Subject:Oil
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Entry 456
Dey have some oil what dey grease wit, called witch oil, and dey grease wit dat oil and dey stretch demself and dey out dere skin. Den they go through a keyhole with a fellow, you know, and have a big time with de skin off 'em lak dat; you see, witches. Dey say, one time a old lady done dat and a boy saw her done it, and dey tell me dey put red pepper all in her skin, and so when she come back dat morning for to get in it, to get in her skin, dere was bubbles [?] on her and she couldn't get in it, and said she was laying down in de bed raw - all de skin off of her. So old master come dere and call her to go to work and she couldn't - wouldn't get up, you know. And dey pulled de covers off her and all de skin was off her.
Entry 713
Ah got hurt. I walked over it. An' one man worked on mah laig one time an' he say I had some snakes in it, but I didn't have - not snakes, some worms. An' the nex' man worked on me, he tied a rattlesnake hide above mah knee an' rub mah laig down with some oil, but whut the oil wus I don't know. An' the laig didn't never bust open after he had worked on it, an' I went right on to walkin' an' go anywhere I wanted to go an' been walkin' ever since. [This is like cures like. The snake not being able to pass above the knot in the rattlesnake hide, was gradually rubbed downward (downward magic) and out through the foot - sometimes the big toe.]
Entry 887
Well, ah know a lady ovah heah in Tampa, that yo' kin go to, an' she'll set chew down an' begin tuh talk to yo' - anoint a little somepin in your head - (You go there and what does she tell you to do?) She tells you to go on back - say, "Well, jest want de name." Den yo' give her de name of de people dat yo' wants to do any harm to 'em. Den she'll get chew down an' she'll 'noint yo' wit some little oil in yore haid, an' tell yo' to go on back an' take it easy an' write her jest how things comes out. But she won't answer de letter. Dat's all she does.
Entry 1149
Take de buzzard an' cook 'im up an' let de oil - git dat oil from 'im, git dat oil from 'im whut chew call grease, yo' know, suh, an' you kin rub in it ev'ry mawnin' or ev'ry night whenevah yo' bathe off. Yo' git so limber you can't walk, if you use too much of it - it make active.
Entry 1195
[Oil of cinnamon is usually confined to compounded ingredients.]
Now yo' go - ah go to de drug sto'. Yo' know oil of cinnamon? Ah go git dat. Dat cost a dime, oil of cinnamon - ten cents. An' ah go, ah'll git de oil of cinnamon, yo' see, an' yo' takes dat an' rub it on yore hands all de time. Well, dat will keep yo' out all de trouble in de world. [After this informant leaves I comment to Telediphone:] (End of 1250. That fellow was a fortune-teller. He didn't seem to know very much about my particular work.) [This means his unrecorded conversation lacked interest or was too diffuse. I probably appointed him an assistant contact man. For both of these See Introduction.]
Entry 1258
Dey take de blood from de catfish an' cure people of de dropsy. Dey take it an' dev put it in some oil, some cookin' oil an' dey take it three times a day. See, de catfish ain't poison, yo' know dat. An' yo' cook dat oil an catfish blood together an' give it to 'em.
Entry 1972
Ah had one but ah nevah did tear it open. No suh, ah nevah did tear it open.
(Why not?)
Well, ah jis' didn't wanta tear it open. Ah figured aftah ah let it set there a long time in de oil of cedar, den it would come back luck to me agin, 'cause when ah first got it, it wus good, see. An' ah stayed in luck there fo' 'bout six or seven months. When yore luck go down yo' supposed tuh soak it in dis oil of cedar, see, an' bring life back to it. But ah have nevah to' [tore] de bag open. Ah paid five dollahs fo' de bag.
(Why don't you tear the bag open?)
Well, ah will tear it open, but ah haven't so far. Ah use dis oil of cedar fo' luck in gamblin' an' rabbit foots. An' ah take mah rabbit foot - see, keep it soaked in oil of cedar, an' ah take that an' wear that up in mah bosom heah or eithah in mah pocket wherevah - when ah'm shootin' craps or somepin lak dat. Ever' time ah run mah han' on it, see, an' git that moisture offen dat an' rub it on yore dice or somepin lak that, see, an' den throw 'em down ha'd when yo' pass, an' dat's fo' luck. Ah have tried that.
Entry 1983
For luck in gambling you would use a hand - use a hand such as a oil. (Well, now, explain the details of that hand. What kind of a hand? Do you know how it's made?) Yes, sir. It's a hand. They makes a hand with a piece of red flannel first, and after the red flannel they ask vou for a silver dime. They puts - place the silver dime in it, place a piece of lodestone in it. They takes a piece of John the Conquer root - that's for protection. All right, they takes that hand - that cloth, you see, and they wrap it - sews it up all around. They takes this oil of clover and they gives you a bottle full of it - a little, about three-ounce bottle. You puts that oil on that hand - what we call a hand and soaks it. [This soaking is called feeding.] Then when you go in a gambling house, you supposed not to let no one take that hand - see, no one touch it. If you do, it's supposed to be no good. You walk in to gamble - well, gambling room - playing cards or anything like dice. And that hand is supposed to work. It jumps in your pocket, you see.
(It jumps?)
Just like it moves - slightly more - that's when you must bet. ` And when you are not to bet [it does not jump]. See. Yeah, I had one.
(I see. Did it work?)
It worked purtty good, I was purtty lucky.
Entry 1991
Gambling? Well, the thing that I was told that I would be lucky in gambling with - the first thing I ever did in my life was to buy a luck hand. The hand was sold to me for five dollars cash. That hand was supposed to be treated with diff'rent kinds of oil and linaments, and then when you go to a game, that you would be lucky. The first hand that I bought, I went to a game and I got broke. I cut this luck piece open. And when I got broke I cut it open and I found one thin dime in it, and I'd taken the dime and spent it - bought me some gin with it. And so the next luck piece I bought from a fellow, he give it to me on a guar- antee of trial - if I don't win, I didn't have to pay for it. I had taken that luck piece and I won $35 with 256. So that begin to kind of make me believe that there was something to that. But after that $35 I wasn't able to win no more. Right chere in this Vicksburg, I paid $12.50 for one of the same things. The first time I won was the $7. Then next - I never has won. Then I realized that the confidence that I had in myself - had I not had that luck piece, I would have won just the same. But the imagination.
Entry 2001
It's lucky about gamblin' and business an' all. Yo' jes' git chew a bottle of Hearts Perfume an' a bottle of cinnamon oil an' mix dat together an' rub dat ovah yore han' and face. Rub that ovah yore han's and face an' undah both yore arms, an' dat's lucky for spo'tin' wimmins an' gamblin' an' all lak dat. Ah've tried dat mahself an' know it.
Entry 2037
Some woman said she - it's some kinda oil, but dey said dey takes it an' grease it round de ear an' under de palm of dere foot. John de Conker's oil, dat's whut it is. Behin' de ear an' undah de bottom of dey foot an' dey say regardless to whut chew gon'a do, dey won't turn yo' down.
(If you are hunting a job.)
Entry 2076
(What is it you use?)
Three S [sSs] Love Powder.
(You've used that?)
Yes sir, and the oil. Use it in a syringe and pour it down the steps in the morning before anyone come up. That's to draw trade, transom trade [transients].
Entry 2091
[Magic sand - black and white - is what some persons called powdered lodestone, black lodestone and white lodestone - see preceding margin-titles Lodestone.] In gambling, we say yo' kin take a little piece of High John de Conker, we take three guinea seeds, you take a piece of lodestone and you take magic sand and you sew this in a piece of cloth. Upon your hands you would use oil of van-van. Then you hold this lucky charm in your hand whilst you are playing with a piece of money and you will be lucky.
(What is magic sand?)
Magic sand is a thing that is made to go with this lodestone - somepin like - looks like black dust, but it comes with lodestone - you buy lodestone and dey give you dis sand with it.
Entry 2138
You can buy oil at the drug store called moving oil - confusion oil they call it, and you sprinkle in front of the door in the night, you know, slip around and do in front where they pass, and that will make them move in a certain length of time. They get a disturbance in the house and they will move. Moving oil or confusion, either one of them.
Entry 2197
I know about my father. He was an oysterman. He used to go oystering and to keep people from stealing his tongs, he would tie a piece of red flannel on his tongs and saturate it with coal oil, and he wouldn't lose them. And I have known him to leave bushels of oysters in his boat and put these tongs ring over them, with a red flannel rag on each end, and go back the next morning and the oysters were there. [The father, a young man in slavery, became an oysterman at Hampton, Virginia, inmediately after he was freed and remained one until death some 30 years later. The son, a man of 60, has also lived at Hampton all his life.]
Entry 2327
He told me go and get some fast luck oil. (What kind?) Some fast luck oil, oil of van-van and olive oil, and mix it up and rub your hands and it bring luck to you.
(In gambling?)
In gambling.
Entry 2446
Use de oil of cedah an' use it an' put it about chure body an' on yore do'knob where de people come back an' fo'th in, an' if that roomah doesn't come back, if he leaves there, anothah one will come back an' yo'll have mo' success with that one den yo' will wit de othah one.
Entry 2459
Well, you got to get you some - if you want to scrub out door, you mean? Something to put at the door? Oil of cinnamon. You get you some [some- thing - this is mentioned later], pour in a clear bucket of water. You take that bucket of water and set it up there and do like this over it and say the Lord's Prayer [demonstrates].
(You put your right hand up to your brow.)
Yeah, right over the bucket.
(And look down into the bucket.)
That's right.
(And then say the Lord's Prayer.)
Yeah. Then you say - when you finish you say, "In the Name of the Father" - look at me [this addressed to me].
(Yes.)
"Of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
(Make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. "Amen, for luck and success." (Yes. Now, wait a minute. You have water in that bucket. What else do you use in that bucket?) Nothing but the water and the oil of cinnamon.
(Oh, all right.)
Pour it in there. Then you pray over it. And you say - the last you say, "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, for luck and success."
(While you make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. You right at your door like that, you go outside where the people coming in at and you bring it in with the broom - just have somebody washing in with the broom come in with it. Then mop all around neat with it. but alwavs bring it in the door - you bringing the luck in your door.
(I see.)
Anything you handle, whilst handling it, rub your hand in that oil of cinnamon when you go to send it off to the people. What you do for de people [customers], rub it [oil of cinnamon] on your hand, it coming back to you [in luck and money].
Entry 2526
Oil of cinnamon, dragon's blood, an' den devil's-shoestring. [Three ingredients.]
(Well, now, how do you prepare those? What do you do with them?)
Yo' buys dat right out de druggist. Yo' burn 'em, burn 'em all together an' put 'em in de fo' corners of yore house - jes' same as yo' in heah now in dis house heah.
(What would that do for me then?)
Give luck - good luck an' successful.
(Bringing in customers to buy from me.)
Entry 2627
You use Seven-Eleven Holy Oil, ah guess.
(What would you do with that?)
You just sprinkle it around - dat keep de law away.
Entry 2628
That's Seven-Eleven.
(How would you handle that?)
You puts two drops behind each ear and five drops right chere in each shoe.
(In each shoe or just one shoe?)
Just one shoe.
(Which shoe do you put it in?)
Your right foot. But you put two drops behind each ear.
(What do you use that oil for?)
For luck.
(What kind of luck?)
Well just, you know - just like you selling something and you wan'a be suc- cessful with it. Whatever business you into.
(I see. That's all you have to do?)
Yes - just use Seven-Eleven.
Entry 2796
Yo' kin go to drug sto' an' buy whut chew call dese lucky candles an' yo' light 'em an' yo' burn em. Go tuh de drug sto' an' yo' ask fo' lucky candles - see, jis' lucky candles. Some of 'em are blue an' some of 'em are red - jis' any color, but jis' ask fo' lucky candles. Well, yo' take it in yore room an' yo' burn it - see, from seven a'clock in de mawnin' until nine in de mawnin'. See. An' den yo' git some of dis heah - git some of that oil that drip from this candle an' put chew some kinda loud perfume on it dat smell - yo' know, 'tract peoples' 'tenshun. An' when yo' go aroun' 'em - jis' lak it's a man, yo' know, why he'll fall fo' yo'. Yo' 'tract his 'tenshun. Well, yo' go tuh talkin' to him an' de closer he git to yo', de mo' dat odor yo' git. See, he'll fall fo' yo'.
Entry 2872
Tuh keep de law away yo' burn de black candle an' mop with van-van Oil- mop with it an' dat's tuh keep de law from yo'. Yo' supposed to light dat black candle at twelve a'clock in de night tuh keep de law from yo'. Yo' light dat black candle at twelve a'clock in de night an' burn dat candle till about two.
(The second night you said you light it about twelve-thirty?)
About twelve till about twelve-thirty. See, every night yo' supposed tuh slacken back de candle - some minutes offen de candle or bout half an hour offa de candle. Burn it three nights in de week - Sunday night, Monday night an Tuesday night. Den don't burn it no mo'.
Entry 4221
Mostly dey uses dere in houses in dere watah [urine], whut are used fo' men. Whut ah mean, sech as de wash watah. Wash watah are used an' only one oil is supposed tuh be used intuh it. See, dat's de oil of pennyroyal, an' flo' is supposed tuh be scrubbed wit it. De balance of de watah is tuh be po'ed in front of de do'. Dat is tuh continue of mens goin' - comin' backward an' fo'- wards.
(That is to keep the men coming.)
Jes' keep 'em comin' backwards an' fo'wards, mens, see de room whut dis watah is come out of. Dis washin' an' de urine watah is all used tuhgethah tuh scrub de house wit, yuh know.
Entry 6986
Den cnothah thing, yo' kin git witch hazel, olive oil, saltpetah an' a pinch of bluestone, an' make it up intuh a lickrish [liquid]. Take a teaspoon- ful three time a day. Dat runs de devilment outa yo'. [Devilment is occasionally used as a synonym for cunjure, roots, or witch- craft. Considering its name, witch hazel is rarely used in hoodoo.]
Entry 8599
An' then lak yo' wanta make a man come back home, lak he's gone an' yo' wanta make him come back home, yo' write his name nine times on a piece of writin' papah, tablet papah with lines on it, an' write chure name ovah it nine times. Fold it up a little an' put it in a lamp with oil in it an' burn it all de time. That'll make him come back home. (You mean, you. write this name nine times like that and you write yours right on top of it.) Right ovah it nine times. That'll make him come back home.
Entry 8856
If a person gits a lettah of yores - lak if yo' are away, yo' write a lettah tuh dis person an' dey meant tuh do evil tuh yo', somepin lak dat - ah have heard people say, but ah don't care so much fo' de superstition. But dey would take yore lettah an' drop two drops of oil of cinnamon on dis lettah. An' whoevah yol was, if someone writes chew a 'nonymous lettah an' yo' wan' 'em tuh apologize wit choo, yo' bury it at de bottom of yore do'step. An' dis person would come an' if dey didn't confess tuh yo', it would be possible dat yo' would learn dat dey were de true person. But ah don't know, ah nevah tried it. Some of de things ah tell yuh ah have tried, especially concernin' de dishrag. Ah have actually tried dat.
Entry 9067
Ah've hear'd 'em say dey could go tuh a hickory tree an' go tuh de south side [the warm side], an' about three foot from de ground [3 for the three Highest Names], dat is, if a person is in trouble or in jail or what not, an' wants tuh git out. Dey take dat dere hickory tree, dat piece out de hickory dat dey cut out, an' dey cut it in de shape of a heart. An' when dey cut it in de shape of a heart, out dat hickory tree - if dey scared dey goin' be sent tuh de road [chain gang] or what not, dey tell me dey take dat heart outa dat hick- ory, where dey cut it outa dat hickory tree, an' dey git 'em a piece of high- price lodestone an' dey rub it all ovah dat.
(Over that heart?)
Yes, ovah de heart dey cut out de hickory tree. Rub it all ovah dat. An' when dey do dat, den dey goes den an' dey git some powdahs an' dey git perfume. Dey git dis Hearts Perfume. An' when dey do dat dey take an' dey saturate dem- selves wit dat, in wit dat olive oil. An' dey saturate demselves wit dat. An' den take an' dey dress dis heart an' dey pin dat ovah dere heart, an' den when dey go tuh trial, why den dere's three hearts dere tuhgethah. (What are the three hearts?) De defendant's heart, an' den de judge's heart, an' den prosecutor's heart - de one dat's prosecutin'. An' dey git dose three hearts dere tuhgethah. Well, de one dat wants tuh come cleah, he's de one got dat hick- ory heart pinned ovah 'is heart. An' dat hickory heart, dat represents de judge or whut dey go befo'. An' dis othah heart is de man is tryin' tuh convict: 'em fo' whut dey done. An' dey say dey take dat an' weah dat in dere, an' in so doin's why dat hickory heart which is tuh be de judge, an' by yo' weahin' dat ovah yore heart, an' yore blood is pumpin' ag'in dat, dey say dat will make it light fo' yo'. Prob'ly yo' git out. (They use Hearts Cologne and some kind of powder. Do you know what kind of powder they use?) No, talcum.
[Probably any kind of sweet-smelling powder.]
(All you do [he does] is wear one heart, just the wooden heart. That is all he wears?) Yes, weah dat ovah 'is heart.
Entry 11063
Cinnamon, fast luck, lucky oil. sugar and van-van in bottle [five ingredients] rub this mixture on hands for luck in gambling.
Entry 13303
3 RooTS: blackberry, make tea, drink 3 days; go to dogwood tree, din bark from north side, pulling it upward, make tea, drink 3 days; bamboo Eier [like a fishing pole], make tea, drink 3 days. Then take a dose of castor oil and live things in you will come out.
Entry 417
Go to the graveyard at midnight. But chew have to go by yourself and you take a penny. You got'a give 'em, take something with you 'cause then - when you go walk round the grave two or three times see, around the head and you walk round the foot two or three times. And then you go back - well, about nine times all together, and then you kneel down. But yo' have to put yore hand - dig down, put chure hand in and git the dirt from this, right off the coffin. See. But then, when you do that, you have to leave a penny or some vinegar or something.
(Why vinegar?)
Well, that's to keep the spirit from hurting you. You kin even have whiskey on you, see, to keep the spirits from harming you; you see, so they don't be disturbed [see Spirits and alcohol, in Index]. Course ah never did this but ah -
(I know, you are just telling me what you heard.)
And then when you go out, if you don [leave a gift] when you git to that gate, they will rassle [wrestle] with your soul. Even if you call spirits in here now, you make a circle and call spirits; you'd have to fortify that circle, because if you don't - course you do that around twelve 'clock at night. You fortify that circle. You kin call the spirits and when you - they scare yuh to death, but if you fortify it and sit inside that they can't harm you.
(How would you fortify that circle, then?)
Well, you have to make crosses you see - make a circle for yourself to sit in. And then you make a gate like and you put - make a cross there and then you have to use holy oil and holy water and candles, and then you set inside of it and then you can call de spirits and sit there quiet and pray and they'll come. But you has to have a dozen candles. [Washington, D. C. (627), 804:2.]
Entry 703
I knowed a fellow and he lost all control of himself. They cut up horsehair as fine as he could cut it and put that up in his food and after that Was internal it formed snakes. They commenced to destroy him. This doctor took them out. He gave him saltpeter, olive oil, poke root and other things, and mixed them all together and gave him and perished those snakes and they crawled out of him.
Entry 1214
I've seen 'em take a dirt dauber's nest and they cook it - see, it's nothing but - look like mud - that's all it is, but it's good though, you know. I've seen 'em take and cook a dirt dauber's nest. But they've taken it and they cooked it and they cook it with what they call this here linseed oil. Well, linseed oil is good for rubbing of any kind, but they taken this and they cooked this dirt dauber's nest with that linseed oil. See. Now when they've cooked it, it comes into a paste - after they done cooked it. You see, they left all that oil out of it - as the oil was cooking out of it, it 'vaporated or something of that sort. Well, anyhow, it came into a paste and it made just about a little box of stuff [demonstrates] - just about that big around, must have been about that deep. Well, anyway, it was a boxful, but it come into a salve. Now, there was a baby that was born with it's navel - it was stuck out about that big [demonstrates]. Well, they cleaned the baby up - I can show you that very baby, too - it's navel is out now - it's about like that [demonstrates].
(It was born with it's navel sticking out like that?)
But now, it's sticking out about that much now.
(About an inch?)
Yeah. [That baby is] right down here a couple of blocks. Well, they say that baby was crossed. Well, that's what they was told to do and how to do it. They taken and they boiled that - they cooked this dirt dauber's nest in this linseed oil. When they first rubbed the baby - her navel was sticking like this - they crossed that navel.
(How do you mean they crossed it?)
They'd taken and they took the stuff, you see, and they made a plaster out of it, you see, and they come thataway with it and they come this way - made a cross on it. And they made that cross and then they rubbed all around it, you see. Like the navel sets right here and it was sticking out like about like that, see. They crossed it and then they rubbed all around that place there, you see. Then they rubbed that navel - they pulled and they shoved it - they pulled and they shoved the navel like that - and they did that for about nine days, greasing that every day three times a day until the baby's navel went back. And they said that if they wouldn't of used that, that baby s navel would a been out today. That's the only thing I ever know 'em to use it for - the dirt dauber's nest for - to do good.
Entry 1531
And there was a lady that live right in my block. She's been sick a long time. She been going to the hospital and the doctors and things, and she said maybe something was done to her. I say, "I don't know whether anything's done to you or not, but actually if it is," I say, "it is something simple - you can tell 'fore day's dying out if it is." So I made her get two dimes and I made her have the man to grate them dimes up right fine, fine, fine. Well, she grate those dimes up and I say, "Get you some sweet milk." Well, she got some sweet milk and I made her put them dimes in there and just a little pinch of aloes and she drinked it. She passed nothing but worms - long worms and it - she's right there, right where I'm at now. And she called me for to see the worms what - when she went to urinate [frequently used for defecate]. Then I made her take a dose of oil on top of that, you know, for to work her. And she took that oil. I bet they was calling me next morning to see those - how they was running from her, just trying to get away. She's right there in the block now.
Entry 1659
[Whiskey is frequently fed to a protective hand or to a troublesome spirit.] Well, dey say if a person dies, if he die cruel to yo' or something lak dat, say his spirit will come back. Well, it comes den through a dream - co'se dey has rid me, it jes' as natch'r'l though as I'm lookin' at chew. Dey jumps right up on yo' an' dey ketch yo' an' when dey ketches yo', yo try to call but yo' can't call - yo' jes' [demonstrates] (gasp - gasp) jes' lak dat until he turn yo' loose.
(Trying to catch your breath?) [For a hag or spirit riding, see p.135f.]
That's right - until he turn yo' loose an' yo' kin hear 'im when he hit de floor. An' yo' kin hear 'im when he come in, but chew can't not see 'im.
(This is a spirit?)
That's right.
(Well, can't you keep them out of the house any way?)
Yo' take a new piece of lumber [see p.513f.] an' take yo' a lamp. First, yo' take that lumber, a new piece dat never been used, an' drive it right cross de do' an' set dat lamp about three and a half feet from it, an' he'll never walk in no more.
(What kind of a lamp?)
Jest a ordinary burning lamp, oil lamp.
(You keep that lamp lighted at night or?)
Jes' turn it low an' put dat piece of new lumber down dere an' yo' won't be bothered with him any more - unless you'd use it, take it up. (Did you ever hear of them catching one of those people? Sometimes they catch them.) Well, ah've heard they catch them in a sifter. Yo' takes a sifter an' when yo' put it over yore face, right up on yore breast lak that, or if it's a person dat have drunk whiskey - if he is a whiskey drinker, yo' takes a little whiskey yo' put right round in dat place, an' when he comes, he'll git in that an' yo'll ketch him an' when yo' ketch him, he's jes' a lump of jelly.
Entry 1719
At night befo' yo' go out tuh gamble yo' bathe in some bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' yore chamber lye, an' bathe from de head heah all de way down an' yo' say the Lord's Prayer three times, an' yo take dat an' put any kinda oil whut chew believe in an' rub it on yore.ca'ds lak dat.
(What kind of oil would you use for that?)
Well, ah tell yo' whut ah do's, believes in - ah believes in de oil of rose. Yo' buy it at the drug sto'.
Entry 2053
Now, many people have used this partic'lar thing. If they have a job and - say they like it, like this job. They get 'em a piece of John de Conker root, piece of ladyfinger root, and a small piece of lode- stone. [Three ingredients.] It's not very good to use lodestone if you don't know how to use it. You use a very small piece about de size, I'd say, of a large-sized butter bean I think. You put these together with a few drops of oil of cinnamon - say about three drops. And you make of them - they call it a toby. You've heard of people saying they tote a tobu. Well. that's what they are talking about. And you carry that in your pocket - if it's a man he carries it in his pants pocket; if it's a woman she carries it somewhere on her person, where you kin always keep it. Well, every morning fo' nine mornings, drop a drop of oil of cinnamon and jest a little perfume - you see, the perfume on it jes' to rid the odor of the cinnamon. People gen'rally think when you got cinnamon, you got a toothache - it's used for somethin' like that. Well, you put that perfume on there...jes' you're using this on the job. You know people have to use this on the job to impress people. [Ladyfinger may be a variety of red pepper.]
Entry 2336
Lak a thunderbolt hit a tree, it blazes all de way down an' goes down to de ground. Dey take dat tree fo' trickeration - fo' trickin' people, an' giv 'em ramblin' min's - spells lak.
(What does a thunderbolt look like?)
A thunderbolt looks lak a flintrock - it's kinda shaped lak a Indian [arrowhead], lak a glaze rock. Yo' see a glaze rock. (An Indian rock?) Yeah, it's made somepin lak dat. [For another description, see p.214.] (What could you do with one of those thunderbolts? What are they good for - anything?) Use graveyard dust. Tie it up in a little bag. Sew it up with luck oil an incense, an' that'll be very lucky fo' de house fo' gamblin'.
Entry 2508
You wan'a bring in trade. Well, fo' whut ah've experienced about bringing in trade - ah used tuh be a bootlegger mahself, and ah kin say that ah done that mahself and got benefit out of it. Now hit's a oil - well hit's a water whut chew git and whut chew put in yo' scrub water, hit's whut chew call van-van oil. [See margin- title Van-van later.] An' put five drops in de water, even if yo' don't do nuthin wit it but jes' put it in de water, shake it up and jes' sprinkle it roun' in yo' business place. An' yo' take you some of dat same oil and some brown sugah - about a tablespoonful of brown sugah and about five or seven drops [uneven number] of dat oil, an' put it in a bottle and a tablespoonful of honey, an' take it an' put it in a bottle and fill de bottle most fulla water. An' den put two teaspoonful of holy water in it an' shake it good and set it somewhere close aroun' where yo' kin easily git chure han' on it. An' every time yo' see de law even down dere, if yo' think de law comin' in - but yo' sprinkle yo' place of business good wit dat water every morning. Every morning when yo' come in open up yo' business - when yo' open up yo' do's and do roun' lak dat - jes' sprinkle some roun' yo' do's an' up aside yo' do' facin' and all. But be shore tuh shake well befo' usin'. An' that'll jes' make business come in real breese [brisk] - yo' jes' be tuh de place - yo' jes' be overhanded wit business.
(And that will keep the law away?)
Yassuh. Ah experienced dat.
Entry 2542
If yo' got a roomin' house an' yo' haven't no roomers an' cain't make no success, yo' git up befo' day in de mawnin' an' yo' scrub roun' in yore house an' den yo' scrub yore po'ch. Yo' scrub it with urinate, Hearts Cologne, oil of cinnamon - jes' diff'rent things lak dat. Den yo' make a wish. An' aftah that when yo' git through, den yo' come in an' yo' burn sandalwood incense or either dis Lucky Star - jes' anything yo' prefer burnin'.
Entry 2629
(What do you do to bring in customers? For bootlegging or something? Have you heard what they do to bring in the trade?) Certainly. (All right.) You'd take that place. For instance, this was the place right here. All right. You come to me and you say, "Well, my business is full and everybody pass and go to the next fellow." All right. You say, "Now, I wants you to straighten this place out for me so the people would come in, so I could draw customers." Well, the first thing is to do - is to go there before the sun- rise. Scrub that place out from the front to the back, 'cause you want luck to come in. Scrub it out with soap powder and Octogen soap: Some people use lye, but you don't want no lye nowhere near it. That's my method of using it. You scrub it out and after you scrub it out, you just.
(You scrub it with what?)
Octogen soap and plain white powder, plain white powder what they wash clothes with. But don't use no lye. Some people, they have: a tendency to use lye: But you must know whether there's anything been put down there or not. If there's something been put on there to offset this man - to keep his - to bear the people off from coming there, well it's very necessary to use lye to kill whatsomever they got down there. But you must know these things. You go on and you scrub it, mop it, and after you get through mopping it, you take clear water - seven buckets of clear water [nine is the usual number]. Now, if it's you, you must throw 'em over yourself, from back - make your wish - this is the front part, you throw it thataway and make your wish.
(You go from the front to the back?)
Yeah, yeah.
(You throw it out?)
Yeah, throw it out - throw it all out - then sweep it out. Then you go back with your mop and you let the place dry out. Now some - it takes you three days to do that sometimes. I've seen a woman's place and a fellow supposed to have done left - knew somebody in the family but he ain't in his right home. He's Open up a success for himself - bringing success. Now, the next day you go ahead back there, if you got three rooms in there, you take a saucer and you take rock incense - don't use no temple - rock incense and you burn it with lucky oil. They have oil they call lucky oil. You pour a little bit of that lucky oil on that incense and you set it up and you light it. Now, rock incense will make a fog, and you keep your shades down - just have a place in the back for the smoke to go out.
(The incense makes a mist - a fog?)
A fog - a fog. Now, you getting rid of all the evil influence. Now, you go on through with that. Well now, the third day you come on back there with you oil of reeve. [This is how word sounds. Could it be oil of relieve = relief? Oil of reve = dream? Or a nautical reeve = pouring oil on troubled waters?] Well, you might use oil of cinnamon. You might use some Van-van - it's not nec- essary. You might use some oil of cocoa. You might use seven oils into one. Well, you take those oils and you mix 'em into one with rain water. You put, say, about two teaspoons - by diff'rent drops and pour it down in there and fill that bottle up with rain water, and you just take that bottle and you cut holes in the stopper - three ways, so it will - and you shake it round in there, shake it round in there. Well, once every week when you are scrubbing, you do that. I'll say, that fellow have the biggest success in this town. I know some of 'em are doing it now.
(You say Seven-in-one oil. Is that one oil, or seven different oils in one?)
Seven diff'rent oils in one.
(Then you buy it prepared that way?)
Yeah, you can buy it that way. [See later, Three-Way Oil, and Three Oils.]
Entry 2676
Well, you could take - you go to the grocery store. You buy you a two- pound box of sugar. You get you a five-cents can of cinnamon. Now, before you start to scrubbing in this house, you sweep this home. Don't ever sweep the dirt out; you sweep the dirt in. And after you pick up the dirt and throw it into the garbage can, then you take this cinnamon and sugar and you burn it. See, you gotta use it three ways. You must burn and you must sprinkle it on your floor [and scrub with it?], and in the next two or three days this house gotta be rented.
(You burn that sugar and the cinnamon - you burn it, don't you?)
You burn it.
(Then what do you do?)
After you burn it?
(Yes.)
Then you scrub this place. You see, you got this into a little powder or something like that, but it must be burned with white paper - not newspaper or no brown paper, or no other kind of paper.
(Well...after that's burned...what do you do with that?)
The powder, the paper that's left? You kin always throw that out, you don't have any special use [for it].
(Now, wait - just a minute.)
That cinnamon and sugar?
(Yes.)
Well, you don't have to do anything with it partic'larly - you know what I mean. You just - after you finish burning it, then you kin throw that right into the garbage can, too. And after you finish, then you turn your mop upside down right at the door, as you going out.
(Well...you haven't done any mopping yet. When you going to do the mopping?)
Well, I told you, you mop already.
(Oh, you mop first?)
Yes. You mop first. You see, you get you a - you got to mop this place - get you a bottle of ammonia, bottle of blueing, see. And then you get - you go to any drug store and you get you some Logger's Oil or Miner's Oil, or any of those oils, you understand, to scrub with. See, that's to rent the place. See, that's to rent the place.
(Well...do you scrub...before you burn the sugar or after?)
You have to scrub before you burn the sugar, you see. You see, the place is thoroughly clean. (Oh, I see. And what kind of oil? Any kind of oil. All right. Burn the sugar and cinnamon, don't you?) That's right.
(Then after you burn that, you throw it out?)
Yes, sir.
(Then you get this oil and stuff and scrub the place?)
Yes, sir.
(Then you set your mop behind the door upside down?)
That's right - mop and broom.
(And broom. And then you rent your house?)
Yes, sir.
(All right. I want to get those things in the right order.)
[I was trying to solve the problem of using sugar and cinnamon informant's three ways.] That's right.
Entry 2698
You can take cinnamon and sugar and clear water and oil of verbena. See, like this is your front - well you start ascrubbing from the front, back in but not out. See, and sweep it back in. You see. Then you get what you call dragon's powder [dragon's blood]. See. You smoke the four corners up with that. [See margin-title Smoke 'em, p.723; also Incense, p.700.] Natch'ly you'll be successful in a business.
Entry 2742
It's a gift - ah been doin' it all mah life. (This woman [an author] says that down there when a doctor of this type has any disciples or anybody he is teaching - when they are initiated - Do they have some sort of initiation ceremony? Or something like that?) Yeah, they have that shore. (Do you know anything about what they do?) Well, ah tell yo'. Now we have - ah have had a school right to here. People say they are gifted - they got a gift. Well, ah'll try 'em to see if dey kin see it - to see if they know anything. Well, if ah see the same thing they say they see, den ah know they have a gift. Well, den ah'll go on a'develop 'em. I'll even show 'em articles in de Bible to read to git dereself in dat position. [See my biblical comment p.361.] Yo' see, then after they study that and they know it fluently - and den ah write down to de Temple an' git a diploma an' give 'em, see. Den dey kin go about an' use de Temple's name.
(Where is this Temple by the way?)
St. John's Temple. That's what we call a great hoodoo place. You will find that when you go down there. You jest ask anybody and they say it's one of the largest places there of its kind.
(They teach there? Is it a church or what?)
Yeah, it's like a church and dey have a lot of understudies and they heal there. They do everything. An' people go dere. They have more white than they do colored. (Did you ever hear that in these initiations they have a altar and burn can- dles and that sort of thing?) Oh yes, I have the same thing. Ah have it now at mah place.
(Sort of an altar?)
Yeah, ah have a altar wit saints and candles and oils and different things.
(If I came around to see you, would you let me see them?)
Sure ah let chew see - sure. You come around and yo' kin see it any time. Ah'm dere every day but Sunday.
(Do you have a special room or something of that sort?)
I have a whole basement downstairs - whole basement wit all mah business in it. Ah have one at de church too. You kin come to mah church sometime and you will see how ah perform.
(Yes, where is your church?)
Things ah knows from mah own experience.
[He conveniently missed my question. I do not repeat it.]
(All right suppose you tell me one of those.)
Dey take your photograph and dey turn it upside down and take a pink light and burn it to it fer nine nights and nine days, and dat will worry your mind. Maybe dis woman or somepin dat love you - it would cause your mind to keep coming on her all de time. Yes, she can. Dis woman she takes his name and she write his name nine times, she write her name nine times across this. And then she takes a pink light and she turns this light on top of this piece of paper. When de drippings of dis candle covers this full name then he will be back. Well, you would take St. Anthony. You would take St. Anthony and you would take three lights which would be a green one, a black one and a yellow one, and you would burn this light every night and every morning until these lights burn down completely. That would relieve you or your mind.
(If someone was trying to harm me. Well, what do you do about St. Anthony?)
St. Anthony, dat's a saint. Why you take him and burn dese three lights to him and ask him to....
(Oh, you have a picture of him?)
Oh, yeah, a picture of dis saint. You take St. Peter. St. Peter is a saint that is used fo' all thieves. Yo' take a brass key and you put dis key in de Bible and then you call names. Any- body that lives in dis house and yo' suspicion that anyone in this house did dis crime. Yo' call dere name and de Bible will tell you. It will turn on de one dat stole these things when you call de name, de Bible will turn an' fall.
(Well, what do you do with that St. Peter?)
St. Peter is on a picture. You only stand him and light a light, jest a white candle, and then use dis big brass key which is de one dat gives yo' de secrets to thieves.
(I see - you put that in the Bible.)
Say they have a thing that they call guinea seeds - supposed to control and give you power. You take one of those seeds and chew it up fine and jest as you about to enter and start to talking to this party, you spit this three times in front of 'em and say to yourself what chew want them to do. And they claim that they have to do these things.
(That is used when you are going to get a job.)
Now dey claim fer frogs - in order to have someone that chew wanta trick - put frogs in 'em - you take a frog and you will boil him. After you boil him you take this water and they claim that nine drops of this water into your drinking Water will create frogs to be crawling inside of you.
(Is there any way to get those frogs out?)
The only way to get 'em out would be jest the same way as they got 'em in. Well, in other words, dey say they'd boil de water for you to drink, and well dey would boil more water for you to drink again and den de frogs would come back [out]. [For Doctor Sims, see No. 34, p.23, and Index.]
Entry 2760
[At least three Helens, all working at the same time, are indicated by the margin-title Miss Helen, Madam Helen, and Mother Helen. The original Helen must have had quite a reputation. Was this original the Helen of the Seven Sisters (2736, p.745 and Index)? Was Helen actually the Seven Sisters - one woman playing seven parts?] No, sir, they are not supposed to be hoodoos. They supposed to be God-sent people - so they tell the people, but they do's hoodoo work.
(Who are these people from Algiers who have altars and candles in the room?)
Well, those are what you call hoodoo spirituals. They are supposed to do whatever you want them to do with prayers, and like if your wife is gone, or like if you are gone. Yes, sir. I brought a fellow to one of them here that had earthworms in his body:
(Well, give the whole story about the whole thing.)
This fellow came to me. I was back on a street right here in town called Magnolia Street. He came to me - say a woman had fixed him up in Mississippi. He say she took and cooked those earthworms and she made a salve out of them and she rubbed him and that caused him to have earthworms in his skin. Well, I told him, I say, "I don't know what to do for that for you, but I can bring you to Madam Helen." That is a fortuneteller lady over the river. [My informant, a doctor not accepting live-things-in-you cases (for such cases See pp.227-239), refers and personally takes his patient to a specialist, Madam Helen. I, the author, for a few minutes once enjoyed the exhalted rank of specialist - see p.279.]
(Is she still alive?)
She is still alive. Well, I brought this fellow over there to her and she told him that she couldn't do nothing for him, in nine days [magic delay] to come back. Well, he say, he told her he was suffering pretty bad and he couldn't sleep because things were creeping in his skin at night, so she told him to come back in nine days. Well, he made it his business to come back in nine days, and after he went back in nine days why she took and she rubbed him with dead man dust. When she rubbed him with dead man dust and gave him nine drops of blood with sweet oil - sheep blood. She keeps lots of sheep, snakes and everything in her house. She gave him nine drops of sheep blood and she rubbed him with this dead man dust. There is a lot of places over the river there where they cremate the bodies over there. She got bottles lined all up in her house, different dead peoples dust in it and she rubbed this man and gave him that blood and this man is a well man right now.
(When you went into that room, did she have an altar in that room?)
She had an altar. It had a lot of candles burning - black candles, blue candles, purple candles, white candles, amongst diff'rent pictures [of saints] she had.
(Was the room light or dark?)
One [reception room] was light, but the room where the candles was burning of those great heavy stockings. She had on about three or four skirts. She dressed something like a gypsy woman do. They call her Madam Helen. She is over in Algiers on Pelican and 26th.
(When you first came in what did she say to you?)
She said, "Come right in," she said, "I know what is the matter with you." She told this gentleman. "You [informant] stand right outside, mister, you can take a seat on the gallery. I know what this man come for." [See You Don't Have To Tell Me, p.316; and The Doctor Knew What She Came For, p.317.] She said [to patient], "Something's wrong with you. How long you been like that?" "Well, I've been like this about three years." She said, "Well, you won't be like that long if you get me $50." That is what she cured this man for - for $50. And the man is healthy, strong and got a job. He works right here at the Public Service Gas right now and he hadn't did a lick of work for three years.[ New Orleans, La., (809), 1138:1.]
Entry 2762
Well, my wife.
(You what?)
[He's a little hesitant, nervous at first.]
I had went there over the river for my wife - to Miss Helen. [Long pause.]
(Yes?)
Yes, sir. My wife had left me. [Long pause.]
(Yes. All right.)
So, when she left me, I went over in Algiers to a lady by the name of Miss Helen.
(Miss Helen?)
Yes, Miss Helen.
(I see. All right.)
So she charged me $50. So ah paid her $25 down. So she called me in a room like this [my interviewing room at Patterson Hotel]. So she sat me down and so she made me take everything out of my pockets.
(How was the room - was it decorated or furnished with anything?)
It had candles. It had an altar - like an altar. It had candles.
(How many candles were there?)
They had about twenty diff'rent candles.
(Different?)
Some reds - some blue - black - green.
(Anything on the walls?)
Anything on the walls? No, they didn't have anything but some pictures on there. [Pictures of saints?]
(I see. Was she dressed in any special way? This Miss Helen?)
Yes, she was dressed at that time when she called me in. They told me to wait a minute she Was busy, but in a short while she dressed and she called me in. Well, she had a hat like a cap on, a silk cap, and a big robe - a robe on. You know, a robe.
(A robe?)
A robe, yes sir.
(Any special color - different colors?)
It was a purple robe.
(Purple robe?)
Yes, sir, with a big key - a chain with a big key like the oldtime door key hanging in front of her. (I see. Now, tell me when you went to visit her, just exactly what she told you - everything she told you to do, now. All right.) Well, when she told me, she say for me to go ahead and burn a candle.
(Wait a minute. What about your pockets? She told you about your pockets?)
Yes, sir, she told me to take everything out of my pockets and I done taken everything out. And I left some silver money in my pocket and when I left the silver money in my pocket, she say, "You ain't right, ' says, "ah cain't do any- thing for you 'cept you take everything out."
(Why did you keep that silver in your pocket?)
[I was trying to discover whether silver was for protection.]
I didn't want to come up with all my money.
(Oh, I see. I see.)
And so, after I take the silver money out, I lays it on the table. All right, she takes the other money out of the pocketbook and she lay it all down straight. She asked me, did I stay in town or did I stay out of town. I told her I was staying out of town. Then I was in Vicera. I was staying out of town at that time. She say, "Well, how much is your train fare?" I told her my train fare was $3.35 at that time.
(You were staying where?)
In Vicera.
(In Vicera, Louisiana. I see. All right.) [Nearest I can come to name.]
So she asked me what was the price of the train fare. So I told her the train fare. So she put the money aside and so, she said, "Well, I charge you $50." I say, "I haven't got $50." She say, "How near up to $50 you can come to?" I say, ''$25." She say, "Well, all right." And so she writ me out a receipt and when she writ me out a receipt she give me the receipt but it didn't have no price on it. So she tole me, "Don't send no money by the mail, just send it in a plain letter." So I sent her money just like she said. I sent $5.00 on the first pay- ment. She asked me how I got paid. I told her I got paid according to what I was doing - that I was picking, picking cotton. And so she said to me, "Well, all right." She said, "Don't send the money in no letter - registered letter. She say, "Send it just like - put it in there - a bill - you put it in there." She say, "I'll get it all right." So, I says, "All right." So, I written back to her to lets see if she got the money. So I didn't get my wife back at that time. See? But finally I got her back, but now I don't know if I got her back through that way or not. (What did she tell you to do? To do anything special? What did she tell you to do? Did she do anything?) Well, she told me to send a pictchure back.
(Her picture back.)
And she said I was crossed - see, the reason my wife left.
(Did she tell you how?)
She say how I was crossed. She say the woman had taken my thing and measured it and tied nine knots and put it around her waist. And say that there was some- thing buried - my pictchure was buried underneath the steps, beside the steps'. So she told me where I could find that pictchure. But I found that pictchure though.
(I see. Now, who took that measure? Your wife or some other woman?)
The wife takes it - it's supposed to be my wife what taken the measure of it on the cord. See. Nine knots they put in it. (Now, this woman Madam Helen, she didn't do anything - give you any treatment or anything when you were in her room did she?) No, she give me some powder.
(What did she call that?)
It's luck powder.
(Iuck powder.) )
She give me some other stuff they call van-van. (Well, what did she tell you? How to handle those or anything? What you were to do with them?) She say that when I pass by the house I throw it - throw it over my shoulder. And she give me another thing by the name of John the Conker root. She told me to chew that, see. And she give me another oil to keep and rub, see. She say nobody could hurt me after that.
(I see. What kind of oil was that?)
That was a green looking oil.
(It had no name?)
No name.
(I see. And your wife finally came back?)
She finally came back.
Entry 7205
[For Doctor England's interview see pp.1386-1401.]
But ah see dem use. Well, it's mos'ly used, is dis yere - well, de manure from a ole white mule. It is known tuh be de drawin' problem. Dey do's it up an' use it as an incense mo' [more] of a white horse or [than] a white mule. (What do they use that for?) Drawin' powah, tuh draw eny person, see. Yo' kin perfume it up. It is vury good to use dis Mary Garden Perfume, Mary Garden. An' also yo' have tuh use a portion of dis Hearts [Cologne]. LET IT DRY OUT AN' WET IT AG'IN. LET IT DRY OUT AN' WET IT AG'IN, TILL YO' GET IT CURED AN' DEN USE IT DAT WAY. (What do they usually do with that manure, carry it around, or do they burn it or what for drawing?) Well, fo' drawin', dey leave it intuh de home. See, tuh draw 'em on. If a girl's frien' have been here an' she wan' 'im come tuh 'er, den dey place it on de house stove. Den, by right an' all it's used wit it a composition of all whut ah used mahself is, dey uses oil of rose - oil of rose an' oil of Mary Garden. See, an' let it burn.
Entry 8517
Whut yo' can do wit the bees [see later] like yo' gotta man an' he's away from yo', yo' git yo' a she coconut.
(A she coconut?)
What I mean by a she coconut, a she coconut has got three eyes. A she coconut have three eyes, a he one only have two. Now, yo' take that coconut an' yo' get those bees, honey bees. Yo' go to any- where where yo' can get that black oil off a train an' yo' mix - put that bees, the black oil, and write that person's name nine times, and put it [all] in that coconut. And get a stopper and stop it up and put it - and put it just anywhere in your house. And if that person is away, he'll come to you. But you gotta roll that coconut after, you know, you stop it up. You can keep it in the house, but every mawnin' yo' gotta git up an' roll it from the front door back to the back. Every mawnin'. An' when yo' roll it, if yo' want him to come to yo', yo' call him by his name an' he'll come to yo'. If yo' Want him to go from yo', just call him an' curse him: Yo' son-of-a-bitch, go an' don't never come back. But like that [to send him away] yo' must roll it from the back to the front to keep him going. Yo' catch those live bees an' put them in there. Yo' see, that's because they fight an' they gits mad an' they is furious, yo' know. Yo' put the bees in there with his name and when they gets in a place where they can't get out, they starts fighting. [I must have asked about coconut water.] No, yo' pour that water out of the coconut.
Entry 8610
If a person is 'cross de watah an' yo' want 'em an' if yo' got their picture, yo' take dat picture an' lay it on its face in yore bed undah yore sheets an' yo' sleep on dat. An' yo': take a piece of tablet papah an' write his name on it one time an' write chure'n on it twice. Fold it to yo'. An' then take it aftah yo' write dat name on it, den yo' take it an' put it in a lamp. An' put some oil in it enough tuh kiver it. An' burn it nine mawnin's, make yore wishes nine mawnin's, an' sleep on dat picture [9 nights]. If he's cross de watah, he's comin'. If he ain't sick or if he got money he goin' write chew. Yo' goin' heah from 'em some way or 'nothah. Yo' goin' heah, if he don't come. (Now you write his name down on this piece of paper. Then where do you write your name?) On top of his, twice. Write it on top twice. De same thing, if he runnin' out an' yo' want him tuh stay at home. Yo' write his name on a piece of papah an' fold it to yo' this way [demon- strates] an' then back that Way, an' put it up ovah de do' up ovah yore do'. An' he ain't goin' - yo' cain't git him outa dat [house]. He's there. [I finally have a chance to describe her demonstration.] (You fold it toward you and then you double it?) Dat's right, double it.
Entry 12355
Lodestone, John de Conkah, five-finger grass, Low John de Conkah and White Rose Oil in a bag. [Mobile 967:10.]
Entry 12474
You kin git a fresh hen egg, you understand. You kin git a fresh hen egg an' put it right in this [murdered] man's hand, you understand, an' bury it in there. An' then [an- other method], you kin burn on 'im, don't choo understand. See, you kin take his [whose?] name an' you kin write his name 9 times. You under- stand, write his name down 9 times an' put it in a lamp, see. An' light that lamp 12 a'clock in the daytime, you understand. You write it on - let me show you how you do this. You write his name 9 times. Understand? An' you puts a teaspoonful of salt in there, don't chew understand. A teaspoonful of salt on an' then you take an' make a little package. You wrap that. You wrap that to you 9 times. Wrap that up you see. Then you put it right in this lamp, 12 a'clock in the daytime. Under- stand you light it an' make you wish an' you put some oil of wintergreen on it, in there. An' you let that lamp burn for 21 days, see. An' when you drop this in, you say: In the Name of the Father an' Son an' Holy Ghost. Let that lamp burn for 21 days. An' then that man will come to you wherever you at. He'll come to the place, the man that kilt the othah one. You kin do that [this pre- sent lamp rite] behind [after] putting that fresh hen egg right in his hand, too.
Entry 13422
[To make people] get out of a house, you have to use war water, dirt dauber nest, Epsom salts and oil of lavender.
(Oil of lavender?)
Yes. [Long pause.]
(Yes?) [Continue.]
And yo' pound it all together like a flour, and you'll sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (In what?) You sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (And the gate. All right.) That would upstir the mind of a person. Just like Epsom salts works your bowels, so it would work in among them people. War water makes them restless in that place. You see.
(Yes.)
Oil of lavender will get their mind.
(Those are herbs?)
Yeah.
(Now, what will the oil of lavender do?)
The oil of lavender it'll soften him - the inner, the inner man, the spirit- ual part of that person. That you could - you would have to go. You would slide or either you would be run off. You may put oil into anything to slip [away] - you run off from that person. You understand.
(Now, what else did you put into that thing?)
Dirt dauber nest.
(What would that do?)
Dirt dauber nest is a part of ground.
(Yes?)
It may be made with lime, but you kin put that person to drift and you got nobody to...jis' like you see the dirt dauber goin' gnawin'-gnawin'. In certain places, that part of your track where you put it - where you would go, you could not stand.
(That would make me move out of that house?)
Yes, sir.
(What else did you put in that mixture?)
Epsom salt, oil of lavender, dirt dauber's nest, and war water.
(Anything else go in it?)
Yeah, you could put van-van in that, but if you put Van-van in there, you liable to put that person in trouble. They liable to get into the hand of the law.
(I see, I see.)
That only a part of making them move.
(I see. I understand.)
Entry 2728
Go to de drug sto' an' git some van-van, oil of clover, oil of winter- green an' Heart-horne Cologne, an' mix it together an' scrub with it, and always throw yore water at de gate. [Informant means Hearts Own Cologne; not Hawthorne Cologne or Hartshorn Cologne.]
(Throw the water at the gate?)
After yo' git through scrubbing an' dat will draw de crowd. (You told me about the oil of wintergreen and Van-van. You use that to get a job, too?) Yassuh, yo' use all that.
Entry 328
Well, ah've heard of de black cat. Yo' take dat black cat - ah've heard of dis. Yo' take him whilst he's 'live, take him an' boil him. Ketch him an' put him in hot watah an' boil him. An' yo' take dat watah an' let it cook down an' yo' take an' mix it wit sugah an' oil of bergamot an' oil of cinnamon. Aftah yo' git dat lucky bone - ah'll tell yo' dis first. Yo' take that an' have yo' a pan of watah, aftah yo boil him all tuh pieces. Den yo' take an' put it all in dat watah an' dat lucky bone will stay on top an' de others will go to de bottom. Yo' take dat bone out an' den yo' kin go by polices or anybody else. Yo' take that black cat bone an put it ovah yore do', up ovah yore do', or either undah yore step: De polices ain't comin' no further den dat. Dat's de way yo' got'a git dat bone.
(After you boiled that black cat, what do you do?)
Take an' mop yo' flo' with it [demonstrates while I comment]. (After you put that black cat bone over your door, then you use this black cat water and this oil of bergamot, that's to mop with.) With the sugah an' the concentrated lye. Put a teaspoonful dat concentrated lye in dat watah an' yo' mop yore po'ch early in de mawnin' befo' sunup. Dat keeps de police away an' draws de luck to yore house. [This is one of many ways to bring in customers - see Scrubbing and Mopping in Index.]
Entry 806
Sellin' likker yo' mean? If yo's a man makin' moonshine or unstamped whiskey, see. All right. Now, ah'm goin' tell yo' dis heah one 'cause ah done dis mahself an' yo's a doctor an' yo' wanta know all dat. Yo' gits a little piece of red flannel - yo' have seen dis heah red flannel, an' dis brierberry root wit stickers in it.
(It has stickers on it.)
Dat's right. Well, all right, yo' git chew a piece of dat an' git chew six copper pennies, an' have a lamp. Now, yo' don't want nobody see dis lamp - yo have all dis down in de lamp where yo' po' yore oil in it, an' yo' set it ovah dere in dis corner. Well, yo' goin' burn dis oil, see. Well, now if ah come in ah ain't got no business ovah dere in dat corner - see whut yo' doin' ovah dere - have I?
(That's right.)
Well, now, git chew nine pods of red peppah an' put in there, in dat lamp, wit dem six copper pennies. But befo' yo' put dem six copper pennies in dere - to keep anybody from knowing whut yo' doin'; dat is, if yo' kin - stamp ovah 'em, put 'em into a vise, get 'em pressed out. Well, now yo' got chure little shade, yore little secret place heah in dis corner. Well, yo' set dat lamp dere an' yo burn it night an' day, 'cause yore gon'a have customers comin' in all times of de night. Well, yo' burn dat night an' day right dere, but chew kin have a little curtain up dere. Well, dey ain't nobody got no business back dere but chew - dey don't know whut chew doin'.
(That is all you have to do?)
Dat's all yo' got'a do. Ah've seen dat tried.
(And you take the lamp and you put this brier grass in there.)
Now wait. Yo' goin' pull up the sod with it. Yo' pull it up an' take yo' a hatchet 'cause it's hard, an' yo' cut off nine little blue pods.
(Pods or parts?)
Pods, dat's right. Cut it off jes' lak dese round - jes' cut one, two, three, fo', till yo' git de nine. Yo' have yore lamp right 'long wit yo' an' yo' put it in dere. Well, dat kerosene now dat chew use in dis lamp, don't nevah po' none of it out no mo' than go in dat lamp, an' don't let nobody use an' handle dat but chew. Well, yo' handle dat a different way. Yo' ain't goin' trust anybody else with it. Well, all right, dat's all yo' do. (You put the nine pods of that brier grass from the corn field in this lamp. Then you pour the oil on it. Then you take these - how many pennies?) Nine pennies. (Nine pennies and you flatten them out - put them in a vise - hold them in a vise so many days and then you put those in - and anything else you put in that lamp?) Nine pods of peppah - little cayenne red peppah, dese little pods, yo' know 'bout dat long. "An' yo' have yore little shade made right dere an' put 'em in dere an' go out 'bout chure business.
(Nothing else you put in that lamp?)
Nope - jes' dat all. An' yo' burn it night an' day till it burn down. At certain hours when yo' have no customers, git behin' yore curtain, an' feed dat lamp. Yo' ain't got'a burn it high - jes' dat-a-way, re'l dim light. An' if he come right out dere, he ain't comin' in dat place.
(The law won't come in there at all.)
An' yo' kin tell about a man whut has did it - go to 452 Montgomery Street, right round de corner.
Entry 930
(When was this - last year?)
Last year, my wife got hurt in her leg. Dey had her up ev'ry night at twelve o'clock hopping like a dog [see correction later] - she couldn't sleep. And she just tell me, say, "Somebody done something to me." I say, "Well, I see if somebody done something to you." I went and got me some dove blood. (Dogblood?) Dog blood - a dog; I order it - dove blood.
(Oh, dove - dove like a pigeon, dove blood?)
Yes, sir.
(Yes. You ordered it?)
Took dat and ah fixed dat in some medicine and give her dat and let her take dat and den I rubbed her, you see, with dat Noozoo oil. I rubbed her good and in fifteen days, den I turned dat spell back on de person what put it on her. You see, when I turned back on dat person, den -
(What did you put that dove blood in?)
I put dat in John de Conker root - took John de Conker root and boiled it and made de medicine and then.poured that dove blood in it. You see.
(I see. And then how did you give that to her?)
I let her take dat fus' like a doctor would give it to her - a suscription, take a tablespoonful three time a day before each meal. And when she'd taken dat little bottle full, dat long, den she could get up and go.
(I see. And you say you rubbed her or something?)
Rubbed her with Noozoo oil.
(You rubbed her with that Noozoo oil?)
Yes, sir.
(And then how did you turn that spell back on the other person?)
Well, you go - the person what done it, you ain't goin' never know who done it until you do it and then you goin' have the complaint. See, you figure who it is and where dat person is passing back and forwards. You git in a conversation wit 'em and you begin to do things - you see, put things down where dey kin walk over it, you see, and pass back and forth by it, and they'll ketch this yere. When dey ketch it, dat's got the slam offa her, you see - it's on dem, you see. And den, if dey don't get somebody to get dat offen dem - if dey don't get de person what put it on before he die, they never will get it offa dem.
Entry 1033
Some of 'em, dey take - lak if yo' been poisoned through a snake or Worms, yo' take dat worm an' yo' make a stew out of it an' yo' git dat oil up in dat watah. It get everything in de world dat oil will [see No. 978, p.374]. Yo' kin take dat oil from dat watah den an' make a poultice an' rub wit it. Yo' going spit up dose things. (They take these worms after they come out of you?) No, dey don't take these worms dat come outa yo' to make dat grease wit; dey git some othah worms. Dey cain't git dem worms out chew tuh make de grease Wit it. Dey go an' git some othah worils an' make de grease wit it. Dey make dat poultice an' dat make dat scent, an' dat live worm in yo' ketch de scent from de worm on de outside - dey comin' out.
Entry 1121
( Coming ovah agin - ah goes on an' take some of de same stuff, some of dat oil. Ah rub mah wife nine mawnin's with it. De black cat oil - yes sir. Rubs her nine mawnin's with it an' ah give her several High John de Conker Tablets - several. (Where do you get those?) Ah orders dem from Chicago, from King Neverson [Neilson?]. Ah give her seven of dem. She been up goin' ever since. [Small- time root worker. For protective Black Cat Wishing-Bone see subsection Hands.]
Entry 1201
And there was another fellow here. His wife had his skin, his urine, his action and everything, she had it all in a bottle and had it buried an' that poor fellow - he was all he could do to walk, he could not straighten up and he bend that way for eleven months. And he couldn't eat anything but a little crackers, a little sweet milk. He came down there one evening dragging - he came in. She [doctor] went back in there - she had been out in the country and she got a big old cow turd and she tied it up in a rag and made him a big cup of tea. He drank that - he drank it, ever bit of it. She said, "Now lay down." " And he slept for about three or four hours and when he got up from there could stand straight. She give him 15c worth of castor oil and about half of a bottle of Sal Hepatica. That is what he needed and it cleaned him out. And she gave him mounds [incense molded into small conical mounds] to take home and watch his wife to burn. [While he burned the mounds, his wife was burning.] And I mean it took every bit off him, put it right back on her. She gave him the brown and black mounds to burn. He burnt these while his wife was gone and threw it right back on her. Just lighted them and burn them in the house where him and her stayed and slept.
Entry 1538
If a person got dem live things in 'em, you kin git chew nine dimes an' take an' git chew one dose little cornered file an' git yo' a piece of newspapah. Yo' file one-half of each one of dose nine dimes an' git chew half a pint of sweet milk and take dat dust an' po' into dat drink of sweet milk. Let that silver lie in yo' all night long till de next mawnin'. Den yo' git up an' git chew a brand new bottle of castor oil an' take. That silver, dat kills that thing, and oil jis' - it'll all pass out. Silver kills poison.
Entry 1647
You can easily just buy some of that van-van - they calls that stuff van-van - 'cause that what they use for to keep the evil spirit away from them. [Van-van, largely used for scrubs (scrubbing water) or human body, is a special perfume and oil of pungent quality originally confined to New Orleans - see p.132 and Index.] [New Orleans, La., (843). 1279:2.]
Entry 1732
Wal, dey say it's something whut you could fix uP as a bodyguard, but chew fix it up in a bag. Take a piece of shamry skin, something like hide, like dis shamry skin gloves - you know jis' tough skin. Take that and git diff'rent kind of roots and bark. All right, you git de John de Conker root. You git de lodestone and git de devil's- shoestring root and de black cat wishing-bone, and den you take de John de Conker and a piece of dragon's blood and take all of that and mix it up fine - yo' know, beat it up, mostly powder enough to go in a bag. And den you take that and after you git all that fixed up good, git whut chew call dis here Seven-'leven Oil and put seven drops of that. And mix it up all together and put in dis bag and sew it up. See. And take it and put it - and git a piece of red flannen and sew dis bag up in dat red flannen and jes' put a string around it and tie it and wear it around yore waist or around yore neck and dere won't nothing bother yo'.
(That's to keep people from bothering you.)
That's pertection fo' you.
(Where do you buy this Seven-'leven Oil? Where do you get that?)
You supposed to could - de woman told me that she got some from New Orleans but whut part of New Orleans ah don't know. [All black cat bones are hands (see pp.74-97) and therefore they are also in a sense wishing-bones. But wishing-bone here means form as well as power. As to form, one informant said the black cat bone was "made lak de breast of a chicken" (No. 316, p.94), meaning the furculum or wishbone in front of but not a part of the chicken breastbone. Similarly, another informant described black cat bone as "gon'a have three forks [prongs or tines]...two long forks an' a little small fork" (No. 299, p.88). I suggested this three-pronged fork could have been a 'devil's trident." Actually the "little small fork could have been the hypo- cleidium - the end adhering to the winning half of the broken wishbone. Despite informants, wishbone appears only in most birds; it appears in black cats only by the grace of hoodoo merchants. Among other black cat products I should mention black cat oil (No. 1121, p.417), black cat powder (No. 326, p.96), and black cat water (Nos.328-329, p.96f.).]
Entry 1814
Yo' kin sew it yo' see, aftah it's petrified - yo' kin sew it in a rag.
(This bone from the dead person?)
Yes, an' dress it ovah wit whiskey an' oil of cinnamon an' yo' be lucky fo' anything that chew be's trying tuh run.
Entry 1845
She kin go to the drug store an' get her some drawing oil.
(Some drawing oil?)
Yes. Get her some steel dust, an' get some Jockey Club Perfume. (Jockey Club?) Yeah. An' put his name down on a piece of paper three times an' soak it in that bottle.
(And then what will she do?)
An' she jis' keep dat an' shake it up an' make her wish over it.
(That'll bring the man back?)
He'll come back.
Entry 1846
(What do they do with the shoes?)
They kin dress your shoes.
(How do they dress them? Do you know?)
Well, how would they dress your shoes? I had a pair of shoes dressed for me, but it was dressed for my good - for luck for me. An' then the lady made a leather pad for me.
(Why was that?)
She made another pad. She had inside this [pad], she had a silver dime.... My husband was away from me. All right. An' from the way things was workin' out - he were workin', he were makin' plenty money. The way things Was workin' out, I wasn't gittin' whut I's suppose to git. An' from the way things were, he sent for me to send belongings of his'n away from here that should of stayed here. You understand. So I went to see about myself. So she explained everything to me. So she told me, she say, "I'm gon'a make you a pad to wear in your shoe.
(Pad?)
Yes. New leather. An' she made that. She put a silver dime, put some he and she todestone, some steel dust in there, some drawin' oil she put in there. She sewed that up. She give it to me to wear under the bottom of my feet. An' she give me a bottle with some drawin' oil, an' ever' day to put one drop on the pad; take an' put three drops here - under the door [on the saddle], an' there.
(Oh, the hinges - on the top and lower hinges.)
Yeah. And in thirty days time, she say, he would be knockin' on the door. So, all right. The day when the thirty days was up, he didn't come that day. He come that night.
Entry 1986
[This is the Rite of Disguise, p.395.]
Ah tell yo' how ah've used 'em. Yo' ketch a red ants an' cut him half in two, an' as de ant's dyin' yo' gotta put him in a bottle wit dis same Hearts Perfume agin an' oil of clover, an' yo' keep dat ants dere. Yo name dat ants - name dat ants some kind other name. yo' know, yo' don't call it an ants - any name yo' care tuh give it besides yoreself. Well, whatsomevah yo' goin' tuh use dat ants fo' in de luck, jes' shake it up an' says, "Now, Whatsomevah-yo'-name-it, help."
Entry 1987
It's lodestone, a white lodestone - yo' fix that with a piece of stolen garlic. Lak if yo' wanted this thing fixed fo' yo', yo' would steal the garlic - not ask anybody fo' it, steal the garlic without dem seein' yo', an' yo' place this white lodestone with a ten-cent piece an' dis piece of stolen garlic into a red flannel an' yo' sew it up real tight an' every nine days yo' dress [feed] this thing with whut dey call van-van oil. That supposed tuh bring yo' special luck.
(What kind of luck?)
Well, such as yo' - yo' supposed to do things an' come out of 'em clear. An' in yore dealings from person tuh person, yo' supposed to git results. Dey are supposed to pay special attention to yo'. It should be jis' de gen'ral run of all yore luck - fo' luck in de gen'ral run.
Entry 2007
De Southern John de Conker - yo' git dat. Git chew some Heart Cologne an' yo' git chew some five-finger grass - yo' know dat, five-finger grass. Yo kin git favors from anybody wit five-finger grass, yo' know. Five-finger grass, Heart's Cologne an' Southern John de Conker. Put de cologne wit dat an' Jes' put it on yo'self an' when yo' git ready tuh go - jes' bathe yore face lak dat. Yo' jes' take dat yo' know an' rub it ovah yore han' an' face jes lak yo' goin' tuh ask fo' a favor.
(This holy oil - do you use it in addition to the other stuff you are using?)
[Informant had previously mentioned holy oil.]
Right on 'long with it. Yo' jes' do dat in de mawnin' jes' lak yo' goin' out tuh look fo' a job - yo' jes' take some of dat, yo' know, jes' lak anybody goin' grease dere face. We call it down heah - we call it - ah'm tryin' tuh remembah now whut chew call it. But de proper name is holy oil. Well, de Holiness People use it - olive oil. But de proper name - we call it holy oil, but it's olive oil.
Entry 2061
Have yo' a little piece of live lodestone an' we call it blue oil in a little bottle about like dat. Take dat blue oil an' po' it by itself in a little bottle an' put dis lodestone in a bottle by itself. Well now, when yo' start out to seek a job, take out a little piece of dat lodestone from dat oil an' po' some of dat blue oil on it an' rub it good, dry it off, take dat wit chew in yore pocket. Well now, wherevah yo' go yo' may not be successful de first time, but dey say in de second-third trip yo' get a job by yo' comin' back an' taking dis lodestone from dis, everything, cleanin' it off good an' droppin' it back in dat bottle to itself. Ah've seen men order such things.
Entry 2068
In gambling, you wanta have luck in gambling, you got to - of course, you can go to church and make your wishes there for anything you want. I have did it and I was successful too. And now like you wanta be lucky in gambling, you go to a drug store wherever you can find - you get you a piece of John the Conker Root. You get some John Conker Oil and the root. You take this root, you put it in a bottle, you pour this oil on it. You get you a piece - if you are a man and wanta gamble, you get you a piece of she lodestone and you get some per- fume and pour on this lodestone and that'll make life in it. What I mean by, by it make life in it - it would make a lodestone as thick as this key [she shows] when you pour that perfume on there. It will grow and little spangles come out all around it, but you gotta keep it corked up good.
(Little spangles. Little hairs?)
Yeah, that what it do. That's the life in it. And if you are a man and you gamble, you use she lodestone. If I would gamble, I would use he lodestone. I would get the he Conker Root and you should get the she Conker Root. But now when you go on gamblin' and you come home, you always take it out of your pocket and put it in the bottle and shut it up, where the oil won't evaporate. And when you go on out you can take a piece of that Conker Root and chew it and spit it around whenever you gamble on the floor and you will be lucky.
Entry 2084
Told me to get some oil of wintergreen - wintergreen oil. Go to the drug store and get some wintergreen oil and this lodestone and get some steel dust and bring it to him. And he put it in a little red piece of flannel and he told me, he say, "Now, you go to this man and tell him, ask him for a job - say your prayers before you go to him. When you go there you ask him for a job. Just before you get there you say your prayers and then you ask him for a job." He say, "And he turn you down the first morning, '' and he say, "you come back to me." And after I went back to him, he give me another little thing but he didn't tell me what was in that bag. And he give me some perfume, something smell - just smell like perfume, you know. So I taken that perfume and I went there and I asked the man for the job driving Goodman's Beer truck. And so he give me a job. So I went back to him and I asked him, I say, "What kind of perfume that you done give me?" He told me, he say, "Well," he say, "I went to the Cracker- jack Drug Store and got some of this same perfume." I say, "What kind of perfume is that?" He say, "They call that Lucky Dog per fume." That's what it was - Lucky Dog.
(He didn't tell you what was in that second bag though?)
He didn't tell me what was in that bag.
narrated request for and receipt of a beer-truck driving job. The first preparation and quoted instructions, second unknown bag, perfume and claimed hiring remain separate episodes. The text does not disclose the second bag’s contents. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2089
It's a fact that a person kin take lucky oil an' use it, jes' rub it on his han's, an' with a strong determination that he will win an' he will win providin' he believes in it - in gambling, any kind of game.
Entry 2092
(White lodestone? What does that do?)
Dey has a kind dey call de magic sand an' dey take hit an' put it wit de lode- stone. Say dat supposed tuh draw money. Dey put it in a yarn rag, put it in flannel, an' dey wear it in two sacks - put red flannel next to it an' put it in a white little sack, an' keep it wet with Heart Cologne or lucky oil, either one.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will draw de money - dat's fo' gamblin', dat give yo' luck.
Entry 2142
If you have a friend that's visitin' your neighbor that you Want to make move, well you go to a cemetery and you gets some dirt off a grave. And you go to the drug store, dey got water they call war water, and you get oil they call moving oil. You mix them three together as a powder. You give it to your friend that visits in that house and sprinkle that house through and through. In a couple of days they will move.
Entry 2258
De fo' Psalms, that chew use. And yo' use rose oil tuh grease yore face and hands befo' yo' go in - rose oil and salt. An' grease yore hands and face and use the fo't division of Psalms - it's a prayer.
(You do this before you go up before the judge.)
Entry 2260
De herb men see somepin dey call Peter's Protection. Key - and anoint that seven mornin's with Lucky Holy Oil and wear it on yore person.
(What will that do?)
That to protect yo', if people tryin' to do things to you. (What does this key look like?) It look like aluminum or silver or some kind of shiny stuff. It made like a key but it don't fit no lock on a door - made fer dat [protection] purpose. [This key sold by herb men, who buy it from mail-order firms or religious supplies shops, is worn for protection. The same or similar key in New Orleans area is offered to picture or statue of St. Peter (see margin-title St. Peter).]
Entry 2349
The foot of a turtle, you see.
(The foot of a turtle?)
Yes. Take the foot of a turtle and they make hands out of 'em - luck hands out of 'em, see.
(How do they do that?)
Well, you see they cut that foot off the turtle and dry it out, you see. They dry it out and they takes and beat it up and put lodestone in and make a bag with it, see, and put a medal in that bag, you see.
(What kind of a medal?)
One of them holy you know, holy medals. They puts a medal in that bag and sew that bag up, see. And they sew that bag up and they puts perfume on it - oil of cinnamon perfume and they sells it.
(What is it supposed to do?)
It supposed to give you luck.
Entry 2385
De breast bone - yo' know it's a little fo'ked bone, call dat a wish- bone. Yo' carry dat in yore pocketbook an' that's fo' if yo' goes somewhere an' yo' wants tuh git somepin - dere's somepin yo' want. Yo' make yore wishes befo' yo' leave home an' yo' keep dat bone oiled with lucky oil an' yo' carry dat bone in yore pocket in de day, an' at night when yo' take it out yo' lay it up somewhere where nobody kin remove it but chew. An' yo carry that in yore pocket. That's fo' something that chew haven't got but chew's expectin' to, an' it's always successful anyhow tuh carry a wishbone.
Entry 2410
If yo' wanta take a trip somewhere, a long trip, an' yo' wanta go an' try tuh make money, 'fore yo' leave home, why yo' take yo' a bath an' comb yore hair, an' have yore room shet up an' burnin' incense, an' take yo' a bath in sugah an' white lead - dey call it white lead, it looks lak sugah, too. Den yo' take a bath in dat watah. When yo' git out yo' rub yo'self down in olive oil an' comb yore hair an' clean yore comb out. Den walk to de front do' an' open it an' jes' let de air go through yore house.
(You put this white lead and sugar in the water in which you take a bath?)
Yes, jes' about a half a teaspoonful - white lead an' sugah. It's kind of a medicine lak.
Entry 2411
If you wants to take a bath in water for success, you see, you put sea salt in there and oil of geranium - any kind of that you prefer for perfume you see - in that water. Sea salt. Wash yourself down and throw it at [towards] sunrise. Well, that'll keep you in good luck.
Entry 2535
Well, you will have to get some incense, lueky incense and brown sugar, and mix all that together and take - scrub the house out in the four corners and you burn your incense in the four corners in each room. You burn the incense in each room and then you wash your house out with oil of cinnamon and brown sugar and you scrub it out with that. Don't put no washing powders or nothing in it - just scrub it out with the clear water.
(What will that do then?)
That will give you luck to get your house rented.
Entry 2567
You take cinnamon, parsley and you get you some sugar, Jockey Club, Mary Garden perfume and oil of geranium, you put that in there too, and you put all that together and you put it over in the east side of the corner in two cups, and you mix all that up - together, chop it up and put it in a cup and set it in a corner, and they [law] ain't going to bother you."
Entry 2624
If you wants to take a bath in water for success, you see, you put sea salt in there and oil of geranium - any kind of that you prefer for perfume you see - in that water. Sea salt. Wash yourself down and throw it at [toward] sun- rise. Well, that'll keep you in good luck.
Entry 2689
You kin mop early in the morning 'fore the sunrise. You kin mop with oil of cinnamon and garlic, beat it up real fine, and your urinate overnight. Mix it with water and mop from the - start from the front steps and go back in your house and don't say nothing to nobody till you get done mopping. Jest hold your peace - don't say nothing to nobody - fore the sunrise....
(And mop it back?)
Yes, sir.
(That brings you trade - brings you customers if you are bootlegging?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 2725
We going to scrub the house out first with that Red Seal Lye. That's if anything is crossed in the house - the building is crossed before you occupy it. After scrubbing with that Red Seal Lye, you get you some cinnamon powder, you get you some oil of verbena, then you get you some granulated sugar. If you wants white and colored trade, you get that white syrup and you get that red syrup, mixing well, scrubbing from the front porch on to the rear, throwing a glassful in each direction of the globe after scrubbing, and I guarantee you burning cinnamon powder and burning incense in the building when you in there alone, leaving it smoke well, open up the door, and you can't keep the gang out of there.
(I see.)
[After machine stopped, I ask about keeping law away.]
The same though.
(The same thing will keep the law away from there?)
Absolutely.
Entry 2726
If yo' runnin' a place an' want luck fo' customers, yo'd git chew some cinnamon an' yo'd git some sugah an' git yo' some oil of verbena, an' take pars- ley - yo' know parsley whut chew season food with. Yo' put it in a bucket an' put it on de stove an' boil it well. Aftah it boil, yo' start tuh scrubbin' yo' business from de front to de back. When yo' git through scrubbin' it goin' to de back, dis same watah dat chew scrub wit, throw a glassful to each way - one tc de east, one to de west, one to de south. [Presumably, unlucky north purposely omitted.] All right. When yo' git through that, yo' take yo some cinnamon agin an' yo' take yo' three of those good incense, an' yo' let dat burn very slow. Take some sugah an' mix it up well, an' throw it right in front of de do', an' throw three buckets of watah on dat. Den de place won't be able tuh hold the people.
(What do you do with that incense?)
Burn it. Mix it wit de sugah. Have tuh sterilize de'sugah aftah yo' burn it, see. Well, throw it out an' throw three buckets of watah on it.
Entry 3499
Tuh make yore man love yo', ah tell yo' whut chew do. Yo' go tuh bed wit 'im an' yo' git chew a bran'-new white pocket han'ke'chuf dat has nevah been used. Well, yo' have a intahco'se wit 'im, yo' know. Well, yo' git up an' yo' have yo' a bottle of olive oil an' yo' git chew a bottle of oil of cin- namon. Yo' take it - yo' know, don't let 'em see yo' - drop 15 drops of oil of cinnamon in dat nasty spot, an' yo' drop 15 drops of oil of olive oil. Den yo' take dat an' yo' tie it aroun' yore laig, an' yo' wear it aroun' yore laig three days, an' if he hasn't been comin', he will come an' cain't quit comin'. He cain't quit comin' an' he'll bring all 'is money home, an' he'll give it to yo'. He'll be good to yo' when yo' do dat.
(You tie that around either leg?)
No, one laig, de right laig.
Entry 3570
Well, dey has nine knot to tie, dey tie 'em in a length of dat length [demonstrates].
(About a foot.)
[These knots on the string are tied a foot apart.]
Yo' tie eight. Evah knot chew tie, yo' names whoevah yo' want dere love. Yo' name dem, yo' want dere love an' bring 'em back to yo'. De last [ninth] knot chew tie, yo' tie dat knot, yo' tie dat string roun' yo' an' yo' wear it; but chew 'noint it wit dat holy oil (see p.588) an' den yo' wear it roun' yore waist. An' dose people will love yo' an' always be dere. Ah know dat pos'tively fo' mahself. (You take any kind of string to do that?) Yes - no, ah take a cord string, yo' know, jes' lak yo' buy a package. Yo' take a cord string an' do dat.
Entry 3726
An' de dishrag in de same lak mannah. Take dat dishrag an' she'll wipe it, dry off wit dat dishrag. Don't make no diff'rence if it's dry or if it's been used in grease, an' dat takes 'er courage away. Takes all de nature away from 'em. Now if a woman ties yo' lak dat now de way dat she do, she'll wait till he's asleep an' she'll mess roun' wit chew an' she'll hang her gown or sompin ovah yore haid till yo' go tuh sleep yo' see [common rite]. An' she'll git a cord string an' she'll measure de length of yo', an' den when she measure de length of yo', she'll tie dat many knots in it, see. Den she'll tie it roun' 'er laig, right around de [calf] of 'er laig, or else roun' 'er wais'. Most of de time she tie it aroun' dere. Well, yo' find it an' yo' mistrust dat. Well den, yo' don't know whut tuh do, yo' tried evahthing, go to de doctors [M.D.'s] an' still dey ain't done any good. Well, yo' lay awake until yo' ketch 'er asleep, an' den yo' slip to her an' take dis cord string off of 'er. An' den when yo' take dis cord string off of 'er, while she's 'sleep, yo' kin take dis same [string] in lak mannah an' measure it [her] dis way, see. An'when yo' measure it dat way, an' den dis way, an' yo' tie it in string in dat shape.
(In a round shape?)
Yes, an' den yo' take dat same string an' yo' sew it; see, sew it from dis heah, dataway. Jes' cut it out an' sew dat togethah. An' dat will git off yo an' git on 'er. Den yo' take yo' some warm watah, as warm as yo' kin bear it, an' put table salt in it an'.wash yo'self real good. An' git cedar oil an' rub - jes' yo'self real good. An' take yo' a dry rag an' wipe down. Dry it off real good an' dat'll do away wit it.
Entry 3750
Take a dishrag - jes' a dishrag. Lota women, yo' know, wipe de rag off - take dat rag an' dry him off 'erself wit dat dishrag. An' when he go to go wit anothah woman, it will fall on 'im evah time. Well, de same thing work one way an' it will work de othah. He take - if he feel dat she did 'im dataway, why he take a dishrag ag'in - yo' know he must steal one from somebody, or eithah if he got a home of 'is own, he kin take de dishrag outa his house, an' wash 'isself down wit it. An' take pure coal oil an' rub 'isself down, an' sweet milk. aftah dat - fresh sweet milk. It's all gone.
Entry 3783
Wal, if yo' run aroun' wit a woman an' yore wife didn't want chew to go out dere, she kin take, when yo' have communication wit chure wife, she kin jis' only go git a dish towel an' wipe yo' wit it. Yo' can't go wit no othah woman but 'er. (Is there any way I can get rid of that?) Yes sir. Wal, yo'd have to go to work an' git chew some Hearts Cologne, an' some dis powdah called love powdah, an' some pure olive oil, an' dis heah pure lard, an' mix it togethah an' jis' saturate yoreself. An' yo'll come to where yo' kin go out; but not dat [if you don't do that], yo'll nevah will bothah wit no othah woman but dat one. Evah time yo' start to covah 'er, why yo'll fall.
Entry 4242
( Chew kin take chamber lye an' make peace an' yuh kin take chamber lye an' make evil.
(Well how do you do each one of those?)
If yuh want tuh make peace wit chamber lye an' yuh wanta make de home pleas- ant, yuh take de chamber lye an' salt an' peppah an' yuh scrub wit it an' yuh use oil of mint, if yuh want tuh make yuh home pleasant. If yuh wanta have luck in yuh home, yuh know, yuh doin' any kinda business.
Entry 5240
Dey kin take - if yo've wore yore shoes an' got 'em good an' sweaty, dey git chure feet dirt from it an' de scent of yore feet lak dat. An' dey kin take dat an' weah it aroun' 'neath of dere waist an' thing lak dat, an' put some of dis oil of cedah in it, an' make de person follah dem an' ca' [care] mō' [more] fō' dem den dey do any- body else. Jis' lak dey would take dere hair outa dere haid... (You mean they wear it around their waist?). Right nex' tuh dere skin lak dis. An' dey puts it in a bandage an' puts it nex' tuh dere skin, an' put dat oil of cedah tuh it, an' weah it night an' day aroun' dere waist nex' tuh yore skin.
Entry 5353
Kin take a man track - lak a woman loved me. Well, if she know whut tuh do wit dis track, she'd take dis track an' run me crazy. Well, dey take dis track an' take an' burn it - put some kinda oil an' stuff on dis track. Run me crazy. Jes' de shoe track.
Entry 6638
[Before we begin margin title RATTLESNAKE POWDER, we must realize that snake oil was frequently used as a medication; see especially my introductory comment, to interview: 'IT'S KIND OF A MYSTERY, " p.1930. Since I have in Hoodoo almost no material about the preparation of snake oil, I am inclined to believe that the old tradition of snake oil was largely continued by local hoodoo drug stores. The following prescription for rattlesnake oil is complete except for a final page which may turn up later. The essential ingredients are here:] Now, if yo' got'a wife an' yo' wife leave yo', an' yo' can't git chew wife back; an' yo' wife leave as much as hat or a dress or a cloak in de house, yo' git dat cloak in dat hat. All right, yo' take dat hat an' yo' put jis' about a teaspoonfula sulphuh in vinegah, yo' unnahstan', an' den yo' takes whut dey call some rattlesnake oil an' sprinkle it in de hat.
(How do you get that rattlesnake oil? How do you get that?)
Dey make dat. Ah'm gona tell yo' how tuh make it directly [in a moment]. An' when [after], yo' put dat in de hat, an' den yo' put de hat back up, yo' see, an' she comin' back in maybe tuh git somepin or put on de hat, an' she can't go out dere. All right. Now give me a piece of papah an' ah'll give yo' a prescription how tuh make de oll: [I handed a piece of paper to informant and he wrote out the prescription. This sheet is missing at the moment, though I had it a few days ago. Fortunately the ingredients are written on the present transcription sheet in my handwriting: '10c oil of mint, lOc witch hazel" [[for some reason a fairly rare substance in hoodoo]], and 'lOç for 1 pound of sassafras."] [Charleston, S. Car., (512), 581:2.] [For Doctor Giles and rattlesnake oil, see No.7212, p.3208.]
Entry 6704
Git a bat an' cook 'im up. Cook 'im in olive oil, stir 'im up, an rub a person wit dat. An' if dere's anythin' about 'em swell up, it'll take de swellin' outa dem. (Anything that is ordinary swelling?) Dat's right.
Entry 6720
If yo're hurt from sompin somebody have did yo' lak cunjurin' yo' lak dat, yo' take de dirt from undahneat' of yore toenails. An' take it an' wet it wit dis oil of cedah an' weah it in a piece of cotton in each one of yore ears. Yo' stop yore headache, if yo're hurt in sompin.
(That is if you have a headache from being hurt?)
Dat's whut ah said. Lak if somebody, yo' know, do sompin tuh yo' lak dat cunjure. Not if yo' jis' git hit about de haid [and get a headache]. [Even being hit on the head and getting a headache could be caused by conjuration, evil wishing, etc.]
Entry 6786
Yo' scrub yuh steps wherevah yo' may be, yo' know, down wit de nine buckets of hydrant watah; [I mean] eight buckets down, yo' know, an' de las' bucket throw it up. An' smoke yo'self in dragon's blood an' wash yo'self down wit linseed oil. (What will that do?) Dat'll keep 'em from harmin' yah. An' keep yuh salt throwed aroun' yah steps, wit chamber lye - yah know, yahurine. [There are many scrubbing rites in Hoodoo, most of them from New Orleans, some of them complicated. For a few of these beliefs see margin titles WATER and WATER THROWN (pp.740-743) and SCRUBBING in INDEX (vol.5). The present 9 buckets of hy- drant water - considered running water and therefore of magic power - are for rinsing what has been scrubbed. Eight buckets are dashed down; the ninth bucket is tossed up into the air, either all at one time or a particular number of times.]
(You do all these things together?)
Yo' mix dat [salt and urine] but yo' smoke yuhself in a new can by itself wit dragon's blood; or insant [incense], dat's good. [This is a protection rite against hoodoo of any kind.]
Entry 6863
Red Seal Lye, bury it undah de step, takin' witch hazel, takin' para- dise seed, takin' oil of clovah, mix wit parsley an' boil well. All dose things tuhgethah, scrubbin' de place where yo' live at from de front do' tuh de reah. Aftah scrubbin', takin' de same watah, throw one glass tuh de east an' one tuh de west, sayin' In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost. Well it [what was put down for you] don' taken no effec'. Dat'll kill off any bad spell, DEY CAIN'T HAHM YO'; NOT UNLESS YO' EAT SOMEPIN YO' SEE.
Entry 7834
Take twelve - yo' kin go tuh de graveyard, lak some fellah yo' know has been bad, bad. Ah mean a bad fellah, he died bad. Yo' go intuh de cemetery, yo' git jis' anywhere 'bout a handful of dust offa his grave. Yo' don't want no mud, yo' jis' want de dust offa his grave. Yo' take dat dust an' yo' come back. Yo' git chew one fresh egg. Yo' git chew some lōg oil.
(What kind of oil?)
Log, loggah oil.
(Lōg? Lōg oil?)
Lōg oil, de name of it is Loggah.
(How do you spell it?)
Well, ah don't know de name of it, but yo' explain dat tuh de druggist. He'd know whut yo' want, if yo' go tuh de right place.
(Oh, all right.)
[I KNEW THE DRUGGIST HE MEANT. I GUESSED THAT INFORMANT MEANT LOGy, A WORD IN U. S. A., MEANING SLUGGISH = sluggish Oil!] Yo' git chew some Miner's oil.
(Miner's oil?)
(Mines with - minus - mind this - mindless?)
Minus.
(Mindless! Like you lose your mind?)
Dat's it!
(Mindless oil?)
Dat's whut choo want.
(All right.)
[We now have logy oil and mindless oil.]
An' yo' take dat oil an' mix it up. Yo' take nine drops of each oil. Co'se dey give yuh a li'le perfume bottle full. Yo' can't buy under 50c worth, dat's de less he'll sell yuh. An' yo' git - befo' yo' - yo' know, befo' yo' leave de druggist, yo' git chew ten cents of John de Conkah root. Yo' git de log oil [lōgy oil] an' de mindless oil an' yo' take dese an' yo' mix it up all intuh dat dust, until it git tuh a real powdah. An' yo' kin do wondahful wit dat, wit dat powdah. Kin do anything yo' want. Yo' kin do good or bad.
(Just using that powder?)
Yes, sir.
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 8232
Well, yo' take dat pichure an' put it in yore pocket, if yo' wanta carry it wit chew. Yo' kin take dat pichure an' yo' want dem tuh love yo'. Dat whut chew wanta know. Take dat pichure an' git some olive oil an' put nine drops of dat pichure right around, yo' know, right around de haid. An' put dat pichure in yore pocket an' tote it wit yo'. Den fo' nine days yo' read de 23rd Psalms ovah it, an' dat'll make dem people care fo' yo'.
Entry 8583
[Before turning on my recording machine I had evidently asked how a murderer could be brought back to the scent of the crime. Informant, unable to answer my question di- rectly, gave me a new version of the lamp rite, which must have started: There are ways to bring a man back:] but de law don't prefer that kind of way of getting a man. They put out a man-hunt at him. But like if his wife want him back, well all she would have to do is write his name on a black piece of paper, and put it under her lamp and burn that lamp for nine days. And each day that lamp is burning, if she burns that lamp twenty-four hours, when the oil goes out in that lamp, she puts more in it. And inside of nine days time he is going to come creeping around that house where she is, because that lamp and that nine Writings on that paper, that brings him back to her. And then the law gets him, if he has killed somebody. Write his name nine times on a black piece of paper, like yo' take some of those form sheets of paper, yo' know, like de indelican Part of it [carbon paper].
Entry 8593
Git nine matches an' yo' put 'em in a lamp wit coal oil an' yo' write de name of de person yo' workin' 'em on nine times, an' yo' burn dat. Dat's fo' peace. (You put these matches right in the oil?) In de oil, an' yo' write de name nine times on a piece of new tablet dat nevah been used, an' yo' fold it to yo' nine times an' yo' drop it down in dere, an' yo' fill dat lamp fulla oil, fresh oil. An' yo' burn it nine times. Jes' let it burn low. Yo' blow it out an' light it. Let it burn three hours at de time each day. Light it at nine a'clock an' let it burn three hours, at nine a'clock in de mawnin', an' burn it three hours. Den yo' put it out. Den yo' burn it ag'in de next mawnin' fo' [from] nine. Well, dat's peace. In nine days peace is in yore home.
(How long did you say you burn that?)
Fo' nine days.
Entry 8608
Well, yo' could take a person an' jis' put sugah, cinnamon an' steel dust, an' yo' put it in de lamp. An' write dere names fo' so many days, nine days or.three days or anything, an' put some oil of cinnamon or oil of rose. They have those kinda oils. Den yo' put it in dere. Well, that's fo tuh draw these people back to yo' ag'in. See, dey have tuh come back.
Entry 8611
I wouldn't have to come back over this at all would I? Yo' know, there wouldn't be no hereafter [bad consequences for me] about it would there? (Oh! No! No! You just simply tell me as if you were talk- ing to anybody on the street or to any of your friends.) [This is the latter part of the preliminary. conversation I had with all informants as soon as they entered the interviewing room. These becoming-acquainted conversa- tions Varied in length and substance. UNFORTUNATELY IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME YEARS AGO THAT ANYONE, EVEN MYSELF YEARS LATER, WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THESE PREPARATORY DETAILS. FORTUNATELY, HOWEVER A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MY CONVER- SATIONAL METHODS HAVE BEEN PRESERVED IN THE INTERVIEWS THEMSELVES. Well, ah tell yuh, ah have heard 'em say that they could write his name nine times, de husband's name. De wife could do dis. She could write his name nine times an' then she would write her name nine times across his, so that his name Would be first and be lookin' up towards her. An' put it in de bottom of a lamp, oil-boinin' lamp, an' let this boin an' refill de lamp. Jes' put it in de bottom of a lamp under de wick an' as dat boin - let this boin night an' day, an' finally, they say, yo' know, dat he'll come home.
(Do you put that piece of paper in the lamp in any particular way?)
Yo' jes' drop it - let this writin' be up. De writin' must be up. (Do you put the oil in the lamp before you put the note in or do you put the note in and then put the oil on top of it?) [There is no answer and I did not continue for one that evidently would have been a guess or made no difference.]
Entry 8679
[The doctor in the following rite for a job has an organized mind, though I was too recent in New Orleans at that time to realize it. In face, on this original transcription I formerly had a note use with care, which can still be seen despite my later erasure.] When yo' go to get a job - ah'll tell yo' about de job proposi- tion. It just like if yo' was out of a job an' yo' runnin' in bad luck. Yo' can't be success- ful in nuthin dat yo' start. Well, yo' get yo' some of dis seniment. Yo' get some of dis seniment with this rain water. (What is seniment? What is that?) Dat's a powder. (What does it look like?) It look just like - yo' ever seen this powder what they call that brown-skin powder? (You mean cinnamon powder?) Yeah. (Cinnamon powder. All right.) [How did I ever guess it!] Yo' take dat seniment powder. An' yo' get some of dis seniment powder an' yo' get what yo' call this lodestone; but ask for lodestone, see, with candy stripes. It's got a little stripe.
(What kind of stripes?)
Candy stripes. Just say, "Give me some of de lodestone." (Like this candy - now wait a minute! It's like this candy they got in the country stores, candy stripes?) Yes, just like that; round, see.
(And what do they call that?)
Lodestone.
(You said something about four-something. Four what?)
[Informant said it while recording machine turned off.1 Fo' corners. Yo' just get de fo' corners. Well, if it ain't got fo' corners, vell yo' just take anything, a file or somepin like dat an' put 'em there.
(You have to make it square. Four corners. All right.)
Yeah. Yo' go anywhere they got them rams - yo' see, them rams, or anywhere yo' know them ramhorns at. [Cowhorn appears several times in Hoodoo. This could be the only ramhorn.] Yo' gets a file an' yo' file some of that dust down there [with the lodestone dust]. Then yo' get some of this here oil what yo' call that green - Wintergreen Pasture Oil.
(Wintergreen?)
Wintergreen Pastures Oil.
(GREEN PASTURES OIL?)
[SURELY THE ENTERPRISING HOODOO-PRODUCTS SALESMAN SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT "PSALM 23 OIL"!] Yeah, an' yo' take some sugar an' seniment an' lodestone. An' take a silver dime an' yo' file dat silver dime on a piece of paper just where yo' got this stuff [various ingredients] at. Yo' take a piece of yellah paper - it [lode- stone?] comes with yellah paper - an' yo' wrap it up twice. Yo' fold it coming to you. Then, after yo' take this Wintergreen Pasture Oil an' yo' put over it, am' yo' put it in your pocket. Keep that in yore left pocket. Then yo' goes back an' yo' get this he Eve [Adam and Eve] root, see. He Eve root.
(He Eve root?)
Yeah, yo' go back an' get that an' yo' got hit, yo' got de she root in yore pocket, yo' understand. Yo' take that - powder up that. piece there - an' yo' get some rain water an' river water or hydrant water [3 running Waters], or anything like that, an' yo' put it in two glasses. Put it in two glasses like that an' yo' let it set, after yo've mixed it. Well, heap up just about de same amount in each glass. Yo' leave it set there fo' three days. Aftah yo' leave it set there fo' three days, yo' take it an' yo' pour it into one glass. Then yo' take this here - this seniment, lodestone an' dis Wintergreen Pasture Oil. Well, yo' Put it in de glass, in one glass, an' yo' let it set there fo' three days. Den take that water off - take dat watah off before yo' go out to see about a job. Just like, if yo' know the foreman's name, yo' take his name an' yo' write his name nine times backwards, just like if yo' write it backwards this Way nine times [demonstrates]. Then yo' fold it, fold it comin' to yo' like dat [demonstrates]. Then yo' write yore name on de top of it, but yo' must write yore name forwards.
(Write your name what?)
The right way.
(You write your name forwards. All right.)
Then yo' take dat an' yo' put it down in dat water where all yore stuff is in the morning when yo' going out - just when yo' going out to the foreman. Yo' got his name. Well, when yo' get ready to go there, yo' take this water out of Chere. Yo' pour it out in a basin or anything like that, an' yo' take it an' yo' wash yo' hands good with it, an' yo' wash yore fingers. Yo' takes this here lodestone an' yo' put it in yore pocket with this she Eve root. Yo' walk to him a'when yo' get there, before yo' ask, just like yo' take a piece of chewing tobacco, cut a little piece off dat she root an' put it in your mouth. An' get this here lodestone thing in your hand like that an' rub it, an' make yore wishes, as yo' walk up to him an' ask 'im for a job. Probably he may not have nuthin to do right then, but he'll run his hand in his pocket if he got any money an' he'll give yo' a piece of money. The first opening that he have - WHEN YO' LEAVE FROM THERE, YO'LL MAKE A WISH FOR ANY - JUST LIKE ANY JOB YO' WANT AROUND THERE, YO' MAKE A WISH FOR ANY BAD LUCK TO HAPPEN TO 'EM PEOPLE AT THAT PLACE. SAY PRAYERS, AN' IN A WEEK'S TIME [7 DAYS] YO'LL HAVE A JOB. There no favor that yo' ask 'im that he could turn yo' down. If he ain't got it at de present time, he will tell yo' a way to come an' get it.
foreman’s name written nine times backwards, contrasted with own name forwards. Keep foreman nine-times-backwards versus applicant forwards on top; not all names backwards. manually inscribed arrangement of foreman’s and applicant’s names. Retain foreman backwards nine times and own name forwards on top, followed by the use of the inscribed paper in the preparation. employment sought from a foreman, with conditional intermediate outcomes and harmful wish. No immediate job guarantee: preserve probably no work, money if he has it, the first opening, and the subsequent one-week claim as attributed. river as a stated possible source of water, alongside rain/hydrant wording. Keep literal rain water an’ river water or hydrant water and or anything like that; do not convert ambiguous conjunctions into an all-three requirement or flatten all alternatives. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3556) · Read full source (printed page 3557) · Read full source (printed page 3558)
Entry 8699
[To] make them move out of that house, tell you, yo' go an' get some of that olive oil.
(Wait a minute! Olive oil?)
Olive oil, and get some of dis here steel dust. Get a fresh bottle of vinegar.
(Get a fresh bottle of vinegar.)
Yes, sir. Yo' get the neighbor's name, either one in de family name [the man's or woman's]. Take a piece of papah an' cut it off just how many letters in that name. [The name is writ- ten and then each letter of the name is clipped off as a separate slip of paper.] An' take it an' put it down in that bottle. An' after puttin' it [these slips of papers] down in the bottle, take it an' roll it on de floor. After rollin' it on de floor, yo' take dat bottle an' set it up. If yo' ever could get anywhere close to de house, yo' set. it at sunrise. An' when yo' set it there, in three days dem people goin' from there.
(They will move away?)
Done gone away without any confusion at all. Yo' [they] wouldn't know how it was did. [New Orleans. La., (829).1221:1.]
Entry 8739
Either yo' kin write de name down three times on a piece of papah, any kind of papah, an' put it in a lamp an' burn it in a dark place, an' dey'll return. Anything containin' oil, yo' kin burn it, yo' know, an' dey'll return.
Entry 8917
Somepin you - ah write dey name on it.
(You say in case you know who they are? This person that stole it from you?)
Yeah, dis person dat stole it, hit's goin' run in yore mind who got it, yo' see. Yo' goin' purtty near know about who de last person was in yore house, yo' see. An' take an' write dey name on a piece of papah an' put it in dat lamp an' burn dat lamp. An' de longer dat fuel - dat coal oil burn in dat lamp an' dat begin to makes him get worried. Make 'em feel bad, yo' see, an' dere conscience will condemn 'um. Dey'll say, Ah'm - ah took dis frm [from] him, ah'm qoin' carry it back to 'em. If dey don't bring it back to yo', dey'll put it where yo' kin get it, yo' see.
(I see.)
Dey'll bring it back in yore house - dey get a chance an' dey'll lay it down somewhere an' yo' find it.
Entry 8918
Well, if yo' didn't know just exactly who it was who stole it. If yo' knowed, had a idea, knew that was the one that brought it back - stole it - why yo' could, but if yo' didn't know, well, I have [never] heard what yo' could do.
(Well, if you know who stole it, then what should you do?)
Well, if yo' knowed who stole it, yo' could take his name an' he'd bring it back. You could take his name nine times an' wear it - put it in your lamp, put it in a closed place. Put it in the dark. Yo' could PUT IT IN A LAMP AND SET IT IN A DARK PLACE! And when that lamp burnt down, when that oil burnt down to that name, why he'd bring it back. [To burn a small lamp for hours in a dark place, sometimes a closet, could be a fire hazard!]
Entry 8964
Yo' take de beef tongue, yo' see. Yo' first upset de house, yore house, evahthing into it, or if yo' have a partner dat have a court case, yo' do dis to git de judge. Git de judge's name. All right, git de client name dat de judge is gonna per- secute [prosecute!]. Yo' understan' dat. Den de person dat's persecutin' 'em [prosecuting attorney]. All right. Yo' have dat. Now, yo' take dis person dat chew workin' fo' - her name - an' de judge name an' de lawyer's name together, dat dey'll cooperate together. Yo' see, den yo' git dat same remedy. Well, yo' git first dis Drowin' Oil, den yo' git dis Min' Oil; yo' git Florida watah, an' yo' git Orange Blossom watah. Yo' know whut dat is. Den yo' git steel dust, an' den yo' git dat nine lumps of sugah an' yo' git dat honey. Dat is fo' dat good act. Dat is to git 'em togethah. When yo' do dat way ahead when dey come to yo' first. An' yo' shake it [these things in a bottle]. Jes' shake it. Yo' keeps dat an' yo' shake it. Well, yo' put it off [aside]. Now, as fer as de beef tongue. Tuh freeze a client's [tongue] dat yo' know gonna talk, git chew 50 pound of ice an' take de beef tongue. Yo' know how tuh do dat. An' den wit de names dat are goin' against de person dat chure workin' fo', an' freeze 'em, an' dey won't be able tuh talk.
(You use both the beef and these other ingredients in the bottle?)
Yes.
Entry 10106
Take de black cat an' git one of 'is eyes, his lef' eye, an' take it an' boil it an' yo' git dat bead. Yo' know it's a li'le white hard bead in it, dat's whut dey sight is. Yo' take dat an' mix it up wit - put some lodestone in it an' put some lucky oil, an' take dat an' weah it. (What do you wear that for?) Dat's fo' tuh keep any luck, a job or anythin' yuh wanta keep. Dat's fo' tuh be successful in mos' anythin' yo' want. [For eye of black cat and its hardness, see No.10046.]
Entry 10220
Burdock is a dry herb that chew buy. Yo' buy it from the Hindu people [someone pictured with a turban] also. An' in taking baths an' usin' olive oil an' things lak that, that's when his nature will come back.
Entry 10278
Whut chew kin do with a dirty sock, least dat is tuh keep a man with a woman, dat is she's about tuh go or he's about tuh go from her, is dis: His urine is his nature. Yo' understan' dat. Yo' git de bottle an' git de urine an' yo' git de he lodestone, steel dust, cinnamon, sugah, drawin' oil, mind oil. Write de name nine times, nine needles an' nine pins. An' yo' put dat ingrediment [ingredients] together, yo' understan', an' yo' shake it well an' put it undah de do'step. Be shure dat it crosses ovah it three times, an' den aftah yo' take it an' put it anywheres in yore place. Yes, ah kin guarantee yo' it bring de woman dat ah did de work fo' dat ah he'ped [helped] out with it, an' through prayers, goin' to de chapel an' makin' prayers.
(That'll hold the man?)
Listen, dat'll hold him an' yo'll nevah git, but don' evah - dat means a man'll kill yuh if he gits holt of dat, yo' see. Dat means death. An' it really will hold him.
Entry 10282
If yo' wanta rule a woman or rule a man, yo' git a he an' a she earth- worm. An' yo' kin take dem two worms an' put 'em somewhere an' dry 'em up. An' when dey git dried up, den yo' git chew some olive oil an' mix it up. Rub it up into powders. An' mix dat worm up with it an' rub dat cross dey stomach, dat person down in dey lower parts, an' dat'll keep 'em. Dey cain't use anyone else 'cusin' [excusing] yo'. [Mem- phis, Tenn., (1524), 2722:4.] [Here I am listing short or reduced statements of beliefs, all original, to indicate how widespread impotence folklore was and probably still is. For this same reason, ubiquity, I shall include in a following section, CHANNEL DE WORLD, a few long lists of references with only a descriptive word or two attached. This present subsection will use margin titles similar to those in volume 3, pages 2341-2509, so that our separate collections can be compared. The original condensed rites will be found in the original manuscripts at the end of this subsection.]
Entry 9599
Well, ah tell yo', yo kin git chew some salt an' red peppah an' oil of citronella an' weah dat bag intuh yuh pocket each night when yo' go out gamblin'.
Entry 9660
Sprinkle coal oil down and salt down. That makes a fuss. Now, to stop the fuss, how would you stop it? All right, I'd stop the fuss in this manner. If I find out they throw oil down there, anything like that, they got that down to fuss and fight. I'd take sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of that, and then I'd burn that. Right wheresomever the spot is where that oil is, I'd Pat the cinnamon and the sugar there and light it and let it burn. It's not going to burn the floor at all. It's going to burn until that floor come back natural just the same as it was before that oil got on there. And then that would be all over with, wouldn't be no more quarrelin' then.
Entry 9901
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in a pot an' boil 'im. Git chew nine red ants an' put in dere. Aftah yo' boil 'im, yo' take de frog out an' strip 'is laigs. Jes' lak yo' ketch de frog in dis han' [demonstrates] yo' ketch 'im by his laigs an' strip 'is laigs. Pull 'is laigs through de soup - de watah dat boilin'. [I describe informant's demon- stration.] (You hold him up by the legs and pull his feet down tovard the body.) Take dat, aftah yo' git de meat off - take his haid off - strip 'im enough tuh git de meat off wit'out teahin' 'im too bad. Take him an' git chew some cologne an' some linseed oil. Yo' 'noint 'im good wit dat linseed oil an' cologne. Take an' tie him in a bag. Put dat bag undah yore mattress. If yo' wan'a keep it from fallin' out, [put] 'tween de spring an' mattress. Gits a cloth an' put it up 'tween de mattress an' he [man] lie on dat.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im wit 'er.
(Do you take this meat off all the bones or what?)
Jes' offa one, his lef' hin' laig.
(And you put the whole frog under there?)
De whole frog undah de baid. An' take de meat dat chew got off 'is lef' hin' laig an' one dose bones, an' tie hit an' weah hit between dere in a bag. Weah it roun' 'er waist in a bag, let it hang down in front of 'er.
(This is to keep the man.)
Reep de man, yeah, at 'er place.
Entry 9904
Well, you take a frog, you take you a nail, or take a knife and peg him down alive jes' like that with a peg right at your house. Take some sugar and just sprinkle it good, you see. The worms, the ants and things will eat all the flesh off it. And after they eat all the flesh off it, you will find a forked bone at the back tail of it. Then you take that oil of clover, van van and fast luck, see. Now you take that and sew them together and make you a little bag, and put it in your pocketbook. But that fast luck. you must keep a little bit out when you going out, on the side, and scrape in your hand like this [demonstrates]. That gives you gambling hand; power in gamb- ling.
(Is fast luck a liquid or a powder?)
That's lickrish [liquid]. When you put it on your hand it burns shoe [burns you]. Now, when you look at it, when you put it on your hand and rub it, you see that curl up, sort of yellowish. It gives you satisfaction.
Entry 10686
Person running a gambling house soaks dice in banana oil to make customers lose. [Presumably this belief is based upon the belief or fact about a banana peeling being slippery.]
Entry 10803
You get you some cinnamon and sugar. All right. You sweep. you go to sweep, don't sweep your dirt outside, you sweep your dirt in [into] the building. And you get this cinnamon and sugar and put it in the water, amd you scrub your floor. And then when you get through scrubbing that floor, you just take - get you some oil of clover. See, you buy some oil of clover at the drug store and you put water in there [scrub bucket] and you put a bottle of beer mixed in with it. (Bottle of beer?) Bottle of beer, yes. And you takes - start at the front door and you sprinkle it all the way back into the place, and your place will be packed.
(The place will be packed?)
Yes, sir, your place will be packed with people, all through the day.
Entry 10845
Dey tell ze yo' kin kill a buzzard dat way, yo' o, an' cook him an' git his oil, yo' know, an' grease wit it dat way, an' yo' kin do most any kinda thing dat chew wanta do. [This usually means physical condition.]
Entry 10846
If someone is a enemy to yo' - dey wanta see yo' linger or somepin - yo' kin use it fo' dat, but 'scusin dat ah haven't hear't [heard]. Dey cook it down to a oil, dat buzzard grease, an' yo' give it to 'em.
(How?)
In dey food or in water.
(What will that do to them?)
An' dey will come to be limber - in other words, dey wouldn't iwould] lose de use of deyself [by becoming too limber!].
(Why would they do that?)
Why, jest lak if a person had a grudge against yo' or anything, if dey wanted tuh do yo' harm some way an' dat de onliest way. Anyway dey could git to git dey 'venge out dey would do so.
Entry 10848
To make 'em leave, if somebody is heah dat chew wanta git rid of 'em. Well, if yo've got anything with any of yore clothes or anything, if ah kin git a buzzard or anything an' kill him an' git some of his grease. Lakif yore clothes is hangin' up dere [points to something] ah'll take an' run some of de grease maybe in yore clothes. Rub it under de arms of yore clothes or somewhere near, round in heah [demonstrates]. Yo' couldn't tell it wuz on dere.
(What will that do?)
Yo' will leave home.
Entry 11188
This [is] what I used in gambling. I gambles myself. I have gambled - a long time ago - to meet paydays and things. Well, I'd take me and get me a Jockey Club perfume. Understand? I take Jockey Club perfume and I takes Luseen oil. (What kind? Luceen?) Yes, [Luseen or Luceen]. That's a yallow oil. You get it at the Cracker Jack Drug Store. Luseen oil. And get you that pure Jockey Club - pure stuff - and you get this much [demon- strates] for fifteen cents of that Luseen oil, you see, for to put down in there [your mixture]. And you put that in there and you get you three of them little small dice, you see. And you dress them [dice] with that [mixture] see. Take and cut 'em on each four corner, you understand, so you can know 'em when you turn - five and six at. Well, you take and you cut - you know seven make eleven. And you take them and put them in some powder and take 'em out of that powder. And take some of that perfume and stuff and put over 'em, you know, and shine 'em up like they shine. And put that in your pocket. Put that in your right pocket. And now, you have you another big pair of dices - that's for gambling with dices, see them big dices. And you put some of that perfume on it and you just have you somepin with this powder - just keep it in there and it just smell good all the time. And every time that you go, you go on to gambling or somepin, put them dice down in that. Somebody will be Wanting to stop playing with you, be saying, "Well, what's the matter with them dice?" Well, you setting just like you got a friend or buddy. You see, you don't want to all the time put 'em - let somebody else put 'em down. You say, "Let's change dice." You have him with a Pair and he take and change them. [Informant, woman, claimed to have worked with Madam Helen!]
Entry 11257
[The following document and the one preceding it, mentioned later, are of social significance, the effect of hoodoo on mornings and family relationships. This woman was merely one of many informants who could express herself fluently and idiomatically.1 The next experience that I had, I had a visitor to come to see me; a daughter [husband's] from Detroit and a daughter [husband's] from New Orleans, and a new- phew [husband's] and a [his] girl friend. After they left, they made the remark, "If it's the last thing we could do, we goin' to see her losing her home and not living with our father." Mah husband - ah am his fo'th wife - he has three sets of children. They gets their youngest sis- ter - they would get the ingredients of what dey call go powder or get away powder. This go powder would be placed on mah front porch and burned. It would leave a white acid spot on de floor. Dat didn't seem to make me go. They went an' got a oil an' po'd it at mah front gate - ah kept in touch with all of this work as they were going along.
(What did they call this oil, did they have a name for that?)
Well, the oil, as the get away powder didn't work, they got what they call de get away oil - a liquid oil so that they could pour it and it would git on de ground so I would walk on it. Don't chew see, that carried it in de house, and to be confused with it in there to git it on mah feet when ah'd pull mah shoes off. Well, that didn't seem to work very much. They got a ole white woman [hoodoo doctor] to come to mah house at the absence of me in the presence of mah husband. She poured a liquid - something looks like lead melted - ah don't know the name of it [quicksilver?], but she poured that on de floor. And that was poured on de floor that I would have five years of hard luck there - that I would be defeated finishing paying for that home - that everything, every effort I made I would be defeated in it, because I was determined to pay for it. Well, after doing that they found I had begin to drift, begin to lose interest in the home - begin to lose interest in everything. Then the person of itself and the daughter had got in a conversation together, from whom I had bought - bargained to buy de place. She gave me a warranted deed, and this warranted deed stated that there was no lien, no incumberance on the said property that's locat- ed at the corner of St. Peter Street and Plum Street. I paid on that warranted deed, believed the statement after having two lawyers to examine the papers. They stated that it was all right. Going on through this daughter and the individual that I bought from, they did something, ah don't know what it was, but ah became confused and left home and went to New York. Jest picked right up and taken mah jewelry and went on up to New York. Ah stayed up there three months and three days. On the 27th day of June ah had a job working fo' Dr. Friedman on 9Oth and Broadway. Ah was lying on de bed an' - it was a Friday.
(What year was this?)
That was last year.
(1937.)
1937. Ah got up and ah said to the madam of the house, ah said, "Ah'm going home, mah mind leads me tuh go home." I had got a letter that day and that letter, it jes' looked like to me - it worked me up jes' in de mood to leave. I couldn't understand why it was. It was nuthin wrote on the letter that was confused but only the letter said like this: Dear Elsie: When I sit on the front porch each day ah think of you and the children - it makes me feel so blue, until I feel like screaming. Well dat letter jest worked me all up.
(Who wrote this letter?)
Mah husband wrote the letter but the daughter done de fixing to the letter. Whatever they done to that letter confused me so that I had to come home. My money that I made [author interrupts].
(That was your stepdaughter?)
That was mah stepchild. The money that ah made - ah bought mahself $1.27 dress - ah made $347.80. Ah had that much besides paying mah bus fare and mah two other children's bus fare. I come back home and turned that money over to mah husband. Instead of him paying the money on that place - yo' see that how ah was hardtimed all de way through. It was understooden between the daughter, the person that ah bought it from, and the husband - to overthrow me in mah way, to defeat me of the home. He didn't pay it, he jest done away with it. When ah ast him about it, he jest put me off and ah never could get any information. So ah became grevious. Ah goes back to this same person [black doctor] that ah carried these first things to [in rite 975, pp.369-372]. Ah said to her, ah said, "Please mam, tell me what is the trouble with me that I am defeated in everything that I put forth efforts to try to exist to make a living." She says, "You have fought a good fight." She says, "Yo' goin tuh be defeat- ed, yo' goin' tuh be put out of doors. That's the very best you can do because the things that they have done is to turn everybody against chew, not to believe your statements of whut chew say; whut yo' would tell 'em when you would go to 'en, that chew can't keep a job an' yo' can't keep any money.' Ah could have. Ah have had as much as $25. It would go away from me, and in three days. Ah couldn't tell whut that money was spent for. She said, "Yo' are fixed so that everything, all de money an' everything yo' git will go away from yo' an' yo' can't tell what it's goin' fo'." Part of it ah'd give it to him - give it to mah sisters. Ah would buy things with it. Ah jest destroy it. Through the year until November, that same trouble of last year that I was having - I go to the party that I had bought from and ah said to her, I says, "I can't continue - couldn't no longer continue to pay yo' on this property until yo' go an' straighten yore taxes up. Ah have been smart enough to find by the Home Owners Loan that chew had a mortgage on it." And ah said, "You have got the biggest po'tion of the money, which leaves me a small sum." Ah say, "You owes $276.67." Ah says, "Ah owes yo' $325." Ah said, "When ah'd gone today to the tax office, de man down there refuses to take mah money." Ah said, "Now, let us get together as friends, go down and pay those taxes off, ' and ah says, "an yo' turn the Home Owners Loan over to me that ah kin continue mah payments, that I would have a clear title according to yore warranty deed dat yo' gave me." Ah said, "Then ah kin proceed to pay yo'." She says, "Well, all right ah'll go." She went off and she brought me back a verbally statement. You see, mah hus- band, the stepdaughter and de woman all understood each other. So she came back and brought me a verbally statement. The statement was this: "Mr. Tooart said that the County and State taxes was mo' important to pay then the city tax." Ah said, "Well, ah don't keer whut Mr. Tuart says."
(Truehart?)
Tooart - ah don't know how to spell it. He's a tax man. So she said to me - ah said, "Ah don't care what Mr. Tooart says to you, " ah says, "it is necessary for all taxes to be paid to be a loyal citizen." Ah says, "And that's why we pay our taxes - that our city kin be properly cared fo' and our school funds can be raised for our children to go to school, " and ah says, "ah believe in doing the things that's right." 'Now, " I say, "if he tells you that it's more - one tax is more valuable to pay than the other - they all are valuable the same way." Ah said, "Now, ah can't pay you any money until you do this - until you turn this Home Owners Loan over to me and let us go and pay the taxes. I have the money to pay you." So she shut her mouth and talked with mah husband and this [step]daughter. They let it rot on from November up until the 5th of February. She never said anything at all to me whut was her intention. She then, when ah came in on Sat'day afternoon which was the 5th day of February - a neighbor called me as I was pass'n by, she called me by name, she said, "Do you know you are write up in de papers in Mobile [newspaper]?" [I] tole her, "No, " I says, "it's good thing, " I says, "that ah am." She says, "Yore place is to be sold on the 28th day of this month for cash to the highest bidder." Ah said, "Where is it?" She said, "Do you take The Press?" Ah say, "Ah do." Ah goes on home and I look in it and ah found it and ah read it. Ah goes to her and ah says, "Belle, " I says, "ah don't feel that you have treated me right." Ah said, "Ah give you mah money three months in advance," said, "me and mah chillun didn't even have their gruel cooked on Friday - didn't even have wood [to cook it] - to pay yo', an' ah advanced yo' three months at de time." And ah says, "However, if you feel that chew dealt square with me by treating me that way, it's all right." I then leaves her and ah goes downtown. To show you how ah have been actually defeated every way. Ah come back home. When ah come back home, it was something spreaded - ah didn't git back home till late. When ah got back there ah felt dubious about something, and it looked like to me it was a lotta white beach sand - sand that come off near a creek where it was real clean - spreaded all over de gallery [porch]. And as I walked up on the gallery ah begin to do mah feet that way [scrapes her feet] - it was so thick on mah feet - scrape mah feet and ah went on in de house. And ah said to mah husband, ah says, "There's some- thing goin' on wrong since ah left here and went to town - ah'm jest confused to death." So ah didn't say anything else to him. He said, "What did you learn when you went down town?" Ah said, "Ah went down there to Lawyer Gaston[?] and Gostrom[?], an' they told me that they had come in touch with Mr. Vickers, the Home Owners laywer, and he had stated to them that ah would have to pay $407.25 or else the fore- closure would be offered on the 28th day of this month." He [husband] said, "That's funny." He said, "Well, ah guess you have got yore just desserts. You've been defeated in everything. Ah'm goin' take mah clothes and ah'm goin' ovah there."
(Going where?)
He's going over the bay - over to Locksley, over at Dafney - 'I'm goin' ovah the bay." So he did. So this morning - after they had treated me like they did, and ah was defeated and all of mah lawyers and everything with the disadvantages that they had on me, that they had turned their backs against me - this morning, ah had a barn in de back yard was lOxl5 feet. Ah sent mah brother word, tole him to come an' tear the barn down, take it off. So he came to tear the barn down to take it off. To prove all the statements of the advantages she had been taking, she came out this morning and emptied it all open to me - tole me right to mah face. She walked out to him and she said, "Have the law give yo' permission to tear dat barn down?" He say, "What chew talking about?" An' ah was looking out of the window, the kitchen window and ah could see her out there. So ah walked out and ah said, "Good morning, " ah said, "what is it all about?" She 'lowed [allowed = declared her opinion or intention], "Heah yo' come to interfere. You cannot take anything out of that house. You cannot take anything offa this property. It's orders by the law. And if you do, you'll be dead, " she says, "damned and will live less than 24 hours, because whom ah got working fo' me determined to kill yo', if ah can't git chew outa dis house by law." Ah looked at her and ah says to her, I says, "Now, ah'll tell you one thing, " ah said, "for the respect that ah have for mah brother and mah children, " ah said, "ah'll see you an' all yo' cohorts in hell an' me pissin' on top of yo', " ah says, "befo' ah'm goin' be actually defeated in everythin' ah do." Ah says, "Ah still have a chance." I says, "Ah'ms not a tramp, ah'ms a citizen." An' ah says, "Now yo' have come out verbally an' told me whut yo' intends to do and whut yo' has tole me an' all of yore advantages." Ah says, "Tear de barn down, '' Ah says, "ah'll stand de conseguences. So he toe [tore] de barn down and when he left, she commence takin' somethin' in her hand [demonstrates] that way throwing at him. She says, "Well, if yo don't die, he will." Ah says, "By God, ah come from a family of folks that lives from 75 to 115 an'," ah said, "ah'll live that long too." So ah've been defeated in everything through the advantages that they have taken of me. Ah can't git nuthin. Today I hasn't got one penny in de vorld.
(What is the outcome of that story - what happened to the property, then?)
The property - they supposed to put me out doors Monday morning.
(This happened recently?)
This jes' happened today - happening today - working up to Monday - ah'm sup- posed to put out Monday. (Then your story about your husband leaving goes on to this story?) [Her husband's leaving is a separate story. Where is it?] Goes right on to the same thing. Yo' see, his advantage was to make me leave.
(He was also trying to make you leave.)
He was the real object [instigator] of it all. He was to make me leave, don' yo' see; den before de foreclosure was, that he could have it to say that ah walked off an' left him.
Entry 12215
Ah heard if yo' had a enemy, a unfeeling enemy who was hard an' bit- ter against chew, tuh go out in de morning befo' de sunrise in an open field, an' take salt an' olive oil, ah think it is, an' burn incense. An' take dis salt an' olive oil an' make yore wish, an' throw it toward de sunrise, before it rises, an' dey will feel to [for] yo'.
Entry 12237
Dey got a lodestone dat's pretty good an' it's oil of cinnamon, an' yo' kin git - if yo' kin git John de Conkah - dat's good to use in spittin' when yo' go in, yo' know.
(To get a job?)
Yes.
Entry 12348
They tole me tuh git - they had me tuh git a piece of - a piece of drawing lodestone an' dis same mineral oil. Ah cain't think of it [name]. They still use it as mineral oil. Dis lodestone, dis drawin' stone, you buy, see, an' dis mineral oil and de dust from a comb, ah believe it was - a head comb, de dust. An' yo' 'solve [dissolve] dis dust into dis - dis mineral oil and dust all together, and you dress dis dust and de mineral [oil] and de lodestone wit perfume an' you wears it. But ah was successful.
(That's in hunting a job.)
In hunting a job. Least how, it worked. But thinking about it, ah didn't hole [hold] de job very long. So dat's why ah didn't think dere's much to it. [To be able to buy head-comb dust indicates the catholicity of products sold by some hoodoo shops!]
Entry 12364
Yeah, you can get some love powder and you can put that on you, and after you get the love powder put on you, they got some kind of oil: say, I think they calls it coconut oil, an' coconut butter, and witch hazel, and Van-Van. See, you put all them four diff'- ren' - it together. An' they say, when you get most to the place, you have it in your pocket, and you put red pepper with it. So when you get most there, see, you rub your hand with it like that. But don't let 'em see it on you. See, after you rubbing your hand with it like that, see, the bossman, he can't tell you "no." He got to give you something to do.
(I see.)
Entry 12376
Say yo' take some, any kind of lucky oil, or lucky perfume, dat makes a very pleasin' smell. Consequently the boss smells it. It isn't de per- fume altogethah dat git a man's job, but it attract dey 'tenshun, den he kin talk himself into a position.
Entry 12541
Well, now dey say if yo' take dat red onion wit red pep- pah an' dat salt, everybody go in dere will be dissatisfied. (What will you do with that?) Take it an' mix it together an' put it in dere whilst de house is empty. Take it an' put it in every corner of de house, make no difference how many rooms it is. Yo' put it in dere, an' anybody go dere dey won't be satisfied wit dere house.
(That is crossing up the house?)
Yes.
(Do you put it in the corner in any special way?)
Put it in each corner jes' as close as yo' git it up 'side de corner of de house. Tuh uncross it.
(To uncross this, all right.)
Yo' take garlic an' dis oil of cinnamon an' red peppah an' mop wit it an' dat'll uncross 'em.
(So that you can move into the house if you want to?)
Yes.
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12691
If a man wanta ketch 'is wife, jes' lak in some act or 'nothah, den yo' takes oak ashes. Take oak ashes an' pine straw [dried needle on ground, also called shatters in the South]. An' yo' take an' put dose oak ashes ovah dem an' yo' puts one hole in de can an' let de can leak aftah yo' puts watah in dere. Den yo' takes oil an' yo' puts oil - po's oil ovah dat an' let de oil run through, an' den as de oil meets wit dis heah straw an' oil an' straw mix wit dis watah dat he has po'd on dere, den dat will cause dis man an' woman tuh go tuhgethah. An' de day he would po' de oil in - see, he done put de watah in dere an' let de watah drip through de straw an' oak ashes. Den he puts de oil in dere, an' den at de minute dat he puts dis oil in dere an' de oil drip through tuh de ashes, den dis heah woman she'll be wantin tuh git tuh dis man, but now de woman she'll have tuh burn dese ashes. See, he'll git huh tuh burn de ashes fo' him. An' den she'll be wantin' tuh git tuh dis othah man, an' whenevah she gits wit him, den he goes where dey's at...tuh fin' dem den. Wheresomevah - if he fin' dem dey'll be tuhgethah.
(Just associating together.)
Yes.
Entry 12706
Then, if any woman that far off, from you, or anything and you wants to see them...
(You say they're far off?)
Yeah - just like - far off - well, they's got a [liquid] which they - we call The Long Long Livest Friend.
(The Long Long Livest Friend.)
Yeah. Well, you go get some of this Long Livest Friend and you take some of this Paris Ennis Oil. It ain't but 25c a bottle.
(Paris what?)
Paris Ennis Oil, and you take it and you put it inside of this bottle with some of this, which we call this here steel dust. You get steel dust and you get some of this here rock salt. And when you put it down, just anything that they ever slept on - any- thing they ever left there - socks, or old shoes, or any bedclothes they laid on, well you just take that and just every morning, you get up, just sprinkle it all over that. Take some of this sugar of lead with this rock salt...
(Sugar of what?)
Sugar of lead - yes, sir, with this rock salt, beat it and put it in the cen- ter of your bed [center of bed = quincunx]. Anywhere, they get at, their mind is rdght back where they come from.
(That's to bring - that's if you want to hear from them or bring them back.)
Yes sir. They coming back, they going to come back in - don't care, inside of chree or five days she'll be back, if there any way for 'em to get there at that time.
Entry 10849
If a person is stuff, yo' know, an' den dey maybe says [let us stay], dat dey has some lodestone an' dey had it workin' in dere first, see, but dat han' [of the body] is tod stiff tuh feel de money when dat lodestone draw it. [A piece of lodestone band- aged on hand before or while gambling.] Dey kill a buzzard an' bury him three days [see v.1, p.533, line 34] see. Den dey will cook dat buzzard an' den dey git dat oil, strain dat oil, an' jes' lak when dey go out in de middle of de night, dey [leave gambling room] take dat buzzard oil an' dey grease dere joints wit it, jes' a little, not much [see No.ll49, p.422, v.1] jes' grease. Aftah dey grease it, well dey come back in [return to gambling room] - grease all around an' grease back of de ears. An' dat makes 'em soup-ple [supple] an' dat makes 'em see whut come in [buzzard has keen eyes]. [While outside] put lode- stone in dere an' take it an' jes' git dat skin up enough tuh put a piece about de size of a button right in dere! An' den put a silver dollar on his tail! An' jes' come in dat house an' jes' take yore han' lak dat...
(What makes the hand stiff, though?)
Ah dunno, stiff joints. An' dey wanta be soupple, see, an' dat buzzard oil is mighty high. [If this rite means what I think it does, there is nothing quite like it! However, see the following rite for something similar.]
Entry 11118
Yo' take de oil of a coconut an' put dat up intuh a little jar an' bury dat at de no'th side of de house. Dat's supposed tuh keep yore husband at home or yore wife at home. [Originally I considered this oil of a coconut as the usual pharmaceutical coconut oil, but it could be the coconut water or coconut milk, which confined in a coconut would have confining qualities in hoodoo. This could also be said about coconut 011.
Entry 12884
Scrub it out good with Red Seal Lye, got the red seal [trademark] on it...an' yo' wrench [rinse] it good this day - like today - and tomorrow you go there and you use nine buckets of water. And the ninth bucket of water you put sugar and cinnamon and Burben fast luck in it, and it'll be lucky and you'll, can rent the house.
(What kind of fast luck?)
Berb - bur - I believe - Burbeans - you know that spells beans.
(Burbean's?)
Yeah, Burbean's Fast Luck.
(What is it, an oil or a powder?)
It's a oil-like. You gets that outa the drug store.
Entry 9712
Lak if yo' wan'a job, dey tell me sompin but ah have nevah tried it. Lak if yo' wanted a job, ah heah de boys say, go tuh de bossman's house. An' aftah yo' go tuh 'is house - lak if yo' go dere an' try tuh git a li'l' work tuh do roun' dere. Prob'ly yo' fine some things roun' dere dat he's got or somepin he weahs or somepin lak dat. Yo' take dis. An' yo' come back an' take it tuh yore home. An' yo' come back an' yo' take dis turpentine an' olive oil an' salt. An' yo' take dis stuff an' yo' fix it up. Well, aftah yo' take dis stuff an' fix it up, yo' take an' care [carry] it back tuh dis bossman's house. An' yo' take an' hide it up undah, anywhere undah where he walks aroun' in 'is room. Yo' take dat stuff an' yo' care it right dere, an' put it somewheah in 'is room, wheah he kin walk ovah it. Well, yo' take it den. Yo' take an' go back an' git it if yo kin git back an' git it. Git back an' git it. Meanwhile he wuz workin' aroun'. An' yo' take an' bury it. Lak he's got a desk wheah he do's 'is writin', keepin' time, or sompin lak dat. Yo' take an' put it up undahneat' de desk or sompin othah lak dat. An' dey say dat stuff, whut chew put in dat stuff, will take effect on 'im. An' den yo'll come tuh 'im an' he says, "Well" - when yo' ast 'im fo' a job - "come to work." He'll give yo' job. Dat stuff will take effect on 'in, work on 'im in a way, an' he'll have tuh give yo' a job.
Entry 2281
Take dirt dauber's nest and mix with mostly any oil that you want to. and make like a seal for yourself. Understand. Just write like - like this were - like a seal that's made on de Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses. Well, you take that and beat it out, you know, press it. Well it get hard, understand. Then you write just whomsomever you want - a person you want upon there - and wear it upon you, just like I'd come to you for a favor or anything.
(You mean, you write this seal on this stuff?)
Yes.