Subject:Plant
Entries
Entry 1409
If anyone poison yo', yo' take de frog an' kill de frog, or either yo' kin, if yo' got nerve enough to gut him 'live, jes' take all his guts out an' cut both side of him off - all dis flesh an' stuff off. Jest leave his back an' his hind leg an' his front one an' his head - jes' cut his belly off an' put it into dis bottle wit vinegar, red vinegar, an' after yo' put it in dere, yo' put some artichoke, something dey call artichokes. Put dat in dere wit some red cayenne peppah. Put dat in dere an' some sulphur an' set it fo' nine mawnin's - nine mawnin's, an' then yo' drink that three times a day or at night - when yo' want to. That will relief anything dat evah happened.
(What does an artichoke look like?) [It is just as well that I asked.]
Artichoke is somethin' dat grows somethin' like a potato but it's knotty. Ah got some home. (Green - green on the outside isn't it? And you pull off the leaves like that?) [I must have demonstrated.] It's most lak a Irish potato. Yo' see some Irish potatoes got little knots in 'em, comin' out - well, it's jes' lak dat. (Does it grow out of the ground?) [I should have said, does it mature above- ground.] Yes sir - under de ground.
(What color is it?)
It's white. Yo' don't have tuh peel it, yo' kin jes' wash it off an' scrape it lak dat an' yo' kin eat it jes' lak it is. Jes' it ain't got no nice taste to it; it jes' fo' lak vinegar an' peppah an' onions an' stuff dey put in dere wit vinegar. It something lak somepin dey sprinkle ovah greens, yo' know whut chew call dat.
(Sauces?)
Yes.
Entry 2086
To keep de police away is tuh git chew High John de Conker root. Git chew High John de Conker root an' Lucky Heart - dat's a weed dat grow up an' it shaped in a heart like, lak dey call it Lucky Heart. It's a red leaf, dey call it Lucky Heart. Yo' take dem two tuh- gether an' yo' put 'em together in a red flannel sack, yo' see. An' yo' take an' put chew some sulphur in dere wit dat. Yo' understan'. An' yo' bury dat right undah yore do'step. Git chew two sacks so yo' kin make two of 'em. Put in each do'step an' dey tell me if de law come dere, dey can't come in. If dey do, dey overlook ever'thing whut dey come in dere fo'.
Entry 4943
Take a woman's stockin' - dat's tuh keep 'em home. Now, fo' a man's sock, yuh'll go tuh work, if yuh wan' 'im tuh stay at home. An' yuh'll take dat sock an' yuh'll go tuh work an' yuh git cinnamon, sugah an' rose watah. An' yuh damp dat sock good an' [in the sock] put yore name an' all of dat. Dat's tuh keep 'im home. When yuh fixin' it yuh'll have yuh a house plant, yuh undahstan'. A plant, but yuh know, don' destroy it. An' yuh'll take dat sock, eithah [or] her sock. An' yuh take dat sock an' yuh'll fix [dress] it wit de cinnamon in yore name an' 'er name. An' yuh'll put it in de bottom of dat plant an' jis' keep dat plant in yore house all de time. Dat'll keep 'im or keep 'er home. An' she cain't go.
(What do you put in that sock?)
Yuh put sugah, cinnamon, rose blossom [water] an' - ah fo'got dis othah per- fume. An' yuh put dat all in dat sock. [There are a number of the plant rites in HOODOO.]
Entry 9148
Well, if yo' go down befo' de jedge, it's a root chew git called de "Be 'shamed brier root," de "be 'shamed Brier Root."
(Be Ashamed? Well, why do they call it that?)
Well, becuz it's de conkah of all roots of de woods. It's conkah of all de roots in de woods. See, lak if yo' go in de woods tuh git dat an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush, de little leaves on it closes up. It says, "Be 'shamed of yo'self, be 'shamed of yo'- self, be 'shamed of yo'- self [he hits it]. Well, all dem leaves on dat closes up [because he touched, hit the plant].
(As soon as you touch it that way, then it closes up?)
Close up. Well, yo' dig down dere an' git dat root. Dig down dere an' git dat root out dere. Well, den yo' take dat root, see, an' carry it home. An' if yo' got a case in co't, yo' take dat an' hold it in yore mouth lak dat, an' yo' spit one time 'fore de jedge. Spit dat at his face. Well, when yo' do dat, lak ah'm lookin' at chew, yo' see, yo' lookin' at me an' he think yo' chewin' 'bacco or somepin. He won't know whut chew got in yore mouth. Yo' jes' spit one time 'fore his face. Well, an' den yo' go dere an' set down. Well, when yo' sets down an' he'll jes' - he'll call up evahbody in co't. He'll call up evahbody in co't an' yo'll be settin' ovah dere, an' he look ovah dere an' he say, "Well, whut chew want in heah? Git up an' go on outa heah." See, dat root done got his mind, he done got 'shamed of whut he got yo' 'cused [accused] of, say, "Yo' git up an' walk on out." [They fascinate me, those words near the beginning: git dat (shame brier) an' jes' whatevah yo' wanta learn an' know, yo' see dat bush. de little leaves on it closes up. This suggests to me that some persons at least, and in some way, used the shame brier as a divining device. This plant and the hole of the doodle-bug (ant-lion larva) must have puzzled believers in hoodoo at one time - for beliefs about the doodle-bug, see Folklore from Adams County Illinois, Nos.1398-1404, p.55, 2nd ed.]
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 12739
Ah say yo' kin make a family break up easy if yo' want tuh. Jes' lak ah wanta git rid of Doc an' his wife, make 'em fuss. Git some rattan root or bush an' tie it up together an' put it to dere house, or either hide it jes' anywhere in de house. Every time dey come in dey'll be fightin' an' fussin'.
(Rattan. What does it look like?)
Yo' know de rattan. It's sompin dat bends so [demonstrates an arch] in de woods. Yo' know how it bends an' twists, yo' know. Grow in de swamps.
(Do they make baskets out of that?)
Some people do, yes sir. Now, it'll break up any home in de world if yo' cut up dat. Git de root of dat an' put it in de house, dey shore goin' tuh squabble. [I am unable to identify informant's rattan.]
Entry 12925
If a man huntin' a job an' he wanted a job, de first thing, he's got- ta make de man feel he's sorry fo' him, an' to do dat, he'd have to carry on him what is known as Shame Brier. But he mustn't git de Shame Brier until [FOR IDENTITY - NAMES - EXAMPLES - SEE v.1, p.646f.] it closes up. Yo' see, de leaves is open, an' deh, dey'll close up. But chew gotta pass de han' ovah dere an' say tuh de Shame Brier tuh "be shamed", or whatevah yo' wanta do, yo' tell de brier dat an' tell de brier tuh be shamed. An' den when it closes up - it will close up itself. Well, yo' git chew nine of dose leaves. Yo' wrap dem up an' den take 'em on tuh where yo' wanta go an' den ask fo' yo' job.
(That will get you the job.)
Entry 13442
If yo' got okra dat won' bear, yo' jes' take yo' a switch every mawnin' an' go dere an' whip dat bush lightly an' it start tuh bearin' jes' lak any othah bush. (That okra is the same thing as gumbo, isn't it?) [The two African words refer to the plant, gumbo in the U. S. A. usually means a cooked product.]
(That is to make the thing bear?)
Yes.
[Informant now gives another method for making okra bear.]
Yo' kin take a sifter an' go out dere an' yo' sift it ovah de okra lak dat, an' if it won't bear, it will start bearin'.
(Do you put anything in the sifter or just the empty sifter?)
Jes' de empty sifter.
Entry 1946
Well, yo' kin go dere an' git a tree - to graveyard, git a little ole bush an' den carry it to anyone's home an' set it out an' let it stay right where yo' set it out. It won't be long 'fore dey'll go where yo' git dis bush from. (If you want to get rid of someone, you would go out to the graveyard and get up a bush and then come into that house and set it out where they wouldn't notice it. And that would send them to that graveyard where that bush came from.) Dat's right, jes' make dem move in somepin jes' lak a grave. Jes' make up a little something jes' lak a grave an' jes' stick it [the bush] right tuh de head of dat, an' a stick tuh de foot an' name it. It won't be lon g'fore dey be gone.
Entry 2237
If you can get somebody to go into de woods and git chew a plant of rattlesnake marsters - a bush dat grows, it called de rattlesnake marster. You git it an' plant it into a pot like a flower, and set it up inside de door and they will not come inside the gate.
[After machine turned off, informant adds another plant.]
(You put one plant on each side of the door?)
One plant on each side of the door - the male and the female plant - put one on each side of the door. And they [law] will never come in that door.
Entry 11367
Dey say a fig tree, dat hit every Christmas or every New Year's Day dat hit blooms, dat hit stay as it blooms, little blossoms, little seeds come on an' off, an' be gone away 'fore day every New Yeah's.
Entry 186
Well, dey say yo' ketch it when dat wind - jes' de whirlwind, if yo' kin git it. Git a papah an' ketch some of it when de wind is up in a whirl, an' take that an' mix it up with graveyard dirt an' lodestone an' sulphur - dere's somepin else yo' kin mix up wit it - an' plant it. An' jes' lak dat whirlwind go up, dat person will jes' continue tuh go dat-a-way - jes' drift till yo' nevah see 'em agin, jes' run 'em plumb crazy. Yo' plant it right in back of de do'step where dey do the most of they walkin' - dat's where yo' plant dat stuff.
Entry 11368
Undah de fig tree, dey says, de first night of de year, say if yo' go down tuh de fig tree, say yo' kin heah music in de air. Says if yo' jes' sit dere yo' couldn't tell which way de sound comin' from. Dat is New Year's night. Say if yo' go down tuh de fig tree, say yo could heah angels singing. Say yo' couldn't tell whut dey wus singing an' which way it was comin' from, but yo' jes' heah dat music.
Entry 115
To make him follow him, they'll go to the woods and they'll get a green switch, which they call a weeping willow switch. See. They place it into the dead man's hand and they talk to this dead man and tell him whoever killed him, in nine days time he must whip this person to death. Or, they'll bust a quart of whiskey on the coffin of the person and then they will also talk to this person and tell them whoever did this trick to whip them. See. And then after they bury the person, they'll plant maybe peas on their grave. See. And when them peas come up, wherever you are, if the law doesn't get you, why you are compelled to die.
Entry 2302
Well, it's a herb dat chew get dat chew - de shoe-tongue, kinda chew dem, an' yo' have it in yore mouth an' chew it. Spit it. Spit it an' makes yore wishes whut chew want. [Is this the plant dog tongue or hound's tongue?] Lak yo' won't want de judge tuh go hard on yo', spit it down an' dey ain't goin' tuh know it yo' know, an' dat will make it light on yo' - it will go through [case against you will go through - fail.] (Why do they use shoe-tongue root? Why don't they use anything else? Why do they use that root? Do you know?) Because it's so good. It's so good.
Entry 6828
Goes tuh de graveyard an' git dirt fo"luck: An' yo' kin git it fo' bad luck. If anythin', yo' kin git it offa certain grave, if yo' kin remembah de certain grave; an' if yo' cain't remembah de certain grave, git de dirt, but it's gotta be at night. Yo' cain't go in de daytime an' git. Some peoples have tried it in de daytime when dey goin' tuh de funeral an' git it, but chew'll have tuh go at night, when only de gravediggers are dere.
(What do you do with it then?)
Yes, yo' kin use it fo' luck. Yo' kin take dis graveyard dirt an' git chew some of de flowahs dat's in de graveyard. Yo' kin git some of de rose - yo' cain't use it unless yo' has some kinda flowahs - rose. Yo' kin git chew a flow- ah from de graveyard an' use dis graveyard dirt or eithah fern from de graveyard; or eithah some kinda sprout twig - not any dry. Yo' cain't use any dry twigs, yo' have [to] git 'em all sproutin' when de sap is in 'em. An' place 'em tuh- gethah an' wrap 'em in any kind of cloth yo' wanta. An' wind 'em roun' yuh waist fo' luck, or eithah yo' kin have 'em fo' peoples havin' spells. Or eithah yo' kin use it fo', if yo' have a person sick in yuh home, it's bettah fo' dat. If a person's sick in yore home an' yo' figure dat dey're not goin' git well, de doctors an' evahthin' have given 'em up, use dis graveyard dirt fo' dat, but chew'll have tuh cook it in dere food. Regardless tuh how dirty it is an' all lak dat, yo'll have tuh cook it in dere food, fo' de condition dat dey are in - fo' dere health.
Entry 7026
Fathah Graybeard. Yes sir, it's a tree grows an' have a beard jis' lak a man. Yo' go dere an' dig dat tree up an' git de very top of de roots. But chew cain't take it off from de end, yo' gotta go up in de - where it grow up in de big part of de tree. An' git de chips outa dat an' put in de whiskey. It'll make dem sick dey lak tuh kill demself.
(You put this root in the whiskey to make a man stop drinking?)
Yes sir.
(You get the root just as it goes into the trunk of the tree.)
[The graybeard tree in the southern states of the United States of America is the fringe tree (Chionanthus virginica), a small tree with clusters of white flowers. The dried root bark is used as an aperient and diuretic. Whether this is the Father Graybeard of the present rite I do not know.]
Entry 7200
[Informant says something about a locust tree.] (What do they say about the locust tree?) Ah heard dat de locust tree wuz a tree - de ole lady tole me dis - IT'S A TREE DAT CHEW READ IN DE BIBLE AN' IT WUZ HANDED DOWN FROM GOD. IT'S A HERB YO' GIT FROM DE LOCUST TREE DAT NOBODY KIN CONKAH BUT GOD. An' she give me dat herb.. "An' dis herb," she say, "ah'm not chargin' anythin' fo' it, but yo' a man ah lak." Ah loaned her ten dollahs Once. An' SHE CROSSED HER BREAST [with this herb]. [Somewhere in Hoodoo I tell the story about my contact man Edward Bufford, while we. were working in Savannah, Georgia. He had sealed some money in a letter to send home to his wife but feared she might not receive it. His landlady, where I interviewed during the day, took the sealed envelope and crossing it over her breast, said to him, "Mail it, now your wife will get the money." The money ar- rived safely.] Ah asked, "Whut kinda herb dis?" She said, "Dis is a herb from de locust tree, " an' she say, "ah want chew tuh keep dis herb fo' as long as yo' kin."
(Is this for luck or something?)
Fo' luck.
Entry 7257
He left me once. Yes sir, mah husban', he left me once. Ah worried ovah 'im. Ah went tuh a man an' ah ast 'im. Ah went tuh a man supposed tuh be a rootman an' ah ast 'im whut would ah do. He say, " "Emily, ah tell yo' de truth." He say, "Pray." Ah said, "Ah done prayed till ah'm tyahd [tired]." Ah said, "It don't look lak tuh me de Lawd hearin' mah prayah." He said, "Yo' jis' have faith." Ah got me sompin dey calls de many fens, an' ah got mah brothah tuh go in de woods an' git me - well see, he has dat. He's got aplenty of dat. When yo' cuts dat - it's a weed grows about dat high - an' when yo' cut it, time yo' cut it half in two, it's two lettahs on it, it's a "IC" [= Jesus Christ] on dere. [The letters "I" and "J" years ago were made alike.] An' ah took dat an' ah [gotj me some of dis heah one-time droppah [eye-dropper] an' ah wrote him a lettah an' ah jis' took it an' jis' rubbed it all up on dere an' put it in de envelope an' sealed it an' sent it tuh 'im. He come on right back tuh me. He hasn't left me no mo' since.
(What is the name of this weed that you get in the woods?)
IC. De time yo' cut it off dere's two lettahs on it - IC.
(And you simply rub this root over this letter.)
An' dat othah droppah, one-time droppah, yo' put it on dere an' seal de lettah up an' send it tuh 'im. (You simply put this liquid in this one-time dropper and put it over the let- ter?) Put it on de lettah. [I am unable to identify this Weed. A similar holy plant is the cross vine (Bignonia capreolata) of southern U. S. A., which shows when cut across a stem the figure of a cross. Similarly this plant, like the "IC one, keeps husband home and away from other women (see 765, p.225 and 1810, p.542).]
Entry 7424
[The preceding rite from Charleston - throwing into the murdered per-. son's grave the vegetable believed to have caused death by poison - I have pre- viously met and collected at Petersburg, Virginia. Here is an unusual variant: If yo' kin git some black peas... (Black peas?) Black corn-peas [peas planted in a corn (= maize) field, to be identified later]. Den go here some place tuh yo'- self an' dig yo' - yo' don' wan'a go tuh de old-time grave dey used tuh have. Dey used tuh have a coffin built wit cornahs lak dis, yo' know [demonstrates].
(The [upper] corners were sort of cut off.)
[Beveled or slanted would have been better.]
Dey have cornahs in de coffin made dat way, lak a elbow an' come down narrah [narrow] tuh de feet, yo' see. [Excellentt] Den dey used tuh dig a...fo' dat, didn't dig a square [oblong] flat grave lak dey do now. An' dey make a fo'k [fork] down in dere, yo' undahstan', in de bottom of dat [grave] enough tuh take dis box in. [Box is the old word for coffin because the coffin was a box.] Den dey put a plank ovah dat an' put dirt on de plank.
(They put what over that?)
Take a flat piece of junk jis' as long as dey dig de hole.
(Oh, I see.)
Yo' dig de hole an' yo' dig a fo'k in dat, yo' know.
(A something?)
[I failed to understand his variety of fo'k or fahk for fork!]
Yo' know, what ah call de fo'ks in de grave wit de hole in tuh fit de box.
(Oh, I see! Sort of dig out the sides so that box will fit it?)
Yeah, de box comes down, yo' see. Dey dig a square [oblong] hole...
[I interrupt.]
(You dig out the corners so that the box corners will go down in - that's the idea, isn't it?) No, [if] yo' had a piece of papah, ah'd show it tuh yo'.
[I probably tear a blank page out of my Numbers Book.]
(All right, write here.)
Yo' dig dis square [he draws a square]. Now, here's de nex' one. Plants dat down in de bottom of it.
(Oh, down in the bottom of the grave! I see.)
Den yo' dig a li'le one in dat, yo' know, same as dat's down in de bottom of de firs' one. But yo' don' dig de firs' on...dese peas supposed tuh come up an' sprout. Den yo' put de peas ovah on de rough ends of de bo'd, yo' see.
(How many peas do you put in there?)
Put one in each hole. An' yo' put sompin ovah dat - yo' see, ovah dose peas - piece of wood or anythin'. An' den put dirt on all of it, yo' see, but not dese, an' den when dem peas sprout, de corn will be gone.
(I see.)
It's six of one...
(Is that all you have to do?)
Dat's all, yes. BEFO' YO' TELL ANYBODY, FIRS' THING YO' DO WHEN YO' GIT UP IN DE MAWNIN', KNELL [KNEEL] DOWN AT DE DO'STEP AN' TELL DE DO'STEP, THREE TIMES, WHUT YO' DO. It's a simple thing but it's true.
(HOW LONG AGO DID YOU SAY THAT HAPPENED? HOW LONG AGO SINCE YOU HEARD THAT?)
IT'S BEEN OVAH FIFTY YEAHS.
(Fifty years.)
Yeah, when ah wuz young - [I am now] goin' on 76 yeahs.
[This interview occurred in 1937.]
(Was that here in Virginia?)
NO, nO, DAT WUZ DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA. [If the purpose and details of the foregoing rite appear hazy, blame my scanty experience with hoodoo up to this time. The proper questions and explanatory notes for the recording cylinder would improve with more time. As I restudy this rite, a few afterthoughts arise: (l) Is informant talking about black corn-peas, as recorded, or does he say or intend to say black cowpeas? Surely one of our several cowpea rites confronts us. The cowpea (Vigna sinensis) I have already discussed somewhere in Hoodoo. Sometimes called black-eyed pea, black-eyed bean, etc., it is or was an extensive forage and green manure crop of the Southern States in the U. S. A. The seeds are or were often used for food. (2) Since the cowpea plant is more nearly related to the bean, we have here a historical con- nection with ancient death beliefs. (3) Notice that our peas or beans are not planted in or thrown into an actual grave, but in a mock grave between two rows of growing corn, i.e.maize. Here we have a reason for calling them cornpeas, if this latter word was meant. Our informant digs a small oblong hole, at the bot- tom of which he makes 6 small square holes, one for each pea. At first I thought we had an example of Chinese-box planting, square hole within square hole sort of thing; but informant corrects me with 6 separate holes, each separately covered with a small piece of wood - each of the latter a coffin symbol. Did this orig- inally bring back the murderer on the seventh day? At least we are told: When dem peas sprout, de corn will be gone. Presumably only the ears of (sweet?) )corn are gone, which permits the peas or beans to climb up the denuded cornstalks - hence the cornpeas. (4) The purpose of the rite is not given. Most likely this information was supplied before recording began and I forgot to repeat this de- tail to the cylinder. But certainly all becomes clear at the very end. WHY DOES INFORMANT "KNELL" DOWN AT DE DO'STEP AN' TELL DE DO'STEP, THREE TIMES, WHUT YO' DO? HE ACTUALLY KNEELS AT THE DOORSTEP OF THE MURDERED MAN TO TELL HIM HIS DEATH WILL SOON BE AVENGED! That is the reason for the secrecy until after the actual rite has been performed. Informant knew about this rite back in the 1880's. In some form it must be much older.]
Entry 10665
Git chew a apple, one dese big delicious apple. Hull it out. Aftah hullin' dis apple out, git some oil of clover, oil of verbena, Florida watah [trade name], puttin' it down on dat dere apple wit some honey an' his name on de parchment papah, an' put dat in a flower pot - one dose flover pot whut chew see on de po'ch. An' plantin' de flower in dat, an' set- tin' de flower in dat apple, an' as hit grows, yo'll [husband or man] fin'lly come back home.
Entry 10667
Well, for instance, there is two parties together, like you would have a daughter and her husband and the husband and her didn't look like they were getting along well, and you want them to be together. You get a delicious apple and you will sign his name at the bottom and her name on top on parchment paper.[Core the apple.] You fill that apple full of granulated sugar. You fill that apple full of syrup or honey. The sweeter it is the better it is. You get you some holy water, you put that fern down in that apple after you hull it out. You see, hull the delicious apple out. You put that fern down in there. And then after that you pour the holy water on top that water in that flower pot. Now, as that fern grow, their love grow. Well, that fern, that put them together after signing their name to it, you see. Take a delicious apple, hull it out well, take the fern and put down in there, in the hollow apple. After putting it in the hollow apple, then you git you granulated sugar, pour it down in there, then you put your syrup, here come de holy water, then the dirt back on the fern, you see. You see no apple at all, it is at the bottom. Well, if the fern grow, their love grow; they get along like two birds in one nest. (They put the hollowed-out apple in the flower pot, and the names on, they put that there too. That brings this man and woman together.)
Entry 10668
(How do you use an apple or orange?) An apple is to create love. (How do you do that?) Taking an apple, a delicious apple, hulling it out; taking any kind of fern and putting down into the bottom of that apple.
(The plant, the fern - f-e-r-n?)
Absolutely, putting it down in the apple and getting some honey - making it as sweet as possible - granulated sugar, holy water from the Catholic Church, pouring down in that, pressing the flowerpot up with mud, putting the individual name there that you want into that apple and as the fern grow, as the love grow.
(I see.)
Entry 11373
Said yo' go to a fig tree an' yo' git a root from de no'th side, a root from de west side, dat de side de sun set on, yeah. An' git de root from three different parts; don't git it from foah, git it from three, three different directions, [they] say. An' yo' keep dat root an' put a little Hearts Cologne on it, an' jest keep it in yore pocket an' yo' kin demand anything yo' want done. Dat's all from a fig tree. [For another version of this rite, also from Waycross, see No.1247, v.1.]
Entry 11375
De fig tree - take a bottle an' urinate in de bottle. An' it's jes' lak if yo' got it in fo' me an' yo' wanta hurt me, urinate in de bottle an' den take somepin else [what?] an' po' in dat urinate, an' take dis red string an' tvist it real tight an' slash it to de main root of dat fig tree. Anybody go to dat fig tree an' eat it dey poisoned. If dey eat a fig offa dat tree dey's poi- soned. [The preceding word slash I evidently understood as lash according to my following question.]
(How do you tie this string around it?)
See, yo' takes de cork stop- per an' puts it into dis bottle. An' yo' takes a small nail an' makes a hole right into de center of dis stopper, right down in de cork, see. An' de end of it, take it out an' jes' twist it real tight an' jes' take yore knife an' jes' open de end of a tendril, jes' break off de tendril an' jes' let de thread in dere, an' jes' let it close right back up. See, dat urinate po' right into de tree.
(You have part of the string into the bottle and part of it hanging outside?)
[This is one of several transfusion rites in HooDoO, another example of how doc- tors imitated M.D.'s.] Yes.
Entry 11374
Well de fig tree is always goin' tuh be good. Yo' work good wit dat. Anything, yo' understan', tuh do or whut chew want it tuh do. (How would you do that?) Well, yo' jes' only put it at de root, anything whut chew wanta use in dat. Jes' lak if yo' wanta do ne good, an' wanta give me even good luck on it, yo'll put it at de foot of a fig tree. Yo'll jes' take me an' name me. An' den when yo' name me, why, co'se den yo' jes' only write mah name an' den yo' write whut chew want done. An' den yo'll put dat down at de fig tree root, but chew put it in dirt. Dat's all ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 13329
You go out here an' git this trumpet root. That's a root that grows - it don't grow now'ere roun' here. It grows in the middle of a pond. When you git to that trumpet it's like a bugle. It's about that long [4 feet], it stays green winter an' summer. You take that trumpet root an' you pour some water in it [the flower] from a pump. Nuthin mus' be but de pump. An' take that water an' boil it. Yo' see, yo' boil that trumpet root all together. Well, when yo' git that water, yo' bottle it up an' take a drink. An' take that trumpet an' cut it up, an' put it out there an' let it git dry. Either put it in de stove an' let it dry. Well, yo' powder dat up. Yo' take that then an' yo' go to captain: 'Captain, I'm out of a job an' I wan'a job." Put some that [dust] on yo' [and take a drink of trumpet-root tea before you go] an' yo' got a job.
Entry 3828
(What do they call this plant?)
Dey call it de hedges. Dey ain't no thorn on dat. It's got a purple blossom.
[Someone can surely identify this plant used as a hedge.]
(Then what do you do with that switch?)
[Switch was mentioned before I turned on recording machine.]
Yo' whips 'em till dey come apart.
(That whips them apart if they are stuck together.)
Aftah dey gits 'em apart, dey throws it down on de ground an' dey [released couple] goes walkin' away.
The interviewer asks about a plant; the informant calls it hedges and describes a purple blossom. Its botanical identity remains unresolved.