Subject:Prayer
Entries
Entry 1027
[An example of crossing pain was given in Crossmark Cure (p.365), where a boil was willed or intended away. In the following rite the operator asks the spirit to cross or remove the pain - this is prayer:] Ah wus hurt. Ah caught a pain in mah side an' ah stayed sick aboat - it wus t'ree veeks [weeks] befo' ah give up, you know, in de baid. An' ah got a veak [weak] an' ah turnt re'l black. An' ah vent tuh de hospital. Dey couldn't do me no good. An' ah get, you know, medical doctah, an' none of dey [not dem] couldn't do me no good. So I vent in baid on it, stayed in dere t'ree veeks, an' dey [family or friends] had a root doctah tuh come an' zamin me. An' t'wus somepin in mah side wit a pain. It seem lak it keep movin' up - you know, lak somepin turnin' aroun' in yer side. An' she [root doctor] said dat she didn't know no [internal] medicine or nuthin lak dat would of kilt it, but she could of fix an' rub it. She take a penny an' some sulphah an' gas'lene an' salt an' pu-tit tuhgethah an' tell it to cross de pain - yuh know, cross it, cross de pain wit it, zhoo know, jis' rub it. She had tuh mix it all tuhgethah in a jah [iar] an' sha-kit [shake it] re'l good. Yuh see, dat penny get right brown - I mean lak sulphah. Fus' [first] t'ing, she take [starts] to rub it - jis' do lak dat [demonstrates]; made a cross ovah de pain wit de medi-seen. Den she jis' rub it straight down fuh nine mawnin's an' tole me to stay in de baid aboat five days. An' aftah she rubbed it fuh nine mawnin's, den I would of been able to get up, you know, an' walk aroun'. An' it sure did help.
(Did you find out who had done this?)
Dey find it. It wus some needles tied up in a little claht [cloth] an' stuff down in a bottle an' undahneat' mah baid, you know, undah de house. An' den undah de [outdoor] step it wus some match haids an' some kin'a seeds. Dat wus in a bottle. Dat wus undah de step. She found it an' brought it in de house an' sprinkled salt ovah it an' take it wit 'er. [Sulphur, as well as salt, is used to sterilize a hoodoo object - see No. 897, p.328.] She tole me ah could of keep it an' pu-tit in a runnin' watah an' it would do de same good, but ah'd ruthah, yuh know, let 'er care [carry] it off. [Wilmington, N. Car., (231), 155:2+85; happened 1932.] [I would like to illustrate further this important rite of talking over disease or ailment among persons of German descent in Adams County, Illinois:] ["Ten or eleven years ago (1920-1921) I came upon a superstition which was quite new to me at the time. Questioning a little girl about the health of her cousin who was suffering from a badly infected arm I was told that his condition was very serious, "Grandma had to talk to him last night." On inquiry I learned that Grandna knew how to 'talk over' people who were afflicted with wounds or sores and made them well, and that she frequently exercised her art for all sorts of people. She had 'talked over' Marie herself, but Marie declined regretfully but firmly to tell what she said. "You dassunt tell or something bad will happen." The school janitor to whom all the secrets of the 'South End' Ithe Calftown in No. 214, p.60] are an open book, told me that he knew several old women who pretended to this skill, and he mentioned one within two blocks of the school, a radius that would include Grandma also. I mentioned Grandma's curious practice to Mr. B., pastor of K. Church. He received the tale without any surprise and acknowledged that the thing was comnon. Walter [informant's brother] asked several acquaintances of German parentage what they knew about it, and he found that old women who will 'talk over' you can be found in north- east Quincy as well as in south Quincy. No doubt this is an old German superstition. It is certainly alive and flourishing in Quincy." FACI, 1st ed., p.206; 2ed., p.199.] [Miss Ella Randall, one of my great friends, wrote this statement as well as others and also gave material orally. She was interested in my collecting for FACI but died before the first edition of 1935. A copy of the second edition I presented as a memorial to her to the Quincy Public Library, where she for years had been on the Library Board. We first met during high- school-freshman English; she the elderly teacher, I the young pupil.]
Entry 1030
[Although the following rite deals with love, the doctor uses this coffeepot method for all sorts of cases:] Now, listen. Dis woman an' her husband couldn't git along. He's very noisy an' he has - naturally he is diff'rent from her an' he do things she didn't like an' always cause an argument. So he goes away fo' foah months, yo' understand. He goes away fo' foah months. Well, dis woman she got in love - dis is Anna - Anna wus so much, yo' know, so crazy about him an' loved him an' want to live with him an' all lak dat, so she goes to dis woman an' tole dis woman how, whut an' ever'thing. Dis woman said, "Kin yo' come down heah eleven-thirty? Ah want chew tuh go to de cemetery. Bring two pieces of money - two pennies, an' take up dirt from de foot an' de haid an' bring it back to me. Ah'll put it in a coffeepot." She fixed it up - she put sulphur an' peppah or salt - ah don't know jes' what, but we'll say peppah an' she give it back to Anna. She put salt an' peppah with dis dirt - she put it in de coffeepot an' she prayed ovah it. Ah don't know whut de prayer. An' she give this dirt to Anna an' she said, "An' yo' write his name on a papah three times a day an' burn dis papah six a'clock in de mawnin', twelve in de day an' six in de evening" - see - "an' do dat fo' nine days, an'in de third day write him a lettah."
(The third day during those nine days?)
Yes - yo' understand. After ah do dis nine days [she reveals the identity of the woman going to the doctor], den after dat three days, write him a lettah on de third day, yo' understand. "An' yo'll hear from him, an' yo' an' him will git back together in three days or three months." An' in two months time dey wus back together. (When she went out to the graveyard, what did she do out there? She took some dirt and what?) She took dirt from de graveyard - dat wus supposed to be at twelve a'clock at night, but Anna had tuh go to dis place an' be there at eleven-thirty an' talk to dis woman. She had to go to dis place alone - de cemetery alone. Well, Anna is very nervous ~ er - ah had a lot of nerve, yo' know. She goes to de cemetery an' she gits dis dirt from de foot an' de head. Yo' understand me? An' she bring it back to this woman. She put it in a coffeepot wit, we'll say peppah - put peppah in it an' give it to Anna an' said, "Yo' write his name on a piece of papah."
(When she put it in the coffeepot did she do anything to it in the coffeepot?)
Not anythin' - jes' put it in dere an' pray ovah it an' take it out. No - no cookin'.
Entry 2894
You can go to people and they can tell you what to do. Well, just like if you go to people and they tell you what to do. I know a fellow [a hoodoo or shrine-keeper] - well, if somebody have stole something from you - well, all he'd do is to say this prayer at nine, twelve and three, and tell the Lord, say, "Now, Lord, such-and-such-a one done stole something from me and I really need it." But you mean that from your heart and you sets that candle - a 25c candle - which is to burn eight days - and in eight days it is supposed to bring it back to you.
(Just an ordinary white candle?)
An ordinary white candle, cause I know a lady had a graphaphone stole from her and that's the way she got it back.
Entry 4529
Ah know 'bout de rim roun' yuh hat. Ah nevah heard about no bow.
(What do they do with that rim around your hat?)
Well, dey take de rim from roun' yuh hat - de sweatban' ah mean, dat goes aroun' in de hat, an' dere's a herb in de woods dey callt de skunk [cabbage]. Well, if a person is away from yuh an' yuh wan' dem tuh return back tuh yuh, see. Dis is a fahm [form] of herb dat dey call it a skunk, smell jes' like a polecat. An' [take] a coon root an' a shame root. [This is perhaps the coon grape or raccoon grape (Ampelopsis cordata) of southeastern U. S. A., a woody vine with grapelike foliage and inedible bluish fruit; and less likely the fox grape (Vitis babrusca). For shame root, see shame brier, p.646.1 Dey take dose [three] herbs, dose roots togethah, yuh see, an' kinda put dem on de stove an' let 'em steep, an' put de ban' of dis hat in dere. An' IN DE MAWNIN' BEFO' DE SUN RISE YUH GO, DAT IS IF YUH IS RELIGIOUS - GOT TUH BE RELI- GIOUS TUH DO DAT SORT OF THING DEY TELL ME. An' when de sun risin', Why yuh take dat an' repeat de [Our] Father's Prayer an' ask Him in de Name of Jesus, "Yuh give me So-an'-so fer mah companion, mah love." An' den when yuh turn back - den jes' have a volve [resolve] to return 'im back, why dat will bring 'im back.
(What do you do with that sweatband then?)
Oh, when he come back, yuh throw it away. (I mean, you take this sweatband out [of the brew] when you are making this prayer, don't you?) No, let it all stay right dere.
(Stay where?)
Right in de vessel dat yuh have dere. Yuh have some kinda saucepan, yuh know. Let it stay right in dere.
(You take that out when you do that praying? You had that along with you?)
In de mawnin' yuh kin go, yuh know when de sun risin'. Den yuh bring dis back.
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 5338
Dey kin take yore foot track an' put yo' tuh walkin'. An' yo' take yore lef'-foot track an' put dat in a bottle an' stop dat bottle up. An' dey kin add a prayah outa de Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses, an' write it an' put it in dat bottle wit dat dust, an' dat'll make yo' wandah away from home.
[After I had stopped machine, informant adds something about burying bottle.]
(You say they bury this bottle?)
Yes, sir. Dey'd wan' chew tuh go away from home.
(Yes?)
[Since I could not understand how burying the bottle could send the person away, I say Yes? = continue.] Dey'd bury dat bottle p'intin' dat way.
(Pointing away from home?)
Yes.
(Away from the house, I see.)
To the east.
(Have it pointing to the east?)
Yes.
(I see. All right.)
Entry 5988
Okay, we have a way of gittin' a new piece of cloth an' ballin' it [hair] up tight. Sew it up an' soak it in Hearts Cologne an' throw it away. An' say a evil prayer an' call yo' name. (What will that do?) Dat's hard luck tuh yo'. (What do you do with the hair?) We ball it up in dis sewed cloth. Jes' sew it up an' say a evil prayer an' call yore name after soakin' in Hearts Cologne.
Entry 6849
If anyone gets scalded they say you say the Lord's Prayer whilst shoo kin take your finger an' go all over this burn repeating the Lord's Prayer back- Wards. That takes the fire out. [Deal Island, Md., 24:3.] ["This is my orig- inal transcription made almost immedi- ately, Harry M. Hyatt, Mar.8, 1971." On original I learn: "Didn't want to tell it to me." This is a very old belief though I did not hear it often in Hoodoo.]
Entry 7614
Ah heard dat chew kin take graveyard dirt. Yo' must dig roun' about de length of yore arm. Yo' must drop three pennies in dere wit dat. See, an' leave it dere an' say de Lord's Prayah. An' whutsomevah yo' want. chew git it. (What do you do with that dirt?) Yo' brings a li'le up wit chew. All right, chew bring a li'le dirt up wit chew, but chew gotta say de Lord's Prayah when yo' bring dis dirt up. All right, yo' takes dat dirt, yo' puts it in a envelope an' yo' sends it tuh de guy dat chew wan' tuh have. If he's in state prison, he must be free.
Entry 8085
They take it [photograph] an' lay it flat on its face, an' then take two drops of chicken blood an' cross that, and then pray ovah that: Our Fathah who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done. An' then that will work for you then on your photograph.
(What would that do?)
Well, according as they use it, jis' like I said; why then accordin' to what they wan'a do. If they wan'a be good to you or wan'a be mean to you, or somepin like that, well you could do that, choo see. [The cross is made by dipping the f an "x" or cross. finger into chicken blood twice, each time drawing the stroke of an "X" or cross. Yes the Our Father Prayer can be used for evil as well as good.]
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 8573
If yo' wants them to come there, sign their name on plain paper. Then they'll put this gunpowder in there and light and burn it. That brings 'em back. And repeat de Lord's prayer 9 mornings.
(Do you burn that just for one morning or for nine mornings?)
Naw, yuh burn it fer just one time but juh have to say de prayers for nine mornings.
Entry 8591
~ Den if he's in Chicago, Detroit, or any place, sits down an' gits chew a clean sheet of papah, an' write his name nine times on dat piece of papah. An' aftah writin' it nine times, yo' walks tuh de do' an' yo' says de Lord's Prayer nine times. Takes an' lights yore lamp an' put it in dat lamp, an' 'bout one grain of sugah in dere. Yo' know whut ah mean, not a grain but nearly 'bout a half a teaspoonful, into dat lamp wit dat coal oil in it. Light dat lamp an' turn it down real low, an' burn dat fo' nine days, nine days an' nights, an' wherevah he may be, he come dere. He cain't stay away.
Entry 8592
A light, a light - she take this lamp an' she write your [a man's] name nine times, an' she take: de steel dust, dat's to draw; lodestone, dat draws; put it in dis lamp. She takes his name an' she pins it on de wick.
(On the wick of the lamp?)
Yes. After she write his name nine times, she write hers on top of his name. Always she'd be on de top (I see.) Pin that on the wick an' set this light. When she decided to set this light.... [I interrupt.] (She lights the light?) [I want to know, does set mean light the lamp.] She puts that name on there and she puts lodestone and steel dust over it right in the bottom of this light, some sugar. [To set this light means to prepare the lamp.] And she lights this light and whilst lighting it she - she light it and make the Lord's Prayer. An' say, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, I want this man back to me, '' an' light it an' leave it light- ed. Don't let it go out an' he'll come back.
Entry 8950
You will go to a creek where ther's water running at. You get you some of that sand out of the bottom of that creek. See, some of that white sand, and you get you some of that run- ning water, see. You brings it back home, you puts it in a clean basin. See, put that sand in the bottom of that basin. You puts that water in there. You take and you write your name on a piece of paper nine times. See. And you puts it in that water. Well, it's natural when that paper gets wet, it's going to sink under that water, you understand. That paper sinks under there and you stand up in it and you repeat the Lord's Prayer for seven times and make your wish. And whosomever got anything from you, they ain't going to rest until they bring it back.
(I see, if anybody has stolen anything?)
If anybody stole anything, it keep 'em tormented until he bring it back. (What do you mean by repeating the prayers seven times? You mean all on this one day?) Yes, sir.
(Or seven different days?)
Oh, no sir, just one time, yo' see. An' while yo' repeating that, that paper going to come back to the top of the water, you see. And when it come, it going to begin to float around, see. It float around, you see on that water. An' then you don't take it out; see, yo' leave that paper float in that water. See. And it's goin' keep him tormented until he brings that back. It going to create a fear on him, he can't rest nowhere.
(I see.) [New Orleans, La., (873), 1426:4.]
[Despite the following do-it-yourself rites about court cases, it was always advisable in serious crimes to employ the service of an expert, especially of a legendary person like Doctor Buzzard, who never appeared in court but sent an animal to do his work (pp.891-905). At an earlier date some witchcraft people could break up a trial by thunder and lightning, so it is said. Much of this court material is scattered throughout Hoodoo - see interview COURTROOM SPECIAL- IST, Pp.1423-1449, v.2; SIFTER AND SCISSORS, No.604, p.204, v.1; and especially a rite, No.9024 in this present section, one of the finest statements in Hoodoo; My amazing experience with Doctor Washington of Charleston, S. Car. He, using me as a guinea pig, explains how he could free me from the clutches of the law, if I were a bootlegger and had been arrested! This freedom he describes by asking me questions and then answering them himself - Shakespearian! Indirectly he will bribe the court through a go-between with the money I pay him in advance, keeping a part of it as his commission, and work his real magic with 2 black hens. Washington, after talking to me, had a fight with another doctor out in the court- yard of the house where I was interviewing. I refer to this fracas later while in Brunswick, Ga., after two doctors likewise had a quarrel outside the house where I interviewed (lines 5-6, 15-16, p.337, v.1). Washington, as also most other doctors, paid me the great compliment of my life, without any suggestion or pretense of mine. He and they considered me a hoodoo man from New York City! Big-city life would make me ignorant of animals that crawled or hopped or flew. Consequently he offered to help me by taking over any live-things-in-you cases coming my Way in Charleston - See DOCTOR WASHINGTON ASKS FOR DOCTOR HYATT'S "LIVE-THINGS-IN-YOU" CASES, pp.2253-2258, v.3.]
Entry 9098
Well, jes' lak yo's got a great big case on hand an' yo' can't hardly do nuthin wit dat case. Yo' git all dem, yo' git de judge's name; yo' git de district attorney's name; yo' git all dose p'licemans on dat beat, on yore beat. See, de one dat 'rested [arrested] 'em an' evahthin'. Yo' writes all of dere names down an' yo' take dere names an' yo' weah dere names; see, aftah yo' write 'em down. See, yo' turn all of 'em dis Way. See... [demonstrates].
(So they are headdown.)
Yeah, turn 'em down lak dat, see. An' jes' weah 'em right cross heah, right 'cross de stomach. Dat's all. Yo' ain't got a thing tuh do... [demonstrates]. Put it in a li'le "NATION SACK" [see THE NATION SACK WOMAN, Pp.1449-1459, vol.2] see an' weah it right 'cross de stomach lak dat. An' evah mawnin' soon as yo git up, yo' say de Lord's Prayahs behin' dat an' yo' call all of 'ems name. An' evah night yo' git on yore knees an' say de Lord's Prayah, an' yo' call dere names behin' dat. An' dat's really good.
Entry 9347
Yo' kin roll it on yore hearth, a chicken aig. An' roll it on yore hearth an' say de Lord's Prayah. Call de guy's name dat chew wants. Whosomevah yo' want, he'll come. He will, so dey tells me wit dat chicken aig. [To roll is an important and common rite in Hoodoo. Rolling commonly means to you or away from you.]
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 9765
Ah goes tuh de sto' an' ah buy me nine bran'new No.lO [tenpenny] nails. An' ah go down tuh de woods an' find me nine trees. Don't git de nine of 'em lak [alike]. Take a ole sweetgum, poplah, maple, blackgum, sycamo' an' all dose kind. Jes' git nine of dem [different types of] trees. An' ah take an' ah chip out a space. Ah have mah axe wit me, mah hatchet. Ah chip me a space out 'bout as large a [as a] dollah, silvah dollah. An' ah nail on dis one - maybe dat's west. Well, ah'll come [demonstrates] ovah east an' ah'll nail a nail dere, an' ah'll go back kinda west no'th [northwest] an' nail a nail dere. An' den ah'll come back in kinda southeast an' put a nail in dat one. But yo' gotta have all of dose nail jes' in de same way - east. Yo' have tuh put 'em all east. (You said before that you nailed these trees in the shape of an "E" - like the letter "E".) Da's whut ah'm speakin' of now. Yo' goes no'th, go west, an' come back dat Way [demonstrates]. Den yo' have 'em sometime in a straight line. Yo' kin put 'em kinda "v" shaped. Den yo'll go tuh work an' put all of dose nails in dose trees an' yo' hit 'em all three times dis [first] mawnin', tuh git 'em tuh stick in de trees. Den yo' come on back de time [return home]. De nex' mawnin' yo' gits up early - yo' always have tuh travel early. Yo' has tuh go out dere den while de dew's on 'em evah mawnin'. Yo' go down an' maybe git wet wit de dew an' den have tuh come back an' change yore clothes. Well, yo' hit dis firs' one maybe one time, de firs' one. Well, yo' be sayin' a li'l' prayah, de Lord's Prayah all de time while yo' hit it - de firs' one. De second one, yo' may hit it two times. De third one three times. Den de fo'th one fo' time. An' go on till yo' hit nine time on de las' one. Hit de las' one nine time on de firs' mawnin'. Den yo' have tuh go back dere evah mawnin' an' hit de firs' one two time, an' de nex' one fo' - yo' have tuh double dose when yo' go dere evah mawnin' fo' nine mawn- in's. (The last one on the second morning you would hit that 18 times, double nine. That last nail, the ninth nail, on the second morning you hit it nine times the first morning, and the second morning you go back there, you have to hit it 18 times?) Have tuh hit it 18, have tuh double it evah time. But chew have tuh hit 'em light - er [or] heavy enough so de las' mawnin', on de ninth mawnin', dey all would go in de same time. Yo' drive 'em all up on de same mawnin'. (But on the third morning would you have to double that ninth one, hit it 18 times? How much would you hit it the third morning?) Yo' have tuh double it evah time. Yo' have tuh double dat nine evah mawnin'. If yo' can't keep a record, yo' have tuh have yo' a pencil an' papah. An' git chew a tablet an' yo' gotta mark how many times yo' hit it dis mawnin', an' how many times yo' gotta hit it de nex' mawnin'. Do dat evah mawnin'. If yo' hit it 18 dis mawnin', yo' gotta figure how many it gotta be hit de nex' mawnin'. Yo' gotta carry dat pencil an' papah right wit chew wit' chure haumah when yo' hit it. An' when yo' drive 'em up on de last [day] hit 'em all even an' nail 'em all good at de same time. An' whatevah yo' want did, dat will he'p yo' - whatevah yo' workin' fo'.
Entry 9788
An' ah heard ag'in that yo' take a needle an' make it cross lak that, an' say de Lawd's Prayer [demonstrates].
(You take two needles then?)
Yes. An' say the Lawd's Prayer an' say - when yo' say the Lawd's Prayer, then yo' - turn right around an' put chure hand up this way [informant demonstrates holding right hand up into air]. (Just as if you were swearing an oath in court?) Yessuh. Put chure han' up an' [this man] said: "In His Name, an' in his own will an' time, will he plead when dis man came." An' said, "An' leave there [home]." An' dey said he'll come back [home from court]. Dat's one way ah heard.
Entry 10163
You kin make a table [altar] with that [rite] you see. You understand, that's if it's something that choo want, well you kin make a table with that. You kin, that is, if it's for you to make a sacrifice, something that you want. Well, git choo three candles, you put the picture - you fold the picture up you under- stand.
(This picture of the Lord?)
This picture of the Lord. That's right.
(On the table?)
On the table. That's right. An' then you make it like a rainbow [a semi- circle]. You put one candle - you git three candles. You make [place] one right here, an' one right around here, an' let it [candles] come aroun like a rainbow. An' you make you a wish fo' wha' choo want, an' you say a prayer. You say, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, the 23rd Psalm. You say that Psalm an' then you get 'down an' repeat the Lord's Prayer for what you want. Yo' make a wish with these three candles. Then you let them burn plumb on out... right in front of the Lord's picture... You do this about 6 o'clock in the morn- ing or 6 o'clock in the evening or 9 o'clock at night.
Entry 10582
Now another lucky hand, yo' git chew a small little - one of dese little bats dat fly around. Well, yo' git chew one of dose an' git his heart 'fore he die. Take his heart out befo' he die, an' sew dat up in a piece of Sea Island cloth - new cloth don't chew know. An' every time yo' make a stitch, why in sewing it, bring it to yo', don't chew know - jes' bring it dat way [demonstrates]. An' den yo' git some of dis perfume, Hearts Perfume, an' 'noint dat package wit dat every mornin' befo' sunrise, an' repeat de Lord's Prayer. An' dat's luck too, dat's another lucky hand.
(For what?)
For anything, any affairs.
(Gambling?)
Anything.
Entry 10698
[Unlike the preceding rite, a hoodoo one, this following example can be religious, though mechanical. These I often did not collect or collected later discarded.] If it wus me an ah thought some- body wus tryin' tuh harm me, zh'd git de Bible an' ah'd read de 4th chapter of Psalms; from de 4th chapter of Psalms to de 17th chapter of Psalms. Ah'd read de 4th chapter of Psalms espec- ially. Den ah'd read de llth chapter of Psalms and de 8th chapter of Psalms. 血' all de time ah readin' dem Psalms, why don't forgit de prayer - de Our Rnther Prayer.
Entry 11670
Whut dey do's at de fo'k. Well, de fo'k of de road, when yo' do dat, yo' kin draw a person tuh yo' or yo' kin run 'em from yo'. Well, now, when yo' got dere at de fo'k of de road, yo' git dere at sunrise. Well, den yo' make a cross, jes' lak de cross dey say dat Christ hung [on], yo' know. Yo' name dat even, an' yo' cross dat, an' den yo'll take a little graveyard [dirt], good or bad [grave] it don't make no difference. An' den yo' put dat in a little bit of sulphah an' salt, an' den yo' make a powdahs of dat - lak, yo' know, an' den yo' throw it in dat place. An' dat's de way yo' uses dat at de crossroad, yo' know, anything lak a fo'k. An' dey [den?] yo' say, yo know, yo' have to talk to it, say, "Jesus Christ suf- fered an' died on Calvary Cross, why can't yo' do so- an'-so-an'-so." See, jes' anything yo' want tuh name tuh it.
(You do that for harm or bad?)
Yeah, it'll do eithah fo' good or fo' bad, but den yo' have de Lord, an' make it which way yo' want it tuh go.
Entry 12166
That is only good for one thing to my mind and I know that. Just like you is at home and its ha'nted at home, spirit that worrys you at home. You take the holy water, put that in a bottle and tie a string right [to the bottle and tie it] on the head of your bed. And the only thing you gotta do is at night to say the Lord's Prayer and no spirit will come around.
Entry 12696
Mah wife got sick, she^ wuz sick a month. Ah pray tuh God tuh learn me, to teach me dese things. Ah goes an' git - she wuz washing some clothes out dere. Ah wuz goin' wit a woman dat didn't live so fur from dere. Dis woman done put some kinda powder or dust or sompin in mah ole woman's dresses an' dat put a spell on her - paralyzed her, mah wife. Ah pray tuh God tuh teach me in learning dese things.
Entry 12697
If a person done stole somepin from you and you want 'em to bring it back, you kin say the prayers - yo' know, yo' kin git down an' say the Lord's Prayer over many times - and say it about 9 times - the prayer that you pray and they [thief] gets annoyed so with that prayer each night, you'll see 'em [in the dream] and they'll come back to you' and bring whatever they have stole. Say that prayer but say it with the person [in mind] if you got a thought who it is. See, and if you ain't got a thought, the Lord will show yo who the person is. They [thief] will appear in your dream the ninth time that you say it [prayer]. Gotta say that 9 times. Pray for that person to come back and he [Lord] will let you see 'em in yore dreams, whoever you think [it is].
(Do you mean nine times at once or nine different times?)
No, nine different times [nine nights in succession] jest repeat that same prayer over. In that prayer you ask for that. He'll [God will] show 'em to yo'.
Entry 12780
An' ole lady, she'd dead now, she tole me if a person ever git shoo [gets you] by [bad mouth or cunjure], not to say anything at all to them. Go to work and git me a pocketful of table salt and go to de gate where dey crosses over, ev'ry night and morning, and jis' throw dat salt across dere before de sunrise, and say de Lord's Prayer for 5 times. Soon as dat person goes over dere dey can't harm you.
Entry 84
Ah knowed a lady one time, her son he got killed on de railroad out here and nobody knowed how he got killed, and she always believe dat a fellah dat he had put in jail one time did it - see, had pushed him in front of de train. So she would go out to some grave ev'ry night and git at de head of dis grave and dig a hole right at de head of dis grave and put her hands down in dere and she would give all kind of prayers - prayers fer him to come back alive and haunt dis man. Well, it's a man he was night watchman out here at de railroad yard himself. Well, one night, he would sleep like, he would jest seem to go to sleep on de switch all de time and nearly wreck de trains all de time. See. And he never did befo', but nights she wouldn't go out dere, like nights when it rained, he Would be all right. But ev'ry night she'd go out dere, he would always have some kind of accident happening to him. So one night she was there and he was walking down de railroad yard and she was out at de graveyard. People says she was out dere, dey'd seen her out dere, for she lives right cross from it, out heah on Union Street. And they said that he was walking down de railroad yard when he had stepped in a hole, a big deep hole, and he kept fallin' and kept fallin' and nevah seen him no more. But dey always said when de walked through dat yard on a dry night dey always could hear him hollering dey really could hear him hollering nights like that.
(He actually disappeared right there?)
He disappeared - dey found his lattren [lantern] an' all by a hole dere. De people dey tried to fill dat hole up but dey never could fill dat hole up. [Here is the bottomless pit of Revelation (King James Version), 9:11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1&3.]
Entry 184
This story happened about thirty-two years ago [1904] at a church near Greenville, South Carolina, where we pastored [the informant's husband was pastor of the church]. We were having night services. When I got to the church door, myself and another member of the church that had called on me at the parsonage that evening, they met me, the officers of the church, and asked me to go back to the parsonage and bring them another lamp. I said to the lady, you stay here, I will go back and get it. I went back, brought the lamp, we went in the church. After services we call all the Christians to come and kneel around the altar. When we went up, this particular sister that had come to visit me that evening, she knelt down just in front of myself. About the time she got settled down they commenced praying. We saw her begin to twitch around and to give away. People near her rose up, took hold of her, and they seemed to investigate. It seems that she had a partial stroke. They took her up, put her on a chair. Then the next thought was - the pastor said, "Lets get the doctor to her." Then her hus- band said, "No, lets take her to the doctor." They got her out, put her in a buggy, started to the doctor with her. My husband and her husband and two other men, when they got about twenty yards from church, there was a whirlwind right in front of them. And it crossed, went on the left side of the road, got in a tree and just wrung that tree, until, when they got by the tree, it was all they could do to get the horse by. My husband said that he was very frightened. But they went on to the doctor. When they got there the doctor said she had a partial stroke and to take her home at once. The home was two miles away. They carried her home. In an hour's time she could not walk. They sent back home for me. I went. About daylight I got there and she could not speak. In two hours after she took a very severe groaning and made such a noise. And the very wrestling, that they heard.on going to the doctor, was heard on the outside of the house. And she passed away in great agony.
Entry 275
They go out to the graveyard at midnight and they ketch a black cat and boil him good in a kettle of water. They suck the tail of the cat until they git to the last bone [joint at rectum]. Then they say the Lord's Prayer backwards. Then they're supposed to have a hand to do anything they want to do.
Entry 357
Well, whatevah yore desires is, yo' go tuh de fo'ks of de road - one goin' yonder way an' one goin' dis way, lak dat. Well, dat's a fo'k, see. Well, yo' stand direct in de fo'ks of dat road an' look towards de sun jes' befo' it rise. Yo' makes yore wishes an' whatevah yo' wants done or did why yo' say dat an' den make a wish In de Name of de Father, an' de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Dat's de climax on whatevah yo' wish fo'. Do dat fo' nine mawnin's befo' de sun rise. Be shore yo' do dat befo' de sun rise an' yore wishes will come true.
The informant describes standing at road forks facing sunrise on nine mornings, expressing wishes in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The account gives a promised outcome without specifying a devil encounter or applying neighboring rites' requirements.
Entry 398
[The no-talking rule is absolute while hunting buried treasure. I do not consider Yo' kin go off an' talk all yo' wanta (No. 426) a violation of the rule. I know of only the following exception, which is confined to this one example.] Dey hunt money at night but dey say yo' has to go on de right moon to do dat; but yo' wouldn't have a word to say, not a word to say. Jest go dere an' den yo' start after it. Dere's two words you have to say when yo's in trial, "Help me, Lord, Our Father, to overcome 'em." That's all yo' got'a do when yo' go to digging.
(When you go to this place where the money is buried.)
An' let nary no man say nuthin'. Start to dig an' when yo' go ovah three feet den yo' kin talk. But don't yo' say a word until yo' go three feet.
(What time of the moon do you go there to dig?)
On de young moon.
(Well, how do you locate this treasure?)
Dey has a compass, but i' tain't all.
Entry 1028
Yo' repeat de Lord's Prayer - that's great you know, Our Father, who art in heaven.... (Just once?) No sir, you do it nine times. [For three times, see No. 995, p.383.]
(What do you do that for?)
That's for to protect yourself. You know dey can't stand yo' calling de Lord's Prayer when dey trying to do you harm.
Entry 1118
I know on one occasion John Crutchfield was telling me he stayed at a house one night; nobody could stay there and he went in there. And things got so disagreeable in there: that he couldn't do nothing - very noisey, threw the cover off of him, moved his stuff around. Finally, he got a Bible that he had and started reading it backwards, and he began to pray, and the spirit left and he got along all right. [Fredericksburg, Va., (37), Ed.; King George Co., Va.,1906.]
Entry 1356
Dey say dat if someone wants tuh hurt chew, git a John de Conker root, wrap it up in a piece of cloth with - an' keep it wet [feed it] with Hearts Cologne - on de left side nearest tuh yore heart.
(That will protect you.)
Fo' protection. Have a John de Conker root in yore pocket wrapped up in dis cologne nearest tuh yore heart an' git up befo' de sunrise every mawnin' an' say yore prayers with yore mind on dis root. Say it helps yo'.
Entry 2041
Last February, a year ago [1936] he was in New York. Well, he used to write often and he used to send me money. Well he got so he stopped writing and he stopped sending me any money. So one night I got down and prayed and after I got up off my knees, I thought about the old tale I had heard. Go to the keyhole and put your mouth to the keyhole right up there and call him for nine times and tell him what you Want him to know. And it wasn't two days 'fore I got a letter and ten dollars from him. Simple things, you see, lotsa times does good.
[Later he returned home.]
If he stayed out later than I want him to stay.
(Oh, at night. I see. Then what would you do?)
Nothing but git right on my knees at that keyhole and call him nine times through dat keyhole. Say like dis, "In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Purcell, come home to me at once." He comes, and when he comes here sometimes he say, "Honey, I'm worried to death - couldn't get chere fast enough." [Cf. margin-title Knothole, later.]
Entry 2137
At a certain time of de moon - new moon dey call it, three days befo' an' three after, they git up ever' mornin' befo' sunrise an' look towards de east, an' they will speak a few words in prayer an' their luck will come to 'em that way. Now I tried that once on a numbah ah wanted tuh play an' it came lak ah said.
Entry 2205
Take three navy beans - ah mean pinto beans, dese gray beans, pinto beans, an' repeat de Lord's prayer ovah 'em three times an' put dem in yore han', yo' know, an' shake em lak dat an' call, "De Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost." Yo' use 'em in yore pocket fo' luck - fo' good luck, fo' gittin' a job or gittin' money. Yo' know, jes' money will come to yo' promptly - not goin' to excess, yo' know. [Pinto = mottled. This mottled bean, grown in southwestern U. S. A., resembles a kidney bean in size and shape, both belonging to species Phaseolus vulgaris.]
Entry 2236
Git two rattlesnake marster.
(Get two rattlesnake masters?)
Uh-huh. Dey grow in de woods and you put one on one side of yo' do' and one on de other side, and jes' say, "In de Name of the Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, I hope dey won't come." An' he won't come either.
(That is if the law was coming or the rent man?)
Yes.
(Now what does rattlesnake master look like?)
It's a lily - looks kinda like a lily. It grows in de woods.
(Has a flower on it?)
Yes, suh, it has a yellah flow'r and when yo' see one it looks jes' like a snake's mouth.
Entry 2257
Well, the only thing to do in case if you should happen to want any result and be successful in luck [getting a job], jes' go and git some oil of rose from de drug store, which and why, you gits dat in all leading drug stores. You don't find dat in no little drug store, you know, 'cause it is too costly. It costes 10ç a drop and you know what one drop is - it's jes' only a whiff of it, so therefore you will have to git at least about ten drops in dere to do you much good. Now, you take dat ten drops of oil of rose and jes' rub it over once in de palm of de hand - rub it jes' like dis [demonstrates]. Rub your hands together and press it down and while you is pressing it down, say, "God de Father, God de Son." And press your hand like dis and press it across your face - bring it down - don't evah rub it up - always bring it down, you know, pressing it in. Then when you git through wit that, then you gits de Scriptures and read de 3lst chapter Psalms, the 45th and the 52nd. And then you go out depending on luck. And de first place you stop in, well, jes' knowing exactly how to approach, they won't take you then, but will tell you as much as possible to drop in now and then, and by going on you will come into the sense of being successful and get the job.
(You got the job?)
Yes, you'll come to have a chance of getting it.
Entry 2438
Yo' git 123 [or] 133 Psalms. Ah think it's de 133. An' yo' read dat 13 times when yo' first git up de mawnin', aftah yo' say de Lord's Prayer or yore mornin's prayer. An' yo' read dat. An' den yo' take an' go tuh do' tuh sweep out, three times, 'In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, let me rule dis day.
(That keeps the law away.)
[Numerology, astrology and other unscientific ideas having influenced hoodoo, I would say this is surely Psalm 133, an odd number composed of numerals 1 - 3 - 13 - 33 - 133; and backwards 31 - 331; and by addition 1+3+3=7; and by addition and subtraction 3+3-1=5; and by addition and division 1+3+13+33+133=183:3=61; and by multiplication lx3x3=9, also 13x3=39; and ad infinitum.]
Entry 2737
(What have you heard about them, the Seven Sisters?) Well, ah heard dey wus awful brainful, but ah don't think so much of 'em mahself.
(Are they still alive?)
One of them.
(They seem to live a long time - those Seven Sisters?)
Yessuh. (Well, what do they say about them? Just give me a little account of the Seven Sisters. What have you heard about them?) Well, dey tells me dat de Seven Sisters kin read yore mind; dey kin do any kind of hoodooism dat kin be did. An' co'se, de Seven Sisters works most by prayers an' in terms of de Bible. There are things dat chew kin take yore Bible an' where dat de Seven Sisters couldn't give yo' a substantial answer about, even so myself. [Extract from later subsection, interview with Havana Man, New Orleans, La., No. 1564.]
Entry 2767
(Is that Ida - Ida Murray?) [I had interviewed her.]
No, Rosanna Murray.
(Rosanna Murray.)
Yeah.
(She's about the next best they have?) [Informant had previously said this.]
Yeah, the next best they got.
(Well, who's the best here now?)
Well, the best they got chere is Bradley,221 Roman Street.
(Bradley?)
Yeah.
(What about Mother Helen?)
Oh, well, under them spiritual people like that - of course, what we talking about now.
(Is something different?)
They've got to be borned again to get up to that class to work, you know. They can imagine certain things and can do - certain things would materialize through prayers, too. You know that. But to get real down to the work and say, "I'm going to do so and so," they don't know anything about that. I goes around to all of 'em - at least, they send for me for certain information. Now, where I'm living at there now, I'm there through what I know - living at [something street] and that supposed to be the top of this city, and that's spiritual busi- ness. She got a church there and while it be - none of the spirituals [egua] her]. And she got seventeen churches besides that one in Texas - Galveston.
(Who is this, Mother Helen?)
Mother Hyde.
(Mother Hyde?)
Hyde, yeah.
(She's the best of the spirituals?)
Oh, lawd, yes - she's the best they got in town. Well, she gets a lot of stuff - why people from - well, she's getting three or four-hundred letters a day.
Entry 3016
Well, St. Michael is a saint that carries a spear all the tfme, and he always - he'll put his foot on you and always keep yuh down. And he keeps his feet on you and keeps that spear drawed on you, and when you git down you gotta stay down, if the person that wants to get even with you will go ahead and give him a light and pray to him. He is a evil saint. You give him a blue light.
Entry 3017
St. Michael is a evil saint.
(Well, how do they do that?)
Well, they go to the church and pray to him, if they want dirty things did.
Entry 3019
(What do they say about St. Michael?)
Ef ah'm in a confusion with mah neighbors an' ah wants mah neighbors tuh be - yo' know, ah wants tuh be a bettah woman, ah prays tuh St. Michael. Ah prays tuh all of 'em. Ah axe St. Michael tuh please come tuh mah aid. He rides a white horse. An' ah sets him a red light fo' peace an' ah raps fo' him. An' ah fixes de red light at six, twelve an' three.
(Six, twelve and three in the afternoon?)
Yes.
(How long do you burn it each time?)
Ah burn it 'bout ten minutes.
Entry 3037
There's St. Peter. St. Peter is a saint they use with a black candle.
(A black candle? What dc they do with St. Peter?)
You see, you set that candle to St. Peter and you light this candle to St. Peter and you say to St. Peter - and you make a prayer - make a prayer, but have these people - their name. When you are prayin', you call these people name, and you set this black candle there, and this black candle has got so many days to burn. And you begin to suffer with a headache or dizziness in the head - well, this black candle then is burnin' on you. After this candle is burned out, then you begin to feel droopy - feel like you don't care about gettin' up in the mornin'. Then, fin'lly, in the longer run you begin to get weak. The first thing, you'll take to your bed; but that can be stopped, if a person know how to stop it.
Entry 3042
Well, St. Raymond, he stand up like a big old saint. You burn green candles to him. You burn 'em Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays. He's for money - just like you ain't got no money, don't know where to get none. Well, you get down on your knees and you pray, you repeat them prayers - it's a prayer, you repeat them prayers nine times.
[Does the prayer come wrapped about the candle?]
(Each day?)
Yes, sir. Well, after you repeats them prayers, you take you a green candle and you set it to St. Raymond and you make your wish, and you can ask him for anything you want, but you means it from your heart though and you'll get it.
Entry 8905
Yo' take a person now dat steal anythin' an' yo' wanta make 'em bring it back. Well, yo' don' know whut tuh do. Yo' go tuh work an' yo' goes tuh de no'th side of de house an' yo' count seven three times, jes' 1-2-3, count 7. Den yo' walks an' go tuh de sun- rise. Yo' takes watah in de Washpan an' wash yore face an' throw it three mawnin's [towards] sunrise. Well, now, aftah yo' throw it three times, de las' mawnin' yo' throw it out, yo' say jes' so, says: God de Fathah, God de Son, God de Holy Ghost, three in one; say ah wants mah thing - whatever it is - tuh be put back by six a'clock in de mawnin' regardless tuh who got it. It might not be put in de same place, but it will be put right back where yo' kin git it.
(That is if somebody stole this thing from you.)
Entry 9113
If yo' have tuh go befō' de judge, de firs' thing yo' do - yo' got a trial comin' up an' yo' figure dat chew goin' to git [cannot understand word, meaning time or guilty - de firs' thing yo' do, firs' yo' git choo two cards, two carding cards. An' yo' git choo a white an' yo' git choo a red [carding card]. An' yo' go in yuh yard or house or somepin, where yuh know where dirt [earth] is. Well yo' dig a space [having] fo' cornahs, yo' know jis' big enough fo' them [the cards] tuh go down. [This four-cornered hole is a sym- bolic grave.] Lay them [the cards] down [in the hole]. Yo' say yuh prayahs fo' whut choo wan' tuh do. Say yo' wan' tuh return back home all right an' no charge ag'inst choo. Well yo' git choo two red onions an' a piece of ice. Yo' cut one of dem onion in half in two, an' break de ice, an' jis' spread dem onion lak dat [demonstrate] an' put de ice tuhgethah like dat, see. Den yo' cut dis othah onion in fo' parts. An' when yo' go an' git in de yard, yo' throw it ovah yore lef' shouldah an' say, Ah'm throwin' yuh back across mah shouldah fo' tuh returr. back an' pick yuh up. An' yo' comin' back. [Why were the preceding cards, white and red, buried? Originally I thought informant was talking about playing cards. A red card would be hearts or dia- monds. What is a white card? They are index cards, even paper. Why these cardg were buried we can learn from COLOR SYMBOLISM (p.797f.) and especially margin title WHITE CANDLE, WHITE MAN; RED CANDLE, DARK MAN; BLACK CANDLE, ENEMY MAN (p.801). The white card, representing the white judge is buried first; on top of him is buried the red card signifying the black man. Symbolically the blach man conquers the white judge even before the trial!]
Entry 10103
Yo' git chew a black cat an' takes 'im - ah done done dat. Yo' takes yo' a black cat at twelve a'clock in de night. Don' chew kill 'im. Let someone else do dat. [This is rare.] Let someone else kill 'im. Don' chew kill 'im, undahstan', but dat chew git 'im. An' take 'im twelve a'clock in de night an' put 'im on in some kinda ole pot or somepin an' boil 'im. Aftah yo' git 'im boiled, den yo' take 'im up. Dere's 52 bones in 'im [one bone for each card in a deck of playing cards]. An' outa dem 52 dere ain't but three yo' takes out. Yo' take dis bone chere. [This man must have brought a cat with him! A black one?] (You take the left. Front paw or the back one?) De left front. [Demonstration continues.] (From the elbow up to the shoulder.) Yo' takes dat now. An' yo' takes from 'is knee on de back - down. (From the knee down to the ankle.) Dat's right. An' takes out one of de ribs - take out de left rib. Take hit out. An' anybody troublin' yo' lak yo' a farmah, bothah yo' wit chure stuff, well yo' take dat an' take dat lef' rib an' git chew a black spool of thread an' tie it. Jis' go roun' dit twice an' say lak dis: "No tramp! No tramp! No tramp." An' tie it. Yo' done say whilst yuh turnin' it yo' undahstan', turnin' it 'way from yuh. It don' come tuh yuh no time, no sir. "No tramp! No tramp! No tramp!" Now, ah'm fixed [ready to proceed]. Put chure han' down jis' anywhere yo' wanta lay it down, an' put chure han' up dere, say, "Lord, de most Heavenly Father, dis is mah undahtakin'. Whut come befo' de devil, dat chew kin take it off." Take dat same thing an' turn it. Yo' won' have no mo' trouble, not a bit. Git 'long jis' fine. [I now explain informant's demonstration:] (You hold that cat bone down on the ground and your right hand over your heart and you say that prayer.) Yes sir.
(Who did you say did that, a farmer?)
Any farmer, or in yore place. Jis' lak mah place, jis' lak anybody intah- ferin' wit chew.
(What would you do with the rest of the [three] cat bones?)
Take eithah one of dose an' use 'em fo' de same thing. Dis elbow joint, yo' gits dat all out dere. Dat's de high [highest] Jomoo dere is in existence. Dat's bad.
Entry 2
[I now guote for comparison of beliefs mv accounts of the preceding white witch's death and burial:] Miss Healer [a professional healer] called me [the Informant] up [1932] and said Witch was sick and she wanted to see me. So that Sunday afternoon [my] Daughter took me over to Witch's, and Witch told me she was sick. And then she said, "Informant, do you know that Christ came to me this morning and had His thorns on His head like when He was crucified." And then she said He had His arms stretched out like this [here Informant stretched out her arms imitating Witch's action] and called her. He wanted her to come. Then we just talked from then on. Well, then I don't know what happened. See. But every day it just seemed like I would have to go to her house. And we generally just set and talked. That was about six weeks all told. And then one Saturday morning I went real early, about eight o'clock, and when I went in, this Miss Healer was there. And then she left. Then Witch's Husband, he wanted to go to the barber shop to get shaved, and he said, "Well, I'll go because Informant is here." After he left, Witch got those hysterical spells. She would scream and pull her hair and kind of go wild. I couldn't do anything with her. Then, every time I would leave her house, she would pray on me and made a cross about here [Informant crossed her heart]. Every time she made a prayer, she Was praying over these medals. [Informant, though a Prot- estant, was wearing several blessed Roman Catholic medals over her heart.] She didn't know I had them on, of course. Well, that was the last Saturday I was there. See. So when I got home I called Miss Healer and I said, "Do you think Witch is worse?" And she said, "No." She said, "Mrs. Informant, I think she's just working on your nerves" - cause she said, whenever she's there, Witch's all right; but whenever Witch seen me coming, she would throw herself into those Spells. So I told Miss Healer about Witch praying on me, and she said, "I be- lieve she's putting you in a spell." And she said, "Why can't you go out to Father Z?" And, let's see, we waited until next week. Miss Friend [Roman Catholic] took us [Informant, Daughter and small Grandson] out. We pressed the bell and went into the hallway and some young priest came. We told him we Wanted to speak to Father Z. Then Miss Friend introduced me to him. And he told her to go into the parlor on the other side. And I guess I went into his study. Well, then we talked and he said, "What made you come to me?" He said, "Don't you go to any church?" I told him I belonged to B. Church [which Informant had not attended for years] and he said, why didn't I go to him [the clergyman there]. I told him that I heard out to Y. Church the priests could help you if you thought you were hoodooed. He didn't say much of anything. He was a very firm old man. Let's see, so then I told him about Witch and told him that it seemed like I had to go every day. So then he said, "Who is this old hex?" I said, "Her name is Witch" - I didn't even say her last name - "she lives in the south part of towm." And he said to me, "Oh my!" He said, "You are about the fiftieth person from the South End of town that's been to me because they thought this woman had hoodooed them." And then he said something about the South End of town. I don't remember what he said. I told him, too, about her saying that we had it too good here [in Informant's home], that she was going to get even with us and make me suffer, having this swell home and getting all of [Husband'sl salary, and this and that. And then I told him about [Husband]. At that time Husband hadn't left home yet. [Informant and Husband separated perman- ently two years later.] And he said to me, "Don't you divorce him" - that's been three years ago [1932] - "he'll give this girl up." Everybody thought so. He said, "A wife has the best chance of holding a husband." So then he prayed on me. He stood up with his cross and prayed over me - whatever you call it. And he said, "I am going to give you this medal. I think it is the best one in my whole collection." Then after I thought a minute, I said to Father Z., 'Do you think it would hurt me to put this medal in Husband's clothes?" And he said, "No, it might help." He wanted Husband to come out to see him, and I told him he would never come. See, he kinda thought we were both put in a spell. But see, Husband would never go. So he said to me, "Don't you ever go in Witch's house again." I told him I wouldn't. And he said he would offer special prayers for me in church next day. I said, "What do I owe you?" He said, "Nothing." I said, "I want to give you something for your trouble and time." So I gave him a dollar. And he told me to drop it in a little slit in the desk. I don't know what he said, whether they use it for the poor or for the church. I think he said that. Miss Friend said if I had given him a quarter he would have been satisfied. And then we [Informant and Miss Friend] went out to the car. And then Miss Friend took Grandson and Daughter in. Daughter thought Witch had Grandson hoo- dooed too. It seemed that every time she [Witch] would come here [to Informant's home], Grandson would get one of those spells. He would be playing, and if Witch Would be here, see, why it just seemed like he would fall any place he would be at. One day he was at the top of the steps and fell clean down. Another day he stood in the cellar way here [just off the kitchen where I sat while recording this story]. And several times he was sitting in the high-chair and would just get like a dish rag, limber, and fall right out of the chair and turn blue. And sometimes it would take us a half hour to get him to come out of it. And Witch [who was frequently hired for housework] would always run and pick him up and rub him. Daughter and I would cry, thought he was going to die. And she said, "Oh, he will be all right." So one day Daughter found one of his stockings on a bush around the house, and so she got it and took it to the cellar and burned it up. After we burned that up Witch never came back. Then Witch took sick. That's where my story started, see. Well, then, all the doctors thought Grandson had heart trouble and they couldn't do anything for him. And they said they didn't understand why the medicine didn't work on him to get him out of these spells.- Dr. Q. said, whenever he got another spell, to call him up that minute. He never got any more after we burned the stocking. But in the meantime we took him to Father Z. I didn't go in, but Daughter told him that she thought he had heart trouble. And he said he never heard a child so small [two years old] having heart trouble. He prayed on Grandson and he never had another spell. Daughter Wasn't so generous. She didn't give him a nickel. It was worth a dollar, if you thought you were in a spell, to get rid of it. From that time on he began to gain and gain, and Dr. Q. couldn't understand it. When I came back from Father Z., I called up Miss Healer and told her I went to Father Z. and he told me not to go to Witch's house any more. So I didn't. But the end of the week, Witch kept calling for me, said she must see me. And Miss Healer knew that I would not go there any more because Father Z. told me not to, so she told Witch my phone Was out of order. And Witch told her, "You try again every day until you get her." That was like Friday. Saturday after- noon Miss Healer went to Witch's to give her a treatment. Miss Healer is sup- posed to be a healer. She don't tell you what she does. People say she is good. She don't take no pay. What you give her she takes. Then, while she was there, Witch grabbed her by the wrist, like this [Informant demonstrated the hold], and Miss Healer said to me, "You don't know what a feeling it was." I said to Miss Healer, "Maybe she is putting a spell on you." And Miss Healer said, "I am not afraid of her because I can take spells off." She says she can't, but the South End says she can. So Monday morning Miss Healer called me up and told me she went to St. Mary's Hospital Sunday afternoon to give one of her patient's treat- ment. She walked up the steps and as she got in the big hall she fell flat, full length of her face. She said the sister run to see if she was hurt. She said, "No." But she said, "I felt like a fool." She said it hurt her so bad she could hardly get home. So she didn't go to Witch's, Sunday night. So Monday morning Witch's Husband went after her. She told Witch's Husband she couldn't come, she fell and hurt herself. So she didn't go Monday to Witch's. Then he said, "Call Informant on the phone." And she told him our phone was still out of order. Then Tuesday morning early, Witch's Husband went about six o'clock and begged her to come again. She said, "I can't come, I can't walk on my foot." She told me she wouldn't go back. So he went back home and told Witch. And she made him go to the grocery store on the corner, F's Grocery, and call her up again, or me. She said, "I told you I couldn't come at six o'clock and I can't come now." I don't know what I will do," he says, "no neighbor will come in [they were afraid of Witch]." Then Witch's Husband went home from the grocery store and Witch was dead. Died all alone. I went to the funeral after she was dead. I wasn't afraid then. British. [British = Informant was of British descent, though of old American stock; other persons were of German descent - FACI (= Folklore From Adams County Illinois), 2ed., 1965, p.918f.; recorded by hand, word for word.]
Entry 329
I knows of several gamblers aroun' here who carries one of those bones. They say [that] whut it is an' that's why they so lucky. They said take a hot pot of boilin' water an' sit it up there on the range, an' put it to boilin'. Grab a black cat right off de floah, you might say, an' dash him right in there an' have somepin to hold 'im in there. An' he gits in there an' let him boil all to pieces while he's alive. Then take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water, after this water is boil down to a quart. An' you got to drink this quart of water. An' take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water an' pick those bone. That stream be runnin' from you to the left. An' try to git as near sunrise as you know an' as you pick those bones you repeat the 'Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.' An' after you fin' tha' choo got this right bone - an' fer you to know tha' choo got it, it's the third bone tha' choo pick an' throw in that stream - will go from you an' you got the right one. An' when you git the right one it'll turn aroun' an' Come back to you. Then you will - you repeats another verse tha' says, "Three dead men looked out of a windah - one was deaf an' the other was blin' and the third one could not see. In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then your luck's on you right then. [Three dead men is used in a variety of rites.]
Entry 354
If ah want tuh go gamblin', go to a crossroads 'fore de sunup an' have de dice in yore han's, an' look at de sun when she start tuh peepin' up, an' yo' stay dere an' shook dem dice at dat crossroads until de sun gits up where yo' kin see it. Ah'll do this - thrown 'em out, thrown 'em out. Ah'll do this In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost. An' ev'ry time yo' throw 'em out Pop yo' fingers - "Dat ah may be lucky in my travels [quotation?]." Ev'r time yo' throw 'em out pop yore fingers an' aftah while yo' see de sun rise. It will rise jes' a little bit up, after yo' done say de names - yo' see, it will rise jes' a little bit up. Ah used to be a gambler but ah quit it.
(That will teach you how to be a good gambler?)
Yes.
Entry 602
In case someone go to the penitent'ry, you goes to the four corners of the road [crossroad] and you dig up a little of that dirt from those four corners of the road, and you bring that home and you put a little sugar and a little of that steel [dust?] - or that white powder - they call it - let me see now, they call it -
(First you put in white sugar?)
Yes.
(And then what else?)
Pulverized white saltpeter. Well, you take all dat and you put it in a little bottle. Like you take a little piece of soft flannel, you tie it in a little bundle and the party what is in trouble, you have their name on a piece of paper in that, and you roll it to the - the day the case come up, you roll it nine days before the case come up and the day the case come up, you roll it seven times early in the morning.
(How do you mean roll it seven times?)
You got it in a little ball - you know, just take a little ball like that and you just roll it like that; roll it towards you, like that.
(Oh, it's a little ball and you roll it over seven times.)
Yes, seven times. And then when you rolls it, you rolls it more like this to you.
(You roll it to you?)
Yeah, so you can get discharged. (I see. And what do you do the nine days before the trial - what do you do with that ball?) Well, you just - you just handles it and moves it around and rolls it from one corner to the other, and be wishing from St. Agnes for them to come back home - put a good-luck light [candle].
(I see.)
And then you see, a rock I got - if a person got a hard case. See that? There's two rocks. I got a hard case to get discharged in court. Now, you see that?
(There are two rocks.)
There are the two rocks. Now you see, if you want to know whether you get discharged of this dangerous crime. Well, all I got to do - say to you, "Father, Son and Holy Ghost, hand me one of them rocks." See, keep your mind on - keep your mind on your business. "Hand me one of them rocks." Now, which one would you hand me? Which rock would you -
(You mean, pick up one of those?) [I must have hesitated!]
Pick it up, it won't harm you, any one you want. Which one would you hand me? (All right - this one.) [I must have picked it up despite germs - probably the only time I ever touched anything.] You'd get clear - you'd get cleared - get cleared of your case.
(Because of that white rock?)
It's a clear rock. (A clear rock, I see. Now, someone must pick up one of those rocks for you, or you yourself pick it up?) No, I don't pick it up. If you are in trouble and you want to know whether you will get discharged out of this trouble.
(Oh, I see - if I was in trouble and I would come to you?)
Yeah, and you come to me and say, "Will I get discharged?" I say, "Well, in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, '' say 'pick meup one of them rocks and put it in my right hand." You pick up one and put it in my right hand and whilst you pick up that one, say, "No, you ain't going to be discharged, '' and if you pick up that one, "You going to be discharged." (I see. Now, one of these rocks is white like crystal and this is reddish brown - a dark rock. I see.) Yes. And then - now, watch. If this rock is there and then you come and say, "I wants to know the party what killed such-and-such a one. I'd like to know is it true that it is a relation of mine, or who - or is it a outsider - whether it is any relation of mine." Just take it like that - you want to know if it's an outsider. Look - I say, "Now, hand me that rock." You hand me that rock.
(All right - then I pick up this black rock?)
Yes.
(All right.)
Well, you see this light across it there?
(Oh, yes.)
Well, that's your relation - they going to get out and if you hand it to me this way, "They'll get discharged. But if you hand it to me in any way, like that - see what I mean - my hand like that - say, "No, no chance." (Now, let me put that rock down there again. Now, if it's like this - this rock is a little different - this is the big end and this is the small end - it makes a difference with that. end toward you?) Yes sir.
(Now, if I'd hand it to you this way - this way, then what would it be?)
If you hand it to me in this way, then there'd wouldn't be no chance of them getting out of trouble 'cause they got a heavy load on their back.
(Oh, a heavy load on their back. And suppose I handed it to you like this?)
Like this - it would be straightened but not great - you'd have a little trouble but not too much. If you hand right straight to me like this - straight out to me, well, there's no chance of coming out.
(I see. Well, what would happen with this little end to you?)
[I may have touched the rock once but I certainly did not play with it. These latter manipulations are surely by pointing.] You sure of - gittin' out of trouble.
(I see.)
Gittin' clear.
(I see - if I hand it to you with that large end, that means a heavy load.)
Yeah, that's it - a heavy load - that's trouble on 'em.
(I see.)
And then again, if somebody get arrested and you say, "Well, I got to go to court Monday. Do you reckon I'll get discharged Monday?" You know, they ast you, "Do you reckon I'll get discharged Monday, I've got to go to court Monday?" I'll say, "Well, let me see." Well, I'll take these two rocks again and if you hand me that light one, you'll get discharged.
(I see.)
Anything -
(And if I handed you the dark one, well you wouldn't get discharged?)
You wouldn't get discharged. (I see. You only use three rocks then - two for one thing and just one for the other?) That's all. You can use these three rocks for the - for the world [for any- thing in the world].
(Well, how would you do that?)
You could use 'em for anything - and I'll throw 'em around like this [demonstrates].
(You mix those three rocks up with your hand like that.)
If somebody come to see me that they don't know [what he is doing] - what any concern of his - don't know what my mind is.
(I see.)
Now, I'll say [demonstrates].
(You put those three rocks down.)
I'll say, "Hand me these - hand me one at a time In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Well, you'll either hand me either one. (You say, "Hand me one of these - one at a time, In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?") Yes sir. Well, whatever one they pick up and hand me, I look and put that down - I remember what that's for - and you hand me another one and I say, "Well, you are going to hand a little trouble - a relation of yours going to get in a little trouble." See, that's a blood kin to you, that's a relation of yours.
(Because it's a reddish rock?)
Yeah, but you say, "Well, will he get discharged?" [I say] "Well, hand me one and see if will he get discharged." [You hand me one and I say] "Yeah, he'll get discharged." (I see, I see. Now, who taught you that way of using these three rocks - did you learn that from someone?) In my mind.
(Oh, that - that a - )
That the spirit of my mind.
(I see - the spirit of your mind just told you how to do this?)
Yes, sir. And then again. I'll show you in another way. You hand me a cup of water and a glass of water - little plain cup that nobody uses - a cup of water and a glass of water. You set that there and you say, "Well, I come to see whether my son will get out of trouble or will I get out of trouble." Ah say, "All right. In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost." Say, "Hand me one of those utensils with the water in it." Well, you hand me the cup, see.
(I hand you the cup.)
You hand me the cup and I say, "No, no chance of him getting out." [Why? Because], when [you] travel cross water you troubled. Well, hand me the glass of water. [I hand him the glass of water.] See all the way through - you can see all the way through the glass and you can't see through a cup. (Oh, I see. If I hand you the cup, you can get in trouble because you can't see through it at all; but if I hand you the glass, it's good, you get out of trouble because you can see through a glass.) Exactly. (I see, I see. You can use the rock because you don't want - don't care to use the cards.) Yes.
(About those cards?)
There are 52 cards in a deck.
(Yes.)
Well, clubs is drinks and noise and coming of plenty people. Spades is dis- appointments, sad dissension in your family.
(Sad dissension in your family.)
Yeah - spades. And hearts is love. And diamonds is money. (And how would you run those - I mean how could you tell that those things would happen to you?) Well - you got a deck of cards with you?
(No - just pretend that you got a deck of cards.)
[Several times I was asked for a deck of cards by an informant. I did not carry a deck because I did not want it found on me in case I was arrested.] Well now, there's a spade, there's a club and here's a heart and here's a diamond. Well, now what you want to know? What you say you want me to tell you? (Well, now suppose I'm in trouble and come to you - have you read the cards for me.) Well, you hand me one of the cards out of the deck.
(Well, I'll hand you this diamond - here.)
Uh huh - you going to get out of trouble but you got to pay plenty money.
(I see. All right - now, suppose I hand you that spade.)
No chance for good.
(No chance for good. Now, I'll hand you this club.)
The club. They going to be slow to speak against you, but if the nine of clubs is with - if you pull it out of the top and it turns up, you is overcome. (I see - if it happens to be the nine of clubs. I see. What would it be if I gave you the heart?) The hearts is love - friendship - everybody likes you - everybody's on your side.
(I don't have to worry.)
Don't have to worry about nothing.
(I see.)
Entry 871
I was hurt myself - I was hurt in whiskey and I started with a little pain back of my head. And it keep hurtin' and hurtin' and I thought it was from a - I caught cold. And so I went to the doctor and I got some medicine but that made me still worse and so I got down in the bed. And so they keep gavin' me medicine and that wouldn't do no good, and so my aunt went and seen a root doctor. I was so sick I couldn't go myself. Well, she got him and bring him up to the house and he look after me. And he went and got some mustard and got some salt from the drug store, and some black pepper, and take a little bit of dat salt and black pepper and put it in the mole [mold] of my head, and when he put it in there he said, "In the Father and in the Son and Three in One." And when he did that he took that mustard and some black pepper and salt and a little flour and mixed it together, and he take it and made a plaster and he put it under the bottom of my feet. And I was so I couldn't sleep that night. And after he did that and I got relief in less than thirty minutes. If he hadn't of done somepin to me under twenty-four hours, you see, I would of been dead [thig is what the doctor told her]. He said I get it in this whiskey give me by my friend.
Entry 1308
Yo' take anyone dat chew wanta die - it's accordin' to whut chew want done - if it's anything yo' want done good - anything dat chew want done good, yo' know a person dat died good, well yo' go to their grave at twelve a'clock at night. When yo' go dere yo' have prayer, see. After yo' have prayer, yo' tell de - yo' talk to dem jes' lak ah'm talkin' to yo', "Ah am takin' dis dirt from yore grave for yo' tuh take care of me. Yo' know, when yo' wus livin' yo' always believed in things that were right. Things is goin' wrong wit me an' now ah want chew to drive away all evil spirits an' bring good things towards me - guide me, lead me. An' ah'll take dis dirt from yore grave dat chew protect from now.on, In Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost." Well when yo' take dis dirt yo' place a dime in dis place an' cover it back ovah. Den yo' take dis dirt. If yo' wanta use it fo' yo' own home affairs, yo' take it an' place it in yore home - see, a secret place.
(What would that do? What is the idea of putting it in your home?)
If it's evil spirits dat cause yo' tuh [be] like unhappy in yore home, dose good spirits will drive dose evil spirits away. Now, if yo' wanta do harm wit dat graveyard dirt, yo' goes to a sinner grave. Yo' go dere to a sinner grave; yo' don't have tuh pray wit a sinner. Yo' go dere an' git dat dirt, yo' go dere an' cuss em. Yo' cuss em jes' like he did - jes' de life dat he lived. Yo' go to his grave an' git it an' act jes' lak ah'm tellin' yo'. Yo' say, "Yo' know yo' raised hell an' made things go jes' yore way. An' now, ah'm comin' heah tuh git dis dirt from yo' tuh make things go mah way: -jes lak yodid when yo wus livin". An git it.
(When you got that graveyard dirt, how could you cause harm with it?)
Well, when yo' go fo' harm yo' go rough. Well, now, jes' lak yo' go git dis dirt, yo' see, yo' know dis person died bad - yo' low his life yo' see, yo' know how he lived. If he was a gambler yo kin git it fo' gamblin', an' if he wus a man dat raise hell an' bring confusion git it fo'that. Well, now, yo' go an' git dat dirt an' throw it on a person do' or steps an' ease it underneat' dere house, see. Well, it penetratin' dere. Yo' can't so well throw it in de yard because dey'll 'scover it, but chew kin put underneat' dere steps where dey transfer over it. De evil spirits will follow 'em all de time an' dey can't live in peace.
Entry 1533
If someone is tryin' tuh do yo' evil, well yo' begin tuh take yo' some prayahs. Yo' takes a prayah outa de Bible. Yo' takes one pod of peppah, red peppah, two silvah dimes - dat's twenty cents. Yo' takes de pod of de peppah an yo' puts it into a cloth an' yo' grinds dat peppah an' salt togethah jes' as a powdah an' yo' sews it up in a bag an' yo' keeps it undah de bottom of yore feet always - don' nevah go without it. Take dat dime [two dimes] an' dat peppah an' put it all undah yore foot an' always wear it, an' de ones dat is trying tuh do it, if yo' git their name, yo' kin write their name down, which is nine times, an' put hit in yore shoes. An' wear it jes' with that peppah an' it's no harm dat dey kin do to yo'.
(You wear one of those pods under each foot then?)
Under each feet. (Each has a dime an' each has a piece of pepper and each has some salt in it and their name?) Yassuh, each one of their name in dat shoe.
Entry 1609
How dey cure it - well it's very easy. Yo' use your own chamber lye, salt and red pepper and bath in it nine times - nine mornings.
(Nine times?)
No, jes' nine mornings, and you bath over running water - you know, either has a hydrant or anything where the Water is running. [In Brunswick, Georgia, a Woman buried something over the waterpipe coming from the street into the house.] And you bath in it and then you say a prayer when you bath in it and it'll carry that away, because nothing kin go against salt and pepper.
(What sort of a prayer would you use?)
Jest the Lord's Prayer.
(You say this happened to you?)
That happened to me.
(How was your hand harmed? How did they fix your hand that way?)
Don't know how they fixed it - don't know whatever they do to you, don't you know.
Entry 1638
When a person git yore fingernail er toenail, he take de sweat - what ah mean, not de sweat - de chamber lye from his body and put it in a bottle and begin to shake it wit nine needles and he'll do that [for a] length of time. And how you got'a git rid of that - you got'a make yore chamber lye near de stove or anywhere you make a fire - make yore water in it and throw a handful of salt in dere fer nine mornings, and call "God de Father, God de Son and God de Holy Ghost." And git up [do this] four a'clock every morning. Then he'll turn you loose.
(What does he do with those fingernails: and toenails?)
Well, de fingernails and toenails in de bottle with it. (He puts them in the bottle, too. I see. And what is this supposed to do to you?) Well, he make you do jest what he wanta do. [Charleston, S. Car., (519), 613:4; Doctor San Mongain.1
Entry 1719
At night befo' yo' go out tuh gamble yo' bathe in some bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' yore chamber lye, an' bathe from de head heah all de way down an' yo' say the Lord's Prayer three times, an' yo take dat an' put any kinda oil whut chew believe in an' rub it on yore.ca'ds lak dat.
(What kind of oil would you use for that?)
Well, ah tell yo' whut ah do's, believes in - ah believes in de oil of rose. Yo' buy it at the drug sto'.
Entry 2333
In de mornin's wash yore face." If yo' workin' on a job, ev'ry mawnin' when yo' wash yore face, yo' wash yore face with three watahs to sundown. Name de watah through de help of de Lord. Ask de Lord to take charge of de water. All right, an' yo' go to de bossman dis mornin' through de he'p of de Lord an' ask him fo' a job. An' if yo' git de job, accordin' to whut kind of a job it is, an' if he evah sends yo' fo' watah or anything fo' him, wet de dog fingah and cross de watah, an' carry it to him fo' nine times. An' he'll content yo' tuh stay dere wit de job. Anything data- way dat he's gotta use on de inside, wet de dog fingah an' make it nine time - mark across it.
(Anything he eats or anything of that sort.) [Dog finger = index finger.]
Entry 2409
If a woman is a hustlin'woman an' goin' tuh a new place, well, befo' she start to dis new place, when she know she goin' - quite natural, see - well she'll go tuh work an' she'll take a real new clean bath an' she'll take it some- thin' lak in de mawnin' befo' de sunrise. An' aftah she takes that watah - while in dat watah she says her prayers nine times, while she's takin' her bath. Take dat watah an' go to de cornah of de house - de east cornah of de room an' throw it east an' make a wish. Go 'head an' ketch de train an' go 'bout her business. Well, when she enter dis city - she go into dat city she takes her anothah bath. An' aftah she takes dat bath an' de 'gredients dat she have - bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' alum. Well, dat gives her her luck right dere. She have washed away all de bad luck an' put on good.
Entry 2505
A hustlin' woman in de streets, yo' know tryin' tuh make money, she should ever' mawnin' befo' sunrise fall on her knees an' say her prayers, de Lord Prayer three times, an' git up an' wash her face down with olive oil an' have a olive-oil bag pinned up on her an' salt - [she corrects this to] olive oil an' salt-bag pinned up on her [salt-bag only - fed with olive oil], if she wants luck in de street wit de mens. An' pee an' throw de pee out from de house, de east corner of de house - pee in a cup or 'nother an' throw it out befo' she has anything tuh say to anybody, an' she 'posed to make money out in de streets dat day while she's out. If a hustlin' womans want tuh git out on de streets an' be lucky, make money, she'd use de van-van holy oil, drop de van-van holy oil on her. She buy de van- Van holy oil an' drop it on her an' make a wish, an' be sho' she use olive oil too.
[Van-van is not called a holy oil - see margin-title Van-van later and Index.]
(How would she use the olive oil?)
Listen - wash her face down, bathe her down good in olive oil. Put de olive oil an' salt-bag you know on there as I 'fore tole joo, an' say her prayers like dat an' - let me see, I gon'a tell you whut prayer she supposed to wear. She supposed tuh wear de prayer in her purse - Holy Idy - de Holy Name Idy in her purse. An' if yo' leavin' goin' to a strange place, a strange city, when yo' in dat city an' want tuh be successful, yo' should walk out in a vacant field, somewhere where it's vacant an' turn yore face in the south an' use that word Holy Adam - Holy Adam - Holy Idam - Hebrew lang'rige - Holy Adam.
(Do you know how to spell it?)
Not Adam but Iden - I-D-E-N.
(Do you know what it means?)
No - dat's in Hebrew lang'rige.
(It isn't the Garden of Eden?)
No suh - Iden. Yo' use dis when yore hustlin' out in de streets or eithah goin' tuh a strange place an' want tuh be successful. Yo' kin jis' walk up to someone an' use dat inward Iden - inward - an' ask them fo' a favor - they'll come very near doin it.
Entry 2755
(Do the people over there have altars?)
Yes, they still got altars over there, yes sir. (How do they handle that? Supposing I'd go over to see one, what would they have me do? I wonder what would be the ceremony they'd go through?) Well now, you see, as you go in, the altar is setting just like this here [points] vanity [bureau] there - yes, sir. The altar is setting there. Well, it's always, the candles are always lit, you see, with saints all around it. It always stays lit night and day. See, you go in there, probably you put a nickel in the box and you light you a candle, if it's a penny even, you can put that in there and you light a candle. You get down on your knees and you prays. And whatsoever prayer you want and whatsomever you pray for or want done, you pray to the saint that you know would help you, understand. You get there and you pray to that saint. Now and then the mother of that church, she would come to you - see, she would talk to you and she would give you information. She would pray for you, and probably she may give you a medal. She'd bless the medal and everything - well, pray over it rather and give it to you. Then, she would tell you just what to do and how to do it. See, she liable to tell you, say, "Well, when you go back over to the New Orleans side," say, "you go to the Crackerjack Drug Store," and she say, "you go and get you some goat- weed." She say, "You get some goatweed and you go out in the woods - if you can get to the woods, if you know how. You go out in the woods and you get some banana leaves." You see. "But get the root of the banana tree, rather - get the root of that," she says, "and you come back and you bring it chere to me, but bring it back in nine days." She say, "Let it be dry when you bring it back." Well, you bring it back to her and she will fix that for you. Well now, when she fix it, she liable to tell you, she say, "I want $100 for it." You pay it to her because you wants something done for yourself. She going to use sugar with it, she is going to use cinnamon with that stuff. She gotta take and sprinkle vine- gar onto it and all that - cook all that together - take a red onion and cook all that together. Make one thing out of it. When she get through with it - it will be just about that much stuff when she finish. She tell you, now, put it in a sack or anything and put that in your pocket and go ahead on. And you have the luck and success in anything you undertake to do. (What do they call these people that do that sort of thing? What would you call her?) Well, we call 'em just by name - some people call 'em the hoodoos - some call 'em spirituals - some call 'em - ah forget the other name they call 'em - but we call 'em all kind of names - fortunetellers and all such things as that, you see.
(Well, does she wear a robe or dress up in any particular way?)
They generally wears a gown, yes sir - you know, a big white gown. Some of 'em be - have a black gown, you know. We call 'em gowns. They look more like gowns than they is robes - and tassel and all around - just in order - just on the order of a priest, you see.
Entry 2768
(Was that the time you were being hurt?) Yes, sir. (Well, tell me what happened? How did they hand it to you? And how was that cured? Tell me the whole experience - the whole story.) Well, you know, that I couldn't even - couldn't walk in here like that.
(Couldn't even do what?)
Couldn't walk in here like that.
(You couldn't walk in here. All right.)
But then one fellow who came down here [to Vicksburg] took me to a fellow called Johnson down there [to New Orleans].
(Where did he take you to?)
To New Orleans.
(To a fellow called Johnson?)
Yes, sir. And course he told me that I was crossed up like that.
(Well, what happened when you went in? What first happened when you went in?)
He just asked me if I want git rid of my misery, and everything like that. He didn't do a thing but just rubbed me. And of course then I had a misery in my head. And then he said a man must have hurt my eyes, and he tied it up and told me use them head bandages - placed a candle over me for nine mornings and read a Psalm, and said a prayer. But the prayer was - but what the prayer was I don't know. (Was that a woman you went down with [from Vicksburg to New Orleans] or was this woman at Johnson's house?) They was there - she was. One was a woman and one was a man.
(Oh, they were working together in the same house.)
You see, when I first went to see him, why he was setting out on de porch. Well, it wasn't no porch either, but it like a church and he was sitting out there on a little old balcony kind of.
(It appeared like what?)
It's just a big church and place.
(Oh, a church.)
And still he treats people and all like that, see. He took us and carried us on upstairs.
(Into a room?)
Yes, sir - in a private room.
(And what was in that room?)
Like - just like desks and different things like that, just chairs and desks.
(I see. And then what else did he do?)
He asked me what was my misery and how long had it been hurting me and when it first started, and how did it work and things like that. And I told him. He told me to stand up and come to him - walk to him. See, I couldn't - I couldn't walk right. He told me that somebody had throwed something for me and so he would rub me. He would rub me and have me turn all the way around and bowing over and walking and coming back to him like that.
(What did he rub you with?)
Sir? Jest his hand. He didn't put no oil or nothing on it - jest rubbing and saying something. Jest rubbing [she demonstrates].
(He rubbed down off your clothing.)
In my clothes - just rubbing me down like dat for a long time. Then he would tell me to press up while he would hold me, push on me right here like that. I would strain up like that. I done paid him and then went on off.
(And then after that? Then where did you go?)
Ah went to a rooming house.
(Where?)
Went to a rooming house. (Went to a rooming house. Where did you meet this woman? Where did you find her?) The lady? Oh, I went back down there the next morning.
(You went back to this woman the next morning.)
And he told me to come back. I was supposed to go back and take the final treatment. He told me if I didn't have that why I couldn't walk up straight any more. Everything have happen to me like that. So, he tell me I was going too much, says, "Women like dat." I didn't tell him about how my head hurt, I didn't consider it was worth-while, thought it was just ordinary or something like that. He told me to come back and see about my head. So I went back the next morning.
(You went back to this church the next morning.)
Went back the next morning where we - so he was telling her about it. She didn't carry on [rub her], but she carried me around and telled me to sit down before the table and she asked me how my head hurt and all that and this and everything like that. And I told her. She told me sit down and she would fix my head up. So she lit a candle and put it before my - kind of a yellow candle and placed my hands before it, aside the candle. She got her one and lighted it, and went to passing it over her head [demonstrates] and she was saying something or other. (When she passed it - how did she pass it over her head? Like this? [I demonstrate.] Around her head in a circle?) Yes, sir. [See margin-title later, Halo Sign.] And so I had stayed there that day. And had to go back nine days - nine mornings. (Nine mornings. She did that nine mornings, you say. She said before sun- rise?) Yes, sir. No, sir - any time between twelve o'clock - between sunset and one in the evening.
(Any time between twelve o'clock at night and sunrise in the morning?)
[My question confuse her but she now gives the proper answer; the well-known magic rite.] Ah don't know how. But she told me to always come - never come at twelve - come before twelve when the sun was still on a rise. (Oh, I see - when the sun was still going up. I see. And that was all she did - burn this candle on you?) Everything.
(And then when she finished that - after the nine days, then what happened?)
Hit was gone! Never seen it no more.
(I see. What did they charge you?)
$25.
(The both of them - S25 for both of them?)
No, that was $25 for my head. I paid the same thing for the hip part.
($25 apiece? Each for the hip and the head?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 2939
You can easily tell that they are candles being burned over you. You can take a - even with a deck of cards and tell when a candle's being burned over you. (How would you do that?) You take a deck of cards and if you run a deck of cards wit a queen and a jack running in diamonds - you take a deck of cards and shuffle them off, put 'em in nine piles, one time. Shuffle 'em off again and put em in piles. Shuffle 'em off again and put 'em in piles. Search the piles and see if you find any three times you run 'em off in the nine piles, three times [if] you can find that the queen and the jack are in the same pile. Then you come back with the cards in five piles and try it the same way, three times, and see if you find the queen and jack. See which one leads the other and when the deck is facing you, which one you find first more often, the queen or the jack. Then you will know a woman is burning candles. Then you will see if a woman have any candles burning on you. Now, your way to get them out. You'll have to make a novena yourself against that, and burn a candle against that. But keep yours in a continous burning and when your candle is out, be sure that it don't go out until it burns out. And when your candle burn out, then the candle against you will go out, unless. (About those cards you spoke about. If the queen comes first more often, then a woman is burning the candles?) Then a woman is burning the candles.
(If the jack comes first, then a man is burning the candles?)
Then a man is burning the candles.
(I wanted to make certain I understood that.)
That's right.
Entry 3029
Mah brother had done got to be a young man, see, and dis lady whut - dis woman whut he was in trouble wit was after him. She Was kinda ole - see, too ole fo' him, he was 18. All right. Well, she begin to buy candles - see, burn candles on him. She burned 'em a little bit at de time - every 20 minutes. All right. He begin to weaken down, suffer, nowhere he went he was satisfied - nowhere he went. Well she took his socks - see, the left. And his dirty garment, you know de BD's [= B. V. D.'s - unionsuit], took dat.
(What do you mean, took his garment? That had something on it from him?)
Yeah. She took dat and she took penny nails. She had a drier in her yard in de back - you know, in de back yard. She had his hands stretched out like dis [demonstrates] and de toes. See, dey were dem long shirt - well, de BD whut dey were, long ones.
(B. V. D.'s. You mean underclothing?)
That's it. And she had him laid - you know, tacked down wit penny nails. Eight penny nails it was. And she had dat dirty sock - were right in de middle of it.
[I now describe informant's demonstrations.]
(She put this underclothing - stretched it out and she tacked it down on top of the ground, and then she put this left sock in the middle of that, and then she covered it all over with dirt.) Well, mah brother wasn't satisfied nowhere. He had to leave from out of town. He left and he wun't [would not] come back. Don't care who send or write fo' him, he wun't come back.
(What did she do this for? To run him away? She didn't want him any more?)
Naw, she got mad cause he wouldn't marry her. She say she don't want him do nobody else no good. An' she done that. Well, ah prays to St. Ann, to Blessed Mother - that's is, to Blessed Mother. I prays and prays. Well, ah tell you what ah'll do, I say, I kin make him come back. Well, I got dem blessed holy candle, dem pure white candles.
(Where did you get it? From the church?)
I got it from de church, from de Fathers from St. Joseph's here. See, I bought it. I tole him to bless dat candle.
(You didn't tell him what you wanted to use it for?)
No, ah didn't tole him - ain't no use. An' ah got St. Peter. Ah sent away and ah got St. Peter - ah couldn't buy St. Peter nowheres here in Mobile. Got a brand-new key and a piece of blue, you know, ribbon [and made] a bow-like.
(Wait a minute! You got a St. Peter's key. Where did you send to get that?)
No, ah got St. Peter's photo. Ah send to mah niece to New Orleans to get it.
(Where did you send to get that, the photo?)
From New Orleans. That was the only place. Mah little niece sent it back to me in a hurry. All right. Ah went down there to the Catholic church to Father X and told him to bless this photo for me of St. Peter, see. I wanted a holy candle right away. He blessed that all at one time. He blessed that key, too. He say, "You want de key blessed, too."
(What kind of key did you have?)
Key like you unlock de door with.
(Where did you get the key?)
Ah bought dat key.
(A new key?)
Yeah, a brand-new key ain't never been used. All right. Well he blest it and before he blest it ah tacked dis key on to St. Peter, see. Ah put on there any kind of bow mah mind made me. Tied a big bow, a brand new piece - ah got a halfa yard fer ten cents.
(A ribbon - blue ribbon.)
Tie on St. Peter and nailed St. Peter up right over mah door, where you come in. Light dat holy candle and ah burned it only three days, on Wednesday, Friday and Monday - only three days, jest had one candle. Ah sweeten it down wit some sugar. Ah burn dat and ah call mah brother's name three times, see; call mah brother's name three times and den ah put mah name on with it see, one time - only one time.
(You call your name once.)
Call mah name once and call mah brother's name three times; and dis woman's name, ah call her two times. Well, mah brother came home. In three days he came, and he say, "Sister, ah got something bad on mah mind." Ah say, "What is it?"
[Recording is bad but he was going to kill the woman.]
She was burning a black candle on him.... Well, he gave her up. He almost like tuh kill her. He hated her. He drew her blood and he left her. [Drawing blood is an old remedy to kill a witch's power, see 485-487, p.148 and Index.] He came to Mobile.
(How long ago did this happen?)
Well that happen about five years ago right here in Mobile.
Entry 3059
(What do you know about St. Rita?)
St. Rita is the best saint. I can tell you that St. Rita is one of the best saints. That I kin say that I have call on her after Jesus, after God and Jesus, the Son of God - after his heart [Sacred Heart]. She have done me some favors.
(Well, can you tell me something about her? Who is she? What does she do?)
She ain't nothing but a woman. She have been a bad woman all her days.
(Yes, what kind of a bad woman?)
She had been a sporting woman, goes with mens - you understand, different mens and that kind of thing. Every night she would lay with a man, she had a growing son. One night, here that son come just about one o'clock aknocking at the door, and at the same time she had a man - the man laying with her. And he [man with her] knew that she was doing those things - that why she so good to- day - and he didn't take no time, didn't ask who that was. They [the man and she] was more sure that was some of her mens - you know, had been knocking at the door. And it was her son. [The man] got up and he takes his gun and he shot the son - that's what the book [says] - shot the man at the door. That was her son. [He] opened the door and he who had been dropped dead by the shot, that was her son. That why she fainted.
(She fainted.)
She fainted. She say, "Now, from today on - from tonight on, I shall change my name. The only son that I had of mine - have seen the hand of [something]. But," she say, "before that I goes to that way, I was ready to send myself to that place there in hell. But he take my place. But I change my name from to- night on." She choose the very, very dirty place that you could of called to [stopped at] traveling along - what I mean in the [woods?] - everything [dirty].
(In the what?)
In the woods yes, alone. It was in January. You see in that kind of time there ain't no flowers. We don't see no flowers. We don't see such a - there's nothing blooming at that, in that month. She say, "I throw myself - I wanta be a saint or I wanta kill myself. I wanta do charity some kind of way." She con- tinue praying, praying. And she say, "From today on," she say, "my Savior, that you come to be the man, and give me the crown that I want. I be called many [something] in your heaven. I resigns everything. I throw myself in your arms. After the bad, I want the goodness as my [fort or forte] - it shall be my [fort or forte] until I die. But I'm going to change my name." That way she say, "I go especially for the poor. I have been poor. I have to throw myself in this position that I have to go make the death of my child - for my baby - and I'll do charity for the poor." And she says, "My Savior, at the end of my prayer, after you show me my way, good or bad, I want for you [to] represent it to me - just a kind of a something [sign] to let me know that you stand with me, and I'll stand with you, and I shall be saved from today on."
(What was her name before?)
Rita. Now it's Saint, you see.
(I see.)
They use Saint in it.
(Well, then she changed it to St. Rita?)
St. Rita. [At this point I stop the machine but she soon saying something about the sigr makes me restart recording.]
(All right. Did she have a sign?)
She got a sign. In February. Did you understand?
(I understand.)
Now, you know it's a month that there's nothing what blooms. One night she comes and she lays down. One morning, she get up and she say, "I'm going travel- ing along." When she come to get out from the door of that building where she Was, she had figured that she had carried - have carried it on her head like a veil and white around here. She have figured that. You understand. That was at the time of Jesus Christ, you see. She [was] walking along. Her heart have always - have a willing heart, you understand, for everything that would come along. She walked forth on that road about two or three miles before she get to a little pond that they have Water - that they used to have some flowers or something. She says, "Well, Lord, I asked my message through my prayers, to show me a sign and let me know if I was past through my bad days. Make a way which say if you was on my side." She say, "This morning, in the [picture - something about the rose]. Did you see - you done see the picture?
(No, I've never seen the picture of St. Rita.)
She have a beautiful rose on her little table - that's the first beginning of her life from - after He had changed her ways. Now, here comes - continuing - she say, "I ain't going to lose my way. I ain't going to give up." She say, "I don't want no company. The onliest company that I want with me is God. If I don't see him - just so that He lead me with prayer - that I foreseen the - and know that my redeeming lead in my heart, so that I kin say that I know it." One morning she gets up - that was the third morning.
(Are you repeating that part of the story?)
That was the third morning. I come with one morning like that - that was the third morning, again. She say, "Well, my Savior, here is a lamb." She say, "I promise Jesus I was going to be in the service of the poor people, bad people. He have heard me." She say, "Here, this is my way." She promise from that day on, "I wanta be a saint - not for the rich, not for nobody but all bad people. Whosomever know they have been dealing bad, whosomever know that they wanta be better, they goes to her and ask her if her [she will] beg Jesus for something to help them on the way. And you give her her prayers like you ought to, I'll guarantee that she'll answer you.
(You mean any person who is wicked - you go to her and she'll answer?)
I'm telling you.
(She won't do any dirty work, will she?)
Oh, not no more. Not no more. No, sir.
(Does St. Rita like men? Does she answer any man's prayer?)
Oh, yes, she like the men - she like man. She like all good dealing, but not bad dealing no more. Cause bad dealing have been the cause of - see, in one way, that her trouble have come through.
Entry 7187
Yo' uses High John an' yo' uses five fingahs grass an' yo' make charms outa dem, an' den yo' put lodestone all on dat. An' if yo'd make a seal an' wear dat - when yo' read parts of de Bible. "Co'se [of course] dat's de way a lotta people do, but ah go by de Bible. See, whut ah do, ah based on de Bible - prayahs, see, an' sech. [The preceding word charm rarely appears in Hoodoo. For the word seal, see SEALS AND HANDS, p.643 and elsewhere.]
(How would you use this High John and five finger grass?)
Oh, yo' jis' put it in a li'le bag.
(Put it in a little bag and that piece of lodestone with it?)
Yes. An' den put it wit - wet it wit dis lodestone perfume, yo' see, an' weab it.
(And what about the seal?)
Or yo' kin weah a seal. De seals are made outa de Six an' Seven Books of Moses. (And then what do they do with this little bag they wear? That is something separate again, isn't it?) Dis li'le bag, dat's somepin sep'rate.
(What do you wear this little bag for?)
Dat's fo' pertection [protection]. An' prayah too. All de othah [people] weah a prayah. Prayah'll pertect chew too.
(What kind of prayer do you use while you are wearing that bag?)
Well, yo' kin weah a prayah at any time [not only while wearing that bag]. Yo' kin weah a prayah outa de Bible, de 91 Psalms on parchment papah. An' yo' have it wit certain kinds of ink. Yo' write dese prayahs outa de book of de 91 Psalm; mos' any prayah dat's suitable. An' yo' weah dat prayah all de time an' God'll pertec' chew. Yo' kin even put a prayah behind - on parchment - put it behin' jore do' an' no one cain't come an' do yuh any harm. (You say they have to write with certain kinds of ink. Can you tell what kinds of ink they have to use to write that?) Well, ah fergit de kinda ink. Dey have reg'lah ink fo' dat. Ah tell yuh - dove's blood.
(Do you get the blood from a dove or do you buy this?)
Well, yo' cain't very well git it from a dove, yo' have tuh buy dat. See, EVAHBODY CAIN'T GIT DOSE THIN'S. DEY SEN' TUH CERTAIN PLACES.
[Is dove's blood ordinary or special red ink with a dove label on bottle?]
(They send to some firm.)
An' git dose thin's an' dey even make dose parchments. (What firm do you buy these things from? Do you happen to know the name of any firm? There were several down in Memphis and one in Chicago.) Ah know one in Chicago.
(What one do you know there?)
AH DON'T LAK TUH CALL DESE NAMES, AH DON'T KNOW WHETHAH AH'D BE DOIN' RIGHT DEN.
(Oh, I'd just send and get a catalog, that's all.)
Well, de Lawrence [Laurence]. (What is their address? What street do they work on? State Street?) [A penciled note of mine, made soon after the transcription was typed, reads: Use with caution. Later I write in red ink: How cautious I was in the earlier days of collecting!!! This informant is O.K. (signed) H. M. H.]
Entry 8594
Yo' take a brand-neW lamp - EVERYBODY DON'T SAY DE SAME THING. Every- body don't take no lamp; dey burn de candles, yo' see. Get a brand-new lamp. Yo' take a piece of white paper whut ain't go no lines on it, pure white paper without any lines. Yo' writes it with ink. Yo' write de persons name - initials - what yo' wanta come back to yo' nine times. See, yo' cross it though. Write yore name three times, see. (Do you cross that?) Yo' cross on dere name. Don't write yore name but three time, but write dere name nine. Clean dat lamp of de oil yo' know. Be sure yo' never burned any of dat kerosene - get it, yo' know, for whatevah amount yo' wanta burn. An' yo' put dat in dere. Before yo' put de oil in dere, take de papah an' roll it tuh yo' - see.
(You roll this paper to you.)
Yes, an' den make a wish dat in so many days yo' want 'im to show up, in nine days. De tenth day he ain't comin'. He come on dat ninth day. Well, yo' kin put in dere, a woman's name, depending on de way yo' want dem to come. Yo' put dat down in dere an' turn yore bottom upwards - turn de name down bottoms.
(Turn the names down inside of this lamp.)
All right, den yo' fill it up, but don't let it get without oil in nine days.
(You must burn it right along for nine straight days.)
When he come on dat ninth day, yo' go in dere - don't blow yore lamp out, yo' pinch it out, when he done come.
(You pinch it out with saliva.)
An' dat de way yo' kin get 'im back an' say: In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Dem person ain't going to stay from yo' to save dere life. Don't care who dey are.
(Are you Roman Catholic?)
Ah's Roman Catholic an' ah believe it an' ah work by faith. Mobile, Ala.,
(651) 849:1.]
Entry 11121
Jis' like you have a funeral for a person, take picture, graveyard dirt and salt, saltpeter [3 ingredients], mash 3 eggs together, put into a little shroud [black piece of cloth], make a casket [coffin], go to cemetery, bary, says Lord's Prayer backwards.
Entry 12313
Ah learnt dat you could take dat dere wood from a tree right where de lightnin' struck, turn in an' go dere an' git chew three pieces, tree lil' small pieces. An' take three [silver] dimes made in de same yeah. Take three dimes an' dat piece of wood, an' put dem dere three pieces, an' put one dime 'neath dat piece of wood [demonstrates] an' de next dime right next tuh de next top piece of wood, an' de next dime right in de bottom in de jar. An' take it tuh de watah an' throw it in de watah, an' says, Ah hope yo' come back tuh me, In Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost, come back. Let it go in de watah. Yo' see, yo' throw dat jar an' hit'll go so fur downstream, an' dat jar will turn roun' an' come back an' go in de bank where nobody will git dere han's on it. Dat jar will come back. Or eithah yo' kin take it lak dis: Yo' kin take a brick an' put it in dat jar wit dat, dat money an' dat piece of wood from de lightnin'-struck tree, an' it will stay down undah de watah three days. Dat's de best, it will stay undah de watah three days. Well, when dem three days out, she's back tuh yo'.
(This is bringing somebody back?)
Dat's right.
(Where do you get these dimes - get them out of your own pocket?)
Yeah, jes' go down an' try tuh git de dimes made in de same yeah.
Entry 12474
You kin git a fresh hen egg, you understand. You kin git a fresh hen egg an' put it right in this [murdered] man's hand, you understand, an' bury it in there. An' then [an- other method], you kin burn on 'im, don't choo understand. See, you kin take his [whose?] name an' you kin write his name 9 times. You under- stand, write his name down 9 times an' put it in a lamp, see. An' light that lamp 12 a'clock in the daytime, you understand. You write it on - let me show you how you do this. You write his name 9 times. Understand? An' you puts a teaspoonful of salt in there, don't chew understand. A teaspoonful of salt on an' then you take an' make a little package. You wrap that. You wrap that to you 9 times. Wrap that up you see. Then you put it right in this lamp, 12 a'clock in the daytime. Under- stand you light it an' make you wish an' you put some oil of wintergreen on it, in there. An' you let that lamp burn for 21 days, see. An' when you drop this in, you say: In the Name of the Father an' Son an' Holy Ghost. Let that lamp burn for 21 days. An' then that man will come to you wherever you at. He'll come to the place, the man that kilt the othah one. You kin do that [this pre- sent lamp rite] behind [after] putting that fresh hen egg right in his hand, too.
Entry 1655
Well, jes' lak if dey put anything down fo' yo' an' yo' finds it. Lak if dey buries anything down for you - yo' know, dat cunjuration dey calls it, make it little plainer to yo'. Well, yo' take that chew see when yo've found that - don't put chure han' on it. Jes' take a little iron or somepin other an' take it out an' put it in a paper sack an' carry it to a runnin' stream of water an' throw it ovah yore left shoulder. Turn around three time on yore heel an say, "In de Name of de Lord, drive mah enemies away from me." An' dey can't do yo' any harm.
Entry 8427
Ah heard dat chew could take a photograph an' put it ovah a glass of watah, dat is if a person is outa town an' cross watahs. An' pray nine times ovah it each day, one prayah a day. Fo' nine days, pray. In yo' own mannah, yo' see, yo' should pray. An' take it out den an' put it undah yore rug as yo' come in de do', wit de face down. Well, dat's tuh bring 'em froa cross vatahs.
(To bring a person back?)
Outa towm 'cross vatahs. (You put this picture over the water you say?) Ovah de glass of watah, jes' turn de face down. Yo' kin put it in yore bed an' sleep right where dat is, right ovah it. See, yo' put it neah yore heart up heah, yo' think where yore heart is, de glass jes' stand dere.
Entry 195
One dark rainy night grandfather was going home on horseback. He had been to town. He lived out in the country. He had to cross a stream of water called a branch. If you were on foot, you walk across a plank; if on horseback, the horse walked through the water. When the horse got in the middle he sat down. Grandfather looked back. He saw a big black man with red eyes. Grandfather said a prayer and the thing jumped in the Water, made a terrible noise and disappeared. [New York City,
(1), by hand, Gaston, Co., N. Car.,1870 decade.]
Entry 298
Ah heard chew git a black cat an' yo' take dis cat an' put him in de pot - put dis cat in de pot an' put dis pot on de fiah an' yo' gits a Bible an' in Revelation, dat's where yo' read it, ovah there. An' yo' git the Bible an' yo' read the Bible the whole time that cat is in that pot boilin' an' that cat will - yo' know, yo' will pray in yore mind. An' den when dat cat's got done, yo' take that cat an' git chew - yo' take dat bone when dat cat cook all tuh pieces an' yo' take dat black cat bone - jis' a solid black cat, nuthin', no white about it or nuthin' - and when he gits done yo' bring dat pot dere an' yo' put dat pot an' ever' time you take out a bone - git chew a glass an' yo' sit an' look in dat lookin' glass an' put a bone in yore mouth, an' when yo' git de right bone yo' cain't see yo'self in dat glass. See. An' den yo' kin do any- thing, cain't nobody see. Yo' kin go tuh de bank an' git money out de bank but cain't nobody see yo', 'long as yo' got dat black cat bone in yore mouth. Well, yo' have sold yo'self to de devil, becuz' dat's mo' fo' evil. (Do you know in what part of Revelations they read, or just any part of Revelations?) No, jis' read any part of Revelations, but 'stid readin' it farwards, read it backwards - read it backwards.
Entry 303
Jes' lak yo' spot a cat, yo' know, a black cat in yore neighborhood. Perhaps, at twelve a'clock in de night, yo' go git dat cat. Yo'd have yore watah boilin' an' yo'd set down aftah it boil an' den git him 'mersed down. Yo'd first repeat de Lord's Prayer. Close yore eyes an' repeat the Lord's Prayers ovah that hot kittle of watah. Den yo' would take it off an' let it cool. Put it in some watah, yo' know, an' git it cool. Then yo'd set down an' right near dat pan. Yo' might say yo'd have a - yo'd set there aftah yo' repeat de Lord's Prayer an' yo' take bone by bone an' draw it across yore mouth an' yo' lay it down, bone by bone. Well, when yo' git to de right bone, yo'd lose sight on [of] 'em, an' den dat'd be de right bone. Yo' would take that bone then an' put it in yore han' or pocket, an' go in any othah place an' the people that are in there, they would lose sight on yo' as yo' are sighted.
Entry 326
Now dere's a whole lot 'bout dis dat a person kin do, 'cause ah sold liquor once an' mah house nevah was searched two years in dis town. But chew git - ah got holt of a kind of a powder dey calls de black cat powder, understand. Den dey take dat powder ev'ry mornin' fo' seven mornin's, go to de window where yo' got de sunrise an' say de Lord's Prayer, an' sprinkle dat dust - dat powder round yore house. Yore enemy can't nevah come over it. Ah sold it two years heah an' mah house nevah was searched. See, usin' dat powder, yo' understand. [This could be the Black Cat brand of talcum powder, thought by informant to come from a black cat - see Doctor Frank Hall's origin of dragon's blood.]
Entry 381
I went out with some people - a white man and two colored fellows and myself. We went to a place by the name of Port Allen. That used to be a [Civil] War place. Lot of Yankees was running away from there with money - supposed to be buried there - which they had found money in different states. Well, we hadn't, didn't find that so far. We got near to it but we didn't git it. So we had a shovel and we had a money rod and also we had a radio. See. And test where the money at. So the closer we'd get to the money, the more the bell would ring - that arrow would go around just like a radio. So, we dug there and so we got down to a pot and one fellow, doing time before [in the penitentiary] Was in there. He got his for murder, and if you suppose to do any kind of murder or anything, you can't get it. So, it was twelve o'clock that night, so we could not get it. So we came back the next night and after we came back the next night we dug. We left that fellow - we found out that fellow had been in trouble, so We left him and picks up another fellow. So we had a preacher with us and so he said a prayer. So we dug again until we got down to the money but there was so many different things come in front of us we couldn't stand to see. First thing came, a horse with no head on it - a horse with a lot of fire coming out; a man with no head, and a lot of bells and noise. Well, we left it - we never did get it - a great big hole. We couldn't get the money. I could get that close and could almost reach to it down there - it was about four feet down.
Entry 532
Dey claim yo' kin put a pan of watah under yore bed and say three words, jest say, "Father, Son and the Holy Ghost," and den go to bed and dey claim de witches will not come.
Entry 843
Ah have a catalogue from a company dat gives a 'scripshun of all dat. Dey claim some kind of a powder called devil's powder, an' yo' sprinkle dat round dere door early in de mornin' so dat dey'll walk ovah it an' they'll event'lly git so miser'ble in dat home till dey'll leave dere. But dat's jes' - ah read dat in de catalogue. De only thing ah know of dat - ah guess yo' heard of an incense, a powder called incense. Wal, ah re'lly believe it's not de powder in dat but it of co'se goes wit a prayer - dat's only thing lak dat. It's diff'rent kinds of it - some, it's sandal incense an' some rose. Each has a diff'rent name, yo' know, but after all it's incense.
(Well, do you burn that at any special time or at any place?)
Well, each individual has dey own hours. See, fo' instance, ah may believe that five a'clock in de mornin's an' twelve a'clock at noon. An' someone else may believe in it six a'clock in de evening.
(Each person sort of has his luck at his own time.)
[We had just started to talk about root workers.]
Some of 'em [root workers] stay drunk.
(The root doctors?)
Yes. Ah don't know - dey claim that helps them out.
(That helps them in their work, you say - that's a strange sort of thing.)
Entry 962
If they had an idea of traveling, like if they wanted tuh go north or wanted tuh go to California or Oklahoma - well, they haven't got the money to go with. So they goes, walk out tuh the forks of the road an' turn dere face eastwards and would pray for the Lord to give. them that directional star in their mind that they might be able to get ahold of the luck that would - even if they didn't have the money, that would give them that trip. An' ah've had them to say that - why they shortly after doing that, why they would meet up with some rich person who would wish for them to go as a chauffeur or as a cook or as a maid to such a place, to such a state. And they would go with that person to that state, make a trip jest by going to de cross of the road - dem forks of the road an' looking eastward and making that prayer while they were standing there looking eastward, for that luck.
Entry 966
I was sitting to my machine sewing when I taken sick in this arm and in the spine of my back; felt just like-a chill begin to run over me. And from there my heart begin to beat too fast and I thought once or twice that I might just had a dumb chill when it first struck me. And my mind just lead me to get up and I'd gotten up from my machine and I walks to my front porch and I sits down. And then another spirit told me to pray and I prayed. And whilst I was doing that I walked on a ways and I come back and had taken some medicine. From there on I rang-ed [rang = telephoned] up my brother that I thought that I had a stroke or was taking one from the way I was and he came to me. And from there they prevailed with me to go to someone that knowed a little more than I did. And they [the doctor] told me how come that I had it; that my [sewing] machine was dressed on this side. [For another bewitched sewing machine, see FACI,2ed., No.16337, p.875, white person.] And the chair that I setting in, it had - liquid was poured in it and from there I lost the use of this arm, had no use for it. And when I'd stand up my heart would just go so that I had to lie down. But it wasn't but one thing cured me and that was that ammonia and cooking soda. And then they told me how come I to get it. I got it through a piece of meat and by my machine was dressed and chair. And the minute that I begin tc take it and begin to read the Bible, it begin to leave me.
(You did what?)
I read the 7th Chapter, Psalms of David, in the morning and the 7th and 8th of Psalms, I read it in the afternoon, and before noon I'd taken that teaspoon of soda and ammonia. You don't drap the medicine, cause when the Bible speaks of witchcraft you shouldn't drap it; you should pour a certain amount instead of drapping it, cause if you drap it, it'll do you just as much harm if you hadn't taken it. You pour it.
[Whether to drop or pour medicine - not in the Bible so far as I know.]
(Well, how do you pour it then?)
Just hold it and pour it - a certain amount as you think you should take into the glass, instead of drapping it. Well, that's what I'd taken and then from there on I begin to rub this arm with alcohol to help to gain the strength back and by reading the Psalms of David - just taking it right back to the one who put it on me. (Did you also take this medicine in the afternoon when you read this chapter in the afternoon?) I'd taken the medicine in the morning and read the chapter right along with it
(You didn't take any medicine in the afternoon?)
No, just in the morning.
(Once a day. I see.)
Entry 980
Ah was kinda tricked - ah had sores - somebody done a trick tuh me and had me so mah feet was swelled and ah couldn't walk. Mah feet got jest 'bout like - every time ah would get up to move it feeled like pins and needles was sticking in de palms of mah foot and ah jest had to go down to de floor and stay where ah was without moving dat time, pricked me all ovah. Well, ah went to see and went around to diff'rent people to see whut de trouble was and dey tole me ah'd been hurt. Well, ah come back and went to New York and a fortune-teller told me, said, "You've been hurt and the best thing you kin do is to get somebody to work on you - tuh [work on] de person dat tricked - de man dat's been working on you." Well, individual [eventually] - anyhow ah went and had a salve - a salve was mixed up for me - it was mixed up. De first thing they told me to bathe with mullein - dis mullein tea - take dat an' boil it and keep mah feet in dat and always bathe it down and say a prayer over it.
(What kind of a prayer did you say?)
Ah said, "Lord, taketh the one that put this misfortune on me - to move this pain away from my foot - turn dis evil spirit away - amen - in Thy Name." Ask the Lord to remove this evil spirit - bathe it down.
(Why did you bathe it down?)
Dat's to rub it out, out - see, it was come in [through the foot] and want it to go out from de toe. Start down from de head and carry it out - that's to make de pain go out of mah foot - each stroke I gave it out. Jest put it in dat water with mullein, carrying each stroke out. Well, dat 'gin to do a little good. Den dis person made a salve, it was fer me. They made it with snake oil - ah mean, you know, de snake's liver. And [they] made of dat grease - grease from de snake, saltpeter - an' mix dat up and a little of de mullein - it was boiled down and mixed with dat and mutton suet. That mutton suet - and made de salve, and ah rubbed dis foot and dat's whut kinda got me up so ah could walk. But time after time ah couldn't go nowhere. De foot turn kinda black jest like something had bit me.
Entry 993
Now the spiritual people when yo' go to 'em an' if yo' got any kinda disease or anything wrong wit yo', they would pray ovah this watah - dey call it de holy watah. They goin' pray ovah this watah an' yo' drink three swallows of that watah three times a day, an' when yo' drink the first three swallows it goin' make yo' sick, but chew keep on drinkin' it an' finally yo'll feel bettah. They do's that fo' some kinda sickness or fever complaint or anything lak that.
(Is that holy water that each person makes himself - these spiritual people?)
Yessuh.
Entry 995
My aunt been tricked and I carried 'er to a lady. We was living next door to a woman and she didn't like my aunt. And she put something down on the plank-walk, but it used to come every evening about three o'clock. It did look like ice-cream salt but it was saltpeter, and it come up every evening at three. [See subsection Time and Hoodoo Spell, p.349.] And when it melts away it melts away like dew. You ever seen like dew melt away and leave everything wet? Well, my aunt walked over that.
(You mean like in the morning it's wet on the grass?)
Yes, sir. Well, my aunt she walked over that - it was on the plank-walk. Well, after that she walked over it - she was big and fat - she weighed 250 - then she had one big leg and she had one little leg. Well, after that she began so she couldn't walk. So I carried her to a lady [a spiritual] and the lady took some holy water and rubbed my aunt's leg with that for nine mornings and made her pray an' take the holy water and that holy water cured her. That holy water is really good - that holy water cured her.
(Made her take it? How do you mean take it?)
She used to drink three swallows of it every morning, and the rest she used tc bathe her leg in, and now she got all her health and strength back again.
(Where did you take her - somewhere here in New Orleans?)
Yes, sir. I take my aunt into her house. Well, when I brought her in she tole my aunt, she say, "OoH, '' she say, "you're hurted." But my aunt tole her, "Yes, but nothing don't hurt me." But you see, by her body being so big - she had a little leg and a big leg - 'cause that woman had put the stuff down for my aunt, well, she had put it down to paralyze this one side. Well, she was really paralyzed in that one side. Well, she made my aunt drink three swallows of holy Water, and she bathed her leg nine mornings in the holy water, and she made her repeat the Lord's Prayer three times a day. But she told her she had to believe in for it to do her any good. So she believed in it.
Entry 1077
Any spell upon you - you know that work from another - someone of your people like your mother or your father, something like that. You believe - you know, just like some people say that a child [child's] mother have cursed 'em, you see - didn't wished 'em no ways good, you understand, fer disobedience to 'em. Dey kin go to dese old- time grave and he kin change, you know, the footboard to the head and the head- board to de foot, but he'll have to pray unto her, you understand, to beg her for forgiveness.
(I see - that's if he wants to get - )
That curse off.
Entry 1474
(If a person has crossed you?)
Yeah.
(You go to the stove?)
Go to the stove or place where a fire what's lit, and you take you some salt, you see, and just sprinkle it over the flame, you know, and you repeat the Lord's Prayer, and the flames quiver from de salt, you know, and then you do with your hand like dat and read the 37th Psalm [demonstrates].
(You hold your hands up in the air together after you said your prayer.)
After the prayer. You repeat the Lord's Prayer and ask the Lord to give you peace of mind and, "The Lord deliver me from mine enemies. ".
Entry 1750
Whut a woman do tuh make him come back to her? Well, ah'm goin' tell yo' somepin. Ah've tried this mahself an' yo' see ah know whut ah'm tellin' yo' 'bout is strictly true - dis heah ain't no story. Mah husban' left me an' ah tell yo' whut ah did. He went away from home. Ah got him tuh come back. Ah save some of his urine, see. I hate to say this to You. Ah got some an' put it in a half pint bottle, an' ah got me a tablespoon fulla sugah an' put it in dis urine of his'n, an' ah buried it undah de steps. See, dis is true - ah know whut ah'm talkin' 'bout. Ah could git him right now if ah wanted him but ah don't want him. An' he come home an' tole me, said, "Honey, ah been treatin' yo' wrong, but ah wants tuh come back home tuh stay. I buried dis mahself right undah de do'step - ah had de pint bottle of his urine. See, he made it in de slop jar an' ah didn't urinate in it with him. An' yo' see, yo' have tuh take his'n off, an' ah put this tablespoon fulla sugah in dere, an' took an' buried it at de do'step, an' every mawnin' ah say, "Lawd, yo' know whut ah did. Ah did it, In de Name of the Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, an' hope all mah wishes come true in mah happy hour." An' he come home tuh me. Ah did that mahself, an' ah learnt it from anothah man.
Entry 2084
Told me to get some oil of wintergreen - wintergreen oil. Go to the drug store and get some wintergreen oil and this lodestone and get some steel dust and bring it to him. And he put it in a little red piece of flannel and he told me, he say, "Now, you go to this man and tell him, ask him for a job - say your prayers before you go to him. When you go there you ask him for a job. Just before you get there you say your prayers and then you ask him for a job." He say, "And he turn you down the first morning, '' and he say, "you come back to me." And after I went back to him, he give me another little thing but he didn't tell me what was in that bag. And he give me some perfume, something smell - just smell like perfume, you know. So I taken that perfume and I went there and I asked the man for the job driving Goodman's Beer truck. And so he give me a job. So I went back to him and I asked him, I say, "What kind of perfume that you done give me?" He told me, he say, "Well," he say, "I went to the Cracker- jack Drug Store and got some of this same perfume." I say, "What kind of perfume is that?" He say, "They call that Lucky Dog per fume." That's what it was - Lucky Dog.
(He didn't tell you what was in that second bag though?)
He didn't tell me what was in that bag.
narrated request for and receipt of a beer-truck driving job. The first preparation and quoted instructions, second unknown bag, perfume and claimed hiring remain separate episodes. The text does not disclose the second bag’s contents. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2194
Jes' like yo' in business like sellin' whiskey or somepin like dat, yo' put a red onion ovah each one of yore do's, an' de Lord Prayers have it written, if yo' don't want nobody tuh pay no 'tenshun to it chew know. Git chew a small onion, de smallest one, an' jes' tack it up ovah de do' dere an' take de Lord's Prayers an' put it undahneat' yore carpet on yore floor right at chure do'. Well, yo' know yo' can't walk ovah God - dey can't go but so far ovah Him - yo' know yo' can't go ovah Him atall. Yo' take de Lord's Prayers an' put it down undahneat' dere. Co'se ah always use nine or ten.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will give yo' good luck an' no evilness kin come aginst yuh.
(That will give you luck for selling whiskey and keep the law away?)
Shore, an' people commence tuh envious against yuh. Dey'll come an' 'stead of bein' an enemy to yo' dere min'll [mind will] change an' dey'll be yore fren's instid of a enemy.
Entry 2258
De fo' Psalms, that chew use. And yo' use rose oil tuh grease yore face and hands befo' yo' go in - rose oil and salt. An' grease yore hands and face and use the fo't division of Psalms - it's a prayer.
(You do this before you go up before the judge.)
Entry 2259
Tuh keep de [bill] collector - tuh keep him away from yore do' [some indistinct words].
Yo' kin take it but yo' gotta git that watah an' keep it from one yeah to anothah. Yo' gotta git it on de 24th day of June [St. John the Baptist's Day]. Dat's whut chew call St. John watah an' yo' put it in yore bottle an' yo' keep de haid turn up an' yo' collector or yore landlord neither ain't goin' worry yo' too much. Ain't nobody goin' break up yore business. The laws won't come around or anything. The laws won't bother yo'.
(You just take water out of the river.)
Yo' git de clear watah out de rivah wit chure prayers. Yo' gotta pray - any prayer. Our Father - dat's de Lord's Prayer.
(That's St. John's water?)
St. John water an' yo' call him fo' protection an' he'll protect yo'.
(You just have the head of that bottle pointed out the door?)
Out de do' - dat keep 'em off. If he comin' - yo' jis' take dat bottle when yo' think yore landlord's comin' or yore enemies is comin', yo' take yore bottle an' yo' roll it. Yo' roll it wit chure feet - an' den roll it right back where it come from at de do'. [This is one of several magic rolling rites confined to the New Orleans area - rolling a bottle, a candle, a coconut, anything (see Rolling in Index).] [St. John's water is also a health measure, like May water (No. 986, p.381 and Index), and consequently a protection from evil. In Teutonic folklore St. John's fire was lighted on the night of June 24 to ward off sickness and misfortune for the coming year. The preceding evening of June 23 - Saint John's Eve or Mid- summer Eve - was the beginning of various rites.]
Entry 2305
It's a good many times in turnin' work - dere's good many times dat chew wants tuh take an' turn it on a man, if he's very smart an' industrious an' yo' wanta put him slowful [not slothful] where he'll lose out on a job or anywhere, any way, form or fashion. Yo' takes de snail an' yo' put 'im into a halfa pint of watah, an' de road dat dis fellah got'a walk, yo' sprinkle dat watah 'long dere fo' nine mawnin's, "In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost," an' he'll git so slow - slowful.
Entry 2459
Well, you got to get you some - if you want to scrub out door, you mean? Something to put at the door? Oil of cinnamon. You get you some [some- thing - this is mentioned later], pour in a clear bucket of water. You take that bucket of water and set it up there and do like this over it and say the Lord's Prayer [demonstrates].
(You put your right hand up to your brow.)
Yeah, right over the bucket.
(And look down into the bucket.)
That's right.
(And then say the Lord's Prayer.)
Yeah. Then you say - when you finish you say, "In the Name of the Father" - look at me [this addressed to me].
(Yes.)
"Of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."
(Make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. "Amen, for luck and success." (Yes. Now, wait a minute. You have water in that bucket. What else do you use in that bucket?) Nothing but the water and the oil of cinnamon.
(Oh, all right.)
Pour it in there. Then you pray over it. And you say - the last you say, "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, for luck and success."
(While you make the sign of the cross.)
Yes. You right at your door like that, you go outside where the people coming in at and you bring it in with the broom - just have somebody washing in with the broom come in with it. Then mop all around neat with it. but alwavs bring it in the door - you bringing the luck in your door.
(I see.)
Anything you handle, whilst handling it, rub your hand in that oil of cinnamon when you go to send it off to the people. What you do for de people [customers], rub it [oil of cinnamon] on your hand, it coming back to you [in luck and money].
Entry 2496
Yo' take de infant dirt from de grave [dirt from an infant's grave], take sulphur, yo'll take table salt - three things. Yo'll git up in de mawnin' at fo' 'clock 'fore de sun an' yo' starts from yore front do', jes' lak if, yo' know, yo' want plenty - ever'body tuh come in. Well, yo' stand to de do' an' throw it in de house, "In de Name of de Father an' Name of de Son an' Name of de Holy Ghost, ah wants all de customers dat ah kin git." An' yo' have mo' people den yo' evah able tuh git through with.
(When you get that dirt, you give it this money?)
Yessuh, always give odd pennies. Nevah give two or nevah give fo' - give odd.
Entry 2497
Dey take de same one foot of yore sock. Git chew - go to a baby's grave an' take three pieces of white cloth an' one silver dime. Yo' dig dis hole like dat, an' when yo' take dis three pieces of white cloth - dat's a baby grave now - three pieces of white cloth. An' a silver dime - yo' paying dis baby off. Yo' understand. Yo' dig a hole about lak dat, "In de Name of de Lord, yo' take care of dis in Jesus name. Ah'm only givin' yo' dis in Jesus name." Yo' put dem three pieces of cloth an' dat dime down dere. Befo' yo' put dat dere, yo' git out a handful of dirt. Den yo' put dat dime an' dem three pieces of cloth in strips - jes' little strips - in dere, an' yo' cover it on back, an' yo' take dis with you an' go on.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Go on an' fill yore sock with dat an' one silver dime. Yo' take it an' - either corner of de house yo' could put it. Or either yo' could run it up under de sill, it'll be good.
(What will that do then?)
Keep de police away. (Keep the law away. Well, why did you put those three pieces of cloth in the grave? What was the idea of that?) It's a baby an' a baby is in de arm an' is harmless an' sinful from de world.
(I mean what do those three things represent - those three pieces of cloth?)
Dese Three are One.
(Those three pieces of cloth represent the Three Who are One.)
Don't chew see.
Entry 2502
" Yo' go into de graveyard an' yo' gotta go a certain hour - about twelve 'clock in de night. If you got any kinfolk bury in dat graveyard, you'll explain to them exactly wot and wot not. Then you git some dust outa that graveyard - offa dat same grave which you have explained dese matters. You take dat qrave- yard dust and go home, and you jest sift it light right aroun' yo' step and you say, "Now, you take ca'h de home. Ah don't want no law or nobody else officiate round heah." You go on about your business and dey'll take ca'h of it. Dey'll nevah look dat way. Dey'll come right by dere an' when de git dere dey'll throw up dey head and go on by.
Entry 2589
(What did you do?)
For me to have customers when I was bootlegging? I didn't do nothing but something simple. I got me a quart jar and I made me up a jar of salt and sugar water.
(What kind of water?)
Jest table salt and pure sugar.
(You just take salt and sugar together?)
Yes, in that jar. And you take and you sprinkle it from ever what entrance they come in at, clean on into the other entrance, and back on and you say a verse. You say, "In the Name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Ghost, give me luck, success and money." And anything that I call for I'll get it, and you be sprinkling that and saying that verse all the time. Well, you get plenty of customers when you do that. When I was bootlegging, when I would do that, I would have plenty of customers. That worked for me - yes, sir, that truly worked for me.
Entry 2733
If you own a house and you wanta get a renter for that house, you take you some, what they call yellow wash, sugar, and your urine [three ingredients], and you put that in a bucket and you scrub that house all over. Start from the front steps, scrub up, and scrub it plumb to the back, and leave that house open and just make a prayer. When you make that prayer, in less time than two or three days you will have that house rented.
Entry 2744
You've gotta know something about de Bible to do it. Comes from de devil, let it go on back [to him]. I would nevah try to do nothing to people and I wouldn't, and ah don't put no spells. De people come and dey says, "Well, could you put dis back." It don't work. Long as I git you well and work for yo' happiness, then it's all that's necessary. (Well, what sort of cure do you use? If I came to you and - had a spell put on me, what sort of a cure would you use?) Well, de first thing ah'd do - I heals, too. That's the next thing. The first thing I heals and then I use salt. Salt is used fer a thousand things that is good and bad. I puts this salt on a plate, saucer, then the party that's sick, I let them make a hole in dis salt wit de big finger [demonstrates].
(Of the left hand.)
Any hand but jest only dis finger - not de index finger, the middle finger. And then I repeats certain words from de Bible and let dem repeat after me and tell em - oh, yes, ah pour alcohol in it and let it burn, and de word dat dis light goes out on, it [sickness] stops right there. Then they must sleep over dis salt overnight. Then take it to the deep rivah and throw dis salt in de rivah and let it go. That watah running and dis salt will take away your con- ditions. Course dere's nothing you kin do fer nobody if they don't believe nothing. If a person don't believe nothing - nothing doin'. Becus if dey comes tuh me and if ah'm even jest goin'tuh heal dem ordinarily, ah says, If you don't be- lieve in God and you don't believe ah kin, ah don't wanta bother with you - no use using de energy:"' And then I always repeat certain words over a person when ah'm healin 'em.
(Are those words a secret? Or something you wouldn't want to tell me?)
"May it please thee, O Jehoges, to prosper" - I mean, "May it be thou most holy will, O El Mejah to heal de body and soul of dis person." You gotta call de mother's name and de person that you are healin'. "May it be thou most holy will, O El Mejah, to heal de body and soul of John or Susan, free 'em from plague and oppression."
(What were those words that you read out of the Bible? Were those secret?)
No, dat wouldn't be secret. It would be secret to people dat come to see me but not secret to persons dat knows - you know what I mean, if you understand. It's the loth Psalm of the Book of Moses. [We must remember here as well as everywhere in hoodoo, the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses - probably in a number of versions and under various names - is considered by believers to be a part of the Bible.] Dis one dat keeps running in mah mind is de Psalm dat you read three times befo' sunrise. Dat's de 4th Psalm. That is in order to accomplish things that you desire. There's a certain name, a certain spirit, that you call upon.
(Is this Psalm in the Bible or in the Book of Moses?)
Both - but de meanings is in de Book of Moses - Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses. The 10th Psalm - well dat Psalm whut you use fo' healing and removing conditions from a person.
(Do you use any other book in addition to Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses?)
You kin take and look in de Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses and find out whut to read, and den you go in yo' Bible and read it from yo' Bible. You go to the fo' corners Of the earth and you take nine new keys and you call the spirit of this person - nine keys and walk to the four corners and you call the spirit. Yo' go dere at midnight and you call de spirit of de person whut you Want and this person will come. You worry 'em - de spirit [identified later] will worry 'em. Yo' send out yore thoughts through dese new keys and that brings the person back that you desire to.
(You mean the spirit of the dead person back?)
[This also brings the spirit of a living person.]
Yes, because you are sending out a self-conscious mind and yo' sending out the Spirit forces to bring this one back what chew want.
(Why do you bring this person's spirit back?)
Why do you do it? Well, because you wanta see this person that's away. When you making charms you use sugar with Adam-and-Eve, tea, coffee and sugar, 'cause everybody likes sugar in dey coffee or sugar in dey tea, and you mix that three together in your charm. That's the onliest way ah knows.
(What is the charm for?)
The charm is fo' those things ah told you about while ago, but chew gotta put Adam-and-Eve in it. If Adam-and-Eve is in, it holds the two together close, the man and wife, or sweetheart and friend.
Entry 2769
Well, sometime ah haven't got bread in mah han's, ah have set a light tuh St. Anthony an' ah pray tuh him an' ah gives him a light. Ah gives him a white light an' ah sets mah light at nine, twelve an' three tuh him. An' ah axe St. Anthony fo' bread an' ah keep prayin' fo' bread an' ah raps, an' he gives me a rap back. An' at de end of nine days mah way would be open. (Now, in this rapping. Do you rap just once each time you set that candle? Or just once during the day? Or just once altogether?) Ah raps when ah set the candle.
(Just once. And he raps just once. When would he answer?)
In de noon of de day. [St. Anthony answered my informant's rap by rapping back; but not all saints answer in the same manner, as we shall now learn.] St. Jude.
(St. Jude. What do they say about him )
Well, he's a good saint. Ah set lights to him. Now ah sets a green or either a yallah light to him, an' ah raps fo' St. Jude an' he would conquer yo' enemies. He would make de way smooth fo' yo' an' in all sickness he heals yo'. Ah set mah light at night or in de day fo' him an' ah raps, but now he sends me a light - lak a star appeahs in mah house. Anybody could see it.
(You say this light appears in the house someplace.)
[Light in many forms is probably considered the greatest manifestation of the spirit - see Spririt Light, p.43f., and for general folklore, FACI,2ed., Pp.761- 768.] Lak if yo' know dere name.
(This person you know has stolen something from you?)
Yeah, an' yo' call dat name, write dat name an' yo' set chew a St. Michael or a St. Peter candle, an' yo' rap, yo' see, an' each time yo' rap, yo' call his [thief's] name, an' he gon'a come. (He's going to come and tell you that he stole this article from you or bring it back?) Or either take de Bible an' put de key in de Bible. Yo' gotta take dat Bible an' dat key an' yo' put it in dere an' yo' say a sincere prayer - Our Father's Prayer, an' yo' take dat key an' yo' turn it all aroun' in dat Bible. An' yo' see yo' call de fellah's name dat took dat, dat key goin' move jes' lak dat. [The key itself will move.] Den it gon'a stop. In nine days dat party will come back. Ah would take me a candle an' light it. Jes' say dat dis wus mah saint, what- evah saint ah'm usin' - say it wus St. Espedee. An' ah calls his [the saint's] name an' ah would rap fo' him [the saint]. An' ah would call his name [husband's name], rap fo' him [husband]. An' den he's comin' home. Ef ah got any of his shoes, ah take an' turn it bottom upwards an' he's comin' home.
(You call your husband's name?)
Yes. [This woman is a professional hoodoo doctor with a little spiritual thrown in. Her husband, Peg-leg, did some work for me on my first trip to New Orleans, but she refused to see me - afraid until my second trip two years later. These four statements about rapping were taken from her long interview broken up years ago. More of her material probably appears in the text.]
Entry 2826
(What would they do if they got my photograph?)
Well, your photograph - this here - of course they don't use those tintypes no more. But you could take your photograph like that. You could take a candle. Just like if you want to do evil, well you could take a black candle; if you want peace or love, well you take a blue or green candle. You take that candle and you take a pin, start from the top and you write her name coming down, all the way around, coming down until you get to the bottom. [Demonstrates.] (You write her name right around it with this pin. You scratch her name on that candle right down like a barber's pole, down to the bottom.) Yeah. Then after you get it [written], you get a little small can - get a little small can like that and you put it, the candle down in that.
(What color candle are you using now?)
Using a green one.
(A green one. All right.)
And you take it and you put it down in there - just about a half of that cup- ful of water. [Water is in the can.] You taken her picture - don't put it where it could catch afire, but set it over that and you light that candle. Well, that candle will burn. Just like you set it at nine - that's if you want her to be on a grief about you - you set that candle at nine and you take it off at twelve. Put that candle out. But whilst you got that candle burning, you have her photo- graph turned down right over that.
(Now wait a minute. That photograph is in front of the can? Outside?)
Yes, just set it over there where it wouldn't catch fire from the heat from the candle.
(Wait a minute. The photo isn't over the can?)
No.
(It's leaning against the can?)
Leaning toward the candle [but against can].
(And her picture is upside down?)
That's right.
(All right.)
Then you take it.
(You light it at nine in the morning and nine at night?)
Nine in the morning and at twelve o'clock in the day you take it out. And you light it at nine o'clock [in the morning] and at twelve o'clock, you puts it out.
(All right. Then what?)
That puts her on a grief. Then you change that picture. Every morning you do that for three morning - three nines and three twelves. See.
(How do you mean, you change that picture?)
Just like if you got it turned bottom upwards, then you take that picture anc turn in crossways.
(Sideways?)
Just like that. Yes.
(Each day.)
Yeah, first nine [in the morning] you have it bottom upwards, second nine you got it crossways, and three [third] nine you got it straight up again.
(Head down?)
Yes.
(Every day you turn that picture a different way in front of the can?)
In front of the candle.
(You turn it three times because you are burning it three days?)
Three days.
(All right. Go ahead.)
Then afterwards you take it out. After you take the three days out, well you take this picture every day at twelve o'clock for seven days at twelve o'clock. You read the prayers - just like you take the morning prayers, see, of Moses - the prayer of - any kind of prayer - "The Lord be our Shepherd" - and well then, you read that prayer every day at twelve o'clock.
(Is this before you put the candle out or after you put the candle out?)
No, you hain't got the candle burning a'tall, then. You just reading to that picture - you just praying to.
(At twelve o'clock after you put the candle out?)
Yes. Then, regardless of where that woman at, she is worried - she's worried, she coming back to you.
Entry 2887
When you go before the judge - just before you go before the judge, burn you a white candle. You try to find out the judge's name. Write his name down on the candle nine times, and burn that candle clean down until it's all gone. Then you say your prayers over that candle, "Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Mother of Jesus." Say it nine times. Then you turn your underwear and your undershirt and your socks - turn them wrongside out - and then you go before him. He'll decide - his mind will be changed.
Entry 2983
You go to de rivah an' gi' choo a bottle of watah. You come back an' you take you a glassful fer nine mornin'. You stan' in de back do' or windah an' say yore prayers ovah it. You t'row it ovah yore haid. An' you use St. Raymond pitchure an' burn a white light to it. An' dat'll put de can'les out.
Entry 3013
(What do they say about St. Michael?)
Well, St. Michael wus de archangel. He wus one of de angels dat cast Lucifer out of heaven. He wus one of de great archangels, an' anywhere yo' got a devil aroun' yo' or think yo' got a evil spirit or anything aroun' yore house, yo' pray tuh St. Michael an' he'll help yo'. Yo' says de Lord's Prayer nine times an'yo call St. Michael's name, an'every time yo' say de Lord's Prayer yo' call his name. an' axe him tuh help yo'.
(Do you use anything or burn anything special to him?)
Yes, yo' burn a pink candle tuh St. Michael. No, he ain't got no special day
[I probably asked about time] - jes' any day.
Entry 3023
And the Mother of Perpetual Help, she opens the way, she gives you bread when you got children like I have - she opens the way for you to have suc- cess. Well, you give her a blue candle - that's for children. And you pray twice a day to her - at twelve o'clock sure and in the morning. And whatever you promise her when you get your wish, why you give her that.
Entry 3026
(You burn a green candle?)
And make dem bring it back. Dey can't keep it - dey bring it back, if dey steal something.
(Well, just how do you burn that candle?)
You burn dat candle in a saucer. You sprinkles a little sugar in de saucer, see. And you call and tell dem please tuh bring the things back, or you don't want to stand no trouble or nuthin like dat. And ast de Blessed Mother for to he'p chuh for to bring it back. An' dey bring it back - dey has to sneak it back in yore home.
Entry 3027
You burns a pink candle to her on Wednesdays and Thursdays and Mondays.
(You mean to the Virgin Mary?) [See comment later.]
Yes, sir.
(What do you do that for?)
For help.
(For help. Do you do anything else? I mean besides burning the candle?)
No more than that and repeat the Lord's Prayer. That's all you do to her.
(Each time you burn the candle?)
Yes, sir. Every time you light the candle, you say the Lord's Prayer.
(I see. Just once?)
Just once. [It is evident I wanted to be certain that informant was talking about the Virgin Mary. Here is a woman listed '35' and "good' in Nzonbers Book 647-822, and advanced to the mark "excellent on the transcription. A final reading of the complete interview caused me to label every page "woman spiritualist" - the latter word also meaning a spiritual. I have discussed this perpetual problem of religious syncretism in the Introduction.]
Entry 3028
Now, St. Peter is another saint. He don't pray. St. Peter don't pray atall. He's - he don't stand no foolishness. Now, St. Peter is a man who'll do anything that you ask him to do, for this simple reason - he's got the keys of heaven, see. Now, you get down and you get to St. Peter and you ask him for things, he'll open the way for you. You ask him to open the way for you and he'll open the way for you and he'll let you get jobs. You promise him something, give it to him. Now, the biggest thing you can give St. Peter is a key. You get you a key and get you a piece of blue ribbon. Put that key on a piece of blue ribbon and hang it around his neck; give it to him and you'll have success in every way and in every respect that you undertake. Understand.
(Where do you have St. Peter? In the church you mean?)
St. Peter's in the church. Course you could have 'im at the house, if you have 'im blest, but you got to always be sure you know what you are doing when you talking to saints. Course we talking to the saints, but we talking to The Man Above, too, because He's got something to do with this, you see. But when you.talking to the saints and you promise them things, if you don't hold to your promise you're just blowed up - that's all there's to it.
Entry 3032
St. Peter, he opens the doors for anybody - you know, who has bad luck and can't get anything. You have to get a key and put it up over the door, you see, and put a light to him. You put a green light for him, that's for money. They do this in the house, and then you can put it in the church too. [Informant does not mean Roman Catholic Church but the private church I call a public shrine (pp.770-773).] But you can keep all that I'm telling you in the house. But in the church too you can make your prayers. You can make the prayers at the house, it's all the same thing.
Entry 3041
(For St. Peter. Tell me how you do that.)
Well, ah gives him a light. Ah gives him a light an' pray to him an' makes an offer tuh him an' takes him down [from the mantelpiece or wall] an' turn him upside down an' give him a red candle. Put it up 'side de wall anywhere or down on de flo'. Turn him upside down, an' give him a red candle an' throw a glass of watah in his face, an' go 'head on to co't. Dat's de co't case now, if it ain't serious. But if it's serious, yo' gotta work harder yo' know - yo' gotta start in time. But ah kin take St. Peter down dis mawnin' an' yo' goin' tuh co't an' ah kin make it easy.
Entry 3065
(The Sacred Heart you say?)
De Sacred Heart of Jesus, yo' prays tuh him if yo' wants. Lak yo' got con- fusion in yore house an' yo' wants peace. Yo' gives de Sacred Heart of Jesus a red candle on Monday, Wednesdays an' Fridays, or yo' give him a red light. Yo kin buy these cups whut chew burns these lights in an' yo' gives him a red light, but it must be Monday, Wednesdays an' Fridays. Dat's de Sacred Heart days.
Entry 3087
It started from drinkin' water. I drinked water behind a lady and went out [the room]. And all at onest I got blind, jis' as blind as a - I couldn't see nuthin. So I called de landlady of de house. She said, "What's de matter?" I said, "I'm blind, I can't see." She said, "Why, you Was seein' a few minutes ago." I says, "Well, I don't know what's de cause of it." She carried [took] me in de room and lied me on de bed and sent for a ol' woman named Aunt Eliza. She came and prayed with me, rubbed some kind of salve over my face for nine mornings, and my eyes begin to crack open agin. They were closed. She would never tell me de name of de medicine she give me. She give me nine drops every morning for nine mornings. And she said de Lord's Prayer every morning before she give me dat medicine. And de last morning she give me dat medicine, she says, "What de Name of de Father and de Son and de Holy Ghost have I did." [Wilmington, N. Car., (241), 164: l+85; this happened in Fayetteville, N. Car.]
Entry 4968
Tuh bring a man back wit de sock, yuh take a lef'-foot sock. Yuh take an' put it down, put it down undah a rug, jis' lak yuh got lino- leum. Yuh put one down - yuh put de firs' sock down comin' in [at the front door]. Yuh go tuh de reah do' an' yuh put de othah sock down goin' out - shoot it [straight] goin' out. Yuh git up [in the morning] an' yuh take yuh some chamber lye an' yuh sprinkle, jis' lift it up soon in de mawnin' an' sprinkle a little chamber lye on dere, see. Go tuh dis [other] one an sprinkle a little bit of chamber lye on it. All right, yuh say, "Now, Lord, combine me an' mah man tuhgethah wit union an' love." Say, "Leave out all stum- blin' blocks, hindahin's an' causes." An' if he as fur away as mah han' he is got'a come. He's got'a come. Yes sir, ah know he's got'a come. Don' care whut direction he is in de worl', yuh take dem socks an' put 'em down lak ah said. Put 'em on down, de firs' sock comin' in dis way, an' dis one goin' out dat way.
(What do you mean by the middle door? Do you mean the back door?)
Jis' lak dat do' right dere [points].
(That back door, away out at the end of the house?)
No, inside de house. [Informant thinks my end of the house means outside the back door. Back door is meant.] (You call that man by name when you are saying that little [I WAS GOING TO SAY INCANTATION BUT STOPPED] - theSe WOrds?) Yeah, yuh have tuh say dose words.
Entry 5001
[Pillow - like the words door, fireplace, eaves and steps - is one of the many magic places about the house; place only when it is on the bed where it belongs. Pillow on the top shelf of a closet or up in the attic is not a magic place or object, unless it has been specially dressed.] A woman kin take a man's sock an' kin put it undahneat' 'er pillah dat she lays on at night In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost tuh bring 'im 'er way.
Entry 5083
Take de sock dat he done wored an' put it undah where - stretch it out on de side dat she lays on In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost an' sleep on it. Den he will stop runnin' roun'. (Stretch it out where?) Undahneat' 'er bed, which an' why. Put it undah de sheet on de bed an' lay on it, an' make her wish In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost dat she means tuh stop 'im from runnin' roun'. Dat will stop 'i. [Florence, S. Car. (1314), 2510:4.]
Entry 5142
Yuh take dat shoe - jis' take one of 'em, de one tuh de right foot. An' burn it halfway up. Den take it an' care [carry] it an' dig yuh a hole an' bury dat shoe. Pray ovah it. Go dah evah mawnin' an' throw a handful of dirt on dat, an' he'll leave yuh. Yuh won' have no trouble wit 'im, he'll go on whah he won' bothah yuh no more.
Entry 5699
Dey take a person dat's goin' from yo'. Dey make a new paddle out of a shingle or a bo'd of any kind; jis' so dat chew make a paddle out of it - lak a spoon-lak, yo' know. Yo' carry it in yore pocket three days, knowin where dat party's track is, an' yo' ketch de sand out of de hollah of dere foot, SCoOP IT OVAH YO' LEF' SHOULDAH [see later]. Yo' pray dis prayah, it's de same thing, says, In de Name of God, return. An' go on. Throw de paddle ovah dere an' dey'll come back. [The preceding Words SCOOP IT OVAH YO' LEF' SHOULDAH mean that you kneel down behind the departing tracks, push the paddle forward under one of the tracks, say, "In the Name of God, return, '' and carefully lift the paddle, throw the dirt back over your left shoulder - that is, towards your home.]
Entry 7038
Yo' kin git de blessed watah from de Cath'lic Church, anybody; but dey don' give it tuh yuh tuh do dat. Dey give it tuh yuh fo' tuh use fo' yuh own use; anything yuh wanta use it fo', yo' see. But ah did heah dat anythin' yuh ask... (Well, now, how do you use that blessed water, if this man was a heavy drinker?) How would ah give it tuh 'im?
(Yes.)
Oh, yes, when he's might ask yuh fo' a drink a watah, an' den yuh put some a dat blessed watah in dere, an' call In de Name of God, de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Spirit, hopin' dat he would quit drinkin' so hard. An' in dat way - dat's all dere's tuh dat.
Entry 7219
(You say you used to say your prayers?)
Yes, sir. Ah believe in God, ah trust in Him. Yo' know, God Himself...
[I turn off my recording machine too quickly.]
(What did you say about God?)
God, Himself, wuz de best hoodoo evah wuz known. [Madam Collins of Memphis, Tenn., says something similar: De sacrifice dat yo' offer up tuh Jesus removes de "trick, " fo' he is de "trick" giver an' de "trick" taker (p.994, line 6 fol. from bottom of page).] Yo' have tuh have faith intuh mos' anythin' yo' go intuh. If dere's no faith, dere's very li'le hopes, an' yo' have tuh put God in front. Now, He's de Supreme Being of de world, an' certainly in dis life we have tuh use God; but if we don't, we cain't git along. If it wasn't fo' Him, we couldn't breathe, den we couldn't live. He must open de way fo' us, give us our health an' strength.
Entry 7385
Ah heard dat jes' lak if some of mah people wus tuh git killed an' ah wouldn't know who killed 'em - lak ah'd find 'em daid somewhere an' ah wanted tuh know if somebody killed 'em. Well, den yo'd go to de undahtakah's shop an' yo' dress 'em, an yo' cut nine pieces out de tail or out de hem of whatsomevah dey had on. An' den you take dis heah an carry it to yore home, an' yo' keep it dere prob'ly until yo' git ready to bury 'em. Den dey tell me yo' prays nine prayahs ovah 'em, an' den yo' takes it an' carries it back to dis corpse, jes' lak if yo' goin' bury 'em. Yo' carry it back an' set it on de grave jes' yo' seen 'em bury dem right heah in de graveyard. Yo' take an' put one ovah his heart, yo' puts one ovah each eye an' one ovah 'is nose, one ovah his mouth an' one in each one of 'is ears, an' den put one in de palm of 'is han' - of dese heah little blocks yo' cut out de hem of 'is pants or dress or whatsomevah. An' den say, whosomevah killed dis person, dat dey would come back. (You put this right over the body itself, right over the eyes. You cut nine pieces, there are two eyes, nose and mouth - that's four. The ears, that is six. The two palms, one of each hand, that's eight. Now what is for the ninth piece?) One ovah the heart.
Entry 7393
Yo' kin take a package of brand-new pins dat has not been no othah pin out of it, put evah pin on some garment of his'n.
(0f that corpse?)
De dead man - evah pin but be sure de pin package nevah opened of de new pins, not one was taken out. Pin it in 'is garment an' when yo' git it all pinned up, yo' wishes a prayer ovah dis dead man. Dis man cannot stay, he must return - yo've pinned 'im up. Yo' use dat whole package of brand-new pins on 'im while he's layin' out as a corpse. Dis man will come whoevah he is - he's sticked, he's sewed, jes' got him pinned up. He'll come back an' give hisself up - can't stay [away].
Entry 7448
(How long ago did it happen?)
Long as they make [I interrupt].
(This story that you are going to tell me, how long ago did it take place?)
What about, de eggs?
(Yes.)
Of a man killin' a man?
(Yes, well, you said it was about three months ago?)
Yeah, about three months ago I saw dat happen, jes' whut I'm speakin' about now.
(Well, tell me the whole story.)
[This murder occurred near the end of 1937.]
A man, he wus livin' wit a woman an' him an' dis woman had separated. Dis wo- nan mixed up wit anothah man. An' so, well, dis man what had been livin' wit de woman come by de house. So dis [new] man, he hadn't been roun' dere long, no one knows nuthin of 'im. So he told dis man, he say, "Listen," he said, "I'm livin' here now," he say, '"I don't wan' choo to come nowhere roun' where I'm livin' at, I don't wan' choo a-comin' wit dis woman." So, he [former man] say, "All right." So he leaves dere. So one day de man wus off workin' an' he came by dere an' somebody told 'im dat de nan had been by dis house again. So it wus dat Saturday night. So dat Saturday night he couldn't fin' dis fellah. Dat Sundah jes' about twelve o'clock, he finded dis fellah. He wus playin' cards - him an' anothah fellah vus playin' a game dey call Coon Can.
(Coon Can?)
Coon Can, yes, dat's a game dey play wit ten cards - [something] was 'leven. An' when dis [former] fellah saw 'im - he had told people all up an' down Morris- town, dat anywhere he see dis fellah, he wus goin' to kill 'im.
(That was here in New Orleans?)
No, dis was out in de country at a little town dey call Morristown. I was done raised dere. An' so when dis fellah gits near 'im - some of 'is frien's had told 'im dat dis fellah had been lookin' fer 'im wit a pistol to kill 'im. Well, when he saw dis fellah, he wus settin' down behind a barrel. An' when dis fellah walked aroun' de barrel, well, dis fellah saw 'im an' he jumps up an' run. But he had de seven of di'monds in 'is han'. He shot 'im four times - four times - shot him twice through de heart, once in de leg an' in de side - killed 'im an' lef'. Nobody knows nuthin of 'im, didn't know where he had came from or nuthin of de kin'. So, a old lady, she took two eggs an' put 'em in 'is han's befo' he got stiff, put two eggs. Dey waked 'im [held a wake for the corpse] wit two eggs in 'is han's. Well, when dey comin' down to bury 'em dat nex' day, dey buried 'em - she told 'em, she say, "Now listen, dis man gone. We knows nuthin' about 'im, don't know whut way he gone, or nuthin of de kin'." An' so dey buried dis man on 'is face. An' she say, "De day when dem eggs bust, dis man will be back." Sure 'nuff, dey did dat, de family agreed to do it. Well, in about eight or nine days, close as I could guess, dem eggs must-a busted, cuz de man comes an' gives up 'imself. He walked into a big old, tavern-like, a white fellah has. Mr. Tim [Somebody], he runs a big ole place of business, yo' know, like dat, an' he walks up in dere. So, Stinwall was de sheriff, yo' know. Someone undah 'im [deputy], so he told 'im, he said, "Well, I come to give myself up." An' he wus speakin' to Stinwall's brother at de time - dey call 'im Amos. He said, "Give yourself up?" He said, "Yeah." Well, he didn't know 'im. He said, "Who are yo'." An' he said, "I'm de one dat killed de fellah in Morris- town." He said, "Well, mah brothah ain't here, "' he said, ''but wait a few min- utes." Like dat - which he didn't have no business comin' up in dat white de- partment, you see. So dey rings 'is brothah up an' de brothah came down dere an' got 'im an' carried 'im to Pepulo? jail. Dey ast 'im why had he come back. He said, he jes' couldn't have no peace of 'im leavin' from dere. He didn't think he'd done jes' right, dat he had taken somepin dat he couldn't give. (HOW DO THEY WAKE A PERSON UP THERE IN THAT PART OF THE COUNTRY? What do they do?) Well, jes' like you die. Well, out in de country dere ain't no place fo' to embalm 'em, see. Dey jes' have to keep yo' ovahnight, but here dey takes yo' an' jes' like de undahtakah gits us - well, dey take yo' an' dey embalm yo'. Well, dey don't have nuthin but singin' an' prayin' ovah yo', yo' know, like dat. Jes' like if any of yo' is Baptist or Methodist or Cath'lic, or anythin' like dat. Well, if dey's Cath'lic, well dey don't have no wake, dey'll jes' be a-settin' up dere wit yo'. Den de priest - befo' yo' die, de priest comes an' gives yo' a blessing.
(Well, how do they wake them out in the country?)
[I want a few more details about the country wake.]
Out in de country, well dey jes' preach a funeral or tell 'em yore life - yo' know, jes' de life yo' lived, if yo' wus a Christian.
(If you had a good or bad life?)
Yeah, if yo' followed Christianity.
[I do not forget the eggs!]
(Well, when they buried this fellow, did they take the eggs out of his hand?)
Left 'em in 'is han' - buried 'im wit de eggs in 'is han's.
Entry 7505
Well, it's jes' lak dis now, if yo' kill my brothah, or my sister, or any relation of me. All right. Well, dey'll take 'im to de undahtakah an' de undahtakah will 'balm dat body. Well aftah 'balmin' dat body dey will take 'im, an' have a wake - jes' lak dey call set up, yo' know, set up wit 'em yo' undah- stan' dat night, see. An' de nex' day dey bury 'em. [This burial the day fol- lowing death is almost the rule in these 4 volumes of HOODOO.] Well, dey set up wi t 'em dat night an' de nex' day dey'll take 'em to de cemetery. Well, aftah takin' 'em to de cemetery, yo' let 'em lay dere three days see, an' de third yo' die an' de third day yo' rose. All right. Aftah dey rose - yo' will rise on de third day - an' aftah dey rose, an' I knows it's de third day, well, I'll go to dat grave an' I'll stan' at de haid an' I'll call dat person who kill yo'. I will call 'im three times. See. Aftah I call 'em three times, I will call 'em twice, an' [after] I call 'em twice, den I'll turn around an' call 'em once [magic of diminishing amount] right at de head of de grave. An' [when] I call 'em once, den I'll kneel down an' I ask de Lord fo' what I want to be done to 'im. An' jes' de same [way] he killed yo' or me - if he killed me wit a knife, somebody will shoot 'im an' kill 'im; an' if he shoot me, somebody will cut 'im to death. [Murderer will suffer a death different from the one he gave.] See, but he'll have to die somehow.
Entry 7524
[Despite the rule in the preceding margin title, the following two rites are the exceptions proving the rule. Moreover, if I remember correctly, they are also the only two beliefs permitting a black person to use graveyard dirt from a white per- son's grave. The fol- lowing words may be a third exception: yo' could go tuh de grove- yard...take...three pennies an' go PAY WHITE OR COLORED - see interview RAGGEDY HAN, p.2195, line 19.] [I have never heard how you] harm anybody wit graveyard dirt but I have heard dis: I've heard dat yo' git graveyard dirt, an' a button from a rattlesnake, an' two teeth from a cotton-mouth blacksnake - two of 'is front teeth. Dey say dat yo' kin take dat dirt, but graveyard dirt from a white person's grave - not from a colored person's, a white person's graveyard - an' dey say yo' kin come into a lotta wealth. I've heard of dat dataway.
(Well, what do you do with these teeth and things?)
Well, now yo' put all dat togethah an' tie it up in a little red flannel cloth an' yo' wear it roun' yore neck - jes' tie it roun' yore neck an' yo' wear it. An' evah mawnin' befo' speakin' to anybody yo' have prayers. I disremembah what de prayer is an' den yo' kin become very wealthy. FROM DE WHITE PEOPLE I'VE HEARD DAT.
Entry 7585
[This rite should be classified under candles, but graveyard dirt from a woman's grave is so rare I prefer to place it here. Our rite comes from an excellent professional worker whose cylinders were missed by my transcriber. Later I made notes from them. Here is the present note: to keep woman - dirt from woman's grave - scrape a little from top - take home - light 2 black candles - set under bed where she [[woman who left home]] has been sleeping - put graveyard dust and sprinkle a ring [[of it]] around candles - and a piece of her clothes and lay where she sleeps - turn mattress up and lay the clothes on springs on a paper - take Bible and say prayers and read Bible - when candles go out she'll come home.]
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 7721
If yo' sellin' likkah an' yo' wanted tuh keep de laws away, go tuh de cemetery an' make de change [of graveboards]. If yo' know dey all names, call dem names; an' if yo' didn't know de names, jes' use de word "of yore enemies" an' make yore wish, In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost. An' bring some of that dirt back wit yo', an' leave three pennies. An' then take it an' mix it wit some salt an' red peppah. Sprinkle some on each side of yore house where dey's goin' tuh come up to dere, an' make yore wish on each side of it, "In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, make dat man stay away."
(That will keep the law away if you are bootlegging?)
Yes sir. Yo' make de changes in dat.
(Change the headboard and the footboard.)
In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost, an' bring some of dat dirt wit yo'. Take it tuh de co'thouse aftah yo' mix it wit salt an' red peppah; take it tuh de co'thouse an' sprinkle it aroun' dere.
Entry 8679
[The doctor in the following rite for a job has an organized mind, though I was too recent in New Orleans at that time to realize it. In face, on this original transcription I formerly had a note use with care, which can still be seen despite my later erasure.] When yo' go to get a job - ah'll tell yo' about de job proposi- tion. It just like if yo' was out of a job an' yo' runnin' in bad luck. Yo' can't be success- ful in nuthin dat yo' start. Well, yo' get yo' some of dis seniment. Yo' get some of dis seniment with this rain water. (What is seniment? What is that?) Dat's a powder. (What does it look like?) It look just like - yo' ever seen this powder what they call that brown-skin powder? (You mean cinnamon powder?) Yeah. (Cinnamon powder. All right.) [How did I ever guess it!] Yo' take dat seniment powder. An' yo' get some of dis seniment powder an' yo' get what yo' call this lodestone; but ask for lodestone, see, with candy stripes. It's got a little stripe.
(What kind of stripes?)
Candy stripes. Just say, "Give me some of de lodestone." (Like this candy - now wait a minute! It's like this candy they got in the country stores, candy stripes?) Yes, just like that; round, see.
(And what do they call that?)
Lodestone.
(You said something about four-something. Four what?)
[Informant said it while recording machine turned off.1 Fo' corners. Yo' just get de fo' corners. Well, if it ain't got fo' corners, vell yo' just take anything, a file or somepin like dat an' put 'em there.
(You have to make it square. Four corners. All right.)
Yeah. Yo' go anywhere they got them rams - yo' see, them rams, or anywhere yo' know them ramhorns at. [Cowhorn appears several times in Hoodoo. This could be the only ramhorn.] Yo' gets a file an' yo' file some of that dust down there [with the lodestone dust]. Then yo' get some of this here oil what yo' call that green - Wintergreen Pasture Oil.
(Wintergreen?)
Wintergreen Pastures Oil.
(GREEN PASTURES OIL?)
[SURELY THE ENTERPRISING HOODOO-PRODUCTS SALESMAN SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT "PSALM 23 OIL"!] Yeah, an' yo' take some sugar an' seniment an' lodestone. An' take a silver dime an' yo' file dat silver dime on a piece of paper just where yo' got this stuff [various ingredients] at. Yo' take a piece of yellah paper - it [lode- stone?] comes with yellah paper - an' yo' wrap it up twice. Yo' fold it coming to you. Then, after yo' take this Wintergreen Pasture Oil an' yo' put over it, am' yo' put it in your pocket. Keep that in yore left pocket. Then yo' goes back an' yo' get this he Eve [Adam and Eve] root, see. He Eve root.
(He Eve root?)
Yeah, yo' go back an' get that an' yo' got hit, yo' got de she root in yore pocket, yo' understand. Yo' take that - powder up that. piece there - an' yo' get some rain water an' river water or hydrant water [3 running Waters], or anything like that, an' yo' put it in two glasses. Put it in two glasses like that an' yo' let it set, after yo've mixed it. Well, heap up just about de same amount in each glass. Yo' leave it set there fo' three days. Aftah yo' leave it set there fo' three days, yo' take it an' yo' pour it into one glass. Then yo' take this here - this seniment, lodestone an' dis Wintergreen Pasture Oil. Well, yo' Put it in de glass, in one glass, an' yo' let it set there fo' three days. Den take that water off - take dat watah off before yo' go out to see about a job. Just like, if yo' know the foreman's name, yo' take his name an' yo' write his name nine times backwards, just like if yo' write it backwards this Way nine times [demonstrates]. Then yo' fold it, fold it comin' to yo' like dat [demonstrates]. Then yo' write yore name on de top of it, but yo' must write yore name forwards.
(Write your name what?)
The right way.
(You write your name forwards. All right.)
Then yo' take dat an' yo' put it down in dat water where all yore stuff is in the morning when yo' going out - just when yo' going out to the foreman. Yo' got his name. Well, when yo' get ready to go there, yo' take this water out of Chere. Yo' pour it out in a basin or anything like that, an' yo' take it an' yo' wash yo' hands good with it, an' yo' wash yore fingers. Yo' takes this here lodestone an' yo' put it in yore pocket with this she Eve root. Yo' walk to him a'when yo' get there, before yo' ask, just like yo' take a piece of chewing tobacco, cut a little piece off dat she root an' put it in your mouth. An' get this here lodestone thing in your hand like that an' rub it, an' make yore wishes, as yo' walk up to him an' ask 'im for a job. Probably he may not have nuthin to do right then, but he'll run his hand in his pocket if he got any money an' he'll give yo' a piece of money. The first opening that he have - WHEN YO' LEAVE FROM THERE, YO'LL MAKE A WISH FOR ANY - JUST LIKE ANY JOB YO' WANT AROUND THERE, YO' MAKE A WISH FOR ANY BAD LUCK TO HAPPEN TO 'EM PEOPLE AT THAT PLACE. SAY PRAYERS, AN' IN A WEEK'S TIME [7 DAYS] YO'LL HAVE A JOB. There no favor that yo' ask 'im that he could turn yo' down. If he ain't got it at de present time, he will tell yo' a way to come an' get it.
foreman’s name written nine times backwards, contrasted with own name forwards. Keep foreman nine-times-backwards versus applicant forwards on top; not all names backwards. manually inscribed arrangement of foreman’s and applicant’s names. Retain foreman backwards nine times and own name forwards on top, followed by the use of the inscribed paper in the preparation. employment sought from a foreman, with conditional intermediate outcomes and harmful wish. No immediate job guarantee: preserve probably no work, money if he has it, the first opening, and the subsequent one-week claim as attributed. river as a stated possible source of water, alongside rain/hydrant wording. Keep literal rain water an’ river water or hydrant water and or anything like that; do not convert ambiguous conjunctions into an all-three requirement or flatten all alternatives. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3556) · Read full source (printed page 3557) · Read full source (printed page 3558)
Entry 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 8933
(You'll know who stole it.)
Then you can make them bring it back.
(How do you do that?)
Now, I got to give you the Bible for that ag'in. You read the 65th Psalm three times a day and when you read that Psalm, you say your prayers and call dat person's name and they'll come back. If they don't give it to you, they'll put it on back where you can find it. [This Psalm may have been picked out of the hat (number chosen at random) or it may depend upon verse 2: O thou that hearest prayer, unto' thee shall all flesh come (King James Version). A great many rites, mere statements of Bible reading or praying, I never recorded. Here a Psalm 3 times a day could be considered a magic rite.]
Entry 9050
Yo' go tuh a little bitta baby grave 'way in de night, a little infant, an' yo' git - yo' take one cent an' pay de baby one penny. An' take - yo' run yore arm 'way down in de round 'bout fur as yore elbow, an' git some sand up an' bring it on out. An' yo' know gunshell powdah. Yo' put gunshell powdah in dere an' put some sulphur in dere an' mix it up. An' jes' lak befo' trial in co't, yo' go an' sprinkle it an' say: Ah'm doin' dis In de Name of de Fathah an' in de Son an' in de Holy Ghost. An' be dogged if he won't come clāh. Ah know fo' mahself.
(That really worked.)
Ah mean it.
Entry 9094
An' they show 'em what to do, yo' know.
(I see, I understand.)
Yo'll get yo' de judge's name an' yo'll get yo' a lamp what's never was used. Yo' put yo' some sugar in dere. Buy yo' some sugah. An' yo' take dat judge's name an' yo' put it down in de lamp an' pour de sugah on dat, on his name. Dat sweetens 'em up. Aftah yo' put dat sugah down on dere, pour de kerosene in dere, an' yo' light this light. An' as yo're lightnin' it, say, "In de Name of de Father, an' de Son, an' de Holy Ghost, ' askin' fo' help. Hold yore hand up to God say, yo're asking fo' help. Dat's fo' good.
(What then?)
Yo' leave dis light nine days an' nights.
(You leave it burn for nine days and nights?)
Yes, sir. Dat's when yo' get yore subpoena.
(And then that will help you out with the judge?)
Yes, sir, it'll sweeten his mouth an' yo' come - when yo' go before 'im, in- stead of frowning, this is de truth, he instead of frowning, he'll smile.
Entry 9107
Now, here's another way. If yo' goin' to de judge - sup- posin' yo' goin' down dere to Judge Landix, why yo' just take Judge Landix' name. Take parch- ment papah an' cut out just de sole of yore shoes, stick in your - sew it to de heel of yore shoe. An' yo' take his name an' write 'is name down nine times. He's a nine-months child, see.
(He is a nine-month child?)
Yeah, his mother carried him nine months. Yo' take yore name an' yo' write hit down dere nine times, over his. Yo'll say, "Judge, ah want yo', In de Name of de Father an' de Son an' de Holy Spirit, to have mercy on me today an' let me go. An' dat same thing, whensomevah dey call yo' up befo' de judge - yo'll have a lawyer dere to do yore talkin'. De judge goin' to ask yo' a few question an' de lawyer goin' to take part. Yo' just keep a-sayin' dat inwardly. De policeman get up an' make 'is testimony.'Don' yo' come back here no mo'." Ah say, "Thanks." Dat's fo' dat. Now, yo' use nine drops of Van-van fo' dat.
(How do you put that on?)
Yo' put dat right on - right in dat parchment papah an' den put it in yore shoe an' walk on dat, dat right shoe.
(Is Van-van an old oil?)
An ole oil, but yo' must know when yo' gettin' Van-van. Ah was kiddin' a boy here month befo' last, ah say, "Now, look, ah'm not in de business but, " ah said, "dis is fo' a personal friend of mine, an' she done gone down here [to where Van- Van is sold] an' got some [Van-van] perfume down [there]. Ah don' want dis othah stuff [she got]. Give me de othah stuff." Van-van [of good quality] is kind of
[hard to get]. [For Van-van, see p.662 and elsewhere.]
Entry 10058
Take a black cat an' throw it in a pot of hot watah... [I turn off machine here be- cause rite did not appear to be promising. This was a frequent habit of mine to save time and cylinder space. Once more I shall stop machine before letting it continue to the end. My questions show what had been omitted.]
(After they boil this black cat what do they do?)
Take 'is bones, all de bones an' carry it down tuh de...
[I stop machine and then begin again.]
(After they get this bone that goes up the stream, then what do they do?)
Dey take it an' goes tuh de fo'ks of de road fo' nine mawnin's an' pray tuh de Lord an' say dey sell deyself tuh de devil. An' den dey kin do anythin' dey wan'a do an' can't nobody hahm 'em.
Entry 10183
If they're burning a candle on you, you burn - now this is the same thing you kin do. You kin burn this same red candle. You burn this red candle, you stick it in 3 pins. See, you fightin' against them. You says, "I wish my enemy would leave me alone." An' then you go an' throw you a handful of salt in the fire an' you says, "I wish my enemies quit working after me an' leave me alone In the Name of the Lord." An' take you a bath in some saltpeter, blue- stone an' sugar, an' repeat the Lord's Prayer 3 times, see. You see, you burn this candle, that would set them down. Or else, you kin put 'em down sick. You kin git a purple candle an' you light it an' you make your wish an' put some salt in there an' spit in it, see. An' you burn it on 'em again an' you says, I wish ohosomever this is that's workin' after me will leave me alone, "' an' spit in it. You see, that'll drop 'em. That'Zl drop 'em. That'll put 'em down sick. That'll make 'em drop. An' continue to burn brimstone [not men- tioned previously in this rite but surely in some pre- vious part of interview]. See, that brimstone is the best thing in the world, that brimstone. An' sugar. Continue with that sugar in the fire, see: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. [Mem- phis, Tenn., (960, excellent hoodoo woman, my rapid hand transcription of cylinder missed by my transcriber, 1544:9.]
Entry 10190
Burn candles fo' luck. You take the candle, an' put it in each of the four corners of your house an' on that you sprinkle a little of that sulphur. As ah said, sprinkle a little sulphur on it, and in a few minutes that sulphur will be burned away, but that atmos- phere is still there. You light each one of those candles and burn them, and while those candles are burning you says your prayers, an' that create luck in your house that way.
(What kind of luck do they do that for?)
Any kind of luck.
(What color candle did you say they use?)
Jest a plain white candle.
(Do you burn them at any special time?)
Twelve 'clock at night. You get more results out of those things at that time of night.
Entry 10199
A candle for luck and success you burn to St. Peter. He hold de key in his hand. All right dat opens. They call that open the way for you, you see. St. Raymond that's money. You burn to him and he keeps you with a piece of money; and you got to give him a piece of money, and he keeps you with a piece of money. That's the Way that is. (Do you know any other saints? St. Micahel? Any other saints they burn candles to?) Yes, St. Micahel. They burns to St. Peter, St. Raymond and St. Anthony.
(What do they burn to St. Anthony for?)
They burn to St. Anthony for to bring people back, mens back to - women back when they done quit. You make a wish and burn that light to him. Go to the church anywhere and light a light, if you don't have the saint at the house. If you have had the saint blest and put at your home and you prays to it three times a day, that's to bring anybody back to you what done left you.
(Do you mean three times one after the other, or?)
Three times a day, twelve - say six in morning, twelve in the day, and six in the evening. That's three times, you pray to this saint. And have your light burning. It'll - in nine days you see an improvement.
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 10710
[They] take it [sulphur] and they're burning it. Read a certain chapter in the Bible [given later]. If you read it for - like if today's [today it is] at twelve and tomor- row evening at six, and six tomorrow morning, and maybe twelve tomorrow night - for three nights. Contains nine [see comment later] nights because you use it as a different hour. And then you pray over it. And if it's a person that you and them can't get along, and you burn that sulphur, each time that you reads a chapter [= preceding pray Over it]. Well, then they'll finally move away.
(At six and twelve each day for nine days.)
For three days. [Here I stop machine and restart it to repeat missed words.]
(Read the chapter of the 100th Psalm.)
[Here is a time rite I did not fully understand during its recording. At a later date and with greater experience, there would have been more questions. Even at the interview doubt appears in my words: At six and twelve each day for rine days. Actually, informants nine was a slip of the tongue. Hence, for 3 days a person reads Psalm loO [meaningless for the present purpose] and burns sulphur at 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock, night or day. These 3 times are staggered over the three-day period, no two at the same hours. As I have said somevhere in HOODOO, burning sulphur in a room can be a rugged adventure. Therefore, at the end of 3 days burning, who moves, enemy or burner?]
Entry 11236
[Since we are now in the letter "D" of CHANNEL DE WORLD material - a division arranged alphabetically instead of sectionally to avoid typing compli- cations - the following 30 pages or more will be concerned with doctors, something by them or about them. Doctors of course will appear among later letters of the alphabet, but here was a convenient place to concentrate some of them. I begin with a folding rite that contains a close relative, a wrapping rite. The verb to fold does not appear in the index of Folklore from Adams County Illinois, 1st ed., 1935, and I doubt its appearance in the indexless 2nd ed. There is an index only in the files of the Center for the Study of Comparative Folklore and Mythology, University of California, Los Angeles, California. De- spite rarity, HOODOO has a number of folding rites, some of them quite compli- cated: Nos.3126, 3182-3190, etc., v.3 and elsewhere. To fold to you or away from you is a usual theme, but our present rite is an accordian fold. Especially interesting to me is the doctor, place of hearing, and time. My record concern- ing him reads: "Thurs. Feb. 15, 1940, informant No.1565, man 45, Crackerjack Store, paid, ng." (From note books E Series, 2nd New Orleans trip, numbers of informants 1558 to 1605). More about that ng in a moment. Informant was brought to me by the black man preceding him, a man who worked at the Crackerjack Store - sometimes called drug store - a famous hoodoo emporiun of that date. During the following interview I was utterly unaware that this would be my last dat at Pat- terson Hotel, 759 S. Rampart St., corner of Julia, New Orleans, La. Years later I would pay my respects to the old building by printing her picture at the end of HOODOO volume 2! The folding rite follows:] Say fo' instance yo' wanta git rid of a man. All right yo'd git his photo- graph, not a tintype. Git a cardboard [photograph] an' de medium size. Git it an' fold it in half an' find, say lak a dead chicken or a dead dog or somepin aroun' [or lying about] wit maggots. Ah mean large-size maggots as dey walkin'.... Well, yo' crease de photograph in nine folds an' as yo fold it in de nine folds, yo' drop a maggot in each one of 'em; in every fold until yo' git de nine mag- gots. Den yo' git chew a piece of separate black cord an' tie it [folded photo] nine times; den yo' git chew a piece of red [cord] an' yo' make six knots [about folded photo]. An' put in dem nine knots an' six knots.... Dat [package] is representin' dey cof- fin. Aftah yo' git through wit dat, den yo' wrap it up in a piece of cloth, which would be about fully de same size, an' git chew de nine of spades, an' wrap dat up nine times, an' jes' take an' fold it wit [3 ingredients]: one flake [flick = pinch] of salt, an' one flake of black peppah, an' one flake of red pep- pah - cayenne peppah. An' wrap 'em all up. An' yo' close it up an' regardless of whut de individual's name may be, yo' put it down nine times in a piece of silk tissue papah, fold it every time nine times. Take a match an' burn it, an' as yo' burn it, leave dem ashes go right on top.... Den yo' take all dat cloth [the several packages together] tuhgethah an' reenfold it [in one cloth] an' git chew some rivah sand, an' jes' put it in dere an' dry [tie] it up [into one pack- age]. Den yo' goes on tuh de neahest runnin' watah dat yo' kin git tuh an' dig yo' a small pit, jes' a small hole.... Dig it out six inches, jes' as dere grave. Aftah yo' do it, den yo' says - be mastah of de ceremony which is his funeral. As yo' be blessin' de body as it goin' down, every word yo' say yo' curse in between it, which is his name in between. An' as yo' doin' dat, den yo' throws a little bit of sherry wine, or if he drinks, regardless of whatevah it is, jes' throw it right on in dere....an' covah it up - an' drop it as it [coffin] goin' doup: [After this mock funeral ceremony] nine words yo' says, every day nine words, an' in de 18th day whoevah de individual will be, dey comin' unnormal deathly sick. De doctor [M.D.] or no othah one will undahstan' his case no kinda way. He'll die an' swell up [he'll swell up and die] in de next, say six or seven months, or maybe in de comin' future yeahs, from dat date.... (And you say you say nine words to that thing each day. Have you any special words you say?) Lak if de individual wuz a gamblah or a thief or a murderah, he may come home an' he'll be worried or somepin. Well yo' jes' curse him in dat name, "Yo' son of bitch. Yo' bastard. Yore mothah's no good. Yore fathah's no good. An aftah yo' hit me, whut ah won't do tuh yo'." An' aftah whut chew do to him, yo' say a prayah, "Name de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, Amen. "... Every day [the unrecorded things done I pick up in my following comment].
(You say just nine prayers like that. Nine things you say.)
Cussin' him all de time.... [Informant had seen his best days as a doctor, that is why I preserved the remainder of his interview under the last alphabetical division XYZ. Those 4....indicate repetition of what had been said.]
Entry 11265
[Here is one of three interviews from Memphis, lost because my tran- scriber missed them and I failed to return to them. I did transcribe a few rites and made abstracts of a number of others. My original sheet, attached to this selection, reads: "960 - will use the best of her material beginning with her: I works with water. Use all her candles. Pencil transcriptions attached."] I works with watah. I blesses mah watah... I works with watah. (In what way do you use this water?) This watah. All right, now. Jis' like if you were in a place of business [usually your own house] an you wan'a keep down evil spirits - in your home or anything like dat - yo' take a glass of watah. Yo' say the Lord's Prayer ovah it an' yo' set dat watah up. You understand? Yo' change that watah ev'ry 3 days. Yo' throw it [the water changed] out of a side windah [this is new in HOODOO] a side windah, you see, that ketches all the evil spirits an' things. An' then, jis' like if yo' wan'a favor - yo' know, understand, like dat, dat yo' wan'a favor - yo' git a glass of watah, yo' pray ovah it. Yo' pray ovah this glass of watah. Yo' say, "In the Name of the Fathah an' the Son an' the Holy Spirit, " please let me obtain sich- an'-sich thing, that I wan'a do. Please let me be successful all my route or what I gon'a undertake to do. See, you understand. An' then you drink that watah down. Well, all right. Then yo' kin use the watah in this way. At 12 a'clock at night, jis' like if yo' got some people you're workin' for. Your people, yo' know, in business. You write all of those people's names down on a piece of papah. An' yo' take the glass of watah, fill it up, an' put it on the 23rd Psalm, open your Bible. An' say the Lord's Prayer. You understand? You say, Lord, please enlighten these people's brain. Let them be lucky, successful. Let dem have their wishes. Take care of 'em, jis' whatever you want done. An' Dlease let me be successful. Don't let nothin' overthrow me. Please show me so- an'-so. An' then you drink [a little of] that watah down. You do that 12 a'clock at night, but you keep this watah settin' up [there]. That [trouble] goes away as that watah go [evaporates] away. Yo' see, that drives them things [enemies, evil spirits, etc. away]. A person may come in the house to try to do somepin to you and that ketches all the evil spirits. That water ketches all the evil spirits. [Repeats] That watah ketches all the evil spirits. Then you kin sprinkle it over your place [house or place of business] an' say the Lord's Prayer [walking] from the front to the back, jest as you sprinkle that [water] that draws you in trade, if you're in business; an' keeps peace in the home, too; to keep peace, you understand.
Entry 11679
Atdefo'ksofde road, well yo' go at a certain hour at de fo'ks of de road. See. Yo arrive about six a'clock in de mawnin early, six a'clock in de mawnin'. Well, yo look no'th, yo' look east, yo' look south an'yo look west, yo' see. Well, den yo' say dis, "Lord, he'p me tuh rule dis day." Pray dat prayer, "He'p me tuh rule dis day." Dat's tuh conkah yore enemies, from round yo'.
Entry 12569
An' yo' kin take fo' pegs, yo' know. An' cut little pegs an' put 'em round yore house an' put 'em down out dere an' say 'bout "De Lord is mah shep- herd.... An' de sher- iff - ah don't care how much likker an' stuff yo' sell, dey won't even come round. Don't care whut chew do dere, dey won't come to yore house.
(How many pegs do you put down?)
Jest git chew some little wooden pegs.
(How many did you say?)
Foah - an' peg on each side of yore yard, an' de sheriff won't even come no- where round dere. [The pegs are at the 4 cardinal points of the compass.]
Entry 10134
[Well, jis' say fo' instance if yo' had done kilt a man or somepin lak dat, well now heah's [what you do]. If de road goin' no'th an' so'th - well, prob'ly if it's goin' east an' west. Well, [demonstrates] heah come de mainline road comin' down heah. All right, heah come two fo'ks comin' intuh de mainline road right chere. (Making a big "Y".) Yeah. Well, now, dis man - if yo' done kilt a man an' don' want 'em tuh hahm yo', yo' ketch yuh a black ket an' yo' cut 'bout, well yo' may say about three inches of his tail off. Well, when yo' git tuh de fo'ks of dis road - now, mind yo' now, dis is de mainline road comin' down heah. If dat's a pale [dirt?] road, if it's goin' east an' west, or eithah no'th an' so'th; well, now, if dat's a hard road or concrete road, yo' step right back tuh de right. Now, yo' git de undahstandin'. Yo' come when yo' get tuh de fo'ks of dis road, yo' go right back tuh de right. Back back, don't go fahwards. Yo' go right back six feet from de hard road, jis' backwards. Well, right down dere yo' dig jis' about a half a-feet an' bury dat black ket tail right dere, an' complete de Lord's word, say, "Fathah, stan' by." All right. Now listen. Now, yo' do dat an' - don' go back dere de nex' mawn- in'. Let it be roun' about three or fo' 'clock, but don' go back dere de nex' mawnin'. Come back de third mawnin' an' do dat same thing, jis' back back - yo' ain't gotta bothah dat tail - jis' back back six feet [from the road] an' say, "Fathah, stan' by." Well, yo' do dat three days in a week, until nine mawnin's. Evahthin' will be all right. (That is, the law won't track you or won't get you. Now, you [I] do that this morning, then I wait three mornings before coming back, or I wait only two morn- ings. before coming back?) Now, de firs' mawnin' yo' go, when yo' put it down dere de firs' mawnin', don' go back de nex' mawnin' but go back de nex' mawnin' [the morning after the next morning] yo' undahstan'. De firs' mawnin' yo' bury it down dere. Well, de nex' mawnin', de second, don' go back de secon' mawnin', but go back de third mawnin' yo' undahstan'.
(Then you don't go back the fourth morning?)
De fo'th mawnin' an' den de fit' mawnin' an' - now don' go back no mo' dat week. Jis' go three days in de week. Jis' go three days in de week until nine [days]. See, three an' three is six an' three's nine.
(It takes you three weeks to do that, then?)
Jis' put it in in three weeks, yessuh. (You only go there three times in one week and then you have to wait until another week.) Anothah week an' den de next week.
(You leave that black cat tail there?)
Yeah, jis' let it stay right dere.
Entry 2893
On de job where ah am now, some of de girls burn candles in de service where dey change dere clothes and they say they do that to hold their jobs - to keep luck with the bossman dat dey working with. (What kind of candles do they burn? Have you seen them burn them? They burn them where they change their clothes on the job. In a factory or something of that sort where they work?) A hotel. (And they burn these in the room where they change their clothing. What kind of candles do they burn?) Ordinary candles. (Do they burn them at any special time? Or say anything while they are doing it like that?) They burn de candle and jes' befo' they begin to burn - jes' befo' they light the candle [demonstrates] they carry they han' ovah their head like this and say, "Lord, help me tuh keep luck," an' then they light the candle.
(They make a circle over their head just like a halo.)
That's right. [For a halo rite three times clockwise and three times anti-clockwise with three waters, see p.16, line 1.]
(How long do they burn that candle? Have you any idea?)
Jest about an hour.
(Do they burn these right in the hotel?)
Right in the hotel.
Entry 2951
Well, whenever they're trying to harm you, if it's with a candle, you take the Bible and you get up every morning fust before sunrise, look to the east and you make a prayer. Then you read a verse in the Psalms, the 9lst Psalm, which is supposed to be one of the strongest Psalms of David. You read it - a verse out of that back- Wards. Stead of reading it down, you reads it backwards every morning for nine mornings straight.
(Would that make the candle go out?)
Yeah, reading this Bible backwards for nine mornings, that'll put that candle out and set the house on fire.
(I see. And set the house on fire?)
It'll set the house on fire.
(I see, I see.)
Cause they generally have the candle in a closed space and wherever that is, the heat'll be so that it will ignite. The way the candle'll do it, it will bend over and eventually burn the paper - whatever they got under there. Sometimes they writes your name for nine times on this paper, backwards and forwards, prob- ably crossways. But you must use an indelible pencil, see. And sometimes the candle drops over - it's always a matter that it looks like it's a accidental way to do. It'll drop over and probably burn the scarf or ketch the paper wherever the wax have run, you see, and it will set fire. I've seen it happen many times.
Entry 2962
Well, yo' kin take - if yo' see a person's tryin' tuh do yo' anything or somethin' like dat, yo' go an' git chew some holy water and have it blest. See. If you have this holy water blest and bring to yore home, and yo' sprinkle it in each fo' corners of yore house - jes' sprinkle dis holy water in each fo' corners, underneath yore steps an' on yore porch. An' while yo' be's saying dat - well it's a piece in de catechism yo' has to say wit dis holy water, some- thin' about Holy Mary. Yo' sprinkle at each fo' corners of yore house an' dey can't - a person can't burn any candles or can't do anything long as yo' keep dis holy water and keep it sittin' behin' yore bed. (Well, what do they say? How does that piece from the catechism go - Holy Mary?) Well, it's "Hail Mary, conceived without sin, pray fo' me."
(It isn't, "Hail, Mary, full of grace?")
Yeah, it's, "Hail, Mary, full of grace, conceived without sin, pray fo' me."
Entry 1427
Now, dat'll go in spiritual [work]. Yo' read de 30th Psalm fo' dat three times befo' sunrise an' three times befo' sunset. An' then if yo' don't perceive [see some result], then yo' read de 5th an' 6th an' 7th ten times - see, befo' sunrise an' befo' de sun set in de evenin', an' yo' will become - come wise an' yore spirit will breathe on any job dat chew work on dat it's necessary - dat need joo. [This is personal advice to me from a doctor.]
The Prayer link refers to instructed Psalm reading; the claimed spiritual results are unverified.
Entry 10303
Woman wipes man, puts some [perfumed?] powders on this cloth, folds it, says a prayer, hides it on her side of the bed, makes a wish to keep him, and this holds him [Washington, D. C., 804:1].
The short account says a woman 'says a prayer'; its words are not supplied, and the claimed holding effect remains attributed.
Entry 2812
If a man is takin' in money in business, it's a candle yo' call sixty- hour candle. It burns in a cup - yo' cain't git 'em heah - an' yo' light dat candle. If yo' light it dis mawnin', yo' light it at six a'clock an' it'll burn all day. It'll burn from now till in de mawnin', an' when dat burns out, why yo' don't burn anothah one den fo' 'bout two or three days. [This is a special time-skipping magic.] An' den aftah yo' burn anothah one, why yo' write a note. Yo' write whut chew wish fo' on dis note an' yo' set it undah dat glass dat dis candle is burnin' on, an' yo' write, "De Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, '' on dis papah. Well, yo' fold this papah three times an' yo' place it undah this glass where this candle is burnin'. Dat's fo' tuh draw customers.
(After you burn two of them, you put this under the third candle, then?)
Yo' burn it undah de same candle. But chew make yore wishes every time yo' light one. De first candle yo' make yore wishes whut chew wanta do, an' de sec- ond candle yo' make yore wish, an' de candle yo' put chew a note.
(This candle is a little fat candle isn't it?)
Yeah, it's a little yellah candle.
The informant instructs writing a Father, Son and Holy Ghost formula. Candle timing and the claimed customer result remain source descriptions.
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Yo' kin use a simple thing, whut chew would nevah think - yo' kin use some fig leaves. Take yo' some fig leaves an' write de name of de judge on dere, an' if it de Superior Court yo' goin' be tried befo', write de judge name an' dis gentleman name. Watch de papahs an' git de jury's, an' yo' put down some of de jury's names on dere.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
(How many do you use - just one leaf?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
No suh, yo' use sev'ral leaves, yo' use twelve leaves - of dose little leaves, yo' know, suh. De whole leaf - jes' clip it off, yo' know, suh. An' den yo Write de name. Yo' see, if yo' evah noticed a fig leaf close - if yo' haven't, yo' take notice of it, suh. Or yo' might ask someone tuh bring yo' a fig leaf. Dey don't know why yo want it. Yo' look at it. It got veins jes' lak in our han' - on de sides, de veins. An' yo' write his name, write his name right in de centah. Den yo' turn roun' an' write yore name right heah, meetin' his - don't care if it go ovah it or in it. Yo' write it dat way, yore own name
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
[demonstrates]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
(You write your name across his name, making a sort of a cross.)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Write his name jes' lak yore veins is standin', lak mah han' is sot
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
[demon- strates]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
. Write his name on dis one de same. Yo' notice dis fig leaf if yo' happen tuh git chew one, in de middle of it in de middle of it heah, dis middle fan is wider - it's fixed jes' lak a person's han', if yo' notice it close. Den yo' write de judge's name in heah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
[demonstrates]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
(On that middle thing.)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Yes suh, on dis middle one. Den yo' write yore name, yore own name. Yo' turn it round dere. Turn it round. Let it be on somepin solid. Yo' tum it round an' den write yore name right into his'n. Ovah heah yo' write it an' yo' write it heah,
recited or prescribed formula · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
"God bless yore soul."
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
An' yo' write dose words, suh. If it's a hard case, yo' write de solictor general name an' yo' write some of de jury's name all like dat - dey draw 'em in de papah.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
[The names of these jurors are drawn and will appear in the newspaper.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Yo' bound tuh ketch some of 'em an' yo' kin make a mistrial. An' yo' write it dat way an' den aftahwards, den yo' turn around an' yo' write jes' a reg'lar little prayah,
recited or prescribed formula · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
"In de Name of God de Father, Mr. So-an'- So."
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
An' yo' call de judge an' yo' write him anywhere's dere, an' yo' done got him, he'll bind to yo', says,
recited or prescribed formula · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
"In de Name of God de Father, God de Son,"
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
jes' on his name,
recited or prescribed formula · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
"God de Holy Spirit, be favorable wit me. Loose de man an' let him go. Ohl Oh! Oh! Let me go back home."
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Write dat, write it wit ink. Yes suh, wit ink or a indelible pencil. Says,
recited or prescribed formula · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
"Home - home - home - back home."
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
If dat judge don't be favorable wit yo', den yo've nevah seen a dead boy in yore life.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
(What do you do with that leaf after you write those names on it?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1841
Well, yo' write 'em all ovah it an' den yo' turn round dere an' den yo' write de name on one of de leaf of de twelve disciples. Yo' write dose on dat fig
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
leaf - write dere name on 'em outa de twelve leaves. Yo' write de twelve dis- ciples on one leaf, one large leaf. When yo' done write 'em all, den yo' fold 'em in careful. Dat's a leaf dat dries fast. Yo' take dose an' yo' put 'em in de foot of yore shoe. An' yo' strip yore sock down - start from yore toe an slip dem in dere. It be about dat high but dey'll go down, but dey'll go down. Dere nuthin tuh hurt chure feet.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
(You take these two fig leaves - one like that - and you put those together and put them in your shoe. Or do you put one in your shoe?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
De whole thing, suh - yo' have twelve fig leaves.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
(You have twelve fig leaves?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
Yes suh, but yo' write de judge's - start him in de center as ah said an' den aftahwards yo' write de name of de twelve disciples. Yo' use twelve leaves. An' yo' take dose leaves an' pack 'em right on top of each othah an' den aftah yo' pack 'em on top of each othah den yo' kind of fold 'em in lak yo' figure undah yore feet. Den yo' take de sock an' put it on. Be careful. Den yo' git chure sock about long to heah, toward de hollah of de feet, den yo' slide dose leaves down in de sock undah yore feet an' pull de sock on up. Fix yore sock an' yore shoe. Go on tuh co't.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
(Then the judge will dismiss your case?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
Yes suh.
Nested source context: interviewer hypothesis and informant correction · Vol. 2, p. 1842
(You take these two fig leaves - one like that - and you put those together and put them in your shoe. Or do you put one in your shoe?) De whole thing, suh - yo' have twelve fig leaves. (You have twelve fig leaves?) Yes suh, but yo' write de judge's
locally coherent printed subpassage
This printed instruction exchange preserves the interviewer’s two-leaf suggestion and the speaker’s twelve-leaf correction.
Twelve leaves versus two is a question-and-answer correction, not two equally asserted recipes.
Quoted prayer words are proposed written or uttered text within the interviewee’s turn.
The final dismissal is an elicited claimed result, not evidence of an actual adjudicated court case.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 2, p. 1840 · Vol. 2, p. 1841 · Vol. 2, p. 1842 · Vol. 2, p. 1843 · Vol. 2, page image