Subject:Pine
Entries
Entry 1702
[Lightwood in Southern United States means pine, often the Georgia or long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill). Lighters are small pieces of pitch-filled pine used in starting a fire; these coming from a lighter pine or lightwood tree. Iighters appear somewhat frequently in other rites but rarely in cures and protection.] Take some lighters. You get them from offen the north side of a pine, you know, the lighter pine, lightwood, and make splinters of it. [Except in this rite, lighters come from any side or part of the pine.] Chew make nine and dig a hole. You.get these sticks, now, offen this pine and you get it offen the north side and you take and make nine splinters of it. You make 'em so many inches long, just as long as you wish. Make notches in them just as many as you wish to make, you see. Most in general you just make nine. And you dig a hole such a depth, I think round about twelve inches or eighteen in the ground. Then you cross them and make your wish.
(How do vou mean cross them?)
You put 'em across like that in the ground.
(Like a rail fence?)
Yeh, like a rail fence - only they're sticking in the ground though. You stick 'em down and cross 'em like that. That's to purwent anyone from inter- fering with you around this home.
Entry 3345
Now, heah's anothah one. Now if yo' have a girl. It quite jes' nat- chel [natural], lak some of our menfolks dey have wimmin dat dey really love, yo' see de idea. An' we don' want anyone else tuh be wit 'em, yo' see. Well, now, yo' kin go tuh work an' yo' kin take a little simple thin' in yore home, dey calls a dishcloth. Someone calls it dishtowel - some folkses, yo' see. Well, yo' go tuh work an yo' steal dat. Yo' see, when yo' goes tuh work an' steal dat, yo' goes tuh work an' yo' puts it somewhere, put it away an' let it dry. Den say, tonight yo goin' out tuh have a date. Well, yo' see, quite natchel, some use pocket han'- cheffs yo' see, an' so fo'th, but yo' have yorn. She say, "Ah got a han'cheff." Yo' say, "No, ah have a largah han'cheff den yo' got, ' yo' see. Well, yo' take dat an' in de place of she wipin', yo' see, yo' goes tuh work yo' see an' yo' take dat an' yo' wipe yoreself - yo' wipe her yo' see. An' in wipin' her, DON' NEVAH WIPE HER DOWN - WIPE HER UP AN' CROSS 'ER. [The wiping makes the sign of the cross!] Yo' see whut ah'm talkin' about? An' den aftah yo' do's dat, yo' take it an' ball it. Don' chew wipe yoreself wit it. Chew take it an' ball it an' put it away. Next day - mawnin' befo' sun up, yo' make tuh de forsest an yo' fin' a pine tree. Drive yo' a nail into de pine tree lak dat on de sunrise side. Den yo' let it hang dere fo' nine mawnin's. Hang it so de wind can't blow it off yo' know. Let it hang dere fo' nine mawnin's. Den yo' go back, an when yo' go back dere, yo' dig a hole jes' about dat deep, yo' see [demonstrates].
(About as deep as your hand?)
Dat's right, about wrist deep, as yo' said. An' yo' take a stick an' knock it off, yo' see. [IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS TO TOUCH IT.] When yo' knock it off, yo' let it fall in dat nole, yo' see, an' den aftah yo' let it fall in dat hole, yo' cover it up an' walk right straight away. An' if yo' top 'er, yo' gotta pay somebody tuh loosen 'er.
Entry 3954
Well, dat's like if yo' wanta kill someone. Dat's whut dat is. Yo' kin take a woman ministratin' cloth, don't chew know, an' yo' kin care [carry] it to a pine tree as de sun go down an' yo' kin take a ten-penny nail an' drive it in de hollow of dis ole pine tree as de sun goin' down an' walk off an' leave it right dere. Den when de frog eat it up, den she'll die.
(What eats it up?)
De frog.
(The frog eats that up?)
Yeah, a frog will eat dat up, den yo'll die.
(Where would the frog come from?)
Yo' would have tuh carry de frog dere an' put de frog in dere. When de frog eat dat up, den yo'll die.
(You just put it in the hollow of a tree?)
De hollah of a ole pine tree.
Entry 4419
Yuh kin take a person's a - yuh know ah couldn't use de proper name of it, yeah manure. Yuh kin take hit an' yuh kin go tuh a pine tree, an' go roun' right whare it pointed right to- wards de east, see. An' bore yuh a hole in dere, an' yuh could put it in dere an' stop it up, an' go dere nine mawnin's an' drive a nail, see, in- tuh dat. An' den go dere nine mawnin's an' drive dat nail fuhthah an' fuhthah in fo' nine mawnin's. Time comes it would come tuh 'im, yuh know, be worried wit 'is backside, yuh know, an' it will cuz him tuh have so much trouble it will kill 'im in de long run. [Informants proper nome of it is undoubtedly a messy four- lettered word!]
Entry 4439
Yuh take dat an' yuh wraps it, an' yuh got de east side of a pine tree, yuh bo'es a hole jis' lak mah hand sets [demonstrates] down tuh de roots. (Slant it down to- wards the roots.) Tuh de tap roots, an' yuh strike dat fer as dat augah go. An' yuh take dat an' yuh put seven needles an' seven pins, an' yuh hit it nine mawnin's, an' on de ninth mawnin' yuh drive it up. IN THIRTY MINUTES HE'LL BE DEAD.
(You put this passage in there?)
Dat's right. Yuh sticks 'em, yuh see. DAT'S CALLED DRESSIN'. Yuh sticks 'em. Yuh sticks de pins dis way, an' sticks de needles dis way - de heads dis way an' dat head dis way, so dey be crossed lak dat intuh it. It be in a cloth yuh know. An' yuh jis' stick dem pins in it, an' den yuh jis' chunk it in de crack [hole] an' put dat peg jis' tuh fit it. Jis' lak yuh bo'd de hole, de peg's gotta be jis' de same width as de augah, jis' airtight. An' yuh jis' need.tuh tap it de firs' mawnin' an' fo' nine mawnin's yuh hit one tap, an' de ninth mawnin' yuh drive it up. [Here I turned off recording machine but informant adds the place where this rite was performed. I restarted machine.]
(Where?)
Dat was done in [near] Tifton, Ga.
Entry 4470
Now, it's lak yuh have action lak dat an' dey take a portion of it, an' walk off tuh dat tree out dere an' stop it up. Ah mean stop it up airtight - see, wit fat-lightah peg. Let it be fat-lightah [peg] jis' as fat as it kin be [abounding in pitchy heartwood as in the Georgia pine]. An' stop it up. Jis' drive it in dere tight. AN' YUH GONE. It jis' locks yuh bowels an' NOBODY CAN'T NEVAH UNLOCK DEM.
Entry 4473
Well, it's a pine tree. If yuh dislike somebody yo' bo' a hole in dat tree. Yuh git dey - yuh know whut ah mean. (Their passage?) Yes, an' git chew a ten-penny nail an' put dat in dere, an' take dat ten-penny nail an' drive it in dere jis' as fur as yo' kin git it in dere. When yuh git through, den yuh fasten dat hole back up. An' yo' won't have no mo' trouble wit 'em 'cuz dey can't live long becuz it comes disaway [demonstrates].
(Comes out through the mouth.)
Yes sir. (Brunswick, Ga., (1211), 2047:9.]
Entry 4474
If yuh have a person da' chew dislikes an' dey do anythin' tuh yuh wrongfully an' yuh felt like gittin' 'em outa de way, or say yuh fin' out where dey has tuh out tuh demself, git some of dere action whut dey have while it's warm. Take it an' stop it up in a bottle, take it tuh a pine, gen'ly [generally] on de north side of a pine. Have a hole bo'd in de tree an' put dat bottle in dere an' take an' git chew a piece of fat-lightah an' make a peg of it. Drive it in dere as tight an' fast as yo' kin git it an' saw it even - level wit de tree. An' aftah gittin hit in dere, hit nine licks on it, turn yore back an' go on back home. Dat will lock dere bowels. Dey can't do anythin', not lessen dat stoppah or dat peg is pulled outa dat tree.
(You are from South Carolina, aren't you?)
Beaufort.
Entry 4475
Yuh kin git some of a person passage an' kin take dat passage an' yuh care it tuh a tree, a pine tree. Well, it don't make no diff'rence whut kinda tree. Yuh take dat, jis' some dey passage, yuh undahstan', an' yuh nail it up in dat tree, yuh see. Now, dey tell me fo' a fac' dat will kill yuh if dat ain't relieved. Yuh put dat passage in dat tree an' take yuh a augah an' bo' a hole in dat tree an' yuh put dey passage in dat tree. Yuh take yuh a wedge an' put dat wedge in dat. Now, if yuh wanta kill 'em yuh drive dat thin' up in dere. Well, yuh drive da thin' evah mawnin' befo' de sun rise. Yuh'll drive dat, hit dat peg. Well, now, if yuh wanta kill 'em yuh'll drive dat - de ninth mawnin' yuh'll drive in dat peg, yuh'll find 'em purtty real sick. Den yuh go ovah dere tuh dat same wedge befo' sunrise evah mawnin' an' hit it seven mo' mawnin's. Nine mawnin's, yuh undahstan', [and] seven mawnin's. An' den about de eighth mawnin', den he'll be jis' about dead. An' now, if yuh jis' wanta put 'em in a lingahin' condition wit dat, yuh jis' - don't have it too tight, don't drive it in. Dat jis' lingah' dem long as yuh got dat wedge in dere [not too tight]. Dat's tuh put 'em in a lingahin' condition. Dat's wit dey passage.
Entry 4928
If yuh git a forked stick - yuh git a man or woman dat chew don' like. An' if yuh wan'a kill 'em or wan' 'em tuh die or be down undah yuh, sick all de time, take dat forked stick. Yuh git one of de stockin's off dey lef' laig an' yuh take it tuh de root of a pine tree, down de root of a pine tree. Lak yuh kin drive it up undah de roots of a pine tree, an' yuh say, "Ah drive yuh heah tuh stay heah until Lulu, '' or whutevah de woman name, 'until she die." An' jis' leave it right dere. Or de man, an' call 'is name when yuh go dere. Bury it. Lak yuh go tuh bury it in dere an' yuh say, "O, son-of-a- bitch, ah put chew heah tuh stay right chere till yuh die." Well, dat's whut ah heard of 'em doin' wit a forked stick.
Entry 5052
Take his sock an' if it's dirty, why yuh kin nail dat tuh a tree an' it will cause him tuh walk away: [Ordinarily a sock nailed to a tree keeps a man stationary, and the sundown side later means lingering or slow death, but intention here demands that he walk away. The big nail suggests urgency and determination - also painful walking.]
(All you have to do is to take a dirty sock and nail it up?)
Jis' take a dirty sock - cut de bottom out de dirty sock, fold dat dirty sock up an' carry it tuh a green pine tree, an' nail a big nail in de centah tuh de sundown. He'll leave an' won't come back.
Entry 5053
Take a man's sock befo' he wash it - yuh know, he git de scent of it. An' yuh kin take dat sock an' yuh kin take an' sew it up inside a little bag or somepin lak dat. Take an' carry it an' nail it on a pine tree on de sundown side, but be sure yuh got it tied in de bag. Yuh kin bring 'im tuh yuh tuh any- where yuh want. (You just take these socks and put them in a bag?) An' take dat bag an' nail it in a pine tree at de sundown side, an' make a wish, an' dat man supposed tuh be de one man tuh yuh.
Entry 5543
(I am going to talk to a girl now who was here the other day, by the name of Mary Magdalene. I am not certain that I have her material on the rec- ords, so to be certain I am going to take it down again. Her number was 679.) (All right, go ahead I want to be ableto hear you.) It's a man - if yo' want him to come back, yo' know, and if he goes out chure house, well yo' pick up the left-foot track, the dirt. Put it into a box and shut it up. And get to de right-foot track and get yo' a pine stick - about this long a stick - and take it and nail underneath of de steps. And take that dirt and bring it into your house, and put it right underneath - place it right underneath of your mattress, if you want him to come back, and he can't get away from you. [THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH IS VERY COMMON IN HOODOO, SOMETHING IS MISSING. THESE FREQUENT MISSING SOMETHINGS REQUIRE TOTAL CONCENTRATION ON WHAT THE SPEAKER SAYS. FOR THIS REASON I ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:]
(You said something about a pine stick?)
Yes, sir.
(What do you do with that?)
Measure that stick just as long as his right foot. And nail it underneath of your step. [Informant's answer is quite evident in her original statement, but her ex- planation was necessary for the record.]
(I see.)
But the bottom where you measure it - the bottom of it, turn it towards the ground. [That part of the stick touching ground during measurement must when tacked under step face downwards towards ground.l
(I see.)
Underneath the step, tack it up underneath the step. And you place that dirt in your bed mattress where you sleep.
(That's the dirt from the left foot?)
Yes, sir.
(And what do you measure with this stick?)
The right one.
[This is merely checking, not trying to trick informant.]
(The right one, and what is that to do?)
That's to make him stay. (Make him stay. Now, what kind of tracks do you get? His tracks out there, any track?) When he leaves out, yes sir - just right where he steps on de dirt.
(Oh, when he's going away?)
Yes, sir.
(I see.)
Entry 5658
(You take two pine sticks?)
Jis' two li'le pine sticks. Yo' take 'em an' let one be de man an' one be de Woman. An' yo' take 'em an' put 'em in a new piece wit some of yore track - yo' know, de dirt. Put 'em both in dere togethah an' lay it up ovah de do' an' dat'll make 'em stick togethah, stay togethah in dis house. (Do you take up the dirt from either track?) Take it from de left track, de one dat de heart's on. See, dat's in ordah to know whether yo' mean tuh do right or wrong.
Entry 7852
Git fo' fat lightah splintahs. Trim 'em off an' make a peg out of 'em two tuh de haid an' two tuh de feet [of the grave] an' put in de middle [of grave] de name or de hat. Place it or eithah de linin' from de hat or eithah de brim of de hat, jes' so it's de scents of de body, an' bury it right intuh de grave. (You bury it right into the grave.) Yes, an' dat would take a deeply 'fect. Dat of co'se will - ah've always find dat tuh put dem in de grave, mahself. Yo're worried, jes' have yuh worried an' grieved. An' jes' worry yo' ownself tuh death. (Well, why do you use those four splinters? Is there any purpose in using those?) Yes sir, dere's a purpose of usin' dose, becuz dat is pinnin' [pinning]. Jes' lak yo' take a nail an' nail a board on a wall [pin or nail a board to the wall]. Well, when yo' use dose an' put de person's 'fect [= effects = good or personal propertyl, de hat or somepin, in de grave an' pin dose pegs, dat is pinnin' 'em down.
Entry 7889
Dey tell me yo' take an' git yuh sock, an' dere's somepin or othah yo' kin do an' run yo' crazy. Dey take dat sock an' dey git some graveyard dirt. An'. if dey want, dey kin git - choo know, dere's a scorpion in de woods dey call de wood- bitch. Yo' kin git 'im an' cut 'is haid off an' let it dry. When 'is haid been dried, come an' powdah dat up. Yo' take dat [wood-bitch powder] an' take dat graveyard dirt an' mix it [and put it in or on the sock] yo' see. An' yo' take dat [sock] an' yo' kin care [carry] it on de nō'theast side of a pine tree. Yo' bear [bury] it down dere an' drive a stäve down in it, yo' see [demonstrates].
(Hit an imaginary stäve or stake 6 times.)
Dat settles it. [This is one of many mock burials. The victim if unnamed is always intended by name. Here the victim is buried in the shade of a pine tree, so that he will gradually pine away. North instead of northeast side would probably have meant a quicker death.]
Entry 7967
Ah heard folks say if yo' complain if it wus rheumatism, dey could go in a road - look lak a road leads, a neighborhood road, an' a pine tree is on dat road. Wheresomevah a wagon would cuz it tuh bruise, dey say yo' could take dat root out of dat road where some castic [casket = coffin] or sompin othah had passed, an' make a rub, an' dat would kill rheumatism lak dat.
(Where a funeral would go on by over that tree? With the casket?)
Yessuh, where some fun'ral 'cession had passed, yo' go tuh dat road where de wagon, yo' know, of people have bruised de root, an' yo' dig roun' dere an' git dat bahk [bark] an' make a rub fo' 'em. Dey say dat would cure it. [Sumter, S. Car., (1381), 2452:5.] [We must remember that every photograph, whether oblong or square in shape, is a coffin symbol. In later section PHOTOGRAPH many of them are buried or in- volved with death. This present subsection will be confined to photography in- volving real or mock coffins.1
Entry 8010
They get the shape - they shape it in the shape of a person as near as possible, and then take that and pin it to a green tree, a pine tree, and let it stay there; and get a locust[cicada], these told-time locuses that makes a lot of fuss, they say, and put that, sew that on the inside of that doll and pin it up there and shoot it. And as you shoot it away, every time you strike it, you Waste a portion of it, the same Way the body of the individual that you representing there will waste away. But you got to name it, you got to name that doll.
Entry 8277
Take a photograph an' take it down tuh a tree, mos' any kinda tree, an' cut a hole in de pine tree, jis' fer 'nuff [enough] fo' de photograph tuh set in, an' cuss dat photograph three time an' back off [walk backwards] from it, an' fiah toward de photograph. Ah've tried it. Dat will kill de person.
Entry 8285
Dey tell me dat dey kin take yuh photergraph an' carry it in de woods, an' put it on a pine tree. An' if dey kin shoot, yo' know, right in a serious part fo' nine mawnin's...an' dey say aftah dat it'll kill yuh.
Entry 8295
(Now what are you going to do with the photograph?) Yo' puts it on a black gum tree an' dat's purely tuh harm yo'. An' den yo'll tell it [tree] whut chew want. [You talk to the tree spirit.] Yo' kin nail it on dat tree an' den yo' shoot it. Dat fer as ah know of dat. It's a black gum an' [or] a short-leaf pine, jes' dem two, either one, but let it be in de swamp.
Entry 8338
Kin do in de tree. Co'se now yo' kin take if yo' kin git a tintype photograph, yo' know, whut takes only dese li'le tencent tintypes, see. An' dat will do anything. An' if yo' wanta ruin a person wit it, yo' kin go right tuh a young pine, a young tree, an' yo' kin jes' take yore knife an' yo' cut chew a deep hole in dat tree, see. An' yo' drive yo' a li'le tack. Yo' tack dat tintype pichure upside down on dat tree, yo' see. Den, if yo' wanta, yo' kin tack sompin ovah it, yo' see. An' dat tree be drawin' [growing] up. An' yo' kin mess a man up, yo' see. Yo' kin lock 'is bowels or yo' kin jes' keep 'im....
Entry 8350
Whut chew kin do wit dat. Yo' take dis heah pichure whut yo' made yo know, if a fellah wants tuh do sompin real bad tuh yo', he kin take dat pichure an' go 'bout, chew might say, "cross de woods up 'ginst a long tall pine tree. An' he kin take, whut chew might say, dese eight- penny nails, an' he kin take dat pichure an' stick it 'ginst de tree an' nail dat dere. An' go dere fo' nine mawnin's, yo' might say, hit dat nail on de haid. An' it will run yo' stone crazy.
Entry 8354
Well, dey say dey take yore photograph an' take nine nails an' carry it tuh a pine tree an' yo' stab nine nails down in dat photograph. Dat would kill a person, dat will kill yo'. Dat will kill yo' if dey do dat. In nine days yo'd be daid.
Entry 8363
Take yore photograph picture, tintype. Yo' go out in de woods tuh a pine tree an' take yo' nails, see an' put dat pichure up in de tree wit de hammah an' nails. An' yo' nail dat pitchure tuh a tree, yo' see. An' evah time, evah place where dat nail go therough [through] dat pitchure, dat person will have a pain in dat spot, yo' see. Yo' kin kill 'em wit dat.
Entry 8366
Yo' kin take a photograph an' yo' kin put it in a pine tree wit a twen- ty-penny nail an' - an' a hammer. See, yo' go dere an' yo' hit dat twenty-penny nail fo' nine mawnin's, an' each time yo' hit dat twenty- penny nail, yo' kin look back ovah yore left shoulder, so dey says, an' de ninth mawnin' yo' hit dat twenty-penny nail, drive it all de way in. Dat person will die.
(Why do you look back over that shoulder, do you know?)
No suh, ah don'. [You will probably see the devil or the spirit of the person being killed. Or this lays the ghost of the dying person.]
Entry 8615
Ah've heard dat chew kin take a person, like yo' might have somebody dat's always botherin' yo', de landlord or sompin jes' runnin' yo' down about de rent or sompin lak dat - dey jes' won't give yo' a opportunity or chance to pay dem. Chew jes' git his name an' write it down on a piece of fat-lighter bo'd jes' big enough to put 'is name on it, an' take it out in de woods an' tie it to a young sapling tree an' leave it out dere. It jes' turn from branch to branch. [The wind will do this.] Ah've heard dat dey will leave yo' alone, not bothah yo' so much. (You just tie it onto that tree - that's all, on this piece of fatlighter - Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft:- Rootwork - pine.) Fatlighter pine bo'd.
Entry 8666
Ef [if] yo' don' know who is in co't [court - a witness against you] but chew wanta kill 'im. When yo' know his name - well, if yo' know his name [the whole rite changes], take a tenpenny nail an' stick it up side of a pine tree. An' hit it eighteen times an' de nineteenth time he is a dead man.
(If you want to kill him.)
Yes. (I see. You call his name how many times did you say?) Eighteen time an' de 20th time - call 'im 18 time an' de 19th time yo' drive it to de butt [the head of the nail all the way].
Entry 9110
If yo' can get de judge's name, well yo' use dis name nine times into yore shoe, in each shoe, an' mix it wit parsley, an' yo' dress yoreself wit a oil: oil of verbena, oil of mor- itil [myrtle] an' pine oil. Yo takes a bath in dem. (What are those oils now?) Oil of verbena, oil of moritil [myrtle] an' pine oil. Yo' takes a bath in dat.
(Oil of moritil [myrtle]?)
Yes, sir. Three mornings befo' yore case comin' up, when yo' gets a sub- poena, well yo' do dat fo' three mornings. See, de last morning, dat's when yo' are goin' befo' de judge.
Entry 9716
Yo' kin take a nail - a spike. Take dat an' kill a puhson. Ah tell yuh whut. Nail dat about de height of de puhson. Yo' care dat tuh a tree an' yo' kin care it in dis country [South Carolina] - yo' care it tuh whut's known as a workin' pine. Dat's de lady pine. Dere's a he an' a she, yo' know, suh, in de pine trees. An' yo' care it tuh dat. Go dere early in de mawnin'. An' dere's anothah one. Yo' kin care it tuh a peah [pear] tree an' drive it in dere about de height of 'em [the victim]. Drive dat in dere. Call 'em, hit it, drive it in dere hard, Ah drive dis spike intuh yore reart, dat no longah shall yo' Zive'r [live or] remain on earth. Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Den turn roun' an' call dem. Call dem, but don't put yore hamah or hatchet down. Hold it in a drivin' position. Drive it! An' evah tine yo' drive yo' say, Die! Die! Dat'll bring on quick-enough death. Drive it! Tell 'em yo' drivin' it through dey heart, dey witals an' weins. Yo' shall Die! Die! Yo' must die! Yo' shall die!
Entry 9762
Yo' take nine nails an' drive 'em into a pine tree on de sunrise side an' make yore wish, In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost. An' yo' kill a person dataway. (And you wish to kill that per- son when you are driving those nails in the tree?) Yes sir.
Entry 10888
( Git some of the hair off of a cat's neck an' git some hair from back of a dog's neck. You know a cat an' a dog will fight. An' put it together an git some pine straw [dried pine needles] and care it to the fork of a road an' burn it up. They say they'll go together no more; they say every time they meet one another they fight. [The male and female victims are not named here but the in- tention is there to identify them.]
Entry 11017
Now, yo' kin take a underweah, a underweah whut yo' got on yore chest like dis heah [evidently opened shirt to show underwear]. Don't ca' if it's a thick one or either a thin one - underweah. An' ah kin take dat, an' three rooster feathah - hen or rooster, any kind. Ain't gotta be but one kinda feathah, dat's de feathah come out de wing. All right yo' promise me yo' gonna [not work in Savannah!]. Dat woman ovah dere, yo' understan', suh. Yo' wanta bring her back jes' lak yo' got life in yore body an' ah got life in mah body. Well, ah kin git dat [done] jes' as easy as anything. Jes' git dem three feathah lak ah telled yo'. Understand, an' git dere undahweah, an go right out in de woods to a green pine sapling. It isn't goin' dirty yo', an' git chew a rusty nail - not no new nail - a rusty nail an' put dat undahweah jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates].
(Put that underwear up against the tree.)
Put dat undahweahs on dat pine saplin'. Yo' understan' whut ah mean? Yo' take dem three feathah an' put 'em lak dat [demonstrates], yo' understan'.
(Put the three feathers on the underwear.)
Put de underweah dere first to de tree - yo' listen whut ah'm speakin' - an' take de three feathahs an' put 'em lak dis heah Idemonstratesl. But yo' stick dat nail 'fore yo' nail dat underweah, understand, where [demonstrates] nail de undershirt up dere an' dem feathah right dere. All right, den chew go back. Don' teli none of her fren's. Dey don't [know] whut chew been doin'. In eight day's time she'll be to yo' residence.
(That's all you have to do to bring that woman back?)
(You put her underwear up there. You put the nail up there an' put [hang]
the underwear on it with the feathers?) The chicken ain't gotta be daid atall. [Pull the feathers out of a live rooster.]
Entry 11366
Jes' lak if mah husband be's goin' wit a woman an' ah been tryin' tuh prevail wit him tuh leave her alone an' she won't do it. Yo' git de green an' red pod peppah an' git two. All right, yo' dig all dem seed an' every- thin' outa dose two pods of peppah an' yo' kin throw dat away anywhere yo' want. yo' git chew a gunshell but it gotta be black [have black pow- derl. Git chew some dis salt in one pod of dat peppah an' name it de woman he goin' wit. Put de gunpow- dah in de othah pod an' name it he. Yo' curse her while yo' doin' dat an' den yo' curse him. Yo' git chew some fat lightwood splintahs [can be large pieces of wood] an' yo' cross dem disaway [demonstrates]...
(Like an "x"?)
Yessuh, an' while dey burnin' yo' jes' be cursin' 'em fo' everythin' yo' kin think of, an' when dat powdah blow up, when he go tuh see her ag'in, he'll beat her an' den he won't go tuh see her any mo'.
(He'll beat her?)
Yes sir. Dey'll fall out right den, see.
Entry 12317
Now, yo' wish tuh git a girl or yore boy fren' back tuh 'em. Yo' go ahead an' go tuh a fat-lightah [pine] stump of a tree dat de lightnin' struck. An' yo' takes an' makes nine pegs. An' aftah yo' make dose nine pegs, yo goes back tuh de fo'ks of de road an' yo' makes three wishes. Dat's de way it wuz tole tuh me. Make three wishes an' aftah yo' make three wishes, yo' takes two pints of whiskey wit chew, an' aftah yo' make de three wishes, den yo' take an' yo' lie down on de flat of yore back at de fo'ks of de road, an' yo' drinks one of dose pints, an' yo' po's de othah one on de nine pegs. An' yo' git chew a match an' yo' scratch de match, an' sets dat whiskey afire an' burns up dose pegs right dere. Den dat cause de girl or de boy, which one yo' made de wishes fo', tuh come back undah yore control.
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 13218
Dat's done dis Way. Say, fo' ninstan' now, dat a spirit is worryin yo', maybe yo' done perhaps kill somebody maybe yeahs ago, an' dey spirit keep worryin' yo'. Yo' go to a small stream where it's a bridge an' yo' git a lighter [fat-lighter stick] an' peg, an' drive it down at chure left toe, den yo' walk backwards cross dat stream an' drive an- othah peg down at chure right toe, an' yo' tie dat spirit betwixt dere - cross de water an' dey won' follow yo' no mo'. (What do you mean you tie it across the water?) Well, yo' see, when yo' drive de peg down, an' yo' call de person's name three times, den yo' know he's wit chew, dat de spirit is. Den when yo walk backwards, cross de bridge, he still following yo' in front, but when yo' stoop down an' drive anothah peg at chure toe, yo've got him. In othah words, dat's whut chew might call dat chew bury de spirits. [As I say in margin title, our doctor here is a law unto himself, since a spirit cannot cross running water; but here doctor pegs sprit across running water so that his client can return to his own side of the stream. Nice Work!]
Entry 569
When ah was twelve years old, people used to come to mah house and git mah daddy to let me come cut cards fo' 'um - see, it was a gift to me. Ah nevah been to school two months in mah life but I musta had [something?] down in mah heart, but ah got wicked and got to cursin', tellin' lies and it left me. Now, for experient [experience], for self- experient about mahself, about mah wife - ah tole you about my wife. Ah'm got a wife an' fo' kids. My wife, somebody put a spell on her in liquor [see No. 78]. She got it in whiskey and she done walked off. She been gone now fer about round three months. [This was not the first time she had left home.] Ah done spent money, all ah had - ah been to Beaufort, South Carolina, ah been to other people.
(Whom did you see at Beaufort?)
A man dey call Dr. Robinson - j'ever hear talk about him - live on an island?
(I never heard of Robinson - I know Rikker who is there.)
(Did he live in Beaufort or outside of town?)
He lived outside of town on a little island.
(Oh, yes, I know him - I know him.) [See Robinson in Index.]
Well, anyways he lived on a little island.
(What did he do for you when you went there?)
He tole me if I could get my wife hair - he put somepin to his ear, see - he say, "Yore wife got a spell on her in whiskey," which ah knows that, but I ain't said nothing. He put somepin to his ear and ah hear him talking and it look to like - and he say, "What dis boy done?" [He say] "Ain't done nothin'?" He say, "Uh-huh." He say, "Two wimmins put a spell on your wife in liquor." [The moment informant said the doctor had put somepin to his ear, I suspected Doctor Robinson had used an old-fashioned ear trumpet to consult a spirit. My informant could hear him talking - both spirit and doctor. Ventriloquism? I doubt it - it was unnecessary. Instead of asking his patient what was wrong, the doctor inquired of the spirit, What dis boy done? Presumably the spirit replied, Ain't done nothin', for doctor somewhat surprised repeats, Ain't done nothin'? And then he knowingly comments, Uh-huh. If the reader is skeptical about method and belief here, remember that the Tomb-of-de-Babe-of-Bethlehem preacher (see Contents or Index) could hold a sea shell to his ear and hear the roaring of the primordial ocean of Genesis - first book in the Bible. See also No. 242 for talking snake.] He say, "If yo' kin bring her to me," say, "ah'll cure her." Ah say, "Well, ah ain't got no way bringin' her - she done left home." He say, in seven days from den she goin' be back - and she was back de seventh day. She come back, but he say, "She won't stay without chew bring her to me." But ah never did get enough money to take my wife. All right, she left again. An' ah went to different people right here in town and dey couldn't make her come back. An' you know what I hear oncet? I did oncet, heah about two weeks ago, ah went to de people and tole 'em, ah said, "Don't work on her no mo' - jes' let her go." But dat day when ah come, heah she was sweeping de house. [At this point in the transcription an original note of mine reads, "Hayes (my transcriber) left out material about spirits - my use of silver." What this silver means I no longer know.] Ah give mah wife up. She wouldn't come near. She would come dere when ah wouldn't answer [while he was away from home] and go along. It come to me to take a aig, write her name on it three times and ah put it in a glass and bury it under - right near de house under a tree, see.
(Near her house or your house?)
To my house - right in mah yard.
(You didn't break the egg?)
Didn't break it. All right. Now, here where dis come. Ah have a little ole plum tree, too, out in de yard. Jest as plain as ah'm talkin' to you, it come to me in mah sleep - a man tole me - to take a white pine - piece of white pine - yo' know what a white pine is - go to dat tree three nights and three days and call her name nine times fore ah hit one of those - see, jest like a leaf - a tree done sprung from it [a come] - call her name and hit on it three times fer three nights and three days. All right. Ah tole de ole man yestiday she done workin' around somebody - seems she done gettin' worried. See, last night was de last night after sundown - she come home last night at twelve 'clock with her clothes and so help me, God, and she tole me, she said she ain't going leave no more. So I musta done git de spirit [the man in his sleep], see. Now, dat's the truf, if I never speak agin. An' she's gittin' jest further - she wouldn't come near me atall. Dey man moved in, say de spell was put on her to make her hate me - say two wimmin did it wit whiskey and one man. But now, this thing heah what ah'm tellin' yo' 'bout with that piece of white pine, and go to that tree after sundown and call her name three times an' jest tell her what chew want, tell her that you want her to come home and stay home.
(When you call her name, do you hit the tree with that thing?)
Jest knock a leaf off it. Yo' jest pick yo' one of 'em dat grows, see - tain't no pine, jest any kind of tree, but you git a piece of white pine to do it wit. You got'a go to a little ole green tree - somepin like a plum tree or any kind of a green tree. That what the man tole me and what ah did.
(Who told you this?)
A spirit tole me.
(Oh, a spirit man - I see.)
Dat's right - come to me in mah sleep - wasn't no man - jist come to me in mah sleep - a man tole me to do it and ah did it and last night made de six days - my wife walked in de house last night after twelve 'clock - knocked on de do' and tole me to let her come in. [At this point in the transcription an original note of mine reads, "Some untranscribed material about his wife."] No, heah how it started. Dey tuk de liquor and dey put somepin in it. See, when dey put stuff in dere like dat, no telling what - it gits yore mind, gits yo' dull and gits in yore brains. See. Every month, jest de date dey give it to you, every month dat dat you gits foolish head - den you Wanta do jest what dey Want chew to do. [See subsection Time in this section.] See. De chillun kept tellin' me about it - say, "Mama jest sets round dere an' cry-babying an' [we] say what de matter and she say dere ain't nothin' in her." Dey say, "Dere's somepin in her." Dat spell was working on her more an more and at last one Saturday night ah go home and to de chillun, ah say, "Where yo' mama?" They say] "Mama tuk her coat and left," and she stayed about a day. Ah went and talked with her and ah said, "What's the matter sweetheart?" And she jest cried and cried, "Ah don't know." Well, ah said, "Yo' come on home." She come on back home. About two months after that she was gone agin - she stayed about three days den. Ah go talk wit her and she come back home agin. But ah'd taken her to dis Father Abraham and he told her she was witchcrafted. He give her somepin out of de Bible to drink and some water -
(He had taken something out of the Bible and some what?)
He'd taken what he got out de Bible - some sort somepin, he made a little pill out of and give it to her [probably a Bible-text pill]. She got all right den, see, fer about a month. (Father Abraham is up here at Lottie, Florida Lottie, Florida - dey buried him last week. An' he say, "Yo' witchcraft - dat's your trouble." And he prayed some kind of prayer over her - put his hand on her haid. She got all right fer about a couple of months. Ah go home and she was laying on de floor stiff. Ah pick her up and say, "What de matter." She didn't know nothing. Next morning I'd taken her back to him. Ah give dat fellah $200. All right, she got all right fer about a couple of months. He says fer to stay from around dem people, say, "You'll be all right, but every time you go around dem, dey doubles yore dose on yo'. See. An' she laid [stayed] home agin. Ah'm telling you she stayed den three weeks. All right, ah goes to Beaufort, where ah was telling you about where ah went. Ah give dat fellah three dollars - Dr. Robinson - and I mean he had plenty people round dere to see him. He put that thing to his ear and he say, "Seven days and if she ain't come back under seven days - seven days, she'll be dere. But she ain't gon'a be stationery - she ain't going to stay." [He] say, "You bring her here to me and ah'll take it off her." But ah never be able to take her dere. She come back in de seven days. She come back in de seven days jest lak ah count de days, see, de seventh day on de minute she walks in after sundown.
(She came back last night, did you say?) [No, I am mistaken.]
Dat de seven days he talking about, see. She worked all right fer about two months round dere er [or] three months. Three months after that, three months from last night she was gone - walked out agin and she been gone three months. Ah went to diff'rent root people, ah been all over. Dere's plenty of dem here in dis town - plenty of 'em tell yo' dey kin do things, whether they done do it er not, see. And ah spent money with white wimmens, colored wimmins, colored men jest thrown mah money away and so ah been worried. You know about how ah been feeling - every time ah go home, de chillun say, "When yo' goin' git mama to come home?" Ah say, "Ah don't know." She'd go out once a week and see de chillun but she sneak away fore ah git dere. Dey put a spell on her to make her spirit die - make her hate me, see. An' dat spirit brought dat to me what to do, see. Dat's why ah'm telling yuh, I know it goin' work - nobody have to tell me. Now, you know when ah started to work on that - last Sunday night. It ain't been six days. See, you go to dat tree jest like ah tell you with a piece of pine board - don't make no diff'rent whether it is big or not - and yo' looking at de good limb wit de leaves on it, see, and you start to de head and call her name three times and you knock off some of dem leaves each time you call - jest three times - and stick dat stick in de ground, not up on de tree - stick it where nobody won't see it. See. An' you go back dere - you do's it fer three days and three nights. And de last night she walk in dere twelve 'clock wit her clothes under her arm. Dis mawnin' ah said, "Well." Ah knowed she was coming, see, 'cause de spirit had done showed it to me dat night wit her clothes coming - ah seed her plain wit her clothes coming. All right.
(What did she have to say?)
She knock on de door an' ah say, "Who dere?" She say, "Git up and open de door." She come in and ah say, "Why, you comin"' and she say, "Yeah, ah'm goin' stay now - ah ain't goin' no more - ah'm tired." Ah know where she was stayin'. She was stayin' tuh her aunty a while, stayin' over tuh her cousin a while - see jest scabering aroun' jest like somebody goin' away when she got her own home dere to stay tuh. But dey put a spell on her - she couldn't he'p it. Dis mawning she tole me. De chillun.say dey sure is glad to git her home. But she ain't exactly right yet - de spirits tell me it goin' wear off of her more and more.
Entry 725
My uncle had a boy and his name wus Eddie, and so he wus about eighteen years old and kept a-gittin' sickly, puny, puny, havin' spells, and kept a-goin' to one doctor to another, and one to another, and no doctors would it seem to be helpin' him any. He car'ed [carried] him to a place dey call Raleigh, North Carolina. He went to a hospital. So de doctors dere looked at him, examined him from his head to his feet. He would have spells - like if he'd be on de street standin' up, he jis' fall off his [feet], fall dead over, and hit would last about twenty minutes and den it's over. And while he had him dere in de hospital - so some lady say to him, "Dat boy has had some roots worked on him." And she said, "De best thing for you to do is to go to South Carolina," to some lady's house down dere. She handed him de lady's name, address. And so he left. We went down dere. As soon as he got dere in de yard at dis lady, [she] met him at de door and say, "You's in seriously trouble, ' say, "yore boy is in Raleigh in de hospital, ain't he?" He told her yes. [Uncle and nephew, my informant, are impressed by the woman's fore-knowledge, totally unaware that the recommender had written all details to the doctor.] She say, "Well, somebody has done worked some roots on him." She say, "Come on in." He went on in. She car'ed him dere in de room in de back. I stayed in de front. And so, how she had him fix up right dere, I don't know. Come out. He said to me, "Let's go." We went on, got in de car, come to Raleigh. Got to Raleigh. He wus in dere [the hospital]. He had somepin 'nother in his mouth, operatin' his mouth up and down - so it looked jis' like sticks and he wus spittin', spittin' aroun' de baid. And so I seen 'im hand de boy -
(You don't know what she gave him?)
No sir, not den. Well, he wus dere in de hospital spittin' aroun' de baid, spittin' aroun' de baid. He spoke den to me and say, "I'm so tired of de roots I don't know whut to do." I say, "I thought chew wus eatin' somepin." He say, "No, it's some roots." And de boy were layin' dere, his jaws done gone in and eyes goes in. He [uncle] reach back den for - at his han'chief, wiped his han'- chief over his [boy's] eyes. And so he looked aroun' at, de boy did - his color, ever'thing changed. And so us left den and started at [for] de house where us wus roomin' at. He say, "Eddie [informant's as well as cousin's name]." I say, "What?" He say, "Dis woman told me to take my han'chief. She had de han'chief in de room and hand it back to me [dressed in some manner], and [told me] when I git dere [at the hospital] to wipe it over his face. [The uncle was not permitted to tell his nephew anything until after instructions had been followed.] And you see at de place on him changin'." Well, it did. So, she [had also] said, "After de morrow is gone," she said, "he will be ready to go home." We went on to de house and back next evenin', and de boy wus up walkin' aroun' in de yard. So dere come de nurses and said, "Did you stop by to see yore son?" He said, "Yes, sir." Said, "Well, he's out dere in de yard walkin' aroun'.' And from dat day on dem spells always be offen 'im. And so how she had it [the handkerchief] fixed, now, to have 'em offen 'im. I don't know.
(Do you know what type of roots she gave him to chew?)
No sir, not den. And so afterwards I went home, stopped by there [his uncle's house], and I ast 'im [about the roots]. De boy was fine, gittin' along fine. And so how come [the boy was root worked]. So, somebody had some roots worked on him. So, he had a other woman oldest girls - boy, you know. [He had seduced the oldest daughter of the same woman.] And so she [the mother] was after him and dis girl to marry. He wouldn't marry her. And so she [mother] jis' went ahead on and had some roots worked on him. And de other woman [root worker down in South Carolina] had de spell offen 'im. And so he said to me he went back down dere at dis house [in South Carolina], ast dis woman [about the roots]. And she said hit was roots offen a ole sweet gum tree, a pine tree, and some roots offen some kin'a sasafract [sassafras] - that's whut it [the third root] wus he say. [Here is the magic of three; these roots are separately used in cures.] And dey some special root on dere [the sassafras] whu' chew suppose to git. And so at de main one now he didn't say. [The uncle did or could not tell him what the special root of the sassafras was.l [The informant said that the root doctor's home was at Gibson Station, South Carolina, near the North Carolina border. Gibson (surely old railroad station) is just over the State-line in Scotland County, North Carolina.] [Wilmington, N. Car., (229), 224:1; at Wilmington,1933.]
Entry 8351
Take a nail an' go tuh a pine tree an' drive dat nail in it nine times. Drive it nine times in dat pichure an' in nine days, dat person will have to come home. Ah don't care where dey is.
Entry 2381
Some people, if they wants you to like 'em, they'll take a piece of green wood.
(Green wood?)
Wood.
(Any kind of wood?)
Pine wood. Take pine wood and go to the store and buy me a file, brand-new file. Say, they took a brand-new file and drove it through the piece of wood and break it. Put it there nine places - just driv it in there as far as they Want to and break it off. Put it there many times as she want and break it off. See, now, you got nine pieces in there, broke off you know fine - you know, small file it'll break. And after you broke it off, then you goes to the well and drops it in the well. Well, it sinks. You ever seen a well?
(Yes - in the ground, a deep well.)
Drop it in the well. Well, it sinks, goes on the bottom and lays on the bottom, stays there until that well is cleaned out. Only way you kin get clear of it - the water gets low in dere, you will notice it there and go there and clean it out. Well, that will make a man just love you - like you - keep you - never wants to leave you - will never want you to leave there. He will send for you, I don't care where you are at. (That is in connection with a job, you mean, if you are working for this man. Or if a woman wants to keep a man.) Sir?
(Does a woman do this to a man, or does a man do this to hold a job?)
A man to hold a job. [Surely a love rite.]
Entry 4833
(What about the socks now?)
De socks, de stockin's or piece of yore garments. Now, ah've seen dis real. Split de green pine with a chisel an' a glut, a chisel an' a glut. Dat is, de glut is a piece of wood wide enough dat chew could lay it straight up an' down lak dat. [A glut is a wedgeshaped piece of wood or steel.] Nail dat together [after you put a piece of clothes in the split and remove chisel].
(What do you put in that?)
[What do you put in that split before nailing it together?]
Now, ah don't know whut he put in it, but he put dat in de tree. We got [found] de tree.
(Put what in the tree?)
De sock, an' de woman's stockin's - jis' whosomevah dey workin' ag'in, an' a piece of dere undah garment close tuh yore skin. Yuh know, de arm-holes or de seat of dey drawahs, if it's a man; if it's woman, de seat of hers. Nail dat intuh de tree wit a ten-penny nail an' let it [split] grow up [together]. Dat runs yuh crazy an' make yuh sick.
Entry 8261
Hear 'em say if dey Wanted tuh kill yo' quick, take yore track. Ah've seen dat. Says yo' bo' a hole in a tree, in a pine tree or oak tree. Cut de head off heah [hair off top of head] an' put it in dere an' den drive a peg in it. An' as 'er hair goes away, yo' go. [For my comment about this elderly man, see later. While recording machine was off, he began a photo rite:]
(The tintype. What did they use to say years ago?)
Take an' shoot at yore pichure an' shootin' de pichure would kill yo'.
(But they generally put that picture in a certain way you said.)
Yes, toward where he's at or she's at. (You have to put that picture up in the direction in which that person is liv- ing?) Yes. (THIS OLD MAN WHO WAS JUST IN HERE WAS 87 YEARS OLD AND WAS BAREFOOT.)