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.]
Entry 9977
Git a toadfrog when he's young an' take 'im an' put 'im in yore pocket 'live. Evah time dat frog jumps, yo's lucky. When dat frog start tuh hollahin'- see, he goin' start tuh hol- lahin', dere ain't nobody goin' beat chure [gambling] han' in gamblin'. Evah time when dat frog go tuh jumpin' an' hollahin', well dere ain't nobody goin' ketch a gomblin' hand. Dat all yo' want. [As soon as your hand begins to work by jump- ing and hollering, all other hands in the game are powerless. Imagine a game during which all toadfrogs hollered at once!]
Entry 5912
Yeah, yo' go tuh de graveyard at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' dig. down, dig de firs' dirt [topsoil] off, den yo' run yore han' down as fer as yo' kin git chure arm down in dere in fresh dirt, an' git a han'ful-a dirt an' bring it out. An' yo' take dat dirt an' yo' take it home an' yo' dry it out - put it up on sompin an' dry it out. An' take dat dirt an' some of de person's hair an' mix it togethah an' throw it in runnin' watah, an' dat'll put 'em tuh goin'.
Entry 583
Then they had another one they called John the Conquer. It wus made in a little - somepin wus cut in [out of] wood about as big as my thumb. An' the bottom of it wus about as big as my two fingers an' the top wus like my thumb. It wus about that [several inches] long. It looked like it wus jis' a roun' little piece of wood cut out with a neck to it. The bottom wus heavy an' the top wus light. Well, he had somepin in that bottom there [as a weight] I reckon. I don't know whut he had in there. Anyway, you'd [he'd] take it an' set it up an' Says, "Now, So-an'-So - where is he? Which a-way he a-goin'?" He'll be settin' there. "Which a-way Sich-an'-sich?" He'll call your name. An' it'll rock which a-way you goin'. I don't know how it did it. But it'd rock which a-way you're goin'. An' he said, "How long he gon'a be gone?" If it would make two bows, he said it wus a hour each bow.
Entry 590
Yeah, you kin git a piece of lodestone and you kin go to de drug store and git you some turpentine - not de one you drink. You know some turpentine you gits you kin drink it - put on sugar or something like dat and take it, but chew don't git dat kind. You git de kind you can't - you see, you rub wit it but you can't drink it. Well, you kin take dat and if anybody tryin' to do you anything you know, you take dat and sulphur and burn it and dey couldn't do you nothing - dey couldn't stand you, dey wouldn't have nothing to do with you.
(What do you do with that lodestone?)
Well, dat lodestone, it just let you know when anything critical or wrong - you see, it just keep movin'.
(What do you mean?)
Oh, well, dat turpentine - you keep dat lodestone and den at times you jes' take dat turpentine and wet it [lodestone], chew know. And den jes' like if anybody's tryin' to do anything to you or putting down anything for yuh - well, dat lodestone, it would move, you know. You could feel it movin' in yo' pocket or somepin like dat and then you kin jus' rub yourself jest all over, you know, with dat turpentine and just burn it with sulphur an' old shoe, and that will kill that whatsomever it is.
Entry 908
It was mah husband. He said he was hurt in 1907. It was a woman that wanted him to go with 'em and he didn't like 'em so much. He's from Virginia. And he use to drive [an] ice wagon, and when he come in late at night, he say, and the woman had de door knob on de door dressed for him, he say. And jis' as he get upon de porch and went to open de doah, he put his hand on de knob to open the door, he said something Went over his face like a spider web or somepin like that, and he take his hand and wipe it off, and that time he became blind. And he went on then and tell his father about it. And so they began to work on him, but it didn't seem to do any good. And they ast him how did it happen, and he tell them what happen. And so he [the father] said to see the doctor, but de doctor didn't do him no good. And he went to see a root doctor. And he tell him to get a quart of sweet milk for him, and they sent and get de milk. He ast 'em to get a fresh egg, and they get dat. And he said he put it on and boiled it one hour - put de egg in it [the milk] - put de egg in it whole and boil it one hour. He said they took that milk and bathed [often pronounced bath-d] his eyes over in that milk, and they take de egg and made him eat de egg. He say it was so hard he har'ly eat it, but he made him eat it. And he take de milk and bathed his eyes in it one hour, and his sight commence to comin' to him. And after that he took the milk what he bathed his eyes in and carried it to runnin' water some- where, a stream, he said, and he throwed it in there. And he said this woman - they tell him she couldn't stay still. She would be movin' all the time. Af' while she commence to losin' her mind, her mind would go and come. He said about a veek or a veek af' that she moved this place, and af' awhile she move another place, and jis' kep' movin', and de last time he know of her, he says she was in de 'sylum. [Wilmington, N. Car., (272), 192:3; Portsmouth, Va.,1907.]
Entry 1660
Take de whiskey an' yo'll hear 'em movin' aroun' in de home an' movin' things, po' some outside front de do', dey [spirit] go an' won't bother you.
Entry 2140
Yessuh, they say you kin take this here moving powder and sprinkle it around the house. That will make you move.
Entry 4960
Ah heard dat chew could take a person's sock an' tie it intuh nine knots, an' carry it tuh some runnin' stream an' throw it in de stream. An' right where dat sock stop at, yuh will stop. Yuh will go jis' like dat sock go. Yuh continue tuh go, yuh know, if it wuz tuh swim. Yuh know, like de tides be up, an' it wuz tuh carry de sock tuh Savannah or Jacksonville, or wheresomevah de sock stop at, yuh'll stop dere.
Entry 5009
Dey could take a sock, a man's sock, an' tie it to or put it on a box- car. An' as long as dis boxcar wuz travelin', an' dis sock wuz on dere, dis man couldn't stay in one place. He would contin'ly go from place tuh place.
Entry 5304
See, heah, when yo' go an' find a red ants nest, dey make a big - jes' a kinda hill of sand aroun' it yo' know, a ants nest. Well, jes' lak if anybody in dis town dat chew want dem tuh leave heah fo' good an' nevah return no mo', yo' pick up dere lef' track from de toe an' bring it back, an' put it in dat ants nest, an' dey'll go. Dey won't nevah come back heah no mo'. (They put the left-foot track from the toe to the heel into this ants nest, and that will make them move and leave town.) Well, ah nevah have tried it mahself - whut ah heah othah folks talkin' 'bout it. If a person knowed anothah one an' didn't lak 'em so gūd [good], well dey'd want 'em stay home [stay away]. Well he watch where he walk through in sand. Well, when 'is back turned he'd go an' git a little sand out dere. Well, he'd go den tuh a little ants hole an' put dat in dere, see. Well dat ants, dey jes' totin' sand all de time, see. Well he'd [ants] git holt of dat, keep totin' dat. Well, dat person he'd leave home, he jes' keep goin' all de time, from one state tuh 'nother. He can't let 'im stay home none at all.
(You take the sand from either of my tracks?)
Dat's right.
Entry 5328
Dey take yore foot track an' put it in a little bag, see. Throw it in derivah down de stream de way de rivah run. An' fur as de rivah carry dat, why yo' would go dat distant. Yo' would have tuh leave dat place wheresomevah yo' wus at.
Entry 5331
Take yore foot tracks an' put it intuh a bottle intuh some quick- silvah - use a black bottle - an' throw it over yore [shoulder] intuh de rivah... as long as dat bot- tle drift, yo'll drift, too.
Entry 5596
Well, some of 'em goes out dere to git some of dose leaves [from holly bush], dey uses 'em fo' a tea. Dat's part too of dis WITCHCRAFT BUSINESS. An' some of 'em goes dere to git some of dose balls [berries]. Dey git nine balls from dere each time dey goes. Some uses dat. Dey take dose holly balls an' fin' nine of yore foot tracks an' dey'll go ahead an' place nine of dese in 'is track [one in each track], an' give [call] his name, an' tell 'im to go. Well, dat will put 'im to movin'. [See also 2004, p.588, margin title HOLLY TREE, p.107, etc.]
Entry 5704
Foot track - jis' lak yo' make a track out heah in de soil. Yo' know uhat yo' could do wit dat? Take it an' put it in a snuffbox an' put it in a boxcar, in de shoe of a box- car, an' yo' be travelin' all de time, goin' an' yo' don' gor where yo' goin' at. Yo'll nevah stay one place.
(Either track?)
Either one, put it in a snuffbox.
Entry 5778
Yo' kin take his track an' move him from outa town. Take his left-foot track an' git it, bind it up in a piece of red flannel. Take tuh de watah, a stream of watah, run- nin' watah an' throw it in dere. An' tell 'im tuh go, "Ah'm tired of bein' deviled wit chuh." He'll be gone.
Entry 6345
Dey take de hair an' put it in a snuffbox, an' goes tuh de rivah when de tide's goin' out an' throw it ovahbo'd. Evah time de tide go an' come, why dey - don't care where dey is, an' whut kinda job dey got, why dey jis' driftin' from place tuh place.
(They are drifting all the time.)
Entry 4876
Yuh take de socks when dey are soiled. Yuh git a person's soiled socks from dere feet when dey are real dirty. Yuh know how dey git when dey are dirty. Yuh git de sock an' yuh git de seats of dere undahweah, knitted undahweah. Or should dey wear any kind of one- piece undahweah, yuh git de seats of dis undahweah an'( dese socks. An' yuh roll 'em up tuhgethah wit de inside soles of de shoes, an' yuh bury dat undah yore steps or eithah put it in some secret place where dis person won't disturb it. Some people put it in de cornah of a mattress. But it's somepin dat chew know yuh are goin' tuh keep becuz, in moving, if yuh don' take dat up, yuh see, dat breaks a person up.
(Now, you take botn the socks.)
Both de socks. Yuh cut de sock off de foot. Den also de seats of de undah- weah. Co'se if dey have long sleeves yuh git de undaharms too. But yuh mus' nevah wash it. Yuh supposed tuh keep de perspiration in it.
relocating while preserving concealed soiled-clothing materials. Keep breaks a person up unresolved; do not invent death, relationship breakup or another precise result. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 8141
Now, if yo' wanta kill somebody wit dat, yo' take de photograph. Yo' don' wan'a use but jis' part of it. Jis' take off, if it's got a foot, yo' know some got a whole photo- graph, some got jis' a part, some got jis' de haid. Some got jis' de body, some got de whole an' some got jis' de haid. If yo' wants to kill somebody, an' it's de whole one, yo' cut off, jis' clip off de right foot, an' take dat whole photograph an' take it an' turn it, jis' turn it.
(You take off the right foot. And then how do you turn that, now?)
Jis' take it an' turn it tuh yo', jis' roll it, lak yo' take one roll, two rolls, three rolls [to you]. Understan'?
(Keep rolling it to you. The foot part or the rest of the photograph?)
No, de rest of de whole photograph. Yo' undahstan'? Jis' roll dat lak dat three times an' jis' carry it anywhere, don' care where yo' throw it, jis' throw it out somewhere. Well, now, hit's gone on away. All right. Yo' takes dis right foot, an' bring it on back tuh de house, but chew do nuthin wit it den. Let it stay dere, at least six or seven hours, sompin lak dat. "Bout six or seven hours aftah yo' done dis, hold it, take de pichure of dis foot, takes an' puts it down in a bottle, jis' de smallest bottle yo' kin find, an' puts ah reck- on 'bout dat much of mustard seed, lak yo' ketch dat much [demonstrates].
(Just a little pinch of the mustard seed.)
Drop it in de bottle, wit'out anything in it - jis' say about nine, if it ain't but jis' a haid [means foot]. Drop it in dere an' stop it up, an' jis' keep dat wit choo all de time. Dat's tuh influence dat person. Keep dat wit chew. An' yo' weah it a while. Well, no quickah den dey die, yo' gon'a feel dat right shouldah jump, jump jis' lak sompin skip ovah it. Soon as it do dat, yo' must take it [bottle] an' throw it away lak dat. Throw it lak dat. [If informant demonstrated, I missed it.] De safest way, de spirit comin' tuh yo' an' givin' yo' a notice dat dey daid. Don't care where dey are. (Right after this notice that they are dead, you must throw this bottle away right then?) Right then, de right arm will move when dey come.
(You will have that little kick then in the right arm?)
Dat's right.
Entry 8450
Dey would take dat pichure, dat photograph an' turn it down, an' throw it in runnin' watah. (What will that do?) Yo' would go long as dat pichure was runnin'.
(What do you mean? Would [it] run you away or kill you or what?)
No, it wouldn't kill yo' but yo' be goin'.
Entry 11444
Dey kin take yore fingernails an' yore toenails, if dey kin git 'em, an' dey kin take 'em an' carry 'em an' shet [dialect variety of shoot, not from a gun, but throw them into the water with as much force as you can] 'em in [into] watah an' yo' can't stop travelin'. [Florence 2269:10.]
Entry 11610
Foot track into a sack into running water, keeps you drifting.
[Vicksburg 1037:6.]
Entry 12468
Get some moving powder and sprinkle it around, that'll make 'em move in two days. [New Orleans 1438:2.]