Subject:Purse
Entries
Entry 3694
Ah'm very, very fo'getful now.
[See my comment about this woman later.]
Kin do a man in dis way, yo' kin git a snail. Yo' know a woman kin take a syringe an' wash her purse out. Yo' know whut dat is. [This ancient use of the word purse is probably my only example of it.] An' aftah she washes it out, she takes de watah from whut she wash out wit an' she puts de snail in it, an' [afterward] she take it an' put it in de stove an' let it brown down to a crust. An' she takes it out, outen de crust, she take it an' she grinds it up, jes' mash it up yo' know right right small. An' den she take it an' put it - dope it in a wax, de chewin' gum yo' know dat chew chew - she'll roll it [in that]. Dat's to take dis man in [to trick him]. If she think any way fresh [here's another meth- od], she would git an asafetidy [asafetida] an' make little pills. An' she'll wait till he gits sick an' den give it to him, give de pills to him fo' swallow- in'. An' dat yo' know, it's got 'er nature. An' he swallah - take dese pills fo' a medicine. An' ah don' care whut woman or what kind, she cain't nevah git 'im tuh leave aroun' heah. [To be certain that I know what informant is talking about, I now comment to the machine and ask a question:] (She takes a syringe and washes her purse, and then she puts this snail in that water. Does she put the snail into the water before she washes herself or does she put the snail in after she has washed?) Aftah she has washed 'erself. She'll have a intahco'se wit 'im first befo' she do dat, yo' know. Dat's tuh git 'is nature. An' den she takes dat an' douche herself out right good, yo' know, wit not too much watah - yo' know, wit a very small amount. An' den she set 'im in de stove an' let 'im dry right. (This elderly woman supposed to be good, but she couldn't get her things to- gether. She may have been a little frightened also.)
Entry 4797
(I see. Well, now, for instance, if you want to put them together after they quarrel. Do you know how that goes?) Yes, yuh kin.
(How do you do that?)
An' de bes' way on earth is tuh put de man an' woman - de bes' way on earth tuh put a man an' woman tuhgethah, yuh take a man an' take him intuh yuh [confi- dence]. If yuh goin' tuh give a man any advice in any Way tuh git tuh a woman, give it tuh 'im in a side [an aside or confidential] Way, an' give him 'is nature tuh use ovah a woman is dis: If a man takes a woman - if he has somepin dat she has soiled an' wear in 'is purse, dat she has soiled. Don't necessarily have tuh be her periodic piece, jis' somepin dat she has soiled an' wore nex' tuh 'er, an' wear it in 'is purse. Jis' take a piece of ord'nary garlic. Wrap dat up an' sew it, dat piece of cloth [and] dat garlic in a piece of red flannel. An' put it in 'is purse an' wear it dere. An' as long as he keep dat, he will keep 'er undah control an' powahs of his. [HERE IS ONE OF THE MANY TIMES I WAS ACCEPTED AS A DOCTOR AND ADVISED ABOUT ADVICE TO A CLIENT.]
Entry 9864
[As another protective device by using a frog eye, we have the follow- ing rite:] If someone wants tuh harm you, to keep 'em from harming you, you must get a frog. You gets a frog and you kill de frog. After you kill the frog, you just take the heart and the gizzard out. You take the heart and the gizzard out. [I failed to ask for a description of a frog gizzard, probably assuming stomach was meant. The true gizzard of course, is the second (posterior) stomach of birds.] Then you dry it - you dry it right in the sun-like. Just good sunny days put it out. After you dry the frog eye and it's heart, you take...
(Just a moment, you said the frog's heart and gizzard before?)
Heart and gizzard, yes.
(Yes.)
[Yet, I still think the word is eye rather than gizzard.]
After you dry it thoroughly, then you put it - you could put it in your purse and just tote all the time and no one can harm yuh.
Entry 10117
After a black cat gets killed anywhere, you pick the cat up and cut the right hind leg. The're [there are] three bones in there like a rabbit [like leg of rabbit]. Then you get the mid- dle bone out of that, then dry it, polish that, and put it in his purse and put it in his hip pocket. He don't think anybody can bother him then at all.] He will go into a dice game and put this pocketbook down, there's nothing in it at all, no money, just this bone, and he will keep his hand on it, and he will win all the money in the game.
Entry 10213
She kin measure him if she wanta with a string or with ribbon when he goes tuh sleep. She kin tie that roun' her laig or she kin put it in her pocketbook or in her pillow an' she kin control him, but that will lead to accidents in de long run. He'll hurt her.
Entry 10555
Take a bat an' kill him an' ketch de blood in a bottle of watah an' carry it in yore purse. An' let de bat dry an' hang it up in de no'th corner of yore house, an' cover it up, an' it always bring luck to yo' as long as yo' live there.
Entry 11067
Or eithah his pants, yo' know, jis' take - yo' know where that seat is in there in de pants, in de seat of it - an' yo' take that an' wear it aroun yore waist, or either place it in yore purse, an' that keeps him an' makes hin give you all his money.
(You can do it with either the seat of his pants or his underclotb ing?) Yes.
Entry 11215
Dirt dauber nest, pound, put piece of garlic with, in purse for luck. [Garlic is lucky because it is a witchcraft deterrent.]
Entry 12498
Nation sack is a private purse worn by some women - always con- cealed and untouchable by other hands - in which hands, mojohs, keepsakes and all sorts of treasures are carried. Both fol- lowing accounts came from resume's of another in- formants material before all her cylinders were lost - these original pencil copies attached: (l) "Take garlic and piece about a person (fragment from clothing of person you want to hold) and your urinate, keep it wet (keeping this cloth wet with own urine is called feeding it), keep in nation sack or pocketbook." (2) "Sulphur, red pep- per, put together and sugar and wear it in nation sack, can't do yo' no harm."
Entry 12714
Ah say yo' kin take a rabbit if a person - jes' like if it's a man or a woman, yo' kin take de lef' hin' feet [foot] of a rabbit after yo' done killed him. Yo' take dat lef' hin' feet of dat rabbit an' if yo' wear it in yore pocket or yore purse or sompin [MAY BE ONLY MENTION OF PULLING TENDON - TO IMPRESS?] like that, whoever yo' Want tuh [be] round or sompin, well yo' jes' take that if yo' keep that rabbit foot bathed in dis heah Hearts Perfume - if yo' keep it bathed in Hearts Perfume and git chew some dragons blood and sprin- kle on it, and wherevah yo' go, yo' know it's a little cord in dat rabbit's feet, yo' kin pull it an' it seem like it's alive. [Pulling tendon of rabbit foot is rare in rites.] And if yo' go round wherevah yo' go, if yo' take dat piece of root out of yo' pocket or either yore pocketbook, and if yo' jes' touch de person whoevah yo' want or sompin like dat, yo' kin get 'em. With the lef' feet of de rabbit. (Do you touch them with your hand or must you touch them with the rabbit foot?) With de rabbit foot. (And what do you do with that cord [tendon]? Yo' pull it.
(When do you pull it?)
Whenever yo' git aroun' 'em. See dat [tendon] work duh foot.
(Oh, you must pull it when you touch them, you mean?)
Yeah, see, when yo' go in yo' jes' pull it, see. That means yore workin', yo' know, de rabbit's foot - dat little piece of cord dat's in it, yo' know - little stringlike yo' could put it and: it will work. It come out of de feet chew know, piece of de flesh - whatevah it is - when yo' cut it off. Dat's de lef' hin' foot of de rabbit.
Entry 1207
Dat devil-shoestring [goat's-rue - Tephrosia virginiana] - well, if anyone hurt chew, why yo' jis' git it an' jis' wear it in yore purse or pocket- book an' also dat John de Conker root. Yo' jis' wear it round yo'. An' den it's lucky, too.
Entry 2245
[Rattlesnake root - different from the preceding rattlesnake master - means various plants of the genus Prenanthes; the root here probably being P. altissima, once an acceptable snakebite remedy in the South. It is also called cankerweed in U. S. A.]
(Get the rattlesnake root in the woods?)
In the woods. Find this root, bring it in and dry it out thoroughly where it's cured - not green, but dry. Take that and wear that in your purse or put that in your register.
(Cash register.)
The best place is to leave it in the cash register all de time. That will have a tendency to draw customers in and nobody else, or nobody. Dat's my best secret that isn't known - the public doesn't know it, that particular part.
Entry 4639
Dey take dat bow an' dey bury dat bow. Dey takes dat bow an' deyburies it, if a woman gits it. Ah guess she musta puts it - wears it in 'tween 'erlaigs or sompin or othah like dat [first], if she wan'a man tuh be crazy about 'er an' jes' go crazy about 'er. She takes it an' wears it so many days right 'tween 'er laigs. An' dey said she takes dat bow an' she ties it up in a little ole - jes' sews it up in somepin an' she puts it in 'er pocketbook an' she wears it in 'er pocketbook. Dat's de way she did.
Entry 4811
Ah heard dat a lady could take a man's end of 'is shirt, an' cut off de end of 'is shirt, an' den she would keep dat. An' den DAT WOULD KEEP 'IM LOVIN' "ER, BUT SHE WOULDN'T CARE FO' HIM 'LESS HE GIVE HER ALL OF 'IS MONEY.
(Well, what would she do with that shirt?)
She would take dem two ends an' keep dem, put 'em in 'er purse or anywhere roun' 'er.
Entry 12272
A good luck key or luck key, these are sold everywhere, carry in pocket or purse. [Wilmington 243:7+85.]
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 1016
[In addition to the bottle catching of a spirit (p.24) a spirit can be caught while operator ties a knot:] Take a piece of string. Well, you may hear someone call yo' in yore sleep. You may be sleep or may be in my house. I'll say, "John, ' or whatever yore name is. Well, whenever I say John or Charlie, that spirit will answer me and I snap dat string and I've got yore spirit.
(You just hold a piece of string in one hand?)
Two hands - jest a small piece of cotton string and tie a knot in it but don't draw it tight yet. And I call dat name and as quick as dat name ah call it, "Charlie?" Charlie will say, "Hunh?" I'll snatch it, I've gotcha. (What would you do with that string, after you get that in there? What would you do, then?) What would I do after I gets it? Fasten it right down and tie it up and put it in my purse.
(And you have the spirit then. Well, what would a person do that for?)
What would you do dat for? When yo's in love. A woman would do that when she's in love wid yuh and she wanta gain yuh.
Entry 3468
If he's goin' wit 'er, she kin take de measure of 'is a - 'hawk. (What?) His 'hawk, his tomahawk. If it's seven or eight inches, den she t take a string see, an' she measure dat; an' if eight inches, why she tie eight knots in dat an' wears dat in 'er purse.
(What if it's seven inches?)
Jis' tie seven knots. Yes, she kin fix 'im so dat he can't have anything to do wit any othah woman but 'er. [There are 1 or 2 other examples of tomahawk in HOODOO.]
Entry 3617
Ah have lived wit a woman in dis city, an' ah found some hair, colored man's hair or coman's hair, an' one penny sewed up in a sack an' a string wrapped aroun' it, an' de string had nine knots in it an' a rabbit's foot. But ah knows one thing dat ah couldn't have nuthin else to do wit no othah woman but 'er. But how dat wuz, whut she did, ah don't know. But ah foun' it in 'er purse.
(She did this to you?)
She did dat to me.
Entry 13212
Solomon's Wise Stone whut chew find in de othah cities. [You take this] stone an' read de 121 Psalm an' say a prayer of earnest. Yo' ain't earnest fo' some things, an' yo' will obtain de job.
(What do you do with this stone?)
Wear it in yore purse. Solomon's Wise Stone.
(Where do you get that? Order it from some place?)
Yo' order it from dis company heah in Memphis, yo' order it from Chicago.
(What is the name of that company in Memphis?)
[Evidently no answer.]