Subject:Rooster
Entries
Entry 788
Once dere wus a man an' he wanted tuh marry a girl - no, he married dis girl, see. He wanted dis girl tuh stay home, an' every time he would go out he would rake his yard, see. [Raking of loose soil or sand is an ancient device.] So sometimes whenevah he went out he would see dat somebody had been walkin' cross de yard. Well, he'd ast her had she been off an' she said no. So dis heah woman re'lly wus scared of dis man, so she stayed home when he tell her. Dere wus a rooster an' he tole her he had dis rooster trained, an' he told de rooster, he said, "Now, whenevah she leaves, yo' crow." An' so dis woman, she hadn't been goin' no place, say, "Well, ah believe ah'll walk off." So she walked out that day. An' so when she walked out de rooster crowed. Well, de man come back an' he begin tuh raise Sam. [Sam = devil.] He says, "Yo' been out dere." She said, "No, ah haven't - ah haven't been no place." Say, "Yes, yo' have." Well, de man wus jes' workin' right cross de canal like from de house an' he could tell whenevah she would leave de house by dis rooster crowin'. So de next day she went off - she then begin now wantin' tuh go out, an' so whenevah she left that day, the rooster crowed agin. He heah de rooster crowin'. So when he came in de afternoon, said, "Yo' been out?" Says, "No, ah haven't." Say, "Yes, yo' have." An' he jump on her an' he beat her. De next day, she wondered why did he know. So she started out. She looked all around an' she walked out de do' an' she looked back an' she hear de rooster crow. Well, she thought about dat rooster had crowed already fo' three days. So she went out dere, yo' see, an' she looked down dere where de rooster wus, an' dere wus a kind of - a lil' [little] pint box settin' dere; yo' know, a lil' box dat hold jes' about a pint of corn. So this man had been givin' this rooster a pint of corn tuh crow. So then while she wus standin' dere she looked at de box dat wus settin' dere an' she wondered, she thought within herself, "That's why dat rooster wus crowin', because he had dat box settin' dere fulla corn." She goes an' she gits a larger box then [than] dat an' she sets it down dere an' she fills it up fulla corn. She tole de rooster, "Now, if yo' don't crow whenevah ah start out, ah'll give yo' this corn." So they says dat the rooster had said, "Well, he give me a pint of corn to crow,"' says, "yo' give me a quart, den ah won't crow." So dis woman she sets de quart of corn down dere so she went on out. So dat night whenevah her husban' come he say, "Yo' haven't been nowhere today?" She say, "No suh, ah know ah haven't. Why yo' say ah haven't been nowhere?" "Jes' because ah have a sign - dat rooster hasn't crowed." Dis woman then, she knowed fo' shure dat de rooster had been crowin', dat why dis man know dat she had been goin' off, so de nex' day she killed de rooster, an' dey didn't have de rooster to tell de tale. Ah heard that long yeahs ago - dat's a ole story.
(You heard it from some older person?)
Yes.
Entry 3154
He kin take de right han' of a roostah's spur an' do de same thing - take de right foot of a roostah spur an' do de same thing. An' she kin take de left one an' do de same. Yo' jes' buy yo' a roostah, kill 'im an' eat 'im, cut dat spur off, an' aftah de last dish of dat is eat up, yo' jes' take it an' rub it lak dat.
(Where do you rub it?)
Jes' rub it in yore han', de right of a roostah's spur. If she wanta work one on yo', yo' undahstan', jes' take an' rub 'em lak dat three times. Whensomevah she wit chew, she kin rub it up dere lak she's playin', an' yo' can't have nobody else. She kin take de left one [a man takes the right]. But yo' cain't do it until de chicken's eat up. Den yo' kin try it den.
Entry 3713
An' anothah thing, yo' could take a young rooster off de yard dat jes' startin' tuh crowin', git de gizzard. An' yo' take dat gizzard out an' ' peel dat inside skin, dat rough skin in dere, an' jes' poun' dat up an' put it in corn whiskey, good corn whiskey or gin, an' dat will make him stan' up right away.
(That will bring his courage back?)
Yes, bring it right up. One dat jes' start tuh crowin', start comin' [growing] up. An' de man who's takin' it, why it'll grow, it will increase evah day.
Entry 5841
A chicken, yo' know he has a slobbah in 'is mout'. Yo' could take yore hair an' wrap it aroun' 'is tongue an' yo'll crow lak a roostah - crow lak dey do. (That is, I would take one of your hairs and wrap it around the rooster's tongue, and that would make you crow like a rooster?)
[FOR ONCE, SOMEONE BESIDES MYSELF IS THE GUINEA PIG!]
Yeah.
Entry 9349
Well, jes' if anybody yo' want tuh move, if any of yore neighbahs is not so good an' yo' wanta move 'em.] But chew have tuh git a aig from a hen dat's been wit a roostah. De diff'- rence in dose aigs - yo' know de diff'rence in dose aigs? (No, I don't. Tell me about them?) Well, de hen dat doesn't be wlt a roostah, her aigs are round. An' de hen dat does be wit a roostah, her aigs is long. [Here as in the preceding rite, the symbolism of added length to the egg is obvious.] Well, yo' take one of dose long aigs an' yo' gits tuh de front do', an' yo' throws it ovah her house an' if dat aig busts yo're gone.
Entry 10052
(You what?)
Goes tuh de fo'ks of de road an' learn how tuh play music, an' dey will play right dere. Take a black cet bone, ah believe it is, an' as dey play an' as dey talk, dey draw it across dem, yo' know, until dey find dat main bone. Den dey fin' dat main bone an' ah think it's - dey'll heah a roostah crow. An' den dey 'ave sold dereself tuh de devil.
(I see.)
An' den dey kin play music jis' as good as a pursun dat's been playin' all de time. (What do they do to the cat first, before they pull all those bones through their mouth?) Well, yo' see, dey boils de ket. (And then they take each bottle while they are playing and put it through their mouth?) [This was inferred from informant's dey draw it across dem.] Yes, sir, put 'em through dere mouth.
(And when the right bone appears, a rooster will crow?)
A roostah 'ill crow.
(I see. And they have sold themselves to the devil?)
Yes sir.
(I see.) [For rooster see also 10066.]
Entry 10516
Well, ah had a friend, he wanted tuh learn how tuh play music. An' he said dat he went tuh de fo'k of de road an' carried a rooster in a box; an he had a little - made him a guitar. An' when it twelve a'clock dat box wus layin' ovah dere, an' he [it] went tuh playin' music - de roost- er crowed first - an' dat box went tuh playin' music. An' when dat box went tuh playin' music, he went an picked it up. An' den de devil come up dere, he says, an' he showed him how tuh play dis.
(He went out there at any time?)
No, went at night, twelve a'clock at night.
(Any day of the week?)
All 'cept Sunday.
(You can't go on Sunday? Any day but Sunday?)
Yes.
Entry 11017
Now, yo' kin take a underweah, a underweah whut yo' got on yore chest like dis heah [evidently opened shirt to show underwear]. Don't ca' if it's a thick one or either a thin one - underweah. An' ah kin take dat, an' three rooster feathah - hen or rooster, any kind. Ain't gotta be but one kinda feathah, dat's de feathah come out de wing. All right yo' promise me yo' gonna [not work in Savannah!]. Dat woman ovah dere, yo' understan', suh. Yo' wanta bring her back jes' lak yo' got life in yore body an' ah got life in mah body. Well, ah kin git dat [done] jes' as easy as anything. Jes' git dem three feathah lak ah telled yo'. Understand, an' git dere undahweah, an go right out in de woods to a green pine sapling. It isn't goin' dirty yo', an' git chew a rusty nail - not no new nail - a rusty nail an' put dat undahweah jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates].
(Put that underwear up against the tree.)
Put dat undahweahs on dat pine saplin'. Yo' understan' whut ah mean? Yo' take dem three feathah an' put 'em lak dat [demonstrates], yo' understan'.
(Put the three feathers on the underwear.)
Put de underweah dere first to de tree - yo' listen whut ah'm speakin' - an' take de three feathahs an' put 'em lak dis heah Idemonstratesl. But yo' stick dat nail 'fore yo' nail dat underweah, understand, where [demonstrates] nail de undershirt up dere an' dem feathah right dere. All right, den chew go back. Don' teli none of her fren's. Dey don't [know] whut chew been doin'. In eight day's time she'll be to yo' residence.
(That's all you have to do to bring that woman back?)
(You put her underwear up there. You put the nail up there an' put [hang]
the underwear on it with the feathers?) The chicken ain't gotta be daid atall. [Pull the feathers out of a live rooster.]
Entry 11020
If you wanta break up individuals - you has chickens in de yard and you wanna break up a woman an' a man. You feed de chickens and you ketch hold de rooster's tail, pull a feather out of dat. He fly away and you ketch his tail, you know. You call de pus- son name and say, "Yah big so-and-so from so-and-so, " you understand, dat break de man away.
(You say that as the rooster flies away. You pull the feather out.)
Yo' git hold dat feather and say, "Break up so-and-so with so-and-so." If yo' wanna break a woman loose from a man, you pull de feather out of a hen.
Entry 11023
jes' lak yo' have a sweetheart an' yo' want him tuh come tuh love yo' [want him to fall in love with you]. Yo' want him tuh come tuh love yo', yo' take an' draw de feathers out of dat cock's tail, an yo' press 'em three times in his hand. An' den yo' take his [dis?] hand [hand] an put it into yore right hand pocket an' look him dead in his eyes an' den kiss 'im, an' he will take sides with yo'.
(You take the feathers out of any cock's tail?)
Yes sir. [Surely the woman does not put the man's hand into her right pocket! She takes feathers, probably 3, from the rooster's tail and presses them into the man's hand 3 times to absorb his perspiration. The feathers themselves become a hand or jomo. This she puts into her own right pocket.]
Entry 11032
Suppose that you leave home and the woman want to bring you back home, Want you to come home. Now, what will she do? She'll take a feather out of a rooster and get a forked stick, like this [demonstrates] cut it off here, stick a feather in that, by splitting it, you know. And stick the rooster feather in it, and name that rooster feather for whatever de man is named. And stick it in de back yard, where she want him to come, just with the top of it out, and he'll come back.
[Here is the forked or "Y" stick.]
(Just the top up with the feathers on the two sticks up?)
De fork [corrects me by demonstrating]. (You put the fork down in the ground. And that handle - so the handle is split with the feather in it?) That's it.
(But you cover that up a little bit?)
You cover up de wood but leave the feathers sticking out.
(Oh, you leave the feather sticking out. I see.)
Because the feather is named him - is named for him. Leave the feather sticking out. Say, now like, "John, I want you to come home and stay here." You stick that down with the feather out, and John will come.
(John will come home.)
[While machine is turned off, informant explains and I repeat it.]
(Now, "John, go away from home." You prepare it the same way and bury it. Then they take it up? Then he'll leave home?)
[Informant repeats what I had missed.]
Now, if you want John to go from home, why you just name that same thing to John and carry it out from home and bury it and den he won't come home. (Oh, you bury it away from home! But if you want him to come, you bury it in the back yard?) Yes, sir. [A note of mine in green ink years ago reads: notice symbolism. I suppose this means: to bring back, the handle or stem of the Y stands up人; to send away it stands Y - the shooting away position for a rubber-shooter. For a similar "Y" fork rite, see in wishbone rite in No.]
Entry 11045
De rooster, ah know a little sompin 'bout him. Yo' kin take a rooster three yeahs ole an' kill him. Take his haid. Yo' see a ants' bed haven't yo'? Jes' take dis ole rooster's haid an' jes' put it in dat ants' bed an' let it stay. Yo' know de ants will shore eat de meat off de skull. An' let it stay dere jes' long enough fo' dose ants to git all de meat off de skull, go through his haid an' git all de brains an everything till it come to be testified [petrified?] an' ole. Well, dat's luck.
(How would they use - what would they do with that?)
After den, dis ole fellah tells me, yo' goes tuh de 67th [6th and 7th] Book Of Moses an' den he'll give yo' de direct answer.
Entry 428
(Have you heard of candles in your work?)
Candles? Yes sir - dat's goin' out on hidden treasure.
(Hidden treasure? Now, can you locate hidden treasure for somebody?)
Yes sir. (Well, how is that supposed to be done - locating hidden treasure with instru- ments and things of that sort?) I kin call de spirit and let him show me where it is. That spirit should work dat. Ah've got a compass - dat's from de catalog... [The recording is bad here and there but my comments give the sense of what is lost.] (You have to get in touch with the owner spirit and the spirit will find the treasure - the spirit will get in touch with the watchman. The [owner] spirit will find [locate] the treasure and then you can do something.)
(You get them by giving them whiskey? How do you do that?)
Well, those kind of people wasn't nothing but a drunk all dey life, you know that.
(For finding the treasure?)
Yes sir, you git de badest man in de world to do dat - don't want no good quiet Christian mind to do dat - de badest kind, one who was...
(Whom do they put to guard that treasure?)
Well, dey takes me and my character - dey know it. Dey raise me and dey know I don't min' killing and don't care fer God nor man, and don't care about dying dead, don't care about dying, and let 'em kill me. Dey will take me ovah to dat tree yonder and make me dig a hole dere. All right, gimme some corn-crazin' drink [whiskey] and show me how to do it. And I gits me how to do. All right, dey bring dat [money] safe out dere in a ole cart, a rale [real] one, pulling and carryin', and set it on down dere. Dey'll set de chest in dere [the hole]./All right, dey'll set nails in dere. Now, dey must call living people fer guardin'. Dey say to me - my name might be Washington [it is Washington]. "Well, listen, Washington. Well now, we goin' off to [do something else], so don't leave [until we return]." Dat's whacha call de sandman [getting ready to put you to sleep]. Many people don't know what de sandman is. [This.is a mock burial. Washington, made drunk, believes he is watching a dead body, not money.] "Listen, Washington, as you live and die, dis here body dat layin' befo' you and you got'a be good to dem. Hasn't we been good to you?" "Yes sir." "Well, has you been listenin' to your boss or your missus?" "Yes sir." "Have you done make a vow? Raise your han' on your heart." "Yes sir." "Over your other arm." "Yes sir." "You swear by all de Great Good and God dat you'll mind dis body until de Resurrection Mawnin' and hear dat you do?" "Yes sir." Bam! Den I'm shoot chah. I'm right behin' yuh and shoot yuh, and walk dere and cut my [your] throat, and dey got somethin' dere to ketch de blood and rubs it all ovah dat casket.
(That the money is in.)
All ovah dat casket - rub 'em all over it. And den the - the other party will come quickly and seal me up jest like a wall - right in dere and I'm guardin' - nobody kin git dat money. But you got'a mind me.
(You qot'a manage the spirit?)
You got'a manage my spirit - can't git dat money, 'cause I made a vow. Well, I kin go out dere and stay dere like dat. I go out dere on de full of de moon - t'ree days befo' de moon rise and t'ree days after he rise - no one around. T'ree days after you rise and t'ree days before it going to bed - dat's on de full of moon - t'ree days before de full and t'ree days after de full. All right - ah got it right. T'ree days after you rise and de new moon come out - t'ree days after de moon is full - when de moon is full up to tiptop - then I go to work and git de owner. You got'a git to somebody - got'a find out about it. Then I question her. And what I done question her [about] and she done [tell] me that how she come by de money. I takes her with me and I makes her go and git me four hens. Out'a de four hens. one must be a rooster, and I want ey'ry drop of de blood out of him, ey'rv one little drop - cut him neck off and ketch de blood - and a drop from each one of dem. Dat's a ceremony. Let 'em ketch de blood and put dat blood aside. Then you'll pick dat hen and when you done picking, you gut: 'em and have another basin and you ketch all de blood that drip; everythin' that drop, ketch it - dat blood, ketch it. All right, dat two blood ain't it. De third blood, when you wash it, ketch that. That three jahs [jars]. "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" - that master de world, dat work dat man with de trunk [treasure chest]. If you ain't got dat [guardian] you got no business [hunting buried treasure].
(That's the spirit that man is looking for?)
Dat what he looking for and dey ain't one out'a hunderd can't [can] git it. Oh, yeah. Good God dat what he died wit [the buried money]. Dat's what dey done when dey done dat to me [killed him in his illustration]. But git dose three things. Now, when you do dat, now nobody know - half pint a' liquor - there's at least a quart, at least. For four-five days go dere fer drinking Water and git some yourself - carry half a gallon. All right, don't drink a drop till you git dere. Set your compass - dat's one way, go on de compass, let de compass pull you and you goin' call de spirit out wit it, and go back [and] git de thing right. Jest lak I was dere - I go dere and take two drinks of liquor, screw de iar down tight and I point east, south, north, west and t'row de bottle ovah my head and let de bottle fall and wherever de bottle fall I go right dere and pick it up and pour jes' about dat much [whiskey] on de ground - about as much as I drinkin' - dat goin' in de sand now. I wait about thirty minutes and I'm going call, "He-ey, Samuel [a name for the devil]. Samuel, watchman on de watch, give me de hour - he-ey, Samuel." And whilst you is talking, looking right at de place, he and I be foolin', walking up and down by de place, like dat - right on down. I go dere and I make a ring [circle]. I done all of my working in dat way. All right, den I take dat blood - dese t'ree kind of blood - I set one east, I set one west, and I set one south and leave north off; leave a door open dere fer him to come out. And right dere down take a saucer - three saucers. Pour some of dat whiskey in it - each saucer. Broke a egg and turn in each one of dem [saucers] and set 'em on de three corners of de world. And I goin' in dere [the circle] and I go to work. Before goin' to work [for clients] I go through the ceremony the same as this [one described]. I talk my 'greement over - what dese four people agree on 'fo' dey left my home. And I'm looking right at one fellah all de time. I lookin' at him, at dat one fellah and talkin' to him. Dis man had come to me on Monday gone [last Monday], on the 17 or the 18, and he done 'clare [declared] to All Great and Good God that this [dead] man done [give the treasure] to him. I hope and trust that she will stand by him and have him and whatsomever dere [in the hole]. [The woman in the preceding paragraph is mentioned earlier - the woman to whom owner spirit or guardian spirit had given the treasure, the woman who supplied three hens and one rooster. Since she was unable to participate in the dangerous work of digging up the treasure, she with the spirit's consent chose a man to act as her proxy. I must add - to emphasize the danger involved - that Washington had come to me in a treasure-seeking mood, having taken a few drinks of moonshine whiskey from his screw-top jar. After he left me, he and a doctor waiting for me got into the altercation described elsewhere - see Washington in Index.] He's not 'toxicated now, but he soon will be.
[Who? Probably the guardian spirit or watchman.]
[Doctor Washington exorcises - preaches to the watchman's spirit through the owner spirit's voice:] "Dis body be'd [was] laid down here through de sand [sandman] ceremony: We come to take up dis body by and through dis ceremony, and we find no harm in him or anything, as I have known dat man in de flesh of his shape." And he'd [owner's spirit would] walk up to him [guardian spirit or watchman] and point [out] dat man to me personally, and I would 'cuse [excuse] dat person directly I see him - talking like you'd talk to man you wanta save. [The preceding rite at the buried treasure site is the sandman ceremony in reverse. The watchman or quardian spirit of the treasure - once an evil man, now a dangerous spirit - can not be killed a second time; he must be tricked or mollified in some manner if the treasure is to be taken from him. Once again he must be made drunk; the whiskey being poured on the ground where he can absorb its liquid or fumes. To show good fellowship, Doctor Washington drinks with the spirit. Then, using Owner spirit's voice, Washington proclaims, "We come to take up dis body (honorable burial is intended)... we find no harm in him." Even to say the words no harm magically reduces the possibility of harm. Meanwhile, that half-gallon of whiskey has attracted other spirits, but fortunately owner spirit now appears in person - taking his voice called him up - and identifies watchman for the doctor. The latter act automatically releases watchman from his oath to guard the treasure. Doctor Washington, now returning to his own voice, begins talking like you'd talk to (a) man you wanta save. He 'cuses (excuses) watchman, absolves him from his wicked human life; he excuses (relieves) him immediately of his treasure-watching duties. So restored and released, watchman comes up into the magic circle, goes out the gate, and disappears forever. We will fail to understand this rite unless we realize that a gifted doctor - we shall meet many similar ones - is a master of spirits.]
[They now begin to dig.]
I 'sign [assign] you [proxy and helpers] de work, all de work [of digging]. And by time I goes down dere [into the finished hole] - go down dere - don't find nothin' but a solid piece of steel or a solid piece of iron. Lot'a time I go down dere and find jewelry, nothin' but all silver - old spoons, silver forks, silver watch. [Charleston, S. Car., (509), 570:5.] [As in the preceding subsection Spirits Guard Buried Treasure, here also we have a subject in which doctors are very much involved - see margin-title Witch- riding and Doctors at end of this subsection.] [What is a hag? An elderly root doctor in Savannah, Georgia, says: "De hag is a ha'nt, a spirit. Dere's two of 'um (two kinds of hags). One of 'um is comin' so you can't sleep in de night - dat's ha'nts, dat's a ha'nt (spirit of a dead person). An' another one is a hag - a hag is a living person; dey've becomes a hag, dey deals with de devil."] [Quotation from my interview given later - Old Man, R.D., No. 540. R.D. = Root Doctor; parentheses are mine.] [The preceding spirit of the dead either comes of its own accord to worry someone at night (see No. 535) or is sent, usually by a doctor (No. 77). It is occasionally called Jack Mulatta (No. 107), a term approximating Jack-mu-la't' or Jack-ma-lantren, a corruption of Jack-o'-lantern (No. 128-136) - lantern pronounced lantren or latren by uneducated Negroes and Whites. Jack Mulatta, a hag or witch carrying a light at night, is identified with Jack-o'-lantern (No. 436). Traveling lights are sometimes spirits of the dead (Nos. 121-127 and see Lights, mysterious, in Index). Often a spirit of the dead is sent in a whirlwind (No. 142). A doctor can also send a dressed animal to witch-ride a person (No. 200).] [The preceding witch, the old man's living person sold to the devil - who hag- rides and casts spells and cures - is also called a witch-hag (No. 462); a reason for describing her or him in the subdivision title as Witch in Hag Form.]
Entry 374
[Years ago when the informant lived in Louisville, Kentucky, he did a great amount of gambling without much success. A friend offered to make him a successful gambler, provided he would participate in a certain rite. To perform this ceremony, both men one dark night went out in the woods, where the friend immediately made a large mud pie. Then, taking from his pocket a red-flannel ball which he began to roll round the outside of the pie, he asked the informant to cut the pie with a knife. But, before the latter could overcome his timidity, things began to happen. It lightened and thundered. Dishes dropped from the sky and broke on the ground. A cock appeared and began to crow. Knowing the cock to be the devil, the informant began to run and never stopped until he reached Louisville.]
Entry 4733
Take dat chicken an' bury 'im alive undahneat' de hearth. An' yuh take, see yuh take all de insides of de chicken out, an' yuh take de person's undah- clothes. Take de person's underclothes, as much of it, yuh know, dat's got'is, whatevah it is, yuh see. Yuh kin take dat, in de seat of it, an' put it in de chicken an' sew 'im up, if he's alive. An' yuh kin put 'im undahneat' de hearth, or any place, or bury 'im, undahstan'. An' whoevah dat person is, when dis chicken dies, yuh'll die, too.
(The chicken is alive?)
Yessuh, a live chicken, an' a roostah. Yuh don't kill 'i. Yuh jis' cut 'im Open an' take it out jis' as quick as yuh kin, an' push de chicken back tuhgethah an' bury 'im in dat hole while he's alive an' kickin'.
(Any kind of a chicken will do?)
Any chicken will do.