Subject:Pray
Entries
Entry 2889
If you out of a job and you want a job, you have to take and burn your candle for so many days. If you couldn't get a job and it's real like times are now - you can't get a job [this is during the Great Depression of 1930's] - you really have to burn candles if you want a real good job. Of course, you can get jobs but they ain't paying nothing. But if a man want a job that's going to pay him something, he'll get him a candle. And you burn your candle, you burn your candle three times a day - keep a candle burning if you can. If you can keep it burning all day, it'd be better. Every morning you get to that candle and you say your prayers. You can light it or keep it lit.
(Oh, you keep it lit?)
You can keep it lit all day. It'd be best to keep it lit. But whichever you do at a particular time, you get to the candle and you pray. All right, when you pray at that candle, you pray like you got - you just say - well, you say th 35th [23rd] Psalm of David: The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want. Make me lie down in green pas- tures and stir up my soul. Lead me in the path of rightness for his name's sake. Either I walks in the valley in the shadow of death - I'll fear no evil. Should I weakeneth, thou rod and staff comforth me. Prepare... (etc. etc. etc.) [Comment by transcriber]...and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. See. Well, all right, you says that. Now, when you say that, don't make the sign of the cross, see. Don't make no sign of the cross at all, cause you be crossing your ownself, see. Now, you say it maybe at six in the morning, twelve O'clock you do the same thing again. Three o'clock you do it, and at six in the evening you do it, see. All right. Now, for an instance, you do that at six o'clock in the morning - five or ten minutes after six, when you get up, see. Or if you need, you go on about your daily occupation or wheresomever you going. Or [if] you're looking for a job - you're seeking for a job - well, you go along, and if there's any jobs to be gotten anywhere, you'll get one. If it ain't but for the day, you'll get you one. That's the end of it. See, now you can demand your money. If a man wants to pay you $1.50, you can get $2.00, see. You'll get a job on that [candle and prayer].
(You burn a white candle for that?)
A white candle.
Entry 2895
Tuh burn candles. Well, yo' take those candles an' yo' kin take the Bible an' read the Bible - jis' lak some- one have mistreat you. Well, yo' take those candles an yo' take the Bible an' yo' read it an' yo' prays, an' Pray ovah that candle while it's burnin', see, an' yo'll do that ah think fo' 'bout nine days an' nights, an' yo'll gain friendship wit de party that mistreats you.
(What color candle do you burn for that?)
Dat's white.
Entry 2899
Now, a black candle is fer enemies, a white candle is fo' luck. Yo' kin buy a 25c candle. Anything yo' want, yo' kin git down on yo' knees and pray and ask de Lord fo' it. Ah be's in de habit fo' sometime to fast and pray, an' you'll really git it. An' if you have enemies removed, you could get a black candle and put it in a dark place and burn it. Burn it fo' nine nights and ask de Lord to move them, and he'll move them.
Entry 5300
Yo' take de lef'-foot shoe at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' make yore wish tuh de fo' cornahs of de world an' pray - jes' a prayah child-lak, in yore own mannahs, see. Yore own way of prayin', see. Den if yo' got anybody dat's gone, why dey'll come tuh yo'. Do dat nine times, pray dat prayer. Co'se yo' burn de shoe once, but yo' pray dat same prayah fo' nine times at de same hour. Yo' pray it an' dat's tuh bring 'em home.
(Do you pray nine times that same night you burn the shoe or afterwards?)
Afterwards. Yo' pray it one prayah dat night an' jes' pray it till nine nights. But yo' only burn de shoe once.
(But you only burn the shoe once.)
One shoe at twelve a'clock.
[A separate rite is now added to preceding one:]
Take dat shoe an' yo' kin put some sugah an' soda an' sulphur. Put it in de heel an' shake it tuh de toe, an' push de shoe in de burnah, stove or heatah. Put de toe in first an' let it burn. Yo' do dat about twelve a'clock at night. Now, dat's good. Dat's de same thing. See, yo' don' have tuh pray no nine times ovah dat. Jes' do dat. An' dat's tuh bring people.
(You use either shoe?)
De right foot.
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 7400
Take yore shoes sometime an' lak if dey did anythin', yo' kin take dere shoes an' have 'em caught.
(How would you do that?)
Well, yo' take an' put - yo' git chew some quicksilvah. Well, yo' kin git some of dat an' put nine drops in each shoe. Dat's, if yo' wanta git dis person, put nine drops in each shoe. Den yo' take dese shoes an' yo' pray ovah dem fo' three days, an' yo' use de 26 Psalm on dat fo' three days 'fore sunup, an' put 'em undah de steps whence [where] he goin' back to. Bury dem undah dose bo'ds. An' in nine days he'll be back dere.
(If he has committed some crime.)
Entry 7692
Ah heard 'em say if yo' wanted luck, dat chew would go tuh de grave; but chew wouldn't have tuh git no dirt dis time. But yo' would go tuh de grave an' yo' would make a prayah, an' yo' would ask fo' yore luck, In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost.
(That is all you have to do?)
Yassuh, dat's all.
Entry 8545
Like if I love anybody, I'd take his name and write it and put it in a glass of clear watah. Well ah don't eat anything all day long, just fastin' an' just prayin'. Pray to de Lord that he'll come back tuh me. (That's all you have to do?) That's all I ever heard them doin'. An' I've known girls that do so an' I knowed de boy come back. (Just his name on this piece of paper in a glass of water and then you fast and pray all day long.
Entry 8718
Write de name [of the prospective renter] under your name. First you go to the Bible an' yo' take any chaptah out of it, jis' take yo' any word jis' like Peter, James or John, or anything like that, an' yo' write it down. All right. An' yo' know their names. Yo' want 'em to rent de house. Yo' write dere name down, see. Well, den yo' take anothah verse out de Bible. Write jis' de word yo' see an' den write your name again den. Well, all right. Aftah yo' do dat, den yo' take an' write dere name an' spit in dis bottle 3 times. As yo' roll dis up, take dese names an' roll 'em up right tight. Stick 'em down in dis bottle, stop it, an' bury it undah yore doorstep. Dey'll have to rent de room or yore house from yo'. Yo' call on de Lord [= don't forget to pray]. [This rite has special interest because my original first transcription, a first hearing of the cylinder, is attached here to the final manuscript. I had to transcribe by hand and pencil because my transcriber missed a number of the Hemphis cylinders.]
Entry 8895
Yo' kin take de Bible an' lay it down open. Open tuh David's [Psalms] uh [orl eithah tuh St. Luke. Jes' let it be layin' heah on de table an' yo' be sayin' yore prayahs. Say de Lord's Prayah. An' yo' sayin' yore prayah. Dat's when it fus' [first] start tuh work. An' so yo' sit dere an' yo' call dese names as ah fus' said, By St. Petah, by St. Paul, by de Lord dat made us all; now ah wanta be true in whut ah'm doin'. Says, Now, Lord, ah wants yo' tuh be true. Say, Ah don' wanta beah [bear] no false witness. Ah don' wanta 'cuse [accuse] no one wrong. An' yo' set dere an' yo' call names, an' when yo' git tuh de right person's names, dose Bible leaves jes' go turn ovah jes' lak yo's [you is] turnin' 'em.
(Then you can find out who stole the article by doing that?)
Yes. Sometimes yore mind will jes' come tuh yo', yo' jes' know dat ah'm
[I have] got yore hat.
Entry 9134
Yo' take yo' nine leaves of sage - yo' seen sage - green sage. Yo' take nine leaves of green sage an' yo' put it in de bottom of yo' shoe. Yo' firs' write de twelve disciples names on evah leaf. Yo' know, jes' lak Petah- Paul-John. Yo' write de twelve disciples name on evah leaf of dat sage. Put one in yore right shoe an' one in yore left shoe, an' yo' go down befo' de judge, yo' could repeat dem same words dat ah said jes' while ago: Three daid men looked outa de windah; one had no lung, de othah had no tongue, an' de third wus deaf, dumb an' blind. Holy Spirit, speak fo' me as ah pray tuh three times a day. Only goodness an' mercy shall follah me tuh mah grave. Yo' jes' go in de co'thouse attah dat an' when yo' git up befo' de judge jes' continue tuh say dat, an' he'll dismiss yo'. He will eithah give yo' a sus- pended sentence or turn yo' loose.
Entry 9954
Dey could take a frog an' put 'im in a box an' git nine goldeye needles an' bur'[ [bury] 'em am [around] a chimley or some place lak dat. An' go dere evah mawnin' about nine o'- clock, an' fuh nine mavnin's. Yo' bur' de box, den stick de needles up on top, an let it be crossed up; stick de nee- dles [crossing one another] all aroun' on top of it [box]. Yuh go dere nine panin's an' pray fuh de person tuh die. [In country districts years ago around the chimney was sometimes the toilet and a convenient place to hoodoo a person by buried object. For a remarkable example of this see the woman haunted by a buzzard.]
Entry 10593
When yo' first ketch him, yo' cut him open an' git his heart an' have yo' a sharp - sompin lak a ice pick an' place dat straight through de center of his heart. Take yo' a red piece of ribbon or string an' run it through dat - tie dat an' den yo' put it in a red piece of flannen an' say yore prayers ovah dat - aftah yo' say yore prayers ovah dat, yo' use de lodestone with it. Dat's fo' gamblin'.
Entry 10708
Yo' take the Bible or a leave [leaf] out of the Bible an' wrap it in salt an' [red] peppah, wrap dis leaf up. An' it's jes' a few words that yo' pray ovah it. Then yo' take it wit yo' an' he'll come purtty near givin' yo' a job.
Entry 12584
Jes' lak if yo' wus sellin' likkah or anythin' lak dat an' don't want de law tuh run in on yo'. Whut ah used tuh do. Dey told me tuh take six pen- nies an' go early in de mawnin' jes' at sun- rise tuh de fo'k of a road, bury three [pen- nies] an' say a prayah. Goes on tuh some wicked person, or some needy person, an' give de othah three pennies tuh dat needy person. Goes on back home an' say mah prayers, say, an' dey [police] won't worry yo'.
Entry 12699
And then this 109th Psalms. Jest like you know if someone has mis- treated you, and you didn't want to go right to their face to settle it. Well, you pray dis 109th Psalm for 3 days. Then you go and you get you a pint of new wine and put some mustard in there - new mustard - have a new jar - everything new and put it in there. And go to that person's door the fourth night, after you pray the third - the fourth night. Den you go there and put it right cross- Ways of that door, but don't ever let a drap get on you. And so he'll go to the God that gives it [this rite is evidently pow- ered by God!]. [The horizontal bottle, at the foot of the door or steps, does not coml pletely cross vertical door, only symbolically. Moreover the "T" cross is upside down
Entry 331
Ah had a man tuh tell me jes' exactly how yo' do dat. In mah time of gamblin' why ah studied all dat fo' luck, you know. If yo' wants tuh sell yore- self to de devil, yo' has to swear by man an' by lan' da' chew don't want nuthin' but jes' whut chew has in dis world, an' nuthin' aftah death an' nuthin' tuh do with God. In all yore works, "Ah'm goin' work for de devil an', ah don't nevah wants tuh pray." Den, yo' have to take a oath on dat. Yo' understand? An' when yo' take dat oath dat chew don't want nuthin' but of de world, an' yo' go serve de devil all yore life, an' then won't pray none, 'cause yo' ain't gon'a serve God none, why den de devil takes yo' a sinner. Den yo' kin do any kinda devilment dat chew want - yo' kin come outa jail at twelve a'clock at night; yo' kin shake de jail an' de do' will come open.
Entry 332
Heard a ole man speak about dat - say ev'ry Sunday mornin' you go to de fork of de road an' you curse God an' you dance an' den you prays. You jes' prays to de devil and you curse God. An' you go out dere ev'ry. Sunday mornin' an' dance an' jes' pray to de devil an' curse de Lord, an' de devil will put ev'rything into your way that you can get an' make it easier for you. You jes' tell the Lord that you take your soul out of His hands an' you put it into de devil's hands, an' you know, de Lord will quit answering your prayers then an' you see He'll jes' turn your soul right over to de devil.
Entry 334
Well, dat's a small matter. You go to de fork of de road and jest like you is a rich man and I want a job from you or something like dat - wanta git you mah way so I could manage you, see, I'd go to de fork of de road about four o'clock in de morning. I'd git on mah knee and turn my face to de sunrise, you see, and I would say mah prayers and I would axe de Lawd to do what I want to be done, see; and I would turn around to de sundown, you understand, and den I'll axe satan. See, I'll beg de devil - beg 'em both, see; but I'll serve de Lord first and then I'll turn around to de sundown and beg de devil. Well, I'll axe 'em fer just what I want. Well, after I done dat I'll turn mah face across de World - see, perhaps I might turn my face to the east - might be to the west, see - might be to the north and to the south, see - but I'll turn my face and I'll axe de Lord twice and I'll axe de devil twice, see. Well, after you done axe de devil, you done sign up with 'im see, fer a certain length of time - and you sign it wit de devil fer a certain length of time well, you'll have good luck for dat length of time, see - and everything will work your way for that same length of time you beg for.
(Well, what happens when that time is up?)
Naw, you jest fall in bad luck - dat's all I kin tell you. Everything will be just laid on you, that's all - can't git nothing going or coming.
Entry 346
You meet there every morning regular for nine mornings at the same hour or late at night [to] get [learn] your music. And I was told you get on yore knees and prays backwards, but pray not to God but to the devil - see, you pray backwards. And the devil will assist you along dat line, if you kin stand there. If you kin stand the test, den you would get graduated. But I did never go out - don't know whether you get graduated or not.
Entry 365
Now a man kin get about as high as he wants to by going to de forks of de road. You kin go to de forks of de road, if you wanta do anything - you wanta become a professional musician or a man to do slight of hand or anything or walk out of people's sight. You kin go to de forks of de road and instead of praying to de Lord like most de people pray dey sins away, you pray to de devil. Well, de first morning you is there, it prob'bly may get a little windy. You do that for nine mornings. The next morning you may meet a bunch of birds, chickens or something like that. And the ninth morning you go there, you'll meet the devil himself. Well, if you got guts enough to stay dere and face what he's going to tell you, you'll be all right - you kin do anything you wanta do.
Entry 372
This man came out on the little end of this one. He sold himself to the devil. This happened right here in Snow Hill. I heard a man say that he wanted to play a banjo better than anybody in Snow Hill. A man came to him who could beat him playing a banjo and he went to see a man to see what he could do to learn how to play a banjo better than this other fellow. The man told him to go and get himself two tin plates, and go in the woods eight mornings straight and kneel between two tall oak trees, and rub these tin plates together, to sell himself to the devil, and pray to the devil that his heart would be as free of Jesus Christ as these tin plates are of rust - brand-new tin plates, too. And he did that thing. He got so he could play a guitar [banjo]. He done it seven mornings. And the eighth morning he went out there with these two bright shiny tin plates, playing a guitar, to be as free of Jesus Christ as these two tin plates were of rust, and one of these tall oak trees started to twisting around, you know, and moving. And he jumped. And the time he jumped, one of the limbs fell off. He left there - and the guitar, too.
Entry 2953
If someone is burning a black candle on you - that's that worryin' candle - you pray and burn a white candle and whosoever you think dislikes you enough to burn the black candle against you, write their name on the white candle
[and burn it and] they'll soon put out their black one.
Entry 2997
St. Espidee, if yo' pray tuh him he'll send yo' - he'll send yo' any- where yo' desire tuh go. Ah'm mos' well acquainted wit him. He could send yo' anywhere yo' wanted tuh go. All yo' have tuh do is promise him a light - any diff'rent kinda light. [Saint runs free travel agency.]
Entry 3004
Yo' write yore name, de husban's name - yore name at de top an' his underneat' three times, but all straight. Dat's behin' St. Espidee 'cause ah have did it an' bring de man back. But chew use 'cordin' tuh his color, yore light to St. Espidee, an' he will bring dat man back. Jes' git down an' pray tuh him, 'In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Spirit, St. Espidee, bring sich-an'-sich-a-one back," wit his name wrote behin' dat picture dat's tacked up - back of it pasted up dere. An' de man will come. An' keep dat light to him an' he goin' bring him back.
(You put his name behind the picture?)
Behin' dat picture.
Entry 3011
Ah know 'bout St. Joseph. Well, if yo' pray tuh St. Joseph, he'll give yo' bread. Yo' pray an' ask St. Joseph tuh help yo'. He'll give yo' some kind of luck or yo' ask him an' yo' make a sacrifice fo' him an' he'll give yo' some luck or if yo' want him tuh help yo' an' yo' wanta do somepin against a person, well St. Peter always will help yo'. [Here is our hint of what we shall learn later - St. Peter in hoodoo does not always act like a Christian.]
Entry 12029
"They say they could take your hair and pray over it for you to die on a certain date. When that certain date come you'll die." [Richmond 459:4.]
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 1948
Take seeds of paradise - seven grains, seeds of para- dise. Yo' buy that in the Hindu companies, yo' know, those dirty strong [smelling] places [because incense is burning]. Seven grains of paradise. An' throw it aroun' yore do'. Make a good wish an pray an' take yore Bible an' read de Psalms of David an' ask God tuh open de way fo' yo' an' yore business will gradually grow. Also yo' kin read de sixth chapter of Luke an' dat'll he'p yo' in de Bible in de Christianity. That is tuh bring business to yore home. [The preceding Hindu companies were more likely a company with an oriental name and someone wearing a turban (see Turban in Index). Since I always assumed some of these companies may have worked under protection, I never visited any of them - I had enough trouble collecting.]
Entry 2778
Well, you burn a blue candle for success. You burn a white candle for prosperity and purity. You burn a green candle - it's de spiritual [spirituals or spiritual people] suppose to burn these green candles. You burn 'em three days and pray and fast. Dat's to go and heal de sick. Then the red candle is fo' victory - jes' lak ef yo' wanta overcome somethin', yo' burn dat so many days, see, nine days. And yo' put chure wishes up under dat candle, yo' know.
(How do you put them under the candle?)
Yo' write chure name, whatever yo' want done - yo' write it on a piece of paper, parchment paper and set it up under dere while it burns.
(What do you do about black candles?)
De black candles yo' burn 'em fo' death. Yo' burn 'em nine minutes. If yo' burn 'em fo' evil, yo' burn 'em nine minutes, so they say. Yo' burn fo' nine minutes at nine 'clock.
(Nine o'clock in the morning?)
Nine 'clock in de morning or nine 'clock at night.
(Do you have to do anything else with these besides burning them?)
They say they generally roll 'em in some kind of cayenne pepper or something.
[See later, Rolling Candles.]
Entry 3009
St. Joseph is a saint he don't lak no single wimmins. St. Joseph is a saint fo' married wimmins or fo' widows. (Is there a reason why he doesn't like single women? Do you know?) No suh. He's fo' married wimmins or fo' widows. He'll take ca' of a widow an' if a woman is married an' her husband's gone from her an' she want him tuh come back, she pray tuh St. Joseph. He'll bring him back tuh her.
(Does she offer him anything special?)
Well, she offers him a candle, a white candle. Dat's whut chew give St. Joseph, a white candle. Or if not, yo' kin offer him when his day come, de 19th day of March come - dat's supposed tuh be his celebration day - some people gives him a altar. Dey has a place where dey give ~ have nuthin but all kind of bread an' make a big feast ovah it. But dey distribute it, dey don't use none of dat deyself. Dey makes a sacrifice tuh give dat tuh de po.
Entry 3038
Well, it's according - you can burn a pink one, you can burn a yellow one, you can burn a white one, for luck.
(Well, how do you burn those various candles?)
Now, you take - say for 'n'instance like when I was on my truck. I had a truck. I used to get me those yellow candles, you see. Either yellow or white will do. I get my candle and I'd light my candle in the mornings 'fore seven o'clock. I used to go to church for them. And 'fore seven o'clock I'm got my candle, I'd light my candle on my truck. I wouldn't got out of my truck. I'd burn the candle and whilst burning my candle, I'd use cinnamon and sugar. I'd burn that in my truck. I'd put that in the candle and I'd burn that in mv truck. I had St. Peter and I had St. Joseph. I'd light my candles to them and I'd pray to them.
(In your house?)
No sir, on my truck.
(Oh, you did this in the truck?)
In the street, no house at all - in the street, anywheres in the street, when the time comes. I would burn that. That was for my luck. All right. Twelve O'clock, I'd burn it - burn my candle again at three o'clock and during that day I never had a misfortune at all. During that day I made - if it wasn't but five or six dollars, I made that.
Entry 309
Get that bone right from back here.
(Right from in back by the rectum?)
Yes. Right there. It's a kind of crooked bone - and that's the black cat bone - anybody that can carry that in their pocket - it's worth something to 'um 'cause anything they do or get in, it sucks them out. When this is gone - when some person is fixed, you know. They [doctors] done fixed this bone and give it to you - not just picked it ordinary out of the cat.
(Well, how do they fix it, I wonder?)
Oh, well, you take this bone. You get a saucer. You got to pray over it. You got to roll this in that steel dust, roll it in this powder they call the come back powder. All the drug stores down here got all this I'm telling- sells all that down on Rampart Street.
(Would they sell to me?)
Correct. Everything you want. (You mean that I couldn't just go out and get this black cat bone? I would have to get it from somebody that had them fixed up - prepared?) Yes.
(I see. Well, where would I get that?)
Here. [So far as I knew, informant was not a professional worker, hence my note after the interview - "guessing at how it is prepared." Had informant been a doctor, the bone could have been dressed in this way or any Way.]
Entry 350
If dey go out dere, dey call dat prayin' to de devil or do somebody a dirty trick, yo' know. Well, ah heard dat yo' go out dere nine mawnin's an' bo' a hole an' git some graveyard dust an' put in it, an' dey say yo' git down on yore knees ovah dat graveyard dust fo' nine mawnin's an' pray whatevah yo' want to be done, say dey'll do it. Bo' a hole right at de fo'k of de road.
Entry 619
[A holy candle] that the Cath'lics use.
(Get a holy candle?)
Yes. And the only way you kin git them is you go to some publishing house, you know, like where they makes those books, you know, Testaments and Bibles and things like that and Sunday school stuff. Well, that's whare you buy those candles - what they call de Christian Public House - Publishing House, where you buy those at.
(What do they call those candles?)
Holy candles. And 'tis a big white candle that is not no more larger 'en that but it is round like that.
(About this round?)
Yeah, and it looked more like stone - it don't look like wax, it look like it was stone.
(It's a short candle about that big?)
Yes. That's the only candle.
(Now, what would he do with that - will you tell me that again?)
Well, that has to be done at the ninth hour and you have to say good things because the candle supposed to be a holy candle; and whatsomever you want, you ask in the Name of the Lord - say good things. (Well now, you said something about a vision a moment ago - I didn't quite get all of that.) Well, you see, that candle will give that smoke.
(It smokes.)
And you watches de smoke, you see, and that's whare you'll see the things in the smoke.
(Oh, you see these things in the smoke.)
Really in the smoke - really and truly, you certainly will.
(Now, just what would a person burn this candle for?)
Now, I'll make - I will say, "Well, I certainly does want me some money; ah played a number today and ah want de cash." Well, inside of dat nine days I'm gon'a ketch dat number. If I'm gon'a ketch it, I'm gon'a see it in de smoke - I will see that number in the smoke. I say, "I wants to see such and such a man." Well, in that smoke ah could see his vision. Whatsomever you want, you'll see. And you ask de Lord, if you wanted to see if it's gon'a come true. If it's gon'a come true, you compelled to see it in that smoke. Yes, but if the smoke goes sudden, it's tough luck for yuh. If dat smoke comes from dat candle and whirls and whirls, go down to the floor, 'tis death in the family, or there's someone very near to yuh [going to die]. But if de smoke goes straight up, you just set there just like this - like this the candle - you sit right there and watch that smoke and you'll see.
(And you'll see these things. I see.)
Entry 855
Well, Doctor Jackson told me to go out to the fork of the road - go out to any road that got a fork to it - running south and east, and go to the fork of this road and take the south road and kneel down and pray - say my prayers, three times, and look up at the sun and make the Sign of the Cross and walk back - walk back to where the fork is divided at, you know, the same as a Y - walk back to that fork and make a cross down there - make a cross down there and spit in it - right in the middle of this cross. And after I spit in the middle of that cross, I go ahead on back to my house. He say that'll uncross me - like somebody got me crossed. You understand what I mean?
(I see. Find a road which has one going to the south and one to the east.)
One to the south and one to the east, you see. That east road - you go to the east side and you say your prayers. After you say your prayers, why you -
(In which road do you kneel down and say your prayers?)
On the east side.
(East side - and then you say you walk back to that Y?)
Right to that Y.
(And then you turn around and walk back to it?)
Yes sir, and spit in there.
(In that cross?)
In that cross.
(Do you make a cross or just spit there?)
You spit right in that cross - right in that Y, you see.
(Oh, you spit there. I see.)
You spit right there.
(Who is Doctor Jackson?)
Well, he's supposed to be a hoodoo doctor.
(Where does he live?)
He was staying right there on Ramport Street, right between this street and the next street, but he ain't there no more. He gone. Him an' 'nother fellah who was working together - they called him Bill. They wears long black beards and two earrings in 'em.
(I see.)
Entry 2033
Now, I know a man and he got out of a job. He was out of a job for over a year and he got some High John de Conker and put it in some Hearts Perfume and heli'trope perfume and saturated hisself right good and went 'fore dis man. Well, when he usu'lly used to go dere the man wouldn't talk to him. So he made his wishes as he came out de door what he wants to happen. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, I'm going before my boss for a job, hoping that I be successful." Well, when he got there the boss walked up and shook his hand and said, "Walter, you huntin' fer a job?" He said, "Yeah." He said, "You ought been back long time ago." And give him his same job back, which he had knocked him off.
Entry 2743
Set it eleven 'clock at night and you dress the candles. You get seven candles fer that purpose and you dress them with a certain kind of perfume. But chew have to do these things on the new moon. Anything that's good has to be done on the new moon; the bad thing they do on the waste of the moon. But now, if you wanted a person to come back, you dress the candles and you set 'em at eleven 'clock at night so it work on the new moon. And then you have to set the candles to burn and pray. [Pray while candles are burning.] And burn the High John Conker Incense. An' you do that from about eleven to half-past eleven. And then sometimes you set and concentrate. You know, concentration means a whole lot. Set and concentrate - hold your thoughts on him and you say while you talking to the candles, "John - Mary Louise," what- ever the name is, "In the Name of God the Father, let you be upset and let chew have no rest or peace wherever you are." Then you read a prayer in the book and - but you keep it up and finally they can't stay away. They will have to come back.
(What do you mean by that book? Do you mean the Bible? Or do you mean?)
Or the Bible.
(Do you have to buy these candles specially or just any kind of candle?)
Oh, no, you have to buy them specially. Sometimes you kin git them already dressed. You git them in New York on Lennox Avenue. You gits them there and you kin git them from Lawrence. Dressed candles. (Have you ever heard of people having little altars and burning candles? On little altars like in a Catholic Church?) Yes, ah do that myself. (I am rather interested in that for a special reason. Can you tell me just how you do that?) Well, we have our altar and we have the holy oil because everything must be holy. And because it's a place, people coming and cursing and that, and some- times they'll fergit and so the place is full of evil and dirty. But everything must be clean. We have holy oils - we have holy candles and you light them. You have seven holy candles, large ones, but chew have 'em in the form of a cross.
(Will you tell me again about burning those candles?)
You know you have them in the form of a cross. You see, you have those little candles. If you don't have those candlesticks that have the form of a cross, why you can jest sit your candles in a row there in that cross, you see.
(Two rows crossed.)
No, see. That's one row of candles across, that's 1,2,3,4,5,6, and then you have some here. That's a cross, you see. Then you have seven small candles like they have on birthday cakes. You have those and you burn those too. And you have those little votive lights sitting around.
(Well, now where would you put those little candles?)
You set them right in front of the seven cross like.
(Well now, how do you make a cross out of those seven candles?)
Those seven little ones you don't have to make a cross of them. Jest let them burn there.
(That other cross, how many do you put in that one row?)
Well, you jest - it don't make any difference how many, jest so you have a cross. Make a cross, you see.
(Then you use those little candles.)
Yes, but chew must burn yore incense. We call it holy incense. And then you use holy water. Yo' sprinkle yore place down with holy water and bless your place - must pray and read the 23 Psalms. Course you read the 23rd Psalms when you git up in the morning and you face the east and you say - you read so many verses until you get to, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me to the side of still waters." Then when you say that, and after you turn your face to the east, then to the west, and then you say a couple of more verses. And then when you say those other two verses, turn to the north and say the other two, and when you finish with them, make the last verse to the south. And that will keep your place holy and blest in the form of the cross, you see. And use the 9lst Psalms, if you wanta read, you wanta read a person to be able to git the very best results, to keep out the evil, you read the 9lst Psalm - jest a few verses you want of it. And use the holy candles with holy oil - that keeps the evil out and you aIways be able to get a good message and good vibration. You work better. (Now, you go through this ceremony before you go into this special room. That the idea?) Yes, you do that.
(Before you go in to work for someone.)
Before you start to work. Now if you was goin' tuh have a meetin' heah, a spiritual meetin', you'd come in round about six 'clock and then you'd do all that, and have your place all set up. And then you would git on your knees and you would pray and you jest set your candles all there and you pray and burn the incense.] Burn the incense while you on your knees praying, asking God to bless you and send you in a good crowd and success and let no one be evil, and sprinkle around the holy water and then you set and you concentrate, and you set and you hold your thoughts on success and prosperity and draw the people to you. That's all you do.
(Now do you have meetings? How often do you have meetings?)
Ah have been having meetings three nights a week, but I haven't been very well and not doin' so much now. (I thought if you were going to have a meeting while I am here in Washington, my man and I would come around to be at one of the meetings.) Well, you might come down Sunday - think ah'll probably have a meeting Sunday night.
(Sunday night?)
Yes, 'cause ah'm in kind of a small place now. Ah used to have a big place but ah'm jest having it in my house in mah rooms.
(Well, what time does the meeting begin as a rule?)
Round about nine 'clock. People don't git out until that time. (If a person wanted to get into this work, must he be initiated into it or what.) You would have to be born psychic and after you born psychic why then as you grow older it comes to you but then you have to have some one to instruct you, teach you.
(Then there is no form of initiation or anything of that sort?)
Then after a meeting, after you accepted in a class, course there's certain kind of instruction telling you what to do, and if you say you seen anything - sometimes you see things and don't know 'em. But they will tell you, explain to you. Then you get so - you get so then that you kin jest talk - jest open your mouth and the words will come right out. Then sometimes you see things - you see symbols, you see signs and you see jest the words. You get the words mostly in this ear sometimes [demonstrates] and you walk along.
(Your right ear?)
No, the left ear. This is the left ear. You kin hear it in the left ear, but you have to be born psychic. You were born psychic yourself.
(I'm born psychic? I suppose I am. Never have been sceptical about it.)
[We are talking about different things - see comment later.]
(About the people who are called Holy Rollers or the First Dominical Penta- costal Church. Do you think they have a spiritual gift?) Well, ah think they have a spiritual gift, but ah think that they don't quite understand the Bible. Now for instance, this Holy Roller, ah don't know anything about that, but this - what did you say the word there, The Holy Sanctified?
(This is something different from The Holy Sanctified.)
Well, ah think The Holy Sanctified has a gift of tongues - course it's in the Bible [1 Cor.12, and 14]. You see, if you pray enough and live close to God, the spirit will git on you so will talk in tongues. Your mouth will jest thuth, thuth, till the spirit got on yuh. But as far as being sanctified, ah don't think anybody is really all sanctified. Cause when you sanctified, ah think God takes you away from here when you get so holy. (If a person thinks he's hurt or anything of that sort, could you give him help in any way? Tell him anything about it?) Yes, if they was hurt and the spirit would show it tuh me, and I would see it and tell them about it.
(Then you could describe how they were hurt or something of that sort?)
If I see so. Most generally I see jest how it's done.
(Would you prescribe any remedy for them?)
Well, depends upon how they were hurt. Sometimes if people - lots of people comes to me and say that they are hurt and they are not. You know some people, the southern people, are very superstitious. And if they get a pain in their laig they think they are hoodooed or hurt. Not all the time it isn't that. If you don't tell 'em that, they'll go round and pay somebody else and give em the money. But lots of times they're not hurt. Sometimes people do's has things in them, but I have nevah seen anybody yet that had anything in 'em. Cause when I was a child somebody said that a person had something in them, but I don't - any that talk - I never seen any of it.
(Weren't you born in the south?)
Ah was born right in Washington, but ah lived in New York quite a while. (Well now suppose a person has this pain in his leg, what would you advise ordinarily?) Well, ah would give 'em a treatment with mah hands and pray over him. Or if I wanted, if the place was swollen I would get some herbs and mix a solution and bath it down. See. (But you don't believe that there is any spell? I mean, you don't think that he is hoodooed or anything of the sort?) Ah don't know really. They tell me they kin do it, but ah don't know. Ah never heard or seen. [My comment about being psychic merely means being aware and having a sense of direction (see Introduction). What little I have of this came from training; it was not a gift.]
Entry 2996
Yo' take yo' St. Espidy, he uses green candles. Yo' take it an' yo' pray ovah it an' yo' askin' St. Espidy, an' yo' rap on it an' he'll give yo' a rap back. Yo' ask St. Espidy fo' a wish an' jes' whut yore heart desires yo'll git.
(How would I go about it? To burn this green candle? From the beginning.)
From de beginnin'. Yo'll take yore green candle an' burn it from six in de mawnin' an' put it out - nine in de evenin' an' put it out. Nine in de mawnin an' yo' put it six in de evenin' again. Yo' burn it from three tuh nine days an yo'll git whut chure heart desires.
(Well, how do you mean you rap for St. Espidy?)
[She raps once - twice - again.]
(Just once? You rap three times. And you burn this green candle from six to nine in the morning and from six to nine at night?) Yes.
(You burn it nine days?)
Yes.
(Do you know anything about St. Espidy?)
Well, St. Espidy, he's very good." He have helped me. He helps me an' when ah wants bread ah call on him an' he brings me a rap [answers by rapping]. Ah heard dat he wus a man dat didn't believe in no evil work, an' he didn't fool roun' wit no kinda evil doin' when he wus on dis scene an' he wus a true man, an' when he died he went tuh heaven.
(Now when he raps back, would he rap three times?)
He jes' raps [she demonstrates three times in diminishing volume].
(Where will he rap - somewhere around the room?)
Yes.
(Then you know you'll have your wish?)
Yes.
Entry 3002
St. Espidee is fo' gamblers. Yo' take St. Espidee an' yo' gives him anything green, candle or flowers - green flowers or green vegetable. Anything dat is green, yo' give it to St. Espidee fo' [green] money. He's fo' gamblers.
(How, how do you approach him?)
Well, if yo'd go tuh him, yo' prays when yo' go tuh him an' yo'd ask him, say, "St. Espidee ah want chew tuh help me tuh git some money. Ah'm goin' out an' gamble an' if ah be successful an' git dis money, ah will give yo' a bunch of flowers. Or give yo' so much an' so much of somepin green. Ah take de money an' buy it an' give it to yo'." When yo' gits dis money yo' go tuh some church, or if yo' got him in yore house, yo' buys de stuff an' yo' puts it in front of him fo' a sacrifice.
Entry 3003
(St. Espidee is what?)
Is a lawyer. Dat's a case of co't too. Well dey use de candles fo: him an' pray tuh him an' give him a glass of milk if yo' kin give it, or git white rum, an' give him yore case an' he'll plead it fo' yo'. Light a candle an' a glass of milk, or eithah yore rum if yo' kin git it, but yo' cain't git no mo' rum now.
(What kind of color would you light to him?)
A white one to St. Espidee.
(What do you do, put him on the floor, too?)
No, no - yo' leave him right up. He's gotta git up on de stand an' he's gotta talk fo'yo'.
Entry 3006
Saint Expadee - see, he's the conker in law suits.
(How do you handle that?)
Well you go to a Catholic church and you make your novena there, you see. You give a light. You take his picture and have it blest at the church and bring it to your house and you burn a pink candle to it all the time. Whatever you wish for, you prays to that saint and make your wishes and burn [a candle to] that saint - like if you got a case in court and you wanta conker that case. Well, you go to St. Expadee - go to the church and go to St. Expadee and make your novena to him and tell him what you want him to do. Then you come back home after you do that and you burn your candle at your home up until that case is over.
[While machine.is stopped, I ask question about his picture.]
No, you don't bring his picture to the church, you always keep it in your house. You have this picture blest at the church and bring it to your house and have your little altar made and burn a pink candle to him.
Entry 3007
(What do they say about St. Expedite?)
Well, they say St. Expedite is lucky, but you gotta pray to him - certain things you gotta give to him for luck. You gotta have him up in your house and have a little altar-like and burn them little tapers to him for luck. Well, if you make him a promise or anything and don't give it to him, well you falls in bad luck.
Entry 3012
Well, you see St. Michael - that's if a person don't like you and is trying to undermine you all the time, and you don't know they are working on you. Well you pray to St. Michael and you sets him a candle. You see, he got the devil down under his feet. Now, he holding the devil down just like this - he got his feet on the devil and he got a long sword and he got that in the devil's head. Well, if you pray to that saint, he showing you how he got the devil down there; if you pray to him, that is the way he'll have your enemies down under your feet. They will have to knuckle under you, instead of you knuckling under them. (I see. What do you usually use for St. Michael? Do you have a statue or a picture of him?) It's a statue - a real statue.
(Do you burn any colored candle to St. Michael?)
You burn a red candle.
(You burn a red candle.)
On Friday.
(Just on Friday?)
Just on Friday. [For black candle on Friday, see p.829.]
(Any special time on Friday?)
Any time on Friday before six-thirty.
(I see. In the morning or at night?)
In the morning. You can set 'em all day if you Wants to, you know, but I mean six-thirty - that's the last hour you can set it in the evening.
(I see. Do you do anything else besides burning that candle?)
No, that's all - just burn that candle and make that prayer.
Entry 3056
(Well now, tell me about St. Rita.)
Well, you know, St. Rita, she don't like no man.
(Yes.)
Cause her husband was a man, you know.
(I see.)
Cause he deceived her when she had a son for him. She don't like no man. She do anything for a woman, won't do anything for a man.
(I see.)
All you have to do, get you St. Rita's pitchure in your house, and get you a white candle and put the candle there and put flowers there, and go there every morning and ask her to do it for you for nine mornings, and she'll do it. Give her money though, flowers too, and she'll do anything you ask her to do - don't care what it is.
Entry 7737
Git graveyard dirt an' put it in a bag wit blackroot an' black dirt - de kind yo' buy from lak places lak de island black dirt - an' blackroot. An' put dat in a bag an' go out in de voods at twelve a'clock at night fo' three an' foah nights at de time an' pray tuh evil spirits, etc. [In the southern United States black- root is the perennial plant (Chaenolobus undulatus) with black tuberlike root- stocks used medicinally by herb and root doctors.l
(Down on what island? Where do they sell this black dirt?)
Right on de island ovah dere. Yo' have tuh git dat special shuah [sure] becuz dat is why dey call it black dirt. [This black dirt is top soil washed down from higher land during the years.]
Entry 8086
Turn 'im [his photo- graph] down tuh de ground an' make a wish wit dat black hen feathah an' yore wishes will come true. An' at de dawn of day, read a chaptah ~ read de 36th chaptah of de Psalms of David. Yo' pray tuh God an' ast 'im fo' whut chew want an' yo'll be purtty lucky tuh git it. (Use the person's photograph. How do you use that black feather? What do you do with that?) Lay it across de pichure, turn it [picture] down tuh de ground.
(Face it down.)
Entry 8765
(How did they do that?)
He went tuh a man [doctor or fortuneteller] and this man had taken a bran'-new tin plate, a common tin plate, an' he write on de back of dis tin plate in red- ink writing. Ah couldn't read de writin' but ah - when dey come - ah was livin' wit de people. Dis girl, she didn't leave de state, but she stayed aftah she left. An' he brought dis tin plate dere an' asked 'im to sign 'er name. An' he said he couldn't sign it [he could not write]. An' so, he got me to sign de girl's name at de bottom. An' he'd taken her coat - she had a little velvet coat - an' wrapped it up in dat an' put it in behin' de ceilin's in de wall. An' told 'im when she come back, tuh take it [coat] an' bring it back tuh 'im an' he [would put] 'em tuhgethah again. (And bring it back to him?) Bring it back tuh 'in. An' he tole 'im tuh go in dat room, yo' see, an' turn tuh de direction where she was, an' pray three times a day. An' said, dat inside of fo' days she would be back. An' she certainly was. (WILL YOU TELL ME THE STORY RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. HOW IT ALL STARTED - THE WHOLE STORY, THE DETAILS.) Of dis? (Yes, the whole story. How it happened. About her leaving and that sort of thing. Tell all the story.) When she left, she didn't go tuh stay.
(She didn't go to stay?)
No, sir, she didn't go tuh leave, yo' know. At least, she didn't tell 'im she was. She had tole othah people when she left dat she wasn't comin' back.
(I see.)
An' so, her brother-in-law died an' dat's how she got away. She went tuh Louisiana.
(To Louisiana?)
Yeah. An' aftah she got over dere...
(Where was she living?)
She was livin' here in Vicksburg.
(Oh, I see. All right.)
Yes, sir. An' aftah she got ovah dere, she didn't come back an' she wrote, keep encouragin' 'im dat she would be back. An' so she wrote fo' 'im tuh send her things dere. An' he did do it. An' aftah he sent her things dere, she still didn't come back. An' so he went tuh dis man an' dis man tole him dat she wasn't thinking about comin' back.
(Did he go to a man here in town?)
Yes, sir. An' he told 'im dat she wasn't thinkin' about comin' back. An' so he told 'im dat he could brin g'er back fo' 'im. An' he went tuh 'im an' he come. Dis man come tuh 'is house an'
(YOU MEAN THIS "DOCTOR" CAME TO THIS MAN'S HOUSE?)
YES, SIR, CAME TO HIS HOUSE AN' HE BROUGHT DIS TIN PAN WIT 'IM, WIT DE WRITIN' ALREADY ON IT.
(Well, how Was it fixed up, this pan?)
De pan? Jes' a plain tin plate, yo' know pie plate, an' de writin' was on de back of it, jes' like, jes' like yo' would write a letter tuh somebody. But ah couldn't read it, but it was writin' jes' like yo' would write a lettah tuh somebody, an' at de bottom of it he wanted - somebody else had tuh sign 'er name.
(And how was it written, you said before? Written with what?)
With red ink.
(Red ink?)
Yes.
(Did it look like English writing or what?)
Yes.
(You really think it was Written in English, but you couldn't read it?)
No, sir.
[The words may have been written with English letters but meaningless.]
(I see. All right. And they [he] brought this pan back to the man's house?)
Yes.
(And then what happened?)
He took this pan and got one of her pieces, had tuh have somepin dat she wore, an' wrap dis pan up in it.
(But you signed that name though?)
Yes, sir, at de bottom, an' put it ovah behind de ceilin' of de wall.[ Vicks- burg, Miss., (775), 1066:3.]
Entry 9027
Well, this devil's-shoestring, yo' take dat an' yo' tie it in three knots. An' as yo' carry it ovah an' tie it, yo' look through it [the open loop before tying] an' yo' say sompin In de Name of de Lord. Ask de Lord tuh do sompin fo' yo', jes' whut- somevah yuh want him tuh do fo' yo', see. An' yo' tie dat three times [make 3 knots in the loop]. An' evah time yo' tie dat three time, yo' hold it up an' look towards de sun, see, an' ask de Lord tuh do sompin fo' yo' - whutsomevah, jes' lak yo' in co't, say, "Don't let 'em sentence me, let de case go ovah, " or "Let 'em give me a chance, " or sompin lak dat. Dey three things dat chew ast dem; diff'ren', see. Evah time in tyin' dis devil's-shoe- string an' dis [knot?] yo' puts dat in yo' mouth an' yo' chew it. An' de whole while yo' chewin' dat root, yo' got de co't on yore mind an' de Lord, askin' Him in yore mind tuh do sompin fo' yuh.
Entry 9717
Go to the fork of a road, like that [demonstrates] and take a brand-new ten-penny nail. And they pin [drive] that nail down. Just like you want a girl or somepin, they pin that nail down and say a prayer about nine times. And they put that [nail] down in and put a hand- kerchief down over it. After they put the handkerchief down, and let it stay over there [the driven nail] and get the handkerchief before the pert morning before the sun rise. And they say that'll get that girl. You take the handkerchief and wear it. And after that you go to the girl and take it out of your pocket, like that, like you is playing with it, and get [flutter] it around her face. [The spirit of the conquered nail, fortified by the power of the spirit of the fork of the road, is carried to confront the girl!] ]
Entry 12491
This story goes, if ah wanta make yo' move, ah go buy a brand-new pot-vessel never been used. Ah go gets a low bush myrtle an' put it in de pot an' boil it. When it's boiled an' cooled, yo' take it an' walk around dere house three times, sprinkle de water an' pray dis prayer, say, "In de Name of God, within three days, move." An' dey say dat's effective. Now wheth- er it's true or not ah never tried it.
Entry 2952
Yo' take a pure white candle, co'se white is purity an' yo' light dat white candle an' yo' turn it bottom upwards. Yo' take an' light dat fore end of it an' yo' say yore prayer ovah it, an' yo' take yo' two needles or two pins an' stick it in dere on dat candle, an' dat candle will go out. (That candle that someone is burning against you will go out. How do you stick those - either needles or pins?) Cross 'em crossways - needles or - no pins - needles or matches. [This is a white candle burned against a black candle.]
Entry 11661
Go at midnight to forks of road, bow down and pray to Lord for what you want. Go 9 nights.
The short account describes praying 'to Lord' at a road fork; prayer words and an achieved result are not supplied.