Subject:Rabbit
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Entry 238
It wus a long time ago. I hear mah father use to offten talk about it. He said it wus a man had something down fer another man, an' it wus a rabbit that passed acrost his path ev'ry day he wus going from work goin' his home. An' he wus tellin' some his friends about 'im [the rabbit]. An' he [the friend] tole 'im, he said to go an' see a witchcraft, you know, who knowed something about root things. He say it wusn't quite nachural. An' this rabbit he would pass acrost de road ev'ry day when this man would be goin' home at night. An' he vent to de witchcraft an' he wus tellin' 'im about it. An' the man he fixed [dressed] a long hick'ry stick an' he tole this man, he said, "When this rabbit cross the road," he say, "you wan'a take this stick an' fling it af' tim [after him]." An' he said, "An' when you fling it af' tim," he say, ''if it hit de rabbit," he say, "the person that put it down they [there], he'll die. An' he said, "If yo' can't hit de rabbit," he say, "you come back an' you see me." So he took the hick'ry stick along with 'im. An' he wus comin' back home an' he took an' had de stick with him, an' the rabbit wus crossin' his path, an' he took the stick an' fling after de rabbit, an' de stick rolled to it an' stick through de rabbit, an' the rabbit then run through [between] two trees an' it stop 'im. An' the next day he came along de rabbit wus dead. An' fin'lly, three days after that, this man, de man that put it [some root] down they [there], he died.
Entry 1804
I've heard tell, make an image of a coffin. Dat wus done heah not so many yeahs ago - made de coffin. An' den yo' go an' murder somepin like a bird or rabbit or somepin an' put it in dat coffin, an' write chure name on it an' go an' bury it. An' dey say yo' can't live long - yo'll soon have tuh go to de Judgment.
Entry 2231
Take de left hin' foot of a rabbit an' wear it in yore inside coat pocket or vest pocket, next to yore heart, an' set an' eye de judge de whole time he is talkin' an' he couldn't convict chew.
(Just keep your eye on him the whole time?)
Yessuh - jes' keep yore eye right on him.
Entry 12708
Ah haven't tried it mahself, but ah always heah dem say, if yo' find where de rabbit's hop in de wood, or eithah out in de field jes' where de rabbit's stop an' yo' find his [manure] balls an' yo' git dose balls an' place dose balls in each cornah of yore house. An' dey tell me dat'll make yo' move. [Rabbit's = rabbit has.] (Well, now, I would get those and put them in the house and that would make that person move out of that house. You get nine of these and you put some
[one] in each cornah of the house, to make them move out of the house?)
Yes, de rabbit dung.
Entry 12709
Dey said go to a rabbit an' git some little rabbit balls an' take them little balls an' bury 'em undah de front do' an' undah de back. Say dat will run 'em away.
(Any number, it doesn't make any difference? Anything like that?)
No suh, no numbah.
(That is to make them move out of the house - this rabbit dung, these balls.)
Entry 12727
Yo' could take a rabbit foot - cut de rabbit's left foot off an' tote it in yore pocket, in yore left pocket, an' dey say that would cause yo' tuh win. Keep yo' lucky.
(The left foot - either one?)
Yessuh, the back foot. [Fayetteville 2497:1.]
Entry 12730
Git de left-hin' laig of a rabbit foot and you git all de good luck de worl' you want. [Jacksonville 696:8.]
Entry 12713
Take a rabbit's brains an' dis ole Hearts Cologne an' dry de brains. Dust 'em [make a dust of them] an' den put dem in dat Hearts Own Cologne, in de bottle an' stop it. An' dey tote dat an' yo' can't see 'im. [The person becomes invisible.] Dat's whut dey tells me.
(You can't see him?)
No, sir, he'll disappear. Yo' see him an' he'll go to nuthin. Well, dey tells me dat's whut dey has.
(Who would do this?)
De man dat's into trouble. (You said they also use this "getaway powder, " use that and they can't catch them?) Dat's right. Now ah've knowed of 'em using [that]. Dey'd git away wit it, too.
Entry 6097
Well, ah heard if a person git chure hair - wanta run yo' crazy, dey take yore hair an' jes' ketch a rabbit an' split its forehaid, right behin' yo' know, an' lay it in dere an' sew it back up an' turn 'im aloose. As long as dat rabbit run, yo'll be crazy.
(You split the forehead, behind the forehead?)
Dat's right.
Entry 682
The way I have heard it, that a hoodoo bag is a bag that one carries and it contains a dust called goofer dust, and whatever they put it on they can conquer. Some wear it in their bosom and some in their pocket. They get these goofer bags from root doctors or cunjure doctors. You give them a certain sum of money. Some call them roots, some call them rabbit's foot. Some people wear these roots around their legs sometimes for luck.
Entry 736
The way I have heard it, that a hoodoo bag is a bag that one carries and it contains a dust called goofer dust and whatever they put it on they can conquer. Some wears it in their bosom and some in their pocket. They get these goofer bags from root doctors or cunjure doctors. You give them a certain sum of money. Some call them roots, some call them rabbits foot. Some people wear these roots around their legs sometimes for luck.
Entry 1972
Ah had one but ah nevah did tear it open. No suh, ah nevah did tear it open.
(Why not?)
Well, ah jis' didn't wanta tear it open. Ah figured aftah ah let it set there a long time in de oil of cedar, den it would come back luck to me agin, 'cause when ah first got it, it wus good, see. An' ah stayed in luck there fo' 'bout six or seven months. When yore luck go down yo' supposed tuh soak it in dis oil of cedar, see, an' bring life back to it. But ah have nevah to' [tore] de bag open. Ah paid five dollahs fo' de bag.
(Why don't you tear the bag open?)
Well, ah will tear it open, but ah haven't so far. Ah use dis oil of cedar fo' luck in gamblin' an' rabbit foots. An' ah take mah rabbit foot - see, keep it soaked in oil of cedar, an' ah take that an' wear that up in mah bosom heah or eithah in mah pocket wherevah - when ah'm shootin' craps or somepin lak dat. Ever' time ah run mah han' on it, see, an' git that moisture offen dat an' rub it on yore dice or somepin lak that, see, an' den throw 'em down ha'd when yo' pass, an' dat's fo' luck. Ah have tried that.
Entry 2221
I went to a man when I was in North Carolina when I didn't have no work to do, an' he told me to go get somebody to kill me a rabbit, get me the right feet and tie that right feet up in a piece of red flannel, and get me a bottle of Heartshorm Cologne and makes some of my water and mix it together and pour it on that rabbit feet, and for me to go out and go from door to door and ask people if they don't want nobody to do some Work. And I have got jobs like that, and that luck did me some good.
(Well, now which foot did you use - the right foot?)
His right feet.
(Both of them or just one?)
One of them - his right feet [foot].
(I see - the front or the back one?)
The front feet [foot].
Entry 2222
Ah used tuh gamble an' ah have all kinda han', but de only lucky han' ah evah had wus a rabbit's foot - a lil tiny rabbit's foot. Now ah paid him fo' it. Aftah he gave it to me, ah take dat foot an' wrapped one end of it tight - put three buckshots between his toes an' wrapped it tight, an' soaks it in Hearts Cologne. An' yo' wrap red thread around it wit de bones stickin' up. An' he give that to me. Long as ah carried, nobody in de worl' could beat me gamblin'.
Entry 2223
I've heard them say you take a rabbit bone - cut his right hind leg off, put it in a pot and boil it in milk. Take it out and dry it in the sun for six days, take it and put it in the ground and bury it and let it stay in there for two nights. Dig it up and tie a piece of string around it and tie it around your arm. And anything you want you take it out and talk to it - tell it what you want and you are more than apt to get it.
Entry 2224
Yo' take de left hind foot of a rabbit an' yo' go round where the law is traveled on the dirt an' yo' git jes' a lil dirt - jes' whut yo' kin hold on lightly out of they track, an' yo' take that dust an' bring it back an' when yo brings it back why yo' take an' fix it up an' yo' plant it under each corner of the house - right up under there. An' yo' take that rabbit foot an' yo' go to de back do' right up undah de first step an' yo' make a "x" an' also at de front do'. That will keep him 'way.
(You make that "x" with the rabbit's foot?)
Yessuh.
(And then what do you do with the rabbit's foot after you make the "x"?)
Yo' put it back in yore pocket.
Entry 2225
Yo' take some of yore urinate water yo' see, an' a lil peppah, an' a little piece of lodestone if yo' kin git it. If yo' cain't git that, well, yo' take a lil piece of rabbit foot. Yo' kin take one rabbit foot an' wrap it up in flannen cloth an' tie it up, have de red peppah to it, an' carry dat in yore left pocket. Dat will make yo' have a good hand.
(That is luck in gambling?)
Yessuh. [Since I did not ask what happened to the urinate water, I probably assumed it was used for feeding the hand - see margin-title Urine later in this subsection.]
Entry 2226
(What do they say about the graveyard rabbit?)
De next thing then dey use in gambling business to be successful - the next thing they git is de graveyard rabbit, and de gits de left hind feet - de ketch him and cut it off while he alive. And you kin turn him loose and let him go - it git much better you know. You carry dat wit a piece of lodestone and put cologne on dat [feed it], chew know, and go about chure business and be's lucky and successful.
(That is for luck in gambling?)
Yes sir, de left hind foot.
Entry 2228
Yo' git de rabbit foot - de front left foot.
(Now, just how do you prepare that?)
Yo' git dat rabbit foot an' yo' take it as it is an' put three needles in an' yo' put it in flannen, red flannen, an' keep it wit chew all de time. Yo' sew it up in dere - keep dis rabbit foot with yo' all de time.
(What do you use that for?)
Dat's fo' luck in games - gamblin'.
Entry 2229
Fo' luck in gamblin' yo' kin git chew a rabbit foot an' dress it. Well yo' take dat rabbit foot - yo' git de left foot, de back left foot. Yo' take dat back left foot an' yo' gits a brand-new cord string an' yo' wrap de top of it nine times, wrap it to yo' nine times. Den yo' git chew some kinda perfume an' yo' put on dat. Yo' git chew some lodestone dust an' wrap it - dress it an' den yo' wrap it. See. Den yo' put dat good perfume on it - good luck perfume, real good. Den yo' wear dat. Dat's good tuh tote. Yo' carry dat in yore pocket, carry dat around fo' gamblin'. An' den yo' kin git chw some diff'rent perfumes an' put on yo' fo' luck.
(What kind of perfume?)
Oil of bergamot, van-van oil.
Entry 2230
Take a rabbit's foot an' tote it in yore pocket an' keep Hearts Cologne on it fo' nine days an' yo'll have good luck in gamblin' - anything, in almost 'anything.
(What foot do you take from the rabbit?)
His right foot - back.
Entry 2232
Ah heard yo' git a rabbit foot, left hin' rabbit foot, an' tote it in yore left hip pocket an' dat will bring in luck in gamblin'. An' den always his money he win in his left pocket wit de rabbit's foot.
Entry 5007
Yuh kin take a woman's stockin' an' yuh kin keep 'er home. Jis' lak if yuh love a woman, yuh kin take her stockin'. An' yuh kin take dat stockin' an' yuh kin put a teaspoonful of black peppah an' some cream of tartah an' mix it tuhgethah, an' a piece of jis' de toenail offen a rab- bit's hin' lef' laig. An' wrap it up in de bed mattress where yuh an' 'er sleep, an' she'll leave outen dat room no mo' den outdo's an' dat room. Yuh'll nevah have no trouble wit 'er long as dat in dere, but nevah let 'er know whut's in dere. Sew it up in dere an' let it stay dere. [Fayette- ville. N. Car. (1438). 2608:2.]
Entry 5856
Yo' split de tail of a dog or rabbit, anythin', an' put dat person's hair on dat tail - lay it in dere, fold it an' lay it in dere, an' den sew dat tail back up an' wrap it up so dat it cain't come out. He'll grow back togethah, an' long as dat varmit livin', why dat person will be crazy minded - go tuh de 'sylum.
Entry 6095
An' ah could take yore hair an' ah could ketch me a rabbit, git any Hinda rabbit, an' clip dat rabbit back open an' put chure hair in dat rabbit back, an' ah sew dat rabbit back up, an' yo' nevah will quit'walkin'. Yo' jis' walk till yo' die. If nobody nevah kills dat rabbit, yo'll jis' nevah quit walkin'.
Entry 6096
Now along de hair line. Yo' kin take de hair outa de top if any in- dividual's hair, say if yo' wanta send 'em away. Dis is mo' from sperience ah'm tellin' yo' dat. [Now follows a good example of giving a rite and then illustrating it with a personal ex- perience.] Yo' take dat hair an' ketch a rabbit den, an' split 'is skin right in de fo'head dere, an' place dat hair in dere an' sew it up. Jes' turn 'im loose. Well, who- Cvah hair den dat yo' put in dere, if yo' want 'em tuh leave, when yo' turn dat rabbit loose dey can't stay. [We lived] cross town togethah. I an' 'im were good frien's, too. Well, he bad a right clevah wife. So ah nevah said nuthin tuh anyone heah 'bout dese things jes' like yo' talkin' tuh me now, 'bout runnin' off people. So ah says, "Well," says, "ah kin take de hair outa anybody's head, outa de zole [mold or mould] of de haid an' ketch me a rabbit," ah said, "an' ah kin nm a off quickly." She said, "How do yo' do dat?" Ah said, "Well, yo' git de hair out de mole of dere haid an' ketch chew a rab- bit an' split 'im right in de fo'haid," say, "an' put dat hair in dere an' sew it Turn de rabbit loose. She say, "Shuah 'nuff?" Well, ah didn't pay no mo' 'tenshun tuh it. Two-three days latah ah wus out in de woods cuttin' crossties. [Railroad rails are laid on and spiked to crossties.] All of a sudden he pulls off 'is clothes, all but 'is top-shirt. Ah nevah bothah. Ah reckon about fifty yards distance betveen us - us dere a log-cuttin'. An' when 'is cuttin' stopped, ah stopped aattin', looked tuh see whut wus he doin', weren't thinkin' about nuthin. So chen ah looked he wus standin' up on de log lookin' right straight off tuhwards de cypress pond. He got down off de log an' he walked right straight on off de Way, de direction he wus lookin' tuhward dat pond. He walked on off down dere an' he walked on it. Well, ah nevah pay any 'tenshun, ah went on back cuttin'. Ah say, "Maybe prob'ly got hot an' he's about gone [to] cool off." Dat's whut ah thought tuh mahself. So ah worked on about a hour an' he hadn't came back yet. Ah jes' worked on, hadn't nevah give it a thought. Well, it's about three hours he hadn't come back, so ah thought ah'd go down tuh de pond. Ah went on down tuh de pond where it wus muddy goin' in jes' 'fore yo' git tuh de water. Ah tracked 'im on tuh de watah. Ah whistled an' whistled an' called an' called. Aftah ah couldn't [find] 'im, ah went on aroun' de pond, an' when ah got on de othah [side] de back of de pond - ah seed where he come out. Still ah couldn't git no hearin', ah called an' whistled. So ah went on back, ah said, "Maybe he jes' went off tuh look fo' some [something]." But still he wus in his shirt, nuthin but 'is shirt. Ah went on back an' ah worked on till time tuh knock off. He hadn't came back yet. Time tuh knock off, ah couldn't call 'im up, couldn't whistle 'im. So ah went on back home. So ah went on down tuh his house aftah ah got suppah. He hadn't showed up yet. His wife couldn't tell nuthin about 'im atall. De nex' mawnin' he hadn't showed up. So ah went back out in de woods where his clothes still hangin' dere where he lef' 'em. Well, ah come back tuh de house den tuh tell 'er about it. He git plenty time to git 'rested [arrested for being in his unclothed condition.] Some- body mdght search fo' 'im. Well, de people dat know 'im - de law, dey took 'imup an' dey look fo' 'im dem two weeks. Dey nevah did find 'im. So' 'bout six-eight weeks latah dey got ahearin' from 'im. He wus in de 'sylum. So, I an' 'is wife wus talkin' dere one day aftah he had gone on an' she say, "Yo' know one thing?" "Whut?" Say, "Yo' know whut chew tole 'bout dat rabbit?" Said, "'Yes?" She says, "Ah tried dat. Ah thought yo' wus roun' devilin'," say, "an' dat's whut run mah husban' off from heah."
Entry 7790
Well, they say that chew can go to a graveyard and take the dirt be- tween the top and the bottom down in the grave, and mix that with a right foot of a rabbit; but the rab- bit must be shot down while he's running. And you take that and then git somebody's finger- nails and toenails and mix in with that, if you're against them, and then put that in a gun and shoot that away; and the direction that you shoots, the indi- vidual will leave, go off that same direction and become a wanderer.
Entry 9988
Live frog, rabbit foot, lodestone, steel dust, red pep- per - in red flannel bag. Frog is put in alive.
Entry 12711
Now, lak if yo' wanta job, yo' git - lotsa people say yo' git rabbit foot. Mah ole grandmother used to say yo' could git rabbit foots an' ah think it's fly root. Anyway ah think it's a fly, ah think she say dey used to git. Hit's a root made up jes' lak a onion. [Fly root having a root like an onion I am unable to identify, but an obs6lete meaning for this word fly spirit or a witch's attendamt - should be a clue for a botanist or person interested in plant lore. Could this plant be the wild onion (sometimes called wild garlic, the Allium vineale about which there is a rite somewhere in HOODOO? Poisonous? Did a witch rub or eat this root for the sensation of flying?] Yo' take it an' yo' tack it on one end - put chew a string around de rabbit foot an' tie it on de other end an' put dat in yore pocket book. She say dat's good fo' tuh git a job anywhere yo' wanta git a job.... Well, nobody else couldn't stay dere but chew. In other words de job would come normal to yo'.
Entry 12712
An' if dey wanta run yuh, dey take yore hair, cut hair out de mole [mold] of yore head. And sometime dey do be's fortunate enough to ketch a rab- bit live, split his hide, his skin, and put dat hair in dere. And sew it up in dere and turn him loose an' he [rabbit] run to briar. When dey fin' you [your hair in the rabbit], yo be having yo' head stuck in a briar patch.
Entry 12715
If yo' in a place an' sellin' whiskey - listen good den - yo' git a rabbit foot, yo' understand. An' when yo' git dat rabbit foot - understan' ah don' care if he jes' now got shot. Now, ah'm goin' jes' tell yo'. Yo' have de rabbit live. Ketch him in a box, a trap box [figure 4 trap?]. Yo' don't have tuh set it. If yo' git dat rabbit an' yo' git de left foot. Ah don' mean de right foot - mean de left foot, back foot. All right, yo' git dat rabbit, yo' understan', an' yo' go dere tuh de drugsto' lak ah tell yo' an' git yo' some Heart's Cologne - cost ten cents a bottle [during Great Depression] - jes' a bottle about dis big [demonstrates tiny bottle]. It smell lak a perfume. All right, yo' take dat rabbit's foot an' soak it in it all dat day - yo' under- stan', yo' soak it all dat day. De next day, don' care whut man yo' know, law or no law, yo' go on, go out there, say, "Ah think ah'll open up a likkah joint" - jes' lak dat yo' undahstan'. "Yo' know ah'm de law."
Entry 12716
Well, you ketch you a live rabbit and cut his left-hind foot off before you kill 'em, and take it and put it in a bag. Get you brick [make it into] dust - make dust out of it, and take the hairpins of whatever vosl en you want this to be, just take the hairpins she been using in her haid and put it in that and tie it up, and tote it in your left pocket. And as long as you do she can't leave you, she be right there all the time.
(I see, that's to hold a woman.)
Yes.
Entry 12717
Take graveyard dirt an' dey would go an' git it an' put it in a bag. Co to de head of a sinner's grave, dat is someone in hard luck [goes]. Dey go to de head of dis sinner grave an' dig down to de marshy dirt. Yo see dat on top is dry an' den why when you dig down in de ground it's marshy. An' dey dig down an' git some of dis marshy dirt off of a sinner grave from de head. An den dey would put it in a bag an' git whut dey call a rabbit foot an' put in dere with it, an' dat would cause to bring good luck. (If you are out of luck, you wear it or carry that. What foot do you get from the rabbit?) De left foot, de back.
Entry 12723
Then yo' take - now if yo' a gamblin' man, yo' kin take a rabbit an' ketch him. Take his left front feet an' cut it off right in de knee joint dere, an' git chew a bottle of Hearts Cologne am' put on it. Keep it up tlll it git dry, yo' take it an' put it right in yore fob pocket up heah on yore pants, an' go to a gae an' rub it in yore han' lak dat [demonstrates]. Rub it in dere. Go in dere am' vin whut chew wanta win. Dat de way ah did.
Entry 12710
If yo' wuz sellin' whiskey an' de law wuz pretty bad, botherin' yo' aroun' yore house an' yo' wanted tuh keep 'em away, why yo' kin take a rabbit - kill a rabbit an' yo' kin kill a chicken. Take de chicken foot an' de rabbit foot an' bury dem tuhget- hah in de gate where yo' come intuh yore front do' at. Put dem in de ground an' bury dem tuhgethah. Den yo' goes back in de house aftah yo' do dat. Yo' goes back in de house an' yo' probably stay in de house ten or fifteen minutes an' den comes back out. Yo' comes back out an' yo' digs dis rabbit foot up an' dis heah chicken foot, an' yo' don' bury 'em tuh- gethah nex' time; yo' bury one on de right-han' side an' one on de left-han' side. De way ah heard it, don' make any difference which one yo' put on de right an' which one on de left. Yo' bury one on de right an' one on de left - on de left side of de do'steps, by de cornah of de do'step. An' yo' takes one of de toes off de chicken foot an' carry it roun' tuh de back do' tuh keep 'em 'way from de back, an' yo' bury dat down dere. An' dey say yo' won' have no trouble wit de law as long as dem feets is solid. An' when dey rot - yo' kin tell when it will rot down dere. Yo' have tuh bury some mo'. An' yo' won' be bothahed wit no law. A lady down heah in town heah, she had a experience wit dat.
Entry 12718
Get a rabbit leg. Go to the graveyard and get the left-hind foot of a rabbit and get some of that graveyard dust and put it in a sack and mix some - ah forget what the man did. But dey mixed it in with it. And you know, you'll die. You'll go crazy and be buried at de same graveyard where dey go - to a colored graveyard or white graveyard. Go to a colored graveyard for colored and go to a white graveyard for a white person [and do this] and you'll die. But I don't believe that. (But they have to catch this rabbit in the graveyard?) [This catching and blood mentioned later came before recording or while machine stopped.] Yes, sir.
(And what else did they put there besides the graveyard dust? What?)
And that little - three drops of blood.
(Of what?)
Rabbit's blood, you know, gotta ketch de rabbit.
(Oh, of the rabbit?)
Yes, sir.
(And did they put something else in it too or was that all?)
That's all I knows they put in it. That's all I've heard them say. I've never tried that. (Now, they use this graveyard dirt and this left rabbit foot. The hind or the front leg?) The hind left foot of a rabbit.
(And three drops of his blood. And then you put in - a sack or what?)
In a sack.
(And then you just bury it out there?)
Bury it at the person's doorstep. But they must go either to a colored or white grave, according to whether you are a colored or a white person?) Yes, sir.
Entry 12719
(You get a rabbit foot you say?)
Git a rabbit foot an' cut de hair out de knee of de foot an' bury dat an' carry dat an' yo'll have good luck in gamblin'.
(What foot from the rabbit?)
De left.
(Which left? There are two left feet.)
So - a rabbit ain't got but one left, one right, fo' [four] feet.
(All right, which do you Want, the front left or the back left?)
De front.
(The left front.)