Subject:Needles
Other forms: Needle
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Entry 594
If yo' think anyone got chew poisoned, yo' kin take three needles an' stick 'em in yore pillah, an' then yo' kin take one an' stick it in yore mouth. An' if dese needles turn black, why yo' know den yore poisoned. Dat's all ah know dat needles is good fo'. (You just stick the two needles in your pillow?) Dat's right - an' put one in yore mouth. (If the needle in your mouth turns black then you are poisoned.
Entry 3257
Of co'se I don't believe in it now, I'm gonna tell yo' de troof, but I heard a girl said [and] men said. To keep yo' from havin' any intahco'se wit Womenfolks, dat chuh wife or yore girl frien', whoevah dey might be, kin take a part of yore undahweah, see de part dat be down nex' to yore privates. Dey take dat an', yo' know, git some yore - I don't know wha' choo call it, yo' know jis' lak when it comes aftah yo' havin' intahco'se wit degirls, see. Well, dey kin take a clean piece of homespun - not have nuthin on it, jis' clean homespun - an' take it, yo' know, an' dey'll wipe demselves wit it, see. An' den take de part of yore undahweah where he had it, an' put it all in de same piece an' sew it up wit a bran'-new needle an' some new thread an' weah it. Dey weah it, yo' know, in dey [he doesn't know the name here either]. An' dey say, den yo' can't raise no mo' nature fo' no othah woman outside dem. I know two or three boys cain't even do it, nuthin at all. Cain't do nuthin only wid de ole lady - de wife.
Entry 3269
Wal, ah heard if yo' wanted 'im tuh come right quick, jes' put it undah yore tongue.
(What would you put under there?)
A dime, yes sir, or either a needle. Yo' kin put a needle in yore mouth[!!!]. (Well, that isn't the way I heard it.) [I was thinking of endurance rites for men.]
Entry 3836
Well, dey say yo' take a piece of string, not a rag string but a cotton string yo' know, an' yo' tie a knot. Now, evahone says if yo' wan'a man tuh love yuh, or a woman, yo' kin jes' squeeze dat little thing [finger] on yore lef' han' [demonstrates]. (Squeeze the little finger on the left hand.) Squeeze it till it git kinda dead [numb], yo' know. Den yo' take a needle an' jes' keep pickin' till yo' git one drop of blood. An' yo' take dat drop of blood an' put a little bit on all nine of dem knots, an' weah it roun' yore waist. Dey'll run crazy ovah yo'.
(You take that blood from your own finger?)
Yes.
Entry 3843
If a man's runnin' aroun' an' so yo' git a needle an' put it in some watah an' some of 'is blood. Why ah'll mix dat togethah. Put de needle in dere, in a bottle wit some watah [and blood] an' bury it undah de do'step. Dat'll cuz 'im - dat'll keep 'im from runnin' aroun'. (This woman has to stick the needle into him and get some of his blood, and put it in this bottle of water - plain water?) Uh-huh, an' bury it undahneat' chure step, down beside de do'step. Dat'll make him stay home.
Entry 3846
Yo' take de firs' fingah from de lef' han' an' yo' take a new needle an' yo' stick dis fingah [demonstrates].
(The index finger of the left hand.) Yes, an' yo' git three drops of blood an' it will bring love. (What do you do with that blood after you get it?)
Entry 3869
Maybe yo' kin jes' ketch hold of 'em, yo' see, git hold of 'er - her sickness, yo' undahstand what I mean. Ministratin', yo' take dat an' yo' put dat in a bottle. Yo' un- dahstan', piece of it, piece of cloth or whatsomevah she use - cotton, whatevah it be. Take dat an' put it in a bottle. An' git yo' some of dis, de same thin' yo' call devil's-shoe- string see, [and] one of dose bottle of Hearts Cologne, an' one of High John de Conker. An' put dat in dere an' git yo' two nails an' one needle, see. If yo wanta, yo' could put three nails an' two needles, see. Den when yo' put de three nails an' two needles, why one of de nails counts fer de - one fer de Fathah, one fer de Son, an' one fer de Holy Ghost. An' put dat in a bottle togethah an' dem two nails [needles] count fer de conkerin' of de world. Put dat in a bottle to- gethah wit yore urinate, see. An' mix 'em an' stop it up tight, an' bury dat undah yore steps. An' whenevah she kin go; but she won't stay gone, see.
Entry 3960
Yo' kin take a woman, a woman's sickness yo' know, an' take a nail - ah mean put some on de end of a needle see, or de end of a pin, an' drive it into a green tree. An' dat will run 'er crazy. Jes' a little bit on de end of de point an' drive it into a green tree. Any kinda green tree.
Entry 4425
Yuh kin take dis person's or individual's where he go an' do his job - this, ah [mean], yuh lgc, manure.
(Manure?)
Manure, yuh umadahstan', where he done go an' do his job, see. All right. Yuh gits jis' enough of dat tuh, yuh know, do what yuh want wit it. An' den yuh takes dis needle. (Just one?) Jis' one needle, an' yuh brings dis an' yuh hangs it up high jis' about - if he six feet, yuh hang it seven feet an' stick dis needle in it. An' as yuh stick dat needle in it, an' dat's seven fet above 'im, dat's a feet above hi - he's six, yuh make it seven. An' den as yuh do dat, why let it stay dere nine days. An' aftah nine days, de individual will be mentally unbalanced.
(What did you put that stuff in?)
Yuh stop it up in a bottle. An' den yuh wrap a papah or rag, anything aroun' it, an' den yuh stick it up about a feet highah dan he is.
(Hang it anywhere?)
Hang it on a tree - hang it up on a tree, a limb of a tree.
Entry 4962
Yuh kin take a woman's stocking an' tie it in nine knots an' put it in a coffee can with live lodestone an' powdered alum an' a lick of dis heah Hearts Own Cologne an' one needle, sewin' nee- dle, an' yuh kin stop dat [coffee can] back up, an' yuh kin tie her dere jis' like she's lef' yuh an' she had come back. She'll stay dere jis' as long as dat, stay dere until dat stockin' molt away in dat can. [A lick of Hearts Own Cologne sounds unusual, even though lick can mean a small quantity. Previously I had never heard of a lick of perfume! Hearts Own here sounds like heartshorn, a pronunciation that confused me when I first started working in the South. I have discussed this elsewhere.]
(What do you do with that can?)
Well, yuh kin place it in yore trunk. Put it in yore trunk or any place like dat, yuh know, safe keepin' where nobody won't harm it.
Entry 4991
Yuh kin take a needle - lak ah wants tuh put chew in cripple condition, ah buy yuh a bran'-new pair of socks an' take dat needle, an' take me some thread an' git me - Hoodoo. - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork - some Narciss [Narcissus] Perfume, an' wet dat thread wit dat Narciss Perfume. An' stick dat needle through dem socks dat ah bought fo' yuh nine times - jis' stick dat needle through dere. Pull dat thread through dere, don't leave it in dere - jis' stick it in dere an' pull it through dere nine times. An' den give yuh dose socks an' yuh put dose socks on. Why give yuh de wors' rheumatism, or de wors' pains - yuh won't have de use of yore laigs.
Entry 5176
Dat's not handy fo' yo' tuh do. Yo' git de inside piece of 'is shoe, yo' undahstan', yo' kin git dat inside piece of 'is shoes an' yo'll take dat inside piece of 'is shoe wit 'is name an' yo'll write his name in dere on a piece of paper. But yo' got de measure of dat whole feet, yo' got de whole measure [when you have the insole]. Now, yo'll git chew a piece of papah an' yo'll put 'is name nine times. Yo'll put - lak if it wuz me - my name at de top, an' den yo'll write it crossways heah ag'in, nine times. Den yo'll take dat measure an' yo'll put cinnamon in it an' yo'll put White Rose Perfume, an' yo'll dampen it good, an' yo'll put dat an' yo'll roll it towards yo'. See, yo' fold it towards yo' jis' as many times as yo' kin. See. Den yo'll go tuh work an' yo'll put a bran'-new needle. Yo'll pin a bran'-new needle in dat yo' see, an' yo' kin eithah put it in a bag or eithah put it in yore pil- lah or yore mattress. Dat'll keep 'im home. (You take the inner sole and you write his name nine times and yours across it. You put that paper and the sole together, and put those ingredients in, and then you roll it to you. And you can put it anywhere around you or put it in the mattress.) Anywheres.
Entry 5577
Well, yo' kin take a needle - dat's great thing to break frien'ship so ah learnt. JIS' LAK AH AN' YO' - JIS' LAK MAH WIFE, YO' IN TETCH WIT 'ER, YO' UNDAHSTAN', YO' GOIN' WIT 'ER SOMEPIN LAK DAT. an' ah tell yo' ah really don't want yo' tuh mess wit 'er, somepin lak dat. Well, yo' heah me tell yuh an' den yo' don't listen aftah while to me. Well, ah jis' go an' git me a needle an' stick it in yore right track, an' do - dat'll break all dat up.
(That will just break that up?)
Yes sir, dat'll break it up. Dat's de only thing ah know about a needle.
Entry 5745
If a man wants tuh hold 'is job wit a man, dey take an' git 'is right foot, right track, right in de heart [hollow of foot]. Pick it up three times, d'; not comin' back, goin'. An' git dat track somepin lak dis heah [demon- scates] lak he come, goin' disaway. Yo' walk behin' 'im an' git it disaway [demonstrates]. (He's going one way and you walk behind him and pick it up the opposite way. Bring it back to you. I mean, back from the way he is going.) Now dat's three times. Den yo' git one of yours. Keep agoin' an' don't look back. Take dem two tracks an' yo' put dem two tracks tuhgethah. (His and yours.) Yourn an' his'n, an' yo' take dem two tracks an' yo' go right at 'is office, an' yo' put dat undah dere jis' about dat deep [demonstrates].
(Couple of inches deep.)
Git chew a pin or needle that nevah been stuck an' a piece of cloth, an' stick dat pin down in dere. Let de point be up an' let 'im walk ovah dat. Den yo' gain his influence. Dat's de way ah heard 'em say.
(I see, that is to get a job or hold it.)
Entry 5876
Dey could run yo' prackly [practically] crazy. Dey'll go an' git, ketch a fish outa de watah, a live fish an' git a strand of thread dat nevah been used. Tie dat hair to dat thread an' pump a needle wit dat in it through dat fish tail, de end of his tail. An' carry it fo'ty or fifty miles from dere an' turn 'im loose in de watah. An' dat is a crazy man. He'll go dat way an' when yo' find 'im he'll be dataway - crazy. An' de first days aftah yo' drop dat fish down in dat watah, he's gone. But chew do's dat on de waste of de moon. (You just take a strand of the man's hair and you tie it up in a string, a piece of thread that has never been used. Then pull it through this needle and then you run this needle through the fish's tail and let the man's hair go through the fish's tail.) Yessuh.
Entry 5877
Dey kin put choo in bad wit de hair. Dey take a strand of yore hair an' go to de creek an' ketch a fish. An' take a needle an' stick dat hair in dat needle, an' leave it prong [see later] out, an' throw dat fish back up ovah yore shouldah [into the creek] an' say, "Go!" An' dat fish evahwhere he go yo'll go.
(You put the hair in the needle and push the needle through the fish?)
Dat's right.
(And leave the hair in the fish?)
Yes sir, leave de prong [point] stickin' out, choo know. Evahwhere he go dat'll [prong will] hit against somepin, yo' know. He'll jis' be in dangah evah- where he go. He can't stay no place.
(A piece of hair will be sticking out, outside of the fish?)
Yes' sir. Tie it so it won't come out. Leave de needle stickin' out de prong, de sharp point.
[The prong or point of the needle sticks out of the fish.]
(You tie the hair in the needle?)
Yes sir, in de eye of de needle.
Entry 5993
Weli, dey take dat an' dey have it twisted tight. (This hair?) Uh-huh, an' dey put it in a - dey put I needle through it an' dey'll put it in a little bottle wit some camphor[rated] al, an' den dey stop it down tight an' put it up ovah yore head.
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat's jes' to make yo' do jes' what dey want yo' to do.
(They put it over your head. How do they put it over your head?)
Jes' lak, yo' know, any place dey put it. Dey put it up ovah a sill - say, fo' instance, highah dan yo'.
(Oh, over the door or something of that sort.)
Yes, ovah de door, or de sill of de house.
[HANY INFORMANTS LOCATE A DOORSILL AT THE TOP OF THE DOOR - highah dAN yo'.]
Jacksonville. Fla., (596), 768:4+85.]
Entry 5994
Git chure hair an' put chure hair wit a needle, a steel needle. Jes' dt it from de mole of yore haid - be sure dat yo' git de hair from de mole of de haid an' wrap it wit a steel nee- dle, an' put it in a little bag an' put dat hair, an' a little peppah or somepin in it an' sew it in de bag. Dyput it up ovah de sill of a door, dat hair. Dey got chew wrapped up de way want chew, dat hair an' peppah, an' sew it in a red flannel an' dey keep it re, an' de thread, [use] red thread.
Entry 5996
She kin take one bran'-new needle an' run 'is hair [one strand] out of 'is head through dat needle, an' chunk it [demonstrates] to a sundown side
[throws it to the west] an' call 'is name. In two day's time, why he'll be back home. (She chunks it over her shoulder that way. Which shoulder?)
Left shouldah, an' don't look back as yo' coming [away].
Entry 5997
Well, yo' take a lock of yore hair an' de band [bow] outa de back of yore hat, an' yo' stick a brasshead needle in it, an' put it in a Hearts Own Cologne bottle. Stop it up an' turn it bot- tomside upwards undah de front steps. Well, yo' wouldn't have no care fo' nobody else but me.
Entry 5998
[Since the two following rites are identical and the two informants are separated by only eight informants, I would say the first person came to investigate before the second person would take a chance on seeing me. This sort of precaution I have pointed out several times in Hoodoo.] Version 1: Yo' kina - lak if yo' wanta woman tuh love yuh, yo' kin take some Hearts Cologne [in its bottle] an' stick a needle in it an' take three strands of de woman's hair an' wrap it round dat [needle] an' turn it [bottle] bottom upwards into a inner pocket an' den she'll go crazy about chew - she'll love yo'. [Waycross, Ga., (1080), 1747:11.] Version 2: Well, yo' kin git three strands of a person's hair an' some Heart's Cologne an' a needle an' yo' kin put it [hair] round dat needle an' put dat nee- dle in dat Heart's Cologne an' tote dat bottle in yore pocket about a month an' dat will make 'em love yo'.
(Do you carry that in either pocket?)
In yore pocket. (This hair is wrapped around the needle and that needle is stuck into a bot- tle of Hearts Cologne.) [Waycross, Ga., (1072), 1732:2.]
Entry 6055
Yo' take a little hair out de mole of yore haid an' take a little strand from heah.
(Down below?)
Yeah, yo' take dose two an' yo' cross 'em ovah, jes' lak dat yo' see [demon- strates].
(Cross one over the other in the shape of a cross.)
An' yo' git chew a brass-eyed needle an' yo' run it right through dere - one of dose strands, yo' see [demonstrates], right through dere. Den yo' put it in 1 snuffbox an' take it out to yore front po'ch an' bury it right undah yore do'- steps, right undah yore do'steps. (What will that do?) Dat will make 'em come all de time. (You take one of the hairs and thread a needle with it? The other [six] hairs you just leave them as they are?) Dat's right. Put 'em in de snuffbox. (YOU HAVE THREE HAIRS CROSSING THREE HAIRS AND THE SEVENTH HAIR YOU PUT IN THE NEEDLE?) Dat's right.
Entry 6071
Anything lak a man's wife is gone off an' he wanta git 'er back. Well, de way he git 'er back, why he take a stran' of hair out de mole of 'er haid, an' a stran' outa heah, an' put it in a needle whut chew sew wit. (A strand of hair from the top of her head and the hair from below.) An' stick it in a needle An' stick it up in de do'step. De mo' where she come out an' go ovah it, de mo' de mo' think about chew. So she can't leave him, she'll go back to him.
Entry 6142
[Later during interview informant gives another version of the four- strands-of-hair rite:] Dat's wus'ah [worse-er] den de fo' strands of hair, undahstan'. Den yo' kin take - go git dat fo' stran's of hair. Take dat needle dat de lady sews wit an' wrap it up an' put it wit dat fo' stran's of hair, an' put it in de mouth [informant means toe] of yore shoe, an' wear it dere, yo' undahstan'. An' IF SHE LEAVE YO', DEN DE SUN AIN'T SHININ' OUT DERE - can't leaVe yo'.
(Put four strands of her hair in your shoe?)
Wear it in de toe of yore shoe, way up in de toe, put it up dere where it won't git lost when yo' pull off yore shoe or yore sock - jes' pack it in dere. Let it stay in dere. But it's de quickest way tuh git 'em - dat's it, yo' undah- Stan'. But now YO' MUST KEEP DAT UP ONCE A MONTH. DON'T DO IT JES' ONE TIME, IT DIE DOWN. DAT MEANS, SEE, DAT ONCE A MONTH DE MOON CHANGES. Do it OnCe eVah month.
(On the change.of the moon.)
Entry 6472
Take yore fingahnails an' put 'em in new cloth an' it will cuz yo' tuh be painful. Jis' take 'em an' put 'em in some new cloth an' it will cuz yo' tuh be painful. Yo' know, sew 'em up real tight in a new cloth, an' don't break de needle off. Jis' stick de nee- dle right through de cloth where yo' sew it up, an' jis' lay it up ovah de do' where a person got'a pass through in an' out. It would make 'em painful.
Entry 7410
A undahtakah parlah or jes' some place where dey makin' shrouds fo' de dead.
(Get this where they are making a shroud for the dead.)
Yes, an' get dat needle an' take dis needle what dey use. Break dis needle, drive it into some place, some piece of wood or anythin', in yore place, in yore house, anywhere yo' wish to, ON YORE ALTAR in de place, set it up on somepin. An' yo' wishes fo' 'im to return on such an' such a date, an' he will return, so I am told. (Anybody's return or this man that killed someone?) Dey want dat othah man, de one dat killed 'im.
(I see.)
Entry 7946
Take a new needle out of a pad dat's nevah been sewed an' go tuh a un- dahtakah's shop an' run it in de garment of de dead person. An' if yo' wanta control dat person an' dere's a track aroun' de house an' in de yard, take dat needle an' yo' nail it down, wit de haid down firs' where dey step. An' dey will not leave yo'.
Entry 7947
Dey take yore shoes an' measure yore shoes. Take a needle, a needle dat's been sewed through a corpse - see, when yo' make a shroud an' dey [I inter- rupt]. (Use a needle that has been used in making a shroud?) Make de shroud tuh bury some- one, yes. Take dat needle an' put it through yore shoes, through de eyeholes yore shoes - see, three times. Den take dat needle an' carry it home an' stick it on de east side, an' yo'll stay dere wit 'em. Yo' cain't go nowhere. Yo' stay right dere at home an' be subject tuh dem in evahthing dey want.
(What about measuring the foot? Do they measure the shoe first?)
Dey measure de shoe first, den put dis needle through de eyehole three times. (Do they do anything with the measurement of that shoe? After they take the measurement of the shoe?) De measurement of dat shoe dey bury dat. Dey bury it undah de do'step.
Entry 7948
Git a brand-new needle an' thread an' git de undahtakah to sharpen it. An' if a woman dat 'er husban' is bad, an' if she kin git tuh dis woman dat is runnin' wit 'im, take a brand-new needle, an' thread dat de undahtakah shroud dat dead body wit. An' sew about six stitch- es in it, an' take dat needle an' thread back, 'fo' her husban' git tuh dere, an' sew dat place up in 'is pocket. An' if he runnin' out [with the women], dat'll run 'em away. (She simply runs this needle and thread through the dead person's clothing, and then brings that thread and needle back to her house, and she repairs her husband's clothing. Then when he goes to this woman's house, it will break them up?) Yes, run 'er away.
(The husband will come back to his wife?)
Yes.
Entry 7949
If dey are away a distance an' yo' want 'em back, yo' use de needle dat de first shroud wus made wit, if yo' kin git it or if yo' have it. De first shroud. An' yo' put dat through a piece of clothes or anything three times, jis' right through de same hole three times, an' send dis article tuh dat person. An' when dey git dis, dey are comin' back if dey have tuh swim. Anywhere dey kin git de money tuh come, dey are comin'.
(Whose clothes do you put that through?)
Anything dat yo' send tuh dis person; gartah, socks...
(The first shroud, what do you mean by that?)
If yo' have a needle de shroud wus made wit, de firs' shroud wus made wit - a needle.
(Whose first shroud?)
Anybody's, jis' long as it de needle dat de firs' one wus made of. [Find a needle used only once and that once to make a shroud. Did some under- takers or drug stores sell such needles?]
Entry 7998
Well, now heah's anothah one. Take yo a piece of wax an' make yo' a image of a man dat chew wanta inflict. Take yo' a needle an' do it de same as yo' do dat pit- chure, but yo've made a image outa wax.
(You don't bury that, do you?)
No sir, yo' don't bury dat. Jes' lak yo' see heah, if yo's [you is] drawin' a pichure. Yo' take a pieceof wax. AH RECKON WHEN YO' WUS A CHILE YO' USED TUH TAKE SNOW AN' MAKE LITTLE SNOW- MENS JES' LAK DAT - jes' sompin like dat. Well, den if yo' wanted tuh inflict it in de hand, arm or eye or foot, an' if yo' wanta kill it, stick dat needle right in de heart.
(That's all you have to do then.)
Entry 8219
Dey take de pichure tuh hurt or tuh do good. Tuh do good, tuh keep yure man, yo' take dat pichure an' yo' take a needle, an' yo' stick a needle right through it jis' lak dat. Right through de pi- chure, right crossways of de pichure lak dat, a sharp needle. An' yo' weah it, jis' lak yo' has a sack [nation sack, See p.1449f., THE NATION SACK WOMAN, first quotation] or anywhere. Yo' kin put it in a li'le sack an' weah it on yo', an' yo' put it down in dat; but yo' turns 'is haid dis way, right dere, see. An' yo' weah dat. An' ah don' care whut direction he's in, dat keeps: 'is mind tumbled up. He's gotta come.
(You wear that any place on your body?)
Yes, in undah yure clothes.
Entry 8220
Take a needle or even a pin and stick in yure face an' bury it an' yo' sill die.
(Your photograph?)
Yes.
Entry 8221
Ah've heard two-three things about photographs. Ah've heard dat chew kin take anybody's photograph, say if yo' wanta 'flict dem some way. Take yo' a needle an' stick in dat part yo' wanta 'flict, an' bury it in de earth face down. See, yo' bury it three feet deep which would represent three things, de Fathah, Son an' de Holy Ghost. Bury it three feet deep. Say fo' in- stance now, yo' wanted 'im lame in de am. Yo' take dat photograph an' stick dat needle in dat arn an' bury it's face down; or in de laig, or in de eye.
(Any place you want them afflicted?)
Yes sir.
(Then all you do is bury it face down?)
Yes sir.
Entry 8234
Yo' take de photograph an' take some perfume, put it on de pikture, an' a needle an' stick de needle in de pik- ture right acrost de fo'haid, an' hide it some place an' she'll love yuh.
Entry 8349
Dat photograph - yo' take dat photograph an' yo' judge by de person's heart, jis' if yo' kin kill 'em. See, yo' take a pin or needle dat's nevah been used an' yo' stick it right zactly where yo' think dat dere [heart] stands at. Find a young saplin' an' yo' skin dat bark an' shove dat pichure behin' dat bark, an' stick dat pin right through it. Graj'ly [gradually] dey will pine away.
(You stick that pin through in order to hold that bark back on the sapling?)
Dat's right, right zactly where de heart is at. An' when dat sap go down an' come up, dey'll die.
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 8968
Suppose yo'd [you would] have a case comin' off, yo' see, on de 28th of dis month. Dey day dat chure case goin' come off - [the day before] yo' git dat beef tongue from de market an' yo' put it on ice an' leave it freeze very hard. Aftah it freeze yo' take dat needle an' [scratch] all de jurys name on dat tongue. Aftah writing de jurys name on dat tongue, yo' take a shovel an' yo' put it [ice and tongue] about one foot in de ground. Yo' covah it ovah. It's frozen yo' see. Now dis dwellin' house dat chew live in. Yo' turn de chairs upside down. Well, dat chills his tongue an' he wouldn't be able tuh prosecute, unless de case is so brutish until de jurymen - yo' understand, regardless of whut de judge say - dey would have capital punishment. But if de case is not [too impossible] de [jury] wouldn't take de statement of de judge becuz he gonna give no statement whatevah. Dey take de statement of de witness dat got on de stand.
Entry 9773
De bes' thing yo' kin do, if yo' wan' 'em tuh leave out dat house. Yo' git chew a needle dat ain't nevah been sewed wit, an' yo' take dat needle an' yo' stick dat needle up ovah de doah. Jes' stick it up right ovah de do' an' de point of it is right chere, is out [demonstrates].
(The point is pointing outside.) An' ah'll guarantee yo' tuh yore dyin' days [they will never return]. Yo' know why ah know it? (No.) Ah seen it done. An' den de person [who did it]
didn't know, tole a lie [about it].
Entry 9774
Dey say yo' take yo' a brass - goldeye needle. (One?) Two of 'em - or either one - an' put it at de do' as yo' go out. Yell, dey say dat's drivin' yo', say dat'll drive yo' ovahbo'd [overboard]. So dey say. (I would do that in somebody's house to send them away and make them jump in the water?) Yeah. Say that will make yo' jump ovahbo'd, drive yo'.
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 9777
Ah've heard dem say if yo' wanted tuh - say if yo' wanted tuh grow tuh be smart an' wanted tuh keep yuh enemy away from yo', why of cus [course] yo' give yuh enemy a needle wit de point tuhwar' de enemy, tuhwar' de person dat yo' believe dat wuz yuh enemy. Han' dem de needle pointed toward 'im, or a scissahs wit de point tuhward 'im. An' dat would break dat enemy off from yuh. Dey would stop comin' aroun or stop being in yuh company, stay away from yuh.
Entry 9778
A sewin' needle, where a woman been sewin'. If her an' a woman had been havin' some kinda dispute ovah 'er or eithah a man, yo' kin take dat nee- dle an' carry it an' yo' burn de point of it. Jes' lak if me an' yo' had de [argument or quarrel], well, if ah kin git a needle, or eithah a pin, or borrah yore pocketknife [because you are a man], carry it home an' burn it. Ah burn it off good. Take it an' put it in some sulphah an' burn it ag'in. An' ah put some Hearts Cologne on it [knife or needle] an' sprinkle it [perfume] roun' [where I picked up object] an' put it right back where yo' kin git it.
(What would that do then?)
Well, dat will - if me an' yo' been havin' fusses an' things an' we be bad Out, well dat will gain de influence of me an' yo' back [together again].
(You will be on good terms again?)
Be on good terms.
Entry 9782
Mah grandmothah said dat yo' kin take a needle an' break up people. She said joo take de needle an' put it in de man's pants pockit, in 'is right.
Entry 9783
Yo' kin take a tinpan an' control a person. Yo' kin take a brand-new tinpan an' yo' kin write - lemme see. Ah got it right heah, de psalms yo' find where it says 'Vau - v-a-u. Yo' kin take that an' write that on a brand-new tinplate. (This psalm in which the word "Vau" is used?) Yes sir. It's in psalms [the psalm of a hoodoo book] an' yo' kin write that. But now yo' don't write it with a pen- cil or nuthin like that. Yo' take a needle or pin or new nail that's sharp - anything that's sharp except a pencil - an' yo' write that psalm on that tin- plate. Then yo' kin take that tinplate an' put it away where it won't be dis- turbed or be handled by anybody else. An' yo' kin control that person if yo grite that psalm fo' them.
Entry 9804
If yo's a keen farmah an' lookin' fo' 'em tuh break yo' up, yo' go git chew six needles, bran' new, an' take yore - now, heah's yore barn-facin', yore barn door facing.
(Facing of barn door?)
Yes. Yo' make a way [split with knife] in dere an' place dem needles in dere. Make a crack in dere wit chure knife so yo' kin place dem needles in dere. But de eyes [of the needles], three of 'em, an' place 'em jes' about de height of a man's body. Go up tuh dat do' an' put three [needles] on each side [of the door]. An' yo'll find no breakin' up of yore farm.
Entry 10144
Black cat ashes [surely a preparation sald by a hoodoo dealer!], left hind foot of rabbit.9 claws from rabbit. 9 needle points, 9 pin points, all in red flannel bag, which is fed with Jocley Clob per fe. Wear when gambling.
Entry 10490
[An unusual variation]: "Put down sifter [at night], you will find a bug in the morning. You then take a needle and count the holes in the sifter
[you are playing the witch's part!] and before you have finished, some- one will come in and ask you to turn him loose."
Entry 11107
Yo' git whut de' call three clover leaf.
(One three-clover leaf or three different leaves?)
One leaf but three different leaves on it. It's all in one - three clover leaves. All right, chew name dose leaves de days yo' goin' tuh see yore boss an' use de same perfume on it - Hearts Perfume - use dat on it, an' tie that up in a red flannel with a needle, and put a little ashes an' salt, an' dat'll give yo' - use dat fo' luck. Ah have done it. (When you go before the boss to give you a job?) Yes sir, ah wus three days in gittin' a job, yo' see. Yo' see yo' name it de days yo' go. [If you go for a job on Monday, name the hand Monday. "Monday, I want you to get this job for me today, etc."]
Entry 12232
Git you White John de Conkah root - piece of white - piece of white root and it's hard. [Only time I ever heard of white!] You take a knife or hatchet or somepin and cut it. And you put it in your mouth and whilst you goin' round to dose person where you wants a job, you talk to 'um, but you kinda spit real fine and let it get on dere clothes.
(Spit?)
Yes.
[I turn off recording machine but soon restart it.]
(To help you with this, to get that job, you get some lodestone.)
Get some lodestone. You get dat lodestone and put it in de red flannel and you ties it up with a ten cent piece [a silver dime] and needle point. When [then] you wear dat in de pocket separate from anything where no tobacco or noth- in' kin git with it, if you have to make you a little pocket [bag] you just wear it with dat, and you - de person you go to 'em and talk to 'em with dat, why you'll finally draw dere attention and you'll get de job.
Entry 12274
Tis a root that you kin git that is called King Solomon - King Solo- mon root. Will make you love 'em.
(What do they do with that root?. How do they use that?)
You will take King Solomon root - it has very fine small ji'nts [joints] in it. You takes that King Solomon root with a needle and hold it [root] on a apple or peach, anything for to eat. This is to take advantage of 'em, and stick a hole in it [through the root and into fruit] and tell it, each hole, that you sticks through with this needle into this fruit- stick it through, and tell it at each hole what you want it to do. At each hole. (How many times do you do that [stick needle into a fruit]? Any number of times?) Do that jes' the once. Stick it through there and tell it what you want it to do, and give them the fruit, you see. Make them a present of the fruit. I've done that myself.
(Well, now, what would that make that person do? That eats the fruit then?)
Make 'em love you. Make 'em do anything that you ask 'em to. [For another example of King Solomon Root, from Washington, D. C., see No.2045, p.597, v.1.]
Entry 12294
To bring someone to you, prick finger with needle, write his name or initial with the blood on piece of paper, fold to you 3 times longways, turn it and fold it to you 3 times shortways, put in bowl of lamp, burn for 9 days and nights. [Here is one of those interest- ing folding rites so well illustrated in HOODOO: to fold to you or away from you, fold into triangles or squares, etc. [This is my pencil resume of rite, attached here to original MS, before original material lost. Informant "excellent, " I note.]
Entry 12510
An' ah have heard a fellah [tell this]: De girl dat chew want an' is in love with, an' yo's in trouble wit de [law] officer an' she don' wanta come nowhere round yo'. [This is a unique situa- tion in HOODOO!] Yo' go git chew a red onion, a real one, not a white one - a red onion. Take hit [a needle] an' stick it right down in de center of dat onion - stick yore needle. Take yo' a brand-new needle that nevah been used, sewed a stitch or nuthin. Take it an' stick it in de center of dat brand- new onion. Let de onion be new an' de needle be new. Stick all those right down through it. Take hit an' put it down. Take yo' some fiah an' build a fiah around it, an' let dat onion burn to a fire-coal [unusual word!] an' when dat onion burn to a fiah-coal, yo' takes that onion an' goes to a secret place where nobody won't bothah yo' an' throw it undah dere. In a week's time she'll be back to yo'. Where she ain't nevah visit chew, she'll come an' see yo'. (That is if the fellow is in trouble [with the law] - is in jail or some- thing.) In trouble, or if he's outa trouble - in trouble or outa trouble, either one. Jes' take dat onion. Jes' buy yo' a [new] red onion an' take that onion [needle] an' stick it straight down in de center of dat - dat needle in de center of dat onion, an' call dere name three times. Den take that onion an' put it in de fiah. An' when yo' put dat onion in de fiah, [say], "Ah hope an' trust de Lord she will come back." An' burn dat onion. An' take dat onion out an' wrap it up an' dat needle an' stick it in a closed place an' dat needle leaves. Yo'll nevah see dat onion an' needle any mo' but she'll come back. Yo' can't find hit no mo'.
Entry 12511
Yo' cut a hole in de middle of it, de red onion. Yo' cut a hole in de middle of it, see, an' yo' take a cord string an' tie around it. An' yo' put sugah down at de end of dat red onion an' yo' tie it at chure front do', up ovah yore do', an' dat's tuh keep peace in yore house. [There are several ways to prepare this onion, a fairly small one.]
Entry 12623
A man said if: I could take a needle and 3 grains of pepper, red pepper, de seed of it, and some water and put in it, and salt, and then a few grains of black pepper. And take that needle and stick it down in that bottle. And when you get ready to go out, you go and take that bottle up and jis' shake [a magic act] it up and say, "Good luck and good prospire" [prosperity]. And go out. And he said, "You get a job." The man that told me that...and I declare I went and did it, I fixed it up, and I declare I git the job, the one I got now. And I've been with it over a year.
Entry 12994
If yo' want him tuh give yo' his money, all his money, sometime ask him fo' money. If he happen tuh han' yo' a silver dime, don't chew spend dat silver dime. Yo' take dat silver dime an' wrap it up in a piece of - it ain't cotton flannel either. It's woolen stuff. Yo' put chew two needles in dat, a short one an' a long one, an' yo' make a wish fo' tuh rule him an' fo' tuh have him bring yo' dat money. An' yo' git chew some oil from de drug sto'.
(What kind of oil?)
Oil of annis. An' keep it [wrapped up hard] anointed wit it an' put it in de bottom of yore trunk, an' he'll bring his money tuh yo'. Dat's whut ah kmoc 'bout dat. Dat's whut ah have experienced.
Entry 13334
(How Would you fix [put a spell on] her?)
Well, ah tell you. Ah'd ketch me a little sparrah - see, ketch me a little sparrah alive, and ah'll git me a little fat from a cow or fat from hog - sompin like dat - or fat from a chicken, eny kin' fat chew know to make some grease an' fry dese birds, see. I'll git dem fat an ah'll fry dem birds, see. Fry dem birds an' ah'll take a little piece of new homespun cloth, see. An' ah'll take dat homespun an' ah'll take dat grease, an' pour it onto dat homespun, see. An' after ah take dat an' pour 'em onto dat homespun, why ah'll git another [O.K.] piece of cloth an' ah'll wrop [wrap] it see. An' den ah'll take a needle an' a spool of thread wot [what] nevah beer used an' sew dat up. See, sew it up tight with dat cloth wit de grease on it, so it can't even ketch air. An' ah'll stick dat in de mattress right where she sleep at, see. Ah'll git a little Hearts Cologne an' den ah'll put a little sweet spirit of niter, see. An' ah'll pour a little bit of dat on her, see.
(On the woman herself.)
Throw a little sweet spirit of niter in front of her and a little Hearts Cologne in her back, on her right shoulder. An' she'll think the world, de sun rise an' [go] down on me.
(That is the [another] way you will get her.)
Entry 3082
I came here to find out. (Will you sit a little bit closer so I can hear you?) [To bring him nearer the microphone.] [The following paragraph will introduce you to the problem I faced every day while collecting the material of this investigation - see also Introduction.] I came here to find out what your work may be, if there is any help I kin git in connection - if there is any of your help or whatnot in connection with what has happened to me in my business. [He is a bootlegger.] That's what I wan'a know. If it's anything 'at I've to tell or go through. I wan'a know that an' I'll begin my story jis' like I started off before [before I turned on machine]. There's so much of dis recently, I thought I jes' couldn't understand it you see. Lots of people come here an' say you's someone who tryin' to trap someone, an' this is tryin' to git someone in trouble. Well, I say, "Well, I don't know what in the world it's all about, but if he, that is to say, [does] things to help me, why I don't mind goin' over an' explain myself." ['Here I explain my work." These words are my penciled comment made at the time I did the original transcription in pencil. Here I also made one of my many mistakes. I failed to transcribe my explanation. My failure however Was excus- able - hand transcription being such a tedious and impossible task I had to call in an expert transcriber for the post-Wilmington cylinders. Yet one explaining sentence does remain, "I don't heal anyone, I don't sell anything." As you will now learn, this man Was in serious trouble. My lost explanation at least set him more or less at ease.] You mind if I light my cigarette?
(No, go right ahead.)
[I was smoking a cigar, why should I mind him smoking a cigarette. A woman later over in Memphis "came in...smoking a big cigar" - see MAMMY: THE CIGAR SMOKER in INTERVIEWS.] Now first, I'm a married man. I've got a wife an' three children - jes' as well say five because I've two to take care of that's my wife's sister's, dead, an' they stayed with me from the first, each one of them, so that makes me have five [children] to take care of. Now my wife, she's sick an' has been for a long period of time. Her first [sickness] was believed by medical experience was pelegra, an' after that, why I found out something else; an' I went on an' kep' - go see her an' I kep' finding out something else. I went to work at Wrightsville Beach six years ago [1931], right down here ll miles from the city, where I was workin' for Doctor W. there. An' one day, after knowin' that my wife had been sick so long - I kep' tryin' to, wonderin' what in the world's the matter - finally I found out from Doctor H., that it was pelegra. [Here informant is returning to something already said.] Thereon he subscribed that I take her to the country for her health. No doubt it would be a little beneficial to her, an' where it was quiet an' didn't hear the runnin' of the cars, the streetcars an' so on, an' jis' git out of all that stuff, an' it would make her no doubt so she recover. An' so I carried [her] on over to Atkinson, North Car'lina, an' she stayed there for a long long time - in fact the whole summer through an' partly of the fall. An' one day I got a telephone call - it come at ten o'clock jes' before I carried [her] to Atkinson. [Informant again returns to something already men- tioned. For the difficulty in following this type of thinking, see confusing story, No. 2750, Pp.758-767.] An' that was while I livin' away from home in the country right out here. In fact she was jis' like her mother, my daughter's god- mother [grandmother?] as fer as that concern [whatever this means]. Tom T., it was his wife [who. telephoned]. She say, "Come to town at once. Eliza is crazy."
[This may be why "she was jis' like her mother."]
An' I didn't believe it. When I got in town she didn't know me from [some- thing, not Adam] or nobody else. So after havin' consulted with Doctor H., as I foresaid, I carried her on up de country. She lived up there fer a while an' I'd go there. She jis' got in such a wreck, kickin' up so, an' jis' nobody could go around 'er. She didn't want to hear what they had to say. She jis' git to the place she dispised 'er father, you know. An' even to 'er sister or to herself or anybody. She didn't wan'a see nobody. Well we goes there to Clinton, North Car'lina. There's ole man up there, they call 'im Mr. Wickins[?]. He read the cards. He also give me a dose of medicine to take.
(What did he give it to you for?)
He told me when I took that dose of medicine - after readin' my palm - he said, "This dose is goin' work for you an' not her [it is not MEDICINE BY PROXY, p.365]; and besides, you goin' get it in house when you get back home. [This is preventive medicine - see PREVENTIVE MEDICINE CARRIED TO EXTREMES, p.328.] Well, I wonderin' what he meant by that. He told me, he said, "There's someone has thrown for you," he said, ''but they're not tryin' to kill your wife in connection with you, but they're durin' [doin'] somethin' to keep her puny, ailin' along." He said, "They'll give it to you, if they're havin' a whole lot of trouble with her." He said, "Now, it's a black-skin woman an' a dark-skin woman that's doin' this." [A doctor is always vague when identifying culprit - see MADAM JACKSON ACROSS DE CREEK, p.757.] An' besides, de black-skin woman is the woman that want joo, an' de dark-skin woman don't visit chore house very often but she's helpin' fo' this people." He said, "Now, the way they did this - goin' to git it goin' their way - they went there an' sprinkled somepin in de baid while you were away [in the country].
(Did he tell you what they sprinkled there?)
He said some kin'a powder. He couldn't - he don't - he set some kin'a thing in front of him. It was a little thing that looked to me like a little horses settin' up there, an' a little somepin looked like a crab, another thing looked like a little fish, another little thing looked like a little serpent. He could touch them little things, you could see them shiver all around in - looked like to me they was settin' in a little basin or a little [over shape? = over size?] bowl of water.
(Was it a bowl of water?)
Looked to me like it was water. An' he talked to me. Den directly he go startin' talk to these little things in there, an' they kin'a quiver. [See photograph, supposedly in crystal ball, "trembled like a leaf," p.173, line 5.] An' then he start to tell somepin else. ["I suggest that these figures were magnetic, shaped in forms of the zodiac, and that they quivered whenever the root doctor holding a concealed magnet passed his hand over them. There was no water in the bowl." This comment is a part of original transcription in pencil. The evidence or experience for it I no longer remember. These quivering figures may be a diagnostic device (pp.165-217) like the trembling photograph in the crystal ball just mentioned. It is certainly one of the many tricks to impress the patient - like invisible writing (p.265).] So he told me, he said, "You weren't all right, don't sleep well at night, an' neither one of you don't sleep good at night." I said, "Well, you're right." He said, "Well, don't answer me." He said, "I know what I'm talkin' about." I have given many examples of a doctor knowing or foreseeing everything - see YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME, p.316.] I says, "Well, I must tell you, she don't sleep at all at night." He said, "Well, that's why that was sprinkled in your baid for. An' the way this black-skin woman had the dark-skin woman to do, to give it to you, were to sprinkle some of the same stuff under your door, an' that's why it got choo an' it fix you. Then I told him exactly [all that had happened.] He give me some kin' of little roots - he called one [of] them John de Conker. Then he also give me some kin' of little stuff called wood mold. It grows in the little pine [something - could be thickets?] like tha' choo go to rake it up an' you use it for makin' fertilizer - like the farmers use. [In Maryland this "little stuff is called shadders (= shatters), "fallen pine leaves or needles," used for animal bedding, which turns into manure or fertiZizer - 723, p.240.] An' he told me to take that [wood mold] an' red oak bark [frequently used for medicine, p.462 and elsewhere] - take that stuff an' boil it, make a tea out of it, an' feed her off of it. Give her all salts that I could get her to take - physic salts. An' so I did it until she got to the place that she wouldn't even take that. An' I went back to him again an' he said get Vita-Food east [brand of yeast] that come in a big tall can about that tall - somepin tha' choo sprinkle over de food when she gits ready to eat. Not de Fleshman [Fleischmann] east, something in comparsion, but it was yellowish lak sulphur maybe an' had a very strong odor. An' he had somepin called Eastborn [yeast-born or Eastbourne] tablets. Well, she had then fallin' from a hunderd an' seventy-six pounds down to a hunderd an' twenty. Well, I was feedin' [her] on that stuff an' she went back to a hunderd and fifty. An' I come on back to town. An' afterwards I brought her back from de country here an' we lived together fer a good while. My house be the second doah to my brother-in-law - from her brother house, my brother-in-law. I was at 905, where he was 909. An' rather than stay home, she'd stay over there; but when she goin' eat she'd come home, an' jes' as soon as she eat she'd be right out an' gone. Well I got worried over the gait[?]. So I told my father-in-law about it an' he says, "Well, any steps you wan'a make, why go on an' make it." So then I got into another [acquainted with] boy that was workin' there with me. We called him Skeet. Skeet told me of a woman down South - Madam Rachel - Dillon, South Car'lina. [Note that a man in North Carolina calls South Carolina down South. This was frequently done - see Introduction.] An' he also made men- tion of a old man called Doctor Buzzard.
(Where was he?)
Florence, South Car'lina. First, before I got to this Madam Rachel, this Doctor Buzzard came to my house [in Wilmington].
(He came to see you?)
He came here ordinary passin' by. An' another person he goes by [visits pro- fessionally]. An' someone told him that I'd care to see somebody of that kind. So he came in. He had a little hand bag, not a big case. [Was he referring to my 3 large cases - recorder, transcriber, and cylinder carrier?] It was a hand bag [in imitation of a M.D.'s medical kit then in use]. He had a whole lot of little snakes in that bag. [See SNAKE, Pp.66-73, and elsewhere.]
(Alive or dead?)
Alive. That snakes scared her. She's frighten anything that kind. My wife was there. She was lyin' right in de baid an' he told her, he said, "Now, I'll put choo to walkin' by tomorrow for four dollers and one cent.' I ast him what was he goin' do with de one cents. He says, "Well, the four dollars is for me; the one cent is the cure." "I says, "If you put my wife to walkin' by tomorrow, I'll give you four dollers an' one cent." [For this type of payment, see DOCTOR ARMOUR, p.891, line 2.] He say, "Well git me a pint of liquor." I say, "That'll cost you a dollar." I got a pint of liquor. He took a needle an' two straight pins an' crossed them. He crossed all three of 'em an' tied 'em together with a red piece of string an' put em into a little bag. Then he took out some little seed that appearently looked like flaxseeds. An' he told me take these seeds; if it's any time you want to go, be with some Woman. He say you drop one of these seeds in the liquor or somepin that she's drinkin' an' make her do anything you want her to do. I said, "I didn't ask you to come here to cunjure me an' wife. I ask you to come here to aid." He said, "I don't mean that." Well, I went on an' give him de four dollers an' one cent, an' [he] took all this stuff an' sewed it up in that bag [thus making a hand]. Then he took the snake out of it [iar], which [snake] he had already wrapped one around my wife's leg an' throwed [throwing] some liquor over it he wrapped it around the right leg jes' above the knee. Besides, when I got that second pint of liquor for him, he poured some down the table an' poured those snakes out of a little jar he had 'em in, an' begin to talkin' to those snake, an' they stood right straight up an' go over to him. There's where I vacate out of de room fer a few minutes. [I repeat preceding reference, SNAKE, Pp.66-73, and elsewhere. Besides after one drink of raw moonshine whiskey a person could see a few things; after two pints of it, anything.] So I came back. In a few seconds later an' he told me, "All right. Now, by tomorrow, as I told you [she will be out of bed]." Well, he went home an' she seemed to be recoverin' a little. But then this Madam Rachel, about two weeks later, she came there. This was the third party [root doctor] now. [She had been called from Dillon, S. Car., to wait on a case in Wilmington, and had heard about my informant.] An' she told me to go to the drug store to Doctor Mason [druggist], the Ideal Pharmacy. I was livin' aroun' there at that time. [This is a normal drug store, not a hoodoo store.] She tole me to git a dime worth of bluestone an' red pepper. An' she put out some dirt, some kin'a lookin' - I called it sand. She poured out a little bottle, but she tole me it was graveyard dirt. So she mixed it all together. Then she ask me before she give me that stuff, she said, "Do you know any officers in this town?
(Officers?)
Officers. Policeses. I said, "Yeah, I know jist about every one of 'em." I told her the name of them. An' [she said], "Write them down on this piece of paper I'll give you. De's somepin I wan' choo to do with it." I said, "All right." So I wrote down every one that I could think of. She said, "Now, on this set of names, how many is it that you think would do you harm, an' he goes out an' make it his business an' come arres' chew jes' out of ordinary [for no purpose at all?]?" I said, "I don't know. I hate to go through that part of it; but still, since it's personal, why I guess I'll have to tell you." So I named the one or two that I thought wasn't very good friends of mine an' knew the whole family an' my wife and her [people] before I even knew her my own self. So I named 'em down fer her. She told me, she said, "Now, you take these names on this piece of paper, go to the northeast of this house an' bury it down there, then come back to me. Then she took that dirt, that mixture she had there, an' circle all the way aroun' my house entirely. [To circle the house with salt or other substances is a fairly common protective device.] An' told me then - she says, "There somepin under your front doorstep tha' joo an' your wife are walkin' over ev'ry day is what cause you not to be gittin' along any better, an' I'm gon'a stop it. An' besides, the officers been runnin' in here on you all the time an' claim that choo have a lot of liquor an' you doin' this an' that an' de other thing you' re not doin'." She said, "I'm gon'a stop that. Besides, Im gon'a fix it so when they come to the front door they can't come in." I said, "How much is that gon'a cost me?" She said, "Give me three dollers an' you pay for the goods an' a doller on my gas bill back home." Well, she had a big Buick car out in front. I did that. Well, I found out I was gittin' along very very good then an' really my wife did come out of bed, stayed up fer a long time, gittin' along gran'. So after she'd gone, I decided then I'd move an' change houses. I thought the house was bad luck to me. I didn't know if there any other stuff [sprinkled or buried] along there. So I moved. No sooner than I moved, I got in other house, [it Wasn't] three months before I in [jail] agin. That [this] time I cooked 60 days in the county jail up here in town. I cooked up there when the cook got sick.
[At least this tells us something about the informant - he was a fair cook.]
An' when I came back, to be sure whether I was right or wrong, I moved right back in that same house. [Which house?] Then [I] started to fallin back [into the same bad luck] right away. I had a ole - sister's dead an' gone now. She came to me one day an' tole me, she said, "Let me tell you somepin. She always did call me brother. [She Was not his sister.] She say, "Let me tell you somepin, brother." She say, "There's somepin aroun' this house that it interfering with chor life an' you can' be happy. You can't live with your family like you want to," she says. "I'm goin' find it," she say. She went up under my front doorstep an' got a pair of scis- sors out from under there with one of the points broke off of it, an' ole rusty nails au' needles all tied together. An' she brought them in the house with her, "Here it is, I've got it at last." [He did not see her find the articles.] I said, "Now, Mama Annie, do you reckon that's true?" She say, "Well, here it is."
(What was her name?)
Mama Annie, we called her. Her name was Annie P. We called her Mama Annie.
[She was a root doctor.]
So she tole me then to take that, break it up, burn it up, do anything I knew to do an' I would stop that stuff goin' on then. So I ask her what it was an' she tole me it was [some]thing that somebody still tryin' to git between me an' my family. I took that pair of scissors - I had a good hot fire in the stove - needles and nails, an' I thought that stove would melt. It turnt red-hot. An' I let it there fer two or three days till I was sure it was gone. I got rid of that. Well now, a little later on comes the nex' part of it. I got in some more trouble. A man 'cused me then of sellin' 'im whiskey. This happen recently, too. This party - he's dead, the one that said it; but this party lives right here in the city now. [I am unable to straighten this out - the man will appear again.]
(How long ago was all this happening - these stories?)
It happened to an' fro within the last five or six years - right along, all up an' down the sides, right up an' down. It's right now so. Jis' like I told Mr. Gavin out here [in my waiting or reception room in the Gavin home] jis' a while ago. [Mr. Gavin, my contact man in Wilmington, N. Car., Was the husband of the sister of Julia, page one. I interviewed in the Gavin home and had lunch there each day.] I said, "I've a tendency maybe today I want my wife any second an' I'll go to her. We are sweet and loving together. An' directly another feelin' jump right [up in] me an' I'm out and gone. Maybe she'll be talkin' nice an' lovin' to me. Directly she jump right up, "Oh! So-an'-So." An' I'm out an' gone. Well, I go around to her brother's house an' go to bed an' sleep or some- where, anywhere, at some friend, an' go on to sleep. So I told her one day, I said, "Let me take you down South. I had a party aroun' there in Walnut Street by the name of J. He told me a place up [down] here between Southport an' here, that I could go to a man that he was - well, that he could clear all that stuff where I lived at. [Southport - being south of Wilmington - equals informant's "down South."] Somebody agin! [Another root doctor!] An' that [meeting with the doctor down toward Southport] was suppose to have happened this last Thursday, but I was sick - had no more than come out of the hospital. I had a rectal abscess. I'd jes' been operated on. Come out last Monday an' I wasn't able to go. I didn't have any money to go with - the first part of it. I had to pay little bills you know. An' about this last party, to git back to de same trouble'as I started to say. This man claimed that I sold him some whiskey on the 21st day of November, an' I Wasn't even in the house that day or that night. An' so dis same [Walnut Street] Mammie J., he told me that, "I know a party that you ought to see right here in town. Maybe he kin help you a little." I said, "Who is it?" [No answer.] They [the rootworker between Wilmington and Southport] were supposed to be here in town this last past Thursday, but didn't come an' I didn't have any way to get to 'em. But I did see the party here in Wilmfngton. An' they told me also that it was things down aroun' my house; that's why I couldn't live happy an' peaceful at home.
(What do you think about it?)
Well, I do think there [is something] in it. An' I'll be frank with you. There had been a time way back, when I was much younger, I didn't believe any doze kin'a things; but I still now, since I found things buried - there is so much. An' that when I'd go as I foresaid, an' try to make love to my wife, seem like ev'rything is all right, right at first an' directly things occurred in an- other different way. An' then I would come an' try to humor her along, "Honey, what's de matter? What's de occasion? Sittin' in de dining room, huggin' wit 'er as sweethearts do. We'll talk things over an' directly she'll say, "Well, let's do so-an'-so, let's be sweethearts again." She'll forgit it an' I'll do anything fer you. You kin bet chor life right on the same schedule agin. So I went to this party [in Wilmington] an' he read the cards out fer me, an' told me that there was somepin down at my house to cause to bein' this way, an' I couldn't help myself, an' give me a root, an' got it with me now as fer as that's concern. He told me to keep it wit me anywhere I went. An' I got another thing, I got two other articles at de house that I keep. An' whenever I go roun' my wife, he told me to always wipe my face down with that powder. It's a little sweet perfume powder. An' then there's a little ball somepin like you got it sewed up in a little bag. You can't tell what's in it. I didn't cut it open to see. [This is a ball-shaped hand.] I leave it at home unless I'm goin' round to her house.
(What's the name of that root?)
I don't [know] what de name of the thing. I got it here in my pocket. An' she told me to chew a piece off of it an' spit around the door before I walked in, to kill my enemies before I got dere. That's what she give it to me fer. She said that would kill my enemies before I got dere; an' if it's anyone to do any harm, it'll change their mind. That I would also find a little dark-brown-skin man there. I didn't intend to tell you about that. That's de trouble over me an' my wife. An' [she said] I would certainly find that man there. An' she also told me she did it [whatever this means]. An' my wife sometime would mention this man ["rootworker is my transcription notation] to me. She said she liked me but she never [was untrue tol me an' didn't live no man in the world but me. Well, I know that of it's true [truth]. An' the thing that - so far [the marriage?] would last three or four years jis' about perfectly right up to the minute [trouble began]. This little bag I pinned that on the inside of my clothes nex' to my flesh. Then sometime it would smell like a onion an' agin it would smell like perfume - change odors all kin' of ways, like turpentine an' agin you don't know what you smellin'. Jes' the way that thing smell. Well, as I tell you, I didn't open it up to see what was in it, because it was sewed down there. Then she give me a prayer. It was written on a piece of paper down onto the 24th Psalm, called Ezekiel, I believe it is. An' I'd read that an' memorize as much of it as possible when I'm goin' aroun' my wife - like I'm away there now an' I should happen to think [trouble Was brewing]. That [is] to quite fusses down or anything in case you may start anything. Read that as I start towards my house, an' when I git to my yard I finish it an' then go in. An' they told me when I paid her a dollar and a half more, that she would go in there an' git this thing up an' show it to me. An' I told this weekend I'd let her complete her part of the job. An' [I] found that ev'rything she told me has worked out right. Even now in this case that I have now, she told me that this case was gon'a be put off three times. An' she said, "Let's put it off some more."
(That case in court now against you?)
Yes sir, that this man J. accused me of sellin' him some whiskey, bottle of liquor on the 23rd day of November of last year, which I wasn't even in my house, as I aforesaid a while ago, dat day or night. An' she told me and said, "Well, I'm gon'a show that I'm right before I clear you completely. I'm gon'a put off your case some more." An' she has put it off eight times successfully. Now this comin' Friday will make the ninth time that I'm goin' to be tried.
Entry 35
De woman kin take or either a man, ah guess - but chew kin take a dozen needles an' put 'em in watah an' let 'em stay in dere ten days an' give someone de water to drink off. Dey say it's a deadly poison - say it jes' de same as yo' drink a needle - feel like some pins is sticking yo' in de inside - somepin like, jes' like if a person wanted to put a spell of some kind on - yo'd have dat pain jes' lak yo'd swallowed some needles yo' know. It take effect on yo' dat-a-way. Whut dey would do to stop it ah don't know.
[Just as the person's essential qualities were in the bath water (see No. 29)
so also the essential qualities of the needle absorbed by a bath are transferred to a person drinking needle-water.]
Entry 60
Yo' dress that bed - specialiy when yore dead people come to yo' an' start to tell you somepin an' yo' wake befo' they tell you. Yo' take two matches an' cross them like that - stick a needle through it and lay it underneat' chure pillah with de point turned down, an' they'll come back an' finish tellin' you what he was tellin' you.
Entry 179
If yo' take a needle, an' during de time when it's thunderin' if yo' take de needle an' go out to de corner of de do'step an' take an' put it to yore ear, now dey tell me yo' [will] heah de devil in hell when it would be thunderin' an' lightnin' jes' as sharp - yo' know de lightnin' [is] sharp. Den, if yo' take this heah needle an' put it to yore ear an' go to de corner of de do'step an' put yore ear down on de ground, say yo' listen dere, an' say yo' could heah de devil an' his imps in hell. Dat's all ah've evah heard about a needle. Ah heard that if yo' could lay down an' keep yore eyes open whilst de wind wus whirlin' - jes' git in it an' lay down an' keep yore eyes open - dat yo' could see de devil. Jes' git in it an' look up, an' when yo' look up yo'll see him.
(During this whirlwind.)
Entry 385
Well, he [informant's father who was a doctor] said dat chew could go to de fo'k of de road an' yo' could contact spirits an' dey would give yo' treasures an' give yo' information of people who've lived long. Den spirits would appear an' dey would give yo' treasures an' tell yo' where hidden treasures were. (Well, how would you contact them - how would you get in touch with those spirits - what would he do out there?) Well, he said burn incense - yo' kin burn incense dere, or yo' could take yore money needle an' it would lead yo' where de money wus of course.
Entry 405
Why that's a thing, yo' see, that's worked wit a machine, yo' know. Yo' have to carry sulphur 'long wit yo' an' dere's - ah don't know whut dat stuff is, but it's a kind of a thing like a saucer an' yo' burns dat when yo' out. It has a needle on it chew see, an' yo' place down dis-a-way, yo' see, an' as it goes round wheresomevah it stops an' points down, why it dere that yo' have to dig at. An' yo' not supposed when yo' commence digging - dere might be all kinda things, but if yo' don't see anything - can't open yo' mouth or anything - jest continue working, why then yo'll git it. But if yo' see anything why then you lose your whole hope on it.
Entry 406
Ah ain't nevah done none, but ah hears dey have a needle - a search needle.
(While you dig some fellow has to read the Bible.) [I repeat his words.]
Read de Bible - King Solomen - an' at de time dat chew is diggin', he have to read dat Bible. Den yo' have - have to have yo' a dynamo concern, an' yo' have to have wires connected round from dat dynamo - round dat place - an' den dat'll keep dat devilment from coming in dere. [The circle about the digging place has become an electrified wire!] So dey tell me.
Entry 520
Yo' take nine needles an' yo' use'ly puts 'em on a card together - de nine needles an' take an' wrop 'em up in a ball, in a small ball, an' drop 'em right down at de foot of yore bed, an' dat use'ly keep de witch away or either yo' ketch 'em, but ah nevah known dat yet.
Entry 529
If you feel like he's [a hag's] comin' on you, keep workin' your fingers and toes and dey'll go away. An' den sometimes dey won't do dat, dey'll jis' jump on you an' ride you - jis' ride you until dey see fit to turn you loose. When you wake up you jis' make a long breathe [long breath]. Well, dey tell me you kin put a sifter down, if the hag come in dere or de witch or whatsomever it is. An' [later] it happen to be a bug crawlin' aroun' in dere, you ketch it an' put him in somepin, you know, where he couldn't git out. An' da' choo goin' count ever' one dem holes [in the sifter], ever' one dem holes, an' befo' you git through countin' dat dere'll be somebody dere to come an' beg to turn 'em loose. An' you'll know dat's an enemy. You have to count 'em, take a needle an' go roun' an' count 'em, an' before you git through countin' dem, dat dere be some- body to come in. Dey ast you to turn 'em loose. [The victim instead of the hag or witch counting the holes of a sifter is most unusual.]
Entry 613
I know when mah sister wus a-goin' - someone fix her up by her hat an mah mother - there's a ole witchcraft - of course, you know, jis' like mah father didn't believe in it an' she didn't allow such things at de house. So they tol' mah mother to take some needles - two needles, an' two broomstraws, an' two quartahs whut de lady wid de stars aroun', an' take a pot of boilin' watah an' put it in; an' if anybody, yo' know, did anything to you, those things will go togethah, you know, an' dance; if not [fixed or hurt], it won't. So she tried it. But sure enough it wus true. Then she take an' pour that off in a - I think de watah, it made a tea, you know, had to drink de tea. That's to kill it, de poison. [Wilmington, N. Car., (221), 210:5; at Rocky Point, N. Car.,1933.]
Entry 909
Once mah mother had a cousin an' so she married - dis girl married. So it was another lady she was mad with about her husband. So she went on then an she kept - she was mad with her 'bout two-three months, an' so she 'cided to fix 'er. So one day mah cousin was goin' through de gate - an she'd fixed her wit dese straight pins - an' so she, jes' de time she walked ovah de straight pins she fell. So she went to a root person an' de man tole her how she was fixed wit de straight pins. De lady had put de straight points of de pins up.- nine of 'em - stuck 'em straight up an' she stepped ovah dem at her gate, an' so she stayed sick a long time. She was sick in bed in all of her joints an' her fingers had turnt dark - an' ev'ry joint in her laig an' ev'rything - she was real bright-skinned. So she went to de man an' de man axed her did she want him to take it off her an' she tole him yes. So he said he'd take it off her about three dollars. So she said she wanted it turned back on 'em, so he wouldn't turn it back on 'em. But she didn't do anything - jes' took dem nine straight pins up she walked ovah. De man tole her to go to her front gate, after she had seen him, an' scratch down in one of her tracks an' pick up nine straight pins - rumple dem up an' brought 'em to him. An' she dig those - she carried it all to him an' he says, "Dem is de straight pins yo' is fixed with." An' dem pins had turnt dark.
(What did he do with those pins, do you know?)
Well, he didn't do anything - jest throwed dem away.
(That cured her?)
Shore - but he give her a bottle of medicine to take.
Entry 936
I know one that's true. I have a brother who went to the sanitorium for two years. They said he lost his mind. In fact he had lost his mind. They say that his wife got some owl-brain powder. She went to a cunjure and they fixed this up and put it in his hat. He lost his mind the same night he put this hat on. And he wandered about the streets every night until daybreak in the morning [like an owl]. About six months ago my other brother and my uncle were told to go to New York to a West Indian hoodoo doctor. They [he] gave them some stuff in an envelope and he put this on a needle and went to the insane asylum and put it in his arm. Before he got all right this doctor went back and shaved all his hair off his head and put some salve of some kind on his head. In three weeks time he was out. He went to the West Indian in New York and stayed about four weeks in his home. [Fredericksburg, Va., (70), Ed.; Philadelphia,1932.]
Entry 1004
Ah've learned dat chew kin go to de fo'k of a road an' yo' carry two needles with you an' cross them, an' if dere's anyone - (How do you cross them? Where do you cross them?) Jes' cross 'em at de fo'k of de road, jes' lak it's a road goin' disaway an' one disaway. Well, den dis is de fo'k comin' heah.
(When you cross them, you just hold them in your hand or what?)
Jes' lay 'em on de ground an' cross 'em an' yo' cross de needles in de fo'k, right at de fo'k. Yo' lay 'em down an' cross dem an' if dere's a person - dey call it a spell, jes' lak somebody has hurt yo' someway or 'nothah, an' yo' cross ovah those needles, why it will take de spell offa you. (Well now, if I would go out there and put those needles down, you mean I would have to cross over them or what?) De person dat's hurt would cross ovah them - if yo're hurt, if yo' feel dat yo' have a pain dat de doctors cain't cure, an' yo' take dose two needles an' yo' jes' cross dem at de fo'ks of de road an' jes' walk ovah dem. An' dat will take de spell offa yo' den.
Entry 1139
Jes' lak if somebody goin' come to yore house an' - yo' take the nine straws out de broom an' you set those straws - lak if yo' have a piece of cloth, yo' set those straws an' yo' take nine needles an' stick in those straws into the [cloth] piece, an' yo' put it up ovah yore do' where dose peoples comes in, an put dere name behin' de [cloth] piece lak dis, "In de Name of de Father an' de Son, ah want chew tuh stay 'way." Dey come all in at one time an' dey goin' out de back do' an' dey won't come in no mo'.
Entry 1375
Ah hear that yo' kin git a piece of lodestone and take a needle and break in three parts and on a Friday morning - be sure it's on a Friday morning, and stick each part of that needle in de side of that lodestone. Sew it up in a red piece of flannel and wear it and dey can't do you no harm.
Entry 1378
Git a can of potash - Devil Lye. Yo' hear talk of Devil Lye with the devil with the red head on the can of potash. Git chew nine nails - ten-penny nails an' git - put in nine new needles, dese goldeye needles. Bury it in de center of de gate. Dat's to turn back de devil-like - dat's if anybody tryin' tuh hurt cha.
(What do you do with these needles and nails? Where do you put them?)
Put them on top of that can of potash in the gate, when yo' bury it about that deep.
Entry 1395
(What do they do with the needles?)
They string 'em all on a thread an' drop 'em down between de breast tuh dry milk in de breast fo' a baby.
(They just let them hang on the breast?) Yes.
Entry 1396
Wal, yo' jest git yo'self a brand-new goldeye needle and stick it in a stopper - cork - and yo' wear it aroun' yore neck. Let it go right heah below de heart. An' yo' wear it around yore neck an' nuthin dey do, as long as dat needle is on yo' - tain't nuthin dey do kin harm yo'.
Entry 1397
You gets their name. After you gets their name, take a needle, and take that needle and you cross it like this and after you cross it like that, you take it and you put in a piece of paper - brown paper, mind you - and you write their names on there five times. And after you write the names five times, you turn thisaway and you take it [demonstrates].
(This way - they wrap it to you?)
Wrap it to you - don't wrap it from you - wrap it to you and then you takes that and you wear in your pocket - in your pocketbook and keep it on you and anybody can't do you nothing.
(You take one needle, did you say?)
Two needles, and cross them like this.
(Ohl two needles, I see, you just cross them in that piece of paper?)
Cross 'em in there and turn 'em thisaway.
Entry 1399
They say you take nine needles and put 'em in a bottle of turpentine and you can wear it or either put it down under your bed and nobody won't hurt you.
Entry 1400
Maybe yo' got a catarak in yore eye, or maybe yo' have dose little ole bumps chew know dat come on dere an' nearly put chure eye out. Yo' git nine cambric needles an' stick 'em all up togethah - yo' know, a little bunch, ovah de do' an' den yo' walk, pass in an' out de do' fo' nine times - keep count, for nine days yo' know. Den yo' kin take em down - yo' kin throw 'em away - yo' kin see. So you don't sew with 'em [again].
Entry 1401
You use four goldeye needles around the house - put one in each corner on the side of the house on the outside. It's against the one [intending evil] outside, an' they can't interfere [with] you at all. Nobody kin do anything to you.
Entry 1716
Some peoples ketch one dese flyin' bats yo' know, one dese leather bats an' cut him an' take his heart out 'fore it - yo' know, while he's warm - while his blood is warm an' wrap it up in a piece of cloth an' den put a needle in dere - git three needles, cross 'em. Den sew that up in anothah bag an' - den git chew a piece of cotton ah mean, an' wrap it round dere an' den sew it all up together. Ah know dat's good cause [I] see dat used wit success.
Entry 1860
Well, for gambling I've taken and get me a new nee- dle and get me a piece of five-fingered grass, and get me a piece of lodestone and some steel dust, and take it and sew it - that needle, brand-new needle, not no needle that's been used - in a little piece of leather bag. And use this here fast luck - keep it damp whenever I go to gambling
Entry 1931
Ah heard 'em say yo' go to the graveyard an' git graveyard dust. An' jis' lak yo' wan'a make a bag fo' tuh gamble or somethin', yo' git graveyard dust an' yo' take it an' put it in a bag, an' put needles an' red peppah an' bluestone an' sew it up in dat bag with dat graveyard dust. An' dey say when yo' go tuh gamble, all yo' got'a do is jis' rub yore han's on it an' yo'll win ever' time yo' put chure han' on it.
Entry 1932
Graveyard dirt - that's good for gambling.
(How?)
You take the graveyard dirt and you takes needles, seven points of a needle - seven points of seven needles. Take that graveyard dirt and take some emery dust from the drug store and you get some lodestone and you put that together, and you make a wish and you sew that up and you wear it. As long as you have the confi- dence in this, it may bring you succeeding power, but if you don't believe in it it's not good.
The informant describes graveyard dirt among several ingredients and qualifies the claim with confidence, 'may', and the statement that without belief it is not good. The interviewer's question is separate.
Entry 2100
I entered a house to clean it and hang some paper. Nobody had lived in it for about six months. The colored man who had lived there had moved out. There were about three daughters in the family. And when I went in the house and started to tear the paper down I found in a crevice in the wall a little ball of red flannel saturated with Hearts of Cologne. There were about 25 needles stuck in it. The fellow that was with me told me that was a mojo - a good-luck piece or to put somebody into a stream of bad luck.
Entry 2163
I went to a man once - my husband went away - an' he fixed up a little red [flannel] ball, an' he tole me to go to the front door fis' before sunrise an' take nine needles jis' one at a time for nine mornin's, an' stick in that ball an' he'll return. He'd been gone away two years an' I hadn't heard from him, an' inside of six mont' time he did come back. [Red ball symbolizes heart.]
Entry 2164
Yo' kin take a needle - two needles, charcoals an' red flannel wit some other graveyard dust an' put whiskey on it an' dat will give you good luck.
[Three ingredients are in the sack; whiskey feeds it.]
(Good luck in what particularly?)
In gambling.
Entry 2166
They take two needles an' some black peppah an' put it in a bag an' put it under the front do', one in the front an' one in the back do', in a red flannel bag, an' that keeps the law from the front an' back.
Entry 2195
How many cornahs has dis house got? Fo' cornahs ain't it? Well, you kin take fo' needles an' stick each in ev'ry cornah of dis house, an' take a red onion an' bear [bury] it, one to de front do' an' one to de back do', an' dey
[the law] cain't come in.
Entry 2209
Yo' bootleggin' an' you wanna keep de law from yo' house, you go in de deck and git jack of diamonds, jack of hearts, jack of clubs, jack of spades. Git 'em to de fo' corner of yo' door and yo' callin' dem laws man, and you take a penny and you put 'em to de foot of yo' door. You take nine needles and you hit 'em across chure door. Then you take - begin again to burning dragon's blood and incense, and ev'ry man come to dat door - as a man in power, he'll have to pass dat door.
(That will keep them out.)
He'll come but he'll have to pass dat door.
Entry 2228
Yo' git de rabbit foot - de front left foot.
(Now, just how do you prepare that?)
Yo' git dat rabbit foot an' yo' take it as it is an' put three needles in an' yo' put it in flannen, red flannen, an' keep it wit chew all de time. Yo' sew it up in dere - keep dis rabbit foot with yo' all de time.
(What do you use that for?)
Dat's fo' luck in games - gamblin'.
Entry 2330
Well, yo' kin take a sewin' needles an' yo' kin take a pair of slips - git hold of a pair of slips, dat is bloomers. An' yo' kin go tuh work den an' yo' kin snatch three stitches right into de seat of de person's slips. Buy a pair of new slips, Jes' lak if yo' wanta make a person a present of 'em, an' yo' kin drop three small stitches like into de seat an' dat'll lock dey bowels.
(Then you give them that new pair of slips.)
Yeah, jes' as a present yo' know.
Entry 2362
You put three drops of urine in a bottle and then empty the contents of a bottle of Hearts Perfume or Cologne, and in that you put nine new needles or new pins and a small piece of lodestone about the size of a pea, and then you drop - if you know that someone's angry with you - you drop nine grains of spice in there. Well, if you gon'a have a chance to meet these persons, you jest drop a few drops of it in your hands and rub yore hands together and then rub them over your face like that. When you meet that person he is going to be pleased with you regardless to how angry - they mighta been most angry with you but that would put them in good humor.
Entry 2801
A white one - yo' kin burn it on a man, write his name. Git this ridgy candles - yo' know this white ridge, yo' know they got a ridge on 'em. Yeah, dey got candles wit ridges on 'em. De white one, we call it decorated candles. Yo' take an' write his name wit a needle in those ridges all de way round de candles - see on dat ridge all de way around every one of those ridge, an' yo' burn that candle, lak yo' burned it one hour in de daytime. All right, den yo' blow it out. Den yo' burn it at night one hour. Dat will make him come back home.
(You just burn it for one day?)
No, yo' burn it fo' three days straight.
(You mean these candles that have ridges like a barber pole?)
Dat's right - write his name in those ridges. [Some of these candles must have ridges twisted spirally; other have untwisted ridges horizontally about candle.]
Entry 2883
If ah wanted yo' tuh move, ah'd burn a black candle on yo fo' nine days an' ah'd write yore name on a black candle with a needle - dat's whut ah'd do tuh make yo' move. (You mean you would burn just one black candle?) No, ah'd burn nine black candles. Ah'd burn a candle a day, see, an' write chure name on dat with a needle. Dat's tuh make yo' move.
(When do you light that black candle?)
Ah light dat black candle at five a'clock in de mawnin' an' burn it till it burns out. -
Entry 2952
Yo' take a pure white candle, co'se white is purity an' yo' light dat white candle an' yo' turn it bottom upwards. Yo' take an' light dat fore end of it an' yo' say yore prayer ovah it, an' yo' take yo' two needles or two pins an' stick it in dere on dat candle, an' dat candle will go out. (That candle that someone is burning against you will go out. How do you stick those - either needles or pins?) Cross 'em crossways - needles or - no pins - needles or matches. [This is a white candle burned against a black candle.]
Entry 2958
You take and cross two new needles in your head - two new needles in your head and get some holy water, see, and just take that holy water for nine mornings and throw it backwards over your head - over them new needles.
(Over? You just throw it back over the needles?)
Over the needles - over your head.
(I see, and what will that do then?)
That would cause the candle - if the candle been burning, the candle would do no harm. It make it burn out and it wouldn't do you no harm.
Entry 2971
Dey go to a store and buy some gold-eyed nee- dles and cross 'em - take 'em and put 'em in yore hair and cross 'em.
(How many do you put in there?)
Two.
(Just two in the form of an X or a cross right in your hair.)
Form a cross jes' thataway but put it right up in dis part of yore hair.
(Top of the head. What will that do?)
Say that will put 'em out.
Entry 2972
Two brand-new needles - you know, what you never used - these gold-eyed needles, make a cross in the top of your head with them and keep those needles up there in the top of your head.
(Do you take those needles out?)
No, you lose 'em out. Like you go to bed, you see, you don't take 'em out with your hand and lay 'em nowhere - like you go to bed, you let 'em lose out in the bed.
(I see. Then the candles go out?)
Yeah.
Entry 2973
Take two brand-new needles and cross 'em in your head - two brand-new needles - and put 'em right cross there. And if you got a hydrant, go to the hydrant every morning and let the water run right on the mole of your head - that hydrant water.
(That makes those candles go out?)
Go out.
Entry 2974
Take two. needles an' yo' cross 'em nine mawnin's in de hair - up in de hair yo' cross fo' nine mawnin's. Yo' go tuh de rivah or well an' yo' bathe yore face, dat'll pass dat pain in de haid.
(Will that put the candles out or what?)
Dat'll put 'em out - put out dat cross.
Entry 3140
She'll take his currun[t] or comin' an' pu-tit in a Hearts Cologne bottle wit some Hearts Cologne, an' put a needle in it an' stop it up, an' pu-tit [in] huh bosom an' weah it; an' dat'll make dat man go tuh 'er house tuh see huh. [I met that word sounding something like current (without the t a number of times an' transcribed it as such in my original pencil transcription attached here to the final manuscript. I soon realized that the word should be comin' (coming) the verbal form of the normal word come, meaning semen.]
Entry 4196
Git some of 'is urinate an' git 'er nine needles - goldeye needles - an' nine spices. Put it in dere an' nine cinnamons, ah mean cloves. Stop it up an' turn it bottom up- wards an' bury it undah de back do'step. If she could git 'im, yuh know dat would draw 'im back, an' den when yuh [he] walk ovah it once or twice, he'll keep comin' back.
(Just what do you put in that bottle now?)
Yuh put nine goldeye needles an' nine grains of cloves, an' nine spice. Yuh know, cloves an' spice [allspice] is diff'ren', but it's all about de same, yuh know. Put nine of each: nine needles, nine cloves an' nine spice.
(What else do you put in that bottle?)
De urinate.
(Whose? Yours?)
His.
Entry 4576
Cross two needles in dat an' run 'im crazy.
(Cross two needles in this bow in the hat.)
An' put about six aroun' de [inside of the sweatband] de linin' lak dis heah [demonstrates]. See, lak dis heah, an' it will run 'im crazy. (What about that little bow - you know, that little ribbon that is tied in a knot?) Yo' mean in de back part of de hat? Well, jes' lak dat bow ties, yuh take de two needles, two gold-eye needles an' dip 'em in chamber lye an' cross 'em dat way, an' yuh'll run 'im crazy. (Do you leave them right in the hat or do you take the bow out?) Nawsir [no sir], leave de bow in de hat.
(You put it under the bow so it can't be seen?)
So it can't be seen. Dip it in chamber lye.
Entry 8971
They take that beef tongue and they put them nine pins in 'em, nine pins and nine needles. And they take that tongue and they take and - that's if you are going to court or going against anybody - and they take that tongue and they'll put it on ice. They freeze it, put that ice around it. Yo' know, pack it right around with that ice. Well, that's when yo' go to talk, that chill yore tongue and yo' can't say what yo' want to say. That chill yore tongue.
Entry 8974
(A beef tongue and wrap it up.)
They use a beef tongue. It's like if they got somebody done prosecute 'em, see, an' dey'll get up on de stand [to] prosecute. Well, yo' take dat beef tongue, an' write dere name nine times an' sew it up into de - a piece of de tongue - wit nine needles an' nine pins. An' aftah dey sew it up into dat, dey put it on ice de day of court, an' de people dey get to go on de stand can't talk. Stop 'em from talking.
Entry 9257
Take a black hen's egg and take a needle, punch it. Take a little of gingsing oil an' pur [pour] it in an' take de cement an' plaster it right up. Take it an' drop it right on top of de house an' it bursts, an' dey will move, yo' understand. [I understood at the time but uncertainty came with the transcription, in which the key word sounded like gingsing oil. Oil? Was this oil from the aromatic ginseng root, perhaps sold by a hoodoo shop? Even with one having a Chinese proprietor? They did exist, though primarily as incense and curio centers. Ginseng, known among root collectors for years before my work began, appears rarely in Hoodoo. The importance of root shapes, once considered desirable in Chinese medicine, is also known in hoodoo, but none of these examples concerns ginseng, as far as I know. The North American plant is Panax quinquefolium, the Chinese P. schinseng.]
Entry 10453
Take 12 needles in pile - put to head of bed - hag will count the needles - you catch her. Ev'ry time they count a certain distance they'll forget and must start over again.
Entry 11840
Nine needles and nine pins and gunpowder. They put that gunpowder in with it, but they strain that after and give them [this in] what they like to drink. That keeps them far enough, far enough [away] and not fussing all the time, that gunpowder.
Entry 11879
To hold woman, man obtains hair from her head, adds lodestone, wraps these into a piece of red flannel, and into this package weaves 3 needles cross- ing one another * [the common rimless wheel device or emblem already given a number of times elsewhere: No.5720, p.2920, Z.10, v.4; No.8214, p.3447, v.4; and No.9796, p.3853, v.5; cf. No.10181, P.3961, v.5]. This package he carries in his pocket or keeps elsewhere. [Compare this rite with following 5 needles one, HAIR 11884.] [Memphis, informant (963), 1555:8.]
Entry 11943
If you thread a needle with a person's hair and drive the needle into a tree, that will give the person a headache. [Norfolk 476:10.]
Entry 11980
Lay hair in snuffbox with graveyard dirt, tenpenny nails, needles, pins, and throw into river; "run you off." [Mobile 883:3.]
Entry 12046
She can hold his love by wrapping some of his hair round 9 needles and keeping it hidden in the bed. [Wilmington 79:5+85.]
Entry 12172
Hoodoo doctors put needles and pins in these bags. They tell you it gives you sharp luck. [Fredericksburg, by Ediphone.]
Entry 12500
New piece of red flannel, 9 new needles on one side, 9 new pins on other, put under doorsteps, makes person crossing over crazy. [Memphis 1569:3.]
Entry 13209
A woman puts needles in man's sock and puts it under the doorstep so that toe points towards house - brings him back or keeps him home. [Memphis 1570:10.]
Entry 13325
It some kind of a rod dey got an' dey say wha'evah way dat rod turn - it won't turn until yo' git right whar de money is. An' it will - dat needle point right down whar de money buried at, an' dey go dere an' dig it up.
Entry 9779
To make a fellah unlucky, take a needle an' pin it in his coattail an' turn de point right down an' it'll make him unlucky.
(Turn the point down.) [Waycross, Ga., 1095, 1765:16.]
Entry 9780
If dey put jes' ord'nary sewin' needles in yore clothes an' pin yore clothes with a needle, it's bad luck. If yo' lay yore hat on de bed, [it's bad luck].
Entry 9793
Yo' kin take three needles. Take three needles an' burn 'em. Jis' lak yo' got a enemy 'roun' yuh, an' yo' an' 'er can't git along, an' she raisin' Sam an' gaddin' all 'roun', all roun' dere. Can't git along. Yo' jis' set down an' take three needles an' git - an' burn 'em. Put 'em on de fiah an' burn 'em real hot an' make yuh wishes. As dem needles git hot, make yuh wishes accordin' tuh whut happenin' tuh yuh: "Wish de bad luck would go off, good luck will come an' live happy in mah home. Mah enemy tuh flee from me." Well, yo' take dem ovah dere an' burn 'em an' make yuh wishes. An' aftah yo' burn 'em, yo' take dem an' throw dem away - take dem tuh de rivah, throw dem in de rivah. An' evahthin' be okey.
(Three needles?)
Three needles. An' aftah yo' call dere name, den yo' walk tuh de rivah. Af- tahward or a day or so aftah, yo' know, aftah yo' done burn 'em an' make yuh wishes. But at de same time yo' goes tuh where it's runnin' watah.
Entry 9798
Ah've heard dey kin use three straight pins an' three needles an' John de Conkah root an' bury it dere.
(Where?)
Undah de house.
(What will that do?)
Dey say dat will run de person out of de house.
(Well, will they put those pins in any way?)
Well, dey stick 'em straight down in de root, dey say in de middle wit dem needles around it. (The needles around the root.) Dat's right, an' three pins. (Right in the center of the house.) Anywhere under de house. (Do you put the three pins on one side and the needles on the other or what?) Dat's right.
(Or do you put first one pin and then a needle?)
Three pins in rotation, three needles in rotation.
Entry 9839
Take nine needles an' stick 'em in a Irish potato, which is a white potato, an' bury it underneath a person's do'step - if yo' wanta harm 'en in some fashion - In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, an' jis' whatevah yo' make yore wish fo', dat will happen. (You want to harm them in some way, you say. Anything you wish for to harm them?) Yes sir.
Entry 848
[Among other doctors with special names are: Dog Face or Dog Head (I describe in Introduction my efforts to find him in his tin-can-covered shed on a public dump) - Humpadee [= Humpty-Dumpty] of Richmond - Ready Money - Turkey Gobbler - Zorro - Doctor Buzzard - and others. "Mama Mary on Bowling Green Road [[north out of Richmond either helped or defended]] woman killed man - cut from under left arm, underwear - 5 or 6 needles and some cotton and part of towel they had used in intercourse - needles stuck in this underclothes and towel - put in bottle - and hair from privates - hole in cork - drips out - he died - Richmond, Va., (389), 336:3. Informant described as: "389 - b. Richmond - gum chewer" - gum chewer perhaps reason why I did not transcribe story - Numbers Book 340-442.]
Entry 11549
"Dey takes [measures] your [right] track...wit a cord...dey'll take dat cord and dey roll it up with 6 new needles and six new nails, an' dey goes to de rivah, tide's [tide is] goin' down...dey throws dat overboard. Your mind goes wit dat [out with the tide]." [Charleston 556:14.]
Entry 12121
A woman can take a man's hat bow an'... "10 new needles an' 3 new pins an' his name, an' wear that in the bottom of your [her] left shoe; an' everywhere you [she] go at, he gon'a come lookin' fer yuh [her." [New Orleans 1101:4.]
Entry 197
I remember one time when I wus in Philadelphia. There wus a lady, her husband left her, she wanted to bring him back. So she got ready an' she went to this doctor. So she ast 'er, she said, "Could joo get my husband back?" She told 'er, "Yes." She said, "Whut way could joo get 'im back?" So she said, "I'll tell you wha' choo do." She said, "You get a black cloth, you make it up like you do a baby, an' you stick out one pin an' one needle in it - new needle an' new pin." An' she [the wife later] taken the needle an' she stuck it up one place, here [she demonstrates].
(In the head.)
I guess it must of been the eyes she makin' - an' [she half-pantomimes].
(The pin.)
Another place. [Many persons acted out everything they did.]
(For the other eye.)
She put it [the doll] right up over the doah [still demonstrating]. (So that it was held there by the needle and pin stuck through the eyes and into the plaster.) [Final result of my commenting.] I was in the house. I seen that mahself. An' she [the doctor] said, "Ev'ry time you come to this house [the wife's own]," she said that - "an' I'll pin it up here over the doar - an' ev'ry time you come in," [she] said, "before you speak to anybody," she said, "you cuss at it, an' that'll bring 'im back again an' make 'im stay with you." So, after that, another time, I seen her dress [prepare magically] a letter, this lady [the wife]. She dressed a letter for to send to him. An' when she dressed that letter she took an' went down there [the page] jes' like that with her fingernails - you know, went down jes' like that. Den she had somepin, ever' now an' then she dip her fingernails into this mess - it was jes' like perfume. She'd dip her fingernails into it, she'd make a straight line, she'd go straight on down [the page] for to make him start writin'. So they went on at dat an' went on at dat [using various devices to bring the man back]. So the next two weeks - I think it wus, yes - the moon wus shinin'. You see, this wus dark nights when this happened. So the next two weeks there would be a moon shinin' at night. So after that [in the light of the moon], she said to dis lady, she said, "When you came again," she said, "you bring me a piece of money, but let it be silver - a ten-cent piece, but don't bring it in two nickels." So when this woman [the wife] came [home] again she ast me to go with 'er, an' I went back with 'er. An' it wus some way out in de country, see. We taken de trolley [or streetcar] because we went a long ways. You know I'd heard tell of these things an' I wanted to see 'em. So when I went with 'er, she taken this money - she tied it up. It wus tied up in four corners - it was a handkerchief. She made it [the four corners of the handkerchief] in a cross like - like a baby. An' after she got way out de country, she taken an' threw it to the end of this road. The road was crossed up. She threw it to the end of the road [down the left prong which was crooked]. She threw it over her right shoulder an' said somepin three times. So I said to the lady, I said, "Whut did you do that for?" She said, "We got to pay off the evil spirits whut we git our work to act, So they'll do whut we want to do, see." So I imagine that's whut dey did that for. That's all I know about that. But anyhow I went with 'er. So after that, why she [the doctor] said to this woman, she says, "When this baby falls down off of the doah, '' she says, "in seven days after that, if not seven days then the ninth day," she says, "he'll come home." I didn't go back with 'er though after dat baby fell, but I went with 'er for to pay off, you know, dat concern to the ends of that road. I went with 'er den. So after that I ast the lady, I said, "Did your husband came?" She said, "Yes, he come back all right." I said, "Well, how he's treatin' you?" She said, "Fine, better than he did before."
Entry 616
The pins and needles - well, that's when someone hurts yeh and you're trying to turn it back on them. You buy a new paper of needles and a new paper of pins. And you take nine needles and nine pins, and you put on a quart of water, and you put a fifty cents or a dollar or a dime - any silver piece of money in there - and then let it come to a boil. And if you're hurt, why this money will turn over. Well then, if the water boil, it'll turn with the boiling water. You do that when the moon's on the last quarter or right on the full moon as the moon's going away. That's when you boil this money, they say. And that tells whether you're hurt. This money'll boil and turn over, just continue to turn over and just rattle. And then you drop these needles and pins in there and make your wish, you see, that whatsomever they do to you may return back on the ones that put it on you., See? Well then, after it boiling, you boil it down. You take a quart, say for a instant [instance], you boil it to a half a pint. Then you make this same wish again. And you go on back down then until it gets to a half a pint. You never boil it clean completely away. You drink this water, you see, when you take this spell off. And then you take those needles and pins and put them in something that you doesn't care for, something about your person, put 'em in paper or, if you found you anything around there where it's been put down, why you put all this together and throw that in running Water between nine and twelve o'clock, anytime after sunset. And make your wish just whatever way that chew goin'. (While wishing, stand facing the direction that you will take after the article has been thrown into the river.) You see, you can turn around [backwards] on your way [to the river]. Don't never turn around [after reaching the river]. Be in the position that chew goin' when you throw them away. And never look back. Well, you see, if you do it right on the full moon, see, then by the time it changes and goes completely away, see, why this spell is off of you; then, see, and those needles and pins, they've done and washed on away.
Entry 744
For you to walk over? Shure, you kin do dat easy. You go to work, you kin make a cross out of dese needles. Yes, sir. Git you a piece of red flannel. Git you some of dis High John de Conker - it's notched, you kin cut off a notch of it or as many notches you want, whatsomever you wants to happen to a person. If you want him crippled up, you prob'bly take about three notches in it and - not too large dat you kin bend it - and get dat red flannel and sew it. Try to sew it in a cramp [not crimp] so it will be cramped like dat [demonstrates].
(Sew this John the Conqueror in a cramped way?)
Yes, bind it lak, you see. And stick dese needles across on each side of it - dese needles and bury it under a man's [door]steps just de way; if he is going up dis way, bury it oblong [parallel to steps] so he will walk straight ways [straight] over it. And he'll become chestbounded in his laigs. His laigs will always feel lak dey are in a strain - fin'lly git so he can't walk on his laigs. [In walking.straight (straight ways) across the root buried oblong (parallel to the doorstep), the person passing right-angled over the root completes the making of a cross sign - therefore he puts a cross on or crosses up himself (see margin-title Marks). Since a person would never walk over a crossmark on his doorstep, this underhanded (undersleeve) device (see margin-title Undersleeve Work) is a trick (see margin-title Tricks). Besides, with the crossed needles also beneath the doorstep - this is a doublecross.] (Now, in crossing these needles, do you put one across the top of the root and one underneath the root?) Dat's right. Put you a cross - jes' dis way, one on top and one underneath of it and bury it wit dem needles one across at de bottom and one on top. [The needles are crossed by sticking them through the flannel.]
Entry 752
My husband rented a house in Staunton, Virginia, and went to Pittsburg to make money to buy a home. While he Was in Pittsburg, this man he rented the house from, I used to go around with his wife and I was very nice to her. I used to give her lunch every Sunday night when we came from church. My husband had written to me to ask Mr. Dodd to look after the hogs being butchered. Of course I told Mrs. Dodd about it and she told me, "Don't bother Mr. Dodd. Mr. Dodd says that he don't kill his own hogs and he ain't going to kill anybody else's." So I said, "All right, then." So when he seen me having the men kill the hogs he said to his wife, "I wonder how it comes Mrs. Baker didn't have me look over it?" She said, "I don't know but I told you that's the way some colored people does." So he asked me and I said, "Your wife told me not to ask you to help about the hogs." Of course that was his wife and I wasn't going to bother. I said, "My husband has sent money to pay you." After that then she wanted me to go to church with her. They had a revival. I didn't want to go with her because she was going with another man. My husband was working and taking care of me and I didn't want to do nothing wrong. So I told her, "You know they say that church is condemned. You know my husband ain't here and I'm afraid something might happen and there would be nobody here to take care of the children." So that was my get-off to keep from going with her. So her daughter, she was a young woman, used to come down there and set with me. And she said, "Mrs. Baker, my mother has fixed something for you. It's in a bottle and I found it and took it and put it over in the orchard. And don't you eat nothing she brings you." They had an old-home week there. They decorate the wagons and show what they have to sell. Her and I went down to see the parade, me and the young girl. So she says to me, "There's that bottle" - when we was coming back. And I tried to get it but I couldn't get it. Even my hand was right on it and I couldn't pick it up. And I asked her to get it. So she got it and I come on home with it and put it under lock and key. And that very day then, the old woman didn't miss the bottle, she brought me beets and potatoes and beans and a lot of nice things and corn bread. I didn't eat it because the girl had told me not too. It look very tempting. So I said to the kids, "Don't you all want some of this, things that Mrs. Dodd brought me?" And they said, "No, mama. What you don't eat, we don't want none." So I took the food she brought me and scraped it out to the chickens. The chickens what was on the outside of my wire fence, they ete it and they all went blind. So when I go upstairs, I did - and look at this bottle and take it down to the doctor. Yes, he was a real doctor. Doctor [Somebody] of Staunton. I asked if he knew what was in the bottle. Well, he named all the things that he knowed was in the bottle, but he said he would have to send the bottle away to have it ana- lyzed to see what was in it. But she had new nails, new tacks, new needles, and my hair I guess, and night water. So he says, "Don't get none of that in you." So I saves the bottle and carried it to Pittsburg to show it to my husband. And I had this daughter along with me. She and her mother didn't get along. She said to me one day, 'Mrs. Baker, why don't you do away with that. Why do you keep on keeping it?" So I says to myself, "I don't know what to do with it. I'm afraid to put it in running water because it might run me away. Then I put it in the fire and burnt it. I got the girl to burn it. All the different colors you ever saw came off that stuff while burning!
Entry 863
Well, mah husband wants once tuh run a jewelry shop an' it was a woman loved him an' he wouldn't love her, so she got about twenty needles and twenty pins an' po' some kind of stuff on 'em an' put it in a red piece of flannel, an' that morning when he went to de jewelry shop it was tacked on de do' right under the knob. An' he started to touch it an' the man said, "Don't touch it." So he said, "What ah'm goin' do - how'm ah goin' tuh git in?" Said, "Wait a minute." So he threw gasoline on it an' he threw a match on it. Mah husband didn't know whut it meant, so it worried him all day, so he got on de train an' he went to Tampa. So a lady [cunjure] tole him that a lady put it on dere. So he said, "Well, whut does she mean tuh do?" Say, "She meant fo' yo' tuh tear up yore business - that's whut chew gon'a do." She say, "In less time than two months if yo' don't pay twenty-five dollars [to the cunjure for protection], yo' goin' out business." So pretty soon mah husband jest went to giving his stuff away an' selling it an' he jest said he wanted tuh git out - said his business was torn up Wit those needles and pins an' red flannel dat was sticking on de do'.
Entry 866
I can tell you one thing they can do to hurt you. This is very true. I know a lady. She ministrated. A woman taken her clothes and carried it away and buried it in the cemetery. This woman began to get thin. She ministrated every day for about five years. An old woman came by one day traveling and told this woman - the cemetery wasn't far from the house - she told her exactly where this thing Was buried. She carried her out to this spot underneath a big oak tree. It was buried in brown paper. It looked like brown salve. And it had needles and pins - these great long horsepins - and a piece of rusty wire, and it had about six or seven strands of grey hair. And this was put into a little tin box [symbolic coffin]. The box was covered with a piece of someone's shirt or dress. It was buried under this tree. This old cunjure woman taken it up, she burned something and held it over it. She taken this woman down to the branch. She repeated something for her about three times. She let her drop something out of this tin box, each time she repeated these words, into the stream. She taken one of the old rocks which was near and held it on top of the can and bore nine holes in it, and put the rock in the can and dropped it in the stream. The woman now is living. She is not ministrating. She is about fifty-eight years old. [The created situation must have been frequent at one time, both in city and rural districts - see margin-title Doctor Plays Both Sides, p.257; especially story of Old Woman and Razor, No. 782, p.258.]
Entry 873
Ah kin [tell] yo' whut dey say about dat 'cause mah husband - he was then with a woman. Ah kin tell you whole lot 'bout dat, because he tole me this on his deathbed over there in de hospital - me an' him had been separated fo' about ten years, an' so - (Tell me the whole story - how that began.) Befo' he began to git down lak he was, he came to me to mah home. He said - asked me for some alcohol. Ah say, "Well, ah haven't got de alcohol, but ah have a dime - go out chere to doc an' ask him to credit me for a nickel an' ah'll give you a bottle of alcohol." So ah went out there and got de alcohol and brought it back in to him and give tuh him an' ah said, "Now when yo' go home" - he was tellin' me whut part of him Was daid. He says, "Mah toe is daid right up to where it joins tuh mah foot." Ah said, "Well, what caused it to be?" He said, "Ah have high blood pressure." Ah said, "No, ah have high blood pressure fo' de last ten years - yo' know that." He said, "Well, hit's a stroke." Ah said, "A stroke don't come like that, it comes right now - it don't come by degree an' by degrees." So he'd taken dat alcohol and he went home and he rubbed hisself with it once or twice - begin to do good. So fin'lly he rubbed again and it begin to git worse. When he came back tuh me agin he said, "Mah laig is daid down tuh mah knee." Ah said, "Deah me, whut on earth is de matter?" Ah say, "Why don't chew go to someone know mo' than yo' do and mo' than ah do?" He says, "Ah don't know where tuh go." Ah says, "Go 'cross de creek down heah tuh Madam Kay," like dat. He says, "Well, ah don't know." He says, "Ah can't git mah mind to do that." Ah said, "Well, all right, yo' jes' keep on an' fin'lly yo' may be dead you can't trust such things." People have sense - people have sense like that. So, when he came back again - he was goin' down to de shipyard tuh work and he come on back agin, he had fell down dere. His cousin said fo' me tuh come there, that he had fell. Ah went on ovah there. Ah says, "What's de matter now?" He says, "Ah'm jes' done got to de place where mah limbs is no good tuh me - ah can't use 'em. Ah said, "Well, ah can't see what on earth is de matter wit chew." He say, "Ah don't either - ah don't know whut's de matter with me." Ah said, "Do you think somebody's got anything dat belong tuh yo'?" He said, "No - haven't anybody got anything belong tuh me." He said, "Why don't chew bring a doctor fo' me?" Ah called Dr. Edmund. Dr. Edmund come an' he examine everywhere - all - down there and everywhere. He said tuh me, "Ah can't see what's de matter with him - without his blood's wrong." Ah said, "Well, Doctor, yo' say his heart's good, his kidney and everything - mah mind tell me if his heart is good and his kidney's, his blood cannot be wrong." Then ah said, "Cause de blood that penetrates through de heart - look like it ought to 'fect the heart, don't it tuh yo'?" He said, "That is the truth." Well, de week befo' he died - on a Sunday - he sent fo' me to come out there. Ah went on out there, he said tuh me, he say, "Yo' was a good wife to me but ah didn't have sense enough to know it - ah couldn't help mahself." He said, "Ah found those bottles in mah bed tick, ah found that piece that ah was laying on," he say, "an' Willie" - de woman was named Willie - "she had some- thing around her waist. She tole me it was to keep yo' from hurtin' her." Ah said, "Well, dat's somethin' ah don't believe in. He said, "An' that have killed me." He says, "Dey have got tuh de place now," he says, "ah'm no mo' good." He'd lost his use - he couldn't move his hands and he couldn't move his feet, he couldn't do nothin' but jest do that [demonstrates a slight movement]. When he told me that, ah went to a man, a spiritual man - called to be a spiritualZy man. An' ah didn't have any money an' ah sit there and ah begin tuh cry. He looked at me and he said, "Yo' is in trouble?" Ah didn't say anything because ah was scared to. He says, "Yore husband's funeral was arranged at de start." I said, "Mah husband." He says, "Yes, but yore not with him." Ah said, "Whut's de matter with him?" He says, "A wuman - two of 'em - a dark-brown-skinned 'un and a light-brown- skin man have got de toe of his sock - his left-foot sock and de seat of his drawers." He said, "Now it's too late. Ah said, "Can yo' do anything?" He said, "Can't do nuthin - if you had come jes' a week befo' yo' put him in de hospitai." Ah said, "I didn't put him there." He said, "His cousin did," he say, "ah could have cured him." Ah say, "Well, if I go there and ask the Sisters can yo come in an' rub him, would yogo?" He say, "Can't do any good." Ah said, "Well, whut did they take." He says, "Nuthin but de seat of his drawers and de left toe of his sock," he says, "though they got somepin on de inside with whiskey." (Well, what did they do with that piece of sock? What did they do with it - did he tell you what they did with that?) No sir, he didn't never tell me what did he do with it. Yes, yes he did - one that ah went to, tole me to go inside de graveyard gate jes' about fo' steps.
(Who told you that?)
It's another [man] called to be a hoodoo man.
(Did you go to another man, then?)
Yes sir. So ah left that man and went to dis one. And both told me de same thing, but dis man tole me where to go find it. He said go right inside de Magnolia Cemetery into the white side and jes' as yo' go in de gate, he say on the left-hand side.
(You said something about taking four steps, didn't you?)
"Jes' 'bout fo' steps inside de gate," he said, "an' yo' dig down there and you'll git a cloth wrapped tight with needles and pins," he said, "but if you git it up thare he will die right now." Ah said, "Well, if ah git it up but [or] don' git it up, he's goin' die." He says, "Yes, nuthin can be done, now." Ah says, "Well, ah jes' as well leave it there, '' ah said, ''because ah don't want him to die if he will stay here a while longer. An' ah went on ovah to de hospital an' like tomorrow was Saturday, he died the next day.
(Did anything ever happen to these people that put that spell on him?)
Not yet, there hasn't.
Entry 939
I had an' a'nt and uncle. Both of them was sick at the time, so we sent fo' a doctor, and it was close to a year and de doctors kept coming and dey said dey couldn't do no good. So we got a kind of hoodoo doctor and so he came to see 'em and he came fer nine days and he told her that she'd have to go out under her step and dig. So she went out and dug an' she got a bottle, and we looked down in it and dere was some roots and lotsa needles and two sets of hair - her husband and her hair. And dey tole her she was tuh take it and put it in running water. And she did and he said in nine days he's come back again [magic delay]. So after that he started to rub 'em - rubbed both of 'em and they both commence tuh git well after that. They'd failed terrible - that's mah aunt, ah know that. Both of 'em got better. (Well that first time - he didn't tell them anything until after he came the ninth time?) No, he didn't tell 'em about it - he say he'd have to come right along.
(I see - before he did anything at all.) [Washington, D. C. (626), 801:1.]
Entry 1059
Dey tell me you kin take a bottle - listen good now - take a bottle with your husband's chamber lye. Just don't let him spit in it - just like he pass de water, don't let him spit in dere, see. And you take a piece of de underclothes - piece of his underclothes and you take one piece of his stocking from heel side, one piece off de middle, one piece to the bottom see, and den put them three in it and then you gets six needles - gold-eye needles and this - some kind of old-time cologne dey call - some kind of old-time cologne dey call - it's real sweet cologne. (Heart's Cologne?) [Informant could not remember. I had to suggest a name to get along with the story.] I'll say. Get dis Heart's Cologne and dey put dat in dere and then they put six needles, and they put six new needles - gold-eye needles see, and you put - then you take it and bury dat late at night. And den dey put 'em down at de head of yer step like dat and when you put 'em down you say, "You son-of-bitch, I want you to come back....
(The head of the bottle is upside down. There is a cork in it though?)
Yas suh, cork in dere too - airtight. Nobody - nothing can get into it. And say, "You son-of-a-bitch, I want you to come." And he won't have no nature for no other woman, just have to come back to you. [While checking transcription against recording I made a note "lowland dialect," meaning that the transcription is approximate.]
Entry 1261
Yo' kin take a person's hair as dey comb it out chew see - git dandruff and all and wrap dat hair right tight. Yo' know people combin' dere hair it come out in de comb, an: yo' jis' take dat hair an' wrap it real tight in some red flannel wit a piece of lodestone, an' stick needles all through it. Jis' stick 'em all through dem - Jis' diff'rent ways an' dose needles will inflict de body some way. Yo'll break out in spots de size of quarters or half dollahs on yore laig or on yore body. An' yo'll always be afflicted until somebody in de family finds that thing. Ah'm telling dis from experience. Mah mothah wus hurt dat way an' ah found it when ah wus thirteen yeahs old. An' den she bathe her laig in fish brine an' she got well.
Entry 1740
And then you know, your decacal [index] finger, you see that's your blood right from your heart.
(You do what with your finger?) See, that's the finger - that's the blood that comes right from your heart. [Points to right index finger.]
(Which finger?) )[I doubt index finger.]
Your decacal finger.
(Oh, this one right here?)
Yes.
(Which hand?) [I am still doubtful about hand.]
On your right hand.
(Oh, your right hand, I see.)
You prick that with a silver needle - have never been sewed with, a goldeye, understand.
(I understand.)
You'll take that blood and you'll take a sheet of paper - not lined paper but your writin' paper what is unlined, and you write your name at de top with your crimson blood. You write his name just as small as you can and you - with dat needle but not wid a pen - and you make nine circles around that and then enclose that and you bury it at the ninth hour at night under your front steps. Really, that's why sometimes you see people try to break from the county road [chain gang] and the penitent'ry. If that is done, they goin' break away and come to yuh. There's nuthin 'tall kin hold 'em from you - they'll take any chances they can and come to you [see No.77, p.32].
Entry 1834
Well, dey kin take yore hand-writin' - sho' dey kin. Ah've heard that. Dey take - lak yo' write me a lettah an' ah wanta do yo' something, ah take yore writin' an' ah fold it, ah fold it nine times. Den ah put me some pins an' nee- dles, nine needles an' nine pins in that an' put it in some steel dust an' some devil watah an' some ammonia an' bury it. Den yo' act'lly goin' tuh die.
(What is devil watah?)
Devil watah is devil vinegar. (And when you fold it how do you fold it? Fold it to you like this?) [I demonstrate.] No, fold it from yo'.
Entry 2067
Dey throw salt an' sech as that behin', yo' know, an' burn incense. Dey use graveyard dirt - mixes graveyard dirt an' git a sewin' needle an' break dat all up an' black lodestone, an' dey makes tobies from dat. Well, yo' git a piece of flannel, yo' know, red flannel an' break dat lodestone, crumble it up, an' take de needle an' break dat up an' sew dat up an' put a little perfume in dere. A man dey always say, carry dat in his left pocket. Dat'll keep lucky - dat'll keep him an' his wife on good terms.
(And it's very lucky to do what?)
Burn incense.
(Where?)
In de right corner of yore house, or eithah underneat' yore bed - burn it all night. We giner'lly burn it all night undah de beds.
Entry 2187
Git choo a red onion and put choo nine pins in there - nine needles, either one, jis' as it somepin with a sharp point. Take it and wear it in yer pocket. Make you a wush, jis' like you wush fer somepin - I'll go here and wush dis man would give me job this mornin'. Well, of course he might not give it to you right off, but choo stan' aroun' a little while and dey say you'll git it. [Red onion - like red flannel ball or bag for hands - symbolizes the human heart.]
Entry 2243
Dey tell me yo' go tuh work an' git chew some John de Conker an' some rattlesnake marster an' blacksnake root [three roots] an' git chew three new needles. Put de needles right up ovah yo' do' there yo' see, an' keep dat John de Conker, rattlesnake marster an' de blacksnake root in yore pocket.
(That will keep the law away?)
Keep de law away.
Entry 2504
Take dat graveyard dirt - take some and divide into each one, see, and git you some salt. Some of de graveyard dirt into each one of de shells.
(Of these shells?)
Yes, dey done already shot, you see. And you take another shell and git some of de gunpowder and put - divide it and put some in each one of those shells. And then you take a needle and stick it in each one - stand de needle up in dere like you goin' sew some cloths, but jest right on de tip. And put dat stuff in dere round and pack in around dere tight - jest like you fixing de shot in de shell, see. And then you take that and put one under your front step, and then you turn around and put one under the back step, you see. And if you got any side windahs or anything like that, chew kin jest take and put one at de main windah where you always keeps open, you see. [Three shells.] When de revenuer comes he'll come round to everybody house but chores, and people wonder how come he won't stop to yores - and you selling whiskey in dere, too. But he jest won't have no spirit to come towards that house. He figure there won't be nothing there, when the revenuer comes there. Never won't have no spirit. Co'se ev'ry- body don't know that, you see - don't know everybody telling that. See, if I tell a person that, I want some money fer telling that.
Entry 2625
People they take a dime and some white lodestone and a needle broken in three parts and you know these little miniature dice - you want to gamble with dice - those little minature dice and sew it up in a little flannel bag. And you get that Seven-Eleven Perfume, there is a perfume Seven-Eleven, and you wet that little bag with that Seven-Eleven Perfume and you're supposed to throw mostly sevens and elevens with dice. And of course with cards you cut a diamond out of a card and put it in instead of the dice if you want to be lucky with cards.
Entry 2745
To bring in trade or any kind of congregation, you get what they call the Adam-and-Eve root, place that in the front of your door. Then you go to work and get what they call Louisiana hoodoo dust and put that under yore doorsill. Then you go to work and git what they call the good and evil candle and place that at twelve 'clock in the night in your front door with your door closed and burn it. And with the Eqyptian incense and by reading the 37th division of the Psalms of David, reads as follows, "Fret not yourself because of evildoers, be thou not envious in the works of iniquity and so forth. Why each night if you do that three times a week, you will have trade for thirty days.
(What do you do with this incense?)
Burn it.
(While you are reading the Bible?)
Yes, jest light it - light it iest befo' you start de reading.
(Where do you get this Louisiana dust?)
Wal, yo' kin write to - ah don't know her address - Louisiana - New Orleans, Louisiana.
(And she will send you this dust.)
I know fer mahself from an experience in 1923.
(Where was this experience?)
Heah in Washington, right heah. My first wife, we were living at 217 "E" Street, N. W., Washington, and she said to me on a Saturday - she had been invited out fo' dinnah next do'. She wanted me to go there with her an' I refused. Any- way she went. Sunday - that Sunday - [she] came back home [Saturday] - that Sun- day night she got in bed. On Monday morning between 9:30 and 10 'clock I had to rush her to Garfield's Hospital. And with them taking her to the hospital on that Monday morning, of having several specialists to examine her, to give her a thorough examination from time to time, and each one of them said that her body showed as though it was normal from start to finish. Well, her mother said that it was a spell. Later on, the one that she had taken dinner with begin to talk and tell other people about what she had done. And she said this, that she'd taken the skin of a frog and put it in a pan and cooks it real crisp and powders it up and give it to her in coffee and that was the cause of her sickness and also her death. Dr. Fowler, being at the time the head surgeon of the doctorical staff of the District, he give a thorol examination and said that he couldn't locate or tell what her disease was - even up to her death. I noticed on the night - on Saturday night - like she died Sunday morning, I was there at the hospital all that night. I notice between the skin and her flesh there were the figure of frogs. Her eyes begin to turn yellowish - de white of her eyes and her head. She suffered with very severe pains. After the doctors couldn't find out, even by taken a picture - they said her heart were perfect, her stomach perfect, her liver perfect, kidneys perfect - her whole system. But by the misery being in her head, dey couldn't figure or tell whether it might have been a form of an abscess somewhere on the tissue of the brain. So after her death they asked permission of holding an autopsy on her brain, and when they did that why they said that her brain were normal. Well, it goes on to show me that the fruits of the thing that which she [the other woman] had said that she had done was true. Later on ah begin to seek into such [the truth of hoodoo]. I goes to Alexanderia, Va., to a woman by de name of Cely Coles, and begin to seek information 'long dose lines. An' she says to me, she says, "It's true just what she said she done." That was itl But if you had obtained or had of went to work and taken some sulphur, table salt and alum and made a solution out of it, or made a little drink and give her nine tablespoons- ful, why she would have passed them from her and she would have gotten well.
[To remove 'live things conjured into the body, see pp.227-239 and Index.]
(After you found out these things, what happened after that?)
Well, ah came back. Wasn't anything that I could do then - jest to give it up in de hands of God. But I was glad to know these things. And then later from self experience - for mahself - ah had went to what we call a donkey party.
(What is that?)
That's jest the figure of a donkey made up into a picture of some kind and then you buy a whole lotta tails and then you take chances, see. And de one dat pin dose tails in the proper or nearest the proper place, they get the prize. Ah goes to dis donkey party - it was for the benefit of the St. Paul Baptist Church - an' while being there they were serving refreshments or selling refresh- ments and I bought some of them. An' after I had bought a glass of lemonade and drank it, I goes home and nine days from dat day I had hairy worms in my stomach. Now the cause of that was the oil out of the skin of a frog created those worms. A man ovah heah on tenth street at de time - I were carried to him and he give me medicine fo' that. Later on I found out jest what to do to prohibit those things. It matters not what a person might be hurt with, matters not what chew walk ovah, and if they come to be alive in you, you can take a silver dime or a silver dollar and take a fine file and file off part of it and boil it and take a tea- cupful of it. It will remove it one way or the other [above or below]. [See also, pp.484-493.] Not only that, we have a way to tell, there is a way to tell, even if you have just a weakness, whether you are hurt or not. And the way that is, is by taking a salt mackerel fish and bind it wheresomever that weakness is, with the head up and the tail down, and that misery will then become a terrific terror there. You will know then that it's no need of taking any medical doctor's [Doctor of Medi- cine's] treatment. You will have to seek other sources. Well, ah know at mah home town - Richmond, Virginia - there were an' ole lady by the name of Mary Moody lived on Green Street. That's in the east end.
(I've heard of her.) [Her name is somewhere in the text.]
Mary Moody. In other words there Was a woman lived in my neighborhood by the name of Lucy Williams. I leave Coatesville, Pa., an' I goes home and she becomes jealous or envious of me because I wouldn't go or keep company with none of her daughters. She goes to work, she did, an' taken one of those square halfa pint whiskey bottles used to be [before Prohibition] - Sherwood bottles. Comes to my father's house and my mother used to be fond of her, used to let her do all of her washing at times, and she'd taken a part of my underclothes, the seat of them, and a part of my left sock and carried it off with some different roots. Ah don't know what de roots was, but those different roots she packed in that bottle and she dressed it with still water - poured it in this bottle.
(What do you mean by still water?)
Water that she had let stand fer a certain length of time. And she dressed that nine days before she buried it, and when she buried it, she buried it in the pathway that leads from my mother's house to her well, that I might walk over it. An I become - begin to go over towards my left side and dwindling away to noth- ing without a ache or pain. An' mah father he'd taken me to Mary Moody. Mary Moody wanted her pichure and mah father happened to have one the pichures on a tintype in the home. An' he'd taken that and she said to him, says, "Now, you go back home and plow up your pathway from your house to your well and when you find this bottle," she said, "bring it to me." An' he did so. An' when he did that, why she'd taken it and drew that Lucy Williams pichure from de other one on a sheet and put this bottle behind it and shot it. She said, "Now, when yo' git back home, the same thing that yore son have on him, she will have on her and she cant git rid of it." An' that happened.
(What did she shoot this bottle with?)
With a pistol - a real pistol. (She drew this picture on a piece of paper and put it up before this bottle and shot through the paper and broke the bottle?) Yes.
(How long ago did that happen?)
That's been - that was in 1916. It's a man lives - he lives in Beaver Falls [Pa.] too - 606 Eighth Avenue. He don't keer if you give a policeman his address, he's iest that smart. He takes - he has five spools, spools what thread come off, takes three needles and run through 'em - that little hole in those spools.
(He puts the three needles right through the spools.)
If the street is coming this way in front of his house, he sets one object to that corner, one obiect at this corner, and one where you turn in off the street to go in de front of his door - with the one at each corner is pointing straight up and down the street.
(You mean this spool is pointing straight up and down the street.)
That's right. The one what enters the door pointing in an' out the door, and he has the two at the back the same way that the two at the first two corners are. An' he gits up and calls on de four winds - five waves of de water with the speech that he makes telling these people - it matters not who it is - to keep on passing his door. Dey would come round an' start to his door and their mind change and they walk right on away. Right today he has two stills turning out round about 90 gallons of whiskey each. (Now here's the street going by his house. On the corner of the street here and this corner of the street are the two spools - they are turned this way, the holes are turned this way [parallel to the street passing house]. Then you come to his house and the [third] spool is turned with the holes going this way - toward his house. And then where does he put - he puts these remaining two spools at his back door?) At the back corners of his house, yes. (And the holes in these spools are parallel with that of his house [the third spool]. He just passes these three needles through each of these holes. He doesn't do anything with the needles.) Man in Norfolk, Virginia, he was telling me one day, said that if you want a person to die, dat you take one of those cut nails.
(Those square nails?)
Square nails and take and carry it to a green tree on Sunday morning and you stump it [start the nail into the tree] and each morning for nine mornings go there and hit it, and you tap that together, and then the ninth morning, the ninth day you drive it up to the head. After that nine mornings, he said that person going crazy - drifting.
Entry 2751
In the year of 1928 I was going with a married man. Quite natural I knowed that was wrong and she found it out and she sent a bottle there to my house - and my brother was sitting on the porch. And so when I come home from work that evenin' the bottle was there. And so the bottle had water in it, I imagine. My mother told me not to open it. It had a lot of needles and a stopper and a cord- string tied up as if, you know, to hold the stopper out of the water - just a plain long beer bottle [probably a dark bottle]. So my mother had taken it up to a woman what, you know, knew.
(Where was this bottle?)
It was at my house - it was down by the washstand. They had give it to - the woman had give it to my brother, see. And my brother went and give it to my mother and my mother set it down in my room by the washstand and so she told me when I come home to go there and get the bottle. So, finally, I had a fear run over me and besides, about it, I never believed in this kind of stuff until this come about. And so after she told me to go and get the bottle, I went and opened [I wanted to open] it - I said, "Mama, this bottle is suspicious." She says, "Well, don't open it." I say, "Yes, Ma, I is, I'm not afraid." She said, "Don't you open it." And she taken the bottle and went on up to a woman's house with the bottle and she told the woman. The woman told my mother to take the bottle and empty it in a bayou of water or stream of water. See. So I went to Tallulah to work. I left from away from there after I thought I was going to get hurt, you know. I left home anyway and I went to Tallulah.
(Where is that?)
Tallulah, Louisiana. [About 25 miles west of Vicksburg, Mississippi.]
(All right.)
I worked over there. And after I went over, she sent me a little envelope with sand or something inside of another little envelope about dis long, and she said on there, "Six months from today your grave number will be 65 - six months from today." Well, I got scared and I was a person that never did like to tell my friends nothing about that. In fact I didn't believe in it. So I commenced to pining away and then I was losing my mind. People here in Vicksburg can shore tell you here in Vicksburg that I really lost my mind. So a friend of mine had mentioned it to a friend of mine, and she told me about a fellow. I don't know whether he's black or white. He stays in New Orleans, his name is B. B. McConnick. He stays over in Algiers. And I wrote him concerning about it. And after he wrote in a letter and told me about a dream I had. I believed in what he was telling me to do.
(Did you have a dream?)
I had a dream that I - there was some money in a old empty house for me. [For dreams of buried treasure, see 387, p.116; 426, p.127; etc.] And after I wrote this man like she [the girl] told me to write him, why he was telling that, and I was - and that's what made my belief come that he'd know what he was talking about - why I believed in what he told me to do.
(Now, wait. You had this dream and you told this man in Tallulah?)
No, I ain't told no one about it - this dream - nobody know nothing about this dream but my family folks - about this dream and the money in the house.
(I see.)
And after I told this friend of mines over there [in Vicksburg] about this woman had done sent me this stuff, and I was sick and stayed sick, well she told me about this man.
(I see - the man in Algiers?)
In Algiers - his name was Mr. B. B. McConnick. I don't know whether he is black or white. And so I wrote him and he wrote me a letter back and told me to send him $5.75 and he explained in the letter about the dream I had. Well, I believed in him, see. So I sent the money to him. I sent the money to him and he sent me a self-addressed stamp [envelope for the money]. And he sent me and told me what to do, and he sent me black candles and he told me this here black candle would burn against the parties what was harming me. Well, he told what to do - he told me to take a glass about like that, just an ordinary jelly glass, and fill it half full of sugar and stick it down in the sugar.
(This black candle?)
This black candle.
(Just one?)
He sent me more than one, cause [I sent him] $5.06, but after they give out, he told me I could get 'em from my local drug store. And he told me to use these candles six, twelve and six evening every evening. [This is the well-known 6-12- 6 time formula.] And finally I did that.
(Put this candle down in the sugar?)
Down in the sugar. He told me to not to never blow the candle out - I never seen this man before, and he told me, "Don't blow it out" - to take mv middle finger and my thumb and wet it, and say, "I wish you would leave me alone," put- ting the candle out at the same time, but not blow it. And really I did that and that woman. (Now wait a minute. How long did you let those candles burn at six, twelve and six?) Fifteen minutes - fifteen minutes.
(And when you had burned one whole candle?)
No, sir, you burn that every day. (Well, when that first candle burned out, what did you do? Burn another one then?) Could use another.
(How many did you use altogether?)
Oh, I just guess. I done even forgot how many I used, but I used just some of 'em 'cause I wanted that off of me. And really, that man helped me 'cause I know I was wrong: You see. And it turned right to that home - that woman was getting back just like I was getting, see. And I thought - two or three time I certainly felt sorry for her and I stopped using that stuff. Now, the other experience, 'cause I used to didn't believe in it until this woman was doing me like that, you see. Cause I was wrong, you see, going with her husband. But that other, I don't know nothing about that, but I'm explaining you something I really experienced my own dear self. [The preceding trick could have been performed in several ways. Friend of mine who recommended McConnick was surely his foreign correspondent for the Vicksburg district; she being his only source of information about the dream. What informant wanted could be taken care of for $5.75. Her dream about the buried treasure showed that all problems would soon be solved; she would also find the hidden wealth. The reader will notice immediately that $5.75 contains uneven numbers, which read inside outward 75 and outside inward 57. This is for- ward and backward magic, though not the pendulum magic frequently met in Jacks (p.190f.). Pulsating or heart-beat magic might be a better term. After the money was received, the candles were delivered. The package contained a printed notice something like: "These candles you ordered have been burned in the fol- lowing manner by troubled persons who claim for them the benefits of health and peace. We sell them as curios. The so-and-so drug store in your town sells these candles." There was no second letter as informant implies. All communi- cation was. brief and vague (see He'd Never Write You Much, p.319f.). McConnick is primarily a distributor of candles - a business man and surely a white man.]
Entry 2766
Ah'd taken sick with the child, you know, before I left town. So I went to my house and ah stayed there three months. So I came back and when I came back, I just, you know, something just run all over me. You know, like a chicken - like a chicken when you pick it and you fix it - you singe it - with all them pimples - come up on it where you pull those feathers out. Well, you see my flesh all over was just like that. It was all round my neck and every- where was just like that. And so I just stayed sick and stayed sick - had doc- tors and doctors and doctors and doctors. So my husband told me, say, "Well, it just don't look like you goin' to ever get well." But still I didn't give up - still I didn't give up. I told him, I said, "Well, I just strictly believe that I gotta have an operation." He says, "Well, make it up in you' mind and go on a'get it." So the doctor come to me and told me I'd have to have an operation. So they rang up the ambulance for me. Ambulance came and ah got ready to get in the ambulance. So they took me on to the hospital and they examined me and they said I was too weak to take an opera- tion. Brought me back home. And so he said, "Well, you go next week." So my cousin come and she told me, she says, "Her sickness is not natch'l. Suppose you go and see about her - go and see somebody about her and question her." So he went and got a fortunetelling man - he didn't believe in nothing like that - went and got a fortuneteller man. And he come there and told him, "Your house is dressed." Says, "She left from here and went away [see preceding 3 months] and somebody done got de key and went in her house - got the key and unlocked the door and went in the house. Under the steps is dressed and all over. The back door and front door and all in the house is dressed." He didn't believe that. He says, "I don't believe it." So he talked with me about it and I didn't believe it. So, another one of my cousins come and told me and say, "Now, you must believe things like this because it's true." And she went and got de Bible and showed me, you know, where it says witchcraft, you know, and all like that in the Bible. [For some of Biblical sources, see my comment on p.361.] So, ah told him, ah said "Now, you go and see somebody, go and see somebody, [even] if you don't believe [in] him, go see somebody." And so he did. Him and my sister and another young man went, and they went to a lady called Madam Helen. She told him, she even as much as told him about my mother [in New Orleans]. She told him when I left from him and he had ordered a hundred and some dollars worth of furniture. She told him when he got dat and the date of the month, said, "Your wife has been down and this has been working on her for about eight months and - as clean as your hand. And it was true, too. Nobody ever went down and told her about it. She said, "It's a cup right under the left side - what's called the north corner of your steps, under the back and front." [My informant may not realize it but she uses unusual symbolism here. The outside doorsteps is a threshold altar! A person facing the house and standing in front of the steps is before an altar. To speak liturgically, he is looking "east and "the left side of the steps is "the north corner or "north end of the altar.] She said, "You go there and dig that cup up and if you - these people, if you want 'em to wander away, you bring it to me and I'll fasten it up. I'll put this junk in a bottle or a [glass] jar and let you go throw it in a running stream, if you want 'em to wander away. If you don't, just take it and fill it all full of [Red] Devil Lye." There was hair in there and lots of something look like blood, and nails and hair and garments, you know, pieces of step-ins or something - look like pieces of my underclothes, you know, was all in there. And there was needles in there, in the two cups underneath my steps back and front. And so she told, said, "Now, you go back and dig that up. When you dig that up, bring it to me and what you want did about it, I'll do it." And said, "Tell her to come." Well, ah was so weak. Ah was just so weak ah wasn't hardly able to stand up, and just did not want to leave that house. She said, "And move out dat house just as quick as you can." I just didn't want to, they just had to pull me out of there. And I just couldn't hardly walk, I was so weak. I went to her and she told me what was the matter with me. And she said, "Now, I don't want you to go back in that house. Never go back in that house no more." And I didn't go back in that house.
Entry 3084
I use to didn't believe in these things, see now, but I have come [to believe] since I seen that. It must of been some supernatch'al power of some kind. See. Now this fellow and myself in Newport News [Virginia], we worked ev'ry day together on the coal docks. See. I use to be a deck-walker and he use to be a stevadore. He drew his money on a Sat'days, come home, give his wife his envelope, take a bath, set around for awhile, he'd go out. She'd take this other fellah, divide de money with him and he'd go where he want to. Now, he [husband] come in and slept in the back room - I slept upstairs in the back room and he slept downstairs in the back room. This fellah when he come in he slept with his [husband's] wife. Now mind, de husband now, he's sleepin' in de back room. See. This fellah - when he go out and stay out late at night, de husband - this fellah git up out de bed, open de door for him to let him in to go back in de back room. Well, I knew this fellah had some people in Philadelphia and he [husband] had some here in New Kent County [Va.]. See. So I said to him, 'Louis," I says, "there's somepin wrong with you, boy." "Ah man, you wouldn't mean any harm?" That what he said, you know. I said, "Boy, you're telling me." I said, "I know there's somepin wrong about this." So we went to his brother in New Kent County and he brought us here to Hope- well. It was an ole woman by the name of Aunt Cora. She professed that she could take care of de situation. I don't know what she did, but whatever she did broke it up anyway. So, I never will forgit as long as I live, we goes to this Aunt Cora. She lived back over on towards the James River Water front you see, in back of some white people's house you know. She was a real ole peculiar- looking woman. And she told us, say, "Boy, '' she says, "listen to me." She said 'That woman has got chew sewed up in little red flannel - just about de size of this swinging wire here Ithe electric wire from my Telediphone to floor plug - he didn't touch the wire]. She says, "It's up higher in de ceiling than you kin reach if you stand on your feet." See. He says, "Well, do you reckon so," he says. "Yes sir." He says, "What else she got in there?" She told him. She says, "There's somepin in there looks like [corn] meal, it some threads of your winter underwear, some needles, and some other threads" - look like fiber silk, you know, before it's woven. She says, "Well, go." So I says, "Well, we go home, we find it." He still didn't believe it. See. And I bet chew we cut out all dat plastering in that wall. Finally we found it all right. We found it all right - that was the most peculiar-looking thing [the discovery]. So he got scared. He said, "Well," he says, "now if my wife find it [out]," he says, "she'll kill me." Well, de woman told him, she said, "Now, if you find it," she said, "don't give it to your wife." She said, "She'll have anything done to you, she want. She wants to run you crazy, if she wants you blind, she'll do it. If she wants you run out of town, she'll do it." So I says, "Well," I says, "tell you what we do. We'll go back to Hopewell, take it back to Aunt Cora. We'll find out what she's gon'a do." So we spent de night over there. Aunt Cora says, "Well, boys, you all meet me tonight here at twelve o'clock." I'll never forgit as long as the day I live. At twelve o'clock that night we met her on that bridge that comes over, that connects de highway between Hopewell and Richmond - see, on de Richmond-Hopewell road. It's de James River - runs all de way down to City Point. Well, she turns her back, she throwed that thing over her left shoulder downstream. Now, what supernatch'al power that had I don't know. I've often wanted to learn. But anyhow, after that - Oh! there come a big fight dere dat night. He put dis guy out - and come near being a shooting scrape. But after dat, him and dat woman got along fine. And this other fellah was out de way. Well, soon after that, in course of time, I reckon about four months, this fellah died.
Entry 3090
My husband was hurt. Of course he's dead now. And my husband was hurt. But his first wife - he was married the second time, I'm his second wife. And his first wife, after the death of her, why his people you know how people are. You know when some people - that after the death of [in] the family, they want people to dis- tribute and jis' give everything they got away. And so his first wife, after the death of his first wife, his first wife people - he had three children and he decided that he would give their girl to the grandmother and he keep the two boys and still keep house and his things together. Well, they didn't want him to do that. They wanted him to give them all the children and the household furniture and everything and jis' break up housekeeping, and he wouldn't do it. Well after he wouldn't agree to do it, then his sister-in-law come to stay with him and keep house for him, and gonna call herself helpin' him. So he was out workin' one day and she cooked some molasses bread. And he came in that evenin' and was out takin' out his team, takin' 'em out to feed 'em, and one of the little - the oldest boy came out to the stable and he says, "Papa, he says, "Aunt Dinah got some molasses bread, cook some molasses bread today, and he said, "Aunt Dinah put somepin funny in that bread." As God should have it, He let that child told him - "Aunt Dinah put somepin funny in that bread." Still he didn't make de child any answer. He goes on in de house, he went on in and wash up and dress in the house. When he got through, Dinah call him. She says, "Come on to supper, Andrew, '' she says. He said, "No, I don't think I want any supper tonight." He says, "Dinah, I'm feelin' bad, I don't think I want any supper." So he dressed and went on out to a restaurant and got his meal. [He lived on the edge of Wilmington.] And he stop eatin' at home. And next evenin' he came and the molasses bread was up in [the] safe. The next night she says, "Andrew, don't choo want a bit [of] some molasses bread?" She says, "I cook it for yah." Still it wasn't cut. [The fact that she had not taken a slice of it was suspicious - to Andrew.] He said, "No, I don't think I want anything to eat." He says, "I don't feel good tonight." And he stop eatin at home all together. Well, that molasses bread stayed up in safe, he said, roun' 'bout three or four days. And one evenin' he came home and the molasses bread was out in the horse stable - nobody didn't eat any of it. Well, they couldn't get him like that. Well, they [went] on [trying to fix him]. After a while he got down. He begin to linger. He couldn't sleep at night. He couldn't go for to work. He began to be helpless as a newborn baby. When he'd get off his bed in the mornin' he was jis' like - when he put his feet on de floor it was jis' like stickin'-pins and needles was stickin' in de bottom [of his feet] and he was achin' like dat all ovah. And so a friend of hissen, a woman friend of hissen [by the name of Harriet] came to him and says, "Andrew, she say, "there's somepin wrong. [She] came to see him. She says, "Andrew, there's somepin wrong wid joo." Says, "I got a uncle on de Sound [Wrightsville Sound]" - between here [Wilmington] and Wrightsville Beach - "and he's name [by the name of] ole man Church Hines." But he's dead now. "And," she say, "zhoo come on and go with me." she says, "I know Uncle Hines kin do you some good, I believe." and so he says, "Well, I'll go anywhere to get somepin cure me." So when he goes down there next mornin', [after] Harriet came to see him, it all he could do to hitch his horse to his buggy. And he goes on down to the Sound. And when he got out at ole man Hines, he says, "My boy, did zhoo come to see me? You's in a bad fix, ain't choo?" [See THIS WUS BAD FIX, p.316, and MAN YOU'RE RUINED, p.314.] He says, "I's certainly is." He says, "I don't know what's ailin' me," he say. And he [Hines] say, "And I mean you's in BAD FIX!" So he says, "I tell you wha' choo do." He says, "Got any money?" He said, "Yes, I got a little." [Hines says], "How much choo got?" He says, "I got $15.00 now with me." He says, "Well, I'm gon'a char' joo $30.00." He said, "I'll pay you any price zhoo charge me, if you do me any good." He says, "I'll give you the $15.00 now, and then I'll bring you de rest when I come back agin." He say, "No, I don't want any now," he said, "but I tell you what choo do. You go on back home this evenin', and [when] you get back home, you take a little stick and look right down to left side of your front doorsteps. And jis' take dis - don't put cheh han' on it - you don't have to dig fer, jis' got to pull de dirt off it. And when you dig a little bit, jis' de least bit, you'll find a little bag." And he say, "Don't choo put yer han' on that bag. You take a stick, take it between two sticks." And he said he was so anxious to git back home he trotted de horse ev'ry step of the way from the Sound. When he got back home he dragged [himself] out de buggy. He had de stick befo' he got home. And as he said, he jis' went and pulled de dirt, and time he'd pulled de dirt, it was a little bag. And he said it was nine pins and nine needles, and somepin looked like a whole lot of little dust and stuff. He didn't know what it was. He says ole man Church Hines tole 'im to take dat bag between two sticks and carry it down to the river, and throw it cross his left shoulder and cuss it when he throw it overboard. And he said he did it. Now, he said to him to go back down to him nex' mornin'. Nex' mornin' he goes back. He say, "Did joo fin' whut I tole yah?" He says, "Yes." He says, "I know you fin' it." Well, he said he went [felt] better that night than he did fer six mon' - aftah he got dat bag. And dat de way he was. When he put his feet on de flo', it was jis' like needles and pins was stickin' in de bottom of it [because he has been walking over the needles and pins buried at the left side, the evil side of his front doorstep]. And so he said he went on back down there, and he say, "Did you fin' de bag?" And he say, "Yes, sir." [Hines says] "I know you fin' it." And he said, "Now, you come on in here." And he take 'im in de room. He says, "oh!" he says, "it's a man and a woman got choo fixed like dis" - which he didn't tell 'im none of dat de day befo'. You see, he jis' tole 'im what to do. And he said, "A man and a woman got choo fixed like dis." Says, "It's a sister and a brother. They wanted joo to do, and you wouldn't do jis' like they wanted joo to do, and they were pretend [intended] to kill yah." And he says, "Now," he says, "I got to kill one." He says, "One dem gon'a die, if I take it offa you." And he said he didn't care which one die, jis' since he get offa him. And so he said, "Now, well I charge you $30.00." And he tole 'im to go on back home now.
(What did that root doctor do to kill them?)
Well, it jest a mystery now. He never did know. He'd never did tell, don't choo see. He jis' do de work and you never knows what he did. [I evidently ask while machine stopped, "Who were the sister and brother that fixed Andrew?"] That was the sister and de brother - his mother-in-law and his mother-in-law brother. You see, the sister-in-law [Dinah] tried to get him first, but after she couldn't git him, den de mother-in-law and de brothah stepped in. And dey was intend to get him. He says, "The one got to die and the othern'll be in a bad condition, a critical condition - but she won't die right away." And so he come on back home. And it wasn't long before the ole man died bellin' [bellowing] like a bull and howlin' like a dog (see 775-776. p.256). And de mother-in-law walked on crutch[es] fer six mont's and she died.
Entry 3097
I haven't had no dealing with that, but anyway, ah kin tell you some- thing about that lawyer.
(About what lawyer?)
My husband, he had kilt a man and I went to Mother Kate. (Mother Kate?) Yes, sir. (Where did she live?) She lives up on Jackson and Magnolia.
(Is she still living?)
Ah don't know if she's still living yet. I think she moved uptown.
(Oh, all right.)
But anyway I went there to her. I'd gived the lawyer $50, and so a lady told me to go up there to her. And I went up there to her, and I say, "Mother Kate, I come for you to help me - my husband is going to the penitent'ry. The next trial he get, he go to the penitent'ry. She say, "You know what you do," she say, "you go to the Ten Cent Store and get ten cents of brand-new needles and ten cents of pins and," she say, "you go to the market and you get you a beef tongue and," she say, "you put ten pins on each side and you put ten needles on each side." And she say, "you get you 50 pounds of ice and," she say, "let it stay 24 hours and," she say, "leave that tongue froze; and when he go to court he won't get no lifetime - he go to the penitent'ry, but he might get six months in the parish or either get three." And he got three months in the parish. And so after I got him out, he left me. And I went back there and I told her, ah said, "Don't you know he done left me - all that I did for him." She say, "Well, you got any money?" Ah say, "I got one quarter." She say, "You go to the corner and get a nickel worth of nutmeg and a nickels sugar and," she say, "you grate that nutmeg up, ' and she say, "you write his name nine times on a piece of paper, and you put some of that nutmeg [and sugar] in that paper and you put it in the lamp," she say, "you get a piece of red flannel and you burn your lamp."
(Wait a minute! What do you do with that red flannel, now?)
Get a piece of red flannel and drap it in the lamp - keep him from seeing it, you understand - and drap the paper in there [into red flannel to hide paper], and [but first] wrap it up with a piece of thread. And she say, "You write it nine times again and tie it up with a piece of thread and wear it in your shoe." And she say, "You get it nine times again and," she say, "you go to the barroom and gets you ten cents of gin and," she say, "you put it [third paper with 9 names] in a bottle and put it behind your bed and," she say, "you shake it up three times a day," she said, "and I'm betting he'll come back to you.'" And I'm got him till yet.
(Did he come back?)
Yes, I'm got him till yet.
(I see.)
And she say, "Three time a day you shake it up and say, "The Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
(I see. Mother Kate told you that.)
Yes, told me to get a nickel's worth of nutmeg and a nickels sugar.
(Yes?)
She told me to grate the nutmeg and mix it up in the sugar, and write it nine times.
(Wait a minute! Write what nine times?)
Write his name nine times on a piece of paper.
(All right.)
And put it in the lamp and get a piece of flannel and drap [or wrap] it in there. (Wait! You wrap this paper in a piece of flannel, and you put the flannel in the lamp?) Put the flannel in the lamp and wrap the nutmeg and the sugar up in the piece of paper and tie a piece of thread around it and drap that in the lamp.
(But the flannel is around the two then?)
Yes, sir, the flannel goes at the bottom - you know, the paper done sink and the flannel, you see, is all around it.
(Oh, all right. Then what?)
And then she told me, 'Write his name nine times again and put some of that nutmeg and sugar and wear it in your shoe.
(What do you wrap it up in?)
A piece of plain white piece of paper. Write it nine times and tie it up with a piece of white thread and wear it in my shoe.
(You don't put any flannel around that?)
No, don't put no flannel around it atall.
(Just the paper?)
Just the paper.
(All right.)
And she say, "Write his name nine times again on a piece of paper and wrap it up with a piece of thread." And she say, "You go to the barroom and get you ten cents of gin, and you put it in there and three time a day," she say, "you shake it up."
(Wait a minute! You put this paper in this gin?)
Put some of the sugar and the nutmeg and wrap it up with a piece of thread and drap it in the gin.
(I see.)
And then stop it up and put it behind the bed. "And three time a day," she say, ''you shake it up and say, "The Father, Son and Holy Ghost." (I see. You had to do all these three things, then - you burned the lamp, you had to wear it in your shoe, and.) And put it in ten cents of gin.
(And put it in gin. For how long do you have to burn that lamp?)
Burn it all day - but I don't burn it now.
(I see. You only burned it all day.)
Burned it all day and all night.
(I see.)
That's to get him back.
(And you wore this up in your shoe too?)
Wore that in my shoe - the nutmeg and.
(You only burned that lamp one day?)
Burn it all day. I burned it about three weeks.
(I see. OhI you burned it about three weeks.)
Yes, sir, I burned zactly three weeks.
(And he came back.)
And he come back - come back with his suitcase. (I see. You burned this lamp three weeks and you kept that thing in your shoe three weeks and you kept shaking that bottle up for three weeks.) I've got the bottle now, but I don't let him see it.
(I see. You did all those three things for three weeks.)
Three weeks.
(It was three weeks before he came back?)
It was three weeks before he came back. He come back that Monday.
(I see. All right.)
Entry 3148
I get me - DO YOU KNOW WHAT BUMBLEBEES ARE? You know what they are?
(Yes, wild bees.)
Yo' have tuh do dis in de summahtime. Yo' have tuh git someone tuh ketch dese fo' yo'. Yo' take dese nine bumblebees an' brown 'em in de stove. Jes' put 'em in an' cook 'em dere. An' den yo' jes' git yo' a hammah an' put 'em in a piece of new cloth of some kine, an' jes' take yo' a hammah an jes' poun' dem intuh powdah. Well, now, say yore husban', yo' don't wan' 'im tuh be wit no othah woman. Yo' wan'a keep 'im away from dis pahtic'lah person. So aftah yo' have - yo' take dis befo' yo' go tuh bed, yo' see, put dis in dis cloth an' rub it tuhgethah yo' kngu. Be sure yo' got dis powdah all in dis cloth. Have anothah one fo' yoreself. Yo' an' 'im both don't use de same - let 'im use dis cloth fo' 'imself. Yo' know, some people are not very careful tuh take a bath. If he should take a bath, don' give it tuh 'im until he dries. If he dries 'imself wit it befo' he takes a bath- when he gits ready tuh dry 'imself, den give 'im dat an' rub 'im wit de powdahs on it. Well, he gits finished wit dat an' he goes tuh see dis person, whenevah he has intahco'se wit dat person, dey will have a burnin' sensation. Dey will come tuh yo' an' tell yo' how somepin has happened tuh dem an' yo' will know dat dat is de person. Den take dis cloth an' fold it ovah an' tie it in a real hard knot, as hard as yo' kin draw it, an' den yo' stick dese nine small needles in dere. Dat is tuh keep yo' away from dis person. Dey always have some kin'a complaint. Yo' know yo' heah of people always havin' aches an' pains - down here in pahtic'lah. Well, dat is part of de spell tuh keep dem away from dat person.
(What do you do with the cloth then?)
Yo' go an' bury dat. An' dat will stick fast until he when [you, another woman] go wit 'em [him] dey [he] be lak dey [he] be dead. [RUBE GOLDBERG THE CARTOONIST MUST HAVE DESIGNED THIS RITE!]
Entry 3982
Yo' take de antses when dey pilin', totin' dere dirt up high, why yo' kin take dat an' git a han'fulla it, an' put it in a bran'-new white han'ke'ch'ef an' urinate on it, an' den put it in somepin lak a tin [can] an' bear
[bury] it. Now, dat'll fill yo' fulla pain, jes' lak somebody shovin' needles through yo' dataway, yo' know - jes' lak somebody stick yo' dat way. Well, it's no cure fo' dat. (You have to walk over it.)
Entry 4266
Well, if yo' wan'a person jealous of yo' - yo' know how womenfolks are.
(You want to make a man jealous of you?)
Jes' love yo', yo' know, an' don't want 'im tuh go out. Well yuh git 'is chamber lye. Yuh git nine bran'-new goldeye needles, nine pins - bran'-new pins, straight pins. An' yuh take nine of dese spices, whole spices [all- spices], nine cloves an' about nine teaspoonful of sugar an' cinnamon [9 each] wit dat. Yuh stop it up in a bottle an' den turn dis bottle on de head in a cornah or secret place. Ah don't care where dey at - jes' lak if yo' say, "Ah wanta see So-an'-so, if dey on de job," an' dey could be jes' lef' [left the job]. Yo' shake dis bottle, see, shake dis bottle up an' cāre [carry] it aroun' yuh head three times, an' bring it tuh yuh dis way three times [demonstrates], an' den yuh jes' shake, shake it, shake it, yuh know, three times, down tuh de flo' [floor], yuh see, an' always keep it [bottle] on de head [upside down], an' dat'll make 'em jes' go crazy [about you].
[Here's my immediate comment, at this point, about the demonstration.]
(Turn [instead of informant's care] this bottle round yuh head three times like a halo.) [Circle would have been a better word, but halo fully describes the action and also shows me commenting to cylinder, not to informant who probably would not have understood halo.]
Entry 4270
Now, from a man or eithah a lady tuh keep 'em tuhgethah, yuh know, wit yuh, yuh take it [urine] an' yuh put it in a bottle. Yuh put nine needles, nine pins, nine tacks, an' a table- spoonful of steel dust, an' a piece of John de Conker root, an' a tablespoonful of honey. Dat's to keep 'er from injur- in' yuh, undahstan'. Now dat's de way yuh tie up a man or a woman. An' keep it turned upside down, an' keep it behin' yuh bed or anywhere in yuh room. An' any time when yuh wanta see 'er when she is away, or him, yuh jis' take it [bottle] lak dis an' shake it to yuh an' call dere name. Dat's whut yuh call tyin' up a person.
Entry 4271
[Here we have a rare two-bottle rite; one shaken, one unshak- en.] Well, listen now. Ah would take yuh urinate an' put it in a bottle an' git nine tacks, bran'-new tacks doh [though], an' nine needles, an' nine nails, an' ah put 'em in dere head foremost.
(Put them in head foremost.)
Put 'em in head fo'mos' an' as ah put 'em in ah say whut ah want done, 'Ah tole yuh tuh do such-an'-so-an'-so. Ah wan' chew tuh do dis, an' ah wan' chew tuh do dat, now. Ah don' wan' chew tuh do dat, ah wan' chew tuh do dis an' dat." See. "Ah want mah woman tuh come home at a certain time an' stay home. Ah wanta do all dem thin's." Den ah fasten it up wit a stoppah tight as ah kin git it. Den ah put it behin' de bed bottom upwards ag'in, bottom upwards, an' hold it dere so he - if ah wanta see 'im, pick it up an' shake it up. He'll come dere. Whutevah he doin', he'll stop an' come. (You what?). Any time yuh wanta see 'im, yuh shake dat bottle. He's comin'. An' den, ah kin take some mo' watah [urine] in anothah bottle an' put some saltpetah in it an' jis' keep dat stopped up. An' don' shake it at all. Keep it stopped up behin' yuh bed. Dat will hold joo all [the southern you all] jis lak dat an' yuh cain't git away from dere. Cain't nobody move - cain't nobody in de world, nobody take 'em.
(Whose water do you stop up?)
His'n.
(The woman stops his water up?)
Yes, an' put about a teaspoonful of hers wit it - co'se it be togethah den, yuh see. Jis' put a little bit of hers wit it, too - cain't do it [work] by it- self. Put a little of hers wit it - not much, put much of it. Dat'll make hers [not as much as] his - jis' put a little bit.
(And a little bit of saltpeter too, you say?)
Yes, in de bottle dat's still, but de bottle dat yuh [don't] shake up put nuthin atall in it [except saltpeter].
Entry 4587
Ah taken de bow outa de hat an' ah put some come wit it an' a little hair out from undah his arm dere an' wore it roun' mah laig heah, an' dat'll make him love yuh. (You mean you wear it as a garter or something of that sort?) Jis' a string, ah don't wear gartahs. [The length of the untied bow would be extended with a piece of string, and the hair would be threaded into a needle and woven, perhaps also tied, into the bow. For string addition, see 4597.]
Entry 7204
See, it's been about a month maybe. He had a girl he wus goin' wit 'er an' she fixed 'im. Aftah he went tuh sleep - when he went tuh sleep, he said dat he dreamt about dis bottle dat she had fo' him, an' he'd gotten right up an' went an' got it. An' he'd fell off an' he looked so bad as if he was about tuh die. HE'D GOTTEN A AWFUL SMALL LOOK, terrible small, bone 'bout tuh come through 'is skin. An' he went tuh sleep an' he dreamt about dis bottle an' co'se [of course] he got up den an' went right in de bathroom an' found it. An' dis bottle had red flannel in it an' a couple of pins an' needles, an' he'd taken it an' broke it. He brought it an' showed it tuh me, an' ah don' know whut could a been in it, but it smelled lak evahthing wus in it, ah guess. Ah reckon it wus urine in it - guess was in it. An' aftah he found 'at bottle he begin tuh git bettah.
Entry 8523
Yo' take de name an' put it in a coconut. Write de name nine times on a piece of parket [parchment] papah. Dat's white papah. It looks like a linen but it's somepin like a of a kink in it. Yo' cain't tear dat good [difficult to tear]. Yo' write de first name nine times [see later margin title FIRST NAME]. Yo' git choo nine needles, nine pins, nine new tacks. Yo' roll dat up in dat dere [parchment]. Yo' put it in dere [the coconut]. Git choo a teaspoonful of dis hot peppah FROM DE HOODOO DRUG STORE. Yo' git some bittah aloes an' put in dere [the coconut]. Yo' take yuh a lemon, a lemon dat's neah rotten. Yo' squeeze it intuh it [the coconut]. Den yo' take dese li'le ole green hot peppahs. YO' BURY DAT FROM DE HOODOO DRUG STORE. Yo' put nine of 'em down in dere [the coconut] with nine steel tacks [new?]. An' yo' git chew a little cork [surely new from de hoo- doo drug store] to fit dat hole [by punching out an eye of the coconut] an' yo' stop it [coconut] up. An' yo' git in de [Mississippi] river on the boat [ferry I used twice a day when I collected on the west side of the river in Algiers - the west bank]. An' when yo' git midways of de rivah, when yo' tinks [thinks]it's about middleways, yo' drop dat coconut. Well, long as dat coconut will drift an' won't git broke, why yo'll drift. But finely [finally] no doubt de coconut'll git tuh a place where it'll git jambed an' gits broke. Well, den it'll stop. But long as dat coconut drift like dat, yo'll drift.
Entry 8973
Go somewhere an' buy yo' a beef tongue if yo' wants tuh do sompin. An' yo' cut dat beef tongue open [slit lengthwise] an' yo' writes de person name down nine times on one straight piece of papah. (That is, you write the name one right after the other?) Yessuh, one right undah de othah on a piece of papah, jes' lak yo's writin' a lettah; but as yo' write one name, yo' leave dat, an' yo' put de entire [family name] first an' put de given name last. An' yo' writes dat down wit a indelible pencil. Yo' git chew nine needles, brand-new needles dat's nevah been used, nine brand-new pins, an' git nine [brand-new] tacks, an' yo' stick it in dat beef tongue; but as yo' stick it, yo' stick it across it. [Needles cross needles, pins pins, tacks tacks.] Yo' git chew some silk thread an' yo' sew dat beef tongue up an' yo' take dat beef tongue an' yo' bury it to de sunrise.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat's tuh keep anybody from talkin', lak if yo' got people aroun' yo' an' evahthin' yo' see, dey meddles wit chure business an' jes' go about an bring news, an' say evahthing. See, yo' do dat wit dat beef tongue. [This rite will keep people from talking about you and also help you in the court scrape that follows:] Now, yo' take it fo a co't scrape. Yo' take de beef tongue an' yo' write de name down nine times, one right aftah de othah.
(The name of the fellow that is before the judge.)
Whut's befo' de judge, see; an' de witness name, too. Yo' write de witness name, but yo' 'sposed [supposed] tuh make it - now, yo' write de witness first; den yo' write de defendant's name on top, see. Write it down nine times an' put it in dat tongue, an' yo' use dem nine needles an' nine pins an' nine tacks.
(How do you put them in there?)
Yo' crosses 'em, cross one right on top an' stick a needle, an' yo'll stick a pin dat yo' makes a cross. Yo' cross dat pin 'cross dat way [demonstrates]. Den yo' takes dat tack an' yo' crosses it 'cross dere, until yo' git de whole nine of 'em in dere. When yo' git de whole nine of 'em in dere, yo' git some thread an' yo' sew dat beef tongue up. An' yo' git chew some ice an' yo' put dat beef tongue on a piece of ice an' leave it freeze. An' de witness, or who- somevah be against yo', won't be able tuh say nuthin against 'em when dat co't scrape come up.
Entry 11044
I seen a woman dress a chicken head for to bring her husband back to her.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Well, she take the head and take that fork and bone part out the head and stuff it with his name and nine new needles and pins, and bury it. Put his name, sugar, cinnamon and that white rum, and nail it up over the sill[!] of the door. See, and that draws him back. (Up over the top of the door. That's to bring him back?) [Here the sill is considered the ceiling of the door; see No.10972 for open space above a door.]
Entry 11260
They kin get your socks and they get your toenails and any kind of little dirt from under your fingernails or toenails. When they get that, if they be around your house, they kin get your clothes. And they take a little piece of your underwear and cut a little piece where you sweats. Well, they take all of that and put it in a bottle. They goes to work and they gets vinegar, and then they go to work and takes your nature [surely means urine here] you know, if they can get your nature; but if they can't get your nature, they'll go to work and get someone to get it for 'em. They will put all that in a bottle and take it and stop it up. So when they stop it up, they'll put pins and needles and all in there. And when they stop it up, you see, well they uses psychology on you.
(I see.)
They'll go to work, some people, and get someone to go round to see you. See. That's the people is on [know what's going on] you know. And then when he [helper] goes to work and gets that stuff, then he'll go to work and start boostin' this fellow [professional hoodoo man]. You know, when they standing around, he say, "I know a man will do so-and-so and so-and-so." See. Well, dey done got you den. Well, if you are weak-minded, you believe that. See. Then they go to work then and you get all upset. You know, by being weak-minded they kin do so-and-so. Then they turn right around up on top of dat and say, "Well, I charge $25 or $30." Well, you know they are right, but someone went around and talked to you. I know a man that will do it. See, a strange man in town. Then, if you is weak-minded, you believe, you'll have confidence in 'em. Well, that's the people.
Entry 11774
If you place 9 needles, 9 pins, 9 Victrola points, graveyard dirt, coffee and sugar, black pepper and salt; if you place all these under the rug at the front and back door, it will break up that home. [Norfolk 453:4.]
Entry 11783
Graveyard dirt, salt, sulphur, needles, and green water (slime or algae) in corked-up bottle under steps will swell you up and kill you. [Wil- mington, 125:2+85.]
Entry 12026
To send a man away, wrap up in a rag some of his hair with 2 needles and several pins, and bury this package on the bank of a river. [Here again we have one of these many rites in which the victim is buried to send him traveling!]
[Fredericksburg by Ediphone.]
Entry 491
Take nine new nails an' put 'em in a bottle or nine new needles, either one, to ketch a thing dey call a witch at night when dey ride yo'.
Entry 538
Nine pins and nine needles.
(Yes?)
You see, you put haids down and tails up, and heads down and tails up [alternate them] - say, to keep the witch away from your house.
(To keep the witch away. Where Would he put these?)
You just stick 'em in a bottle.
(I see. Who told you that?)
His name was Simon Pugh.
(Pugh. Well, what was he - was he a root doctor?)
He called hisself to be a root doctor and also a preacher.
(I see - that was down in North Carolina.)
That's right - in Littleton, North Carolina.
Entry 542
Well, I know a lady one time that was sick from - ah don't know what was de cause of her sickness, but they said that they thought someone was mad at her and they claimed that the witches Was riding her. But what I was just speaking about was here in - this has been 'round about twenty-one years ago. And - oh, the witches would ride 'er nights. A witch got after her one day in the daytime and she described the lady's dress and called de lady's name, and de lady came there to de house that day. She said the man [doctor] told her that he would bring her there to her. And the lady came there and she said this lady had on a blue dress with white round the sleeves - said that she had a real fat wrist. And this lady, we children used to call her butter-wrist. She wasn't neither light nor red; she was a kind of a pumpkin color and we used to call her butter- wrist - her complextion, you know. And so she said this lady was mad with her - see, over a young man. Seems if - she had a niece that, why she had raised, and this young man you know had visited her [the niece] once or twice and he liked this other girl better than he did her, and someone had circulated the news that they were married, going to marry. And this girl [niece] got sick, and then when she began to get better, why then this witch commenced to bother her. And sometimes you could be settin' beside of her bed and you could hear just like someone came in the door, but the door would still be shut. Sometimes the door would shake and the people would say it was the wind. And then you would hear her keeping [imitating?] the noise - see if it would go away. She'd say, "That witch pest is after me," says, "there she go." And so one night we said we were going to stay there and watch - I was always like a little curiosity. So we said we were going to set up and watch for her that night. So they heard 'em say you could hang a sifter over the door, you know, or over your bed, and the witch couldn't bother you because it had to count all those holes, and before they'd get through counting those holes it would be dawn. So we hung the sifter up and then they crossed nine needles and nine pins in the back - said they would stick in her when she come down the back of the fireplace.
(Where did they cross these needles and pins?)
In the back of the fireplace - you know, the fireplace that has the little shoulders, two of them. And you cross them, you see, and they gets hot. And they took a horseshoe and hung up over the door [demonstrates] - see, that will keep evil ones out.
(They hung it with the open part up - I see.)
Yes - see they hangs this horseshoe with the open part up. Say, long as that horseshoe up over the door with the open part up - and we'd taken and got us a box of new cayenne pepper and a box of salt and a box of sulphur, and we mixed that together and put some of that in a thin bag or a piece like mosquito lawn, so it would just set right down over the door, and anyone come in, see, opening the screen door, why that would touch it, you see. Well, they say a witch, you know, doesn't have any skin on, you see, and if that salt and pepper gets on 'em, you see, that will hurt them. And so then we all goes in de room and lays down and we leaves de door open a crack so we could watch her bed, and so we fixes de light out there in her room. And so we takes some Sunday School books - a man told us to take some Sunday School books and Bibles and turn to a certain chapter in de Bible, but have de whole nine chapters - books of de same chapter and lays 'em open - said, and she would come and we could see her in person. Said the person -
(They used nine books?)
Uh-huh - there wouldn't be any way fer her to get on de bed.
(Nine books of what - nine different Bibles?)
Nine Bibles, all the same chapters - see, use those Sunday School books or whatever books you can; little Bible stories that have the same chapter, just like the 15th Chapter of John, you see, or the Psalms. Well, you see, we had difficulty in getting nine Bibles and they used Sunday School books with them. And you take those Sunday School books, and you just lie them down, you see, on de side of de bed and one to the head of de bed and one to de foot and then she takes the Bible, you see, and lies that right 'cross her breast. [Nine Bibles should be used - three on each side of the bed, one at head and foot of bed, and one on the breast; the latter must be a Bible. These nine books are unevenly, odd-numberly placed.] And so, we hadn't just finished fixing that and been in the room more than thirty-five minutes before she says, "Here she is" - says, "here's Miz So-and- So" - says, "here's Miz So-and-So." She said that she made a shadow between her and de light. She says, "Hurry up - she's done blowed out dat light - hurry up and come on out with a lamp - she's done gone and blowed out de light." The lady [aunt] she says, "No, she ain't." "That was her shadow," says [bewitched woman], 'that's her'" - says, "that's her - the light's not out - that's her - she's in between me and the light - ah thought mah light was out." And the door shook again, but we didn't fix but one door, and then she come in the back door. There was two back doors and a shed on the house, and we didn't fix both of those back doors because it usually been the front door, see, where we come in to, the nearer the girl's bed - see, the bed was like there and we fixed the door there, but we didn't fix these two back doors. So, when she went through this door it just shook, and the back door just opened and shut, and we opened the door - opened the inside door and it looked just like looking out through her kitchen door, and it was still so just like we left it.
(Did you see anything at all?)
No, we didn't see anything, but she seen it.
Entry 634
My aunt, she wus sick in bed, she couldn't walk, an' they sent fer some man. He came an' he taken-dout [taken'd out] something they said wus in shape of a terrapin. An' they said he put it down in [on] the floor, said to it, "Go find it," whutever that wus. [It had to be a terrapin (see No. 620), not a child's mechanical toy shaped like the animal.] It went around each corner of the house in the house an' come back to 'em. An' he said, "It's not in this house." He carried it to the door an' put it outdoors, an' it started around the house until it gets to the southeast corner of the house it stopped. He said, "It's right heah." [Since there was no place in the house where he could conveniently find the object causing conjuration, he was forced to go outside where he could dig - under the edge of the house so that his back was to watching eyes.] He went diggin' an' he dug up a bottle with a lot of needles, pins - Lord knows whut kin' of stuff it wus. The other stuff wus something like quicksilver [tin-foil?] into this bottle, with the stopper turned down, drippin'. That wus supposed when that got done through drippin' that she would die. An' we had a man aroun' thah by the name of H., he went crazy the time she wus in thah sick; an' when he got crazy an' started out, they told 'er he wus comin', then she got up an' run. [Deal Island, Somerset Co., Md., (?), 21:2.] [For tortoise or turtle, see also No. 620.]
Entry 715
Mah mothah, she tole me once dat huh sistah, huh oldest sistah - dey all wus livin' in de house togethah - one mawnin' she woke up an' 'uh laig wus all swollen. An' dey taken 'uh tuh tuh-three doctahs - livin' in de country - didn't seem to do 'uh any good. An' aftah while huh laigs - hard knots came in it, in huh laigs an' nuthin' wouldn't do 'er no good. So an' ole man tole 'em about a doctah, some kin'a root doctah, an' dey got 'im to come to de house. An' he taken up a bottle from de front doah an' one from de back doah. Den he make some liquid medicine. Whut was in de bottle wus red flannen, strands of hayah (hair), an' fo' brass-eyed needles. It wus in each bottle. An' whut he done, he taken tuh silvah dimes an' balled [boiled] dem. He gave 'uh de water to drink off it an' she throwed up dose black things. They couldn't make out whut dey wus. Den he got some runnin' huckleberry - grows down on de ground, it don' have a huckleberry, it's jis' de vine named dat - den some alter [alder] tags. It's a bush grows an' has little tags on it jis' about dat long. An' dey made a - yo' know, ball [boil] it an' got enough water to bathe in and bath-d 'uh all ovah in dat. Taken dese bottles an' burn 'em in some cayenne peppah, jis' un- stopped 'em an' burned 'em; jis' sprinkle de cayenne peppah ovah 'em an' set 'em - you know, put enough trash tuh 'em to burn an' burn 'em up. An' in about a day or tuh she got well.
Entry 984
It's a very broad expression, yo' can't - dere blood unless yo' put a person, unless a woman, yo' know - yes, her ministration.{She was uncertain about using the word.] Well, once in a while - this is mah experience with mah- self. I'm not givin' you an' idea whut ah hears. I had a cotton mattress yo' know - yo' didn't pack dem, an' my ministration was taken up from my - ah worked at a hotel, see, an' it was taken up an' that piece was cut clean out an' honest, it was fold jes' lak this - 'bout five times an' outa de five times, they have five needles in it, an' beside the five needles they have something it looked kinda like a black snake, it had a little teeny head like this - like that. I found that in mah mattress. An' then they had another one to go 'cross that an' dis little head was in dere. [Two snakes were crossed.] Then they had that wrapped up - it was sprinkled with something - it had been there so long. Then they had it wrapped in one cloth, yo' know, white duck. Then the next was red flannen. An' those things ah didn't see myself at all until ah found it an' ah'd taken it to a doctor. He says, "Oh, they had jure ministration." Ah didn't take it to a medical doctor - ah took it to a root doctor - ah had never believed in them [medical doctors]. An' they had lotsa my hair in there with it - ah had long beautiful hair - an' how they got it I does not know, but I guess from combing mah hair an' leaving or de dresser.
(What did this doctor do for you?)
Whut did this doctor do? He'd taken it with him. Ah say, "Now, what is yo' goin' do with it?" He says, "Ah tell yo' whut ah'm goin' do. Ah'm goin' take it to a runnin' stream an' ah'm goin' put it in there an', '' he said, ''the same person that did joo like this, they'll come an' ast chew the next morning, How yo' feelin, Miss Davis?" Anhe say, "Now, don't look ugly an'don't look nasty, jes'say, "Jes' dandy an' how yo' feelin'? Ah did so. An' he say, "In nine mornings when it come yore time, yo'll jes' come jès' lak yo' always." So it has - ever since ah never had no mo' trouble.
(He cured you?)
He did - but he done something else, but he did it to himself [he did not tell her what he did].
Entry 1058
[The preceding informant's words somebody kin do somethin' tuh offset chew...if yo' don't do that are proved true in the following two rites.] Well, yo' take a man's watah an' yo' put it into a bottle - ketch it. Don't chew pee in it, leave him only pee dere hisself. An' when he pees yo' take it in a small bottle. Yo' don't have tuh have a big one, but see dat he don't spit in it or nuthin lak dat. An' yo' take that pee an' yo' put it in a bottle. Well, yo' buries that right by yore steps. That brings him home. [This is a bottle hand - see subsection Hands - used in love rites.]
(That brings him home. Keeps him home?)
Dat's right.
(Why wouldn't you get it, if he spit into this?)
De spit supposed tuh not - might be killin' outfit whut he could do. Yo' see whut ah'm speakin' of?
(That kills the power.)
Now a woman when she could do dat - she's tuh watch an' see if he does dat, but ketch him when he wouldn't do dat - yo' see, lak a man would make watah an' he would spit in it. Den yo' kin take a man's watah an' put nine needles an' nine pins in it, yo' see, into this watah an' bury it anywhere upside down an' he won't pee any mo'. Dat will kill him. [Retention of urine, perhaps most urological trouble, is caused by hoodoo.] [New Orleans, La., (1568) 2878:9.]
Entry 1087
They had something like snakes in 'em; whole lot of things just working up. So I fixed up a remedy and she passed all those from her. I got the stuff and gave her it and she passed a rattlesnake first - the first dose I gave her. And then the next dose I gave her, she passed a whole lot of little things just working up. I was working down here and someone knocked at the door, the first time. He woke me up and he says, "Go to the back door." And there was a bottle at the back door. I went there. He told me to carry it to her. Well somehow another somethin' said, "You can't go." And I got the axe and took that in there and I struck the bottle and broke the bottle up. It was a bottle about that long and in this bottle was a piece of her dress - the back part of her dress. The reason why I know it was the back part, we found the dress on the back porch balled up in a corner and that's why I know it was a piece of her dress. We found it. And then there was a piece of hair in there and a whole lot of piece of needles - sharp-pointed needles and pins. In this bottle it smelt like cologne. And there was a piece of root in there - it looked like High John de Conquer root - was in this bottle. And there was a cork stopper in the bottle. We opened it - course I didn't, but I got another lady to open it for me. And we'd taken 'em out later on in a piece of paper and looked at 'em. This girl was almost crazy. So I got some - something told me to do this. I went and got some Jerusalum root. I reckon you've heard talk of Jerusalum root - a root that grows.
(Jerusalum root?) [Jerusalem artichoke?]
Yes. I just got that root and then I got some of these pokeberry roots and I got me some red pepper - pod pepper and I got me some fish salt and I put it into a boiler and boiled it all up together - cooked it all up together, and just cooked it enough to have enough for her to bath in. And I bath-ed her in this here for nine mornings, and then I had another - and her hair come off her head just like your hand [handfuls] she was just almost crazy. Then after bath-ing her with this, then I takes up this red pepper and some grease and mix it together with olive oil and just greased it good all over with this here pepper and oil together, after bath-ing her for these nine mornings. Then after doing it nine mornings, bath-ing her, then I told her to take those bottles and throw it all overboard, but not to do it before because I've heard people say if you were tricked and before you were cured, if you throw that away if you found it, why it wouldn't do any good.
Entry 1398
Put nine needles an' a toothpick in a bottle, an' pbur Hearts Perfrone on it an' stop it up real tight, an' keep dat roun' yer bed all de time to keep peoples away from you from harmin' you.
Entry 1741
You have to have black pepper and salt - see, black pepper and salt, and any time a man have a toby or anything of the kind that way he have to be very careful, and if it isn't charged up with the right material, it don't do him any good. For instance, he'll put the fifteen cents, which represent money - silver dime and nickel in the toby. He'll put nine needles and nine pins. He will use some cinnamon powder in there with Cashmere Bouquet perfume to 'noint it with. See, writing his name and diff'rent names, the players' names that he plays with, on parchment paper - the sure enough one. They have the imitation and they have the sure enough parchment paper - it's kind of imitate [imitation] of sheepskin - having the name on the parchment paper, putting it in the toby and wearing it in their right pocket. Now, you got steel dust in there, you have a certain amount of lodestone. Now, whensomever anything going to happen in there - like a fight or any killing thataway, you will take a fearful feeling: That's time for you to leave. If any cutting or anything, any blood is drawn around in there near that it don't work any more.
(It kills the toby?)
Yeah, if any blood is drawn, you see. Any blood is drawn, you understand, it will have to be renewed again.
(I understand.)
So that's why any time anything is happening around thataway, you always have a fear feeling, you leaves out. See. And the same as a battery or anything of the kind, after a certain amount of time, you have to recharge it again, because it don't holds up - it goes away the same as a battery on a automobile. [The preceding fifteen cents is the magic of odd number - see margin-title Money - Uneven.]
Entry 1819
[In my earlier collecting days a hairball among white inform- ants was: "A cow licks her hair and that hair goes down in the left side of the pouch and that forms a ball, and if you have one of those in your hand you can bewitch anyone." This object is sometimes called a witch-ball: "One morning the cow didn't come up for milking and they went out to find the cow and found it dead. It had been shot in the thigh with a hair-ball.... You see, a witch always uses a silver bullet or a hair-ball to kill anything, and this man [witch] had shot the cow with one of those witch hair-balls." FACI, 2ed., Nos. 15884 & 15885, p.797; see also No. 16151, p.827.]
[In the following account we have a different hairbalZ:]
Now, dere's a hairball - dat's concernin' a lady, misfortune between yo' an' her. Now, yo' kin wear dis hairball tuh keep in contact with her an' yo' kin wear it dat chew may nevah git in contact with her no mo'.
(What kind of a hairbalZ do you mean?)
It's an ordinary hairball.
(Well, where do you get that hair?)
Well, it's hair dat's from ole dead people, yo' know, befo' it's event'lly decayed - it's spoiled. Put it in a thimble or somethin' round that chew may put it in a ball. Quite natural, by it gittin' air it will not, yo' know whut ah mean - fade away. Quite natural if yo' know de person that die - everythin' all right. Now, this hairball - it comes in a ball. To keep in contact with this party, yo must put this in a bag - yo' know, somethin' lak a Bull Durham sack. [The latter was a small cloth sack containing a cigarette mixture used in "rolling your own" - making your own cigarettes. The paper label on the sack had the picture of a bull.] Yo' make a small bag small enough fo' it tuh git in. Now, tuh keep in contact with this person, yo' must put this hairball in that bag an' sew it. Make nine stitches, an' dere's three words yo' must say while sewin', "With me Fo'evah." Yo' know, as yo' make a stitch, jes' say a word. Now at de end, when yo' git tuh de end of de bag, do not make a knot in it. Make three turns wit chure needle - yo' know, lak yo' be sewin' dis, jes pass it roun dere three times. Den yo git chew a string an' put nine knots in dis string an' de ninth knot, yo' take a needle an' attach it to dat bag an' wear that next to yore skin. Now, tuh git rid of dis lady event ally, wear dis hairbalZ jes' outright - don't put it nex' tuh yore skin. Fo' instant [instance], lak yo' got chure coat on dere, dis top pocket heah - jes' keep it in dat pocket, jes' outside from yo'. See. An' yo' wear it thataway yo'll nevah come in contact with her. That's all it is to the hairball.
Hyatt quotes earlier FACI material comparing a silver bullet with a hair-ball as alternatives. The quoted cow account uses the hair-ball. The following Algiers informant describes a different hair-ball; the quoted bullet is not part of that later recipe.
Read full source (printed page 544) · Read full source (printed page 545)
Entry 1982
Ah went to a man to make conditions better at home. He had me tuh git a dime an' he grind it up an' he had me git twelve needles an' he broken dem in parts an' he put 'em into a - he ball a cloth up, made a round ball out of it, an' had me to wear dat round mah waist an' put Hearts Cologne on it, an' each day that would bring happiness into mah home. (Did it?) Yes sir, it seemed to he'p - fact mah wife seemed to act bettah an' mah - were mo' together an' we got along bettah. Then, on another occasion ah was tryin' tuh find happiness. Ah went to one [another doctor] an' he tole me tuh go out to de graveyard. An' mah little baby had jest died about two mont's, an' he said reach mah han' down in dere jest at sundown as fur as ah could git it an' bring up some sand, an' take that clay an' parch it until it become where ah could handle it somepin lak sugah - he said, lak where it would be lak sugah. An' had me to take it an' go an' sprinkle some of it ovah mah mother's haid, an' she laid down an' sprinkle some in mah wife's haid, an' sprinkle some all through on de flo'. An' that brought mo' harm than evah befo'. We had been fussin' but we got tuh fighting. It ran me clean away from dere. Instead of bringin' together, it did mo' harm than it did good.
(What did he tell you to do this for?)
Tole me to do dat in order to bring happiness. Ah was seeking happiness. Ah wus tryin' tuh git mah - see, mah mother-in-law, seemed lak she didn't like me, an' mah sister-in-laws - ah jest couldn't git along wit de family. An' ah went to him - someone tole me to go to him an' ah went to him an' he had me to bring that to him an' go through dis performance with dis graveyard dirt. An' of course, instead of bringin' happiness, it got worse. An' on another occasion dat dis same gurl ran 'way from me - an' ah went around to one lady an' she had me to go lie down flat on mah back. Ah lie down flat on mah back, an' she put a dark cloth ovah mah face an' tole me to call her name, an' ah called her name. So she told me to go to Sarasota [Florida]. Ah went there an' ah found another one an' she tole me, "She's in St. Petersburg [Florida]." An' then ah went to one an' he give me help. He said that chew'll find her. Told me to go git two tater roots. [Potato in much of the South is sweet potato, not Irish potato.] Ah got two tater roots an' he tied 'em together an' told me to wear dat round mah waist, an' told me to go on an' when ah come to de first little town where ah could git a boat, go out into a boat an' throw dis ovah into de water, an' come on back and rest on it an' in a day or two she come up. Ah did that. Yes sir, she came back. (When she put a black cloth over your head, did she do anything else for you or did she just send you to another person?) She put the black cloth ovah mah haid when ah laid down. Den ah got up an' then she had me to read de 23rd Psalm, ah think it was, an' after ah read de 23rd Psalm, then she had me to stand up an' go through some motions with her, yo' see. She carry her han' out dat way an' up dis way [demonstrates]. An' she tole me tuh hole mah haid sidewards an' ah did that, an' then she begin tuh read [the cards] an' tell me various things. And of co'se from that, why she tole me tuh go an' ah went where she tole me, but ah did not find her.
(Well, after she finished with you, then she sent you on to somebody else?)
Yes sir. Once ah desire to go out an' ah couldn't go out an' ah went to a fortune- teller an' ah asked why. He tole me, said, "Yo' go home," he said, "an' yore wife has used de dishrag an' sewed it up in a mattress." He said, "When yo' kin ketch it - yore wife's off from de house, look in de middle of de mattress an' yo'll find dat dishrag. Take it an' go to back do' an' look towards de east an' wipe yoreself an' then go ahead an' throw de dishrag ovah de field - ovah there some place." An' he says, "Yo'll find complete results." An' ah did it an' ah really got results. That had me tied. Ah used that an' soon find out. [Dishrag is a widespread cure for impotence caused by tying.]
Entry 2384
Oh, de willow tree root, yo' goes an' git, say about seven a'clock in de mornin', an' cut a piece of root from one of de sunrise [side]. Then yo' git chew a piece of red flannen wit salt an' sulphur, black peppah, an' a needle an' some Heart Perfume, an' yo' sew dat up yo' understand. Yo sew dat up an' yo' keep it 'nointed with dat Heart Perfume an' wear dat in yore pocket. If yo' git it yoreself, name it after yo'; if somebody else git it, name it after them. (Carry that for luck. You get this root from the willow tree. Which side do you get it from?) Yo' git it from de sunrise, yes sir.
interviewer-supplied luck purpose in a compound question, without informant endorsement. No blanket assent to compound question sewing the named red-flannel material combination. No stitch type, bag shape or unmentioned sewing procedure is inferred. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2395
Someone who used to live on the Riprap Road found a box at the gate one morning and brought it to my house and said, "Look what I dug up at my gate." I said to her, "What's in it?" And she opened it and there was pins in there and needles and some of her hair and sulphur in a bag in there and a piece of red flannel that had four sticks sewed up into that and a dime into it. It was a wooden box about that long. (Eight inches long and four inches wide.) [Probably a cigar box - symbolic coffin.] She said she was going to take it and see who put it there, she was going to take it over to Norfolk to a fortuneteller. And when she came back she told me that her husband put it there. That's what the fortuneteller told her.
Entry 2832
Yo' take an' git chew a candle an' yo' git chure lan'lord's name. Yo' fin' out de enemy whut's 'ginst yo'. Yo' take an' git chew a bran'-new tablet, linen tablet without de little lines. Yo' git chew a bran'-new indelibins [indelible] pencil [occasionally called indelicate], a bran'-new pencil have nevah been used. Yo' pull up yore sleeve an' jes' draw [demonstrates] from heah right roun' disaway - fingers.
(Outlining the fingers of your hand right on this tablet.)
Yas. Right on de tablet clean roun' to de j'ints heah, all right up dis way.
(Right up to the wrist.)
Den, aftah yo' git yore han' drawed off, yo' start markin' from yore thum' to de j'ints of yore fingers, wit little x's wit de lead pencil, an' den follow behin' 'em wit de indelibins pencil. In de pa'm of yo' han' yo' put fo' lines or five lines [for five fingers]. Yo' git all yo' enemies' names dat is 'ginst yo'. Yo' put 'em cross yore lines dat way. Den yo' put yore lan'lord up heah cross dese fo' fingers. Yo' place yore name on top of it to de heel of yore han'. (Your name will cross at right angles - cross all those names, making the form of an "x" like that. In a cross?) Yeah, yo' see [demonstrates] disaway. Dat's de way it work. Dem's de lines. Yore lan'lord heah, yo' enemy's heah. Den you take yore name an' draw it right through de middle of it dataway, right down dis way to de heel of yore han'. Den yo' git chew a candle an' git chew a papah of gold-eye needles.
(What kind of candle do you get? What color?)
Red. Git red. Yo' git chew a papah of gold-eye needles, a papah of large pins: Git chew nickel wuth new ten-penny nails. Yo' jes' set yore candle down an' den yo' take yo' a pair pliers an' grip dose needles an' shove 'em through an' make crosses in em [candles] dataway from de stem to de bottom, mix 'em up with de needles an pins. Den yo' light chure candle ovah dat han' on de dresser or wash-stand [which become an altar], somepin lak dat, or a center table, an' set it down dat way. [All of this is demonstrated.] Den yo' make yore wishes. When yo' git ready tuh put de candle out, don't blow it out, yo' ketch it an' pinch it to yo'. Yo burn it from five tuh ten tuh fifteen minutes. It goes up eve'y mawnin, don't yo' see, until it burns out. In de meantime when de candles is burnin' an' de needles an' pins is fallin out, leave 'em lay dere till de candle burn down. An'den joo got chure lan'lord.
(They can' t move you out of the house?)
Nawsuh, dey cain't move yuh.
(Do you light this candle at any particular time?)
Yassuh, yo' must light it on a time. Yo' see, yo' mus' light it in de mawnin' when de sun risin'. See, when de sun risin' yo' light chure candle an' yo' burn it. Yo' start at five minute up, as high as yo' wanta go, tuh twenty minute or twenty-five minute, yo' see. An' den yo' set dere an' make yore wishes as de candle burn. Hold yore watch on yore candle or yore clock, so yo' won't delay it none - yo' see, yo' won't run ovah yore minutes. Yo' see? Always put it on, on de exact minute. When de five minutes is out, put it out; or de ten minutes is out, put it out. Don't blow it out. Take yore fingah or yore thum' an' 'pit [spit] an' lay it on de stem [wick] an' pinch it ovah to yo' - break it off to yo' dat way, see. Den yo' got him.
(How long do you burn this candle? Until it burns all the way down?)
Till it burns all de way down. Yo' burn two an' dat's all. [For outline of hand or fingers, see 1988, p.583 & Index.]
Entry 2844
They takes the candles and they writes the name on them candles, and they lights them, and they burn 'em certain hours - six o'clock or either twelve o'clock. For nine days. They light those candles on people. Some of 'em light black candles. When they light black candles on 'em they puts pins - pins in em - new pins and needles. Just like if this was de top [demonstrates] turn the butt end [up] like that. You know, trim 'em at de butt end - you know, the side that goes down [butt end], well, you trim it at de butt end and light 'em.
(You turn them upside down.)
[The bottom of the candle with the new wick becomes the top.]
Uh huh. And that's - put their name on that. Well, you burns the name upside down on those black candles [because candles are burning upside down]. That's what they do.
(What will that do?)
What will that do? Well, that breaks up people. [For upside-down magic, see pp.405,660,731, and Index.]
Entry 2859
They burn a candle on it and turn it down. Do you know why ah knows this? (Now wait a minute. [I demonstrate.] Here's the photograph. The face is up. Now what do you do? How do you put the candle on there? This is the candle. You set the candle on the face like that?) You turn de bottom up. (You turn the face down and the bottom is up, and you put the candle right on top of it - right in the center like that., [This makes a quincunx - p.710 and Index.] What kind of candle do you use?) You use a black candle.
(Just one. And do you say anything or do anything when you do this?)
Yes, you say something, "I want her to sink to the bowels [of the earth]." That means to die. You burn it nine times dere, nine mornings.
(Then what happens?)
Well, if someone don't hurry an' do something, dey be sure gone. Well, you know why ah know that. You see ah had a sister, she was almost dead and she went to - she had to get her photo made, see. I say, "Maybe somebody got chure photo." She say, "Oh, ah suffer wit mah haid." She looked like she was going crazy. Well, ah took a new needle - new needles and pins and crossed 'em.
(Where did you cross them?)
Fo' to make de headache go off, put de pin right dere - brand-new - in her hair, right in de mole [mold of her head]. Den you cross it, you see. An'den after you cross it, you take some Hearts Perfume, dampen it all together and den take some camphor and put it right dere - on chere [demonstrates]. (Put it right on there on that hair at the ears. And then did her headache stop?) It sure did. And then when it stopped I say to her, say, "Now, you go and get your photo." And she went to get her photo. Dey have a - [a privy] in de back yard, a fren' girl of her. She was kind of mad with her about her husband. You see, she had mah sister's husband and mah sister liked tuh die. An' sure 'nuff, when she went in there [the privy], she had her photo behind the door with that candle on it.
[See margin-title IN THE ToILET, p.826 and Scatologic rites in Index.]
(That black candle on it.)
Mah sister took dat candle and took it and throw it in de river. And her and dat woman had a fight about it, but she got her photo and dat candle. She liked tuh been dead. Well, your picture, they can bury your picture. They can bury your picture bottom down. That'll make you drag: Your head'll be hurtin' you all the time, pain, and your head ache.
(How do they burn that on you?)
They say they light a candle, burn a candle to put you down - with the picture down, you see. With the picture down - they can't do nothing with it up, you see. They have the face down, you see. (What kind of a candle do they burn? How do they fix that candle up? What do they do?) Well, that candle, you see. They put the candle in a saucer, you see, and as for the saucer, they lay it right on top of the picture, you see, and they let it burn, you see. And you burn that candle for nine days, see.
(What times? Right on through?)
Right on through.
(Never let it go out?)
Never let it go out atall - nine days, right in that dark corner - right up in the corner, you see. Nine days.
(What color candle do they use? A white candle for that?)
Well, they generally use a black candle when they want to do evil.
(I see.)
A white candle - it's for goodness, see. Evil is a black candle.
Entry 2871
Dey say if anyone steal anything from you, take dis black candle and write dere name on it nine times and burn it fifteen minutes. Set it in a dark corner in de no'th corner - one in de no'th corner and one in de southeast corner of yere house. An' stick nine pins in it an' nine needles. When you light dis candle call dere name nine times, and burn 'em fifteen minutes six, twelve and six in de evening. An' when you put it out - jest wet it an' put it out like dat [demonstrates].
(Pinch it out.)
Yes.
(And what is that supposed to do then?)
That will make 'em bring those things back if they stole them.
(How many candles do you use?)
Two.
(And you put one in one corner of the house - what corners are those?)
De no'th corner and de southeast jest like heah now [demonstrates].
(Opposite corners. One in the northwest or northeast?)
[Wanting to know whether this was the magic of the diagonal, I purposely avoided the question opposite corners.] Northwest - dat's whut ah would call it.
Entry 3102
[My discovery of Zippy Tull and George Jackson - former celebrities of the high-man or witchcraft world along the Eastern Shore - I have described in the INTRODUCTION. One of the great stories about her has already been given - No. 8, page 5. For George Jackson, see page 912.] [Nicknames characterize the woman - "Zippy'" meaning '"lively'" and 'smart," and "Aunt Zippy'" revealing an affectionate regard by many people. She lived a large part of her life a mile or so from the Maryland line at a place once called Drummondtown, near New Church, Accomac County, Virginia. Approximate dates of birth and death would be the decade of 1830 and the year 1900. I have four stories about her, each told by a different informant; also three remedies given by a fifth person. Never again would I meet anyone who, I felt, had actually been so near old-time workers. All material, except the story by Mrs. Williams, I collected while working the region and stay- ing the last few days at the old Washington Hotel in Princess Anne, Maryland.] [Story No. 1 - recorded in my hotel dining room, Princess Anne, Maryland, was told by a former slave 89 years old.] That's been aboat [about] 70 years ago when I wus - 75 years ago [1861]. I know dat myself, I'm not talkin' about whut I hear somebody 'say. I wus a young man - guess I wusn't a young man neither. I called myself a young man an' I wus courtin' a girl. An' some people lived on a fahm [farm] that didn't like me so very well. I wus a very bright boy an' very swift at that time. So dey begin to wuk [work] on me, as I thought. We has an ol' woman named Zippy Tull, she's a fortuneteller. So I goes down to Miss Zippy an' I says to 'er, "I wan' chew to tell my fortune." She knew my father. She says, "All right, George," she says, "take a seat there." An' she goes over [the cards] an' I never said a word. I jis' sit down there an' listened at 'er. I hadn't tol' 'er nuthin atall yet. So she said, "George," she said, "there's a big dark woman," she said, "that don't like your mother an' don't like your father - an' she poisoned your dog." Well, that wus a fact. An' this dog died sort of tight anyhow. "Well, anyhow," she says, "it's workin' on you. Now, I ain't had no mind it seems to me for nuthin atall. "Well," I said, "I wan' chew to do somepin for me if you kin." She says, "I will, if you do whut I tell you to do," she says. "I will, an' farthermore," she says, "I'll make dem people come to you an' 'splain to you dey done it demselves." I tol' 'er that wus purtty good. Well, I goes to work an' done whut she told me to do. An' fo' or five days from that.
(What did she tell you to do?)
I ain't exposed [supposed] to do [tell] this.
[After all these years the old man was reluctant to tell!]
(Oh! I see. All right.)
In fo' or five days from that, I done jis' whut she told me, an' I done whut she tole me to do Saturday night. Aboat in two or three davs from then, mayhaps a week - that woman hadn't beer to my house in three years - she come there at twelve o'clock. She don't come in. She put both hands on the door an' says - my mother's name wus Liddy - she says, "Liddy," she said, "if ever I git over this, I shall never do any harm to nobody else while I live." "Well, Caroline," she said, "git over whut?" "Whut I've done." She says, "Whut have you done?" "Well," she said, "Liddy, I done a whole lot, I've done a whole lot in my time, but, '' she says, "I've done somepin now which I think that I've gone to my good scene [death] from outside [outside because her own spell had been turned against her by Zippy Tull]. She said, "I'll jes' say to you that I'll never will do nuthin else to nobody while I live, again." "Well, whut have you done?" "Well," she said, "I'll never do nuthin to nobody else while I live." Well, that woman went away, she went back to her home again - she went back aboat a quarter of a mile from me and she pined away. An' whut I done - as that stuff wasted away, she wasted away; when that stuff wus all gone, she went.
(What did she do? Can't you tell?)
Did I tell what I done?
(No. Did she [Zippy] tell what she [the bewitcher] did?)
No, she didn't tell me what she done to me.
(And what did you do, now? What did you get?)
Well, I [he still hesitates] - well, I done this. She [Zippy Tull] tole me to git some new needles, pins, an' some of my own water - an' I fergit now the other t'ings I take, been so long. I fergit the other odd t'ings that she tole me aboat, but some five or six diff'rent. But I know these new needles an' these new pins, an' I think some shot; put it all into a bottle, an' some of my own water into the bottle, an' dug a hole in de fahplace - taken up a brick an' dug a hole in de fahplace in my home. An' I buried this bottle, put it down - the stopper down. She says, "Now, when dat bottle leaks out - all dat stuff dat's in dat bottle, she'll die," she said, "but she'll waste away dat way same as dat bottle." She said, "Stop it up tight," she said, "turn it upside down, cover it up an' place this brick back on top of it." Well, I done that an' buried it, jest as she tole me, where I dug.
(Did she die?)
DIEI Why she smothered! [Princess Anne, Md., (127), 29:2.] 0. [Story No. 2 - came from Mr. J. Shrieve (Numbers Book 83-134), my hotel manager at Princess Anne, a man past fifty, the only white informant interviewed. The latter alone makes him memorable, but a favor he also did later made the day doubly a worthy memory (see INTRODUCTION). This story, No. 2, is numbered 0000. because it is already in the text - see No. 8, page 5.]
Entry 3161
Take two match sticks an' two needles, two new needles, an' take dese two needles an' stick 'em each into each end of de match stick. An' take a new piece of thread an' tie it [the 2 matches] in a cross, an' hide it up under yore girl friend's bed or somepin like dat. An' dey say she wouldn't have no courage for no guys or nuthin like dat, an' you could walk right in an' ketch 'em right at de work.
Entry 3304
Like, say fer instance, I'm livin' here. I have a wife here. I'm a fellow, I'm accustomed to gittin' up at night an' urine in de night jug. Now, dis: woman wants to - she don't want to kill me or nuthin like dat. She jes wants to harm me so dat she could keep me. Now, she'll take dat, dat urine - see, it mustn't be no watah. She'll take dat urine an' she'll put dat into a quart bottle. She'll put needles into dat. She'll stand it up on de head, anywhere in a cornah. It must be in a cornah so dat yo' can't see it. An' she'll have yo' so dat yo' can't be wit anyone else but 'er. If yo' go to be wit any othah womean, yo' can't do it. Yo' gotta be wit 'er.
Entry 3307
Well, dey'll take dey chamber lye, so dey say, an' dey'll put dragon's blood in it, nine drops. Dey'll put nine pins in it wit de points [up]. Dey'll drop de heads down in dere, an' nine goldeye needles. Den dey'll take dat, dat'll keep a man from havin' intahco'se wit any othah woman but de one dat does it, see.
(The woman who does this.)
De one who does dis. She kin take up de bottle, so she says, an' shake it an' anywhere's he is, he's comin'. If he see death in front of him, he can' [can't] prevent from comin'.
Entry 3317
Well, it's jes' like I'm got a woman here an' I ain't home daytimes, an' I'd urinate in a glass or anythin' an' put it undah de bed. Well, she would- n't use dat watah at all. She'd git up de nex' mawnin' aftah I leave. She'd take dat watah an' she'd put it in a bottle. She write my name nine times on a piece of papah an' take two needles an' cross 'em, an' drop it down in dat watah an' stop dat - stop it up tight an' bury it, see. Now, when she bury dat, I cannot have no connection wit no othah woman but 'er. Yo' see. She's got me tied up, yo' see.
Entry 3331
Take a person's chamber lye an' stop 'em, like if yo' got a wife an' she runnin' aroun' wit anothah man. Yo' take dat an' put it in a cloth, jis' po' it on a cloth an' let it soak intuh dere, an' wrap it tight. Wrap it up in- tuh a piece of flannel.
(Which way do you wrap it?)
Wrap it always from yo'. [It is more likely wrap to you.] Den yo' take a needle an' sew it tuhgethah tight. An' den take dat an' put it inside of yore mattress an' sew it back tuhgethah. Or eithah take it out an' bury it behin' de house or behin' a tree or by a tree, any place like dat. Den yo' kin stop 'er from runnin' roun'.
[St. Petersburg, Fla., (1025), 1659:6.]
[Rites concerning dishrag or dishcloth, and occasionally dishtowel, will also be found under CURES FOR SEXUAL IMPOTENCE, the other subsection of this subject. As in the preceding subsection MISCELLANEOUS, I start this one by quoting a few introductory beliefs. The very first margin title, parts (1) and (2), show that sexual impotence like all disease and ailments in hoodoo is not caused by biolog- ical factors, but by someone capturing your spirit. Let me repeat what I said on the page facing the PREFAcE of volume 1: To catch a spirit, or to protect your spirit against the catching, or to release your caught spirit - this is the com- plete theory and practice of hoodoo. Parts (3) and (4) of the first margin title introduce us to the incredible ideas about penis captivus, a subject unknown to folklore a generation ago. FACI has no example of it.
Entry 3550
De stockin's [are] fo' love affairs. Now, dey kin take mah stockin's or mah socks - man or woman, don't make no diff'rence who it is, an' dey kin cut de toe of dat sock off an' de heel part of dat sock off, see. An' aftah dey cut it off, den dey tie it wit nine knots. Now dat's fo' love, [but] dat's not tuh drew [draw] dis love. It's lak if yo' loves a lady - ah should explain it tuh yo' lak dat. Jes' lak if ah loved a lady mahself an' she quit me fo' some othah man, an' ah don't want Ter tuh be intimate wit dis man. Prob'bly she could be wit 'im, but still she couldn't have no intahco'se wit 'im. Yo' undahstan'. All right, aftah ah cut de toe of 'er sock off heah an' de heel of 'er sock off - yo' know women don't har'ly wear stockin's now, some of dem wears socks now. Aftah ah cut dat off, ah takes me an' sets down, an' ah cuts it intuh a kin'a string-lak. Aftah ah cut dat off, see - ah wan'a show yo' whut ah'm talkin' 'bout. Ah think ah got a han'ke'chuf in mah pocket heah. Let dis kin'a be de toe of 'er stockin'. Ah cuts dat off, yo' undahstan'. Den ah takes an' tear dat, an' aftah ah tears dat, ah sits down an' ties me nine knots. See, nine knots In it in a diff'ren' form. An' aftah ah tie dose nine knots, ah pull dem darn tight. An' aftah ah tie dose nine knots, ah takes me a needle. Aftah ah git it all tied up, ah takes me a needle an' ah pins dat - see, wit de needle an' one of de pins. Now, [if] ah kin git a chance tuh git tuh her home, ah go tuh her home an' ah put dis in de middle of de bed. Prob'bly if it's too much [several beds] - if not, if it's only one, ah put it in de middle of it. [The center of a bed is the fifth pOint Of the quincunx.] NOW ANYBODY DAT SHE WANTS TUH INTAHCO'SE WIT, SHE CAN'T HAVE NO FEELIN' FO' DEM AT ALL. NOW, HE KIN DO IT, PROB'BLY HE WILL, BUT SHE WON'T HAVE NONE - NO FEELIN' FO' HIM AT ALL. [This Same nO feeling WIll alsO be found in No.3569.] DEN OTHAH WAYS ABOUT IT. Ah kin take her sock or 'er stockin's an' ah kin cut dat off ag'in, an' not even tie dem nine knots. Jes' cut it off an' take an' go tuh de woods. Now, ah'm goin' tuh de woods an' ah git me whut chew call herb stuff, now. Ah'm goin' tuh de woods an' ah git me whut chew call a holly leaf. Yo' [think] it's some Christmas holly wit berries on 'em, but dere's othah holly leafs hasn't got no berries on 'em - got dose sharp thorns on de leaves of 'em. Now, ah'm goin' dere an' take dose thorns. Ah'm gon'a git me nine leaves an ah'm gon'a break off all dose thorns on de leaves. Aftah ah done cut dat end of dat sock off, put it intuh a mere bottle - a half a pint flask. Put dose nine thorns offa all, each one, of dose leaves intuh dat bottle. An' aftah ah put it intuh dat bottle, den ah takes me a little of whut dey call - it's a water lily, it grows in de water. [This is probably the white-flowered species (Crinum amer- icanum), popularly called swamp lily (see 3246) of the southern United States.] Gits a bud outa dat. An' aftah ah gits dat bud outa dat, den I gits me jes' a leetle bit of salt, an' about, jes' aroun' about, a tablespoonful of hot peppah whut dey call red peppah. An' ah kin parch dat peppah [pod] now, or eithah ah kin let it be [buy it] in de cans. An' put it in dere wit dat an' stop dat bot- tle up. An' ah kin take dat bottle an' ah kin go home an' bury dat bottle any place in mah house ah wants tuh bury it. Take dese two fingahs [demonstrates].
(0f the right hand.)
Of de right hand.
(The index finger and then the finger next to the little finger?)
Dat's right. If she but been to mah house one time, ah kin take dese two fingahs heah an' git me a sharp match stem an' pick dese fingahs until dey bleed. Now her name is Miss H. M. Smith or H. M. Williams. Wit de blood of dat, dat come outa mah han's, ah writes 'er 'ritial - see, "H. M." See. An' puts dat in dat wit dat bottle an' bury dat bottle. Now, ah'm drivin' 'er tuh me, see. Ah'm bringin' 'er tuh me. Ah'm not drivin' 'er from me. Ah'm bringin' 'er tuh me. See. Now hit gotta set dere fo' nine mawnin's, an' aftah dese nine mawnin's den, in de tenth mawnin' yo' see her comin'. Don't kere who she is, she'll come.
Entry 3578
Say in case now, if yo' gotta wife - yo' wanta learn dis?
(Yes, go ahead.)
Case if yo' gotta woman or wife or somepin lak dat, an' dis othah man is goin' wit 'er, an' yo' wanta break de man who goin' wit 'er. Yo' wanta know dat? All right. Yo' go to de sto' an' git chew a piece of new white cloth, an' yo' git dat white cloth an' tears a strip off it like dat, see [demon- strates]. Well now, lak if yo' goin' wit dis woman an' don't want nobody else tuh go wit 'er but chew. Yo' see, if yo' take dat piece of cloth WHEN SHE HAS CONNECTION, DON' CHEW HAVE NO CONNECTION AT ALL. Jes' tear a strip offa dat an' den tie nine knots in dat - see, nine knots in dat strip. Well, all right, when yo' tie dem nine knots in dere den yo' puts it inside dat piece of cloth jes' lak dat yo' see. [demonstrates]. (You put this strip that you tore off, that you put the nine knots in, you put it in this other piece of cloth that you didn't tear.) See, dis strip dat chew to' [tore] off, now.
(This is the cloth that she's wiped with?)
Yeah, yo' tear dat off an' yo' put nine knots in dat, yo' see. An' jes' lak if my name Dawson [his name was Dawson], yo' say, "Dawson." All right. An' yo draw dat knot to yo', see. Well, lak 'er name So-an'-so, yo' say, "So-an'-so, I an'"So-an'-so," an - see, yo' call yore name evah othah [each] time till yo git nine [knots and names]. Den, when yo' git nine, den yo' take dat an' roll dat to yo' lak dis, yo' see [demonstrates], an' den yo' git chew - go to de store an' git chew a bran'-new spool of thread No.8 an' a needle - big needle - an' put dat in dere an' sew dat up an' wear it roun' yore waist. No man can't go wit 'er to save dere life - TO YORE LIFE AN' MINE'S EITHAH.
(The man does: this to the woman.)
Entry 3917
Take dey sanitary cloth an' roll it up aroun' dat hair wit de quick- silvah in it, an' den yo' stick dose needles in dere, yo' see, an' yo' put it in a secret place somewhere. An' dey'll be worried to death wit dat, an' natchly [naturally] it will run 'em crazy. (You told me something a while ago. How does it make them feel, you say?) Oh! it makes 'em feel lak pins is stickin' in 'em - in dey flesh or somepin all de while.
Entry 3918
I can send 'em away in dis mannah. Now, if I would - say fo' ninstance if I wanted to kill a person or somepin of dat sort, why den, man or woman. If it wus a woman, I could take an' - I'd take her pieces, yo' know, when dey dirty. I'd fold 'em up an' put nine needles in 'em. I'd take an' I'd go to de riv- ah, but when I get to de rivah, when I gets jes' about twenty feets of de end of de walk where I'm goin' to stand at - dere's de wall [of the room] heah, when I get jes' about twenty feets right heah, I'd back myself back to dat, see. An I wouldn't look back, jes' back up to dere. When I gets dere I throws dat over mah left shouldah. When I throw dat in de rivah ovah mah left shouldah. I throws a silvah dime behind me, an' dat'll make her drift. She'll pine away to nuthin an' when yo' look again, why she'll be in de cemetery.
(Well, what do you throw over your shoulder?)
[I know, but I am continuing for the dime later.]
I throw 'er pieces ovah my shouldah.
(Oh! What do you mean, her monthly pieces?)
Yes, sir.
(Her monthly pieces?)
Yes.
(Well, why do you throw that dime over your shoulder?)
Dat dime is fo' death. Dat dime is to carry her on - see, dat dime is to carry her on. She's got to go.
(Does anybody get that dime? Pay her?)
[Informant already has said that dime is: for death, but I am trying to obtain a fuller statement without suggesting what I want - the dime pays the spirit for doing the desired work.] No, no, sir, nobody gets dat dime. Dat dime goes in de rivah. Nobody gets dat dime.
Entry 4156
If dey wanna go ag'in - tuh keep 'em from goin' ag'in, yuh'll have tuh clip a piece from she [demonstrates].
(From the top of her head.)
An' a piece from she private an' put it in de bottle wit nine needles, an' take yuh chamber lye an' some German Heart Cologne, an' mix it tuhgethah an' hol' dat in yuh pocket fer de fus' [first] nine mawn- in's. An' den take it an' po' it in one of yuh suits, an' she will nevah go tuh dat pocket tuh take it out. An' SHE'LL STAY DERE FOREVAH AN' FOREVAH.
(I see. That keeps her.)
Entry 4187
Me, fo' mahself, dis whut wuz tol' me tuh do: tuh git two needles, two bran'-new needles, an' put urine in de bottle, mine. Put it in a li'le bottle 'bout dat long, jis' big enough tuh hol' dem needles, yuh know, an' - ah kin go an' git dat an' show it tuh yuh where it's right dere now in mah trunk, ah kin show yuh - dat [2 needles and urine in bottle] an' some red peppah an' some salt an' some spice. An' put it all in a bottle an' stop it up tight, an' wear it on yuh. Dey said da' chew go tuh any man or any woman an' secure a job, see. Well dat somepin tuh git money.
(WHO TOLD YOU THIS?)
SOME OLE FORTUNETELLAH FELLAH DAT HANG AROUN' MAH HOUSE RIGHT - SEE AH LIVE UP DE HILL DERE.
(DID IT HELP YOU?)
NAW, AH DON'T SEE DAT IT BENEFIT ME ANYTHING.
Entry 4189
Ah heard dat if yuh man wuz runnin' about, could take de chamber lye an' put nine needles in yuh cham- ber an' pee ovah 'em, make watah ovah dem.
(That will stop him from running about. You leave them there?)
Yessuh.
Entry 4190
Wit de chamber lye, ah tell yuh whut dey do wit dat. Yuh take nine new needles an' a person's chamber lye an' yuh stop it up in a bottle, an' yuh turn de bottle neck up- side down an' bury it. Dey'll surely die.
Entry 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 4193
She take her husban' urinate an' she put it in a bottle an' she put nine needles wit it an' she stopped dat up an' she put it in de bed where he wuz sleepin' at fo' nine nights. An' aftah dem nine nights she take it an' she bury it undah de steps, an' she did dat tuh keep 'im at home an' so he won' go wit no one else but 'er. An' she say he stayed undah 'er feet so much until she wanta let it go. Yes, he stayed undah 'er feet all de time an' didn't go wit no one else but 'er. Dat whut she did it fo'. He stayed at home all de time. She did it tuh stop 'im from runnin' roun'.
Entry 4194
Dey kin put it in a vasoline bottle.
(This chamber lye.)
Yes. Dey gits nine shots - yuh know, lead shots, an' nine bran'-new needles. Yuh put one of dose shots in wit de needle down dere, de head down, wit anothah shot den, until yuh git all of dem nine in dere. An' stops it up in dere in dat vasoline bottle, an' den dey keep it straight up. Put it in a da'k [dark] closet. Dat supposed tuh hold yuh husban'.
Entry 4195
A three ounce bottle will hold three ounces. Yuh put three tablespoon- ful of urine in dis bottle. Yuh put de contents of one bottle of Hearts Cologne - yuh see dat's tuh dispose of de urine odor. An' yuh put a piece of lodestone de size of a pea in dis. Yuh put nine small needles in dat bottle an' if yuh are angry wit me - jis' like now [if] ah made yuh angry wit me, yuh git nine grains of spice an' drop in dat bottle [with this] an' say, "Well, ah want chew tuh always be pleased wit me, it is not my desire tuh have enemies." Dat person will immediately git in good humor wit yuh de very nex time yuh see dem. Dey will meet yuh wit a pleasant smile. Well now, not only dat, yuh kin put nine grains of spice in dere, if de boss is de only one dat is angry wit yuh. Dat works for dat one person. Well, maybe yuh do dat dis mawnin', an' it might be a week latah dat someone else will git angry wit yo'. Well now, let me tell yuh about a lady livin' on South Union Street in Mont- gomery [Ala.]. Well, at one time ah had a [little trouble with a woman] an' dis woman she wuz very angry wit me, an' ah had heard about dis [hoodoo] woman, an' a woman tole me, said, "If yuh go tuh dat woman, she sure goin' tuh tell yuh jis' whut tuh do." An' evahthin' worked out all right. She [hoodoo woman] said, "Dis woman will not appear in co't ag'inst chuh." Well, ah didn't har'ly believe it, but ah jis' thought ah would go on anyway. But de woman wuz one of de worst enemies ah had. I went tuh dis [hoodoo] woman an' she fixed dis bottle fo' me - tole me tuh fix it an' tole me jis' as ah have tole joo. Tole me tuh drop de spice in dere, an' ah did dat. Dis is true: Dis woman came ovah tuh mah house 'bout a half an hour befo' co't an' she tole me, she says, "Ah'm not goin' tuh court ag'inst yuh or no one else. It jis' came tuh me dat ah'd be doin' de wrong thin'. Ah'm not goin' do it." Den ah know it wuz workin'.
Entry 4197
[The preceding rite is here repeated 23 informants later:]
Take dey nurinate an' put it in a little bottle an' put nine spices an' nine cloves an' nine goldeye needles an' stop it up an dig a hole underneat' de back do'step an' bury it, an' dat will draw 'em to yuh.
(Whose urine do you put in there?)
Yuh kin put de othah person's in dere.
(What if you can't get it?)
Well, dere some way dey is - lak if it's a friend or sompin of yuhs.
(They get it for you.)
Entry 4201
Ah heard dat chew kin take nine needles an' nine pins an' some piece of 'is, or 'er chamber lye an' put it in a bottle. An' turn de - jis' put one pin dis way an' put one needle de same way, an' one needle up, p'int up, an' one pin de p'int up, instead of git de nine needles. But chew mus' put de p'int of de haid of de pin down an' de head of de needle down first, an' de p'int up of de needles an' de pins, un- til yh git de whole nine needles in dere, an' stop it up. An' take dat an' set it in a close place - in de closet or any place lak dat. Dat will keep 'll home.
Entry 4203
Dey git a hold of some of yuh hair an' git some of yuh watah wit it, an' put dat in a bottle, an' dey git a hold of nine new needles an' nine new pins, an' cork de bottle up, an' dey bury dat anywhere where yuh walk along, an' dat will run yuh crazy.
Entry 4206
Dey say yuh kin take chxnber lye. Jis' lak dis yuh sweetheart, yuh kin take yuh sweetheart's chamber lye an' yuh chamber lye an' put it both tuh- gethah an' git chew nine needles an' nine pins an' nine nails, bran'-new nails, an' bury it undah de bottom of yuh footstep [doorstep] or eithah undah de bottom of yuh backsteps. Or eithah, if yuh don't wanta bury it undah dere, it's all right. If yuh wanta put it in de room anywheres it's all right, but it's bettah tuh bury it. An' dat'll make dem come home, an' love yuh very much.
Entry 4264
[Well now, ah'm gon'a tell yuh, if a woman has got a man an' she loves dat man, an' if he's a runabout man. A woman would take de chambah an' she wouldn't use it, she let yo' [man] use it, yo' see. An' also might be dat same night when she gon'a turn dis trick, she'll let chew fool wit 'er, see. An' she'll take dat certain rag an' she'll take dat chamber lye an' put it in a bottle. An' take dat certain rag - see, dat certain piece yo' see - wet dat rag an' squeeze all dat [semen] in dere [into bottle]. An' take nine needles ag'in an' put intuh dat same bottle. An' she wouldn't fasten dat bottle while yo' awake, yo' see. She'll let chew go tuh sleep first, see, but she'll [have] a good stoppah an' have it right to de mouth of dat bottle. An' she'll come an' wake yo', say, "So-an'-so!" an' 'So-an'-so!'. An' den yo' say, "Whut chew want?" She hit dat bottle an' stop it down dere airtight, an' yo' kin go fur as New York City - an' ah bet chew money - an' she take dat bottle an' shake it up lak dat, an' turn it down in her trunk, yo'd be back home tuh 'er.
(When she turns it upside down?)
Yes sir, in her trunk.
Entry 4265
Ah said take dere chamber lye.
(Take their chamber lye.)
Dere chamber lye an' yores an' mix it intuh a bottle. An' yo' git chew nine needles, put into dat bottle. An' den shake it up don't chew know. An' set de bottle in de no'th side of de house an' call dere name three times, an' dat'll make 'em come tuh yuh ag'in.
Entry 4275
I know one time a woman had some [urine] in a bottle. She had six bottles: One was about two inches full, another was about three inches full, another about half full, an- other half full, and another almost full, and another all full. And [all] stopped up tight. The bottles had needles and pins in them and hair in it. And he couldn't pass his water until some of those bottles were opened. Her husband, she didn't like him, and she was going with another man. It' was his water she stopped up. It killed him. He actually died. [The magic rite of increasing amounts - as well as of decreasing amounts - is fairly common, but this one is rather elabo- rate, unusual.]
Entry 4385
If yuh wanta do 'em harm, yuh take a person's actions, an' if yuh kin git 'em intuh somepin an' drive some gunpowdah, an' take two needles an' cross it an' burn it, an' dey say dat'll harm dat person. (In what way would it harm them, do you know?) No sir, ah only heard dat it would. It didn't lock dere bowels, but dey say it would do great hahm [harm], great hindrance. In othah words if dey had been - maybe dey had been in wit yuh some Way, yuh competitor - would cause 'em tuh lose out. In othah words dey become sick. Ah haven't heard whethah it would kill 'em or not. (You mean they would take their passage, that they made from their bowels, and do that with it?) Yes sir.
Entry 4439
Yuh take dat an' yuh wraps it, an' yuh got de east side of a pine tree, yuh bo'es a hole jis' lak mah hand sets [demonstrates] down tuh de roots. (Slant it down to- wards the roots.) Tuh de tap roots, an' yuh strike dat fer as dat augah go. An' yuh take dat an' yuh put seven needles an' seven pins, an' yuh hit it nine mawnin's, an' on de ninth mawnin' yuh drive it up. IN THIRTY MINUTES HE'LL BE DEAD.
(You put this passage in there?)
Dat's right. Yuh sticks 'em, yuh see. DAT'S CALLED DRESSIN'. Yuh sticks 'em. Yuh sticks de pins dis way, an' sticks de needles dis way - de heads dis way an' dat head dis way, so dey be crossed lak dat intuh it. It be in a cloth yuh know. An' yuh jis' stick dem pins in it, an' den yuh jis' chunk it in de crack [hole] an' put dat peg jis' tuh fit it. Jis' lak yuh bo'd de hole, de peg's gotta be jis' de same width as de augah, jis' airtight. An' yuh jis' need.tuh tap it de firs' mawnin' an' fo' nine mawnin's yuh hit one tap, an' de ninth mawnin' yuh drive it up. [Here I turned off recording machine but informant adds the place where this rite was performed. I restarted machine.]
(Where?)
Dat was done in [near] Tifton, Ga.
Entry 4578
Take dat bow. Hit stands in de back of de man's hat. Take dat bow an' take nine needles an' nine pins an' stick 'em evahwhah in dat bow crossed up yuh possibly kin. An' when yuh git 'em all fixed in dat bow lak it supposed tuh be - naow [now] a woman kin fix dat fo' a man an' run 'im crazy - an' take it an' put it in a bottle. An' put some, fill de bottle half up wit table salt, an' den fill de bottle clean up wit 'er urine an' stop dat bottle up. Turn it upside down an' stick it mos' any kin'a cornah or any kinda drawah or [place] up ovah de head or anywhere, but jes' since it's outa sight in a dark place. An' dat man'll go sta'k [stark] crazy.
Entry 4721
If yuh kin git holt of 'is photograph or anythin', yuh kin git 'im back ag'in.
(Do you know just how they do that?)
Well, yuh git holt a piece of 'is clothin'. Now, if it's a woman dat wants 'im back ag'in, yuh git aholt of a piece of 'is clothes an' yuh dress it in cologne. Yuh take it an' fold it de way [direction] he is. If he is east, no'th, west, or south, yuh take dat piece of clothin', a small piece of it, an' fold it [demonstrates] an' make yore wishes.
(Fold it toward you.)
Towards yuh evah time. Points it de way he is an' fold it back evah time. An' yuh git yuh a couple of needles an' pin it each way, bottom an' top, an yuh split dat needle. Lets 'er wear one in 'er right shoe here, an' give her de othah one an' let 'er hold it in 'er han'. An' she kin walk - an' let 'er go straight tuh runnin' watah an' drop it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind - she has tuh do dis on de grown [growing] of de moon an' ketch de wind blowin' towards de way she wants 'im tuh come. If she is in New York, ketch de wind blowin' disaway.
(Blowing south?)
Dat's right. Drop dis ovahbo'd an' walk backwards from it about nine steps, turn tuh left an' go on. Make her wishes an' he'll come right - in nine days he'll be dere.
(I didn't quite understand you about putting these needles?)
Yuh see, if yuh fold de clothes, prob'ly fold it dis way. Well aftah yuh git a little pad of it made, git yuh a needle on each side of it. Git chew a pair of keen - anythin' dat's sharp an' split dem needles in two.
(Oh, I see! You cut the whole package in half.)
De needles den will be on each side of it.
(Two halves of the needles will be in each side of the package.)
An' have dem needles so dey won't injure her foot an' let 'er wear it right in 'er shoe. Fasten it in dere in a way dat it won't slide backwards an' for- wards. Take dis half an' fold it in yore han' an' when it gits warm, when yuh go tuh de watah wit it - an' throw it ovahbo'd. Ketch de wind blowin' from de Way dat yuh want 'im tuh come home.
Entry 4793
Take nine needles an' stick 'em in de seat of a man's pants, or eithah a woman's, eithah one. It'll cause dem tuh have pyorrhea at de private [see later] - jis' a dirty garment. Yuh take a dirty garment an' yuh kin mo' lak [likely] do anythin wit a dirty garment den when it's clean. When de dirt's washed out, den yuh cain't handle it - not as good. (A person wouldn't sit on those or anything of that sort? You just do it to the old garment?) To de ole garment de're not wearin'.
(That would give them what kind of a disease?)
DE PYORRHEA. It's somepin jis' 1 lak, ALMOST LAK PILES. IT WILL START WIT A EETCHIN' an' it jis' EETCH AN' EETCH AN' EETCH till it Will jis' TURN WRONGSIDES OUT DOWN DERE.
Entry 4864
Dey kin mess yuh up on dat. Dey take dat chew know at times, take yore undahpiece dat's been worn an' carry it tuh a lake or tuh a creek where dere's runnin' watah. An' den, if it's a straight pieceorifit'satwc piece, yo' know lak undahweah, an' yuh tie it on tuh a block [of wood]. An' den yuh put nine needles on dat same block an' nine pins. Let dem be goldeye nee- dles. An' turn dat ovahbo'd an' yuh got 'em dere.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat eat [it]. Dat's drivin' de person away.
Entry 4933
Now, if you leave your own home an' you got a par [pair] of dirty socks, but dey's got tuh be a par of yore dirty socks dat dey ain't been wash. Put [in these socks] red peppah, grave- yard dirt, an' six needles. An' yuh turn de needle points, when yuh bury it, to- wards de house, right towards yore do'. Bury it in yore yard or eithah in yore back yard, but let de points be [pointing towards] de do'. Aftah dose socks o' 'hisen is buried, yuh go out dere fuh five mawnin's, straight mawnin's, take yer dirt offa dis sock, turn yore back tuh de house [an' pick upl jis' [as] much as yuh kin throw, an throw it across yore right shouldah tuh de house. Wharevah he is, if he's way way from home, if he evah go on a train or anything, he'll come back - he'll come back home. An' he'll stay dere as long as yuh handle dose dirty socks.
predicted single absent man’s return and staying, with sock ownership unresolved. No husband inferred claimed continued residence conditional on handling the dirty socks. Keep the condition as long as yuh handle dose dirty socks; no permanent retention or observed success. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 4989
Yuh take nine needles an' put 'em crossways in de sock, an' put red peppah, garlic an' dese little nets dat yuh buy from de drug sto'.
(Hair nets.)
Yuh take dem an' put 'em in de sock, an' den yuh git some clay dust an' pack it, an' sew dat sock up. Dat's de way yuh fix de sock against matches. Yuh take de same amount of matches. Takes nine matches an' nine needles an' fix 'em in dat sock, an' den sew it up. An' den yuh take dat sock an' jis' throw it up undah de bed, or jis' throw it on up ovah de do'.
(What will happen then?)
Well, dat's tuh bring 'em back. When he do come back, yuh take his cloth an' wear it. Aftah yuh'all have intahco'se, yuh take de cloth an' wear it nine days. An' in de mawnin' aftah yuh wear it nine days, yuh take dat cloth an' wipe his plate out wit it.
(That will hold him there?)
Keep 'im dere.
Entry 4997
If yuh wanted de man - if a woman wanted a man, yuh could take his socks. Have his dirty socks an' fold 'em tuh yuh an' take a teaspoonfula sugah. An' roll 'em tuh yuh all de time an' put nine needles on each end.
(That is 18 needles altogether.)
An' den take dem socks an' put 'em undah yore bed an' sleep on it. Dat'll make him stay close tuh yuh.
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 5048
Jis' say, if yuh wanta bust up [broken-home remedy], see. A woman kin take his socks an' take her stockin's an' put 'em tuhgethah, heel tuh heel an' toe tuh toe. Use de lef' foot. Some say de right but de lef' foot is bes'. An' yo' put some sugah in dere an' some peppah, black peppah: if it's white person, put white peppah; an' if it's a black person, put black peppah. An' den yuh put a little cayenne peppah in it, see. An' den yuh roll it to yuh, lak dat [demonstrates]. An' aftah yuh roll it tuh yuh, den yuh git chew a bran'-new co'd [cord] string an' yuh wrap it nine times.
(How do you wrap that?)
Tuh yuh. Yuh roll it tuh yuh an' wrap it tuh yuh. An' den git chew a needle an' git chew some red silk thread an' sew it on each end, nine stitches. Pull it tuh yuh all de time dis way [demonstrates]. Pull it tuh yuh all de time.
(You put nine stitches on each end.)
Dat's tuh bring peace.
(What do you do with that then?)
Well, yuh kin wear it in yore pocket or put it where yuh kin evah day jis' dress it. Yuh know, jis' take yore han', don' have tuh put nuthin on it. Jis' take yore han' or jis' put a little perfume on it - good-luck perfume, any kinda good-luck perfume an' jis' rub it in yore han'. An' den yuh kin sleep on it. Or yuh kin put it where nobody won' go by [near] it but chew. See.
(That is for them to live together in peace.)
Yes.
Entry 5170
Take a man's shoe, right shoe. Take de measure of it an' put some new pins an' needles in it, nine of each. An' yuh take [up] de sill [saddle] of de do'. Yuh know, pull [up] de sill of de do'. An' yuh put it [tape measure] down dere, tack it down dere. An' he have tuh cross ovah it, yuh see, an' [to] git inside. Dat will keep a person stayin' aroun' home.[Informant repeats for good measure:] Yuh git a piece of new tape an' take de measure of [right] shoe. Take it from yuh an' bring it tuh yuh. An' den yuh take dat an' pin de needles an' pins tight all de Way tuh yuh, an' as yuh put 'em in call 'is name. Den yuh take de sill [saddle] of de do' up an' yuh tack it [tape] down an' leave it stay dere. When yuh move out'a dat house, yuh take it up an' carry it wit chew. Evahwhere yuh move yuh carry it wit chew.
Entry 5183
Ah know dat dey say dat chew take yore shoe, yo' take yore right shoe, ah - no, yo' take yore lef' shoe. YO' CAIN'T JES' BE POSITIVE IN EVAHTHIN' YO' DO. An' yo' take dat right shoe yo' know, an' yo' take de inside of dat little linin' [insole] down in de bottom. Dey take dat chew know an' dey put dat wit nine needles an' whut else ah do not know; but dey put dose nine needles in dere an' dey take dat an' dey bury it on de lef' cornah of de house. An' dey said, when dey do dat, dey got chew all fixed where dat chew cain't go nowhere. Yo'll jes' git to de place where yo'll be all worn out. Chew don't wanta do nuthin yo' jes' wanta stay at home an' lay in de baid.
Entry 5259
Ah've heard dat dey kin take yore shoe an' run yo' off. Ah've heard dey could take yore lef'-foot shoe an' put nine needles in yore lef'-foot shoe, an' take dat lef'-foot shoe an' put it on a train an' dat will run yo' off.
(Where would they put those nine needles, in the shoe?)
Yo' would stick dose nine needles wit de point goin' farward. (Forward, that's toward the toes. Well, wouldn't the person see those needles in the shoe?) AW, ah thought chew meant wit de ole shoes, de discarded shoe.
[Discarded shoes are used.]
Entry 5566
You take nine new nails and nine new pins and nine new needles. You cut around their footprint, lift it up, turn it upside down and put it right back in the same hole; then, they stick these pins and needles and nails in it. That will give you pains in your leg. They always say they come in the left leg and changes to the right.
Entry 5576
Ah went tuh a person [doctor] fo' dat, too. Now he tole me, he got mah name fust [first] an' hern [hers] second, an' he tole me tuh go back an' in meetin' 'er, take some ofde dirt outa de right foot - chew know, meetin' 'er. Well, behin' 'er dat's de lef' [not right] foot. See. Grab some of de dirt outa back heel, jis' a little small amount of it, an' put it in dis piece of paper an' roll it. Roll it tuh yo' all de time, see till yo' git it down tuh a small little papah. Den git nine needles, dat nevah has been on de flo', an' stick 'em in it. Take a little vasoline bottle an' drop dat little thing in it an' stop it up, an' bury it undah 'er do'step where she'll have tuh step ovah it. [The preceding nevah has been on de flo' goes back to the American pioneer cabin - probably to primitive man - which originally had no floor, the bareearth, sometimes packed level with the first log, being warmer and easier to keep clean. The word floor at least in pioneer English can mean the bare ground, always a place of magic. This also is one of the meanings of articles dropped: accident- ally, purposely, or mysteriously by spirits.] Ah had a boy crost [across] town done de same thing. His wife went back tuh 'im an' been [with him] evah since.
(Now in getting this dirt from her foot track you are walking behind her?)
No, comin' in front of 'er. (Oh, you are coming in front of her, meeting her. And you are taking the dirt out of which track?) Dis track ovah here, dat would be yore lef' foot.
(Out of her left-foot track.)
Comin' tuh yo' it would be her right foot - comin' tuhwards yo'. But still it's de left foot if yo' git behin' 'er. (Oh, actually, you get it out of the heel of her left foot.)
Entry 5578
Yeah, ah heard dat yo' take de centah of de right-foot track, take de dirt jes' from de centah of dat. An' den take dat dirt an' git de centah of yore right-foot sock. An' den take dat dirt an' wrahp it in dere. An' when dey wrahp it in dere dey'll put bran'-new needles in it, an' put it in de no'th cornah of a house, an' dat'll cuz 'em tuh desert dere. Maybe dey wanta kill yo' or cuz yore death aftah nine days.
(How many needles do they put in it?)
Three.
(They put it in the north corner of the house?)
Yes. (Well, now, if you got my foot track, would you put it in the north corner of your house or in the north corner of my house?) Well now, dey'll put dat in de no'th corner of yores prackly [practically]. Yo' goin' to it. If dey cain't git tuh yore house, see, well den dey have tuh practice where yo' go. Well dey put dat dere. Or else put it where yo' sit down, see.
(What will that do then?)
Well, aftah nine day's time yo' becomes in a 'lapidated [delapidated] condi- tion, come tuh be sickly, yo' see. Yo' lingah. De longah yo' stay dere an lingah, why yo'll soon [the sooner you will] pass away.
Entry 5579
Know whut dey put down? Sometime dey could take yore track an' put it. down, bury it, an' yo' have tuh leave. Bury it undah yore do'steps an' yo'd have tuh leave. Dey kin take nine needles an' put 'em crossways an' put it in wit chure track, an' put red peppah in dere an' gun- powdah, an' yo'd have tuh leave.
(Where would you put all that stuff then?)
Put it undah yore do'step.
Entry 5580
Take now fo' [for] de foot track. Ah have had a little dealin's wit dat foot track. Now if jis' lak yo' walkin' down de streets dere an' ah ketch chure foot track. An' if ah would wanta run yo' outa town or sompin de kind yo' see, well ah'd take an' ketch dis heah foot track an' snatch it from me. So ah take it back den an' ah put it in a hans'scuff an' tie it up, put nine needles in dere, an' yo'll have tuh leave town.
(What would you do with that handkerchief then?)
Well, ah jis' keep it in mah house, jis' keep it an' de foot track.
Entry 5582
Beginning Norfolk, Va. [This is the first rite from Norfolk.] Take right foot track an' put nine needles in it. [Of] co'se I'd git 'em in a bottle, nine needles, an' yo' goes to de rivahside, see, nine mawnin's. See, you got nine nee- dles in dis here bottle wit de dirt in [from the right foot track]. An' goes down to de rivah nine mawnin's. An' when yo' gits down dere yo' walks backwards so many feet - yo' walks backwards nine times [9 steps] each mawnin'. An' de las' mawnin', yo' throw dat bottle ovahbo'd. Nine needles an' go down to de rivah nine mawnin's an' de las' mawnin' yo' throw dis bottle ovahbo'd.
(I see. Well now, what is this supposed to do to a person?)
Dat will cuz a person to leave his job, or cuz fuss 'tween man an' woman. If a woman want tuh git de man from 'er husban' [a bad influence on her husband, gambles, etc.], dat would make him leave. Dat's how a woman out here - a woman said dat 'er sistah had been did [sister had been sent away by some man's wife].
(Now, what foot track do they dig that dirt from...both feet or...)
Naw, dis one - de right foot.
(The right one.)
De right foot. Take dat dirt outen de right foot. Go on dere jis' as soon as de sun rise - see, 'fore de sun gits hot an' dat sun rise. [I stop recording here but informant continues. I try to recover missed words.]
(What carries it out, did you say?)
De tide, de water. You know, when de tide goes out, takes dat bottle out wit it.
(Yes, and after that carries it out, what does it do then?)
Dat cause dat man to leave, see.
(Carries him out.)
Carries 'im out, carries 'im from 'is work or 'is wife.
Entry 5583
Dey say dey takes 'is track an' put it in a piece of new cloth. Dey say yo' kin git chew nine needles an' nine pins an' put in it. Dat will run yo' crazy. (What do they do with that then?) Put it in runnin' watah an' shet it up [in bottle or can].
Entry 5585
Git nine new needles an' a piece of red flannel, an' git a spoon an' take out de tracks, de middle of de tracks, an' bottle it up an' put it in run- nin' watah. Dey won't come back any mo'. (You get this dirt out of which track, both of them?) No, de right.
Entry 5631
Well, dey gits up de foot track an' dey prepare dat up an' tote it. We use red peppah an' black peppah - sech as dat. We sprinkle dat down an' we salt it. Salt is sup- posed tuh save things. We use salt wit de idea in view of de savin' powdah by dat. We put de salt in dere tuh save it. As long as de salt holds it strength, we got holt of de undahtakin' at de time. SALT IS A GREAT IHING BUT LOTTA PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IT.
(Just what do you do with that track now?)
Well, We takes dat track - IT'S NOT BUT A VERY FEW PEOPLE IN DIS DAY'S TIME HANTS TUH KILL A PERSON, BUT DEY WANTS DEM TUH COME UNDAH DERE CONTROL AN' HOLI "EM, Yo' KNOW. When dey do dis, so den dey use dese means.
[Informant, professional worker, starts another rite.]
Put DUST IN YORE SHOES. PREPARE IT WIT THREE DIFFREN THINGS. An' dey uSe dat tuh sprinkle dat in yore shoes. Dere certain things yo' kin do tuh pertect yo'. Yo' kin walk ovah any kind whatsomevah it is. It melt away. Why.all yo' would do - use salt, nine drops of vinegah.
(How would they use that?)
Weah three needles in yore cap or hatband or whatsomevah yo' gwine tuh do. Stick it - conceal it away.
(What did you do with that salt and vinegar?)
Well we take de salt an' vinegar an' drop nine drops in each shoe. Jis' put a little pinch of salt in dis shoe an' one in dis one, an' we walk anywhere we vanta go.
(You can walk over anything?)
Walk ovah anything a man kin put down.
Entry 5719
Take yo' track an' rake it from de toe back tuh de heel. Dey take dat sand an' dey tie it up in a rag an' it hangs dere fer so many days. Have it tied up in a tree or a ceilin'. Hangs it in de centah dere. Dey puts nine stick pins in it, two needles. Go across lak dat [demonstrates], pins lak dis; jis' put de needles up an' down, right across dere. Now, dat's tuh run yo' away from dere. Do yo' harm so dat yo' can't git along wit nobody dere. (Now they take up that track, they get six [nine] pins. and two needles. And what do they do with those?) Take an' put de pins dis way [demonstrates].
(Put the pins one way.)
Put de pins dis way an' dis way, an' de middle pin goin' cross dem two needles right 'cross dere.
(I see, they make a cross. Then what do they do with those things?)
Tie de things up.
(I see, they tie that foot track and these needles and pins in a rag.)
Dat's de one dat... [I interrupt. Informant was about to say, "Dat's de one dat keep yo' confus- ed."]
(Then what do they do with that rag?)
Take an' tie it up an' put it at de cornah of yo' baid. [Previously inform- ant said center of ceiling. Bed or ceiling causes confusion in home.] Dey takes de track an' yo' tie dat dirt up in a tree, tuh a limb tuh a tree. Dat's tuhmake yo' leave.
(What foot track do they take?)
De lef' foot track.
(What do they tie it up in?)
Piece of rag, jis' in any kinda rag. (What do they do with that foot track with those needles and pins in? What do they do with that?) Tie it undah yore baid. Dat's tuh keep yo' confused. Yo' an' yore family are confused.
Entry 5756
Well, yo' see de foot track, takin' de foot track [demonstrates] wit dis fingah an' de tum' [thumb] an' jis' drawin' it tuh yo' dat way.
(That's the left hand with the thumb and the finger next to the index finger.)
Drawin' it tuh yo' dat way, pinch it tuhgethah. Take dat back an' put it in- tuh a bottle an' put nine needles in dere, nine needles in dat bottle; cinnamon powdah mixed in dat wit chamber lye of de woman. Buryin' it or put it in a very close place where she won't find it. If she a woman 'custom [accustomed] tuh bein' away from home an' stayin' away from home, she will come 'custom tuh stay at home.
(You take this dirt out of either foot track?)
Yessuh, eithah foot track. But de foot track must be prints in de groun' dat is damp, yo' undahstan'. De foot track must be prints yo' see.
Entry 5995
Yo' take dere hair an' put it in a needle an' put it ovah front do' an' dat'll make yo' - makes de party loves yo' very much. Dat'll Tng love.
(One hair?)
One strand of hair from de top - from de mole of yore haid right in de top, an' put it in a needle an' put it ovah de do'sill right ovah de fron' do'. Wit de p'int [point of needle] down.
Entry 5999
If yo' wanta make anybody leave dere home, yo' kin take dere hair out from right in de front of de haid right dere [demonstrates] lak where yo' part it at. An' yo' kin take two needles an' thread dem needles wit de hair, an' put it in a bottle an' bury it right at de block of de house, as yo' goin' out by de front. An' jes' lak de blocks, jes' lak de bricks filled in undah de house - see, yo' could bury it right back down dere.
(What will that do?)
Dat'll make yo' have peace in yore home, or eithah make yo' bring love back - anythin' lak dat.
Entry 6000
The following expression was surely devised by someone tired of hearing the well-known expression: You give me a headache! Yo' wuz speakin' of hair. A person kin do yo' a great deal of trouble wit yore hair. Prob'ly git yuh 'sleep or git some of yore hair unbeknown to yo' - git dis hair unbeknown to yo'. Yo' take dis hair an' git yo' a little Hearts Cologne an' put it into a bottle an' yo' git choo a small piece of flannen an' cross yore needles between dat flannen an' put it in dere.
(What do you mean cross your needles?)
Make a kind of a X [a cross] out of it [the 2 needles].
(Two needles?)
Two needles, an' make yo' kind of a X out of it. An' twist dis hair aroun' dese needles an' place it in dat cologne, but don't stop yore bottle stoppah tight - prob'ly fo' nine mawnin's. Yo'll leave dat stoppah in dere fo' nine mawn- in's, if yo' should git a chance to git co mah bed or to mah do'step, an' let dat bottle [stand] straight up so I got to valk ovah it, it will keep me suffahin' wid a headache. I'll lingah aftah yo'. I still suffah wid dat headache, but when I gits where yo' is, look lak it kinda Vanishes away-lak. I'll jis' lust aftah yo'. A man do a woman dat way or awoman dat way or a woman kin do a man dat way.
(You only have the headache when you are away from them?)
When yo' are away from 'em yo' have a dull headache an' yore mind, look lak yo' is worried. An' yo' arn't [are not] - it jes' stays on dem.
(You never put that cork in tight. You never put that in tight?)
Don't put it in tight, jes' leave it so yo' kin go dere an' touch it fo' nine Mvnin's, becuz de ninth mawnin' yo'll push it in tight.
Entry 6003
An' he [author's contact man] ast me did ah know any Way tuh try tuh hold a woman, an' ah tole him a way dat chew could take a bottle of cologne an' one stran' of 'er hair, an' go an' buy three bran'-new needles an' put in dat cologne. An' whilst dat hair be suckin' up dat cologne - jes' let it stay in dere until it suck up all dat cologne - jes' put it anywhere in de mattress, or eithah sew it up in a feathah pillah or mattress where it can't be found.
Entry 6004
Of co'se dat hair - dat hair is very controllin', it's very 'fective, an' it's very dang'rous. Dey kin take dat hair, if dey don't lak yo' an' wants to destroy yo' or make unfit fo' yo' own good. Dey take dat hair an' dey'll wrap dat up wit three whut chew call needles, see. Dey git three needles an' dey gits three pins. But dose pins dey always have de heads of dose pins nipped off. An' dey wrap three needles, three pins, an' den dey git three pods of red peppah, yo' undahstan'. YO' GOTTA HAVE THREE OF THREE. Git three of de red peppah an' put in dis, dis hair, an' dey wrap dem togethah. An' when dey wrap 'em togethah, dey takes dat an' eithah jis' - if dey want a quick death [both quick death and slow death are not rare] in any way, or to run yo'( crazy, dey will take dat an' put it in a runnin' stream of watah on de first new moon. In a runnin' stream of water, an' jis' as dat stream carry yo' [hair] away, yore mind goes.
Entry 6005
An' yo' wanted to keep dat fellah. All right, chew take jis' one of de whole plait out de top of dis fellah's haid. Yo' grabs one of dose plaits an' cut it off, an' yo' cut dat plait off dere clean. Yo' take dat plait an' yo' put it in a bottle of Hearts Cologne an' fo' needles, steel needles - fo' needles stick right down 'side of it an' stop it up tight. An' den yo' carry dat bot- tle wit yo' roun' about 'leven or twelve 'clock at night an' yo' go to de graveyard an' yo' set it to
[the grave of] someone dat chew know an' - co'se he [the spirit in the grave]
arrive befo' yo' have de house [he reaches your house before you]. He unnahstan' dough [though]. He'll arrive befo' yo'. All yo' gota do is tell 'em [spirit] what chew want [done or] what chew wanna know. An' yo' bring dat bottle back [home] an' evah time yo' use it - see [demonstrates] de stoppah will be 'bout dat long. De more yo' shove dat [stopper into the bottle], de worse it will git; de more yo' pull on it [pull it out of the bottle], de lessah it will be.
(In [and out of] this bottle? You have a long stopper about a foot long?)
Dat's right, an' yo' see, de more yo' shove [the stopper] in dat [bottle] de more yo' shove dem [the man] down' but de more yo' pull it [the stopper out of the bottle], why dat de more he [man] be up. Now, if he's down an' yo' jis' take dat same stoppah an' yo' got it dis way [demonstrates]. Well, yo' got it down. Well, de othah way [up], yo' gona ease 'bout a half inch or quarter of inch, increase. But when yo' want 'im to go back down, why yo' jis' shove it on back down dere - lak dat [demonstration ends]. Reep 'em, can't leave home - ain't anyway in de worl' fer 'em to leave home. An' keep dat wid joo - dat is contin'en [continuing] 'is min' d'reck [direct] on yo', his min' couldn't leave.
Entry 6007
Yo' take fo' needles an' yo' have a ball. Yo' know, make a ball of yore hair or toenails, sompin lak dat If yo' kin git holt of 'em. An' aftah yo' make de ball - make de ball roun' - jes' stick de needle wit de point dat way. Jes' have it so eithah way it turns, one dem points will be pointin' out. Try tuh make fo' points: points it to de no't, de nex' one to de sout', one to de wes', an' one to de eas'. An' plant dose somewhere where yo steps ovah it. Dey tells me dat will run yo' crazy. Wrap it up in yore fingah- mails or hair wit jes' a piece of red flannel.
Entry 6010
If dey git hold of yore hair, why dey'll tie dat hair up jes' lak dey do wit chure [foot] track. Dey'll tie dat hair up in a bottle. Dey'll put six needles in dere wit dat hair an' dat'll keep yo' goin' crazy all de time. (What will they do with that bottle then?) Dat bottle - dey put dat bottle down in de ground, or in a trunk.
Entry 6012
Some people kin take yo' hair, dey take seven needles, brass-eyed needles, an' dey will do dat hair up wit dose seven brass-eyed needles, naming evah one of dem yo' name. An' put 'em into somepin an' take em down by de watah stream. Not in de watah, but dig a hole In de groun' an' put it [these things] in a bottle or tin box or somepin an' close it up. Turn de top [of bottle or box] down. Let de eye of dose needles be down. Bury dat six to nine inches in de ground, down by de side of dat watah, an' make a drain where de watah will pass by it - barely runnin' ovah it.
(A little channel.)
An' aftah so many days - nine days - yo' will feel de effects of it. An' dose who know yo' will begin notison [noticing] somepin dat peculiar about chah, somepin diff'ren', somepin unusu'l. An' from time to time it will cuz yo' to dvin'le away an' die.
Entry 6015
From mah undahstandin', yo' take nine strands of hair off de mole of yore head an' dey kin run yo' crazy wit it. Dey takes yore hair an' dey mix it up, puts it in a bottle wit nine needles, an' git some lodestone dust, an' dey puts it in dis bottle wit dis. An' dey takes an' dey bury de bottle upside down. See, it will run [you] crazy an' yo' apt to die.
Entry 6016
Yo' take a lock of yore hair, yo' git nine brass needles.
(You mean brasseye don't you?)
[They are usually called qoldeyed.]
Yes sir, an' a piece of red flannen. Yo' put dat in any kin'a little small bottle, an' yo' put dat ovah de do'. At night when he come in [for example] it jes' yo' comin' in an' ah meet chew tuh de do'. Ah be lovin' tuh yo' fo' nine mawnin's, see. Den ah won't have no mo' trouble wit chew 'bout dat. See, don't fo'git nine needles wit de outen flannens [with the flannel out- side]. [Note: Dr. Hyatt I think maybe this informant meant (outing flannel) - a term I have heard used often. Webster says (A flannelette, often with some wool). Mrs. Harry Dyel - see v.3, ILLUSTRATION 4.]
(You put that up over the door?)
Yes sir, right ovah de front do'.
Entry 6017
Dere two things dat ah hear'd dat yo' could do wit de hair. Dey kin take nine strands of yore hair an' put it in a bag an' sew it up wit nine needles an' cross dese needles in dat hair - break 'em an' cross 'em in a little bag. Sew de bag up an' bury it somewhere. Dat is to make yo' stay. Bury it where yo' go out ovah, walk ovah it. Dat'll make yo' stay wit 'em. An' if dey don' want chew wit 'em, dey'll take it an' git it an' sew it up in a bag an' throw it in runnin' watah, or eithah carry it to a oak tree an' cut a little hole in dere an' wedge it up in dere an Stop it up. An' dat Will run yo' crazy. DAT'S WHUT AH HEAR'D A OLE WOMAN TELL A
Entry 6019
Dey say, yo' know, if yo' wanta put a person in hard luck, yo' take nine new needles an' stick 'em in a piece of cloth an' git some of de hair outa dere haid, if yo' kin git it, an' put it in dere, an' bury it at de fo'ks of de road. Say dey'll be in de hardest luck dat a person kin git - hard, shure 'nuff hard luck.
Entry 6020
He'll take his undershirt, an' take a strand of her hair an' thread it through nine needles an' stick it in thiscloth [undershirt] an' hide it some place. She'll love him.
Entry 6024
[Among the many doorstep rites in HOODOO, here is a rare one about the right and left hand sides of the steps.]
Dey tell me yo' kin take yore hair out chere [head] an' put it in a bottle wit nine needles an' nine pins, stop it up, an' bury it undah de steps an' dey 'long gone [along gone = go along, go away].
(That is to send them away?)
Dat's whut dey said. (You bury it under your own steps. And if I would get your hair and bury it under my step?) Wait a minute! An' if dey bury it on de right-han' side - on de right side of de steps, yo'll stay dere, yo'll stop down. (If you bury it on the right-hand side, you stay there. What if they bury it on the left-hand side?) Yo'll go.
Entry 6025
If a woman wants 'er man back, well she takes 'is hair off de top of 'is head an' down on de bottom, yo' know, of 'is trousers. [andl put de needles an' pins an' mind watah in a can, a ole can, any kine of can. Shut it up an' put it in a cornah of de house. Dat's what dat is fo' - 9 needles an' 9 pins. Well, dey bury yore hair in 9 nee- dles, 9 pins, an' cinnamon, an' put it in mind watah." Shet it up in a can. Dat's to keep yo' wit 'em. Dey put dat can in a cornah.
(Did you say mind water?)
Yes sir. Yo' buy dat. It's to keep yore mind wit 'em. Yo' put dat in a can wit 9 needles, 9 pins, an' yore hair, an' dey'll git yore hair from down in, yo' know, when yo' sleep. Dey put dat in a can where nobody kin run across it. Dat's jis' to keep yo' wit 'em, keep yore mind towards 'em. [These ingredients can also be put in a bottle.]
Entry 6026
Git a plait of hair an' yo' plait it undahwards, yo' know, lak dat [demonstrates]. Don't plait it ovah lak we plait our hair, plait it undah lak dat. Den tie a little bow of ribbon on dere. An' aftah yo' tie dat hair in dere, yo' take an' put a piece of lodestone wit it, an' yo' put nine pins an' nine needles in dere, an' yo' sew dat up in a flannel bag, an' yo' puts a little sugah in dere, too - ah'd fo'gotten dat - an' anvil dust lak at de blacksmith shop, dat dust where dey grind.
(From the anvil?)
[From the hoodoo drug store or mail order firm I should have said.1 Yes. Put dat anvil dust in dere an' a silvah dime. Dat's tuh keep de person dat chew love, yo' know, keep dere minds contented towards yo'.
Entry 6032
Ah've heard of people takin' an' goin' tuh yore house, yo' know, an' gittin' a little bit of each one of 'ems hair an' mixin' it togethah as well as dey could, yo' know, an' puttin' it in a jar or little glass [bottle] or sompin of dat kind, an' puttin' some needles in it an' some salt an' some pins, sulphur an' some cayenne, red pep- pah, an' takin' it out buryin' it undah de steps. An' dat keeps up a quarrel 'tween dem all de time until dey realize it's undah dere an' git it out.
Entry 6072
Ah've heard tell of folks who take pins an' needles an' break 'em up y' know, snuff, sugah, an' hair from down in front of yo', an' wear it, wear dere husban's hair in a bag an' pin it to dey clothes right where it be nex' to dere skin. An' dey husban' couldn't object to 'em goin' out wit othah men if dey want to.
(Do they have their husband's hair in that bag?)
Dey [husband] don't know dey got it yo' know.
(Whose hair do they put in there?)
His'n, yessuh - from down heah, see. Steal it yo' know in his sleep.
Entry 6082
If yo' got a man an' wanta keep 'im an' he's runnin' roun' on yo', de way yo' do. De fus' [first] thing yo' do, yo' git seven stran's of hair out de mole of 'is haid; yo' git seven stran's of hair from down heah, be's playin' wit 'im yo' know in de baid. Yo' git chew a piece of cloth. Go uptown an' buy yo' a piece of sompin lak dis bran'-new [homespun?]. Yo' cut it in de length of a towel. When yo' an' 'im go tuh baid tuhnight, don't chew do nuthin, jes' let 'im do sompin, an' wipe off dat on dat towel, see. Yo' take dat an' yo' cut dat spot out aftah it dries. Yo' take it an' cut it up in five pieces, an' put dat hair in dere, an' git chew nine needles an' put in dere, an' sew it up in a bag an' put it between yore mattress, an' yo' have him till he die - yo' will have him till he die.
Entry 6221
Why dey take yore hair, pin or needle points an' bore a hole in any live green tree. A hole, an' put it in dere an' take a lighter peg [see later], a wooden peg, an' drive it in dere as tight as yo' kin git it, an' saw it off right even wit de tree. Dey say dat person will go crazy. [The preceding lighter, occurring many times in Hoodoo, is a stick or piece of chopped wood from one of several pines used as a lighter for fires. If a. pine is rich in pitch, it's called a fat-lighter pine.]
Entry 6471
Well, dey kin take yo' toenails an' put it intuh a bottle an' stop Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft Rootwork it up, an' put t'ree needles in it an' call yore name nine tires.an' have yo' undah a bad affliction fo' a certain distance of cire. (On a bed of affliction [wndah a bad affliction] for a certain length of time.) Yas. Aftah dat certain distance of time come, well if he wanted tuh take yo' up, he'll snatch one dem needles out. Dat will let chew git up.
Entry 6680
Yo' kin take nine new needles an' nine new pins an' nails - nine nails - an' put in a bottle. An' den yo' kin take one dese heah worm outa from undah de bottom [bark] see, think dey call 'em sawyah.
(Wood Sawyer?)
Yes sir. Dey got two little bills [horns] whut cuts in de wood. [These worms - the larvae of sawyers, several large longicorn bettles - bore large holes in timber or dead trees. Both worm and bettle are often called wood sawyers.] Put dat in dat bottle an' bury it down in de path where he walks. An' den, when he walk ovah dat, he'll ketch 'em in 'is foot. An' dat same worm [larva] whut chew see in dat bo'd, dat yo' put in dat bottle, jis' true as [what?]. [It will enter 'im an'] eat 'im up. [But this ailment can be cured.] Dat way [if you are in that condition] yo' got'a go tuh a root doctah de same way [as before]. Now a root doctor, he got'a take 'em out. A medical doctor don't do it.
(What would a root doctor do to get that worm out of him, I wonder.)
He goes an' git de root from de - dey call black haw an' red oak bark an' a stingin' nettle root. Put dat up in a bottle an' yo' got'a take. Dat stingin' nettle root, will run 'im out dere. [The other two help and also make 3 ingre- dients.]
(Well, what do you do with these roots? Make a tea of them or what?)
Yes.
Entry 7213
Ah'm purtty shure 'bout dat becuz ah'm constant comin' in contact wit somepin lak dat. Maybe it be rattlesnake mastah, High John de Conkah an' Low John de Conkah, wild sprig of Sweet John - some people call it St. John. Dat's- ain't evahbody knows, but dey would know, yo' know, whut color it has. Git chew dose, yo' know, five or six tuhgethah, an' den have real good gin. Three times a week. An' red flannel. (You take red flannel. I see. You get this good gin then?) Yes, sir. Yo' know, yo' don' sew it. Be sure not tuh sew it becuz in sewin', why yo' might stick de needle in de roots don't chew know. Yo' don' wan'a sew wit de needle becuz dat is steel, unlessen yo' wan'a include somepin in it. But chew fold it up propahly tight an' yo' roll with black thread [demonstrates].
(And you roll it towards you.)
An' don't make no knot. Roll it an' carry de ends loose. Yo' know, don' tie a knot. IF YO' TIE A KNOT, WHY YUH WORK IS BROKEN. An' whenevah yo' gO out lookin' fer a job, why, when yo' dress, take it [this hand] in yuh hand befo' yo' left de house. Yo' be on hand an' made de wish lak yo' desires, an' take dat [hand] an' put it back intuh whatevah pocket yo' carry it an' den yo' wipe it right down tuh yuh waist [privates] three times. An' ah don' cā [care] if dey don't hire anybody else on de job, yo' will be hired.
(You will be hired?)
Cuz dat's not takin' advantage of no one. [597:5.] Whut ah learned ah learned from a well-learned man, great-experienced man, an' who really did delivah de goods.
(Where, by the way, did you learn?)
Part of what ah learned, in Jamaica.
(Oh, in Jamaica. Where were you born?)
Born and reared right in this city.
(Oh, you were born in this city.)
But ah wuz travelin' at large aroun' de Bahamas and down de British West Indies as far as Kingston, Jamaica. Ah begin tuh practice wit a girl, whut ah supposed tuh be a girl, but ah found she wuz a woman. She really could do things. An' dey wuz so simple an' so - lak it wuz impossible.
(Where was this? Where was this girl?)
In the Bahamas.
(Oh, she was down in the Bahamas?)
And dat's all right. An' ah come on up an' came tuh Kingston, Jamaica, an' ah found many more. Dey could meet chew an' look yo' up an' down, an' dey could do certain things, an' tuhmorrah yo'd be as crazy as a fool. An' ah wasn't sat- isfied until ah learned dat. An' de thing tuh do, yo' know, wuz tuh git right intuh 'em. Aftah ah could git dem tuh undahstand me [my English] an' ah undah- stand dem. An' dey simply do dis. Ah tried dat out while it wuz not mah desire, an' ah tried dat out an' ah found it true tuh de lettah. (Well, did you learn all these things in the West Indies, or have you learned some of them in this country?) In dis country. Now, dis partic'lah thing is de question dat chew ast me 'bout takin' a person's track tuh harm 'em. [Charleston, S. Car., (514 Doctor Glover) 597:5 and 594:1.]
Entry 7240
Well, mah sistah got hurt once in 'uh han' [hand]. Also one a [of] mah brothahs got hurt. He [doctor] come tuh de house. Mah daddy went [to Ouincy] an' got 'im. An' he tole fathah, say, "Yo' make me a fiah in de stove." He got nine needles in a li'le bottle of watah. Ah don' know whut else he done tuh 'uh. He say de people's been here [who caused her trouble]. An' fō' many mō' minutes dat thing got tuh boilin'. He says, "Dere's a woman goin' come in, ast yo' tuh give her somepin." He say, "Don' give her nothin. She goin' come in aftah some salt." Dat woman did come dere an' it jis' pō'in' down rain. She come in de rain, an' ast mah daddy fer tuh give her a li'le bit of cookin' salt. He tole 'er, "No, ah'm sorry." "Well, all right, goodbye." An' she went right off in de rain, see. Well now, HE WUS TAKIN' DE SPELL OFFEN MAH SISTAH AN' SHE [visitOr] CARRIED IT RIGHT BACK WIT 'ER. Dat's true. [The preceding story, simply and briefly told, is one of the finest statements in Hoodoo. I consider it a work of black literature, beautiful, saying much with little. Consider those two groups of five words each: it jis' po'in' down rain when the woman arrived, immediately repeated as she come in de rain. Within a few minutes the whole world changed. Before the woman's arrival the rain poured, after her immediate departure the rain fell gently, because she carried it [the spell] right back wit 'er. Remember, the informant is speaking extemporaneously. Try to rewrite this story using the same number of words. The doctor's equipment also amazes me. Nine needles in a small bottle! Yes, the woman was a confede- rate, quite worthy of the doctor. After her request for salt is refused, she answers, Well, all right, goodbye. Simplicity is everywhere, exaggeration no- where. Some day I hope a black Lady Gregory will discover this tale and trans- form it into a vehicle for great black, not white-folks acting.] [For a parallel to the preceding story, see NEVER LEND TO A WITCH, in which the witch also comes to borrow salt (FACI 2nd ed., p.875, story of Germanorigin). In our present hoodoo story we have, not some neighbor dropping in to borrow; but the appearance of the mysterious stranger, an awesome theme as old as history.] [A penciled note of mine on the transcription reads R.D. (= root doctor) near Quincy, Fla.]
Entry 7248
An' so aftah dat ah wus goin' wit a [another] girl an' dis girl quit De: Dat wus about three or four yeahs ago. An' ah went tuh anothah - AH NEVAH BELIEVED IN IT 'FORE, NEVAH BELIEVED NUTHIN ABOUT IT. An' ah neVah think about de girl at all, but dis man caught 'er - [this man] who had cured me. Well, he say, "Yuh girl have quit yuh, havent she?" Ah say, "Yes." He say, "Well, ah kin help yo'." Say, "Do yo' want 'er back?" Ah say, "Yeah." 'Well, '' he say, "yo' give me fō' pieces of silvah." Ah say, "Whut yo' mean by fō' pieces of silvah?' He say, "It gotta be a dime anyway." Say, "It can't be a nickel or anythin' ovah a dollah." Ah give him fo' dimes, but ah ain't payin' no ten-cent tip whutevah. Ah gives 'im dese fō' dimes an' he take de girl's name an' mah name on top, an' wrote it backwards [family name first, then given name] an' tell me tuh put in mah shoe [demonstrates].
(In your left shoe.)
In mah lef' shoe. Ah put it in mah lef' shoe. So ah goes tuh work de nex' mawnin' an' de girl says [this girl where he is] vorkin' on de job - so ah got sick of it, see. It kept on lak dat, an' kept on lak dat, an' kept on lak dat. Dis.[first] girl wus teachin' school. An' so dis girl dat wus teachin' school had gone tuh teachin' school in North Carolina, an' she thought she would go tuh New York an' event'ly [eventually] she'd come back tuh Norfolk aftah livin' in New York fō' a while. Ah really didn't want tuh see her come back. So she did. ["This low voice not at all understandable," says transcriber. Fortunately ve: soon return to the doctor.] So he [doctor] said, "Git me a red onion." Well ah wus a couple of days find- in' a red onion. Went aroun' tuh de market an' evahbody had white onions. Ah couldn't find a red onion. So by an' by ah went tuh de A & P Store an' ah passed an A & P store an' dere wus a delivery truck deliverin', an' ah saw some red onions on dere an' brought one on home. He made me cut it in half. Cut it dis way an' let de two skins on it an' cut dis.
(You cut it from the top to the bottom?)
No, no! Lak [demonstrates] dere's one skin here an' one here, dat way.
(Oh, cut it across.)
Yeah, right 'cross.
(Across the rings.)
So he'd brought some salt an' peppah. Took de salt an' peppah an' dumped a li'le pile of salt an' dumped a li'le pile of peppah, an' he said, "Take nine pinches of de salt an' put it in dis half."
(What did he put in one-half now?)
Put nine pinches of salt in de left half, nine pinches of peppah in de othah half. An' den he gives me a needle. Takes de needle an' stick it up through dis half an' pull dat needle an' take de two onions apart an' make dem tuhgethah, yo' see.
(You sort of pin the two of them together with the needle?)
Sew de onion right back, fix de onion right back so dat de salt an' peppah in it will be tuhgethah. Git a string an' tole me tuh hang it up in de no'th cornah of de wall.
(This needle was threaded with string?)
Yeah, de.onion wus hangin' on de string. Took it dere jis' lak he tole me an' he tole me in fō' day's time she would be back. Well, ah kept it dere, kept it dere fo' fō' days an' she didn't come back. So ah tole him she didn't come. He said tuh give her two mō' days. Ah give her two mō' days an' she didn't come. Ah goes back tuh 'im ag'in. He give me nine pods of red peppah. Yo' know dose red peppahs dat hang down. He give me dem an' a needle an' thread an' tole me tuh tie it, them up tuhgethah.
(These nine pods, did you put the needle through all of them or one?)
Yes, fix dem tuhgethah. Break 'em, yo' know, apart an' den take a needle an' jis' link 'em tuhgethah; yo' know, one on top of de othah. An' he tole me tuh hang it on de same nail wit dat onion. See, [demonstrates] jis' lak dis cornah of de house here is settin' dat way an' dis cornah here is de no'th dataway. An' he tole me tuh hang it in de middle of de house [making a quincunx]. See [demon- strates]. If de house wus settin' dis way, so dat would be de no'th cornah, hang it across.
(The other was hanging in what corner?)
De no'th comah. Cuz [because] she wus in New York. If she wus in de So'th, it would be in de so'th cornah.
(So you hung the peppers in the north corner, too.)
So he tole me in 24 hours she will be dere. An' she come in de nex' train, came right on de nex' train.
(She came?)
Yes sir, right on de nex' train. Ah wus made tuh do dat mahself, but he made me do it mahself - took de onion an' de salt an' peppah. But whut he did aftah dat ah really don' know.
(What did she say when she came? What did she come back for?)
Well, she tole me aftah when she come back dat she jis' couldn't sleep, jis' dreamin' about me all de time, an' diff'ren' things lak dat. But ah nevah let 'er know anything about dat. If ah had continue tuh let it hang dere she would of still been crazy [about me] an' ah had tuh throw dat away so dat she wouldn't be callin' me up on de job an' diff'ren' places lak dat.
(That's a personal experience you've had.)
Well, ah nevah have desert - ah nevah did want 'er tuh leave me no mo'. Co'se ah didn't want 'er too crazy, cuz she would call me up too much. So when she go tuh sleep ah cut a li'le piece of 'er hair off de top of 'er haid an' take some of 'er combin's, or she'd wash 'er comb an' drop a li'le bit of hair dere. So ab buried [this] down 'side of de do'step an' she nevah leave dere.
Entry 7842
Dey go tuh de graveyard an' dey git some dust. Dey go tuh de store an' dey buy a new pack of needles whut ain't be used. All right, dey take dose needles an' dey cross dose needles, an' den dey sews 'em up intuh a piece of red flan- nel. An' dey: make whut dey call a bag outa it, an' dat's fer good luck.
(How many needles do they cross?)
Two of 'em, jis' two needles. Dey cross 'em. When dey put dose two needles in dere, dey put's a piece of lodestone about so big [demonstrates] in dere wit it, see. Dat's fer good luck.
Entry 7843
Dey kin go out dere an' git a handful of graveyard dirt up off of dat grave, an' bring it - if dey Wan' choo tuh leave de house where yo' live - bring it an' take nine NEEDLES an' wrap 'em tuhgethah wit a li'le [small amount of] thread, an' stick 'em down at yuh steps, an' sprinkle dat grave- yard dirt aroun' de house where yo' walk ovah it.
Entry 7935
Yo' kin take a person's track. Jes' lak, fo' instance ah'd walk out de do' dere an' yo' could take a shovel - yo' know, a square part of de shovel. Yo' kin take a square part of de shovel an' pick up a fellah's track. Take it tuh a red ant baid. Yo've seen dese big ole red ants. Take it tuh a red ant baid an' jes' slide it down dere as neah as yo' kin wit'out tearin' it up - on top'a [top of] dat red ant baid. Take yo' nine bran'-new needles, goldeye needles, an' put it [them] in de shape of a coffin. In nine days time dat fellah'll eithah be daid or nobody won't know where he is - in nine days time.
Entry 7960
An' dey make a li'le coffin dataway, git a piece of de woman's stock- ings. Dey git a piece of de woman's undahweah, if it's possible. Dey will take nine needles. Dey will take nine pins. Dey will put red peppah an' dey will put Epsom salts. Dey put oil of verbena an' bury dat undah de party's step. See. An' dey will nevah put de end tuhgethah, dey an' dey husband...
(They do what?)
Nevah git de end tuhgethah, nevah make de ends meet. Don't care if dey both be workin', dey always will be somepin: lak if dey have shoes, dey hayen't got any hat; if dey got a hat, dey haven't got any skirt; if dey got a skirt, dey owe de landlord. Dey'll nevah will be successful.
Entry 7980
I've heard whut it'll do, dat little coffin. But jis' like I tellin' yo' a few minutes ago, dat stuff about makin' a little coffin. Put 'em undah de step, yo' see, wit de people's photo in dat coffin, de party. Dat why plenty people won't take dere photos yo' see. Put it in dat coffin wit some pins, some needles, yo' see, an' some steel dust and lodestone. See. An' dat draw dose people outa dat house, yo' undahstan', an' fix 'em so dey will nevah wan' tuh see one anothah no mo'.
Entry 8034
A bone from a daid pusson depends whut chew wanta use it fo'. N Now, yo' kin use a bone from a dead pusson fo' two diff'ren' thin's. Yo' kin use it - well, say three: yo' kin use it fo' gamblin', yo' kin use it fo' tuh hahm [harm] somebody or somepin of dat sort. (How do you use it for gambling?) Well, now, yo' take a bone. If yo' kin git de bone an' yo' can't beat it, if it's too hard fo' yo' tuh beat, yo' take dat bone an' yo' git chew a file an' yo' file dat bone. An' as yo' file dat bone, yo' file it intuh somepin, a clean piece of white papah where yo' kin git all dat dust yo' file [from] dat bone. When yo' git all de dust yo' want tuh, offa dis bone, yo' git chew a silvah dime an' yo' cut fo' holes - not holes, but ah mean marks in de dime, jis' lak whut is aroun' dis ole piece of ring ah got heah [shows it and demonstrates]. Yo' cut a hole dere, one dere, an' one dere, an' one dere - yo' cut fo' holes.
(Sort of a notch, like you cut a piece of pie.)
Yes, sir, a notch.
(Cut a little piece off of it.)
Yes, yo' cut fo' lak dat in dat dime an' put dat dime in dere wit dat powdah. Yo' git chew some steel dust, see. Yo' git de steel dust an' dis dime an' yo' put 'em in, an' yo' git chew three needles. Yo' take dem three needles an' yo' put 'em on a piece of flannel - red flannel. But chew put one lak dis an' one dataway. Yo' cross 'em. An' yo' put de othah one 'way up above it dataway in dis position. See? Now, yo' wrap dis needle up here, yo' wrap it ovah dis way firs'. (Now, Wait a minute. You have these two needles crossed like that [I demon- strate], and then you put one above it like that?) Yes, sir. (One - this top one is just like you're making a "T" out of it. One, this top one is up above the "x" [the two crossed needles] there.)
[These 3 needles are now folded 9 times in a complicated rite:]
One's above de othah, yo' see. Well, dat's de one yo' fold, yo' see. Yo' fole dis othah one - when yo' fole dis othah one, yo' see, it'll fole right from dere tuh dere. Yo' kin covah dese othah two needles, yo' see. Now, when yo' fole dis way, dat one fold. See, when yo' fole ovah disaway ag'in, dat two folds. Yo' foles disaway, dat's three foles. An' disaway, dat's fo' foles. Now, yo' got fo' foles dataway. Now aftah yo' fole 'em dataway, yo' take an' yo' fole it ag'in. Dat's five. An' yo' fole disaway. Dat's six. An' fole dataway. Dat's seven. An' fole disaway. Dat's eight. See? An' yuh last fole, de ninth fole, it'll be about dat big. Dat's yuh las' fold. An' yo' fole jis' lak dat. Dat be yuh las fole an' it's goin' tuh be jis' - not a bit biggah dan what de needles, de length of de needles are. See, when yo' git through foldin' dat, dat'll be de length of de needles. Yo' put dat in yuh pocket, or yuh pocketbook rathah. An' now yo' got dat in yuh pocketbook, be sure dat chew got anothah small piece of coin dat chew kin put wit dat besides dat silvah dime yo' already have. Now, if yo' got anothah silvah dime, yo' put dat in de pocketbook wit dis othah stuff dat yo' jis' finished. Yo' put dat wit dat. Now, dat steel dust an' dose two silvah dimes, an' dose needles is tuh draw money, see. Yo' kin go an' shoot dice, play cards, anythin' yo' want. Yo' needn't tuh worry. Yo' might a-go dere an' lose de firs' dollah yo' have, yo' might even lose de firs' fifteen or twenty dollahs. Don't worry about dat. Yo'll make dat back in de nex' two plays yo' make. Yo'll make double of dat, yo'll make triple of dat. Dat steel dust an' dem dimes an' de needle is done draw yuh money tuh yo'. See.
Entry 8043
Take de dead man's bone, take fo' of 'is fingahs. Yo' see, dese: one, two, three, fo' fingahs here. An' take each one of 'em j'ints. Yo' undahstand. Yo' take de end of dem fingahs, aftah all de meat's done faded offa dem.
(Either hand?)
No, no, take off de right hand.
(All right.)
Dat's 'is gamblin' hand, makes a gamblin' hand outa it. Dat's tuh make yuh win, undahstand. Dat's supposed tuh make yo' lucky, make yo' win. Take dem fo' fingahs here an' dey chip 'em right in half. When dey chip dem fo' j'ints in half, dey puts 'em intuh a li'le bag, yo' undahstand. An' put some steel dust in dere an' lode- stone an' six needles, gold-eyed needles, an' sew dat up an' give it tuh yuh. Call dat a lucky hand.
(For gambling.)
Entry 8052
Yo' go in de woods. Yo' make it tuh de woods, way outa town, an' yo' turn in an' git chew a black line, a thread line - a thread line dat's black, a spool of thread. (Like a black fishing line?) Dat's right, lak a black fishin' line. An' yo' turn in an' git chew two needles. Yo' bring it [demon- strates] from heah an' yo' roll dat lak dat, reel it out from heah, jis' lak yo' stealin' dis whiskey. Jis' lak yo' in dere stealin' dis whiskey, yo' draw dat fishin' line, see, right on out. Yo's right in heah. Yo' be settin' heah, an' yo' draw dat fishin' line right on out. Well, yo' git den an' yo' stop an' yo' have a li'le yore watah in a tin can, yore pee in it already, an' yo' po' [pour] dat right down. Evah time yo' stops it [the line] po' it down. All right, yo' keep right on runnin' [out the line] an' go a certain distance. Ah [would] say yo' go about, aw jis' a short step, yo' know, aroun' an' den yo' stop an' yo' drop a li'le bit of it [urine]. Well, yo' keep right on a-runnin' [the line] an' see, yo' stop an' yo' drop a li'le of yore pee dere. An' yo' keep right a-rumnin' an' yo' stop ag'in an' yo' put a li'le pee dere. An' yo' git right back where yo' started off an' put some mo' yore pee dere.
[The urine is sprinkled in a circle about his liquor. This is to protect it.]
All right. Den yo' look aroun'. Well, ah did dis In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, dat ah may rest from all evil, an' dat ah may die [several words], an' chunk it on away. All right, den yo' back up an' yo' git up on dis lak dis heah. Yo' back up off it, see, where yo' stop at. Yo' backed up an' yo' look at it [your whiskey]. Yo' stop five minutes an' yo' don't say a word. Yo' look at it. Den yo' walk back up to it an' yo' look at it ag'in. Den yo' back up. Den when yo' back up yo' look in dat direction an' jis' turn an' look an' jis' walk in dat direction. An' when yo' git out in dat direction, yo'll have a seat an' set down dere jis' a few minutes an' look at it. Don't say a word. Jis' look jis' fo' a few minutes. Den yo'll leave from dere an' yo'll go tuh a graveyard. An' if yo' kin git holt of a man's toes, yo' git holt of about fo' or five of de toes tuh fo'k [fork into the ground] roun' [the goods for sale]. Yo' stick 'em in de ground, yo know, round [the liquor], yo' see. An' den yo' say, Ah hope dis will be a fence fo' all [to keep everyone away], In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' de Holy Ghost. Well, devils [evil spirits] will be dere, see an' dat will keep dem dere [those] mens [low men] from comin' in lookin' fo' yo' makin' dis whiskey. Dey drove [are driven] away [by this protection] but yo' dere, but yo' know who dey are. See, yo' keep 'em drove away, but chew stay dere, but dey cain't stay dere. DEY'LL BE FRIGHTENED. WHEN DEY COME AN' CREEP AN' STOP, BEGIN TUH LOOK, DEY'LL GIT FRIGHT- ENED. SOMPIN WILL HIT 'EM ON DE BACK, SEE, AN' DEY'LL GRAB DEY PISTOL AN' TURN ROUN' AN' DERE'S NUTHIN. YO' HAVE HEARD OF THINGS SLAPPIN' PEOPLE. AH KNOW YO' KNOW.
(You said you get two needles. What did you do with those needles?)
Yo' take dose two needles - yo' take dose two needles an' yo' put 'em up on top of dis heah stove, jis' set 'em up dere. See, dat's tuh mean fo' sharp luck. Yo' carry dem needles fo' sharp luck. Yo' put dem needles up dere an' yo' cross 'em, see. Now, dem needles is dere fo' dem devils. See, dem needles is dere fo' dem devils, undahstan'. Dem needles is goin' p'int [point] at dem devils, undah- Stan'. WHEN AH CALLS DEVILS, DEM GUYS COMIN' IN DERE GOIN' TRY TUH RUN YO' OUT. WELL, AH WANTA HAVE DEVILS DERE STRONGAH AS DEY IS, an' dem needleS goin' hold 'em, dey is crossed, undahstan'. Well, ah'll look roun', see, an' put it dere, an' den got de stuff from de graveyard, yo' see, done got dem folk's toes, dem daid toes if it ain't nuthin but de bones. Ah got de toes. Well, ah done named dem, see. Ah name, jis' say, de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost, dat dey may keep 'way all devils. Well, when dem othah devils [law men] come, see, up dere tuh ketch me an' carry me down an' lock me up in jail, dese things will keep dem PartieS Off. DEY CAIN'T NEVAH GIT IN DERE, DEY'S ALWAYS SCARED OUT. AN' EVAH TIME DEY PULL OUT DEY PISTOL AN' GO TUH SHOOT, DEY'LL LOSE IT OR SOMPIN, DEY CAIN'T SHOOT.
Entry 8149
Well, dey take yuh pitchure. Why dey git a big one a [of] dem big frogs, great big green frog. Dey'll take him an' take yuh photograph, an' dey'll take nine needles wit gold eyes dat nevah wus used. Jis' take dem right out de package. An' dey'll take dat frog's feet an' tie it back of 'is back, jis' lak dat [demonstrates].
(Bend the living frog's hind legs over his back and tie them there.)
An' aftah tyin' 'em back dere, both of 'em, tie dem back dere an' stick dem needles. Put 'is pitchure in dat frog's mouth, an' stick dem needles all through dat frog. An' dey'll bury dat frog three feet in de ground, any place in de ground, jis' at sundown. An' it'll keep yo' sick an' worried, an' yo'll die.
Entry 8222
An' jis' lak if yo' wanta a person tuh die, well yo' take their picture but it have tuh be on tintype an' den yo' bear [bury] it on it's face an' place two needles at de foot an' two at de haid an' jis' let it stay dere an' dey'll finely [finally] wizzle away.
Entry 8224
[Preceding informant gives another version of the nine-needle theme:]
Take his pichure an' write his name. Write chure name firs' an' den 'is; will follah yures, yo' know. (You write your name first?) Yes, an' 'is name nex'.
(Underneath?)
Yessuh, an' den yo' put nine needles an' put it in de closet, an' yo' put chure pichure aside of it an' dat'll make 'im stay stay. He can't go no place.
(You stick these needles into the picture?)
Yessuh, nine needles. (You write your name and then you write his name right underneath your name? And you put your picture right next to that picture in the closet.)
Entry 8512
Take nine needles an' nine nails, an' also nine pins, an' a coconut wit a eggshell.
(An eggshell?)
A eggshell, an' dis quicksilvah papah.
Quicksilvah.
(You mean the paper they put around tobacco?)
[I am referring to tin foil.]
Yes, sir. Yo' take a indelible pencil an' write someone name on it nine times across.
(Over that silver paper?)
Yes. An' yo' write it nine times across dis way [demonstrates].
(You mean cross them like that, like an "x"?)
Yeah, an' den yo' cross dat again. See, jis' keep it all covahed up. Yo' are writing dere name backwards doh [though]. Yo' don't write it, yo' know, lak it should be, but yo' write it backwards. See, lak if yure name is WELLS, well yo' start wit dat SLLEW an' go right on lak dat. Write it fo' nine times, jis' lak dat, each way, backwards an' forwards, same way. Den, yo' take an' jis' put it inside of de coconut - take dis inside of de coconut an' take it tuh a midstream, an' throw it upstream, but it must be flowin' down, lak a drift [cur- rent], see. Yo' take dis coconut an' throw it out [into the stream] an' when dis coconut go down, dis person whatevah yo' wish tuh drift, dey'll come tuh dey can't be satisfied nowhere neah. If dey have no place, dey'll set out. Dey know dat yo' live in dere, an' dey'll come in an' dey won't see no peace at home. Dey are always on de go. Dat's if dey stay dere. Finally, dey'll git so dat dey can't stay in de house. Dey'll pack up whut dey got an' if de things dat dey have is too much trouble fo' 'em, dey'll take an' pro'bly sell it an' jis' go on adriftin'. Yo' pro'bly may nevah see 'em no mo'.
(What do you do with that eggshell and that stuff?)
De eggshell, dat goes intuh de coconut.
(Oh, that goes into the coconut.)
Egg, [coconut] milk, de quicksilvah, evahthing inside of dis coconut. An' yo' put it in dere an' yo' throw it ovahbo'd.
(I see.)
Entry 8519
Well, dey take de nine needles, an' aftah takin' de nine needles, write de name down nine times, whosomevah fellah it is, or de woman, den write chure name down nine times down on top of dat. Den aftah dat yo' put de cinnamon an' sugah in dere, an' de urinate, into de coconut. Den kick it from de front do' tuh de back do' nine times, fo' nine times. Take an' throw it ovah intuh de rivah. Dat guarantee tuh dry 'em up. Stop any woman in de worl'. Dry dem up, run 'em stoneZy crazy.
[The latter expression is usually stone crazy.]
(Dries up their urine? Kills them?)
Kills 'em yeah. (The person who is killed, you have to take that person's urine to put in that coconut?) Yeah, yo' take dat lady's urine, de one dat chew wanta fix, an' write dere name nine times. Den yore name on top of dat nine times. (You write his or her name nine times that way. Then you write yours on top of it like that?) Yeah. all on top of dat nine times. [New Orleans. La., (1561). 2857:7.]
Entry 8633
If he be done left her, you mean?
(Yes.)
An' he living with another woman? Well, yo' take an' write his name down again, an' yo' get yo' some red peppah - yo' see, this cayenne red peppah. Well, yo' get yo' some red peppah an' yo' get yo' nine needles, brand-new needles what have never been used. An' yo' get yo' nine new pins. An' yo' stick all of dem needles an' dem pins in de wall cater- corner. An' yo' put it in dere, wit yo' know, hot peppah what yo' put on yore food [pepper sauce]. Yo' take de cayenne red peppah an' de hot peppah [sauce] an' de nine needles an' de nine pins [and the name see later] an' yo' put dat in a lemon. An' yo' bury it anywhere in de back yard, see. An' dat will break dem two people up, an' make yo' an' him come back to- gethah again. I done seen dat did.
(Well, how did she write his name in the beginning?)
Write his name? Well, just like a person's first name, like somebody is named Andrew Edmund or any name like dat. Well, yo' see, yo' put [instead of putting] Andred Edmund, put Edmund Andrew. See, yo' put it backwards, till yo' write it nine times. An' den yo' FOLD IT LIKE A HEART, COMIN' TO YO', & an' dat foldin' 'im to yo' all de time. An' yo' bury it in de backyard. An' yo' just leave it stay dere until it molds away. An' in about nine or ten day's time, his mind gets off of this othah woman an' gets back on yo', an' dat makes him leave 'er an' comes back to yo'.
(I see.) You put this name and that other mixture?)
Yes, de pins an' de needles all togethah.
Entry 8639
De needles - lak if yo' have a girl an' yo' wants tuh stay wit her an' yo' want her tuh be wit yo', why yo' take nine needles an' put it in a lemon. Put 'em in a lemon an' put it right ovah de do'sill lak dat [doorsill sometimes in Hoodoo means over door above your head]. Well, she always will visit yo'. She always will come aroun' an' she nevah kin desert chew. (That is all you have to do, is just put those needles in the lemon?) Yes, but chew have tuh write her name. Yo' know whut ah mean, on a piece of papah, yo' know. Write her name on a piece of papah an' den put her name an' dose nine needles in dat lemon.
Entry 8647
Now, yo' take a lemon an' put nine needles - nine goldeye needles - an' take cinnamon an' cayenne peppah an' sugah. Aftah dat chew take an' sew it up. Aftah yo' sew it up. take 'an' put it into de sock. Yo' Write de name nine times an' put it into dat sock. Aftah dat yo' jes' keep it. Dat is really goin' tuh stop de fellah from gamblin' an' won' fool aroun' wit any woman, anybody. If he have anything to say about anybody [woman] he see, he hate 'em, git against 'em. An' along fin- ally, naturally he leaves away. He leave heah lak on Friday, an' yo' won' see him no mo' at all, he disappeah. An' yo' come tuh find 'im an' he's somewheres layin' on de road daid.
Entry 8669
Yo' take an' git chew a pack of bran'-new needles an' yo' buy yo' a beef tongue. An' yo' put nine needles in it an' yo' take dat beef tongue an' yo' bury it toward de east coast of de tree, or right undah de tree in de no'th corner of yore garden or yore fence. Dat's tuh kill dem. Rill me or anybody else. It'll rot. Yo' put de name on de tongue. (All right. You didn't tell me that.) Well, ah'm tellin' yo' now. (Now, how do I know?) We-ll, ah'm tell yo'. (How do you put the name on the tongue, now? Tell me.) Nine time, an' on a piece of papah, an' pin it wit dem needles nine times. Nine needles, see. An' yo' pin dat an' yo' bury dat tongue upside down. An' when dat tongue rot, dey rot.
Entry 8670
Yo' take nine needles.
(Nine needles.)
An' yo' take de name of de person, yo' write his name down. Yo' see, dat's a man an' a woman's affair, too. Yo' see, yo' write yore husband's name down nine times an' yo' write yores three time ovah dat. Den yo' put de nine needles an' yo' fold it tuh yo', an' yo' wrap it up in de sock, an' yo' keep it undah linoleum or somethin' where he has to cross ovah it - pass ovah it - an' dat's to keep 'im kind [and easy to handle] yo' see.
(How do you write those names? You write his name nine times.)
No, yo' write his name nine times like dat [demonstrates]. Well, all right. Den yo' come three times across [demonstrates].
(Make it like - your name and his name forms an "x".)
Yeah - see - look. Look [demonstrates] dat's nine times, nine times, an' write three times [across]. Mine [a woman].
(You form an "x" - like a cross.)
Yes, like dat [demonstrates].
(And then you fold it to you.)
Yes, to yo'.
Entry 8671
(Take a brand-new piece of cloth.)
Write a person's name on it an' stick nine needles an' nine pins into it. That will keep them down, they can't have any luck.
(You mean it keeps them from having luck and all that sort of thing, keeps them in trouble all the time.) [Mobile, Ala., (653?) 855:2.]
Entry 8717
Well, de socks, yo' take de man's socks but yo' don' have tuh nuse
[use] all of it if yo' don' wan' tuh. Yo' write his name down an' yo' [lay]
dose nine needles, de goldhead needles, an' yo' roll dat sock up. But chew put de cayenne peppah in dat name - de salt an' cayenne peppah in dat. An' to take an' nuse yore cross- in' yo' cross 'em up in dat. An' aftah yo' cross 'em up, yo' take dat an' yo' put it in dat sock. An' yo' roll it an' yo' take de pins an' yo' stick 'em, but evah time yo' stick 'em yo' cross dem. An' dat - dat part would make de man, if yo' want tuh keep de man at chure house, tuh always [stay there] when yo' bury. But yo' don' have tuh bury it all de time. Yo' could jis' put it ovah a joice [joist] somewhere. [Burying the sock could be a nuisance, if you wanted to get rid of the man later; but I suppose the sock could be dug up.]
Entry 8959
If mah boy wuz in jail, ah would take a beef tongue an' ah would smoke it an' ah would keep it in dere [chimney]. An' ah would take de judge's name, de district attorney's name, an' take me nine needles an' put it in dere, an sew it up an' smoke dat beef tongue fo' nine days. An' ah would go tuh co't an' ah cross mah fingers, an' he Would git discharged. (How do you mean you would cross your fingers?) [Informant demonstrates.] (You would take the index finger of each hand and just cross them; each hand, like that. You would hold them crossed in court. Why do you use nine needles, any particular reason?) If dey got nine district attorneys [jurymen?] on dis case, yo' understand, if dey got nine of 'em, dem needles represent de district attorney [jurymen].
(If you have twelve jurymen then you would use the twelve.)
[Informant does not understand why 9 needles are used. We shall meet these 9 needles again and everywhere. This was the very first rite I collected on my second visit to New Orleans. Informant was the wlfe of one of my contact men, Peg Leg. She a professional worker had refused to see me two years before on my first visit. Her material, good, is scattered throughout the text.)
Entry 8960
I have went to jail for fighting and lotsa time never stayed in no longer that then I could get word [to someone] which they got some dust they call this murlee dust.
(Morlee?)
[Name impossible to transcribe; probably a local hoodoo-store dust.]
Morlee dust, tell you. But the trouble [is] jis' lak if yo' happen to be fightin' somewhere an' go to jail. Take some of this Morlee dust an' yo' let your people bring you a shirt, and put it in that [shirt]. Yo' understand. (A clean shirt?) Yes, any kind you got, so long as you wears it - a brand-new shirt. And you put it [this dust] down in the lining of the sleeve or anywhere around the collar lak dat, about nine different places and you wear it. See. Yo' get it an' yo' put it on there when yo' going to court there. Yo' wants to be cut loose from that place. Well, yo' get a beef tongue. Let 'em get a beef tongue an' yo' put jes' as many needles in that beef tongue as yo' could. Set it in yore grate." Jes dig a hole down in de grate, if yo' have a grate. Take a brick out to put it [tongue] down in there.
(In your fireplace?)
Yes, sir. Then, when yo' going to court, when yo' walk in there, yo' have this shirt on with that stuff [in 9 places]; when yo' walk in an' enter into that place, where de lawyer done turn yo' over to be tried. He [is] talking With the jury, who are going to try yo'. He'll be pretty easy with yo'. If yo' got any jurymen on yore case or anything like that, first thing yo' know, yo' have this beef tongue [at home working for you] an' this beef tongue is by yore fire. Well, it be frying; yo' know, hot. Well, that make them needles get red hot an' they couldn't but just fine yo'. The judge do nuthin of de kind. They just have to turn yo' loose, let yo' out of dat jail. (In the jail you wore that shirt there, and at home someone is cooking the beef heart. Is it a beef heart or beef tongue?) Yes, the beef tongue. Get up in de mawnin' an' put [in tongue] as many needles as yo' can. De more needles yo' [can put in, the better]. An' yo' jis' stick the needles all down in it; yo' know, to de limit. An' yo' - if yo' have to, take up a brick - an' yo' put it down in de fire hearth an' put the brick back on. And the time when yo' going to court, light a fire in there. An' when that beef tongue commence to cooking like that, any, evahbody just as calm with yo' as evah. Couldn't find no evidence against [you] and won't find yo' guilty. All they could do, jis' [let] yo' loose without bail. An' they'll never come against yo' no more.
Entry 8969
(What do they use beef tongue for?)
Well, now, that's what I have heard people have used beef tongue and put nee- dles in it. Sticks nine needles in it - just like they got a son or a daughter or somepin going from them up here to the penitentiary or somepin. They Wanta try keep dem here, tie 'em over here or keep them out, get them out. They put that on there and they put that on ice and things. That's to keep the judge from talking good. Yo' know, couldn't explain hisself, yo' see. He won't be able to tell them that he going to send him up the road [penitentiary] or nuthin, yo' see. Now, it's like if I give you [sentence you] thirty days. It's just like you done done a bad crime, not no stealing or somepin, just like: So ah'm goin' to give yo' $25 or thirty days in Parish [jail], see. De same time he got a penitentiary case, yo' see. Yo' see?
Entry 8970
[If you are] in court like this. If yo' done did a bad crime. He got a witness against yo' - or maybe ten or twelve - fifteen or twenty witness against yo'. Yo' take all of these witness names. Now which is de beef tongue, an' it runs about dat long [dem- onstrates]. Yo' know de size of a beef tongue. Yo' take dat tongue an' yo' split it open right into de mid- dle. Yo' take all dese names an' yo' stuff 'em down into dis tongue. Aftah yo' stuff 'em down into dis tongue, yo' get yo' a pack of needles an' yo' use nine of de biggest needles in dere. Yo' get yo' 50 pounds of ice. Dat's de day yo' goin' to court. Get yo' 50 pounds of ice an' yo' take dis beef tongue an' yo' put it down into dis ice an' freeze it. Co'se [of course] yo' could use it de night before dat. An' yo' take dis tongue an' yo' freeze it with these witness names against yo' in it. Then, when they get in court they can't say nothing against you. If it's anything, they going to say somepin for you.
(What do you do with those nine needles?)
The nine needles, you just stick it all in them names and in the tongue.
Entry 8976
Yo' use dem needles an' nails - well, nails. Ah'll put nails an needles togethah. Fo' instance, yo' have a case in court. Yo' have, probably three or fo' witnesses against yo' an' yo' afraid dat when dey appear dat dere testimony will convict yo'. Now, nine mornings befo' de day of de trial, yo' go to de market an' yo' get yo' a beef tongue. Yo' get de beef tongue an' yo' come back home an' yo' split it down de middle. Yo' take dese witness' name, also yore witness, an' yo' write dere name down, nine times, an' place it inside of the tongue. Get yo' this No.8 thread - yo' get black an' white an' yo' take a needle an' yo' sew dis up in dere, an' as yo' sew dat, yo' curse it. As yo' sewin' yo' cursin'. (Which do you sew with, the black or the white?) Well, it's known as No.8 thread. It can be white or black. (Oh, I see.) But like if it was a negro an' have white witnesses against 'im, yo'd use white an' black thread. See, like mixed. (What if it's a colored man and he had negro witnesses against, him, then what?) Well, he would use black thread. Yo' take this black thread an' sew it an' cuss at 'im. Sew an' cuss at 'im. Evah time yo' sew it, cuss 'im. Sew dat up. Den yo' take nine needles an' drive dem in dere an' curse it all de time. Aftah yo' take nine needles, yo' take nine tenpenny nails an' jug in dere, all de way up to dere. Just take dat an'...
(You drive the nails into the tongue?)
Yeah, drive dem in dis tongue, all.de way through dis tongue.
(I didn't get that word. Do you jerk them or jump them in?)
Yo' push 'em in.
(Oh! All right. I didn't understand what you said.)
[I am trying not to offend! Remember the hermaphrodite in New Orleans and my use of the word sporting-woman - see p.1685,5 lines from bottom, fol.] Yeah, yo' push 'em an' den aftah yo' take dat an' yo' dig a hole. Dig a hole deep enough fo' yo' to git say around abount 25 pounds or 50 pounds of ice. An' yo' put de ice at de bottom an' put dis tongue in between an' freeze dat tongue fo' nine days an' nine nights. An' de day of de trial - whenevah yo' think de ice will run out, yo' just go back an' yo' put ice on it. Yo' keep dat tongue froze. As long as yo' keep dat tongue froze just as hard, yo' know like when yo' freeze sompin it git real hard - as long as yo' have dat tongue froze, it will work. Yo' keep de tongue froze. De morning dat yo' are goin' to trial, get up - just like yo' get up out of yore bed, don't make it up, leave it. Take yore undahclothes, yo' turn dem on de wrong side, even yore socks. Put on yore shoes an' clothes an' yo' come on out. Den yo' go to court. If dat tongue is froze when yo' go to court, to trial an' get up on de stand, dey'll call de witness to de stand, it'll freeze his tongue. He can't talk like he wants to. He'll git up dere an' he'll make some mistakes. He'll git up dere an' he'll talk, he'll be talkin' against yo', but de way dat he'll talk, it'll be in yore favor. See. He'll sort of stutter an' can't get de thing right like he wants, yo' know. Dey will throw it [case] out then.
Entry 8980
Now if yo' go before de iudge, de judge goin' to discharge yo', ac- cording to what kind of case, yo' know, yo'll have. Well, if yo' got people against yo', yo' know, an' yo' don't want to have dem part of de jury. Yo' going before de judge, like if it's a criminal case, yo' know, yo' got to have de jury. Yo' see, dey have [a panel of] 75 jurors [to select jurors from]. Well, yo' don't know what people [will be on the jury]. They don't pick out but twelve. Now, yo' don't know what twelve dey going to pick out. Dat makes yo' gotta use de whole panel. Yo' see, ah [in my work] done use 'em all.[ Well, now, de person - what jurors is against yo'. Yo' go an' get yo' a beef tongue, a fresh beef tongue. Pay odd money fo' it, not even money - 25 or 35 cents or somepin like dat. Let de money be odd money. An' yo' go an' take dat tongue an' yo' get these peoples names what is against yo', what done harm yo', don't yo' see or what yo' done harm. Yo'll take dat tongue, yo'll write de names on a piece of papah, an' yo'll write all dem jurymen's names, de dis- trict attorney.
(The whole 75 of those names?)
Yeah, just put de whole 75. Yo' have to use de 75, because outa dem yo' get twelve.
(I see. All right.)
Now, yo' get de district attorney what is de man to prosecute yo'. Yo'll get his name an' put it on dere, but not de judge in dat part. An' yo'll -git yo' dat tongue. Yo' get yo' nine needles an' nine pins. Yo'll get yo' dese people names an' yo'll put down on dere an' yo'll put dat down in de throat of dat tongue. Yo'll take dat tongue an' yo'll hang it up in de chimney. An' den aftah dat, yo'll take an' git yo' some watah an' yo'll get yo' some peppah. Yo' git yo some coarse snuff an' yo'll burn a - light a candle.
(Coarse snuff?)
Coarse snuff, dat coarse snuff; not dat in a box. An' yo'll light dat candle an' yo'll put it.in dere. Now, yo' want to come clear an' yo' want de judge to be lenient wit yo', so yo' take de judge's name. An' yo'll take de judge ame, den yo'll git yo' a block of ice, 'bout fifty pounds of ice. Yo' put it in a little pail an' yo'll sweeten it. Den yo'll light de candle, but yo'll light it straight up [the candle will be standing upl. An' den yo' see, sweeten de judge. But this othah part what yo' do, yo' take an' yo' put de candle - yo' turn 'em upside down, yo' get dat coarse snuff an' all dat, an' put in dere. Well dat make de district attorney be fightin' against dem. An' de people, what he got fo' witness, goin' to speak against yo'. Anything dey drink, perhaps dey drink whiskey. Some might drink gin or somepin like dat. Well yo'll get dat [liquor] an' yo' put dere name an' set yo' a little glass. An' put dat candle on dat [name and liquor in the glass] an' ah'll guarantee every one of 'em will go to court drunk. An' yo'll come out clear 'cause dey'll be drunk. Dey won't know what they're sayin'. They'll be lying backwards and forwards.
(What'll that ice do?)
Well, yo' see, de ice, dat's to cool, dat's fo' yore part. De ice makes yo' cool. Yo' know ice makes yo' cool. [Usually ice freezes apponent's tongue.] Well, de judge won't be fiery wit yo'. See, he'll be cool an' calm. But on dis othah side, yo' get dat snuff an' yo' put dem names in dere an' yo' get dat beef tongue. Yo' put dem things in dere an' shove dat tongue, all down in de throat, an' just hang dat tongue up an' den yo'll see. Yo'll see an' dey'll be lyin' an' dey'll be drunk. Just what dey drink, yo' set dat candle in dere [in the glass]. An' dey'll be lyin' an' dey won't say a thing against yo'. What color...just what candles you select. Don't try de black candles.
(Anything but black?)
But black candles.
(How many do you burn?)
Yo' burn - see, if dere's five people, yo' put five candles. An' if it's three, yo' put three; just accordin' to how many is against yo', yo' put dem many candles. An' den what they drink, yo' get a little glass, just what fit de candle an' put dat [liquor] in dere, an' ah'll guarantee yo' every one will be drunk.
Entry 9190
Jes' lak if yo' an' a person sep- arate an' yo' want dat pusson tuh come back tuh yo'. Yo' take a aig an' take a needle an' jug it in yore fingah until it bleeds. An' write chure name on dis aig an' his name [with this blood] an' bury it undah de do'step an' dat'll bring him back tuh yo'.
Entry 9272
(This is to separate people?)
Yes. Take a aig. Ah uses de aig: Ah'm talkin' 'bout whut ah use mahself. Ah ain't talkin' about whut nobody tell me. Ah use de aigs fo' separation. Yo' take three aigs regardless tuh how fresh dey is an' how ole dey is. Yo' take three aigs an' write de person's name. If it's yore wife an' yo' wanta separate her from a man, or sbe Wants [to] separate chew from a woman, well both dere names should be written, yore name an' dis woman's name or de man's name or de woman's name. Yo' understan' whut ah mean. Dat's tuh separate chew [man] from dis.othah woman fo' yore wife, or separate yore wife from dat man. Yo' take her name an' 'is name an' put it on de aig, take three aigs.
(Do you write my name any number of times on each egg? Once?)
Once all around each one. Yo' know, each one de name. Yo' make as much as fo' or [I mean] three time, each one of de names, [one] on each one of de aigs, on de three aigs. An' den yo' take yore needles, yore nine needles an' yo' pass 'em through cross [crossed]. Cross dem nine needles through de aigs, all de way through, all three of dem aigs [demonstrates], one dis way an' one dataway an' one dataway.
(You put three needles in each egg?)
In each aig an' den yo' take 'em an' yo' put 'em in a sack or pan where yo' gonna carry 'em, an' yo' got 'em far apart. But it's mostly done at de grave- yard. Yo' bury 'em a foot apart an' dat's a broke up scrape [a broken up affair]. (That is to separate this woman and this man. His name is written on the egg and her name is written on the egg? Just once on each egg?) No, two an' three times on each aig. See, ah could put between de needles - de needles gotta go between de two names, don't chew understan', go through dem names. See, her name at de top or his at de top, anyway, see, an' gotta go in between dem. Turn it lak dat [needle is forced through egg by turning] an' go in between it [the names]. See, an' when yo' turn it lak dat go in between it. Yo' write disaway an' disaway an' write it 'cross lak dat. Jis' lak yo' stick yore needles, jis' lak yo' make yore names - three of yore name an' three of 'er name yo' see on each aig.
(On each egg, and you stick three needles in each egg?)
Three needles. (You write those two names three different places on the egg so that you can cross those needles three times on the eggs, and the needles are crossed through those names.
Entry 9335
Yo' mean tuh keep de officahs off. Well, it's jes' dis much about. it. Yo' kin go tuh work, yo' do's dat - supposed tuh be - wit hen aigs. Yo' kin go tuh work an' git chew nine hen aigs. No, don't make any diff'rence, any kinda aigs, yo' know. Yo' git chew nine aigs an' yo' kin go tuh work an' take yo' a hat whut chew weah on yore haid, an' yo' put dose nine aigs in dat hat an' set it at chure do' - ah mean, anywheres at chure do'. An' take yo' nine sewin' needles, stickin' needles. Put de needles intuh dat hat. An' den de really fac' 'bout it, keep it covahed up an' see dat nobody puts dere han's nowheres about it. An' 'long as it really sets dere, why co'se de law nevah goin' worry yo'.
(You don't have to keep that hidden?)
Oh yes, yo' must put sompin ovah it. Yo' know, have it some place or 'nothah where nobody's li'ble [liable to] 'sturb [disturb] it.
(Where do you put those needles now?)
Yo' drop dose needles right in de hat.
Entry 9336
Said dat dey kin take chicken aigs an' take nine needles. An' yo' have tuh soak dat aig in vinegah, where yo' put dem nine needles dere, an' bury 'em intuh somebody's gate or do'step, where dey go in at. An' dey'll step on 'em, mash 'em. Dey'll leave town. (Any kind of chicken egg?) Any kind.
Entry 10165
If yo' got a gurl - it's dis way. Ah got a gurl an' she runned away from me. She done lef' me. She's gone. Well, lak [I] say, dere's a lotta watah 'ween heah an' New Yawk. Say she's gone tuh New Yawk. She jes' jumped up an lef' me an' ah haven't did anythin' tuh 'er an' want 'er back. She won' come bach tuh me by writin' tuh 'er. All right. Ah go tuh de drug sto' an' ah gits me a 15-cents blue candle. Take de same nails an' needles an' put in dat.
(How do you put them in there now? How many do you get?)
A nickel wuth of ten-penny nail. Put eight nails, an' de whole papah of needles, an' about eight big pins. Yo' git dem ovahsize sticky pins yo' know, dem ovahsize one. Some packages dey sell two fo' a nickel. Dey are de small size. An' de large package it's got one long one dat way; dey sells dem one fo' a nickel. Yo' git chew a piece of lookin'-glass lak dat an' yo' tum de part dat chew look it, an' git chew a saucah of watah or git chew a bowl or cream saucah, or anything dat will hold watah. Den turn dat [looking] glass down ovah dat way. Take dat candle an' take de end of it which yo' is gonna set down, take a match an' light it dat way. Don' light de top part where de stem is; light de bottom part an' put it on dat glass.
(With the top part downward?)
Yessuh, on top of de glass, an' let it set dere an' make yuh wishes fo' hit. But yo' start hit at ten minutes an' burn it fo' twenty-five. In twenty-five [days?] yo' receive a lettah from her, to send aftah her or send her ticket. She's on her way back tuh yo'.
Entry 10175
Now, that like if someone that they want to kill 'em, get 'em out chore way. You stick this black candle with 9 bran'-new needles, the darkest hour of the day, 4 o'clock in the mawnin', an' make yore wish, see. An' burn that candle ev'ry 9 days till that happens...an' yo' let the room...you put it in real dark room. Let the room be real dark.
Entry 10417
Keep hag away - 9 needles in bot- tle. [Caught hag] looked like jellyfish. Sot much of story.
Entry 10590
Well, you just take your bat, catch you a live bat, cut him open and take his heart. You gets you one yard of ribbon, red ribbon. Yes, sir. And anything you deal with, you take that ribbon and that heart and you tie it together. Take two brand-new needles and stick 'em an' make a cross in there like shen you going out, and that'll make you successful. Gambling success. That's called a gambling hand. You pin on the hand you use, on the hand you are using: if you deal with the left hand, on the left; and if you deal with the right, you use the right hand.
Entry 10679
Well, ah take dat [foot] track now, and ah put it in de bottle, see. Ah taken a 'leven birdshot.
(Number 11?)
"Leven birdshot, dat [is] little shot.
(Eleven of them.)
Dat's to weight 'em down. Ah come here tomorrow and bring you my bottle, ah show you. Ah put eleven in dere an' ah takes, gets some needles. [Ah] take, [ah] put in, see. Dat [is] two parts of one... listen now, ah takes a piece of wheat straw. Ah put two needles in one straw an' ah name dat him. (You put a needle in the wheat straw?) Naw, sir. Ah put dem two straws in dat needle dis way [demonstrates]. (You put the needles into the straws.) Yes. First, ah want to put two straws together. Ah put one edge together, see, just like dat [demonstrates]. Then ah write his name three times. Ah write it down on dat straw[!] three times, see now. Write it down on dat straw and ah say, "Listen, now..." Ah don't put no curse on 'em. Say, "Ah kin give you fourteen years or twenty-one years. See, just what your time, ah give you traveling years." When dat twenty-one years, after dat twenty- one years, you coming back. And [I] name de day he coming back. See. And ah put dat name dere. Dat shot holds 'em down in dat bottle with de cork shut tight. Ah takes some paste and ah just paste on dat stopper. An' dis man, well he's a gone boy. He's gone away from here. If he don't move inside of nine days, den ah'll take an' look to his house. If he's dere, ah'll take my gun along with nine buckshot an' ah shoot him loose. Ah'll break dat glass [bottle]. Den when ah break dat glass, he go anyhow. See, dere's certain things we use on a man sometime; but [if] you can't do much with him, you can't move him, you...
(What sort of gun do you trick him with? Just an ordinary gun?)
Yes, ordinary gun, but ah wanta show you how ah load it. You see, when ah come back here, ah bring you 3-4 [3 or 4] things - show you all ah do. Get all and bring more too. Ah kin shoot a man away and ah kin bring him back. Ah kin bring a man back, now. Ah takes three peppers. You see, when you want to bring a man back, you take one box of red pepper and bring...folks back... don't care how long dey gone. Well, if you take a little glass [mirror or glass tumbler?l and you see how dat man's track in dere and he been gone for so many years, you kin break dat glass and he'll come. Get de idea? Take dat paper and write de name nine times [on the paper] and you put nine pieces of dat pep- per in dere [the paper] 'fore sunrise, and you roll dat [paper] to you, and you tie it [rolled paper] tight, an' 'fore sunrise you burn it up. Ah guarantee he'll come right dere.
Entry 10728
De instinct or de blood - understand me, from de index finger here [demonstrates]. (Well what do they [do], squeeze the blood from the index finger?) [This is not a leading question. He, like so many before him is acting: pretending to prick his finger and to squeeze out blood.] Yeah, an' you kin take de brand-new tin plate and you take de needle, understand me, and prick your index finger till it bleeds. And write dat name down in dat brand-new tin plate and bury it with de point down dere - I mean with de tin plate down here. Den you write one verse of de 16th chapter of Ezekiel and de 6th verse. [He repeats verse rapidly.]
(Well, now will you repeat that verse slowly for me so I can get it?)
And when I passed by and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I says unto thee, when thy wasting thy blood live, and yeah, I says unto thee when dey wast- ing thy blood, live. [This is an understandable but not an exact quotation from any version of the Bible.] Now, dat'll stop any blood from flowin' in de world; not only on human beings but on animals, of any character, anybody with a shot, cut or have a hemorrhage in any respect in life - dat will sure as God stop it.
Entry 11213
Take the dirt dauber and take dis man's name.
(Yes?)
And you write the man's name and you set this in the bottle, and when you puts this in the bottle...
(Now what do you put in the Bible?)
You puts - in de bottle!
(Oh, in a bottle. You put all this in a bottle?)
All this in a bottle. Well, I call a bottle a jar - one of these pickle jars - and put the vinegar in there with the man's name in there. That's the dauber dust. Then you takes this man's name and you just put the pin and the tacks and the needles in there. And then you put it in there, and every day at twelve o'clock you shake it up and call this man's name. Every day you do the same thing until the ninth day that you see that you get your wishes.
(What kind of wishes do you make?)
Well, the wishes that I would make, would be the bad destruction on him. That'd be bad luck for him to have. That's the bad wishes.
Entry 11363
It's just like if you go out and have a passage. You will take that and put it any place that will do, put it in a jar. Get nine needles and nine pins and nine tacks, and put them in there and stop that up, and it will cause you not to move your bowels. They won't move. They'll pass through your mouth and finally it will kill you.
Entry 11675
Go out to de fo'ks of de road an' git some dirt, if it a person at yure house, yo' know, an' yo' want 'em tuh leave or eithah come back, see. Yo' git dat dirt out de fo'k of de road an' bury dat up undah de steps. An' put so some sugah an' two brand- new needles ain't been used. (What will that do?) That will make them stay at home.
Entry 11831
I often hearn [have heard] 'em say dey go out an' git a grub[worm]. Go out an' dig up a grubworm an' stick nine needles in him, yo' know, an' bring him back an' dig a hole under yore neighbor's doorsteps [and bury it] an' it wun't [would not] be long dat one outa family dies.
(That is to kill somebody?)
Yes.
Entry 12007
If someone bottles your hair and urine with 9 new needles and 9 new pins, and buries it, it will run you crazy. [Newport News by Ediphone.]
Entry 12028
I heard of people taking your hair and put it in a bottle and put 9 strands of hair, they say, and 9 needles and 9 pins. They say they take that bottle some [of] 'em and bury it under your doorstep to do you harm. [Wilming- ton 72:6+85.]
Entry 12047
You take a piece of red flannen [flannel] and you dampen that with kerosene and turpentine. Then you take a piece of John de Conkah and Jockey Club [perfume] and a piece of saltpeter. (Jockey Club perfume?) Yes, Jockey Club, and then you take all that and you put it into a little new piece of paper, but I mean brown paper. Put it onto the brown paper first and then put it in - put the devil's - annimum [an- vil] dust. Put annimum dust in there with it. And then wrap it up in that brown paper [brown paper for black person, white paper for white person is the rule]. Wrap it to you. Wrap it right to you. And then put it in a brand-new piece of 'lastic [elastic]. And then you get a new spool of No.8 thread, and then you wrap that good. You wrap it to you. See, you wrap it to you. See, that's bringing you luck. Just wrap it to you. And then you get you a new needle that you've never used - out of a new case [package]. And then you use that brand-new thread and you sew it to you, you know, and make your wishes. You sew it to you. And then you takes that
[package] and tacks it onto your [elastic] belt. You know, that piece of [red]
flannen, you know, and you put that kerosene and turpentine on there, and then you put it round your waist, just wear right round your waist right next to your meat. That's to keep anybody from harming you.
(I see.)
Annimum - an-n- (Wait a minute - annirmum dust.) [I am making a final effort to record this vord correctly. Anim and various things until later in New Orleans I knew it was anvil dust.]
Entry 12135
Jis' like you'd cut out a heart [from a piece of paper]...jis' like you say you gon'a...you draw a mark heah [demonstrates] - all right - comparin' to a heart [draw shape of heart on a piece of paper]. You kin take them [9] pins an' stick it [them] in that [paper] heart. You kin do jis' what choo wan' 'em to do after you stick dem pins in there. You use so many needles. You got to use needles - real sharp needles.
(How many pins do you stick in that heart?)
You kin take 9 pins an' put in there [demonstrates].
(In the center of the heart.)
You put 8 needles.
(Around the edge of the heart.)
You don't put it even, you understand. It's got to be odd [demonstrates].
(The heads and points of the pins and needles are alternated.)
An' you take that an' put it in your pillah. You kin use any kind of body [person] you want; you kin use 'em to your understandin'. [For alternate needles and pins, see Nos.9836-9837, 9844, 9849 & 9850, v.5.]
Entry 12416
Just fix 'em, Put- tin' 'em in a cross like a "x", you know, and might get a powder an' tie 'em up together, and take that and bury it at yo' [victim's] door.
(Bury it at your door? They cross them like a real "x"?)
Just like that [demonstrates].
(I see. How many do they use? How many matches do they put that way?)
They git 'bout eight or nine.
(I see and they bury it at your door?)
Bury it at your door. And pins - take needles and pins and put 'em in de same way like dese matches.
(Cross them.)
And git some - if they kin git some hair out de mole of yo' haid. Wrap that up - wrap that round dere and cross 'em and bury that at your door.
(What does that do?)
They say that will kill you.
physical X arrangement of materials in a reported burial procedure. Quotation marks around x indicate shape emphasis, not a new quoted speaker. wrapping available hair around the described crossed materials before burial. Keep the conditional availability of hair from the mole of the head without extra anatomical interpretation. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 4332) · Read full source (printed page 4333)
Entry 13349
Ef dey kin git holt [hold] of yo' chamber lye, [you] know whut dey do wit it? Dey take it an' put it in a bottle an' stop it up airtight. Dey puts 9 needles in dere first wit it an' dey put - git a spider. Yo' know whut a spider is - crawls on de wall. Dey git a spider an' put it in dere [the bottle] an' dey put some spider web in it, an' dey stop it [bottle] up airtight an' bury it down - nuthin under 2 feet. An' it will lock yore bowels an' everything up. [Several times in HOODOO I have explained the confusion between bowels and bladder, the present rite locking the bladder.] An' yo' ain't goin' git rid of dat unless yo' git a root doctor [who] know Whut to do. YO' JES' BURNT, DAT'S ALL - YO' JES' A BURNT BABY. [Once again, confusion between bladder and bowels was not rare.]
Entry 13366
Take chamber lye an' assafedidee an' bury that with ten needles an' put that under their door- step.
(What is is supposed to do?)
That were supposed to make you do, whether you want to do or not. An' she kin go off an' have her fun with men, you see, an' then anytime you want to go out, you see, a big argument start.
Entry 9641
It was once a rootworker told me to take some urinate some cayenne pepper and salt - half full from the urinate to de top of the bottle and the other [half fill] with sugar. An' take you a piece of cotton and stick down in there, and stick two needles in there, and keep that. That's luck to you.
Entry 9785
She kin take two needles an' break it half in two - make foah pieces - an' stick it anywheres in his coat w'ure he cain't see 'em, an' dat'll make him stay wit her. He can't leave huh.
Entry 9787
In bad luck yo' kin take, if a person settin' tuh a table gamblin', git chew two needles, cross 'em in back of dere clothes, right in de centah of dere back. Cross 'em. Dat'll cause dem tuh lose. An' [or] eithah sprinkle some salt on 'em. An' yo' kin git a spidah an' put 'im in a papah sack or sompin. Long as he livin' yo' win in de game.
Entry 9790
Well, now, fo' de whole house, yo' would have tuh take two needles an' cross dem lak a "x". Yo' first bury a can of red seal lye wit de top off of it; jis' let de dirt come ovah in it. (Where do you bury that lye now?) Yo' bury dat lye where dey constantly have tuh walk ovah it. Now, aftah yo' bury dat lye, befo' yo' covah it wit de dirt, yo' put de two needles cross lak an "x" wit de points out. Yo' put dem on top of de lye befo' yo' covah it. Yo' don't covah it till yo' put de needles dere wit each point, one pointin' dis way an' one de othah way, yo' understan'; but out, out from de house. An' yo' covah dat up an' when dat lye dissolve den yo' gits results. (After that lye dissolves then that landlord can't ren that house; if he does, the people can't stay there.)
Entry 9797
Yo' take needles an' pin 'em in a flannel rag, an' it must be needles dat have nevah been used, an' yo' wrap dem in a angle an' fold'em in a angle, an' dat brings a lotta trouble. (How many needles did you say?) Three. See, yo' stick dem through de flannel lak dat [demonstrates], chew know, an' den lak dat.
(Like the spokes of a wheel?) [See diagram in preceding rite.]
Yeah. Den yo' wraps dem up an' yo' buries 'em.
(Where do you bury them?)
Undah de steps.
Entry 9803
Well, yo' see, de house yo' lives in has got four corners to it. Well, it's north, east, west, and south. Well, yo' take a simple thing as a needle, one needle, an' take that needle an' put in each corner of your house. An' every night at twelve 'clock yo' read the Ten Command- ments in each corner of that house. Like tonight yo' read them in one corner an' the next night yo' read them in another corner. An' then after yo' get that done, yo' take the needles out wrap them up, buy a little lodestone, put the four needles in that and put them up over the door, tack it there, an' leave it there. Yo' kin get all the trade you want. That will even keep the law away.
Entry 9807
Well, dey takes a tin plates, new tin plates, an' sulphur an' six nee- dles to each plate. Take yo' six plates an' put chew six needles in each plate, an' set 'em roun' de spots yo' goin' dig at, an' burn yore sulphur wit chure needles in dere wit de points layin' dead in de sulphur. An' dat will keep 'way de spirits from comin' in. (When you are hunting money? Those points are pointing to this little bit of sulphur in that plate?) In de center of de plate. (When you are hunting money?) When yo' huntin' money. [See also section SPIRITS GUARD BURIED TREASURE, pp.111-135, vol.1, and elsewhere.]
Entry 9808
Yo' take seven needles an' yo' take seven straight pins an' yo' take three nails. An' yo' kin take a quart of watah an' de stoppah tuh shet [shut] de quart bottle. An' y'o kin put dem dere seven needles an' dem dere straight pins an' dem three nails in dat quart of watah. An' yo' put dat stoppah in dere. Stop it up, but don' try tuh stop it tight. An' yo' place it at sun risin' undah yore baid. An' if yo' wanta kill a puh- son - lak yo' wanta kill 'im- yo' kin hit dat stoppah wit a hammah. But yo' don' want no iron hammah, yo' wants a kinda wooden hammah, yo' undahstand. [Wooden hammer is rare in HOODOO.] An' yo' hit dat a certain many times evah mawnin' tuh kill a puhson, an' yo' hit it one time aftah it's gone down, dat sun, jes' tuh lingah dat person - jes' tuh put 'im sick, where he be Bo mo good, jes' lingahin'. An' when dem needles rust out, he rust out. It won't kill 'im right away. Take dem nails an' needles in dat quart bottle, an' yo' kin hit dat stoppah three times where de sun rise an' in seventeen days he'll be daid.... [Here I turned off machine too quickly and had to reopen conversation with a qoestion.1
(Where do you put this bottle then? Do you put it under the victim's bed?)
No sir, yo' put it undah yore baid, an' when yo' hit dat, take it out evah sasnin'-time yo' git up, an' hit dat stoppah an' jes' call [the name of] which ane yo' wanta do [kill]. If yo' want 'im tuh lingah, yo' kin hit dat stoppah ane time, as de sun goin' down, de sun settin' in de weat; an' if yo' wanta Hul 'im, yo' kin hit it early in de mawnin' three times.
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 9814
Ah.don't know what de herb are, but yo' take dem nine needles if a woman come tuh yo' [informant thinks I am a doctor] an' want a man. He [the wanted man] got anothah woman an' she want tuh git 'im. He [doctor] tell 'er tuh take nine needles an' put 'em on a thread. Have one jes' a li'l bit 'bove de othah. [Informant is illustrating.] Jes' come right on - nevah let 'em be even - jes' come a li'l bit above de othah. An' tell 'er tuh take dem nine nee- dles an' bury 'em undah de do'step. Well, evah who [whoever] dis man is, if she wan' 'im, he's comin' an' de [other] Woman can't [do anything about it] 'cuz she got 'er wit dem needles, see. Now, ah know dat's true cuz... (She can't come, why?) She can't come where he is, no sir. She can't go tuh save huh life.
Entry 9815
Take nine needles an' string 'em with a thread, string 'em up ovah yuh front doah, an' make any- one yo' love come tuh yuh.
Entry 9819
Well, if it's anybody dat yo' wanted tuh move outa de house, yo' take nine needles an' put it in a bottle an' stop it up tight, an' bury it undahneat' de steps an' tell 'em, "Git out chere yo' damn devil! Go!" Well, dey'll go.
Entry 9823
Dey kin bury nine needles. Point de nine needles up an' put dem intuh de groun'. An' yo' walk ovah dem nine needles. An' dey have de points right straight up from de groun' an' put dat right in de mid- dle of yore do'. An' den dey kin put nine nails. Put nine nails wit dose nine needles an' yo' walk ovah dose nails, yo' see, an' dose points. Dat goes intuh yuh.
(You don't have to step on them?)
No, yo' don' have tuh step on 'em. Dey have 'em buried, but dey have 'em pointed upwards. Yeah, dey has 'em pointed upwards.
(What would that do to you then?)
Dat would give yuh pains.
Entry 9824
Why ah could come up tuh yuh ev'ry day an' git me a pin or eithah a needle. If ah don' borrah a pin from yuh ah'll borrah a needle from yuh. Well, when ah gits mahself nine needles an' nine pins, well all right. Ah goin' come an' borrah salt or eithah black peppah from yuh, or eithah red peppah from yuh. Well, ah done borrahed an' borrahed it. Ah knows mah num- bah what ah done got from yuh. Ah done got nine pins an' nine needles from yuh. Ah takes 'em an' carried 'em tuh a green tree, an' ah takes an' digs a li'l hole in dat green tree, an' ah - see, ah got a cork stoppah. An' ah put dem needles an' pins, drive 'em in dere, an' ah take dis cork stoppah an' stop 'em in dere. Well, in about nine days yo'll be daid. [Informant names victim by intention; besides, victim has handled the articles.]
Entry 9828
Yo' take de needles an' yo' git chew nine new needles an' yo' take yore bag, a li'l piece outa red flannen [flannel]. An' yo' take dis red flannen an' sew it jis' lak a li'l bag. Well, anythin' of 'is soiled clothes, whut he sweats, somepin nex' tuh 'is flesh. Well, yo' put dat in dis bag. An' now yo' take dose nine needles. Turn all de p'ints tuhgethah. Well, it's lak if ah know yo' room heah [in the home where I was interviewing]. Well, ah'll come roun' an' put dis heah anywhere inside. If dis is yore room, ah come an' put it in yore room, undah de room - yo' know, bury it. [In the South small lowland houses are built off the ground.] Well, [as] long as yo' stay dere - well, yo' not goin' stay dere much longah becuz, yo' know, when dose needles begin - yo' know, any needles dat's in de groun' where it's kinda wet, it's goin' tuh soon rust. Well, when dey rust, yo' gonna git gone.
Entry 9829
Dey put nine needles, dey say, in a snuffbox an' bury 'em at a do'step. Dat'll make de person be painful as long as dey cross 'em.
Entry 9831
An' den a person kin take needles an' put 'em in a - up undah yuh house. Put so many needles undah dere, nine needles undah yuh house, right wheah yuh haid is, right on dere. An' dem nine needles will kill yuh in nine dasy. In nine days yo'll be daid. (You put them under where you sleep.) Undah wheah yo' sleep. Dey go up undahneat' de house. An' stick nine needles up dere in a row wit de p'ints up. An' dem nine needles in nine days, yo'll git sick, an' 'fore de nex' nine days out, yo' daid.
Entry 9833
Dey git nine needles an' tie 'em tuhgethah an' dey'll put 'em in a bottle, but wit de point of 'em down lak dis - de haid part up. [Normally points should be up, see No., etc.] Jis' tie 'em tuhgethah. An bury it undah de steps, an' dey say dat'll put a puhson [walk- ing over them] in pain.
Entry 9837
Why ah heard dat chew git needles an' yo' git a piece of red flannel. An' yo' take nine needles an' fold dat flannel. Take nine needles, stick five dis way an' fo' de nex' [opposite] way. Den yo' git Heart Cologne an' wet dat an' sew dat up in somepin. Place it anywhere an' dere will be confusion in your house from den until yo' move.
Entry 9840
Take nine needles an' nine pins an' bury 'em in yore gate, see. Well, dat will cause yo' an' yore family tuh bust up an' put chew in hard luck so yo' alone. But chew must go an' git dem nine needles an' things an' don't talk to nobody when yo' leave. An' carry 'em to de runnin' watah an' throw 'em ovahbo'd. An' dat family will be busted up an' won't nevah give yo no mo' trou- ble.
Entry 9847
[This rite I preserved only in my own original notations made soon after the interview.1 Her sister, they found her hair and nine needles and nine pins in a cologne bottle - salt in the hair - buried under the house beneath the head of the bed. She broke out in sores and pains. A root doctor called in and told them the woman had been tricked. To prove his diagnosis he crawled under the house and came out with the bottle. He showed the bottle but would not let anyone touch it, especially the patient, who would have died!]
Entry 9851
I have hear'd talk of a needle - dat yuh kin break up needles. Yuh take needles, needle dat sewin' wit, about twelve needles, an' crush 'em up. Yuh know, pind [pound]'em up. An' put 'em wit peppah an' sprinkle 'em arom' a person doah. An' dey'd soon leave dere, an' dey'll take badly off sick befo' dey go.
Entry 9883
Ah heah a guy say one time he had had some arguments wit a man an' he Wanted tuh git a way tuh git 'im. He went down tuh de side of a creek-kinda or lak a li'l swamp, an' got 'im a toadfrog. He tuk dis toadfrog an' brought 'im back tuh de house, an' put 'im in a matchbox an' stuck nine straight needles in dis toadfrog's back. An' he stuck nine straight needles in dis toadfrog's back an' he 'sposed tuh stay in dis matchbox nine mawnin's, an' de ninth mawnin' dis toadfrog would die. So he did dat, an' de ninth mawnin' dis toadfrog died. An' he said he went where dis man wuz, aftah dat nine mawnin's an' he said dis man hopped lak a toadfrog. He fixed 'im dat way, so he jes' hop- ped long, long lak a toadfrog. [He cunjured him that way so that he would hop along like a frog.] (Well, is that all he did, just stick the needles in the toadfrog? Nothing else? That's all he did?) Yes, dat's all - jes' went an' caught 'im an' put him in a matchbox an' stick nine needles in 'is back an' fix [here meaning to arrange, not to cunjure] him in a matchbox so he wouldn't git out. An' de ninth mawnin'... (Well, what connection would that toadfrog have with this man? How would he know he Was getting the right man?) [The man's intention was sufficient.] Well, he an' dis man had had a fuss an' dis man beat 'im outa de fuss. He beat 'im an' he wanted tuh git even wit 'im - jes' git dis man.
Entry 9891
Yo' take a toadfrog alive an' yo' sew it up. Yo' puts 'im in a sack, sew 'im in a sack 'live. An' den ah cain't git tuh yuh bed, see, but dere is a fren' woman dat kin git tuh dere dat is a pers'nal fren' of mine. Ah give huh dat, tell 'uh tuh put it in yuh bed, in yuh mattress, see. An' when she slip dat, put dat in dat mattress, yo' become restless an' dose things will come tuh be in yuh flesh, becuz ah got de frog in dere. An' ah got de needles in dere, dat make de pain come. An' den dat git chew restless on de bed. Don't care when yo' git in dat bed, yo' gotta git out an' gits dressed. An' den all ah got- ta do den, aftah ah got it in dere, ah'll come tuh yuh house; an' when ah come tuh yuh house, if ah ketch yuh back tuh me, see, ah sprin- kle yuh bed wit dese [some kind of] powdahs. Ah sprin- kle dat, else ah drop one or two drops of dat perfume on dere.
Entry 653
[Before I forget, I must return to the woman poisoned by perfume (No. 648). Why was her husband immune? He was dressed for his wife; the dressing no matter how poisonous, being harmless to him (cf. No. 10, p.7). Intention is almost everything in hoodoo and magic. A good example follows:] I was living in a street here in Norfolk, and the undertaker - you know I'm a jackleg carpenter - the undertaker told me to put a pair of steps to his door, and I had to dig down fer 'em. I come across a Eye-sh [Irish] potato that had nine needles in it and nine pins. And de woman dat was passing back- ward and forward over 'em was sick all de time - two of 'em died in dat same house, and both the woman was takin' sick. And I come across it with my hoe, you know, when I was making de foundation to put de foot of steps down. And I called and asked her, "What is this?" She come and looked and she cried, "That thing is the cause of my family being ruined!" A I'sh potato and nine needles and nine pins in it. And as that grow, the sap of it, the scent of it, or some- thing other in that house - some of 'em [persons] drop off. She says, "What you going to do with it?" I put my hand on it, 'cause I weren't scared of it, you know, 'cause I didn't believe in such things. I put my hand on it and I counted nine [needles and nine pins] with it in my hand. And I couldn't get a soul dere to touch it.
(No one would touch it?)
Nobody - couldn't get 'em to touch it. Then I thought to myself, I says, "I wonder if dis here thing goin' do me no harm?" Then a thought came to me, "It warn't put there for you and it would not harm you." I took it up in my hand, pulled the peelin's offen it and throwed de I'sh potato away and stuck the pins in my coat. But - it will certainly do you harm, if it is planted fer you.
Entry 2167
Ah've known 'em to take needles, if yo' got a case in co't. Yo' kin put a dime right dere right up in yore head dat - de dime right in de mole [mold] of yo' haid, an' yo' put a needle like dat [demonstrates], an' a needle heah, a needle dere, a needle dere.
(You put the needles around that dime.)
Around dat dime.
(Four needles.)
Uh-huh.
(Like a cross over that dime.)
Uh-huh.
(These four needles - each one is pointing to that dime.)
Yes.
(The needles in the shape of a cross.)
Uh-huh. An' dey ain't nuthin - dey couldn't handle de case to save dey life. [If the prisoner has hair enough to conceal this hand, the practical way of using it would be to sew a cloth cover over the dime, so that the needles could be held better in place. The four needles - over that dime or around that dime - form a tick-tack-toe figure either by chording the dime or by squaring the cir- cumference of the dime; in the former each needle is twice bisected by the dime, in the latter the dime is a circle inscribed in the central square. The needles are pointing toward and away from the dime at the same time. If the four needles points are staggered - point, head, point, head - they will point toward the four corners of the world, making a crown. A crown of thorns? A symbolist could find heaven and earth in this design. How many crosses are there?]
Entry 9776
If a woman wan'a man tuh love'r [love her], she kin take a needle an' go tuh de well where he stay an' push it down undah de groun' where he'll start [walk] ovah dere evah day er evah night when he go tuh draw watah. Eithah take de needle an' care [carry] it tuh de doahstep an' push it down where he'll go ovah it. An' dat'll capture him. [As I have explained. several times elsewhere these simple and seemly magicless rites are powered by the intention behind them.]
Source passage
printed interview with editorial and production layers · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
fold away from you. Here we have a special magic rite of overlapping or corre- sponding or accordion folds.]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(You put his handkerchief in the pot and you put this piece of paper in, too?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
In too - into it an' tie it nine times.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Tie that handkerchief nine times.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[Make nine knots in it.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
But yo' put dat sugah in dere now, remembah. An' yo' put de sugah in dere an' put it on in watah an' start it tuh cookin'. Den yo' call 'im by 'is name, say,
recited or prescribed formula · Current practitioner speaking in this passage · So-an'-so (prescribed addressee); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
"Come on back heah, So-an'-so, "
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
an' so on.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(After this water has finished cooking, you take it out and scrub with it.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Scrub yore front steps. He'll come on back. Yo' take de right-foot sock an' put it right up in de front of de do' an' yo' pee on it nine mawnin's an' yo' leave it dere. Dat's tuh keep 'im from gittin' away. Dat's one way of
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[doing]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Do you put it down any special way?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Put de toe tuh de do' an' spread it out wit de toe tuh de do', wit de nail in de middle of each toe, so it will be smooth. Ah don' take no 'mount of nails. Ah jis' nail it down till it's smooth, so it won't be no wrinkle undah yore rug, becuz de man is a superstitious
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[suspicious]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
thing. Yo' have tuh look fo'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[watch]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
hin as well as he do yo'. Yo' pee on it fo' nine mawnin's. Dat's one way. But de way ah have of doin', ah bear
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[bury]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
it undah de steps, de same way
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[with the nails]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, but ah druthah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[rather]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
bear it undah de steps becuz he won't hunt it dere.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(He won't see it there.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Yo' kin pee in front of dere fo' nine mawnin's. Yo' kin run people away wit dey shoe. Yo' kin go on down heah to de railroad an' git abo'd one dem flatcars, an' take yo' five 20-penny nails an' nail it down dere jis' tuh de box
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[over the hotbox]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, an' when dat car roll yo'll roll - yore an'will roll an' keep yo' rollin'. Ah burn 'em.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(What do you burn the shoe for?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Aw, fo' luck. Ah take sulphah, sugah, cinnamon an' bluestone an' burn 'em an' puts money an' burns money in 'em - take some nickels or dimes, pennies or Ohatevah yo' got. See, de money is jis' as good as it evah wuz. Put it in dere am'take a little oil of cedar an' put in dere an' burn it - see, opposite de do' lak dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[demonstrates]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Right in the middle of the front of the door, the saddle of the door. What Ls that supposed to do?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Fo' luck - spo'tin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[sporting]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
houses, fo' transits
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[transients]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, anythin'. If he's done quit chew an' gone off - see, dis bed heah.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[On my first trip to Memphis, I interviewed in a bedroom of the down-town hotel for black people, Eureka Hotel - see INTRO., v.1, p. XXxl11.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Yo' take his pichure an' git chew fo' pins. Yo' turn 'is haid down, undah- stan', pin it on de back of dat bed, an' go on an' lay down. Dat keeps 'is min on yo' in dat bed.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Which way do you stick it, looking outside
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[away from]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
or facing the bed?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Tuh de bed.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[The man in the photograph at the back of the bed, his head down, looks chrough the bed headboard at the woman on the bed!]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(What else can you do with the picture?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Well, yo' kin take it an' put it ovah watah an' draw 'im back.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(How do you do that?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Take de glass an' take de pichure an' set de watah lak dat, but if it's a
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
small one, smallah dan de glass, den yo' know whut chew do, yo' git chew a little whiskey glass an' put watah in it but don' let de pichure tech it. An' yo' double dat lil pichure on dat lil whiskey glass an' set it in de inside - yo' know, let it spread out enough dat it will hold itself. Put it undah yore bed.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Do you put that.picture in
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[the glass]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
just any way or do you put the head standing up?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
On 'is haid alway8. Dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[dragon's blood]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
one de greates' thin's yo' kin use. Yo' kin use it fo' peace or yo' kin use it fo' de devil. Fo' peace ah use it wit sugah, but dragon blood will stop it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[devil work]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
. Any time yo' don' want a fuss, yo' gotta put sugah in it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What do you do, burn it?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Burn it. Den yo' covah it. Dere lotta thin's yo' mix wit it tuh keep people from knowin' whut it is - Balt. An' yo' dig roots, but chew don' wan' people tuh know whut de roots are.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[The FOLLOWING STATEMENT ABOUT THE UNUSUAL BLACK CAT ASHES IS AMAZING. My informant first tells how she or rumor says these ashes are made and then, after our brief digression with the black cat bone we return to the use and price of black cat ashes.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Git chure own black ket aahes, Yo' git some undahtakah to take de ket
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[cat]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
an' fill it fulla fohnenhide
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[= foam-en-hide = formaldehyde]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
, joo know, an' den yo' go where dere de crematory an' git 'im tuh burn dat, an' den yo' ketch all de ashes. See, yo've made yer own ashes. An' jis' git chew a ket yo'self an' kill 'im
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[and take him to the undertaker]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What about the black cat bone?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Aw, well, yo' put 'em in boilin' hot watah an' cook 'im an' de bone dat rises tuh de top, yo' take it tuh a gtream of watah. All de rest of dem will sink, sho'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[sure]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
as ah'm livin', but chew mus' sell yo' soul tuh de devil tuh mastah dat.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How do you sell your soul to the devil?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Ah've nevah learn tuh do dat. But sellin' yo'self to de devil, yo' know whut dat is don' chew? Yo' don' believe dere is a God, dere nevah wuz a God.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How do you use these black cat ashes?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Dat black ket ashes ia 'bout one de highest
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[hoodoo ingredients]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
yo' kin buy. Yo' cain't buy undah five dollahs right roun' at de cornah heah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(You mean at the drug store?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Five dollahs.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What do they use it for?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Well, sometime dey use it fo' success - dey fo' drawin'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Mostly hands?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Gamblin' han's.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How would you make a good gambling hand?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Well, sometime ah'd git bat hearts, dry 'em. Yo' know dey'll dry if yo' jis' take 'em an' lay.'em in de sun an' dey'll wizzle
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[= wizen]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
up. An' yo' take dat bat heart an' yo' take nine needles an' yo' break dose needles off at de top. An' yo' stick nine needles right aroun' dat heart. Yo' take yo' a piece of lode- stone - it's cordin' tuh whut colah it is, whoevah yo' makin' a han' fo'. When yo' read
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[the cards]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
fo' 'im yo' kin
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[tell]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
what he needs. Yo' kin take white lodestone or black lodestone an' dere is a she lodestone made lak a woman. Dat's a she lodestone
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[demonstrates, or does she show me one?]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Just in the shape of a woman.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Yeah. Yo' kin git dat at Dahinton
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[Darlington?]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Bros., Natchez, Miss.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[She lodestone in the shape of. a woman is rare in my experience. This would
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
be powdered she lodestone pressed into the semblance of a woman, a very small form so that it could fit into a hand. This figurine appears to have been a spe- ciality (or specialty) of this business firm. See margin-title LODESTONE: HE AND SHE, Pp.601-603. [We now return to the gambling hand made with a bat heart.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Yo' take de nine needles, yo' break 'em off sho't
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[short]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
yo' know, but yo' stick 'em in de heart. Den yo' put yore heart in cloth, silk an' flannen - red flannen
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[flannel]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(You use both of them?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Uh-huh, one's de inside bag an' one's a' outside bag. Some of 'em use shammy. An'den yo' take dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[heart]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
out an'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[as a substitute]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
yo' put dat lodestone in dere an' yo' keep a silvah dime in dere. Dat silvah dime, dat'll las' yo' a long time, not gratin' it. An' yo' put a lil dat silvah money in dere, an' yo' put dis lodestone an' nine needles, an' yo' put a lil piece of John de Conkah, an' yo' take a lil piece of devil's-shoestring, an' yo' sew dat bag up an' wish. An' den yo' dress it. Wish success tuh yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(What do you use specially to dress it?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Hell, ah use - sometime ah use bergamine
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[bergamot]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
an' wintahgreen mixed, but ah us'lly use oil of cedar an' Jockey Club
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[Perfume]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. But yo' see in some in- stance, tuh make yore stuff go fur
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[further]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
, yo' git chew toilet watah an' halfa bottle of Jockey Club, becuz it's
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[a full bottle is]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
mo' expensive. But chew Hn make it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[go further]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(The inner bag is of silk and the outer one is the flannel?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
No suh, innah bag is flannen, an' de outah bag is de silk. Take a bath in sweet spirits of nitre fo' nine days an' garlic. Yo' take it an' po' it in yore bath watah. Yo' take a little Red Seal Lye, yo' know. a lil lye on a knife. Yo' put it into yore bath watah an' den yo' po' de sweet spirits of nitre in dere an' nine pods of garlic cut up, an' take a bath in dat. Den yo' Hn go tuh de rivah an' take a bath in runnin' watah, an' dat's luck.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(After you take the bath?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Bo, ah say eithah one of dose. Dey are two diff'ren' thin's dat ah'm tellin'. One if yo' in a stream of bad luck an' yo' want chure bad luck
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[to change]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. Some people
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[doctors]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
send dere customahs to de
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[Mississippi]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
rivah tuh take a bath in runnin' watah tuh wash de jinx off an' it'll roll on down
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[the river]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(Hou of ten do you do that?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Fell, one or twice, but yore luck will change.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
{For bathing in the Mississippi River at New Orleans on May 1, see p.381, No. 986.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(For this luck in gambling
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[I mean]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
for this bath nine times, do you take it at any special time?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Any time you kin make it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[= any time you get ready]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. De furse thin' yo' do, yo' git chew some love powdahs, yo' kin buy 'em at Mff'ren' places,
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[and]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
peace powdahs. Den anothah way yo' kin do, if yo' know de man's name. Den jis' lak yo' know bo yo' goin' tuh work fa', well yo' go dere, an' yo' go to de icehouse an' yo dt chew a dime piece of ice, an' write his name an' put it in dat ice, an' wrap at ice up tight an' don' 'low
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[allow]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
nobody tuh break dat ice. Dat cools 'im Ian' he'll talk wit yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(hat do you do with that love powder in the meantime?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
gell, dey use it sometime an' women use it tuh make men love 'em, tuh make boevah yo' meet be cool, peaceful.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Do you make your own love powder?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Bo suh, ah don't make mah own love powdahs but ah do makes some powdahs.
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Yo' kin go - jis' lak yo' git up in de mawnin' an' take jis' nine clear buck- ets Of watah. YO' DO SOMETHIN' DIFF'REN' EVAH TIME YO' MAKE LUCK IN BUSINESS.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This is an unusual rule, probably informant's own, one that will keep an expert operator like the informant mentally agile. For this type of luck, see BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS, Pp.669-744.
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Yo' throw nine buckets of watah on yore front po'ch an' sweep. Don' nevah sweep yore po'ch off, always sweep it back. Cleah watah from de hydran'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[con- sidered running water]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. But don' speak to nobody while yo' doin' it. But evah time yo' do somethin' diff'ren'. Well, de nex' time ah do it, ah use bergamine an' wintahgreen mixed; scrub mah front wit it, dat an' one bucket of watah. A dime's worth will be enough fo' two scrubbin's. Go an' git chew some pure hick'ry an' take dat hick'ry an' burn it in de stove, an' yo' rake it out an' git chew some bluein', de stick bluein'. It blue clothes, yo' know. Yo' wanta keep de blues away
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[cops wearing blue suits]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' take dat hick'ry an' bluein' an' mix it togethah an' yo' put it ovah yore do'. Put de ashes an' de bluein' ovah yore do'. Pulvahize it tuhgethah, in any- thin' yo' want. Eithah put it in a lil box so it ovah dat do'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(That will keep the law away.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Den lak yo' wanta win a suit or anythin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[any court case]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' go down heah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[the market]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
- yo' know whut double pansy whut grows in gardens an' thin's.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(Double pansy.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Well, yo' git chew nine new leaves of double pansy an' yo' put it in yore shoe an' yo' write six Disciple names an' wrap dat double pansy up in dat papah where de six Disciple names are in. Yo' write de Twelve Disciple name an' weah six in each shoe an' put a piece of double pansy in each shoe. Undahstan' me, but chew fold it in papah an' den put it in yore shoe. Now, de furse six take an' put it in yore right shoe, de nex' six yo' put dem in yore left shoe, when yo' go into co't Or anythin' lak dat. ANYTHIN' DAT CHEW WANTA MASTAH, YO' WEAH DEM TWELVE DISCIPLES. De way tuh do lak yo' got a lotta enemies. In dat case an' yo' wanta git rid of 'em so dey cain't talk, yo' go git chew a beef tongue. Yo' take dat beef tongue an' yo' write dere name, all dere names, an' yo' stick a hole in dis part of de tongue - de tip of de tongue - an' yo' stick dose names up in dere. Dat's used personal, understan'. Den yo' take it to a flue an' let it down dere an start chew a hot fiah, an' go on to co't
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[court]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' kin jis' put it on a wire yo' know, so it will hang dere. Yo' hangin' 'em.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(Well, why do you want to warm then?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah'm hangin' 'em
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[not warming them]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This rite causes a hung jury.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah know from experience. Yo'll laff when ah tell yah. A fellah killed mah uncle heah, two of 'em, an' ah drawed em back heah. Ah tole 'em, ah said, "Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble." See, yo' gotta have fo' aig an' dey mus' be de aig of a black hen. Dey cain't stay 'way. Yo' put two undah his [murdered man's] arm, two undah his haid. Yo take yo' a pair of scissahs an' cross it in his back - steel. [To open the closed scissors makes a cross of steel.] It done wit steel, an' shet dem han's up an' let dem arms tight down on dem aigs. When dem aigs bus' he cain't stay still. Dey'll git back heah. He'll come back hisself, yo' don' have tuh hunt fo' 'im. (This case with your uncle, did you get the man?) Yessuh. (Did that happen right here in Memphis?) Right heah in Memphis. Dere a piece in de papah about hoodoo hero[ine] dis
Nested source context: recited or prescribed formula · Vol. 3, p. 1863
"Come on back heah, So-an'-so, "
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 3, p. 1863
fold away from you. Here we have a special magic rite of overlapping or corre- sponding or accordion folds.]
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 3, p. 1866
"Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble."
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah know from experience. Yo'll laff when ah tell yah. A fellah killed mah uncle heah, two of 'em, an' ah drawed em back heah. Ah tole 'em, ah said, "Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble." See, yo' gotta have fo' aig an' dey mus' be de aig of a black hen. Dey cain't stay 'way. Yo' put two undah his [murdered man's] arm, two undah his haid. Yo take yo' a pair of scissahs an' cross it in his back - steel. [To open the closed scissors makes a cross of steel.] It done wit steel, an' shet dem han's up an' let dem arms tight down on dem aigs. When dem aigs bus' he cain't stay still. Dey'll git back heah. He'll come back hisself, yo' don' have tuh hunt fo' 'im. (This case with your uncle, did you get the man?) Yessuh. (Did that happen right here in Memphis?) Right heah in Memphis. Dere a piece in de papah about hoodoo hero[ine] dis
Nested source context: cross page editorial continuation · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[She lodestone in the shape of. a woman is rare in my experience. This would
Nested source context: editorial expansion · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[con- sidered running water]
Nested source context: rumor or informant qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[The FOLLOWING STATEMENT ABOUT THE UNUSUAL BLACK CAT ASHES IS AMAZING. My informant first tells how she or rumor says these ashes are made and then, after our brief digression with the black cat bone we return to the use and price of black cat ashes.]
Nested source context: condition and negation qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1864
as ah'm livin', but chew mus' sell yo' soul tuh de devil tuh mastah dat. (How do you sell your soul to the devil?) Ah've nevah learn tuh do da
Nested source context: substitution qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[heart] out an' [as a substitute] yo' put dat lodestone in dere an' yo' keep a silvah dime in dere. Dat silvah dime, dat'll las' yo' a long time, not gratin' it. An' yo' put a lil dat silvah money in dere, an' yo' put dis lodestone an' nine needles, an' yo' put a lil piece of John de Conkah, an' yo' take a lil piece of devil's-shoestring, an' yo' sew dat bag up an' wish. An' den yo' dress it. Wish success tuh yo'.
Nested source context: answer correction qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(The inner bag is of silk and the outer one is the flannel?) No suh, innah bag is flannen, an' de outah bag is de s
Nested source context: alternative baths qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(After you take the bath?) Bo, ah say eithah one of dose. Dey are two diff'ren' thin's dat ah'm te
Nested source context: editorial interpretation qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This rite causes a hung jury.]
partial continuing interview window with context only edges
This passage contains part of a continuing interview; neither the complete interview nor every topic is included.
The opening editorial discussion of folding continues from the preceding page; it is included as context only.
The closing recollection about an uncle and a murder continues on printed page 1867; it is included as context only.
Missing bracket/brace and malformed prompt delimiters remain literal; authored bounds distinguish editorial and live source.
Hyatt explicitly frames cat-ashes preparation as informant or rumor; do not infer personal practice.
Retain cat-bone sell-soul qualification and never-learned answer; bat-heart/lodestone substitution; reversed bag correction; alternative baths.
Local practitioner identity only; no resolved person, plant or business identity.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 3, p. 1862 · Vol. 3, p. 1863 · Vol. 3, p. 1864 · Vol. 3, p. 1865 · Vol. 3, p. 1866 · Vol. 3, p. 1867