' any of dat, say as long as she live dat yo's goin' be wit 'er. If she evah git dat an' give it to yo' in coffee or molasses bread, or any- thing lak dat, says yo'all will die togethah or kill one 'nothah or sompin lak dat. If she evah give yo' anything lak dat, if she wanta quit chew an' do yo' lak dat, says she kin go 'head on somewheres an' yo' gonna always be behin' 'er, be on her track, until she kill yo' or somebody else [kills you].
Entry 3887
A woman kin jes' take her periods, ketch some of it an' kin give yo' [him] jes' a drop every time she want yo' [him] break off drinkin', see. Jes' give him a drop in de whiskey. An' ah don't care how good he love whiskey, he will break off from it. HE WOULDN'T BREAK OFF FROM IT RIGHT JES' DAT MINUTE.
Entry 3901
Dey'll take one of de cloths dat she uses. Yo' know, her sickness, yes sir. Dey take dis cloth while she's - it dirty yo' know while she's got dat on 'er. An' den dey'll take dis an' put it in a bottle, in a small bottle. An' take dis cloth - but dis heah cloth will fill it up, make it plumb full. An' den dey'll take dat an' dey'll go tuh her house, wherevah she lives, an' put it up anywhere ovah her haid - up ovah her haid. An' den dey'll put a tight stoppah in dere an' put some watah in dere. An' put some watah in dere wit it, put a tight stoppah in dere wit dis cloth whilst it in dere. An' dey say dat'll stop 'er sickness from coming down on 'er; jes' keep it dere till it kills 'er, if dey don't nevah pull dis stoppah out. [For this folk-medicine condition, see comment in bracket later.] But when dey evah did pull dis stoppah out, if dey gits de evil dat dey got agains' 'er off an' wants tuh let 'er go free, why den dey take dis out an' let dis watah out an' den she'll live; but if dey don't, it'll kill 'er. [The preceding rite illustrates one of the great pairs of complementary rites in hoodoo; here of opposites, above and below - the walking under or over some- thing belonging to your body or having been touched by your body. In either case your spirit is divided. The menstrual blood over your head in the present rite, keeps the menstrual blood still in the body from going down. Is menstrual blood different from other blood in the body? Presumably so in folklore, for: Menstru- al blood is poisonous (FACI, 1st ed., p.248, No.5103). The term going down - coming down used in present rite - belongs to folk medicine: "When my mother was about twelve [1845] [[in or near Quincy, Ill.]], an old Indian doctor told them to wear black beads around their neck to keep the blood from going to the brain. All the girls in that time wore black beads all the time to get their monthly to come when coming into womanhood, for it made the blood come down." (FACI, 2nd ed., P.219, No.4969.] [After writing the preceding bracket, I happened to be watching the University of Michigan television program, which for us appears off and on, and comes just before my 7AM news. This was probably towards the end of 1972. A group of women were talking about the problems confronting the first American college women. One woman spoke of a Harvard professor, M.D., who in 1873 wrote a book condemning brain work for women. He maintained that mental effort by a woman made the blood rush to her head, a condition that could dry up her ovaries!]
Entry 3902
[The following rite is good illustration of one of the many headaches of hoodoo field work.] Dey feed 'im on dey period... [Three dots show that I had heard dey feed 'im on dey period so often, I turned off my machine. Informant continues talking, until I restart machine after ask- ing, How can a man get rid of that?] Well, yo' takes tuh git rid of dat, a man quit eatin' - don't eat fro 'em, an' when yo' do eat... [Again I stop machine until informant begins a cure. Just before restarting machine I ask for a repetition of the lost words:] He gits a bottle of Hearts Cologne an' evah time he eat from her, he'll take a little bit of dat, jes' [demonstrates] like, an' wipe down in his body, an' dat kill evah bit of it.
(If she is using some of her monthly?)
Yes, kill all of it.
Entry 3912
[There is a fair amount of material about woman and de change of de moon (HOODOO p.946, line 40; p.359, Nos.956-957; also FACI, 2nd ed., p.220, No.4985, etc.).] Yo' take a woman, if yo' wanta change her periodic time, yo' kin change dat on 'er against de moon. Yo' kin take somepin [some of her blood], if yo' vanta put 'er in bad health on account of 'er periodic time. De firs' time yo' git one of 'er pieces, when she's menistratin' on de change of de moon, yo' bury it. De las' piece dat yo' got from 'er, from 'er las' ministration, bury it on de change of de moon - when de moon is fading away.
(When the moon is fading away.)
De moon is about to make its descent, yo' [can] see dat. Dey has got to de full moon an' dey come on down to de las' quartah. When de moon is about to make its nex' change, den yo' bury dis piece when de moon is changin'. Yo' bury dat pahtic'lah piece from 'er las' menstration an' she'll nevah menstrate propahly aftah dat long as she live. When dat's buried.
Entry 3926
A woman, dey kin take her min'stration an' a piece yo' know, an' dey kin throw it in de rivah or yo' kin bury it. If yo' bury it, it will kill 'er; if yo' throw it in de rivah, it will run 'er an' she'll nevah come back. But dey dresses it. See dey puts dis powdahs on it, incense powdah, an' yo' pin it up wit new pins, bran'-new pins in a bottle.
Entry 3930
Yore wife run off from yuh an' yo' kin get holt of some of 'er monthly pieces, yo' take it an' put it between yore innah sole an' yore outside sole of yore shoe. An' yo' kin wear dat an' she'll be undah yo'. She'll have to come back an' be aroun' yo'. She can't stay away, she have to come back - yo' be wearin' dat.
Entry 3931
Dat piece she wears, yo' know, durin' de time all wimmins have dat. Yo' take a piece outa dat an' yo' cut a place in yore left shoe, an' yo' wear dat cloth in dere, an' all de time she cain't go outa de house. She gotta stay in de house whilst yo' wear dat.
Entry 3946
If mah ole man wuz tuh go out an' wuz mean tuh me lak dat an' NO ONE GIVE ME NUTHIN, well ah could buy me a steak or sompin lak dat. Lak ah wanta cook 'is dinnah. Well, ah could wear it about two or three hours or sompin lak dat. Yo' know, cook it fo' him tuh eat his dinnah, sompin lak dat, see. An' jis' mah monthly sickness lak dat. Well, evah day lak dat, well ah pull off a fresh cloth. Well, ah squeeze de little blood-lak an' make him a cake or some kinda puddin'. Well DAT MAKE HIM GOOD TO ME AN' GIVE ME MONEY. If he be runnin' roun' wit wimmins lak dat, well ah kin make him stay at home wit me.
Entry 3947
Dat yo' could take an' do a man. Jes' lak if ah wuz doin' wit mah ole lady - ah goes runnin' roun', won't stay home, comin' in at twelve or one a'clock at night. She kin go ahead an' take - jes' go to de sto' an' git her some toma- toes. Take de tomatoes an' cook 'em. An' jes' lak dis periods be on 'er, take Some of dat, about two teaspoons fulla dat, an' put it in de tomatoes. An' she COuld dO 'im any Way. SHE CAN'T GIT 'IM OUTA HER TRACK. EVAH TIME SHE TURN ROUN' HE'S RIGHT DERE - won' nevah left home no mo'. Or eithah yo' could take disaway. Yo' kin go ahead, go to de sto' an' buy yo some Po'k meat lak dat. Take it an' wear it, wear it 'tween de laigs an' aftah wearin' i t'tween de laigs fo' about thirty minutes, take an' cook dat. An' she can't keep 'im 'way from 'er tuh save her life. WHEN HE GO TUH WORK, HE TURN ROUN' AN' COME RIGHT ON BACK HOME - have no trouble Wit. [Florence, S. Car.,
(1311).2223:5.]
Entry 3950
[This brief rite is merely to create a margin title for a common belief found everywhere - see preceding margin title and many places in HOODOO.] Den yo' kin take - like yo' got a man an' yo' wan' 'em love yo', wan' 'im go crazy 'bout chew. Yo' take some of yore monthly period an' put it in some of 'is tomatoes or eithah coffee or tea. Put a drop or two in dat tomatoes, yo' see, an' den when he come tuh eat 'em, he nevah know de diff'rence. He'd go crazy 'bout chew.
Entry 3953
She [my mother] wuz fixed dataway. A woman got some spots outa her shimmy an' drawahs an' taken 'em an' den nailed 'em in a tree wit a great-big railroad spike. She says she nailed it east an' west. An' she jes' pined away. An' she had dose spots. An' [she] got hol' some of hair, some kin' or nothah vuz in dere wit it, wit dat balled up togethah. An' she said it wuz nailed in de tree wit a great big ole railroad spike. An' de tree wuz right at de haid of de windah. An' mah mothah wuz sick an' she jes' pined away, an' she pined away, an' it plumb stopped 'er from ministration.
Entry 3955
Ah hear dey say, take a woman's monthlies yo' know, an' bore a.hole in a tree an' put it in dat. Fo' nine mawnin's fore de sunrise an' - go an' hit it, drive it up. Dey say in de ninth mawnin' she'll be daid by dat. (Well, tell me the whole story.) Well, dey says dey take de monthlies an' bore a hole in a tree fo' nine mawnin's... (What about that hair though?) De hair? Well, now dey do de hair de same way.
Entry 3959
Yo' kin do a lotta things [informant is answering my unrecorded ques- tion]. Yo' kin take dat an' bury it an' put it into a hole in a big oak tree, an' take [write] her name [and put with it] an' dat will run 'em crazy- make all 'er blood dry up.
(Put her monthly period in that hole in that tree?)
Yeah.
Entry 3961
If she min'stratin', dey kin take her cloth an' put it in anythin', a hollow log an' stop it up whare it cain't git no air, an' she'll turn lak she got de consumption.
Entry 3964
Well, yo' kin take a woman ag'in. Dis woman an' some of - mah ole lady, an' yore ole lady didn't lak her, or sompin lak dat. Dey had a fallin' out wit 'er, an' [or] anybody dat wanta fallen out wit 'er, dey kin study roun' 'er an' git some of 'er min'strate, an' take dat an' put in a closed jar an' bury dat head-side down. She won' have no mo trouble wit her no mo'.
Entry 3965
An' git chew some vinegah an' nine drops of turpentine an' dat'll stop a woman's periods on 'er. (How would they give that to her?) Give it to her by de tablespoonful - yo' know, jes' lak [demonstrates]. (That is what you call root-working. She knows he is doing that.)
Entry 3966
Jes' lak ah wus goin' kill dis woman 'cross de street dere - she doin' me dirty. Ah takes an' hire somebody down heah tuh fumble round in 'er house an' git me her minstration, see. Well, now if dey got me her minstration, well ah take it an' bundle each cloth up an' take it in de back yard to a washpot an' bury it undah dis washpot, bury it deep so nuthin won't git it. Well now, yo' know evah week ah gotta do mah washin'. Well, as dat thing dry - see, as it dries, she'll begin tuh droop as it dry. Well, finely [finally] it dry an' molt away. An' when it [does], she jes' pine away. Dat's all ah kin tell yo' 'bout dat now, cuz ah don't wanta tell yo' no story. Ah wanta give yo' de straight tales.
Entry 3973
Dey tell me if yo' take one of woman's 'pearance rags, yo undahstan', while she ministratin', an' take it an' ball it up an' take it down to a running stream of watah an' throw it in it, dat runs her crazy.
(In what way will it make her lose her mind?)
Make her lose her mind, yeah.
Entry 3974
Well, he [my contact man when testing informant] ast me about did ah know about makin' a man love yo'. Ah tell 'im, yes. Yo' take de hair out of his haid an' wear it in yore shoe an' dat will make him love yo'. An' den yo' kin take 'bout runnin' anybody crazy. Yo' kin take dere, yo' know, ministratin' pieces an' wrap hit in de seat of a Woman's pants, an' wrap it togethah an' boil [ball] it until it's, yo' know, an' den put it in runnin' watah. Dat will run 'em crazy. (Well, do you throw those pieces in running water or [throw] the water that you boil them in?)
[They are not boiled but balled.]
No, yo' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' dat will run 'em crazy.
Entry 3975
Well, she kin take her menstr'al - take dis woman's cloth an' carry it an' put it in a runnin' stream, an' dat woman, she'll nevah stop flowin', she'll flow until she git pale.
Entry 3977
An' ah heard dat dey could take a woman's period an' throw it in de rivah, see, an' let it stay in de stream, an' when de watah go down dat will cause her tuh go on away.
Entry 4843
(Anything else now?)
Oh yes, she kin take her watah, or she kin take her monthlies. Dat's de big- gest way de mos' of 'em do, an' mix wit 'is food. She stirs it wit a little chamber lye an' put in 'is coffee. She kin put milk in it an' keep 'im doped on dat. Dat's if he don' care nuthin about 'er. She want's tuh take 'im in, see, wal she jis' takes dat. An' if she don't wan'a do dat, she don' have tuh do it. [When] she washes, she takes 'is undahclothes, his drawahs, an' right in de seat she clips, yuh know. Jes' lak pants sewed up, yuh know, dere's a little seam. Well dat run right up dere. She jis' clips jis' dat much of it off [dem- onstrates]. Dat's all she got'a have, an' bind it up in a red flannel, jis' a small piece, an' place it undah 'er arm an' [or] undah 'er feet.
(Which arm does she place it under?)
Undah de lef' one. Always put it undah de lef'.
Entry 6889
An' yo' kin take saltpetah an' 'er chamber lye an' let 'er drink dat an' she won' 'ave no baby. Jis' as 'er monthly comes around, jis' as she git off befo' she have a intahco'se wit anybody, drink up some of dat an' she won' 'evah [= won't never] git impregnant.
Entry 9670
Well, ah been tricked one time by some of mah things. A girl lived in our home an' she fell out wit me concernin' a man. She'd taken a dress of mine, one of mah monthly period cloths, an' some of mah hair an' got underneath de ahm [arm] where ah sweat at, an' taken it an' cared [carried] it across [town] tuh a man [cunjureman]. (Wait a minute! What did she get from under your arm, the hair or just the sweat?) De sweat from de dress. An' she'd taken it tuh a man an' she had it mixed wit graveyard dirt, peedles an' pins an', well one or two mo' thing but de man [healer I went to] didn't name 'em, see. He put it in a jah [jar] an' brought it back tuh our house unbeknown tuh all of us, late hour of de night, an' buried it. Now, it wus buried out 'bout along by de lavatory, see. Well, one Sunday mawnin' ah was sittin' on de po'ch an' ah got up an' ah went out tuh de lavatory. An' ah had a spell. From den ah commenced tuh feel as though....
(What kind of a spell did you have? How did you feel?)
Ah felt as though ah was dyin' fo' a few minutes. Well, ah started back tuh de house an' when ah got back home, ah tole mothah tuh call de doctah. Our lavatory was out from de house. An' she said, "Well, whut's de mattah? Yo' don't look sick?" Ah said, "Well, ah am." She said, "Well, yo' don't look sick." An' so ah went on de porch. She said, "Go back an' lay down, if yo' want me tuh call de doctah. Don't stan' on de front porch." Ah said, "Well, ah cain't lay down." While she was callin' de doctah ah went runnin' down tuh de drug store. Seemed as though mah mind wus leavin' me, see. An' all ah could have on mah mind right den was dyin' or eithah seein' mahsel' confined in a 'sylum. See? An', well ah got back home an' de doctah came out. He examined me thoroughly. He said nuthin was wrong. Well, ah knowed it was somepin wrong. Still, he said it wasn't anything wrong. Well, mah mothah tried two mo' doctahs. Both of 'em said dere wasn't anything wrong. She'd taken me crosstown tuh a man by de name of Mr. Lee [a root doctor].
(What town was this?)
Waycross, Georgia. Yes. An' ah went ovah dere on Lee Avenue tuh Mr. Lee. An' he tole me of dese things dat had been taken from me. An' tole me dat de onliest way dat he could get dis spell offa me was tuh dig dese things up. An' tole me de charges of diggin' it up. An' he say he knowed dat ah didn't have much money, an' ah could pay dis on installments. See, dat he would charge me $25 fo' takin' dese things up. See. So he charged de $25 an' mah mothah paid 'im ten of it down. He came ovah tuh our house an' he digged dese things up. Dug 'em up an' it was in a jar an' it was stopped up tight. An' it looked as though it had begin tuh kinda rot. See. He'd taken it out. He got a pan of warm watah an' put some lodestone in it an' a little salt. Taken dese things an' po'd 'em in dere. An' - well, ah don't know whut he done wit it. Ah know he'd taken it wit 'im whatevah it was, see. An' he didn't nevah give me anythin' tuh take, but grad'ly by degrees dis spell commence tuh weah off, until now ah'm fine.
(How long ago did that happen, did you say?)
That's been - ah imagine now - dat's been around seven or eight months. No longah, no soonah. [These are the experiences difficult to find.]
Entry 10730
If a man an' a woman, yo' know whut ah mean, a woman an' a man in dat kind of a line. Well, yo' kin take dat an' bury it. See, jis' lak if ah jis' pulled off mah underclothes, it's gotta be somepin dat's on dose clothes so's [so as] yo' kin do anythin' lak dat. Yo' understan' whut ah mean. See, jis' lak if a woman's ministratin', it's gotta have some of dat stain on dere. See. An' dey buries dat, jis' bury it anywhere, see. An' den when dose clothes begin tuh rot well, she begin tuh linger, sick fo' a long time. An' as dose clothes be rotten, she be lingerin' sick, yo' see. An' when dose clothes finish rotten aw [a why], den dat kills her right dere.
Entry 10731
A man kin take a woman ministrate an' stop it up in a bottle an' bury it, an' when hit done fade out everythin' off it, hit'll kill her.
Entry 10734
Dey come an' git dey sanitary clothes an' bury 'em, an' dat cause de woman in bad health an' lak dat. An' she cain't have no chillern; see, because dey won't even ministrate.
Entry 4116
Jes' lak if yuh want a man tuh be wid jah an' stay wid jah. He may be pullin' off wid some othah woman. Yuh take chamber lye an' a little bit of yuh minstratin' an' put it in whiskey or coffee, eithah one of dose thin's, an' jis' give it tuh 'em. An' he drink dat an' he jis' be so fool about chew, he'll have tuh be dere.