Subject:Moving
Entries
Entry 5014
Ah heard dat yuh take de socks now, an' yuh take it an' roll it towards yuh. Take it an' start it from de toes an' roll it back, jis' as tight as yuh kin roll it. An' den when yuh git 'em rolled back, yuh take a needle an' thread an' hook it ovah tuhwards yuh. Don' nevah hook it from yuh. Dat's whut dat lady tole me. Say yuh hook it tuhwards yuh evah time. Take dat sock den an' bury it right undah yore do'step, an' say dat man'll always stay dere - or a woman, whoevah it is.
Entry 7836
(What do you do with that graveyard dirt, now?)
Yo' kin take it, if yo' know a person dat died dat wuz sinful, yo' undahstand. Yo' kin take it an' throw it ovah dere [at the house]. Say, dat de spirit will ha'nt 'em tuh death an' dey will leave. Den yo' kin take dis graveyard dirt an' mix it wit moving oil an' lemon juice. See, yo' mix dat tuh- gethah, an' if yo' got a friend dat live at dis - ah mean dat visit dis house - an' yo' mix dat tuhgethah an' make a powdah of it. An' yo' come an' yo' sprinkle it from front tuh back. An' dey won't stay in dere aftah three days.
Entry 9284
People say dat chew could take an' write a person's name on de aig an' throw it ovah de top of dey house.
(What will that do?)
Dat will cuz dem tuh move. An' den too, dey say it cuzes confusion. An' sometimes dey say, if yo' sellin' whiskey, it will cuz de law yo' know, tuh stay round de.house all de time. (It will cause the law to stay around?) If de aig busts, but if de aig don' bust, why dere ain't nuthin tuh it. (Do you use any kind of an egg?) Yo' use a black - no, it's gotta be a round aig, a real round aig; no square aig atall. It's gotta be round. [For shapes of eggs, see also R00STER EGG, No.9348f., p.3753.1
(From any kind of a chicken?)
Any kind of a chicken, jes' so's [so is] it a round aig.
Entry 9379
Ah've hear'd once dat - a woman come an' tole me, ah don't know how true dis is. But a woman come an' tole me once dat she could do anything dat she wanted. Said she could make me do anything dat ah wanted tuh do wit a woman. Said she'd bring me one aig an' ah'm goin' take dat aig, aftah she look at it, an' ah must walk tuh de rivah, an' don' say a word tuh nobody, don' care who meet me, don' say a word tuh nobody, don' care who meet me, don' say a word tuh nobody till ah git tuh de rivah an' throw it in dere an den come back. She say dat aig will make 'em leave town. [Informant's intention of making the person move is the power here.]
Entry 9727
Whenevah yo' be rid [writ?] out, dey done be rid yo' out - yo' know, outdo's an' yo' gotta move. Dey done rid yo' out, yo' know - de officah rids yo' out an' yo' gotta move. [Evidently your few posses- sions are on the sidewalk out in the street.] Yo' cake three nails an' yo' go tuh de do' lak dat an' nail 'em down [demonstrates] right in de middle of de do'.
(Right underneath the saddle that goes across the door.)
Yes, an' nail 'em down in dere an' call De Name of de Fathah an' de Son, an' yo' kin stay dere. Dey'll come an' lengthen yore days an' let chew stay on dere. Yo' won't have tuh move. Ah know dat fo' a fac' 'cuz ah did dat mahself. (You put them right down [I demonstrate] where that board goes over - over that saddle of the door.) Yes. [In that first line is there a play on the words writ and rid [get rid of you] both pronounced alike here.]
Entry 9772
[In the margin title I have called this rite amazing because I had com- pletely forgotten about it and its future significance. The person I am inter- viewing here is J. R. Patterson, proprietor of the black hotel, Patterson Hotel, in New Orleans. Among the illustrations at end of HOODOO, volume 2, see the Patterson Hotel letterhead containing pictures of the hotel, the proprietor, and his signature on Wednesday, March 9, 1938, for rent on room No.17, including elec- tricity for my machine, and room space for my clients downstairs. I paid my rent each day before returning to my own hotel, the old St. Charles. To give Mr. Patterson some idea of my work, I suggested that he himself be interviewed. His following rite tells how he could be driven from his own hotel. Neither of us realized at the time that before a year had passed, Mr. Patterson would lose his hotel and I myself would be chased from the black hotel in Memphis by the police. For this later surprise, see Introduction to HOODOO, volume 1, page XxxIV, line 9 following.] De first thing yo' do, git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. De nex' thing tuh do is git chew a box of cinnamon, a box of cloves. Git chew a nickel's worth of new tenpenny nails, an' den git chew one quart of gasoline. Den git chew a dime's worth of saltpetah. Go by dose person's house an' pick up, whethah it's mud, dirt or sand, take it up an' put it in de bucket wit dose nails. Po' yuh gasoline in dere an' strike a match an' light it, [let it burn] until it comes tuh be dry an' sandy. Den yo' take it an' go backwards from de do' where dey livin' at an' sprinkle it crossways dat way tuh de fo' cornahs of de world: [demonstrates by pointing] dat cornah, dis cornah, dis one, and dat one cross de street. In 24 hours de're [they are] gone. (You just sprinkle it like this [I demonstrate], like a wingy motion all around, cross that house?) [My demonstration of wingy motion must have been a fluttering or flipping motion like a bird. Informant misunderstands my word cross, meaning to put a hoodoo on the house, not throwing back and forth across the house.] No [you don't throw back and forth across the house] yo' tro' it from de house [demonstrates]. Yes, lak dis is de back, dis is de sidewalk out heah [demonstrates], sprinkle it dis way [demonstrates], cross ovah [demonstrates].
[I describe his demonstrations:]
(From the house out to the gutter, you sprinkle it back and forth, like a "v".)
[This "v" or triangle is the 3 Holy Names.]
One block each way, one block each way from de house. Lak Patterson [the speaker] whut chew [suppose you] wanted him tuh move. Well, yo'd git some dirt. See dat cigah ashes [he points to ashtray containing ashes of my cigar] an' [also] pick it from de sidewalk [get sidewalk dirt], an' git some dirt an' sprin- kle it aroun' dere - some sand. An' befo' he sweeps de banquette [= sidewalk in New Orleans] up in de mawnin', yo' jes' come aroun' dere an' brush up a little bit, jes' enough tuh git in yore fingahs an' put in dere. Den yo' come back heah dat night, yo' see, an' sprinkle from his do' crossways de banquette tuh dat cornah. Den yo' go tuh dis cornah an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Yo' go dat way an' go cross de street tuh de nex' cornah. Den yo' go ovah heah tuh garage. See. In 24 hours dey are moved.
(You have to throw it to the four corners of the world.)
Yes. [New Orleans, La., (1566, J. R. Patterson, proprietor of black hotel, Patterson Hotel), 2866:3.] [The title of this section could have been either Pins and Needles or Needles and Pins, both having tradition behind them; the first because a person is some- times said to walk on pins and needles; the second according to the folklore couplet: Needles and pins, needles and pins; when a man marries, his trouble begins. As in the case of the preceding section about nails, most rites about these objects have already appeared elsewhere in the printed text as parts of rites with other ingredients. The following rites will be listed according to number of pins and needles: 1, 2, 3, etc.1
Entry 11626
Like if I want a person to go on a drift and don't stay anywheres they go. Well, I ketch me a fresh fish and I cut him open. And after I cut him open, I take the full name and I write it upon this Venrick parchment and I puts it in that fish [a parchment-like paper made by or called Venrick (this may not be the exact name) and sold by a hoodoo shop]. And after I put it in this fish, I get some moving oil and I drap three drops on there. [And I goes to the river afterward.] And I sew the fish back up - put cayenne pepper in it and I sews it back up. And I goes to any - where it's a running stream, you see, and I throws it out in there and I speaks, I say, "As this fish go, I want you to do the same."
Entry 11627
Well, you can take a fish and make a person drift from one place to another, never will stay nowhere or know where they going. You take this fish and you cut him open, and you takes their name and you put it up in there, and you pours moving oil and cayenne pepper and vinegar in there, and sews this fish back up. And you go to any running stream of water and you throws it in there, and you use the three god- heads, which I mean are: 'God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: I wish as this fish float, I want you to drift the same way."
Entry 12466
To make 'em move outa de house, dey got a dust dey call moving dust. Dat's not no good by itself. Yo' git dat at de drug sto' but it not no good by itself. Yo' git de mov- in' dust an' git some fresh cow manure, jes' aroun' a dairy, jes' as it been spattered yo' know, fresh cow manure. An' yo' take dat movin' dust an' put it in dat cow man- ure. An' if dey got no steps, jes' lak a room in heah, so yo' kin bury it, if dey got no steps.... Yo' take hit an' some oil of cinnamon. Yo' take de [oil of] cinnamon an' yo' rub it on de do' knob an' take de fresh cow manure an' bury it. Carry dat an' put it undah dat [points] see dat piece? [He points to the middle of the interviewing-room door.]
(Under that piece that goes across the door? The door saddle?)
Yeah, yo' put it undah dere. Git dat fresh cow manure an' jes' line a little bit on de latch whah [where] dey gotta come an' put dere han's in it - what dey gotta put dere han's in it. An' ah'll guarantee yuh dey won't be dere but two weeks. Dat moves 'em. Dey gotta go.
Entry 12467
(Well, suppose I didn't want to move, yes?)
Why, you would have to move.
(Well, what would they do to make me move out?)
Well, your next-door neighbor would - could move you out, if they wanted to move you out.
(How would they do that?)
Well, they would get what you call moving powders. They'd go to the drug store and buy what you call moving powders and when you be's asleeping, your next-door neighbor would sprinkle it around your house. But if you didn't want to move out of that house, why you just, every morning you wake up and just go to your hydrant and get you nine buckets of clear water, and throw it on your steps, and you can stay in that house as long as you want to - providing you [recording stops].
Entry 13258
If they run me out, then I will fix that house so no one kin live in there.
(I see. How is that done?)
Well, when I move out, you understand, I would sweep up all my trash. I don't wanta leave none of my dirt. I'd take up all my rugs and carpets and things, and I'd sweep the floors. I will get sulphur, you understand - I will get sulphur. I will get de oil of cin- namon. Yo' know what de oil of cinnamon is. I will get cayenne pepper and I will put it in de four cor- ners of dat room, and I will light it and I will fasten de windows down and de doors down and let it burn - with a curse. No one never will move in there. As they move in, they move out. And if they do move in there - there wouldn't a soul move in there what wouldn't have death in the family. [In former days the cursing of a house like this Was a serious business and most people moving in would have had it uncursed by a doctor.]
Entry 13414
I have heard and they said they would take and put such as war water to make you - to disturb you, see. They say they sprinkle that around your door and that'll upset your mind so or somepin of the kind, if you walk over it; that if you step in it, you walk it all through the house and everybody in there would get upset. And that'll worry them and get them all upset, their mind all upset, so they'll leave you - leave the house. [This informant, 35 persons after informant in preceding rite, shows present rite a common one in New Orleans.]